The Earth King Revisited – Chapter 9
Decisions
"Okay, that's enough," Meng shouted, grabbing Zuko roughly by the arm and pulling him out of the dark room and away from his mother.
"No, wait, I want to talk to her. Please!" Zuko implored.
"I said you could see her, make sure she was really your mother and that's all. You've seen her. Now it's time to go. Quan Ma, help me get the Fire Lord out of here, will you?" Meng asked the guard, puffing with exertion. Zuko fought against the men, clinging to the doorframe to get a last look at his mother before he was dragged away. Ursa returned his look, a sad smile on her face. She was helpless to do anything. The guard for Ursa's room closed the door gently, locked it and resumed his position outside. He looked at Zuko with sympathy in his eyes. The Fire Lord looked back questioningly, wondering just where this man's loyalties lay. Meng and Quan Ma pulled him forcefully toward the front door.
"If you don't settle down, Fire Lord, I'll have to use more extreme measures to subdue you. I kept my end of the bargain. You saw your mother. You know I'm not deceiving you. Decision time is here. You had better make one soon. Give me what I want or I will kill your mother. Don't fool yourself into believing that I would have a hard time murdering a defenseless woman and the mother of the Fire Lord, because, let me assure you, I won't." He looked into Zuko's eyes, making sure that the young man understood everything he said. Zuko just nodded curtly, wriggling out of their arms.
"I want to speak with Piandao. I need time to make a decision."
"Go ahead. He's outside waiting for you," Meng replied.
Zuko stormed out the door of the warehouse and walked over to the sword master. He reached for the older man's arm, pulling him aside to talk privately.
"Well," Piandao inquired. "Is it your mother?"
"Yes," Zuko answered. "It's her. After all these years, I finally see her again and she's being held captive by an immoral Earth Kingdom general. He threatened, actually he promised to kill her if I don't agree to his proposals. I WILL NOT let her die," the Fire Lord declared, his voice anguished. He ran both his hands through his windblown hair in a gesture of frustration.
"I understand, Zuko," Piandao stated sympathetically. "But you cannot agree to do what Meng wants either. You've built a fragile trust with the rest of the world. Going along with Meng will destroy that."
"And that's where we run into a problem," Zuko sighed. "What am I going to do?"
"First," suggested Piandao, "I think we need leave this town, make camp and think about our options. I can't see Meng objecting to giving us some time to think everything over. Oh, and remember to get your swords back."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Zuko agreed. I can't believe all this. My mother's been here in the Earth Kingdom all this time. Why hasn't she come home? Does she hate me? Is she angry at me?"
"I don't know your mother, Zuko, so I can't answer those questions."
"I'm beginning to think that I don't know her either," Zuko said, sounding almost heartbroken. "But we need to get her out of here safely. Oh, great, here comes Meng."
"Well, gentlemen, have you made a decision?" the general asked cheerfully.
"No, we have not," Zuko answered icily. "We need more time. We're going to make camp tonight outside of town. We'll give you our decision tomorrow. Oh, and I want my swords back."
"Certainly, Fire Lord, I'll retrieve them for you."
Meng returned promptly with Zuko's swords. "I look forward to seeing you tomorrow then."
Zuko and Piandao rode out of town without looking back. Meng called after them.
"Oh, and I suggest that you be here by mid morning." The general turned away from the retreating backs of Zuko and Piandao. He muttered to himself, "Because if you're not, she's very, very dead."
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The pair rode out of town, Zuko as despondent as he had been leaving Lee's village. They threw together a quick camp and got a fire going. Zuko began making lunch, thinking deeply the whole time. Piandao sat down on a log they had dragged to the fireside. He looked at Zuko, unsure how to set the young Fire Lord's mind at ease.
Suddenly, Zuko whirled around to face the sword master. "I'm going to rescue my mother and I will not sign Meng's documents. When I get back to the Fire Nation, I will have the bastard arrested and tried for all his crimes. I won't force you to help me, Piandao, though I really hope that you will."
Piandao opened his mouth to speak, but Zuko raised a hand to silence him. "Please, let me finish. I'm not sure yet how I'm going to rescue her. I'll come up with a plan. I know we're outnumbered and Meng's got those earthbenders. Agni, he's probably got most of the town on his side out of fear. But I'm going to do it or die trying. I just can't leave her in their hands. And I won't give in to threats. So there you have it, master. What do you think?"
"I think that you're crazy, Zuko, but I'm going to help you anyway. I understand your position. I know you can't let them kill your mother. I just wish we had more help."
"C'mon, you're an amazing sword master and I'm a powerful firebender who can handle swords too. How can we fail?" Zuko asked jokingly.
"Very easily, I'm afraid. It's time to come up with some ideas, young man. Will we rescue your mother tonight or tomorrow? Tonight we'll have the cover of darkness and perhaps less people around to hinder us. But maybe Meng is expecting you to do something tonight. If we go to town tomorrow and pretend to go along with Meng's proposal, we can surprise them. But, there will be more people around." Piandao frowned in consternation. He picked up a small branch and dug viciously around in the dusty soil at his feet. Throwing the stick away, he turned to Zuko. "Well?"
The image of Zuko's face, still so young, but fraught with the burdens of leadership, floated before Ursa's tired eyes. She pulled at her long brown hair distractedly. "What must he think of me?" she wondered. "I'm not the mother he once knew." Still, she allowed a smile to play along her lips. She was blissfully happy that she had seen Zuko, if only for a brief minute or two. Ursa heard the familiar sound of a key in the lock and knew that lunch was coming. "Ugh," she thought. "Palace food is one thing I could get used to again."
The guard entered the room and handed her the tray with lukewarm tea and mushy, overcooked rice. Ursa placed a hand on his and looked up at his face.
"Can you tell me what's going on? What is Meng planning? Will he hurt my son? When am I getting out of here?"
"You know I can't answer those questions, lady. I'm just doing my job. If I don't, Meng will kill me."
"But he's obviously a bad man. Wouldn't you rather help me and my son if you could? I can see that you have some compassion in you. Break from Meng. Do the right thing."
Laughing, the guard pulled Ursa's hand off his arm. "How exactly am I supposed to help you?"
"Get me out of here."
"There's a guard at the front door and no windows or back entrance. So how am I supposed to do that?"
Ursa exhaled heavily. "I don't know," she conceded.
"And what makes you think I want to break away from Meng? He's going to be very powerful one day soon and I can be a part of that."
"My husband lusted after power too. Where did it get him?"
"Yeah, well, I don't think the avatar will be coming after Meng."
"How do you know that?" Ursa prodded. "If he gets too powerful and tries to dominate others, kills and destroys, then he will have become just like Ozai. And the avatar and my son WILL take care of him."
"Maybe," the guard acknowledged grudgingly.
"What's your name?" Ursa asked. "After a week of you bringing me meals, I still don't know it."
"Katsu, ma'am," he said with a little bow.
"That's a good, strong name. It means 'victory', am I right?" Ursa asked putting all the charm she could muster into her voice.
"Yes, it does," he agreed.
"Wouldn't you like to be on the side of victory, the side of good?" Ursa prodded.
"Just what are you trying to do, ma'am?"
"I'm just giving you some things to think about, that's all," she replied innocently.
"Enjoy your lunch," he said brusquely and left the room. Ursa shook her head as she heard the door lock.
"Well, I wonder if that little ploy will do any good," she asked herself.
"Well?" Piandao repeated.
Zuko covered his face with his hands. "I'm thinking, I'm thinking," he replied with a touch of irritation. Quickly, he uncovered his face, looked at Piandao and smiled hugely. "I just had a brilliant idea."
"Excellent! What is it?"
"What if we meet with Meng tomorrow, pretend to agree with him and I sign the papers he has."
Piandao looked confused. "Why would you sign the papers and give the guy everything he wants?"
"I'll sign them, but incorrectly. I'll spell my name wrong and I can change the royal seal somehow. When we get back home, we can tell the story and the papers won't be valid."
"Okay, I understand," said the sword master. "But what if Meng looks at your signature and realizes the mistake before we're gone?"
"The timing will have to be just right. I won't sign the papers until my mother is brought out of that room. She has to be very close by so we can grab her and get the agni out of that town. Hopefully, we'll get enough of a head start. If not, we'll have to fight."
"With your mother right there in the thick of things," Piandao sighed.
"I realize that, but I can't see another way. I think they'll have her well guarded at night and like you said, during the day, the whole town is there ready to fight with Meng. I think it's worth a shot. But we have to be prepared for a fight."
"I can't come up with anything better," shrugged Piandao. "So fake signature and seal it is."
The rest of the afternoon was spent practicing Zuko's phony signature and altering the Fire Nation royal seal with a knife that Piandao carried. The seal was a dragon, mouth ablaze with flames. Piandao nicked off one curling branch of the flames. The seal still looked authentic. Zuko nodded his head, pleased with Piandao's work.
After a quick supper the two men got out their swords, feeling the need to practice in case of a showdown the next morning. Zuko felt nervous. If he messed things up the next day, his mother could die, or Piandao. The Fire Lord tried to push his apprehension aside and concentrate on his sword work. He went through a series of elaborate moves, blades swirling and circling like birds in an intricate pattern of flight. Sweat beaded on his brow, falling into his golden eyes. He shook his head and the beads flew off, performing their own dance. Finally exhausted, Zuko flopped to the ground, stretching out his lean body and gazing up at the sky just beginning to show its sprinkling of stars.
Piandao had already stopped and sat by the fire stroking his beard, obviously deep in thought. Zuko hauled his body off the ground and joined his friend at the fire. "You're sure that you're okay with all this? You don't have to get involved, you know. I wouldn't hold it against you."
"Do you really think I'm going to let my friend, the Fire Lord, try to rescue his mother by himself?" He punched Zuko lightly in the arm. "What kind of man do you think I am?" he asked jokingly.
"I'm just giving you the option to back out," Zuko responded seriously. "It's not your problem. She's not your mother."
"No, but the Fire Nation is my country too and I don't want you to ruin all the progress you've already made."
"Very funny," Zuko replied. "I appreciate your help and your friendship, Piandao. "This little plan had better work."
"I think we have a pretty good chance. How about some sleep. We've got a big morning ahead of us and there's nothing else we can do to prepare."
Zuko agreed.
The firebender felt the heat of the sun through the cloth of the tent and knew it was time to get out of bed. They had to be in town by mid morning so there was no time to dawdle. Zuko woke Piandao and the two had a quick meal, packed their things and began the short ride into town. The "official" Fire Nation seal was placed in a small pouch that Zuko hung around his sash.
They went over the simple plan while they rode. More than anything, they had to make Meng believe that Zuko was willing to sign the agreement in order to gain his mother's freedom. There could be no knowing looks between Zuko and Piandao, no hesitations, no signs of nervousness. If everything went well, all they would have to do is ride as quickly as possible out of Sen Si and get to their rendezvous point of Yanhai.
"No problem,"chuckled Piandao.
"I hope you're right, and Meng isn't as smart as he thinks he is," Zuko said. Despite his outward calm, the Fire Lord's stomach was doing twists and jumps, his pulse was elevated and he perspired lightly. He took a deep breath from the bottom of his lungs and fell into a semi-meditative state. He wanted inward calm as well as outward calm.
As they approached the town, Meng and his men rode out to greet them.
"Ah," Meng said greasily, "you made it. I appreciate punctuality."
"I'm so glad I can make you happy," Zuko stated sarcastically. "Before I sign anything, I want my mother out of that room, out of that building and right by my side. Do you understand?"
"Oh, I understand, boy. I sincerely hope you don't have some crazy plan. You are greatly outnumbered."
"I just want to take my mother home. I don't care about anything else," Zuko sighed.
"But what will the avatar think? What will the other nations think of you giving more to me than to anyone else? Aren't you worried?"
"I'll deal with that when I get home. I'm growing impatient now. Bring my mother out here and I'll sign your papers and put my royal seal on them."
"Fair enough," agreed Meng. "Go get the woman," he barked to one of his lackeys.
The general's man walked over to the dilapidated building. Quan Ma let him pass and the man opened the front door. Fumbling around in the dimly lit interior, Meng's man found the locked room with Katsu standing guard.
"Open the door. General Meng wants her released," he ordered.
Katsu dug the key out of his tunic. He opened the door and nodded to Ursa.
"General Meng has ordered your release, Ma'am."
Shocked, Ursa rose slowly from her chair and walked towards the doorway. She looked back at her prison, silently hoping this release wasn't some sort of cruel trick. Meng, she had learned, had a vicious streak. Deciding that she had no choice in the matter, the former Princess of the Fire Nation moved forward, passing by Katsu. She gave him a warm smile. The guard had been unvaryingly polite to her during her 'stay' in Sen Si. He nodded in reply.
She followed the unknown man through a maze of corridors. Quan Ma waited at the entranceway. He gave Ursa a little shove as she glided gracefully by him. She may have been away from the palace for years, but she still walked like royalty. Giving the guard a withering look, Ursa made her way onto the street, grateful to feel the sun on her face again. She saw her son standing in the street beside another man. He was much older than Zuko and exuded an air of wisdom, calm and deadliness, if pushed. Zuko looked over at her and smiled.
"Bring her over here or I won't sign a thing," the Fire Lord demanded authoritatively. Ursa was shocked at Zuko's almost forbidding presence. Part of her still thought of him as that shy little boy she had left behind.
Meng himself grabbed Ursa by the arm and pushed her beside Zuko. He gave the Fire Lord a warning look. Piandao glanced over at Ursa and gave her a slight nod. She responded in kind.
"Where are the papers?" Zuko asked. "Let's get this done so I can get out of this town for good." The young man was trying very hard to assume control of the situation. Hesitation and weakness could not be shown.
"Here," said Meng, opening a leather folder and extracting a few pages of parchment. "I suggest you glance over them first."
"Give them to me." Meng handed Zuko the papers. The young man handed one to Piandao who began reading.
"It says pretty much what Meng already told us," the sword master stated.
"So do mine," Zuko agreed.
'I hope you have some ink ready for me."
Meng gestured for one of his men to grab a wooden crate from the walkway and produced a bottle of ink and a brush from his an expensive looking Earth Kingdom bag. Making sure that his mother stayed near him and that Piandao had a hold of the ostrich horses, Zuko signed his name on all three papers, replacing the third character of his name with a different but very similar one. He took the royal seal from his pouch.
"I need wax for the seal."
Meng sighed in frustration. "You! Go find a candle or something, quickly," he said to the same man who had retrieved Ursa. He darted away and returned with a candle stub.
Zuko placed the stub on the crate and applied heat to it until it melted. He poured wax on the seal and applied it to the first sheet of parchment. Repeating the process two more times, he finished, stood up and took his mother by the arm.
"We'll be leaving now, Meng," Zuko stated calmly.
"Wait a minute, Fire Lord," Meng said menacingly, gesturing for his men to form a circle around Zuko, Ursa and Pianda. "How stupid do you think I am?"
"Very stupid, I hope," Zuko muttered under his breath.
"Did you think I wouldn't check the papers first?"
"Go ahead. I'm sure that everything is in order."
Meng glanced over the papers, looking for crossed out or added words. His eyes skimmed over the signature and seal, not looking closely enough to see the deceit.
"You may go, Fire Lord. I had better hear from you soon."
"You can count on it," Zuko said with a sneer. He hopped onto his ostrich horse, and extended a hand to his mother. Sitting behind her son, she put her arms loosely around his waist and whispered, "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet," he responded, digging his heels into the animal's sides and flicking the reigns. "We still have to make it out of town."