Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, any of its affiliates, or basically anything in this story that you recognize. Sadly.
The Earth Kingdom town wasn't exactly what Zuko had expected. It was small, to say the least. There were a few shops, most with either patched roofs or boarded windows. The handful of houses all seemed to be attached to farmland of some kind, and various animal noises filled the air. Then there was dirt. That was all that seemed to surround the town. There were a few patches of dry, brown grass here and there, but the dirt seemed to stretch out for miles, with no end in sight.
Zuko planned to get in and out of the town as quickly as possible. He had no desire to stick around any longer than necessary.
Passing a group of men to the left of him, Zuko rounded a corner and dismounted his ostrich-horse. The merchant didn't look like he had much to offer, but the prince decided it was better than nothing.
"Could I get some water, a bag of feed, and something hot to eat?"
"Not enough here for a hot meal," the merchant replied. "But I can get you two bags of feed."
Zuko's stomach growled furiously in protest, but he nodded anyway.
As the merchant turned to retrieve the feed, Zuko couldn't help but notice two young boys out of the corner of his eye. They were probably ten or eleven, with messy hair and crooked smiles.
'Just younger than the Avatar,' Zuko noted with a twinge of bitterness in his stomach.
The boys were laughing to themselves as one launched an egg at one of the men behind Zuko. The man made a noise of discontent and the boys took off into the safety of the alley. Zuko didn't bother to turn around as he heard the men rise to their feet.
"Hey! You throwing eggs at us, stranger?"
"No."
"You see who did throw it?"
"No." Zuko replied, finally turning.
"That your favorite word? No?"
Zuko bit back another "no" and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Egg had to come from somewhere."
Unable to contain his sarcasm any longer, Zuko dismissed the man's accusations. "Maybe a chicken flew over."
He turned back to the merchant, who had returned with his feed. As soon as he set it on the counter, however, the man from the group took it.
"Thanks for your contribution," he said, a smirk evident on his face. "The army appreciates your support."
The group turned to walk away, but the man - Zuko assumed he was their leader - stayed behind.
"You better leave town." He warned, patting the head of his war hammer. "The penalty for staying is a lot higher than you can afford, stranger. Trust me."
As the man followed his retreating group, the merchant cast Zuko an apologetic look.
"Those soldiers are supposed to protect us from the Fire Nation," he said. "But they're just a bunch of thugs."
The banished prince didn't bother to respond. He headed back to his ostrich-horse, worse off than he was before he came to this Agni-forsaken town.
"Hey!" A small, brown-haired head popped up from the other side of the saddle. "Thanks for not ratting me out."
Zuko ignored the child and mounted his animal.
"I'll take you to my house and feed your ostrich-horse for you," the boy persisted. "Come on, I owe you."
He grabbed the reins and began to lead them down a dirt path to his house. Zuko supposed that staying in town a little bit longer wouldn't be too bad, if it meant his ostrich-horse would be fed. He had spent the last of his money on the feed that the soldiers stole. Besides, his stomach was still growling relentlessly. Maybe the boy's family would be willing to spare some water, at least.
Pig-hybrids squealed loudly as Zuko and the child made their way up to his house.
The boy gave Zuko a toothy smile and said, "Hey, no one can ever sneak up on us."
"Yeah, no kidding."
As the child led Zuko's ostrich-horse to the barn, a tired-looking bearded man was waiting to greet Zuko.
"Are you a friend of Lee's?" He asked, clearly weary of the stranger.
Lee apparently heard his father and came running back to join them.
"This guy just stood up to the soldiers!" he exclaimed, then launched into an animated - and exaggerated - version of what happened.
Zuko noticed two women peer around the edge of the doorway. They were too far away for him to tell for certain, but he assumed that they were the boy's mother and sister.
"By the end, he practically had them running away!" Lee finished his story with a flourish.
"Does this guy have a name?" One of the women asked, coming up behind Lee's father. Her hair was dark like the men, but her face was gentle. The other was not far behind. Her dark hair fell over half of her face, hiding it from view.
"I'm..." Zuko began. "Uh..."
"He doesn't have to say who he is if he doesn't want to, Sela." The older man chastised gently. "Anyone who can hold his own against those bully soldiers-" the word was spat out with contempt, "-is welcome here. Those men should be ashamed to wear Earth Kingdom uniforms."
His wife nodded in agreement. "The real soldiers are off fighting in the war, like Lee's older brother, Sensu."
Zuko's stomach twitched uncomfortably, and he hoped that he wouldn't have to hear more about the war.
"Supper is going to be ready soon," the younger girl offered. "Would you like to stay?"
"I can't." Zuko replied, probably a little harsher than he intended. "I should be moving on."
The girl didn't look deterred. "My dad could use some help on the barn. Why don't you two work for a while, and then we'll eat?"
She looked to her parents and brother for approval, and they nodded. Zuko frowned. He really did have to get going. There was no sense in sticking around where he didn't belong; but as his stomach turned over again in hunger, he knew it would be foolish to pass up a hot meal, especially since he had no money.
"Good!" The girl smiled. "While Dad and Lee get the tools, I'll show you to the barn."
The other three retreated, and Zuko followed the girl to the barn.
"My name is Ren Yi," she said with a smile, "but you can just call me Ren if you want to. That's what most people do."
Zuko gave no reply. As she opened the door to the barn she continued, "It was really brave of you to stand up to those soldiers. They've always been rude, but ever since Sensu left... I guess they figure we don't have anyone to stand up to them. The young men have gone to fight in the war, my father is getting older, and I'm ... well..."
"A girl?" Zuko offered.
A dark look passed over her features, but she gave a dry chuckle anyway. "Yeah, a girl."
A moment of tense silence passed between the girl and the stranger before Sela's voice floated in from the kitchen window. "Rennie, come wash up and help me with dinner!"
"Coming, mother!" She flashed a small smile at the banished prince before turning to the door and saying, "The ladder is just on the side of the barn; I'm sure Dad and Lee are up there already."
Zuko watched her leave the barn before tossing his bag onto a large pile of hay. He knew he probably shouldn't stay, but it didn't seem logical to pass up a hot meal, so he made his way around the side of the barn and onto the roof. Gansu was already working and Lee was sitting on the side of the roof, watching his father. Zuko immediately picked up a hammer and began working, nailing roof shingles to the frame. It occurred to him that, growing up in the palace, he had never really had to do any work at all in his life, and he suddenly became painfully aware that he was working much slower than the man twice his age.
"So," Lee began, his voice laced with that innocent curiosity that only children seem to possess, "You don't seem like you're from around here."
"Uh-uh," Zuko responded, not taking his eyes off of his work.
"Where are you from then?"
"Far away."
"Oh ... Where're you going?"
"Lee, give it a rest." Gansu chastised. "Stop asking the man personal questions, got it?"
The young boy sighed dejectedly, resting his chin on his forearm in defeat. "Yes?" After a few moments, however, his demeanor changed completely and he brightly declared, "So how did you get that scar?"
The question caught Zuko completely off guard. He smashed the hammer into his thumb, causing him to bite his tongue and stifle a painful cry through gritted teeth.
"Lee!" Gansu interjected. "It's not nice to bother people about things they might not want to talk about. A man's past is his business."
Zuko ignored them both and continued working, with the hot late afternoon sun beating across his back. He almost couldn't help but let his mind wander back to his younger days in the Fire Nation, before his father was Fire Lord, before he was banished, before his mother disappeared...
He sighed and shook his head, trying to rid himself of his nostalgia. There was no sense in revisiting those times now, when he was working amongst Earth Nation citizens who could never know who he truly was. He had gotten too involved with them already, so his best option now was to leave as soon as he was able.
Zuko was unsure how much time had passed when Gansu finally told him supper was ready. All he knew was that the sun that had been scorching his back had now fallen somewhere to the West, and had been replaced by a darkly tinted sky and the faintest outline of the moon. He followed the older man into the house, only to be greeted by the smell of herbs and cooked vegetables. His stomach grumbled loudly in anticipation.
"It smells wonderful, Sela." Gansu complimented, kissing his wife on the cheek.
The older woman tinged slightly red and said, "Why don't you men go wash up, and then we'll eat?"
"You can use my bathroom," the younger girl offered to Zuko. "Upstairs and to the right. I'm sure it's much cleaner than Lee's."
Zuko nodded and headed up the stairs. The house itself was larger than he expected from the humble Earth Kingdom family, but it was still small in comparison to where Zuko had lived in the Fire Nation. The stairs and upstairs hallway were decorated with family photographs, mostly of the children.
When he opened the only door on the right side of the hallway, Zuko almost worried he'd heard the directions wrong, as he appeared to have ended up in the girl's bedroom. The room was rather small, with a single bed and small nightstand in the middle of the room. The walls were bare except for several bookshelves which lined them, all overflowing with books.
"The Four Nations: A History," Zuko whispered, running his fingers along the spine. "A Beginner's Guide to Swordsmanship... The Complete History of the Avatar... Famous Benders of the Earth Kingdom... A Girl's Guide to Ba Sing Se..."
"Ren likes to read," Lee said from his position at the door, startling Zuko. "She's weird like that."
"I... Uh..."
"Were you looking for her bathroom?"
Zuko only nodded.
"It's on the other side of the bookcase. Don't take too long; I might eat all of the potatoes before you get down there!"
Zuko nodded again, embarrassed to have been caught nosing through someone else's things. He washed his hands quickly before returning to the table, keeping his eyes downcast as he walked through the girl's room.
At the table, Zuko found himself immersed in family conversation. Gansu and Sela told each other about their days, while Lee animatedly babbled on to Zuko about what seemed to be a hundred different topics. The boy paused only occasionally, either to breathe, to take a bite of his food, or to say something to his older sister. Watching them from across the table, Zuko felt the slightest pang of jealousy in his chest as he remembered Azula and the way she tormented him relentlessly. Sitting amongst the Earth Kingdom family, in their home, at their dinner table, for a moment Zuko almost felt normal.
His thoughts were interrupted as Lee's voice floated through his ears once more. "I was telling him earlier that you like to read."
"Were you?" Ren asked, her bright green eyes focusing on Zuko. He only nodded. "Do you read much?"
Truthfully, when he was still living in the Fire Nation, Zuko read quite often. The palace had an extensive library, and Zuko would often spend hours reading about famous Agni Kais, war battles, and fire bending techniques. But he couldn't let this girl know that he was Fire Nation, so he simply shook his head.
Ren's face fell slightly, and she continued her conversation with her brother. Zuko was silent for the rest of the meal, content to observe the two siblings and grateful to finally have a hot meal. When dinner was through and everything had been cleaned up, Gansu offered Zuko to stay the night in the barn.
"We don't have a spare room or anything," he said, almost sheepishly, "But I figure a barn's better than nothing."
Zuko accepted, figuring it was better to move on when it was light out anyway. And, although he hated to admit it, he was exhausted. Things were harder without his uncle there, though Zuko refused to admit it, even to himself. But tonight was not the night to dwell on such things. Thoughts of Azula, Iroh, and his mother had plagued him the entire day, wearing on his mind and his resolve, and he was asleep only moments after his head hit the hay.
Unfortunately, the prince's rest was interrupted shortly after it had begun. He had been asleep for only an hour or two before Lee quietly crept into the barn, took Zuko's broadswords, and left again. His attempt to be quiet had awakened Zuko nonetheless, and as he opened the barn door, he saw the young boy in a daisy field a few yards away, spinning around and hacking mercilessly at the flowers with Zuko's swords. Lee didn't even notice Zuko walk up to him, until he spoke.
"You're holding them all wrong."
The boy stumbled backward, falling to the ground in surprise. He got up sheepishly, offering Zuko's swords back to him and looking ashamed.
"Keep in mind, these are dual swords - two halves of the same weapon." Zuko responded, beginning to demonstrate a few moves. "Don't think of them as separate, because they're not. They're just two different parts of the same whole."
He handed the swords back to Lee, who began to practice what he had been taught. The two then headed back towards the house. They were nearly halfway back when Lee spoke again.
"I think you'd really like my brother, Sensu. He used to show me stuff like this all the time, before he left for the war." Lee's eyes fell to the ground, and he shuffled his feet. "Ren tries to make up for it sometimes, but she's not good with swords. She's even worse than me! Besides, she's a girl and all."
Zuko raised an eyebrow. "Just because she's a girl, doesn't mean she can't fight well," he replied, his mind wandering back to thoughts of his own sister and her skills.
Lee's face brightened visibly. "Oh yeah! She's an earth bender, you know. Did she tell you that?"
Zuko shook his head.
"Yeah, she is! But don't tell anyone, okay? She could get in trouble if the soldiers found out."
Zuko just nodded, and sent Lee on his way to bed. Reentering the barn, Zuko decided not to give the girl, or her earth bending, any more thought. After all, it was none of his business anyway.
The next morning, Zuko woke with the sun to get an early start. Spending the night on a pile of hay hadn't done much for his back, but it had at least been a warm place to sleep, and for that he was thankful. He gathered his things quickly, loaded his ostrich horse, and was about to leave when Sela thrust a package into his arms.
"Here," she said, "This ought to get you through a few meals."
Zuko nodded in appreciation and mounted his ostrich horse, but before he could be on his way, the sound of hooves came from a distance. Looking up, Zuko saw that it was the soldiers from the previous day riding toward them.
"What do you think they want?" Gansu asked bitterly.
"Trouble."
The soldiers stopped just in front of Zuko and the family, haughty looks etched upon their faces.
"What do you want, Gow?" Gansu demanded, locking eyes with the man Zuko assumed to be the leader of the group.
Gow's voice was dripping with bemusement as he said, "Just thought someone ought to tell you, your son's battalion got captured."
Zuko felt a brief pang in his stomach when he saw the horrified looks on the faces of Gansu and his family. Lee and Sela looked near to tears, and Ren had her eyes downcast, hands clenched into tight fists.
Gow turned to face his soldiers. Seeming to feed off of the family's agony, he taunted, "You boys hear what the Fire Nation did with their last group of Earth Kingdom prisoners?"
"Dressed them up in Fire Nation uniforms and put them on the frontline," one of the soldiers replied through an evil grin, "unarmed, the way I heard it. Then they just watched."
Zuko's blood felt as though it were sizzling deep inside his veins, not even because these soldiers were abusing the family that had been so kind to him, but because he knew that what the soldier had said was probably true.
The earth seemed to tremble ever so slightly beneath them, and Zuko's eyes darted to Ren, whose eyes were locked with Gow, her knuckles white from clenching her fists. No one else seemed to notice.
"You watch your mouth!" Gansu spat, stepping in front of his wife and children.
Gow's eyes narrowed as he moved his ostrich horse forward, but Zuko rode in front of him, blocking his access to the family.
"Why bother rooting around in the mud with these pigs?" Gow scoffed, glaring at Zuko before riding off with his men.
As the family gathered behind Zuko, his mind wandered back to the day he and Azula found out that their cousin, Lu Ten, had not survived the war. He remembered his mother's grief-stricken face, and the knot he felt in his own stomach, knowing that his uncle had lost his only child. Azula had only been concerned with the fact that Lu Ten's death meant the end of Uncle Iroh's bloodline, and he remembered wondering how his sister could always be so cold.
Now, looking at the grieving family behind him, Zuko saw Gansu embracing his wife while a sobbing Lee clutched his sister's hand, her shoulders trembling faintly. He saw none of Azula's apathy, only the sorrow of a family who had likely lost their eldest son.
"What's going to happen to my brother?" Lee sniffled.
"I'm going to the front," Gansu replied, locking eyes with his wife. "I'm going to find Sensu and bring him back."
As the two parents began to make their way back to the house, Zuko turned his ostrich horse and began to leave.
"Wait!" Lee cried through his tears, releasing his sister's hand and sprinting to Zuko's side. "When my dad goes, will you stay?"
"No, I need to move on. Here," he replied, handing Lee the dagger his Uncle Iroh had given him so many years ago. "I want you to have this. Read the inscription."
Wide-eyed, Lee read aloud, "Made in the Earth Kingdom?"
"The other one."
"Never give up without a fight..."
Lee clutched the dagger to his chest, giving Zuko a toothy smile. Behind Lee, he saw Ren gazing at him, her green eyes dead locked with his golden ones. She offered him a faint smile, raising one of her hands in a small wave. He nodded to her, then turned his ostrich horse and rode off.
As he rode, Zuko allowed his thoughts to drift again. He remembered Azula telling him that their uncle was coming home from the war. He remembered her smug face as she taunted him, telling him that their Uncle Iroh was a quitter and a loser. He remembered the horrible meeting with Fire Lord Azulon, the way he embarrassed himself, and his father.
Zuko sighed to himself and shook his head in an attempt to rid his mind of thoughts of that day. He dismounted his ostrich horse and tied it to a nearby tree, then took off his hat and lay down in the lush grass beneath him.
In his mind, Zuko could still hear his father's words, as if he were standing right next to him in that very moment.
"She's a true prodigy..."
It was always that way with Azula. She was a prodigy. She was gifted. She was born lucky. And him? Well, he was just lucky to be born.
"Father, revoke Iroh's birthright..."
Clear as day, his grandfather's voice resounded in his ears.
"I think Iroh has suffered enough... But you, your punishment has scarcely begun!"
Zuko had never actually found out what his father's punishment was supposed to be. He ran from the room before his grandfather could specify. This, of course, prompted Azula to taunt him mercilessly later on, saying that Zuko was supposed to be sacrificed as his father's punishment.
The simple memory of Azula's words sent a shiver down his spine. "Azula always lies," he whispered to the wind. "Azula always lies."
Zuko found himself startled out of his reverie by the sound of a wagon approaching.
"You have to help!" Sela pleaded, her eyes swollen and bloodshot and her hands shaking relentlessly. "It's Lee. The thugs from town came back as soon as Gansu left. When they ordered us to give them food, Lee pulled a knife on them. I don't even know where he got a knife! Then they took him away. They told me if he's old enough to fight, he's old enough to join the army. And Rennie, her bending... She was only trying to help... I know we barely know you, but..."
"I'll get your children back."
Sela let out a dry sob and a halfhearted smile as Zuko mounted his ostrich horse and the two set off back into town. Sela sought shelter in an alley where a few spectators had congregated, while Zuko rode up to the soldiers.
"Hey, there he is!" Lee cried from the post he was tied to. He turned to his sister and said proudly, "I told you he'd come!"
Zuko dismounted and stood in the center of the town with Gow and his lackeys facing him.
"Let them go." He whispered, his voice low and frighteningly steady.
Gow simply laughed. "Who do you think you are, telling us what to do?"
"It doesn't matter who I am, but I know who you are. You're not soldiers, you're bullies. You're freeloaders, abusing your power. Mostly over women and kids. You don't want Lee in your army, and you don't want anything to do with Ren. You're sick cowards messing with a family who've already lost a son to the war."
Gow faltered, but only momentarily. He turned to his men and challenged, "Are you going to let this stranger stand there and insult you like this?"
The soldier to Gow's left brandished his spear with a scowl. Zuko pulled back as the man lunged forward, drawing the handle of his sword into the man's stomach without even having to unsheathe it. The man was knocked off of his feet and flew backwards several yards.
The next solider ran at Zuko, spear at the ready. The banished prince blocked him effortlessly, then brought his palm up in a blow to the man's forehead, easily knocking him to the ground.
The final lackey charged toward Zuko with his spear, but he performed a simple front kick, successfully snapping the spear in two and causing the man to run off. Lee was laughing delightedly from his place on the post, and even Ren was sporting a small smile, her eyes dancing across the battles intently.
Gow, the only soldier left, drew his two war hammers and assumed a bending stance. Zuko was mildly caught off guard, as he hadn't expected the obnoxious man to be a bender, but he shook off his surprise and pulled out his swords. Gow raised his arms above his head, then brought them down furiously, smacking the ground and sending a rock hurling towards Zuko, who broke it with ease. Gow sent two more rocks flying his way; he destroyed one without difficulty, but the second hit him square in the stomach. Recovering quickly, Zuko rushed at Gow with his blades.
From the alley, an elderly man was pumping his fists in the air and shouting, "Give him a left! A left!"
"It's not a fist fight," his wife pointed out.
"Well he's got a left sword, don't he?"
Gow was beginning to hit him harder, throwing more and more rocks that Zuko was having trouble blocking. Finally, one got through and caused him to stagger.
"Look out!" The old man shouted.
"Behind you!" Cried Lee. Turning his face to his sister, he pleaded, "Can't you do anything?"
She shook her head. "I can't."
"Come on, Ren! Throw a rock at him! Use your bending! Do something!"
"I can't!" She yelled, raising her bound hands uselessly to indicate her inability to bend. "I'm not good enough to bend without my hands!"
Gow was hurling rocks at Zuko, steadily driving him back. With an extra burst of strength, the lead soldier struck the ground mightily, sending a wave of earth toward Zuko. As it neared, Gow raised an enormous rock from the ground and launched it at Zuko, hitting him in the chest and slamming him to the ground.
Between the collective gasp from the crowd and the crashing of rocks around him, Zuko could hear it - he could hear her.
"Everything I've done, I've done to protect you..."
Her voice was resonating in his ears, his mind, his chest. He could smell her perfume when she hugged him, feel the way her hair brushed up against the side of his face when she pulled away. He could see the struggle in her eyes as she walked away from him for the last time.
"No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are..."
"Get up," he heard Lee whisper desperately. "Please get up."
Zuko opened his eyes just enough to see Gow stalking towards him. He could feel the fire building somewhere deep within his stomach, slowly spreading to his chest, shoulders, fingertips. Letting out a furious cry, Zuko jumped to his feet with a spin, creating a ring of fire around him. Stunned, Gow stumbled backwards, dropping his hammers to the ground.
"He's a fire bender." Ren whispered, her voice barely audible even to herself.
Zuko hit Gow in the stomach with a blast of fire, knocking him off his feet. Swinging his blades, the prince sent repeated blasts of fire towards the soldier, throwing him into a nearby building.
"Who... Who are you?" Gow's voice had become a meek imitation of what it had been.
"My name is Zuko." Confidence swelled in his voice. "Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai, Prince of the Fire Nation, and heir to the throne."
Lee's mouth hung open as Zuko sheathed his swords.
"Liar!" The old man cried, stepping forward and raising an accusing finger. "I heard of you. You're not a prince - you're an outcast! His own father burned and disowned him!"
Ignoring the old man's comment, Zuko walked over to a cowering Gow. Bending low and looking the man directly in the eyes, Zuko reached out and retrieved the dagger he had given to Lee earlier that day.
He walked toward Lee, who had just been untied by his mother, but Sela cut him off by standing in front of her son.
"Mother-" Ren began.
"Hush, Ren Yi." She turned her eyes to Zuko. "Not a step closer."
Zuko knelt on one knee and held the dagger out to Lee.
"It's yours. You should have it."
"No, I hate you!"
Sela led her son away. Standing, Zuko found himself staring straight down into a pair of bright green eyes. Ren was nearly a head shorter than him, but her stare was intense as she gazed up at him through her fringe. He was surprised to find her eyes unreadable, but he fully expected her to yell at him right there in the middle of the town. She opened her mouth once, twice, but no words seemed to come out. Instead, she turned on her heel and disappeared after her mother and brother.
Zuko straightened himself, turned, and walked back to his ostrich horse. The eyes of the village dwellers in the crowd seared holes into his back, almost enough to scar. The banished prince mounted his ostrich horse and turned toward the road.
"Don't come back!" The old man jeered, raising his fist for emphasis.
Zuko pulled the reigns and rode off. There was nothing for him in that town anymore.
Thank you for reading! I've had this half-written for about a year now, but have only recently had some free time to actually put some effort into it. I hope you enjoyed :)