Chapter 10

Katara followed Sokka into the kitchen area for breakfast to find her father already seated at one of the small tables. Unconsciously, Katara tensed. Sokka hadn't told her they would be dining with Hakoda. She thought it would just be the two of them. Sokka had suspected something was wrong after Hakoda came back from meeting with Katara the previous evening and was determined to get to the bottom of it.

"Good morning, Katara and Sokka," Hakoda greeted his children with a warm smile.

"Hi, Dad," Sokka replied with a smile of his own. Katara said nothing as the two took a seat across from him. Hakoda's face took on a slight frown before continuing.

"I asked the chef to prepare a special meal for us," he explained just as the chef came out with three steaming bowls. "Sea prune stew."

Sokka's mouth watered at the smell as his bowl was placed in front of him. Katara couldn't help but do the same. Not since they were last at the North Pole had either of them eaten traditional Water Tribe food.

"Enjoy," Hakoda said.

"Oh, I will," Sokka replied before digging in.

"Come on, Twinkle Toes, focus!" Toph exclaimed as he barely blocked a simple levitating rock she had sent his way.

"I'm sorry, Toph," Aang replied, shaking his head. "I don't know why I'm having a hard time focusing."

"You're having a hard time focusing because you're distracted. What's the problem?" she asked, taking a break from their earthbending practice.

Aang sighed. "I don't know if I have what it takes to defeat the Fire Lord."

"You'll be facing him on the day of the eclipse and he's not a hundred percent because of what Katara did. You'll have every advantage over him," she reasoned.

"It doesn't really seem fair to me."

"Fair? Since when is war fair? Do you really think the Fire Lord would fight fair against you?"

"Probably not, but…" he trailed off.

"What are you really afraid of, Aang?" Toph asked, dropping his nickname for a moment. This was serious if he was having doubts about the invasion plan.

"I'm afraid to fail, Toph," he quietly admitted. Usually these admissions were saved for Katara's ears, but Toph had asked the question.

"This is about the Avatar State, isn't it?" Toph said knowingly.

"Yes," he replied, a little surprised at how easily she had figured it out. "I left Guru Pathik before we finished training because I had a vision that Katara was in trouble. I had the vision while I was in the process of opening my seventh chakra. He told me if I left that I wouldn't be able to get into the Avatar State at all, but I left anyway. Now my seventh chakra is blocked. I can't even call on Roku for guidance anymore. I'm pretty sure that if one of you guys were in immediate danger I could get into the Avatar State, but I still have no idea how to control it once I'm there, which is dangerous for everyone."

"I wouldn't worry so much, Twinkle Toes. You don't need the Avatar State to defeat the Fire Lord. You'll soon be a master of all four elements," she said with a grin. "And you have us."

"Look, Katara. I don't know what your problem is, but it's not fair that you're treating Dad like this."

"What are you talking about?"

"You were so rude to him during breakfast. I don't understand. Why are so mad at him?"

"I'm not mad at him."

"Then why did you act like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like he's the Fire Lord or something. You'd think he had been the one to burn Azula and Zuko the way you talked to him."

Katara realized somewhat shamefully that what Sokka said was true. But she still wasn't ready to attempt to reconcile with him. If anything, she felt that her father owed it to her to make amends.

It was early afternoon when Azula called on Mai and Ty Lee. She wanted to get whatever it was they felt they needed to say over with.

"Hi, Azula," Ty Lee said as she entered the room, taking a seat on Katara's bed. Mai followed suit.

"So, what is it you wished to speak to me about?" Azula asked.

"Ty Lee and I have made a decision. After what's happened over the last week, we can no longer in good conscience continue to fight for the Fire Nation. Well, at least not for the Fire Lord," Mai began.

"And why's that?" Azula asked, wanting to know where their loyalties now rested and why.

"Because of what we were ordered by the Fire Lord to do to you through Long Feng," Mai answered, shuddering slightly at the memory.

"And because of what he actually did to you," Ty Lee tearfully finished, looking at the bandages covering her friend's legs.

Azula closed her eyes, trying to shut out the memories. She realized the new reality to the dynamic of their relationship—she didn't have the authority to make them follow her orders anymore. "There's more to this decision, isn't there?" Azula asked after finally opening her eyes to look at her friends once more.

"Yes," Mai said with a nod. "We've decided that it's in the Fire Nation's best interest for this war to end. We're going to fight alongside Zuko and his friends."

Azula's eyes narrowed at them, but Ty Lee saw something akin to hurt in them. "So you're leaving me then?" She tried to keep her tone neutral, but her voice betrayed her.

"No, we're not," Ty Lee explained. "We're not abandoning you, Azula. You are still our friend, and we are here for you. But we have to do what we feel is the right thing."

"Thank you both for meeting with me," Iroh said as Zuko and Aang took a seat in his room.

"Not a problem," Aang replied.

"You said you have some news, Uncle," Zuko said.

"Yes. I have to leave for a while to take care of some unfinished business. There are some old friends I need to visit. Trust me when I tell you it is of the utmost importance." Iroh knew it was time now that Zuko was a part of the Avatar's family.

"But what about Aang's firebending training?" Zuko asked.

"You can continue to teach him," Iroh replied.

"Me?"

"Yes, you," Iroh said with a smile.

Zuko glanced over at Aang to see what his reaction to this was. Aang appeared to be more than okay with the idea.

"But, Uncle, I'm not a master firebender like you are."

"You are very close though, Prince Zuko. Aang, you have mastered air and water. The next element in the cycle is earth. From what Toph has told me, you have a ways to go with that. In the meantime, you should continue to learn the basics of firebending."

"How long will you be gone for?" Aang asked.

"I should be able to rejoin you a week before the eclipse. Of course, if that changes, I will send word. When I return, you will both be ready to learn the true art of firebending."

Azula now sat on her bed, alone in her room. It felt like her entire world had been flipped upside down in a matter of days.

For years, she had kept her emotions tightly secured and tucked away, but she found herself reaching a breaking point. All she wanted to do now was run from the feelings that were threatening to overtake her spirit, but she couldn't. She wasn't strong enough anymore, and she began to wonder if she ever really had been strong enough to begin with.

She had given her all to her father, and it still wasn't good enough. Granted, she knew she had made a mistake—maybe got too ambitious—but she was so sure that her plan to conquer Ba Sing Se would go off without a hitch. It hadn't, but she had convinced herself that she could do no wrong in the eyes of her father. That was probably her biggest mistake of all, she realized.

And now her title and honor were gone. She didn't know who she was anymore.

An overwhelming feeling of regret grabbed a hold of her, followed by fear and sadness, before finally contorting into full on rage. Azula screamed and blasted two fireballs from her fists. She watched as they crashed into the dresser across the room, setting it on fire.

Katara, who had been walking down the hallway toward their room, heard Azula yell and rushed into the room to find the firebender staring angrily at the burning piece of furniture. Reacting quickly, she bent the water in the room's basin onto the flames, extinguishing them before turning to face Azula.

The firebender tensed, balling her hands into fists as she tried to get herself under control. But it was too late. The floodgates had finally been opened, and the force of nine years of bottled up emotions made closing them impossible. Angry tears ran down her face, and she buried her head in her hands, ignoring the pain the movement caused in her sides.

The waterbender sat by Azula's side and placed a warm hand on her back in an effort to comfort her. She knew there was nothing she could say to make the fallen princess feel better. Even though she couldn't really relate to what Azula was going through, she did understand what it felt like to experience a profound loss. When her mother died, there was nothing anyone could say that would soothe the ache she felt, but knowing that people around her cared had helped.

For once, Azula stopped wondering what possessed Katara to do the things she did and was simply grateful for the girl's presence. She may have been lost, but at least she wasn't alone.