Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or its characters, Michael Dante DiMartino Bryan Konietzko do!

It was a bright and early morning. The sun was high in the sky and the breeze that flew by was warm and gentle, caressing the skin lightly which would bring a shiver serenity to whoever it graced that was outside. The Fire Nation was an usual busy city, filled with people of high class-especially in its capital. The capital held the most prosperous and elegant people. After all, The Fire Nation palace resided in it.

The Royal Family was enjoying their day as they did any other. Just recently, Prince Iroh had returned to the Fire Nation palace to bring good news on his steps of conquering the city of Ba Sing Se. His father, the current Fire Lord, was proud of his eldest sons achievements. He never ceased to amaze him, which made everything more apparent of which son he had favored.

Within the royal family was a soon-to-be prince, baring a rather curious yet cautious outlook on life. His feet was running down the palace hall, excited to hear how his uncle had came back home, free of wounds. Another person that returned was his cousin, Lu Ten, and he couldn't wait to hear about their stories of being in the Earth Kingdom.

"Uncle Iroh!" The young child called out to the older man, who had turned away from speaking the young boy's mother, Lady Ursa, and turned to greet his nephew with a large smile. "I'm glad to see you back home!"

Iroh had gave out a hearty laugh and picked up the eight-year-old, giving him a quick embrace before setting him down to his feet. "You've grown some, young Zuko."

"It hasn't been that long since you left, hasn't it?" Ursa, the beautiful Fire Nation woman had said as she had then looked over to her son, smiling at his happy expression he wore. "But Zuko is growing every day, isn't he?" Her slender hand had then placed themselves on his head. "My first child, my little boy..." Her voice became soft and nostalgic, remembering when he was first born and how she cradled him in his arms.

"Yes, he's a growing boy. He's grown even more rapidly because of the great parents he has." Iroh complimented her, which only caused the woman's smile to become more radiant.

"Thank you, Iroh. Lu Ten is also a fine example of great parenting. I bet Sun would've loved how Lu Ten became the man he is today." She spoke of Iroh's late wife, the man smiling as he had remembered his wife that passed away years ago.

He had closed his eyes briefly before opening them again, "Sun would've been extremely proud of him, but she wouldn't be proud how I'm getting this gut of mine. I must cut back!" He had patted his stomach, all three of them laughing. "Oh, which reminds me, while I was away..." Iroh had searched his person, searching for something. "I found an ancient box that I couldn't open and I know how much you love, olden period things so I..."

"Dad," all of them had turned right to see Lu Ten, "looking for this?" He had held the box in front of him and walked towards his aunt. "Yes, we found this in a small village in the Earth Kingdom. The people were giving things away since they needed money."

Ursa had gently took the box that Lu Ten handed her, her amber pupils scanning over the box. "Do you either of you know what's inside?"

"No, but we were told something important is inside of it." Iroh explained, nodding as he had recalled the man's words. "We didn't get a key but we figured an expert could find out how to open it."

"That makes it even more alluring." Ursa had cooed as her hand had gently brushed against the old oak box, feeling the crafty texture of it. "I wonder what's inside..."

Zuko had looked from his mother and towards the box in her hands, "What if there's a map, like, a treasure map?"

"That would be interesting." Iroh had nodded, "Rare treasure would be fun to find."

"We'll be like the pirates!" Zuko said excitedly.

Lu Ten had chuckled. "Being a pirate does sound fun~"

"Well, we'll never know until we open it." His mother said, nodding. "Thank you for the lovely gift, Iroh." She had thanked him before trailing her eyes back to the mysterious box.

Zuko's eyes had lingered on the box for some time, his imagination running wild at the possibilities of all that could be inside. He even wondered just how quickly his mother would get the box open so he didn't have to grow impatient, even though he was starting to at this very moment.

"Is my father in the throne room?" Iroh asked Ursa, Zuko's eyes shifting from the mysterious box and to his mother.

The woman gave a firm nod, "Yes. He should be finishing up a meeting with an official about the Earth Kingdom colonies."

"Ah, I see." He had then ruffled Zuko's hair and gave Ursa a polite bow, "I'll be on my way then. Lu Ten, get some rest." He had told his son, who had rolled his eyes.

"Dad," he smiled, "I'm fine."

Iroh had smiled in returned before walking down the palace corridor. "Mom, so when are you gonna get the box open?" asked Zuko, pointing at the objet in her hand. "I really can't wait to find out what's inside."

His parent had chuckled at his obvious enthusiasm, "I'll ask one of the servants to look for old keys before I get a professional."

Zuko had pouted slightly, "But when?"

"Soon, Zuko. Soon." She had said before walking down the hall, leaving Zuko and Lu Ten.

"I'm curious too," Lu Ten said to Zuko, "I mean the guy said something valuable was in it. But what could it be...?"

The child had puffed up his cheeks in irritation, wondering the same.

o

"Prince Zuko," Iroh said through the iron door as his nephew laid on the large bed in his cabin. "The crew need to stop for supplies, much needed ones."

The young prince, now sixteen years of age, had opened his eyes halfway and looked towards the closed door. He wonder why his uncle didn't' simply open it but he then remembered he locked it so he wouldn't be disturbed. "Fine. As long as we aren't stopping so you can shop."

A rather nervous laugh erupted from his uncle's throat, which made him groan slightly since he knew that was the first thing his uncle thought about doing. "Hurry up so we can make it towards the South Pole."

"Right." He had then walked away from the door and down the ship's hall. Zuko had slowly sat up from his bed and walked towards his desk. His eyes had scanned over the drawers of his desk and then went to the third drawer. He pulled it back, revealing that box Iroh had brought his mother.

When his mother had suddenly disappeared from the castle, his father had all her things burned because he said it would be easier for them ( Zuko and Azula ) in forgetting her. Zuko would never forget his mother, and he knew Azula only pretended to forget her.

He had placed the box on his desk and examined the keyhole, wondering what kind of key could possibly fit.

The prince had thought about for a few minutes longer, wondering if he could find a possibly key in the currently location they were at. They had to return to outer areas of the Earth Kingdom for supplies since there wasn't much of anything in the South Pole.

With a long sigh, he had picked up the stubborn box against and looked at the keyhole once more. What if a key to the box wasn't even made anymore? What if it had a specific key and it was lost and never meant to be found? Even at the age of sixteen, it still intrigued him even though he always convinced himself that he had other matters that were more important.

He had placed the box back down atop of the desk and then decided that picking at the lock didn't seem like a bad idea. He had taken a thin knife from the inside of his boot, taking the sharp tip and placing it in the keyhole. He had moved it around, his eyes intently staring at it until he had heard a clicking sound. His eyes had widened as the chest had opened some.

There was a knock on his cabin door again, his eyes leaving the chest and looking towards the door. "Prince Zuko, is there anything you would like in the market? General Iroh asked me to ask you."

The prince had looked back at the box and then closed his eyes. "No, I don't want anything." He answered.

"Mm." The henchman hummed in reply before leaving.

Zuko had opened the chest and looked to see there was an old painting inside. On the picture was an elderly woman and beside her, it looked to be a... dog? "That's it?" Zuko was astonished that all his years of curiosity, it was just this old painting. The art style was old, centuries old, and he figured that his mother probably would've loved it. But to him, this was just a disappointment. "All these years... for this."

He had walked away from the chest and rubbed his forehead, he felt annoyed. This wasn't worth the curiosity.

"Hey," he had looked over his shoulder in search for the sudden voice. "Can you hear me?"

"Who are you!? Who's there?!" Spinning around, he continued to look for the voice. He couldn't pinpoint the location, and he didn't see anyone at the window.

"Good, you can hear me well." His eyes then looked towards the old painting, his brows knitting together as he wasn't sure to believe if the voice was coming from the painting.

Growing frustrated, he walked towards the painting and lifted it up. "Who are you? Where are you coming from?"

"Wait a minute!" The voice said, "Just listen to me."

He decided to hold back his questions even though he felt like he had no reason to. He was Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, why should he listen to someone else? Especially someone who did not give them the information he inquired. "Ah, so you're a young guy." His eyes looked around briefly. "You're kind of cute."

His face had flushed red, "Get onto the point. What did you want to tell me or is that what you wanted to tell me? You still didn't tell me who you are."

"Why tell you if you won't be able to see me?" The voice questioned, "I'm amazed you can hear me." This was getting stranger. "You see the painting in front of you,"

Zuko had looked at the painting, now gathering that this painting was probably cursed. How did someone know there was a painting in here?

"we were told something important is inside of it."

He remembered his uncle's words. "What about it? Is that how you're speaking to me?"

"I can answer that if you do something for me." His eyes had narrowed. "The fox doesn't have a tail. Draw a tail. 9 tails."

"And what happens if I do that? It's a old painting, I wouldn't want to ruin it." Zuko said, now folding his arms as she had set his jaw. "What do I get out of doing what you say?"

The stranger had hummed softly. "Well, I'm a person of a lot of power. If you do this for me, then I'll do something for you." They bargained.

"Even capturing the Avatar?" He questioned.

"Capturing... the avatar?" They had sounded confused and also hesitant, "Why would you want to capture the Avatar?"

"I'll explain if you agree." He closed his eyes briefly, opening them again as he had looked at the painting. "I'm assuming you're trapped in the painting and drawing these nine tails will free you."

They had hummed again, "You got me." They sighed softly, "If I agree then you'll release me?"

"That's the deal." Zuko had said, "And if I ask for other things in regards for capturing the avatar, you'll do them?"

"I agreed to one thing. The least you can do is release me." He had picked up a writing brush and dipped into the ink on his desk. Hesitantly but carefully, he had draw nine tails on the painting.

Thunder had cracked loudly in the air, his eyes looking away and then towards the small, circular glass window of his cabin. He saw there was heavy rain and strong flashes of thunder and lightning.

He looked around and then walked back towards the painting to see that the fox on the painting was gone. His eyes had widened as he had then opened the door, looking down the corridors to see henchman running around.

The ship had rocked back and forth from the storm, the prince had lost balanced, and slid down the hall. He desperately placed his hands on the wall to gain a steady footing. He had made his way towards the deck to see the henchmen struggling as they were still at the docks.

"The storm came from nowhere!" One henchmen had said.

"Where is my uncle?" He had questioned.

"General Iroh is probably still in the market." A henchman answered.

Zuko had narrowed his eyes and then looked over the rail, "I'm going to go find him."

He had then mad his way towards the market after going to down the gangplank. He had ran through the small forest that led to the village.

Due to how dark it was and the heavy rain, he could barely make out anything. He even left the path and went down a hill, but due to the ground become wet from the rain, it became mud and he had slid down. He rolled down the hill and hit a large rock before hitting a flat area but by then he was already unconscious. "Ugh..."

From a short distance, bare feet had made their way towards the injured prince.