"Open the door, Katara!"
The voice penetrated the wood, a fist thudding against it over and over again, the thump reminding her much of her own heartbeat. The thudding ceased and she imagined him, hand trailing down to the doorknob, a sigh escaping him, his eyes full of frustration and concern. They had not spoken in days- she, being the one to stay away, locked inside of her palace rooms. He had come to her day after day, following the same steps he had today, pounding on the door and begging for her to open it. Katara could not say what posessed her, but she rose up to her feet and walked across the room, reaching for the lock which she slid back into place, the tiny click the only sound in the silence.
He was going to give up.
For days he'd tried to come to her, tried to get her to open her door and let him inside. This was the longest they'd gone without speaking in years. Just as he made to turn away, to leave her alone for yet another day, he heard it: the unmistakable click of the lock. He turned back, eyes watching as the doorknob slowly turned and the door opened, revealing her face to him. She looked drawn; her dark hair was unkempt, hanging loose from a braid that hung down her back. Her blue eyes were dark with grief, damp with the tears she'd so obviously been shedding. Wordlessly, she beckoned him inside, and closed the door behind him, turning to face him, head tilted ever so slightly. "Katara..." He spoke her name softly as she looked at him with those eyes so sad, her beautiful features crumpling at the very sight of him. Without speaking another word, Zuko closed the gap between them, taking her into his arms and holding on tight.
She had tried to be strong, she really had, but a person could really only take so much. The sight of Zuko's face had broken her resolve, as she had known it would, and in an instant everything was rushing from her in a sea of emotions. But then he was taking her into his arms, drawing her close to his chest and holding on for dear life. His hand was in her hair then, the ribbon fastened to the end of her braid coming completely loose and sailing down to the ground at her feet. She could not speak, could hardly even breathe as she cried into his chest, her own hands gripping the front of his robes. "I just can't believe they're gone," she finally whispered, drawing back to look up at him, her blue eyes swimming with tears. "Both of them...They're really gone..."
Zuko felt his heart breaking at the sight of her, so broken and full of anguish. His own pain was great, but it was unimaginable for her. Taking her hand, Zuko drew her towards her bed, and he crawled in beside her, arms still yet around her. "It's gonna be okay," he murmured against her hair and a moment later he heard a breath escape her. Glancing down, he could see that her eyes had closed, telling him she had finally drifted off to sleep. Something she clearly was in need of. They were both in need of, truthfully.
His mind turned back to only a few days ago, to when the battle had broken out- an awful battle that they'd been doomed to lose from the very start. War was lurking at every corner and it was hard to know who was friend and who was foe. Zuko's grip on his throne was strong, but it was challeneged; rebellions were springing up, men once loyal to his jailed father taking up arms against the prince they had never cared for. He and Aang, along with Katara and Sokka, had traveled to a small city where a rebel leader was, one that invited them there to talk of a treaty. They had been ambushed almost at once, fire benders appearing all around them, giving them next to know time to protect themselves from harm. In an instant, bombs had gone off, ignited by the attacking benders. Zuko had dropped to the ground, his mind screaming her name, but he had been too far ahead of her to protect her from the attack, he could only hope she had not been hurt. When the smoke had cleared, it left him rising from the dirt, but none of the others had moved. At least... Not at first.
But then Katara had slowly risen up, her body shielded by her brother's, and Zuko had immediately seen the damage that had been done to the young man. His back was heavily burned and to his horror, a limb was missing; he lay overtop his sister, apparently he had knocked her down to the ground and shielded her with his own body, taking the brunt of a bomb that would have surely killed her. Katara had backed away, horror taking root in her eyes, mouth open wide as she began to scream his name. It had only been then that Zuko realized Sokka was not the only one to rise up after the attack. Aang also lay motionless in the dirt, having been taken out by not just a bomb, but a bender that had attacked amidst the explosions.
Zuko could still remember the piercing sound of her cries as she realized Sokka was dead; but her cries had faded almost at once, as the firebenders made themselves known once more, striking at him while he stood watching the scene unfold. He had gotten away and when he had regained his footing, Katara was on the rise, water rising around her, a deadly look in her eyes he'd never seen before. Together, they had fought and fought, outnumbered but still taking out the men around them. It wasn't until a man had appeared, a cloaked man who's face had been shrouded in shadow, that the benders ceased the fight, leaving every last one of them injured in one way or another. "Bury your dead, Fire Lord Zuko, but remember... This is not over." The cloaked man had said to him before turning and disappearing into the night, along with the seven firebenders that had fought against them.
They had thought Aang might live- he'd been alive, though just barely when they had gotten him back to the palace. But, even with Katara's skilled healing, along with the palace physicians, he had faded fast on the second night and was gone, leaving behind a legacy and two very broken hearts.
And that brought them to now.
It had been five days since the battle and he knew they needed to begin to prepare for a funeral. He had already spoken to his advisors, who had began the preparations, but there were things Katara needed to help him decide on. Zuko had already himself wrote to her father, to inform him of his son's death, and extend an offer for him to come to the Fire Nation and stay as long as he liked. Letters from all over had begun to pour in the day before, when the official announcement had been made that both the Avatar and a comrade had been killed in a battle, and flowers littered his throne room and personal chambers. Flowers littered her room as well, as the maids had continually brought them in when they had brought her food or any necessaties they thought she needed. During her time in the palace, Katara had formed bonds with all of the palace staff- something that never ceased to amaze Zuko. She knew every name, from her own maids to the kitchen staff, while he often forgot his page's names, so many were there. She had made a name for herself long before she came to live in the Fire Nation with him, but she'd won the hearts of everyone there in the palace within days of her arrival. Including his.
It seemed strange, thinking back to a time when they were not together as they were, as if that time was lifetimes ago. Katara had gone home to the South Pole for five years after the end of the war, she had to, she had left so much behind back then... Sokka had joined her, joining ranks with his father who had become chief the same year they returned home. She had written him often over the years, but both had become increasingly busy as the years went on. Katara traveled with Aang still, though not as often, and when her grandmother had finally passed on, she decided to move to the North Pole. There, she trained young waterbenders under the title Master, though despite all of this their correspondance continued. They reunited a few times over the years, his duties as Fire Lord and hers as a Master bender accompanying the Avatar always bringing them together. But then, rumors of rebellions began to swirl in the Fire Nation five years into his rule and he knew he would need help. And almost as if he'd summoned her by merely thinking of her, she'd arrived on his doorstep.
That had been three years ago.
For a year after her arrival, they went back and forth, tiptoeing around one another really, neither one unable to figure out the feeings they harbored inside. More than once they had found themselves together- one moment in particular that stuck out was after a sparring match that had ended with him on top of her and hands in places they normally didn't belong. But after that first year, after the awkward interactions and many attempts at hiding the truth, they somehow managed to simply fall into place. Zuko had never thought himself to be happier than he was whenever he was with her- there was nothing like falling in love, that much was certain. He longed to be with her every moment of every day, though both of their duties had often kept them apart.
It was only in the last six months that the truth of their relationship had become known to the world, and it had been received with joy and support. Katara was, for obvious reasons, beloved by the Fire Nation, as well as by the other nations of the world. There was next to no one who would say the match was not a good one, despite her being born a peasant of the Southern Water Tribe. And while they were not even yet engaged, Katara was treated as if she were born a queen, and Zuko spared no expense to keep her living a life of one.
A sigh escaped him and he brushed a kiss to her temple, keeping his arms still lightly wound around her as he too lay down, desperate for some sleep of his own. For hours they slept there in her bed, while around them the palace continued to function, plunged into mourning for the loss of the Avatar and one of his comrades.
Everything was changing, that much was certain.