Katara must have informed everyone of her plans last night because nobody seems surprised that she's staying behind. Ty Lee and Suki say their good-byes quickly and stand aside so Sokka, Aang, and Toph can have more time. Sokka shakes my hand, then hugs Katara tightly. I hear them whispering to each other, but I can't make out any words. Aang is next. He shakes my hand and wishes me luck, then hugs Katara for a long time. I can't make out any of their conversation either, which is infuriating.

The biggest surprise is Toph. When she moves to hug Katara, a tear rolls down her cheek. Katara looks startled as she bends down to Toph's level and hugs her. Toph's shoulders are shaking and I hear her say, "You were so annoying, but I actually started thinking of you as a big sister."

"I thought of you as a little sister."

"I love you."

Katara looks shocked, but hugs Toph a little more tightly. "I love you too."

They pull away and Toph quickly wipes her face before pointing at us. "If you ever mention that again, I'll earthbend you into the next century. I swear it."

I'm trying not to laugh at the serious look on her face, and I can tell the others are too. But we agree as they climb on Appa. Katara runs her hands through his fur and he licks her before they fly away. Her tears don't start falling until they're out of view. I put my hand on her shoulder, wordlessly letting her know I'm there the same way she does for me. When she regains control, we head back to the palace.

We spend the rest of the day in meetings. I introduce Katara to the rest of my council and defend my decision to appoint her. Part of the problem they have is that she's a young girl, which I can sort of understand. Once they hear that she's one of the people who helped end the war, that she was the Avatar's waterbending teacher, and that she's traveled all over the world, they apologize. Good. Now we won't have problems.

Katara stands to give a report about the current state of the nations. "Obviously the Fire Nation itself is in pretty good condition because most of the fighting occurred elsewhere. The North Pole is intact because Commander Zhao had issues breaking through, but three of air temples are mostly destroyed. The South Pole is completely decimated due to multiple raids, and most of the Earth Kingdom has been burnt and/or destroyed."

"Have we done anything with aid?" Hirokazu asks.

She nods. "When King Bumi and Master Pakku left, they took aid for the Earth Kingdom and the South Pole, respectively. Master Pakku is going to take waterbenders from the North Pole to the South Pole to help rebuild because the South Pole has no waterbenders left."

"That's impossible," Kazuo interrupts. "No waterbenders?"

Wrong thing to say, especially in such an incredulous tone. I see Katara's fist clench, but her voice is calm. "The Southern Raiders killed every waterbender at the South Pole except for me."

She allows the statistic to sink in before continuing. The councilmen, for the most part, look either slightly embarrassed or shocked, except Kazuo, who looks annoyed. "The Avatar took food with him, but hasn't asked for any other form of aid at this time. King Bumi and Master Pakku will also be in touch if they need anything else."

We move on to other topics, such as ways to fix the areas of the Fire Nation that were attacked. We also propose ideas for a peaceful future where the four nations are separate but friendly. That's going to be more difficult.

I'm happy when Katara and I can leave and have dinner with Uncle. She asks if there are any nice places in the city where she can live, but we inform her of our plan to keep her here. I'm going to renovate my old room for her to live in because I have the Firelord's bedroom now. Katara can easily stay in Azula's room until we finish the renovations. I'm really happy when she agrees.

Katara and I spend the next two days in meetings and helping Uncle set up his tea shop. I also show Katara her new room, which she loves. The walls and carpet are still Fire Nation red, but the bedding and wall hangings are Water Tribe blue. The best of both worlds.

On Saturday, I spend the day with Uncle putting the finishing touches on the new Jasmine Dragon while Katara spends the day at the Fire Nation Hospital healing people with war injuries. The head of the hospital had asked for her help and she had happily obliged. She really does love helping people.

Finally, on Sunday, the Jasmine Dragon opens. Katara and I spend the day with Uncle in the busy shop with Katara serving tables and me making tea in the back. I watch Uncle and Katara when I'm not working and smile at how similar they are. They're both laughing and talking with customers and the light is hitting Katara in a way that makes her glow. They exchange jokes and stories while we clean tables and sweep the floor, and I'm happy they're getting along so well. He even tells her to leave out the "General" and just call him "Iroh."

The urge to kiss her comes back as we say good night before going into our separate rooms. It's crazy; we don't even touch each other and it's still there. I need to work harder to push it away.

Katara and I decide to train together to stay in shape and keep our bending sharp, so we're up early the next day. I had just blocked a well-thrown icicle when the Fire Nation prison warden comes over. He bows. "Firelord, I'm terribly sorry to interrupt you."

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Firelord, it appears Princess Azula has taken her life."

What?! "Take us to her immediately."

We go to her cell and are greeted by the sight of her on the floor with a loosened bedsheet around her neck. She's so pale, almost grey. Her eyes are closed and her neck is obviously broken. I ignore the warden's assurances that they cut her down immediately and found me as soon as they found her and as Katara kneels down beside Azula. She takes her pulse, then puts her head near her chest and mouth. I don't know how she can deal with being so close to her body. I feel sick

"Can you do anything?" I ask when she puts her hands on Azula's chest above her heart.

Katara shakes her head. "Her life force is gone. I can feel nothing."

So I turn to the guards and give them orders to remove Azula's body to the family morgue to be prepared for burial. I also give one of my servants orders to cancel my meetings for the day and another to bring Uncle home from his shop. While Katara and I wait in the courtyard for Uncle, my feelings of confusion overwhelm me. "Why would she kill herself?"

"Do you remember my analogy of the three-legged stool?"

I nod.

"Azula was already unbalanced because of Mai and Ty Lee's betrayal. Then, when you and she fought the Agni Kai, she lost. She was supposed to be Firelord and you took that away from her. Second leg gone." She makes a chopping motion with her hand.

I nod again. "And the third?"

"Azula's firebending was the last thing she had to be proud of. When Aang took that away, she had literally lost everything."

"And she couldn't handle it."

Now Katara nods. "That is my belief."

"I think your hypothesis is probably true," Uncle says from behind us. "Azula seemed strong, but she cracked under pressure." He shakes his head. "It's a shame."

We make arrangements for the funeral, a small burial with only Uncle, Katara, my father, and I in attendance. I feel as though I'm moving on automatic. I'm not sorry that Azula's gone. But she's my sister. But she treated me horrendously for my entire life. But she's still my sister.

I shake my head. I don't know what to think.

I stand between Uncle and Katara at the burial site, with my father across from us. Each of his arms is being held by a guard and tears are falling in rivers down his face. He's quiet until Azula's casket is in the ground. Then he starts yelling. "This is all your fault!" He points at Katara and me. "If you hadn't ganged up on her and defeated her, we wouldn't be in this situation! We all know she was too powerful for either of you to handle alone!"

Neither of us speak, keeping our gazes on the dirt slowly filling the hole.

He turns to Katara. "You may think you're special because you're the Avatar's friend, but you're really just a pathetic orphan who can move water. Like that's a useful element. Female waterbenders shouldn't be able to fight; you're all pathetic, worthless scum!"

She looks at him and says nothing, but I'm furious. "Leave her alone!"

My father turns his glare on me. "And you! You'll never be a great leader. You're weak and worthless, just like your mother. I should have let my father kill you. No, I should have killed you myself when you were a boy!"

"Enough!" Katara yells at the same time I say, "Guards, take him back to his cell!"

My father spits in my direction. "You are not my son. My only child is dead and it's all your fault."

The guards drag him away, still yelling, and I feel Katara's hand on my arm. Emotion boils inside me and I shove her hand away before taking off. I run up to my mother's garden, stopping only to sit on the edge of the fountain and gasp for air. Something inside me snaps, and suddenly I'm crying.

I don't even know why I'm crying. For Azula? Because of my father? For my mother? For me? All I know is I can't stop.

Eventually I feel arms around my shoulders and see Katara sit next to me. Her face is concerned, but I want none of it. "Go away!" I yell through my tears. "Leave me alone!"

But she only holds on more tightly. My arms wrap around her waist without my permission, pulling her closer. "Go away," I mumble, my face buried in her neck. "Leave me alone."

"I'm not leaving you," she says softly. "I'll never leave you."

With that, I give into tears again. Katara just stays there, strong, running her fingers through my hair. When I stop crying, she brushes my tears away with her thumb, then traces my scar with her finger. I close my eyes, realizing that Katara is the only person I've ever allowed to touch my scar. I wouldn't even let Mai do it when she was my girlfriend.

Finally, I open my eyes and apologize for breaking down. I still don't even know why I did. She just removes her hand from my face wordlessly. But her eyes are kind and I know she understands. I think she knows I appreciate her always being there too. I can't bring myself to say it aloud.

We don't talk as I escort Katara back to her room, comfortable with the silence. I lie in bed for hours, my own hand tracing my scar, tracing it the way she had. My hand is still on my cheek when I finally fall asleep.