CHAPTER 6
Zuko had the gang to Daiza's cell. The man had refused to even acknowledge anyone else's presences. "So this is him?" Toph had asked. Zuko nodded. "Well you weren't kidding about him being big!"
They all stood next to the man's cell and Zuko started asking the questions. "Turn around so we can see your face." Zuko waited, but nothing happened. "I said turn arou-" Toph held up her hand to stop him.
"Why are you crying?" She asked Daiza and everyone looked at her. The man was crying!
"I am not crying! How dare you accuse me of crying!" Daiza said fiercely.
Toph sat down on the floor in front of the cell so that they were facing each other. "You can tell me." The earthbender asked softly. Zuko didn't know she had a soft voice. He did not say anything and Zuko motioned to the guards to leave.
Once they were out of ear shot Daiza finally turned in his cell and sure enough his eyes were puffy, red and tears were streaming down his face. He put his hands and his forehead on the floor bowing. Underneath his silent weeping Zuko heard "Please forgive me My Lord. I had no choice! She would have killed my wife and children if I did not do as she instructed. I had no joy in acting that way to you My Lord. Please forgive me please!" Zuko was so shocked that he didn't say anything.
"He's telling the truth." Toph said simply. "Who are you talking about, Daiza? Who put your family in danger?"
"My real name isn't Daiza, it's actually Haku." He said matter-of-factly.
"Okay Haku, who put your family in danger?" Toph still had that soft voice that was so un-Toph-like.
"I TOLD YOU I'M NOT ANSWERING ANY OF YOUR QUESTIONS!" Everyone, but Toph, jumped.
"He's putting on an act." Toph said quietly.
"I think, he was the real Daiza." Haku said quietly.
"What did he look like?" asked Suki with a little bit of fear in her voice.
"Well let's see, long black hair, half of it done up in a bun kind of thing. He had knives as his weapon and he showed no emotion at all. I mean he was duller than a dead guy."
"Did he say why he had you do this?" Toph asked Haku. "And why, when all of the guards are gone, do you finally tell us the truth?"
Haku took a deep breath then said "WELL I'M SORRY YOUR HIGHNESS, BUT I'M NOT GIVING THAT INFORMATION OUT!" He lowered his voice again "No he did not. And quite frankly I could care less what the reason was. I just want my family to be safe." Haku held back more tears and continued. "He told me that if I told the Fire Lord the truth he would know about it. So I can't trust any of the guards." This made Zuko mad. If there were traitors here then he would snuff them out!
"Very well." Zuko said. "Haku I want you to stay in this cell so that it does not draw any attention to your family." Haku smiled. "Toph I would like you to help me interview all of my prison guards." Zuko finished with nod of his head so that Shiu would let the guards in.
"THANK GOD YOU ARE LEAVING I CAN'T STAND THE WAY YOU UGLY PEOPLE LOOK!"
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"I'm just curious, when is the next full moon?" Katara could not help but ask. She never wanted to ever have to use bloodbending, but she could not see any other way out of this situation. He never gave her any water. Katara waited for him to answer and when he finally did he wore a smug smile.
"Well I guess it wouldn't hurt if I told you. After all I'm not going to ever give you any large amounts of water." He paused. "It's in a week. The day of the dragon. Or as I like to call it Monday." he made a happy face, proud of himself.
"Monday? What kind of a name is Monday?" Katara asked stupefied. This guy wasn't only a traitor, he was crazy too. No wonder he and Azula got along so famously. "So I have a week to get ready" Katara thought to herself.
"My Lady I would like you to meet someone." Daiza said. He got up from his seat and went to open the door. "Don't try anything I am much quicker then you." She was going try it, but he was quicker then her. She was still woozy "Come on." He added when she did not move. Slowly Katara got out of the bed. She was happy and scared at the same time. She was happy to finally leave the room, but scared at what he was going to show her.
Katara walked out of the room concentrating very hard on keeping herself strait. It seemed to impress Daiza he had on an 'impressed' look. He led her down the hallway and turned right. He went into a little room that when Katara entered it, it was a kitchen. Pots and pans were hanging from the ceiling off of little racks. The counter space in the right-hand corner had a neatly sorted arrangement of different types of fruit. In the back of the room there was a table big enough to fit six people. Three of the chairs were already occupied.
Daiza led Katara to the table then said "My Lady this is Neomi and her twins. Karu and Kimi." The older women looked at Daiza with undeniable hatred. Her two daughters were looking at him with similar faces. The twins looked to be about twelve or thirteen years old. Daiza saw them and said "Now, now Neomi that is not the proper way to act."
The women named Neomi glared at him, "Oh yes, I suppose you're right Daiza. Holding us here against our will is so proper way to act. How do you do it?"
He narrowed his eyes at her "One more outburst like that Neomi and you won't have a meal for a week."
"HA! I could care less!" She snorted back at him.
Daiza kept his eyes narrowed at her and smiled "Very well, your children won't have a meal for a week." Her first reaction was shook seconds after that, she looked at him with more hostility then Katara thought possible. He turned back to look at the waterbender and bowed slightly. "My Lady." Then he walked off.
"So miss what's your name and what have you got to do with any of this?" Neomi asked Katara. Katara turned around to face the little family and sat down in a seat next to Karu.
Katara took a deep breath then said "My name is Katara and I'm the reason that you're here. I'm so sorry." Katara meet Neomi's eyes and forced back tears at the older women's pain.
"Di-did you say Katara? As in the Fire Lady, Fire Lord Zuko's wife the waterbender?" she asked astonished.
Katara laughed half heartedly "The very same."
Neomi's amazement grew "Girls, girls hurry, this is the Fire Lady, show your respect." She nodded towards Katara. The little girls got up in a flash.
"Move Karu!"
"Ow, Kimi stop it!"
"Girls you're embarrassing me."
"Sorry." They said in unison "My Lady." Kimi and Karu both bowed and Katara giggled at the little family.
"It's an honor to meet you My Lady." Neomi said bowing her head. Katara smiled awkwardly. "Girls why don't you go play."
"Do you think its okay mom? I mean Daiza said we were supposed to be in the kitchen." Karu asked.
When Katara spoke she had venom in her voice "It better be okay if he knows what's good for him."
The girls lightened up "Okay let's go Kimi."
"Okay" Katara watched them race off.
"My Lady." Katara looked up. "Did you happen you see my husband in the palace?" Neomi asked.
Katara nodded "Yes I saw him he is in good hands I promise."
Neomi's face light up and she said "Oh thank you! Thank you!"
"What is his name?"
"His name is Haku."
There was a moment's silence. Later Katara said to Neomi "Your children are beautiful."
"Oh, thank you. My Lady, may I ask you something?" Katara nodded. "I know that you're a waterbender so why are you with the Fire Lord?" Katara took a minute to answer and Neomi viewed that in the wrong way. "I'm sorry! I didn't know that wasn't okay." Neomi bowed her head.
"No, no it's okay to be curious." Katara told her. She smiled reassuringly and Neomi calmed down. Katara began to tell her story from the time she met Aang to the end of the war. Neomi made faces of interest, sad faces, happy faces, angry faces, pretty much every face you can make. Katara left out the part about bloodbending just in case Daiza was listening. "And so there you have it. That was how Zuko and I came to be." The waterbender smiled at her achievement.
I can't believe that the Fire Lord was ever that way. I mean I knew he had a complicated past and all, but I never thought that Ozai was so cruel to his own son." Neomi didn't even bother with the formalities. Ozai didn't deserve them.
The two mothers were quite for a long time when finally Neomi said "You know My Lady, I really am blessed."
Katara was confused "With what?" She asked.
"Well being able to meet you for one, but I was referring to my daughters." She answered simply.
"Why, because they're so cute?"
The two women shared a laugh "Well yes, but no." Katara waited patiently for her "My daughters have the most beautiful voices I have ever heard." She closed her eyes for a moment then opened them saying "Of course every mother thinks that their child is perfect, but my daughters have singing harmonies and melodies I have never heard before. Sometime they'll have to show you."
Katara nodded and said to her with a smile "I'd like that very much."
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