Chapter 14: So It Begins

"A messenger has arrived from Kāi Míng."

Zuko glared at the man, expecting more detail.

"Sire…" the man paused, unwilling to be the bearer of such bad tidings "sire, she's in red."

Zuko froze.

Yes, his interest and faith in the oracle had been limited before but he had always known of their traditions, their rules. The messenger was a woman and in red, Zuko could take a guess that this would not be just any messenger - this would be one of the keepers themselves. The keepers did not leave Kāi Míng. From the day they were sworn into their new life of duty they remained on the island; they would grow there, be taught there and eventually they would be buried there. If people wanted a prophesy they went to the keepers, not the other way around. As far as Zuko knew there had only been one other instance of a keeper leaving the island and the story was so altered after decades and centuries of retelling that Zuko had almost assumed it was myth. But now a keeper stood waiting for him and he had to answer.

"Have her wait in the Great Hall. I will be there imminently." as an afterthought, Zuko added "and gather the elders, we will need their wisdom today."

The man nodded and sprinted away, sensing the urgency beneath the controlled calm of his Lord's voice. He was not the only one to notice. Katara turned to look at Zuko and, though he tried to turn his face from her, she caught the emotion in his eyes. Fear. In all the time she had known Zuko she had never seen him frightened. She had held him in his arms as he lay dying, she had watched him being crowned Fire Lord, she had stood opposite and next to him in countless fights but she had never seen even a hint of fear in him. The oracle was a foreign notion to her - she knew it existed but had no idea of its importance or even really what it was. Instinctively she clutched Zuko's arm, concerned for him and afraid of whatever it was that had revealed this weakness in Zuko.

"You will wait here, Katara. I must go to the Great Hall." he mumbled, already deep in thought.

A frown appeared across Katara's forehead. Irritably she informed him that she had no intention of just waiting while everyone else dealt with whatever had happened.

"Katara, why can't you just…just do as your told for once!" The minute the words left Zuko's mouth he knew they were ill chosen. He felt her bristle at the comment, could sense her fists clenching in rage. Guilt rushed through him but being stubborn and stressed had marvellous power and Zuko forced the feeling down, focusing on his annoyance instead.

"'Do as I'm told?'" Katara enunciated every single word with biting force, "how dare you talk to me as if I am a child, Zuko! You asked me to be your Fire Lady not your pet. I fought beside you once so don't you start acting as if you need to protect me."

The significance of those words were not lost on Katara, after all, hadn't he done exactly that when they had fought together? Her words softened

"If you want a Fire Lady, Zuko, then please let me start acting like one. I know the world's not a terribly nice place right now." she smiled, reassuring Zuko she had calmed down now. "You don't need to try and hide that from me. Let me help."

With a weary sigh, Zuko rubbed his brow as if trying to erase the frown. A war was raging inside his head and one that, given the circumstances, he did not have the time to fight. He had created this oasis for Katara precisely because he didn't want her involved in the dire straits of her country but it seemed she would drag herself in regardless. She was right: he wanted to protect her but he was perfectly aware he wouldn't let her.

Frustrated, and all the time counting the minutes he was losing, he eventually gave in.

"Fine, you come. But if any point the conversation gets too serious - you leave. Deal?"

Though Katara had no intention of sticking to such an imprecise bargain she decided not to waist any more time.

"Deal."

With a distracted nod, Zuko grabbed her hand and rushed down the corridors towards the Great Hall.

The woman…no, the girl in front of them was exhausted, she collapsed into the chair as soon as it was placed behind her. She had insisted on standing until Zuko had arrived before her, anything to hasten his arrival. She tried to speak but found she couldn't catch her breath, huddling over she broke into a fit of coughing. Apparently after a lifetime of observing, 3 days and nights of hard riding were a little too much for her. A cup of water appeared at her side and she gratefully drank it, breathing slowly and forcing herself to calm down. Eventually, she raised her eyes to the lord of her nation. In truth, the keepers had little respect for the Fire Lord - it wasn't that they didn't like him or had any aversion to the position it was just that they weren't really part of the Fire Nation though their island belonged to it. The oracle and her keepers were something more, something altogether bigger than the mortal land of fire. Despite this, raising her eyes to the young man before her the keeper failed to hold back the gasp that the sight of him elicited. Without even intending to, she dropped to the floor in a low bow. She had heard whispers of the Lord from the last time he had come to Kāi Míng but at the time she had been just a novice and not permitted into the inner court. He was an impressive sight. Tall, with muscles running down his arms and his red and gold clothes doing little to contain his impressive level of fitness. Relief flashed through her, if anyone would know what to do - it would be him.

"Keeper of Kāi Míng, what news?" his voice rang with authority and power but not unkindly so and the keeper was struck by the gentleness behind it. She coughed, trying to wet her mouth but found herself temporarily incapable of delivering the vital message.

Zuko offered her a small, reassuring smile and tried again with an easier question.

"Keeper, what is your name?"

This time it was not the ability to speak that the girl lacked but the answer. Had she ever had a name? If she had it had been stripped from her a long time ago on the day she was given to the temple. She thought back, puzzling over hazy memories she hadn't disturbed in years. Her mother and father were but vague blurs, as was her old home - more shapes than actual images. But suddenly a name came to her, a name that she knew with all the certainty in the world belonged to her and despite the terrible burden of the wisdom of the oracle, she felt something lift in her heart.

"My name is Zhi Hui, sire. It means wisdom."

Fitting.

"And your message, Zhi Hui?"

The room stiffened. Everyone held their breath as they waited for the news that was so important a keeper herself had left Kāi Míng to deliver it.

Zhi Hui rose from her bow with all the weight of knowledge balancing on her shoulders. Yes, ignorance was bliss…but unfortunately wisdom was vital. She only wished it didn't have to be her who delivered such bad tidings but she knew, without a shadow of doubt, that this had always been her destiny. It was no mere chance she was named Zhi Hui, this was the thing she had been born to do.

"The oracle has spoken, my Lord. I alone stayed to receive the message, my sisters fled. She spoke of fire and water again."

The memory replayed vividly in the girl's mind, flashes of the claw-like hands, the clouded eyes, the gasping breaths of the oracle.

"'Chaos' she said, sire. 'Chaos. Chaos'" the girl relived it now, barely aware of her audience as she repeated the dire message, fear infecting her voice as if the very aura of chaos had descended on the room.

After a moment of silence, the assembled people began to mutter amongst themselves. This was bad news, indeed, but nothing they hadn't heard already - why on earth had the girl come all the way here just to tell them something they already knew. They began to scoff, their voices rising. Only Katara continued to watch the young girl who seemed to be unaware of the commotion around her, clutching the scroll bearing the words she had come to deliver. Her lips moved but Katara could tell, even over the racket, that no words were coming out. Tears streamed down her face and she recognised in the girl's eyes the same fear she had seen in Zuko's only it was greater than anything she could ever imagine. Something had shaken this girl to her very centre and no one was even listening to her. Katara looked around and noticed that the ignorant men of the council were beginning to rise to leave.

Infuriated she rose to her feet. Some turned to look at her, the first being Zuko who stared in confused silence, but others continued towards their exits.

Standing before all these angry men, Katara couldn't help the wave of uncertainty that rushed over her. She was unused to these formal council assemblies and completely ignorant of protocol, was she even allowed to speak? One last look at the bewildered girl on the floor gave her the courage to find her voice, this girl had more to say and Katara would ensure she was allowed to say it.

"Listen to her!" Katara shouted. Her voice echoed through the vast hall, riding up and over the dull drone of men's voices. Surprised, everyone now gave Katara their attention. Glaring around at the men, Katara waited for a response. The majority immediately sat, confused by the imperative in the voice of such a young female but unable to resist such natural authority. With a glance of her steeley eyes, the remaining standing quickly found their seat on the bench. Slightly embarrassed, but quietly pleased with herself, Katara too sat, missing the glance between a smiling Uncle Iroh and a stunned Zuko.

Zhi Hui looked up at the men again, moving her mouth soundlessly, trying to find the right words. She settled for the oracle's, for who knows the value of words better than the chosen speaker?

"He is come."

Exhausted, the girl collapsed onto the stone floor. Breathing a sigh of relief to have achieved her destiny, she allowed herself to slip into the deep sleep she had deprived herself of to get here as quickly as her horse would carry her. Servants came and carried her to one of the guest chambers where she might recover at peace.

All was silent. No one dared to speak. Katara did not understand why but she knew something terrible had happened and didn't dare break the silence to ask Zuko to explain.

"So it begins." every eye in the court turned towards the speaker. Zuko's uncle, the leader of the elders, the wisest of all the Fire Nation had stood and spoken those three words. Still, no one else spoke. There was no need for words. The majority understood and those who didn't, younger men of the council - apprentices, felt the infectious fear and remained silent.

"Our world was made in equilibrium. The sun sets and so the moon rises. Black and White. Life and Death. Ying and Yang. Fire and Water" he paused, with the briefest of glances to the young couple on whom the hopes of the world now rested. "Balance is essential."

Iroh thought back to the scrolls, books and writings he had devoured as a young man hungry for knowledge. He remembered the moment he had come across that scroll. At the time he had disregarded it as mere fiction, legend. In truth, it had always haunted him. Looking around at the assembly he realised he was not the only one. With a weary sigh he continued.

"We waited so many years, through many a dark hour, for the Avatar believing him to be our ultimate saviour. Did we really believe? Or did we just hope?"

Katara realised she had been holding her breath as she saw the expression in Iroh's eyes; Iroh who had always been wise and good. Iroh who now stood before them with the shadow of fear and hopelessness in his eyes.

"My friends, balance has come. We can no longer rely on the avatar to be the ultimate being. The Hēi àn has risen. It has begun."

Chaos erupted. Shouts of panic or rage drifted over garbled discussions. Zuko fought to restore order but fear had taken a hold of the peoples' hearts and no Fire Lord was any match against such a powerful force. Suddenly, the doors to the hall were flung in and a foot soldier sprinted into the middle, forgetting to bow in his haste.

"Sire! News from the east front. An army of Earth Kingdom rebels are assembling and will have crossed the water by tomorrow nightfall!"

Katara sat alone in her room. After the messenger's announcement, which came directly on top of the oracle's bleak prophecy, an emergency war meeting had been summoned. She could remember clearly Zuko kissing her hand and telling her to go wait in her new room and he would come to see her later. For once she hadn't argued. The feeling of bewilderment was overwhelming. She knew the legend. Everyone knew the legend. Though they had different names, the figure remained the same for each nation. The Hēi àn. That's what Iroh had called him. Katara had know him as Mørke in the nightmarish stories Sokka had told her as a child to frighten her. Mørke was everyone's worst nightmare but that was where he had remained for longer than anyone could remember - in dreams, nightmares, fantasies. He wasn't real. He wasn't. Katara rocked slowly on the bed, childish stories instilling the same fear in her that she felt then. Mørke. The black avatar. He had come. Katara knew then that every nation could hold all the talks and meetings they wanted but no one had any idea how to stop him.

Shaking her head, she forced herself to focus on more imminent dangers - in that very moment, Zuko was discussing how best to approach the Earth Kingdom rebels. Everyone was aware of the possibility that Fire Nation rebels might choose to join them making the matter far more complicated. Zuko had never looked for a war, she knew that much, but a war had come to him and he had such limited time to devise a response. Katara realised that the fear she felt thinking of Zuko on the battlefield was greater than anything the phantom shadow of Mørke had ever aroused in her. And so, like any other woman who knows her fiancé is about to engage in battle, Katara waited with painful impatience for Zuko to come and tell her the news as he promised he would. Unlike other women, Katara was already planning how effective she could be in the battle at Zuko's side.

With a strangled scream Katara shot upright in bed. She hadn't even realised she'd fallen asleep, last thing she remembered was sitting down after practising some basic water-bending motions. Her clothes were crumpled and her hair tangled but at that moment the two facts didn't even process in her mind. Katara was reliving the nightmare, staring unseeingly at the door as silent tears weaved their way down her skin. Zuko had been on the battle field, bold and powerful as fire circled dangerously around him, focus in his eyes and strength in his clenched fists. He had taken down enemy after enemy. A soldier tried to catch him off guard and attack him from behind but Zuko had spun at the last moment, catching his arm effortlessly and throwing his sword away from him before throwing the now petrified man to the floor and turning away - letting him flee rather than face death. He had smiled, adrenalin rushing to him in the heat of a battle he looked sure to win. But then the laugh. Katara choked at the memory. A sinister, disjointed, manic laughter had echoed out across the battlefield, freezing everyone in place. Zuko, distracted had let his guard down, the fire vanishing into smoke. At that moment an arm had shot out of the crowd. But it was no human arm. It seemed to made of pure darkness…no, no it was not made of darkness but rather the complete absence of light. Bile rose in Katara's throat and she ran to the bathroom to be violently sick. She had seen Zuko's body twisted before her, had seen first one leg then the other snapped as the giant hand of blackness toyed with it's prey, laughing all the while. Everything else had vanished and all that was left was Zuko's screams of pain at the hands of the unseen torturer. He had cried out for her. Just as a shaft of darkness had pierced through his chest, destroying his very heart, he had called her name.

And he had died.

Katara began to hyperventilate, clutching at he own heart. Zuko could not die. Not now. She would protect him, she would keep him from going to the war himself. No, no that wouldn't work he would insist on going with his men. Then she would just have to watch him. Constantly. It was selfish and she knew that, her job would be to heal the wounded but she couldn't, she would not risk leaving Zuko's side and if that thing came she would be ready. With determination in her eyes Katara ran to the window, flinging the curtains wide to observe the light of a new day. It was morning. The men would be leaving soon. She had to hurry. She ran to her wardrobe and flung on some training clothes, wrapping her precious bag of water to her waist she ran towards the door. Reaching for the handle, she missed it as it was pulled open from the other side and landed against the strong chest of none other than Zuko.

She froze for a second, looking into his eyes she was overcome by such a barrage of emotions that she felt like she couldn't breathe. She pulled against him and clung fiercely to the cloth of his shirt. Confused by her reaction to him but undeniably content, he wrapped his arms just as tightly around her, resting his lips for the briefest of seconds against the top of her head.

She pulled away, trying to hide her actions as she wiped tears from her eyes.

"When do we leave?"

Zuko had expected this, he had known she would want to come - it was why he hadn't come to her last night and risked another explosive debate.

"In 15 minutes. I'm just going to collect something from my quarters so you wait here and I'll be right back for you, ok?"

For a split second Zuko thought she suspected him but after a pause she nodded briefly and smiled bravely up at him. It was that smile that he would take to battle with him. Tenderly, he ran a finger along the side of her face. Now was not the time for fear but the time for action. Hadn't he said exactly that to his council last night?

Decisively he pulled Katara to him. Tangling his hands in her wild hair he crushed his lips to hers, closing his eyes tightly to burn the feel of this which he had longed for into his memory. He felt Katara's hands snake around his neck and pulled her as close against him as was possible. In that short moment Zuko felt everything. Everything that had ever been felt by any single person in the world flashed through the connection between the two young water benders made by their kiss. Their's was a love that had never and would never be seen again and in that moment they both knew it.

Zuko pulled away. He looked at her one last time, running his thumb along her bottom lip. With more effort than he had ever needed before in his life he turned away, forcing himself to the door. Just as he reached it, he was stopped by her voice.

"You'll come back…right? Just after you've gone to your room you'll come straight back for me, ok? Promise?" Katara was frightened, something in that kiss - their first kiss - had been too urgent, too desperate.

With a deep breath, not trusting himself to turn around, Zuko replied.

"I promise."

He left the room.

One second later and Katara heard the dull click as the key turned in the lock, sealing her in.

It took her barely a second longer to understand what had happened, what Zuko had planned all along. She ran to the door, flinging herself against it and threatening to break it down with her bare fists.

"YOU PROMISED, ZUKO! YOU PROMISED ME YOU'D COME RIGHT BACK!"

She kicked blindly at the doors, unable to see through the thick fog of tears. Collapsing against it and unsure if he was even still there she resorted to begging.

"Please Zuko! Please let me come with you! I'll go crazy if you leave me here! You can't go without me! Zuko! Are you listening!? ZUKO!?"

He had locked her in the room to protect her, she knew that, but it hurt no less as the fear threatened to overwhelm her. She cursed herself for not recognising the plan earlier and throwing her arms around her face she sobbed loudly as images from her nightmare flashed behinds her tightly shut eyes.

She heard a shuffle and looking down she saw the corner of a letter slide under the door. Grabbing it, trying to believe it was Zuko saying there had been some mix up, she ripped it open.

Three words.

The three words she knew they had both wanted to say since that moment in front of Azula.

"I love you."

With a cry like a wounded animal Katara returned to her efforts to break down the door.

Unbeknownst to her, the very man she was crying for was standing against the other side of the door. Biting his lips, he forced back tears at the sound of her voice. He had known she wouldn't accept his decision to leave her behind willingly. He had tricked her because he loved her, because he knew that if he took her onto the field of war - though he would give his life time and again to save her - if she got hurt he would have no reason to live. He could not risk any harm ever coming to the only person who had brought light into his life. Even knowing this, the pain in her voice and the vibrations of the door as she flung herself against it were tearing his heart into pieces. He hated himself for knowing he was the one to cause her any pain. But he had to do it. Dragging the back of his hand across his eyes he tightened the straps that held his two swords across his back. He loved her. And if saving her meant causing her this temporary pain - so be it. With a determined breath, his jaw tensing as he set his mind to the battle ahead, he strode away from the screams of a girl being destroyed by her love and towards the fight.

This day would decide the rest of their life.

And so it begins.

(A.N. Now, I won't lie, guys - I got a little bit tearful writing this. But then I can see the action in my head, so let me know if you got the same effect? The scene was actually inspired by a dream I had last night. I get seriously vivid dreams, anyone know any reason for that because a lot of the people I speak to can barely even remember their's? The two names for the anti-avatar both mean darkness in pinyin Chinese and…Norwegian…I think? Anyway, any questions, improvements to be made or bits you enjoyed please PLEASE let me know? It really does help to know what people think? For my last chapter I got a review from water crab saying that she wished we could have seen into Katara's mind a bit more and, water crab if you're reading this, I have tried to improve on that. Although I still think I might be a bit biased towards Zuko? I am sorry but he's just so much fun to write in! So that's me done for this chapter. I've got the basic idea for the next one so it should be up relatively soon (I hope). As always, thank you for reading!)