So I got this writing exercise where you take something new and twist it so it's like something old. Well, I was on an avatar fanart binge when I saw this and I just got done doing The Land of Dragons in KH2 (my second time around) so I thought, why not. And for those of you who are idiots, Mulan is a Chinese myth and traditional ballad. However, I'm gonna have to leech off the Disney adaptation. They will maintain their appearances and names and personalities, to a point.
Zuko Shang. Son of a great war general, Zuko wants nothing more than to become as powerful as his father.
Katara Mulan. A girl from a backcountry village. Katara never really fit in anywhere at home, maybe she will in the army?
Sokka Yao. A show off from a neighboring village to Katara's. He likes Katara a lot, in a plutonic sense. He treats her like a kid sister anytime they meet. He's already married to Suki.
Aang Chien Po. A quiet monk from the village shrine. Aang is quiet but full of smiles and good humor. He's not fat like his Disney counterpart.
Jet Ling. A man from another village who likes the ladies. He finds himself attracted to Katara, despite the fact he thinks she's a girl. It rather horrifies him.
Toph Mushu (don't hurt me!) an ancestral guardian from Katara's family shrine. Toph is having problems gaining respect in the eyes of the ancestors because they think she is small and weak. And short tempered…
Momo Criky like character. Momo is a Pygmy Mouse Lemur that Katara rescues from her Grangran's clutches. She lets him go when she leaves to join the army, but he follows her.
Fire Lord Ozai Shan-yu. A ruthless barbarian who thinks himself very superior to all. He fights his way into Avatar and is the villain of this story.
Iroh Emperor. A kind and humorous man. Iroh is quiet and very wise. He has a habit of sneaking out of the palace for days at a time to live amongst his people so he can have a good grip on what his people need.
Appa Katara's horse. Neigh?
So there it is. I'll be making a few changes to the story line, nothing major. I'm playing KH2, specifically the Mulan part, listening to music from Memoirs of a Geisha (the book is better) and doing research.
Shame on me I have forgotten two things. A disclaimer: I don't own or pwn Avatar. And BENDING! I've thought about it and bending will be in the story. But it's place will take some explaining. Everyone can bend and with all four elements. However, it is looked down upon when a woman fire bends. Just as men are laughed at when they water bend. Earth and Air are neutral elements. Also, I've decided that these events will take place in the country of Avatar.
Men and Bending: Men use fire bending for fighting and farming (making soil fertile by burning it) they use water bending to water their crops and draw water from the ground in wartimes. They avoid it if they can. They use earth bending in fighting and farming as well as air.
Women and Bending: women use fire bending only in cooking. And sometimes not even then. They mostly water bend as an art and for cooking. Earth and Air Bending for household chores. Women are discouraged from Bending too much in one day.
May I present
The Ballad of Katara
Chapter One
A Funny Girl that Katara
It was a warm spring afternoon in the small village of Muigi. Men were still in the fields tending to crops as women and children stayed inside to avoid the heat. Kanata was inside preparing dinner for her family. Normally she would have her daughter, Katara, helping her. But she'd been invited to tea with some of the village girls. The poor girl had such a hard time fitting in; it was impossible to deny her pitiful eyes. But if Kanata had any real sense she would send for her daughter and save her from the punishment she now endured.
Katara sat on her knees, traditional style, pretending to listen to the girls chatter around her. Really she was watching a cherry blossom on the verge of falling from it's branch. No wonder people found cherry blossoms so interesting, they were a fascinating reprieve from a boring conversation. But soon the bloom worked itself free from the branch and drifted gracefully to the ground. Her entertainment gone, Katara turned her attention to her human company. There were four other girls who sat around the table giggling conspiratorially amongst each other.
"Did you see her kimono?" Chindan asked the other girls in a whisper, "She must have just finished tying her obi when they found her." The girls all giggled. Chindan's laughter was the quietest of them all, but the most irksome.
Junshin, a kind girl who had offered the invitation to Katara, looked around in confusion, "Why was her kimono off?" Katara smiled lightly, though not in mockery. Junshin was kind and innocent; sex was not the first place her mind always went. Hokori smirked lightly, but said nothing.
"Junshin, do you have anymore of these delicious rice cakes?" asked Yoku, her voice was, as usual, bored. This was the fifth time she had asked for more food. Junshin excused herself to get more. She soon came back with more cakes and a fresh pot of tea. She kneeled down and prepared to pour tea for her guests, but Yoku moved to stop her, "Wait, lets let Katara pour the tea."
Katara looked up when her name was said, "What?" she asked stupidly.
"Do your tea pouring trick." Yoku demanded. The other girls looked at her in interest.
"Okay." She said quietly. She took the teapot from Junshin and put it in the center of the table. Then, kneeling with her hands poised over the table, she closed her eyes and focused. The teapot began to rise slowly as she bent the tea soaked water inside without letting it slip out the spout or lid. It continued to ascend 'til it hovered three feet above the table. Carefully she began to bend the liquid out of the pot and into the cups of her friends. When the last drop left the teapot it wobbled and began to fall. Katara's hand flashed out and caught it. The girls clapped enthusiastically.
"How in the world did you learn that?" asked Chindan, her eyes ambivalent with excitement.
"Practice, boredom." Katara answered quietly, but with a smile, "I enjoy it." She bit her lip. Girls were not supposed to enjoy Bending. They pretended not to notice.
"You're very good at it." Said Yoku, she took an appreciative sip of her tea and was pleased to find it still warm. They sat and talked for a while longer, but the sun was setting, and Katara needed to go home. She soon excused herself and left.
"Poor thing." Said Junshin, one hand halfway to her mouth, as though she was about to cover it in sympathy.
"The only reason she knows tricks like that is because she spends her spare time practicing." Hokori said, slight bitterness evident in her voice. Chindan eyes sparkled as she drank in the information being spoon fed to her.
"Perhaps we should spend more time with her." Junshin said as she sipped her tea.
"Oh lets not." Yoku said quickly, "She is so odd. Sometimes she says the weirdest things." Chindan and Hokori agreed with her and began to regal each other with stories about Katara.
By now Katara had arrived home and was stepping out of her well-worn sandals and into just as worn, but far more comfortable, slippers. Kanata rushed from the kitchen, "Well?" she asked impatiently.
"It was nice." Katara said enthusiastically, "I showed them my tea Bending trick." She said proudly. But Kanata frowned.
"Katara, how many times have I told you not to show off those ridiculous tricks of yours? It is unbecoming of a young lady." Katara lowered her head in proper shame, "Go fetch Grangran please. She's in the courtyard getting the animals inside, help her, then come in for supper." Katara nodded her head and trotted outside to her Grandmother, Kana. She'd once been a beautiful and demure woman. Age had given dignity and spice. As one of the oldest members of the village she no longer bothered to act like a normal woman, Katara respected her greatly.
"Grangran." Katara chimed as she stepped into the courtyard. The old woman was bent over a bush struggling with something in her hands. Whatever it was must be urgent because Appa, the family horse, was standing with his reins trailing in the dirt and the courtyard gate was wide open. Appa was a great and placid horse with few cares in the world, he was quite happy with his life on the farm and didn't bolt for the gateway to freedom. Freedom didn't give him lumps of sugar. Katara rushed forward and grabbed his reins. Grangran turned around as Katara stood up, "What are you doing?" she asked curiously.
The old woman held a small cage in her hands with an even smaller monkey inside, "This little guy's been stealing from our food for several weeks. He's no native to our lands, someone must have lost him." The poor little thing looked terrified, it was only six inches tall and had huge brown eyes. It's fur was creamy white.
"Oh Grangran." Katara said with a sigh, "What are you going to do with him?" Grangran offered the cage to her and Katara took it automatically.
"There, now he's your problem." Said the old woman with finality. Katara gave her grandmother a dry stare but held the cage carefully in her hands. She had a larger cage that had once housed a canary in her room. It could be a nice home for the poor little guy. She'd have to find a better way to lock it. Monkeys were clever and he would probably figure out how to operate the simple latch.
"Lets put Appa away and go in to dinner." Katara said warmly. Kana smiled up at her granddaughter and nodded her head in agreement.
"I swear I saw something over here!" Lu Ten cried as he raced over the rocky landscape, his friend, Sozin, followed with some difficulty.
"Define…" huff "…something!" cried Sozin.
"A big something! Lots of men coming from a gap in the wall." Lu Ten disappeared behind an outcropping as Sozin stopped to catch his breath.
"All the gaps are heavily guarded Lu Ten! There's no way an army could have gotten in through there." Silence, "Don't be angry just cause you're paranoid." Muttered Sozin as he walked around the corner after his friend.
However, instead of coming face to face with Lu Ten, he came face to face with a thousand arrows. The two boys were backed up against a wall together and waited for death to come. But nothing happened, no man let his arrow fly. Instead they lowered their weapons as a tall, heavily muscled man walked into their midst. These men were barbarians, with oily unwashed hair and dirt-smeared skin. This man was no different, but his clothes were nicer, and something about the way he carried himself made him seem in charge. This was Hun Leader Ozai. His men stepped back respectively. Ozai observed Lu Ten and Sozin quietly. Taking in their army uniforms and carefully kept, though unused, weapons.
Finally he spoke, in a voice like a wave crashing over the hull of a small ship, "Congratulations boys, you've found the Hun army." The men snickered and laughed mockingly. Sozin's skin crawled, they would die here.
Next to him Lu Ten swallowed hard, "Our armies will crush you!" he said bravely, though his voice wavered.
"Will they now?" his voice purred, "Why would the great Emperor Iroh raise his armies against an invited guest." The boys looked at him stupidly, "He invited me here when he built this Great Wall to try and keep me out. I've answered his invitation, and I brought a steaming bowl of Hun warriors as a warming present." His men laughed outright at this. He was silent as he looked the boys over again, "I do hate surprising my host; seems rude to me. Go." He signaled to his men to give room for them to leave, "Tell your Emperor of my coming." Both boys stared at him stupidly, "Well?" They took off at a run, racing awkwardly across the rocks in their panic. They were two specks scurrying over the stones when Ozai asked a nearby archer, "How many boys does it take to deliver a message." In answer the archer raised his bow and shot down Lu Ten.
He sprawled across the rocks, dead before he hit the ground. Sozin stopped for a spilt second before he kept on running. But the image of his friend's blood spurting from his wounds and the arrow sticking in the rock before him stayed affixed in his minds eye.
Katara sat uncomfortably before her father as he gazed down on her. Hakoda was a kind and fair man with a passionate love for his family. Kanata had always considered herself lucky to have been married to him, but sometimes he took his role as caretaker for the family too seriously. He walked with a limp from an old wound from when he had fought to protect his family in Avatar's last war, "My child, you are sixteen years old. It is high time you took on a husband." Hakoda declared. Katara lowered her head to show her submission. She wanted nothing more to bring her family honor than by getting a good match by the matchmaker. Part of the reason they had waited so long was because they were unsure if anyone would have her for a wife. But they could hardly wait any longer. Kanata was unable to bear any more children, she could not provide her husband a proper heir. It was out of pure love that he did not abandon her for a more suitable woman.
Katara had always been envious of her mother and father's relationship. All she could do was pray that she would find a husband as good for her as Hakoda was for Kanata, "In three days you will see the matchmaker along with your friends." Katara nodded in response to her mother, "You will spend the next day fasting and reading this." She handed her daughter a worn scroll. On it was written the duties of a wife, "If you have anything to say, say it now. You will not be able to speak from the setting of the sun today until the setting of the sun tomorrow."
Katara looked at her family gathered around her and smiled, "I love you all." She said quietly. Her mother, father, and grandmother smiled and returned the favor. She hugged her family before turning to her room. It was a small and modest room. The rice paper walls were fainted, but on them were pictures she had painted herself, pictures of dragons and great warriors. Lots of them were depictions of her favorite scenes from legends and fables. Her favorite was one that her mother had painted for her. It was a rabbit sitting alone on a hill, staring at the full moon. She had been born under the sign of the rabbit. When she was little she hadn't cared for her animal symbol, but now she liked it. She let her fingers trail over the faded artwork, there wouldn't be precious things like this when she got married. She looked mournfully at the scroll by her bed and decided to leave it for morning. No use studying it all night and day and being to sleep loopy to remember anything.
The next day was spent in silence as she poured over the scroll. By midmorning she had transferred Momo the monkey into the hallway. He'd been excited that she was spending a lot of time in her room and was getting noisy. But not matter how many distractions she got rid of, she had a hard time focusing on the scroll. Some of this seemed just plain stupid. Never speak unless spoken too. Make sure there's enough tea in your husband's cup before anyone else's. Be submissive. Be silent when your husband beats you. That last one really got her dander up. If someone was to hit her she was liable to hit back, though she tried not to. She spent lunchtime outside to escape the smells coming from the kitchen. Quietly she walked in their small garden, skipping from stepping stone to stepping stone without looking and resting in the branches of their cherry tree. In the afternoon she meandered into the barn and sat in Appa's stall reading while he investigated her, lipping her hair affectionately. By the end of the day she was frustrated, why did she have to know how to hold her wrist when pouring tea for her husband, or son, or visiting great-aunt?
She had finished reading and was waiting outside with her family while watching the sunset. The scroll was by her feet on the raised section of walkway. Finally all that was left was twilight. Kanata turned to her daughter, "What have you learned Katara." It was a scary question for her to ask. She knew that her daughter had been having trouble reading the scroll. Every so often she had heard indignant snorts of impatience escape her silent daughter throughout the day.
Katara gazed up at her mother and her family gazed back. In their eyes she saw something. Desperation. She was so unusual, even she wanted to get married, but she could not get past her unique way of thinking and behaving. Her family loved her, but desperately wanted her to be normal. She desperately wanted to be normal, "Much." She answered simply. They all breathed sighs of relief.
"Tomorrow you will go to Kyoshi Village with your mother and Grandmother so that you may prepare for the matchmaker." Katara nodded.
The next day she awoke early, fed Momo and hooked Appa up to the wagon. After a quick breakfast the three women set off for Kyoshi. Katara was excited about the preparation. In Kyoshi lived two of her best, if only, friends. Sokka and Suki. They were married. Sokka had been a like a big brother for years and Suki was like a twin sister. She wasn't quite as odd as Katara, but she didn't try to condone her behavior as others did. It was to Suki's mother house that they traveled, Suki, her mother, Kanata, and Kana would all be making her over so that she would be ready to see the matchmaker when the sun rose the next day. She was slightly dreading Sokka's teasing, but she would endure anything to make her family happy.
It wasn't long before the green rooftops of Kyoshi Village came into sight. Standing just outside the city gates was a very large man and a tiny woman. Sokka was very tan and heavily muscled from working the forge in Kyoshi, humor danced in his eyes as he watched the wagon, driven by Katara, get closer. Suki looked proud and excited. Katara pulled the wagon up short and looked at her two friends smiling.
"Well, well. It's about time our little Katara got married." He proclaimed loudly. Sokka was never quiet, "Ya know, Suki n' me are plannin' on comin' back to Muigi with ya so we can see be there for ya." Katara looked surprised. She wasn't expecting that. She looked away, blushing. She was truly loved by many.
"Come on." Suki said offering her hand to Kana to help her down, "Sokka drive their wagon back to the farm, we've got work to do." Suki took Katara's hand and inspected her dirty nails ignoring Katara slicing glare.
"Yes wife." Sokka said in false humbleness. He leapt up onto the seat where Katara had been sitting and flicked Appa's reins, "None of your tricks please, beast of evil." Appa loved to torment Sokka. Katara watched as he drove off.
"You're very lucky Suki." Katara said quietly, "Sokka is so kind and funny."
"Don't worry." Suki said, "You'll make a good match. And if ya don't and he beats you, come tell us. We'll take care of it." They all laughed. But somewhere in the back of her mind she felt like she might have to do just that.
Katara was an unusually tall girl, almost five feet six inches, with tan skin and dark brown hair. Her most defining feature was her blue eyes. The first thing on their list was a bath. For this she was allowed privacy. The bath was warmed by a wood fire and felt very nice. It was very good on her nerves. She washed carefully, but when she was done Suki poured water over her head and began to scrub relentlessly at her hair while Kanata went to work on her nails. Katara gave several small cries of pain throughout the process while Kana and Suki's mother looked on with identical looks of humor on their faces. She had a full hour or so of peace while her hair dried. But too soon Suki's mother attacked it expertly. Katara found her hair twisted this way and that as the doomed woman tried to manage her wild hair. Halfway through the process Suki got up and slammed a fist on the door. There was a surprised shout form the other side, "No peaking!" she shouted as Sokka scurried away. The girls all laughed; though Katara's became strangled at her hair was painfully pulled again causing them all to laugh harder. Soon her hair was done, though her request for a mirror was denied.
It was around dinnertime now, and she was allowed to eat before they put make up on her. It would come off later tonight, but they needed to plan so that they could be swift and accurate in the morning. Katara had yet to see her new kimono, but they soon began to discuss it. The major thing she heard was blue, which was good. She liked blue, it went well with her skin. Soon they were dashing brushes across her face and she felt she knew what her rice paper walls went through. The white stuff that went on her skin was uncomfortable. She complained so.
"Be thankful we're not like the grand ladies that have to wear this stuff everyday. Can you imagine bringing in the harvest in this makeup?" Kanata asked the others. They looked back at her in horror. After what seemed like hours they declared they were done, and once again Katara was denied a mirror.
Throughout the rest of her day her hands were repeatedly slapped away from her face. When she poked her cheek or forehead she only felt a slight pressure, there was no sensation of touch. They told her she would get used to it, but she very much did not like it. However, she bit her tongue and did not complain. By now the sun was setting and they began to put her dress on her. It was all silks and gauze and floated like a dream. This she did like. The dress was light and in varying shades of blue with hints of lavender. The sleeves were long and the dress's hem kissed the ground when she stood still. They made her practice walking without tearing out them hem. She got that down easily; she enjoyed the sighing the garment made when she moved properly. Just before dinner, Kanata showed her daughter how to pour tea without trailing her sleeve in the teacup.
And finally Sokka was allowed in. He bounded in the room loudly shouting that he wanted to see what they had done to his little sister. She was waiting in the garden by herself when Suki lead her husband outside and left him there. Katara stood with her back to him, staring at the miniature waterfall. She heard Sokka sigh, "Turn around little coward." So she did. Very slowly. When she finally gathered the courage to stare into his face he was looking at her with pride. He walked forward and carefully brushed a strand of hair out of her face and kissed her forehead, "You make us proud little sister." Finally Katara was thankful for the thick layer of white make up.
Dinner was full of laughs and help tips from the women. The matchmaker dealt with men and women from Muigi, Kyoshi and Yoroido. Which meant that she could end up with men from any of them. They discussed who the possibilities were and their different qualities. Katara served tea and was very quiet. Sokka understood her silence, but said nothing. After dinner she and Suki went back to the bathroom to dislodge the caked makeup, removed the complicated dress and lastly unwind her hair. She scrubbed her face until it was blotchy red and pulled a brushed through her unusually straight hair. As they loaded up into the wagon to travel back to Muigi Sokka whispered something in her ear that gave her strength to face the day, "You looked very beautiful as a woman tonight. But when I see you like this I see that you are a naturally beautiful person anyway."
The next morning was spent in a rush. Yesterday it had taken many hours to get her ready. Now everyone flew around her in haste, though still with precision. Within an hour she was once again the beautiful woman from last night, though she did not welcome the return of the mask. The sun was beginning to rise as she stepped in the courtyard with her new paper umbrella, ready to march to the matchmaker with the rest of the girls. Her father was waiting for her with a package in his hands. She walked over to him, awkward in her tall shoes, and nearly saw eye to eye with him. He slowly unwrapped the gift to reveal a set of hairpins made to look wisteria branches. Wisterias were her favorite flowers. He gently placed them where her hair gathered in the back and everyone stepped back to admire. She couldn't see it. But she gave the illusion of a graceful stream with a wisteria tree dipping it's blooms in the cool water. Sokka was to walk her to the main street, then let her go on alone.
As the door shut behind them Katara stopped and stared at the slowly brightening sky, "What's wrong?" he asked quietly, though he already knew.
"I feel… wrong." Was all she said as she returned her gaze to the street before her and began to walk. Sokka would never say it, but she looked wrong. Of course she looked beautiful, but she didn't look like Katara. But then, he had never been sure what Katara was supposed to look like.
They walked together to the main street where the other girls were waiting, looking beautiful as well. She stood in the shadows for a minute watching them talk, she knew that now matter how much make up and instruction she received she would never be one of them. She opened her umbrella and stepped into the light, Sokka stayed in the shadows to watch them leave. They all turned to look at her. Only Junshin offered any signs of friendship in her eyes. Katara smiled at them warmly.
"Shall we?" they all opened their umbrellas and laid them across their shoulders, shading themselves from the morning sun as they began to make their way up the street towards their destinies.
And there it is! Holy crap! This is something new for me. I just sat down and wrote… I started this idea at about 8pm and it's 4 am now. Not to mention this is the single longest thing I've ever sat down at once and written. Usually I write things randomly, but… wow. I've amazed myself. Anyway, this all kind of started as a writing exercise, but I dare say I love it. Anyway, I have to get up in four hours. I should finish this up.
Hidden Crap
The name of Katara's village, Muigi, is Japanese for insignificant.
The four girls of Muigi have Japanese names
Chindan means gossip
Hokori is pride
Yoku is greed
And Junshin is purity and sincerity. I didn't want it to be all negative
The three villages the matchmaker presides over is Muigi, Kyoshi from Avatar the Last Airbender and Yoroido, Saiyuri's home from the novel Memoirs of a Geisha.
The chapter title 'a funny girl that Katara' is from the opening song in Beauty and the Beast. A Funny girl that Belle.
This story is gonna have a mixture of Japanese and Chinese culture. Anyway, I hope ya'll like it… I'ma gonna go ta bed now… dies
