❃ A subtle attempt ❃
Iroh's statement made Keya think. A pain born out of a son's love? Did Zuko's parents do something, then? Keya decided that it was safe enough to ask her friend.
"What did the Fire Lord do? Or was it the, erm, Fire Queen?" The girl asked timidly, immediately revealing her surmised knowledge on Zuko's heritage.
Iroh's eyes grew wide and his mouth went agape at the mention of his brother and sister-in-law. He stepped back in shock and shook his head to collect himself. He observed his young friend. Her eyes were still glistening with old tears. The skin around her was tinged a dark pink from irritation. Yet, her face only held curiosity.
"Since when did you know that Zuko is the Fire Nation Prince?" He asked her with a perplexed look on his face. She must have known it from the start! Or perhaps Zuko had already told her? No, that was impossible. How had she figured it out? All these thoughts raced through his mind, forgetting his many mishaps and lack of ability to lie.
Keya looked at him with a shy smile. "Oh, well I didn't know exactly -just had my suspicions-, but you did just confirm it."
Iroh's warm eyes twinkled with surprise and delight. Then, his hands grasped his belly and he let out a boisterous laugh. Keya giggled along with him.
"Ha ha ha, ho that's quite extraordinary, young Keya! I should say, at my age I don't often get bested in trickery anymore! You are a surprisingly strategic mastermind." As he spoke, thunder sounded in the distance. Iroh quickly cast a worried glance in the direction of the storm, where Zuko now dwelt. Keya noticed and tried to distract him again.
"I wouldn't call myself a uh, strategic mastermind, but I have been called a kitchen mastermind before (not really)!" She joked lamely. For an airbender, her humour didn't exactly land well. She sucked in a breath. "Anyway, I do make an awfully delicious stew every once in a while. Why don't we head inside before the storm hits and have dinner." She suggested and put a hand on his shoulder to guide the wounded man inside.
Iroh smiled appreciatively. "Thank you Keya, for your cooking and your concern. I do agree that it's time to eat. My stomach is starting to rumble now that I can smell your food."
The two headed over inside, where Keya's stew had stopped simmering. The wood underneath the pot had turned into small embers, only sufficient enough in warmth to keep the pot's contents warm. Outside, small drops of rain started falling. However, it seemed that the storm would mostly stay in the mountains up ahead.
Iroh sat down with a pained grunt as Keya grabbed two bowls and filled them. He gracefully accepted his bowl when she handed it to him and took a small sip. "This is indeed delicious, Keya. Thank you for your efforts."
"It's no problem, Iroh. Feel free to take as much as you need. You need to recover from that nasty wound on your shoulder." Keya replied.
Iroh nodded. "I'm not the only one who needs to recover. You've been through quite the trouble sticking around my nephew and I. He told me that he met you by chance back at the abandoned village. He mentioned something about spark rocks?"
"Oh!" Keya gasped and fished Iroh's spark rocks from her pouch. "Thanks for the reminder. You dropped these the day before we met that little girl, Toph. I wanted to return them to you at the time, but I kept forgetting. Looking back, I realise that you would have survived without them just fine." She handed the spark rocks over to him anyway and Iroh looked grateful.
"I appreciate your efforts, Miss Keya. Your kindness does not go unnoticed. In return, I'd like to answer your question regarding the Prince's past." Iroh quickly finished his stew. Keya continued to sip her own as her companion started his nephew's tale.
"As you guessed, prince Zuko was born into the Fire Nation's royal family sixteen years ago. His father, my brother, and I are not very similar in our outlooks on life. Fire Lord Ozai is a strict man with high expectations."
"You're the Fire Lord's brother?! Geez, he must be really old." Keya sized up the old man in front of her, as if guessing his age. She knew that only the oldest sons became king.
Iroh gave her a deadpan look. "I'm the eldest." He clarified. "But... after I lost my son... I no longer felt the need to rule. Besides, I have no other heirs to the throne, so Zuko would become Crown Prince to the throne one day, whether I ruled or not."
Keya looked at him with saddened eyes, her mind filled with more questions. Questions for another time, perhaps. She could tell how much the simple mention of his late son brought back a lot of pain in her friend, so she decided to leave the matter alone for now.
"Young Zuko always tried his best to get his father to take him seriously, to approve of him. One day, Zuko begged his father to join a war meeting. To his surprise, his father relented. At the meeting an army General proposed a plan that would require the sacrifice of many young Fire Nation soldiers."
"What?" Keya gasped. "But-but I always thought that the Fire Nation considered themselves too honourable to hurt their own? The soldiers I've met liked to claim that, at least." She added, curious to see what the truth was.
"The Fire Nation has always prided itself on its honour and strict rituals, but there is no honour with pride. It is a misconception that has plagued my home for the past hundred years. Even so, that does not make it any less real to those who live in that culture. Prince Zuko is a great example of that." Iroh took a moment to think about the structure of his tale. "So, when Zuko heard of the sacrifice that was to be made, he felt that it was morally wrong. He was right, of course, but that did not make his actions any less egregious to those around him: the Prince spoke out against the General's plan. In doing so, he had offended the General."
"Oh no." Keya held a hand to her mouth in worry for the prince, despite the story taking place in the past.
Iroh nodded grimly and sighed. "Yes, I feel like you are beginning to see where this is going. In Fire Nation culture, offending someone is a grave mistake. Zuko had to join an Agni Kai with the man that had been offended. However, when the young Prince stepped out to fight, he quickly found out that it wasn't the general that he had to duel. You see, in offending the Fire Lord's personally appointed general, he had indirectly offended the Fire Lord himself."
The girl sat up straighter. "But that cannot be! Does that mean that Zuko had to duel his own father? Who would do such a thing?"
"Indeed, Keya. Such questions may arise in that situation. As a matter of fact, Prince Zuko ended up refusing to fight. His father punished him severely for his supposed act of cowardice. You can still see the effects to this day."
Keya felt bile rise up in her throat. Her stomach twisted and turned when she realised what the man had meant. "You mean to tell me that his scar...?"
Iroh nodded.
"I couldn't watch. In the end, Prince Zuko was banished from his home. Never to return unless he captured the Avatar. That was over three years ago."
A small tear slipped from Keya's grey eyes. Her heart ached after hearing of some of the hardships that her supposed enemy had gone through. Suddenly, a lot of mannerisms that the Prince had clicked into place.
"So when I said that 'no one would ever attack their family member', I directly contradicted what his father had done... That must have brought a lot of pain back up. Oh, I feel guilty now that I realise what it meant to him. That's why he got so upset." Keya frowned as she thought back to their fight earlier. It all made sense now. How sad.
"The young Prince always sought to gain his father's approval. It is something he continues to do, even now." Iroh commented. His voice was laced with pain. Another thing occurred to Keya.
"So when Zuko mentioned that he had been mean to the Avatar, he meant that he had tried to capture him? How come he's not trying to do it at this moment?" She asked. She hoped that Zuko had stopped his hunt. She didn't know what she would do if they came across the Avatar if he hadn't.
Iroh stood up and started tidying up the shed, making the space ready for the night. Keya took that as her que to help clean up as she waited for his answer. She grabbed the bowls and wiped them clean with an old rag, before wrapping them back up in their travel cloth. Both wanderers left the pot of stew on the glowing embers. Hopefully Zuko would have a warm dinner once he came back. He would probably need it.
"The Prince has his sister to thank for that, among other reasons. Hopefully he can use this journey as a way to dig deeper and find out what his true destiny is. He hasn't pursued the Avatar for a long time. For now, I don't think he even believes he still can."
Iroh didn't give any more details, but Keya didn't mind. It was a sensitive subject and the last thing she wanted to do was push her friend to tell her more than he felt comfortable doing. Yet, she felt guilty for listening to the man be so open without sharing anything herself. Keya decided to be brave for once and opened her mouth to speak.
"I never met my father. He was a soldier in the Earth Kingdom Navy. He died around five years ago, but I had never met him before. The reason that I am so hostile to fire..." Keya decided not to tell him about the situation with her mother and the Fire Nation soldiers just yet. "Well, one of the reasons at least, is that his life was taken by Fire Nation soldiers. He was a good man -or so I've heard- but I never even got to meet him."
Keya suddenly felt a warm hand on her shoulder. Iroh said nothing, but she could tell that he understood her pain. The old man just listened as she told him about her father.
"I imagine that if I'd known him... he would have been a bit like you. Or at least, that's how I hope he would have been. Perhaps he was an awful guy and I just never knew. Who knows." She shrugged sadly. Another tear escaped.
"If you are in anyway alike to your late father, then I'm sure that he was a fantastic man. And I feel touched that you feel enough trust in me to tell your story. Thank you for your kind words." After the old man had spoken, Keya enveloped him back into a bear hug. She had never told anyone about her feelings regarding her father's death. Not even her siblings. The two bonded that evening, more than either had expected. Their night ended peacefully.
In the meantime, Zuko had finally arrived at the mountain peak across the valley. By now the storm had grown in strength and the rain was pelting into him relentlessly. The young man tied his ostrich horse to a nearby tree, sheltering the creature from the harsh weather and keeping it in place at the same time.
He walked over to the edge of the cliff.
"You've always thrown everything you could at me! Well, I can take it! And now I can give it BACK!" He exclaimed furiously. His face was wet from a combination of rain, sweat and tears.
The sky rumbled threateningly and a flash of lightning crackled in the distance. Zuko gazed on with an intense look in his eyes. His strong frame looked small and fragile in the large storm. There was no one there to hear him and no one there to help. He was all alone.
"Come on! Strike me!"
He yelled out into the endless heaven. Rain continued to fall heavily, soaking everything in no time. But Zuko stood there, on the edge of the cliff. The winds could have swept him off of it with the smallest amount of effort, but the boy stood nonetheless.
"You've never held back before!" He added desperately. His voice cracked as he finished his delirious speech. Never had he felt so far removed from himself, from who he was. He just wanted it all to end.
When it became clear that the storm would not succumb to his demands, Zuko finally looked sideways to his other surroundings. He was still alive. The one time he wanted to be struck by bad luck, nature held out on him. It was cruel and it hurt.
Why did he have to suffer like this?!
Without anyone there to see it, the boy broke down. Salty tears streamed over his sunken cheeks. Weeks of living in poverty had done its toll on his body, but it was nothing compared to the years of torment that his soul had suffered. From his banishment to his lack of success in this forsaken quest. Why could he never get what he wanted?! What had he done to deserve this?!
Zuko screamed.
It was unlike anything his lungs had ever let out. Right after that, he collapsed. Zuko ended up crying on his knees, begging nature to do its worst. And yet, he survived.
Minute after minute, Zuko cried and waited for his final moments to take him. It was only after he heard his ostrich horse squawk again that he was pulled out of his episode. It was no use. He had tried and asked, but he would not get his way.
It was time to go back to his uncle.
❃
A/N: Initially, I found it uncharacteristic of Iroh to tell Keya about Zuko's past. However, since he did the same thing with the ship crew in that one storm episode, I figured it wasn't too far off the mark. What do you think?
Also, Iroh and Zuko are the worst liars... even someone like Keya could figure it out LOL I <3 them