The town was celebrating their own festival. Apparently, in the Fire Nation, they celebrated with the huge ceremony in the city, then all towns celebrated their own way. This worked perfectly for their cover. No one asked or questioned them when they rode into town and stopped in the middle of the street.
"My ladies and gentlemen," Zuko cried as he stood on top of his ostrich-horse. "May I have your attention?" Some people turned toward him. But no one stared at his scar, for it was covered with a patch to make him look more rugged. "Right from the Fire Nation Colonies, I present to you the magnificent, talented, and striking members of the Flamer's Heart."
Jack and Gawain rolled off their mounts and landed on their hands. They reached out, clasped hands, and twisted so they stood on each other's feet. The crowd applauded and the ostrich-horses were moved out of the circle that had formed of onlookers.
Jack backflipped and landed on his feet, just in time to link his fingers together and launch his running brother up into the air. Gawain twisted three times and landed with his arms outstretched. Jack then rushed him, but jumped and landed on Gawain's shoulders. They looked over at Katara. She raced towards them and Gawain hauled her up to sit on his shoulder. The crowd cheered.
Jack put his hands under Gawain's feet and lifted him off his shoulders so he stood straight. Gawain then took Katara's hands and slowly lowered her. She put her feet on Jack's shoulders and flipped back. She landed on her feet and bowed to the applause. Gawain then flipped off and landed next to her, bowing as well. The two boys took their last bows and moved off to the side to let Katara have her room.
She drew her knives out and clicked them together with the sound of the drums from a near by band. She started to dance, first turning one way, then another. She picked up the pace and was soon twirling in circles. Niceros tossed apples up into the air around her. Katara tossed the knives, driving them dead center into the fruit. As the music stopped, Katara leaned back, so her body was parallel to the ground, and caught her knives as they fell. The last she caught in her teeth. The crowd cheered and Katara bowed, offering the apples to children she saw around the ring. They immediately started to compare the cut marks on them as if they were some rare collecting statue.
"Fabulous, isn't it, folks!" Zuko cried, stepping into the ring. Riom was walking around with a hat, collecting coins. "Now, we have here an extraordinary man who can lift almost anything. Niceros."
Niceros stepped out in pants that showed off his muscular legs and a sleeveless tunic. He flexed and winked at some of the maidens, who giggled and blushed. He walked over to a bench, where three full grown men were enjoying their booze. With a courteous bow, he grabbed the bench and lifted it high above his head. People in the crowd gasped. Niceros transferred it from one hand to another and then set it back down without spilling a drop of alcohol.
The three men laughed and offered Niceros a glass. He smiled and accepted it, downing it in one toss. He then turned to the torch hanging from a support beam, and spit the whiskey out in a stream. It caused the fire to flare out. Many people in the audience gasped and others laughed, but everyone clapped.
"My dear friends," Zuko called, drawing everyone's attention, once again. "We have one last trick we would like to share with you before we depart for this evening. If you will look above your heads, you shall see the wire that holds your celebration banner." People looked up to stare at the wire. "Now, my friends, our Master Acrobats and our Mistress of Knives shall perform 'Theater of the Highwire'." Even more people craned their necks up.
Jack and Gawain walked out onto the rope as if it were second nature to them. Gawain was holding a knife, carving an apple. Jack was watching him. Katara walked out of the shadows, leaning against the pole the wire was connected to. She was juggling her knives.
"You're carving that apple the wrong way, Gawain," Jack said, suddenly, loud enough so people could hear below.
"No, I'm not," Gawain said. "You've just always carved it wrong."
"I have not," Jack said.
"You have, too." Gawain said.
Jack turned and saw Katara. "We'll ask that miss over there. She'll know the right way to peel an apple." He walked over to Katara and said, "Miss, would you mind settling an argument? I say I carve the apple correctly, and my brother says I don't. Would you mind telling us who is correct?"
Katara caught her knives and said, "Well, certainly." She followed Jack out onto the wire a little shakily and stopped when they were close to Gawain. "Let me see you carve the apple."
Gawain took the apple, spun it on his finger, and used the knife to slice the skin away. The red skin fell into the crowd, which applauded. Katara pulled out a fresh apple and handed it to Jack. "Let me see you carve the apple," she said. Jack took the apple and the knife, and started to carve. As the skin came off, a word appeared in the apple. When he was done, it spelt Lover, and Jack presented it to Katara. Some of the girls giggled.
Katara smiled. "Well, it would seem that both of you are talented with carving an apple. I think we better let the audience decide. To let Master Gawain be the champion?" The crowd cheered. "To let Master Jack be the champion?" The crowd cheered again, but most were females. "Then it is decided! The champion, and best of apple carvers is, Master Jack." The crowd applauded.
Jack jumped off the high wire and landed in the circle. "I'm sorry, Master Gawain," Katara said, placing her hand upon his shoulder. "I guess that's just the way the apple peals." A few groans came from the crowd at the bad joke, as well a couple of good natured boos and drunken laughter. Gawain jumped off the wire and landed beside his brother. They bowed up to Katara and extended their hands. Katara jumped and landed in their hands, posing as a queen would on her throne.
The crowd applauded and moved in for congratulations and compliments. A few children rushed forward with paper and pen, asking for autographs. Niceros joined the others and signed autographs, as well as kiss a few girls' cheeks. The three men from the bench moved forward and offered to buy the group a drink.
Katara found Zuko by her elbow and linked her arm with his to make sure he didn't get left behind in the crowd. The contact made her warm and she blushed. She shouldn't be having that kind of reaction, but she was. Their eyes met and she could see the fire in them blaze up in the gold coloring. She found herself wanting to move in closer, but she only made her way into the tavern the others had gone into.
As she pushed the door open, Zuko pulled her closer and guided her over to the others. To all the customers, they were just two young people in love. But Gawain and Niceros were having a silent she's-gonna-get-some-action-tonight conversation with their eyes, Jack was talking to the bar maid, Riom was carving, and Breber was giving them a look that Katara...truthfully, couldn't figure out. He wasn't upset, but he wasn't pleased. It was like he was stuck in the middle.
Zuko pulled out a seat for Katara and she sat. He took a seat next to her and they listened to the three men who'd offered them drinks. "That was a wonderful performance," the first one said.
"Yeah, never saw jumping like that," the second one added, taking a drink from his glass. He was definitely drunk.
The third was the most sober. "How long have you been a performance group?" he asked.
"Not long," Jack answered. "We came from the Colonies, hoping some people would enjoy our act long enough for us to earn enough money so we could move to the next town."
"Which road are you taking?" the third man asked.
Breber spoke up, this time, looking away from Katara and Zuko. Katara was secretly glad to be away from his stare. "The south road down to Na Ting. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, there's been reports about rebels around and the like," the first man said. "Nasty business. But they don't seem to attack villagers and poor people. Just rich and nobility." He laughed. "Guess they're lookin' for the Fire Lord."
The others at the table laughed, except Zuko. He had bowed his head, hiding it under his hood. He seemed stiff and frozen. Had he not thought about himself being a target when he came on this mission? It was possible. Running a whole Nation, and setting up plans for someone to fill in during his absence, doesn't leave one to think freely.
Katara felt herself feeling sorry for him and his busy life. She reached over and put a hand over his clasped hands on the table. He looked up in surprise and met her eyes. Katara smiled softly, putting as much encouragement as she could in her smile. Zuko smiled back and ran a thumb over her fingers.
"So," the drunk said. "When are you two getting married?"
Katara looked over at the man, shock written on her face. "Married?" she asked.
"Yeah," he said in a drunken slur. "You know. Stand before a preacher, say 'I do', exchange rings, ride off to a wedding night,-"
"I'm sorry," she said, smiling. "But I believe you are mistaken. Zuko and I are not getting married. We are not even a couple."
The man looked over them. "Well, then you two hold hands and smile at each other a little too much to be just friends. You two go well together," he said. He pointed a finger at Zuko and slurred, "You better do right by her, boy, or I'll-" He didn't finish. He fell over backwards and slid to the floor, out cold.
"Sorry about Li," the third man said. "He's a hopeless romantic at times. Especially when he's drunk. I think that's the only reason his wife married him." He looked at Katara and Zuko. "But he is right that you two go well together."
Katara looked over at Zuko and blushed when her eyes met his. They did look well together, if she was to be truthful with herself. But nothing could ever happen. Even if they weren't on the opposite sides. He was royalty and she was lower level. Only in fairy tales, yeah? She was saved from any further depressing thoughts when the bar maid arrived with their drinks. She picked up the wooden mug.
"A toast," Breber said, raising his mug. "To the successful premier of Flamer's Heart." The others copied the toast and drank.
The powerful drink burned Katara's throat as she swallowed and she coughed. Setting her drink down, she placed a hand over her chest and tried to draw air into her lungs. She looked at the mug. "What is this?" she asked.
"The best fire whiskey in all of Fire Nation," the first man said, downing his entire mug.
Katara felt her stomach begin to warm and tentatively took another sip. This one didn't make her cough as much and it didn't burn her throat as bad, either.
"I think it's pretty good," Gawain said, tossing the rest back.
"You're crazy, then," Katara said.
"Oh, I don't know," Zuko said, swirling the liquid in his around a bit. "If you drink it slowly and a few sips at a time, it's not so bad."
Katara shrugged and took another sip. She might as well finish it, since these men had been so kind as to pay for them. It burned her again as she swallowed, but there was no coughing this time. Good, she was getting use to it.
"So," Breber said. "What do these rebels look like? Just incase we see them."
The third man swallowed his liquor and said, "Well, you can tell by their clothes, first off. They wear a lot of blue." Katara coughed, spitting back some of the drink. The team looked at her, but she just waved her hand in front of her, signaling to her drink. Hopefully, they would just write it off to her inexperience with booze. Thankfully, they did and the man continued.
"And another thing, they jump from the trees, screaming and yelling. If they do that, just clump and watch each others' backs. I'm not sure what they do to people they capture, but I'm sure they wouldn't harm a woman."
Katara used a napkin and cleaned up the spill. No, her tribe wouldn't harm a woman, but others would. Other tribes who thought that every Fire Nation scum should die. Man, woman, and child. She prayed that the Elders had been wise enough to not send those tribes. Reckless actions got people dead and caught real fast.
Suddenly, Katara felt her eyes begin to grow heavy. She leaned against Zuko's shoulder and closed her eyes. "You alright?" Zuko's soft voice asked. It sounded so far away.
"Just a little tired," she mumbled.
"I'll take you up to a room," he said and stood up. Katara opened her eyes and followed Zuko up the stairs after excusing herself from the table and wishing everyone a good night. She felt Zuko's hand grip hers and she allowed him to pull her down the hallway to a room. She was led in and gently pushed onto a bed. Zuko removed her sandals and put her under the covers. It was a sweet action and totally uncharacteristic of the stereo type Katara had ruled all royalty.
As Zuko started to leave, she felt her hand reach out and grab his sleeve. She also heard herself say "Stay". There was a pause and then the mattress behind her dipped as Zuko laid behind her. A warm arm wrapped around her waist and she drifted off into sleep.
