When morning came, it brought with it no happiness. The young soldier had been gone for as long as he could be without being needed. He had to return to the war and it was a long trip, so he needed to have an early voyage. Lu Ten hugged his cousin, noticing he was the only relative there to see him off.
"Be safe out there," Zuko said, appearing as sad as he felt. "I wish you could stay longer."
"I wish I could too, but I'll be back. I won't let such a long time between visits happen again. I promise."
This offered some comfort to the younger prince as he watched the man board his ship. And just like that, it felt like his family was gone again. At least it would not be permanent. Though it was not much, it was a bit of a consolation. No longer being tired, Zuko went to begin his training for the day. With Master Piandao gone, that meant it was time for changes. Azula trained with her instructor and he trained alone. Or at least he had been doing that. One of the soldiers entered the training room and bowed before the young prince.
"Prince Zuko, I have come to inquire as to why you have not joined the princess in the firebending lesson."
The prince's eyes widened. "What? She has private lessons. I've never joined them."
"Prince Ozai has made the change this morning. To help you and Princess Azula both improve at similar rates and to maximize time efficiency, he wants you to train together."
Not another word was said as Zuko frowned and began heading to the other training room. When he got there, he saw two elderly twin sisters.
"Hello, Prince Zuko," one said. "We are glad you've joined us."
"You're late," Azula mentioned casually. "That's not a promising start."
"I didn't know I was supposed to be here."
"Ignorance doesn't excuse mistakes," she retorted. "If it did, then we'd just assume you were flawless."
The boy glared, but he followed the mentor's gesture to stand beside his sister.
"We are working on shooting fire with two fingers today. Isn't that right, Lo?"
"It is, Li. The princess has already succeeded in this task. Have you done this before, Prince Zuko?"
Shaking his head, Zuko heard a chuckle from next to him.
"Of course he hasn't. Poor Zuzu didn't inherit Dad's firebending. He can't do much."
"Yes I can!"
"If you're so confident in that, execute this," Azula taunted. "Li, what's my next goal?"
The elder hesitated a moment. "Aim for where the right eye of the target would be."
Azula got a good look at the dummy and took a breath. Bringing her index and middle fingers to her face, she closed her eyes and then fired off a blast. Its force sent the dummy flying backwards. Proud, the princess gave a content smile to the mentors and an instigating one to the prince.
"Your turn."
"It is your turn, Prince Zuko. Even if you cannot do the same, we should see where your level is."
"I can do it," Zuko insisted, not feeling very sure of this.
"Then, what are you waiting for?" Azula asked.
Nerves built in the prince as he stepped forward and looked at his hand.
"Index and middle," he thought, recalling what he had seen.
Like his sister, he closed his eyes and brought his hand upwards. Unlike his sister, the blast hit the dummy and had no effect. Zuko's own face became hotter than the item did due to the attack.
"I knew you couldn't do it," Azula said, grinning.
"I still hit it! It just didn't go back as far," he said, clenching his fists in anger.
"You could always take up a profession as a street performer. I'm sure toddlers would be impressed with your firebending."
Zuko felt himself getting worked up when he remembered what Lu Ten had told him. "I can't let her get me upset," he thought. "That's what she wants and then she'll win."
After a deep breath, the prince just shrugged. "I'll get better with more practice."
The mentors smiled. "That's a wonderful attitude to have, Prince Zuko. The best benders need a strong fighting spirit. Firelord Iroh was born with one. It seems you inherited that."
Surprised, Azula glared at her brother, but she was not yet done. They had an entire morning of training. Yet, her showing off and passive aggressive remarks did not provoke the prince. It was frustrating to say the very least. Finally, the class was about to end.
"Teach us a new move," the princess ordered.
Mumbling to each other to decide which move to pick, the elder twins turned back around to the young siblings.
"We're going to teach you fire breathing. It is a complex technique which mixes air from your lungs with the flame to make it more powerful. It's meant to be like a dragon's blast."
When he heard this, Zuko's eyes sparkled. He quietly listened to the mentors instructing them on how to execute the move. Azula went first after they were done talking. As expected, she got it immediately. Her smile was the smuggest it had been all day since this was brand new.
"Zuzu can't even do moves he's practiced," she thought. "If he tries something new, he'll fail so horribly that he'll wonder if he's even a firebender at all."
Excitedly, she watched as he lowered his head and inhaled slowly. When he exhaled, a flame escaped his mouth. Azula's eyes widened in shock, as did the mentors.
"Well done, both of you," they said in unison.
"No," the princess protested. "There's no way you did that after just learning." She stared intensely at him. "Uncle taught you, didn't he?" When she got no response, she scoffed. "I should have known. The Dragon of the West wouldn't let his nephew be pathetic in every way with firebending. What you did today wasn't impressive. I'm sure your real first attempt was pitiful."
"I never said this was my first time trying it."
"Because you're deceitful."
"I'm not the liar here," Zuko said, scowling.
"Maybe you just don't like to accept the truth. I don't blame you. If I were you, I wouldn't want to accept that either."
Since training was over, Azula left the room with a small smile on her face, but it did not remain on her face for long. The Fire Nation siblings were not the only ones who had done training that day. In the tribe that morning at the same time as Lu Ten had left, Hakoda had left to check on things. When he was a good enough distance to not hear anyone or anything, Sokka snuck out of the home. He knew he had to be fast, so he speedily made his way to the one warrior's home.
"It's Sokka," he whispered. "I need to talk with you."
After a brief moment, the warrior exited and glanced around quickly, expecting to also see the chief.
"Is something wrong with Chief Hakoda?"
"No, but something's wrong."
Still not fully understanding, the warrior moved so that Sokka could enter.
"What's going on?"
"I know that you and the other warriors are training at night. I need you to teach me what you're doing in there."
The man frowned. "Sokka, I can't do that. Children aren't allowed to join us."
"But I'm not a child." He saw the doubtful expression on the other tribesman. "Okay, I'm young, but let's face it, I'm going to be chief one day. I just want to make sure I can earn that position."
"You don't have to do that by fighting right now. If something were to happen…"
"There's a better chance of something happening if I don't learn to fight better. Please. I just need a teacher. Dad's not showing me the attacks that everyone is using. I know he wants me to be safe, but I want to keep him and all of you safe too."
After a pause and a deep sigh, the man said, "We worked on spars, but I think you should probably start with perfecting punches and kicks along with dodges. You'll need to be able to maneuver around firebender attacks. Go on the defensive more often than the offensive if you can. It's better to not get hit."
Sokka had a big grin on his face. "Thanks!"
"Just don't tell the chief or I won't have to worry about the soldiers killing me."
"He won't hear anything from me."
The warrior demonstrated the proper way to form a fist and Sokka imitated that. Then, he was instructed to punch the fighter's extended palms and dodge when light blows were being sent towards him. It was easier for him to dodge than it was to get in a strong hit.
"You've got speed on your side. That'll help you a lot in real life."
"I need strength too, though," he mentioned unhappily.
"That'll come with more training."
Sokka kept ducking and punching when he noticed that the same pattern had been used for some time. It was about to change. When the warrior stepped back to have him go too far forward with the punch and lose his balance, Sokka anticipated the hit. Instead of doing that, he waited for another opening. The warrior paused for a moment as his eyes widened.
"You predicted that?"
"Kind of," the boy admitted. "I didn't know what you'd do exactly, but I figured you'd change up soon to keep from being too easy to fight."
"That's good. If you can think like that in battles, that'll give you a great advantage."
This was encouraging to Sokka and the rest of the training went just as well. When it was over, he left the warrior and returned home. He saw Katara and Gran Gran mending some clothes. Frowning, he realized their main color was red.
"You're fixing the soldiers' clothes?" he asked, glaring at the items as though they had personally attacked. "Can't they just buy new ones?"
"They can," the grandmother said, "but their goal is not frugality. They want to show their dominance over us."
"Then, why are you helping them prove that it exists in the first place?"
"Because no amount of pride is worth the lives of our people."
Though he agreed, Sokka hated that they were put in that situation. He scowled at the ground and glanced back up, seeing an equally upset expression on his sister's face.
"Maybe I could put some penguin otter pelts in there to make them itchy," he said, half-joking.
Katara chuckled at him and the laughter was contagious enough to get him to join. Their grandmother smiled softly at them, glad that they could still find some semblance of joy even in times like those. As the clothes were mended, the warrior-in-training continued what he had learned earlier that day.
"I'm not going to let you two live like this forever," Sokka said, ducking an imaginary fireball.
"I know, Sokka," Gran Gran told him in a warm voice.
Katara grinned and set down her needle in a way so that the woman would not notice. When she was sure she would not, the girl tried to turn the snow into ice. Not much of it did anything, but a very small patch did harden. Her face brightened and she quickly returned to sewing with vigor. Gran Gran had to contain a chuckle at her attempt at subtlety. This became easier when Hakoda entered the home. When he did, it seemed as though a dark cloud had entered with him.
"Sokka, we need to talk."
Katara glanced at her brother and father. The grandmother looked like she wanted to say something to her son, but she instead led Katara outside so that they could have their privacy. With them gone, Sokka's head lowered.
"You found out?"
"Of course," the man said, upset but not unkindly.
"He wasn't supposed to tell you."
"He knew that he would be harshly reprimanded if he hadn't."
"I guess that's a good point, but did you really think I wouldn't do anything at all? The others are learning to fight. Why can't I? I know that I'm a 'kid,' but the soldiers don't care. They were about to kill a baby and her mom, Dad. They don't see age–just enemies. If I can't fight, I can't protect us."
"You don't have to protect us. That's why I'm here."
Sokka's lower lip quivered, then he bit it to make it stop. "But you can't protect us all. We saw that when they came for the waterbenders. That's why I should be able to help you from now on."
Hakoda closed his eyes and took a deep, shaky breath. "If we had done more training, the warriors and I could have protected Kya. It was our mistake to be improperly prepared. I'm not letting that happen again, but I am also not letting you throw yourself in front of danger. You're right. The soldiers won't care how young you are which means they won't hold back. At least if you're not fighting, there's a chance they won't attack you. The second you become a threat, they will go for the kill."
The chief walked over and knelt down, placing both hands on his son's shoulders. He had a grave look on his face.
"I need you and Katara. I don't want to admit it, but Gran Gran won't live forever. One day, it'll just be the three of us and it's my job as your father to make sure you're both safe. I'm not giving up on our tribe, but that doesn't mean that I view you as a warrior instead of my son."
Sokka stepped back out of his reach. "I can be more than one thing. I can be a future chief and a kid. I can be a warrior and your son. I can do more than just wait for things to get better," he insisted. "I can actually help make them that way, but you won't even give me the chance."
After a pause, the chief shook his head. "Not with this…not yet. When you're older, if they are still here, then I'll oversee your training myself. Until then, I can't be sure you won't use what you've learned to attack someone and if you do, I might not be there in time. I don't want you learning from any of the warriors, Sokka. I'm not allowing that and I'll know if you go to someone else to ask."
Seeing the boy's distraught expression hurt too much, so Hakoda sadly left the home. When he did, so did Sokka. He was not sure where he wanted to go, but he stopped when he reached the old Fire Nation ship which had been stuck on the ice for as long as he could remember. Soon, he was not alone.
"Well, you did say you'd find me," he mentioned, half impressed and half annoyed.
"Is this a bad time?" Zuko asked, looking at the vessel.
"No, it's fine. I'm just bummed because I had a rough conversation with my dad."
The prince's face took on a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry. Are you okay?"
"I mean, I'm not happy about it, but I'm otherwise fine. Just frustrated really."
"That's it?"
Sokka turned, brow raised. "Yeah. What were you thinking I'd say?"
"Nothing. I just…don't worry about it." Zuko glanced away from him. "So, are you close with your dad?"
"I am, but he annoys me sometimes by being so overprotective. He's that way with my sister, though, too."
"You have a sister?"
"Yep, she's a year younger than I am. She can be fun, but I'll deny it if you ever meet and tell her that."
"I won't then."
"Good. It would just give her a big head. She's already all about girls being tough and stuff like that."
Zuko chuckled a bit. "They can be. Trust me on that."
"If you say so."
"I'd know. I have a sister too."
"Is she older or younger?"
"Younger but just by a few minutes. We're twins."
"Oh, I've never met twins. I heard that happens more often in the Northern Water Tribe. Do you two get along or is it weird since you are just barely older?"
"We don't, but I don't think that's why. We're just really different."
"What about your dad? Is he protective of you two?"
"He's protective of her. She's his perfect child."
Sokka scrunched his face. "That doesn't sound fair."
"I don't think so either, but there's not much I can do about it." Zuko frowned, then let it fade. "Is there anyone else in your family?"
"Just my Gran Gran. You might have seen her. She's about this tall," he said, getting on his toes to stick out his hand to where the woman stood. "She's got gray hair with little loopies at the front."
"Maybe. I've seen a lot of old ladies around here, so I'm not sure."
"Well, you'd like her if you did. She's really nice and a great cook. Is there anyone else in your family?"
"I've got an uncle and cousin. I'm closer to them. My uncle's really wise and my cousin never minds hanging out even though he's a lot older than I am."
Sokka looked thoughtful. "I always wondered what it would be like to have an older cousin or brother. I'm the oldest kid here, so besides Katara, everyone else is just a baby and they don't make for great company. Do you hang out with a lot of Fire Nation kids?"
"No. My sister has two friends, but I'm normally by myself."
"Why don't you make some friends of your own?"
"It's not as easy as that. There aren't any other kids around besides them."
"That's weird."
"No weirder than you being surrounded by babies."
Sokka shrugged. "Fair, I guess."
He was about to ask another question when he saw Zuko's attention had been diverted to an animal.
"What's that?" he asked.
"Oh, those are penguin otters."
"They're cute."
"And more importantly, delicious!"
Zuko smirked and watched the creatures in their flock. "This is a good spot to talk. It's quiet. Want to come here from now on? We need an official place to meet."
"Sure. No one comes out this far since that ship's here. It creeps everyone else out."
"Not you?"
"Eh, it's an empty ship. What's it going to do? Bore me to death? Of course, there are ghost stories about it," Sokka revealed, wiggling as a spirit might.
"Do you believe them?"
"Not really. It's fun to tease my sister about them, though. It hardly works, but it used to when we were younger." The Water Tribe boy paused and sighed. "Well, I probably shouldn't be out too long today or else my dad will assume I'm getting into trouble again. See you tomorrow?"
"Sure. Around this time?"
"Should work for me. See you then."
The two waved to each other as they headed back to their respective homes. When Zuko reached his ship, he went to his room. He started practicing some techniques he learned from Piandao. The prince had not been doing this for long when the door was unlocked and opened. He barely had time to resheath the weapon and pretend like he was practicing firebending. Ozai entered, peering down at him.
"Hello, Father," Zuko greeted, stopping his practice to bow.
The elder prince merely sneered and extended his palm. "Put fire in my hand."
Zuko squinted in mild confusion, but he did not question him. Doing as requested, he put a small fireball in the man's hand. Once he did, Ozai squeezed his hand into a fist and chuckled.
"Pathetic," he mocked. His laughter did not last and he glared. "Despite your shameful bending, Azula told me how you tried to show off today with fire breathing."
"I didn't try to show off–"
"She also told me how you called her a liar. How dare you speak to her that way. She reflects me, so you disrespect us both by behaving in such a manner."
Zuko felt himself becoming nervous and he just bowed again. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to do that."
Ozai observed him. "You're insincere. You still think your uncle is a wiser man than I am."
"I don't think tha–"
The prince was interrupted as a burning hand grabbed his wrist.
"Don't lie to me," the father said, glaring and yanking Zuko to him. "You think it's better that Iroh is the firelord instead of me, don't you?"
Not knowing what to say which would neither be a lie or upsetting, the boy was quiet, grimacing from the burn. His silence resulted in the back of a fist being brought down towards the side of his face, sending him into a wall as Ozai let go. Zuko painfully clamped his hand over the hurt wrist, seeing that it had already begun blistering. He glanced up at the older firebender with fear in his eyes that only widened as a fireball was blasted at him. Bringing both arms up, he was able to prevent the attack from doing too much harm, but it still burned his left leg. Ozai stepped closer as Zuko wished he could go through the wall of the room to escape. He was yanked up by his collar.
"Your uncle, cousin, and Piandao are gone, Zuko," the man said coldly. "No one here cares about you. I don't have any reason to be discreet or pretend like just looking at you doesn't send me into a rage."
"I'll become a better bender!" the prince promised, trembling. "I promise."
"No, you won't. Just as Azula naturally is gifted, you're naturally defective." He raised a fist and stopped, watching as the boy flinched in preparation. "You're not going to tell them about this. If you do, I'll find out and I might not be able to control my temper."
Letting go, Ozai turned and left the room. Zuko stayed where he was, chest heaving with heavy breaths. His throat burned worse than the flames. He painfully began treating the blisters with ointment he used for nights like these. This was no new experience for him, but he did not know how to make it stop. Even when he did well with something regarding firebending, it was not enough for his father. Even when he did nothing wrong, he offended him. He disturbed him by his mere existence. Until the day this no longer was an issue, he would.
Fear was no stranger for the boy. They met every time he was in his father's presence. As he bandaged his leg, it became difficult with his blurring vision. Angrily, the boy wiped away tears, but they kept being replaced. He finally stopped the futile attempts at drying his face and sat down heavily in the chair. Zuko considered the nations which were being conquered. More and more, he was beginning to understand them. They were right to be afraid; the people of the Fire nation could be terrifying. No one was safe.
