The sliver of light that through the curtains of the room, cast a yellow line over Katara's eyes that woke her from her deep slumber. Expecting to be in her husbands arms, the waterbender was surprised to feel the emptiness of the other side of the bed.

Katara yawned: "Must be in a meeting..."

Unwillingly, she left the comfort of her bed to put on her Fire Nation attire that she had now become accustomed to, and went to have breakfast.

When she arrived in the dining room, she was pleased to see that she had won. Confused? Well the day before, Katara had argued in a Fire Nation meeting that because she was of Watertribe ethnicity, that there should be a selection of foods that were to her custom and not just Fire Nation; there were many complaints, but seeing the fresh sea prunes on the breakfast table, Katara knew they had been convinced eventually.

Once Katara had settled in her seat, Mira (her personal maid) had politely suggested for the Fire Lady to enjoy her meal in a less... confined area of the palace - the waterbender looked around and realised that without the company of Zuko, she'd ultimately feel lonely. Without a moments delay, Katara collected all the food she would need on her plate and rushed off to her and Zuko's special place... Ursa's garden.

It was so peaceful there... the smell of jasmine filled her nostrils and she let herself drift off into the view of landscape. She sat under the tree near the pond where the turtle ducks swam gracefully, the breeze brushed past her face through her hair and she just wanted to stay there... in that moment forever. She had probably rested there for a few hours before she heard the distant cry of her maid..

"MISS KATARA!" the voice yelled her name, breaking the fragile silence, "MISS KATARA!"

The Fire Lady rose swiftly from the ground and into the halls of the palace walls; the first thing she saw was Mira hastily walking towards her.

" M...miss Katara", she catched her breathe before continuing,"you've overstayed your time in the garden and now we've only got 5 hours left for you to do everything today!"

Turning pale, the waterbender knew what she was in for...

It was now 11 at night and the Fire Lady had just finished her last meeting about the repairing of battle ships after war and military gear and weapons and armour and... just the thought of these things made Katara feel even more stressed and tired than she already was. All she wanted to do at this point was go back to the garden, it was the only place where she could fully relax besides her bed; passing by the entrance to Ursa's garden, the waterbender saw a silhouette sitting there. Knowing exactly who it was, Katara quietly made her way towards the Fire Lord.

"Well, well, well, didn't expect to see you here at this time", Katara teased. But her sly grin quickly transitioned into a worried expression when she saw her husbands tear stained cheek. "Z-Zuko, what's wrong..?" she asked whilst holding the scared side of his face.

"I'm, so sorry..." he said in his husky voice,"I haven't been there for you like a good husband should."

Katara looked at him with confusion, "W-What? You shouldn't be sorry," she said trying to comfort him.

"But I SHOULD BE!" Zuko said raising his voice before standing up and pacing that side of the pond,"I left you in bed all alone, I haven't seen you all day and even yesterday, I didn't stuck up for you when you were arguing with the Council of Elders about having watertribe... "grub". I just sat there quietly like a DAMN coward!"

That comment rose an anger in Katara's heart - she rose with the purpose of a Kyoshi Warrior and said the next words from her heart.

"ZUKO! You are not a coward, don't say that about yourself because that is not the Zuko I fell in love with." she protested looking straight into Zuko's shocked eyes,"You Zuko are strong inside and out, and you've got an even stronger wife who I want you to know that you can confide in if you ever feel like you're now."

The power of those words struck Zuko like Azula did with her lightning; he wiped the dry tears and enveloped his wife in a warm embrace.

"Thank you Katara", Zuko whispered tenderly into her ear.

The Fire Lady sighed: "I think I'm the one who should be thanking you." They both chuckled before sitting back down in front of the tree, and before Katara knew it was drifting off in the arms of her husband. All she wanted since the morning, and all the Fire Lady could ever ask for.