Fire
Earth
Water
Air
Long ago the four nations lived together in harmony
.
.
.
Then one day, the Fire Nation grew an empire and became the greatest nation in history.
Zuko had been told these stories as a child, the type he could recite from the tip of his tongue. He had never been outstanding in his studies, Azula was the one who used to help him as a child, but after she started to focus on bending, she stopped being so nice to him despite all those years together.
But Azula always lies.
Yet three years later he found himself in his room, but it never felt his. Not like it was back in the Fire Nation, the place his entire family had called home, the place his own father had called the greatest empire there ever was. And he had believed him, he truly had, but he was a child and he was naive. To think his home none other than great was treason, and it proved he deserved everything.
His uncle had always comforted him, said that he hadn't known better. That he had much longer to prove himself, that he shouldn't waste his childhood chasing the impossible. But he was one of the greatest Firebenders he knew, his uncle had the honor he would never have. Unless he captured the Avatar, an impossible task. But his father had told him to, his father would know it was possible, that he dared to go through with it.
But sometimes the scar burned with agony, blurred his vision– blurred his morals.
Zuko was taught from his childhood that the Fire Nation was home, his father was the face of the Empire that rose from the ground, the only place that was strong enough to stand and share ideas with the rest of the world. The war was all the Water Tribes' fault, if only they cooperated and realized how great his home was, no soldiers would be left dead in the heat of the battle.
And he had thrown all of that away for the Avatar.
He wasn't sure what drove him to rescue him. Had it been a slip of his morals at Pohiai Stronghold? Or just pure resentment of Commander Zhao, one of his father's most loyal soldiers? He knew that if the Avatar was coming home, it would be he who did the task—not one of his father's pawns, but his loyal son, the crowned prince.
The Avatar had asked him a strange question, 'Do you think we could've been friends?' It had been a simple question. But the emotion behind him made his heartache at the thought, he had considered it, before he blasted the young monk away with a raging fist of fire. The boy had realized his true identity and still left room for forgiveness, how that boy— that child hadn't died was beyond him.
Because that's all he was. A child. And his father wanted him dead.
He glanced over at the other side of his torch-lit room, it was pretty spacious for a ship. He had the basic necessities along with souvenirs his uncle had begged for them to get in their travels. They were meant to reach the Northern Water Tribe today, that's where the Avatar would go to learn Waterbending, at least that's what Zuko assumed, the boy seemed to have travel expertise.
On the other end resided two dual blades and a mask from one of his favorite plays, 'Love Amongst the Dragons', the last thing he had from his mother before she left without a trace. He remembered her last moments with him, he had been awakened by her in the middle of the night. Despite being groggy from his slumber, he had managed to pick up her final words to him.
No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are.
At the time, it seemed like just a simple phrase. He had been a naive child and didn't consider the weight of her words. He was the Crowned Prince of the Fire Nation, that was all he was and would ever be. No matter if Uncle lacked loyalty to his own nation, he knew who he was and that's all that mattered.
The young avatar would continue to learn Waterbending, along with his friend. A young girl, she seemed to have a temper, something he hadn't been used to. No matter how unhinged his sister may have been, she never seemed angry, and somehow always got her way. The Water Tribe girl seemed to have determination, he failed to capture the Avatar by using her as bait, and he had managed to take her necklace. Her brown hair was tied into a braid except for two loops which had two blue beads on each side, the shade matching her own blue eyes.
There had been another boy as well, he assumed he was the girl's sister. They looked identical. Then again, everyone in the Water Tribe looked the same, Zuko had noticed when he had gone there for the first time. His hair was tied up into a wolf knot, which the boy seemed to hold very close to him. He always carried around a boomerang, he seemed to be the leader of their Tribe, as he had been the one to fight him when he first arrived, and he wasn't very good at his job anyway.
He sat up, feeling the gentle rocking of the boat as he stayed there with his eyes closed. The waters were getting colder, Zuko noticed some of his men shivering this past week from the cold— which was not a problem for him due to a trick his Uncle had taught him— though he still felt the fatigue that came with it.
Time was different in the poles, the sun that seemed so familiar before became nothing but a stranger to him. How the Water Tribe survived such long periods without Agni was beyond him. Nights grew longer and colder and the only light present was from the moon, Tui, as they called it, named after the moon spirit. He remembered this from one of his Uncle's long proverbs over a cup of tea, Jasmine Tea.