"The pain of war cannot exceed the woe of aftermath" - Led Zeppelin "The Battle of Evermore"
Characters are (c) to Nickelodeon
Ch2 The Message
When Mai woke up, she called in a servant to demand the whereabouts of her lover.
"Fire lord Zuko has visitors; they are currently enjoying tea in the main dining room. Would you like me to dress you and announce your presence?"
Mai sighed.
"Oh great, another group of his old buddies to remind him of how great the old times were. No, I don't think I'll intrude. I'll do what I always do and stay out of his way while he becomes all nostalgic and what have you." She pouted and lay back down upon the feathered mattress. Lately, more than ever, she noticed a far-away look in Zuko's eyes. She knew when this happened he was remembering the past. She bit her lip. They fought a lot, recently. She clutched a pillow and with a sudden pang of sorrow remembered their most recent fight.
***flashback*** 3 days ago.
"Zuko, what is WRONG with you? You don't even act like you love me anymore!"
Mai, on the verge of tears, continued to scream, "I can't change what I did in the past Zuko! I'm so sorry I wasn't there to help you beat Azula! I don't even know if I would have had the power to hurt her anyways! She was my friend, Zuko! What do you want me to do about something I can't change?"
Zuko screamed back "I have forgiven you A THOUSAND TIMES, Mai! You haven't forgiven yourself! Are you even listening to a word I'm saying? You're the one who needs to let this go!" and just as suddenly as it started, it ended, with Zuko wearily holding her as she cried.
***end flashback***
He was right, too, and she knew it. All this time, when she looked down the halls of the palace, when she laid by Zuko, all she could think about was when she had walked through these halls before, following Azula and aiding in her plans to kill the avatar. While she had Azula's fake smiles and fake friendship, Zuko was off bonding with the whole group of people she despised so passionately. Jealousy and bitterness plagued her. And the thing that bothered her most of the most, is when she asked about them, she got a warmer smile then she had ever gotten out of him just on her own. "All I am to him is a bad taste of the bad choices he made in the past." She thought, gloomingly.
"The avatar is gone." Sokka was the one to say it, his eyes downcast. "He left – poof, zap, bap. Gone with the wind."
Both Zuko and Iroh set their tea down with a clatter.
"What?" They asked in unison.
Katara piped up next, her voice was heavy. "It's true. It has been a month, since he has been gone…" She touched her necklace and looked up at both Zuko and Iroh. "We don't know where he is."
The rest of the night passed with a lot less grandeur and happiness than Zuko would have hoped. It was fun, but the news Katara and Sokka brought hung over the merry-making like a canopy. Dinner was a delicious feast and Mai was at his side, and they both laughed while Zuko and Katara scrunched their noses at the plates of Fire-Nation food that were being served to them.
"You guys don't have sea-prune stew?" Sokka asked with obvious disappointment.
After dinner, some music was played by Uncle and his group, and Zuko slapped his hand to his face on several occasions because Iroh continually tried to get him down to play the Tsungi horn. Even Mai joined in. She looked to Katara, who was on her right.
"He actually is very good at it!"Mai exclaimed, and Katara laughed, suddenly imagining Zuko playing a Tsungi horn on his ship the nights he used to chase the avatar.
After music, there were Ocean Kumquats, and purple berries (much to Sokka's annoyance and Katara's amusement) passed around in large elaborate bowls, and soon after, it was dark and everyone was tired and full from the day's events. The group bid each other good night and went to their rooms.
"Katara! Do you see these rooms?" Sokka said in his super amazed and excited voice. Katara giggled and peered in. The rooms were huge, with thick soft rugs and large 4-poster beds. Hers had a large golden canopy and Sokka's had carved wooden walls.
"Wow…"
"No kiddin'. How come Ozai was such a jerk when he had so much?" Sokka wondered, while crossing his arms. Soon after they hugged each other goodnight and retired to their rooms.
Katara lay on her unbelievably comfortable bed, but she knew sleep wouldn't come. It hadn't come easily in a long time. She turned over again and again, then finally stood up and decided she needed fresh air.
"Fire lord Zuko, your guest is wandering through the halls. Should we escort her back to her room?"
Zuko shifted and woke up, and sleepily stared at the servant who was doing the waking.
"Wha-… Oh… It's probably Katara. She's fine, we can trust her. "
The servant merely nodded, and was about to turn and leave when Zuko stopped him.
"Yes, Fire lord? Do you need anything else?"
"Where is she right now?" Zuko asked, as he got up and slipped into his night robes.
Zuko found Katara on the 3rd floor patio, the one that extended all the way around the palace. He watched her a moment, bent over the railing with downcast eyes and bathed in moonlight. He opened the sliding panel and walked out.
"Katara."
Katara jumped, and turned around quickly. "Oh, Zuko… It's just you, I'm sorry... I just..."
He walked over and stood next to her, laid his elbows on the railing, and looked out over the horizon.
"I know there is more to the story… about Aang." He said, looking over at her. "What happened?"
Katara released a heavy sigh, as if suddenly a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders.
"A lot has happened in these 5 years, Zuko."
He remained silent and waited for her to continue.
"Aang thought restoring peace would be easy after he defeated your father, Zuko. I thought so, too. We all did. The future was full of hope." She paused for a second, as if remembering something. "The hardest part of restoring peace and prosperity only just started with the defeat of your father…" She paused again, beginning a new trail of thought. "Aang…. He has a history of running from things. But this time, I cannot blame him… After we left 5 years ago for you to rule here, for Sokka and Toph to return home… Aang and I traveled together, all around the 4 nations, restoring peace and blessing cities, doing anything that had to be done…." She stopped and clutched the railing on the patio until her knuckles turned white. "But the hate…"
Zuko looked at her with a sudden confusion. "I don't understand."
Katara suddenly reeled on him, her eyes as icy and full of tears the day they were that day under Ba Sing Se. "You don't understand? Do you remember? The day you took me to find the man who killed my mother?" At this point, she grabbed his wrist, and her touch was ice. Zuko flinched and took a few steps back. Her hair was loose, wild, and untamed, running down her back, like the day he asked for her forgiveness at the Western Air Temple and was greeted with her powerful bending. "You don't remember my fury under Ba Sing Se? All the anger in the world, all the hate I had for you and your people?" She let go of his wrist and her arms fell to her sides limply. "That hate is multiplied. It is multiplied in the smallest of towns in the Earth Kingdom, it is in Ba Sing Se, Omashu, The North Pole, even in the South Pole…" She turned and looked at him with tears streaming down her face. "The young children cry in their sleep." Her voice turned raspy. "They CURSE the day the Fire Nation came to be. The whole world does. Even under your power, even with Ozai defeated. Even half of your own people hate you, poisoned by their politics and wanting to reclaim honor for the Fire Nation with a new ruler. Those who feel bad try and reach out for forgiveness by the other nations only receive a slap in the face. Too many people have been hurt, too many people will never forget." She moved close to him and placed her hand, now warm, on his shoulder. "Too many people will never forgive."
Zuko, shocked by all he had heard, and moved by all the passion in her words, clutched her hand and looked into her blue eyes with his golden ones.
"You learned to do it Katara, the world can too. We have to wait for Aang." Katara let go of his shoulder.
"If he ever comes back." And with that, she turned and headed back inside without looking back. Zuko watched her go with a new hole in his heart.