Azula stood in front of Zuko, screaming. Nothing unusual, but what she was screaming about was. "What do you mean you found the bastard who wants us dead and you didn't tell me?!"
"I mean that the young woman was blackmailed into trying to kill me, but there may still be someone out there." He explained thinking of the Zhou reference that little Kimi had given him.
"Then who are we sentencing to death today?" She demanded crossing her arms over her giant belly. She really didn't try to curb her cravings or eating habits. In fact, she usually had someone follow her around discreetly with a tray of something or other. Today it was fire-flakes. Mummm, Zuko's favorite. He made to snatch some off the tray. "Don't you touch my snacks!" She smacked his hand away from the tray and the servant retreated behind her fearfully.
"Fine. Today is the death of Lord Hidehisa, for he is the one who sent the latest assassin after me." Zuko rubbed his knuckles and stared longingly at the tray of hidden snacks.
"You mean he set the girl on you with a knife?"
"Yes."
"Then let's get cooking." She turned on her heal and waddled out of the room.
"Pssstt." Zuko motioned for the snack-servant to come over. She looked back at Azula's retreating form then back to him. Zuko motioned again, this time more fervently. She quickly made her way to him and bowing, offered him the tray of fire-flakes. "Thank you." He said as he took a handful.
"My Lord." She said smiling before straightening and running to catch up to Azula before she realized that her snacks had left her momentarily.
Katara stood next to Zuko. He was tense. More tense than usual. Probably because of the sentience that he was about to carry out.
Lord Hidehisa was about to die.
In the center of the courtyard there was a simple metal pole. She didn't really understand what was about to happen, and she really didn't want to know. Regardless, she was about to find out because the criminal was about to be brought out.
"Katara, can you do one thing for me?" Zuko whispered while staring straight ahead.
"Anything." She whispered back looking up at him. He looked like he was about to be sick.
"Don't watch. When I go out there, please don't watch."
Katara stared at him dumbfounded, he didn't want her to watch him kill another person. There was nothing good about this situation, but he had asked and she would comply. "Alright, for you." She followed his gaze to find him staring at Lady Hotaru and her daughter. They were all alone, no one would talk to them, no one would look at them. There was a guard close by for their protection, but they seemed to shy away from even him. "Why his the family here?" Katara asked concerned.
"They are trying to cut their ties to him and show the other people that they hate him just as much as they do."
"Oh." Just then the little girl cowered against her mother as if she saw something especially terrifying.
A low mummer spread though the crowd as the right corner of the courtyard parted to reveal Lord Hidehisa being escorted to the metal pole. He was flanked by two burly guards each holding a chain that connected to his handcuffs. He wore old and rumpled clothes, presumably from when he was taken into custody.
"Lord Hidehisa," Zuko started when the guards stopped in front of him. "The evidence is stacked against you. I have heard your defense and it is unsatisfactory in proving your innocence. Does anyone have anything to say on his behalf?" He paused for a brief moment. No one spoke out. "For crimes against the crown in two accounts of assassination, and extortion, you are declared an enemy of the Fire Nation and are hereby sentenced to death by fire. You are stripped of all titles you possess, your property will be passed on to your wife and child." He nodded to the guards.
One of them yanked on the chain pulling Hidehisa closer to the metal pole. There they secured him to it by the handcuffs with his arms raised above his head. He fought briefly in his humiliation and discomfort, but in the end he gave up. Two guards on either side of Zuko to step forward with him. "Do you have any last words?"
Hidehisa spat in Zuko's face. Flinching he brushed away the spittle. The guards growling at the disrespect and they looked like they wanted nothing more than to incinerate him on the spot. They wouldn't have to wait long.
"Very well." Zuko relaxed into a fighting stance the soldiers around him surrounded Hidehisa and copied Zuko. "Ready, aim, FIRE!" All five men stepped forward and the flames engulfed their victim. Zuko struggled with his own flame; it was not as bright or as strong as the others.
Katara made sure to look away at the last moment. She didn't want to watch what was going to happen next, she only wished that she didn't have to hear it as well. His screams of pain were too much. He screamed and screamed and screamed. It seemed like his lungs would never run out of air.
Katara was going to be sick, chills racked her body. Dad placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and she collapsed into his strong arms.
The smell of burning flesh and smoke filled her nose. She was going to be sick. Dad rubbed her back soothingly, "Let's get out of here."
Suddenly there was a combined cry from the crowd, "Fire Lord!" Someone shouted above the din.
Katara spun around to find that the firebenders had stopped bending and were lifting Zuko off the ground, he weekly tried to stand on his own only to fall back into their arms. He had over worked himself again. He shouldn't have firebent like that.
"Zuko!" Katara made to rush to her lover's side, but Dad kept a hand on her shoulder. She looked up incredulously at him; she needed to get to Zuko. He could be hurt! Dad shook his head slowly at her, now was not the time.
She looked back at the courtyard; they had taken Zuko out of the square revealing the pile of ash behind him. It still had many bones that were smoldering and not quite burned all the way. She had to look away again.
Only then did she find herself staring at Zhou from across the burning ashes. He looked furious, his hands were clenched at his sides and shaking. He wasn't looking at her though; he was glaring at Lady Hotaru and her daughter. Little Kimi was crying under his glare while Lady Hotaru was oblivious, trying to comfort the child. Kimi must know who Zhou is and what he is capable of.
She unexpectedly broke out of her mother's grasp and ran across the stones to Zuko, clutching his robes, the guards shouted at her and looked for her mother. Zuko silenced them quickly and wrapped one arm around her shoulders, the other arm keeping him upright by a guard. She sobbed something over and over again until Lady Hotaru came and extracted her from his arms, apologizing profusely. Lady Hotaru escorted her daughter away with the shadow of an angry Zhou following closely.
Something was really wrong here.
Katara barged into the medical ward without warning. Dad and Sokka in her wake. "Zuko, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I just ov—"
"What am I thinking? Of course you are not okay!" She rushed to his side, the doctors parted before her eagerly.
"Katara. I'm fine." Zuko smiled up at her from the bed. He was pale and a little shaky, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to die on her.
She spun around to the head doctor, "Is he okay?"
"Yes, my Lady. The Fire Lord appears to be fine, he has just overexerted himself with his bending." The doctor explained, obviously trying to impress Katara with his impromptu assessment of Zuko's condition.
"So, he's not dying. He just needs rest," Zuko groaned at that word, "and to stop stressing himself out?"
"That is correct, my Lady."
"Thank you," She spun back around to face Zuko and placed her hands on her hips ready to scold him within an inch of his life. "You hear that? No more stressful bending until your uncle gives the okay."
Zuko glared at the ceiling, "Fine. Can I at least rest in my own bed?"
Katara rolled her eyes and relaxed her arms, "What was that all about earlier? With Kimi?"
He dismissed everyone, but family, from the room, "She saw someone who is connected to the assassination attempts." He looked furious.
"Zhou?" Katara asked in a scared whisper.
Zuko's eyes widened slightly, "How did you know?"
"Who is Zhou?" Dad asked concerned.
"No one good." Zuko explained sitting up. "He has caused… problems in the past and I thought I had stopped him before, but I guess not. I knew he hated my family, but I didn't know he would go this far."
"Why does he hate you all?" Sokka asked leaning against a wall.
"Because Zuko stopped him from doing something incredibly foolish." Azula interrupted, "And he was a good friend of Ozai's."
"I thought he was discharged from the navy?" Katara asked worried. She didn't want him anywhere near them.
"He was." Azula growled, "What is he doing back?"
Zuko weekly stood before sitting back down under Katara watchful glare, "Little Kimi saw him with Hidehisa. They were talking quietly in his study, but Zhou got mad for some reason and told him to 'try again.' That's all Kimi knows about the attempts, but Zhou knows that she knows who he is. And she's scared."
Sokka pushed himself off the wall, "Well, this Zhou seems like a bastard."
"You can say that again." Katara mumbled under her breath. She didn't see the questioning look from Dad.
Prince Iroh finally spoke up, "Kimi is absolutely sure that it was Zhou that she saw?"
"Yes."
"Then I shall take care of it for now." He laid a comforting hand on Zuko's shoulder and said before leaving, "Nephew, try to take it easy."
"Yes, Uncle." Zuko sighed.
Zuko paced around his room. It had been just over a week since Sir Hakoda and Sir Sokka had beaten the living daylights out of him. He wanted to ask permission to marry Katara again, but knew what the answer would be. This waiting was eating away at his nerves.
Someone knocked on his door, "It's Katara and Dad."
Zuko raced back to his chair where he was supposed to be sitting and resting, "Come in."
The door opened to reveal a beaming Katara and a glaring Sir Hakoda. Wonderful. "I hope that you've been resting." Katara gave him a knowing look. Because they both knew that he hadn't been.
He chuckled, "Yes, resting. That's what I was doing." Sir Hakoda snorted. "How is everything going out there? Uncle and Azula won't keep me in the loop, they think I might try and help or something." He joked.
"Well, the kingdom is falling apart because a bird exploded and there was a double rainbow, but it should all blow over by dinner time." She tried to say nonchalantly, but couldn't help smiling while she said it and kissed his head.
"Oh, well that's good to hear. Did a bird really explode?" He smiled when she laughed and sat next to him. Agni, he loved it when she laughed.
"No, but there was a double rainbow." She pulled something out of her pocket, "Here I have something for you." She placed a blue ribbon in his hands with a circle pendent strung on it. "It's kind of a tradition in my culture to give this to the person you love." She said quietly, as if she didn't really want her dad to hear. He didn't look too happy about the situation either, "It's carved from a shell to symbolize my culture and the protective quality that love sometimes takes. The white color is for devotion." She was blushing furiously and gestured to the carving, "The rose is because of your mother, in hopes that she would approve of me." She turned the pendent over, "On the other, is my tribal symbol so that you will always remember my heritage."
"Katara, I don't know what to say." Zuko stared in awe at the pendent; she obviously put a lot of time and effort into it. "Thank you. I love it."
"I was hoping you would." Her blush didn't go away though, it actually got stronger. "Because I'm kind of proposing." Zuko stared at her dumbfounded then looked to Sir Hakoda to see what his reaction was the news. He was careful to keep his face neutral and stared at the opposite wall. When he looked back to Katara she was biting her lip nervously.
"What about your family?" He gently tucked a hair behind her ear, searching her face for any hint of doubt.
"If they won't let you propose to me, then I had to propose to you." She wasn't kidding. She really wanted to be with him for the rest of their lives.
"I want to, Katara. I really really want to marry you. But," He shook his head and looked at Sir Hakoda, "I can't in good conscience without your father's permission. I will not come between you and them again." Sir Hakoda gave him a quick glance before pretending to be occupied staring at the wall again.
"I know. I just wish it didn't have to be this way." She said sadly as she curled his fingers around it. She was blinking away tears trying to keep a smile on her face.
"Me too. Here," He handed her the ribbon, "help me put it on?" He held out his wrist and she tenderly fastened it in place wrapping the ribbon around it twice before securing the clasp. "I love it."
"Thank you."
She stood and angrily whipped away the one tear that had managed to escape. She stopped in front of Sir Hakoda, "You need to fix this. Find a way to forgive him, because he really is sorry."
"Why is it my fault?" He asked incredulously crossing his arms.
"Because he apologized. Because he has tried to make up for his mistakes every waking second since he let me go. Now, it's your turn. Make. It. Right." She stormed out of the room slamming the door loudly behind her.
That was the most awkward ten minutes Zuko had ever endured in his entire life. And to make matters worse now Sir Hakoda was glaring at him so vehemently that Zuko was sure he was about to be in for another beating. Or worse.
"Can you fish?" He growled.
Zuko blinked a couple times, not expecting that question. "Excuse me?"
"Can. You. Fish?"
"Um… Yes." Why was he asking?
"Sokka and I are going on a fishing trip tomorrow. Would you like to come?"
"Yes. Sir." What the hells? "Thank you for the invitation, Sir." Sir Hakoda nodded once then left, something about this seemed like it was more than an ordinary fishing trip.
Sokka sat grumbling behind the Looser Lord of the of the Looser Nation, but at least he had taken off the stupid and sparkly crown. Looser Lord was awkwardly sitting in the middle of the canoe with nothing to do because neither Sokka nor Hakoda would let him have a paddle. They were taking Looser Lord out past "Azulon's Gates" and into the open sea, where the real fish were.
Hakoda cleared his throat, "Fire Lord, what do you know about the Southern Watertribe's culture?"
"Not much, Sir." Looser Lord replied. Sokka couldn't see his face, but he tensed when Hakoda spoke.
"Well," Hakoda continued, "there is a time honored tradition to protect our families and especially our women." Sokka heard Looser Lord gulp. Good, he was nervous. As well he should be. They were just passing Azulon's gates and out into the open water, too far out for someone to swim back to land. "I hope you give us no reason to exercise our rights."
"I don't plan on it, sir." Looser Lord replied looking around warily, he must not be used to canoes. Or he could be scared. Sokka opted to think he was scared.
"Oh, but you already have." Hakoda glanced over his shoulder at the boys behind him, "Haven't you?"
"What do you mean, sir?" Looser Lord tilted his head to the side in confusion. Sokka did a double take as well, what was Hakoda was talking about?
"Yeah, Hakoda, what do you mean?" Sokka rumbled squinting his eyes at him suspiciously.
Hakoda didn't reply immediately, damn he had really acquired a thing for theatrics lately. Instead of discussing the issue he pulled out his rod and baited the hook, dropping it into the water.
Great. Just great. They weren't getting any answers from him anytime soon.
Grumbling, Sokka picked up his own rod, baited, and dropped the line. The fishing trip was far from over; they had plenty of time to pick Hakoda's brain.
Looser Lord on the other hand, fidgeted in his seat. He also dropped his line on the opposite side of the canoe, but was barely able to keep the line still enough for a good bite.
No one said a word. The waves rocked the boat gently letting them drift with the current. They would have to start paddling again soon or else they would drift too far.
It was only after Hakoda had caught three fish, big ones too, that he decided to talk again. "So, Fire Lord, would you like to tell me what has happened to make me want to exercise my rights?"
Suddenly Zuko was trying very hard to stay still, his breathing was mysteriously steady. "If you are referring to her healing me—"
"So you did touch her!" Sokka accused. The time for fishing was over, but the time for action was now! "I knew it!" Sokka bared his teeth standing, "How dare you touch Katara!" He shoved Looser Lord hard, making him fall forward, arms flailing, effectively rocking the canoe. He was barely able to keep from falling into the ocean.
Looser Lord stood too, whipping around to face Sokka, "I didn't touch her! She touched me! She was healing with her magic water!" He tried to defend his actions. Stupid, stupid thing to do of course. It only made Sokka angrier. He pushed Looser Lord again.
"Stop pushing me. We're going to tip." He growled trying to keep from flailing again.
Sokka didn't care what happened, just as long as he kept Katara safe.
"Boys!" Hakoda barked, his back still to them, trying to get them to settle back down. "Sit down! This is no place for a brawl."
Zuko tentatively made to sit again, "Please, Sir Sokka, listen to Sir Hakoda."
"I'm done listening to him. I'm done waiting." He warned in a low voice before tackling Zuko over the side of the canoe.
They fell spluttering into the salty water, Sokka tried to tackle Looser Lord again, but he was too quick. Looser Lord dove under his attack and came back up for air on the other side of the canoe giving Hakoda an incredulous look as if to say, Aren't you going to try and stop him?
"It's well within Sokka's rights to defend his family against a threat, especially if that person is going to be married to his sister." Hakoda didn't even bother looking up from his fishing line. "In our culture if the men of the village feel that a woman is not being treated justly, then it is customary to take the accused out and push them off an ice flow on a 'fishing trip'. The women don't know about this, all they understand is that they are grateful and harm befalls those who harm. Karma if you will."
"But I didn't hurt her!" Looser Lord splashed in the water like a child throwing a fit. All the while, Sokka had been sneaking up behind him to make another attack.
Only something stopped him in his wake. And that something was wrapping itself around his legs, pulling him down. He didn't even have time to yell for help.
Posted 2/17/15
Sorry this chapter is so late. My computer crashed and I had to do a data recovery instead of rewriting everything. Hope you like it! R&R.
The Congressman—I know right! As I was writing I practically giggled the whole time even though the scene was really serious and messed up… Maybe I shouldn't be admitting that…
Cheesehean101—Me too, I hate seeing him down and out.
Lady Rini—You won't have to wait long. I think its either next chapter or the one after that! And yes, i find it hysterical too.
Ghosts of the Past—No, she didn't leave. She is just going to be obedient to her father, so if he chooses to leave then she will have to go too. From her POV she would be leaving soon because her job is done and she doesn't have to stay therefore her father will take her away.
SanguisRebeus—Wish granted! Thank you for the high praise!
16901—Thanks! And as you can see, he hasn't rethought it. The jerk needs to die and he did. But Zuko is a person too and he hates that he now has a life on his hands. They are painted red with blood and he can never take that action back. If I was faced with that choice I think I would be hesitant too.
Kitten—WOW! Thank you for your dedication, but seriously don't stay up so late. It's bad for your health 3
Shadow Lily Potter—Wow, thank you!
WaterPrincess17—Thank you for your kind words!