Timeline of Sokka, Katara, Zuko, and Aang's ages.
When Zuko was found in the Water Tribe: Zuko 12
Sokka 12
Katara 10
At the betrayal: Zuko 14
Sokka 14
Katara 12
Present: Zuko 17
Sokka 17
Katara 15
Aang 13
Chapter 3
Zuko
"It's the crowned prince of the Fire Nation!" the voices on the other side of the door hissed. "You can't possibly allow him and that old man to live here! There's trouble brewing between the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom and accepting them will bring nothing but trouble to our people!" There was silence on the other side of the door.
"Bato!" the enraged man yelled while slamming something solid against a hard surface. The sudden noise startled Zuko and he winced when his small jump irritated his burns and other injuries.
There was another long pause in conversation. "…I understand what you're saying but those two are human, just like you and I. There's no way they could survive long outside our walls! Would you willingly throw one of our own outside the walls with no supplies or knowledge of how to survive in the tundra?"
The man, Bato, never raised his voice. His ability to get his point across without loud words or harsh actions impressed and intrigued Zuko. Fire Nation discussions of great importance and urgency always ended up with enraged fire and loud voices. Which method was true power? Who would win a battle of warriors and of leaders? This Bato or Zuko's father?
"Good riddance, I'd say. Would you willingly throw away out tribe's 100 years of peace? All our stability?"
"…That boy appears to be around the age of my own son, Sokka. The same age, yet this boy has lived a life full of more hardship than Sokka can imagine. His body is badly burned, his left eye will never fully recover, even with our healers. Saving the life of this boy makes me think of how thankful I am that our lives have been blessed with peace, both of mind and body, yes."
"You're a fool, Bato! You're sympathy will be your own undoing one day!"
"Then let my sympathy undo me. At least then, when my end comes, I'll know I did the right thing. I'll still have everything I need, my honour!"
Zuko stepped down from his carriage. He took a deep breathe of fresh air and savoured it. The carriage always made him feel a little claustrophobic if he was alone or riding with someone whose company he didn't enjoy. Iroh had fallen asleep halfway between the trip from the boat to their destination leaving Zuko alone with his thoughts.
His past actions constantly plagued his mind when he left alone, taunting him with images and what ifs of all those he'd hurt and left behind in the burning Southern ice. Knowing that in the long run what he'd done was the right thing he did his best to shake it off but with each passing month it got harder to lock those memories and thoughts away. They frustrated Zuko more than his uncle's ancient proverbs and riddled wisdom.
The minor chaos in the village's marketplace as people either rushed to bow and pay respects or get to their families and homes helped take his mind off the past. Though Zuko understood the fear of royalty and their power over the people, Zuko also knew that it was the ones who stayed behind that would always be worth more to the royal family. In his father's eyes, they were the ones he could send out to fight for the Fire Nation without needing to threaten or hear arguments from. Every so often Zuko wished he could be a peasant and run from his family just as they were running from him now.
The crowds began to thin out and calm down; it was then that he noticed them. In a shopping stall just across the square were two people clad in the blues and white of the Water Tribe. He has expected to see Water Tribesmen since this was a meeting of borders and trade agreements with them but he hadn't expected to recognize their faces so vivdly. He hadn't expected to feel himself pale and his stomach drop.
"Ka…tara?" he whispered, barely audible. Their eyes met for across the marketplace. Zuko was so overcome with surprise and self hatred that he couldn't move his feet to go over and see her, Sokka too, and at the same time his arm was trying to raise and reach out to them of its own accord.
Just as quickly as Katara's eyes met Zuko's, she ripped hers away. Next thing Zuko knew she was walking away as fast as her legs could carry her leaving Sokka and an airbender behind. Sokka looked at him, his eyes angry and seemed to be saying that he'd deal with him later.
"Prince Zuko. Your Highness?" A servant was saying.
A gentle calloused hand rested itself on Zuko's forearm. "Everything is alright; it seems Prince Zuko is just suffering from a bit of travel fatigue. Just be sure his things arrive in his room safely. I will take care of my nephew."
"I'm fine, Uncle." Zuko roughly removed his arm from Iroh's grasp. His uncle took a deep breath. Zuko knew that was a signal; he needed to calm down and control his anger. There would be a time to lose his cool and doing so in front of his people and servants was not one of those times. Zuko also took a deep breath and attempted to center himself. "There was an unexpected surprise. That's all." He walked off with his head held high saying he'd be in his quarters if anyone needed him.
Those molten eyes of ice haunted him on the way to his room. Zuko hadn't expected for Katara of all people to be at this meeting or for her to be so angry.
The halls of ice were silent as a crypt. Zuko found it fitting that they were so quiet since if he got lost for too long or if some sort of artic tidal wave hit that ice burg of a nation then this hall would be his final resting place. Scratch that. His final resting place would be the ice waters. He had overheard enough conversations while he pretended to sleep to know that he wouldn't be allowed to share a gravesite with a badgerfrog.
Zuko was beginning to think the cursed hallway would go on forever when he finally saw the soft glow of a flame from a bender. Their flickering movements always seemed smoother and slower—They were tamed—but that also could be something unique to the elder citizens of the Fire Nation. The smell of jasmine wafted from the room and Zuko felt safe. His uncle was a fool but he was all Zuko had.
He poked his head into the room and what he saw made him consider turning around and going back to his room. It was so surreal to see Iroh sitting next to a low table while calmly sipping tea just like his home was really among the ice and furs.
"Prince Zuko, do not hover outside my door. You are welcome to join me. There is always room for my favourite nephew at my table."
"I'm your only nephew, Uncle," Zuko grumbled as he made his way to the table.
Iroh chuckled. "Even if I had 10 nephews you would be my favourite. You are special. You have a heart, Zuko. That heart is missing in the Fire Nation youth during these war geared times. It is the same heart your mother has and the heart that is being eroded from those in my generation."
Zuko gestured to his bandages, the healing burns that were left itched wildly as they healed. The Water Tribe healers had prevented scarring on all but one. "That heart didn't get me far, Uncle. I'll be marked by it forever. The Fire Nation will look at my eye and whisper about how useless I am and how I'm a lost cause. I've lost my home because of this heart!"
"Now now, Zuko. Do you really believe that what has happened is really all that bad? We may have lost the Fire Nation but take a good look around you and behold the beauty of your new home. You may find you like it more than you think." Iroh opened an eye while sipping his jasmine tea—Iroh had always found it a shame that Zuko couldn't appreciate the beauty of jasmine tea—to watch Zuko as he looked around the room.
"I don't like it here. Everything is covered in furs." He stopped to consider something. "And even with a fire going it's cool in here."
Iroh laughed. It was booming and echoed with warmth from the bottom of his soul. "Wait until your wounds have healed and you can see the outside of this home, not to mention when you change out of the Fire Nation clothing. It's not that warm."
Zuko glanced at his clothes then his uncle's. He noticed then that Iroh had abandoned his Fire Nation robes and armour for robes in shades of blue and white. Iroh handed him a cup of tea and tapped his own against Zuko's. "To a new beginning," Iroh proposed. "A chance to start anew and find true happiness."
This meeting was a nuisance. Everyone talked back and forth stating what they wanted and trying to get more but no one was willing to give up anything. Everyone was on a see-saw and when one nation got to the top, their opponent had someone on the ground with a rope. The rope would wrap around the metal handles and slam the side into the sand again. It was the Fire Nation's turn in the sand right now. Zuko was starting to think the Water Tribe was purposefully doing this just to see how long he'd last before snapping.
The ever present scowl on Zuko's face these days burned every time Katara shifted her glacier eyes to Zuko and Iroh across the table. She had done it three times since the meeting began two hours ago. If it weren't for the rough parchment of Mai's letter resting in his sleeve, Zuko may have blown up already. He hadn't read it yet and didn't want to accidentally burn it.
Zuko's scowled deepened as Katara looked at him again.
"Relax yourself, Prince Zuko. The meeting will be over soon. You know as well as I do that the Water Tribe people would rather be outside and talking freely than sitting in a stuffy room all day."
"What could they be whispering about over there? It's been twenty minutes! They're probably deciding what to have for dinner!" The image of sea prunes swimming in a pot came to Zuko and he shuddered.
Iroh laughed. "It wouldn't surprise me. Several of us have already had that same discussion!" Zuko looked down the row of nobles to see several grocery lists. He noticed that Iroh's list was a of all the local specialties. Iroh grinned and Zuko covered his face with his hands. He should have expected this.
"Have you heard anything from your father or sister since you arrived?"
Zuko wasn't put off by the sudden change in topic. "I got a letter from Mai this morning. I didn't have a chance to read it before the meeting began. What have you heard?"
"There are rumours in the village. There have been several small battalions moving out from the capitol over the last week. A farmer two leagues away says he saw one of those battalions moving towards town a day ago."
"Maybe father's planning on capturing Water Tribe nobility then use them to make the Southern Tribe fight alongside us." There was a part of Zuko that enjoyed the idea and burst with hope that Katara or Sokka would be one of the captured. He was disgusted with himself for entertaining the thought. Besides, he lost those two friends years ago.
"It's possible. Your father has his own agenda and shares it with very few. Nothing good comes from his anger so it would be best for us to stay out of the way of any activity."
"Agreed," Zuko said while eyeing the Water Tribe representatives. They had broken their huddle and moved back into their positions around the table. The pale Airbender whispered something to Sokka and he replied with a sarcastic expression and a waving hand motion. For a second Zuko was jealous of that kid. Sokka was his close friend not Baldie's. He relaxed again when the child didn't continue the conversation and there were no more exaggerated motions from Sokka.
The Water Tribe speaker announced they accepted the Fire Nation's terms (the same terms the treaties stated before) but all Zuko could think about was whether Sokka stopped being so open with people after Zuko betrayed them all.
Zuko's wondering turned into a mood after the meeting. He had felt the threat of tears burn behind his eyes and went to the nearby forest to be alone. With each step he took, his armour became heavier. It was the physical burden of his choices. He'd left behind the only true happiness in his life. He'd left it for good reasons but was it worth it?
He let out a frustrated scream as his fist slammed into a tree trunk. Again and again. Is all the bowing down on his knees until he gets the thrown worth throwing away those who took him in?
His two friends alone had changed so much and Zuko knew it was from scars he gave them. The little girl who used to smile so warmly at Zuko that her eyes were the sun was gone. Her face was hardened. She grew up long before she had to. The young woman she'd become probably didn't entertain the thought of running freely and laughing in the snow like she used to.
Sokka had changed too. His eyes had a lonely look to them. From what Zuko had seen of him, he still joked and was still relaxed to the point of being a fool but doing what he was, he didn't belong. He was a wandering samurai who belonged nowhere and sometimes closed himself off from the prying ears of the world, just like Zuko when he washed up on their icy shores. Or maybe Sokka just really didn't want to be at that meeting. It was hard to tell with him.
The healers had released Zuko from their care, saying he was well enough to take his place among the palace. When he'd first heard that the Water Tribe man named Bato planned to keep him and Iroh as servants, Zuko had been insulted; He didn't need their pity. Iroh had changed his mind. The life of a servant is a simpler life and if you stayed out of trouble, you're treated well. The family here was kind and no one seemed to be like Azula so the future was looking bright.
The walls of ice didn't feel like an icy prison anymore. When he walked down the halls of this palace, the silence didn't suffocate him like it did at home. He didn't have to worry about how he acted in public anymore or about entertaining stuck up politicians. All he had to do was be polite and listen.
Iroh had started working a couple days after arriving so Zuko was starting alone. He'd been told that the two of them would be family attendants, not kitchen workers or maids. Iroh had joked with a chuckle that they were practically servant royalty. No matter how good he had it Zuko still couldn't be more than content. This wasn't his home and he would never have one again; his father had made sure of that.
"Don't be nervous about today, Zuko. Even though it's your first day, you won't be alone. We have children but we aren't throwing you in the middle of them. You'll be helping my wife and me with errands and the like alongside your uncle."
"I understand."
Bato rested his hand on the young boy's shoulder. Zuko didn't wince as Bato's hand unknowingly put pressure on the burn there. "Are you sure you're okay, son?"
"I'm fine. I know what my job is and I'll do it to the best of my ability."
Bato's brow creased and he knelt down to Zuko's level. "This isn't just a place where you work, this is your new home. I've heard stories about you Prince Zuko. You're not like the rest of your family and the spirits must have brought you here for a reason."
"You're wrong. I don't have a home. I don't belong in the Fire Nation and my firebending and title make me not belong in the Southern Tribe."
"I'm sorry you feel that way." Bato stood up and the two began walking down the hall again. They entered what a hall and it was unlike the eating hall in any Fire Nation palace. It had table for eating just like a dining hall but the room was bigger which allowed for a comfort area with chairs and blankets near a fireplace.
The room radiated warmth and love. There was a boy who looked to be Zuko's age eating at the table and Bato's wife who Zuko recognized as someone who looked after him while he was injured. Zuko had to chuckle when he saw a young girl pulling on the sleeve of his uncle. The girl saw Zuko and started talking to Iroh and pulling him over.
"So this is what a real family looks like," Zuko thought.
The girl was making a commotion which drew the attention of the boy to Zuko. He walked over just a,s who Zuko guessed was the boy's sister, dragged Iroh over. "Who's this guy, Dad?" The boy asked.
"Everyone, this is Zuko. He's Iroh's nephew. Zuko, this is my son, Sokka and this is my daughter, Katara. Katara's ten and Sokka's twelve just like you."
"Is Zuko here to play with us or is he going to be with Iroh?" Katara asked her father.
Iroh chuckled. "He'll be with me. Now remember this, Katara. You must not push Zuko. The life he comes from is much different than yours. He'll need some time to adjust to life here so you'd best not bother him too much."
"Oh, alright, Iroh! I won't bother him too much!"
"He's doomed," Sokka muttered while shaking his head.
Zuko wiped away tears before they had a chance to fall. He'd made a choice and he had to live with it. If he gave up now then he had nothing.
There was a rustling in the bushes and on instinct, Zuko shot a blast of fire towards the sound. A townswomen shrieked as the fire shot past her. "What are you doing here?" Zuko asked angrily.
"There's an attack at the palace! I came here with my family to hide just in case in spread into the town!" Her knees were shaking as she answered.
"What?" Zuko grabbed his helmet and ran through the trees. Once out of the trees, he could see a pillar of smoke rising from the palace. The blood drained from his face as he bolted towards the smoke. Don't let it be Uncle! He fought through the crowds of villagers fleeing the town.
The palace and surrounding area was deserted so Zuko had no trouble getting to the source of the smoke in the palace, the Western Wing. It was the wing Katara and Sokka were staying in. When he entered the courtyard on that end of the castle, he was alone.
Zuko howled in frustration. His father had a plan for this meeting and Zuko was never made aware. To his father, Zuko was still nothing.