Burning and Burned (Avatar: The Last Airbender Fanfic)

Burning and Burned

Feverish.

The memory of a hand reaching towards his eye echoed through Zuko's brain, but so did the sound of him screaming as said hand burned his face, though he couldn't remember if the scream was just in his head or if he'd screamed.

He lay somewhere covered in sheets, one hand resting gently across his chest while the other rested by his side, his ears picking up some of the conversation going around him, but not all. The burning sensation around his eye felt as if it were melting into his face, while his breath—he remembered someone mentioning the importance of breath control and he knew he wasn't in control.

Zuko wasn't in control of anything at that moment.

"Don't worry. I'll keep Prince Zuko safe, though..."

He didn't know the voice; the voice was a stranger.

"Fight," the voice said through the haze. "Prince Iroh will be devastated if you were to die and thus not meet up with him again, Prince Zuko. He's already lost one child to all of this."

"Wake up. Wake up Zuko."

"Infection."

"I wish I had the tools, but..."

Zuko heard a crashing sound, someone calling someone Fire Nation scum, mentions of them needing to die, only for... "There's a child here. He's severely burned. That's what they've been hiding."

"Maybe if we help—" The voice was familiar. "Zuko?"

"Lu Ten. It's Lu Ten's voice, so I must be dead."

Yet, there were mutterings of the person's name and about death and not being something. A hand cupped his chin while he tried controlling his breath, wishing he could come out of his feverish state, but the person who sounded like Lu Ten said, "Let's get him to a doctor. Quickly."

The burn, albeit already soothed, was soothed even more, and slowly the fever diminished. Zuko slowly woke, but when he woke he saw him looking at a man, no two men he didn't recognize. Both were dressed in Fire Nation garb. "Where..."

"Oh. Prince Zuko." The man looked up, but Zuko recollected him being the one to say something about his uncle Iroh being devastated. "I am Jee."

"Hi." Iroh glanced around, noting he wasn't in the palace anymore. "Where's uncle?"

"I don't know."

"Why?"

"He left you in my care. Our care, though..." Jee let out a sigh. "He's drawing your father's attention away from you, Prince Zuko."

"Why?"

"Because Fire Lord Ozai wants you dead."

"Because..." Zuko heard Jee let out a deep breath indicating he wasn't happy about whatever the answer was. "Because I failed?"

"In his eyes," Jee cleared his throat. "Well. You need to know something."

The door of the room opened and the chairs the two men sat on scraped the floor. "Zuko, you're..."

Zuko recognized the voice, but when he turned his head he recognized the face, and he...

He didn't remember what happened next beyond the fact he came too again a bit later. "Sorry. I'm sorry I scared you like that. I am alive though."

The child turned his head, looking at his cousin. "How?"

"How indeed," Lu Ten muttered.

"Why didn't you..." Zuko couldn't finish. Lu Ten was dressed in green, so he wondered if that meant Lu Ten was a traitor.

"Come home?" Lu Ten looked at the floor. "By the time I came to—by the time I came to uncle had already become Fire Lord, but..."

"But?" Zuko heard Lu Ten swallow.

"If I'd known he would do this to you, I would have come back."

"Why?"

"Because—" Lu Ten swallowed. "This is my fault, not yours."

"I'm the one who angered father."

"No Zuko. I'm the one who angered your---he's not your father," Lu Ten's words sounded bitter.

"What..."

"Uncle—not that Ozai deserves to be called that either—isn't your father."

"Lu Ten..."

"I am."

Zuko felt sick.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Zuko."