1. Chapter 1

Heels clicked and backs straightened hurriedly as the Fire Lord marched towards the gates out of the palace city. They shuffled uncertainly as Zuko halted before the heavy stone. He stood silently for a second, hoping that they would not need to be so obviously directed. One of the guards lifted the hood of helmet.

"Your highness, why aren't you at the festival?" he said.

"That is not your concern," Zuko snapped. "Now open the gate!"

The guards bustled into action. One man tugged a rope on a pully, while two others took a steady stance before a pair of golden horns on each side of the gate. They bent fire directly into the horns and the temperature all around them began to rise. Slowly, the stone slid aside continuing the cobbled path out into a meadow. Zuko nodded his thanks, while the guards bowed low. He emerged on the other side as the stone slid back into place. Two more guards straightened from where they were bending into an identical pair of horns on the outside. They bowed, but he blinked and continued on his way.

At the end of the path, the Fire Nation capital was a light with activity. Music danced up to him and the gentle hum of celebration was all around. Zuko did not continue to town, instead he turned sharply off the path into the trees. After a few steps, he released the hanfu closures on his lapel and removed the heavily embroidered suit. Then he removed the decorative shin covers from his boots and golden insignia from his top knot, rolled the one within the other, and folded it into the red suit.

He easily found a hollow spot in a gnarled trunk and tucked the most restrictive of his garments safely inside. Zuko could almost hear his dresser's judgmental tongue clicking, but he did not care. It was his twenty-first birthday. His entire kingdom took a holiday to celebrate. Everyone of any importance arrived in the capital to attend the courtyard festival, even Azula decided to attend.

Much of the festival Zuko had enjoyed. There were fire bending acrobats, a seven piece band, trained platypus-bears, and a delicious feast. Then the presentation of the gifts began. Zuko sat high above his guests, with his mother and sister on pillows at his side, while servants brought out his presents to be admired one by one. He received classical texts and rare scrolls from every nation. There were baskets of delicacies and hand-forged weapons for his arsenal. He gave humble thanks for each and every item, until Ursa stood.

She clambered down the steps as the servants stood at the ready. "Fire Lord Zuko, you have guided your nation through so much uncertainty these past four years and we have so much to thank you for. We have watched you grow from a brave young man to a great leader and to thank you, the elders have commissioned this gift."

As she spoke one of the servants bent the stone away to create a hole in the floor between him and his comrade. Zuko swelled with pride to watch the benders at work in the heart of the Fire Nation. Then both earth benders raised something large and covered in a white sheet up into the courtyard. The crowd erupted with cheers as the sheet fell away.

He knew that he had put distance between himself and the capital, by now. Zuko sat on a boulder feeling the warmth of the sun on his face and arms. He reveled in the silence for what felt like a long while. Every day since his coronation consisted of constant activity and vigilance. There was a crunch of brush under a light foot, Zuko jumped to his feet in ready position.

A young woman with short brown hair and green eyes emerged with her hands raised. It was Suki, so Zuko dropped his guard. She smiled. Mai had instituted the Kyoshi warriors as Zuko's personal body guards before they broke up. Of the warriors, Zuko was most fond of Suki. She was off duty on Zuko's invitation and wore delicate brocaded silks.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked her.

"I could ask you the same thing," she said. "You gave the girls the slip. They were worried. It took a lot of convincing to let me find you on my own. What's wrong?"

"The statue…"

He sat back down and she took a seat next to him. "I thought it might be that."

"What am I going to do with a giant statue of myself?"

"That is a good question. Back home we have a Kyoshi statue that is taller than most of our trees. It's been around for hundreds of years. It's a symbol of the enduring protection and strength that Kyoshi has provided our town."

"But she was an Avatar."

"She was also a war hero. She ended the advance of Chin the conqueror."

Zuko grumbled. "I know the history. My statue shoots fire. I don't want it in the capital. It seems like something my father would enjoy seeing every day. Not me. I would take down my painting down from the Hall of Portraits if my mother would let me. I don't need that kind of recognition."

"What about Yu Dao? They are opening a transportation center that will connect all of the nations," said Suki. "I think the symbolism of Fire Lord Zuko watching over travelers will resonate for years to come."

He thought for a moment and nodded. "Yes, I think that will be fine."

"Good," she said. "Now, do you want to come back to the party?"

He shook his head. "You go ahead. I will be fine for a while longer. Tell the other Kyoshi warriors that I will be back before it gets dark."

She patted him on the shoulder and started back through the trees. Zuko sighed and carried on walking in the opposite direction until he emerged on a hill, which sloped down to the rocky shores. He saw a small figure moving carefully along the jagged edge. The figure had long hair the color of a flame which whipped suddenly out of sight. Zuko bounded down the hill. His heart pounding, preparing himself to dive into the waves, but as he approached where the figure had vanished he saw a void between two rocks just big enough for a person to fit through.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a young woman. She gasped and bent a plume of orange fire at him. He blocked the flames and they died on the wet stone walls of the small cave. He had to duck his head to keep his knot from brushing along the slimy ceiling. He showed her his palms as she stared breathlessly at him.

"I'm so sorry, your highness," she said finally, dropping to her knees. Her hair fell like a curtain around her face.

"Don't be. Please, my name is Zuko," he said, taking her by the arm and helping her back to her feet. "What's your name?"

"I'm Luli," she said, dropping her marbled brown eyes to the ground.

"How did you find this place?"

"I… I, uhm, I kinda flew here," she said. "From my village on Old Sozin Island."

"Flew?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, here, its better if I show you."

Suddenly, Luli threw herself off the edge of the cave. Zuko screamed and tried his best to snatch her back. He felt the linen of her peasant dress slip between the tips of his fingers. She did not fall. He did not look down to see the mangled remnants of the lovely young woman on the jagged rocks below, instead he felt the temperature rising rapidly around him. He looked up to see white and orange cones of swirling fire bursting from Luli's knuckles. She was suspended gingerly in midair. His horror turned to jubilation in his mouth. He remember the knowledge of flame bestowed to him by the great dragons. The colors, the potential. She took a deep breath and rose.

He watched her eagerly as she moved her wrists only just to direct her motions. She was so precise. She looped around and dived and recovered. She flew back towards the cave, extinguishing her flame with just enough time to land gently beside Zuko, whose jaw dropped. Luli raked her fingers through her blustered hair. Without realizing it, Zuko grabbed her by the shoulders as he praised her for her skills. She giggled and looked down at his hands. He released her hurriedly. They both blushed.

"That was amazing," he repeated, after clearing his throat.

"Thank you."

"Who taught you that?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I just learned one day. I am the first fire bender born to my family since my great-grandfather. Surely you've seen others who can do that…"

Zuko shook his head. He put his hand to his chin. Aang had told him how Ozai harnessed the power of the comet to propel himself through the air but what he described was destructive and uncontained. She controlled her flame. It had not even singed her raggedy top. She twisted her hair between her fingers, shifting uncertainly.

"I should be getting back to the palace," he said. Her head fell. "But,"-he continued. "If I send for you, will you come?"

"I cannot refuse the Fire Lord," she said, formally.

"I won't send for you as him. I'll send for you as just Zuko."

She chortled, and he felt his heart rise. She extended her hand for him to shake. "Okay, just Zuko."

In the days that followed Zuko was in another world. He sent for Luli to come to the capital the very next morning, but refused to tell anyone why his demeanor had changed so drastically. The Kyoshi warriors were the most concerned. Suki kept constantly at his side, occasionally interrogating him about his new behavior. He stalled. A messanger hawk arrived with an enthusiastic response from Yu Dao. The head councilman was honored by Zuko's generosity and had charted a ship to transport the statue. It would be displayed in the transportation hub of the city. Birthday guests returned to their homes after a day or so of recuperation after all the celebrations and soon, only the royal family remained in the palace city.

"Zuko!" said Suki, bursting through into the throne room clutching a letter in her hand. "Sokka and Aang have emerged from the spirit forest at the South Pole. The ever-lasting storm has ebbed and they are on their way here to visit us."

Several months had passed since he heard from his friends on Team Avatar. They incited so much change that they were needed on hand, flittering from state to state helping people get used to the new ways of the world. Zuko himself had travelled far and wide, but his nation cried out for him in his absence. He longed for news of his friends' travels and adventures. Usually it was enough to stifle the itching desire to flee into the night.

"When will they be here? How long are they staying? You there-" Zuko pointed to a servant daudling beside on of the Kyoshi warriors. The little man jumped and fell to his knees before the Fire Lord. "Quit groveling and have respect for yourself. Just go tell the matron to prepare two guest rooms and ready the stables for the Avatar's bison."

The man backed away from Zuko's throne, with his hands together and head bowed all the way out of the grand hall. Zuko shook his head. He hated the reverence some people had for the Fire Lord, like he was more god then man. Suki's eyes darted from here to there, reading each word her dear Sokka had written to her. Her cheeks were flushed with color.

"What else does he say?"

"Nothing," she said, too quickly. She folded the letter and tucked into the lapel of her warrior gown. "He says that he wrote the letter the evening before they made to set off. Messanger hawks are much quicker than Appa. If I were to just guess, I would expect them to arrive tonight or first thing tomorrow."

He put his hand to his chin and began to pace back and forth, where previous Fire Lords had always set the floor ablaze. He cleared away the ash and coals, replacing it with smooth black lava rocks from Roku's island. When touched, the warmth from the heart of the stone could still be felt. On his bare feet, it relaxed the constant tension that lost him hundreds of hours of sleep in his first year. Suki remained with him in the silence. Most people close to him had realized by now that the lack of conversation spoke ill of no one, but in fact filled Zuko with comfort and reassurance.

"My lord," said General Jai, taking a knee along with his half dozen personnel. "There has been a problem in the bay. A family of peasants arrived from Old Azulon on a fishing boat. They have no means to pay for their dock and insist that they are in the capital on your invitation, but cannot produce the evidence of any such engagement."

Zuko skipped three steps at a time until he was standing directly before the general. "Where are they?"

"They did not mind waiting on their boat, until we have direction," said Jai.

"Suki, bring my guard," he said. "We are going down to the docks."


End file.
