People of the Fire Nation rise with the sun. It is just the way they have always been. Even nonbenders would be up at the crack of dawn. It could be a beneficial thing since it helped the citizens be productive. Rarely was it ever something to cause complaints among the people. For Zuko, he had his first time disliking this cultural clock. Waking up early just meant that he had less time to sleep off the pain. Everything was hurting. The burns were standard (if a bit more severe than usual), but the hurt was the most. Bruises covered him. The main issue was his head where it had been hit. It was throbbing, he felt a little dizzy, and nausea was impossible to ignore. Still, he had to ignore it to an extent in order to go to firebending training that morning.
Li and Lo noticed that something was wrong with the prince as he executed the moves. They two saw the bandage on his head, but they did not dare ask about it lest Ozai find out and assume they disapproved. This just brought Azula amusement and she spent much of the session smirking at her brother's shortcomings.
"Having trouble, Zuzu?" she taunted.
Zuko just scowled at her and kept trying to complete the moves, but it was difficult to focus. The sounds of the fire blasts seemed louder to him than they usually were. They made his head throb more and he closed his eyes for a moment or two…or longer. He reopened them when he realized his name had been getting called by one of the twins.
"Prince Zuko," Li repeated, a worried look on your face. "Are you all right?"
"Li was calling your name for a little while," Lo added.
"He's fine," Azula answered. "He's just tired. I think he needs some fresh air. I'm sure he'll get it after we're done here."
Though disagreeing, the trainers resumed the lesson. When they were done, they returned to their chambers. Zuko started going back to his room too, but his path was blocked by the princess.
"What now?"
"Why aren't you going to the tribe?"
"Because I don't feel like it today."
"It'll be suspicious if you don't."
"I don't care."
Azula paused, then smirked, having a faux sympathetic look on her face. "Aw, Dad really hurt you last night, didn't he?"
"You weren't supposed to tell him," Zuko snapped.
"I never said I wouldn't. Even if I had, would you have believed me?" No response. "Exactly, so why are you acting surprised, Dum-Dum?" She turned to leave. "I know you've never been one of us, but could you at least pretend to be strong like we are so that you won't be a complete disgrace to our nation?"
The princess exited the room, leaving Zuko to sigh deeply. Despite what he wanted, he knew that he had to go into the village. His father would have been angry with him otherwise and he did not want to be on the receiving end of any more wrath for a little while at least. Therefore, he removed the bandage from his head. It would have attracted too much unwanted attention. It looked like the blood was no longer flowing anyway. Begrudgingly, the boy began making his way outside.
Zuko was not the only firebender heading to the tribe. During the night, several more ships had docked. Sokka was outside, watching the people disembark. They were not dressed as soldiers. They could not have been fighters dressed in civilian clothing either. They were too young, too old, or too unathletic-looking. No, these were not soldiers; these were nobles. Word had spread of the settlements. Sokka counted the new ships, realizing exactly four had arrived.
"That's not too bad," he thought, trying to not feel discouraged.
The optimism did not last long as he heard someone yelling. Following the sound, he saw one of the soldiers firebend at some of the tribesmen. The flames did not make contact, but this was only due to the agility of the warriors moving back in time.
"You aren't allowed past this line without supervision and we're busy helping people settle into their new homes," Zhao ordered, glaring even though a smug smirk was on his lips.
Bato held out an arm, stopping another warrior from punching that smile off his face.
"This is where we fish!" the younger fighter yelled.
"It's where you used to fish," the soldier retorted. "Now, it's going to belong to a nice, civilized family. You wouldn't understand, so the least you can do is keep your unhygienic selves from the general vicinity. You're still allowed to remain back there for now."
With a stern look, Bato calmed down the young man who stormed off, not wanting to tempt himself with the enticing prospect of battle. Hakoda joined the group and gave a hard look to the admiral.
"You're bringing in civilians from the Fire Nation?" he inquired, eyes intense.
"They're nobles."
"But you are bringing them in?"
"Obviously."
"Then, that should mean the new buildings are done. My people can have their homes back."
Zhao opened his mouth to deny this, but Hakoda continued.
"Unless, you planned to bring in nobles to sleep in comfortable homes without having the same to offer your soldiers."
This caused the soldiers to glance at one another in frustration. They fought hard for their nation. Why should some nobles get the best accommodations as always while they were stuck in igloos? Would their prince be so harsh to them after bringing them out there in the frigid weather? Reluctantly, Zhao turned his back on the man.
"Your…people…can return to their pitiful huts. They're ill-suited for us."
Hakoda watched as the soldiers began heading back to the tribesmen's homes to deliver the message that they would be moving. Though it was a victory for their side, it felt so insignificant when they would soon not be allowed to freely roam everywhere as they once could. Sokka was thinking this as well. To his side, he sensed Katara approaching.
"More are going to start coming," she said, the sides of her mouth pointing downwards.
"As soon as the other homes are built, they'll be here," he agreed. "It's just a waiting game now." Sokka turned to his sister with a worried look on his face. "Things will probably change even more when they show up, but I won't let any of them hurt you."
Katara still just looked at the nobles. "What do you think Zuko will do? Do you think he'll try to have us be his servants?"
Sokka frowned at the thought. "No, I don't think so."
He was troubled as this went through his head. Sokka doubted that the older boy would want to treat their family as servants, but he was not naive and knew that the royal family would be expected to have palace staff. Who better to make up this staff than the people who had just had their homes stolen?
"If he doesn't, do you think he'll still want to talk?" she asked, glancing at the boy curiously.
"I…hope so."
More unpleasant thoughts filled his mind. It was possible that his family would have to become personal servants to some of the nobles. Sokka did not enjoy the idea of having to serve someone or having that fate for his family. They were of the Water Tribe. They were not meant to clean up after and wait on anyone–especially not conquerors. In addition to simply not wanting to do that, the boy worried they would have tempers like the soldiers. There could be nothing to stop the nobles from firebending against them if they became angered. The last thing Sokka wanted was for any of his family to endure that. He was not sure what Zuko would do if this happened or if he could even do anything. He was a prince, but so was his father. His uncle and cousin sounded nice, but they were not there. The only people there with a say in matters were his father who sent in soldiers with a habit of blasting people without justification and his sister who had already tried to send someone on a kill mission against Sokka.
The boy kept thinking about this as he went to the shipwreck. He was glad that it was not in the direction of the prohibited area and also wondered just how much of their land would be off limits soon. Zuko was not there when Sokka arrived. For a few moments, he wondered if what Katara had said was right.
"Maybe he's not coming today," he thought unsurely.
He was proven incorrect when he spotted the firebender approaching. Sokka smiled even though it fell when he saw the less than thrilled look on Zuko's face. His collar was pulled up higher than normal, just covering where the ointment and bandages had been for his neck burns.
"What's wrong?"
Hesitating with his response, Zuko said, "Nothing." He glanced towards where the other ships were. "I saw that more people were here. I didn't know they'd show up so soon."
"Me neither." Sokka paused, frowning. "Do you think they'll expect us to work for them?"
"Honestly…probably."
"When they do, are you still going to want to talk?"
"Of course. That won't change," Zuko insisted.
Somewhat comforted by the information, Sokka got into a fighting stance. "Good because I wouldn't want you to get rusty without your sparring partner."
A small smile appeared on the firebender's face and they began training. For a little while, Sokka was proud of himself. He was doing well–extraordinarily well in fact. That was when the pride faded. Something was wrong. Twice back to back, his machete nearly made contact with Zuko's shoulder or back. The boy's movements were sloppy. He almost seemed lethargic.
"Are you okay?" Sokka asked, concerned.
Zuko swayed a little on his feet and missed the question. When his friend asked again, he gave a nod of his head that did not convince the Water Tribe boy.
"You're not."
"Yes, I am."
"You've never sparred against me and done this bad of a job before. I could actually win if I wanted to."
"Maybe that just means I'm a really good teacher."
"It means that something's wrong with you. You look green. What's going on?"
Zuko did not respond. He went over to the ship and leaned against the side, bringing his hand up to the back of his head. The boy sighed as he felt a warm liquid. Removing his hand, he looked at the blood.
"I thought it had stopped," he thought.
Sokka saw the red on his hand and rushed over. Zuko just winced and started applying more pressure to his wound. With furrowed brows, the younger boy ran off to the tribe. He returned speedily and had some first aid with him.
"Move your hand," he instructed.
Zuko complied and felt as something was applied to the wound. It burned, but it burned a lot less than the fire had. From where he was standing, Sokka could see the neck burns. After the wound was cleaned, Sokka bandaged it, frown remaining on his face.
"Thanks," Zuko said.
"I've seen my dad do it for the warriors when they get wounded after training." He stopped after the bandage was attached. "How did it happen? There's a lot of blood. I see the other burns too."
Zuko for quiet, closing his eyes. "Don't worry about it."
"Little late for that. Was it another 'training exercise?' You've used that excuse a lot."
The prince's eyes went to the snow. "It's a quick way to explain."
"But it doesn't help and now your head is oozing everywhere. I know healing is a waterbender thing, but don't they have someone who could help with that on your ship?" When he got a nod in response, he pressed the matter. "Did you go see them?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I'm not allowed," Zuko said, sighing. "So, I do it myself."
"What do you mean you're not allowed?"
Again, the boy got quiet. Sokka crossed his arms and looked at him. Finally, the prince responded.
"My dad knows we've been talking."
"Oh," Sokka said, "I didn't expect you to…" He trailed off, seeing the sad expression. "Wait. He's why you're like this?"
Zuko gave a solemn nod of his head. The future chief felt anger making his blood boil. It seemed inconceivable to him. His own father had times of being intimidating when he was upset, but Sokka never doubted that he would keep him and Katara safe to the best of his abilities. The concept of a parent repeatedly hurting their child was a foreign one to him and made his stomach a little ill.
"It's been him the entire time then."
"Yeah." Zuko looked embarrassed. "You're actually the only person I've ever told."
"Why didn't you tell your uncle? He's the Firelord. Your dad would have to obey his orders."
"Uncle's not around all the time. He hasn't been here yet. I wouldn't tell him even if he was. Dad said I'd regret it if I told him or my cousin. No one else would care if they found out."
The boy sat on the snow, partially because of him being a bit too dizzy to stand. Sokka joined him, sadly regarding the bender.
"Has it always been like that?"
"It's been worse lately. When Uncle was around more, Dad was worried he'd notice, so he made sure there weren't any noticeable injuries."
"If he just found out about us talking, why was he doing that before?"
"Because he's never liked me," Zuko answered miserably. "I'm just a disappointment to him. It doesn't take much to make him angry. Sometimes, he's not even angry at me, but it doesn't stop him."
Sokka scowled, fists balled. "So, he thinks he can just do whatever he wants because he's a prince?"
"Is he wrong?" the boy asked, glancing at him. "I'm sure you've been thinking about what the nobles moving in will mean for your family and everyone else. It could mean almost anything." He let out a heavy sigh and leaned his head against the ship. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault."
"But I can't do anything about it yet. I want to, but I can't. I seem pretty useless as a friend if I can't help."
Sokka's own face drooped. "I'm not even a bender. I can't help you with your dad, so I'm sorry too."
Suddenly, Zuko smiled and the other boy turned to him, surprised. He raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, I'll admit that I wasn't expecting any grins after what you just told me."
"It's because I'm thinking about something my cousin wrote. He basically was saying how nice it is to tell someone you trust something you can't normally say freely. He was right. Even if we can't really do anything, it is nice to finally say it out loud. It's less…"
"Lonely?"
"Yeah."
Sokka had a determined look on his face and stood up, extending his hand. Zuko looked at the hand for a moment in confusion.
"It's time for a new deal."
"It is?"
"Yeah, before we agreed to just share information, but things are changing a lot and quickly," Sokka stated. "So, the new one is that until we can change what's going on in the world, we'll help keep the other's spirits up. We might not be able to be a huge help, but we can still vent about stuff and I bet we'll have plenty of opportunities for that."
Zuko smiled and stood up, shaking his hand. "Deal. And," he added, almost uncertain, "we'll try to stay friends?"
A wide smile spread over Sokka's face as he nodded. "Deal."
