9-The Fire Lord's Duties

One week; that was how long his friends, excluding Aang had stayed, and that was how long it has been since they left. Zuko wasn't sure how he felt. The palace, despite the size, felt oddly empty without them, yet he wasn't quite missing the constant company. Now that they were gone, he had time to reflect, meditate. Thanks to uncle he was doing that more often. Uncle…Zuko made a mental note to visit him as he went through the wide halls of the palace to the training area.

Being fire Lord, it was necessary to stay in shape, to be ready for anything that happened to strike his nation. Entering the large room, he removed his shirt revealing toned muscles and abs. He could proudly say that after all this time, he still had a six pack. He eyed his opponent at the far end of the room; it was one of the guards, but he was a very skilled bender. Part of his job was to continue Zuko's training, now that Uncle had a tea shop to manage.

The man got into his stance, not bothering with any kind of greeting. Training had begun as soon as Zuko walked into the room, and Zuko was comfortable with that. The man shot a ball of fire towards Zuko at once; he could feel the heat approaching his face, the image of it burned in his eyes…

He deflected the fire ball, and shot one of his own, no more than a second after his opponent. The man leaped out of the way, letting the fire hit the wall. With a quick motion of his hands, a long line of fire, resembling a whip appeared, and cracked at Zuko, narrowly missing him by less than an inch. Zuko dodged, but the whip was nearing him, as was his opponent. The whip cracked into the ground, sending a cloud of dirt up into the air.

The man was fast, but Zuko had to be faster. Roaring with rage, he ran to the man, still trying to avoid the whip which was following him at every turn. When he approached the man, he blocked his hand, the fire whipped disappeared. They fought, Zuko making fire appear in his hands like daggers, the opponent doing the same. The two men moved all through the arena, one throwing a punch, the other blocking it.

Zuko had control, soon his opponent was cornered against one of the walls, and with one quick motion of his hand Zuko created a wall of fire. Zuko grabbed the man's collar, making him extinguish his fire daggers immediately. The man's eyes widened as he gazed into the brilliant orange and red of the fire wall, knowing that at any moment, with a slick flick of Zuko's wrist that fire would burn him to death. Then Zuko smirked, and the fire wall disappeared. Zuko released the man, and he straightened the relief clear in his expression.

"You nearly had me there, Sir," he said, dusting off his pants.

"Well I had some close calls too," Zuko said, walking over to the edge of the arena for a towel. "And we've been sparring partners for years; you don't need to call me 'Sir.'" He tossed a towel to his friend, who accepted it gratefully.

"Your father insisted on it when I served him; old habits die hard I guess," the man said shrugging. "You're getting better, Zuko. Your firebending is returning."

Zuko nodded in agreement. When Mai was ill, he noticed his firebending weakening, his emotions taking control over his skills. But he guessed now he was healing, so his bending was returning. He thought that was the case anyway.

"Firelord Zuko!"

Zuko turned in the direction of the voice that had shouted from across the arena. It was a messenger, who was running towards the two men.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" Zuko asked immediately.

"Well…yes and no," the messenger said now standing eye to eye with Zuko. His voice was slightly breathy from his journey.

Zuko waited patiently as the young man caught his breath.

"There are some healers from the towns who wish to speak to you," he said finally.

"About what?"

The messenger frowned. "I'm not sure Sir. They showed up rather unexpectedly. It must be something important, they all seem very stressed."

"Ok, tell them I will be there as soon as I can," Zuko replied, handing his towel to his sparring partner and nodding gratefully.

"I will let them know you are on your way," the messenger said, starting to leave the room, and a few minutes later, after Zuko had quickly cleaned up and changed into a more presentable outfit, he found him, as well as a group of women waiting for him in a large room; a room which his father used to occupy many times. He remembered his father always looked intimidating, sitting in that large chair, surrounded by fire. Zuko never wanted to look intimidating. Rather than move to sit in that chair, he approached his visitors face to face, and bowed in greeting. They each returned it, with polite smiles.

"What is that I can do for you today?"

"We are sorry to bother you Firelord Zuko," one of the women spoke instantly. She was older, appearing more experienced than the other two women who accompanied her. "Your messenger informed us that you were training when we arrived. We apologize for not informing you on our arrival, but we have urgent news."

"It is no trouble at all," Zuko responded. "Please, tell me what is the problem?"

"We are…not sure," one of the younger women said.

"It's more complicated," the older woman said hastily, noticing Zuko's curious expression. "We have been noticing many deaths taking place within our towns, more than the average amount, and we can't seem to find the cause."

Zuko furrowed his brows in concern, listening intently.

"We've tried everything, but it's hard to trace. People, normal healthy people, suddenly get sick and then over just a week or a year, they pass. Its…frightening. We have tried everything to heal them, but this sickness, it's mysterious. It seems to have different effects on each person."

A mysterious illness? One that seems to appear out of nowhere? This made Zuko slightly unnerved. These citizens, whom he was supposed to be protecting, were dying. And what was worse was that there was no cause for the illness. He kept his expression serious when he responded to the healers, not revealing the worries that lay within.

"I will send people to investigate, you have my word."

"Actually…" one of the younger women began with a slightly nervous expression. Zuko turned his attention to her. "We were wondering if you could have someone take a look at our latest patient. Just to see what were dealing with. It's more serious than it sounds."

"It's just down the street, in the closest town," the older woman added.

After a moment of consideration, Zuko nodded. "Of course. I'll see the patient."

With a flick of his hands, guards appeared by his sides, escorting the FireLord and the three women out of the palace. It was a short walk to the town. Like the women had said, it was only down the street. Within moments, they had reached the town, and the building which was their destination. Zuko eyed the building as they entered; a large, efficient building that the healers were doing a good job of managing. What could this mysterious illness be, that had these healers worried? But he didn't voice these thoughts. Zuko followed silently behind the nurses who led the group. After walking for a few moments, they reached a room furthest from the entrance.

The nurses entered first, used to the scene that lay before them, but Zuko entered slowly, cautiously, as if not wanting to disturb the sick man that lay in the bed. But when he fully entered, he paused, hovering near the doorway, not allowing the guards behind him entrance inside. Oddly, the sight startled him. The man was frail, extremely thin and pale. He appeared to be sleeping, but his face was scrunched up in pain, as if even sleeping were a difficult task.

"He was admitted yesterday," one of the nurses said quietly. "According to his wife, he's only 34 years old, and didn't start showing signs of sickness until last week."

Zuko felt his heart start to increase the longer he stared at the man that lay before him. 34 years old? The patient in the bed looked years older than his actual age, as if the disease that was infecting him was physically draining him of life.

"We have tried everything. We have very skilled waterbenders here, but even they say nothing can be done," the nurse continued. "We expect him to pass within a few days."

Zuko knew he was still in the hospital room, but suddenly, he found himself in his bedroom, staring at a dying Mai. Her body, frail…draining of life…her mind slipping…

Zuko needed air. With as much courtesy and normalcy as he could manage he said, "Please excuse me for a moment."

Zuko left the hospital in a dash, trying to appear inconspicuous. But still suspicion arose; he could see the stares from the corner of his eye. Finally he was outside, the brisk cold air of the approaching winter hitting his face. He found himself gasping…what had happened? One minute he was looking at a dying stranger, and then that person became Mai. It was all he could see.

He felt his thoughts racing with fear, with worry. Whatever had killed Mai was killing the other people in this town. He was sure of it. He observed the healthy people walking through the towns, the young children who had their lives ahead of them…He had to find out what was causing this. He could not let this continue.

I stand by the doorway, admiring the gorgeous earth kingdom weather. It brushes my hair back, making a few strands tickle my face. I like it. I live alone, have been since my father passed away two years ago; a great man, who didn't deserve to die. But loneliness is not a trait that I own. I don't accept it. Revenge? Now that is another story.

I gaze at my garden, filled with flowers, and vegetables alike. It is how I make my money; it is how I keep myself nourished. After all, I had to find some way to take care of myself after my father passed. He did always say I was gifted with gardening.

I glance at a group of flowers in particular, separate from the others. It is a beautiful, rare plant. One that not too many know about. But it is one of my favorites, and I cannot wait until it matures. I have great plans for it.

A roar interrupts my thoughts and I glance up at the sky. He is arriving, of course by his trusting sky bison. The last I saw him, we were at the market, and he was vague on the details of his arrival. But he came, as I knew he would.

Smoothly, I walked over to greet my visitor, placing a dazzling smile on my face that I knew he couldn't resist. He is an amazing man…and I have plans for him as well.