A/N Thank you to everyone who's favorited/followed the story so far! Special thanks to ashbeehani for the review! No, I don't plan to use much from Korra, aside from a few teaser elements, and maybe Avatar history, if it fits in. I didn't see LoK yet, not sure I want to, considering the talk of it online. I might watch some though, for information that may be useful to this story. But as far as LoK goes, consider it officially canon noncompliant.
Zuko walks down the ramp of the ship, carefully weaving his way around the merchants.
I wonder if the Unagi is still around. He glances around the harbor area. Maybe the war destroyed it? He thinks hopefully. Without Suki here, things might get interesting.
He knows that the Kyoshi Warriors won't kill him. Kyoshi Island had remained largely neutral in the war, even after what happened between him and the Avatar. Now, they are one of the first Earth Kingdom areas to open trading back up to the Fire Nation. They know who he is and what he did to them. They also know he rules the Fire Nation now.
But the thought of the Unagi and his past crimes still makes him wonder if just walking into town is such a good idea.
As he walks through the pier area, he sees red and green clothing, Fire and Earth, working together officially for the first time in a hundred years. Several stands are already set up, and canopies are being pitched to create shade for more booths.
Several Kyoshi Islander children run through the crowd, each holding a few coins begged from parents and neighbors. Zuko can't help but smile at their energetic abandon.
Steeling himself, he walks up the path to the village itself. He is immediately recognized. Some of the Kyoshi Warriors and the leader of the town come to apprehend him.
"The Fire Lord himself! To what do we owe the honor of this visit to our humble town?" One of the girls asks, her tone the picture of disdain.
Zuko steps forward and bows to them in respect.
"I sincerely apologize for burning your village. I was confused and on the wrong path. But I have changed. I taught the Avatar Firebending, fought my sister in an Agni Kai for the throne, while the Avatar fought to overthrow my father. I have done my best to restore peace between our peoples. I hope you will extend to me your forgiveness and mercy. I am unarmed. I am at your command."
"Well," The girl assumes an exaggerated thoughtful position. "I suppose, you being the Fire Lord and all, that we can extend mercy in the interest of continued peace."
"But," Oyaji, the village leader, steps forward. "You must still pay us back for damages. And you will do it our way, in our time, on our terms. There will be no buying your way out of debt, as it is not money that we seek."
"I understand. How may I be of service?"
"Come with me to the village hall, and we'll speak of your atonement. But first, I believe one of these ladies is a friend of yours?"
"Zuko!" A chipper voice rings out before the acrobat throws herself upon him. "How are you? How are things back home? How's Mai?" The words seem to tumble out of her mouth.
"I'm fine. A bit tired. Uncle's watching things at the Palace, and the meetings have all been going fine so far. Mai and I...sort of broke up." He reaches a hand to rub the back of his head.
"You what?!" She shrieks. "But that's impossible! You two are perfect for each other!"
"Yeah, I know. I think she just needs some time. I made a mistake. A pretty big one."
"Did she catch you kissing the Water Tribe girl?" Ty Lee flutters her eyes a little.
"WHAT?! NO!" Zuko shouts, annoyed. He takes a deep breathe. "I don't really want to talk about it, Ty Lee."
"Oh, ok. Sorry Zuko. I'm sure she'll come back." Ty Lee's voice is full of remorse.
"It was good seeing you again." Zuko offers, a way of moving the conversation back to a comfortable topic.
"Yeah, good seeing you too. Hope you enjoy Kyoshi Island. It's a really nice place. The people here are so friendly." She gushes.
Oyaji clears his throat, and the two teenagers startle a bit, having forgotten that he was still there.
"Ladies, thank you. You are dismissed."
The Kyoshi Warriors continue on their patrol. Zuko gets up and follows the man.
"Fire Lord Zuko, it's only been near a year since you last visited us. And now, you are the leader of the Fire Nation. The youngest one in recent history. Why have you come back to see us?" Oyaji's tone is calm, almost conversational.
"I'm looking for someone. She was banished from the Fire Nation when I was a child."
"Tea?" Oyaji pours a cup for himself and reaches for another.
"Yes, please." Zuko smiles a little. Tea and chats with older men seem to crop up a lot in his life. And he knows by now that he will never walk away from one of them without some new piece of information.
"And who might you be looking for specifically? If you don't mind my asking."
"Her name is Ursa. She's my mother."
Oyaji looks up from his tea sharply.
"The Fire Lord banished his own wife?" He asks, shocked. Zuko gestures to his scar.
"Gave me this when I was thirteen. And my sister's in an insane asylum."
"What is it with the Fire Nation and crazy leaders and family coups?" He grumbles. "Sounds like an Earth Kingdom folk tale."
"Folk tale?"
"A recent one, written maybe, oh, twenty, thirty years ago, perhaps. Some kid told it as a campfire story, some other kid wrote it down. It became popular, and now it's an official folk tale." He shrugs. "I don't know how these things happen. Just that they do. The world is a much stranger place than any of us realize sometimes."
"Do you think it could be true?" Zuko leans forward eagerly.
"Can't be. You don't look a day older than fifteen."
"I'm seventeen."
"Not the point. You say your mother was banished when you were thirteen. The dates are all wrong. It was written twenty something years before this happened. It can't be. It's just a story. I've never known anyone who could see the future. Much less a child."
"Still...do you have a copy of it?"
"Afraid not. At least, not on Kyoshi Island. I'm sure there must be some place in the Earth Kingdom that still has one. It's recent as far as folk tales go, but it's more or less old news at this point. Popular when it comes out, but not for very long after. Now," He gets up and brings a bowl of fruit to the table.
"We have more important things to discuss. The damage to our village wasn't as bad as it could have been, thanks to the Avatar's quick thinking. But it did take up a lot of time and material to fix. Cumulatively, among the adult villagers, I'd say we did at least a month's worth of work. The cost of the materials would have been almost equivalent to a season of fishing. You'll work for us for two months. You will sleep in a hut on the far side of town, you will report for work at sunrise each morning, you will report your whereabouts anytime you leave the worksite and the reason. You will complete whatever task you've been assigned without delay or complaint. Is this understood?"
"Yes. When shall I start?"
"Immediately. I know you must be in a hurry to find your mother. But seeing as we are a decent sized trading hub in the region, we have several traveling merchants that visit towns all over the Earth Kingdom. Should you restore your reputation with us, I'm sure they would be more than happy to spread word of your good work and your quest. There may be others who can help you on the mainland."
"Then please, show me where I'm to stay. I will also need a place for my rhino and supplies."
"We'll make adequate accommodations. Shall we?"
I know I'm making the right choice. I need to make up for what I did here. Mother would understand. She'd be proud of me. Right? Mother, please still be out there in two months. Please!
Zuko sighs and wipes the sweat from his brow. He's spent much of the day out with the men of the village, gathering firewood. It wasn't exactly difficult work, but the hours are long, and the late summer sun isn't making things easier.
"Here, have some more water." A woman says. She hands him a waterskin.
"Thank you. What's your name?" He continues to load wood into a cart that will be wheeled back to the village.
"Jia. You seem to be working harder than the rest. Why don't you rest a minute? The afternoon meal will be served soon anyway."
"Let me ask my supervisor."
The supervisor grants him permission. He walks with Jia over to where the scent of food permeates the air. The women had come out hours ago to begin preparing enough food.
"So, Zuko, why do you work so hard?" She asks when he's seated.
"I owe this town a debt. I'm not sure if you recognize me or not, but I'm sort of the reason it almost burned down a few months ago."
"I know who you are. And what you did. But you seem... agitated. Eager to get moving again." She sits beside him.
"I'm looking for my mother. She went missing several years ago. I don't really know where to begin looking, but my Uncle and I were refugees in the Earth Kingdom. If a Prince and a General can go unnoticed, what's to say a banished Fire Lady couldn't?"
"This was about four years ago?" She asks curiously.
"Yes. Why?"
"A Fire Nation citizen headed this way. She was dressed as a peasant from a poor district. She said something about being a performer, and war dissident. She said she was wondering if I knew anywhere that she might find work. I told her Omashu or Ba Sing Se would be her better bets. But she insisted that she wasn't too picky on what kind of work she did. I got the feeling that she wanted to avoid the larger cities. I told her of several small villages that had taverns that would sometimes put on shows with the local talent. I told her to work her way towards Ba Sing Se, that they were accepting refugees and they didn't really care who they were as long as they didn't cause trouble." She gets up to stir some soup over a fire. "It took quite some convincing. But she gave in eventually and asked for a map and some Earth Kingdom clothes. She considered staying here, but at the time, there were so many Fire Navy ships passing by that we thought they might invade. I told her it was safer on the Mainland, where she could blend in and there was more distance between her and them."
"Did she tell you her name?" It's got to be her!
"I think she may have said it was "Hiran", but I'm not entirely sure. It was so long ago." She reaches for several bowls and begins filling them. Her son wanders over from where he was building some sort of fort out of twigs and sticks and starts to help by taking the bowls and moving them to a nearby table as they are filled.
It has to be her. She would have had to use a false name. It has to be her! Zuko refuses to believe it was anyone else.
"Do you know where her first stop was?" He asks, eagerly.
"No. But I would think she'd have taken one of the moutain passes just north of Chin Village. Nobody really travels that way anymore, since there are far more direct roads heading to the larger towns north and further east. It would be perfect for someone not wishing to be found. I think there might be a village up there somewhere. She may have stopped there."
Zuko's stomach sinks a little. He thinks of the little boy in that village and how fiercely he'd rejected Zuko after he'd used firebending to stop a local gang from taking over the town.
How will I convince them to trust me again? Do they even know the war is over? What if they won't tell me anything of Mother? What if she did go through there and they found out that she was Fire Nation somehow? He wonders.
The other men come over for lunch, and some children from town come running through the woods to greet their fathers and brothers. The atmosphere is that of a giant family picnic. Zuko imagines what it could have been like if he and Mother had been born into this, instead of what they had been.
I'm coming for you, Mother. I'll find you, even if it takes me a hundred years to do it.