Chapter Thirteen: The Return of the Warrior, part two
bAvatar: The Last Airbender/b
Katara, voice-over:
iWater.
Earth.
Fire.
Air.
It has been six years since the end of the Great War. Since Aang defeated Fire Lord Ozai.
The citizens are working hard to reconstruct their battered countries, and there has been great success so far. Fire Lord Zuko had reclaimed his nation's honor; Toph is now a great earthbending trainer; Sokka is chief of the Southern Water Tribe, with Suki at his side; Aang had started up a group called The United People's Society.
Great progress had been made in reuniting the Four Nations. Much is being done to maintain order and peace. But my friends and I know that where there is light, there is shadow.
No matter how far we've come, there is always more work to be done./i
bChapter Thirteen: The Return of the Warrior
Part Two/b
i"One thing led to another, and we fell in love."/i
Katara was desperately hoping that she had not heard him correctly. Rigid with shock, she stared at her father, then at the woman beside him, and back to her father. She could sense that her brother, who stood right beside her, was also uneasy. Her mouth agape with shock, Katara shifted her gaze to Imira. Suddenly she noticed what was around the woman's neck: it was a betrothal necklace, with Hakoda's signature carving in the pendant. Katara's breath caught in her throat. "Y—you're getting...married?"
"Um..." Imira pressed closer to Hakoda. "Actually, we're already married."
Katara's vision blurred briefly, and she swallowed hard. She was suddenly feeling lightheaded. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her brother glance at her. Sokka rushed to catch her just as her knees started to give.
Katara awoke a few minutes later in her brother's arms. Her father and Imira were staring at her with worried expressions.
"Katara," Hakoda began, kneeling toward her and resting his hand on her forehead. "Are you all right?"
The waterbender opened her mouth to respond when the blue betrothal pendant hanging from Imira's neck caught her eye. Anger and resentment surged through her veins.
"What the hell are you talking about?" she shrieked, suddenly drawing the curious gazes of the passersby. Hakoda pulled back and stared at his daughter, his eyes wide with surprise.
"What do you mean?" Hakoda asked. His voice remained perfectly calm, which annoyed Katara even more.
"Dad..." Katara struggled for the words to express what she felt. She opened her mouth to speak, but not a sound came out. She heaved an irate sigh, and rose to her feet. Sparing a final glare toward her father, Katara took off in a huff.
•••
As Katara stormed off, she was vaguely aware of her brother tagging behind her. All she knew was that her blood boiled with an unbelievable sense of rage and betrayal. She unsuccessfully tried to fight back tears as she strode back towards her home. Now she was just hoping she could make it to the front door without crumbling to the ground.
"What's wrong, Katara?" Sokka asked as his sister paused at the door, frantically digging around in her pocketbook for her key.
Seething, Katara didn't answer him. She felt a twinge of guilt at brushing her brother off, but if she were to reply, Katara doubted that she could do so in a sane manner. So she wordlessly unlocked her door and allowed Sokka to enter her home.
"Katara?" Zuko glanced up from the giggling infants that were sitting in his lap. "Is something wrong?" He studied his wife intently as she sat down on the opposite end of their couch.
Sokka selected a chair from the edge of the dining table, and pulled it up beside Zuko. He offered to relieve the firebender of the responsibility of baby Kayana.
"Sokka," Katara finally began, "what do you think of Imira?"
"Who?" Curiosity shone strong in Zuko's amber eyes. He looked at Sokka quizzically.
"She's Dad's new wife," the Southern Water Tribe chief told him. Turning back to Katara, he shrugged. "I'm not sure what I think of her."
Katara's eyes burned with the threat of tears, but she held them back and heaved a shaky sigh. "It doesn't feel like he's cheating on Mom?"
Her brother gave another shrug. "Yeah, honestly, it feels wrong."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because it's Dad's life." Sokka's blue gaze hardened, and he looked more serious than Katara had ever seen him. "And we have no right to dictate his life."
"But it's our life too!" Now tears had been shed. Katara lowered her head. "I just...don't think I can take it."
Many days had passed since her father had returned home. Miraculously, Katara had managed to avoid all contact with him and Imira...until this day.
He had found her slumped and tucked away in a dark corner of the Southern Water Tribe commons building. She had sunk low into her seat, her arms crossed tightly and her head hanging—posed as if she were trying to hide from the world.
"Katara."
His daughter remained still and didn't respond. Hakoda called her name a second time, and again no reply. He sighed, and slowly sat down beside her. He turned to her. "Are you ever going to talk to me again?"
Finally, this rendered a response. Katara shook her head.
"You're going to have to eventually. Otherwise I'll never know what you're upset about." Hakoda started to stretch his arm around her shoulders, but she quickly shrugged him off. "This isn't like you, Katara. You can't just sulk and hope that'll solve your problems. You have to tell me what's wrong."
"Do you love her?"
"Huh?" This sudden question caught him off-guard.
Katara turned toward him, but never met his eyes. "Do you love Imira?"
To his surprise, Hakoda had to think about this for a minute. "Yes, I do."
"Do you love her like you loved Mom?"
"What?" Hakoda attempted to lock his eyes with hers. "Is that what all this is about?"
"You didn't answer my question," Katara replied flatly.
"Honey." He pulled her into a hug. "I love her very much, but she could never take your mother's place. Imira's my love, but only Kya could be my itrue/i love."
Suddenly Katara burst into tears and convulsing breaths. "Oh, Daddy. It just...it feels like you're betraying Mom. It's like you're trying to replace her."
"No," he assured his sobbing daughter, "I'm not. No woman could ever replace my Kya. But Katara...ever since your mother's death, I've been searching for something to fill that void in my life. Now understand that I love you and Sokka very much, but there was still something missing." He swallowed hard, fighting back tears of sorrow for his lost love, and tears of happiness for his new love. "After all these years, I finally found Imira, and I knew she was the one. She's not as perfect as Kya, but I love her all the same."
Katara sniffled, and buried her face in her father's parka. All the pain that had accumulated—the death of her mother, the absence of her father throughout the later years of her childhood, her father's remarriage—it all finally had a chance to come out. As she wept into the fur trim of Hakoda's parka, Katara had to admit that she was beginning to feel a little better.
•••
Sokka didn't see much of his sister over the next few weeks. Katara rarely left her house. He knew exactly the reason: Katara was still upset that their father had remarried.
"I'm not sure I understand the conflict," Sokka's wife, Suki, said while cradling their 1-year-old son, Arru, in her arms. "Why is Katara so upset? It really doesn't seem like that big a deal to me."
"It iis/ia very big deal to Katara," Sokka replied as he played with the small foot of the other 1-year-old son, Dakku. "Ever since Mom died, it was just me, Dad, and Katara. It's been like that for so long, I guess we got used to it and we thought that was how it would always be." He paused, staring at his twin boys in thought. "I can't say I disagree with her. I feel a little betrayed, too, but I'm not about to complain. It's his life, and he can do what he wants with it."
Suki was nodding as she gently stroked Arru's tiny face. "I agree. Live and let live."
"But it is an extremely big adjustment for us," Sokka continued. "I mean, to have this new person pop up in our mother's place so suddenly... We hadn't seen our father in years, and he returns and drops a big bomb like this. It's certainly not something we can accept"—he snaps his fingers—"like that."
"What do iyou/i think of your stepmother?" Suki suddenly asked him.
Sokka looked up from his son to stare at his wife with a blank expression. "I really don't know. I mean, I want to get to know her before I make any decisions."
"What's her name again?"
Sokka resumed playing with baby Dakku. "Imira."
"That name sounds Fire Nation." Suki stared up at him, doubt and curiosity shining in her blue-gray eyes. "Wasn't your mother...um, you know... wasn't it a Fire Nation soldier?"
"Yeah." Sokka had to swallow hard and bite his lip as the painful scene flashed in his mind—his father hunched over in their tent, sobbing and cursing, while his mother was slumped on the ground in front of him, motionless, a trickle of blood staining the snow around her. Suddenly his eyes stung, and Sokka closed his eyes and turned away, not wanting his wife to see him in this moment of weakness.
"All that matters is that my dad's happy," Sokka muttered. He wasn't sure whether he was trying to convince his wife or himself.
"But what about iyou,/i Sokka?" Suki suddenly materialized beside him, her arm around his shoulders, pulling him closer. "Doesn't your happiness mean ianything?/i This affects you and Katara, too, you know."
"I know, but..." Sokka sighed, and wiped at his eyes. "When Dad introduced Imira a few weeks back, he...he was beaming. He was so happy...like I'd never seen him before. I don't want him to sacrifice that for us."
"I see." Suki sighed, her arm dropping from his shoulders. She rose to her feet, bending to pick up Arru and set him on the other end of their couch beside his twin brother, Dakku. Then she turned to look down at her husband. "Well, I'm sorry you have to deal with something like this, but I hope you come to your own decisions rather than just doing whatever makes your father happy."
Sokka didn't reply. Suki bent down to give him a peck on the cheek before heading into the other end of the house, toward her bedroom. Only Sokka and his children remained in the living room.
"Well," he began, leaning over and peering down at the playing boys. "You guys are lucky. You don't have to deal with stuff like this yet...hopefully never." He chuckled to himself as Dakku stretched out one little arm toward him. Understanding immediately, Sokka reached over and pulled baby Dakku into a tight hug. Suddenly feeling a little bit guilty, he stretched an arm and swept Arru into the embrace.
•••
Imira slowly poured the remaining tea into her floral teacup. Then she set the empty pot back onto the tabletop, and sauntered over to where her husband was sitting.
She couldn't help but feel sheepish as she settled down on the sofa holding her teacup. She turned to him and asked, "Would you like some more chamomile tea, Hakoda? I can start another pot."
The retired warrior slowly shook his head. "No, thank you," he murmured as he continued to stare into space, seemingly lost in thought.
Imira craned her neck to meet his eyes. "Is everything all right?"
Hakoda heaved a deep sigh, and leaned back, stretching his arm around her shoulders. "I'm just concerned about Katara."
Imira made a face as she searched her memory. "Katara...your daughter, right?"
Hakoda nodded.
"She's still mad at you? Why?"
"Katara's upset because she feels as if you're a replacement for her mother."
"Hmm." Imira nodded as she took this in. "I see. Would it help if I were to have a talk with her?"
Hakoda looked at her intently. "I don't think it would. By all means, feel free to try, but Katara—it takes her a while to get used to someone."
Imira gave another nod. "I'll take my chances." Suddenly grinning, she jokingly asked, "And what if I were to accidentally get her more mad at you?"
Hakoda gave a weak shrug, and his sorrowful, weary expression remained. "I'm not sure that's possible."
Imira tried to swallow the knot of guilt that was forming in her throat. She patted the back of his hand and assured, "I'll try my best to change her mind."
Imira pressed open the grand Ice Dragon doors to the Southern Water Tribe commons area. She scanned the building. It was surprisingly empty today—on most days, the building is packed with residents. Imira quickly pinpointed the young woman, and proceeded with caution.
Katara glared at her as she approached. "What now? Dad had to send his little mail-order bride to try and make peace with everyone?"
Imira's blood pressure spiked with anger, but she forced herself to remain calm.
"What do you want?" Katara grumbled.
Imira stepped closer and sat beside the waterbender on the long cushioned bench. "I want to talk to you."
"Yeah? Well, tough. I don't wanna talk to you."
Imira's heart squeezed. She hated the feeling of not being accepted. "Why don't you like me?"
Katara huffed. "I just have to put up with you. I don't have to like you."
"Answer my question," the Fire Nation woman demanded.
Katara met her eyes. To Imira's surprise, the waterbender's blue eyes didn't hold the great anger that her voice held. Instead, her eyes seemed to glimmer with sadness, longing, loneliness...and tears. "You could never replace my mother."
"I know I couldn't." Imira gently laid her hand on the younger woman's shoulder. "That was never my intention." When Katara didn't respond, Imira continued. "I love your father very much, and I know it feels like I'm taking your mother's place. I have heard a lot about Kya and how your father adored her."
"She was the love of his life," Katara said softly, looking away.
"I'm sorry about your mother. It's never easy to lose someone you love." Imira sighed, and closed her eyes to keep the fresh tears from shedding. "Trust me, I know."
Katara raised her head and glanced at the woman. "What do you mean?"
The Fire Nation woman gazed at the waterbender for a few seconds. Then she looked away, and continued in a very soft tone, "Back in the Fire Nation colonies, my life was so perfect. I had a wonderful family of my own. But then…" Imira's voice trembled, and she shut her eyes as tears started to pour down her cheeks. She opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn't make the rest of her words come out.
"What happened?" Katara asked softly.
Imira took a deep, steadying breath, and swallowed hard. "My son and my husband—they were summoned to war. My son was only 14 years old; he was just a child. He couldn't have been expected to fight! But the general would not listen. He sent my baby boy into war anyway. As they were readying to leave, my husband gave me a kiss, and he assured that he and Goju would be fine." Imira heaved a shaky sigh. As she spoke, her voice cracked with grief. "Many months passed, and still I waited. I had not given up hope; I knew my boys would return." She swallowed down the feeling of nausea. "But they never did."
"I'm so sorry, Imira," Katara murmured, genuine empathy shining in her blue eyes as she gazed at the woman.
"Katara..." Imira took in a single unsteady breath before continuing. "Your father's the best thing that's happened to me in a long, long time. It would help if I had your support."
"What?" The sympathetic expression suddenly cleared from the waterbender's eyes, only to be replaced by confusion and the slightest trace of suspicion.
"Katara, it would really help if you'd support our relationship." She studied the young woman. "Do Hakoda and I have your support?"
Katara opened her mouth as if to say something, but no words came. She stared at Imira for a while. Finally, after what seemed like hours, she sighed, and looked away. "Imira, I wish I could say that I support you and Dad, but I can't. I don't. I'm not okay with this, and I don't think I ever will be." She heaved another sigh. Suddenly her blue expression hardened, and her compassionate gaze turned sour. "The best I can do is accept this. But you'll never get me to support it."
Imira gave a breath of defeat, and lowered her gaze. "I don't expect you to be completely all right with this. I know that it's a lot to take in, and it's certainly a big adjustment for you and your brother." She paused as she dug in her mind. iThere's a brother...right? Or is she an only child?/i Imira quickly gave up, and she shoved her confusion into the back of her mind with the intent of pulling it back out later and discussing it with Hakoda.
The waterbender shrugged weakly. "I have to admit, I had some doubts about this thing—you and my father. But now that I'm talking to you...I can see that you have so much love for my dad, and he really loves you. And I guess that's all that really matters right now."
Imira couldn't help but smile. "Thank you, Katara. I appreciate that. I only wish this could be easier for you."
•••
Katara shook her head. "Nothing's ever easy," she murmured, thinking of her perilous journey with Team Avatar. Though her heart still pounded with a feeling of distrust and caution, she had to admit that talking to her stepmother did make her feel better about the whole situation. iMaybe this won't be so bad,/i Katara thought. iI kind of did miss having an older female in the picture./i
"Katara!"
The waterbender stirred, and glanced around, seeking out her caller. Her eyes rested on her husband, who was hastily making his way toward them. "There you are! I've been looking all over for you."
She shot him a questioning look. "What do you mean? Why?"
Zuko turned his head, and Katara followed his gaze. She glanced out the nearest window, and saw that the sun had started its descent towards the horizon.
"Oh, dear," Imira gasped as she too observed the setting sun. "I didn't realize it was so late. I'm sorry to have kept you this long, Katara."
The younger woman waved her hand, as if to brush away Imira's words. "Don't worry about it." With a small grin, she added, "Actually, I'm kinda glad we talked."
The Fire Nation woman's eyes wrinkled as she smiled back. "I am too, Katara." With a short nod of acknowledgment to Zuko, she slowly rose to her feet and grabbed her pocketbook. Imira flashed a final smile to Katara before taking off.
"That's your stepmother, right?" Zuko asked as the woman walked off.
Katara nodded. "Yeah."
"What was her name again?"
"Imira." The very mention of the name suddenly sent chills through Katara. A knot of nausea formed in her throat, and her stomach grew cold. Katara's mind buzzed with a flurry of thoughts. The more she had talked to the Fire Nation woman, the more she had grown to almost like her, and most of Katara's doubt had been lifted. Now, as her stepmother disappeared through the exit, the wall of doubt came crashing down, now heavier than ever. Darkness surrounded her thoughts, and Katara was suddenly overwhelmed with such intense distrust like she had never felt before.
"Something's not right," Katara murmured, her eyes still fixed on the doors through which Imira had exited. iShe tried to trick me once, and I almost fell for it. That won't happen again./i
End of Chapter Thirteen, Part Two.
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