Book Two: Earth
Chapter Eight: Zuko Alone
Zuko bowed his head slightly to keep the bright sun out of his eyes with the brim of his straw hat. The ostrich-horse stumbled slightly before coming to a stop in front of a bridge. Zuko stared at the rickety bridge for a moment then nudged the ostrich-horse forward. Halfway across the bridge the ostrich-horse's foot suddenly fell through one of the rotting wooden planks, causing it to squawk in panic as it began to struggle to get its foot loose. Zuko helped it right itself and hurried it along to the other side
He hunched his shoulders against the bright burning sun when they were safely away from the bridge. The banished prince straightened and took a deep breath, his eyes widening slightly when he smelled food cooking and he pulled the ostrich-horse to a stop. He looked around for a moment, then spotted a man crouched beside a small fire, a steak cooking over the fire.
Zuko stared at the steak, grabbed his growling stomach, and let his other hand fall to the hilt of his dao swords. He hesitated when he saw the man walk over to a small tree where a woman was sitting. The man crouched in front of the woman and Zuko let the hilt of his swords go when he saw the man rub the woman's pregnant belly. Zuko carefully bowed his head slightly and nudged the ostrich-horse back into a slow walk.
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Zuko lifted his water pouch to his lips, drinking the small amount that was left. He sighed as he tucked the now empty pouch away, his eyesight becoming blurry. His eyes drifted shut and he shook himself awake only for them to drift close again. His mind flashed back to his mother as she smiled before disappearing down a dark corridor and then to a girl, pulling away from his hold on her wrist. The scarred prince snapped his eyes open quickly in realization and he shook his head to clear his thoughts. When he looked up he noticed a small rundown Earth Kingdom village. He stopped his ostrich-horse for a second before tapping its side and continuing forward into the town. He glanced around at the badly built buildings before his attention was drawn to a group of Earth Kingdom soldiers.
"Come on, spider snake-eyes!" An Earth Kingdom soldier said excitedly then rolled a pair of dice which landed with two fives face-up. "Ha, ha! Yeah!"
Two other soldiers, crouched on either side of the man, quickly turn and punch him in the stomach. A fourth soldier smirked slightly. Zuko eyes caught those of the lead soldier, who glared at him slightly. Zuko dismounted in front of a merchant's stall.
"Can I get some water, a bag of feed and something hot to eat?" Zuko asked as he held out his hand, showing the merchant the two coins in his palm.
"Not enough for a hot meal," The merchant said apologetically as he looked at the coins then the scarred teen. "I can get you two bags of feed."
Zuko nodded and looked down as the merchant went to get the feed. He glanced to the side, noticing two boys hiding beside the counter. One of the boys giggled quietly then threw an egg at the four soldiers, hitting one of them in the head.
"Ow!" The soldier yelped as egg dripped off his head.
The boys ran off as the soldier that got hit spun around with an angry scowl on his face.
"Hey!" The leader of the soldiers shouted at Zuko. "You throwing eggs at us, stranger?"
"No," Zuko replied shortly without turning around.
"You see who did throw it?"
Zuko turned slightly, hand resting lightly on the hilt of his dao swords. "No."
"That your favorite word, no?" The soldier that had gotten hit with the egg demanded aggressively.
"Egg had to come from somewhere," The leader stated, ignoring his man.
"Maybe a chicken flew over." Zuko responded mockingly. One of the soldiers laughed and the leader glared at him, shutting him up instantly. The merchant returned then with two bags of feed in his arms and Zuko reached out to take them, but the leader grabbed them away from the merchant.
"Thanks for your contribution. The army appreciates your support," The leader said with sarcastic sincerity as he tossed the bags to one of his soldiers. "You better leave town. Penalty for stayin' is a lot steeper than you can afford, stranger. Trust me."
Zuko's eyes narrowed dangerously when the leader of the soldiers patted one of the hammers hanging from his waist before he and his men walk away.
"Those soldiers are supposed to protect us from the Fire Nation," The merchant commented as the four soldiers walked away. "But they're just a bunch of thugs."
Zuko didn't say anything as he walked back over to his ostrich-horse and put his foot in the stirrup, preparing to remount. Just as he was about to climb into the saddle one of the boys from earlier appeared on the other side of the animal.
"Thanks for not ratting me out!" The boy said giving Zuko a wide, gap-toothed smile.
Zuko ignored the boy and swung into the saddle, nudging the ostrich-horse forward with his heels. The boy grabbed the reins before he could leave.
"I'll take you to my house and feed your ostrich-horse for you," The boy offered then began leading the ostrich horse before he could reply. "C'mon, I owe you!"
Zuko didn't protest as the boy lead the ostrich-horse through the town by the reins. He gritted his teeth slightly and held his stomach when it growled.
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Zuko looked around with curiosity as the boy led his ostrich-horse down a dirt path that cut through a large pig farm. At the end of the path were a little wooden farmhouse, a large wooden barn with a roof that needed to be re-shingled, and several pens full of hybrid pigs.
"No one can ever sneak up on us," Lin said as the pigs squealed and squawked.
"No kidding," Zuko responded in amusement.
Lin grinned at him then led the ostrich-horse to the barn while Zuko waited. He glanced to the side and noticing a pig-rooster on a fence post. The pig-rooster crowed at him and Zuko gave it a weird look before looking towards a man in his late thirties as walked towards him.
"You a friend of Lin's?" The man asked warily.
Lin came running out of the barn and grabbed his father's arm.
"This guy just stood up to the soldiers!" He said excitedly. "By the end, he practically had them running away!"
"Does this guy have a name?" A woman inquired good-naturedly, walking up.
"I'm…uh…" Zuko stuttered slightly.
"He doesn't have to say who he is if he doesn't want to, Sela," The man chided gently unknowingly helping Zuko from having to come up with a fake name. "Anyone who can hold his own against those bully soldiers is welcome here. Those men should be ashamed to wear Earth Kingdom uniforms."
"The real soldiers are off fighting the War, like Lin's big brother Sen Su," Sela added quietly as she glanced at her young son. "Supper's going to be ready soon. Would you like to stay?"
"I can't," Zuko said carefully with a small shake of his head. "I should be moving on."
Sela frowned. "Gansu could use some help on the barn. Why don't you two work for a while, and then we'll eat."
Zuko hesitated then nodded in agreement when he realized she wasn't taking no for an answer. Gansu leads Zuko over to the barn with Lin trailing behind.
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"You don't seem like you're from around here," Lin commented from the ladder.
"Uh-huh," Zuko mumbled in agreement.
"Where are you from then?" Lin persisted.
"Far away."
"Ohhh," Lin said interestedly while Zuko picked up his hammer. "Where are you going?"
"Lin, give it a rest," Gansu scolded. "Stop asking the man personal questions, got it?"
"Yes," Lin sighed, disappointedly and rested his head on his arm, remaining quiet for a moment before asking. "Have you ever kissed a girl? How'd you get that scar?"
Zuko jumped in surprise at the abrupt questions that had nothing to do with each other and swung the hammer down on his thumb. The scarred prince hissed in pain and shook his head as he focused slightly on the first question.
"It's not nice to bother people about things they might not want to talk about," Gansu scolded his son again. "A man's past is his business."
Gansu went back to hammering. Zuko looked down at the bracelet on his wrist thinking about his past.
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Ursa dipped a finger into the small pond then held her hand out, revealing the bread crumbs resting in her palm. Zuko smiled as he sat beside his mother watching as a baby turtle-duck swam forward and ate the bread crumbs from her hand. Three other baby turtle-ducks swam towards them.
"Hey mom, wanna see how Azula feeds turtle-ducks?" A young Zuko asked then he threw the rest of the bread loaf into the water, hitting one of the baby turtle-ducks.
"Zuko!" Ursa gasped quietly in shock. "Why would you do that?"
The baby turtle-duck resurfaced and shook its head. The mother turtle-duck nudged her baby away then charged at Zuko, giving his ankle a hard bite.
"Ow! Ow, ow! Ouch!" Zuko yelled as he kicked his foot in an attempt to get the angry mother turtle-duck to let go.
Ursa smiled slightly and walked forward, easily removing the mother turtle-duck from her son's ankle and putting her back in the water. The mother turtle-ducked quaked once then swam off with her babies.
"Stupid turtle-duck," Zuko grumbled in annoyance as he pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. "Why'd she do that?"
"Zuko…That's what moms are like. If you mess with their babies…" Ursa explained gently then she put her arm around her son and playful snapped her teeth. " They're gonna bite you back."
Zuko laughed and leaned against his mom's side.
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Zuko was walking with Ursa when Azula ran up. "Mom! Can you make Zuko play with us? We need equal teams to play a game!"
"I am not cartwheeling," Zuko stated.
"You won't have to," Azula retorted rolling her eyes. "Cartwheeling's not a game, dum-dum."
"I don't care." Zuko snapped back. "I don't want to play with you! Have Mist do it."
"Mist's going to be the referee. Besides we are brother and sister. It's important for us to spend time together!" Azula said turning to look up at her mother. "Don't you think so, Mom?"
"Yes, darling. I think it's a good idea to play with your sister," Ursa agreed then ruffled Zuko's hair affectionately. "Go on now, just for a little while."
Ursa turned and walked away, leaving Zuko to follow after his sister. Azula grinned widely and quickly maneuvered Mai in front of the fountain while Zuko stood a little bit away with Ty Lee and Mist.
"Here's the way it goes. Now what you do is, try to knock the apple off the other person's head, like this," Azula explained as she took an apple from the tree and placed it atop Mai's head before she ran back so she was standing with her friends and brother.
Azula lit the apple on fire and Zuko gasped before running forward, intent on knocking the apple away. He slammed into Mai, knocking them both into the fountain with Zuko landing on Mai.
"See, I told you it would work!" Azula shouted with a laugh walking forward with Ty lee.
Zuko blushed in embarrassment.
"Aw, they're so cute together!" Ty Lee cooed with a giggle as Zuko got out of the fountain angrily.
"You two are such…ugh!" Mai snapped angrily.
Zuko scowled darkly as he stomped back to the house past Mist, who was frowning at Azula's back as she teased Mai.
"I was just coming to get you. Uncle Iroh sent us a letter from the war-front," Ursa said stepping out into the yard only to blink in surprise as her son stomped past her, leaving small puddles behind him as he went. "You're soaking wet?"
"Girls are crazy!" Zuko said, throwing his hands up in frustration.
Mist suddenly ran to catch up and whispered into his ear.
"Do you want to spar?" She asked quietly.
Zuko looked at his sister's friend in surprise. Her pale blue eyes sparkled happily as she tilted her head to the side and smiled.
"Sure," Zuko agreed returning the white haired girl's smile.
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"If the city is as magnificent as its wall, Ba Sing Se must be something to behold. I hope you may all see it someday, if we don't burn it to the ground first!" Zuko and Azula laughed at the joke.
"Until then, enjoy these gifts," Ursa continued to read, "For Zuko, a pearl dagger from the general who surrendered when we broke through the Outer Wall. Note the inscription and the superior craftsmanship."
Zuko looked at the dagger in admiration then unsheathed it and read the inscription on the side of the blade. "Never give up without a fight…"
"And for Azula, a new friend," Ursa said as Azula took the doll. "She wears the latest fashion for Earth Kingdom girls."
Azula held the doll by the head in disgust.
"If Uncle doesn't make it back from war, then Dad will be next in line for Fire Lord, wouldn't he?" Azula asked with false innocence.
"Azula, we don't speak that way," Ursa chided her daughter sharply. "It would be awful if Uncle Iroh didn't return. And besides, Fire Lord Azulon is a picture of health."
"How would you like it if cousin Lu Ten wanted Dad to die?" Zuko added as he stopped swinging his dagger around and turned to face his sister.
"I still think our dad would make a much better Fire Lord than His Royal Tea-Loving Kookiness," Azula muttered as she turned away and set the doll's head on fire with a malicious grin.
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"Azula's crazy," Zuko declared as Mist corrects his grip on the practice dao swords.
"I know," She agrees.
He fumbles slightly before getting the grip right. Mist nodded once and began instructing him in the basics of duel fighting. Zuko blushed when she had to stand behind him and correct his stance. Mist was more his friend than Azula's, but due to Azula's bossy nature it was rare that they got to spend anytime together. When they did they could often be found in the training area.
"Hey, you know Mai likes you, right?"
"She does?" He drops one of his swords, blushing even more now.
Mist smiled brightly and picked it up before saying, "Yeah."
She then changed the subject. "I'll ask my father to make you a pair of these if you get good at fighting with them."
"Are you sure he'd do that?"
"Sure," She said before stepping away from him to show off her skill with duel swords.
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A soft creak woke Zuko up. He sat up and looked around, automatically noticing that his dao swords are missing. He stood up and walked out of the barn noticing Lin in the sunflower garden, swinging the swords around. He began to stab a dead tree not noticing as Zuko walked up behind him.
"You're holding them wrong."
Lin fell backwards in surprise and slowly got back to his feet. He held the blades out to Zuko with a guilty expression.
"Keep in mind; these are dual swords," Zuko explained patiently as he put the swords together. "Two halves of the same weapon.
"Don't think of them as separate, cause they're not," Zuko said as he took several steps back and began swinging and twirling the swords around him in demonstration. "They're just two different parts of the same whole."
He cut off the head of a sunflower then straightened, holding the swords out to Lin. Lin smiled and took the swords then began mimicking the moves Zuko had just shown him, still awkward compared to Zuko. Zuko watched as the young boy slashed at the dead tree before turning to smile at Zuko. The scarred prince nodded his head in approval and they walked back to the barn together.
"I think you'd really like my brother Sen Su," Lin commented. "He used to show me stuff like this all the time."
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"Here," Sela said as she offered a package of food to Zuko after he was mounted on his ostrich-horse, "This ought to get you through a few meals."
Zuko took the package and turned to leave when he noticed the dust cloud. He glared when he saw it was the four soldiers from yesterday riding on ostrich-horses. Gansu stepped forward so he was standing next to Zuko's ostrich-horse.
"What do you think they want?" He asked warily.
"Trouble," Zuko replied evenly.
The hybrid pigs began squealing as the riders drew to a halt a few feet in front of them.
"What do you want, Gow?" Gansu demanded.
"Just thought someone ought to tell you that your son's battalion got captured," The leader, Gow, said with a smirk then he addressed his men. "You boys hear what the Fire Nation did with their last group of Earth Kingdom prisoners?"
"Dressed 'em up in Fire Nation uniform and put 'em on the front line unarmed, the way I heard it," One of the soldiers replied, spitting on the ground. "Then they just watched."
"You watch your mouth!" Gansu snapped angrily while Sela stared at the Earth Kingdom soldiers in horror.
Gow nudged his ostrich-horse towards Gansu but Zuko cut him off by maneuvering his own between them. The two glared at each, Gow looking away first.
"Why bother rooting around in the mud with these pigs," He sneered, turning away.
Zuko looked at the grieving family remembering how it felt to lose a family member.
'Zuko laughed as he chased Azula around the garden while their mother sat calmly in front of the fountain. He noticed a servant hand a scroll to his mother and the grief on her face after she read it.
"Iroh has lost his son," Ursa said calmly when Zuko walked over in concern. "Your cousin Lu Ten did not survive the battle."
Zuko flinched backwards in horror.'
Zuko shook his head slightly and looked behind him. Gansu was holding his wife in a tight embrace as she cried quietly into his shoulder while Lin stood to the side, staring at the ground.
"What's gonna happen to my brother?" The young boy asked apprehensively.
"I'm going to the front," Gansu said firmly as he pulled away. "I'm going to find Sen Su and bring him back."
Gansu led his wife back to the farmhouse and Lin approached Zuko.
"When my dad goes, will you stay?"
"No. I need to move on," Zuko replied regretfully then handed Lin his dagger. "Here, I want you to have this. Read the inscription."
Lee unsheathed the dagger and looked at it. "Made in the Earth Kingdom."
"The other one," Zuko corrected patiently.
"Never give up without a fight," Lin muttered.
Zuko nudged the ostrich-horse away as he continued to stare at the dagger.
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Zuko slashed at imaginary foes with his knife, lost in thought over his cousin. Why did he of all people have to die?
"Zuko," A quiet voice said behind him.
He spun around, slashing with his knife. Mist caught his wrist effortlessly before he could make contact.
"Sorry," He mumbled, dropping his hand.
"It's okay," She said with a small sad smile.
Zuko stared sadly down at the knife before lifting his head. He told her everything since he had gotten the letter, crying softly.
"And Azula says dad going to kill me," He finished sadly.
"Oh Zuko," She whispered, hugging him.
"Azula always lies," He said quietly.
Mist tenses and then steps back. If Zuko had been paying attention he would have seen her guilty expression and if he had pressed, she would have told him that Azula hadn't been lying because Mist was the one that had really overheard the conversation.
"I have to go," She mumbles guiltily before running away.
Zuko stared numbly at the place she had been.
"Azula always lies," He repeated blankly.
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"Azula always lies," He repeated his childhood mantra, staring up at the sky.
He sat up hearing the sound of ostrich-horses. Sela dropped down from a hay cart and ran up to him.
"You have to help! It's Lin—the thugs from town came back as soon as Gansu left. When they ordered us to give them food, Lin pulled a knife on them! I don't even know where he got a knife! Then they took him away!" Sela said desperately. "They told me if he's old enough to fight, he'd old enough to join the army. I know we barely know you, but…"
"I'll get your son back," Zuko promised as he got to his feet and headed over to his ostrich-horse.
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Zuko rode into town, noticing Lin tied to the water tower right away.
"Hey! There he is!" Lin exclaimed as he approached. "I told you he'd come!"
The Earth Kingdom soldiers quickly got to their feet and walked forward a few steps, Gow taking the lead. Zuko pulled his ostrich-horse to a stop then dismounted and took off his hat.
"Let the kid go," He ordered as he took a few steps forward himself.
Gow laughed loudly. "Who do you think you are, telling us what to do?"
"It doesn't matter who I am," Zuko replied calmly. "But I know who you are. You're not soldiers, you're bullies. Freeloaders, abusing your power, mostly over women and kids. You don't want Lin in your army—you're sick cowards messing with a family who's already lost one son to the war."
"Are you gonna let this stranger stand there and insult you like this?" Gow demanded of his soldiers.
A soldier scowled and charged forward, spear in hand. The man thrusts his spear at Zuko's head, but the scarred prince dodged easily, unsheathing his dao swords and punching the man in the stomach with the hilt of the combined weapons. He then straightened and resheathed them, watching passively as the man crawled away. Another soldier attacks him without warning. Zuko shifted back a step then lunged forward slapping the spear to the side and then grabbed the man's forehead and pushed him to the ground roughly. The man gaped up at him before following the other soldier. He glanced to the side and turned when he saw the third soldier charging at him with his spear raised. He waited till the man got closer than he took a step forward and kicked the spear, snapping it in half. The soldier gasped, dropping what was left of his spear and turned tail, running away.
Lin laughed as a crowd began to gather. Gow pulled his two hammers out and faced Zuko. The firebender unsheathed his dao swords, pulling them apart in a flashy flurry of sparks the way Mist had taught him. She had said that to some it could be intimidating. Gow was not impressed.
He slammed one of his hammers into the ground, earthbending a rock from the ground then used his other hammer to launch the rock at Zuko, who shattered it with a single slash from his swords. Gow glared and did the same thing three times in quick succession. Zuko deflected the first two, but the third one caught him in the stomach causing him to stumble back a few steps. He recovered quickly and charged forward, his swords crossed in front of him.
"Give him a left!" An old man in the crowd cheered. "A left."
"It's not a fistfight…" His wife stated dryly.
"He's got a left sword, don't he?" The old man retorted.
Gow smirked and earthbended up three more rocks again, Zuko once again missed the third and fina rock and was knocked onto his back. Using the momentum from his fall he somersaulted to his feet, and stumbled back several feet to regain his balance. Gow smirked cruelly.
"Look out!" The old man shouted suddenly.
"Behind you!" Lin shouted a moment after.
Gow began launching several rocks at Zuko, not allowing him time to retaliate. Gow eventually stopped hitting small rocks, but didn't give Zuko time to recover as he launched a wall of rocks at him. He was sent flying back several feet where he landed on his back, dazed. He closed his eyes, remembering when his mother left and when his father had given him his scar.
His eyes snapped open and his inner fire roared, ready to be come an outer fire as well. But before even a wisp of smoke could lift from his skin another memory overtook him. The memory of his fight with Xena in the North Pole when he had knocked her out with a burst of fire and how when she had later kicked his ass, she had borne the burns of his attack.
His inner fire still reflected his anger, but it abated some and he grabbed his swords and twisted to his feet, punching an approaching Gow in the stomach with the hilt of his left sword. Gow's mouth opened in an 'o' of surprise as he dropped his hammers. Zuko didn't stop there. He twisted behind Gow and kicked the back of his knee, causing him to collapse. The earthbender looked up at the scarred prince.
"Who…who are you?" Gow demanded, drawing in shaky breaths.
Zuko merely crouched down and picked up his knife.
"My name is Lee," He lied before walking over to Sela and Lin.
"It's yours," Zuko said, holding the dagger out to Lin. "You should have it."
"Thank you," He said, smiling brightly at Zuko. "But I don't think I need it now."
Zuko felt a twinge of pain as he realized the boy's gratitude would have been something very different if he had known who Zuko really was. Nodding his head once, he remounted his ostrich-horse and rode out of town.
He looked down at Xena's bracelet, thoughtfully. Whenever he thought about her he couldn't help, but be ashamed of his heritage, ashamed that he was the Fire Lord's son, and the prince of the nation that was causing so much suffering. He couldn't understand why Xena made him feel this way.
Ah, finally some more Zuko. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I know I did. For those of you who are wondering, Mist is the girl Xena fought in Return To Omashu.