I'm not dead! I just finished writing over half of it today. Enjoy. FF is still not letting use those rulers...
OOOOOOOOOOOO
Chapter 11: Kiss and Tell
"Have a nice time." Wu called out to the carriage.
Zuko and Katara sat on the hind bench as the horses pulled it into town for the tour Iroh had made Zuko promise the 'mystery girl' as the entire palace called her.
A pouch of gold and a basket to hold purchases was also provided, courtesy of Iroh. As they arrived at the town square and got off, Katara was immediately greeted by the excitement of a large and flourishing town.
Oh, the sights far as the eye can see, the sounds loud and overlapping, and the new smells that reached her nose. There were all kinds of food being cooked in the streets by vendors and small restaurant booths down the street because of the Summer Solstice holiday; there was much more variety in food than in the Southern Water Tribe.
Pulling at Zuko's hand, Katara began to explore the city she had heard so much about, but never truly saw until now. Though she couldn't speak, she could still run and tour the new sights she had only heard about in rumors and outdated stories of the past.
On the other hand, Zuko was curious on why the girl was so excited; wasn't she of the Fire Nation ethnic? And, since a majority of children were schooled, all of the books held pictures of the Fire Nation capital and all of its archaeological feats, shouldn't she have known about the sights?
He turned back to her, intending to ask why she was so excited, but she was gone. Did he lose his guest on the first day here?
Briskly walking and looking around for her, he found the girl pressing herself against a large fish tank filled with some of the most common fish in the Fire Nation in fascination.
Where did this girl come from?
The vendor was yelling at her.
"Either win at the game or stop staring! Those fish aren't free, you know!" he shouted. Zuko walked over to the man.
"What is the game?" he asked the obviously surprised vendor.
"One gold piece to play; you pump water through this gun and try to hit the pipe, which will fill a bag full of the water. If the bag pops, you win a fish." He replied simply to the prince.
Taking Katara's wrist, Zuko explained to her what she had to do and placed a gold piece on the counter of the booth. Katara, fascinated by the 'water gun' saw that there was a foot pump she had to use to pump the water in order to go.
Using her Waterbending for help, she did what she was supposed to and shot at the small entrance of the pipe. As the bag burst, the vendor sighed and, taking a small net and clear bag with him, went to the fish tank, scooped out a fish and placed in the bag with some water, and handed it to Katara.
She had never seen a fish like this before, in the Water Tribes, all of the fish were either a gray or white color; not striped with yellow and blue, like this one. Her eyes wandered to the fish tank again; it would be selfish of her just to have one to herself. She should get some for her family and friends too.
Turning back to Zuko, she pointed to the stall again and placed her hands in front of her; silently asking him if she could play again. He sighed and gave her another gold coin. Taking it, she handed it to the vendor and was given another try. The cycle repeated until Katara had at least 14 fish in her, now larger, bag and hugged it close to her chest. The girl was more peculiar by the second; why was she always so interested in the most common Fire Nation things.
"Why don't we move on?" he suggested politely. Katara, noting how much time had passed for the first time since she had been playing, nodded; squeezing the bag closer.
Suddenly, something landed right in Katara's face. At first, there was a feeling of something else, but then cold water splashed all over her. Zuko saw that it was a large rubber ball filled with water; the girl was soaked.
He turned to her, watching her try and clear the water from her eyes. She was nearly a mess; her hair had become undone and tangled, the water had splashed onto her clothes, and the bit of makeup she wore was steadily dripping off of her chin and onto her clothing.
He took out a handkerchief and, since it didn't seem that she could see, raised her face to meet his and tried the best he could to wipe off the watery kohl on her face. Her face was mostly clear now and Zuko looked to see if there was anything else and he saw a dark stain spreading on the white fabric of her dress.
As he was about to try and get it out, he stopped and gave the handkerchief to her. Katara took it, setting down her fish, and pressed the fabric against the dark stain.
As she pulled at the stain and twisted the handkerchief around it, Zuko saw a fairly proportionate view of her dark skin and just the top of...
He mentally slapped himself for thinking such perverse thoughts; not now, he mentally berated himself. Katara offered the piece of cloth back to him; the stain now gone.
Zuko took it and stuffed it into a pocket; suggesting that they could get something to eat. Katara nodded and looked at the many booths and stalls making something. They all smelled so good and she felt her stomach grumble at the scents.
He turned towards a cart and pulled Katara there with him.
"Hello, Prince Zuko. What would you like today?" the elder man behind the cart asked kindly.
Katara saw a small bowl filled with little cubes of something. She pointed to them involuntarily and the man noted her selection.
"Candy?" he asked the mysterious girl with the prince and gave her a cube to try.
Usually, he and his sister would regularly come to him for something to eat because they said they 'didn't really prefer the cook's new menu' but now he was here with another girl.
Katara placed the 'candy' as the man called it, into her mouth and tasted something very sweet and another taste of something she couldn't name.
When her father had traded a little with the Earth Kingdom, there were these strips of something called 'Fruit Leather' but they were near bland except for a light sprinkle of sweet fruit. She found that she disliked the papaya taste very much.
While Zuko was saying something to the vendor, Katara heard music start and turned to the source; gasping as she saw the people dancing to the rhythm. She had seen the figurine she had collected dance and she wanted to also.
Zuko turned to see her pulling at the hem of his shirt like a child would and pointed to the dancers.
"Can you hold that?" he asked the man hastily as Katara pulled him towards the dancers.
"It's a simple waltz." He told her as she copied the dance position of the other women. It seemed that she hadn't danced before, but had seen it somewhere.
This girl was getting more mysterious by the minute and for some strange reason, he was growing more intrigued with her…
XXXXX
After the final note was struck, Zuko suggested they go to where his uncle told him to.
As the carriage was steadily moving, Sokka was clinging onto the back of the carriage and Yue was rowing in the water below the bridge.
"Did they kiss yet?" she asked him.
"Not yet." Sokka answered.
Aang flew in from overhead.
"Any kissing, Yue?" he asked and Yue shook her head.
"Not yet." She replied.
Aang felt a bit relieved, he had developed quite the liking in Katara lately.
"Well, they'd better start soon." He said, suddenly remembering what Sokka had told him about Katara's deal with Jun.
Sokka saw that Katara now had the reins and she flexed it in her hand; a signal for the horses to go faster.
The road was ironically fairly bumpy and Sokka, in a panic, jumped off the carriage and managed to see it jump over the ledge and continue onto the path.
XXXXXX
The atmosphere in the 'lagoon' as Zuko told her was very comforting to Katara.
The water and the sun setting was relaxing after what had happened when she took control of the carriage. Zuko was right now rowing the boat and, to help him, Katara was using a bit of her Waterbending skills to ease the boat around.
Behind the trees, Yue and Aang were craning in to see.
"Tell your lemur to move over; I can't see a thing." She hissed at Aang.
Momo was resting on his head as Aang was looking closely.
"Nothing's happening. Only one day left and the Prince hasn't even puckered up." He murmured; scared for Katara.
"An atmosphere like this deserves music." Aang said, opening his mouth.
Yue tried to stop him, but it was too late.
As Aang tried to sing, it came out sounding like wounded animal cries. Zuko, still rowing, cringed at the sound.
"Wow, someone should find that animal and put it out of its misery." He commented.
Katara, seeing Aang through the trees nodded and winced at the sound coming from his vocal chords. Sokka held his ears and groaned.
"Jeez, I am surrounded by amateurs!" he said exasperatedly as he grabbed a loose stick.
"If you want something done, you've got to do it yourself…" he grumbled and turned to Aang and Yue.
"First, we've got to set 'the mood'." He instructed and looked for things to improvise with as he began to sing.
Percussion…strings…winds…words
There you see her
Sitting there across the way
She don't got a lot to say
But there's something about her
And you don't know why
But you're dying to try
You want to kiss the girl
"Do you hear something?" Zuko asked the girl on the boat with him. Katara shook her head; grateful that Sokka's voice was better than Aang's.
Yes, you want her
Look at her, you know you do
Possible she wants you too
There is one way to ask her
And it don't take a word
Not a single word
Go on and kiss the girl
He was leaning in close to her, but suddenly Zuko pulled away; his mind saying that it would be a bit wrong to kiss her since she didn't know so much about her.
"Sing with me." Sokka whispered behind the tree.
Sha la la la la la
My oh my
Look like the boy's too shy
Ain't going to kiss the girl
Sha la la la la la
Ain't that sad?
And it's a shame, too bad
He's going to miss the girl
"You know, I don't even know what your name is. Maybe I could guess it?" Zuko asked the girl.
Katara nodded.
"Is it Yuki? No, I guess not. Haru (technically, Haru is a girl's name in Japanese)? Hana?" he asked and Katara shook her head on each one. Sokka, who had slipped underwater and was now beside the boat, resurfaced and gasped a bit.
"Katara. Her name is Katara." He hissed and, taking a deep breath, slipped underwater again.
"Katara?" Zuko asked; mimicking the sound he had just heard. Katara nodded and leaned a bit closer to him.
"That is a bit melodic. Ok, Katara…" Zuko said as he continued rowing.
Now's your moment
Floating in the blue lagoon
Boy, you'd better do it soon
No time would be better
She doesn't say a word
And she won't say a word
Until you kiss the girl
By that time, it seemed like voices of spirits were singing along with them.
Sha la la la la la
Don't be scared
We've got the mood prepared
Go on and kiss the girl
Sha la la la la la
Don't stop now
Don't try to hide it how
You want to kiss the girl
Sha la la la la la
Float along
And listen to this song
The song says
Kiss the girl
Sha la la la la la
Music play
Do what the music says
You've got to kiss the girl
Zuko and Katara were leaning quite close; they were within a hand's reach of each other.
You've got to kiss the girl
Sokka was now practically strangling Aang out of suspense and anticipation.
You want to kiss the girl
Yue leaned in closer, not caring that her clothes were now wet, and peeked through the leaves of the tree.
You've got to kiss the girl
They were so close…
Go on and kiss the girl
Suddenly…
OOOOOOOOO
What? I can't add a little suspence?
