Chapter Five

The Avatar had been right, as much as Iroh had hated to admit it. He was the only remaining member of the Royal Family eligible to rule; though it was the absolute last thing he wanted to do. He pulled his hair into its usual topknot and started down the halls of the palace, unable to help but notice how eerie and empty everything seemed.

He let his feet carry him to the palace gardens, and he sat before the koi pond, glancing into the water. He had taught his son to meditate in that spot, had comforted Zuko after Ursa's disappearance in that spot.

"Why, Uncle?" he thought he heard a voice say from behind him, though Iroh knew he would never hear that voice again. "Why did you let her kill me?"

The General shook his head, trying to clear it. The same thing had happened after Lu Ten had been killed. He had thought he saw and heard the boy everywhere, and now it was happening again.

"Why, father?" he could still seem to hear, even after all the years that had passed. "Why did you allow me to join your siege? You knew it was dangerous. You knew this could happen. Why didn't you stop me?"

"You wouldn't have listened," he shut his eyes, speaking to the invisible voice.

He swallowed hard and stood, not wanting to be in that place any longer, but unsure of where else he would go.

He had a duty to his country. He knew that. He owed it to Zuko to end the war Sozin had started, to bring peace to the land, but he was so tired. "Are you happy?" he questioned the portrait of Sozin he was forced to pass on his way to meet with the Avatar once more. "Is this what you wanted? Your great-grandsons are both dead. And for what?" he shook his head and continued onward. Anger at his ancestors was not going to bring them back.

Iroh sighed when he saw the young waterbender his nephew had been so fond of admiring a family portrait, one that had been painted just before Ursa's disappearance. "You should be with your family." She jumped and turned to face him. She started to apologize, but Iroh held a hand up to silence her. "You have every right to be here," he said.

"I just needed to get away from the others," she said and focused back on the painting.

"I understand," Iroh replied. "Sometimes we need to be alone in order to process the terrible things that have happened to us." He stepped beside her, studying the image as well. Ursa and Ozai were at each other's side, Ursa's hand on Zuko's shoulder, Ozai's hand on Azula's. Things had seemed so much easier then. Iroh had been first in line for the throne, but he still would have made sure his brother's family would have everything they could ever want.

Now only two of them remained, and Iroh hated them more than he ever could have imagined hating anyone in his life. "He was so young," the girl commented.

He was always young, Iroh thought, but kept silent. Zuko's banishment had forced the boy to grow up faster than he should have. A shame, he shook his head. He was such a sweet child. "Thank you," he said after a moment, turning to face the waterbender, who frowned in confusion. "For being with him. I am sure it brought a great deal of comfort to him to have a friend at his side when he… When he.." His voice broke, and he shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to cry in front of the girl.

"He was at peace," she spoke after a long moment of silence. "He knew what was happening, and he wasn't afraid, or…"

Iroh held up a hand once more. "I do not need to know the details," he said. He studied the girl's face for a moment, studied her pain, her grief, her anger. "I should be on my way." He watched her nod in acknowledgment before he continued to the campsite that was still set up outside of the palace walls. Iroh had offered to let the Avatar and his friends stay inside, after all, there was room, but he had declined, saying he would need to leave in the near future and that getting comfortable would just make that more difficult.

He stared at the harbor near the palace, the harbor he had left along with Zuko, thinking he would never step foot on Fire Nation soil again.

He had taken the cabin across from Zuko's, sure to give his nephew the largest. It was his right as Crown Prince, even if he had been banished, humiliated, and scarred by Ozai. It was their first night at sea, and he was awakened by a strangled, inhuman sound that had come from across the hall.

Iroh knocked on the door, and without waiting for a reply, entered the room. Zuko had shot awake in his sleep, had broken out into a cold sweat, and though Iroh was certain the boy was trying to hide it, he had been crying. "Are you all right, Prince Zuko?"

Zuko shook his head. "Why, Uncle?" he asked, his voice fragile, showing just how young, how damaged, the boy was. "He was supposed to love me."

Iroh sighed deeply before continuing on to the camp. He could at least take comfort in knowing that Zuko had made peace with himself, had come to see Ozai for the monster he truly was, and that there had been nothing the boy could do to change that. At least he had died knowing the truth.

He approached the Avatar, who stood to greet him, and bowed as a sign of respect. "Avatar Aang," he spoke, his voice calm and even.

"General Iroh," Aang returned the bow. "What brings you here?"

"I have considered your offer," Iroh replied. "I will not be Firelord."

"What?" the General watched the boy's face fall.

"I will not be Firelord," Iroh repeated. "But I would be honored to run the nation until we can find a suitable candidate."

He walked away before the boy could respond, not wanting to sit through what he was certain would be another attempt to get Iroh to change his mind. No, his mind was made up, and nothing was going to change that.

He lie awake in his bed that night, willing the comfort of sleep to come to him.

As he closed his eyes and started to drift, the voice came back to haunt him. "Why, Uncle?" it asked. "Why me and not you?"