Embers

Ch 2 – Words of Fire

.::.

"People of Bei Ling; I, Fire Lord Zuko, son of Ursa and now banished Ozai, have come to personally prove that our endeavors to help you are sincere. I want to prove that the people who are responsible for your suffering are now responsible for your recovery."

The crowd remained unstirred. Was I not moving enough?

"A year ago I had almost captured the Avatar. Together, with my sister, I had nearly killed the one who saved the world. I know I don't deserve your trust-"

The crowd chimed in. "Damn right you don't!"

"But, since then things have changed. I realized the destruction I've caused. I see the scars I've left…"

My hand moved toward scar. The damned thing would forever be a testimony to my blind quest for honor. The look of disgust people gave me- all deserved on my part.

"And just as I have changed, so has the my Nation. We already have rebuilt the city of Ba Sing Se to its former glory. The Air Temples are restored and protected. Even the water tribes have received their fair share. So I come to you today not as an enemy, but as a servant. Please, I ask that you trust us, for the good of your village and of the world."

I then did the inconceivable. I bowed, knelt on the ground, and waited for the teasing to start. A few had already begun, starting with "How bout you wipe my ass, your majesty." The others just threw rocks and laughed. One hit me in the head, and I felt the sting of the rough stone and the warm blood dripping down my scar. My guards moved to quell the crowd, but I stopped them. All I could think of was that I deserved it; If I was the bastard that everyone sees, I gladly would have given myself to them.

And then, it happened. I remember an intense pain in my stomach, then blood. The crowd cheered, and then we razed the village. Why are the guards always so quick to act? I blew it, this village would never trust us, and I'd never find my mother.

The next thing I knew, I'm lying on a straw mat in a hut around thirty miles from the village. Uncle was there but the jolly face was bent into a frown. Ive been hurt before, yet he had never acted so serious as now.

"Zuko, tell me exactly what you remember."

"Uncle, I don't know. What happened-"

"Tell me, what do you feel now?"

"Just pain. But it's ok, I can- Arrghh!"

The analgesic balm was not helping at all. I could still feel the bleeding; it should have clotted by now. But that wasn't why I was afraid. Uncle Iroh wasn't telling me something, and secrecy was not his choice method either.

"Sit. Drink this until you can move. Zuko, you should never have come out here. Something… something horrible lives here. You're lucky Katara was here to save you. Again. She really is a talented bender."

Wh-Who? Did Uncle just mention Katara? Answering my question, the girl herself, the waterbender from the south entered the hut. It was reflex to flinch at her glare, although now it was filled with concern and worry. Why should she worry about me? Aang was the one who was away. He needed her more than now.

"ZUKO!" Her voice faltered. "What… What happened to you? I saw the whole thing from our ships, that light… And then the explosion." She alighted next to me, already breaking out the healing waters and going over my wounds with them.

"That was the guards' fault. And I don't know what happened to me." I started to get up, but she laid me back down. This was the second time she had to nurse me back to health, but I hadn't expected it this time.

"Its nice to see you here. You're the only face not frowning at me right now." I smiled, or at least attempted to. I wouldn't give in to the pain, and besides, Katara can worry herself to death if given the chance. She smiled back, but a false smile like mine.

I started to slide off the covers when I felt a breeze where I normally wouldn't. My heart started beating out of sheer embarrassment. The Fire Lord, clotheless in bed with a water tribe girl only months after Mai's disappearance.

"Aaah get off!" I screamed. She couldn't see me like this. I wanted her to get out of here until I could properly clothe myself. "Just go. I'll be ready in a little while."

Her look of confusion turned into a deep rose blush, and the first grin from Uncle since I've awoken. The two of them exited, and I slipped on a pair of newly sewn pants. I looked around a bit for my other outfit, but stopped when I saw a charred cloak and suit. Katara stepped back in after a short while, still awkwardly looking around for conversation.

"Your clothes burnt off during the explosion. I- er, didn't see you until you were bandaged up by Iroh." We both blushed again. "But I did manage to stop the burns from scarring. Something big must have caused it…"

By then, Uncle had stepped in too. The tea he gave me worked well; I could walk with minor pain now. Something was clearly bothering him, and I intended to know what it was.

"Uncle, what is it? I'll be fine, the medicine is-"

"No Zuko, I know you'll be fine. The village will be fine as well, but this was no ordinary attack. I fear your body is not the only thing harmed. Remember what Azula did to Aang before Ba Sing Se fell?"

"Of course. I will never forget it. He almost died…" Katara would remember that too. Its her healing that saved Aang.

"Well, I fear something like this has happened to you." Uncle finished, looking me straight in the eye.

At first, I didn't believe him. It was impossible, I should have been dead if it happened, not scraping away with these minor wounds. Besides, I would have seen it coming, and redirected it.

"How can that be? There was no lightning, and I don't have any gaping hole to prove it."

"You are right, there wasn't any lightning. Not even fire. No, Aang's chi was distorted with the blast, blocking his connection to the power of the Avatars of the past. I think this is what you have to deal with now."

"But Uncle, you're forgetting that im not the Avatar."

"No, but your chi still affects you! Use your head Zuko; From where do benders draw their power?

"Their chi?"

"Yes, Zuko! Without chi, you cannot bend anymore!"

Silence filled the room. The old man must have gone senile; I can't lose my bending, not again. It's not even possible, right? I mean, Ty Lee can do it but only temporarily, and even then the waterbenders can fix that. Katara could fix that.

"Katara: You can fix this right? Can't you do what you did to the Terra Team? Ty Lee took their power away, and you gave it back!"

"I'm afraid its not that simple, Zuko. What happened to you… What happened to you is completely different. Something powerful disrupted your chi flow. It's too twisted to work with, and i'm going to need something more powerful than my bending to fix it. Im sorry…"

"Well, if none of you are going to try to fix it, I guess I'll have to do it myself."

I did not know where to go. I didn't even know what happened to me. But if theres one thing that could help me its the waters of the spirit well in the North Pole. Katara could see what I was thinking, and immediately volunteered to accompany me.

"Well if you're thinking of going to the North Pole, you're gonna need a waterbender. Im not so sure they trust you yet."

"Thank you, Katara." For some reason, the fact that she was coming with me excited me. Not only was she a powerful bender, but just being with her calmed me down. However, seeing as she was the Avatar's girl… It would be very, very complicated trying to keep the rumors away.

"Be careful, Zuko. Even your closest friends can harm you without knowing it."

Uncle Iroh warned, giving me a stern look. I had no idea what he meant, as usual, but if he was suggesting that Katara would try to hurt me, he was sorely mistaken. I got up and left the hut, with Katara close after.

"How did you get here, Katara?"

"A water tribe boat. Why?"

"Because that's how we're getting to the North Pole."