alright this idea slaps.Â
When Zuko gets banished Ozai doesnât even pretend that heâll take him back. Zuko is told, in no uncertain terms, that he is no longer crown prince. He is given time enough for his scar to heal enough not to risk infection, but as soon as he can stand long enough without falling over he is deposited at the palace gates with a bag - they didnât let him bring much, just his swords and a clean pair of trousers.
He wishes uncle were here. Uncle would know what to do. But Iroh is away somewhere, on a spirit journey, so Zuko is alone in the world. And heâs hungry. Luckily there are always merchants in Caldera, and if one of them happens to take on a fumbling part-time worker that looks just a little too scared at the sight of fire, then that surely has to do with that giant scar across his left face, the poor thing, and no one bats an eye. After all, everyone is too busy preparing for the funeral of Crown Prince Zuko to notice little Li.
The merchants arenât very nice though, in Liâs opinion (they treat him like heâs stupid, but heâs not, the tutors at the palace just never covered things like haggling in their lessons), so he collects his pay for the last time and hitches a ride on a cart down to the harbour. He could go to the Earth Kingdom, maybe; the scar distracts from his golden eyes well enough, and heâs lost his fire, so itâs not like being a firebender would be a problem.
(Not until Father conquers the rest of the Earth Kingdom, at least. He doesnât know where he will go when that happens.)
But Li is 13, and small for his age, so no one wants a half-blind toddler on their ship, no matter how much he insists that he can earn his keep. The logical idea is, then, to sneak onto a ship in secret, because he really canât stay here, not another second, so he picks the ship with the most green-eyed people and hides in between crates of spices and fine Calderan silks and hopes for the best, but the best doesnât come (of course it doesnât, Agni hates him) and Li is discovered three days into the voyage.
He pleads and he begs, he really does, for the second time in his life, but the old sailors are as deaf to him as his father was, and they bundle him up and toss him overboard (âwaste of good rope,â one of them says) and somehow he gets his arms free but the sea is so cold and dark and not at all like the warm waves of Ember Island and Li - no, Zuko, heâs not going to die under a false name - Zuko canât breathe-
Zuko wakes up with sand in his mouth and sun in his patchy hair. Heâs parched, and hungry, but heâs alive, so maybe the spirits have been merciful with him this time. Thereâs really no use lingering around on the beach, where no one will come for him anyway, and he needs to find water or something to eat, so he sets off into the thick jungle.
Thereâs nothing to eat here either, but Zuko does find what looks an awful lot like old stone buildings, and well. Heâs always loved exploring.Â
The Grand Lotus hears the news of Prince Zukoâs demise not from Ozai, but from Piandao. He hurries back to Caldera, to the palace, but doesnât even make it home in time for the funeral. He wears his white robes solemnly, as does the rest of the country (although there are whispers, rumours, that the late Prince didnât die in an assassination attempt, that the prince was killed by his own-), and when Iroh hums the tune of âLeaves from the Vineâ, he now does it by the graves of two young soldier boys instead of one.Â