p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a; text-align: center;"strongRumours/strong/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"From then on Zuko spent his nights in Katara's room. It wasn't long before the staff noticed, and when the staff started gossiping, the nobles overheard. Just what Katara had feared. Rumours. br /After the period of heavy mourning was over, the formal dinners had begun again. But now there was no Fire Lady to lead the ladies out of the room, or to intimidate them into good manners. After dinner, Katara picked up fragments of their whispered /"…all very convenient for her, now that..."br /"…no shame."br /"…customs of those barbarians…"br /Lord Inoue was the first one to say it out loud: "Our Lady's ash wasn't even cold yet before she had already lured him into her bed."br /Sadly, neither Zuko nor Katara were present when he said it, but they heard about it from the other nobles. Zuko almost exploded with anger, and Katara hissed: "I swear I'll put an icicle through his throat the next time I see him, that filthy toad, that…"br /But Iroh calmed them down. He argued that their anger would only be seen as a confirmation. Indifference was the best solution. br /Two days later, Lord Inoue was appointed as the new governor of the northernmost province of the Fire Nation. It was a great honour, and he accepted it as gracefully as he could. After that, no one said their suspicions out loud again. br /And why would they? Katara had become almost indispensable in the palace. The irrigation project was growing into a big success under her guidance, and a double harvest of rice was expected in the fall. The ministers knew all their proposals would have to pass her judgment before the Fire Lord would even look at them. She was often seen in public with the Dragon of the West, who was still a favourite among the people. At the weekly market in the capital, it was a common sight to see her walking hand in hand with the young princess, shopping for toys or clothes or ink brushes. She was always ready to smile and chat with anyone. And slowly but surely, the court ladies smiled at her more, and did their best to include her in their conversations. It became fashionable to be seen with her. She remained distant at first, but always stayed polite. She dressed in red a bit more often. She was careful not to take the Fire Lady's seat at dinner, but she always sat right next to Zuko. It wasn't long before he asked her to join the Council meetings. br /He slept in her bed every night. And yet, after that first night they hadn't kissed again at all. It didn't really bother her. She was content with his slow breathing next to her, the warmth of his body and his smile when he woke up. When he looked at her through his eyelashes, just before he was fully awake, he smiled at her as if he had not a care in the world. But as soon as he opened his eyes completely, a darkness seemed to come over him. She understood. Of course she did. Only time could help to heal that wound. br /Hanabi recovered a bit more easily. She still clutched her kris closely at times, but she didn't insist on sleeping with it anymore- that had seriously scared Katara. It hung on the wall in her room, and she wore the sheath on her back every day when she practiced. She also showed great progress in firebending. After a few weeks, she was able to create small flames and keep them burning in her palms. Zuko beamed with pride./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The end of summer drew near. The capital was busy preparing for the yearly End-of-War festival, that would commemorate the fourteenth year since the defeat of Ozai. Katara held her breath at rumours that the Avatar would attend, and quietly sighed in relief when she heard the confirmation that he would join the festivities in Ba Sing Se this year. She almost leaped with joy, though, when Sokka wrote that he and Suki would be part of the Water Tribe emissary. br /A few days before the festival, Piandao and Jeong-Jeong arrived at the palace. Jeong-Jeong had grown very wiry and bent, with his hair and eyes wilder than ever. Piandao, however, had not changed much. His figure had only become slightly more filled-out. Katara glanced at his thick hair, graying only at the temples, his straight posture and calm, regal expression, and admitted to herself that he really was a very handsome man. br /"I am looking forward to meeting your brother again, Master Katara," he said after they bowed and exchanged the usual formalities. "I trust he hasn't put down the sword?"br /"Oh, no," Katara said. "Quite the opposite. He even teaches now!"br /"What a good thing to hear. Is there a school on the South Pole?"br /"Yes, Sokka and Suki started it. It's attached to the bending school, so non-benders get training as well, and benders are obliged to attend hand-to-hand combat classes too. That way everyone will always be able to defend themselves."br /Piandao hummed. "Benders, too? Very good, very good."br /Zuko, who had been listening to their conversation, joined in. "Speaking of that, Master Piandao," he started. "I would be honoured if you could watch the training of my daughter, one of these days. She has only just begun firebending, but I'm training her in kris-fighting too."br /At this Piandao raised his eyebrows. "Kris-fighting? That is an art that isn't practiced much anymore. It would be my pleasure to attend her training."br /Zuko bowed. Then Piandao and Jeong-Jeong joined Iroh in the tea pavilion, to drink tea and play pai sho and, in Iroh's own words, 'talk about things that only old men are interested in'. br /"I'm going to revise Hanabi on her writing," Zuko said to Katara as they walked back through the hall. "Could you take care of the Minister of Finance? He's requested a meeting this afternoon, no doubt to complain about the costs for the festival."br /"Sure."br /"And the Earth Kingdom delegation is set to arrive before sunset, too. If I'm not finished before then, could you welcome them?"br /"Zuko, you know, if you're going to make me work this much you could as well make me a member of the Council officially," she joked. He gave her a lopsided /"Everything in its due time, Katara. Besides, if I didn't ask you, you'd do it yourself anyway. You and Uncle are almost more involved in the administration than myself."br /She laughed. "That is true. I'll see you tonight then."br /She turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him. Sliding one arm around her waist, he leaned down and kissed her cheek. br /"See you tonight," he said softly. Then he released her and quickly disappeared. Katara blinked and felt her heart beat rapidly. She absentmindedly smoothed down her hair, still flustered, and couldn't suppress a smile. Then she started towards the Fire Lord's office, where the Minister would probably be waiting already./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"From then on Zuko spent his nights in Katara's room. It wasn't long before the staff noticed, and when the staff started gossiping, the nobles overheard. Just what Katara had feared. Rumours. br /After the period of heavy mourning was over, the formal dinners had begun again. But now there was no Fire Lady to lead the ladies out of the room, or to intimidate them into good manners. After dinner, Katara picked up fragments of their whispered /"…all very convenient for her, now that..."br /"…no shame."br /"…customs of those barbarians…"br /Lord Inoue was the first one to say it out loud: "Our Lady's ash wasn't even cold yet before she had already lured him into her bed."br /Sadly, neither Zuko nor Katara were present when he said it, but they heard about it from the other nobles. Zuko almost exploded with anger, and Katara hissed: "I swear I'll put an icicle through his throat the next time I see him, that filthy toad, that…"br /But Iroh calmed them down. He argued that their anger would only be seen as a confirmation. Indifference was the best solution. br /Two days later, Lord Inoue was appointed as the new governor of the northernmost province of the Fire Nation. It was a great honour, and he accepted it as gracefully as he could. After that, no one said their suspicions out loud again. br /And why would they? Katara had become almost indispensable in the palace. The irrigation project was growing into a big success under her guidance, and a double harvest of rice was expected in the fall. The ministers knew all their proposals would have to pass her judgment before the Fire Lord would even look at them. She was often seen in public with the Dragon of the West, who was still a favourite among the people. At the weekly market in the capital, it was a common sight to see her walking hand in hand with the young princess, shopping for toys or clothes or ink brushes. She was always ready to smile and chat with anyone. And slowly but surely, the court ladies smiled at her more, and did their best to include her in their conversations. It became fashionable to be seen with her. She remained distant at first, but always stayed polite. She dressed in red a bit more often. She was careful not to take the Fire Lady's seat at dinner, but she always sat right next to Zuko. It wasn't long before he asked her to join the Council meetings. br /He slept in her bed every night. And yet, after that first night they hadn't kissed again at all. It didn't really bother her. She was content with his slow breathing next to her, the warmth of his body and his smile when he woke up. When he looked at her through his eyelashes, just before he was fully awake, he smiled at her as if he had not a care in the world. But as soon as he opened his eyes completely, a darkness seemed to come over him. She understood. Of course she did. Only time could help to heal that wound. br /Hanabi recovered a bit more easily. She still clutched her kris closely at times, but she didn't insist on sleeping with it anymore- that had seriously scared Katara. It hung on the wall in her room, and she wore the sheath on her back every day when she practiced. She also showed great progress in firebending. After a few weeks, she was able to create small flames and keep them burning in her palms. Zuko beamed with pride./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The end of summer drew near. The capital was busy preparing for the yearly End-of-War festival, that would commemorate the fourteenth year since the defeat of Ozai. Katara held her breath at rumours that the Avatar would attend, and quietly sighed in relief when she heard the confirmation that he would join the festivities in Ba Sing Se this year. She almost leaped with joy, though, when Sokka wrote that he and Suki would be part of the Water Tribe emissary. br /A few days before the festival, Piandao and Jeong-Jeong arrived at the palace. Jeong-Jeong had grown very wiry and bent, with his hair and eyes wilder than ever. Piandao, however, had not changed much. His figure had only become slightly more filled-out. Katara glanced at his thick hair, graying only at the temples, his straight posture and calm, regal expression, and admitted to herself that he really was a very handsome man. br /"I am looking forward to meeting your brother again, Master Katara," he said after they bowed and exchanged the usual formalities. "I trust he hasn't put down the sword?"br /"Oh, no," Katara said. "Quite the opposite. He even teaches now!"br /"What a good thing to hear. Is there a school on the South Pole?"br /"Yes, Sokka and Suki started it. It's attached to the bending school, so non-benders get training as well, and benders are obliged to attend hand-to-hand combat classes too. That way everyone will always be able to defend themselves."br /Piandao hummed. "Benders, too? Very good, very good."br /Zuko, who had been listening to their conversation, joined in. "Speaking of that, Master Piandao," he started. "I would be honoured if you could watch the training of my daughter, one of these days. She has only just begun firebending, but I'm training her in kris-fighting too."br /At this Piandao raised his eyebrows. "Kris-fighting? That is an art that isn't practiced much anymore. It would be my pleasure to attend her training."br /Zuko bowed. Then Piandao and Jeong-Jeong joined Iroh in the tea pavilion, to drink tea and play pai sho and, in Iroh's own words, 'talk about things that only old men are interested in'. br /"I'm going to revise Hanabi on her writing," Zuko said to Katara as they walked back through the hall. "Could you take care of the Minister of Finance? He's requested a meeting this afternoon, no doubt to complain about the costs for the festival."br /"Sure."br /"And the Earth Kingdom delegation is set to arrive before sunset, too. If I'm not finished before then, could you welcome them?"br /"Zuko, you know, if you're going to make me work this much you could as well make me a member of the Council officially," she joked. He gave her a lopsided /"Everything in its due time, Katara. Besides, if I didn't ask you, you'd do it yourself anyway. You and Uncle are almost more involved in the administration than myself."br /She laughed. "That is true. I'll see you tonight then."br /She turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him. Sliding one arm around her waist, he leaned down and kissed her cheek. br /"See you tonight," he said softly. Then he released her and quickly disappeared. Katara blinked and felt her heart beat rapidly. She absentmindedly smoothed down her hair, still flustered, and couldn't suppress a smile. Then she started towards the Fire Lord's office, where the Minister would probably be waiting already./p