Through Heaven's Eyes Chap I

A/N: Well I hoped the Prologue brought you some information concerning the time period and the order I’ll be writing this from. It’s currently forming beautifully in my mind and my only hope is not to destroy it. Now before I continue…I believe some music is in order. Now the music that is most best fit for this chapter will have to be, Disney’s, The Prince of Egypt- Hebrew Children Choir and Avatar: The Last Airbender- Agni Kai(or miswritten as Anki-Kai). It really suits the beginning…so without further ado…here goes.


Disclaimer: I don’t own Avatar.


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                                                    Through Heaven’s Eyes
                                                               Midori Aoi
                                                             Chapter I

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Water…

“My good and tender son…”

Earth…

“Don’t be frightened and don’t be scared….”

Fire…

“You have a chance to live…Your future will be shone to you in time…”

Air…

“I pray we meet again…”

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Fire Lady Ursa, Wife of Fire Lord Ozai, was an amazing and powerful woman; her heart was strong in showing good to her people, where her husband only wanted power. She started the Temple system in the rough time of war and helped place more faith in the hearts of her people. With help she was allowed the chance of establishing high Temples for the gods her ancestors worshiped and for a moment the Fire nation Prospered.

Then...for no reason at all, she was banished. Ursa was thrown to live among the earth slaves. Being pregnant with their son, Ursa was forced to live with many difficulties throughout her pregnancy. But the gods she had strive to help had blessed her with a prophecy.
But a force of darkness brought the same vision to her Husband, and Ozai knew if he did not rid himself of his son the people he ruled over would be lost from him and he would suffer much.

He accumulated a plan to destroy the prophecy before it had a chance to happen as well as rid the possibility that his slaves might rise against him, Ozai passed a law that every male born would be confiscated and thrown in the Serpent’s Pass.
Ursa knew that she must save her son from the fate that would come, for the gods had warned her before hand and had already a plan for her. Ursa obeyed their commands if only to save her child from the wrath of her former husband and hid herself from the soldiers that came to destroy her child.

She, with the help of other women, rushed in the middle of the night toward the center of the city, the Palace.
There they waited for the opportune moment, where she would sneak her child into a merchant’s crate and leave the rest of her son’s fate to their gods. She prayed and removed what last bit of royalty she had left upon her and placed it on him, hoping to all that they would see this as evidence that he was not of the earth.
At the time the sun began to rise, Ursa had disappeared into the night along with the other women never to be seen again, leaving a baby sleeping comfortably in a crate.
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Fourteen Years later…


“ZUKO, get back here you retard!” the screech of a prepubescent girl echoed throughout the corridors and the long and majestic hall ways of the Fire Palace.
Donned in a small Red and pink traditional dress, thirteen year old Azula growled under her breath in search of her older brother. Gold jewelry surrounded her bare arms and wrists, as a choker was gracefully placed on her thin neck. Perfect brows dipped down into a sharp frown, her delicate nose wrinkled as her lips pulled up to bare her perfectly white teeth. Her heart shaped face was flush with anger.

Running down the red corridors and passing guards on the way, ignoring them when they bowed, she looked both ways on a corridor not seeing a sign of the two idiots that embarrassed her in front of her teacher.

She huffed, furious at her siblings, as she stomped the floor and threw her arms to her side. Blasts of bright red and yellow flames licked the walls and spread nearly ten yards to each side. She caught a gasp and she turned her head sharply, just in time to see dark golden eyes look at her from her left; they disappeared right when she began to turn.
She heard a familiar smothered laugh and seethed at her despicable siblings. How DARE they!

“Lu Ten, you pompous oaf!” She shrieked as she turned and sped down the corridor with sudden velocity. Her footsteps were loud to her ears but her ears burned when another laugh reached them.

Rage bubbling in her blood, Azula roared, “Laugh while you can, but when I get my hands on you there will be NOTHING left to laugh from!”
She exhaled as she sent all her chi down to the soles of her feet before shooting fire and pushing her towards the end of the hall, whatever was flammable behind her was already catching flames and already servants were scurrying to put out the monstrous embers.

“Whoa!” She heard as she passed an intersection of halls, she stopped and looked to her right. She saw a familiar ponytail disappear around a corner.

“Zuko!” She exclaimed recognizing the metal anklet that her brother favored before it disappeared along with his hair. She turned and ran after him, yelling every other minute as she pushed her legs faster. She finally had a good view of his back and smirked when she saw him turn to throw a look over his shoulder and jumped before speeding ahead.

She began to gain on him as he sped through servants and guards, yelping and crying out as he narrowly dodged priceless objects and people. He suddenly let out a bark of laughter when Lu Ten came into view. The two, still ahead of her, punched each other’s fists and run further away from her.

Azula, thoroughly pissed and further strengthened, let her adrenaline and her fire power push her faster. Zuko let out a yelp of surprise when he turned to throw another look over his shoulder, noticing her sudden increase in speed before making a sudden round on a corner with Lu Ten in the lead. Caught off guard by his sudden change of direction Azula slid on the smooth marble as she tried to follow but ended up tripping over an overturned corner of an expensive rug.

She was thrown roughly across the air and sent tumbling on the floor landing with her chin on the ground and her rump in the air, dazed. When she regained her composure she saw Lu Ten’s head pop from around the corner with an amused look, she raised an eyebrow.

Then Zuko popped from right behind him, his face delighted and smug. Her topaz eyes narrowed into a deadly glare when they faced each other, grinning from ear to ear, and clapped their hands in victory.

Growling, she had scrambled up to her feet and gave chase once more her arms outstretched and hands like claws faster than they could have realized. They cried out before turning and running right off.

“I’ll KILL YOU!! YOU HEAR ME?! KILL!”

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Flowers were being delicately braided within gentle hands, when a sudden screech made the hands jump and the flowers tumbling off her lap. A sigh escaped heart shaped lips and honey suckle eyes closed. “What have they done now?” She muttered.

Sitting beside a small turtle-duck pond and underneath a tree was the Great Fire Lady Yuan. Long hair that was held into two low pony tails was carefully placed beside her in the small stone bench, dressed in simple robes the Fire Lady was taking a small day off from her duties and it had been peaceful so far…that is until her flowers were now victim to the turtle ducklings whom were having a splendid time ripping them apart.

Salvaging what ever hadn’t been destroyed by their tiny beaks, Yuan desperately continued to braid flowers and leaves together in hopes of restoring some matter of peace. Perhaps it wasn’t so bad this time…
A crash that could be heard from the other side of the palace almost made her drop the flowers this time. Groaning, Yuan set the flowers down. “Zhu Mei.” Yuan called softly, her personal maid scurried from the other side of the garden to her lady’s side.

“Yes my Lady?” She asked softly, the young girl was barely in her twenties and soft spoken.
“Go make sure that things get cleaned up quickly, and send for my children and Nephew before they cause too much damage. And bring Soon Li.”
“Yes, my Lady.”

Rubbing her temples, Yuan tried to calm down as Zhu Mei scurried off but she couldn’t help but being edgy. Grabbing her flowers she continued to braid them with a sigh.

Every time that the siblings pulled pranks on one another things tended to become far difficult. Managing slave work and several other duties of the Fire Nation in a foreign country were enough to keep them all busy for weeks, sometimes even months before they could really relax. And it got much harder to deal with when having to clean up the messes the three siblings would cause. At times it would get so bad that she wondered if it was even worth saving. But Ozai would always manage to do the impossible and she could not imagine how well her husband could pull it off, but she didn’t bother to anyway. That was his work. She had her own.

She paused in her work and studied it with a frown; the braid began to look like it was on reverse. Her frown deepened. That’s not right.
Sighing, she  gave up trying to continue and threw it at the pond where the turtle ducks rushed at the vines and began to pull off the blooms having found this fun after the first five times, Lady Yuan offered a small smile of amusement. She grabbed some branches that lay on the ground to her right and began to pluck off more blossoms and miniature branches. Beginning to work on her seventh necklace she began to let her mind drift off once more.

“My lady!” She jumped and dropped the necklace into the pond. Disdain grew on her face when she saw the turtle ducks rush at their new target, quacking merrily at the new fun. She turned around and glared at the servant walking stiffly by the entrance of the garden.

“What is it?” She asked irritated, the man paled slightly at the tone of her voice. Realizing he had agitated her he cleared his throat to not make himself panic. “Uh…it’s about uh…your children…” he stuttered, adjusting his collar as though it was getting uncomfortably tight.

“Yes, yes, I am aware they are on a rampage again. Has Zhu Mei not retrieved them yet?” She clicked her tongue at him, straightening her pose higher. The man was struggling not to cower under her hardened gaze, “Uh, yes My Lady. I’m afraid Zhu Mei didn’t reach them in time. You see they already…er…” he wrung his wrists in distress.

“Zhu Mei had sent orders to clean up the mess they left in the Art Hall,” Yuan froze. Not the Art…Many of the portraits there were antiques and priceless...she already began to dread the rest of the news. “And she sent me to tell you…that er…”

“Tell me what?” Yuan hissed. The servant nodded rapidly. “…They’ve hi-jacked the chariots, my lady.” Her blood ran cold. Oh…no.
“The…the chariots?” her tones shook with restrained fear and anger.

The man nodded. Yuan closed her eyes and inhaled. Praying softly she turned her attention to the man. “Is the Fire Lord aware?” she asked calmly yet her shaking hands betrayed her. “Uh…No, my lady.” Yuan rose to her feet instantly before gliding across the garden.

“Make sure that this doesn’t reach his ears yet. In the mean time we have to stop this before this gets too out of hand.” The servant bowed before rushing off. Had she not been raised in etiquette she would’ve ran towards the Art hall where most of the servants and Zhu Mei were most likely.
“Soon Li.” Yuan called when she caught her second Maid rushing down the hallway that headed towards the gardens. The maid skidded to a stop and turned to her before jogging towards her. “I came as soon as Zhu Mei had told me.”

“I need you to hurry and get the guards to stop Azula, Zuko and Lu Ten before they do something that we’ll all regret.”

“Yes, My Lady. What would happen if we don’t stop them in time?” Yuan almost paled at the thought.

“We’ll worry about that later, Move!” the maid quickly bowed and ran off, leaving Yuan to make her way towards her study.

“Move it, out of my way, peasants!!” Azula bellowed as she snapped her reigns. The ostrich-horses squawked as they hurried and sped through the city.
Several people gasped and jumped out of the way and cleared as best as possible when they realized their princess would not intend to stop her rampage. Several more people cried out when she pushed half a crowd with the side of the vehicle.
But Azula did not care, she did not care if she had to ride her chariot over the people, what she had in mind was one thing only…revenge.

She turned and snapped the reigns and urged the ostrich-horses with several cries and jerks. The horses whinnied and squawked when barely making a turn; hard breaths and heavy stomps were the only sounds Azula could really hear as she thought quickly on where her siblings were.
Far ahead were the two escapees on their own chariots. Their urgency to fully escape Azula’s wrath was the one side that had them worrying. On the other hand, they were having the time of their lives.

Zuko looked behind him, trying to catch a glimpse of his enraged younger sister. “Any sign of her?” Lu ten asked from a few yards next to him.
Zuko looked back and gasped when a vendor’s cart had moved in his way, he jerked the reigns and felt the Ostrich-horses strain as they narrowly dodged the cart in time, Zuko looked back once more and sighed in relief.

His clothes pressed and flailed around his skin from being pounded so harshly by the wind. His ponytail was flying right behind him while hair began to undo and mess in front of his face and eyes. He knew that at the end of this he was going to look utterly ridiculous, but at the moment he was trying to see and having his hair flail in his sight wasn’t helping.

“Nah, I think we lost her – WHOA!” He exclaimed dodging barely a blast of blue fire from his right.

“You can run but you can’t hide!” A familiar voice was heard not to far from his right; Zuko felt his back and forehead perspire despite the heavy wind constantly drying him. Turning Zuko saw his sister gaining on them, buildings passed between them in a blur.

“Decided to show up, have we?” Lu Ten laughed ahead. Zuko wondered if it was out of nervousness or honest mirth. It was always hard to tell, Lu Ten always had fun even in the most heart pounding situations. Even so, his laughter calmed the young prince down. If Lu Ten was laughing it wasn’t anything too serious.

“You’re death is certain, cousin!” She roared as she cracked her reigns. Lu Ten laughed and Zuko stuck out his tongue, dodging more fire blasts that blazed the tarps of tents. “I guess I have nothing but escape death’s clutches again.” Lu Ten replied while he quickly dodged through people and tents.

As they continued to pass through the city they finally entered the city square, statues and paintings of Ozai decorated almost every wall and every corner. Zuko couldn’t help notice a certain piece and kept his eye one it while they passed.
“Brother,” He looked quizzically at his younger sister, completely forgetting for a moment that she was chasing him to kill him. She was looking at him with a smirk, “How would you like to have your face painted on a wall?”

The question seemed harmless enough. “Someday, I hope.” He grinned, failing to see the smug smirk spread on his sisters’ sinister face on time. “How about…now!” She exclaimed jerking the reigns and making the horses pull her chariot and slamming it against his.

Sparks of friction were sent flying from their connecting turning wheels as the chariot was slammed against a stone wall, Zuko cried out in surprise as he tried to gain his balance and save his face from being ‘painted’ on the wall. When she pulled off he looked back at the wall before looking at her flabbergasted.
“Are you crazy?!” He shouted at her from several yards behind, she looked back with a smirk. “You almost had me killed!”

“That was the point, Zuko.” She stated dryly above the howl of the wind in his ears. Zuko snapped the reigns and bent over slightly to steady his ride, continuing to watch how people would throw themselves out of harm’s way.
Several other blasts of fire and attacks, Lu Ten laughed again when Azula almost ran over a passer by and almost flipped her chariot over. “Having trouble, Azy?”

“You wish, Lu Ten.” She spat at him, before snapping the reigns once again and speeding towards them. In her intense concentration of reaching her siblings, Azula was caught completely off guard when she saw her cousins split separate ways. She yanked on her reigns almost on reflex alone before she could fully see the large cart in the way.

She narrowly swung around the cart and huffed to see she had yet again lost her siblings. She looked around, shaking her head to keep her hair out of her eyes that – by now – had become a horrible mess. The street had begun to incline and by the time she was free of buildings and carts and vendors she was side by side her siblings once more. She threw a blast of fire towards Lu Ten’s chariot, he dodged it but it hobbled and almost threw him off his position.
Instantly Lu ten’s own chariot slid down a steep looking hill and almost crashing into Zuko’s. Azula pulled on her reigns to stop from crashing on her cousin, the Ostrich-horses squawked and spread out their wings as they tried to pull away in time.

Lu ten laughed at her surprised look, Zuko joined him when they began to speed off. Azula glared before jerking the reigns and pushing the horses to go down the hill she reached a certain road that inclined into the earth and she could see people whizzing past above her.

Knowing full well her route will get her to them faster; Azula didn’t bother speeding the bird-horses too much and as expected saw her siblings riding above her not too long after. She glared and snapped the reigns again before raising a hand to cover her eyes from the sun’s powerful glare. She willed the chi to accumulate in her palms until fire burst in her hands.

She could see she had made her way into a level of terraces and on the level above her rode Zuko and on the level above him rode her cousin. Good, this should help with her aiming. Lu ten seemed to notice her first, right before she began to shoot fire at them. After blocking and dodging some, he sent Zuko a familiar look, and Zuko grinned in return, the two turned to face her and smirked.

“Oh Azy, wouldn’t you know, looking up to us like you always do!” Lu ten called to her from up top, rubbing his arm from a flick of fire that had scrapped him.

“Quite Ironic don’t you think?! Since you claim to be better than us and all!” her fourteen year old brother added teasingly while snapping his own reigns, barely dodging another blast.

“The only Irony I see here is the older sibling unable to defeat his sister in a sparring match!” Azula called back smugly, dodging a vendor and several other people.

Lu Ten laughed, “Shut Up, Lu Ten!” He shot at his cousin, his face flush in embarrassment, “It’s only because I’ve been taking it easy on you!” He called back to his sister, looking back to the road, dodging a group of slaves making their way up to the bigger part of the city.

“That not what your face says every time I win.” Azula laughed haughtily. Zuko glared. “Still doesn’t change the fact that I’m older than you, that means I get all the good stuff first.”

“Got that right,” Lu ten called to her, “Last born…,” Zuko laughed once again before sending his sister thirteen year old sister the one smirk every brother knows that can really get under her skin.

“…Last place!” Azula seethed as she watched them laugh and leave her behind; she threw some long blasts at them that managed to singe their pants and lick their legs letting out strong cries while she focused, “Not for long!!”
Several more blasts were seen throughout the city; crates and carts were all burned and at times destroyed. Construction was also victim to the powerful blasts. Soon fire was being thrown in all directions until the trio reached a progressing High Temple.

There it just got worse.

“Hey!” Zuko cried out suddenly, before throwing fire at his cousin. “Watch where you are going, Lu Ten!” indignant that Lu Ten had cut his way past him and almost threw him off course.  His cousin laughed instead. "Going against an Ally? That is an act of war, cousin! Treason! Very well little cousin I accept your challenge!” Lu ten exclaimed while he threw his own flames at him.

Azula suddenly came in between the two, and shot two blasts of fire at each of them. Zuko had to bend backwards to avoid his blast while Lu ten had to lean in, smoke hurtling it self in their faces when the fire could not.

Azula sped off, laughing at them when they yelped. “Maybe we should’ve been paying attention…” Zuko said as he wiped his eyes, which had watered terribly from the heat of the flames.

Lu ten coughed some smoke out of his lungs and looked at Zuko, "You think so?” Zuko sent him a rude gesture with his hand before snapping his reigns. Looking sour and annoyed they continued to go after her, never stopping when it came to trying to burn the other.

The whole escapade began to move near where the slaves worked, Azula moved her chariot to ride up a chain of wooden construction towers, throwing fire when she could at her brother and her cousin from above. Seeing this handicap Azula had gained, Zuko and Lu ten soon followed her idea and moved up, dodging beams and earth people when they could.

Sweating from the summer heat and all the energy he gave off, Lu ten jerked his reigns and turned them as he dodged several slaves. Zuko laughed as he ducked from a blast and looked again to keep an eye on his surroundings. It was then when something caught his eye.

A guard had cracked his whip at the young female slave making her cry out in anguish, Zuko frowned. What…

“Zuko - heads up!” Zuko’s head jerked up and saw a beam right in front of him; on reflex he gasped and jerked the reigns to the side. The Ostrich-horses whined in surprise as they made a rather sharp turn, the chariot slammed against on of the wooden beams, making it splinter and fall like dominos. Zuko stared in shock as the things continued to fall.

Azula and Lu ten were going at it up top, seeing what he had done Zuko made his way towards them fast. “Go, go, go, go!” He exclaimed waving them off, urging his own ostrich-horses to go faster. As the beams fell so did the very foundation that held the center. Soon the entire thing was beginning to fall forward. “Whoa!” Lu ten exclaimed jerking his reigns back, stopping right on the edge. Azula nearly rammed on him but stopped in time.

Turning around in their chariots their eyes widened as the foundation began to increase speed in falling. They looked at each other and felt their chariots jump when the large beam crashed against the stone pillar of the temple, Azula grunted while Lu ten calmed his horses all the while staring at the pillar.

Azula, wondering what had caused it to fall, looked to see Zuko still making his way towards them fast, staring at the pillar that the foundation fell on. Her eyes widened when he was getting too close too fast. “Zuko - Stop!” He looked back at them before he turned and shouted in surprise.

He jerked his reigns back suddenly making the Ostrich-horses rise up and flap their wings. But he had done it a little too late. The horses bumped into Azula’s chariot, making it jump and cause the wooden flooring beneath them to shift.
The three looked up at the foundation and saw it shift over the smooth surface of the Pillar and leave a not so pretty scratch on it, but more importantly making them fall forward.

The beams underneath them broke in half from the pressure of so much weight, making the planks seem they were only moving forward and not towards the ground.

Gravity began to pull at the front of the planks; Zuko and the others looked down and paled, as the ground became considerable close. Instantly they began to scream when they noticed they were falling right down a hill. The wood struck the ground sharply, making them bounce in the air, then slowly began to slide down the hill every second gaining speed.

Letting out surprised and instinctive cries, the three jerked the reigns and pulled trying to avoid falling over as the wood began to swerve dangerously to the sides. The Ostrich horses were panicking and jumping about making the ride all the more less enjoyable. Azula screamed when they struck a boulder to the side.
Hair whipping past their heads and all over their faces, Azula struggled to see past her flying brown locks all the while trying to dominate the panicking Ostrich-horses.

“Easy, easy!” She found herself calling to them and succeeded in calming them slightly.

She looked around to see how her brother and cousin were doing with frightened wide eyes and could only widen in genuine shock when she saw the grins on their faces and laughter coming from their mouths.

“Whoa!” Lu ten cried out when another pillar and other construction appeared before them, slaves all around screamed in surprised and rushed off the construction site. “Hold on!”

“Brace yourselves!” Zuko exclaimed clutching the reigns closer to him. The Ostrich-horses squawked as they saw the pillar and once again rose to flap their wings. Azula began to scream and her brothers followed her suit.
In a split second the rushing wood collided with the pillars and broke through other construction towers all around them, never stopping in speed. Ducking from debris and projectiles they shut their eyes close as they waited for the worse to come and go.

With a mighty crash the wood underneath broke out, splintered and broken to almost nothing. The force brought them thrown forward into the air, flying over the edge of the hill screaming at the top of their lungs. The Ostrich-horses screeched and squawked and began to flap their wings, gathering as much air to lessen their fall.

Azula let go of the reigns for a moment as the gravity began to pull them down, screaming while Zuko and Lu ten let out whoops of thrill. “Azy - grab the reigns!” Zuko called to her in mid air, Azula jerked her hands back to the reigns the moment the wheels of the chariots crashed to the ground.

Being thrown at the force, Azula was practically pulled off the chariot when the Ostrich horses, in their panic, burst into a run. She hurried to pull herself back completely inside to avoid being yanked completely off when her brother rushed passed her, head pulled back in laughter.

“Are you insane?!” Azula cried to Zuko, finally getting back in she snapped the reigns to catch up to him. “Father is going to kill us!”

“Uncle’s going to kill you!” Lu ten taunted them sing-song like, passing them as his Ostrich-horses were obviously faster than theirs.

“Shut up, Lu Ten, we don’t need your opinion!” Azula hissed at her cousin, whipping the reigns harder than she meant to do so. "What? You said it yourself!" Azula glared at him, he sighed.

“Oh come on, Azula,” Lu ten called from in front, “Do you seriously think he’s going to kill you for that?” He pointed behind them, Azula and Zuko looked back and both paled. Dust was rising in a cloud from the fall of all that construction, people were being heard complaining and cursing the fates, all in all they destroyed what could mean a new market place and Temple area.

“Yeah…yeah he is.” Zuko said horrified.

“Oh no…” Azula groaned in terror. “Oh come on guys, give it up,” Lu ten said with a shrug, “It’s not all that bad,” They sent him dry glares, and he managed a nervous chuckle at them before clearing his throat.

“Okay, made it’s that bad…but we didn’t exactly destroy a village. We could’ve but we didn’t.” That wasn’t necessarily helping. “And besides what’s the worse he could do?”

Azula and Zuko exchanged troubled looks, not realizing yet that Lu ten was leading them towards the palace. “That’s easy for you to say, he’s not your father.” Zuko stated dryly.
“Yea, but I’m the oldest.” Lu ten said giving them a proud smile. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll make sure you don’t get into trouble.”

Azula sighed with a troubled look, “I knew I shouldn’t have followed you, now fathers going to slaughter us. I should’ve had my revenge sooner...probably will though...hmm.” Zuko could only gape at her contemplating look before shaking his head and glaring at her.

“Gee, Thanks.” Zuko said sarcastically, taking a turn right after Lu Ten. “Did you guys hear a word I said?” Lu ten said pulling on the reigns when they neared the gates. The Ostrich-horses slowed their pace to a trot.

“Yea but we doubt you’ll be of any help.” Zuko stated pulling on his own reigns. Azula allowed the ostrich-horses to pass them before slowing down.

“Yea, you started the whole thing.” She hummed. “You guys are so much like Aunt Yuan…trust me nothing bad’s going to happen, look I’ll even get the whole blame for it.” Lu ten offered reassuring looks that eased them down a bit. “See? Everything will be just peachy.” Azula and Zuko sighed, hoping their cousin might actually be right this time.


‘-.-‘-.-‘-.-‘-.-‘-.-‘-.-


“Unbelievable.” Yuan stated with narrow honey eyes. Staring them down with shame and anger, ignoring the fact their heads were bowed low with self-shame. “Do you have any idea how much damage you have caused?” She kept her voice low and dangerous; Zuko hated it when she did that. It was like a bomb waiting to go off.

The silence followed by a tension both Azula and Zuko couldn’t bear to deal with now, this only made Zuko’s chances of survival far less bleak than before he got into this whole mess. Yuan watched them darkly before standing up and moving across the room and snatching a scroll of parchment in the hands of a nearby servant.

The flames by the walls offered a small measure of hope to the three who waited for punishment. “’Just peachy’ right Lu Ten?” Azula hissed at her cousin who stood at her right. He gave her a sheepish smile while he received glares from both cousins. Yuan glided back and sat back down on her place, in front of the three whom were clutching their robes tightly.

“Twenty four merchant carts have been completely destroyed or without any form of repair,” Yuan read aloud from the scroll parchment that was held up near the nearest torch. They all winced at the number.

“Eighteen civilians injured while two are in critical condition, fifteen slaves under probation, twenty-five military men have been reported in mild or severe comas,” all three winced visibly as the count rose.

“forty-two ancient priesthood scrolls have been desecrated, eighteen ounces of holy water have been tainted or spilled.” Sweat lined Zuko’s forehead. The three knew from experience that The priesthood council will have their father in a crevice with all their ill fortunes and predictions. That means a higher risk of a death penalty...

Zuko felt guilt clog his throat as his mother continued with a number of other mishaps they had created. “Uh, Aunt…I think we get the whole problem – er…” Lu ten tried to soften, Yuan’s sharp glare silenced him.

“ - Two construction towers have collapsed, The new shipments of the special building clay have been virtually ruined, Four High Temple Pillars have been tipped scathed and cracked, ruined land and a destroyed Temple in-progress.” She finished snapping the scroll closed before placing her hands behind her back. "Anything to say before I continue?"

“Uh…aunt…” Lu ten started once more before she raised a hand shutting the sixteen year old up.

“Have you all any clue how hard your father had worked to get this far in building the city?” Yuan asked stiffly, straightening her dark robes and placing a hair back behind her ear. Zuko and Azula gulped. How could they not? With all the advisers and servants crowding him like crows on scraps, handing him scrolls here and there it was hard not notice. Their mother would always tell them he was too busy to join them to dinner.

Now they had caused him more problems. The two youngest shot deadly glares at their cousin who flinched slightly.
“Already he was up to his neck with treaties and other documents on the whole War Campaigns in other cities and states of the Earth Kingdom,” Yuan snapped at them. “Now thanks to your idiocy and lack of common sense he is going to have to force himself off meals again to get things done!" She raised her hands to her temples, as though she were contemplating tearing her hair out or throwing a blast of fire from her hands. "Right when we were beginning to progress, you imbeciles ruin it!” The flames at the corners of the room flared and rose, heating them uncomfortably.

Her glare lightened into a frown and the flames lowered back into their original tiny states.

A maid came into the room and shut the screen door softly, earning her some looks. She rushed to the Fire Lady and bowed before whispering some news into her ears. Yuan’s eyes widened before closing tightly. She sighed and dismissed the maid quickly before turning to the three.

“Fire Lord Ozai wishes a private audience with you three.” A cold dark foreboding settled into their stomach as their blood ran cold. “Immediately.”

They all nodded before rising after Yuan and followed her out the room and into the corridors.

They passed by paintings and armor on their way and knew they were nearing the end of their fate as they passed by glamorous red drapes on the halls. The sound of their muffled footsteps on the carpet aided their dread as they thought of the worse that could happen.

Time passed by far too quickly than they would’ve wanted by the time they reached the War Room. Yuan waved off the guards who began to bow before motioning to open the doors. The masked guards hit the marble with the bottom of their staff two times before the metal doors creaked open. Yuan didn’t bother waiting for the three to hurry and follow, she marched right in passed the red drapes and into Ozai’s sight.

Zuko felt a chill run down his spine even though the room was quite warm.
As they entered they saw that the curtains that hung by the large windows that gave sight to the city were closed. A small line of sun light spilled in sight, but one could say the room was rather dark despite the fire that surrounded the Fire Lord’s seat.

“Your children are here as commanded, my lord.” Yuan bowed, the other three bowed low after her before looking back at their father/uncle.
The flames split suddenly in the center, Zuko’s eyes widened as he saw his Father rise. On instinct they all kneeled in the mats that had been placed earlier. This was bad. Very, very bad.

With a wave of his hand, Ozai lowered the flames as he moved towards them; Zuko could see his eyes adjust to the sudden darkness. “The three of you have caused upon my much dishonor.” His voice boomed throughout the room. “Not only in front of this city but upon my nation as well,” Azula watched her father scan their eyes quickly before lifting a hand towards the curtains.

Instantly two maids rushed in and drew the large curtains open. Light spilled all over the floor of the room stopping right before it hit Ozai. The three of them covered their eyes over the harsh and sudden light.

Yuan and Ozai remained unmoved.

For a moment the room remained silent until Ozai turned towards the window, placing his hands behind his back. The tall man didn’t bother looking at them, “Rise.” He commanded and they hurried up, Azula hid her trembling hands behind her since her robes only reached up to her elbows.

“This city is a sign of our triumph over the Earth Kingdom.” Ozai began; the trio looked outside the window to see how great the city looked from here and winced when they saw how deep their adventure had been marked.

“It stands on the very soil of the great capital, Ba Sing Se, where the only thing keeping us from dominating the Earth Kingdom was that forsaken wall of theirs. But we had managed to dominate over their minds and rule over without them realizing we were…and in the end had managed to bring it down from the inside.” He paused for a second, Zuko and Azula looked at their father in awe. Lu ten frowned when his eyes landed on the fields.

“I grew a city here, and I placed my home here so that we may prosper…and I need not for mine own children to cause all this to go to nothing! I would not wish to call what the gods gave me to call it a curse!” Yuan glided to her husband and placed a hand on his shoulder, he ignored it.

“I demonstrate my rule and legacy to the people here through you, and I will not have you foul my name in such manner, Zuko.” He turned; Lu ten looked at his uncle with a grim look. Zuko pushed his shoulders to square to face his father as bravely as he could.

“If you are to carry the throne as my own you cannot go on as you are now, I know my older brother has not taught you to behave in such insolence! As your Instructor in the arts I expected you to know better.” Zuko let his head hang slightly, his fists clenched at his sides. Lu ten looked at the floor and sighed.

"Azula, I expected better from my most prodigious child." Azula bowed her head. Lu Ten saw Zuko clench his eyes shut.

“Uncle,” Lu ten started, Zuko and Azula looked at him from the corner of their eyes dreading what he might say.

“Silence.” The Fire Lord hissed. Lu ten held his tongue.

“I cannot have you throw away hundreds of years of tradition when your ancestors  bled, and worked too hard to keep the kingdom rich and honor to our name!” Lu ten clenched his hands when Ozai turned to walk back to his seat.

“One fallen Temple does not ruin hundreds of years of tradition.” The sixteen year old stated simply. Ozai stopped in his tracks as Zuko and Azula stared in horror mixed awe at their cousin. The flames suddenly sprouted and roared in front of them, slamming a blast of warmth upon them.

“But one weak link can cause the destruction of a mighty dynasty!” Ozai boomed strongly, jerking a finger at Lu ten. Lu ten stepped back, his eyes wide as the flames on the dais roared to the ceiling.

“A wrong decision will lead the delicate balance of order astray; your younger siblings were fools.” Zuko and Azula looked away in shame, closing their eyes. “But you are an even bigger fool in leading them.” Lu Ten glared harshly at Ozai when he turned away, Yuan looked at her children and nephew before frowning.

Zuko looked at her before looking back at the Fire Lord and his cousin,

“Father..." Yuan raised a hand and stopped him. “Do not shame yourself more, my son.” She spoke sternly.
“But it wasn’t his fault..." Zuko continued.
“Zuko…” His mother frowned. “It was really more my fault than his…I had embarrassed Azula,”

“Zuko." Yuan said warningly. “And caused her to chase us around the city, if it’s any ones fault it’s mine, father, I take the responsibility - " he continued on, ignoring his mother.

“Enough, Zuko.” Ozai spoke suddenly, Zuko shut up on instinct. The silence that followed was horribly deafening. Azula watched her brother with narrow eyes.

“Zuko…” His father said after letting the silence drag on. Ozai turned his head to look at his son in the eye. “You’ve dishonored me.” Zuko felt as though a knife had cut him through. "Remove yourself from my presence until I call on you."

Zuko bowed his head low, feeling the pain of every word smother his pride and will. He felt lowly under his father’s gaze, and before he knew it he was running out the door.
Refusing to cry for fear of shaming himself more, Zuko kept his face hard. Men don’t cry, he thought stubbornly, men don’t cry.



‘-.-‘-.-‘-.-‘-.-‘-.-



Lu ten sighed as he watched his cousin brood on the rail of the balcony, leaning on the wall with his arms crossed and back faced towards him, with his training clothes no less. It was one of the many places where it was rather opened and allowed the sun and breeze to enter the Palace and it was Azula’s, Zuko’s, and Lu ten’s favorite place to be without any one bothering them.

Azula sat by the other wall, watching the sky with a distant look, her clothes were reduced to a sleeveless hadajuban, and large waist tight training pants. Her sandals lay discarded by the entrance. Lu Ten moved and leaned on one of the pillars that sustained the roof, fixing his own Hadajuban and pants. A smile came to his lips when he realized they were all wearing practically the same thing.

“Well that went well.” He stated, breaking the ice. He looked to his side and saw that Azula wasn’t paying attention; instead she brought her legs to her chest and fiddles with a golden bracelet. He frowned and looked back to Zuko who stayed there unmoving; he didn’t even bother to swing his legs every now and then.

Lu ten scowled before looking back at the city, in the distance he could make out parts of the desert and the two great lakes separated by the Serpent’s Pass. His eyes wandered to the actual large city itself and towards the villages where the slaves and poorer citizens lived in.

He sighed, “He said I dishonor him.” Lu ten jerked his head up suddenly at his younger cousin and best friend. Offering a smile at Zuko, even though he couldn’t really necessarily see him, Lu ten scratched his head. “I’m sure he didn’t mean that, Zuzu.”

“He looked at me in the eye.” He said slightly fiercer. “And told me I’ve dishonored him more than ever.” Lu ten’s smile faded slightly. He looked back at Azula who was watching them now with attentive eyes.

Lu ten sighed before walking towards him and placing his arms on the wooden rail, a breeze ruffled his bangs and undid some hairs from the tight top knot. “Zuko…I do not know whether he meant that or not…” Azula watched them as Zuko pretended not to listen.

“But to me…and surely to Azy,” He sent her a warm look, she looked away. “You’re the epitome of Honor.” Zuko looked at him with mild shock, before frowning and looking away.

“What’s there to honor? I’ve helped cause destruction.” Lu ten smiled wider. “Oh come on, you still aren’t blaming yourself for that, it was really my fault and you know it.” Zuko stayed quiet. A breeze ruffled their hair even more, cooling their heads from the undying heat the Sun pressed upon them.

“And besides…you took it upon yourself to take the blame…you admitted what you did was wrong…and you made sure Azula didn’t receive the same death glare from you father…that was rather honorable in my eyes.” Lu ten said turning around and leaning on his elbows backward.

“In your eyes won’t matter as much…my own father sees me as weak and pathetic…you would feel that way too if Uncle Iroh told you that.” Zuko said grimly. Placing his weight on his knees and watching the activity of the people two stories below them.

Lu ten’s smile faded, he was right. Hearing something like that from your father was like hearing that from an idol. And it was obvious to even the blind; Zuko honored and looked up to his father greatly. Almost every young boy does.

“Yea…but I really don’t have to worry about that much…” Lu ten said with a grin,
“and besides…even though you may have done all that…it doesn’t change the fact that you’re still his son. And that in some way or another…with you knowing it or not…he does care about you and is proud of you.”
Zuko’s eyes were downcast, as if he was contemplating something or just thinking. He looked up at Lu ten and smiled, “Thanks Lu ten.” His cousin responded with a toothy grin.

“Hey, Azy come here and join us in a group hug!” Lu ten said with an equally wide grin at her, Azula looked repulsed suddenly. “Uh…no thanks,” He pouted. “Well, why the hell not?”

“Well for one, you looked way too much like uncle and like an old man, and two you’re sweaty and I can smell you from here. My answer stays the same, no thanks.” Azula said with a flat look, Zuko smirked in amusement and Lu ten instinctively lifted and arm and took a sniff.

"I don’t stink…” He stated indignantly. “My answer still stands, Lulu.” Zuko snorted suddenly earning him some looks, Lu ten frowned. “Well, answer or no, you’re getting a hug.”

“Yea, when you bathe.” At this point Zuko was already clutching his stomach from held in laughter.

“Sorry, Lulu but Azula’s right.” Zuko said in between stifled laughs, “You do stink.”
Lu ten looked at his cousins before huffing, “Well no matter your answers I’m still getting a hug, I am the oldest after all.” Lu ten jerked a thumb to himself while puffing out his chest.

“Doesn’t change the fact you smell like a hog monkey.” Azula said with a smirk. Zuko snorted once more before falling backwards to the floor and continuing to laugh, tears began to sprout from his eyes.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-



A/N: Now for those of you as to why Azula’s being so ruddy sisterly, it’s because that’s what I had in mind on how she could’ve been setting all the evil and cruelty aside. Plus, I needed her to be like that if the story was going to turn out like it is now…or later. As for Lu ten, being Iroh’s son he is entitled to having the same mischief and wisdom like his father, but a little more extreme.
Speaking of Iroh, he won’t be making an entrance until ending of chapter two, beginning chapter three. Right around there, considering this chap was more of filler than an actual chap. And for those of you who have caught several things that relate to the movie, I KNOW. I am not copywriting nor am I stealing ideas. I am only using the whole accident thing to add on to the next chapter. Oh and I warn you before hand, we will be having several time skips and flashbacks so beware to all who may get confused easily.
I was hoping to make this longer but apparently it fit best to be like this…or I might have explained things with less detail so I’m hoping I’ll get to fixing that.
Well here I am rambling, now go on and review! I need your thoughts on all this! (crossed fingers)

Mido-Ao