Prologue

Zuko the Hero

(Epic Author's Note at the End)

oOoOoOo

Before the whole fiasco at Ba Sing Se, Azula had actually kind of liked her brother. He was weak, untalented, impatient, and he just illuminated the reasons why she should be inheriting the Fire Nation throne, rather than him. He had been disgraced so thoroughly in the past that it was just silly to think that he would ever redeem himself. He had been somewhat of a running joke among the noblemen; they often called him Zuko the Weak in jest. The fact that he had been born first was really of no concern at all—she was obviously better suited for the life of power and superiority that was ahead. Just as Ozai had been the second-born, destined to rule, there was no doubt in anybody's mind that no matter what happened, Azula was going to be taking the throne, the second-born, destined to rule. Azula the Great. The Talented. The Conniving. There were so many good qualities to choose from.

And then Ba Sing Se happened.

Lies upon lies. She had given him the honor of killing the Avatar. He was Zuko the Glorious now. She had basically given him a free pass back into the Fire Nation, because if she hadn't done that, then he would have not been allowed back into this place, except perhaps to live indefinitely in the dungeons. But looking into his face, it had been so obvious… the Avatar lived, and he was continually on edge because of it. She had to give the glory to him, knowing what he knew. It would have been a hundred times better for him to take the glory and to take the impending disgraceful aftermath along with it. Because it really was only a matter of time before everything came out, and she refused to take the disgrace of not properly killing a little 12 year old boy.

But until then… Zuko was damn annoying.

It wasn't like he was flaunting his success everywhere. It wasn't like he was bragging or showing off. Zuko wasn't like that. It was everyone else. It was the servants talking about how interesting it was that he had redeemed himself. It was the noblemen laughing about how they had never expected to see the day. It was the goddamn soldiers commenting that they had thought Azula would have been the one to save the Fire Nation, but no, it was Zuko, of all people. Boy, they said, Azula must have really lost her touch, if Zuko had beaten her to the glory of killing the Avatar. Now they said Zuko the Great and Azula the Slow. The Slow! As if she had slow reflexes or something! It was that. It was those stupid little remarks that made her burn inside, even if she was poised and beautiful, as always, on the outside.

How glorious the day would be when Zuko was disgraced again. She daydreamed about the things the soldiers would say then. Wow, they would say, he couldn't even kill a 12 year old kid. He had all those years to find him, and when the kid was right in front of him, he wasn't even strong enough to do it. It would be so perfect. And at that point, if Zuko came out and said that Azula had laid the final blow… well, he might as well have been talking to a wall. No one would believe that; they'd think he was making excuses.

It would be so glorious.

Thankfully, there wasn't much time to dwell on the many injustices of waiting for Zuko to get what he deserved. With the Day of Black Sun only a week away, there was far too much to do around the palace. Meetings had to be attended, plans had to be devised, and training had to be rigorous. There wasn't much time for anything except for planning and plotting.

It was late afternoon, and Azula realized that she was done for the day. Only three different war meetings today, making it probably the least exhausting day in a while, though you wouldn't have guessed it by looking at Zuko's grumpy visage as he left their final meeting of the day before her. He looked as though he hadn't slept in weeks, and Azula knew that it was over the pressure of the Avatar's life. He was constantly dwelling on it; she could tell every time she looked into his face, every time they walked into a meeting about the impending invasion—every time, he just tensed and stressed and burned inside. It was amazing that no one else was picking up on it, but all the same, there were more important things to ponder about than the many distresses of Fire Prince Zuko.

Like… what was she going to do with this afternoon of free time?

She wondered what Zuko would be doing with his free time—probably pacing his room or something equally dramatic in his worries. She couldn't stop thinking about the issue and how irritating the whole thing was. When would Zuko the Honorable become Zuko the Disgraced? He would be double disowned when they all found out about the Avatar being alive. He had every right to be worried, and she hoped he was worried sick. Father might even skip the disownment and just kill him this time, depending on his mood. And that might be better for everyone. Zuko would be put out of his pathetic misery, Ozai wouldn't have to worry about him messing everything up anymore, and she would be right in line for the throne, with no concern about anyone who tried to stop her. She wouldn't have to worry about him doing anything to screw up her progress to the throne, and life would just be easier, though there wouldn't be the sweet satisfaction of taunting him after the fact.

That would be a fun way to spend an hour, she thought, by reminding Zuko of the future consequences if the Avatar had lived. It was so satisfying to watch him squirm inside. She was sure that he was given this free time as well; he had less responsibility in this mission anyway, being that he had never been all that strategically minded… and because he had already done the honors of 'killing' the Avatar. He was Zuko the Great now, instead of just Zuko the Incompetent. Or Zuko the Mediocre might have been appropriate. She couldn't get used to this. Ugh. She just hated him.

She reached his door and briefly considered knocking, but then decided against it and barged in instead, standing momentarily in the doorway.

The windows were all open, the sun shining brightly into the room even as dusk was approaching. The curtains swayed slightly in the mild breeze that circulated through the room, but it was a comfortable heat. And Zuko was nowhere to be seen.

Well… that was disappointing.

She set her hands on the windowsill and gazed out the window. It really was a nice view from here. You could see the entire rest of the palace from this window, and she knew that one of his other windows was good for seeing one of the nearby neighborhoods where the noblemen lived. Of course, the nice perks of royalty were all wasted on Zuko when all he did was mope and stress and rage about everything.

There was a sharp knock at the door.

Azula turned and promptly opened the door, as though it were her own room.

A servant stood there, a handful of scrolls in his fist, and he frowned at the sight of her. "I apologize, Princess," he said hesitantly. "I thought this was Prince Zuko's chambers."

"You thought correctly," Azula said. "I'm visiting him. Why are you here?"

"I have an important scroll for him," the servant said. "There is one here for you as well. I will return later to deliver the prince's."

"Well, there's no sense in that," Azula said, taking her own scroll and holding out her other hand. "Just give it to me. I'll give it to him. He should be back any minute now; he went to the washroom for a moment."

The servant hesitated, but he obediently turned the scroll over to her. He stood in the doorway, watching her uneasily, as though he was unsure of what he had done.

"Do you need anything else?" she snapped. "You are dismissed."

The servant bowed his head and left hurriedly.

Azula slammed the door shut and promptly opened Zuko's scroll. This was an invitation to an upcoming all-day war meeting, the day before the Day of Black Sun. Well, this invitation would just make his day, wouldn't it? They just couldn't see the worthlessness of him anymore. They were all so blind. He was to be seated on Fire Lord Ozai's right hand side. That was her side. He was taking her place. She was being demoted. Azula swallowed, a rage flooding into her so quickly that she felt her face burn. He hadn't even done anything else to deserve that spot, she thought angrily. It was this stupid Avatar debacle. He wasn't even talented. He wasn't even all that smart. He certainly wasn't good-looking! He was Zuko the Scarred. And what if they never found out the truth, that the Avatar was still alive? If that was the case, she had ruined her life! She was to be replaced by him, the talentless, the over-emotional… ugh!

Unacceptable. This was absolutely unacceptable.

Suddenly, there was a loud creak as the bedroom door opened and Azula tucked the scrolls away into the back of her belt, quiet and unobtrusive. And there he stood, in his doorway. Zuko the Horrible. He stopped immediately at the sight of her, unease flitting across his expression. "What are you doing here?" he asked accusingly, his eyes quickly skimming across his room.

Azula pursed her lips. "Why does it matter? Are you hiding something?"

"No," he glared, moving out of the doorway. "I just don't want you in my room. Get out of here."

She put a hand on her hip, sighing dramatically. "You know, Zu-zu, I had something for you, but I don't think I'm going to give it to you now."

"Well, I don't care," Zuko crossed his arms over his chest. Boy, he was in a bad mood. It just made this all the more easy. Azula strolled out of his room, stifling the smile that was creeping up into her face.

"Goodnight, brother," she told him, and he slammed the door loudly.

He wasn't invited to the most important meeting of the century now, and he deserved it. Hiding things and probably off scheming with people about the Avatar. He deserved to be tried for treason. He didn't deserve her spot to the right of the Fire Lord. He didn't deserve the glory he would have gotten for being there, being the hero they all admired. Zuko the Hero. It made her sick. He just didn't deserve it. And now he wouldn't get it.

Azula held his scroll in a burning fist, watching it blacken into cinders, and for a moment, waiting for him to fall almost became bearable again.

And on the day of the war meeting when Zuko was nowhere to be found, Azula suggested the servants look outside for him, explaining how he had grown accustomed to the outdoorsy life living among homeless peasants for so long. They waited and waited until everyone was thoroughly annoyed with waiting and the Fire Lord declared they must continue on to more important matters. She could feel it in the air. The day was near.

oOoOoOo

((Updated long author's note, as of 03/2018:))

BTW, I believe something like this prologue had to have canonically happened. I have strong feelings that Azula did something to stop Zuko from getting his formal invitation to the big war meeting before the Day of Black Sun. And I don't think Zuko would have left the Fire Nation if he hadn't known about the *destroy everything* plan they discussed in the meeting (at least, not at that point). So … what if the servants couldn't find him on the war meeting day?

In addition, as much as I love and adore Azula/Zuko shipping, my plan is to refrain from it in this story. This is purely a bonding/character growth story. Unless someone begs. LOL. I'm kidding. Or, am I? (I mostly am.)

Please leave a review when you can! I started writing and planning this story in the summer of 2011, so OMG there has been so much time and work put into this madness – I would adore any feedback you have. If you are enjoying this story, I want to know!

There was once a time when I anticipated this story being like 15-18ish chapters long. Silly me. We'll see what happens. We have a long way to go. :)

I hope that you enjoy the ride.