A/N: And thus begins the court case. As usual, please read and review.
Zuko was surprised to find a marble hall in the middle of North Pole. He expected it to be freezing, but when he stepped in, he was pleasantly surprised. Pneumatic pipes pumped heated steam periodically and the thick, fur carpets kept the cold from permeating in. He had a feeling that Sokka was somehow involved in this mini miracle.
The large hall had about fifty chairs, all of which were occupied. Zuko had a reserved chair for himself, along with Katara's family and friends. Kanna had declined to come, as the children weren't allowed in the Tribunal Hall. On one side was a chair that had chains hanging from its arms and legs. And on the other side was a simple, unadorned chair, for the witness. Dominating the room, however, was a large and ornate desk with five chairs – the Tribunal bench.
Zuko tried, unsuccessfully, to swallow the lump of cold dread that had lodged itself in his throat. He could scarcely hear the bailiff announce the arrival of the bench. Years of heading and sitting on Tribunals meant that he automatically rose to his feet, as was the norm. As expected, Hahn took the position of the Chief Judge, while four other men (none of whom Zuko knew) took up the remaining seats on both sides.
All men. Not good.
At the nod of one of them, a guard flicked his wrist. A door to the far left opened and two soldiers brought in Katara. Words fell short of describing how Zuko felt upon seeing her. Compared to Katara, her family looked like the picture of health. Her cheeks were hollow and bereft of all pallor. Lips cracked, hair matted and gait slowed, Katara looked a wreck. Even from the distance he could see the chaffing of her wrists, the protruding collar bones and the bony fingers. But the worst thing, according to Zuko, were her eyes. They were the eyes of a person who had lost.
Beside her, he heard the gasps of Sokka and Hakoda and the muffled sob of Suki.
"What?" Toph whispered. "What's going on?"
Zuko shook his head, unable to believe his eyes. What have they done to her? "Just be thankful that you can't see."
Katara was led to the seat for accused and was thrust into it unceremoniously. The chains on her hands and feet were opened and the ones of the chair were put up on her again. That done, the guards stepped back. Rage, like one he hadn't felt in years, boiled within him and it took all of his training to not burn everything down and snatch his friend from this disgusting game.
"Katara of the Southern Water Tribe," Hahn said, making her look up. "You stand here accused of adultery. You are accused of having an extra marital affair with the Fire Lord Zuko, while you were married to Avatar Aang. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Katara stared at him, as if uncomprehending. Somehow, Zuko knew that she was not going to say anything and her silence would be devastating. So he spoke up, "If I may, I would like to represent Lady Katara."
As one, the five men looked at him. Hahn's eyes narrowed slightly before he smirked. "Well, it is unusual, but the Fire Lord himself has graced us with his presence. It would be remiss of us to not grant his request. So yes, Fire Lord Zuko, you may represent your paramou… I mean Lady Katara of the Southern Water Tribe."
Zuko's eyes narrowed a fraction at the snicker that went through audience. Taking a deep breath, he stood up and nodded. "Thank you, Chief Hahn. Lady Katara pleads not guilty."
Hahn's eyebrows shot up but he nodded. "Okay. Present your facts, Fire Lord."
Zuko cleared his throat and assumed his most official, regal voice. "Lady Katara stands here charged of adultery. She, allegedly, had an extra marital affair with me. Which is funny, because if any such dalliances occurred, I can't seem to remember them."
His sentence was met with a couple of chuckles here and there. With a small smirk, he continued, "The allegations against Lady Katara is pure conjecture and complete hearsay. These allegations are false and I will prove it to the Tribunal."
"I'm sure," one of the members of the bench spoke up. "But you know, Fire Lord, your denial alone isn't evidence enough. You see, we have witnesses who will attest to the fact that you and Lady Katara have brought dishonor upon the Water Tribe, repeatedly."
Zuko's eyebrow shot up. "Witnesses? To what? Something that didn't even happen? Your powers are impressive."
A few more snickers. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Sokka nod. On her chair, however, Katara sat motionless, expressionless.
Looking annoyed, the man on the bench continued. "Without further delay and smart quips from the Fire Lord, we shall present the first witness. I call upon, Reng Fe Chui."
Zuko's brow knit in confusion as he wracked his brain trying to figure out who this person was. He looked to Sokka and Suki, both of whom shrugged. Even Toph looked confused. Moments later, a tall, heavy set man with a wide jaw and a hooked nose, that looked like it had broken a couple of times, took the chair meant for witnesses. Zuko had never seen this man before.
"Reng Fe Chui," Hahn said. "Do you recognize this man and the woman on the chair?"
The man looked from Zuko to Katara and nodded. "Indeed, Sir. I do. That man is... was the Prince of Fire Nation when I last saw him. And she was the Avatar's companion."
"And how do you know them?" another man on the bench asked.
"I imprisoned them, Sir. I was under Princess Azula's service at the time and I threw them in the Crystal Catacombs under Ba Sing Se."
"Together?" Hahn asked.
"They were thrown in one after another, but yes, they were in there together."
Hahn's smirk was evident. He leaned back on his chair, his face triumphant as he looked at Zuko. "You have any questions?"
"Several, actually," he said as he walked up to the man. "So, Reng Fe Chui, am I correct in assuming that you worked for the Dai Li?"
"Yes."
Zuko waved his hand toward the audience. "This is the Water Tribe. Several of them are unfamiliar with the proceedings of Ba Sing Se. Could you, in a few sentences, tell us exactly what the Dai Li does?"
The man's chest puffed in pride as he cleared his throat and spoke about his work. "The Dai Li is the secretive and elite police force of Ba Sing Se who work to capture, interrogate and imprison political dissidents. The organization was founded by Avatar Kyoshi with the aim of protecting the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se. The Dai Li works to protect the Earth King."*
"I see," Zuko said as he pretended to consider something. "How long did you serve in the Dai Li for?"
"Eighteen Years."
Zuko smiled. "That is impressive. So, in your long, illustrious career, how many people did you capture and interrogate?"
"Somewhere between five to six hundred."
Zuko let out a low whistle. "And you remember every one of them?"
"Of course not," the man said and then winced, upon realizing the trap.
Zuko smirked. "No further questions."
Hahn looked annoyed but he wasn't put out and quickly called the next witness, Shing Shu, an Air Acolyte at the Eastern Air Temple. This witness Zuko couldn't discredit so easily because he was talking about things that the Fire Lord was hearing for the first time. The acolyte spoke about how the Avatar had once, in the presence of everyone in the temple, asked Katara about her relationship with Zuko and that the Waterbender had remained silent.
Shing Shu also spoke about how Katara had not cried after the Avatar's death, instead had clung to Zuko throughout the funeral proceedings, conveniently ignoring the fact that she had also clung to Sokka, Suki and Toph. When Zuko had, in fact pointed that bit out, the bench had disregarded it as irrelevant. All in all, the Air Acolyte had done severe damage to the case.
*Facts about Dai Li taken from the Avatar Wiki
