The Traitor Princess

Chapter 58 - The Day of Black Sun, Part Two

A few hours earlier...

Following the announcement Fire Lord Ozai made about Eziri's death, Zuko was a mess. A part of him knew that she basically signed her own death sentence every time she chose to stay with the Avatar. But that didn't make the news of her death any less shocking. Zuko spent all his time desperately searching for information on Eziri. He knew Azula had her own network of spies and informants but he doubted she cared enough about their sister to use them in this circumstance. Therefore, he would have to search for answers on his own.

He started with his Uncle. He thought there might be a chance that Uncle Iroh had even a fraction of news but he was sorely mistaken. Just like every other time, Iroh sat there in silence and refused to even acknowledge Zuko. The only indication that his Uncle was listening was the flicker of worry that crossed his features when Zuko repeated Ozai's announcement. But, despite Iroh's obvious concern, he had nothing to say to his nephew.

The young prince then moved on to another source. If Eziri truly was brought to the Palace, then there must be guards who escorted her in. He started asking the servants and his personal guards about the night she was brought in. Eventually he was able to track down one of the guards who escorted her. Their conversation played over in his mind as he tried to form assumptions about what really happened...

—One Week Ago—

Zuko made sure they were alone in the empty library before he started his questioning. "How did you find her?"

"We were tipped off by an old waterbender prisoner. The woman said she had the Fire Nation Princess held captive at her inn."

"Where? In one of the colonies?"

"No, your highness, it was a small village. Here—in the Fire Nation."

Zuko furrowed his brows. If Eziri was still traveling with the Avatar, it was a bold move for them to hide in the Fire Nation. But why was she being held captive by some waterbender? Wouldn't her dumb peasant friends protect her?

"Who is this woman?"

"Her name was..." the guard paused for a moment, trying to remember. "Hana, I think. She was a prisoner many years ago and escaped. She was kidnapping Fire Nation citizens on the full moon and keeping them captive under a mountain."

"And Eziri was one of these prisoners?"

"Y-Yes..."

Zuko raised a brow. "You sound unsure."

"Well...it was strange." He cleared his throat. "Princess Eziri wasn't with the other prisoners. She was in a room at the inn."

Zuko thought about it for a moment. It did seem odd. "Why was she held separately?"

"I don't know, Prince Zuko."

Zuko silently filed that information away to think about later. "What about her injuries? How badly was she hurt?"

"She seemed weak but relatively unharmed. When we got to the room, she was alone and unconscious on the floor."

Again, Zuko couldn't make sense of the situation. She supposedly died of her injuries but seemed unharmed? Just another unanswered question that would bother him until he learned the truth. "She wasn't chained or locked up?" He was starting to get a nagging suspicion that his sister handed herself over willingly.

"No. She was just in the room." The guard shifted on his feet. "She seemed alright on the journey back but we brought her to the infirmary right away just in case. She...she must have had some sort of internal injury we didn't know about. Otherwise, we would've brought her to a healer in the village before traveling."