Chapter Ten
The village was a pathetic little hamlet situated by a volcano. As Katara walked up the path to the highest house, she noticed the fire lilies clinging to the sloping sections of the volcano. "Well, the soil's fertile, anyway," she said.
"Uncle once told me that fire lilies only grow for a few weeks every year. If they're blooming this early, the soil must be good."
"How will we know when we find him?"
Zuko shrugged. "We'll ask whoever lives in this house if they know where he lives."
They continued up the hill until they reached the rickety old house. Katara lifted her hand and knocked on the door, feeling curiously lightheaded. The door swung open with a creak, and a wrinkled woman with a mole on her forehead glared at them from within. "What do you want, you rotten brats?"
"We were wondering if you knew if Yon Rha lives near here."
"He's out in the garden," the woman said before slamming the door. Katara stared at the rough wood for several seconds, her fist still lifted as if to knock. Slowly, she lowered her hand and turned to Zuko. The firebender brought two fingers to his lips.
"We'll wait," he whispered. "Once he leaves the property, we'll strike."
So close. He's so close. "What if he doesn't leave?"
"Then we'll lure him out. C'mon, let's go see what he looks like." He turned to circle around the house.
She followed, her legs stiff and wooden. They swept around the property in a wide circle, staying clear of all the windows. By the time they reached the back garden, almost fifteen minutes of careful moving had gone by.
He was working in the garden, as the wrinkled woman had said. His limp white hair clung to his face, dirty after apparent hours toiling amongst the dirt. His fingers were covered in dried mud, but the layer of filth didn't seem to impede him as he ripped dozens of stringy weeds from the topsoil. Beside him, a basket of tomato carrots sat, still covered in dirt from the garden.
"He looks so normal for a monster," she said.
"Most monsters don't look the part. That's how they fly under the radar for so long. If every monster had a scar marking their face, it would be a lot easier to eradicate them."
She looked up at Zuko. The scarred side of his face was facing her, but his eyes were focused on Yon Rha, in the garden. "But you're not a monster."
"I used to be. Back when hunting the Avatar was my only purpose in life. I didn't care who I hurt along the way. I didn't care about anything but my honor. I was a monster, with no control, no regard for life."
"You were confused."
"No. I knew exactly what I was doing."
She looked at the man who'd killed her mother, still ripping weeds from the ground with malicious fervor. The hate that bubbled up in her as she looked at him reminded her of the rush of water she'd brought up from the sea to cushion their landing at Whale Tail Island. It had rushed up, feeding on the fear and anger she'd felt. The rage was something she was familiar with・it had come up hundreds of times when she thought of the day her mother had been killed. Even when Zuko had been hunting Aang, however, he hadn't stirred the same degree of hatred in her.
"It's different," she told him. "Yon Rha deserves to die."
Zuko looked at her, his face troubled. "Katara, I'm sorry for everything I've ever done to you and your friends."
"Don't be. You've given me something no one else could. You've given me a chance to avenge my mother."
"What do you intend to do? Kill him?"
"That was the plan."
"Would your friends approve?"
"Aang wouldn't. Sokka might・she was his mother, too. Toph, I don't know. Would you?"
He hesitated, then said, "I would probably do the same thing in your place. My mother is probably dead after all this time. The official story is that she was banished. I can only take that to mean my father sent someone to kill her. She was named a traitor of the Fire Nation・it would've been perfectly acceptable to have her killed, even if she had been married to the Fire Lord. My father . . . He probably had her killed to tie up loose ends."
"He didn't kill you when you were banished."
"No, he didn't. But I wasn't a traitor-at least not back then-just a family reject."
"Maybe after the war is over-"
"Father will never take me back. I can accept that now. I have to claim the throne myself, if I want to keep it from Azula."
Katara shuddered at the thought of Azula leading the Fire Nation. The war would go on just for her amusement. "Would the people really follow her? She's insane."
"They'd follow her. It's a brilliant lie really. From the time we can speak, Fire Nation children are told that we live in the greatest nation in the world, and that the war is the only way of spreading our prosperity with the other nations. When you feed lies to children that long, they grow up believing it, and teaching it to their kids. Part of the lie is that the royal family's orders are absolute. If Azula steps up to rule, they'll follow her, no matter what she's like."
"But they'd follow you, too, wouldn't they?"
"Maybe. I'm still banished, though, and a traitor. I don't know how they'd react to having me as Fire Lord. If I could even win the crown from Azula in the first place."
From the house, a shrill voice called out for Yon Rha. "These tomato carrots are too hard for my teeth. I want you to go down to the market and get me some real food."
"Yes, mother," the monster responded in a desolate tone.
Mother? That's his mother?
"Katara, are you ready?" Zuko asked, standing up.
"Ready."
They descended down the hill, tailing the old man. She kept her eyes open for any sign of watchers, but there seemed to be no one else nearby, with the sky filling with bruised clouds. Perfect. It's perfect.
She'd purchased a new skin to hold her bending water back at the village market, to replace the one that had been taken when Azula had captured her. It didn't hold as much, and it had no sentimental value, but carrying the water on her arms was a dead giveaway in the Fire Nation, and a lot of work, besides, so she'd traded bits of her Fire Nation dress for it.
Yon Rha stopped suddenly, on the path, turning back with his eyes alert. Katara recognized the pose of a wary warrior watching for enemy movement. A moment later, however, the man continued down the road, walking a bit faster.
She pulled a stream of water from her new pouch, letting the liquid flow across her hand. Zuko edged closer. "Circle around. I'll draw his attention and you do whatever you have to do."
She nodded, running across the path as quietly as she could. Yon Rha gave no indication that he knew she was approaching. Once she was well ahead of him, she stopped, hiding behind a crevasse in the rocks.
Behind Yon Rha, a rock flew across the road and hit a bush. The leaves hissed, their branches snapping. The monster turned around and shot a fireball at the shrub. "No one sneaks up on me."
Katara stepped out onto the path, sending her water toward the retired commander's feet and freezing him where he stood. "You're wrong," she told him. "I snuck up on you."
"Who are you? What are you doing?" His voice was hoarse with shock.
"So you don't remember me. I guess I'm not surprised." A raindrop fell across her cheek and slid down her face. "It's been years, and you only saw me once. Of course you don't remember. But I do."
"Who are you?"
She stepped forward. Another cool drop of water grazed her arm as the clouds began to weep. "It's been over six years since you last saw me. I was eight when your ship stormed my village, looking for the last waterbender in the South Pole. You were interrogating a woman in one of the igloos about the identity of the last known waterbender when I ran inside looking for her."
Recognition flashed through the monster's wide eyes. "You're the little girl."
"That woman you were interrogating was my mother," she went on, feeling cold inside. It was as if all the anger she should've been feeling was being washed away by the rain, and the only thing left behind was a bleak sense of duty. "She told you she was the last waterbender in our tribe, but she wasn't. She wasn't a waterbender at all."
Yon Rha looked down at his feet, frozen to the ground. "No. Impossible . . ."
Katara's fists tightened, and the steady rain froze in midair. "You're the one who killed my mother. You ruined my life."
"No, you don't understand. I had orders . . . Please, spare me."
The water on the ground rose up in wisps, crawling toward the monster like tiny bugs. The water suspended in midair converged on him as well, coating him with a layer of liquid until all but his face was wet. "Wait! You can take my mother! Then we'll be even. Please, just spare me. I'm an old man."
A wave of revulsion overtook her. This man . . . He's a monster. He's even worse than I expected him to be. "You would sacrifice your own mother to save your life?"
"Yes, yes, please. I'll never raise a hand against your village again. You can take whatever revenge you like."
"I see," she said hollowly. He feels nothing. He's empty.
But he's still human, a voice whispered. The voice belonged to her thoughts, but it struck her as something Aang would say, in this situation.
Aang wouldn't understand, she thought in response. I need this.
If you kill him, you're no better than he is.
No. He deserves it. He's willing to let me kill his own mother・he's a monster.
You're better than this, Katara.
More water rushed up to the firebender's neck as her anger returned in force, and he tilted his face up, afraid of drowning. The rain was pouring down even harder now, almost as hard as it had during the storm. As it fell near her, it turned to steam.
"Spare me, spare me . . ."
She threw him against a tree and froze him there. "You're just an empty shell. There's nothing good left inside you. Why should I spare you?"
"I'm just an old man. I'm sure I'll be dead soon, anyway. Be generous. Give me the last few years of my life, I'm begging you."
She lifted her arms and slammed him into a different tree, salty tears mingling with the rain on her face. This time, she just froze his wrists and ankles to the bark. Once he was secure, she moved the rain so that it gathered in a great blob of liquid. She split it into a dozen portions and froze each one, so that the ends tapered down into sharp points. Pinned to a tree, her mother's killer whimpered.
"You should never have stepped foot in the Southern Water Tribe," she said, looking up at the moon above. It was still almost full・it would give her the strength to do this.
On the tree, he was sobbing, tears raining down his face as the rain melted the icy restraints on his hands. Katara spread her arms, moving the ice spears so they were all aimed at Yon Rha. They shot forward in one rapid motion, making the old firebender cringe against the rough tree bark in fear. The spears sailed through the air, slicing through the droplets of rain.
They stopped inches short of his body.
The world stood still for a long moment. Slowly, Katara lowered her arms to her sides and let the spears fall to the ground as water. All around her, rain poured through the trees. "An empty shell. That's all you are. It means there's nothing left in you to kill."
She refilled her new pouch with the rainwater, and walked up to the man who'd destroyed her family. "By the time the ice on your wrists thaws enough for you to break loose, I'll be somewhere out at sea. And I can go, knowing that I already have my revenge. Your life is nothing anymore. You're incapable of feeling anything. You're incapable of hurting anyone now that your body has grown so weak in its old age. That's revenge enough."
She turned, relieved that she didn't have to look at him anymore, and walked over to the bushes where Zuko was waiting. He approached, his expression enigmatic. "Are you sure?" he asked.
"He's not worth killing." Just saying the words made her feel better. It was like a great pressure had been building up inside her ever since she had found her mother's body, and now it had finally been released.
They stood there in the rain for several seconds before Katara stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Zuko. "Thanks for bringing me here. And you don't have to be sorry about anything. I forgive you."
"I'm glad." He held her, his hair brushing against the side of her face as they embraced. Katara would've been content to just stand there. The ordeal she'd gone through today had drained her, and she wanted nothing more than to rest. Besides, Zuko was very warm.
But the moment did pass, and she made herself let go of him. Without another word between them, they walked down the road, to where their boat was tied up outside the village.
The tiny village was comprised primarily of houses, the only public structures being the marketplace near the water. The shops were mostly empty, closed because of the rain, and still mostly empty after the recent storms. As they passed through the abandoned fish market on their way back, Zuko paused.
"What is it?" she asked as he walked in a direction perpendicular to their course. He ducked under a tarp and plucked a piece of paper off the market stall. The edges of the paper were moist and smeared by the storm.
"We've got a problem," he told her, holding up her wanted poster.
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