The next day was uneventful. On Zuko's request, Katara helped the Minister of Agriculture compose a letter to Toph's earthbending school. The letter was finished soon enough, but she found that the man was a pleasant conversationalist and had innovative ideas. After their first meeting he had warmed up to Katara, and now found an eager discussion partner in her. They talked about different methods of fishing and the pros and cons of farmers' unions, and he ended up explaining the current dynamics in the Council to her. Katara listened eagerly, asked lots of questions, and left for lunch feeling energetic and accomplished.

She found Mai and Hanabi in the small dining room, but no Zuko. Mai noticed her look and explained: "Zuko's meeting with the envoy of the Earth King is delayed, so he won't be joining us."

Katara plopped down and attacked her bowl of rice. All that talking had made her hungry.

"Did you have a nice morning?" she asked Mai. The Fire Lady shrugged. "Nothing special. How about you?"

"Oh, it was great," Katara said enthusiastically. "I spoke to the Minister of Agriculture and he explained a lot to me, we even discussed the methods of fishing that are used in the South Pole!"

"That's nice," Mai said, although she was clearly unimpressed. "I always get distracted by that man's beard, though. Did you see how umkept it is?"

"I didn't pay attention to it, actually," Katara said, shoving some more rice into her mouth. One eyebrow on Mai's smooth forehead twitched.

"I have some business to discuss with the housekeeper," she said with a sigh. "Maybe you and Hanabi could bring Zuko his lunch? I'll send a servant if you don't want to, of course."

"Oh no, I'd love to!" Katara said. Hanabi grinned at her. She grabbed a bowl and started scooping rice into it. Mai gestured to a servant, who immediately brought a tray.

"What do you think your daddy likes more, papaya or mango?" Katara asked.

"Mango for sure!" Hanabi said. "He doesn't like papaya."

"Excellent taste," Katara smiled, and placed a mango next to the bowl of rice on the tray. She scanned the table again, looking for something else.

"Take the black bean salad," Mai said. "He needs more vegetables."

"Sure," Katara said. "Oh, and some of this satay!" She grabbed the plate. "I know he loves these. It's goat, right?" she asked Mai, who nodded.

"You remember that well," she said. Katara coloured. "He and my brother were always fighting about the best meat," she explained while she placed a few skewers on a plate. "Goat tastes a bit like reindeer meat so it reminded us of home."

"I can imagine. Does your brother still have the same appetite?"

"I'm sure he does," Katara laughed. Mai smiled.

"How old are his children now? His son is a little older than Hanabi, am I right?"

"Yes, Kunik is six this year. Maaya is turning four soon."

Mai nodded slowly, looking pensively at her daughter. She caught herself, stood up and said: "I have to go now." After stroking Hanabi's hair quickly, she graciously left the room, her robes flowing behind her. Katara picked up the tray and looked at Hanabi.

"Can you carry the water jug?" she asked. The girl nodded and picked up the jug, holding it with both hands. Noticing it was too heavy for her, Katara moved a finger and the water gently streamed out of the jug. Hanabi followed its path into the air with wide eyes. Keeping the water floating around them, Katara grinned at Hanabi, who carried the now empty jug with ease out of the room. Katara followed, carefully balancing the tray while keeping up the waterbending.

The little princess ran through the halls and eagerly knocked on the door to Zuko's office. She didn't wait for an answer but pushed the door open and strutted inside.

"Hi daddy! We brought you lunch!" she said. Katara quickly followed her into the room. Zuko and the Earth King's envoy were standing together at Zuko's desk, and the envoy looked at the Fire Princess with slight bewilderment. Hanabi placed the jug on the desk and smiled broadly at them.

"My apologies," Zuko said to his guest. "Sir Jian, please meet my daughter, Fire Princess Hanabi."

The envoy smiled and bowed deeply. "Honoured to meet you, Princess Hanabi."

Hanabi gave him a perfect curtsey in return. Meanwhile Katara had bended the water back into the jug and put the tray down on the desk. She turned to the two men, bowed slightly and said: "Sorry for disturbing you."

"That's alright," Zuko said. "I think we reached a satisfactory conclusion, didn't we, Sir Jian?"

"Certainly, Your Highness," the man said. "Although I am happy I stayed long enough to meet your daughter and.. ahh…"

"Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe," Zuko quickly said, and Katara bowed again. Sir Jian eyes widened and he bowed back deeply, almost as deep as he would have for royalty, and Katara coloured.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sir Jian," she said.

"And it's a great honour to meet a legendary hero like you, Master Katara," Jian answered. He had a pleasant voice and youthful green eyes, although his hairline was already receding. Katara noticed an old burn wound peeping out from above his collar, and when she looked better, she saw red marks on one of his hands as well. War wounds, undoubtedly.

"You are welcome to join us for lunch," Zuko said, but Jian shook his head.

"I appreciate it, Your Highness, but my hostess at the inn in the city spoils me so much, I'm sure she'd be disappointed if I missed her homemade meal. I'll be going there now."

"I'm glad to hear you're taken good care of," Zuko said. He escorted Jian to the door. While Katara helped Hanabi to unload the plates and bowls from the tray, she heard the two men exchange a few formal parting words. Jian asked:

"May I inquire how old the princess is?"

"She just turned five," Zuko answered, and from the corner of her eye, Katara saw the envoy smile. "She's precious. My two girls are a bit older. I'll make sure to bring a present for her on my next visit."

Then the two man bowed and Jian departed. Zuko walked back to the desk.

"Who was that, daddy?" Hanabi asked.

"A messenger from the Earth King," Zuko answered.

"He seemed nice," Katara said. "You two were speaking quite informally. What did you discuss?"

"He's a very gentle man," Zuko said. "He'll be at dinner tonight, so you'll have a chance to speak with him. He always enjoys stories about our 'heroic deeds', as he calls them." Katara grinned. Zuko continued: "I've requested the Earth King for seeds of a type of grain that grows well in hot, dry climates. You probably heard about the problems with the rice from the Minister of Agriculture this morning, right?" Katara nodded. "We want to try if wheat might be a better product to grow, if irrigation turns out to be too complicated."

"That could be a good idea. But the people here are so used to rice, do you think that would work?"

"They'll have to eat more noodles, then," Zuko said. "Or we could trade the wheat for rice. We'll figure something out. But Jian was very cooperative. He promised that we'll receive a batch of grain with the next ship from Ba Sing Se."

"That's great," Katara said. They were interrupted by an impatient Hanabi.

"Daddy, your satay will get cold if you keep talking," she said. Zuko smiled. "You're right, I'm getting hungry." He sat down at his desk and took a bite of the goat satay.

"It's so sweet of you to bring me something," he said, ruffling Hanabi's hair. "My favourite, even!" Hanabi smiled broadly.

"I knew you liked goat," Katara said. Zuko held out a skewer for her while chewing on his own, but she declined. "I already had some. They're really good, though."

"You must've missed meat at the Air Temple," Zuko said. "All the Air Acolytes are vegetarian, right?"

"They are," Katara said. She sat down and pulled Hanabi on her lap to hide her unhappy feelings. "You know Aang never obliged me to stop eating meat, but it was very awkward to be the only one. I often cooked for them, and the looks I would get when I gutted a fish… Like I was comitting a murder. Of course, for them, it really felt like that, but I hated how guilty they made me feel."

"So what did you do?"

Katara bit her lip. "I had a few fights about it with Aang, actually. He said it would be much easier if I just ate the same as all the others, but I didn't want that. I'm not an Air Nomad! I'm Water Tribe! I grew up on fish and meat, I wasn't going to give that up."

"Of course," Zuko said.

"I wouldn't want to give up satay either," Hanabi said. "Can I have a piece, daddy?"

"Sure," he said, and handed her a skewer. While Hanabi chewed happily, Katara continued. "It wasn't just the food. When you live among a group of people for so long, all the little differences start to become really obvious. For example, the non-bending women cover their foreheads out of respect for the benders, just like the non-bending men shave their heads as well. But I didn't do that, so after a while I was the only woman without head coverings. Some people started to feel offended. Aang even accused me of not respecting his culture one time."

"Really?" Zuko sounded incredulous.

"Well… we were both very tired and we'd been arguing all evening," Katara said, looking guilty. "I said he was the one not respecting my culture. I said I might have given up everything else for him, but I would never forget where I came from. It wasn't pretty."

"I can't imagine Aang saying things like that. He is always respectful."

"I know, and he is, really. Please don't let my bitterness influence your friendship with him," Katara said quickly. "I'd never forgive myself."

"Don't worry," Zuko said. "If anyone understands nobody is perfect, it's me."

Katara smiled at him.

"I'm writing a letter to him at the moment, actually," Zuko said, gesturing to his writing set. "I'm asking him to pray the Spirits for Mai's health. Do you want me to be silent about you?"

"Oh, that's very thoughtful of you. But… no. You can tell him I'm here. I'm not hiding from him."

"Okay."

They both didn't know what to say after that, so Zuko finished his meal while Katara played with Hanabi. She hopped her knees up and down so the girl was bobbing on her lap. Hanabi giggled and wrapped her arms around Katara, trying to hold on. Katara laughed and started to sing a nursery song: "Hop hop hop, seahorse at a gallop."

She continued the song while hopping Hanabi at various speeds, then suddenly she exclaimed: "Hole in the ice!" and spread her knees, causing Hanabi to drop a little. The girl shrieked and laughed when Katara hoisted her back up. Zuko laughed too.

"That's what you sing to entertain children in the Water Tribes?" he asked. "Seahorses and ice holes?"

"My mom used to do this all the time. Sokka even made up a very complicated version, with jumps and lots of shouting and Dad throwing him around." She smiled, lost in the happy memory.

"My mother always played hide and seek with me and Azula and Lu Ten. I still know all the best hiding spots in the palace."

"How old were you then?"

"I can't have been older than seven or eight," Zuko said. "After that, Lu Ten said he was too old for games and Azula didn't want to play with me anymore."

"Can you show me the hiding places, daddy?" Hanabi asked. "I don't think Nanny knows them and she never likes it when I run away and hide."

"That's because Nanny is afraid she can't find you anymore," Zuko said. "But I'll show you tonight, after dinner, okay?"

"When can I join you at the big dinner?" Hanabi asked, jumping from Katara's lap and climbing onto Zuko's. "I'm big now, am I not?"

"Yes, you are big, but not big enough. You can join when you're eight."

"But why? That's three more years! I can't wait that long!"

"It's the rules, sweetie. And I think you'd be bored." He wrapped his arm around her. "You'd have to sit up straight and be well-mannered all evening."

"Well, mommy would love that," Hanabi muttered, but it was enough to temper her enthusiasm. Katara looked at the two of them and realized that while she expected to feel jealous, instead she felt strangely comfortable. When had she last played games with a child? She remembered the children at the Eastern Air Temple. But there had always been a certain distance between her and the Air Acolytes, a distance that she didn't feel with the little Fire Princess. Hanabi's quick trust and her endearing enthusiasm had touched her. She wondered what it would be like if Hanabi had been her own daughter. Maybe she would've had blue eyes. Maybe she would've been a waterbender. Would she still have had Zuko's black hair? She felt her breath catch in her throat. The idea of Zuko being the father of her child set her stomach on fire and sent an incredible heat to her face. She glanced at Zuko and swallowed. This was not a wise thought to have.

"Have you finished eating?" she asked superfluously, because all plates were empty now. She grabbed them and hastily put them back on the tray. "I'll take this back to the kitchen. See you at dinner!"

She hurried out of the room, feeling Zuko and Hanabi's surprised looks burning in her back.


After practicing her waterbending at the dojo all afternoon in blissful solitude, Katara made her way back to her room to wash herself quickly and get dressed for dinner. Sen did a great job on her hair again, and with a high braided updo and dressed in her long azure robes, she entered the dining hall confidently.

She was early. The chairs at the head of the table were still empty, and only a few nobles had gathered. They were chatting together, and while the noblewomen who recognized Katara nodded to her, they didn't approach her. Unsure, Katara looked around, but she was saved by a servant.

"Allow me to guide you to your seat, Master Katara," the young man- barely more than a boy- said. She smiled at him while he pulled her chair back.

"Can I offer you some wine before dinner starts?" he asked.

"Yes please, that would be lovely."

He quickly brought her a glass. She took a sip, hoping the drink would give her more confidence, and looked around the room. The door opened and Jian, the envoy from the Earth King, entered. He stood out as much as she, his green robes an oddity between the red silks of the Fire Nation nobility. He also looked around a bit hesitantly. The same servant that had guided her came to him and brought him over to the head of the table as well. Jian was given a seat next to Katara. When he, too, was provided with a glass of wine, the servant bowed and left.

Katara smiled at him. "For how long are you in the country?" she asked.

"I'm returning tomorrow," he said, and smelled his wine. "Ah, lovely aroma. I have to buy a bottle for my wife to bring back to Ba Sing Se, she loves the Fire Nation wine even more than I do."

"Have you been here often, then?"

"Quite regularly, since I was promoted to envoy a few years back," he told her, and she heard the pride in his voice. "But this is the first time I'm here alone. It's just a short mission, after all."

"You seemed to know Zuko- I mean, the Fire Lord, pretty well?"

"Yes, our contact has always been very pleasant. His Majesty is a generous and kind person, and he made great effort to get to know me when I was installed as envoy. But of course, you must know how kind he is like no one else."

"He doesn't make friends that easily," Katara said. "He must like you."

"We do have some things in common," Jian smiled, pushing back his sleeve a little. Katara saw that the red burn marks continued up his arm. "I was a foot soldier in the war under General Fong," he explained. "My whole arm was burned, up to my neck."

"It has healed amazingly well," Katara said and took a closer look, her curiosity greater than her manners. "Normally such a big wound gets infected in no time."

"That's what usually happened, yes," Jian said. "I was lucky, it happened in one of the last battles. After the war I was treated by a lovely woman from the Northern Water Tribes, a healer just like you. Her touch was something magical."

Katara smiled, imagining a romance between the wounded soldier and his gentle nurse, but was disappointed when he continued his story: "But she was a lot older than you. Reminded me of my mother actually. But she told me fantastic stories about the Water Tribes. The icy palaces and the white mountains of the North, and the endless blue sea… I had never seen the sea, you know."

"Really? I can't imagine! Although of course, I had never seen a desert or a big city like Omashu or Ba Sing Se before I left the South Pole either…"

"I grew up in a small village. My parent were devastated when I was drafted for the military, but it was a great chance to travel and I actually liked it, most of the time. Until I got burned of course."

"How did you end up from foot soldier to becoming an envoy?"

"I've been lucky. The healer's stories inspired me and I wanted to travel more. I managed to be part of the Earth King's guard when he first came to the Fire Nation. I still remember the first day I came here, after traveling over the sea for days, it was just magical. Apparently I did my job well because I got asked again and again, and I started to be seen as an expert on the Fire Nation. I even married a girl who descended from Fire Nation colonialists! My parents were not too happy at first, but they love her now. And I learned even more about the Fire Nation from her. So step by step, I made my way up until I was where I am now."

"That's a very inspiring career," Katara said. "And all because you wanted to travel!"

He smiled, the skin around his eyes crinkling in a pleasant way. "It's nowhere near as inspiring as your own adventures, Master Katara," he said. Katara laughed, but before she could answer, the room fell silent and everyone stood up. The Fire Lord had arrived and strode to the table. Katara and Jian stood up as well and bowed. Zuko nodded back and took his seat next to Katara.

"How nice of you to join us, Sir Jian," he said, and the envoy bowed again before sitting down.

"The pleasure is mine completely, Your Highness," he said. "I've been having a delightful talk with Master Katara."

Zuko smiled. "I'm happy you two get along." He moved closer to Katara and brought his mouth very close to her ear. "Mai asks if you can take a look at her after dinner."

"Of course," she whispered back, and turned more towards him. She lightly laid her hand on his arm. "I'll go to her as soon as we're finished."

Zuko smiled. After the food was brought he turned his attention to the envoy.

"Sir Jian, you mentioned something about your daughters this afternoon?" he asked.

"Yes, Your Highness," Jian said. "I have two girls. Mimi is eight and Kwa Mei is ten."

Katara laughed. "Kwa Mei?"

"Yes, after the legendary beauty from the 8th century."

"She was a poet, wasn't she?"

"Yes. Her cycle about unrequited love is still widely popular among school girls in Ba Sing Se."

"Not just school girls," Zuko said. "My Uncle has a volume of her tanka's. He used to quote them all the time when we were in Ba Sing Se."

"Really?" Katara asked. "That doesn't surprise me. But, sir Jian, do you know I took that name as a disguise when we tried to get an audience with the Earth King, during the war?"

"I didn't! How funny."

"We were all in disguises there," Zuko said. "That city of secrets…"

Both he and Katara fell silent, lost in memories. Jian looked from one to the other, unsure.

"I understand that you've recently been in Ba Sing Se, Master Katara?"

"Yes, I was."

"Were you on a visit to the Earth King? I didn't hear about you at court."

"No, no," Katara said. "I was there to visit a friend."

"I already thought it strange that we didn't hear anything about the Avatar being in town."

"I wasn't with the Avatar." Katara's voice sounded cold suddenly.

"Oh! I thought…" Jian hesitated.

"I'm no longer the Avatar's companion," Katara said with a tired look.

"I'm very sorry," Jian said. He looked for support to Zuko, who placed a hand on Katara's back to comfort her.

"Aren't you being a bit hard on him?" Zuko said softly, leaning in to whisper in Katara's ear. She inclined her head.

"Sorry. You're right," she whispered back, and turned back to the envoy.

"Forgive me, sir Jian, this subject is still a bit painful for me. It's okay, we didn't make a big deal about it, so it's not strange that you didn't know.""

He shook his head. "I understand, and I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

"Let's return to more happy subjects," Katara said, making an effort to smile. "Which poem of Kwa Mei do you like best?"

The conversation turned to poetry and children again, and dinner passed altogether pleasantly.

When the tables had been cleared Zuko stood up, and the nobles prepared to follow him into the other room. Katara tugged at his sleeve.

"I'll go to Mai now," she said quietly. He nodded and turned back to his messmate.

"Sir Jian, would you please join us?"

As Katara walked away, Jian joined Zuko and the noblemen on their way to the drawing room. Most of the men sat down together in small groups, some of them lighting pipes, others starting a game of cards or pai sho. Jian had expected more political talk, but although some men seemed to watch Zuko expectantly, the Fire Lord apparently had no mind to talk about political matters right now. He continued his conversation with Jian about his family, inquiring about his wife. They sat on a beautifully decorated, low bench along one of the walls, a little aside from the rest. A few minutes of pleasant politeness passed, but then Jian couldn't hold back his curiosity anymore.

"Forgive me for asking, Your Highness," he said tentatively, "it's only because of the great confidence you've honored me with that I dare ask you this…" Zuko raised his eyebrow and looked at him, waiting.

"I understand Master Katara has been a close friend of yours ever since the war, and the way you treat each other clearly shows your mutual respect and understanding…"

Zuko nodded, although he began to look slightly confused.

"Well, what I mean is, I haven't seen the Lady Mai at all when I was here, and well… If there are any delicate situations that I shouldn't mention, I would appreciate it if you'd warn me about them."

Zuko's eyes widened. He stood up abruptly and said: "Lady Mai is ill. Katara is here to heal her, as my friend, and nothing more. Implying otherwise would be an insult to both her and me!"

Jian quickly stood up as well, bowed deeply and raised his hands in an apologetic gesture.

"I didn't mean to imply anything, Your Highness! I would never question your honor, upon my word!"

Zuko frowned, and Jian could've sworn sparks blew out of his nose as he huffed. A few noblemen stared in their direction, curious to the source of the commotion. Conscious of their inquiring looks, Zuko subdued his temper. He breathed in, and out. His shoulders relaxed and he put his hand on Jian's arm, turning his back to the room.

"I know that. But please don't mention anything like this, not to any of the nobles here, nor at the court of the Earth King."

"I would never, Your Highness. You know the respect I have for you."

"I know, Jian, and you know my respect for you as well. I like you. But some things are better not mentioned."

Jian lowered his gaze. "I understand."

Zuko awkwardly patted his shoulder. "Let's not talk about it anymore. Come, join me in a game of pai sho, will you?"

Jian nodded, smiling relieved, and they joined a group at one of the low tables.