Incidental
Zuko looked down at the yellowing paper of the scroll he was working on, ink all but dripping off of his feather quill. Gently pressing the tip to the paper, he made thin strokes of calligraphy, writing a poem to try and channel out his feelings, as his Uncle had suggested. He growled when writer's block hit him, wondering how this was supposed to ease his stress. Uncle Iroh could be so unreliable sometimes… Feeling rage build up inside of him at how pathetic his writing was coming out, he took a shaky breath and put away the ink and paper, standing up and leaving his small room. His destination, anywhere he could be alone.
Walking down the thin corridors of the alloy ship, Zuko felt enclosed but safe, in some strange sense. He thought that nothing should threaten him, being of the Fire Nation, but these days he wasn't quite sure who he was anymore. His goals in the future, his plans for family and such… he never really thought past getting the Avatar and regaining honor.
Lost in thought, Zuko walked right into one of the maids, whose cheeks reddened with guilt and embarrassment at being in the Prince's way, dropping her load of laundered clothing. She prayed to Agni that he wouldn't burn her, or worse, as punishment. "S-sorry!" she stammered out, staring at him with terrified onyx eyes. Her silky black tresses fell forward as she quickly bowed her head ashamed.
Zuko raised an eyebrow, before smiling delicately at the woman. "Are you okay? I apologize for bumping into you…" he took notice of the clothing on the floor, furrowing his eyebrows. "Here, let me be of assistance." He kneeled down and began to refold some of the clothing, smiling still despite the horrid mood he had been in a moment earlier. He realized that being nice to others wasn't too hard, and it hid the emotions he truly felt. If there was anything he disliked, it was being pestered about what was wrong. Wasn't his scar proof enough?
When the clothing was back in the wicker basket it belonged in, Zuko gave the maid another soft smile before continuing on his way, his stoic expression coming back into place. The maid, bewildered, stared after the prince until he was out of sight. She walked straight to the maid's quarters, gossiping and spreading word that Zuko had changed. Of course, the others were beyond skeptical of her claims, yet they all hoped deep inside it was true.
Gossip spread like wildfire throughout the ship, in but an hour the whole crew knowing of the day's incident. Zuko, however, was oblivious to the fact, bending fire on the empty deck. He took his stance, bare chest gleaming, two fists thrust out, and orange flames spewing about. Kick here, punch there, evasion tactic somewhere in between; this was physical exercise, this eased stress. Zuko channeled his chi to his palms and heels, shooting out fire and twirling gracefully, shouting with each action.
His uncle watched with interest, seeing all of his nephew's techniques and styles. Albeit, nothing compared to his Dragon of the West performance, the old man thought over a sip of Ginseng. He raised an eyebrow when some of the maids stared at the fire bender, before chattering amongst themselves. This seemed to have been happening everywhere the young man went, raising the elder's curiosity. But he could wait until after the little show was over to ask the main star of today's conversations.
An hour passed before the young fire bender tired himself out, and sat on the side of the ship to catch his breath. His eyes scanned the sparkling waters, wondering what fish lurked beneath. Iroh took his chance and shuffled over to where his nephew sat, smiling above the rim of his teacup. "It seems you are quite popular amongst the ladies, nephew." He teased gently, chuckling when Zuko's expression twisted. He turned to his Uncle with an awkward expression. "What are you talking about, Uncle? I don't even know the name of one of our maids. What have I done to have them talking?" he inquired quietly, knowing someone could hear. Iroh shrugged, also confused as to why this was so. Zuko wondered to himself if they knew about his encounter with the laundry woman, and that was the cause behind everything. Zuko sighed; women could be so dramatic sometimes. Iroh was still confused, so he shrugged once more before walking off, deciding to fulfill his appetite for tea.
Alone once more, Zuko looked out over the water, another dream coming to him.
Ursa gently wound her arms around the young boy, kissing the top of his head before glaring at Azula. "You know you're not supposed to be like that with your brother. I wouldn't expect behavior like this from a lady like yourself." She snipped, gently holding her crying son. "I won't leave you, don't worry. There there, you're a wonderful son. Calm down my dear." She whispered soothing words to him, gently rubbing his back as she did so. Zuko looked up at his mother, eyes full of hope, "I'm, I'm a wonderful son?" he asked quietly, wondering if she had just said that to calm him down. The woman smiled and nodded, "Very wonderful." Zuko grinned back at her, hugging her tightly. But something was wrong… the air was chilly and clouds rolled over as a figure loomed over behind. It was Zuko's father, staring with hatred at the happy scene. He ordered men to carry Ursa away, Zuko staring with wide eyes and pawing at his mother, who was being hoisted further from his grasp. "Mother!" he yelled, trying to run towards her, but every step he took bringing him further away from her. She opened her mouth to say something, but was soon out of sight. Zuko, heartbroken and crushed, turned to his father. "Where are they taking her? Why are you doing this?" he asked, tears falling from his eyes. The Fire Lord turned away from his son, the edge of his lips curling upward in a smirk, not answering his son.
Zuko shook his head, vision focused back to the serene waves before him. He needed to find his mother one of these days, and find out what had truly happened all those moons ago. Zuko rose from where he sat, drifting inside the quarters and sitting down on his bed, not noticing the crew members amongst him on the way. It wasn't nighttime yet, the sun still high in the sky, but Zuko needed rest. So he lay on the mattress, staring at the metal ceiling above him, arms crossed on his chest. He rose and set with the sun, but he didn't have unlimited energy, sadly. Time flew by as Zuko laid there, the occasional maid peeking in and pondering about it. Soon, dinnertime came, and Iroh checked in on his nephew.
"You haven't eaten all day. Come nephew, you mustn't starve to death." His uncle said, watching as the fire bender stood and turned to him. The two walked silently to the cafeteria, not saying a word to another.
A/N: Thanks for the feedback, and sorry if I seemed a bit pushy earlier. It seems that no one bothers to review even if it's not much effort to do so, but that isn't always the case I'm sure. Well I'm on a busy schedule, so I will try my best to update regularly. ^^; Don't forget to comment :)