Too Far Away

Chapter Seventeen: Among the Sewer Rats and Angels

The Tenth Letter

Nothing in that moment that was more visible than the moon. As Zuko stared at it, his thoughts turned back to the way the sky had looked when it died. In the back of his mind, he wondered if Song Lee had noticed its disappearance.

After a long moment, he finally tore his gaze away from the moon and glanced back at the Northern Water Tribe. The wind blew through his hair as the great gate slid out of view in the presence of the late night fog.

"I'm surprised, Prince Zuko," said Iroh. "Surprised that you are not at this moment trying to capture the Avatar."

The Avatar, Zuko knew, was untouchable. He didn't know how he had ever thought he could capture him. He remembered the way that the Avatar and the Ocean Spirit had destroyed everything. The way that Admiral Zhao had disappeared beneath the surface of the water. The way that the mighty wreckage of the Fire Nation fleet, twisted and dangerous, attempted to stop them from escaping the carnage.

He wasn't going to say any of that to his Uncle, of course. Admiral Zhao was dead because he hadn't accepted Zuko's help. Besides, the thought of facing the Avatar yet again was too much to bear at that moment.

"I'm tired," he simply replied. That part wasn't a lie.

He felt Iroh rest a hand on his shoulder. It didn't hurt as much as it had when Zuko had first woken up the morning after the explosion, but he was still sore. "Then you should rest," said Iroh. "A young man needs his rest."

If it hadn't been for the Avatar, Zuko knew, he would be dead.

Before he could lay down, a messenger falcon descended from the sky with a loud screech. Iroh extended his arm to receive it, and Zuko frowned when he recognized Tongyi's distinctive features. It had been less than a week since he had sent Tongyi off with the reply for the ninth letter. It took well over a week, he knew, for a messenger falcon to make a round trip between the North and South Pole. Well, he'd thought that was the case, anyway. Maybe he was wrong.

"You must be tired, too," said Zuko.

"Should I send him back?" asked Iroh.

Zuko sighed. "No. I can reply once we make it to land and get supplies. I ignored too many of her letters already. Besides, we can just keep him with us until then. He needs rest, too."

"I still have the brush and ink stone with me. You will only need paper."

Zuko nodded, a wave of exhaustion once again crashing through him. He lied down on the raft, watching his Uncle as he moved Tongyi from his arm to his shoulder, and then he turned on his side and unfurled the letter.

Prince Zuko,

I am pleased that you survived the explosion, though I was worried. You must be careful. Human beings are fragile beyond belief, and I would not be pleased to receive news of your death that I knew to be real.

I am also pleased to learn that your letters were never intercepted, though I confess I was unhappy to learn that you never replied to them. Nevertheless, your most recent letter has reached me safely.

I imagine that by the time this letter reaches you, everything will have already happened. Do you have the Avatar? What all happened in the process? Did you manage to surprise Admiral Zhao? How did the fleet fare?

I have three benders in all in my family, if you count my parents's parents and siblings. The woman who bore my father was a waterbender, though his father and stepmother were not benders at all.