Zutara Week 2011
Ice Flowers in Spring
Odani Castle, Omi Province, 1573
The gate shook terribly, its hinges splitting under the force of the ram. Fire arrows shot through the ink-black sky like comets, and the distant rumble of cannon sent shivers through the cherry blossom trees, scattering pink petals like snow upon the castle grounds. The spring moonless night was banished to the sky, while the braziers and watchfires of the castle illuminated the haggard, hard-bitten soldiers milling about the grounds. Armored men stood tensely in the castle courtyard, waiting for the inevitable shattering of the gate. Once the gate broke, the hordes of the Demon Lord of Owari would pour in, and the brave samurai of Omi would be in the fight of their lives.
Zuko the Dragon of Azai, Fire Lord of Omi and Echizen, yanked the reins of his horse to calm the frightened animal. His scarlet-lacquered steel armor glinted in the night firelight seeming to set him ablaze like some warrior saint of old. Around the wristband of his kote was wound a pair of withered ice flowers from the previous winter, their brittle blue petals cast against the crimson of his armor. The night wind tousled his hair about, covering his scar and stripping the budding tears under his eyes. Another strike of the ram sent a sharp, cracking thud through the wood, riding the wave of roars and shouts from the outside. Despite directing squads of men to the walls and to various chokepoints and bastions, his thoughts were dominated by the beautiful dark-skinned beauty high up in the castle keep: his wife Katara. A slow, sad smile drifted over his handsome scarred face as he remembered those days of bliss spent with her...and the nights. Another resounding crash brought him away from his reverie, and a cold, sick realization slithered up his spine. If he couldn't hold the castle... if the barricades fell... He would never see Katara again...
How did it ever come to this?
Fire Lady Katara looked out from the highest floor of Odani Castle, a gilded open-air pavilion that held breathaking views of Omi and vast Lake Biwa. She was dressed in a kimono of fine sky blue silk with golden willow leaves scattered across the rich color. In her delicate, dusky hands she was cradling a small pile of cherry blossoms, their sweet, gentle scent wafting to her beautiful azure eyes. She could still remember the seasons before, when she and her husband would spend winters watching the ice flowers bloom, and springs when they would dine amongst the cherry blossoms. Those times were paradise, ones that she thought and prayed would never end. She should have known that the peace wouldn't last, not in this blood-soaked era. Night had now coated the land a dark purple and blue, punctuated by the glowing mass of cookfires that indicated the main camp of her husband's enemy, the Demon Lord of Owari. Her brother. She saw the dark blue banners of her brother through the night-cloaked trees, marked with the stark white bellflower of her former clan. Closer, arranged against the bellflower of Oda, the scarlet banners of Azai flew from the castle walls, proudly bearing triple water caltrop flowers. It seemed impossible... she was sent to cement an alliance between Owari and Omi, and she had fallen in love with the handsome, sensitive lord of Odani, Zuko. With that, with her love, peace between her brother and her husband was ensured. And then came Anegawa...
Why? Why did it have to be this way?
Anegawa, Three Years Prior
The noonday sun rose high over the gentle shallows of the river, scattering spots of yellow and gold over the verdant green of the rushes. Two armies faced off across the water: dark blue with the bellflower of Oda, and scarlet with the caltrop flowers of Azai.
Fire Lord Zuko eased his horse into the water, splashing towards the center. Flanking him were his trusted generals, bearded Tyro with his fearsome tetsubo greatclub, and his son Haru, twirling his naginata.
Meeting them midway in the river were three horsemen: a tall man in ornate azure armor, with a kabuto topped with a snarling wolf, and two nameless, faceless samurai. The leader unhooked his wolf mempo, revealing a grim, stern-faced man with a short beard.
Zuko bowed deeply from the saddle, eyes staring down. "Father-in-law Hakoda."
Hakoda offered a brief nod. "Son-in-law Zuko. How is my daughter?"
The Fire Lord rose, glancing back. "Katara is doing well... she is happy."
At this, Hakoda softened somewhat. "Even now? I assume she is aware of what is going on?"
Zuko narrowed his eyes. "Where is your son? I thought I was going to speak to him."
Hakoda locked eyes with Zuko. His voice was level. "My son, the Lord of Owari, finds it dishonorable to meet a family member on the opposite of a battle. He feels that family bonds should never be threatened. Unlike some."
Haru pointed with his naginata at the horde of dark blue behind Hakoda. "Your son is the one with no honor! He would use the Lady Katara to force our lord to act as the Oda's shield!"
Tyro growled, "The Asakura of Echizen have been our allies for generations; why would your lord demand that we break our alliance with them?"
Hakoda stared at Zuko, ignoring the two retainers. "Your brother-in-law... my son... is the only thing standing between Omi and all the power of the East. Can you fight the Takeda alone, or the Uesugi? Can your men withstand the Date when they sweep south from Oushuu? Our lord asks you to guard the West, just as we keep the Easterners at bay. You are our shield just as we are yours!"
Haru snarled, "And when our back is turned and our strength wasted against those who were our friends, we should expect a flood of Oda bandits to pour over our land and take it from underneath our feet! We know our history, Lord Hakoda; we know of Okehazama and the "fruits" of trusting the Oda!"
The two nameless samurai rode forward, hands drifting to their katanas. Hakoda's hand shot out, halting their movement. "You still have a chance to remain true to your wife and your wife's family. Stand down, and join in our attack on Echizen. What say you, Son-in-law?"
Zuko had been staring across the river. Somewhere behind the screen of infantry lay his brother-in-law, the man who gave his beloved Katara to him. And the man who now demanded he break his word of honor. He had originally chosen to remain neutral, to not endanger his peace with Echizen and to preserve his bond with Katara's family, but his vassals had insisted that he support the Asakura, some insinuating that his honor was in question. What choice could a samurai make? His honor, or the honor of his beloved?
"I will not break my word. I will stand with the Asakura."
Hakoda's mouth thinned. "Think of Katara, Zuko! How can you turn her against her own brother?"
Zuko wheeled his horse about, glancing over his shoulder. "I am doing this for Katara. Katara married a samurai. A lord. Her honor is mine, and mine is hers. What lord would I be if I broke my word?" With that, he galloped back to his army.
Katara looked up, seeing her husband duck under the awning of the tent. She arose and approached him, but stopped short after seeing his expression.
"Zuko! Did you..." she began. Zuko shook his head heavily. She froze. Her husband was now at war with her family. This wasn't supposed to have happened. Her brother promised to not interfere in Omi's affairs, to be content in keeping his eyes eastward to Kanto and Chubu... But her brother was famed for breaking his word... the Imagawa and countless other fallen clans owed their mass graves and barren lands to the Wolf of Owari's good faith... Even his sister's happiness was an obstacle to him now...
"I-I... I can arrange for you to return to Owari, Katara..." Zuko glanced up at her, forcing out the words he promised he would never say. "You shouldn't have to stand against your brother, let alone your father-" Katara cut him off as she fiercely embraced him, slender hands gripping his armor.
"No! You can't send me away, you can't..." Gleaming azure eyes pleaded with golden ones, catching the rays of the noonday sun. She lay her head on the Fire Lord's chest, tears streaming. The whole of her being was in service to her clan. She did not matter; her brother's legacy, her family's honor did. She had accepted the marriage to Zuko first out of duty, resigning herself to her fate. But Agni and the Spirits were kind: she found love from her duty, love of an intensity so pure that she had never felt its like. She couldn't let this go... it wasn't a matter of herself over her duty; it was the choice between her duty and her soul, her very breath. "When... when I married you... I left my clan. I have a new family. You are my family, Zuko... and I will NOT leave you."
Zuko returned her embrace, nearly crushing her to his chest. He kissed her and for an all-too-brief second, nothing existed but Zuko and Katara and the gentle summer noon.
The men of Odani Castle had been placed into position. When the gate fell, the Owari and Mikawa troops would pour into the courtyard, where Zuko and his household guard, the hatamoto would blunt the assault with walls of spearmen and cavalry. Should the Oda or Tokugawa break through the main courtyard, Zuko would pull back to each barricade, where ranks of swordsmen would be waiting at every chokepoint to sap the invader's numbers while archers from the walls would shower the corridor with shafts. If all went according to plan, Zuko could hold out just long enough for his allies to arrive and smash the Oda rear, saving Omi.
A dark shape fell lightly beside Zuko's horse. The shinobi knelt, peeling off his mask and hood. "Fire Lord, I have returned from Kai and Echigo."
Zuko turned to the kneeling ninja. "You came just in time, Jet. Any word?"
Jet looked away, disappointment etched over his face. "I... I failed you, my lord. The Takeda, Uesugi, and their allies have agreed to march, but... they will not be here in time... And the Hojo have allied with the Oda. Forgive me."
Zuko fell back into the saddle. We are alone... two thousand exhausted and wounded samurai against almost thirty thousand, the full might of the Demon Lord. Katara... Turning to Jet, he handed him a pair of scrolls no larger than his hand, one wrapped in sea blue silk. "If I fall... return Katara to her family. That scroll will allow safe passage through the lines to the Oda camp. Give the blue one to Katara... it's only for her." Jet took the scrolls, nodded, and disappeared into the castle.
With that, the gate flew open with a tremendous crash. Hundreds of Oda samurai and ashigaru poured into the entrance, charging the Azai head-on with bloodthirsty screams. Zuko whipped his katana out in a silver flash, spurring his stallion into a full-tilt run. "Men of Odani! I am Fire Lord Zuko, Dragon of Azai! Fight like fire and annihilate the enemy! For OMI!" For Katara...
The trapdoor to the pavilion opened, snapping Katara from her thoughts. Her ladies-in-waiting, Lady Ty Lee and Lady Suki ascended up the stairs, each bearing a lacquerware tray with food.
"My lady, we have brought dinner," Suki smiled bravely, setting down her tray of broiled fish and rice next to Katara. She gently stoked the fires in the braziers around the pavilion, the light hitting the gilded pillars and eaves, causing the open room to warmly glitter with a warm yellow glow.
"I tried to get them to give you better fare, Lady Katara, but the cooks said there was nothing left." Ty Lee pouted, obviously indignant as she placed her tray of pickled vegetables and cup of coarse barley tea next to Jin's.
Katara smiled affectionately at her friends. The warm night air ruffled her beautiful dark hair, veiling her soulful cobalt eyes. "It's alright... I shouldn't be eating finer food than our soldiers anyway... they haven't eaten yet, and still they're fighting... You two can eat, don't you worry about me." She glanced at the table to her left, where sat a single celadon bowl filled with dried ice flower petals.
Please my lord... Zuko... Please be safe...
"Where are you taking me, Zuko?" Katara giggled. She had been led like this for almost twenty minutes, blindfolded and climbing staircase after staircase. They had been married for a year now, but this was the first time Zuko had ever done something like this.
She heard Zuko's husky whisper in her ear, laughter ringing the edge of his voice. "We're going to the very top of the castle. There's something I want to show you."
" Hahaha, all the way up? It's the dead of winter; it'll be freezing!" Katara grinned. She didn't mind the winter; it was her favorite season, but she knew that Zuko couldn't stand the cold.
"We'll be fine, we won't stay for too long. Just come on!" Zuko murmured, mock exasperation in his voice.
They climbed one last staircase, this time ending in a trapdoor that Katara nearly bumped her head on.
Katara had no idea where she was. All was still dark from the blindfold, and all she could hear was the gentle creak of wood and the whipping, howling wind beyond the walls. She heard a clattering, of wood scraping on wood, and she suddenly felt a robust breeze whip through her kimono, filling her nostrils with the fresh clean breeze of the mountains. She felt herself being led further and further forward, with Zuko's mouth close to her ear.
"I'm going to take the blindfold off now..." The cloth fluttered down, and Katara's crystal blue eyes were filled with blinding white light. She winced, adjusting to the light, and when she could see, she gasped, hands clapping her mouth.
The winter sun rose high, a white burning wheel against the palest blue sky. Clouds floated like brushstrokes, fading into the sunlight. Below, bounding hills blanketed in purest white snow, rolled over one another like frothy waves on a frozen sea, sailing into the horizon. Lake Biwa and the river traced through the cotton-white hills, like the dark, strong stroke of a master calligrapher. All around, trees with glacier blue flowers gently swayed in the winter breeze, their petals flying about like fragrant blue snow, landing in the bubbling flow of the river, twirling and dancing in their course. The pavilion she stood in was sheathed in gold, a beautiful room of summer in the winter world beyond. The wind carried with it the scent of the bloom: ice, mint, rain, peach, a strange and wonderful blend of spring, summer, autumn and winter, all whirled up into an unforgettable aroma that cleared the mind yet enveloped it in a haze that drowned out all but the beauty and the purity of this place.
"O-Oh... Zuko..."
She felt a pair of arms wrap tightly around her slender form. "Ice flowers," she heard Zuko's soft voice and felt his gentle breath on her cheek, "they're in bloom. I had to show you what they looked like from up here." Zuko gently turned her around. He smiled, his short cropped hair whipping about, his eyes glowing a warm amber, his roguish scar showing a flash of red against the white, blue and gold. "It's all yours, Katara... we'll come up here every winter, and watch them bloom, together..."
"They're.. it's... it's all so beautiful, Zuko..."
Zuko ran his hand through his wife's beautiful tresses, shaking his head and grinning. "No... it's nothing... All of it is nothing, compared to you..." He kissed her, warm sensuous lips trapping her own. His pale skin brushed against her lovely dusky features, and she threw her arms around his neck and plunged into the kiss, just as the wind whipped up and entangled their hair and robes into a single form that displayed the truth and intensity of their union.
Zuko parried a spear thrust with his katana, and with a single downward slash slew the offending samurai. His stallion had been killed in the first minutes of combat, leaving the Fire Lord to lead his men on foot, while his still-mounted hatamoto wheeled about, scything through the ranks of enemies. The defenders has still held the courtyard; rank after rank of Oda and Tokugawa warriors had fallen, their corpses so covering the ground that dueling samurai often slipped and lost their footing underneath the piles of dead. Dead men were even being used to bolster the barricades inside the yard, creating a veritable maze for the attackers to slog through. The stench of death and filth hung heavy in the air, while the faint scent of cherry blossoms still lingered in the miasma. The trees were still in bloom; underneath, men fought and bled and died, some crawling to die under the trees, Azai and Oda alike.
Tyro lay dead atop a mountain of dead Oda samurai, pierced with a dozen arrows. His son Haru, bleeding from a hundred wounds, stood over his father's body; his naginata whirled in a mad rage while his armor lay in a ruined heap at his feet. He slew Mongke and General Fong, along with seventeen other noted samurai before a desperate spear charge finally laid him low.
Jeong Jeong of Azai directed a line of archers to ignite the thatched huts just outside the walls of the castle. Suddenly a series of explosions rocked the Oda army, cutting the vanguard off from the main body of the army. A huge cheer erupted from Zuko's beleaguered army, and countercharged, driving the Oda from the courtyard.
Zuko waved his sword about, signaling for his hatamoto to follow. He charged, pursuing the fleeing enemy outside the castle, straight for the main camp. If he could press home the charge, keeping the panic spreading through the Oda and Tokugawa armies, then the Demon Lord would have no choice but to withdraw in disorder, no matter how many troops he commanded.
The fleeing enemies scattered into the darkness, but Zuko stopped dead. Before him stood a line of arquebusiers, firearms primed and loaded. Behind the gunmen, on a magnificent black stallion, stood the Demon Lord, his brother-in-law. He was dressed in sable armor, his face obscured by a roaring demon mask. In his raised hand he held the famed sword Heaven's Scythe, with pitch-black blade forged from a fallen star. A second passed. Then another. The Demon Lord spoke.
"Fire."
Zuko heard thunder, and saw cherry blossoms.
Jet burst from the trapdoor with such force that Katara whirled about in alarm. Suki and Ty Lee leapt to their feet, kunai daggers immediately flying to their hands. They relaxed when they saw Jet, who knelt before Katara.
"My lady Katara. I am ordered to bring you away from the castle. We are to leave now."
Katara's brow furrowed, and she shook her head forcefully. "No. I am not leaving my husband here."
Jet groaned. The Lady could be so stubborn; he was dreading this. "My lady, please. I must obey my lord's command. He wishes for you to be away from danger!"
Katara turned back around, teeth clenched. "I don't care about danger. Zuko will win, he has to. I have to be here. For him. I can't leave him, I can't!" Jet saw that in her hand, Katara clutched a small silver blade with a black lacquer hilt.
The ninja grit his teeth. Forgive me, Lord Zuko. Forgive me, Lady Katara. He strode forward, and swiftly dealt a sharp blow to the back of Katara's ear. The Fire Lady fell forward with a weak gasp.
Suki jumped up, daggers pointed at Jet. "What in Agni's name are you doing?"
Jet glared at both of them. He gently picked up the unconscious Katara and hoisted her on his back. "We are getting her out of here, as Lord Zuko commanded. We're taking the hidden back gate, near the river ferry. There are horses stabled. Go!"
General Piandao had ordered the castle keep doors locked and bolted. The Oda had taken the outer courtyards and forced their way through every barricade. It had come down to the wire, and the Azai troops were backed up to the wall. Fewer than a thousand men were left, and all of them bearing some manner of injury. "Piandao!" Jeong Jeong's voice cut through the ragged panting of the exhausted and the cries of the wounded. Piandao turned, and froze. No...!
Jeong Jeong shuffled forward, bloody and soot-covered, with Zuko slumped over his shoulder. The Fire Lord's head hung limply, a faint moan dripping from his lips. Blood dripped in rivulets over his armor, pooling on the tatami mat. The grizzled general looked up at Piandao, eyes full of exhaustion, confusion, and abject fear.
Piandao rushed over, examining the Fire Lord. "My Lord...stay with us..." To his horror, he saw the young lord's breastplate punctured in various places, blood oozing down the lacquered steel.
"Ka...tara..." Zuko spoke, his voice slurring. Blood poured over his scar, painting the darkened flesh a bright crimson.
"Piandao... they're burning the castle down.. the courtyard and the village are already ablaze!" Jeong Jeong barked, looking about. "We need to flee with the lord, out the tunnels!"
"N-No... Leave me..." Zuko looked up, teeth clenched in pain, blood dripping into his amber eyes. "Just go... leave me here...
Jeong Jeong shook his head fiercely. "No, Lord Zuko. We are your hatamoto. We will not abandon you. We can escape!"
"No!...Leave...please..." Zuko tired to raise his arm, to push himself off of Jeong Jeong's shoulder, but instead slump further down.
Piandao looked around. All around men, both wounded and dying, drew their swords and nodded grimly at one another. They heard the roar of the fire engulfing the castle grounds. The bannermen raised the remaining blood-spattered Azai banners high, ready to meet their end, for their lord's honor. He looked up the stairs.
"Take the lord to the pavilion. We will follow. I will command the men to escape to Kai. Zuko's uncle will still be with the Takeda." Piandao clapped his hand on Jeong Jeong's free shoulder and yelled for all soldiers to escape through the tunnels.
Jeong Jeong and Piandao laid Zuko gently down on the gilded mat on the pavilion, and retreated, kneeling with the remaining members of Zuko's ihatamoto/i. All around, the flames climbed the castle walls, the flickering orange and scarlet tongues reflecting the gold of the room. He gazed around the room, fighting for breath. "Where...is Katara...?"
Piandao bowed from his waist, fighting back his tears. "She has left with her handmaidens and Jet, my lord. She is safe."
Zuko nodded weakly. "Katara..." The young man turned his head to his left hand, gazing drunkenly at the dried ice flowers twisted around his wrist. A few cherry blossom petals, swept up by the hot air below, alighted in his palm. A slow, broken smile crept across his face, as he brought the flowers and petals to his face and gently inhaled the still-fresh scent. He motioned for the table to prop him up into a sitting position, and he gazed out at the starless black sky, with the glow of the fire below.
I'm sorry, Katara... I couldn't say goodbye... I hope... what I left you will show you how... how much...
And with that broken smile, Zuko the Dragon of Azai, Fire Lord of Omi and Echizen, closed his eyes and perished in the highest pavilion of Odani Castle, surrounded by his loyal household guard, flames wreathing his once-beautiful castle.
Katara awoke amidst a grove of cherry blossoms, utterly confused. She was laid against the roots of a tree, still in her kimono. Her dagger was missing. Nearby, three horses drank from the river. She saw Suki and Ty Lee, dressed in black shinobi garb, keeping watch. Jet approached her with a bowl of water, kneeling.
"Milady, you're awake-" Jet leapt back when Katara jumped to her feet.
"Where am I? Zuko! I have to go back! Jet, take me back I-" she stopped dead, staring at the castle in the distance. Flames crowned the once-golden summit.
"NO! NO NO NO! ZUKO!" She tore off in the direction of the castle, sobbing hysterically, screaming in horror and despair. Jet dragged her back, but she fought, lashing out with her fists, feet, anything, to return back to the castle, to be with her love...
NO! Nononononono Zuko PLEASE...pleasepleasepleaseplease... You can't be...You can't...I have to..I have to be with him, please...please...
Jet yelled over Katara's hysterical weeping, struggling to hold on. "My lady! My lady! We need to go now!"
"W-Why, WHY? Why did you leave me? Why didn't you want me with you?" Katara sobbed to no one and everyone, crumpling to her knees. Tears streamed like silver rivers down her dark, richly-colored cheeks. She wrapped her arms around herself, wanting nothing more than to feel her husband's strong arms around her again, to clutch his lithe, wiry body close and never let go... She couldn't live. Even tomorrow was impossible, a hell that would never end... She didn't want to go on, she couldn't...
"My lady." Katara raised her red, swollen eyes. Jet's obsidian eyes locked with hers. "Our lord commanded that you live. The only reason he ever fought was to protect you."
Katara shook her head wildly, hiccuping from her sobs. "I can't...I can't live without him... You can't take take me back to my brother... I will never forgive him...never." She glared at Jet, tears still falling, her eyes flaring into a furious blue as clear and deadly as the midsummer sky.
Jet's flint-colored eyes matched Katara's betraying nothing of the seething conflict behind them. If I fall... return Katara to her family. That scroll will allow safe passage through the lines to the Oda camp...
"We are not going to the Oda camp, my lady. We are heading east. To Kai." At this, all three women looked up at Jet. The ninja nodded, eyes hard as flint. "The Takeda are massing an army, along with the allies the Date, the Uesugi, the Ashina, and the Sohma. They are marching to strike the Oda in the rear. We will meet with them, and together, we will avenge our lord." Forgive me, my lord. I..We cannot do what you commanded. We will NOT leave you dishonored and unavenged.
Katara weakly nodded. She gasped a few times, to control herself as her delicate hands clutched into fists. "I...I didn't even say goodbye... He wouldn't let me say goodbye to him..."
Jet reached into his tunic and pulled out a small scroll, no bigger than his hand. It was wrapped in sea blue silk, which he pressed into Katara's hand. "This, my lady, is from our lord. He... wished for you to read it."
Katara clasped the scroll with trembling hands, and tore off the silk. Unfurling it, she read, soon breaking down again, weeping and kissing the scroll, staining it with her tears. In Zuko's fine, strong calligraphy, the scroll read:
Katara,
Ice Flowers in Spring;
Worth more than Heaven and Earth,
A Life spent with You.
Zuko
"Lady Katara?" Jet had asked when her crying had stopped. "Shall we go to Kai?"
Katara stood, eyes red from tears, but blazing bright azure with purpose. She nodded, and tucked the scroll inside her kimono. "Yes. We will go to Kai. We will avenge my husband." With that, they mounted, and they raced off to the East, into the dawn.
Unbeknownst to them, in the midst of the cherry blossoms of spring, an ice flower tree bloomed.
Soli Deo Gloria