Water Lily in a Sea of Fire

Chapter 13: The Western Air Temple

"May I look around?" she asked softly.

Iroh gave her a gentle smile. "Do not stray too far."

She walked off to explore the temple.

Zuko approached Iroh. "I'm sorry, Uncle," he said softly. "She's right. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. It's just the only way to regain my honor is to find the Avatar, so I won't rest...I can't rest until I find him."

They joined the crew in searching the temple for some sign of the Avatar. The complex was enormous. While everyone else was on a mission, Chiara spent the time admiring the architecture and exploring the various rooms wondering what they were used for by the Air Nomads.

Hours into their search, Chiara was anxious to find Iroh.

"General," she called running towards him.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Did you find something about the Avatar?" asked Zuko anxiously.

She was breathless from her sprint. "There's a giant Pai Sho table."

Iroh's eyes grew big. "Oh, this I must see!" he said excitedly as he followed her.

Zuko just sighed and skulked off to search in a different direction.

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After exploring as much of the temple as possible, they decided to set up camp for the night and continue the search the following day. As the sun was sinking, Zuko stood at the edge of the temple lost in thought as he gazed blankly at the view.

"No luck, Nephew?" asked Iroh as he approached him.

"No. And it would've been more helpful if you hadn't been playing Pai Sho all day," he added, clearly annoyed.

Despite the displeasure in Zuko's voice, Iroh grinned. "It's not everyday one gets to walk on a Pai Sho board to make a play. You really should play at least one game; it is quite challenging."

"I don't have time to play games," he said trying not to lose his temper fearing Chiara might hear him and rebuke him again.

"You have your whole life ahead of you," said Iroh.

"And if I have to, I will spend every day of the rest of my life hunting the Avatar. I know it's my destiny to capture him."

Iroh placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You know, Prince Zuko, destiny is a funny thing. You never know how things are going to work out. But if you keep an open mind and an open heart, I promise you will find your own destiny someday."

Suddenly, the sound of singing caught their attention. They looked at each other as they both recognized the Fire Nation song for the dead, and they took off to find Chiara. They followed her voice running through a fruit grove and past a garden where they discovered her kneeling on the ground singing. The area was covered in ashes, and as they drew near to her, their eyes were drawn to the pile of bones in front of her. They stopped and stood quietly behind her as the beautiful haunting song echoed around them. The other soldiers who followed the singing also gathered around. They took off their helmets as they stood silently around the site of the remains. When Chiara finished singing, she laid on her lap a tiny little skull she had been cradling in her arms, and then she put her face in her hands and cried. Zuko's heart broke hearing her cry, and it reminded him of her crying over Lu Ten's death. He was just about to step towards her intending to hold her, but Iroh moved first, walking up to her placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Chiara...," he said, his voice slightly broken.

"There were children," she cried softly.

"Chiara, it is getting late. You should eat something."