It was difficult to navigate through the thick woods, even with the moon being so close to full. Katara held Chanya close, stepping over roots and stones, heading roughly westward. Once we're out in the open, she thought, it'll be easier to tell which way we should go.
They went on in silence for nearly an hour. Finally, Chanya's hand closed on a handful of Katara's collar, and her head tucked itself into the crook of Katara's neck. "What did you do to her, 'Tara?" she whispered.
The Water Tribe woman winced. Her pace didn't falter; she thought for a moment, before finally deciding to simply tell the child the truth. "I'm a master waterbender," she explained gently. "Some master waterbenders can take control of the water in peoples' bodies. It's called bloodbending. I…well, I bloodbended her. I controlled the water in her body to stop her from hurting us."
Chanya was silent for a while, her little fingers playing absently with Katara's collar. "I didn't like it," she said. Her voice was small. "It was scary."
"I know. I'm sorry I had to do it in front of you." The waterbender bit her lips. "It's not something I like doing, Chanya. I only did it to protect you."
The child nodded. "I know," she whispered. There was a pause. "Did…did you hurt her?"
This gave Katara pause. She had only experience someone else bloodbending her once, when Hama – the old witch who had taught her the technique – had taken her down with it. It had hurt, but only when her limbs had been forced to twist into unnatural positions. "I don't think so, dear. I just made her hold still for a while."
Silence fell again. Katara was beginning to tire; Azula's beating had taken a lot out of her, and Chanya's weight was slowing her down. She didn't want to stop. After all, how long will those ropes hold Azula? She's probably tracking us by now… She set her teeth and soldiered on.
Then the silence was broken! Katara stopped short, listening intently. She could hear voices and the snapping of underbrush from somewhere ahead of them! Her heart in her throat, she quickly ducked to one side and hid herself in the brush, tucking Chanya down beneath her. "Shh!" she whispered to the child. The little girl nodded fearfully, clinging to Katara with both arms.
The voices grew closer. The waterbender huddled down, peering through the leaves as torchlight flickered nearby. "They came this way," a girl's voice said. "You see how the branches are broken? – And here's a shirshu track!"
"Yeah, great. Can't we move any faster?" That was a woman's voice – and a familiar one! Katara's heart almost stopped. An instant later, they came into view. There were about ten of them, most of them riding mongoose lizards. Two of them were on foot: a Fire Nation man, who seemed to be doing the tracking, and a dark-haired woman in Earth Kingdom armor. Toph!
Katara rose to her feet. At the same moment, Toph froze in her tracks, her head swiveling in the direction of the waterbenders. "Katara?"
"I'm here!" The Water Tribe woman couldn't quite keep the relief out of her voice. "We're both here. We're all right."
The earthbender remained where she was, seemingly frozen in place. Katara wondered what she was thinking. After a moment, she recovered herself. "So where's June? – And Azula?" she asked.
"Back…there." Katara looked vaguely in the direction they had come from. "I left Azula tied to a tree. June…I don't know where she is, she left a while ago. She's still on her shirshu…" She felt Chanya's small hand in hers. Slowly, she stepped from the bushes. Her body felt suddenly very weak.
Toph gestured to the men with her. "Find Azula!" she ordered. "Bring her back in chains. Be careful! She's slippery, and a powerful firebender." She pointed at two of the mounted soldiers. "You and you, go on foot. We'll need your mounts." They quickly dismounted, and the soldiers went off as they were told.
There was a bit of an awkward pause. Then Toph moved forward. "Here. Give me your arms," she said shortly. Katara obeyed, and the earthbender snapped the chains from her wrists. Katara bit back a cry – some of her skin had burned to the cuffs when Azula had heated them, and tore away with the shackles. "How badly are you hurt?" Toph asked, her voice quiet. Katara couldn't read much into her tone.
"It's okay," the waterbender said quietly. "She beat me up a bit, but I'm fine. Nothing I can't heal myself of." She paused. "Toph, there's an assassin in the palace somewhere. Azula told me. Zuko's the target!"
"Great. Nothing but blue skies today." Toph turned away. "Well then, mount up, both of you. Let's get you back to safety, and warn his royal grouchiness." She was still aloof.
Katara took the quiet Chanya over to the waiting mongoose-lizard, then paused, looking at the waiting earthbender. She couldn't just ignore the fact that Toph had come, presumably to rescue her if she had needed rescuing. What could she say? "Thank you, Toph," she said softly. The general turned her head slightly toward her, her blind eyes unreadable. After a pause, she jerked her shaggy head in response.
Guess I'll have to be satisfied with that. Katara sighed a little, then boosted Chanya up into the saddle and swung up behind her, wrapping her arm snugly around the child's middle. The little girl leaned back against her, murmuring sleepily. Toph rode eastward, and Katara spurred her mount to follow.
She thought that Chanya had fallen asleep. In fact, Katara was just beginning to have trouble keeping her own eyes open when a small voice roused her. "'Tara?"
"What is it, love?" the Water Tribe woman murmured. "I thought you were asleep!"
"Not tired." The child promptly contradicted herself with a huge yawn. "'Tara, how come you and Toph are mad at each other?"
This gave Katara paused. By unspoken agreement, she, Toph and Ty Lee had kept all discussions of their relational problems away from Chanya. This is an almost-eight-year-old child. How much can I tell her? "Well," she said slowly, "I'm not angry at her. I did something very mean to Toph, and she's still mad about it."
"Did you do it on purpose?" Chanya peered up at her with sleepy, innocent eyes.
Katara's lips tightened for a moment. "Yes," she admitted. "I…guess I did do it on purpose, Chanya."
"How come?" the child wanted to know.
The waterbender sighed. I wish I knew, Chanya. "I was just stupid," she said. "I thought I could do it and not get caught, but I got caught anyway." She brushed her fingers through Chanya's hair. "That's why it's always good to tell the truth."
The child yawned again, turning her body so that she rested against Katara, her head pillowed in the crook of the woman's arm. "Maybe if you said you were sorry, she'd stop being angry," she murmured, closing her eyes.
Katara smiled sadly. "Maybe," she agreed softly.
By the time they reached the palace, the sun was well up in the sky. Katara relayed her warning about what Azula had said, and – being too exhausted to do it herself – was treated by a healer. Finally, she was escorted to her quarters. Weary beyond words, the waterbender shed her clothes and crawled between the sheets. In a very few moments, she had drifted off into blessed oblivion.