Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters associated, so please do not sue me!
Thanks for all the reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope you all have a safe and fun Independence Day! God Bless America!
(On With The Story!)
Katara sat quietly on the firm mat as her eyes remained glued to the wooden flooring under her feet. The scratches and scuffing of the floor told of the building's age and neglect. Katara took another deep breath of the stale air that surrounded her and was beginning to start regretting ever taking this job, and she hadn't even begun to work yet. She still couldn't quite fathom what a large change had taken place in such a small amount of time.
The mere aspect of going on like this for the rest of her life frightened her to no end, but what else was she supposed to do? She had to work to support herself and she prayed that maybe one day, Sokka would change his heart about her love of the Prince or that Zuko would come back from whatever task he had to do in the Fire Nation. Katara thought it was more possible if Zuko came back because Sokka would never truly give up his hate for the nation that ripped their family in two.
Katara didn't understand why she had to fall in love with a Fire Nation Prince. She knew it wasn't just the thrill of going after someone who was sort of like a forbidden fruit, because even if that was true, she doubted she would care about him like she did. Her heart ached to see the Prince again. She just wanted to be able to see his face, touch his body, and make love to him again. Katara shook her head at that sudden though as she pondered why all her thoughts eventually wounded up to sex, but after a few moments of silence, she didn't care if her and Zuko ever had sex again.
All Katara wanted was to tell him she loved him even if he rejected her feelings and demanded her to leave. She knew she would be happy that she told him and wouldn't have any regrets. "I'm sorry, Zuko…" Katara whispered softly as her hands began to grip the bedding underneath her hands. She had so many things to say but she couldn't find the words to express exactly how she felt. After all the time they were together, the overused words "I love you" didn't seem to be enough. He deserved so much better than that.
Katara's eyes remained glued on the floor as a shadow ascended over her body as a hand was placed firmly on her shoulder. Katara screamed suddenly before she flew back, falling off the mat and hitting the floor with a loud thud. A second thud hit the floor when her bag had fallen next to her feet as Katara remained in a fetal position on the wooden floor as she expected to be raped or murdered. And for some unexplained reason, she really had no will to fight.
"All you okay?" A woman's voice asked.
Katara's eyes opened before they glanced over to a young woman kneeling next to her. A green ribbon that matched the color of her kind eyes held up her disheveled average length black hair. Her ragged Earth Kingdom clothes covered a large amount of her slightly tanned skin as a questionable look remained on the woman's face.
"I'm so sorry. I must have frightened you. My name's Lien." She continued when she noticed Katara's quizzical look.
"Lien?" Katara asked softly.
"Uh-Huh." Lien confirmed as she smiled gently.
"My name's Katara." Katara replied as she sat up.
"That's a really pretty name." Lien complimented as she stood up and offered a hand to help Katara up. Katara looked at the hand offered to her and sighed gently before taking it and pulled herself up.
"Thanks." Katara replied before she bent down and lifted her bag from the floor.
"What were you thinking about anyway? I stood there for a good five minutes before I muttered up the courage to introduce myself." Lien asked with a soft laugh.
"Oh…" Katara replied as she fought the rising heat on her cheeks. "Nothing. Just stuff."
"Yeah, I know how that is. Well, since you're going to be working here, maybe I could show you the ropes before you get started tomorrow." Lien offered.
"Sure, that'll be great." Katara accepted with a small smile on her face. The topic in her mind was still very fresh and Katara knew that she would have to keep it more discreet from now on if she ever truly wanted to keep up with reality.
"Great." Lien replied with another soft smile before she began to walk out of the room, but quickly stopped when a young man with two trays stopped in front of their door. Lien seemed shocked at the young man before Katara noticed a faint hint of red hue appear on Lien's cheeks. Katara stifled a giggle when she seen the young woman blushing at the young man standing at the door.
The young man looked to be in his late teens just like Lien appeared to be. He had a mop of black hair and piercing but gentle brown eyes. The baggy Earth Kingdom clothes hid his slightly malnourished figure. The young man looked at the two girls in the room and seemed shocked when he laid eyes on Katara.
"Hi, Shang." Lien said sweetly after she composed herself enough to speak in the presence of her secret crush.
"Who's that?" Sheng asked as he tilted his head in Katara's direction.
"That's… Um…" Lien stuttered when she realized she didn't know the name of the girl behind her.
"I'm Katara." Katara replied as she walked over to him and politely curtsied.
"Oh. You're the new employee?" Sheng asked and Katara replied with a slight nod. "Oh, alright. Well, here's your dinner." Sheng continued before he handed the two trays to the girls.
"Thanks." Katara replied after taking one of the trays from Sheng.
"Yeah… Thanks…" Lien shuddered in a faint whisper as she tried her hardest to hide the red forming on her cheeks while grabbing her tray.
"Sure. Well, I'm going to turn in early. I hope you both have a good night." Sheng said in a hurried breath as he bowed swiftly before continuing his journey down the hall.
"Goodnight…" Lien replied softly before she slid the door shut. "Oh my god! I sounded so stupid and desperate in front of him!" Lien continued completely forgetting Katara was in the room.
Katara turned her shocked eyes toward Lien from her seating position on the floor. "What do you mean?" Katara asked, thinking that Lien was acting a bit too dramatic.
"I'm sorry! I completely forgot you were here. It's just, I try and I try, but he still barely knows I'm alive…" Lien confessed knowing her outburst and red cheeks couldn't be explained away so easily.
Katara stared in shock at the young woman as Lien knelt down on the floor and placed her tray on the floor. Katara wanted to say something, but no words found their way to her parted lips. She looked at Lien place her face in her hands, as Katara really couldn't imagine what she was going through. She didn't realize her feelings for Zuko until he was on top of her on the deck of his ship, which wasn't exactly the ignoring component going on between Lien and Sheng. So she really couldn't imagine someone being there that you love so much and want to say so many things – but she suddenly realized in a way she did understand.
Katara knew she loved Zuko, but when she wanted to tell him, the words couldn't surface. She was desperate to tell the Prince how she felt, but now, there was no possible way. Katara's vision turned toward the tray of food on the floor in front of her as she maneuvered the chopsticks in her fingers around the plate of overcooked rice and vegetables. Suddenly, Katara felt sick to her stomach for some reason unbeknownst to her. After she placed her chopsticks back on the tray, she averted her attention toward the Earth Kingdom girl in front of her.
"I'm sorry, Katara. I just… I'm tired of keeping it a secret…" Lien replied as she felt the moisture of tears start to fill her eyes.
"Why are you?" Katara asked unexpectedly.
"What?" Lien asked in a surprised high-pitched voice at Katara's assertive question.
"Look. You can't sit here and expect him to return any sort of feelings when he doesn't even know you're even the least bit interested!" Katara replied as she tried to ignore the fact she was trying sound like an expert at love when she couldn't even sort out her feelings.
Lien just stared at Katara with wide eyes and her mouth slightly agape at Katara's sudden forward remarks. "I – I can't! I'm not – You – I – I just can't…" Lien stated as she allowed her tears to fall swiftly down her eyes.
"Look. I don't know exactly how you feel in this, but how can you expect to be together without taking a risk? Even if he turns away from your feelings, you still should feel good enough to know that you told him even if he doesn't feel the same." Katara replied softly as her thoughts went back to the Prince.
"I know, but… What if I make a fool of myself? What if he already has a girlfriend or something?" Lien asked.
Katara was quiet after those words fell from Lien's lips. What then? The embarrassment would be catastrophic enough to make you never want to attempt it again, but why die wondering? But why say something you'll regret for the rest of your life? Katara let out a deep sigh at this thought. "I don't know…" Katara replied in a whisper.
"Have you dealt with this before? You seem to know what you're talking about." Lien asked.
"Sort of." Katara replied.
"What do you mean?" Lien replied.
Katara winced at Lien's question and desperately wanted to change the subject, but she thought that maybe talking about it would make her feel better. "I don't want to talk about it." Katara finally said and Lien sighed at her answer.
"It's alright. I understand." Lien replied.
"I -- I think I've made a horrible mistake..." Katara continued unexpectedly as tears she didn't even know were building slipped down her face.
Lien stared silently at Katara after her sudden statement, but listened anyway.
"Well, there's this guy... I've known him for about a year and we've had a relationship for more than half of that time. I was never really sure if it was just attraction or love, and I -- I just figured out a very short time ago that I truly lo -- loved him. I was willing to tell him, but… when I finally mustered up the courage… He – He left me before I could tell him…" Katara confessed in a hushed whisper before her face fell in her hands as the tears proceeded to fall.
Lien was astounded at Katara's confession and sighed deeply. Lien didn't know if the end of Katara's confession meant that the man Katara was referring to died or just moved away. At this moment, Lien was too afraid to ask at this point and just reached over and placed a reassuring hand on Katara's shoulder. "I think we're going to get along just fine…" Lien said softly.
Meanwhile
The dark shadows of the night fell over the sea that separated the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdoms. The bright moon floating overhead lit up a vast majority of the Fire Nation ship traveling over the calm waters as midnight began to fall over this side of the planet. The dark shadows enveloped the Prince's room as the soft light of the flickering fire on the wall illuminated the scarred side of his face.
"Nephew?" General Iroh asked softly as he poked his head through the door of the Prince's room.
"Yeah, uncle?" Zuko replied in a clouded whisper.
"I'm going to bed now. You need anything before I turn in?" Iroh asked as he glanced sadly at the saddened look that seemed to be molded on the Prince's face at this point.
"No…" Zuko replied as he rolled over on his side from his lying position on his firm bed. His strong fingers gripped the pillow that was under his head as he tried to keep his hurt expression from his uncle.
Iroh let out a deep sigh before he turned away from his nephew's room and proceeded to his room down the hall. Zuko listened intently to his uncle's retreating footsteps as the Prince's eyes averted to the metal floor. Zuko then took a deep breath and inhaled the faint scent Katara's hair left behind on his pillow. The sweet smell of lavender aroused his senses as a few pictures of her flew though his mind. Zuko smirked softly as a few pictures were some that were a bit hard to forget.
Nights of endless passion were melded into his memory and he knew he'd never forget them. He would never forget her… Zuko knew that their paths would most likely never meet again, but forgetting her was something he would never do. He would never want to, and perhaps, she wouldn't forget him. The smirk disappeared from the Prince's face and a soft smile replaced it as he closed his eyes and was content that his dreams were one place he could truly be free to be with her… If only for a night…
(To Be Continued…)
