Zuko
It's been three weeks since my crew, who's ship miraculously survived the Avatar's attack, fished Uncle and I out of the ocean and off of our raft. The ship didn't make it without damage, though, and we're forced to drift without an engine, rationing our supplies until we finally made port at a Fire Nation territory.
While Uncle receives a massage and Commander Shang sees to the ship's repairs, I sit and sulk in the corner.
Three Years ago today, I lost my honor, my family, and my country. I want it back. I want my father to be proud of me. I want my nation to trust me so I can rule them with their confidence one day. I want to stop living in shame.
But I can't do that until I capture the Avatar. And that's a task that just got a thousand times harder, now that Katara's a master, along with the Avatar himself. I don't even know where to start.
I suppose now that he's mastered his second element, he'll be heading towards the Earth Kingdom to find a master there. But the Earth Kingdom is so much larger than the Northern Water Tribe, with hundreds of city states scattered throughout it. Where will he go? Probably Ba Sing Se. It's the only stronghold left that hasn't been conquered. Yet.
Uncle tries to comfort me, but just makes it worse, so I slink off to our room with him in tow, ready to get our stuff and get back on my ship to continue the mission. But I tense up when I see who's waiting for me.
Azula.
"Hello, Brother. Uncle." Her grating voice says.
"What are you doing here?" I snap, knowing nothing good can come of her presence.
"You know, in my country, it's customary to exchange pleasantries before asking questions. Have you lost your manners so soon, Zuzu?" She asks, raising an eyebrow and my anger along with it.
"Don't call me that!"
"To what do we owe the pleasure?" Uncle says before I can go off on her. I've missed so many things from home, but Azula is at the bottom of that list. I think of how Katara and Sokka are with each other. They bicker even in the midst of battle sometimes, but the love they have for one another is plain as day. They'd die for one another if they needed to.
I remember when Azula was born, albeit vaguely. She was my world at the time. Mother told me it was my duty as her brother to protect her, and I took it very seriously. But things changed when she was 4 and I was 6. She became a bender early, making father favor her all the more and cast me almost completely to the side, causing mother to pay more attention to me to try to compensate.
Our Rivalry started there, and she always won at everything, everything except mother's approval. To be honest, she started to scare our mom a little as she grew up more and more ruthless, just like our Father wanted. So as I resented her for holding all of Father's love, she resented me for holding all of our mother's. The rift between us grew every day for seven years until I was banished, and absence did not make the heart grow fonder. The way she's smirking at me now, I almost want to make her hurt somehow, just to get her to stop gloating without words, gloating that she's better than me and that father loves her more. If he has any affection for me at all that is.
"Runs in the family, I suppose. Both of you so quick to get to the point" Azula rolls her eyes, tossing her hair, and crushes one of Uncle's seashells. "I'm here with good tidings, Zuko. Father wants you home." My heart stops at her words. "There were rumors of a plot to overthrow the throne. Treacherous Rumors. He's realized there's nothing more important than family, they're the only ones you can trust. He-He regrets your banishment. He wants you home."
"Father-Father wants me home?" I say, to stunned to say more.
"That's all you have to say? You should be excited, grateful." She chides. I walk over to the window.
"I'm sure your brother just needs a moment-"
"Don't interrupt Uncle!" She snaps at him, but I hardly notice. "I still haven't heard my thank you. I'm not a messenger. I didn't have to come all this way." She tells me pointedly, but it's almost muffled in my hearing.
"Father regrets…he-wants me back?"
"I can see you need Time to take this in. I'll come to call on you tomorrow. Good evening." She says and leaves.
I spend most of the night pacing while Uncle sits and drinks tea. I just keep repeating what Azula told me, trying to get it to sink in.
"I can't believe it." I say after a while.
"It is unbelievable." Uncle replies with a snort. "I've never known my brother to regret anything, much less admit it."
"You don't know how father feels about me! You haven't seen him in as many years as I have! You heard what Azula said, he just realized how important family is to him." I tell him, getting defensive. I know something doesn't feel right about this, but Father wants me home, and nothing's going to ruin that for me.
"I heard what Azula said, including the part about her not being a messenger. Have you ever known Azula to care enough about you to come all this way? I'm just saying, things in our family are not always what they seem."
"I think you're exactly what you seem!" I yell at him, knowing he's right but not willing to admit it. "A fat, lazy, mistrustful, shallow old man!" My words are harsh, and I regret them as I see the hurt on Uncle's face. I don't take them back, though. "I'm leaving tomorrow, but you stay here for all I care. But I'm going home!" I go to my room and slam the door.
I'm going home tomorrow. No one, Uncle or anyone else, is going to ruin that.
Azula comes to call on us the next morning, as promised. I greet her at the door with a rare smile on my face, stress and tension leaving my body at the thought of no more Avatar hunting, no more commanding a ship, just going home. I'll even be able to grow my hair back now. To be a Crown Prince again, I can't wait.
"Good morning, Brother." She says as she comes in and sits at the table, drinking some of Uncle's tea without even asking. He raises an eyebrow at her but says nothing. "I assume you're not foolish enough to refuse Father's invitation back home?"
"Of course not!" I say. "When do we leave?"
"A half hour. I've already had the captain start getting the ship ready to depart."
"Right. And what of my men? I want them to all receive commendations, choice of assignments and a year of leave. They've served me faithfully." I say, remembering my promise to Shang.
"I'm sure we can work it out when we get home. For now, if my people tell me correctly, they're stranded here until they finish repairs on the ship. For now, let's focus on getting you home, Brother. The ship leaves in 30 minutes. Don't keep me waiting." She tells me and walks off. I nod and rush to my room to pack the few things I brought with me off the ship.
"So. You're really going." Uncle says as he sips his tea.
"You stay here if you want," I say, hoping he won't. "But I'm going home."
I start walking down the path, and behind me, I hear heavy footsteps.
"Wait!" Uncle yells. "Don't leave without me!"
"Uncle! You changed your mind!" I smile.
"Family sticks together, right?" He smiles gently at me.
"We're finally going home."
We walk down the cliff side, and Soldiers are lined up and waiting for us when we get to the bottom, with Azula at the top of the ramp.
"Brother. Uncle. I'm so glad you decided to come." She says as we politely bow. A knot of worry goes through me. Azula never would have welcomed me like this three years ago, not unless she wanted something. I dismiss the feeling. Maybe with the threat of overthrow, she wants family home too.
"Are we ready to depart, Your Highness?" The captain steps forward and asks.
"Set our course for Home, Captain." She replies.
"Home." I repeat with a hoarse voice.
"You heard the princess. Raise the Anchors. We're taking the Prisoners home."
Prisoners?!
I look up at Azula in shock. She looks surprised, then glares at the captain.
Uncle was right.
Uncle Iroh snaps out of the surprise first, and starts fighting the guards. I push the captain off the ramp and stalk up towards my sister.
"You lied to me!" I growl.
"Like I've never done that before." She says flippantly, and gets on the ship, leaving her guards to deal with me. I make short work of them and get on board to fight my sister. I'm stronger than I was three years ago, I'm better than her now. I must be.
As I fight, she just dodges, and she does it so easily it's infuriating.
"Zuko, Lets go!" I hear Uncle Iroh yells.
"You know, Father blames Uncle for the loss of the North Pole. And he considers you a miserable Failure for not finding the Avatar. Why would he want you home, Except to lock you up where you can no longer embarrass him?!" Each word hits me as hard as fire, and I use the rage to launch another attack. But it ends with her scratching my face, and knocking me flat on my back. I look up to see her bending lightning, and gasp as I realize she's aiming to kill.
I'm about to die.
But Uncle stops her. He grabs her fingers, and the lightning goes out of his hands into the mountain. Then he tosses Azula off the side of the ship.
Uncle and I run until we're far enough away that we'll be safe to make camp. But we can't stay for long. Azula won't stop hunting us if Father sent her to get us. She'd never do anything to displease him.
"We'll be safe here, for a while." Uncle says as we kneel by the stream to catch our breaths. I just sigh and take out my knife.
When I was banished, I had to cut my hair except for my ponytail. In the Fire Nation, your hair is sacred. It's never to be cut except in circumstances of extreme shame. But even then, the topknot is left. The topknot is only cut in circumstances akin to death.
I'm a miserable Failure. I'm a fugitive from my own nation, which I love with everything in me. My own father is calling for my capture. I think this qualifies.
After only a second's hesitation, I cut it at the base, then hand it to Uncle, who does the same.
I hold back tears as I watch the hair float down the river, my chances of ever going home with it.