Disclaimer: Neither Avatar: the Last Airbender nor its characters belong to me, nor will they ever
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People scrambled out of their way like rats; well, the Fire Lord's way, at least. Katara walked next to him and a few paces behind. She watched how he walked, his posture straight, his feet sure; he was confident in every step, his head held high.
No wonder they got out of his way. He completely commanded the atmosphere around him, as if it were ablaze.
The sun had completely slipped beneath the horizon, but the sky wasn't black yet, she noticed, as they travelled through a breezeway, back to the family wing of the palace; it was a pale navy, and white stars were scattered haphazardly. The view from the palace was amazing.
Nali was playing on the floor, surrounded by various dolls and blocks and playthings. The nurse, Fahraz, sat in the corner, obviously drifting in and out of sleep.
For a moment, Katara's heart caught in her throat. Growing up, at least she had had her brother, and her grandmother and father, and there had always been other children in the village. Here was Nali, though, all alone; no family, no playmates. She was surrounded completely by the wealth of the Fire Nation, but she was still completely alone.
Katara's eyes stung.
Nali looked up, her babyish face filling with joy, revealing her tiny white teeth. She jumped up, struggling not to trip over her long dress, and hurled herself at Zuko. Her long curls bounced behind her as he smiled and lifted her into his arms.
She then observed the joy on the Fire Lord's face, and again felt her heart catch.
"I heard you had a good day today," he told the child in his arms.
She nodded, eyes wide.
His brow shot up. "No words for me? You'll speak to Miss Katara but not to me?"
Her smile grew wider as she shook her head impishly.
Zuko sighed. "Oh, well, I guess you don't want that surprise after all-"
"I behaved!" she whined hurriedly.
He smiled and put her back on the ground. "Good."
She was silent again but looked up at him, admiration apparent in her eyes.
He looked at Katara, and she tried to mask her own admiration. "Ready?" he asked.
She nodded.
Katara followed Zuko down a rocky slope behind the palace. Guards marched a few paces behind, but maintained their distance. He had led the way, Nali at his heels, until the child had tripped; she now clung to his back.
She was torn. For so long, she'd had this picture of him as that angry young prince, spoiled and mean to the core. Then-she laughed, remembering-he had joined "Team Avatar" and become a little less angry, a little less spoiled, if he still harbored some resentment. Training together, living together, fighting together, they had become friends. She remembered watching him confront his family, his father and sister, and how it could have easily destroyed him, would have destroyed "better" men, but he hadn't let it destroy him. He'd risen to become a great ruler, outshining the rules of many Fire Lords of the past, namely that of his father and grandfather.
Then she'd had a different picture: stiff, fearless ruler. Even during her brief sojourn in the Fire Nation a few years back, when she had worked with him and spent a great deal of time with him, he had always carried this air, this burden, this mask that kept him separate, detached. Whatever it was that he carried, it was something he wouldn't share and wouldn't open up about. She had thought that was going to be the end of the story. He was going to do his job, rule well, but be that distant monarch that had to maintain his image above all else, which meant keeping his affection for women and children at a minimum. She had though that was the reason Mai had chosen to leave, although she lacked those details, as well. Somehow they had always avoided discussing her...and Aang.
Katara sighed. Not that any of this mattered. She was only here to do a job, she told herself. Realistically, training a three year old was going to prove difficult, but what choice did she have? There was no way she could turn her back on this child-especially not after spending time with her-after all, she, too, knew what it was like to be, to feel alone. To think you were the last of your kind.
This was a side of him she hadn't seen and had expected to never see. The composed face he wore in his throne room was gone; he smiled constantly now. He was kind and considerate when it came to Nali, always sure she was being watched and cared for when he couldn't do it himself; he hadn't just handed her off to someone else-she was sure that had been an option-but instead he'd taken the responsibility upon himself. And he was investing himself and his time in the child. He was doing far more than was required, far more than was expected, and he had no idea how much she was beginning to admire him for it.
Fire Lords were able to have hearts after all.
"Tell Miss Katara she need's to keep up. She's moving very slowly."
Katara looked up to find both Zuko and Nali looking back at her.
Nali smiled. "Miss Katara slow," she said.
The child had completely blossomed overnight, it seemed.
"Admiration" might be an understatement.
She caught up to them and the path became flat and smooth; rocks and gravel transitioned to gritty sand. Zuko put Nali down, and she slipped her small hand into his large one. Then, with her other hand, she took Katara's.
Katara looked up at Zuko but found his expression, though he was looking right at her, unreadable. She attributed this to the darkness and walked with them, holding the girl's hand, silently.
"Where we going?" Nali asked, looking up at Zuko.
"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you."
She tugged his hand. "Please," she begged, dragging the word out.
He chuckled and shook his head.
Katara looked out in front of her. In the moonlight, the path was illuminated and she could see the water of the beach. She smiled and her hands began to gravitate towards the shore instinctively.
Nali gasped and ran toward the water. When she could not drag the two adults with her, she let go of their hands and continued without them. Zuko lunged for her when he realized she wasn't going to stop, but the material of her dress slipped through his fingers and she was waist deep before he could blink.
He stopped at the edge of the water, where waves quietly lapped the sand, folded his arms across his broad chest, and sighed. "I didn't bring her a change of clothes."
Katara came up beside him and laughed at his train of thought. How quickly he'd become a father. "She's all right. I'll just bend her dry."
He looked at her, relaying that he had not thought of that, then he turned back to watch Nali. She waded through the water, splashing it, soaking her dress and her hair. Her smile lit her whole face.
She looked at Katara. "Snake!" she demanded.
Katara laughed, ignoring the way Zuko's eyes traveled over her face as she did so, and she lifted her hands over the water in front of her.
Nali laughed as the snake coiled around her. She tried to catch it, so Katara led it away.
"Has she bent for you?"
"No, but she is young. I was a bit older when I discovered I could waterbend, and it was years before I had decent control. The water wall you described might have been an instinctive reaction to something; she might have been frightened."
He sighed.
Her eyes sought his. "What?"
"I just-I didn't think..."
She turned toward him and guessed Nali had found something else to entertain her as she did not notice her slithery playmate disappear. "What is it?"
He shook his head. "I think I underestimated the time this would take."
She let out a laugh of disbelief. "What, did you think this was going to be a week-long training session or something? She's a child, Zuko, barely more than a baby. It'll be years-"
"I know that," he interjected, running a hand down his face, "now."
She hesitated. "But you didn't before," she stated quietly.
He looked at her, his brow furrowed.
A moment of silence passed between them. They held each other's gazes, and Katara looked for answers.
"I didn't know it would take that long. I would have never-I didn't mean to imply I expected you to stay for that long. You didn't agree to drop everything, your life, for years just to-"
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," she said, looking at the water. She desperately wanted to change the subject. "Before, you said you wanted to return her to her family. Did...did you mean that? If her family was at Boiling Rock, how can you...?"
"I'm having the records searched at the orphanage for a clue to who she is or who her parents might have been. They're not very thorough, but I'm hoping to find something, anything that might give a clue to her parentage. I'm sure Nali isn't even her birth name."
Katara looked at him. She knew how he would answer-she saw it in his words and actions these past two days-but asked anyway, "And if you don't? If you can't find anything?"
His eyes bored into hers; they held a knowing, sad smile. He said, voice husky, "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."
She nodded and smoothed a pleat on her skirt.
A soaked Nali pranced toward them. "Play with me!"
Katara smiled as she watched the girl and stepped into the water. Zuko didn't move.
She took Nali's hand. "Aw, Fileurzooku doesn't want to get his feet wet, Nali."
The girl grinned widely.
"Why don't you show him the water's not scary?"
Nali sloshed toward him and took one of his hands on the two of her own and tugged. He smiled but didn't budge. Holding out his hands yieldingly, he removed his coat, then his boots. Katara let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding in when he stepped in the water without removing his shirt.
Nali dragged him into deeper water, where it reached her chest and just above his knees, toward Katara. A mischievous glint entering his eyes, he bent over and whispered something in Nali's ear. The girl squirmed but smiled.
She smacked a tiny hand on the surface of the water, aiming the splash at Katara.
Katara laughed at Zuko's audacity as the water grazed her face. "You would have a child do your dirty work, Fire Lord?"
He smiled. "Fight water with water, right?"
She bit her cheek. "I see how it is." Raising her hands delicately above the water, she created a wave that rose above her waist, above her head. It spun about her twice before shooting, with surprising speed, straight for Zuko; it toppled him easily.
Nali squealed with delight and clapped her hands high above her head.
The guards standing watch on the beach rushed forward, hands on the swords at their waists. "My lord!"
Zuko sat up and wiped water from his face. He held a hand out, halting them. "I'm all right."
They backed off some but eyed Katara warily.
She covered her smile with her hand.
"Glad to see you haven't lost your edge," he said wryly.
"Hardly. Meet me in the battle arena sometime, Fire Lord."
He looked at her and stood. "I accept your challenge." He stalked toward her, shaking water out of his shaggy hair, and stood next to her.
Nali continued to prance through the water and ran up and down the beach twice before, feet dragging, stopping to tug on Zuko's arm. She looked up at him sleepily and rubbed her eyes.
"Ready to go?" he asked quietly.
She nodded.
Katara bent the girl dry and went to pick her up but she was already in Zuko's arms, face buried in his neck. Katara picked up his jacket and boots for him as he carried Nali back up the steep climb to the palace, she and the guards behind them. The guards broke off, back to their regular posts as they neared Nali's room, and then the three of them were alone again. Zuko slipped into the room. Katara expected him to simply hand the girl to the awaiting nurse, but he didn't.
He sat the girl on the bed and helped her put on her nightgown. She mumbled sleepily, and he chuckled at something she said.
"I promise we'll go back," he said.
Nali crawled under the thick down comforters and he tucked her into the crib. He kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Princess."
Katara had to look away and she decided to wait for him in the hallway.
He emerged and shut the door behind him.
She started. "You're soaked." She had bent the water from her own clothes and hair during the climb but totally forgotten him.
He looked down at himself as if he hadn't noticed and shrugged. "Like you said, this isn't exactly South Pole weather. I won't get sick because of a little-"
She held up a hand. "No, I won't be accused of trying to assassinate the Fire Lord by allowing him to catch the flu."
She ran her hands fluidly in front of his chest, depositing the water in a nearby potted plant. With a finger, she bent the last drop of water out of a strand of his hair and brushed it off his forehead. He held her gaze steadily, as if peering into her very soul, and she was the one to look away.
Katara turned wordlessly, away from him, and headed to her room. She heard him behind her but kept walking.
When they reached her door, she turned to him. "These are yours."
"Oh, yeah," he said, taking the coat and boots from her arms. "Thanks."
She nodded once and tried to slip inside her room quietly. "Goodnight, Zuko."
Zuko grabbed her elbow gently. "Katara, wait."
She stopped and looked at him, at his hand holding her in place.
He seemed to hesitate. His hand practically burned on her arm.
"W-what?" she asked uncertainly.
He looked down at her, and she could have sworn he was staring at her lips. Then he shook his head. "Never mind. It'll hold. Sleep well." He released her arm and turned down the dark corridor.
She managed to hold back her smile until she was safely in her own room. Even then she tried to hide it behind her hand. Spirits! I'm acting like a teenager!
But even as she undressed and crawled into her big bed, her smile did not fade.
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