Chapter 23!! And only 2 more chapters until the Scarlet Solstice parts! Are you ready? Read on!
Zuko couldn't sleep. His chest throbbed painfully, and he had too much on his mind from what uncle had told him. So he got up and made himself some white moon tea. He took his cup, went outside to the balcony, and sipped thoughtfully while he stared at the moon.
Once he was done, he decided to check on Ara. He quietly entered her room and tiptoed towards the sleeping figure. The moon outside her window shone onto her, illuminating her peaceful features, making her skin shine. He watched as she breathed in and out rhythmically. He pulled a stool towards him and set it near her bed, sitting on it. He pulled a strand of hair away from her closed eyes. Even though she wasn't Aang, her arrow glowed dimly blue in the darkness. He sighed as he touched her face. And instantly, the throbbing disappeared. He felt calm and peaceful. And he felt fatigue wash over him. He grabbed a spare blanket and pillow off of a shelf next to him and set them on the floor, and he was out before he fully reached the ground. And he slept fitfully, without pain.
"Zuko!!"
Zuko suddenly awoke to his name being screamed in his face. He shot up into a fighting stance.
"What?! What happened?!" He shoved the sleep away from his eyes. But then they focused. Ara had jumped back from him when he scared her, and she was leaning against her bed, rubbing her head. He quickly blushed and straightened. "Sorry, Ara," he said he moved to help her up. He offered his hand.
"What the heck were you doing lying on my floor? I woke to find you sprawled out! I thought you had fainted! Or worse! And then you shock me by jumping up and scaring me to death? What is wrong with you? You nearly gave me a heart attack! How long were you— " Zuko's hand slapped over her mouth.
"Ara! Enough!" he yelled, though laughing at the outburst. "I'm fine! I couldn't sleep last night, so I checked on you, and then I felt really tired, so I just decided to fall asleep on the floor." He removed his hand from her mouth. "I'm fine. Just don't shock me out of a good night's sleep either!"
Ara smiled. "Fine. Well, now that we're awake, let's go see uncle!"
They got dressed and went to the throne room, where Iroh was drinking his morning quart of tea. He saw them and smiled. "Zuko! Ara! Good morning! I have some urgent news to report. Sit down and have some tea."
He came and sat across from them. "Chief Hakoda wrote me a letter. It describes the battle plans and strategies for the Scarlet Solstice. And he wants me to go to Ozai and command him to surrender, once more. He will not, so I will tell him the battlefield."
"What if he attacks you?" Zuko asked, fury filling him about his father.
"Hakoda insisted that the two masters who visit me will come and protect me if anything happened." Zuko and Ara looked at one another. "Us?" they both said in unison. Iroh nodded. "We leave immediately. I know where my brother and niece are hiding. Ara, can we take Warrior?" she nodded.
"But we need to leave for the South Pole as soon as we drop you off, Uncle. We need to get back."
"Very well. Pack your things. And you two will need disguises. Ozai must not recognize you especially Zuko. He will kill you on the spot."
Zuko nodded. He took Ara's arm. "Come on. We need to pack."
Ten minutes later, they were handed from the servants two matching soldiers' uniforms, which consisted of a red tunic, black pants, boots, gloves, cloaks, and red helmets that completely covered their faces except for two small eyeholes. They hurried and put on their disguises, and Ara called Warrior. The eagle shied when he saw the soldier, but she removed the helmet and he relaxed.
A few hours later, the three were in the sky. No one said a word except when Iroh gave directions to Ara on how to get there. Swiftly the eagle touched down on the ground a few minutes later, a mile from the old palace in the heart of the volcano. They walked quickly towards the palace, but were stopped by the guards. "You are not welcome, here, Iroh," one sneered.
"Please, I only wish to have an audience with my brother. No troops, no tricks."
The guard nodded and led them through the city, up the volcano, and to the old royal palace. Zuko's tears rolled down his face under the helmet at the sight of his old home. All of the old memories swept over him. But he fought to control them. The guard led them into the palace and into the throne room. Then Zuko and Ara both saw Ozai.
And sitting next to him, as casual as she could be, was Azula. Zuko's wound burned at the sight of her.
Ara shook under her uniform. So this was the man who had caused so much destruction, death, and suffering, especially to Zuko! Her heart sparked with hate, and she wanted to just jump out and kill him and Azula both, right then and there. But as much as her heart screamed to do that, she stayed silent, her tears of fear, anger, and nervousness all at once rolled down her cheeks under the mask. She tried to stop shaking and focused on their job they had to do.
The guard left them and Ozai stood. "So brother, what is it you want?"
"You know what I want, Ozai," Iroh hissed. "I command you to surrender."
Ozai just laughed, and a crooked smile escaped Azula's lips. "Oh? Is that all? Well, you already know my answer." He turned his back to the three guests.
"Ozai!" Iroh said firmly. "If you wish to be defeated by the Avatar leading the battle, so be it. But we know when you will strike, and we will be waiting at this location." He took a scroll from his robe and placed it on the ground. "It is your doom that awaits you. Goodbye." He turned to walk out, with Ara and Zuko close behind him.
"Oh, and Iroh," Ozai added casually, "don't expect your nephew to be there fighting with you."
Iroh stopped and turned back towards his brother, confusion filling his face. "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice cracking.
"My daughter killed him. He's dead for good now. And he won't be there on the battlefield to save you."
Iroh's eyes filled with tears and his face filled with agony. It looked so real that Zuko thought that his uncle had even forgotten that he was standing right next to him. "No," Iroh whispered as he bowed his head. Ozai and Azula sat down. "You may leave. Goodbye brother."
Iroh turned and walked out slowly, pain, agony, and loss shown in his step, the two masters following him.
Azula got up and retrieved the scroll. "Father, this will work for our own advantage," she hissed, reading it. He smiled evilly.
As soon as they were out of the city, the trio started to run to Warrior. "Well, that was fast!" Ara said sarcastically. Zuko's eyes flashed towards his uncle. "How did you do that? I nearly thought you forgot I was next to you!" he cried.
Iroh winked.
"Years of practice and acting," he said with a smile.
They all got on Warrior and he headed back northward.
A few hours later, Iroh got off and hugged the two. "Thanks to you both. But you look exhausted. You should rest first."
"Uncle," Zuko groaned.
"He's right, Zuko," Ara said. "We should get some rest, regain some energy, and leave tonight."
Zuko was beaten. "Fine."
After getting freshened up with some tea, Ara walked into their rooms first, unaware that someone was watching her from a window in the room. Zuko came next, locked the door, and made some more tea. He sat down.
Suddenly they both heard the sound of something falling outside with a hard thump. "What was that?" Zuko cried as he got up and they both ran to the window and all they could see was a pair of arms and legs sticking out of a bush, 10 feet below them. "Are you okay, sir?" Zuko asked.
"I guess," the figure called back up. Ara recognized his voice. "Lee?"
"You know him?" Zuko looked at her in surprise. "What was he doing spying on us from our window?"
Lee poked his head out of the bushes. "I wanted to see Ara before you guys left." He got out of the bushed and brushed himself off. "May I come up?" Zuko nodded warily. "For a minute."
Lee left and a moment later, there was a knock on the door. Zuko opened it. "You must be Lee," he said, still wary of the young man.
"It's an honor to meet you sir," Lee replied, bowing. "You must be Zulon, Ara's father."
Zuko's eyebrows shot up. "Zulon? Her father? Who the heck is Zu—"
"Okay, dad," Ara said, quieting him. "I need to tell Lee the truth, the whole truth. And I trust him. So you can't stop me."
"Ara, what are you talking about?" Lee asked, confused.
"Lee, it's time to tell you who I really am," Ara said. She took him by the hand. "I'll be back before we leave, dad." She gave a smirk towards Zuko. "You'd better," he replied. "We're leaving at sunset."
"'Kay." She ran out the door with Lee in tow, through the palace, out the gardens, through the city, and they didn't stop running until they hit the beach.
"Ara, slow down! What's the hurry?"
He stopped her. She caught her breath for a minute and then stared into his eyes. "I've only known you for a day, but I feel I can trust you. Can I?"
Lee took her hands in his. "Of course, Ara. You're my friend. You can trust me. I've told you about me, and one more thing to add, I'm a firebender." He smiled, but she turned away from him.
"Please, Ara. I know you well enough that it's bothering you not to tell."
She sighed. "Fine. But this is hard for me, because my life's been a secret. You know the Avatar?"
"Avatar Aang? The last airbender? Yea, why?"
"I'm not who you think I am. The man who you think is my dad, isn't. And his real name isn't Zulon. His name is Zuko. He's Ozai's banished son, Firelord Iroh's nephew, my best friend, and the Avatar's best friend. And Aang, Aang is my father. I am also an airbender, but from my mother I am also a waterbender. I don't know why or how this happened, but I am a master of two elements. And my duty is to save the world with my father."
She continued for a long time, telling Lee of her mom's and dad's story, their marriage, the new war, her birth, her training, her mother leaving with her aunt and uncle to find her father, her father returning, secrets answered, her, her father, and Zuko going the find the three, her mother's and Zuko's deaths, how they came back, how they made plans, how Zuko came with Ara to get help from Iroh, and every single detail in between.
"And that's the whole story, and I'm wanted along with my father, so I needed to hide my identity, and so far the Fire Nation, except for Zuko, Iroh, you, and a few others, doesn't know I'm an airbender, or the Avatar's daughter. No one as far as I know knows I exist. I'm sorry I had to lie to you. Please don't hate me or turn me in. I trust you, but now I don't know what to do. I'm so sorry."
As she said the whole story, she paced back and forth along the beach, while he sat there, arms crossed, watching her, and listening. Now, as she finished the last sentence, she turned towards the ocean. She held herself in her arms, feeling the push and pull of the waves within her and the wind softly blowing her hair. A few slow minutes went by with neither one speaking.
Finally, the young man got up. He walked over to Ara, and he took one of her hands with his. He turned to face her, and she looked into his eyes.
In his she found friendship and trust.
In hers he saw fear, worry, and stress.
Slowly he took both of his hands, held her face gently in them, and then arched up to her forehead. He slowly pushed her headband over her hairline, and he saw the bright blue arrow tattooed onto her forehead. He traced it with his fingers, unsure if it was real or not. Then he looked down. He took one of her shaking hands and removed the warrior glove. On the top of her hand, the same blue arrow traveled up her arm. He looked into her grey eyes once more, and suddenly he just threw his arms around her, wrapping her in a warm hug. At that, she broke down. He didn't know that she had never said that much of her life before, to anyone, and that she had to keep herself, her bending, her own existence, a secret. She fell onto the sand on her knees, him falling with her. Ara's tears slid down her face, knowing that she could trust him. She was happy and relieved, yet confused at the same time. So much had happened in her life, most of it in the past month, but he knew what she was feeling. Somehow, he understood.
After a few minutes, Ara looked up at him. "Thank you."
He simply smiled at her. "Don't mention it."
She stood up, still hugging him. "I knew I could trust you. I knew you'd understand."
"I do," he said, whispering in her ear. "And I know you need to leave, but don't forget me."
"I won't. Don't forget me."
"C'mon. We need to get you back." He turned to go, when she pulled him back into a deep, loving hug. She looked back into his eyes, and she kissed him on the cheek. He hugged her back, but this time, his lips found hers.
They walked back in silence, hand in hand. Zuko and Iroh were waiting for her, with Warrior behind them. Lee stopped and gaped at the magnificent bird. "He's… yours?" he stammered. "Yea," she replied. She then walked over to Iroh and hugged him. "Thanks Uncle, for everything."
"You're welcome. I love you, Ara. Save the world with your father." She smiled and hugged him one last time, burying her face in his chest. Finally, Zuko hugged his uncle. "Goodbye, uncle. I'll see you again in a few weeks."
"Take care nephew. Be safe," Iroh said as he hugged Zuko back. "and get your wound fixed!"
"Yes, uncle."
"and drink lots of tea!"
"Yes, uncle."
"and keep your ears warm!"
"UN-CLE!" Zuko cried.
Iroh smiled.
Ara hugged her new friend with love. "I'll see you again, Lee. Thanks for everything." She backed up and he smiled. He kissed her cheek and squeezed her hand. "Thanks for telling me the truth." She smiled and turned to mount Warrior, and the eagle leapt into the sky, bound for the South Pole, to reach his destination the next day.
Okay, so thankfully, Ozai and Azula still believe Zuko's dead, they still don't know about Ara, Ara finally tells Lee who she really is and why she's a secret, and he reacts with complete understanding. AWWWW… and the two travelers are on their way home. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed, and the Scarlet Solstice is coming up! Hooray! Will the war finally end? Please read and review, and tell me what you think! Where did you guys go? I miss you all! Iroh's close to shoving tea down my throat…noooo…I don't think I have a choice anymore! Anyway, read and review, and thanks for all of your guys' comments, especially kataanglove and hsm2fangurl and 86thetomato. You guys rock!
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