MAYA [Book 1 - Water]

Chapter 37 - The Reveal

-Zuko's Point of View-

"What is it that you're going to tell me, uncle?" I asked Uncle Iroh who is sitting in front of me.

We are currently inside my room, sitting face to face in front of a small table on the floor. He said that he will tell me the whole truth, but he's been delaying things as if he's hesitating to do so. 

After a few more moments of silence, he still hasn't said anything. 

"I don't have all day. We need to find clues about the avatar's whereabouts," I broke the ice once more. 

"Anika... was a very close friend of mine." Uncle suddenly said with his eyes looking down. "She was the brightest person I have ever known and also one of the kindest," he continued. 

I just stared at him and fixed my sitting position, indicating that I was listening eagerly. So it is true, he and Master Anika were closer than I thought.

"It is true that she was not born into the royal family. She used to live in a small town on the outskirts of the fire nation." Uncle explained. "She lived a simple life with a simple family; her older sister, her younger brother, her parents, and her," he continued.

"They were a happy family living a peaceful life; until one day, Fire Lord Azulon found out about the skill of lightning generation. He wanted to learn the skill and have it passed on to the members of the royal family. But since it was only the descents of the Fintan tribe that can do so, he sought far and wide to look for the remnants of the ancient tribe," Uncle said.

"It was Master Anika's family isn't it?" I asked. "Yes." he timidly answered. "Unfortunately for Anika, she was the only bender in the family. Fire Lord Azulon saw great potential in her and wanted to take her into the palace. But her family refused," he continued.

"You know that your grandfather was a very persistent man, just like your father. That's why he never stopped pursuing Anika's family he didn't leave them alone." Uncle said.

"But Anika's family was very firm. They never agreed to terms with Azulon and they stood their ground; leaving him no choice but to leave them alone. However, weeks passed, and as if by some stroke of bad luck; the family got caught in a fire incident—their house burned down; along with everyone inside of it." Uncle kept the story going.

"Anika was fortunate to be outside of the house during those moments. But now, she was the only one left. Orphaned at a young age, Fire Lord Azulon took her into the palace as soon as he heard the news about the family's tragedy." Uncle continued.

"Anika was able to grow up well. The moment she lived in the royal palace, she and I easily became good friends. She had a hard time getting along with your father since they were of the same age and he teases her a lot; which Anika gets irritated easily with. But those were the glory days. Training hours were fun, and all three of us were filled with laughter, and oftentimes we'd play tricks on our teachers," Uncle said and then he paused. 

"But things started to change when I got engaged to Tanwen, and Anika was declared a master bender. She was only 14 years old during that time, and your father felt deep jealousy towards Anika. She was also favored by your grandfather the most," he said.

"Suddenly there was a rift in our bond. We had lesser time for each other and we rarely meet up and have fun. Being declared a master bender, Fire Lord Azulon wanted to use her talents as a weapon for the war, while I being the prince in line for the throne was being prepared to lead the war. Anika and I would often still meet at the war room so we never really lost connection. But your father, Ozai, was left alone. Fire Lord Azulon didn't give him much attention and he wasn't given any role in this ongoing war for he was just—the second son".