by The Tale of Aang; Azula; Toph; Sokka; Zuko; Katara (retail) (epub)
I released the bison, then Uncle and I headed for home.
Chapter 7
As we entered our apartment, I felt dizzy and light-headed. Something was wrong with me.
“You did the right thing, letting the Avatar’s bison go free,” Uncle said.
“I don’t feel well.” The room is spinning. Everything’s getting blurry … going dark … just darkness …
“Zuko!”
I barely heard Uncle shout as the floor came rushing up toward me and I passed out.
As I slowly woke up, it felt like I was moving through a thick fog. My head was pounding and my eyes felt like they were on fire. Every part of my body hurts.
“You’re burning up,” Uncle said. I was stretched out on a sleeping roll on the floor under heavy blankets. “You have an intense fever.” Uncle leaned over me, wiping my face with a wet cloth. “This will cool you down.”
“So thirsty.” I’ve never felt more parched, like my throat was shriveling up.
“I’ll get you some clean water to drink. Stay under the blankets and sweat this out.”
I drank a ladleful of cool water, then grabbed the whole bucket and gulped it down. I felt as if I could drink an entire lake. I put my head down and drifted back into a deep sleep. And as I slept, I had a strange, disturbing dream.
I am Fire Lord Zuko. All is as it should be. I sit upon my throne, flames dancing all around me, as my army awaits my orders. A blue dragon slithers alongside me on my right, while a red dragon raises its scaly head to my left.
“It’s getting late,” hissed the blue dragon. “Are you planning to retire soon, my Lord?”
“I’m not tired.”
“Relax, Fire Lord Zuko,” the blue dragon cooed. “Just let go. Give in to it. Shut your eyes for a while.”
That sounds good. It makes sense. Perhaps I should get some rest. Being Fire Lord is a tiring responsibility.
“No, Fire Lord Zuko!” cried the red dragon. “Do not listen to the blue dragon. You should get out of here. Right now.”
Hmm … which dragon is right? What should I do? Stay or go?
“Go! Before it’s too late!” shouted the red dragon.
My palace is crumbling all around me. My soldiers are vanishing before my eyes. Now the blue dragon moves toward me, emerging from the darkness.
“Sleep,” the blue dragon said. “Just like Mother!”
The blue dragon’s mouth is open wide and … no, it can’t be … Mother is trapped inside the blue dragon.
“Zuko!” Mother cried. “Help me!”
Now I’m being swallowed up by my own throne. It’s all wrong. It’s all falling apart. Going bad! Nooo!
It took me a few minutes to absorb my surroundings. Where am I? Oh, I was still in bed, in the apartment in Ba Sing Se. I realized that I was still sick. And I was not the Fire Lord after all. I had had a nightmare.
Uncle was preparing tea for me. “You should know this is not a natural sickness,” he said, lifting a steaming cup to my lips. “But that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying tea.”
“What’s happening?”
“Your critical decision—what you did beneath that lake—was in such conflict with your image of yourself that you are now at war within your own mind and body,” Uncle explained.
“What does that mean?”
“You are going through a metamorphosis, my nephew. It will not be a pleasant experience. But when you come out of it, you will be the beautiful prince you were always meant to be.”
A conflict? Between the part of me that knew it was right to set the bison free, and the way I’ve always pictured myself, as a ruthless soldier of the Fire Nation? I do feel a battle raging within my mind and body. But which part of me will win?
I fell back to sleep. When I finally woke up, I slipped from my bed and walked past Uncle. He was asleep, and I didn’t want to wake him. He had been up for days taking care of me.
I went to the bathroom and splashed water on my face. I paused for a moment, finding something unfamiliar. The skin where my scar is feels soft and smooth again, like before the scar was there.
I looked into the mirror.
My scar was gone! How could that be? And what’s that on my head? A tattoo! The Avatar’s arrow tattoo! What have I become? Noooo …
I bolted upright in bed. A dream. That whole thing was just a dream. I was not in the bathroom. I was in bed.
I ran my hand over my face. My scar was still there.
What could that dream mean? Am I moving toward the part of me that helped the Avatar? Is the Fire Nation losing the battle within me? I wish I knew what it all meant.
Chapter 8
The sounds of birds chirping drifted through my open window, easing me gently from sleep. I woke up in my comfortable bed, in my own room, in our new apartment. Somehow the sun seemed brighter here. And all trace of my fever is gone. I feel fantastic. My mind feels sharp and clear. No conflict, no battle—just hungry!
I joined Uncle in our new spacious kitchen. Something smelled wonderful! “What’s that smell?”
“It’s jook. I’m sure you wouldn’t like it.”
I leaned over the pot of bubbling cereal. “Actually, it smells delicious. I’d love a bowl, Uncle.”
“Now that your fever is gone, you seem different somehow,” Uncle said, smiling and handing me the bowl.
I feel different. I feel happy, at peace for the first time in years. “It’s a new day,” I said. “We’ve got a new apartment, new furniture, and today’s the grand opening of your new tea shop. Things are looking up, Uncle.”
It all seems so simple now, I can’t even remember why I ever felt conflicted. We have a chance for a good life here, a new start. And I’m going to make the most of it.
We stood in front of Uncle’s new tea shop, The Jasmine Dragon. It was big and beautiful, and packed with customers. I feel so proud of him. This is truly a special day.
“Who thought when we came to this city as refugees that I’d end up owning my own tea shop?” Uncle said as he gazed out at the crowd. “Follow your passion, Zuko, and life will reward you.”
As usual, he was right. “Congratulations, Uncle.”
“I’m very thankful.”
“You deserve it. The Jasmine Dragon will be the best tea shop in the city.”
“No. I’m thankful because you decided to share this special day with me. It means more than you know.”
No one has ever been kinder to me or stuck with me no matter what. I gave Uncle a big hug. “Now let’s make these people some tea!”
It’s day one of my new life, and I can’t imagine anywhere else I’d rather be.
At the end of our first day, Uncle was sweeping up before we headed home when a messenger arrived.
“A message from the royal palace,” the messenger said, handing him a scroll. Then he turned and left.
“I—I can’t believe it,” Uncle said when he read the scroll. “Great news! We’ve been invited to serve tea … to the Earth King!”
It was an honor. Uncle’s reputation has spread quickly throughout the city. Things just continue to get better and better.
As we approached the Earth King’s palace my excitement grew. I couldn’t believe I was really going to serve tea to the Earth King.
“Many times I imagined myself here, at the threshold of the palace,” Uncle said. “But I always thought I would be here as a conqueror, not as the king’s personal guest, here to serve him tea. Destiny is a funny thing.”
“It sure is, Uncle.” Destiny. For so long I was certain I knew what my destiny would be. Now I realize that Uncle is right. Destiny is what you make it, and I have made the right choice.
We entered the palace tea room and set up for a royal tea ceremony. And then we waited, and waited. “What’s taking so long?” I asked Uncle.
“Maybe the Earth King overslept?” Uncle whispered.
Suddenly about fifteen Dai Li agents came into the room. This seemed strange. Why would they be h
ere for a tea ceremony? “Something’s not right,” I said.
Then someone else stepped into the room. “It’s tea time,” said an all-too-familiar voice.
“Azula!” No! She’s here, dressed in the uniform of the Dai Li. I stood and readied myself for battle. All of my instincts kicked in, along with my lifelong feeling of dread at the sight of my sister.
“Have you met the Dai Li?” Azula asked. “They’re Earthbenders, but they have a killer instinct that’s so Firebender. I just love it.”
What I fool I was! This was all a trap—the whole thing, the invitation, the new shop. Nothing ever changes. Once again Azula taunts me. We’re completely surrounded. I don’t see a way out, but Uncle does.
“Did I ever tell you how I got the nickname ‘The Dragon of the West’?” Uncle asked.
What’s he doing?
“I’m not interested in a lengthy anecdote, Uncle,” Azula replied.
“It’s more of a demonstration, really.”
Uncle took a sip of hot tea. Then I knew what he was going to do, and I was ready. I ducked just as Uncle attacked using his trademark bending technique—shooting fire from his mouth—and spraying it in a circle at all the Dai Li.
I bolted from the tea room, exploding through the wall, then dashed down a hallway. Uncle followed close behind, spraying fire back into the room before he joined me in a dead run.
Reaching the far wall, Uncle blasted a hole in it, then leaped to the ground below, crashing into a hedge. I reached the hole and looked down. Behind me the Dai Li approached.
“Come on!” Uncle shouted from below. “You’ll be fine!”
Do I jump and once again run with Uncle as a fugitive, or do I turn and fight Azula? Should I settle this—and so much else—right here, right now?
“No. I’m tired of running,” I said. “It’s time I faced Azula.” I can never be truly free to be what I choose to be until I confront her.
I turned and headed back down the hall. There she stood with the Dai Li agents behind her.
“You’re so dramatic,” she said. “What, are you going to challenge me to an agni kai?”
An agni kai—a fire duel, the challenge in which Father gave me this scar. If that’s what it takes I will gladly duel Azula. “Yes. I challenge you.”
“No thanks,” she said, shrugging.
I don’t care what she says. We are going to have this out right now! I unleashed a fire blast right at Azula, but the Dai Li stepped in front of her and used Earthbending to raise a section of the stone floor, stopping my fire.
Then they flung hands of stone at me. Controlled by Earthbending, the flying rock hands grabbed my arms and legs. I was trapped. And Azula didn’t even have to put up a fight!
The Dai Li dragged me down a hallway, then tossed me down a tunnel. I bounced off rough rock walls before landing in some kind of underground prison. And there was someone else in it.
“Zuko!”
I knew that voice. She stepped into the light. It was Katara, the Waterbender who travels with the Avatar.
I had nothing to say to her, so I crawled to a corner and turned my face to the wall.
How could everything have gone so wrong so fast? One minute I was about to serve tea to the Earth King, happy in my new life and in the destiny I chose for myself. The next moment Azula showed up to ruin everything—as she has done many times before. How could I not have known that my happiness would be shortlived? Maybe this is my destiny: to be tortured by my younger sister for the rest of my life.
Apparently Katara did not care that I did not want to talk. She came over and immediately launched into a verbal assault. “Why did they throw you in here? As a trap to catch Aang? You’re a terrible person, you know that? Following us, hunting the Avatar. Trying to capture the world’s last hope for peace. But what do you care? You’re the Fire Lord’s son. Spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood!”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.
“I don’t? How dare you. You have no idea what this war has put me through—me personally. The Fire Nation took my mother away from me.”
How can I explain to her that I’m as much a victim of this war as she is? “I’m sorry,” I said. “That’s something we have in common.”
That stopped Katara’s tirade. We sat in silence for a long while, then Katara apologized. “I’m sorry I yelled at you before.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It’s just that for so long now, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face.”
“My face.” So she mocks me because I’m scarred. “I see.” I touched my scar. It feels as if that’s all she can see when she looks at me.
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
“It’s okay. I used to think this scar marked me. The mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever. But lately, I’ve realized I’m free to determine my own destiny, even if I’ll never be free of my mark.”
“Maybe you could be free of it,” Katara said. “I have healing abilities.”
What is she talking about? “It’s a scar. It can’t be healed.” Then she pulled out a vial.
“This is water from the spirit oasis at the North Pole. It has special properties. I’ve been saving it for something important. I don’t know if it would work, but …”
She gently touched my scar.
THOOM! Suddenly a wall of the cell exploded. There stood my uncle—with the Avatar! “Uncle, I don’t understand,” I said. “What are you doing with the Avatar?”
“Saving you, that’s what,” the Avatar said.
Well, that’s what I don’t need right now: to be taunted by the Avatar. I will fight him right here and—
“Prince Zuko!” Uncle shouted, grabbing me and holding me back. “It’s time we talked.”
Katara and the Avatar ran off to help their friends. I looked up at Uncle. “Why?”
“You are not the man you used to be, Zuko. You are stronger and wiser and freer than you have ever been. And now you have come to the crossroads of your destiny. It’s time for you to choose. Time for you to choose good!”
He’s right. I am free to choose and I do choose—
At that moment crystal spikes exploded from the ground all around us. Azula and two Dai Li agents slid down the rock tunnel and stopped right beside me.
“I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle, but Prince Zuko … you are a lot of things, but you are not a traitor,” Azula said. Then she added slyly, “are you?”
I was not going to listen to her twisted words. “Release him immediately!” I shouted to the Dai Li. But of course they did not pay attention to me.
“It’s not too late for you, Zuko,” Azula pressed on. “You can still redeem yourself.”
“The kind of redemption she offers is not for you,” Uncle cried out.
“Why don’t you let him decide, Uncle? I need you, Zuko, but the only way we win is together. At the end of this day you will have your honor back. You will have Father’s love. You will have everything you want.”
“Zuko, I’m begging you,” Uncle said. “Look into your heart and see what it is that you truly want.”
“You are free to choose,” Azula said. Then she and the Dai Li left.
She is right. I am free to choose. And Uncle is right too. I must look into my heart and find what it is I truly want. That is easy. It’s what I’ve always wanted. I cannot deny my heart, my heritage, and who I truly am.
I raced from the cell out into an open courtyard, where Azula was battling Katara and the Avatar. They had reached a stalemate, and then they were each waiting to see who would strike next.
I did. I sent a fire blast that landed right between them. They were all looking at me, wondering what my next move would be. Good. I will show them my choice, the choice I always knew I would make.
I attacked the Avatar with one fire burst after another. I am Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, and I will fight be
side my sister! Working together, we soon had the upper hand. Then a squad of Dai Li agents showed up to help seal our victory. Eventually, one of Azula’s blasts injured the Avatar, and he could no longer fight.
We had won! The Fire Nation had triumphed!
All of a sudden someone shot a blast of fire in our path. It was Uncle! He was fighting on the side of the Avatar, against us!
“You’ve got to get out of here,” he shouted to Katara. “I’ll hold them off as long as I can.”
Then he attacked us as Katara escaped with the Avatar. Once they were gone, he stopped fighting. The Dai Li quickly Earthbended a rock cage to hold Uncle.
Uncle looked at me without saying a word. Then he looked away. I can tell he’s very disappointed in me. But I had to do what I did.
I followed Azula to the Earth King’s throne room. It was empty. The Earth King had fled with the Avatar. Now Azula went up to the throne and sat on it, as if it had been hers all along. I stood beside her.
“We’ve done it, Zuko,” she said. “It’s taken a hundred years, but the Fire Nation has conquered Ba Sing Se.”
I hear what she says, but I can’t share her happiness. “I betrayed Uncle,” I said, ashamed of what I had done.
“No, he betrayed you,” she replied. “When you return home, Father will welcome you as a war hero.”
“But I don’t have the Avatar. What if Father doesn’t restore my honor?”
“He doesn’t need to, Zuko. Today you restored your own honor.”
Did I? Did I really restore my honor by siding with my sister and fighting against my uncle? Or did I betray the only man who has always been there for me?
I don’t know. I simply don’t know. Somehow what I thought was clearly my destiny isn’t so clear anymore.
Chapter 1
My name is Katara. I’m a Waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe. My brother, Sokka, and I are traveling with Aang, the Avatar; his sky bison, Appa; and his lemur, Momo. I’m teaching Aang Waterbending, but now he has to start mastering Earthbending. He’s got to learn all four elements to stop the Fire Nation from taking over the world.