Chapter 8

Chapter 8 The sounds of birds chirping drifted through my open window, easing me gently from sleep. I woke up in my comfortable bed, in my own room, in our new apartment. Somehow the sun seemed brighter here. And all trace of my fever is gone. I feel fantastic. My mind feels sharp and clear. No conflict, no battle— just hungry! I joined Uncle in our new spacious kitchen. Something smelled wonderful! "What's that smell?" "It's jook. I'm sure you wouldn't like it." I leaned over the pot of bubbling cereal. "Actually, it smells delicious. I'd love a bowl, Uncle." "Now that your fever is gone, you seem different somehow," Uncle said, smiling and handing me the bowl. I feel different. I feel happy, at peace for the first time in years. "It's a new day," I said. "We've got a new apartment, new furniture, and today's the grand opening of your new tea shop. Things are looking up, Uncle." It all seems so simple now, I can't even remember why I ever felt conflicted. We have a chance for a good life here, a new start. And I'm going to make

鸟儿的啁啾声从我开着的窗户飘进来，轻轻地把我从睡梦中唤醒。 我在我舒适的床上醒来，在我自己的房间里，在我们的新公寓里。 不知怎么的，这里的太阳似乎更亮。 我所有的发烧都消失了。 我感觉好极了。我的头脑敏锐而清晰。 没有冲突，没有战斗——只有饥饿！我和叔叔一起走进宽敞的新厨房。 有东西闻起来很香！“那是什么味道？”“这是闪避。 我敢肯定你不会喜欢的。” 我俯身看着那锅冒着泡泡的麦片粥。 “事实上，它闻起来很香。 叔叔，我想要一碗。”“现在你的烧退了，不知怎么的，你好像变了。”叔叔笑着说，把碗递给我。 我感觉不一样。我感到快乐，这么多年来第一次感到平静。 “这是新的一天，”我说。“我们有了新公寓，新家具，今天你的新茶店隆重开业。 事情正在好转，叔叔。” 现在一切似乎都很简单，我甚至不记得我为什么会感到矛盾。 我们有机会在这里过上好日子，重新开始。 我要做

the most of it. We stood in front of Uncle's new tea shop, The Jasmine Dragon. It was big and beautiful, and packed with customers. I feel so proud of him. This is truly a special day. "Who thought when we came to this city as refugees that I'd end up owning my own tea shop?" Uncle said as he gazed out at the crowd. "Follow your passion, Zuko, and life will reward you." As usual, he was right. "Congratulations, Uncle." "I'm very thankful." "You deserve it. The Jasmine Dragon will be the best tea shop in the city." "No. I'm thankful because you decided to share this special day with me. It means more than you know." No one has ever been kinder to me or stuck with me no matter what. I gave Uncle a big hug. "Now let's make these people some tea!" It's day one of my new life, and I can't imagine anywhere else I'd rather be. At the end of our first day, Uncle was sweeping up

大部分。我们站在叔叔新开的茶馆“茉莉花龙”前。 它又大又漂亮，挤满了顾客。 我为他感到骄傲。这真是一个特别的日子。 “当我们作为难民来到这座城市时，谁会想到我最终会拥有自己的茶馆？”叔叔望着外面的人群说。 “追随你的激情，祖寇，生活会给你回报的。” 像往常一样，他是对的。“恭喜你,叔叔。” “我非常感激。”“你活该。 茉莉花龙茶馆将成为全城最好的茶馆。” “没有。我感谢你，因为你决定和我分享这个特别的日子。 它的意义比你想象的要大得多。” 从来没有人对我这么好，不管发生什么都陪着我。 我给了叔叔一个大大的拥抱。“现在让我们给这些人泡茶吧！”这是我新生活的第一天，我想不出还有什么地方是我更想去的。 第一天结束时，叔叔在打扫房间

before we headed home when a messenger arrived. "A message from the royal palace," the messenger said, handing him a scroll. Then he turned and left. "I—I can't believe it," Uncle said when he read the scroll. "Great news! We've been invited to serve tea… to the Earth King!" It was an honor. Uncle's reputation has spread quickly throughout the city. Things just continue to get better and better. As we approached the Earth King's palace my excitement grew. I couldn't believe I was really going to serve tea to the Earth King. "Many times I imagined myself here, at the threshold of the palace," Uncle said. "But I always thought I would be here as a conqueror, not as the king's personal guest, here to serve him tea. Destiny is a funny thing." "It sure is, Uncle." Destiny. For so long I was certain I knew what my destiny would be. Now I realize that Uncle is right. Destiny is what you make it, and I have made the right choice. We entered the palace tea room and set up for a royal tea ceremony. And then we waited, and waited. "What's taking so long?" I asked Uncle.

在我们回家之前，一个信使来了。 “有王宫来的信，”使者说，递给他一卷书卷。 然后他转身离开了。“我——我简直不敢相信，”叔叔读着卷轴说。 “好消息!我们被邀请去给土强王倒茶！”这是一种荣誉。 叔叔的名声很快传遍了全城。 事情会越来越好。 当我们接近土强王的宫殿时，我越来越兴奋。 我不敢相信我真的要给土强王倒茶了。 “很多次我想象自己在这里，在宫殿的门槛，”叔叔说。 “但我一直以为我是作为征服者来到这里的，而不是作为国王的私人客人，在这里为他斟茶。 命运是个有趣的东西。” “当然是，叔叔。”的命运。 长久以来，我确信我知道我的命运会是怎样的。 现在我意识到叔叔是对的。 命运是你自己决定的，我做了正确的选择。 我们进入皇宫茶室，准备进行皇家茶道。 然后我们等啊等啊。 “怎么花了这么长时间？”我问叔叔。

"Maybe the Earth King overslept?" Uncle whispered. Suddenly about fifteen Dai Li agents came into the room. This seemed strange. Why would they be here for a tea ceremony? "Something's not right," I said. Then someone else stepped into the room. "It's tea time," said an all-too-familiar voice. "Azula!" No! She's here, dressed in the uniform of the Dai Li. I stood and readied myself for battle. All of my instincts kicked in, along with my lifelong feeling of dread at the sight of my sister. "Have you met the Dai Li?" Azula asked. "They're Earthbenders, but they have a killer instinct that's so Firebender. I just love it." What I fool I was! This was all a trap—the whole thing, the invitation, the new shop. Nothing ever changes. Once again Azula taunts me. We're completely surrounded. I don't see a way out, but Uncle does. "Did I ever tell you how I got the nickname 'The Dragon of the West'?" Uncle asked. What's he doing? "I'm not interested in a lengthy anecdote, Uncle," Azula replied. "It's more of a demonstration, really."

“也许是土强王睡过头了？”叔叔低声说。 突然，大约15名戴笠特工走进房间。 这似乎很奇怪。他们为什么要来这里参加茶道？ “有点不对劲，”我说。 然后另一个人走进了房间。 “喝茶时间到了。”一个再熟悉不过的声音说。 “Azula !”不!她在这里，穿着戴笠的制服。 我站起来，准备战斗。 我所有的本能都发挥了作用，伴随而来的是我一生中见到妹妹时的恐惧感。 “你见过戴笠吗？”Azula问道。 “他们是御土师，但他们有一种杀手本能，非常像火宗。 我就是喜欢它。”我真是个傻瓜！这一切都是一个陷阱——整件事，邀请，新店。 什么都不会改变。阿祖拉又嘲笑我了。 我们被完全包围了。 我看不出出路，但叔叔知道。 “我有没有告诉过你，我是怎么得到‘西方之龙’这个绰号的？”叔叔问。 他在干什么？“我对冗长的轶事不感兴趣，叔叔。”阿祖拉回答。 “这更像是一场示威，真的。”

Uncle took a sip of hot tea. Then I knew what he was going to do, and I was ready. I ducked just as Uncle attacked using his trademark bending technique—shooting fire from his mouth—and spraying it in a circle at all the Dai Li. I bolted from the tea room, exploding through the wall, then dashed down a hallway. Uncle followed close behind, spraying fire back into the room before he joined me in a dead run. Reaching the far wall, Uncle blasted a hole in it, then leaped to the ground below, crashing into a hedge. I reached the hole and looked down. Behind me the Dai Li approached. "Come on!" Uncle shouted from below. "You'll be fine!" Do I jump and once again run with Uncle as a fugitive, or do I turn and fight Azula? Should I settle this—and so much else—right here, right now? "No. I'm tired of running," I said. "It's time I faced Azula." I can never be truly free to be what I choose to be until I confront her. I turned and headed back down the hall. There she stood with the Dai Li agents behind her. "You're so dramatic," she said. "What, are you going to challenge me to an agni kai?" An agni kai—a fire duel, the challenge in which

叔叔喝了一口热茶。 然后我知道他要做什么，我准备好了。 当叔叔用他标志性的弯曲技巧——从嘴里射出火焰——向所有戴笠喷成一个圈时，我躲开了。 我冲出茶室，炸穿墙壁，然后冲进走廊。 叔叔紧跟在后面，向房间里喷火，然后和我一起拼命奔跑。 到了远处的墙上，叔叔在墙上炸了一个洞，然后跳到地上，撞在树篱上。 我走到洞边往下看。 戴笠从我身后走过来。 “来吧!”叔叔在下面喊道。 “你会没事的！”我是跳下去和叔叔一起逃亡，还是转身和阿祖拉战斗？ 我应该在这里，现在就解决这个问题——还有那么多其他问题吗？ “没有。我跑累了，”我说。 “是我面对阿祖拉的时候了。” 在我面对她之前，我永远无法真正自由地做我想做的事。 我转过身，沿着走廊往回走。 她站在那里，戴笠的特工们在她身后。 “你太戏剧化了，”她说。 “什么，你要跟我打烈火球吗？”一场烈火决斗，其中的挑战