The Avatar's Advisor (HIATUS)

Princes and Conversations

Uploading this one a little early since this chapter and Break Out are fairly short.

That night, the four travelers settle down near a river bank. Once the fire is roaring and the other two are asleep, Katara and Polu take a short walk into the woods.

They stop at a fallen tree and use it as a makeshift bench.

An awkward silence engulfs them for a moment before Katara finally speaks up. "So... Bumi's your brother? And you're the Earth King's son?"

Polu sighs and runs a hand over his buzzed hair. "Yes, Bumi is my little brother. Or maybe he's the older one now?"

He shakes his head. "Either way, yes, we're brothers. As for the Earth King, I imagine I'm not directly related to the one ruling now."

Katara frowns silently.

"We met Bumi in Omashu, right?"

The girl nods.

Polu turns away from her and watches a bird fly overhead. "Omashu is the city that my cousin Rimu was to inherit. My father, King Milan, ruled from Ba Sing Se - the Earth Kingdom capital."

He heaves a deep breath. "On Kyoshi, Suki told me that my brother searched for me for years before giving up. I imagine it was around that time that he handed the throne off to our cousin.

"So, to answer your question, no. I'm not descended from the current Earth King, but I am descended from the original line."

Katara hums thoughtfully. "Okay, I suppose that makes sense. Why didn't you tell us, though?"

Polu eyes his friend carefully. "Well, it was partially because I wasn't ready to trust you two. Being raised as royalty, you have to be careful to whom you give information."

The boy's sudden silence urges Katara to prompt him. "Partially? What else?"

The Advisor wraps his arms around himself as he faces forward. "I used to have this friend. He was one of the only ones I'd ever had, besides Aang and Bumi. We knew each other for a few years, and we both knew who we were in the world."

Katara's brow furrows. "So he knew you were a prince?"

Polu nods. "He did. His father was a wealthy man from Gaoling who was involved in any economical meetings we held. His son was often in attendance, so that was how we met."

He shivers as the teen's face flashes through his mind. "He knew a lot about me, but there were a few key things I kept hidden. One detail was - and still is - important to me.

"I finally found it in myself to tell him one day. He was a close friend and I didn't see any reason for that little fact to change that."

A shaky sigh passes through Polu's lips. "Unfortunately for me, he found a reason to hate me. He claimed I had betrayed his trust, as well as my family's and my kingdom's."

Katara rests a comforting hand on his shoulder. "What did you tell him, if you don't mind me asking?"

The older teen smiles sadly at his friend. "Something I'm not quite ready to share again. I'm sorry, Katara, I am trying."

The girl shakes her head. "It's no worries at all, Polu. You've already shared a lot."

He nods slowly.

Katara lets the information sink in as her gaze shifts. In the distance, she can make out the faint light of the fire the group had started. "So, I know I've already asked a lot of you, but I'm still curious about something."

Polu raises an eyebrow. "The Fire Nation?"

Katara gives a small nod. "I just want to understand. Maybe we can do something to help you work through it?"

"Do you remember that I said my father was King Milan?"

The girl nods again upon the reminder.

"He... he made a deal with Sozin." Polu's shaky breath returns as his gaze also turns to the far-off fire.

"Fire Lord Sozin? As in the Fire Lord that started this whole war?" Katara's eyes are wide as she faces her friend.

The prince chuckles darkly. "The very same. My father made a deal with Sozin to protect the Earth Kingdom from the war - not that I'm sure the Fire Lord would have kept his end of the bargain."

Katara notices Polu's shaking hands and she gently reaches for one of them. "You don't have to-"

"No, I do. You deserve to know." The boy stares at his hands, feeling bile rise as his nerves grow. "I was meant to assist in the end of the Avatar Cycle. They wanted to kill all the Air Nomads, then have me father the final Avatar."

The waterbender's eyes widen as tears sting them. "Your father allowed this?"

Polu nods stiffly. "I like to pretend he wasn't aware, but I'm certain he knew all along. He wasn't the type to go into an agreement blindly."

He stops to take a breath, tears threatening to clog his throat. "I rejected their idea, of course, but that came at a cost. After I paid their price, I vowed to never fall into their clutches again."

Before he's done speaking, Katara finds her arms tightly encasing the older in a hug. The woods become eerily quiet, the only sounds coming from Katara's mumbled condolences.

Polu isn't sure when he started crying, and he certainly isn't sure when they returned to camp. The one thing he is aware of is Katara moving her sleeping bag much closer to him that night.