Prologue
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Heat. Flames. That's all the world was. Reality danced and shimmered as the air twisted and coiled above the fingers of fire. She sucked in a breath only to end up coughing as the oily black smoke invaded her lungs. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see more flames ringing her. It was pointless. She had to turn around and go back. She had to run the other way. It was the only intelligent option. If she stayed here she would surely die. Here she was powerless. The fire consumed the entire earth, and it never seemed satisfied. It marched on across field after field, reducing harvests to piles of ashes.
She took a faltering step forward to head away from the fire before it circled around her completely and cut off any exit. Another step. Another. Fleeing, she was fleeing this place. The boiling heat at her back only spurred her on. She was a fool for even being here in the first place. Why had she been here? Any home that she might have had was burnt to cinders. Then she remembered. There was something here, something dear and precious. Her feet stopped, and she rested her hands on her knees to take a deep breath. She stood and looked over her shoulder towards the glowing sea of flames. She had to go back. Of their own volition, her feet turned her to face the flames. Like the undercurrents of a great river, she was drawn to the fire. What she wanted laid just beyond the curtain of fire, and if she didn't hurry up it might not be there when she got there.
She exhaled and stepped into the fire.
The breath burst out of her as Katara sat up in bed, swiveling her head around from side to side as she frantically looked for any flames. There were none. There was the only cool, deep dark of her room and the chirping of cricket-nightingales. She sighed and bent a stream of water from the basin on the nightstand into the palm of her hand. The water glided from her hand to her face, relieving the all too real heat of her dream. Dark curls of her hair were plastered to her forehead and neck. She drew the sweat from her locks, depositing it back into the basin.
Sliding out from underneath the sheets and covers, she paced silently across the room and unlocked the sliding doors that led out onto the back porch. Autumn's chilling bite was a welcome, bracing surprise as a breeze blew the hair back from her face. The water bender leaned into it, letting the familiar cold wash away the memories of her nightmare. She would have given anything at that moment to be back at the South Pole, to see miles of white tundra in front of her, to hear the lonely call of an arctic wolf-bear.
The sound of rustling fabric and a drowsy voice broke her reverie. Katara looked over her shoulder to see Aang sitting up in bed, rubbing one eye with a knuckle.
"Dream, again?" he asked sleepily.
She nodded, sliding the doors shut and closing the top of her robe. It suddenly seemed unbearably cold in the room.
"The same one?" He stretched his arms over his head and threw his legs over the side of the bed.
"Yeah," she said, tucking her hair behind one ear and taking a seat on the bed beside him.
The Avatar threw one arm around her shoulders, comfortingly rubbing her upper arm with his hand. "What do you think it means?"
"I don't know." She shrugged, twining her fingers between his.
"It's always about fire?"
"Always. I'm surrounded by it," she muttered to herself, careful not to let more slip. Katara never mentioned the fact that she always went into the fire. It would worry Aang too much. She also conveniently left out the detail that there was something on the other side of the fire that drew her towards it. There was something inside her that said this wasn't something to share with the Avatar, her husband.
"Maybe it's an omen," he said, giving her shoulder a tender squeeze.
She cringed at the words. If it was an omen it certainly didn't seem to portend good news. "I certainly hope not," she sighed as she stood up and smoothed out the folds of her robe.
"You've never had a gift for prophecy before?" He raised an eyebrow at her.
"No. Does it look like I'm turning into Aunt Wu to you?" She placed her fists on her hips and made a mocking face of the old woman.
Aang laughed that bright, ringing sound that Katara loved. He ran one hand over his bald head, his grey eyes getting lost in memory. "No, you don't; but I remember a point in time when you would have loved to be able to predict the future."
Katara blushed with embarrassment at the memory. "I don't think I could handle it. Especially, if there was someone like me around to constantly ask about their future. I must have driven that poor woman crazy."
"Do you think her predictions were accurate?" he asked, his face afraid.
Katara knew that expression. They'd had this conversation before. Aunt Wu's prediction still troubled Aang. "To an extent," she answered, sitting down beside him. "But I also believe in Sokka's theory that we make our own destiny. Just because she said something will happen doesn't mean it's set in stone. Don't worry about it, alright?"
"Yeah, I'll try not to," he said helplessly, looking up from his hands to her.
"Good. Now, you should get some rest; otherwise, you'll go crazy," she teased as she stood up.
"You're not coming back to bed?" he asked, his tone disappointed.
Katara shook her head and folded her arms over her chest. "No, I don't think I'll be able to sleep peacefully for the rest of the night. I'm just going to sit up do some reading, maybe practice my bending."
"Oh," he sighed as he laid back down, "well, see you in the morning. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," she replied as she walked towards the door that led out of their bedroom.
"Katara," Aang called out.
She stopped with her hand on the frame. "Hmm?"
"Do you remember what Aunt Wu predicted for you?"
"No, Aang, that was over eight years ago," she lied.
"Alright," he said, breaking off with a yawn. "Goodnight, I love you."
"I love you," she whispered as she pulled the door open and stepped out of the room.
Morning came on swift and silent wings. Katara was surprised to see the rosy light of the rising sun filtering through the open windows. Closing the scroll, she got up and wandered over to admire the view. Outside, green, verdant hills rolled out before her like the waves of an ocean. It was only early fall, and so the hills hadn't turned brown yet. The chill only came late at night. In the distance, she could see a small range of mountains looming against the brightening sky. The fertile land was crisscrossed with small brooks and wooden fences that marked the boundaries between different farms. She sighed and rested her elbows on the windowsill, taking in the simple beauty of the place.
The village was a nice place to live, to raise a family, and to run a farm. The people were kind and the land was rich. However, the place was isolated, cut off from the rest of the world. The only real interaction that the place got from the outside world was the ferry that ran once a month from the mainland of the Earth Kingdom to the small island. It made Katara almost miss her days in the bustling, overcrowded city of Ba Sing Se.
Her eyes narrowed as a thin shape emerged from the light of the rising sun. She leaned forward on her arms to try and get a better look at the small figure. Gradually, it grew larger until she could make out the familiar shape of a bird. Any minute she expected it to turn away and alight on a tree branch somewhere; but it kept flying towards her small house, never wavering from its direct course. As it flew closer, Katara recognized it as a Fire Nation messenger hawk.
Her heart hammered in her chest as she watched it dip and dive on the air currents. She hadn't heard anything from the Fire Nation in nearly two years, and hadn't seen Zuko or Iroh in four. She saw the small strip of paper curled around the creature's leg. Her mouth went dry. This could only mean bad news. Something horrible must have happened. What if Iroh was sick? What if he was about to die? What if Zuko was injured?
The bird glided towards the open window on graceful wings, perching on the wooden sill. The hawk cocked its head to the side to study her, its golden eyes never blinking as it seemed to scrutinize every last detail of her face. Cautiously, she reached out and unfurled the small piece of parchment from its leg, careful to keep an eye on its beak. Messenger hawks weren't always the friendliest creatures. When she retrieved the message, she shooed the bird from the sill and shuttered the window.
Turning on her heel, she unrolled the scroll and read over the messy calligraphy. Zuko had written this himself, she'd know that sloppy style anywhere. A sigh of relief escaped her when she reached the end. It was invitation to a masquerade party in honor of Ozai's defeat. Had it really been eight years? Was she already twenty-two? She felt so old all of a sudden.
She took a seat on a pillow and reread the message. The Fire Prince's tone was cool and distant. He must have felt those years separating them as keenly as she did. Her heart ached for a moment as she felt the voids in her life where Toph, Sokka, and even Zuko had been. This was too good of an opportunity to pass up. It might be the only chance of having them all together once again.
Shuffling feet broke her thoughts as Aang entered the room, covering his mouth as he yawned. "You're up early," Katara said as she rolled the piece of paper in her hand.
Aang shrugged and collapsed onto a pile of pillows beside her. "Couldn't sleep. It felt weird without you there."
She smiled at him and planted a kiss on his cheek. "What do you want for breakfast?"
"Hmm, some congee sounds good right about now," he said.
"Alright," Katara said as she hopped and headed towards the kitchen. "Would you mind lighting the fire in the oven for me?"
"Sure," he answered, pointing one hand towards the open door of the iron stove. A spurt of fire shot from his fingers to the wood inside the stove. Katara beamed at him and shut the door.
She hummed as she guided the water from the jug in the corner of the room into the pot in her hands.
"You're in a really good mood for someone who got no sleep," Aang said offhandedly.
She shrugged and set the pot on the eye of the stove, pouring in the rice. "You want some sea prunes?"
Aang grimaced, holding his hand to his mouth as he remembered the taste of them. "Umm, no thanks."
"I thought you liked my sea prunes," she pouted as she watched the water come to a boil.
"I-I do but that's just too sweet for breakfast, don't ya think?'
"I suppose you're right," she answered.
"So what's got you into such a good mood?" Aang asked, trying to change the subject.
"You want some ginger root in it?" She drew out the knobby plant from a pantry beside the stove, cutting it up with a precise chop of her water bending.
"Sure, but you still haven't answered my question," he said in a suspicious voice. He gave her an odd look as she dumped the bits of root into the mixture to simmer.
"Well, I received a message this morning," she answered casually as she stirred the porridge.
"From who?"
"Zuko."
"Zuko?" Aang's eyebrows shot up as he sat up on his elbows to get a better look at her.
"Yep."
"What did he want?"
"He's invited us to attend a masquerade party in honor of the anniversary of Fire Lord Ozai's defeat," Katara said, never taking her eyes off of the cooking.
"Oh really?" Aang inquired, his voice lilting in excitement.
Katara nodded.
"Do you think we should go?"
"You are the one who defeated Ozai. You should at least show up to see Zuko and Iroh. Everyone else will be there as well. Toph. Sokka," she said nonchalantly.
Aang's eyes went wide at the mention of their names. "Well, it would be nice to see all of them again. I just-"
"What?" Katara asked a bit too sharply, looking up from the pot.
"It'll be weird with all of those people there. They'll treat me like I'm some kind of hero," he said helplessly.
"You are, Aang," Katara quietly said from the kitchen.
"I know, but I never wanted to be. Everyone will act like I'm better than them, and I'm not. I just hate it when people act so awkward around me, and then there's all the politics. That stuff just makes my head spin." The Avatar leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, pressing his palms to his forehead.
"Aang, it won't be that bad. We'll get to see everyone. Don't you miss Toph and Sokka?" She felt guilty for doing this to him, but she hadn't seen her brother in nearly a year.
"I do," he said looking up, "but, still. If you want to you can go without me. I know how much you miss them."
She bit her lip and exhaled through her nose. "They'll wonder why you didn't go. They'll be hurt when they find out that you aren't with me. It won't be for long, just a few days. You don't have to talk to anyone besides us if you don't want to, okay? Just do it for me please?"
His hands dropped away from his face, hanging uselessly between his knees. "You want me to go that badly?"
She nodded.
"Alright, I'll go, but just to see the others. Let Zuko handle the politics."
"Sounds great," Katara said cheerfully. "We should get packing soon. The celebration is only a few days away."
Prologue to my Zutara story that I introduced in the one-shot Hearts and Thoughts. I changed one thing though. I decided to make Zuko simply Fire Prince and Iroh Fire Lord for plot purposes in the story. Aang and Katara are really married. I'm sorry if anyone is uncomfortable with this idea, but it's too integral to the plot for me to change it. Well, I hope you guys liked it. Review and tell me what you think. I always appreciate constructive criticism. By the way, this title is vulnerable to change. I just kind of thought it up so I wouldn't put "untitled".
