CH2: The Soldiers and the Garden
The young soldier who delivered the news to the young Fire Lord Zuko and his girlfriend ventured forth into the war room. Within this room was a massive table covered with maps and charts that showed the world as a whole, and the pieces of it individually. The map that was featured most prominently was a recent rendering of the Fire Nation's home continent.
Small earthen tokens depicted the armies both sides would likely use in the coming war. Most of the Northern troops were not known, and were labeled as such. Intelligence was sparse, and many spies had lost their lives in the process of infiltrating the enemy. Conversely, every scrap of information available pertaining to the native Southern units were noted on extensive reams of paper and distributed to each chair.
There were eleven seats around this table, each with enough room around them for more chairs to be added as needed. Each seat had a listed name for it; at the head of the table was the Fire Lord. This was Zuko's seat. Across from him were the two seats for the Earth Councilors, capable nobles sent from the Earth Nations to counterbalance the Fire Lord's assumed impulsiveness and instability. On each side of the Fire Lord sat Water Nation councilors to tame the power of the head seat. The remaining six seats, three on each side, were occupied by senators of the administrative districts within the Southern Fire Nation.
All of the seats in this room were occupied, save for two. The seat of the Fire Lord, and the seat of the Water Councilor that sat at his right hand were empty. Dian Wu, the Earth Councilor on the head's left side, shifted in his chair to look to the entering young soldier, who had come without Zuko and Katara in tow.
"Did you deliver the summons?" Dian Wu spoke anxiously, fidgeting as he turned his attention back to the table. His fear was visible; he didn't like the thought of the Fire Lord being in cahoots with those of the North. Fire Lord Zuko was a powerful bender; likely strong enough to defeat every man sitting at the table. The fact that the lead firebender had been very calm and even-minded since he assumed power didn't lend to a sense of security. The Fire Lord was likely scheming at this very moment.
"Yes, sir. Fire Lord Zuko and Lady Katara will be here shortly. They are taking a detour through the palace gardens, sir." The young soldier looked over Dian Wu with contempt; no threats had truly been seen. Unfortunately the once-proud men of the Earth Nation fell with their great cities of Omashu and Ba Sing Se. Since these defeats, there were few who could summon enough courage to stand to humans as well as they stood against stones.
"Why are they not coming here directly?" Dian Wu scowled at the young soldier. Such a boy should not have been sent for so grave a task as informing the head of the nation of a war on the horizon. He did not appreciate the gravity of the situation. Another war was on the horizon. If Ba Sing Se didn't stand up to the assault of fire nation agents, how could such a tiny city like this stand against the full military might of the North?
"I do not know, sir. The Fire Lord must not have deemed it worthy of the urgency that has been placed on the issue at hand, sir." His job was not to be an escort, the young soldier felt. He also believed the earthbender's inquisition was not fully warranted; he had delivered the message, as said. If he was to fetch the missing council members and hold their hands as they all walked to the palace, he should have been told so, instead of being given incomplete orders.
"Fine. Leave us then; we must get to business. Fire Lord or not, we need to find a proper response for this problem." Dian Wu gestured out of the room with his hand, and the young man bowed graciously before heading out of the door.
The young guard stepped inside of the guardroom moments later and took off his helmet. The summer heat was causing him to sweat much more than he liked, and his entire body was sticky. A few other soldiers were hanging around in the guardroom and fanning themselves. Most were out of their armor down to their waist, and the sweat poured off of their bodies.
"Oy, Yozan. What did the Council want?" Another man fanning himself by the window called out as the messenger tossed his helmet onto the table before him.
"Nothing serious, Bizo. Wanted me to tell the Fire Lord about some invasion the North is planning, and to drag him back. I didn't do the dragging, so they started whining about it." Yozan took off his armored tunic and set it down next to his chair before he sat and picked up a fan.
"I take it you had to deal with Dian Wu?" Bizo yawned out the last syllable as he leaned back in the comfortable chair he was relaxing in. The guardroom was quite nicely furnished; if you didn't know that it was a guardroom already, you couldn't tell simply by looking at it. In reality, it was a simple sitting room that had been taken as a room for the guardsmen.
"I hate that guy." Another of the guards, who was laying on a couch on his stomach piped up as he rolled over onto his back to look up at the ceiling.
"Does anyone like him?" Yozan picked up a jug of water and began drinking from it as some of the other guards simply laughed in response.
"Even the man's mother couldn't love him. He whines too much. I wish the Fire Lord could just up and throw him out. He's going to be trouble." Bizo fanned himself before opening the window nearby and sticking his hands out into the cool rain. He squinted, and could see the Fire Lord himself out past the building's fence, walking around the garden with Katara.
"Yeah. Especially since a war is coming up; the Fire Lord will probably have his hands too full with silly bureaucracy to lead the troops at all, like he did in the North's last sad attempt at an attack." The man on the couch spoke quietly after Bizo finished, finally bothering to open his eyes and look around the room, "I fought with him when he was out there; he was within arm's reach. He's a great fighter. World-class. Even on the front lines, he came out with little more than some cuts."
"Really? I never had him pegged as a 'lead from the front' guy." Yozan turned his attention to the man on the couch, who was sitting up now.
"Muro, you're full of it. I was with you the whole time during the war with the north; you didn't come within an arrow's flight of Lord Zuko." A guardsman who was sitting at the table laughed a little, and the others looked to Muro, who turned his attention away from the group and back to the ceiling.
"... Um, what about that waterbender? What's up with her and Lord Zuko?" Muro said as he looked back to the group with a grin, as if he had not just been caught in a lie. He didn't like getting caught, but he normally didn't lie.
"I don't know, but I don't blame him. She's got a nice body." Another guardsman, who was in nothing but his undergarments spoke up from a corner.
"I think it's wrong," the man at the table spoke up, "He could have any woman in the whole of our country. Why does he have to go with some little girl from the south pole? It's not right."
"You're just pissed because she didn't look your way, Zao." Muro laughed as he flopped back onto the couch again, smirking, "You know you'd be on her if she gave you the time of day."
"I don't know; I think she's trouble, too, Muro. She is one of the people the Water Nation sent to make sure that he doesn't rule as he should. She's probably just doing her job and keeping our Fire Lord sedate and controlled." Bizo dangled his arm out of the window and looked back over to where Zuko and Katara were now. They were both moving to sit down on the bench near the koi pond, while looking down at the fish.
"Do... do you guys think we should do something about it, then?" Yozan stretched as he tilted his head to look out of the window at the close couple as they sat down to talk.
It was still raining outside; pouring now. The plants in the garden were covered with water and holding tiny reservoirs within upturned, cup-like leaves. The koi pond, where the two were now headed to, was swelling and opaque as the rain droplets filled it past its capacity. The water slowly rose and lapped at the bench and the feet of the two lovers as they sat down facing the palace instead of the pond.
"There isn't a way to get you to reconsider, is there?" Katara looked up to him as she sat down on the bench. A bit of water had touched her face, but she ignored the cool droplets as she waited for Zuko's response.
"I have to do it; the army is depending on me. My people are depending on me, and I don't enjoy the thought of letting them down by hiding in a safe place while they are killed." He reached over to her face and, mistaking the tiny drop of water for a tear, wiped it off with his thumb.
"I just don't want to lose you... I don't want you to die in the middle of a war... like Aang did..." She leaned into his hand, closing her eyes. Zuko sat silent as the rain began pelting them from above. He looked up at the sky for a few moments, before smiling.
"You could alw-"
"I'm not going to fight alongside you. You're... different when you're leading people. It's unnerving." She leaned up against him, her eyes still closed. He slipped his other arm around her and rested his head against hers.
"Okay. I promise I'll come back." Zuko smirked a bit as he glanced at her out of his scarred left eye. He sat silent for a moment, his smile sitting on his face, in an attempt to get her to change the subject.
Katara sat motionless, without saying a word. Tears mingled with the rain on her face as the thought of losing Zuko flowed through her mind. She had already lost Aang; the thought of losing another of her loves was almost too much to bear. Zuko slowly took his attention away from her, his attempt had failed. He turned his attention to the golden koi swimming about in the rippling pond.
"Katara... I'm going to be fine, I promise, I'll be careful. I've already survived two wars and a handful of assassination attempts; I can handle this. Please... don't cry." He squeezed her body with his left arm and turned to face her again, bringing his right arm around her. She turned her face upwards, into the rain, and kissed him before resting her head on his shoulder.
"May I have at least one request of you, then?" She spoke firmly, it was obvious that she would have it. He wouldn't be able to turn down this request; it was a demand masquerading as a question.
"Of course. Anything." Zuko smiled outwardly, but his mind was teeming with questions. Curiosity was getting the better of him, and it made him nervous.
"Would you please invite Sokka and my father over, before you go to war?" She smiled up at him, and he nodded after a few seconds of processing the request mentally.
"Of course... wait a minute." He narrowed his eyes at her, frowning, "You already knew, didn't you?"
"Sorry, I couldn't help but read over them..." Her eyes flashed up to his and she smiled.
"It was supposed to be a surprise. How did you find them?" Zuko smiled back; he knew where he left the replies, and he knew exactly when she had seen them. He wanted her to wait, though; not spoil it like this. But, if it made her happy, who was he to argue?
"That day you had to run off to some ceremony and asked me to take something to your room. You are aware that there are drawers built into the writing desks for a reason, right?" She sat up straight and wrapped her arms around him, smiling broadly.
"I see. This means that the only remaining question is... would you accept me as your husband?" Zuko grinned after he asked, and watched her eyes. His stomach was quaking; even though he had an idea of her answer, he didn't know if this was the appropriate time. Katara sat silently, gazing into his eyes as she contemplated his question. Thirty seconds, then a minute passed in complete silence as she simply watched him become more nervous as time went on. Toward the end of the minute, which felt like an eternity, he started shaking slightly, his body quaking as the wait took its toll on him.
"Of course I will, Zuko." She started smiling as she spoke, but the last syllable was cut off as the young man kissed her and pulled her to him. The rain was still pelting them both, and they were soaked through and through, but they neither noticed nor cared. The kiss continued for as long as the wait Zuko had endured in search of his answer.
After the kiss, they held each other for a short time before a cool breeze blew and reminded them of their current soaked state. The young couple rose together and stood on the muddied path back to the palace. They walked onto the grounds, holding hands, and approached the small palace. The palace was more of a mansion than a true home fit for a king, but it reflected the opulence and status of the city it sat in well. They strode up to the doorway and past the posted guards. They stopped under the awning and wiped their shoes clean before continuing into the large home.
"What did Sokka say when you told him you were going to ask me to marry you, anyway?" Katara plodded toward her room for a change of clothes, and Zuko followed, as their rooms were both on the same side of the home.
"I believe it was something along the lines of 'Stay right where you are, so I can kick your ass.' I suppose he meant for me to sit still." He grinned as he stopped at his door, and began opening it as he kept an eye on his new fiancée.
"Better look out; he's going to make you drink from the koi pond again." She chuckled as she opened the door to her room and started walking inside.
"I hope not; it took days to get the taste of fish-water out of my mouth." He smiled again at her as he slipped into his room and closed the door behind himself.
A/N: And thus, it continues. I'm still liking where it's going, so I'm going to keep on keepin' on as long as I can ride this wave of creative juices. Keep commenting; it helps me know what I have to address; as an example, I was asked about the relationship status of Katara and Zuko, and it was addressed here. Not everything will be answered immediately though, of course.
