DESCRIPTION: Katara finally finds her Mother's Secret Garden(it's a MAGIC garden!!), and Zuko stumbles upon it, also! Will true love ensue? ZUTARA! READ PLEASE!!! Z/K

PROLOGUE:

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters.

O.K., so here's the deal: All the characters are themselves, the war still isn't over yet, and this story is starting out with Aang, Sokka, and Katara in the in Ba Sing Se looking for Appa, just like in the latest episodes. Sokka and Katara are still from the Southern Water Tribe, but when Katara was born her mother and father moved the family to the Ba Sing Se since they thought they would be safer from the war in the Earth Kingdom.

It was midnight, and Katara had snuck away from camp and was in the forest that led to her Mother's Secret Garden. She had been looking for something, but wasn't sure what. Finally, she seemed to reach whatever it was that she was trying to find. She was at the bottom of a cliff, and underneath the cliff was a cave. She looked around to make sure no one was watching her. Satisfied that she was alone, she entered the cave and heard the gentle whisper of a small rivulet. Katara closed her eyes as memories came flooding back to her.

"But Mother, why must I close my eyes?"


"Because, little one, you cannot see it until you are ready. Once you are old enough, you will find the way on your own."


"But I don't understand…"


"Hush, you will in time."

The young Katara sighed as her mother led her, blindfolded, to a place that she had never been to before. She heard the rush of a river nearby, and promised herself she would never forget that sound.

"Open your eyes now, child."


Little Katara gasped as she looked around. They were in a beautiful garden, bigger than any she had ever seen. The sunlight shone through a canopy of trees, causing the river to sparkle brightly and seem to send off a magical aura. It was the clearest water in the entire world! At the end of the river was a medium-sized waterfall, which she longed to play in. There were countless amounts of flowers, mostly tiger lilies; her mother's favorite, that were covering the walls of stone and resting elsewhere throughout the garden. There was also a long walkway that was made of dirt and stone, which wound its way through the entire garden. Following this path would lead one to several secret passageways. There were too many of these passageways for one person to go through in a lifetime.


If Katara was quiet, she thought she could hear bells in the distance, and children giggling merrily.


"Mother, who is that laughing?"


"Those are the faeries."


"Faeries? Will they come and play with me?"


"They might, but they come and go as they please. If you want them to come to you, you have to be quieter than the wind, close your eyes, and wait and listen for them. Sometimes they may come, sometimes they may not. They only come if they have a reason."


"But what about the bells?"


"Those are their wings. When they fly, they sound like small bells."
"Can I ask them to come now?"


"No, Katara, I've brought you here for a reason. You can play with the faeries another time."

Katara crossed her arms and made a "hmph" sound.

"Listen, for this is important. As you probably know, I've been rather ill lately. I may not be around much longer, Katara. Shh, don't cry now." Her mother soothed her as she saw Katara's eyes get watery, "I'll always be with you; you just won't be able to see me any longer."


"Will I be able to hear you?"


"Well, it's kind of like with the faeries. You have to be silent, close your eyes, and wait and listen.

Katara nodded silently.

"But I have to tell you why you're here with me. See this garden? One day it will be yours. When I leave this world everything you see here will belong to you. Katara, I can tell that you will do far greater things than you know. You have a purpose and a duty here on this earth, and it is up to you to find out what it is."


"But how will I know?" she sniffed.


"Just like with the garden, you will find your way by instinct. You don't need to worry about finding the way, but instead about what you're going to do once you get there."
"Mother, you're not making sense!"


"Remember my words, and you will understand in time."

Katara had searched for her Mother's Garden ever since that day, but had not even gotten close until now. Well, she supposed it was her garden now, since her mother had passed away years ago. Now, as she entered this cave and heard the rushing river, she was almost certain that it was that same sound she had promised herself she would not forget, so many years ago.

Katara had closed her eyes and let her feet take her where they wished, for they seemed to know what they were doing.

"Once you are old enough, you will find the way on your own."

After walking deeper into the cave for several minutes, the sound of the river was finally at its loudest, and she could see the blue of the water from where she was standing. Katara sprinted to the river and nearly jumped in out of excitement.

This is it, She thought, this is the garden!

But now that she was at the river, Katara didn't know what to do next. There was no door for her to enter, no window for her to crawl through, nothing. She sighed and sat down in frustration, trying to think.

What to do, what to do…she idly bended some water from the river while she pondered about her next step in reaching the garden. Katara looked up at the water she had been bending, and noticed that she had formed a strange symbol.

Is that the symbol of Water?

She looked up and noticed the same symbol carved into the wall behind the river.

How did I not see that before?!

Katara looked at the wall, and back at the bended water. Then back at the wall, and the water, again.

No, it couldn't be. Well, we did always stay here at the river longer than I thought normal. Maybe it can be.

She bended the water forward, and placed it so that it fit into the carving on the wall. As soon as the water touched the stone, it began to glow, along with the river below it. Slowly, the river split in half, revealing a cavern below it. Amazed, Katara walked down the stone steps leading into it, and the water closed behind her and seemed to rest on an invisible force field so that it wouldn't fall into the cavern. She remembered walking down steps when her mother had led her here before.

This is definitely the place.

Small windows were carved into the walls, revealing the same glowing water of the river above, and Katara cautiously reached out to touch the water, but it pulled back, just out of her reach. Confused, she continued on, and noticed small blue candles lighting the way. She followed the candles to a dead end, and noticed the Water Symbol on the wall before her. Bending some of the water through the windows, she made the symbol, and placed it into the carving on the wall, as she had before.

Maybe the water hasn't been touched by human hands. That's why it'll let me bend it but not touch it, so that it can stay pure.


The stone wall before her seemed to disappear and another set of steps was revealed, with water being held up by what seemed to be an invisible force field above the steps, like before. She bended this water so that it split down the middle, and walked up the steps and into the moonlight.

Katara looked around and almost cried as she realized that she was actually in what was now her garden. The light of the full moon made it so much prettier.

Thank you, Yue.


As memories of her mother came back, she closed her eyes and one small tear ran down her cheek. As she heard those same bells and the same gentle laughter, another memory came back to her:

"Faeries? Will they come and play with me?"


"They might; they come and go as they please. If you want them to come to you, you have to be quieter than the wind, close your eyes, and wait and listen for them. Sometimes they may come, sometimes they may not. They only come if they have a reason."


"And what about the bells?"


"Those are their wings. When they fly, they sound like small bells."


"Can I ask them to come now?"


Katara closed her eyes and was as still as she thought humanly possible, and she listened. A gentle breeze blew through her hair, and she thought she heard a gentle whisper in her ears: "Yes, Katara, you can ask them to come now."


"Mother?" she asked. The voice was so quiet she wasn't positive whether she'd actually heard it, or just imagined it.

"Mother? Was that you?" she thought.

"KATARA!!" Sokka yelled, "WHERE ARE YOU?!?!"

Ohhh, not now Sokka!

"Who does she think she is, sneaking away from camp like an irresponsible little kid!"

"I'm right here, Sokka!"

"Where have you been?!" Sokka fumed.

"Uhhm… I couldn't sleep; it's a full moon, and I am a Waterbender, so I went on a little walk."

Sokka glared at her. "I don't believe one word of that, but it's too late, err… early, for me to sort this out. As soon as I get enough sleep you are gonna get it!"

"Yeah, yeah, Sokka."

"I mean it!"

Katara didn't let it bother her, she was too busy etching the way to the garden in her mind. He'd probably forget by the morning, anyway. Sokka led her back to camp and made her promise not to sneak away again. Aang sat up, not knowing either of them had even left.

"What's going on?" he mumbled groggily.

"Don't worry about it, Aang." Katara answered, "Just go back to sleep."

"Mmkay." He said as he got back under his covers and closed his eyes.

Katara definitely couldn't sleep, not now that she'd found what she'd been searching for all her life. Well, she'd have to go back in the morning.