COLLISION - a zuko and yue centric tale

Chapter fifteen

After floating on the ocean for weeks and meeting a lion-turtle, Iroh needed a spa day. He needed to be pampered and massaged and about ten hours in the sauna. The Fire Nation spa whose shore he landed on was a blessing from Agni. He had only a few coins but luckily there was an old major there who recognized him as General Iroh, royalty. The spa gave him the full treatment, at no charge. Iroh was a bit guilty, perhaps, but he was also anxious to have decent jasmine tea.

Iroh was still worried about Zuko, and the "white-haired young woman" who he was to help. He had no idea where Zuko was, but assumed that if he was taken prisoner there would have been announcements made. He doubted that the prince would have the sense to stay quiet about being the Fire Lord's son. Iroh doubted that his brother would save Zuko, if it came to that. Ozai would be delighted to have the chance to replace Zuko with Azula as his heir. Azula was... Iroh didn't know what had gone wrong there, if anything had had to go wrong for her to turn out the way she was. As a baby, she was a normal baby. A normal enough toddler, even, all toddlers seemed to have destructive tendancies, but as soon as she started talking and learning her first firebending forms, it was obvious that she was Ozai's daughter. Iroh sighed. He struggled with the guilt of what had happened when Ursa had disappeared right after Azulon had announced Ozai as his heir and then promptly died. His son had just died and he had abandoned his seige of Ba Sing Se, ruining his reputation and then practically disappearing himself into a journey of harsh self discovery. He should have been there for Zuko, and Azula, from the start. They were only children. They still were, really. Zuko was nearly an adult already, a young man. Azula was close behind in turning into a young woman. Zuko was nearly the age Lu Ten was, when he passed. Iroh shook his head, trying not to go down that road.

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Zuko was exhausted from paddling. Salt had crusted on his skin, soring him. Still, he grit his teeth and carried on. It was getting easier, in a way. The further south he got, the warmer the water was. Boiling the water and then collecting the vapour was slow work, but he managed to get enough water to replenish his water bladder as needed. He had seen the last koala otter the previous day, after seeing them fairly constant since the North Pole. Another sign that he was getting closer to Fire Nation territory. He was still thinking about Yue every so often. He didn't know what had happened to her after he left. It didn't matter though. He would never see her again.

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Yue had stayed out on the docks for another hour after Hahn left, thinking. She had destroyed any chance of an amicable relationship with Hahn, and now could not back out of marrying him without him spilling the beans on her. No matter how beloved Yue was, people would believe him. She was stuck with him. How had her life gotten so complicated? A few weeks ago she was just excited for her birthday and from hearing that the Avatar was back. Now she had a crush on a boy who was busy travelling the world with the Avatar, who had just saved her people from invasion, she was engaged to someone she strongly disliked, sacrificed herself and became one with the the moon spirit, and she had harboured a fugitive from her people, her parents. This fugitive, who, by the way, also happened to be Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. Yue still wondered if that was the right choice.

Tui had been rather quiet the last few days, letting Yue adjust to all of the other things going on in her life, but had risen in her when she was threatened by Hahn. Yue could feel Tui in her now, gently soothing her worries.
"Tui, what should I do?" Yue said out loud.
Tui took a moment to respond. You need to go to Ba Sing Se.
Yue blinked. "Ba Sing Se?" She asked.
Yes, Tui responded, Ba Sing Se. You must visit someone there as part of your spiritual journey.
"Who?"
I will tell you when you meet them.
"... Seriously?" Yue sighed. "I'm sorry."
It's all right, Tui chuckled. This is much for your young shoulders.