Avatar: The Last Airbender
Water.
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.
Chapter Four: When Passion Calls
Part Two
Katara grabbed the pot from the stove and poured out a cup of the steaming liquid.
"Do you want some tea too, Zuko?" she called over her shoulder.
"Uh, sure," the Fire Lord responded. He stirred from his spot on the couch, and sat upright. "Augh, I hate mornings."
"Gee, Mai wasn't kidding when she said you sleep through the day." Katara chuckled. Suddenly both of them fell silent as they were reminded of the unfortunate occurrence a week ago. Somehow Mai had discovered that her husband and Katara were meeting together in secret, and had confronted the two lovers. It was revealed that Katara was pregnant with Zuko's child, and Zuko was forced to leave the palace.
"How could she throw me out of my palace?" the Fire Lord muttered, echoing Katara's thoughts.
The waterbender grinned. "I don't know, Zuko, but she did."
"She wants me to go back and get my things today."
"Hmm, should be fun," Katara said flatly.
"I don't wanna go," said Zuko, sounding very childlike.
Katara finished pouring the tea into a second cup and made her way to her couch. "Why not?" She handed him a cup of tea.
"I just don't want to see her again. It'll be too painful."
The waterbender grunted. "I know, but you'll have to face her again sooner or later."
"And Narya..."
Katara tried to swallow the knot that was forming in her throat.
"I..." Zuko's eyes started reddening with tears. "I don't think I'll be able to handle saying goodbye."
She leaned over and rubbed his hand in an attempt to comfort him.
"It won't be forever, Zuko. It's not like you're dying; you'll see them again."
He sniffled, and rubbed her hand in return. "I suppose."
---
"Are you ready for this?" Katara asked Zuko as they were walking up the steps to the Fire Lord's Palace.
"No."
Katara could hear a tremor in his voice and breaths. She pressed close to his side, attempting to offer physical and emotional support.
She reached out and rapped on the large wooden doors.
"What do you want?" Mai's growl sounded before she even opened the door.
For a split second, Katara wondered if the woman was psychic.
"I'm just here to get my stuff," the Fire Lord replied in a soft, defeated tone that Katara had never heard before.
Mai stepped to the side and allowed them to enter the palace, but she said nothing. Katara could have sworn the Fire Lady was glaring at her as she walked in.
"Look familiar?" the older woman hissed.
Zuko took a step between them. "Mai, please don't. If there's anyone you should be mad at, it's me." With a smirk, he added, "But I think you did enough of that last week."
"Shut up."
Katara cautiously sat down on the couch as Zuko headed up the stairs towards his bedroom. She tried to stay as silent and still as possible, hoping she wouldn't draw attention to herself.
After a few minutes, she could feel the burn of Mai's glare, and began to squirm uncomfortably.
"Where's Narya?" Zuko said as he descended the stairs.
Katara felt incredibly relieved that his rearrival broke through the awkward silence.
"She's at school." Mai's voice sounded totally flat and unemotional.
Katara saw a wave of shock engulf the Fire Lord's expression.
"School?" he echoed, his voice beginning to tremble again. "But she's only five years old. She's far too young for school."
"Don't tell me how to raise my daughter."
Katara winced as Mai emphasized the word 'my.' She glanced across the room. Zuko was frozen at the bottom of the staircase, looking absolutely stunned.
"How could you send Narya to school without consulting me? She's my daughter, too!"
Mai gave a quick shrug. "Maybe you should have thought of that before you started cheating on me."
The Fire Lord moved closer to her. "Mai, please don't do this to me. Don't torture me like this. I screwed up very badly, and I'm paying the price for that. I've already lost you; please don't let me lose my daughter."
The woman stood still and didn't respond. Katara figured she must have been thinking over the Fire Lord's words. Finally, Mai met his eyes squarely. "Narya comes home in about an hour. You can say goodbye to her then."
Zuko's eyes were filled with hurt. He opened his mouth to talk, but nothing came out.
Katara stood beside him and grabbed hold of his arm. "Come on, Zuko. You'll see her in an hour. Right now, we should go."
"Yeah," Mai chimed in. "You should."
The Fire Lord grabbed his knapsack of belongings, and the two silently left the palace.
"She took everything," Zuko murmured as they were walking to no place in particular. "My palace, my happiness, my daughter."
Katara rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. "It's not the end of the world, Fire Lord. You still have me and our child."
He locked eyes with her, and for the first time, she saw genuine hurt and regret filling his amber gaze. "But it's not the same, Katara. I had a whole life there, and I-I just threw it away."
The waterbender couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment with Zuko. So, what? He's not going to be happy with me? she thought. I wish he would stop moping for his soon-to-be ex-wife and start thinking about his child on the way! Suddenly she could almost taste the bitterness of her thoughts. Wait a minute. This whole thing is happening because of me.
"Zuko…" Katara trailed off, and found herself at a loss for words. She longed to comfort him, to let him know that everything was going to be all right. But something inside her told her otherwise. Something told her that the pain was far from over.
---
"Daddy!" Narya squealed as Zuko returned to the palace and opened the door. "Where were you? You been gone forever!"
"I'm sorry, darling."
Katara blinked. She was surprised to hear the word 'darling' come out of Zuko's mouth. He must really love her.
"Zuko," Mai cut in. "Isn't there something you have to tell Narya?"
The little girl stared up at her father. "What, Daddy?"
"Um…" He cleared his throat. "I'm not gonna be here for a while. I'm moving out."
"What?" Narya looked like she was on the verge of crying. "Why?"
The Fire Lord sighed. "I…I did something wrong, and my punishment is that I have to leave."
"What could be so bad that you have to leave?" The little girl's voice quivered with grief.
Zuko cleared his throat. Katara's heart clenched.
"I can't tell you now. It's a secret. But I'm sure you'll find out when you're older and can understand."
"Tell me now! I'm old enough!"
The Fire Lord pulled her into a tight hug. "Narya, my sweet girl. Even I don't quite understand it all. I have to leave, but it won't be forever."
He gave her a kiss on the forehead, and released her from his hold. Both of their amber gazes were filling with tears and distress.
Suddenly, Katara felt a little queasy, and her heart seemed to be strangling itself. "Zuko, I'm just going to—" She didn't manage to get the rest of her words out before she had to escape the palace.
She couldn't handle staying inside the Fire Lord's Palace much longer; as it was, she was ready to start bawling. She had to talk to someone, that much she knew. Katara felt as if her world was shattering to pieces. I have to talk to someone about this—anyone. Hopefully someone who would understand, who could help me out of this…or at least help relieve some of the pain.
Then she realized that she didn't know anyone who had ever been in her situation. Maybe one of the Gaang. Her mind reached toward her closest friends. Toph? No. She's not real good with secrets…or anything emotional, for that matter. Ryu is the one I've betrayed; there's no way I could ever talk to him again. Sokka's at the South Pole. Appa's not a big talker…
She giggled as she thought of Appa.
Then, it was like a bolt of lightning struck her.
"You did what?!" Aang nearly shrieked. After a moment, he seemed to calm down, and took a sip of tea. "I can't believe it. Innocent little Katara had an affair with the great big Fire Lord!"
"Keep it down!" Katara gritted her teeth. "I thought you'd be understanding."
The Avatar held up his hands in defeat. "You're right. Sorry." He paused. "I just can't believe it, Katara. What were you thinking?"
She sighed, and buried her face in her hands. "I don't know! I guess I wasn't thinking..."
"You guess?"
"Will you let me finish! I..." She fished for the words to explain. "I guess I would have jumped at any chance to be with Zuko again." Katara met Aang's eyes. "I love him."
Aang's eyes grew very wide.
"That's not all." Katara swallowed, preparing to break the biggest news in her life. "I—"
"You're pregnant," Aang said suddenly, eyes still stretched wide. "With a son."
Now it was Katara's turn to feel a jolt of surprise. "A—a son? H—how do you know?"
He shrugged slightly. "It's something Toph taught me. You know how she can tell if someone's near her by the vibrations in the earth? Well, she can also tell the gender of that person. She says each sex sends different vibrations with their movements. Guys' movements feel dense and brisk, while girls have a more smooth, fluid-like movement."
"Cool," Katara remarked. "So..." Her hands went to her abdomen. "It's a baby boy?"
The airbender nodded. "Feels like it. His motions are very, very faint...but feels like a boy." He gave a weak smile.
"Oh, Aang." She shook her head miserably. "What am I going to do about this whole mess?"
The man thought for a few moments. Finally, he said, "I don't think there's anything you could do, Katara, besides wait and see how it unfurls."
"Oh. Great. That's very comforting to know." She sighed. "Wait around and watch it turn into a disaster."
"Hey, it can't possibly get any worse than it is now."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Thanks. More comforting info."
"No, no. What I mean is...Well, Mai already found out. That's pretty much the worst of it. And Zuko said he's getting a divorce, which works it out a little. You've always wanted children, so mentally, I think you're ready for this." He was silent a minute. "Of course, now that you cheated with her husband, Mai may want to kill you now."
"Hey, don't even joke about that. You and I both know she's more than capable."
Aang shrugged. "Who's joking?"
The two were silent for several minutes, sipping their tea and munching on flavored bread rolls.
Suddenly Aang looked at her. "What do you mean, 'any chance to be with Zuko again'?"
Katara was startled. "Um..." She sighed, thinking of how she was going to tell him. "Aang, do you remember seven years ago, when we were at the Earth Kingdom, and Zuko and I were trapped in the crystal cave?"
A few moments passed. Suddenly, he stared at her, his eyes bulging out of his head. "Katara, you didn't!"
"No!" she snapped. "Nothing happened! We just...Nothing happened physically..." She paused, remembering how her heart had raced being so near him.
"But...even then, you liked him?" Aang shook his head in disbelief. "Katara, he was hunting us down! He was ready to kill us at any given moment. How the hell could you have liked him even then?!"
She scoffed. "I didn't like him then! Just...being trapped with him for an hour had me really wondering about him. I mean...I had seen some genuine goodness in him—"
"Yeah, it was buried deep under sixteen years of dirt." He paused, and took a breath. "And it didn't exactly blossom at that time. Remember how he turned against us and sided with Azula?"
"But," Katara countered. "He did eventually come around to our side, didn't he?"
"Yeah, after his evil sister killed me."
She sighed again. "Anyway..." Katara swallowed, and continued, "Flash forward a few years. Do you remember after our relationship ended?"
"You mean after you dumped me?" Aang mockingly rubbed his chin in thought. "Yeah, I think I remember. Go on."
"You know, for an avatar, you sure are bitter. A few months after we broke up—"
"We?"
"Shut up for a moment, will you?" Katara shot him a warning glare. "Zuko and I had a mini-relationship about four months after I dumped you. It didn't last all that long, and there wasn't as much as this time." She patted her abdomen, where a hint of a baby bump was beginning to show.
Aang was silently nodding to himself. "And what does Ryu think about all this?"
"Ryu?" Katara echoed in confusion. Then she gasped. "Oh crap! I haven't told him yet!"
"He didn't notice that he hasn't seen you in a week?"
Katara gave a nervous twitch. "It's been a week already?"
Aang started waving his hand in front of her face. "Hello! Where've you been lately?"
"I don't know." She groaned. "Oh, I'm just so stressed. I created this whole big mess, and I don't know how to fix it, and I ruined a family, and—" She broke down in tears. Aang quickly moved from across the table to sit right beside Katara. He flung his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close for comfort. Katara felt his hand running down her hair, and suddenly felt very safe and relieved.
"Don't worry, Katara," Aang murmured. "This will work itself out soon."
"I hope so."
Several minutes had passed, and Katara pulled out of Aang's hold. Flashing him a weak smile, Katara reached into her handbag and pulled out a few gold coins to pay for her small meal. She arranged them on the table's surface, and then slid out of the booth. She gave Aang a quick hug goodbye, and continued out the door.
She wasn't sure how long she had been at the restaurant with Aang, but she was sure she didn't want to return to her home—and Zuko—just yet. She took a detour through an alley crowded with children, couples and merchants. Katara gazed at a group of small children playing with a rubber ball. She tried to pinpoint one of them whose appearance might be similar to her unborn child. She spotted a young boy with dark brown hair, darkish skin and bright blue eyes. He looks just like a little Sokka! she soundlessly remarked to herself. Katara smiled, suddenly filled with joy and excitement at the thought of having a child of her very own.
After a few moments, she gave up and decided to head home. She looked at the sky, and noticed that the sun was just beginning to dip towards the horizon. Her mind numb with thought and worry, she didn't even pay attention to where she was headed. Her feet seemed to carry her right to her destination.
About fifteen minutes later, Katara found herself walking up the familiar path that led to the cluster of houses where she lived. She passed four small houses and finally came to hers. Suddenly, she froze in her tracks. Katara saw three large men and a woman standing in her walkway. She looked closer. She recognized the men as Fire Nation generals, and the woman… She gasped aloud. The woman was Mai. The group seemed to have been talking with Zuko, who was standing in her doorway, dressed very shabbily. They look more like… they're confronting Zuko, Katara thought. She watched intently as the generals spoke to the Fire Lord. Then they took a step back as Mai approached him. Katara saw Zuko's eyes widen after a few words, and his gaze snapped from Mai to the three generals. His body shook lightly, and he leaned on the doorframe for support. He appeared ready to faint.
Then the generals spoke again. Katara wished she could have heard what they were saying, but as she observed their actions, she realized she didn't need to hear anything to get a gist of the events. Katara studied them further, and suddenly felt a cold knot of fear in the pit of her stomach.
Now she felt ready to collapse.
End of Chapter Four, Part Two