Disbelief
Katara rolled out of bed noticing Zuko was not there, she aimlessly threw back her covers allowing them to fall to the floor beside her. The night cast shadows through the window pane as small drops of white moonlight sprinkled upon the shadow shrouded carpet. She fumbled around getting to her feet and began to feel her tan hands around on her night stand. She grabbed for the candle and then started to feel for a flint. She set the candle down again and struck the flint for fire, a little flame arose and she picked the candle up to light it. The orange and red flickered on the wick of a brand new white candle. She held the candle up to see-
"Do you need help?" Katara screamed and threw her hands back. The candle flew out of her hands and onto the sheets beside her. It fell under the wrinkles of the thick covers that Katara carelessly cast to the side as she awoke. The fire crackled and began to singe the the interior of the crimson sheets concealed by them.
It was Chen in simple night robes and eerily standing before her. The light disappeared, and Katara talked to the dark figure before her, "You nearly scared me to death!"
Chen laughed a bit before saying, "I am just doing my job, Princess."
"I do need privacy…" Katara said before smelling smoke.
Chen ignored her reply and furrowed his eyebrows. He sniffed twice and quickly opened his palm and just as quickly closed it. He doused the now visible fire behind Katara. Katara jumped to look behind her and screamed when she discovered little popping embers on her bed sheets.
"It seems you do need a body guard." Chen smartly remarked as he created a fire of his own within his palm while extinguishing the embers on the bed in his other.
Katara's eyebrows weaved together as she stared at Chen's half lit face, "I had complete control over it."
Chen nodded, "Alright well I'll let you have complete control, as long as I'm around."
Katara rolled her eyes and directed her eyes to the corner of the singed sheets behind her, "Well how are we gonna explain that?"
Chen shrugged his shoulders, he yawned. He was painfully tired and a day of guarding Katara proved to be worth the pay. He was ready to climb back into his cot in the corner, "We can worry about that in the morning, Katara. Night."
He yawned and turned back towards his cot on the end of the room. Katara noticed how un royal he seemed at this time of night. Katara then finally saw him as a real human being for the first time.
"What no Princess in front of Katara? And no Good in front of night? You're slipping Chen…" Katara joked.
Chen turned around lazily, "Huh?" he groggily asked.
The thought made her smile, "Good night, Chen."
Katara watched his retreating back and smiled once more at the new friendlier Chen, "You know, you really fill the empty space when Zuko isn't here."
Chen smiled an actual genuine smile, "It's the least I could do." Katara nodded happily and then crept around to the other side of the bed, sure not to make contact with the now black sheets on the other side. Chen also turned around to get some much needed sleep.
Maybe having Chen around would not be so bad. Maybe he could really be a guardian.
There was a knock at the door, Chen and Katara both sighed heavily. Chen scratched his hair, "I'll get it."
Katara got out of bed once more to accompany him, perhaps it was Zuko.
Chen swung one of the grand doors open to reveal Aang's troubled face.
"Chen?" The airbender questioned.
"Aang?" Chen and Katara chimed in unison.
"Uh, yeah, but Chen what are you doing here…" he noticed his attire, "In your night clothes?"
"Aang the Princess needs her sleep, so surely you are here for me…" Chen tried to hint at the Avatar to talk to him privately. But, of course, Aang did not pick up.
"No actually I'm here for-" Chen shoved him through the doorway and advanced outside the doors himself. He then peaked back through the door at a baffled Katara, "This will only take a minute Princess Katara. Get your beauty sleep." He then shut the doors before she could reply and Katara realized the old royal snobbish Chen was back. She sighed and climbed back into the opposite side of her bed.
----"What'd you do that for?" Aang rubbed his chest, "That kinda hurt…"
"You should not be disturbing us at this time of night." Chen remarked.
"Us? Why are you there?" Aang scratched his round bald head and cocked it to one side like a young goat dog.
Chen smirked sensing opportunity, "The Princess was lonely…"
"Lonely?" The avatar repeated…
"Yes", Chen thought up a devious story in his mind, "When Zuko is working late in the study she likes for someone to sleep with her to fill the empty space." Chen quoted Katara for proof.
"Empty Space?" He repeated once more.
"Yes beside her…at night." Chen suppressed his laughs with an intense stare, as if he could never lie about such a thing.
Aang could only gape in disbelief, did he mean sleeping together? No, Aang shook his head, Katara would never do such a thing to Zuko…after all she was getting married to him…and she was bearing Zuko's child.
Chen stared down at the speechless avatar and then opened the bedroom doors and stepped in on the other side, "Well, good night Aang."
Chen swung the doors closed and Aang just stared at them for a while before rubbing his nose and hesitantly leaving.
-----"What did Aang want?" Katara peered over the lavish covers.
"Nothing really just wondering what time we should spar tomorrow."
Katara snuggled back into her bed, "Oh ok."
The next morning Katara awoke to the sunlight heavily pouring through the window. The rain had ceased and the sun quickly moped up its residue. She searched the room and Chen was no where in sight. She sighed in relief, but as she did so knocking raped the door.
She then sighed in annoyance expecting Chen's face to be on the other side. She approached the doors and opened then, it was Aang. He looked troubled.
"Hey Aang."
Aang decided that he would not jump to conclusions about Katara and Chen, but would get to the bottom of it, even if it killed him. He had devised a plan the night prior, as he rolled around his bed unable to relieve himself with sleep. Perhaps if he came clean about the devious plan Chen and Aang, or mostly Chen came up with, Katara would feel compelled to reveal her deepest secret about Chen also. Maybe she would give pity on him about his desperate attempt to avenge his love loss. Or perhaps she would be enraged at his stupidity, but Aang knew Katara better than that, surely her calm and compassionate nature would forgive him and coax her to tell about Chen.
"Hey, uh, Katara can I- can I come in?" Aang nervously asked.
Katara immediately open them so he could enter, "Of course, What wrong?" She furrowed her eyebrows and closed the door after him.
"I have to tell you something…" Aang then looked ashamedly as he sat on the chair at Katara's vanity.
Katara nodded, "Ok, what is it?"
Aang then stood up and gripped Katara's shoulders in desperation, "You have to promise you won't get mad!"
Katara raised an eyebrow and hesitantly replied, "Ok…"
"Pinky swear!" Aang stuck out a pinky and Katara laughed at there old swearing technique. She gripped pinky's with his and shook on it.
"I, um, well…" Aang looked at Katara's severe stare and suggested, "You may want to sit down."
Katara sat on the edge of her bed, "Well you know how Zuko got drunk at the party?"
Katara nodded, "The whole palace knows, Aang,"
"Well…meandChenplannedit!" His last words were rushed and clumped, but Katara clearly understood, due to the fact she was listening so intensely.
"What!" Katara shot up, "How could you do that Aang?"
Aang got up also to defend himself, "You promised you wouldn't get mad!"
Aang could hear his heart thud to the pit of his stomach, maybe Katara did change. He could only imagine what she had really done with Chen because she was no longer the Katara he knew. This was the Katara now only Chen and Zuko knew. He cringed, what had they done to her.
"That was before you tell me you got Zuko drunk, on purpose!" Katara's voice was a sound of sheer anger and it had remnants of hurt.
Aang cheeks turned red and he began thinking of what to say, should he reveal what he now knew about Chen. How dare she scold him for getting Zuko drunk, at least he wasn't cheating on him. He couldn't believe Katara would stoop so low, she was pregnant and sleeping around. It hurt him and Katara just didn't understand how much she was truly hurting him.
"You have some nerve!" Aang yelled with tears starting to form within his grey eyes.
Katara was taken aback by his response, "What?"
"You are bearing Zuko's child, but sleeping around with other men!"
"What?" Katara's and Aang's heads swung around, this time the question wasn't from Katara's lips. Nor Aang's. This voice was foreign.
Their puzzled eyes fell upon Zuko at the door way, bundles of papers were floating down onto the red carpet below him.
Katara's cheeks turned crimson red and her speech was caught within her throat. She swallowed a gulp of spit wondering where Aang had gotten such and idea…She would never do such a thing. Had Aang let his mind make up stories?
Katara looked at Aang and his welled up tears finally escaped down his cheeks, "Aang I think you should leave."
Aang put his head down and turned to leave. Zuko blocked his exit, "No Aang I think you should stay." Zuko glared at Katara and closed the doors, "Is it Chen?"
A/N: I know this wasn't one of the best chapters, but its what I was able to get out in such a long wait!! lol REad and REview.