Firewater Rose Intermissions: Through the Door
"Intermissions," will be a series of one-shots all tied together, which occur at various points during the Firewater Rose series.
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar, Zuko, Iroh or Katara.
This chapter is set after the events of Firewater Rose Arc 2, but before Arc 3.
Pacing. It was exactly 193 tiles from one side of the room to the other. It was a measure of either his level of boredom, or frustration, he wasn't sure which, that he knew their exact number. Floor tiles were usually beneath his notice. Literally. He'd be hard-pressed to tell anyone what kind of wood lined the floor of his own quarters, and he was in there several hours a day.
They really were very nice tiles. Waves of cherry burned their way around the edges of the flooring, joined by a layer of ebony smoke and light oak for contrast. It was all polished to a high sheen, except for a line that ran along the wall separating the sitting room from her private suite.
He could hear shuffling footsteps, the soft noise of silk sliding against silk, fragments of conversation, all muffled by the door. After a month of waiting, what was another hour? Pure hell, that's what it was.
An insistent gurgling sound rumbled from his abdomen, reminding him that he hadn't eaten in seven hours. Whatever. His stomach could wait one more hour. He wanted to be here when the news came.
"Lord Zuko," Iroh placed a hand on his shoulder, "I will send for a meal."
"I'm fine, Uncle."
"You have tormented yourself enough. You do not need go to hungry, too."
"This isn't torture," his voice was soft, but edgy, "I've gone longer without eating. What's going on in there," he gestured toward the door, "that's torture."
"Well, at least I can send for some nice jasmine tea."
Zuko's shoulders sagged. He'd started with the tea, and the old man wasn't going to give up until the tea was in his hands. He might as well allow it.
"Fine. Order the tea. Three cups."
Iroh raised an eyebrow momentarily before a sly smile crossed his lips. Silently the old man padded out of the waiting room and down the hall.
Zuko resumed his pacing. He only stopped in front of the door long enough to try to discern what the royal physicians were saying on the other side. A hint, that's all he wanted. His entire schedule for the next week had been kept deliberately clear, relying entirely on the outcome of the events going on behind that door. Would it be a week of celebration, or a somber week of mourning the death of a dream?
This was maddening! He was the Fire Lord! He should be able to brush aside their stupid rules. He should be able to make new rules. To hell with what the nobles thought! He spent his entire day pandering to their every stupid, ridiculous, self-serving whim. This one thing he wanted for himself. Selfish? Maybe, but Katara wanted it, too.
A rattling clank behind him yanked him from his frustrated fuming.
"Shall I pour now, or wait until Lady Katara can join us?" Iroh asked.
"One cup now. One cup later."
"As you wish."
Zuko sank down next to the table as Iroh poured the tea. The two sipped from their cups in silence, side-by-side, focused intently on the door that separated them from the former ambassador.
"Why does she have to go through this?" Zuko asked.
"That's not your real question."
"Yes, that's the real question," Zuko was in no mood for his uncle's philosophical wanderings at the moment. In fact, he was rarely in the mood for them, but less so now than usual.
"No. Your true question is, 'Why can't I just issue a decree?' and you know the answer."
"I do? Why don't you hurry up and just tell me what I already know?"
"You need the nobles. You can't just go around making declarations. You have to give sometimes."
"But Katara…"
"Was willing to give. You are a very lucky man. Do not diminish her sacrifice with doubt."
"I just wish she didn't have to go through this."
"I know."
The door creaked open a few inches. A pale, slender hand slid through the crack, sheathed in red silk handmaiden's robes. The owner, oblivious to the two expectant faces in the waiting room, turned back to confer with someone on the other side of the door.
"Which towels?" it was Kazi's voice. "Oh, OK. Yes doctor. Right away, sir."
She slipped into the room with her head down, intent on her errand. She dashed through another door, forcing the servants to stand aside or be run over. The urgency of her demeanor alarmed Zuko.
He stood up, tea only half-finished.
"Lord Zuko, pacing will not help anyone. Perhaps you should try meditating."
He rounded on his uncle, ready to shoot fireballs from his nostrils.
"Or maybe not."
Kazi returned with the requested towels. Just a few steps before she reached the door to Katara's private chambers, Zuko intercepted her.
"What's going on in there?" he demanded.
"My Lord," Kazi stammered, "you have nothing to worry about. I'm sure the doctors are just being thorough."
"Kazi!" a male voice bellowed from beyond the door.
"Coming!" the maid answered. "My Lord?" she gave him an expectant look.
Zuko stepped aside. As she slipped back into the room he stole a glance of the situation within. It did nothing for his nerves.
His Katara lay on her bed with a sheet draped over the bottom half of her body, her legs bent at the knees. A maid was arranging a wet cloth on her forehead. Her hair was plastered to the side of her face, either by sweat or water, it was hard to tell. Strain and fear marred her soft features.
For a moment, ever so brief, he caught her eyes. Tension on her face melted away and she graced him with a reassuring smile.
Kazi turned around, shook her head at him, and shut the door.
In her mind, she understood why Zuko couldn't be in the room with her, but in her heart, it made no sense. In that half of a second when her eyes met his, just as it had been in the brig two years earlier, she had forgotten where she was and what was going on around her.
The doctors were trying to be sensitive, she knew that. Still, there was no way to accomplish their mission and not press in around her or violate her personal space. Kazi's new apprentice was trying to help with the cold compresses and the soft words, but it was more annoying than helpful.
She wanted to hit the girl, actually. She wanted them all to back off, let her breathe. Kazi, bless her, seemed to sense Katara's growing distress. She tapped the younger maid on the shoulder, and pulled her away, out of Katara's line of sight. Unfortunately there was nothing she could do about the doctors.
She heard a faint tapping noise from the foot of her bed, then a sharp pain lanced up from her tailbone, up her spine, to the base of her neck. She squeezed her eyes shut, bit down on her lip and yanked at the bedsheets in an effort to keep from raising her pelvis completely off the bed. When she opened her eyes, all she saw was a pair of gleaming copper eyes and brushy sideburns leering down at her.
She screamed.
Suddenly there were hands on her. More than one pair. She twitched and lurched, and more hands came down. She screamed again and someone stuck something in her mouth. She spit the offending item out as hard as she could, but all she got was a wobble in the air and whatever it was rolling down her cheek.
She was surrounded by brown eyes, grey eyes, even a pair of black eyes. She couldn't move, she couldn't hit them, and despite all her twisting and writhing she couldn't get one in range to bite them. There were voices, mostly male, and all harsh and demanding.
"Hold her down!"
"I can't get it in her if you don't hold her still!"
"This would be a lot easier on her if she'd just cooperate!"
She lay still on the bed for a moment, panting. She felt their hands on her bare thighs, spreading her legs apart. She drew in a deep breath, and screamed the only thing she could think of to scream.
"Zuko!"
The first scream had bodily yanked him up off the floor. Iroh flew to the door before he could knock it down.
"Nephew, whatever is going on in there, you will only make it worse by interfering."
"Get out of my way, Uncle!"
"Kazi is in there with her. She is fine," the older man insisted.
"I can hear her screaming, Uncle!"
"It will all be over soon."
Then it came from the other side of the door, echoing off the walls around them. "Zuko!"
With strength born of pure instinct and desperation Zuko flung Iroh to the side. A fireball made short work of the door. Zuko forced his way into that room in such a rage that he wouldn't have been surprised to learn that his hair burned like the tail of Sozin's Comet.
"What are you doing?" he glared at the physicians cowering from their Lord.
"Sire, the examination is not complete. She just suddenly went mad!"
"Have you never seen a soldier, fresh from battle, cringe at every crack of thunder?"
"Yes, my Lord, but she,"
"She has fought her own battles. If you insist on continuing this insult, you will do so in my presence."
Four of the five handmaids in the room gasped at his audacity. Kazi slowly nodded. He turned to the astonished girls, daring them to say what they were thinking, but none of them were bold enough to challenge the Fire Lord.
He moved to the head of the bed. Katara was gazing at something on the ceiling. Her face was drenched. A tightly bound wad of leather lay next to her cheek. He brushed it aside as he leaned down to whisper in her ear.
"Katara."
She turned her head to look at him.
"Zuko, I…"
"Shh. Don't talk. I'm right here and I'm not leaving."
He grasped her hand in his and squeezed it gently. "Doctors, you may continue."
He sat next to her on the bed for the next thirty minutes as the doctors did Agni-knows-what on the other side of the sheet. Periodically she'd wince, but she never turned away from him. She'd squeeze his hand, but not blink. He gently brushed her hair from her eyes, tracing the outline of her ear along the way, but her gaze never waivered.
Finally the doctors all stood back and allowed her to lay her legs down flat on the bed. She rolled over onto her side as they convened in a far corner of the room. He cradled her in his arms and let her tears soak his shoulder as they whispered amongst themselves. As two of the physicians left the room and the third approached the bed, he decided that he really didn't give a damn what the man had to say, his mind was made up.
"After considerable examination it has been determined that the Lady Katara has remained chaste since the… incident. She is not currently with child, but…"
"Save your breath. You will pronounce her an eligible bride. Am I clear?"
The physician's eyes went wide. "Yes, my Lord. She is eligible."
When the last of the royal doctors left the room, Kazi spoke to her apprentices.
"You heard the doctor," she said.
"He said…"
"He said she was an eligible royal bride," Kazi finished the sentence, punctuating it with a meaningful glance at the confused girl.
"Yes ma'am," they all quickly agreed.
"Now, go on about your chores. Our resident nobles need attending," she shooed them out of the room.
"Thank you, Kazi," Katara's weak voice emerged from the crook of Zuko's neck.
The maid nodded. "My Lord, I'll take care of her. You should go speak to Ambassador Iroh."
Reluctantly Zuko released his fiancee', gently supporting her as she lay back down on the bed. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, brushing away sweat and water and the ghosts of the past.
"I'll be back soon," he cast one last lingering glance as he closed the door behind him.