Chapter 37

Episode 2, The Headband

Never would I have thought that I would be attending a Fire Nation school.

So after we found Aang, we flew to a nearby city. There we found a cave outside the city. We decided to stay in the cave for the time we were there. And when we moved to the next city we would find another cave.

After leaving Appa and Momo behind, we stole some clothes and went to the city to get some food.

Katara was still giving me these judgemental looks and didn't talk to me.

Honestly, I tried to not be bothered by her behaviour and ignored her the whole time. I didn't need her making me fell small on top of other things.

Everything went well and no one suspected a thing. That was until we parted ways with Aang. He didn't want to eat meat so we got into the restaurant without him.

But as soon as I entered, the waiter gasped and talked to someone at one of the tables. The waiter pointed at me and the other man looked up.

I gulped and the other man narrowed his eyes as he approached us. I stepped back a bit and Sokka raised his eyebrows at the man.

"You clearly don't belong here little miss," the tall man said and looked down at me.

I looked at him with big eyes and gulped. "Do I not?" I whispered and the man grabbed my arm.

"No, if you want to skip school you shouldn't let on your school uniform," he said and dragged me out of the restaurant.

Sokka wanted to protest but I shot him a look and a nod to tell him it was okay.

After a few minutes, I was walking through the huge schoolyard towards a large building. The man dragged me through hallways until we stopped in front of a door.

He opened it and pushed me into the room. It was full of other teens my age. They were all looking at me and I shot them an awkward smile.

"I found her lingering around the city," the man told the middle-aged woman who was standing in front of the blackboard.

"Thank you," the teacher nodded and the man left. She turned to me and raised her eyebrows. "You aren't from the Fire Nation," she stated and I tensed.

She was still eying me carefully and I was stiff, afraid of making a wrong move. "You are from one of the colonies," she finally said and I let out a quiet breath.

I nodded my head and she still eyed with that judging look. "You can sit down at the back."

I quickly nodded and bowed before going to the back and sitting down.

"Okay class," the teacher said and looked at all the students, "Today we're going to talk about a big event that happened a few weeks ago. Any ideas what it is?"

The class was silent until a girl raised her hand. The teacher nodded at her. "The return of Princess Azula and Price Zuko."

My heart speeded up and I let out a breath. You gotta be kidding me.

"Exactly," the teacher said with a nod. "I wanted you to be updated when we visit the Royal Palace tomorrow."

My heart threatened to stop. What?! I won't go to school tomorrow that's for sure. I'll just get other clothes.

"So, a few weeks ago Prince Zuko regained his honour after being banished for 5 years." A girl raised her hand, interrupting the teacher's lecture.

"Will we be able to see Prince Zuko tomorrow?"

The teacher eyed the girl before slowly answering, "I don't think so but it's not impossible to come across someone in the palace tomorrow."

The girl in front of me giggled and talked with her friend about putting make up on in case they came across Zuko. I clenched my teeth and narrowed my eyes at the girls in front of me.

"Together with his sister Princess Azula, he defeated the Avatar and claimed the Earth Kingdom's secured capital Ba Sing Se."

The class was completely silent. They all listened very carefully, afraid of missing a detail.

"While Prince Zuko redeemed himself when his loyalty was tested, General Iroh, brother of Fire Lord Ozai, betrayed his Nation and was taken as a war prisoner."

I quietly gasped. The poor man didn't deserve to be in prison. I slowly raised my hand. The teacher nodded at me and I slightly cleared my throat.

"Where is this prison?" I asked slowly.

"He was imprisoned near the Royal Palace. Unfortunately we weren't able to get permission to visit the prison as well," she answered and I nodded at her.

I knew what I would be doing after school.

After a few more lessons where we learned about history and Fire Lord Ozai, school was finally over. I even got a portrait of the Fire Lord while we had to say the national oath.

I quickly left the school before someone could talk to me and wandered around the city. I knew the palace was in the middle. I had seen it when we were on Appa.

So I made my way to the middle of the city when I saw a huge tower. It looked old and abandoned and the street leading there was closed.

That had to be the prison. As I walked towards the huge tower, I saw a lot of guards. Luckily it was already dark and I was able to hide in the shadows.

I didn't know where Iroh's cell was but I just had to look for it. So, I got to the back of the building and climbed up the wall to the second floor.

I entered through a window and looked left and right before looking through all the little windows in the doors.

There were all sorts of people but none of them were Iroh. I was high up already and pretty lucky since no guards came my way so far.

That was until I heard footsteps coming my way. My stomach dropped and I quickly jumped out the window holding onto the windowsill. My whole body was dangling down and I gulped.

I had been hanging around there for a few minutes before getting back into the building. That was close.

I continued looking through the small windows. Finally, I found the right door and quickly entered it.

Iroh's cell was about half of the room. He had a dirty blanket and a small pillow lying in the corner. There wasn't even a bed.

Iroh's back was facing me and he didn't look up. My eyes watered and I clasped a hand over my mouth.

For a few moments it was silent. I slowly pulled my hand away from my mouth. "Uncle Iroh," I breathed out as my voice cracked. I quickly walked up to the cell, kneeling down and putting my hands around the bars.

He slowly turned around. He looked awful. His beard and hair were getting white and messy. His eyes looked dull and lifeless.

"What are you doing here Jasmine?" He asked me in a whisper. I bit my lip and shook my head.

"I wanted to check up on you," I said with tears in my eyes. It was terrible to see the normally loving and cheerful old man rotting in a prison cell.

"You need to go and don't come back again," he told me and I shook my head.

"No, I can help you get out of here."

"No Jasmine, you need to go and help your friends defeating my brother," he said, "I'm sorry Zuko hurt you. He is just confused and lost his way. But his inner conflict is still troubling him. I know he will come to his right mind he just needs time."

Tears rolled down my cheeks. This old man still loved Zuko unconditionally even though he was betrayed and put in prison. He still believed his nephew had good in him.

"I can't just leave you here," I said and my voice cracked. I also still loved Zuko and just like Iroh I believe that he isn't himself right now. He fooled himself that he regained his honour and his father's love. But a father's love should be unconditional. He needed to see that first.

"Go, I will be fine and get out of here soon," Iroh said and I let go of the bars and stood up from the ground.

"Be careful please," I told him and wiped my tears away.

He nodded. "Don't cry, we'll see each other again. And take care of yourself and the others," he said with a small smile.

I nodded and shot him a smile before leaving the cell. I was walking through the corridor until I was on the second floor.

That's when I heard a guard say something about staying back and who are you. I stopped and turned around but there was nobody.

Knitting my eyebrows, I tried to listen. Someone dropped their weapon and was pushed against the wall with a thud.

"Prince Zuko," the guard breathed out and my eyes widened. No way.

"I'm going in for a visit and nobody will know about this," Zuko demanded.

I heard footsteps coming my way. My heartbeat increased and I began to shake. Quickly, I swung myself out of a window again, dangling down.

I tried to breath quietly but I was afraid he would hear my heart beating loudly. When he was directly walking past the window I was dangling from I held my breath until his footsteps were far away.

Taking a deep breath I climbed down the wall and made my way back to our cave.