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Chapter Text

Fire Nation

The married servants of the Fire Nation's royal palace lived in small houses that stood near the Fire Nation's royal palace. The houses were not really considered theirs, but only a kind concession. They did not pay rent, yet they could be kicked out unexpected as punishment if even one of the family members disrespected someone of higher rank or got into some kind of mischief, and the same actually applied to those who shared a room in the servants' wing of the palace or had one of their own.

Inside the royal palace there were many strict rules, such as servants could not speak unless spoken to, they had to be as invisible as possible, if the Fire Lord or someone from his family entered a room where they were, they had to stop whatever they were doing and prostrate themselves at the feet of the member of the royal family and keep their gaze down. In reality, this last rule applied to all the inhabitants of the Fire Nation; however, in the case of the servants, it was enforced more strictly.

There was also an especially important rule: a servant could not be a Firebender. The reason for this rule officially was due to the constant conflicts between the Fire Nation and the other nations and the fact that the army was constantly in need of soldiers, but it was said that the real reason was that servants had to be weak and insignificant, and in any case a person who swept the floors or dusted the furniture what was he doing with dominion? It was a big waste, or at least that was how the Fire Lord Azulon who had devised that rule thought.

Because of this rule, one of the first requirements to become a member of the servants was naturally not to possess dominion. In the case of the children of servants, who almost always became servants themselves, there were no checks because the chance of two non-dominants begetting a lord child was much lower, though of course the chance was not there, and so they were watched and if by chance they showed signs of being able to control and beget fire they were removed and if by chance there was suspicion and the suspicion was confirmed that they had hidden their gift they were often punished along with their families.

In any case, since the children of the servants were allowed, as long as they did no harm and did not disturb, to play inside the palace and in the park, it was rare that the other people who worked and lived there did not notice that a child possessed the domain. Of course, this was not about generosity, but just control freakier.

Parents hoped that their children did not possess dominion because in that case, the authorities felt entitled to take children away from their parents in the name of the good and prosperity of the Fire Nation, as the army constantly needed soldiers. In reality, the rule of taking dominant children away from non-dominant parents generally only applied to servants and people doing the most menial jobs. One of the many injustices perpetuated against the less fortunate. According to many, it was just another injustice and a way of controlling the population, Lan was a servant daughter and servant sibling, and it was highly likely that her children and her children's children would also be servants. She had often played in the corridors of the royal palace and in the castle grounds and for as long as Lan could remember she had a crush on Prince Zuko the eldest son of the Fire Lord, who to say was unattainable for her was an understatement.

Lan's mother had been the servant of Princess Ursa, the wife of the Fire Lord Ozai and mother of Prince Zuko, and now Lan was responsible for catering to every need and want of Princess Azula the sister of Zuko. Azula was anything but kind, she was entirely different from her mother, who often gave her servant girl sweets for her children. If ever Azula would give a sweet or some other kind of food to Lan, the latter would have to be incredibly careful because she could risk getting sick after eating the food in question.

Princess Azula had a bad habit of asking her to look for a dress, for example, and when Lan found it, she would tell her that she had changed her mind and that she wanted another dress and so the other had to start searching again in the princess' big wardrobe and if by chance Azula was late because she had wanted to change clothes two if not three times whose fault was it? Lan, of course, who was unable to meet her needs.

The young girl had lost count of how many times she had just finished cleaning the floor or was still cleaning it when the princess would dirty it by accidentally dropping some ink on the floor and, as if nothing had happened, she would order her to clean it.

If by chance while combing her hair it would hurt because then she would cause small burns on her hands, arms, or other areas of her body to punish her. Actually, every time she made a mistake, the princess would punish her that way, and it did not matter if the mistake was not her fault. Two or three times a week she would find an excuse to punish her. Fortunately, the burns were light and within a few days they healed and by now, after a year in every way, she was used to Azula's burns and meanness, although she often wondered what on earth she could have done to her to deserve such treatment because she knew her father had a bad temper and was short-tempered, but it seemed too pure for people like them.

That morning, Lan was sleeping peacefully in her bed in the room she had to share with her sisters: Ursa who was six years younger than her and Reiko who was eight. The eldest had been named after the wife of the current Fire Lord. Akame, their mother, had become Princess Ursa's servant after the death of Prince Iroh's wife, and just as had happened with the dead princess, after whom Lan was named, a great bond had been formed with the second, and eventually Akame and her husband decided to name their second daughter Ursa. When Ursa had disappeared shortly after her husband had become Fire Lord, her servant had suffered greatly, and with her the rest of her family and all those who loved the princess. Especially the poorer ones.

The bedroom door opened and a woman holding a candle approached the bunk bed in the room and bent over her legs, holding a steaming cup in her other hand.

"Lan it's time to wake up." She said softly. The girl uttered a mumbling protest and her mother, who had knelt on the floor, stroked her face. "Little Orchid courage, it is time to wake up. I have brought you your herbal infusion." The woman continued. The daughter's eyes opened wide, and she stared at her mother with her black irises.

"I am no longer a little orchid." She replied, rubbing her eyes with her fingertips, then took the cup her mother handed her. "Why do I have to drink this stuff twice a day? You and Dad say it's good for me, but my siblings don't have to drink it." She protested because she just could not understand why, for some strange reason, if that brew were really as healthy as her parents implied, then her sisters and siblings did not drink it.

"I am sorry, but you will always remain my little orchid to me, and anyway, you must drink the brew because it is good for you and why… I am your mother; I love you and wish only for your good, and that answer should be enough for you." She asserted. Lan heaved a sigh and under her mother's eyes began to drink the liquid after cooling it by blowing on it. When she had finished, she handed the cup back to her mother, who smiled in satisfaction and stood upright. "Now get ready because otherwise you will be late." She commented and then left the room.

A few minutes later, Lan wearing a dark red long-sleeved shirt with a flame drawn over the fabric and a long dark-colored skirt and her hair half up walked into the room where the meals were being prepared and saw her mother sitting on the cushions on the floor next to the coffee table. Seated next to her were her husband and eldest son.

"Good morning, everyone." Lan said as she sat down on one of the cushions and began to eat her own breakfast. The Fire Nation's food was very spicy, and its inhabitants consumed a lot of meat, even meat consumed more meat. Lan's family, however, had the habit of eating rice and drinking tea for breakfast.

"Today, Kazuki and I will have to go to the market to run some errands for the palace." Akame's husband announced, the latter nodded her head in assent.

"I, on the other hand, will spend the day being abused by Princess Azula and who knows if I will earn a little new burn or more than one today." She said in a sardonic tone, instinctively throwing left hug where Azula had hurt her last time because she had accidentally broken a glass. Of course, being the princess' servant meant seeing Zuko every day and being close to him in a way, but he represented something unattainable to her. It would probably be better for her heart not to see him every day.

"If the princess punishes you, she will have her reasons and if you were more careful, she would not punish you." Her father replied because, of course, it was always and only her fault and not the princess who was nothing but some kind of psychopath who enjoyed hurting others and especially her.

"I am prudent and try to please her in every way, but she is never happy. I don't understand why she continues to keep me as a servant if she clearly doesn't like it, but I suppose it depends on the fact that she enjoys hurting me." She replied. What she would have given to no longer have to serve the princess. Of course, she would have been demoted in rank, but she did not care because she would have much rather worked in the kitchens also because she liked to cook and was particularly good at baking. She often helped her mother prepare food or did so when she did not like it, and also helped the palace confectioner.

Once the Fire Lord had complimented her after she had baked a cake practically by herself because the baker was ill. Ozai's compliments were more unique than rare and maybe there was a chance that she had not forgotten about that cake and would allow her to move into the kitchens and officially become the pastry chef's helper and once he had become too old to make cakes momentarily she was, in theory, not far off even considering the fact that she could no longer see and hear as she once did.

Moving into the kitchens would have meant: no longer having to suffer Azula's mistreatment, doing what she liked best and no longer seeing Zuko except rarely, and perhaps being away from him and not seeing him would have finally dispelled her infatuation with him, which would have been a good thing since there was no way she would ever be reciprocated.

"Don't say such a thing," her father exclaimed, interrupting her thoughts. "You should feel honoured to have been chosen as the princess's servant, but you only know how to wail." He continued. Lan opened her mouth to retort however her mother put a hand on her shoulder and spoke instead.

"Princess Azula is not like her mother. Princess Ursa was kind instead her daughter took after her father and Lan does everything, he can make her happy, but it seems impossible." Said her mother in her defence then turned back to the family. "Now we must clear the table and go otherwise we risk being late." She added. Mother and daughter stood upright.

"See you at lunch." Said the husband.

"Yes, see you at lunch." Answered the wife. The man and son went out first while the wife and daughter stayed a few more minutes to wash the dishes.

"Why is daddy stricter with me than with the others?" Asked the girl drying one of the cups her mother had just washed. The mother stared at her for a few seconds.

"Lan... Years ago something happened... A terrible thing and... I was strong while he was not." She replied. The daughter stared at her confusedly unable to understand and Akame's lips curved a sweet smile. "You are our daughter, and we love you, but..." She paused for a few seconds as if searching for the right words. "Life is not always easy sometimes it is very difficult. You are different from your siblings and your father... He is afraid."

"Afraid of what?" She asked increasingly puzzled.

"I promise one day I will explain everything however not now today it is too early and then we have to go if we don't want to risk being late and giving Azula a good reason to punish you." She observed. Lan would have liked to insist, however she also knew that they would have time to talk instead to get to Azula's flats on time there wasn't much time left and if she wasn't careful she would risk being late and the last thing she wanted was to give her majesty a good reason to punish her.

"Afraid of what?" She asked increasingly puzzled.

"I promise one day I will explain everything however not now it is too early and then we have to go if we don't want to risk being late and giving Azula a good reason to punish you." She observed. Lan would have liked to insist, however she also knew that they would have time to talk instead to get to Azula's flats on time there wasn't much time left and if she wasn't careful she would risk being late and the last thing she wanted was to give her majesty a good reason to punish her.

"See you later mum have a good day." She said instead of pressing the subject as she would have liked.

The royal palace was about ten minutes away from her house although she could get there in six or seven minutes if she walked fast. On the way, she thought back to the time when, driven by a keen sense of generosity, she stopped to help an elderly woman whose basket of fruit had been knocked over by children. The elderly woman had thanked Lan for lending her a hand and then made a comment about how rude some children could be, and the young woman had smiled before saying goodbye and leaving. Unfortunately, because of her own kindness she had been late. Princess Azula had punished her without even giving her a chance to explain herself. She had given her a small burn on her arm. Considering that it had only been a few minutes late, one had to wonder what she would have done to her if she had been half an hour or even an hour late.

When she reached the palace, she headed for the kitchens, which were located on the ground floor near the cellar, the storeroom and the servants' wing.

"Is breakfast for Princess Azula ready?" She asked hopefully as soon as she stepped into the huge kitchen where dozens of people were working. In the centre of the room was a large fire over which meat could be cooked on a spit. It was always extremely hot inside the kitchens and Lan had often heard the people who worked there and the servants in general wailing and Lan seemed to be the only person who liked all that heat.

"Yes, Lan come and get it." A male voice answered, and Lan walked towards a man with long grey hair tied back in a low ponytail wearing an apron. The man had his back to her, but as soon as she had approached him, he turned to stare holding a lacquered wooden tray with red dragons drawn on it, on top of which was a cup of tea, a teapot, and a bowl with meat: the princess's breakfast.

"Is the tea at the right temperature and is the meat cooked the way the princess likes it?" She asked anxiously because she knew that if there was anything wrong the 'sweet' Azula would take it out on her.

"Don't worry the tea is at the right temperature and the pieces of meat have been cooked the way the princess likes it." The man replied with a smile on his lips. Lan stared at the food and the teapot trying to find even the smallest thing wrong and since she did not notice anything and everything seemed perfect, she lifted her head and stared at the cook.

"Forgive me, but the princess is very demanding." She spoke.

"Don't worry." The man replied. The servant thanked him for the breakfast on behalf of the princess after which she hurried out of the kitchen knowing that she had to hurry to Azula's chambers before the food and tea got cold.

One of his first tasks in the morning usually consisted of waking the princess, although it sometimes happened that when she reached her room Azula was already awake. In any case she had to knock and then enter at which point she would open the curtain and then check whether the Fire Lord's daughter was asleep or already awake, although in the latter case they would normally greet each other as soon as she stepped into the room or to be more precise she would greet the princess.

"Today is wonderfully sunny and the sky is clear. It's shaping up to be a beautiful day princess." Lan commented after opening the large, thick curtains that did not let any light through. In the evening it was her job to close them again when Azula decided it was time for bed.

"Yes, perhaps." The princess replied in an unconvinced tone as she helped her into her silk dressing gown. Azula got up and as she walked over to the table to eat breakfast the other began to make the bed knowing that she had to be incredibly careful that the sheets and blankets were pulled tightly so that no creases were left because otherwise... Otherwise the princess would be furious. Apparently, she was quiet that morning, yet she knew from experience how easily and quickly her temper could change.

Fortunately, she did not wail at breakfast and when she combed her hair, everything went well, and she did not hurt it accidentally. Everything seemed to be going well that day and she never imagined what would happen in a few hours anyway.

The morning passed quickly and smoothly. The princess seemed calm and in good spirits that day, which was more unique than rare for her, and on the one hand the servant was surprised that she had not even said something rude to her that day or made a snide remark.

As she did every day Lan brought the princess her lunch and was relieved to see that it all seemed to be to her liking, and after she had dismissed her, she went down to the kitchens to have lunch with the other servants, including her parents and her brother.

Generally, lunches were eaten in silence and the only time people opened their mouths was to ask the other diners to pass them more food or drink. One could not talk at the table or to be more precise it was forbidden to talk because by talking they would waste time that they could instead use to eat and the sooner they finished eating the sooner they could go back to work except that if they wasted time talking or for some reason arrived late to eat they always had the same time to eat their meals and so in truth if they wasted time talking instead of eating it was they who lost out.

"Is the princess well?" Asked her mother, who was sitting to her right, in a deep voice. They as well as the rest of the servants were seated on the floor along a low, long table above which was their meal which almost always consisted of the same food and rarely did there happen to be a change in the menu and if there was it was because there was a holiday of some kind such as the birthday of the Fire Lord or some other member of the royal family.

"Yes, and today she seems to be in a good mood and hasn't yet addressed a single unkind word to me." She said in a hushed whisper to make sure no one heard her unkind remark about the princess because although her majesty had an awful temper and in fact no one seemed to put up with her, even if no one had the courage to admit it out loud and so in fact it was only Lan's assumption, you certainly couldn't say anything against her or any other member of the royal family out loud unless you wanted to become a guest of the palace dungeons and that was in the most fortuitous eventuality.

"Little Orchid, you shouldn't talk like that. You know that serving members of the royal family is an honor." Translation: you should not wail, especially not in the kitchens and, of course, she was right, at least as far as that last part was concerned. He knew his mother would have been less accepting of Azula had they not been in the palace kitchens at that moment, but in the small kitchen of their home.

On the contrary, her father was never on her side, but always only on the side of the Fire Lord's daughter, and the daughter often wondered if her father really meant what he said, that it was she who was wrong and that Azula was perfect, or if he just wanted to go against his daughter. By now she had given up trying to understand why her father was stricter with her than with the other children, although every now, and then she couldn't help but wonder and think that by and large, she was a quiet, polite and kind person as well as an obedient daughter and was it so wrong for her to wail about the unfair way the princess treated her?

"I know, I know." She replied with little conviction, stuffing a piece of meat into her mouth and chewing slowly. Her mother did not reply, she just stared at her with her dark eyes.

Later that afternoon, Lan was arranging in the princess's large wardrobe the clothes she had sent for washing the day before and which were now dry. The wardrobe was double if not triple the size of the one in Lan's room and contained both her own and her sisters' clothes. They had a lot less than Azula's, not to mention the fact that the princesses were not second or third hand, also because she didn't have a sister who could pass them on to her, and even if she did, she wouldn't have passed them on to her anyway because her family certainly didn't have to save every penny they could.

Suddenly, she heard the door open and when she turned, she saw a particularly enthusiastic Azula enter the room and close the door behind her, she was excited, and Lan sensed that something good must have happened.

 "Have you received good news?" Lan asked curiously, aware that it was good for her that the princess was in a good mood because if Azula was happy she was unlikely to make any snide remarks to her. The princess stared at her with her golden eyes.

"My brother will have to face an Agni kai apparently out of turn during the council and offended one of the elders and our father thinks the only solution to resolve the dispute is a duel." Replied the princess. The other widened her eyes, and the shirt she was about to tuck into the wardrobe fell out of her hand and onto the floor. The excitement on Azula's face suddenly disappeared.

"What are you up to? Does this seem like the way to treat my clothes?" She asked furiously and, quickly, he was in front of her with the shirt in his hand.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry, but the news shocked me." Replied the other mortified, though aware that the apology was useless because in the past, when she had done wrong, she had apologized and even pleaded, however Ozai's daughter had still punished her.

"Stupid, you're just a fool, but you're a lucky fool because I'm in a good mood today, so I won't punish you." She affirmed throwing her shirt now. "Now finish tidying up and then get out of my sight because I have no intention of having my day ruined by you." She added with her back to her and then sat down on a chair at the table and started writing something on a paper. Staring at the shirt, which was red like most of Azula's clothes, she thought that for once she was lucky that he had not punished her, but her luck was at the expense of Zuko's.

She had never witnessed a duel between firebenders, but she knew that Agni kai was how firebenders settled disputes and staked their honor. The winner would burn the opponent. Needless to say, the loser would lose his honor. Lan did not know how and when it was possible for the loser to regain his honor, but she did know that these duels had been held for hundreds of years and that the royal palace had a hall dedicated only to them, although she had never set foot in it.

The hall was large and housed several tribunes from which the public could watch the duel that would take place on a long-raised platform in the center of the hall. Dozens and dozens of people had come to watch the Agni kai, including Lan, who surmised that one of the reasons, so many people had come to watch the fight was not only the popularity of the event, but also the curiosity to see the future Fire Lord in a duel.

Lan made of the few servants in the room and was seated on one of the topmost bleachers and was behind Princess Azula and Prince Iroh who were seated in the front row instead. The maidservant was in terror, in contrast to Azula did not appear the least bit concerned about her brother and his safety. Far from it.

Prince Iroh in contrast to his niece, appeared worried about his nephew just like Lan. Near the two was a dark-haired man whom Lan knew only by sight, but she knew his name was Zhao, and he was one of the commanders of one of the Fire Nation warships. The young woman had not yet seen the expression on the commander's face, so she would not be able to determine whether he was worried or rather curious, as most of those present appeared.

When she saw Prince Zuko step onto the platform with donned a robe. Lan knew that the two contenders taking part in the duel did so shirtless with only their pants on, and she had to admit that part of her was excited at the thought of seeing Zuko shirtless. Her eyes were fixed on the prince, and she did not turn to look at who her opponent was. Only when Zuko had turned to face his opponent, just as he did, she realized to her amazement that the opponent was none other than Fire Lord Ozai. Surprised, she stared in disbelief at the man advancing toward his son. He too had removed his robe, and he too was shirtless.

"The Fire Lord? Does Ozai really intend to fight against his own son?" A woman sitting next to Lan whispered in surprise. The man sitting next to her replied without looking away from the two contenders.

"It seems that the prince spoke out of turn during a council of war and, by doing so in fact, disrespected his father." The man replied, and the astonishment on the woman's face disappeared and, in its place, appeared understanding instead.

"I understand, however I wonder if he really intends to fight against his own son." She affirmed, and his was the same question the audience could judge from the whispers Lan heard around him. She noticed that a wicked smile had appeared on the face of Princess Azula who, if she was already excited before at the thought of her brother having to take part in an Agni kai now, if possible, seemed even more so.

Meanwhile, even the shock on Prince Zuko's face had disappeared. The boy knelt on the platform and begged his father to forgive him, stating that he did not want to disrespect him and the servant thought that Ozai would forgive his son who maybe just wanted to scare him and teach him a lesson instead the man intimated his son to get up and fight, however he again refused.

Silence had fallen in the hall. Everyone present stared at the scene in front and held their breath. Lan felt her heart beating fast and stared at the scene in front of her. When she saw the fire appear around Ozai's hand and the same hand approaching Zuko's terrified face, she sensed what was about to happen and closed her eyes and then heard the prince's scream.

A few days later, Lan knocked on the door of Prince Zuko's room and when she was given permission to enter, she opened the door and saw Prince Iroh sitting at his nephew's bedside. The left side of Zuko's face was covered by a bandage. The prince was asleep at the time, and Lan had heard that Iroh had hardly left his nephew's bedside since his father had wounded him. The Fire Lord's older brother looked roomy, and the girl suspected that he was not getting enough sleep.

"Prince Iroh, I have brought you a cup of your favorite tea." She said kindly as she approached the bed holding a tray on which was a teapot and two cups. "I thought I'd also bring a cup for Prince Zuko in case… In case he wants to drink a cup too." She affirmed, casting a glance at the sleeping boy.

"Thank you, that was a nice thought, but I don't think my nephew will be desiring tea when he wakes up." He remarked, taking one of the cups from the tray. Lan poured tea into it and the man took a sip. "Good, thank you again." He added, looking away from his nephew to stare at the girl.

"Prince Iroh, you look distraught, are you asleep?" She asked worriedly.

"Not much actually, but perhaps when my nephew and I leave for the search for the Avatar I will be able to sleep more." He commented with a sigh.

"The Avatar disappeared almost a hundred years ago. Forgive me, but it seems like an impossible mission." She retorted.

"You are right, but it is the only way my nephew could recover his honor, and Zuko is determined to succeed." He replied grimly. "You care for him just as much as I do, don't you?" He observed. The servant felt her cheeks flush and bowed her head guiltily.

"I'm sorry." She spoke.

"You don't have to be sorry. You know, none of us can choose who we fall in love with." He replied in a calm tone.

"I am a servant daughter." She retorted, lifting her head, and staring into the man's eyes that were as golden as his nephew's.

"Even servants fall in love and have feelings. Your mother and my wife were bound by great affection, and when my beloved Lan died your mother was very close to me is Lu Ten even after she started serving my sibling's wife." He commented with a sad expression as whenever he spoke of his dead wife and son. "Lu Ten loved your mother very much and regarded her as his second mother." He continued.

"My mother suffered a lot when your wife and then Prince Lu Ten died, she was also very close to him and always regarded him as a sixth son." She replied, remembering the tears on her mother's face when she heard that the prince had fallen in battle in Ba Sing Se.

"Your mother has always been a good, kind, and loving woman to everyone. You know, many years ago, when she was my wife's servant, I helped her for… For a problem. Actually, it was my wife who asked me to help her. There was a man who was bothering her. He was an arrogant young soldier. I arranged for the soldier to be removed, and your mother has always been deeply grateful to me." He recounted.

"Really? She always spoke highly of you, your wife and Prince Lu Ten, but she never told me this story." She looked puzzled because she had always thought she knew everything about her mother, at least until that moment.

"Parents don't always tell their children everything, and I imagine it was a rather painful subject for her." He replied.

"Who was the soldier?" She asked, wondering if she had ever met him, probably yes, since over the years she had seen and passed hundreds if not thousands of people in the corridors and palace rooms.

"His name is of no importance, it is enough for you to know that there are men whose honor has never been questioned, but who actually behave more dishonorably than those who have lost their honor." He affirmed. Lan nodded his head in assent, imagining he was right.

"Prince Iroh forgive me, but I believe you are in great need of rest, especially if you are to leave tomorrow for a journey that you have no idea how long it will last." She observed worriedly. "If you wish I can stay with the prince just a few hours of the time you rest and adjudicate from your appearance forgive me, but you are in great need." She added. Iroh seemed to hesitate for a moment, then rose from his chair.

"You are right, and I thank you. I am sure I am leaving my nephew in good hands." He spoke. He placed the now empty teacup on the tray and headed for the door.

"I would like to come with you." Lan exclaimed when Iroh had already opened the door. "I am not a dominatrix, but I am a servant is used to cleaning, cooking, and serving. I am also talented in baking." She continued, turning to stare at the Fire Lord's sibling.

"We may never return, or it may be years before my sibling forgives Zuko and you will be away from your family." Commented the man.

"I love my family, but I don't care if I might never return." She said in a firm tone. She avoided saying that one of the reasons she wanted to leave had a name that started with A and ended with A because she did not want to risk offending the man in front of her by claiming that his niece was cruel. Iroh stared at her for a few seconds.

"The decision, of course, is yours, and I admit that even if you are not a dominatrix… I mean Zuko and I are certainly not used to making our beds, you know, even when I was in the war, I had someone to do it for me." She replied. "But I wonder if you are aware that we may never return or be apart for who knows how many years. He added seriously, looking into her eyes. She did not look away.

"And ever since I heard that the prince was going to be exiled and that you were going with him, I've been thinking about it. My family is not happy and they… They don't know everything, although I think my mother suspects something, however, I am sure of my decision." She said in a determined tone. Iroh stared at her for a few seconds.

"You remind me a lot of my wife, who was also determined and when she decided it was difficult to change her mind, but I warn you, it won't be easy, and it could even be dangerous."

"I am aware of that." She replied, and the man seemed satisfied with her answer.

"Good, then I think you could start by taking care of Zuko. Now I warn you that his mood is evil since his father injured him." He warned her then cast one last glance at his nephew after which he left, leaving her alone with his nephew who had continued to sleep during the entire time of their conversation and had not noticed anything.

A few days later, there was an accident on the ship on which Ozai had allowed his son to travel during his impossible quest. It was an accident that made Lan discover a secret that her parents had kept from her for years, and although she had understood their reasons from the start, deep down she would always be angry with them for keeping something so important from her.

A year later, on the anniversary of the beginning of the exile, seeing Zuko particularly sad, Lan baked him his cake in an attempt to cheer him up. The prince did not take his kind gesture well and threw the cake to the ground. Angered at his nephew for his rude gesture, Iroh forced Zuko to apologize and that apology, although given grudgingly and not at all sincerely, was the beginning of a rapprochement between the two boys and within a short time Lan became the only good thing, if not the only thing, about Zuko's exile.

After some time, Zuko's search for the avatar did not become the only main thought in Zuko's mind because Lan also constantly occupied his thoughts, but although the young man was aware that his was not a simple infatuation for a woman, he was also aware that a woman who once swept floors could never become Lady of Fire, but three years later things were destined to change after an important discovery that would change everything and make Zuko even more determined to find the Avatar because at that point it was no longer just his destiny and rights at stake, but those too.… Even those of his child.

Chapter Text

The royal palace of the Fire Nation had no secrets for Akame. She had grown up in the middle of those corridors and in the park of the castle then once she reached adolescence she had begun to work there as a servant and chased had become first the servant of Princess Lan, wife of Prince Iroh, then of Princess Ursa, wife of the present Lord of Fire. The years in which she had served the two princesses had been the happiest years of her life, if you did not count the months in which a soldier had made her life very difficult... Difficult was a euphemism for her, it had been a period of great suffering until Princess Lan intervened on her behalf and asked her husband, Prince Iroh, for help on her behalf.

Akame had named two of her daughters in honour of the princesses she had served faithfully and had learned to love. Of course, she had always been aware of her position that she was a servant, and they were princesses, yet she could consider them friends and had no doubt that they had returned her affection.

Her relations with Prince Iroh had been courteous while Prince Lu Ten had loved her a lot and she loved him and after the death of her mother that affection had grown to the point that she had begun to consider him her six son and he a maternal figure. When then the prince had fallen to Ba Sing Se the woman had suffered and cried as if she had lost a son.

As for Prince Ozai, he soon learned that he was completely different from his brother, and the times he turned to her was just to give her orders. His marriage to Princess Ursa was nowhere near as happy as Iroh and Lan’s. Akame knew enough about royal marriages to know that love rarely had anything to do with it, however in some cases the spouses learned to nurture at least to feel affection instead in the case of Ursa and Ozai there was no affection if for this even respect. The prince was not at all kind to his wife, and when the princess disappeared soon after her husband ascended the throne on one side Akame felt relieved that at least Ursa had stopped suffering.

In the past she had often wondered about the fate of Ursa officially the princess had disappeared undead, but Akame, who knew the woman’s love for her children and especially for her son, could not believe that the woman had abandoned her children or at least not voluntarily, perhaps she had been forced, but the servant tried not to think about it.

When Lan had decided to follow Prince Zuko in his exile on one side Akame was happy that finally the daughter would stop suffering the continuous harassment and mistreatment of Princess Azula but at the same time suffered at the thought that it would be I don’t know how long before she could see her daughter again, not to mention that she always suspected that Lan had feelings for Zuko, so she was worried that she went with him not to mention the possible dangers, but the reassured that with them there was the Prince Iroh who had a great affection for his nephew and had always been kind to Lan, often commenting that reminded him of his dead wife.

That day had started like so many others: she had woken up, eaten breakfast then reached the royal palace aware that she would return home only in the afternoon sometimes she would even return in the evening or even when she should already have been in bed sleeping for a few hours because there was a feast in the palace and she and the other servants could return to their homes only after the feast was over, but while the Fire Lord and the rest of the people who did not work inside the palace could sleep late Akame and the others instead had to take service at the usual time no matter if they had perhaps slept only four hours.

During four of her pregnancies, she had served first one princess and then the other. Lan and Ursa had been truly kind to her insisting that she does not carry too heavy objects and rest, especially at the end of her pregnancies. Other people in their place would not have been so concerned about the health of a servant girl and the child she was expecting. The second pregnancy, the one that would later lead to the birth of Lan... In short, it had not started out in the best of ways to tell the truth that pregnancy had not been easy from the beginning, but fortunately she had had by her side a woman of a higher rank than her own who, however, had always been kind to her and had even insisted and obtained that she stay at home for some time and not work.

The maidservant had felt great gratitude toward her lady and when she later learned that she had given birth to a leaf she had named it Lan in honour of Prince Iroh’s wife. If it had been a boy, she was undecided between Iroh and Lu Ten. The princess had felt deeply honoured by her decision to name the child after her and had given her baby clothes, a cradle, and other items she would need which Akame, and her husband had been incredibly happy about and had increased their sense of gratitude.

Akame and her husband had taught their children to keep their place-it was important for a servant to learn to keep his place and to keep quiet when not asked. Akame hoped that if indeed, as she suspected, her daughter really had a crush on Prince Zuko she hoped that this infatuation would end and soon because a servant could not fall in love with a prince. If he had been a soldier then her daughter would have some hope despite her origins, however after her own terrible experience with a soldier she hoped her daughter would never have anything to do with one.

Akame was finishing hanging out the clothes she had just finished working on. She had to be incredibly careful when hanging out the clothes to prevent creases from forming and thus limiting the ironing work she and the other servants would have to do as soon as the clothes dried. There were small windows in the room were placed extremely high which made it difficult to open or close them if needed.

Akame took a sheet from the laundry basket beside her feet and arranged it on the line in front of her so that no creases remained. She heard the sound of the laundry room door opening and closing, yet she paid no attention to it until she heard a person call her name.

"Akame." Said a female voice. The maidservant turned around and saw standing near the laid-out laundry a woman wearing the uniform of the Fire Nation soldiers who were in charge of protecting the Fire Nation's Royal Palace and in practice the Fire Lord and members of the royal family.

"Yes, did something happen?" She asked immediately thinking of her children and husband and fearing that something serious might have happened.

"The Fire Lord wishes to speak to you in his chambers however, first finish hanging out your laundry." Said the serious woman. Akame nodded her head in assent wondering what on earth could have happened to prompt the Fire Lord to summon her to his chambers also because after Ozai's wife had disappeared they had hardly ever spoken to each other and to tell the truth they didn't talk that much even before and when it happened it was only because he wanted to give her some order. The woman soldier said nothing more and left, leaving Akame to her work.

Once she had finished hanging out her remaining laundry Akame left the laundry room after warning her superior that she had been summoned by the Fire Lord. The man had told her to return as soon as she finished speaking with the Fire Lord because there was more work to be done, and the woman replied that she would return as soon as she could.

Akame had never set foot in the Fire Lord's personal rooms however when she entered the living room that formed a part of the apartments, she was not surprised to find that the room was twice if not three times the size of the living room in her home. Hanging on one of the walls of the room was a banner with the emblem of the Fire Nation drawn over a flame. When Akame entered the room, he saw the Fire Lord sitting on a high-backed and richly decorated chair in front of him was a solid wooden table on the edge of which flames were drawn behind Ozai was a large window that took up almost the entire wall.

"Akame, I remember you were my wife's servant and I think you know that the fact that you served my wife well and faithfully is one of the reasons why your daughter Lan was chosen to serve my daughter Princess Azula."

He affirmed seriously. "In retrospect now perhaps, your daughter was not the best choice considering that she insisted on following my son into exile." He continued.

"I'm sorry." Said the woman instinctively, although it was not her fault that her daughter had decided to leave with Prince Zuko and abandon her position as Princess Azula's personal servant.

"We parents have the main task of educating our children and doing so in the best possible way, and if they then behave recklessly or wrongly, it is our fault." Ozai commented, and the woman bowed her head. She believed that she had done everything in her power to educate her daughter in the most righteous way and to tell the truth after all Lan had done nothing wrong in choosing to leave her position as a servant to instead accompany Prince Zuko and Prince Iroh on their journey in their desperate search for the Avatar also because Akame's duties had not changed as she would be in charge of cleaning, making tea, food and anything else the princes might need during their journey. She suspected, however, that Ozai would not care for him his daughter had to be a fool who had left her position as his daughter's servant to accompany in her exile a prince who had lost his honour and who, in order to recover it, had to succeed in the impossible task of finding someone who had disappeared a hundred years before and was probably dead.

"I'm sorry." She apologized again. Ozai watched her silently with his golden eyes for a few seconds then stood upright from his chair, and the woman gasped as he approached her and briefly placed a hand on her shoulder in a gesture that should have either comforted her or unnerved her even more.

"Oh, don't apologize. You know I think sometimes no matter how hard we parents may try in giving the right education to our children unfortunately the children don't always seem to be able to really take in our teachings and even in the best families sometimes there is a bad apple." He observed in a calm and seemingly conciliatory tone, but the woman was focused on the words that had just come out of her mouth and particularly when she had implied that her daughter was a rotten apple. Lan her little orchid who of all her siblings had always been the most obedient and who loved to cook especially liked to make sweets... And what sweets!

Lan since childhood had had a special talent for baking cakes, and the woman wondered if Ozai remembered the time her daughter had baked a big cake for a party because the palace pastry chef was unable to fulfil that task, Akame was not present, but she had heard that everyone present had stared in wonder at the cake when Lan had approached a flame and the cake had caught fire it had been only for a few seconds, however it had been enough for Lan to earn the compliments of the Fire Lord and by all accounts the taste of the cake had won everyone over as well.

"Your daughter and my son are having an affair, and it seems that now your daughter is pregnant." Announced the Fire Lord and immediately the cake catching fire in front of dozens of astonished people including members of the royal family disappeared from her mind and an expression of astonishment instead appeared on the face of the woman who in all her life never expected that it would be her lord who would announce that she would soon be a grandmother and even less that the father of said child would be...

"My daughter is pregnant with your son's child. Are you serious?" She exclaimed surprised.

"My son wrote me a letter announcing the birth of my first grandchild. I then conducted an investigation and to my knowledge what my son said in his letter is true." He replied seriously as he sat back in the chair behind the table. "I felt it was right that you and your husband should know, but I want to make it clear that nothing will change. The fact that your daughter has become my son's concubine and is expecting a child will not change your and your family's position." He continued, looking her in the eyes.

"Concubine? Has my daughter become the prince's concubine?" She repeated. Concubines were women generally of upper-middle rank who had the privilege of being chosen by a Fire Lord or prince as mistresses and resided in the palace. Actually, they were not mere mistresses there was no particular difference except that the children of concubines were considered legitimate children and consequently could inherit. At one time it was common for the Fire Lord and princes to have female concubines who were chosen by them and not imposed on them as was often the case with wives. By now the practice had fallen into disuse, and the last Fire Lord to have had concubines was the Fire Lord's grandfather Sozin whose son, Sozin's father, was precisely the son of one of the concubines and had inherited the throne since his father had had no children by his legitimate consort and he was the eldest of all the children.

The son or daughter of Lan and Prince Zuko would have been by right a Prince/Princess of the Fire Nation who could have inherited, but only if his/her father did not marry a woman whose children, even if younger than Lan's child, would have taken precedence in the line of succession what is more Lan's position as a concubine could have changed completely overnight because concubines had fewer rights than wives and repudiating a concubine was much easier as well as common, and if Lan in one day was repudiated she ran the risk of never seeing her child and any others that might have been born in the meantime.

"If Zuko at this time were not in exile and therefore far away from here, but had remained in the capital and not disgraced me I would never have allowed such a thing rather I would have chased you and your family away before any of this could happen, but unfortunately my son is far away and I learned of this whole affair when it was too late." Ozai replied in a cold tone. "I warn you if ever my son should return from his exile he will marry a young woman belonging to a prominent family and your daughter will forever remain only a servant who has been awarded the title of concubine and if I do not kick you and your family out and only because after all we will soon all be members of the same family." He said with a sardonic smile.

"A great honour and I thank you for informing me of the news." She affirmed striving to use a neutral tone while inside she seemed to have a battle going on between her emotions. What she had just received was supposed to be happy news however instead she kept thinking about the big mess her daughter had gotten herself into and wondered how she could have been so stupid as to think that having a child with the one who even if in exile still remained the crown prince, perhaps had not educated her as well as she had thought because if she had she certainly would not have found herself in such a situation. "Forgive me, but I can go I have many more chores to do." She added. The Fire Lord dismissed her with a gesture of his arm and after performing a bow the woman left the room.

Later in Princess Azula's room a glass flask was flying across the room and then crashing against one of the walls and shattering into a thousand pieces.

"That damned wench!" She shrieked furiously, missing a small fireball against the wall. Her friend Mai was standing next to her and despite her friend's fury appeared rather impassive. In contrast to the princess' personal servant who appeared terrified she was kneeling on the floor and kept her head bowed.

"I don't understand why you are so upset that your brother got that girl pregnant. You are the daughter of the Fire Lord while she a servant who seduced your brother by becoming his concubine, but still a servant she remains." Replied Mai whose clothes were various shades of red just like those of the princess whose friend she had been since school. Azula turned to stare at her eyes were full of anger.

"That child will be entitled to the throne!" Azula exclaimed as flames appeared around her hands. Mai did not flinch, or at least not apparently. "After Zuko was exiled, I did a lot for my father and for the Fire Nation I trained with dominion every day for hours and studied so that one day I could rule, and I will not allow the child of a traitorous wench to ruin everything." She shrieked, throwing another small fireball that this time hit a porcelain vase on a table that ended up on the floor shattering into a thousand pieces.

"He or she will be the child of a concubine while you will be the daughter of the Fire Lord and his rightful consort and in any case your brother has lost his honour and his right to the throne and questioned since then plus your father has always preferred you to him which he has never made a secret of." Said Mai in a calm tone. "You have nothing to fear from that servant girl or the child growing in her womb." She continued.

"I want her and her damn baby dead!" Exclaimed the princess on whom her friend's words did not seem to have had the calming effect at all. "Now outside I want to be alone." She added. The servant who seemed to be waiting for nothing hurriedly left the room while Mai remained motionless in her seat. "I said outside!" Azula added in a firmer tone of voice and her friend also left, leaving her alone with her anger and hatred for her former servant.

Azula continued for a while longer to vent her anger on the objects in the room as well as throwing small fireballs and eventually her room became a big mess: the floor was strewn with pieces of pottery or glass and she had even ripped one of the bed pillows then from all over there were burn marks caused by her fireballs. Azula let herself fall onto a chair that had been strangely unharmed. The rage had not faded, yet in part it seemed to have abated.

"Damn you I swear I will make you pay. I will kill you." She said menacingly. She had always thought Lan was unworthy of her feelings for her. She did not know when exactly she had begun to feel attracted to her servant, probably from before she became her servant since her mother was her servant and Lan a child her mother seemed fonder of than her own daughter. To see her mother giving sweets to a child who was not her or to see her giving her compliments for example had been yet another reason for her to despise a person whom given her humble origins she felt was unworthy of her love for her.

Azula had always thought that her mother was kinder and fonder of her because, when she looked at her she saw a monster a heartless person however, she in the end had never really cared because she had her father. Ozai from the beginning had understood that she was better than Zuko and had always looked at her and treated her differently. Of course some might have said and thought that Ozai was stricter with his eldest son because he was his heir, but the daughter knew that her father had always considered Zuko to be weak and therefore unworthy of being his heir as opposed to her who had always been stronger and generally better than her brother.

Her idiot brother then had done her a big favour and confirmed what Ozai had already thought of him when she had disrespected and disgraced him. Zuko had shown that he was weak by refusing then to fight his father, it may be that if instead his brother had not backed down that day and agreed to fight his father instead of prostrating himself at Ozai's feet and begging for his forgiveness. If he had done so then it was possible that the Fire Lord's idea of his eldest son would have changed completely. Fortunately, at least for her, instead her opinion had only worsened since that day three years ago now.

Azula had benefited from her brother's stupidity, weakness, and exile because her father had been confirmed that Zuko was not worthy to be his heir. Only now there was the child who unlike his father had not yet failed his grandfather and could ruin everything. The princess clenched her hands into fists.

“Cursed Lan may you be cursed along with your progeny, but I will not allow you and that kind of parasite growing in your womb to ruin everything I have so painstakingly built and achieved.” She said in a determined tone. No, she would not allow a servant girl and her child to ruin everything, and for the umpteenth time since she had learned of Lan’s pregnancy she wished for her death. She had always thought that the wretched servant was not worthy of her love and had confirmed it by leaving her to follow his brother into exile and then becoming his concubine, perhaps if she was lucky Lan would die in childbirth and with her offspring smiled sadistically at that thought thinking that while her brother would suffer she would instead feel immensely happy.

Meanwhile in the cold Northern Sea where everything was covered with snow and sometimes the water turned out to be icy and so it was necessary to break the ice in order to get through into the cabin of a Fire Nation ship a boy whose head was almost entirely bald except for a pigtail in the middle of his head and one side of his face bore an ugly scar and a man with long grey hair sat across from each other at a table.

“It has already been several days since I wrote to my father, but he still hasn’t answered me.” Commented the young man in an annoyed tone. The uncle did not flinch and took a sip of tea from the cup in his hand.

“Prince Zuko on personal experience that when you are traveling sometimes letters take a long time to reach their destination and then we are quite far from the place you had sent the letter from.” He observed in a calm tone to his uncle. “You should drink some of this jasmine tea will help keep your nerves calm.” He added. He took the teapot on the table and tipped some tea into the cup the nephew had in front of him.

“I do not want tea I want to find the Avatar. Only then can I restore my honour and I want my son to be born and grow up in the Fire Nation. One distant day he will sit on the throne and rule the Fire Nation like his father and grandfather before him.” He said in a determined tone. Iroh took another sip of tea then placed the cup on the table.

“Prince Zuko, I don’t think I need to remind you that Lan is a concubine.” He said seriously. “You will probably marry someday and if your wife were to give you children then those children even if they are younger will take precedence in the line of succession.”

“No, the child I get from Lan will be my firstborn and as such he will one day become Fire Lord after me.” He exclaimed.

“Unfortunately, the children you get from your rightful spouse will take precedence. The son or daughter of a concubine can inherit, but only if the father’s wife did not bear him children. Your grandfather’s father was the son of a concubine and could only inherit because his father’s wife had failed to give him offspring.” He continued. “I understand that it may seem like an unfair law, but the truth is that even if you don’t marry or otherwise have children even your sister Azula could be considered the rightful heir.”

When Zuko opened the door to the cabin he shared with Lan, he saw her sitting in a chair intent on knitting. She had already made things for the baby and had recently started another blanket. She enjoyed knitting, she said she found it relaxing. She did not immediately notice his presence and he took the opportunity to stare at her. What was love? Could it be loving that Zuko had learned to feel for his sister's former servant during his exile? Did it even matter that much? A Fire Nation prince could never marry a woman who once swept the floors, could he? Several times he had asked himself those questions since their relationship seemed to have evolved increasingly, and until a few months ago he had believed he knew the answers to those questions.

"Zuko." Her voice distracted him from his thoughts and his lips curved into one of his rare smiles. Lan had looked up from her knitting and set it down on the table above which was a basket full of balls of yarn and other needles.

"How is Prince Ozai?" He asked as he approached and laid a hand on her belly. The girl assumed a wrinkled expression.

"Are you really going to name our child Ozai if it will be a boy?" She asked there was irritation as well as disbelief in the tone of her voice.

"Fire Lord Ozai II sounds good and my father would be happy about it." He replied. The other stared at him sceptically but did not retort.

"Speaking of him... Did he respond to the letter you sent him?" She asked. He shook his head and stared at her recently swollen belly Lan had begun to feel the movements of the fetus and he had begun to touch her belly more than usual and for longer in the hope of feeling her child move. Until recently he had not really thought about when he would become a father. Of course, he knew that someday he would get married and have children however it had always seemed a distant moment and until a few months ago his only thought was to find the Avatar, but then Lan had gotten pregnant, and everything had changed. Of course, he was always thinking about his quest, which had taken on even greater importance since now it was no longer his claim to the throne and his future that he had to protect.

"No, not yet never rest assured she will not be able to ignore the child." He replied then removed his hand from her lap and lifted his head to meet her eyes. "We have to get married to make sure his right of succession is respected because even if I find the Avatar it might not happen if he or she is just the child of a concubine." He affirmed seriously. "Instead, if you marry me his right of succession will be respected and you would become a Fire Nation Princess, of course not everyone will be thrilled given your humble origins, but I've thought it over and it's the right thing to do to make sure Ozai's rights are respected." He continued. There was no hesitation in his voice. Lan stared at him for a few seconds before responding.

Chapter Text

Everything looked so the same in this place: everywhere Lan turned, she saw only snow and ice, expanses of snow and ice, and she had lost count of all the times they had to break the ice in order to get the ship through.

She didn't like the cold, she had never liked it, and she wondered if the boy or girl wouldn't like the cold either, maybe not, since he would be an inhabitant of the Fire Nation and a Prince of the Fire Nation at that, which she wasn't quite sure about, since right now she thought he or she would be born in exile.

She had asked Iroh if the child would be considered a citizen of their country even if he was born in another country, and he had said yes, although he did not seem convinced. She hoped that if he were to be born in another country, he would be born in the Earth Kingdom, for it would be less cold there than in her native land, but at least she would not fear that she might freeze every time she set foot outside in the open air.

Sitting on the deck of the ship near Iroh, the girl stared at Zuko, staring at the horizon: what exactly the prince hoped to see or find, she did not know, for around them there was only snow, ice, water, and animals typical of those glacial lands.

"Surely you're warmer than we are." She watched, placing her hand on her swollen belly, and it seemed to her that she heard the child move as if to answer her, though she could not say whether to confirm or deny her observation.

"You're probably right." Iroh commented as he handed her a cup. The girl gladly accepted it and thought of how things had changed from not so long ago when she was the one who served tea to people, and at most she could hope that her mother or someone else in the servants would pass her food or drink.

"Thank you." She said she was about to raise the cup to her lips when suddenly a strange blue light appeared on the horizon and reached up to the sky. She stared at her incredulously. "But what is it?" She asked in surprise.

"Uncle, did you see?" Zuko asked impatiently, turning to them, and pointing to the mysterious light.

"Yes, Prince Zuko is indeed a beautiful light." The Fire Lord’s brother answered, not taking his eyes off the tiles on the table.

"Don't you understand, uncle? It's the Avatar, I'm sure that light means it's near." The young man exclaimed impatiently. "Finally, my search is over." Added. The light disappeared. Prince Iroh looked absolutely calm, totally caught up in his game and not at all impressed by what was going on.

"But uncle, such a light could have been produced by a strong energy. I'm sure it's the Avatar." The prince answered. Iroh briefly looked up from his match and stared at his nephew with an air of pity.

"Nephew, I've been sailing these seas for a lot longer than you and those lights are pretty common here. I don't want you to have any vain illusions." He said in a calm tone. "Why don't you drink a cup of jasmine tea? It will help you calm down." Proposed.

"I don't need to relax." Zuko replied with a tone of voice and an expression that seemed to completely contradict his words. "I just need to find the Avatar so I can get my honour back." He added, turning to stare at the horizon, then ordered the helmsman to head for the light.

"Prince Iroh, do you think there's even a small chance that Zuko is right and that light..." She did not finish the sentence. The man turned to stare at her.

"Lan, I've sailed these seas for a long time, and I've often been able to admire lights like those, and I'm afraid Prince Zuko is just deluding himself." He replied calmly.

"Lan, go find three soldiers and tell them I'm going to train." The prince exclaimed. The girl rose from the floor with one hand on her belly, and without saying a word opened the door that led into the ship and set out in search of three men who could help the prince to train.

There was a not exceptionally large room that served as a canteen and where the crew ate their meals. Before she became Zuko's lover, she also ate with them and got to know these men, some of whom she liked more than others. Until recently, she was the only woman on board. Prince Iroh had never said that, but she suspected that the main reason he had insisted that she have a personal cabin and that cabin be close to her and Zuko's was to protect her from the crew members. None of them seemed like a bad person, but you could never know for sure.

When she crossed the threshold of the cafeteria door, she saw some men sitting chatting. The canteen was also the place where the crew spent time during their hours of rest.

"Good morning, I'm sorry to interrupt your rest, but Prince Zuko wants to train, he asks you for three soldiers to join him on the bridge." Stated. The men turned to stare at her. One of them was small in stature and had a face that was not pretty at all, but Lan knew that behind that ugly face was a person with a heart of gold. He had a daughter the same age as Lan and for this reason he had been worried about her safety from the first moment they both set foot on the ship and when she had become Prince Zuko's lover in a worried tone he had asked her if by any chance he was forcing her.

She did not really know what he would do if she answered him in the affirmative, but she figured he would face Zuko, even if it was not a wise move on his part, considering he was not a dominator and did not seem to have much strength either.

"Let's get there right away, Concubine Lan." One of the men who was sitting at the table as most of the people on that ship answered: he was a ruler and a soldier of the Fire Nation. He wore his hair shoulder-length and had dark eyes. Lan's mother had always advised her and her siblings to stay away from the soldiers because some of them were not good people at all and were even arrogant and convinced that everything was due to them, but the young man who had just spoken was not like that at all.

"I advise you to hurry, for the prince is nervous." She said and then left the room.

She reached her cabin, and when she arrived, she saw Yumi folding clothes and putting them in a chest of drawers. The woman lifted her head from her work and stared at it.

"Princess, do you need anything? I haven't finished arranging your clothes yet, but if you want, I can take a break and..."

"Never mind Yumi, I just came to get my knitting and please don't call me princess. I'm not a princess, just a concubine." She said, taking the basket in which she kept the balls of yarn. Inside was a baby blanket that was almost halfway through. "Zuko has seen a strange light and thinks it might be the Avatar." She added, changing the subject, and slipping the basket under her arm.

"The Avatar?" The woman repeated nervously.

"Yes, the Avatar, but Prince Iroh doesn't think it's really him... Or you because you say it's normal to see lights here in the South." Answered. Yumi did not answer, and the other thought she could imagine what she was thinking: if the Fire Nation managed to capture the Avatar, then there would be no hope that the war that had been going on for a hundred years between the other nations and the Fire Nation would end.

Yumi was originally from an island that was part of the Earth Kingdom. After learning of Lan's pregnancy, Prince Zuko had been looking for a woman who could take care of her and the baby, and fate had landed them on the island where Yumi lived. The woman was one of the midwives on the island, along with her daughter, and Zuko had forced her to follow them. Lan was kind to her and told her several times that she was sorry and over time the older woman had begun to feel at least comfortable in her presence. They were not friends and probably could never have been however, she did what she could to take care of Lan and the baby.

Zuko had threatened to kill her family and all the inhabitants of the island and then to her if anything bad happened to Lan or the child. Yumi had sworn to keep mother and baby healthy, and the mother-to-be hoped with all her heart that everything would be okay during the pregnancy and then during the birth because she was aware that even though Yumi would do everything in her power to help her and the baby, but if despite her care one or,  worse, both would die... She did not even want to think about it.

"If the Avatar were to be captured by the Fire Nation, it would be the end. There would be no chance of peace one day returning." Lan commented. "The Fire Nation's ambition and thirst for power could be everyone's downfall." Added.

"Prin... Concubine: You're right." Yumi's tone of voice had been hesitant. "I think all nations have their skeletons in the closet."

"But not as much as the Fire Nation and the Air Nomads were a peaceful people." She stared at the sky through the cabin window.

"None of us are perfect, and they've certainly made mistakes and bad decisions." Yumi replied by closing the drawer of the dresser. "Once upon a time, many generations ago, there lived a prince in the Earth Kingdom: this prince was supposed to inherit the throne, but he was unable to use the bending, and consequently his father deemed him unworthy to inherit the throne, which he passed to his sister, who, unlike his brother, was a bending." Told. "The Princess, once she became queen, did everything possible to compensate her brother for the injustice she had suffered and gave him important political positions and he became one of her most important advisors." Continued. "We of the Earth Kingdom also have our skeletons in the closet and injustices have been committed throughout history."

"Have things changed now?" She asked curiously.

"Yes, a ruler who is incapable of Earthbending is still misjudged and the most traditionalist people consider him unworthy to rule, but things have changed." Answered.

"But in the Fire Nation, things have not changed, and a prince, even a firstborn one, who is unable to control the fire, cannot ascend the throne." She commented, placing a hand on her swollen belly.

"I am sure that he or she will be a bending and it may be that one day he or she will be able to bring peace." Yumi stared.

"A peaceful Fire Lord? Impossible." The other replied sardonically. "Firebending are naturally short-tempered and unpredictable, just like their domain." Continued.

"You seem very calm and controlled." Yumi said. Lan raised a hand and turned it so that the palm was up. A small flame appeared in the centre and Lan stared at the flickering and colours of the flame.

"Maybe it's because my domain has been suppressed for so many years." She answered, and the flame disappeared.

"How suppressed? Why?" Yumi asked in surprise.

"Servants cannot be rulers. The nation is in constant need of new soldiers, and those in charge think it would be a waste if a person who can control the fire cleaned the floors instead of working to make the nation great." Explained. "If a pair of servants has a bending child, then the child is taken away from the family. They say they do it for our own good because our parents wouldn't be able to help us control and learn how to use our power and I suppose that's partly true, but it's also true that they want to control us and who knows why only lower class families are considered unfit to raise a bending child." Her lips curled into a sardonic smile.

"But how did they suppress your rule? I... I didn't think it was possible." She looked at the midwife puzzled.

"There are herbs from which an infusion is made. In the Fire Nation it has been used for hundreds of years to help those who have the most difficulty controlling Firebending to prevent them from harming themselves or others, but then it was discovered that if a person drank the brew twice a day, the dominion entered a dormant state." Explained. "It was Prince Iroh who explained all this to me after my dominion awoke and I almost set my cabin on fire." She recounted, remembering with horror when her rule had awakened. Controlling the dominion for a person who had never trained to do it was already difficult and if she has this it added fear and shock... It was a dangerous combination, to say the least.

"Did you get the union on your arm that day? When did your domain awaken?" She asked, and Lan automatically touched the spot on her arm where she had a scar similar to Zuko's, only in her case her did not cause it, but accidentally self-inflicted it when she lost control. It is hard to forget the sense of terror accompanied by the amazement and pain she had felt that day.

"Yes, normally parents at some point, when their son or daughter is old enough to understand, explain that he or she is a bending,, but that they have done their best to hide it, then he or she is left free to decide whether to continue to hide his or her power or whether to come out of the closet, running the serious risk of being removed from his or her family and perhaps even never seeing his or her parents again loved ones." Answered.

"But your parents didn't tell you the truth, you didn't know."

"No, I didn't know, maybe they were going to tell me, but they hadn't been able to do it yet, I was so angry with them when I found out that they had hidden such an important part of me from me." Confessed. "I couldn't even ask they why, since I had followed the prince into his exile and couldn't come back. I could have sent them a letter, but I thought this is a conversation that can't be dealt with by letter, not to mention that if my letter or theirs fell into the wrong hands, they'd be in terrible trouble."

"Why terrible trouble?"

"Because hiding the fact that your child is a ruler is against the law because it takes away the armed force of the nation." She answered by asking how many young men and women had been forced to join the army when they would have liked and preferred to work in a humble shop with the rest of their family. "Parents do this to protect their children so that they have the opportunity to choose their own destiny. I don't know how many decide to join the army, I imagine those who have suffered the most from the indoctrination they do in school." She commented on how many times when she went to school she had been portrayed as heroes who risked their lives to make their nation great, and how the Fire Lord was portrayed as the greatest of heroes, even compared to some kind of deity.

"I never thought about how the people of the Fire Nation would feel. I have only ever thought of you as heartless enemies who tried to seize what was not theirs, but for some strange reason thought it belonged to them." Yumi replied with a desolate expression.

"Not all people in the Fire Nation are bad, and I know for a fact that many people in the Fire Nation want the war to end and peace to return." Answered. "Now I'm going to continue my blanket." Added. She left the room, closing the door behind her, and wondering how many people from other nations saw the inhabitants of the Fire Nation only as treacherous and heartless people, and she felt a keen sense of uneasiness at the thought.

When she returned to the bridge, she saw Zuko already training alongside the soldiers, with his uncle supervising the training. The girl sat down again near the table and placed the basket on the floor before starting knitting.

While working on the blanket for the baby, she did not pay much attention to Zuko's training. Once or twice, she looked up from her knitting to stare at the horizon, wondering if that light really meant that they had finally found the Avatar. She heard Iroh scolding Zuko and stared at the two princes who were now arguing and noticed that of the soldiers her lover was training with, only one more was still standing.

"Sorry, but it's starting to get late, and I think I'm going to go to sleep." The girl announced, standing up. Uncle and nephew wished her goodnight and then resumed their discussion.

Several minutes later Lan was curled up in bed in a fetal position. She had not quite fallen asleep yet, though she was well on her way to doing so, and when she heard the sound of the cabin door opening, she woke up, opened her eyes, and sat down.

"Are you done exercising?" Churches. Zuko did not answer her and took off the shirt he was wearing. She watched him undress and stay with her, wearing only the pants he was wearing to sleep, then settled down on the bed next to her. "Are you tired?" She asked, moving closer to him, and placing a hand on his bare chest. In response, he put his arm around her body.

"No, but my uncle pointed out to me that if the Avatar is really close then I will need all my energy to face it." He answered, his eyes fixed on the ceiling.

"If you catch the Avatar, we can go home. The idea of going home makes me happy, but I am also worried... I fear what the Fire Lord might do to me and the child." She replied apprehensively. "You have appointed me as your concubine, but as a Firelord he might still decide to send me away, maybe he would allow the child to stay because after all he is a prince and has his blood, but I wonder what will happen after you get married, especially after your wife gives you children... What will become of my baby then?" She went on to express aloud the thoughts and questions that tormented her.

"If you were to marry me, then you wouldn't have to worry about what might happen if you married another woman." Answered.

"I am a servant daughter of servants, and you are a Prince of the Fire Nation, and your father would never approve of our union." Answered. "And then I wish you had asked me to marry because you care about me and not out of a sense of duty." Added. Was she afraid that one day he would regret it if he married her just because of the child and if she lost it? She knew that after the third month the risk of miscarriage decreased, but the danger was there and would remain until the baby was born and emitted its first cry.

"Aren't our child and his rights a valid reason to marry us?"

"Our child is the most important thing in the world, but I don't care if my child becomes Lord of Fire and when I look at you know what I see? A guy with a lot of responsibility on his shoulders and honestly I'd rather spare my child and maybe it would be better for him not to become crown prince or princess and then the Lord of Fire given all the stress that entails." Stated. Zuko stared at her in disbelief.

"Any woman in your position would be happy. Instead, you almost seem to prefer your son to be a servant just like you." Remarked.

"Better a servant, but happy than a prince, but crushed by responsibilities." She exclaimed in a firm tone. "In any case, do you think your father would approve if I married a servant? If you capture the Avatar and take up your rightful position, a marriage like me, a servant, might put you in a bad light with him again, probably your father will want you to marry some girl of good family, like the daughter or granddaughter of a general or one of the Sages." She went on to talk about it before, but it seemed that Zuko just didn't want to or couldn't understand that Ozai probably wouldn't approve of his son's marriage to a servant girl, and probably not even those old and bigoted Sages Fire would be in favour of the union between a prince and a person of low rank like her.

"Maybe you're right." He replied after a few seconds of silence. He looked away and stared at the ceiling. After a few minutes, the tension between them seemed to ease, and finally Lan fell asleep in his arms as she did every night.

The next day, Lan stared incredulously at the tattooed boy in front of him. A boy of about twelve years old who claimed to be the Avatar and who apparently proved it when Zuko and his men attacked the Water Tribe village where he was hiding. The Avatar had been missing for a hundred years and the young woman had expected that if she ever found the Avatar in front of her, he or she would be old by now and perhaps a member of one of the two Water Tribes that existed in the world, since it was assumed that all the Airbenders existed and after the Airbenders, the next nation where the next ruler would be born would be one of the Water Tribes, and it was a of the main reasons that had prompted them to come to this place covered with snow and ice.

Avatar Aang was his name and as Lan stared at the boy, she felt a great sadness and wondered if he was aware that he was the last Airbender and also wondered how it was possible that after a hundred years he still looked like a little boy.

About fifteen years earlier

All servants and generally all people of humble origin were terrified that one of their sons, or even more than one, might turn out to be a Firebending. Akame had heard that some Firebendings were born with some kind of sparkle in their eyes, and she thought she had seen that sparkle in Lan's eyes when she was just born, but she had chosen to ignore it and try to convince herself that it was just an effect of the light and then what did she know about sparks in her eyes? She was not a bending, and neither were her parents or grandparents. She knew her uncle had been a bending, but he had died when she was a child. They had forced him to join the army after finding out that he was a ruler and had ended up dying while serving his nation and thinking that he dreamed of opening a flower shop...

A Firebending child was anything but a fortune in a family like Akame and her husband. It could even be called a misfortune, but apart from hiding it in order to give her daughter the opportunity one day to choose her destiny there was nothing else they could do and to tell the truth to Akame the thought that her daughter was able to control the fire scared her also because it made her think of the... To the Soldier, that despicable being, to say the least.

Sitting in a chair on the small landing of her house, Akame stared at her daughter playing with a doll that Prince Iroh's wife had made for her. Little Lan was probably the only child in her class to own a real doll, one that had been made for her by a dollmaker and not by one of her relatives with simple cloth and string.

The sky had begun to darken, and soon Akame's husband would be back after spending a long day working in the park or in the stables of the royal palace, as well as performing various tasks within the walls.

When her husband arrived shortly thereafter, Lan and her brother ran to meet him, and the man stroked their children's dark-haired heads. Lan's hair was as straight as her mother's, while her brothers was wavy like his father's.

"You have a very serious expression tonight, wife, is there anything that worries you?" Her husband asked her later. The children were in bed and sleeping, or at least that is what the woman had hoped.

"Lan is a Firebending, I found out this morning after you left." She replied gloomily. "I gave her the brew right away and gave her another cup tonight she wasn't thrilled, but she drank it without protest." She continued in an attempt to reassure her husband. Akame was sitting at the kitchen table where a tea set was placed. She took a sip of the drink from the cup in her hand. The liquid had cooled as she waited for her husband to join her. He sat down in front of her.

"Are you okay?" He asked, worried: after staring at her for a while, she placed the cup on the table and poured tea into another which she then handed to him.

"I'm fine, after all we knew it could happen, it's a fear that all families like ours have." Answered.

"In her case, the odds of her being a bending were higher." He commented, looking into her eyes. She did not lose her composure.

"If you're referring to my uncle..."

"No, I'm referring to Him the Soldier." He replied cautiously, looking into her eyes. They had never called him by name, only Him or Soldier, believing that his name was not said to be spoken by their lips and that somehow not doing so would make it less important.

"I guess... That you're right." Answered. "Doubt allowed me to move on. Thinking that Lan could be your daughter did not destroy me. You and she have been my salvation as well as our son." Continued.

"I know, but he might try to claim Lan might take her away from us, and what will become of that sweet little girl? He's going to destroy her; he might turn her into a female version of him." Remarked.

"But we will give her the infusion twice a day and never allow her to go near our Little Orchid. No one's going to take her away." Asseverated.

"But one day she might decide to reveal her nature and join the army, and then He might…"

"In that case it would be her choice and even if she found out that she was a bending... In short, the fact that she is a bending is not really proof." She exclaimed more to convince herself than he did. Her husband did not answer, and she took another sip of the tea. She would protect her daughter from anyone who might want to hurt her, including the being who might have fathered her.

Chapter Text

Zuko had finally made it, he had succeeded where his great-grandfather, grandfather, father, and uncle had failed before him, and he had found the Avatar. The prince was aware that many, including his uncle, thought that his task was impossible and that it was possible that he would never set foot in his homeland again unless his father forgave him regardless of whether or not he had found the Avatar.

Capturing the Avatar turned out to be much easier than expected, which surprised him when he discovered that the Avatar was a young boy. When he saw that little boy covered in tattoos with a long stick in his hand, he did not believe his eyes at first, but he did not have an opportunity to wonder how it was possible that after a hundred years the Avatar still looked like a kid and honestly did not even care. All that mattered to him was that he had succeeded in the task that his father had entrusted to him, and he was impatient to return home.

After a brief struggle, the Avatar had turned himself in after making him promise that if he came with them without resistance or resistance, they would not harm the inhabitants of the Water Tribe village where he was hiding. Zuko had ordered some soldiers, once they had returned to the ship, to lock the last Airbender in one of the cabins and the prince had seized the boy's staff with the intention of giving it to his father and also to prevent Aang, apparently, this was his name and had much importance to the prince could use it as a weapon against them.

Iroh had proved of no use in capturing the Airbender except when he had followed him in training, and knowing the former crown prince it was likely that he was making some tea, playing a game of Pai Sho. In any case, the young man did not care.

Lan should have burst with happiness that he had managed to complete his task, and then they could go home; however, she had not appeared thrilled when she saw their prisoner, and after ordering soldiers to lock up Aang, the prince had gone to his cabin with his concubine.

When he reached the cabin, he leaned his cane against one of the walls and then approached Lan who had sat down next to the table and started knitting in silence. He had not said a word on the way from the deck to the cabin. The prince put his arms on her from behind and kissed her on the head. He intertwined his fingers on her swollen belly.

"Once we are back in the Fire Nation, I promise you that I will talk to my father, and we will have a magnificent wedding just like my parents." Quoth. She did not answer. "Aren't you happy at the thought of coming home?"

"Not particularly, to be honest, because I'm afraid your father might decide to let me stay just long enough for me to give birth to the baby and then send me away; he would have the power to do that since he is the Lord of Fire." She had heard and read about concubines who had been kicked out of the palace by order of the Fire Lord, who may not even be their lover. The reasons could be many: in some cases the women in question had made even a small mistake, in others their lover had grown tired of them, in others the reason could be that they had become too old or were considered infertile and at one time, many years before, fortunately, a woman who could not give birth to a child was considered useless and no one would ever even dare to suppose that the responsibility the lack of children could also be of their lover or husband in the case of consorts. "You're an idiot if you think they'll let you marry a servant without it." She replied coldly, standing up and turning to stare at him. "Or maybe you're just naïve. I don't know, but I hope you'll realize that it's crazy at some point." Exclaimed.

"Is it madness to want to marry the mother of my child?" He asked, looking into her eyes. In his heart he knew that these were not the words he should have used, he knew that Lan only wanted him to say three simple words to him, and if he had said them, it was possible that he would abandon all hesitation about their marriage; However, for some reason those three simple words were the hardest for him to pronounce.

"It's madness to think they're going to let you marry a servant." Answered.

"You're not just a servant. You are so much more than that to me." Stated. That was the best that could be expected of him. The girl opened her mouth to answer, but he motioned for her to be quiet, for it seemed to him that he had heard a gust of wind and then a door slam. He turned to the cabin door that had been left open. He heard footsteps in the hallway, it looked like someone was running. He grabbed Lan by the hand and dragged her behind the door.

Shortly after, Aang entered the cabin and approached the staff, but before he could even touch it, Zuko spoke.

"Apparently I underestimated you." He said, then turned to Lan. "Go away." He added, but she remained motionless where she was. "Go away!" He exclaimed, and this time it was an order. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, then rushed out of the room. At that point, Zuko closed the door. "I won't let you get away." He exclaimed, then tried to hit Aang with a blaze, but the boy managed to avoid it.

They duelled for a few minutes. In the end, the Avatar managed to escape, but the prince, whose cabin was a miracle if he hadn't been damaged during his fight with the Avatar, would not have let him escape so easily as his honour and his child's future depended on him being able to capture the boy and keep him prisoner on his ship.

He followed the Airbender to the bridge, determined to stop him and not allow him to escape. What he certainly had not foreseen was that two guys from the Water Tribe would come to the boy's rescue and, above all, that they would arrive at the back of a huge flying beast that until then, the prince had only seen in books: a flying bison.

"We can't let him escape!" He exclaimed when his uncle joined him on the bridge. Iroh did not answer, and without saying a word, they both ran towards Aang and his helpers and the bison. The boy used his staff and the dominance of the air against them and despite himself Zuko fell to the ground when he was hit by a gust of wind, but he recovered quickly and together with his uncle they joined forces to prevent the Avatar and the others from escaping and at the same time threw a blaze at the bison that had risen from the deck and was flying higher and higher.

He thought it would hit them, he did not mean to kill them, just stop them. Not because he had any scruples, but because, if the Avatar died, he would be reborn again, and then he would have to start his search all over once more, although this time he would have to look for a Waterbender since according to the Avatar Cycle, the next Avatar would be born among the Waterbenders. In any case, using his damned domain, Aang managed to deflect the two blazes against a large iceberg covered in snow and ice and the result was an avalanche that ended up straight on the ship, fortunately but only covered the front part.

"Damn it!" Thundered. "Let's chase them." He added angrily, then he realized that the two soldiers had been turned into snowmen and the two soldiers who were using their power to thaw them; he also realized that it would take quite a while to clear the snow of the ice.

"You have to admit that kid is powerful." He looked at his uncle. His nephew gave him a murderous look, and the smile on Iroh's face disappeared instantly. At that moment, Lan appeared on the deck of the ship, and at the sight of the girl heading towards them, the anger that Zuko felt was replaced by concern, and he rushed towards her.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He asked anxiously, placing one hand on her belly while with the arm of the other hand he encircled her waist.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, and he's fine too." Answered. "Of course, the Avatar has made quite a mess, you have to admit that to be an old man of a hundred years and more just with it shows him." She commented, "Well, let's get busy, this ship isn't going to break free on its own, and we don't have time to waste, do we?" She asked, giving him a determined look, then advanced towards the snow that covered a piece of the snow and using her own domain began to melt it.

"I'm afraid the ship has been damaged, but we won't be able to determine the extent of that until the snow has melted." His uncle commented seriously. "Luckily, Lan has come to help us because I'm afraid it will take a while to free the two soldiers who were frozen during the fight and the ship."

"We have to hurry because the longer it takes to leave, the farther the Avatar will go, and I have no intention of spending any more years looking for him." He asserted in a determined tone and then ran to help Lan soon after Iroh joined them.

The damage to the ship was considerable, and they had to travel to the nearest port commanded by the Fire Nation to have the ship repaired. Of course, telling the truth about what had happened was out of the question, because then many others would have gone searching for the Avatar, and the last thing he wanted was to be hindered in his search. He also did not want anyone to find out that he had been defeated by a child, which would have risked making him officially the laughingstock of the Fire Nation, not to mention his father's reaction… He did not even want to think about how Ozai would react if he knew he had the Avatar in his hands and let it slip away.

The next day, they reached the port of the Fire Nation. The prince knew the identity of the man who was in charge of the port: his name was Zhao, to be precise, Captain Zhao. Zuko had never had a positive opinion of him, and his dislike of the man had increased after Zhao seemed more than thrilled with his public humiliation and exile. The captain was an ambitious man, he was born into a humble family and his parents were not dominators, and he was more than happy to join the Fire Nation Army, where he had a brilliant career and managed to achieve the title of captain. Not bad for a man from his social background.

"Lan, you're going to stay on board the ship while we go down and look for someone who can fix the ship. It will not take us long." Iroh said in a calm tone. He, his nephew, and Lan were on the deck of the ship.

"Actually, I'd rather come with you. There are too many soldiers and warships around for my liking; However, I'd like to see some new faces, and I'll definitely have a chance to chat with some women as well." The girl answered. Being the only woman on that ship, besides Yumi, must not have been the best for her, and it was understandable that she regretted the female company, but Zuko would not have felt comfortable if she had also got off the ship because he did not know if she could trust the men and women who resided at the harbour, especially that nice Zhao guy.

"No!" The firm tone in Iroh's voice astonished his nephew and the girl, who stared at him in surprise. Iroh made an embarrassed expression and began to add. "No, it's just. That we cannot trust the people who are in this port… I mean, it could be full of enemies, people who would enjoy seeing Zuko suffer, and I think it's safer for you to stay on the ship." Continued.

"Yes, and I think you should hide… Just to be on the safe side." Iroh said.

"I think it's excessive." The girl replied doubtfully, even to Zuko it seemed excessive.

"They're only going to get on the ship to fix it, and I don't think they're going to look for Lan anyway." She looked at the prince, but Iroh insisted that it was better not to take any chances, and although this all seemed excessive to him, in the end he suggested to Lan to hide too, it was clear from the expression on her face that the young woman was not at all enthusiastic about all this, but they managed to convince her that it was for the best.

Uncle and nephew had just got off the ship when Zhao joined them. A sense of irritation came over the prince at the mere sight of the man; However, he strove to appear polite when he greeted him.

"Captain Zhao, good morning." He said in a tone that was clearly forced and expressed a feigned kindness.

"Commander Zhao, I have just received my new position." The other replied. "It is an honour to have the Crown Prince and brother of the Firelord here." Continued.

"Thank you, Commander." Iroh replied. Zhao stared at the visibly damaged ship, then stared at the two royals with a frown.

"What happened to your ship?" Churches

"Oh, something really happened… Here… Uncle, will you tell the Commander what happened?" The prince asked, not knowing exactly what to say. He regretted that he had not prepared a credible story before he got off the ship, but haste could be a bad counsellor, and he had been so eager to get off the ship, repair it, and resume his journey as soon as possible that he had not thought as he ought.

"Yes, here we are… We clashed, didn't we, Prince Zuko?" Iroh said he seemed to be in a crisis just like his nephew. Normally, of the two Irohs, it was the wiser who reflected the most, but, apparently, he had not thought of a believable story either.

"Yes, we came up against … With a ship of the Earth Kingdom." Zuko replied.

"A ship of the Earth Kingdom? You are very unfortunate that it has come this far and that your paths have crossed. It's really unfortunate." Zhao replied, it was clear that their story had not convinced him, and considering how hesitant they had appeared while they were telling, it was normal that even an idiot like him did not believe the version of events they had told him, so it was even more important that they get out of there and quickly.

"Terrible luck, but we hope that the ship can be repaired quickly so that we can resume our journey." He commented on the boy, trying to appear calm.

"Can I have you as my guests? It would be a real honour to me if the Firelord's son and brother would agree to drink tea with me while you wait for your ship to be repaired." Proposed. Zuko refused Zhao's apparent kind proposal, but before he could even open his mouth, his uncle put his hand on his arm.

"My nephew and I will be more than happy to accept your proposal. It will do us good to rest a bit before resuming the journey." Added. The nephew was not at all thrilled at the thought of spending more time than necessary with the Commander; However, he decided not to contradict his uncle.

Zhao led them to a tent whose fabric was of various shades of red, once inside he made them sit on chairs around a small table, and shortly afterwards a man brought a tea set. Prince Iroh took one of the cups and took a sip, while his nephew remained motionless, for although he had indulged his uncle by accepting Zhao's offer of hospitality, he had no intention of actually drinking the tea that was offered to him.

"Tell me, Prince Zuko, how is the search for the Avatar going?" Zhao asked after a few seconds. He did not seem to want to drink the tea he had brought, either.

"Unfortunately, there is no news." The young man answered, trying to keep a calm tone of voice, though with one of his hands he gripped the arm of the chair tightly, betraying his nervousness.

"This jasmine tea is fantastic." Iroh commented that he did not seem to have paid attention to what the other two men had just said to each other.

"The Avatar has probably been dead for decades, and you're just wasting your time or maybe this is just the right place to look for him considering that the next Avatar was destined to be born among the Waterbenders, but still, it could be very difficult to find him." Zhao replied. "But I've heard that congratulations are in order, it looks like you're going to be a father in a few months." Added. Iroh coughed, drawing the attention of the other two men. The Fire Lord's brother coughed again, then took a sip of tea.

"Sorry, it went sideways." He said and coughed a third time. "Uhm… Lan is not here. It's a long way from here, within the confines of the Earth Kingdom, on an island to be precise." Lied. "We felt it was safer for her and the baby for us to separate and thankfully since we were attacked yesterday." Continued. The lie about Lan sounded far more convincing than the explanation they had given Zhao to justify the ship's condition.

"Yes, you did well, although I admit that I am sorry because I was really curious to meet Prince Zuko's concubine. I suppose Lan has made your exile less unpleasant, Prince Zuko." The commander commented with a mocking smile and a tone that did not please the young man, who squeezed the arm of the chair even tighter. "Does she look like her mother? Do you know I have met her, though I am not sure that I remember her name… Chen? No, it was not Chen, maybe Akiko? No, now I remember: Akame." He said, turning to stare at Iroh. The latter's expression changed completely. The calmness that distinguished him even in the most tricky situations had disappeared, replaced by anger. The young man stared incredulously at his uncle, whom he had rarely seen angry over the years.

"You're not even worthy to say his name!" Iroh thundered furiously. Zhao did not seem at all perturbed by the tone of his voice, and even burst out laughing.

"Oh, Iroh still defended her after all these years… Nineteen, if I'm not mistaken." Remarked. "To this day, I wonder why the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation came to the defence of a poor and vapid servant. She was nobody, she was just one of the hundreds of women who worked in the palace." He went on in a cold tone. His words infuriated Iroh even more. Zuko could not understand what was going on, it was clear that his uncle and Zhao had pasts, but how could this relate to Lan's mother?

"She was my wife's servant, not only was she her friend, one of the kindest and kindest women I ever knew, she was a servant, true, but she was a hundred times better than you. You were only a despicable being, and you still are, even more so." He exclaimed, rising abruptly from his chair. "The soldiers of the Fire Nation are supposed to be men of honour, but you don't even know what honour is." Continued. Zhao sat to his feet as well. Just then a soldier entered the tent and with him was…

"Lan!" The prince exclaimed, then turned to stare at Zhao. "What does all this mean?" He asked, visibly irritated. The man ignored him, instead he turned to look at Iroh.

"Apparently the island you were referring to is very close." He looked taunting before turning to stare at Lan. "You were very kind to join us, Lan." He added with a smile on his face. "From what I can see, the rumours about your pregnancy were true." He commented smugly, staring at the girl. The soldier squeezed her right arm. Lan appeared visibly upset.

"I don't see how this can affect you, Commander Zhao." Zuko said coldly.

"Oh, but it affects me much more than you think, isn't it, Prince Iroh?" He asked, staring again at Ozai's older brother. The boy stared puzzled at his uncle, it was clear that Zhao and his uncle knew something that he did not know, and to see the joy on the commander's face, whatever it was, did not bode well.

"Let go of the Zhao girl." Iroh said firmly. "How dare you take it out on a girl who is pregnant at that? If you encounter any problem with me or my nephew, we try to resolve it between us without involving Lan." Continued.

"I'm afraid this isn't possible, and you know why." The soldier answered, and at that moment another man entered and announced that the crew members had been interrogated and that Prince Zuko had captured the Avatar, but that he had let him escape. The tension already presents in the tent increased.

"And so, you collided with a ship of the Earth Kingdom." The commander said, and the boy realized how unbelievable was the explanation invented by him and his uncle.

"As soon as the ship is repaired, I will resume my search, and in no time at all the Avatar will be my prisoner again." The prince said in a determined tone, staring at his rival.

"The Avatar is the Fire Nation's greatest threat, and his quest is too important for a teenager to trust." Zhao replied in a mocking tone as he headed for the exit of the tent. "Make sure our guests stay waiting for my return." He said to one of the soldiers presents before leaving the tent. Once he was out, the man holding Lan let her go, and she rushed to Zuko. The latter hugged her and held her tightly in his arms.

When Zhao returned to the Iroh tent, Zuko and Lan were sitting on the chairs by the table. Iroh had insisted that Lan drink tea, convinced that the drink would be good for her, and she had finally given in to his insistence.

"The research team is ready. Soon my men and I will set sail to find the Avatar." Quoth. "The repairs to your ship are almost finished, and you can leave." Continued.

"Very generous of you to let us go." The prince replied in a tone of derision. "Aren't you afraid that I might hinder you in your search for the Avatar?" Asked. The other burst into loud laughter, as if the firstborn son of the Fire Lord had just said something very funny.

"I'm a Fleet Commander of the Fire Nation, I'm not afraid of somebody of… Seventeen?" He asked wryly with a mocking smile.

"Eighteen, I'm eighteen, not seventeen." He was corrected by the young man who, according to the law of his country, was considered to all intents and purposes a man since he was of age.

"Eighteen or seventeen doesn't make much difference, the fact remains that you're just a boy who has already let the Avatar escape for your own good and above all not to throw any more mud on our nation, I advise you to leave it to me to capture the Avatar and leave." He said sternly. "And Lan will stay here." Added. Zuko stared incredulously at his rival, and his anger increased exponentially when he heard those last words.

"No, we don't talk about it!" He exclaimed, convinced that Zhao must have gone mad because there was no other explanation behind his request. The man was unfazed. Iroh asked his nephew to calm down, but his nephew did not listen to him and continued to stare at Zhao as if he could kill him with just his gaze.

"You are the shame of the Fire Nation, and if there were any doubts before, yesterday you proved it by letting a little boy defeat you. You can't protect yourself, your crew, and your ship, let alone Lan." The commander replied in a boastful tone. "The child your concubine is expecting is too important, one day he may become Lord of Fire, and I will not allow a stupid boy who thinks he is a man to endanger the future of the nation once more." Stated.

"I'm perfectly capable of protecting Lan and our son, and his safety is not your concern anyway." Zuko retorted, angry that the man was insinuating that he was unable to protect the woman who… The woman for whom he had great affection and their unborn child, and by what authority did he allow himself to speak to him in that way? Who did he think he was? He was a commander of the Fire Nation's fleet, but he was the crown prince.

"Prince Zuko, I advise you to calm down, maybe it is still possible to settle things peacefully." His uncle said in an apprehensive tone.

"Zuko, please." Lan said in a pleading tone. Zuko listened to neither, his eyes fixed on the man in front of him, the same one who had been happy when his father had disfigured him and then exiled him.

"On the other hand, his safety and that of the child concern me, since she is my daughter, and he is my grandchild." Zhao revealed. Those words were followed by a long silence. Lan turned as white as a sheet and then fell to the ground unconscious. A worried Zuko knelt down beside her. After noticing that the mother of his child appeared to have only fainted, he stood up and turned to Zhao.

"Agni kai commander today at sunset." He said in a firm tone.

"Prince Zuko…" Iroh said in a faint voice, visibly upset by his nephew's decision to challenge Zhao. The latter, on the contrary, did not seem at all worried in fact, he was even amused.

"Uncle, take care of Lan, I'll take care of Zhao instead." The prince replied without taking his eyes off the man in front of him.

Fire Nation, Not Long Later

Firelord Ozai was waiting for Akame. He had summoned the woman to his apartments immediately after reading the letter he had received. He wished to discuss the contents of the so-called letter with the woman. He hoped the woman would arrive soon because he did not like it when they kept him waiting.

The woman entered the room after knocking on the door, and he gave her permission to enter. She wore simple clothes, a short-sleeved shirt and a skirt that reached to her knees. She wore her hair tied up, even though a strand of hair fell over her face.

"Firelord, did you send for me?" She asked in her usual reverential tone. Ozai was sitting in a chair behind the table, on which was the letter he had received earlier.

"I guess you are not aware that your daughter Lan is a Firebender because if you had known you would have informed the authorities as your duty because otherwise you and your family would have suffered terrible consequences for this omission." He commented seriously, looking at the woman in front of him.

Over the past twenty years, the number of dominating children born to parents of humble origins had become almost zero, and the Fire Sages suspected that parents had become better at hiding the fact that their children were dominators. Of course, it was rarer for servants, for example, to beget a dominating child, but the numbers had never been so low. On the other hand, it seemed to have become strangely common among the children of parents of humble origins to discover that they were able to control fire at an age when rulers were usually aware of their powers from an early age.

"My family and I know the law well, and maybe Lan is just a late bender." Answered. There was a slight hesitation in her voice.

"Your daughter was born in the summer. Did you know that Summer is the time of year when the greatest number of rulers are born? And I don't think I've ever heard of a late Firebender born in Summer." Commented. "But I guess anything is possible in this world." He added, and the woman seemed to relax when she heard his words. "Akame, do you know Commander Zhao?" Churches. The woman's face turned pale.

"Yes, I've heard of it." She replied in a trembling voice. He stood up and walked around the table in front of her.

"Did you and Commander Zhao have had an affair about nineteen years ago?" Asked. The woman knelt on the ground and bowed her head.

"He… He forced me. I did not want to… At first, he was kind and I confess that I felt flattered by his compliments, but then I realized that he wanted to… More than that, and I told him that I loved my husband and that I would never cheat on him." She confessed her voice broken by sobs. Ozai stared at her with an inscrutable expression, not at all affected by her tears.

"Whose daughter is Lan?"

"Don't… I don't know." She replied sobbing.

"You will say that it is Commander Zhao's daughter that you betrayed your husband, but that he forgave you, and you raised the child together." He said seriously. "You and Zhao have been lovers, and Lan is not the daughter of two servants, but of a Commander of the Fire Nation's fleet, a man whose skills and talents have prevailed over many others." Added.

"But… But…"

"If you care about your family's future, that's what you're going to tell everyone." He said in a threatening tone. Lan's dubious origins changed everything: until that moment he had thought that his son could not have chosen a worse woman to keep by his side, but the girl had turned out to be a bender and the fact that she was the daughter of a commander and a servant, albeit illegitimate, or at least that was what people should have believed and after all could also correspond to the truth.

"I-It's as good as you wish." The woman replied in a yielding tone. He reached out to her and helped her up.

"You can go." He dismissed her, the woman bowed, and then left the room. Left alone, Ozai thought of his future grandchild. He hoped it was a girl, because Azula had proven to be a much more promising Firebender than her brother, just a shame she was the second child.

Chapter Text

That morning, Princess Azula had woken up early and after breakfast and getting dressed had gone to train as she did every morning and had almost finished her training when a servant announced to her that her father the Fire Lord Ozai wished to see her.

The girl finished her training, after which she joined her father in the Throne Room, where the man was waiting for her. When she entered the great room, she saw her father standing by the flames that burned perpetually beneath the throne. A guard announced the arrival of the princess, and Ozai turned to look at the family.

"Azula, thank you for coming." Said the man, holding his hands behind his back. The daughter performed a bow as a sign of respect. Ozai was her father and she loved him just as much as he loved her and of his two children she had always been his favourite, yet he was still the Fire Lord, and she was part of his subjects.

"I could never have refused to meet the Fire Lord." She replied seriously with her head bowed, and her eyes fixed on the floor.

"News has recently reached me that I wish to share with you. It concerns your brother and his mistress." Said the man in a serious tone. 

"What news?" The girl asked, hoping her father did not detect the excitement in the tone of her voice. Her heart beat fast in her chest as she stared at her father.

"It seems that Lan actually might not be the daughter of two servants and her father might be Commander Zhao and that would mean that your brother chose a girl not of humble origins as his lover after all." 

Her father replied, and Azula tried her best to appear impassive, although inside she harboured a strong disappointment. She had hoped that Lan had lost the child and would no longer be able to worry about another rival who might one day steal her throne as well as her father's affection.

"But she was a servant and is still a servant no matter if her father is actually a soldier, then Zhao is an idiot." She retorted. Zhao was the classic of many muscles and little brains, and it was to be hoped that if it was true that he was Lan's father, then she and the child would not take after him in terms of intelligence.

"I don't care if Zhao is a genius or a fool. I only care what people will want to believe." Ozai replied. "I convinced Akame to tell everyone that Zhao is Lan's father. Of course, she will always remain a servant's daughter, but at least the humiliation your brother inflicted on us will be less." He continued.

"You are not going to allow him to marry her?" The daughter shrieked, horrified at the thought that her father might approve of Lan and Zuko's union, because if they married, their child would become her rival for the throne, and frankly, she didn't like the idea of having to eliminate a child after all.

"Before, I had no intention of consenting to their marriage, but in light of what I have learned… Of course Lan would not be the most suitable choice as your brother's consort considering that she is an illegitimate daughter and the fact remains that her mother is a servant, but for the sake of my future nephew, I am willing to overlook these details, though the council will have the final say." Her father replied with an inscrutable expression. The fact that the Fire Lord's feelings on that matter were unclear only increased the irritation of the princess, who had to call upon all her self-control to keep calm.

‘’Surely they will say no. A Fire Nation Prince, even if exiled and who has already tarnished his honour, certainly cannot marry a servant girl because the identity of her real father will not change the fact that she once cleaned my bedroom." She shrieked. She could not imagine that the council would approve Zuko's marriage to Lan. If her brother had married that girl, it would have made their child an actual threat. Azula would have had no particular reason to worry about her brother's child if it was born out of wedlock because surely no one would have chosen him as ruler if there was a legitimate heir.

Indeed, there had already been a case in the past where the son of a concubine had declared war on her newly crowned half-sister. The prince had felt that he had more rights than his stepsister not only because he was older, but also because he was a man and at that time women were not considered equal to men. In the end, the war had been won by the princess who had decided to spare her half-brother's life, although she had nevertheless exiled him. In her place Azula would not have been so magnanimous, she would have eliminated the threat no matter if it was represented by her brother… Or her nephew.

"Oh, Azula, rest assured you have nothing to fear from your brother or his child. You are my heir and that will never change." Her father replied in an encouraging tone, but the girl was not at all reassured because if her brother succeeded in finding and capturing the Avatar then his honour would be restored, and he could resume her role as crown prince, and she would once again be second in line, indeed third after her nephew. 

"But if Zuko were to find and capture the Avatar, then he could return with his lover and their child." She retorted.

"But even if your brother were to succeed in his quest, I can assure you that it would change absolutely nothing, not to mention that adjudicating from Commander Zhao's letter, your brother did, in fact, have custody of the Avatar, but he managed to get away with it." He said in a sombre tone. His words would not reassure his daughter; on the contrary, they only increased the worry she was already feeling because she thought: if Zuko had managed to capture the Avatar once, it was possible he would manage to do it again and maybe this time he wouldn't let it escape.

The maids had to tidy Azula's room as well as replace the objects the princess had broken after learning that Lan and Zuko might soon be married. Their marriage would make their child legitimate and consequently make him a real threat to Azula who could not bear the idea that a child could take from her what was hers. After Zuko had been exiled she had worked long hours, trained herself perfecting her dominance, studied, attended boring meetings and made deals with the most powerful men and women in the Fire Nation and now a child could steal from her what she had fought for.

Not to mention that her father was there… She had always been the favourite ever since she was a child. From an early age, she had shown a particular talent for the use of the dominion, which she had learned to control before her brother. A prodigy and her father had told her for as long as she could remember that he regretted the fact that she was his heir instead of her brother, who had proved a disappointment from the start. Only now there was Zuko's unborn child. Ozai had confided in her that he hoped it would be a girl because he had learnt that princesses were better and stronger than princes, and Azula feared that the boy or girl might take her place in her father's heart as well as steal her birthright.

The thought of killing a child did not appeal to her, but if she had to do it so as not to risk losing what she had fought so hard for, she would have done it. She would not only do it for herself, but also for the kingdom because surely that child would be a weakling just like his father and the Fire Nation could not be ruled by a weak person.

Azula took part in the council meeting. She had asked to be present, and her father had agreed. What the princess did not expect was that just before the meeting began in the large room where the meetings were held, Akame crossed the threshold of the room door. Lan's mother had a serious expression and red eyes, a sign that she must have been crying and for a long time, yet when Ozai gave her permission to speak she did so in a confident tone. Akame claimed to have had a brief affair with Commander Zhao and that her eldest daughter Lan was born from that relationship.

Azula did not know her former servant's parents well, but she had always had the impression that Akame and her husband were bound by a deep love and was therefore surprised to learn that Akame had betrayed her husband, but it was true that everyone could make mistakes and perhaps Lan's mother had had a moment of weakness? Of course, one had to admit that mother and daughter were not what one might call decent women. In short, one had betrayed her husband while the daughter had seduced her brother.

Akame was dismissed after she had finished speaking. The servant girl left the room in silence and as soon as the door had closed behind her, those present began to discuss what they had just heard. Suddenly, Lan seemed a good match for a Fire Nation prince in their eyes, although the question of his illegitimacy remained.

Meanwhile, Akame joined her husband, who was waiting for her, sitting on a bench in one of the palace corridors. When her husband saw her coming he stood upright, and she literally threw herself into his arms and the tears she had been holding back until then began to fall from her eyes.

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry.” She said through her tears. Her husband took her face in his hands and looked into her eyes.

“You did the right thing for Lan and the baby.” Her husband replied.

“However, soon everyone will learn that I betrayed you, even if it is not true.” She replied.

“It doesn't matter. I already told you that I don't care what people will think. I only care about us, our children and our future grandchild.” He said seriously, looking into her eyes.

“I care about them too, but I hate the idea of people thinking I betrayed you when I didn't.” She replied. “I can't stand the idea that you pass as the man who was betrayed by his wife and forgave her only to have to accept and raise a daughter he knew was not his.” She continued.

“We know the truth and that is what matters. I am only sorry that you will pass for an adulteress when you never cheated on me, and that our children will think it is true. I, on the other hand, will pass as the man who forgave for the betrayal, and maybe I will earn people's admiration because I agreed to raise a daughter that I knew was not mine which then may well be true, although we cannot know for sure.” He replied. The woman sat down on the bench, and he sat down next to her. He took her hands in his. “Nineteen years ago I stood by you and I will stand by you now. My only regret is not having been able to protect you from that being.” He continued. She turned to look at him. She had stopped crying, but her eyes were still moist.

“You could not have protected me even if you wanted to, he was a soldier and a Firebender to boot, while you were a servant. You built your muscles carrying heavy objects to the palace and the market, but you never learned to fight.” She said, “I should never have humoured him and been kind to him, but at first, he seemed a friendly man, only too late did I realise his real intentions.”

“No, Akame, we have already talked about this a hundred times: you are not to blame. You behaved well. You were just being nice to someone who didn't deserve it.” He replied. “Now let's try to focus on the future, shall we? Think how things could change, and not only for us, but also for the other servants and people of humble origins if Lan married the future Fire Lord. A day would rule together and the lives of people like us could improve.” He added.

"Princess Azula will probably become Lady of Fire and rule us unless her brother can find the Avatar, and then he can return from exile and resume his rightful place as the firstborn son of the Fire Lord." A sigh escaped her lips. "We both know that this is an impossible feat and that although I have lied and our daughter may marry the prince, it is possible that they will never return and Zuko will never become Fire Lord." She added. She longed to see her daughter again and meet her grandchild, yet furthermore, she was aware that the prince had been given an impossible task and therefore there was a possibility that they would never return.

"But his father might decide to forgive him regardless of the fact that he found the Avatar." Commented the husband, wringing his hands. "Surely Ozai won't stay angry with his son forever, and even if that happens… Well, after all, Azula and Zuko are siblings, and she might decide to revoke his banishment.

"No, she will not. She doesn't love her brother the way a sister usually loves her brother. I was her mother's personal servant, remember? I watched Azula and Zuko grow up. Furthermore, I even held them and took care of them together with their mother, and there was always a strong rivalry between them. A typical thing actually within the Fire Nation royal family." She said in a somber tone. "She was born with that particular light in her eyes that is said to distinguish Firebenders whereas Zuko did not and her father because of that feared that he might not be a bender, and so he focused all his attention on his daughter while ignoring his son, even though Zuko was his firstborn and heir." She recounted. "Even after Zuko showed signs of being able to control fire things never really changed, and his father continued to prefer his sister to him, partly because she was always better and faster at learning than him."

"Princess Ursa, on the other hand, always preferred her son to her daughter." Observed her husband.

"I always thought that she tried to keep her son from missing his father and focused all her attention on Zuko while neglecting Azula." She asserted. "Often parents have a favourite child who is usually the one who is the best, the one who gives the least thought and the one who resembles us the most, and I always thought that was normal, but also that other children should not be neglected lest they feel less loved and considered."

"Only by doing so, Ursa ended up neglecting her daughter." Her husband replied. Akame thought back to little Azula and the way the child watched her mother and brother feed the turtle ducks or Zuko watching her father and sister train and felt a strong sense of sadness.

Meanwhile, several days into the voyage. Lan watched the sea outside the small cabin window. They were moving away from the Water Tribe where they had found the Avatar. They did not know where the little boy was currently, and to tell the truth, Lan did not particularly care at that moment.

She had slept little or no sleep the night before. She kept thinking about what Zhao had said, and the child must have felt her restlessness because he had moved around all night permanently preventing her from sleeping, perhaps it had been his way of letting her know that he or she was there and that he was there for her. The cabin door opened, but she did not look away from the water, snow, and ice surrounding the ship.

“I brought you some of your favourite tea.” Said Iroh. She did not turn around until she heard the sound of something being placed on the table. Then she turned and saw the man with long gray hair standing next to the table, on which was a tray with a teapot and two cups.

“Thank you, but right now, I don't think I feel like drinking tea.” She replied; however, she walked over to the table and sat down in one of the chairs. Iroh sat down next to her.

“I'm so sorry you found out this way, but on the one hand maybe you would have never learned the truth because I'm not sure your parents would have ever told you and I can't blame them for that.” He said seriously.

“I can't believe my mother cheated on my father, especially with a man like Zhao.” She commented. “But I suppose no one is perfect and even the best, good, kindest, most loving person… she can make mistakes.” She added suddenly realizing that the chances that Zuko would one day cheat on her or in any case have other relationships was quite high considering that he did not love her and in any case he would marry another woman one day, and then she would be the mistress or maybe not since she was a concubine.

“Your mother did not betray your father.” Iroh immediately clarified, then heaved a sigh. He took the teapot and spilled tea into a cup before handing it to her. After a moment's hesitation, she took the cup.

“Thank you.” She said, “Zhao said I could be his daughter, do you mean he lied? That he said that to hurt Zuko?” She asked, feeling guilty that the man used her to hurt the one she loved.

“No, I'm afraid what Zhao said corresponds to the truth, although it is true that he might have said it to hurt Zuko.” He replied. “At the time of your birth your mother was my wife's personal servant, and they were bound by a deep affection. They were not only princesses and servants, but there was a friendly relationship between them.” He recounted. “At some point, however, your mother began to behave strangely: she became taciturn, appeared gloomy and pensive. At first, my wife didn't pay attention to it thinking that she simply wasn't much in the mood to talk. However, after a few days of this unusual behaviour, she sensed that something was wrong.”

“I apologize, but I'm confused because you say that my mother never betrayed my father, but you also say that Zhao might be right when he is dense that he might be my father.” She said, confused.

“My wife finally talked to your mother and she after a reluctant initiative told her that there was a soldier who was bothering her, but that it was nothing serious, and she could handle it.” He replied. “Only then. The relationship between your mother and Zhao was brief and not consensual.”

“Are you informing me that…” She did not finish the sentence and when Iroh nodded she took a sip of tea hoping it would help her calm her nerves. “Now I understand why my father was always stricter with me than my other siblings because he knew, didn't he?”

“I don't know the details of your parents' relationship, but yes, I think Akame's husband was aware of what had happened. I used my influence as crown prince to remove Zhao from the capital after my wife asked me.” He replied. “Actually, if it had been up to me, I would have thrown him in a cell and thrown away the key or worse, but your mother wished to keep it a secret I suppose out of fear and shame, though she certainly wasn't the one to be ashamed.” He added.

“Now I understand why my mother was always so wary of soldiers and ordered us to keep away from them.” She commented. “I never suspected anything…. She always treated me gently and loved me like the rest of her children.”

“Her love for you, your father, and your older brother helped her move on beyond I guess the doubt that you might be the daughter of the man she loved and not the one who hurt her.” He commented, then placed a hand on her arm. “I am deeply sorry I can only imagine what you are thinking and going through right now, and I hope that in time you can forget and move on, although I am afraid it will be very difficult, and you will probably never really forget.” He continued in a softer tone of voice.

“Zuko seems to have taken the news well.” She said then decided to change the subject. “But is there any news regarding the search for the Avatar? Do you have any idea where he is headed?” She asked.

“No, actually no, and when I confided it to Zuko he got angry.” Replied the prince. “Unfortunately, we have no idea where the Avatar is headed, but on the bright side, Commander Zhao probably doesn't know either.” He continued.

“When you find him, you will imprison him and there will be no hope that the hundred-year war will end.” She observed soberly.

“To end the war will end only that it will be the Fire Nation that wins, and the only hope of being able to defeat us will be annihilated.” He replied, and he did not seem thrilled at the thought either.

“But when Aang dies he will be released into a new nation and the quest will have to begin again. It will be a victory that will last sixty years, like?”

"Yes, even if he is the Avatar he will not live forever and sooner or later, he too will die, and then we will have to begin the search for the Avatar again and perhaps this burden will fall on your son or his son." He replied. The girl finished drinking the liquid in the cup. The first time, drinking the tea had helped her to calm her nerves. The thought of her son or daughter having to hunt the Avatar as his father had done before him did not appeal to her at all.

"It may be that Zuko will be able to restore peace, perhaps put an end to these years of terror." She observed, vaguely hopeful. To be honest, right now, she didn't really think things would change after Zuko became Fire Lord, of course assuming he would succeed to the throne because if the throne went to Azula then in that case, there were no hope things would change.

"I wouldn't count on that if I were you." Prince Iroh replied in a doubtful tone. "I don't think my nephew is bad, but it is still true that he has been under the bad influence of my brother Ozai and my father before him." He added. "I wonder if I could not have done more for him."

"You have already done a lot for him. You took care of him since he was a baby, and after your son died, you practically replaced Ozai as a father figure for Zuko." She asserted, shaking his hand. "You have done far more than your due."

"I'm not entirely sure. I should have approached him and replaced Ozai before my son died, but at the time I had my own son to take care of."

"Prince Iroh you have absolutely nothing to complain about, rather your brother should be the one to do so because it was his duty to take care of his son and be his father."

"Yes, but I can't get it out of my head that I too bear some responsibility for how my nephew turned out, though I like to think there is still some hope that Zuko can change and understand that his behaviour is wrong." He commented, and her lips curved into an encouraging smile.

"I hope so, too." She affirmed. "I think I'll have another cup of tea. It's excellent." She continued, pouring herself another cup.

"I'm glad you like it, and I think I'll gladly drink one too." He said, and she poured him a cup as well after which they sipped the drink together.

"Thank you for telling me the truth." She said after taking a sip of tea.

"You had every right to know it, though it was certainly not mine to tell you." He replied. "I know what it means not to be proud of one's father, though fortunately, my parents…. Well, they didn't love each other, but they respected each other." 

"Unfortunately, there are men who are not worthy to be called fathers." She replied before taking another sip of tea. 

A few days later news arrived that the Avatar was on Kyoshi Island, and they immediately left for the island that had been named after one of the previous Avatars. During the journey, as in the past, Lan had mixed feelings because on the one hand she wanted Zuko to find and capture the Avatar because by doing so, he would be able to regain his position as crown prince and his honour, which would make him immensely happy, but at the same time she feared that their relationship would change completely, and he dreaded the day he would have to marry another woman.

Chapter Text

Kyoshi Island, named in honour of the last Avatar born within the borders of the Earth Kingdom, had until then remained virtually untouched by the war that had been raging for a hundred years. Unfortunately, however, the almost peaceful existence of the island's inhabitants was about to come to an end, since word had reached Zuko that it was precisely there that Aang was hiding at that moment.

Prince Iroh had pointed out to his nephew that it was possible that in the time it would take them to reach the island the Avatar might have already left, however Zuko was determined to leave no stone unturned and after all Lan could not blame him.

Lan was standing in front of the full-length mirror leaning against the wall of Zuko's cabin. She was wearing a dark red dress with long sleeves that day. Her belly was becoming more and more swollen. The midwife caring for her and the baby had told her that in the Earth Kingdom it was believed that if a pregnant woman craved more sweets than the baby would be a girl instead, if she craved more salty stuff than a boy. Lan had burst out laughing when she had told her this and revealed that even in the Fire Nation it was thought that cravings could change according to the sex of the child, but that in the case of the Fire Nation people it was the other way around, that is, sweet meant male on the contrary salty meant female and that in her mother's case it had turned out to be true two times out of five. Lan for her part had more sweet cravings therefore according to what was said in her country she should have a boy, but according to what was said in the Earth Kingdom on the contrary a girl was growing in her womb. Who knows who was right.

“This dress is starting to fit me a little tight again. I'm afraid it's time to stretch it out again.” She observed by laying a hand on her swollen belly. The midwife watched her carefully.

“Yes, perhaps it does indeed need to be widened a little again.” She commented after a few seconds. “But don't worry, you look beautiful even with this belly getting bigger and bigger.” She added in a sweet tone. Lan was not quite sure that what she said matched the truth; however, her lips curved into a small smile. “If you want tomorrow I can look at what can be done.” She proposed.

“Yes, thank you for today I will wear it, then tonight I will take it off and tomorrow you can start working on it.” She replied with her back to the mirror. “You are very kind as always, and I am not even sure I deserve all this kindness considering what my nation has done to yours and that you are here against your will.” She added soberly. “Not to mention that if I hadn't gotten pregnant or drank the brew that was supposed to make me miscarry by now you would still be at home you quiet, and you wouldn't have to worry about the fact that one false move of yours could cost your family or villagers their lives.”

"Did you try to terminate the pregnancy?" She asked incredulously. Lan assumed an embarrassed expression and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"I was scared and to be honest, I'm still scared now." She said sincerely.

"I am loyal to you, not to Prince Zuko." Replied the older woman, and the other was grateful that she had changed the subject. "Besides, the sins of the fathers must not fall on the children." She added, lowering her gaze to stare at Lan's swollen lap.

"It makes me cry, and I feel relieved to know you feel that way." She replied, her lips curving into a small smile. The woman smiled in turn. They stared at each other for a few seconds, after which Lan walked to the door and opened it. "I hope the Avatar manages to escape this time as well. I truly hope so." She continued, then walked out of the cabin without waiting for the woman's reply.

In the corridor he passed Prince Iroh who was coming out of her cabin that was close to the one Lan shared with Zuko.

"Getting bigger and bigger is a good sign; it means the baby is growing well." Iroh commented as they walked together towards the door at the end of the corridor that led to the staircase that led to the lower level of the ship where Zuko was making final preparations for disembarkation.

"If this belly is growing, the credit is also yours. If you hadn't stopped me from taking that herbal concoction now there would probably be no belly and no baby." She stared at the door in front of him.

"And it's possible you wouldn't be there either. That concoction in some cases causes the death of the mother as well as the fetus." Iroh replied grimly. "Abortion is not legal in the Fire Nation and women who, for various reasons, all of them legitimate, do not want a child to resort to various methods of trying to terminate the pregnancy, one of which is drinking herbal tea." He continued.

"I wonder why my mother didn't drink it when she was pregnant with me, considering that I might be the child of a monster."

"But your mother did not know who was the man who got her pregnant, and it may be that she did not want to risk leaving your brother an orphan and your father a widower." She replied. "Once a woman in the palace kitchens drank that herbal tea and bled to death. When I heard about it, I asked, even begged my father to change the law so that women could have access to safer abortion methods and prevent another misfortune from occurring." She recounted. Lan froze and turned to look at him.

"You asked your father to change the law, and he did?" She asked curious and incredulous at the same time as well. Iroh stopped, and his lips curved into a joyless smile.

"Of course, he did not accept. According to him, the future sons and daughters of the Fire Nation were too important to risk losing even one of them. I pointed out to him that doing so would risk losing not only the children but also their mothers." He replied in a sombre tone. "He did not listen to me and stood firm in his belief that women could not be allowed to terminate a pregnancy and kill a potential Firebender. I guess he thought that hindering women would decrease possible abortions.”

“But doing so endangers the woman's life. A determined and desperate woman might resort to herbs or one of those people who perform illegal abortions.” She replied. “But after all, your father was a man is moreover a rich and powerful man who, in theory, could also have had ten children and would have had no difficulty in training you.” She commented. “I know of a woman who when she was very young became pregnant. The father-to-be did not feel like taking responsibility for a child, so this woman's mother took her to a woman who performed abortions.” She recounted grimly.

“And how did that turn out?” Iroh asked in a hesitant tone. Lan stared at him with her dark eyes.

“There were no more children. She survived, but never got pregnant again. Fortunately, she found a good man a widower with children, and she loved those children as if they were her own, yet she suffered a great deal from not being able to have children of the children raised in her womb, even though she always swore that she would never make any distinction between her children and those of her husband's first wife.”

“Overall she was lucky, it could have turned out much worse, she could have died that day too.” He replied. “You know when I realized what you intended to do I ran to stop you, not only because I was worried about your health, and anyway I didn't want you to do something you might regret one day, but also because the night before I had dreamed about Lu Ten.” He explained.

“Lu Ten? Forgive me, but I don't understand what your son has to do with this whole thing.” She said, puzzled.

“It may seem like luck to you. A fluke, but Lu Ten told me he might be reborn, that he had died too young and that the spirits had decided to give him another chance to live.” He recounted.

“And you really think that your child could have been reincarnated into the child growing in my womb? But only the Avatar can reincarnate so that the existing balance continues to exist and is not in danger of breaking down.” She replied in an uncertain tone.

“After my son's death, I went on a long journey and went as well to the Spirit World. This changed me and I understood better the errors behind the actions of the Fire Nation and the importance of the Avatar, although I undertook that journey in the hope of finding my child and bringing him back.” That conversation was proving increasingly absurd to the young woman's ears.

“And did you find him?” She asked.

“No, I couldn't find him, and I also couldn't find my sweet Lan.” He replied. She did not answer yes, merely stared pityingly at the man, who as a result of his son's death had aged prematurely.

“It seems crazy to me, honestly.” She replied. “And then, does that mean that you rushed to prevent me from terminating the pregnancy because you thought that a child containing the spirit of your son was growing in my womb?” She asked, and suddenly, his did not appear to be a selfless gesture, but rather one dictated by selfishness.

“No, I mean yes… I mean, I thought it might not have been a thick coincidence that you were pregnant and that I had had that dream, and then I was really concerned about you and your health and that I couldn't turn away knowing that your life might be in danger. I admit that the dream is the prospect of my son's reincarnation growing up in your womb was one of the reasons I rushed to stop you, but know that I would have respected your decision in any case ready to intervene if the situation precipitated.” He responded quickly and the young woman who seemed to detect nervousness in his voice, yet she felt that he was telling her the truth and had acted that way partly because he was concerned about her and not just out of self-interest, and he felt guilty for thinking otherwise.

“He kept thinking that this was crazy and that maybe you had that dream because you missed his son, but it doesn't matter.” She replied, looking away. Meanwhile, they had reached the end of the hallway and she opened the door.

When they reached Zuko and the soldiers who would be going with him, they discovered that preparations for the landing were almost complete: some men were just finishing saddling the animals that would be landing with them.

“Zuko, are you ready to face the Avatar?” Iroh asked in a serious tone. The prince, who was still aware of their presence, turned to look at them. The room where they were was gigantic and there were no windows, only a large doorway from which Zuko and the soldiers would exit as soon as the preparations for landing were completed.

“Yes, I am ready, and you can be sure that this time I will not be caught unprepared.” He replied in a firm tone. “Uncle, I entrusted Lan and the child to you in my absence. I expect the Kyoshi Warriors to side with the Avatar, and I would be more comfortable if I knew that Lan and the baby are in good hands.” He continued.

“Don't worry. I don't think the Kyoshi Warriors will attack the ship, or at any rate not without reason, however caution is never too much.” Iroh replied. Lan did not think those women posed a threat to her, but it was still true that if they got on the ship, she might run the risk of being hit accidentally. She laid a hand on her lap, thinking that if it were necessary, she would not hesitate to protect herself and her child.

“I leave you in good hands.” Said Zuko in a sweet tone, caressing one of Lan's cheeks. It seemed that he did not care that Zhao might be her father. At first, she had feared that he might start hating her after learning that a man he detested and got in the way of finding the Avatar might be her father, but the discovery actually seemed not to have touched him in the slightest.

“Don't worry, I'm sure the baby and I will be fine. Rather, I worry about what might happen. Please tell me you will be careful.” She replied, shaking his hand.

“I can't help but worry about you and the baby because I care about you. I care about both of you.” He replied, looking into her eyes. “See you later.” He added, then walked toward his animal that a servant had finished saddling and climbed onto it.

Soon afterwards, Lan and Iroh watched as Zuko and the soldiers came out of the ship's hatch, and the girl hoped that none of them would be hurt in their attempt to capture Aang and that they would not succeed.

“Don't worry, I'm sure they will be back safely, and before you know it.” Said Iroh encouragingly. 

Lan waited for Zuko's return in the company of Iroh in the latter's cabin. In the past, the Fire Lord's older brother had taught her how to play Pai Sho, and Iroh had thought that playing a game was a good way to try to distract herself from thinking about the danger the crown prince was in at that moment. Lan moved one of the tiles on the table. She could not concentrate on the game as much as she should have, considering the situation, yet she still wanted to try to beat her child's future great-uncle.

“You have to attempt to focus as much as you can on the game and not think about Zuko. You know, I don't think he is in any real danger.” He observed Iroh moving a pawn.

“Zuko attacked an island full of warriors where the Avatar is supposedly hiding right now. Aang may be a young boy, and he still has a lot to learn particularly about controlling the various domains, however the fact remains that he is the Avatar and surely the Kyoshi Warriors will have sided with Aang because he is the Avatar and… And I would have done that in their place.” She replied. “Iroh I don't want my child to grow up in a world where there was war, no matter if his nation might win or not.” She admitted.

“I understand you. I genuinely understand you because even though I was, and still am a general actually, I didn't want my son to grow up in a world where there was war either, and one of the reasons why I fought in the army was the desire to defeat every possible threat to my nation, even the smallest one.” He replied. “And at the time I never thought that the way I acted could be wrong because it was my nation that had attacked the others, and so they had every right to defend themselves because I was a father who loved his son, and I was doing it mainly to protect him.” He continued.

“All parents wish to protect their children.” She replied. “Do you think Zuko is also determined to capture the Avatar because he, in fact, poses a threat to all of us including our child?”

“Zuko is determined to capture the Avatar because by doing so, he could restore his own honour and his role as crown prince would no longer be challenged and consequently neither would his child's right to succession.” He replied. “And yes, it is possible that he would want to capture the Avatar so that the Fire Nation and all the people he loves would be safe.” He added.

“I, too, wish for the people they love to be safe, but I wonder if Zuko's is the right way. We should try to make peace with other nations and not fuel hatred.” She commented on moving a tile on the board.

“I strongly agree with you, although I'm afraid it would be difficult to make things right with the other nations. One hundred years of conflict certainly cannot be easily forgotten, especially considering the losses both sides have suffered.”

“A relative of my mother's was a Firebender. He wanted to open a store but was forced to join the army because the Fire Nation needed all the available men and women. He did not want this war; he never wanted it; he only wished to have a quiet life.” She told grimly. “He fell in battle.” She went on thinking about the picture frame with the broken glass on one of the pieces of furniture in her parents' house. The picture showed a young man with dark eyes, a slightly crooked nose and thin lips. The frame had once fallen to her mother while she was dusting, and she remembered that her mother had been very hurt after realizing that the glass had broken.

“I'm sorry, was he very young?”

“I think he was about the age of Prince Lu Ten when he died.” She replied after trying to remember if her mother had ever revealed to her how old their poor relative was when he died. It seemed to her that he was nineteen or twenty years old.

“Lu Ten was only,   and in a few months he would have been nineteen.” Iroh replied with a sombre expression. “I'm afraid there are very few families in the Fire Nation who have not suffered at least one loss because of this war, but when you go around you only hear about the greatness of the Fire Nation and how honourable it is to fight in the army and serve the homeland however no one mentions the pain a family feels when one of its members dies.” He continued. “After my son died people kept telling me that I should be proud of him because he died fighting for our nation that I should be proud of him; however, I could only think about the fact that-that my child had died.” He said. His eyes grew moist, and then tears began to slide down his cheeks. That was the first time Lan had ever seen him cry.

“I'm sorry, I can only imagine the pain you felt.” She said as she reached across the table and clasped Iroh's hand. 

“It seemed that no one cared about my pain when people looked at me, and it still happens to this day actually, they only saw the man who abandoned the battle and retreated like a coward after the death of his son. Everyone saw only a general who had retreated, and not a father devastated by the loss of his son.” Comment. “After Lu Ten died, I thought my wife was lucky to be dead because at least she was spared the pain of burying our son.”

“Losing a child must be an unimaginable pain.”

“Once, I wouldn't wish on even my worst enemy.” Iroh replied. “It is a pain that those who have not experienced are unable to understand.”

“A pain that those who are poor experience more often than everyone else because they may not be able to provide their children with proper care because it is expensive.” She commented, thinking of all the children she had seen die because their parents could not afford perhaps medicine that would otherwise have saved their lives or even be able to call the doctor to examine them. Non-serious illnesses that turned into life-threatening illnesses because the right treatment could not be accessed.

“I knew that the situation was not good economically among the lower classes, and rumours like these had already reached my ears.” Iroh replied sombrely. “I realize that so far I may not have been sufficiently concerned with the plight of the poorer partly because I was too engrossed in my own grief and in trying not to make Zuko's absence a burden on Ozai, and partly because I was more focused on war matters.”

“I guess it's challenging to keep up with everything and everyone when you are in a position of high prestige and power.” She observed. She felt that Iroh had made a mistake in not caring enough about the poorer classes and being mainly interested in Zuko, yet she did not feel like making a very negative judgment and scolding him because she imagined that it must not be easy to be part of the royal family. Being a prince entailed duties and privileges.

“Yes, it is difficult, but now let's focus on our game, shall we?” He proposed and she nodded her head in assent.

Finally, it was she who won the game, an event more unique than rare since she had only won two times in three since he had taught her how to play the game. Iroh had never given her concessions because he said that winning because they made you win meant not really winning, and although he sometimes helped her by giving her advice, he had never given her a victory she did not deserve.

“Congratulations.” Said the man with a smile, and she smiled in turn. A knock was heard at the door, and she turned toward it.

“Come in.” She said, the door opened, and a man entered the booth.

“Prince Zuko and his men have returned.” He announced.

“Finally.” Lan exclaimed as she rose from her chair. “Were they able to capture the Avatar?” She added.

“No, the Avatar managed to escape. Fortunately, however, it appears that neither the prince nor the soldiers were harmed.” He replied, and Lan felt great relief, and not only because Zuko and his men were not injured.

“Where is Prince Zuko?” She asked anxiously.

“The prince is in his cabin.” Commented the man. The concubine rushed out of the cabin and without knocking entered Zuko's, which was next door.

“Zuko.” She called him. He turned to look at her; he was shirtless and wearing only his pants. He didn't look hurt; he was just all wet.

“What happened? They told me that the Avatar managed to escape.” She said in a worried tone as she approached the closet. She opened the doors and took out clean, dry clothes, then handed them to Zuko who had meanwhile removed his pants and laid them on a chair. Lan took some dry underwear and watched his lover as he changed.

“The Avatar managed to escape, but first he decided to give me and my men a good bath.” He commented with an annoyed air. 

“I'm sorry.” She replied. “But the important thing is that no one was hurt.” She added. She sat on the edge of the bed one hand resting on her swollen belly. “I can't help but wonder if it's worth it.” Zuko remained motionless with the dry shirt in his hand.

“Whether it is worth what?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Whether it's worth putting your life in danger to chase the Avatar. Are you doing it so that your father will finally accept you?” She asked. “Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the truth is that Ozai has always ignored you and even detested you, and I wonder what father who truly loves his son would behave the way he did with you and especially what father would burn his son's face?”

“He is the Fire Lord and I disrespected him. I disrespected everyone by behaving as I did that day, and I was punished for my insolence.” He exclaimed.

“He could have punished them in many other ways. I'm not saying you didn't deserve to be punished, maybe you did deserve it, however forcing a little boy to participate in an Agni Kai and disfiguring him because he was afraid and refused to fight against his own father.” She observed.

“My father only did what he thought was right.” He replied and she rolled her eyes. She stood upright.

“There is no use talking to you and trying to reason with you. I just hope that when you realize that your father's behaviour is wrong and not just that of a strict father, it won't be too late.” She commented. “And I also hope that if ever our child disrespects you one day, you will not disfigure him.” She continued in a more heated tone of voice.

“I could never hurt our child.”

“Yet you act as if what your father did was right and normal, and you defend him.” She shrieked. “And you even want to name the child after him if it will be a boy.” 

“He is my father and the Fire Lord, and I'm sure he would like it if the baby was named after him. " He said.

“Oh, so you want to name the baby Ozai just to please him.” She replied in a mocking tone. “This child, however, may be my child and not just yours, and I object. My child will never be called Ozai!” She exclaimed in a firm tone, bringing out a tenacity she had not used up to that point. “If you want to pay homage to a member of your family, I would rather say name him Iroh or Lu Ten after your cousin.” She proposed in a calmer tone of voice.

"My uncle is weak and my cousin…"

"Your cousin died during the assault on Ba Sing Se. Lu Ten showed strength and courage. He was just a boy, but he found himself on the battlefield and fought brilliantly for his country." She replied, finishing the sentence for him. "However, our son will not be called Ozai and the matter is closed." She exclaimed in a firm tone.

"What if it's a girl?" The prince asked.

"I was thinking of… Izumi I think is a nice name."

"Yes, or we could name her Ursa after my mother."

"Perhaps it is better if it will be female, considering it seems we can agree more easily on the name issue." She observed with a hint of irony in her voice. Zuko's lips curved into a small smile, and the tension between them seemed to have dissipated completely. Lan only hoped that if the child was a girl, she would not take after Azula.

Chapter Text

Prince Zuko did not like to stop for so long in one place and now that he had scouted out the Avatar and thus had confirmation that he was alive and had only been hiding for a hundred years the prince had even less desire to make stops with the risk that Aang would move further and further away and disappear.

That day they had had to stop at a place within the borders of the Earth Kingdom, and unfortunately Prince Iroh had discovered that there were small water springs where it was possible to bathe and had insisted on visiting them. The problem was that it had already happened several minutes ago.

"Where the heck are these natural tubs? My uncle is wasting a lot of our time. If he wanted to bathe he could have the tub he has in his cabin filled." Commented annoyed the prince by moving with his arm the branch of a tree that otherwise would have risked ending in his face. The prince was walking along a path that, according to a local fellow, led to the water springs where Iroh had headed. Lan was standing behind him and regretting not being able to stop because the forest where they were was really a beautiful place: the trees had beautiful green foliage not to mention all the animals around them.

"I'm sure we'll find him soon and then like everyone else he too needs to let off some steam from time to time and maybe instead of criticizing him you should have joined him, in fact we should have." She affirmed while staring carefully at the ground so as not to risk tripping and risking injury. The roots of some trees were sticking out of the ground and it was easy to trip and fall if one was not careful then the ground was bumpy in some places.

"We are close to capturing the Avatar, and now that Zhao is also on his trail we absolutely cannot afford to waste time and risk him finding and capturing him before we do because then I can kiss goodbye to any hope of returning home and resuming my rightful place as the rightful heir to the throne." He affirmed. Lan restrained herself from rolling her eyes.

They reached a place where there were what looked like round-shaped natural pools where water flowed creating small waterfalls. Iroh was sitting in the middle of one of the pools with his back resting against the edge of the pool. His clothes were folded on the branch of a tree.

"Uncle, we finally found you." Said Zuko, annoyed. "You've been here for I don't even know how long, but still too long and we don't have time to waste." He added.

"Prince Zuko, you should learn to relax. These pools are a wonder and the water temperature is perfect." He affirmed by joining hands and Lan guessed that he must have used his bending to heat the water.

"It would not be a bad idea to take a bath, relax and not think for a few minutes about chasing the Avatar." Commented Lan whose feet with advancing pregnancy were beginning to ache after fewer and fewer steps and felt that a nice bath was just what she needed and then after all they had walked that far.

"We don't have time to relax, and I think my uncle has already relaxed enough anyway. Uncle, get up." Exclaimed Zuko in a tone that did not admit replication. Iroh stood upright in feet was completely naked. "Lan close your eyes, it might hurt the baby." Said Zuko covering his eyes with his hand, and the girl could not tell if she felt more embarrassed or amused by the situation. "On second thought, Uncle, stay a few more minutes, but I warn you that if you don't return to the ship within half an hour we will leave without you."

"All right." Iroh agreed, sitting comfortably in the tub again.

"There are so many tubs why don't we take a bath too?" Lan proposed, staring at Zuko.

"You stay if you want." He said in a cold tone and then took the path backwards. The girl let out a sigh then without undressing completely as Iroh had done, and hiding from the latter's sight, she dived into one of the pools and decided to do as the Fire Lord's brother did and use her own bending to heat the water.

Several minutes later she was wondering if it was time for her and Iroh to return to the ship-she was not sure how long they had been bathing, however, she did not want to take the risk of angering Zuko and got out of the tub. After getting dressed she made to reach Iroh, who could not see where she was from because a large rock hid him from her view just as it hid her from his when suddenly she heard a noise followed by voices.

"A soldier from the Fire Nation." Said a man. Puzzled, Lan approached the rock and slowly poked her head out to see what was going on and felt a gnawing in her stomach at the sight of the Earth Kingdom soldiers. One of them had used his domain to imprison Iroh.

"Not just any soldier is Prince Iroh the brother of the Fire Lord." Commented another who apparently recognized Iroh.

"Let's take him away." Said the soldier who had spoken first. He and his comrades had not noticed Lan's presence and probably the wisest thing to do on the part of the young woman was to stand by and watch as those men carried Iroh away and surely the latter would have understood if she had done nothing as intervening would have wanted to endanger both her and the child, however Lan felt she could not stand by and watch as those soldiers carried Iroh away. She would never forgive herself if she did nothing if she did not even try to do anything and so being careful to remain hidden she lifted a hand and made to throw a small fireball at the two men when she felt a twinge in her stomach it was not very strong, but enough to distract her and she laid a hand on her stomach.

"Let's not waste time." Said the second soldier, and the young woman heard another noise, and when she looked again she saw that the soldiers had freed Iroh.

"Stop!" Lan exclaimed as she came out from behind her hiding place with a hand placed on her belly. The two soldiers turned toward her and for a moment seemed surprised however the astonishment quickly vanished from their faces.

"And who are you?" One of them asked and then turned to Iroh. "Aren't you too old for her?" He asked in a mocking tone. The insinuation behind that question made Lan feel a sense of embarrassment, but them quickly put it aside.

"I don't think you have the right to judge." Commented raising one hand, but before she could even use her bending one of the men was faster than she was and the earth lifted, imprisoning her and preventing her from using her hands.

"In any case, two captives are better than one." Observed the other ruler of the land.

Later Lan, Iroh and their captors were traveling down a road direction no one knew where and the former servant did not even know how long they had been traveling only that it was now evening. In fact, the stars were shining in the dark sky.

"Where are you taking us?" Iroh asked. The soldiers had tied him up and put metal bracelets on his wrists and he was sitting on the back of one of the mounts they were using to carry them.

"In a place you should know well since you held it under siege for six hundred days before you retired like a coward." Replied the soldier from the group who was ahead of the others.

"I acknowledge that I was defeated at Ba Sing Se, however six hundred days had passed and my men and I were very tired." And she had lost her child mentally added Lan who was sitting on the back of another of the mounts. They had also bound her with chains and she had on her wrists the same bracelets that Iroh had.

"When we arrive you will be tried for your crimes." He was informed by the same soldier who had told him where they were headed.

"And what crime have I committed? Excuse me, but I don't think that just the reason of being born in a hostile nation should be grounds for imprisoning someone." Observed Lan in a deliberately provocative tone.

"You are a member of a nation that attacked us for no reason a hundred years ago and has been reaping casualties among our people ever since. Thousands of lives have been broken because of your people." He asserted in a cold tone.

"But I was not even born a hundred years ago, and until a few years ago I was only a servant and never harmed anyone, much less members of your nation." She exclaimed, annoyed that he held her responsible for the actions of her people just because they were precisely her people. "Besides, does this seem like the way to treat a pregnant woman?"

"Your child will probably be a Firebender so as far as I am concerned it would not be a great loss if he did not come into the world, in fact one less potential danger to the Earth Kingdom." Affirmed in a cold tone one of the soldiers. His words caused great distress in Lan.

"I'm starting to feel really tired." Said Iroh, who then fell off the animal. A squeal escaped Lan's lips as she stared at her lover's uncle lying on the ground.

"Iroh!" She exclaimed. The soldiers stopped and forced their captive and sat him back on the steed. "Are you all right?" She asked worriedly.

"Don't worry I'm not hurt." The man replied, and she relaxed. The baby moved in her womb and she wished she could lay a hand on her belly as she did every time she felt him move.

They stopped for the night and not even then did their captors lift the shackles, chains and ropes that should have prevented her and Iroh from escaping also had tied them together, probably thinking that doing so would make their eventual escape even more difficult. Lan let out a sigh as she stared at her swollen belly.

"You should not have tried to intervene so they would have had only one prisoner and now you and your child will be safe." Commented Iroh. There was no reproach in his voice; this was more of an observation.

"I couldn't stand by and watch you being taken away against your will, and besides, the baby and I are fine. I can feel him moving from time to time." She affirmed and as if to confirm what the mother was saying the child kicked.

"I am grateful to you for trying to help me, although I wish you had stayed hidden." He replied. "However don't worry I am sure Zuko will find us soon and once we are freed he will scold us because if we had not decided to waste our time relaxing we would now be on the ship safe and not in the hands of men who hate us."

"I am eighteen years old when the war started, not even my grandparents were born yet, but it seems that I am guilty of something just because I was born in the Fire Nation and they take it for granted that my child will one day become a soldier too." Commented. "My child will surely be a ruler since both his parents are, it would be strange otherwise and one day he will join the Fire Nation's army and thus pose a threat to the Earth Kingdom for example." She went on to think that after all their captors were right to consider her child a future threat.

"It may be that your child will not be forced to join the army and will never know the meaning of the term war." He observed.

"It would be nice, but I have some doubts." She said doubtfully with a sigh then turned to stare at their captors. "They thought I was your mistress. Heck I could be your niece." She added in an amused tone.

"My father's wife was much younger than him. My father when he got married was not so young anymore and he chose a woman who was twelve years younger than him." He replied. "I suppose he was too busy earlier declaring war on other nations and searching for the Avatar." He added. "If we consider all this is the fact that often the concubines when they entered the harem were fourteen to eighteen years old usually regardless of whether the Fire Lord was twenty, thirty, forty or older. Little girls or little more. Of course some of them may not have shared a bed with him even once, but it makes the same impression."

"Was your wife younger than you?" She asked curiously.

"Yes, we were three years apart. Ours was an arranged marriage: her father was one of my father's major representatives in one of the colonies that Sozin created." He recounted with a hint of melancholy in her voice. "I was twenty-one and she was eighteen when I met her at an event. She was beautiful in her green-colored dress. Green was her favorite color and it looked very good on her." He added. "In the Fire Nation normally people wear clothes in various shades of red, and I remember her popping up among all the people at the event in her green dress."

"When did you find out you were going to marry her?" She asked.

"The next day. My father thought she was a good choice as my future bride and I found myself almost immediately agreeing with him instead Lan took longer to convince herself that I was the right choice as a future spouse because she was worried at the thought that one day she would have to rule the nation by my side and also at the thought that one day one of our children would become Fire Lord she was also worried at the thought that we would not be able to have children and that people might hold her responsible and she was probably right." He recounted.

"You only had one son, but Prince Lu Ten from what my mother told me was really a good boy and she loved him like a sixth child." She said thinking of the framed picture of the prince laid on one of the pieces of furniture in her parents' house.

"Lu Ten was not our only child by choice.... Lan had a very difficult birth that lasted more than a day, and afterwards we were told that another pregnancy might kill her.... It was difficult, but eventually we were able to accept the fact that Lu Ten would be our only child." He said. "My father was not an empathetic man, far from it and tried to convince me to cancel the marriage and take another wife or alternatively a concubine, however I refused. I loved Lan and our son was growing strong and healthy after she died. I considered remarrying thinking that maybe it wouldn't be bad to have another wife, maybe I would fall in love again and Lu Ten would benefit from a mother figure though.... Well, I guess it wasn't meant to be."

"It must be hard for you to go back to Ba Sing Se." She watched as she could only imagine the feelings Zuko's uncle was having at that moment. Apparently he seemed calm, but she suspected that just hearing the name of the city outside whose walls his son had found death must be devastating to him.

"Some wounds never heal. Just think that when I once mentioned the possibility of remarrying Lu Ten asked me if I couldn't marry your mother. He loved her very much and already thought of her as his mother and he also adored you saying you were his little sister." He said in an amused tone. Lan felt her eyes become moist.

"I also loved him as one loves a brother." She replied. "He was older than me, but he liked to spend time with me and we played together. My older brother almost never wanted to play with me." She recalled. "Maybe he had such patience because after all he was suffering from not having siblings and needed to spend time with someone." She continued.

"You may be right." Agreed the man. "You know over the years I told myself over and over again that one son was enough and that Lu Ten didn't need brothers or sisters, but maybe I was just telling myself that to try to comfort myself and it wasn't true."

"I'm sure your son was happy with or without siblings." She affirmed. "He had his mother, you and also my mother, and he was surrounded by people who loved him and were concerned about him." She replied. She meant it not just saying it in an attempt to make him feel better. "I, on the other hand, admit that there were times when I wished Lu Ten was my brother and not the one I had. A thought that made me a bad sister."

"I, too, over the years, especially since he took the throne, have wished that Ozai was not my brother or at least that he was a different man than he is." He said. "Ozai was always too much like our father while I was always more like our mother. She was a good and kind woman subservient to an authoritarian husband and although she often did not approve of my father's decisions as a good obedient wife she kept silent and kept her opinions to herself." He added. "She was not a dominatrix and perhaps that was one of the reasons why it was so easy for my father to subdue her because she was convinced that she could not oppose her husband who on the contrary was able to control and create fire."

"There are many women like her. Women who are afraid that their husbands might use their power to harm them if they just dare to rebel against their authority." Commented thinking of several soldiers' wives she had known. She had not been able to help but notice that the wives of soldiers who were unable to firebend seemed to have great fear of their spouses in some cases, and she guessed that those women feared their husbands, or rather feared what they might do to them if they ever got angry.

"Sometimes the thought of what a person might do is more frightening than what a person actually does." He replied. "Now I think it's time for us to sleep, we don't really know what's coming tomorrow and we may need all the energy we can get." He added, closing his eyes immediately afterwards. Lan did not respond and simply closed her eyes and despite the uncomfortable position both fell asleep rather quickly.

Lan dreamed that her child was born in Ba Sing Se inside a cell and with the ability to rule the earth instead of fire and because of this the authorities of the Earth Kingdom took him away from him, but despite the fact that her child was able to rule the earth and a citizen of the Earth Kingdom in his own right people looked at him with suspicion and some even despised him just because his parents belonged to the Fire Nation. When she woke up and realized that it had only been a dream she felt great relief and thought that even if her child had been born in Ba Sing Se he would never have been able to rule the earth.

Prince Zuko had immediately begun searching for Iroh and Lan after going to the pools and realizing that the two had been kidnapped by the Earthbenders. Actually at first he had hoped that Lan had managed to hide or at any rate that the soldiers had captured only her uncle and let her go who surely posed no threat to them, but he and his men had found no trace of her and so with anxiety running high the prince had immediately set out to find his uncle and the future mother of his child, hoping that they were both well.

When he found them after what seemed like an eternity a scene not the best was presented before him: his uncle on his knees forced to keep his arms on a rock and one of the soldiers hovering a rock right over his uncle's hands and arms with the clear intent of crushing his hands. Lan stared at the scene standing next to another soldier who was holding her by the arms to prevent her from intervening.

"No, please." Squealed Lan just as Zuko made a leap and hit the rock with a kick, preventing it from crushing his uncle's hands. "Zuko." Shrieked the girl again.

"What are you going to do? We are more than you and the girl is pregnant." Exclaimed the soldier who had tried to shatter Iroh's hands.

"True we are outnumbered and Lan certainly cannot fight, but we are perfectly capable of defeating you." Replied in a confident tone Iroh whose nephew had broken the chains with another kick. Uncle and nephew fought side by side, and using even the same chains that should have prevented them from moving freely, the general defeated their enemies only, however, when four of the five men were out of the fight they realized one was missing.

"Surrender or I swear I will kill her." Said in a threatening tone the soldier who was clutching the hilt of a knife in one hand. A knife whose blade was dangerously close to Lan's neck. "I don't care that she is pregnant, the Fire Nation over the years has killed hundreds of children from the Earth Kingdom and as many have never been able to give their first womb so I don't mind killing both her and the baby." He added. There was no hesitation in his voice and the grip around the hilt of the dagger was firm, just the air of wanting to go all the way.

"Give her even a small cut and I swear I will kill you very slowly and painfully." Zuko replied in a threatening tone.

"Listen I understand your grudge against the Fire Nation, but do you think those children and all the other people of the Earth Kingdom who died at the hands of the Fire Nation would really want that?" Iroh asked in a calmer tone. "Lan and her child are innocent just as they were innocent." He added, taking a step forward with his hands raised in surrender. The soldier took a step backward and touched the skin of Lan's neck with the blade of the knife. A drop of blood smeared the blade.

"Surrender and I will not kill her." The tone of his voice was dangerously determined. "Ah!" The man screamed in pain and the knife fell from his hand. Lan had used her bending to make the chains that held her back glow. The man let go of her, and she kicked him, which made the young woman's mouth bend in two from the pain. A series of expletives came out of her mouth that fortunately the child growing in her womb could not hear.

"Lan, calm down." Zuko said a few minutes later, grabbing her by the back and pulling her away from the soldier who had continued to kick her. Lan burst into tears and leaned her head against Zuko's chest, who wrapped his arms around her body and held her close. "It's all right, it's over. It's okay." She said softly.

Later on the ship Lan sipped a cup of jasmine tea that Iroh had prepared with the intention of helping her calm her nerves. Zuko was sitting next to her. After bringing tea Iroh had left them alone.

"Are you okay?" Zuko asked worriedly. The girl nodded her head in assent and placed a hand on her belly.

"I'm still a little shaken up, but I'm okay." She replied. "You know I think I've decided what I would name the baby if it were a boy." She continued.

"How?" Asked the prince whose concern for his and the baby's safety had not yet faded after what happened.

"Lu Ten, I want the child to be named Lu Ten if it will be a boy." She affirmed.

"All right and Lu Ten it is." He agreed and she smiled. "And if it will be a girl I propose to name her Izumi."

"Agreed." She replied. "It seems we finally reached an agreement regarding the name."

"It seems so, however I think it's a little Izumi growing in there," he said, staring at her swollen lap. The former servant smiled amusedly.

"I hope you will not be disappointed when Lu Ten is born." She affirmed.

"No, because it will mean that Izumi will be born in... Two years?"

"Two years?! Are you serious?" She asked incredulously. He shrugged and she gave him a slap on the wrist.

Chapter Text

After spotting the flying bison, Zuko had decided to chase it with the ship. The problem was that they would soon leave the waters belonging to the Earth Kingdom and enter those of the Fire Nation instead, and that would mean Zuko disobeying his father, who had exiled him and forbidden him to return home until he captured the Avatar and restored his honour.

“Prince Zuko, please think carefully: you are taking a great risk. If you enter the waters of the Fire Nation and are captured your father will be angry and who knows how he might decide to punish you.” Said Prince Iroh in a worried tone, staring at his nephew who was watching the flying bison flying through the sky. Lan was standing beside Iroh and had the same worried expression on her face as the older man.

“Zuko, please let's go back. Is it really worth the risk of being caught and imprisoned?” Asked the girl in an anxious tone, wondering what would become of her and Iroh if indeed Zuko was imprisoned. The Fire Lord seemed to have taken her pregnancy well, especially after learning that she might not be the daughter of two servants after all but the daughter of a servant and a commander of his army, though still illegitimate however she did not think their relationship would be easy and what if he decided to take the child away from her?

“My father will understand why I did it. He will understand that I had no other choice, and he will be happy when I bring him the Avatar.” Replied the prince in a confident tone.

“I fear you are underestimating my sibling, Prince Zuko.” Replied the uncle, not at all convinced. At that instant, a wall of Fire Nation ships appeared in front of them, defending their nation's sea borders. “Prince Zuko you can still turn back, we are still inside the borders of the Earth Kingdom and if you turn back now they won't be able to punish you.” He added.

“No, we are not stopping. I can't let someone else capture the Avatar and take the credit. I have to do this for myself and Izumi.” Replied the prince in a determined tone.

“Izumi.” Repeated Iroh perplexedly.

“Zuko is convinced that the child is a girl, and we decided to name her Izumi. I think it is a boy.” Replied the concubine thinking back to the discordant results she and Yumi had obtained in trying to figure out whether the child was a boy or a girl.

“Only time will tell which one is right, even my wife thought she was expecting a child when she was pregnant and in the end time proved her right.” He replied. Lan made a reply, but fell silent at the sight of dozens of fireballs being launched from the ships straight at the flying bison. Fireballs that threatened to hit their ship as well.

“Lan, go to the cabin.” Said Iroh in a tone that admitted no reply. Without saying a word, the young woman headed for the door that led to the cabins. She had not yet reached the cabin when she heard a loud bang. The ship shook, and she had to lean against the wall to avoid falling and instinctively placed a hand on her lap. One of the fireballs must have hit them, and she wondered who was crazy enough to risk sinking the Fire Lord's son's ship.

The answer was not long in coming, for the girl soon learned that Zhao was behind the damage the ship had sustained. Apparently the man had wanted to hit the Avatar, but had failed. Instead, he had managed to hit Zuko's ship, which had suffered engine damage that required urgent repairs, but considering that it could have been a lot worse, they were lucky.

The Avatar, Katara and Sokka, Katara's sibling, reached the island where Avatar Roku had given Aang an appointment days before in the Air Temple where the boy had managed to make contact with Roku's spirit. When the three friends had arrived at the Crescent Island Fire Temple they immediately thought the island was uninhabited, but as soon as they set foot inside the temple they were joined by the Fire Sages who lived there and who immediately appeared anything but friendly.

Fortunately, however, the three friends among the Fire Sages found one willing to help them who helped them reach the room where the statue of the Avatar Roku was located, thanks to which Aang could get in touch with him. The problem was that in order to open the door, it was necessary for the Avatar to be master of all four elements or else five Firebenders would have to strike the door behind which the room was hidden. The minutes were counting down, soon the winter solstice would begin and Aang feared he might miss his appointment with his predecessor, but how to open the door considering he was not yet able to master all the elements and that there was only one other person capable of mastering fire with them?

Sokka tried to open the door using an ingenious trick, but his attempt failed, so Aang and the rest of his group came up with the idea of tricking the Fire Sages into believing that he had managed to enter the room and was about to make contact with his predecessor. The plan succeeded this time, but no sooner had they distracted the other four sages than Prince Zuko appeared.

“Meet Avatar Aang and this time you will not escape.” Said the prince in a threatening tone and then grabbed his enemy and dragged him towards the stairs leading downstairs. Meanwhile, the wise men took care of chaining Aang's friends to one of the pillars of presents. It seemed to be over for them.

“I will not go with you.” Aang shouted before hitting Zuko with a spinning kick and even using a small part of his Airbender against him at which point the young man, despite the sages' attempt to stop him, managed to enter the room.

The room was round in shape and as soon as Aang had crossed the threshold of the door the sunlight passed through one of the four slits in the wall and hit the statue of Roku, which lit up. At last Aang had succeeded and completed the mission, it was only a pity that the statue remained silent.

"What should I do now? Roku, I came here to talk to you, but I don't know what else I have to do." Said the child staring impatiently at the statue. Then the statue's eyes also lit up, and the room filled with smoke.

"Aang it is good to see you again." Said a voice behind him, and the monk turned to face the man who had apparently been him in another life. Roku had long light gray hair and on his head he wore a golden flame-shaped accessory in which he had gathered some of his hair. "It took you long enough." Commented, but he did not seem angry.

"I'm sorry, but it's been a long journey." Replied the child, thinking back to all the challenges he and his travelling companions had faced to get there and also to the people they had met especially Prince Zuko who at that moment was behind the door and probably trying to get in.

"I have some significant things to tell you, that's why I sent my dragon to find you."

"The comet I dreamed about, right?" Aang asked, remembering the comet he had dreamed of recently.

"One hundred years ago Fire Lord Sozin and his soldiers used that comet to strengthen their rule and attacked the Air Nomads and started the war." He recounted.

"But that was a hundred years ago." Commented confused the 12-year-old.

"Yes, but the comet will return at the end of the summer, you must defeat the current Fire Lord before the comet returns because otherwise he will gain power and strength that you cannot even imagine." He affirmed the spirit of his predecessor.

"But I am not yet able to master the other elements. I know how to summon them, but I don't know how to use them." Anxiously replied Aang, who after learning who he actually was had fled before the monks had time to begin his training. When the truth had been revealed to him he had been afraid and had fled terrified of the great responsibility that rested on his shoulders and the idea of having to be separated from his master.

"Mastering the elements takes years of practice, however if we do not want the world to be destroyed, then you will have to succeed by the end of summer." Roku replied.

"What if I don't make it in time?" He asked worriedly.

"I know you can do it because you have already done it." The Firebender replied in a confident tone and Aang's lips curved into a small smile as he felt reassured by the spirit's words. "We don't have much time left, the solstice is about to end; however, there is one more important thing I must tell you. Lan, Prince Zuko's concubine, is in grave danger. There is a person who wants to kill her and her child and if he succeeds then the world may never know peace. You must definitely warn the prince." He added. The child recalled seeing on the deck of Zuko's ship a girl with long dark hair had noticed her swollen belly and the astonishment and concern in her eyes when she had looked at him and the fear when he had later entered the cabin where she and Zuko were standing to retrieve his cane.

"I will tell him." He replied. Prince Zuko wished to capture him and would probably not stop hunting him until he succeeded in capturing him, yet he would still warn him. Lan and her child were innocent and Roku had said that that child could bring world peace, and it may be that he would do so even if he failed, but he would still do everything he could and everything in his power to succeed in defeating the Fire Lord because the last thing he wanted was for the responsibility of saving the world to end up resting on someone else's shoulders also because he knew well how it felt when everyone depended on you.

Roku warned him of the great threat that awaited him beyond the door and gladly accepted his help to neutralize it and manage to escape. Roku's spirit became possessed of his body and used fire and lava to defeat the soldiers and the Fire Sages, and thanks to his help Aang and his friends were able to escape, although perhaps Roku got a little too carried away considering that he had destroyed the temple and Aang had failed to warn Zuko of the great danger facing the future mother of his child and hoped that the girl was all right at that moment and especially that she was safe.

Zhao's attempt to capture the Avatar and Prince Zuko had turned out to be a great failure, and as if getting away with the crown prince and the Avatar was not enough the child had managed to get in touch with the Avatar.

"The Prince and the Avatar have escaped, but I will hand over five traitors to the Fire Lord." Commented the commander in a cold tone staring at the five Fire Sages standing in front of him.

"But commander only Shyu is a traitor. We tried to help you capture the Avatar." Protested what sounded like the oldest of the five.

"As far as I am concerned, you are all traitors and I advise you to save your explanations for when you stand before the Fire Lord." He affirmed. "Take the prisoners away." He added with his back to them and entered the interior of the ship.

Once he closed the door to his own cabin he could finally vent his anger and struck one of the walls with a blaze. He was not only angry because the Avatar and the prince had managed to escape him, but also because the soldiers he had sent to get Lan had failed. He didn't care that Prince Zuko and his uncle had predicted that he would try to kidnap the girl at the first opportunity and so had posted guards to guard her, and he didn't even care that Prince Iroh had stepped in to help them and that despite her pregnancy the young woman had not remained quiet and had caused a minor burn to one of the soldiers and kicked another. He did not care if the task he had given those men proved more difficult than expected; he had given them a task, and they had failed.

He needed that girl or to be more precise he needed that child he or she represented his greatest pass to the throne. Having a grandchild on the throne would make Zhao more powerful than he already was and if he was lucky and Ozai died when the child was a child then he might even become regent. Of course, he would have to share the regency with the elders as had happened in the past when another Fire Lord had ascended the throne while still a child, but that did not particularly worry him.

If anything, Prince Zuko and Princess Azula could have posed a threat to him and his ambitions. Zuko hated him and certainly would never have agreed to step aside so easily and leave him the power traitor or not, so he probably would have had no choice but to eliminate him so that his son could become the new heir. Princess Azula, on the other hand, might have been able to reach an agreement with her as their relationship was much better, but he would not have hesitated to kill her too if she proved to be a threat.

When Lan had been born he realized there was a possibility that she was his daughter, but he had never been interested in getting married and having children, much less with a servant girl. If he did marry and have children it would be with an important woman with one who could perhaps increase his power also because, in due time, most military men married and had children, maybe they weren't interested in fatherhood and just did it for the nation that always needed new soldiers.

Zhao never imagined that his relationship with a servant girl would one day are helpful to the extent that Akame's daughter would end up becoming Zuko's concubine and become pregnant with a child who would be entitled to the throne, but sometimes fate had great surprises in store, and it didn't matter if Lan was really his daughter because what mattered was what people believed, and he had heard that Akame had confirmed that Lan was his daughter the news had left him perplexed; however, he had chosen not to ask himself questions because Akame's declaration made things much easier for him.

Except that in order to use the child to reach the throne right now he would have to get his hands on Lan. He didn't care about her any more than he cared about her when she had just been born he only cared about the baby and for all he cared she might as well have died in childbirth the important thing was that the baby would survive that then if she died it might be good for him because otherwise there was the possibility that she might get in his way just like Zuko, although in truth he didn't consider either of them a real threat.

Zhao had been born into a family of humble beginnings his parents were not benders, and although they believed in the supremacy of the Fire Nation over the others they did not want their only son to be forced to join the army just because he was born with the power to summon and control fire, but he had hated them for suppressing his dominion thinking that his life would have been better if only he could have started practising with benders sooner he could have been a better Firebending. Not that he had really been a weakling. His parents had hidden an important part of him and could even have caused the complete suppression of his power forever by administering the herbal tea to him.

He had not seen or heard from his parents since learning the truth and had focused first on learning Firebending and then on his military career, and it had been a fairly fast career. Zhao did not have a wealthy and military family behind him which normally was an advantage for those like him who wanted to reach the top however he had an excellent command of the domain and was also very strong then he had learned from one of the best masters in the nation and all these things plus a good dose of luck and the fact that he was always in the right place at the right time. All these things and the fact that he had managed to win the favour of the then Prince Ozai had definitely helped his career.

Zhao had always been an ambitious person who aimed to become someone and eventually succeeded, and thanks to his seemingly useless daughter he might even get his hands on the throne someday.

Of course in order to succeed as regent and rule the Fire Nation it was necessary for Ozai to die after the child was born and before the child came of age, and then he would also have to find a way not to lose the power he had gained, but these were all details he would think about in due time. Now his priorities were to kill Zuko and kidnap Lan not necessarily in that order.

Not long afterwards Zuko was training on the deck of the ship. Lan was sitting in a chair on the other side of the deck and occasionally lifting her eyes from her knitting. Suddenly, the ship veered changing direction.

"What's going on?" Thundered Zuko, who was working out shirtless. The boy walked briskly toward the cabin from which the captain commanded the ship, and Lan followed him after putting down his knitting.

When they entered the cabin Zuko approached the captain with a visibly altered expression.

"Who ordered the course to be changed?" He asked furiously.

"It was me Prince Zuko." Said Iroh, who was playing a game of Pai Sho with a crew member, in a calm tone. Lan, who was closest, turned to stare at him puzzled.

"And may one know why you would do that?" The prince asked, clenching his hands into fists.

"I'm sure Prince Iroh had a valid reason." Lan replied, taking as she often did the Fire Lord's brother's side.

"I lost my lotus token and without it, I cannot complete my strategy and win the game." Said Iroh.

"What!" Exclaimed Zuko and Lan at the same time staring at Iroh with the same astonished expression.

"I always say that you two are the perfect couple now go ahead and say what the other things and says at the same time." Commented Iroh smilingly.

"I can't believe you reversed course just for a freaking token." Squealed Zuko, and for once, Lan could not blame him. The young woman approached and laid a hand on his chest. The prince seemed to calm down at least partly because of her touch.

"You know Zuko we are almost out of honey too, and you know that once or more times a day I feel like eating it, and they say you should always try to satisfy the cravings of a pregnant woman." She said looking into Zuko's eyes and assuming a puppy-dog expression. He stared at her for a few seconds before speaking.

"It's okay though, let's try not to take too long. We don't have time to waste." He exclaimed and then strode out of the room. Lan put her hand on her stomach as she turned to stare at Iroh whose game continued despite the lack of the lotus token that seemed so important to his strategy.

"Thank you." Said Iroh.

"I'm really almost out of honey and this cursed child always makes me want to eat it." She replied. She did not know if it was really necessary to indulge the cravings of pregnant women, but the significant thing was that Zuko believed it. Furthermore, she left the room and headed for her own cabin suddenly wishing for some peace and quiet, perhaps she would even have a nap.

Later they were in a village in a port not far from there. Iroh seemed to have found everything with the exception of the lotus token. Instead, Lan had bought six jars of honey and was eagerly awaiting to dip a teaspoon into one of them and then popping it into her mouth and enjoy the sweet taste of honey. In all of this the only one unhappy about the situation was Zuko who felt that he had wasted a lot of time that he could have used instead to hunt down the avatar then found out that Aang and his friends had stolen a scroll about Waterbending and suddenly Zuko was in no hurry to leave.

Lan decided to return to the ship was eager to eat a nice slice of bread with honey smeared on it and really did not feel like witnessing yet another defeat of Zuko at the hands of the Avatar.

The girl was finishing her knitting while sitting on a chair in her cabin when the door swung open. Lan lifted her gaze from the cover and her eyes met the golden ones of her son's father, who adjudicating from his annoyed expression had also this time failed in his attempt to catch Aang.

"The Avatar managed to escape one more time, didn't it?" She observed as she resumed her knitting. She was close to finishing it and counted on doing so within the next hour, although Zuko's return might have ended up slowing her work.

"Every time one way or another he manages to escape, but I have no intention of giving up." He said in a determined tone.

"No, of course no your honour and your future and the child's future are at stake, and honestly on reflection I'm not attracted to the idea of Azula becoming Fire Lord someday either." She admitted. She had pondered the possibility for a long time, and just the thought of it gave her chills. Likewise, she had come to the conclusion that perhaps capturing the Avatar and imprisoning him so that Zuko could regain his honour and have a chance to reign someday might be the lesser of evils. She could because she was not entirely sure that once he took the throne Zuko would not become like his father.

"Azula is not the heir. I am the heir." Replied the prince in an irritated tone, clenching his hands into fists as he stared at her.

"I'm not sure your father still considers you the heir. Forgive me, but he has exiled you. He may not have taken away your title of prince. However, with the exception of the people on board this ship it seems that no one really considers you to be one yet." She observed as she continued to knit.

"Surely, Zhao doesn't treat me with the respect I deserve." Zuko replied. "You are right, but if I succeed in my mission people will begin to respect me again as their rightful prince and future lord." He added. "Speaking of princes, how is our princess?" He asked, thoroughly changing his tone and moving closer to her. He laid a hand on her lap. "But is it normal that you are getting so swollen? Isn't it that you are getting too big?" He asked doubtfully, lifting his head to meet her eyes.

"Izumi is fine, and I don't think I'm too big. You haven't seen many pregnant women. I can assure you that my belly is absolutely in the normal range." She replied. She remembered well when her mother was pregnant with her baby brother and her belly was just the size of her. "You and Azula are two years apart so you can't remember what your mother's belly looked like when she was pregnant with her, but as an older sister of three siblings I can assure you that everything is absolutely normal." She continued with absolute confidence.

"All right, you're probably right." He replied.

"Of course I am right. You can rest assured." She affirmed by caressing their cheek.

That night Lan dreamed she was back in the park of the Fire Nation palace and was sitting on the bank of one of the ponds and throwing small pieces of bread to the turtles ducks as she once saw Zuko and his mother do. Next to her was a dark-haired little girl. At one point the little girl turned her head and squealed the word daddy before running into the arms of Zuko who was approaching the pond. Lan smiled and stood up straight then walked toward Zuko and the little girl.

After waking up from the dream Lan laid a hand on her belly wondering if Zuko was right, and she was actually pregnant with a baby girl and not a boy as she had been convinced up to that point.

Chapter Text

The capital of the Earth Kingdom had fallen after about a year of siege by the Fire Nation army, and everyone seemed to agree that Prince Ozai was largely responsible for this. People no longer referred to him contemptuously as the Son of the Servant, as they had in the past. The son of Prince Zuko and his concubine had earned the respect and admiration of the entire Fire Nation. At only twenty-one years old, the prince had succeeded where his great-uncle, Prince Iroh, had failed, and in less time than he had.

Princess Azula and the rest of the royal family had not seen the prince since he left for the Earth Kingdom, and the entire court eagerly awaited his return, except for his aunt, who, ever since Ozai was a child and had shown an above-average aptitude and talent for firebending, had felt a visceral aversion toward her nephew. Now that damned boy had managed to conquer the capital, officially annexing it to the cities of the Earth Kingdom already under the rule of the Fire Nation, and now, thanks to Zuko's son, the Earth Kingdom could be said to no longer exist.

Standing on the balcony of the Royal Palace of the Fire Nation, the largest balcony and the one from which members of the royal family appeared at all important events, such as when they celebrated the anniversary of the coronation of the Fire Lord, Azula and her family were there to witness the arrival of Prince Ozai. Great celebrations were planned, and a grand banquet was scheduled for that evening to celebrate the return of Zuko's son, with a fireworks display planned for midnight. The Fire Lord had spared no expense to celebrate his grandson's success and the conquest of Ba Sing Se.

Azula bit her lower lip, struggling to keep a straight face as she watched the group of soldiers heading toward the castle. At the head of the army was, of course, Ozai, waving his hand in greeting and smiling at the people cheering his return.

Zuko and Lan had proud expressions on their faces, and their two youngest children also looked proud and happy at their older brother's return. Ursa, at sixteen, was the oldest, followed by Iroh, who would soon turn fourteen. Azula had greeted the birth of all her nieces and nephews with coldness, considering them only a threat to her and her ascension to the throne. Fortunately, over the years, the relationship between her father and Zuko had not improved; although the Fire Lord despised his eldest son and official heir, the same could not be said of his grandson who bore his name. Unfortunately for Azula, Ozai also liked the rest of his grandchildren, although he did not get along with them as well as he did with his namesake.

Prince Ozai joined his family in a room adjacent to the balcony. The boy bowed before his grandfather.

«Lord of Fire, the capital of the Earth Kingdom and all its lands now belong to you,» he declared solemnly, staring at the floor. Ozai approached his grandson, helped him to his feet, and then gave him an affectionate pat on the shoulder. Azula couldn't remember a single time her father had ever patted Zuko. A slap, yes, but never a pat like the one he had just given his grandson. 

«You did a wonderful job. I am very proud of you,» he said with a smile, and the boy smiled back. Azula struggled to remain impassive, despite the sense of disapproval she felt. 

Lan and Zuko approached their eldest son with their younger children, and she watched Lan smile and hug his son, thinking that her mother Ursa had never looked at her the way Lan looked at his son. Anyway it was more the affection the Fire Lord seemed to feel for his grandson that bothered and worried her. 

She greeted the boy with a forced smile, expressing false joy at his safe return home, when in reality she had hoped that Prince Ozai would die in Ba Sing Se, just as his cousin Lu Ten had many years before. Unfortunately, unlike him, Azula's nephew had not only survived, but had succeeded where Iroh had failed.

A grand dinner had been organized with hundreds of guests to celebrate the victory of the Fire Nation army and the return home of Prince Ozai, who was considered by everyone, except his aunt Azula, to be a true hero. The most important people in the kingdom would take part in the dinner and the celebrations, and everyone, again except the princess, seemed happy. 

During the dinner, Azula enjoyed her meal in silence and hardly spoke to anyone, rejecting attempts at conversation from those seated near her. 

«I would like to thank everyone for taking part in the celebrations in honor of the fall of the capital of the Earth Kingdom and the return of my grandson, Prince Ozai,» exclaimed the Fire Lord after standing up. All eyes were on him. «My grandson has shown great strength and courage and is the best firebending I have ever seen,» he added, glancing briefly at the young man sitting next to him before turning to face the crowd. «I Am pleased to announce that I have decided to name my grandson, Prince Ozai, as my heir to the throne,» he continued. Azula felt a twinge in her stomach as the rest of the room applauded, including Zuko, who didn't seem upset about being passed over in the line of succession, and even Lan, who had always cared more about Zuko than about the possibility of one day ruling alongside him.

«Fire Lord, it will be an honor for me to one day rule the Fire Nation. I only hope that day comes as late as possible,» said little Ozai as he rose from his chair.

«I too hope that day comes as late as possible,» replied the Firelord with an ironic smile, and everyone present burst out laughing. It was not at all in his character to make jokes, which made it all the more surreal in his daughter's eyes. «I am also happy to announce that my son, Prince Zuko, and his wife, Princess Lan, are expecting their fourth child.»   

That announcement only increased the anger Azula already felt, and the princess felt a strong desire to burn her former servant alive. Another child, damn it, as if three weren't enough. Judging by the surprised reaction of the young Ozai, his parents had not yet shared the happy news with him.  

«Lord of Fire, forgive me, but I would like to make the announcement we discussed before the banquet began,» said the newly appointed crown prince. His grandfather nodded in agreement. «I am happy to announce that I have decided to marry my beloved Xia,» he said, staring at a girl sitting at one of the tables in front of him. Xia, the daughter of Mei, her former friend. Azula still remembered the strong sense of betrayal she had felt when Mei did not oppose the budding relationship between her daughter and her nephew, but instead encouraged it. Clearly, the traitor hoped that one day her daughter would marry Ozai and consequently rule alongside him, and it seemed that this wish might come true.

A knock at the door awakened Azula from her dream; the princess, whose anxiety did not disappear after realizing that it had only been a dream and that Zuko and Lan's firstborn was not even born yet, found herself facing a servant who entered the room carrying breakfast. She had a bright smile and was clearly in a good mood.  

«Princess, good morning. I brought you breakfast,» she said, placing the tray on the table. She opened the thick curtains hanging from the window as Azula got out of bed. Without even trying to taste the tea, she immediately grabbed the teapot and threw it at the servant, who screamed when it hit her and fell to the floor. The porcelain shattered and the boiling liquid spilled over the maid and onto the floor.

«This tea is not to my liking,» said Azula angrily, taking out her fury on the girl. She took one of the biscuits and, after taking a small bite, grabbed the whole bowl and threw it at the servant, just as she had done with the teapot a moment earlier. «Not even these biscuits. I wonder why it's so difficult for you servants to make decent tea and biscuits,» she added, her tone full of contempt. The other woman prostrated herself at her feet, her head bowed.

«Princess, please, I didn't mean to upset you or offend you. Please, I would never have served you this breakfast if I had known it wasn't good enough for you,» she said pleadingly. «Please, I only brought breakfast. I swear I would never have done so if I had had even the slightest doubt that you might not like it,» she added, her voice broken by sobs. Her sobs only served to increase the princess's irritation.

«You should have known better. You are my servant, and even though you are an inferior being, I don't think you're stupid. Or are you?» she asked mockingly, then forced her to stand up and looked her straight in the face, even though the other woman kept her eyes down. «You're not stupid, are you?»

«No, princess, I'm not stupid. Please, I didn't mean to,» she replied.

«Look at me! Look me in the face!» screamed the princess. Slowly, the servant raised her head and looked her in the eyes. Her eyes were moist and a tear rolled down her right cheek. Azula slapped her and, after a few seconds, slapped her other cheek. «Forgive me, princess. Forgive me,» she said. Azula let her go.

«Go get something to clean up this mess, and hurry!» she ordered. The maid bowed and then rushed out of the room. Lan was smarter and more beautiful than her new servant. Despite the fact that she had betrayed her and gone with her weak brother, who was completely unworthy of her. However, she continued to miss her and often wished that she had not followed that traitor and had stayed with her. She hated her for choosing him over her, just like her mother had done. She deserved death, or at least to suffer for what she had done, and suddenly a thought flashed through her mind, and her lips curled into a malicious smile.

After getting dressed, she left her room and walked down the hallway toward the stairs leading to the lower floor. She had a plan in mind, but she had to act quickly if she wanted to carry it out. She ordered a servant to tell her father that she would be training that morning, and she truly intended to do so. However, what she hadn't told the servant was that, in addition to training, she would make a quick trip to the harbor, hoping to intercept the men her father had sent to Zhao to help him in his search for the Avatar. Ozai didn't trust his son and would never leave such an important task as finding and capturing the Avatar in his hands.

When she reached the port, she saw that the ship that was supposed to take the soldiers away was still there and that the men were boarding. She quickened her pace and, once she had caught up with them, stared at their faces for a few seconds, then noticed one she knew and headed toward him. 

«Soldier Peng,» she said. The man turned to look at her. He had a nasty scar on the right side of his face, a scar that ran from his eye to the base of his neck. Of all the men, he was the one she knew best and trusted most. 

«Princess Azula,» he said. She motioned for him to come closer, and he obeyed. She led him away from the other people to a place near the ship where no one could hear them.

«I have a very important and secret task for you,» she said in a low voice to make sure no one could hear.

«Whatever you wish, princess, it will be my honor to carry out whatever task you deem appropriate,» he replied.  

«I need you to kill someone, someone who could pose a threat to the kingdom and its politics,» she said, looking the man in the eyes. «If you succeed in this task, rest assured that I will reward you generously and will not forget what you have done for me and for the Nation of Fire,» She continued.  

«Who is it? Who do you want me to kill?» he asked. His eyes had a strange gleam in them. One of the reasons she had chosen him was his ambition. Just like Zhao, he came from a modest family and wanted to become an important person, and he was willing to do anything to achieve this.  

«Lan, you must kill my brother's concubine. That girl is a servant, and her offspring will surely prove weak. We cannot allow a weak person to sit on the throne,» she said, and in a second he saw the determination vanish from the soldier's eyes.  

«You want me to kill Lan? Princess, what you are asking me is risky, very risky. If Prince Zuko...»

She spoke before he could finish his sentence.

«You don't have to worry about my brother. Zuko is weak, and I promise you that if he finds out and kills you, I will make sure your family has everything it needs. If I'm not mistaken, you have two children, both benders; I could help them advance their careers in the army,» she replied. To tell the truth, if he died, she wasn't sure she would keep her word, but the important thing was that he believed her, and if his children proved themselves worthy and strong, she might indeed decide to help them advance their careers. The man thought for a moment in silence, then spoke.  

«All right, I will kill the concubine, but you must promise me that you will keep your word even if you die,» he said.  

«You can trust me. I promise that your wife and children will have a long, happy, and privileged life,» she said, promising herself that if Peng's two children proved to be good soldiers, she would make their careers easier. The Fire Nation needed good soldiers in any case. «Now go, and remember, don't tell anyone what we said,» she continued.  

«See you soon, Princess Azula,» he replied. She watched him as he made his way to the ship. He was one of the last to board. She remained at the port until the ship had cast off, then returned to the palace.

Shortly afterwards, he was training to fight two men when his father approached him. Ozai told him not to interrupt his training and stood watching them fight. Once they had finished, his daughter walked over to him. The Fire Lord had kept his hands behind his back the whole time. 

«You're getting better and better, Azula,» he said proudly. She smiled and took a cloth from a servant to wipe the sweat from her forehead.

«Unfortunately, I'm having trouble finding opponents worthy of me and my skills,» she replied. «I hope we can train together again soon.»

«I'd like to, but I'm always very busy, and with the Avatar's return, I have even more things to think about and take care of,» he replied. She understood, of course, she understood, but that didn't mean she didn't mind. When she was little, Ursa spent a lot of time with Zuko and seemed to care about him much more than she did about her, while she, for as long as she could remember, had been her father's favorite. «I heard you went to the harbor. It was nice of you to say hello to the soldiers, but why didn't you tell me you were going?» he asked. His daughter didn't flinch.  

«I thought you would be very busy and wouldn't have time for trivial greetings,» she replied calmly. He didn't bat an eyelid.  

«No, I wouldn't have had time to accompany you, but it doesn't matter, because I made sure the soldiers knew what I expect of them and they know what they have to do,» he replied.  

«Are you really going to forgive Zuko and revoke his exile if he manages to capture the Avatar?» she asked, asking him the question that tormented her most and that she hadn't had the courage to ask him until now. «And what will happen once Lan has given birth to the child? Because he or she will be a member of the royal family in every sense, won't they?» she added, voicing the second question that had been tormenting her. There was also a third question related to the second, but at that moment she wasn't sure she had the courage to ask it.  

«I told your brother that if he found the Avatar, he could come home, and I imagine that means he can have his title back,» he replied. «Zuko is my eldest son, but I decided long ago that you would be my heir and succeed me after my death. Your brother is not worthy of sitting on the throne; he is weak, although I admit that if he does manage to capture the Avatar, he would make a great contribution to the nation,» he added.  

«What about the child? Even if Zuko doesn't marry Lan, he or she will have a right to the throne. Are you willing to disinherit Zuko and, by extension, his child?»  

«Your brother's child is guilty of nothing more than being your brother's child, and after all, he is the rightful descendant of Fire Lord Sozin. He may not turn out to be a disappointment and unworthy of his ancestry,» he replied in an inscrutable tone, making it difficult to determine what he really thought and whether he had even the slightest affection for the child.  

«Lan is a servant and a Firebender, but she is weak and unworthy of the power that fate has given her. Her son should serve at court, not be a member of the royal family,» she said, her voice full of contempt. Her father did not bat an eyelid.

«Her father is Zhao, you know, he too was of humble origins, although he likes to forget that, and he has served the nation well so far,» he replied. «Many children of servants and commoners have served the nation well, helping to make it what it is today. Lan is a servant just like her mother, but she was born with the gift of controlling fire. She is not strong, but that is mainly because she has not had the opportunity to hone her skills. If she received the right training, she might prove to be a great Firebending, and her child might turn out to be better than his father, not that it would take much,» he asserted.

«Let's hope so,» she lied. Soon she would no longer have to worry about Lan and her child. Peng would rid her of that threat. A part of her, a small part of her, was sorry that Lan would die; however, even if she lost the child, she could always have another, so it was important that they both die. Of course, she was aware that even if Lan and her child died, it was likely that Zuko would take a new concubine sooner or later, or that he would marry, perhaps in an arranged marriage like that of their parents; but she would think about the new woman and her possible children when the time came. For now, she wanted to focus on the current threat.

A storm had hit the ship. Iroh warned Zuko that it would be safer to change course, but he was determined to capture the Avatar and didn't want to waste any time, so he decided to continue and not turn back. Lan was worried that Iroh might be right and that the prince's decision would end up putting them all in danger. She tried to change his mind, but he wouldn't even listen to her and told her, or rather ordered her, to go below deck and not move from there, probably convinced that she would be safe if a storm hit them.

A few hours later, the weather worsened and the storm hit them. Lan and Iroh were walking along one of the ship's corridors when they heard the captain's voice coming from the room where the crew members were spending their free time. The man was furious with Zuko for not changing course and considered him a spoiled prince. 

«You should be very careful what you say and how you say it, Captain,» Lan said, after crossing the threshold of the room. The captain was standing next to a fire that he or one of the other people present must have lit.

«Concubine Lan, Prince Iroh, I...» he said hesitantly. Followed by Iroh, the girl stepped into the room and then sat down by the fire.

«Don't worry, Captain, what you said is true, but you don't know the whole story, you don't know why Zuko was exiled,» she said calmly, staring into the flames. «Prince Iroh, would you do me the honor of telling the story? After all, you know the story better than I do,» she added, glancing at Ozai's brother, who had sat down next to her. 

«Zuko was once a carefree child. He grew up privileged as Prince of the Fire Nation and enjoyed a life of privilege from birth. You're right, he was spoiled, but he never had what he truly wanted: his father's love and attention. After Ozai ascended to the throne, things only got worse for Zuko. Ozai has always been very strict, and I don't think he ever spoke a word of affection to him or ever touched him. After becoming crown prince, Zuko gained more power, but also more responsibility, and his father became, if possible, even stricter,» Iroh explained, staring into the flames.

«My mother was Princess Ursa's personal servant, and I've known Zuko since we were children, and I don't remember ever seeing the Fire Lord give him so much as a caress,» Lan commented, feeling a sense of nostalgia as she thought back to when Ursa was alive and she and Zuko used to play in the palace gardens. When Ursa gave her sweets or other gifts, she had always been so kind to her. Ozai's wife had never made much distinction between her and her mother, whom she had always treated more like a friend than a servant.

«Shortly before he was exiled, Zuko, as crown prince, felt it was his duty to attend a council meeting. At first, I tried to dissuade him, warning him that those meetings were very boring, but when he reminded me that he was the heir and that attending the meeting would help him learn how to rule the country, I gave in, but I begged him to remain silent,» Iroh continued his story. «But during the meeting, one of the elders proposed sacrificing a division made up mostly of recruits, the 41st. It was a suicidal plan: those men would be sacrificed in the name of the nation, but Zuko firmly opposed it, saying it was not right to send men to their deaths,» He added.

«But we are the 41st division,» exclaimed the captain.

«Zuko, of course, was right; it was not right to sacrifice a group of men, but it was not the time or place to make his case. The elder was deeply offended, and it was decided that Zuko would have to make amends in the only way possible,» said Iroh, ignoring the captain's comment. «Zuko agreed without hesitation to take part in a duel, or Agni Kai; however, when the time came to face his opponent, he discovered that it was not the elder but his father. For by speaking in that manner in front of the entire council and his father, Zuko had not only offended the councilor, but had also shown disrespect to the Fire Lord himself,» He continued.

«I was there and I remember well the frightened expression on Prince Zuko's face when he knelt before his father, begging for forgiveness and saying that he had only done what he thought was best for the Fire Nation. His father first ordered him to stand up and then, when he realized that he had no intention of fighting...» Lan paused as she remembered what had happened that day. «He said he had lost his honor and burned his face.» 

She finished her story and bowed her head, feeling as heartbroken as she had that day.

«Ozai decided that the only way Zuko could restore his honor was to find the Avatar. That's why he's so obsessed with him, because the Avatar gives Zuko hope,» said Iroh.

«Now it all makes sense,» replied the captain, whose opinion of the prince must have changed.

Later, Zuko and the captain worked together to save the helmsman after the ship was hit and damaged. Iroh told Lan, who had remained below deck, that Zuko and the captain had climbed together to the highest part of the ship to save the man who was in danger of falling, and that after bringing him to safety, Zuko decided to reverse course.The girl smiled, proud of the man she loved and glad that, in the end, he had realized that it was not worth putting everyone in danger to pursue the Avatar.

Chapter Text

Sitting in a chair in the captain's cabin of Prince Zuko's ship, his concubine was knitting. By now she was only a short time away from finishing what in her mind must have been the boy's or little girl's first blanket. Until that moment, the girl had thought that a little prince was growing in her womb, but in truth she was not so sure now after the dream she had had, and she wondered if Zuko was right in thinking that their firstborn would be a girl. On reflection, perhaps it would have been better if it had been a girl, since the parents had reached an agreement on the name right away, whereas they were at odds regarding the name of a possible son.

«We have not been able to find any trace of the Avatar yet,» commented the ship's captain who, together with Zuko, was looking at a map. «Continuing in this direction we will enter the borders...»

Before he could finish his sentence, a large ship pulled up next to them. Prince Zuko and Lan, who interrupted her knitting and set it down on her chair and then stood up, stared at the large vessel as did the rest of those in the cabin.

«Who Are they and what do they want?» asked Zuko. Lan approached him.

«Could it not be that the Fire Lord has sent men to help you in your quest?» speculated the girl.

«I highly doubt it, since he has entrusted Zhao with the task of capturing the Avatar,» he replied, turning to look at her. Lan looked at the Fire Nation ship and heaved a sigh as she had to admit to herself that Zuko was probably right.

What appeared to be the captain of the other ship came down aboard their ship, accompanied by some of his men. The newcomer did not look friendly, wearing his armor. The man showed everyone present a sheet of paper on which a portrait of Aang was drawn.

«The Fire Lord orders that all information pertaining to the Avatar be reported to Admiral Zhao,» he announced in a serious tone.

«Zhao has been appointed admiral? Congratulations to him; my brother must have seen great ability in him,» Iroh commented disinterestedly, without diverting his attention from his game at Pai Sho. Lan gave him an astonished look, as she often did when it came to Ozai's brother, who seemed to take things too often lightly; then she turned to stare at Zuko, whose expression made it clear that he had not taken the news well at all.

«We have no information to report. Now leave!» exclaimed the nervous prince. Lan placed a hand on his left forearm and squeezed it in an attempt to calm and restrain him.

«Admiral Zhao forbids any ship to enter or leave this area,» said the man who seemed not to have paid the slightest attention to Zuko's angry reaction.

«So we can't leave? Does the Admiral intend to keep us stuck here?» the girl asked, surprised. The soldier addressed her directly.

«Concubine Lan, your father only wishes to be free to act and for people not to meddle in the search for the Avatar,» he explained in a much more conciliatory tone than the one he had addressed Zuko just before. «The Admiral would also like you to come with us; he is worried about you, afraid that you are not safe here.»

«Lan is not going anywhere and tell Admiral Zhao that his daughter is safe and that I will not allow anyone to harm her in any way,» Zuko said in a cold tone. He had pronounced Zhao's new rank as if it had been an insult, probably because he was outraged that his father had promoted the man.

«Tell the Admiral that I don't intend to go anywhere,» the girl said, avoiding referring to Zhao as her father. She did not care that he had had an affair with her mother; even if someone had shown her indisputable proof that he was her father, she would never have considered him as such. A man who had taken advantage of a woman and, as a result of that relationship had become a father did not deserve to be called such, and it was a disgrace that Ozai had given him more power than he already had.

«Concubine Lan, your father is only concerned about your safety and that of your son; he is willing to get you safe passage to the Fire Nation,» said the Zhao soldier. If that were true, she could return home, she suspected, but if she agreed, she doubted they would allow her to return to her parents. Perhaps they would have housed her in Zhao's house or, even, the Fire Lord would have wanted her to live in the royal palace. She highly doubted that Azula would give her a good reception; indeed, it was likely that the princess would find every possible way to make life impossible for her. Even if she could not have mistreated her as she did when she was her servant, she would surely find a way to hurt her.

«Thank the Admiral for his offer, but do report to him that I am not going to accept,» she said in a firm tone.

«Are you sure?» asked Zuko. The tone of his voice had changed and he stared at her with an air of concern. His question caught her by surprise. «You could go home, and the capital of the Fire Nation would certainly be a safer place for you and the child,» he observed. It was clear from the tone of his voice that he would be sorry if she left, but at the same time he felt that it would be safer for her and the child to go to the capital; but on this Lan was not quite sure.

«We will go back to the capital together,» she decreed in a firm tone. Zuko turned toward Zhao's soldier.

«She has no intention of going with you, and now you may as well go,» he said, and the three men, though reluctantly, took their leave. Lan hoped that Zhao had not punished them for failing to persuade her to leave with them. After the men had left, Zuko approached one of the large windows in the cabin.

«I think I'm going to go rest in the cabin for a while. Zuko, would you like to come with me?» she asked slyly, thinking that some relaxation would do them both good.

«You go ahead and rest, I'll go train,» he replied visibly nervous, then walked out of the cabin without adding anything else or even looking at her. Lan heaved a sigh and exited the cabin in turn with a somber expression.

She reached the cabin she shared with Zuko. After closing the door, she stowed her knitting; then her gaze fell on the small table on which candles were laid, which were unlit at that moment. Hanging on the wall was a large mask resembling a dragon. The few times Zuko would meditate, in an attempt to achieve a sense of stillness that he could not achieve even when he slept, those few times the prince would sit in front of the small table with lit candles.

The girl approached the small altar and sat on the floor; then she lit the candles and closed her eyes. She remained in that position for several minutes, trying to relax and think of nothing, while conflicting feelings invaded her: the wish that Zuko would capture the Avatar and be able to regain the position of crown prince, or that it would be Zhao who would capture the Avatar and deliver it into the hands of the Fire Lord, so that nothing would change, that Zuko would remain the same and not be blinded by power.

When she heard a knock at the door, she hardly noticed it. She stood upright with one hand resting on her swollen lap and turned in the direction of the door.

«Come in,» she said, expecting her guest to be Zuko, Iroh or the midwife. The door opened and the midwife appeared on the threshold, carrying a basket full of clothes she must have washed.

«The  Prince Zuko is training on the deck of the ship and seems rather short-tempered,» the woman observed, crossing the threshold and setting the basket on the table.

«He is often in a bad mood since he was exiled,» Lan replied, stepping closer to help the woman stow her clothes.

«May I ask what exactly happened? I thought, like everyone else, that the prince was only tasked with finding the Avatar, just like his uncle and grandfather before him,» the woman commented in a hesitant tone, lifting a shirt from the basket. She had long since learned that it was useless to argue when Lan decided to lend her a hand with her tasks.

«One day Zuko attended a meeting of the war council. On that day a man proposed sending a ship carrying young recruits inside the borders of the Earth Kingdom. A suicide mission, since those young men, still inexperienced, would surely be annihilated by the Earth Kingdom,» Lan explained, stowing some clean laundry in one of the drawers of a cabinet against one of the cabin walls. «Other Fire Nation ships would then attack, catching the Earth Kingdom soldiers by surprise. Zuko objected, saying it was not right to sacrifice soldiers, no matter how young and inexperienced.»

«No, in fact it was cruel,» replied the midwife in an indignant tone.

«However, the Fire Lord ruled that Zuko had not only disrespected the general who had made the proposal, but the entire council and the Fire Lord himself,» she said. «Zuko was right: it wasn't fair to sacrifice a group of recruits just because they were inexperienced, but it wasn't the time or place to express his opinion, even if it was possible that Ozai wouldn't have listened to him anyway and would have gotten angry,» she speculated. Ozai had always been cold and particularly harsh with Zuko; some might have thought that behind his behavior was a Fire Lord and a father who, in doing so, thought he could best prepare his son for the day he would take his place, but Lan suspected that wasn't the case, or at least not entirely, because Azula was also his daughter and was only second in line to the throne. However, Ozai had never been so harsh with her.

«What happened next? Did the Fire Lord take offense and exile his son?»  

«The Fire Lord didn't stop there,» she replied with a sigh. «Ozai said that Zuko had lost his honor and that to restore it, he would have to face an Agni Kai, a form of duel with which we of the Fire Nation settle disputes,» she continued, looking distraught.  

«And did the prince lose the duel?»  

«Zuko didn't really fight. He went into the duel full of determination, but as I explained before, Ozai believed that his son had disrespected him as well as the general,» she replied. «When Zuko discovered that the person he was supposed to fight was his father...»  

She broke off and a sob escaped her lips. She paused, then continued.  

«Zuko refused to fight. All his courage had vanished. He didn't want to fight his father, but Ozai didn't like what he considered an act of cowardice,» she said, wiping away her tears. «In Agni Kai, the winner has the right to burn the loser and...»

«So that's where the prince's scar comes from... I never thought the Fire Lord could be so cruel, even to his own son,» Yumi said, stunned, then shook her head. «Perhaps the royal blood is tainted, but maybe your son won't be like his grandfather and those who came before him,» she added, staring at Lan's lap as she spoke. «Prince Iroh seems like a good person at heart, so maybe all is not lost for the members of the family that rules your country.»

«It was Ozai who burned his face,» she replied grimly. «I was in the audience and saw everything, and I don't think I'll ever forget that scene,» she continued, placing a hand on her belly. «I too hope that he or she won't resemble some of his relatives. There may still be hope for Zuko, but certainly not for his father.»

«But why didn't Prince Zuko say anything? Why didn't he reveal to the crew what he did?» she asked, puzzled.

«I honestly don't know, but it's possible that he doesn't tell them because of a matter of pride. I think he regretted speaking out without thinking. I don't think he regretted that he opposed the decision to sacrifice a ship full of soldiers, but only that he did not act more prudently,» she replied. Until now, she had not had the courage to ask Zuko if he regretted what he had done; she feared his answer as a wounded boy who longed to be able to go home.

«So far I have always thought that Prince Zuko was no different from his father, who was a conceited and spoiled prince, but in my opinion he did not lose his honor that day; on the contrary, he proved to be a more honorable person than his father and that general,» she commented. Lan's lips curved into a small smile.

«I agree, but I'm afraid that other people, at least some of them, will never agree with us,» she replied. «The days when my mother was Princess Ursa's servant and Zuko and I used to play together in the palace gardens seem so far away. His mother was very fond of mine and also of me and my brother Kakuzi,» she added with a sigh, taking the last jersey inside the basket and folding it. «Ursa's family was not rich and, before she married Ozai, she never had servants to take care of her every need. Perhaps some people, when they grow up modestly and then become rich, keep their humility and respect the servants' work more,» she speculated, putting the shirt back in its place.

«I have never met anyone in your position who was as kind as you are to those who had not had the good fortune to be born and grow up in affluence,» she commented. «You know, even in the Earth Kingdom some parents decide to name their daughters Lan. It has two meanings: river bank or orchid, did you know that? We appreciate it for its connection to nature, and the orchid, by the way, is considered a symbol of beauty and refinement.»

«I was unaware that my name could also have "river bank" as a meaning; perhaps it is not so suitable as a name for a person who is able to summon and control fire,» she observed in a wry tone.

«In the Earth Kingdom when people get married, garlands of flowers are made, and some brides choose orchids as the flower or one of the flowers, maybe together with roses because they are flowers that people really like and because of their meaning,» she explained.

«I would like to wear a garland of flowers on my wedding day,» she remarked, taking on a dreamy air as she imagined herself wearing a wedding dress, perhaps her mother's, and a garland of flowers on her head.

«It may happen soon, and if it is okay with you, I would be happy to make a garland of flowers. Instead of green ribbons, I could attach red ribbons,» proposed the other, looking at her smilingly.

«That would be very kind of you, but until the prince makes me a more romantic marriage proposal than the one he has already made me, I don't think there will be any wedding,» she stated, arousing the older woman's curiosity.

«How did it go?» she asked, unable to contain herself.

«He told me that, for the sake of the child and so that no one would question his inheritance rights, we had to get married,» she replied. «If at least, in addition to that, he had told me that he loved me...»

«Someone should teach that boy to make a marriage proposal sincerely,» she replied in a wry tone and both burst out laughing.

Zhao had also succeeded in capturing the Avatar with the help of the Fire Nation's most skilled archers, and now, looking satisfied, he stared at his important captive who did not seem so dangerous now that he had captured him and was tied up.

«Do you want to kill me?» asked the little boy.

«No, if I kill you, you will be reborn and we will have to start all over again; instead, I will take you to the Fire Nation and you will live the rest of your life locked in a cell,» replied the Admiral with a wicked expression. He had finally succeeded where Zuko had failed and was looking forward to delivering the Avatar into Ozai's hands, confident that the latter would be deeply grateful and surely shower him with gifts in gratitude. And with his daughter bound to Prince Zuko and his grandson someday reigning over the Fire Nation, his power would grow ever greater. Not bad for a boy from humble beginnings who as a child was forced to do small jobs to help his parents.

«Please, my friends are sick and I have to go help them. I have an important message to report to Prince Zuko about the mother of his son,» the 12-year-old said in a desperate tone, arousing Zhao's curiosity.

«And what on earth would you have so important to report to the prince about his concubine?» he then asked; his tone changed and he assumed a worried expression. «Lan is my daughter, so everything about her, in a way, concerns me as well, even though her evil mother has kept her away from me, preventing me from fulfilling my role as her father. You have no idea how difficult it was,» he said, feigning a sad expression, hoping his lie would convince Aang of his good faith, when in fact, even if he had known about Lan in the past, she would not have cared about her, just as he had never cared about the rest of his mother.

«Roku told me that there is a threat hanging over Lan and her child, that they are both in danger. There is someone who wants to harm them,» Aang replied. She had hesitated before speaking, probably not trusting him; however, since he was her prisoner and she did not know if and when he would be free again, she felt that he was her best chance to save Lan.

«Don't worry, I will personally make sure my daughter is safe,» he replied, thinking that only he could keep Lan safe at least until the baby was born, after which he would decide what to do with her. If she behaved well and had she been obedient and remained in her place, then he could also decide to leave her alive and allow her to raise her child; although she would take care of the emotional aspects, he would take care of the education, of course together with the Fire Lord and other people, and all together they would educate the child in the best way and one day he would become the new Fire Lord.

Zhao was also hoping to find a way to get rid of the Fire Lord before Lan's child came of age and to find a way to get himself appointed regent to rule in his place. If he was lucky and played his cards right, perhaps he would be able to rule even after the boy or girl came of age, or at least get a good political position on the new ruler's council. Of course, he knew that it would not be easy to carry out all his plans; however, he was determined and, although it would take him years, he would succeed. In order to succeed, he would eliminate all obstacles in his path, including his own daughter.

«Thank you,» simply replied the little boy. Zhao walked out of the room and, as he walked away, began to study a way to get rid of Prince Zuko, or even better kill him. That cowardly prince would bring the Fire Nation to ruin if he was not stopped, but Zhao would find a way to prevent him from taking the throne and, in his place, put his grandchild. To tell the truth, he was not entirely sure that it was really his grandchild; the important thing was that believing that child was his grandchild would allow him to gain the power he had always wanted.... After all, was blood and truth really that important?

A few hours later, while dictating a letter intended for the Fire Lord to announce that he had captured the Avatar, a mysterious person wearing a blue-and-white dragon-head mask helped the Avatar escape. Zhao mobilized all his men to capture Aang, and it was then that the mysterious savior threatened to kill him by putting two swords to his throat and ordered them to let them go. But then he ordered one of the archers to kill the one who had let the Avatar escape, but the latter managed to escape, taking with him the one who had helped him and then threatened to kill him. A behavior that many would have called decidedly strange.

To say that Aang had been surprised when he found out that the one who had freed him was Zuko was reductive; for a moment, the 12-year-old had thought of leaving him there at the mercy of the men who were about to arrive, but his goodness had prevented him from doing so, and in the end he had decided to take him away with him and rescue him.

«Many years ago I had friends from the Fire Nation. Once the two of us could have been friends,» he commented when Zuko was awakened.29,30,30,4

«The two of us can never be friends. The only relationship there can ever be between us is that of a jailer with his prisoner,» Zuko replied as he stood up quickly then without any warning attacked Aang who, however, managed to dodge his flare.

«I'm sorry, but I have to run to save my friends and I don't have time for that,» said the 12-year-old who had not forgotten that his friends needed him. «Before I leave though, know that Avatar Roku told me that there is someone who wants to harm Lan and her child, maybe it's too late for you, but I don't want anyone to harm them,» he added and after a short duel he managed to escape.

Only after the Avatar was gone did Zuko fully realize what he had told him and rushed toward his ship worried about Lan. Within a short time he reached a small ship and with it headed for a larger one, namely his own large personal ship. Once he reached the ship he climbed aboard.

«Zuko where have you been? We were beginning to worry,» said Iroh who was on the deck of the ship.

«Where is Lan?» He asked in an impatient tone.

«I think she is in the cabin,» replied the uncle. «But is everything alright? Did something happen you seem quite agitated,» he observed in a worried tone.

«I just have to go to Lan,» he replied and without wasting any time headed toward the inner part in the ship and shortly after opened the cabin door. Immediately he saw Lan sitting in a chair intent on reading a book. He breathed a sigh of relief and rushed toward her. He made her get up from her chair and hugged her.

«Zuko is everything alright? Did something happen?» she asked worriedly after she had broken the hug.

«Nothing happened, it's just that I missed you,» he lied. Well, that was partly true, but he had no intention of preoccupying her by telling her what Aang had told him and reflecting on it: who on earth could have wished Lan dead? Perhaps his father possible that he had only pretended to accept their union? It did not  matter he would protect Lan and the child as long as he had breath. «I'm tired, would you like to rest with me for a while?» he proposed. She smiled and nodded. He gave her a tender kiss on the lips.

«Today you seem more affectionate than usual,» she commented in a somewhat surprised tone.

«It may be that I finally realized how important you are to me,» he replied, looking into her eyes. He caressed her cheek. «I love you. Actually I think I've known it for a long time, but until now I haven't had the courage to tell you, maybe because I haven't had many examples of happy couples in love,» he added regretfully. She kissed him on the lips.

«You are an idiot, but deep down I love you for that too and you know after this beautiful declaration of love I think I might reconsider your marriage proposal.»

Moved by her words Zuko knelt on the floor clasping her hands in his.

«Lan, will you be my wife and one day rule the Fire Nation by my side?» he proposed. She seemed to hesitate for a moment which aroused the prince's concern.

«Yes I'll marry you, but I'm not sure I want to rule an entire nation too many responsibilities, but I love you so ... okay,» she said in an amused tone. He stood up and kissed her.

«Let's go break the news to my uncle,» he said, but before he could even approach the door she grabbed his wrist and turned to look at her puzzled.

«Iroh can wait, didn't you say you were tired?» she asked with a mock innocent air, and the prince guessed she had something else in mind besides rest.