[For the Love of Honor] {Zuko}

Honour is a strange thing; it is defined as high respect for a person's worth, merit or their rank.

This rank may be among the legions of an army or within ones own family. I had a high place of honour in my father's house until I was 14.

My mother had been a peasant as my father put it a simple fire dancer with no want or need to be anything else.

My father was a General in the court of fire lord Azulon, at the time fire dancing wasn't thought of as distasteful or dishonourable so my mother made her living at it.

It was how my parents met, fire lord Azulon was holding an engagement party for his son Prince Ozai and the daughter of another General named Ursa.

My mother and some of her friends had been brought in to dance at this party and that's where my father first met my mother.

Some months after they were married and they lived a happy life, then I was born and my father wasn't as pleased as he should have been.

He had wanted a boy, someone to carry on his name and legacy but I suppose he thought a strong daughter would suffice, he could marry me off and receive a large dowry for me.

I learned to use fans as weapons and when I grew older I began to resent my father for his future plans for me, but there were bigger problems in the fire nation capital than my hatred of my father.

Fire Lord Azulon had died and Ozai was now fire lord but on top of that Princess Ursa had also gone missing and no one knew where she went, and not surprisingly Azula couldn't care less.

She was a daddy's girl always had been, Zuko however was distraught,

"It'll be ok Zuko. She'll come back. I know she will" I was the only one in the fire nation court to console the young prince at the time since the only other person who would have cared was at war.

After Ozai became fire lord everything changed for the fire nation, Ozai was determined to finish the war before Zuko became fire lord.

After Ozai became fire lord he made all acts he thought to be distasteful and dishonourable illegal and arrestable offences, including fire dancing.

Therefore my father forbid my mother from fire dancing ever again, but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him right?
That's what my mother thought and when my father was called to war council she would dance in the privacy of her own home and when I was young she taught me to fire dance.

Sooner or later my father was bound to find out, and he did.

I was 9 years old when he found out, he had come back from a war council that had lasted most of the previous day and night, and he came home at midday and found my mother with all the shutters open and the midday sun streaming through and my mother dancing.

She didn't hear the door open or hear him come bounding across the floor, I was playing outside with Zuko and I saw everything.

I saw him grab her by the wrist I saw him hit her across the cheek, I saw him tower over her, I herd him yelling at her then I saw the men coming in attracted by the noise.

I herd my father tell them that he had came home and found her fire dancing. He then called for me and asked me if I knew anything about what had been going on,

"Iya Otto-Sama, I was outside playing with Zuko" my young friend came up behind me and verified my story,

"Leave child" I ran out of the house and hid while I watched as the soldiers arrested my mother; I was helpless to do anything.

When I couldn't stand to watch any longer I ran and ran as far away from the house as I could and ended at my favourite place in the entire capital, the turtle duck pond, soon my friend Zuko caught up with me.

Zuko and I have been friends since we were three years old, his younger sister Azula hates me for some reason, probably because I prefer Zuko to her.

I first met Zuko at the turtle duck pond when we both three years old;

##Flash Back##

I was feeding the ducks by myself when Princess Ursa came along with a small boy in tow, I knew who she was right away and I quickly gathered up my things to leave,

"Don't leave on our account please sit back down" she had a kind voice and a gentle smile so I sat back down, "Zuko don't be shy say hello" the boy behind her poked his head out from behind his mothers kimono,

"Hello"

"I'm Rayne"

"Oh you're Motoko's daughter aren't you? The dancer?"

"Yes princess"

"Please just call me Ursa" she smiled at me and I smiled back, "so how long have you been here? And all alone as well"

"I come here everyday, mama and papa are too busy to play with me and I don't have any brothers or sisters to play with"

"Well then we'll have to fix that won't we? Zuko why don't you and Rayne play together?" she asked the young prince,

"Will you play with me prince Zuko?"

"Its just Zuko and I'll play with you"

"I'll leave you to it then" Ursa smiled and patted her son's head, after that day Zuko and I were the best of friends.

When we were six years old he showed me a secret entrance to the Imperial palace so that I could sneak in and out without anyone noticing.

We became the best of friends; even though I still wondered what happened to my mother Zuko was always there for me.

##End flashback##

Later I herd that my mother had been brought in front of fire lord Ozai and since my father asked for the fire lord to consider his reputation as one of his most loyal subjects to be lenient on the woman, whore may she be.

His wish was granted and instead of imprisonment she was exiled from the fire nation capital and I was left to be raised by my father who didn't give a damn about me.

After that life went on, until Zuko made the biggest mistake of his life.

He insulted his father and was challenged to Agni Kai.

I remember that day so vividly, I sat beside Zuko's uncle Iroh and watched as Zuko prepared himself, but when he turned to face his opponent it wasn't the general he had lost his temper at, it was his own father.

I remember Azula sitting beside me watching with glee as her brother cowered in fear before his father, as he begged for mercy and was given none.

I remember everyone but Azula and I tearing his or her eyes away from what happened next.

Fire lord Ozai brought his now flaming hand right next to Zuko's left eye and slapped him as hard as he could.

I could smell burnt flesh and I herd Zuko scream, I clung onto Iroh's hand and dug my nails into his skin breaking the flesh.
Tears streamed down my face, I couldn't stay any longer so I ran out of the room and down to the turtle duck pond. I sat there and cried my eyes out while everyone else filed out of the stadium and the only one to care about me was Iroh.

He came looking for me and explained what was going to happen to Zuko, he was to be banished and set out with a crew and search for the Avatar.

When he found the Avatar he was to capture him and bring him home. Once he did this he would restore his honour.

Iroh would go with him and they were to leave immediately.

I ran to the imperial palace and in through the secret entrance Zuko had shown me, and along the corridors and finally to Zuko's room.

I didn't bother knocking on the door I just flung it open,

"Zuko!" the boy turned to face me a bandage on his left eye his right full of anger and sadness, I ran over and hugged my friend,

"I'll wait for you I promise" I gave him a small kiss on the lips and vanished from his room.
If my father knew I'd been to see him he would probably bestow on me the same fate as my mother.

I watched Zuko leave from my room window and shed my final tear for him.

For the next year I kept my promise everyday looking out towards the harbour waiting for him to come back.

One day while I was waiting my father came into my room and asked me why I was so trasfixed by the water,

"Becuase I'm waiting on Zuko" hearing this something snapped in my fathers head and he struck out at me,

"Stupid whore! Waiting on a traitor you're no better than your mother" he turned on his heel and left my room.

I herd the front door slam and I decided there and then I would not stay in that man's house any longer so I packed a bag of my most precious belongings and in the dead of night left my house with one final glance back when I reached the harbour at the city which had been my home for 14 years, the wind whipped through my hair and as I found an old fishing boat I whispered to myself,

"Sorry Zuko but I can't keep my promise" with that I pushed the boat out onto the water and left the fire nation forever.