Road to Ba Sing Se | Zuko

22

"Then, what is it?" He asked.

A single finger lifted from the teen's face, revealing his scarred, golden eye as he looked at the old man. Zuko said something, but his raspy voice came out muffled through his hands.

"I cannot hear you with those hands in front of your mouth. Speak up if you want your old uncle to understand." Iroh walked over to his nephew and sat down at the table next to the couch.

"I was thinking of telling her about... me. As in, who I am. Who... my father is..." Zuko spoke carefully, ever paranoid of someone eavesdropping on their conversation.

Iroh tried to hide the way his eyebrows raised in surprise. Of course! Zuko didn't know that Keya knew! The old man scratched his beard thoughtfully as his nephew observed him anxiously, desperate for some wise advice.

If Zuko found out that he had already told Keya, he might get upset... Iroh wasn't too fond of being on his nephew's bad side. Besides, this might be good for the two of them. Was Zuko really prepared to open up to the girl? The thought lifted his spirits. Iroh realised at that moment, that if anything ever happened to him, he could count on Keya to be there for his dear nephew.

"Well?" Zuko asked impatiently. "Should I tell her?"

"Hmmm..." Iroh answered thoughtfully. "If you believe you are ready, then I highly recommend it." He smiled. He felt proud of his nephew for even considering taking this step. It was a step towards something more wholesome than the dark path that he had been set on by his father.

Zuko frowned. "But don't you think she'll have another... reaction? Like the time she found out about our 'skills'?" 

The selfish Prince was truly considering someone else's needs (beside his uncle's) for once. Iroh's smile broadened even further. What a surprise! He wanted to further encourage the boy.

"She didn't know you then, and neither did you know her -not like you do now, at least. Do you think that she has it in her to hear you out?" Speaking so much wisdom was making the old man thirst for some tea. Sadly, they didn't have any time to make it before having to go to work. Thankfully he worked at a tea shop... Ah, what a life to live...

Zuko took his time to think over his uncle's question. Did she have it in her to hear him out? He pondered the girl's character for a moment. The way she defended him back at the monorail station... the way she still spoke to him, even after his outburst back at the abandoned shack... If she didn't like him, she would have left, right?

She almost did. His inner voice taunted him. When she found out about the firebending, she ran off. She only stuck around because she was brought back and was too sick to run off again. Then again, even when she became better, she still stuck around! Only because she was going in that direction anyway... She had no other choice in the matter.

Should he really tell her?

"What are you two gossiping about?" Keya's sudden appearance startled the uncle-nephew duo. Zuko's eyes widened when they took in the girl before him. He stood up straight and cleared his throat, but no words came out.

Gone was the dirty cloak that she often wore during their journey. The faded brown trousers that she always sported were no longer combined with her equally worn tunic shirt. Instead, her petite frame was draped in a simple, green qipao with long sleeves. Its collar went up just above the bottom of her neck and was clasped closed on the side of her chest. One peculiar detail was that, rather than reach all the way down to her ankles (which would be expected with a qipao -meaning 'long dress'), this particular garment stopped right around her knees. Beneath the dress, she still wore her old, loose trousers. Although she had tried to emulate the modern updo's that the pretty girls in the city wore, her wild locks just wouldn't allow it. Instead, she had opted for a low braid to keep her hair out of her face as she worked. Despite her foreign looks, the girl from Yulin village instantly looked like a regular Ba Sing Se citizen. Zuko had to remind himself to close his mouth at the sight. Thankfully, his uncle was there to save him from embarrassment.