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The next day, I'm training with Chan again. I keep my gaze steadily focused away from him all day. I will never forgive him for not allowing me to attend the ball. I doubt my forgiveness means anything to him, but still.

I run ahead of majority of the others, feeling full of energy for the first time in months. When Lee catches up to me across the finish line, he grasps his knees, "Training extra I see?"

I smile, "Something like that."

Ty lee jogs over to us, Haru trailing her, "Have you heard?" She asks me as we all walk as a large group back over to Chan, all of us catching our breaths. I shake my head, "Heard what?"

She pulls her hair out of its tie and begins re tying it, "The Fire Lord is going to the Earth Kingdom, bringing his best elite soldiers with an enormous army to take them down."

I stop walking and the others continue, Ty lee gives me a strange look and I continue walking. My heart twists, "What do you mean?"

She glances at me, "After Nox died, they're attacking the Earth Kingdom without notice."

Chan begins yelling out orders but I can't hear him over the pounding in my ears. No, no- if the Fire Lord takes down the Earth Kingdom, it'll ruin all our plans. He'll go there and discover how weak the Earth Kingdom actually is and if he takes down the Earth Kingdom- he'll just be helping Jane, following her plans exactly as she hopes they will.

After the Earth Kingdom is taken down, her army will grow even more and the army Jet's planning to create will become weaker.

He can't send in an army- he can't go. He just can't.

"Did you hear what I said soldier?" Chan yells directly at me.

I glare at him as I meet his gaze, "No I did not," I snap, "You might as well repeat it."

He doesn't say anything to me for a moment; just crosses his arms and gives me a challenging look, "You and Fenji, up and center now."

An older elite soldier glances at me and I roll my eyes- I am so far from being scared of Chan's attempts at threatening me. I walk onto the sparring platform and wonder if I should apologize to Fenji before I beat him to the ground.

Sure enough, I'm massaging my knuckles as I look down at the whimpering man on the ground beside me. I hold out my hand to him and he takes it, I pull him up and he grunts from the pain but doesn't say anything more.

When we're dismissed, I'm not sure where I'm supposed to go. To Jet? To Fire Lord Zuko? I'm not sure who to talk to about this, but I can't think straight. If the Fire Nation attacks the Earth Kingdom- it will surely be taken down and defeated, and then who ever survives the attack will join Jane. But we need the strongest army we can get; we need the remaining earth benders.

And the only way Fire lord Zuko will stop the attack is if I tell him everything- the truth.

But there's always that one possibility that's been holding me back, if Jet can't get my father back- I will surely kill the Fire Lord to get him back myself, even if it means sacrificing Jet's entire plan.

I can't tell the Fire Lord until I've spoken to Jet.

I rush to my room and am glad to find Mei hanging new dresses in the dresser. She turns around just as I push the doors back. I glance at the dresses in her arms before meeting her eyes, "Can I ask you something?"

She smiles and places a light lavender dress in the dresser and shuts it, setting the remaining dresses on a chair.

"The boy who was here yesterday- did he by any chance tell you where he's staying?" I bite my lip after speaking.

She gives me a look, "Yes, he lives very close to the palace walls actually."

I hold my breath, "But do you know where I can specifically find him?"

She nods, her eyes wrinkling as she smiles again, "Of course, everyone entering the palace is asked for information like that, but you'll have to ask permission from your General or the Fire Lord to leave the palace walls," She picks up the dresses again, "Why do you want to meet him, I thought you just met yesterday?"

I nod, "I wanted to speak to him- he had to leave early last night."

"Well I can't take you, but if you receive permission, I'll tell you where to find him."


The Fire Lord finds himself once again, drowning in the piles of documents in need of reviewing on his desk. Some of the documents were so unnecessary- he wondered why Generals would even bother sending him any sort of documentation.

He sits down in his chair beside his desk, trying to clear a small space on the table. He sighs as he grabs his pen and the first document in the fresh pile. What he wouldn't do for a break of some sort. With each signature he presses into the paper, his hand grows sorer and he eventually leans back in his chair, glancing up at the time.

He had been at reviewing for a solid three hours and had gotten about halfway through the pile. He runs his hand down his face, massaging his temples. The work seemed to be increasing day by day, slowly swallowing him whole. Being Fire Lord of such a powerful nation certainly wasn't what it was cut out to be.

A knock sounds at his door and he glances up, wondering if it could be his Uncle. Usually he would dismiss his uncle- saying that he didn't have time for a break, but today, he may have just relented.

"Come in," He calls out and watches in distaste as a soldier enters. He leans back in his suit as he watches the soldier bow to him.

"Your majesty," He straightens up, "There is a young woman wishing to speak to you."

The young Fire Lord rakes through his mind wondering if he could have missed a meeting with one of the noblewomen, "Who is it?" He asks.

"I did not receive her name your highness," He says.

The Fire Lord deflates as he realizes who it must be- Ty Lee. Although she was certainly great for lightening the mood, he was growing tired of her trailing him wherever he went. They had grown rather close in the period of time they had known each other, but the young Fire Lord never seemed to enjoy her company as much as he would have liked from a companion.

And besides- he still had a pile of documents left to review. The Fire Lord nods at the soldier, "Tell her I am buried in paperwork and if I see fit, I will speak to her later."

The soldier nods, bows once more and leaves without another word.

The Fire Lord returns to leaning his head in his hands as he stares repugnantly at the papers. His eyes seem to be growing heavier by the second. Maybe a break would be a good idea- whether his uncle was here or not. He pushes back from the desk and walks over to his bed; it seems like years since he had taken a nap of some sort. He pulls the crown from his hair and sets it aside and lies down on the bed, pulling the covers over him and staring up at the ceiling.

After his attempts of getting a few moments of sleep prove futile, the Fire Lord lies awake in his bed, his mind churning with thoughts. He would be leading an attack on the Earth Kingdom in four days' time- sending in his best soldiers, doing his best to harm the nation.

A part of him didn't want to send anyone, but his attempts of stopping the attack were useless, every General agreed that taking down the Earth Kingdom was necessary. But harming all those villagers? It didn't make sense, but that was one thing he had to accept as the Fire Lord. It was as if he was being led by his congregation more than the other way around. He would always be forced to relent to the thoughts and ideas of the Generals no matter his position.

He still hadn't decided whether he himself was going along to the Earth Kingdom- but he realized it didn't make much of a difference if he did in fact go along. The plan was to take down the Earth Kingdom- because at the moment they were the biggest threat to the Fire Nation and after having two assassination attempts- one succeeding and one futile- it was time to put a stop to them.

If they could take down the Earth Kingdom, there would only be one nation left- the Water Nation. His father had taken down and wiped away many of the residents of the Air Nation and here he was- following in his father's footsteps- something he had told himself he would never do. But what could he do? Him being the leader of the Fire Nation- he had to want the Fire Nation to be the most powerful nation and not have any nation attempt to bring it down. It was just the way it was and despite how much he attempted to change it- it wouldn't.

Another knock at his door sounded- interrupting his thoughts. He scrambled up, grabbing his crown and attempting to re tie his hair. He was never in such an underdressed state during the day unless he was travelling. He straightened up his robes before speaking, "Come in."

To his relief- only his uncle's head peeks in before opening the door fully. He carries a large teapot and two empty cups. The Fire Lord sighs in relief before sitting back down on his bed- the exhaustion had really caught up to him from not being able to get a good night's rest for more than a month and normally he would have protested for anyone to see him in this state- but frankly, it was only his uncle.

Uncle Iroh chuckles, "I apologize my nephew, did I catch you being a regular young man?"

The young Fire Lord rolls his eyes. His uncle always seemed to bring something up along with him being too caught up in his work. What did he expect from him? He was the leader of the greatest nation- there was seldom time to rest.

He watches as his uncle pulls up a small side table towards the bed and sits down beside him. His calloused hands carefully pour the tea into two cups- he hands one to the Fire lord and he takes it reluctantly- having never been a fan of tea, but hoping it'll help get him to sleep.

"You really should be taking a day off soon," His uncle says, sipping the tea skillfully.

"I don't need a day off."

"You're right, what you need is a nice long vacation. There are hundreds of resorts we can visit, doesn't that sound nice?" His uncle grins, only adding to the anger boiling within the Fire Lord.

He sighs and sets the tea down, trying to contain his irritation, "We're in the middle of a war, there is no time for vacations or rest."

His uncle is quiet before he sighs, turning to face the Fire Lord, "Sometimes I worry about you," He says softly, pulling up an emotion from deep within the Fire Lord that he shoved back down.

"You shouldn't," He says, his voice strictly business, "There is nothing to worry about. I can handle all of this on my own."

"But surely you could get someone to help-"

He cuts his uncle off smoothly. He knew exactly where his uncle was going in the conversation and he wasn't in the mood to argue, "I said I can handle this on my own."

His uncle sighs and leans back, finishing the last sip of his tea and setting it down, "I just wish you wuld think about it." He knew that marriage wouldn't be the solution- it would just cause more problems for him. Besides he was young and he could never deal with a whole new set of responsibilities tied with marrying someone.

"I don't need to think about it, you've heard my decision multiple times," He stands up, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to finish reviewing a few documents."

His uncle stands up hesitantly and eyes the stack of papers regretfully, he grabs his custom teapot and the two teacups, bids farewell and leaves without another word. The young Fire Lord waits to hear the click of the door shutting before collapsing on his bed once more, allowing the effects of the tea to calm at least a small part of his mind- long enough to give him a few minutes of sleep.


I find myself speaking to the closest soldiers I can find, but they refuse to allow me to speak with the Fire Lord- claiming he's busy, so I was forced to resort to being led to General Chan's personal office. I take a deep breath as the soldiers knock.

"Come in," I hear his brash voice and the doors slide open and the soldiers nod once to me, motioning me to enter. I step into the office and look around until my eyes land on General Chan sitting behind a large wooden desk, papers scattered all around him.

His eyes drag up to look at me.

From where I'm standing, I can see a large emblem printed on a sheet of paper, I squint slightly, trying to make out the emblem. I've seen it before but I can't remember where I could have possibly seen it. It's familiar in a nauseating way. His hand slowly slides over the sheet of paper, covering the emblem, and my gaze slides back to meet his.

"Well?" He says, his eyes challenging me to question him, "I don't have all day, what do you want?"

I clear my throat and force myself not to look down at the paper on his desk, "I came here to ask for your permission, allowing me to leave the palace walls to meet someone."

His lips curl downwards in a scowl, "I see you've resorted to asking for permission?"

I hold my tongue back and bow my head humbly.

"Who are you meeting?" He asks after a moment.

"My cousin from the colonies."

He cocks an eyebrow, "From the colonies? Why would he come all the way to the Capital? Surely not to just see you."

I hold back the insult that waits on the tip of my tongue, "He comes bearing news of my family."

My eyes slip back down to his desk as he carefully slides the sheet of paper beneath his hand, under a stack of empty papers and my stomach writhes, "How heartwarming," He says.

I ignore the impulse to snap at him.

"When are you planning this family get-together exactly?"

"Tonight- if it's possible."

He looks back down at his desk, pulling a fresh piece of paper out, setting it down in front of him, "Very well, but the Fire Lord has insisted to allow every elite soldier leave with a carriage, so I will arrange to have a carriage for you at the stroke of nine."

I nod and wait for him to chide me with another comment, but he doesn't. He glances up at me, "Well? Why are you still here?"

I ignore the lump in my throat as I try to remember where I've seen the emblem before as I bow my head once again and leave his room. I walk back down the hallway, there's three hours until Mei will inform me once the carriage has arrived.

I find myself standing in front of the library once more, and my heart rises as I turn the handle and the door opens. The library is lit brightly- and surprisingly- it's not completely empty. There's a few people walking around, scanning the books, others sitting in an isolated corner curled up with a book. The library embellishes a type of hearth in this palace I've never seen before. It's not close to being crowded- but it's not empty. It fills my heart with a warm feeling.

An elderly man smiles at me, and bows his head slightly; he stands behind a large desk pouring over books. He must be the librarian. My body itches to travel through every single section in the library, but my thoughts and plans are interrupted as I hear a voice behind me.

"Katara? What are you doing here?" I whirl around to face Ty lee, she's smiling wide but eyeing me suspiciously at the same time.

I smile back at her slightly, "I just wanted to look around," I say quietly, "I didn't even know we had a library."

She begins pulling me over towards a large fireplace with two plush chairs surrounding it that despite wanting to look around, looks awfully appealing to sit around. I begin to protest, but decide to keep my mouth shut.

Ty lee sits down and motions for me to grab the seat. I sink into the seat and allow the warmth of the fire place to travel through my body. She leans forward, "I didn't know we had a library either- but Fire Lord Zuko brought me here a few days ago."

I don't let her comment bother me. They must have grown close at some point. But my mind drifts to being back on the wall, and him coming and helping me. And then his words that followed- You'd be surprised how much your opinion matters to me. What did that mean? But whatever it meant, it set a warm feeling in her stomach that she had never felt before.

Maybe the Fire Lord was this courteous to every Elite soldier and not just Ty Lee and myself.

"I've been coming here for everyday that we don't have training, it's really relaxing," She lazily leans her head against the chair and stretches her arms out, "There's a few more people here than usually. Sometimes it's completely empty."

"Do you read anything?" I ask her.

She shrugs, "Reading really isn't my thing, I mostly just come here to get some peace and quiet, and the librarian doesn't mind if I take a few naps now and then."

I look behind me at the librarian who's clearly indulged in a book, I hold back a smile. Ty lee touches my arm, "If you want to look around- you can, it's just nice to have someone to talk to around here."

I shrug, "I'll just be a while."

She nods and waves slightly as I get up.

I get lost in the amount of time I've spent in the library as I stroll through every section, pulling out books and piling them in my arms. I yawn slightly as I walk through the History section, I pull out a few recent novels and glance up at the clock. I still have about an hour until I'm to meet outside to the carriage.

I carry the books over, being careful not to drop any one of them, to the fire place. I smile slightly as Ty lee's dozes off. I silently place the books on the side table and pick up the history one on the top. I trace my fingers over the cover. It's titled in a language I can't understand.

I turn it open and am disappointed to see the entire book is written in the same unidentifiable language. I glance at the photos that I recognize; photos of past Fire Lords, the royal palace through its years and a map of the Fire Nation that has seemed to change every few decades.

I close the book just as Ty lee stirs. Her eyes flick open and she glances up at me, I stifle a laugh as she stretches out, yawning, "I guess I don't get enough sleep at night," She leans over, "Can you read that?" She asks, pointing to the title.

I shake my head, "It must be some olden language."

She reaches over me and grabs another book I picked up from the History section, "A shortened history of the Fire Nation," She reads aloud, opening the book and flipping through it, "What a bore, is this what you came to read?"

I snatch the book from her hands. I was hoping to learn some more information on the Nationless- maybe one of these history books had some mention of them, "If I'm going to be a soldier here, I may as well learn more about the Fire Nation."

She yawns again and settles back in her seat. I flip open the book, skimming through its pages. There's an entire section of the history of the war. I read through it.

I sigh as I shut the book. I already knew all of that information. I knew Fire Lord Sozin had waged war against the remaining three Kingdoms and that's when the hundred year war had begun.

But there was something missing and that was the Nationless- when had they come into the entire picture?

I spend the next hour pouring over the pile of books, working my way down the stack until I'm left exhausted and just as clueless about the nationless as I was before. I sigh and lean back as Ty lee peers over my shoulder at the book left open in my lap.

"What's wrong? You look disappointed."

I comb my fingers through my hair, "Nothing, it's just all these books repeat the same information, I can't seem to find…anything else."

"Don't you already know?" She pauses then shakes her head, "When Fire Lord Ozai ruled- this library was closed down- in fact all of the libraries around the Fire Nation were, and many of the books were cleared out- anything that would get people to question the Fire Nation's motives. The books were all destroyed and burnt to ashes, the ones that are left seem like a lot- but there's only selective information here."

I lower my eyebrows. I'm not surprised, but it still makes me feel uncomfortable. I set the book in my lap aside, "No," I say, "I didn't already know that."

Of course I wouldn't find any information about the nationless here- the Fire Lord mustn't have wanted anyone to join Jane like many people were doing at that time- even people from the Fire Nation.

She lowers her voice into a whisper, "It's a shame but I guess it had to happen at some point," She pulls one of the books from the stacks, "Knowledge can sometimes be a very dangerous thing."

I rest my face in the bandaged palm of my hand.

I hear her laugh as she pulls out a book at the bottom, careful not to topple the pile of books over, it's an old book called, 'Heights of Gwyneth.' One of the three books I had back home. I feel heat rise to my face as she flips through it, pausing on a page, "She held onto her moon silk gown as she stared up at the sky that seemed to billow in folds down to where she was standing," She reads aloud.

She turns to me with a look of disbelief and I reach over to grab it, she pulls her hand back, continuing to read, "It was as if the sun had abandoned the sky for a different place to stay, like beneath her feet on the warm cobblestone path," She pauses as she laughs, "If this is what I'm missing out on- count me out."

I grab the book from her hand, "You have to read the entire book, you can't just read from the middle."

She cocks an eyebrow, "I'm sure that was the climax."

I roll my eyes, "Well you wouldn't know anyways."

She laughs and I can't deny the fact that I've missed talking to her. I came to the Fire Nation thinking I wouldn't make any friends, but that's exactly what Ty lee is to me- my friend. I smile at her before my eyes sweep up to the grandfather clock.

I get up. It's quarter to nine. Ty Lee gives me a look, "Where are you going?"

I set the book on the table and smile at her slightly, "I have to- I'm really tired, I think I'm going to sleep. It was nice talking to you," I say, "It's been a while."

Ty lee smiles wide, dimples forming in her cheeks that I never noticed before, "Bye Katara."

I turn down the hallway and walk back to my room, Mei is already waiting for me as I push open the door, "You're late," She chides me. She turns into the dresser to grab a cloak and I snatch up my sword, and two daggers, slipping the dagger into the lapels of my suit. I wrap the sword around my waist and Mei doesn't seem to notice as she hands me my cloak. I turn around and pull it around my shoulders and keep the hood down.

I follow her down the hallways which now seem suddenly dimmer and I have to squint through the darkness to see where we're going, "Come back as soon as you can, alright?"

I nod, stull struggling to see where she's leading me, "I'll try and get back, but don't wait up for me."

I feel a cool gust of breeze which must mean we're outside. The nights in the Fire Nation are pitch black- barely any sign of a moon or stars to light up the sky. Mei seems used to this as she grabs my arm, carefully leading me in the darkness. I've never been to this exit of the palace, there's a neatly trimmed garden gated in and a carriage waiting for me.

It's not extremely fancy, it's a simple horse-drawn carriage with a driver staring straight ahead, not even acknowledging my presence. Mei turns to me, "Have a nice time." She smiles warmly before turning and leaving back through the palace doors. I almost laugh in the irony, Mei must think this is some family reunion of some sort- how wrong she is.

"Well you mustn't keep us waiting, Miss Katara," I jump at the voice and my heart pounds hard as a bearded face peeks out the door of the carriage- smiling. He opens the door completely and I recognize him as Fire Lord Zuko's uncle- what was his name again?

He holds out a hand to help me up, "I hope you don't mind sharing a ride- I needed to visit someone outside of the palace walls actually and when I heard you'd be going- I thought it'd be a good opportunity to finally have a nice conversation with you."

I try not to seem fazed as I grab his hand and he helps me into the carriage. He wouldn't be sent to me to spy on me- he's a general. Surely he's got more important things to do. I sit on the very edge of the carriage, keeping my distance from the strange old man.

The carriage starts with a jolt, "I'm sure you remember me, from the night of the ball?" He asks me.

I nod absently, not particularly in the mood of creating conversation. Hopefully the ride to Jet won't take too long.

"I apologize for not being able to introduce myself properly that night- I was in quite a hurry, you must know about palace business?"

I nod and he smiles, "My name is Iroh and you may know me as Zuko's uncle- he doesn't like speaking about me much so I'm not sure."

"He told me, we were both there," I reply, fidgeting uncomfortably.

He laughs, a booming but warm kind of laughter, "Forgive an old man and his strained memory," He wipes his eyes as if my words were really that funny, "How about yourself? I've heard about you quite a lot and have been curious to speak to you for a while."

"My name is Katara."

He smiles, "Surely there is more to you than just your name."

I shrug, "That's pretty much sums up my identity."

He laughs again, "How about being from the colonies? That's very interesting, or being the highest ranking elite soldier?"

I scoff, not sure whether to be scared or laugh at the fact that he's heard about me. As if I'm a subject of gossip to be thrown around in the palace walls, "I don't see you telling me much about yourself other than your name and your relationship with the Fire Lord."

His smile only grows and I watch in utter shock as he reaches to his side and pulls out a teapot- a full teapot. He pulls out two small intricately designed cups from his pocket and pours a substance which I'm guessing is tea into both of the cups. He offers me one but I shake my head.

He frowns, "It's not wise to waste a nice cup of tea, it may just cheer you up."

I look away from him and pull the curtain aside to see how much further I'll have to sit with this man, "I don't need cheering up," I reply. He shrugs and sets the cup down on a small flat surface next to his arm and sips his tea.

"I'm a retired General from the Fire Nation, Fire Lord Ozai was my brother," He pauses for a moment, sipping his tea again, "What else would you like to know?"

He must be exactly like his brother. I sigh, "I'm not interested in your life, I was being sarcastic."

If he's affected by my comment, he doesn't show it. He finishes his tea and starts on the cup he had poured for me- offering it once more to me and drinking it himself after hearing my refusal. He watches me for a moment before speaking, "You're an awful lot like my nephew, Miss Katara."

"I'm not sure whether to thank you or find an insult to use against you," I reply.

He tips his head back and laughs again, "It does sound like a debauched comparison doesn't it?" His voice softens slightly, "But I know the side of him people don't usually see- it takes him a while to truly open up to people."

I glance up at him and watch as he seems to get lost in thought for a moment before turning his attention back to me and sipping his tea again, "You must know there's good in him, right?"

I'm taken aback slightly. I manage to only gape at him before he turns away, "He's young and many of the Generals don't trust him with the work of this nation. They believe he's the reason for the sudden downfall of the Fire Nation. The entire nation believes that."

"That's why he's always distant, he's tremendously busy and stressed at every moment of his life," He sighs, "Nothing like a life he should be living, that's why I retired."

I watch him, "Then why didn't you become the Fire Lord after his assassination?" The question tumbles out of my mouth before I can rethink them.

He glances at me, "It must seem awfully cruel for me to not take his place, doesn't it? But my nephew was firm in his belief of handling the nation on his own- fixing the nation. And to this day he's working the hardest I've ever seen anyone else work."

The carriage stops but I'm still watching Iroh. He glances at me, smiling, "I think this is your stop."

I nod absently and then the driver holds the door open. I pull the cloak over my head, adjusting the sword at my waist. I turn back to Iroh before stepping out, "It was nice talking to you."

He laughs, "It was more than a pleasure talking to you."

The driver helps me out and leads me up the pathway to a large house. It's similar to General Chan's house, and I absently smile as I wonder if he ever found out who ruined his home. We walk up the cobblestone path, my footsteps tainting the silence of the night.

I can't help it as I feel anxious. The driver knocks on the door, still not even looking in my direction. The door swings open immediately, just as he pulls his hand back to knock a second time. Jet stands, one hand pressed to the door, dressed in a finely made suit knitted to the shape of his body. His hair is neatly combed and when he sees me, his green eyes brighten and he smiles- an easy, friendly smile that makes the anxiety melt into a puddle at my feet.

He motions for me to enter and I thank the driver who merely grunts before turning away, mumbling something about waiting outside. I pull the hood of the cloak off as I enter the home. It's just as nicely decorated as Chan's home was and I can't help but wonder where Jet must've gotten this home from.

I begin to unlace my boots but Jet laughs slightly, "It's fine, follow me."

I slowly stand back up and follow him through the house; he walks with back breaking posture that I could never manage to shadow. I don't bother looking around at my surroundings, "Nice house." I say quietly.

He turns his head slightly as he walks, "You think so?"

I cross my arms over my stomach, hugging my body, "I wonder who gave it to you."

He laughs as we begin to walk up a flight of stairs, "That's a story for another day." He turns the handle to two large doors and motions for me to enter before him. We walk into a large bedroom, simple with only a bed, two chairs and a small study table piled with papers.

"Is this your room?" I ask hesitantly.

He nods, walking ahead, "For now at least, take a seat."

I sit down, watching as Jet drags the table towards us, careful not to spill the pile of papers off, "I guess we should start right away, right?" He turns to glance at me but I shake my head.

"There's something you should know," I say quietly. He straightens out a few papers before walking to the other side of the table; he leans his hands on the edge of it and looks at me, "What is it?"

I smooth my hair back, "The Fire Lord is leading an attack on the Earth Kingdom soon- they don't realize how weak the nation actually is and-"

"And if they go now, they'll take down the entire nation," He finishes, cutting me off, his eyebrows drawn in.

I nod and smooth back the stray hairs that must have slipped out of the tie from the back of my head. I look up at him, "What should we do?"

He stares down at the table before slowly meeting my eyes, "There's only one thing we can do, you have to tell him before he leaves."

My eyebrows lower slightly; I already knew he was going to say that. I clench my hands. It only made sense, but I wasn't ready to tell him yet. I wasn't ready and I'm not sure I'll ever be ready to tell him the truth. I shouldn't be scared, but I am. I'm so scared that I'll have the same fate as Nox if I tell him.

"Katara?"

I look up.

"You have to tell him," He says, his voice growing softer.

"I know," I say quietly.

"Do you know when he's leaving?"

I shake my head.

"You'll have to find out, and you'll have to tell him the truth."

I nod.

He sighs slowly, "You shouldn't think of this as something that's disrupting our plans, because it's not. You'll just have to tell him earlier than was expected, we can still continue with our plan. You'll tell him earlier and that's when we can go and get your nation to evacuate to the Fire Nation. Commander Jane will have found out by then and she will attack the water tribe, when no one's left there, she'll know and she will attack the Fire Nation, but we'll be ready."

I feel deflated as I nod again, "How will you time this exactly so it's the day of the comet?"

"I'm working on it," He says.

"And how do you know Jane won't find out about us evacuating the Water Tribe?" I ask him.

His jaw clenches, "She will find out, but she won't be able to do anything. It's a three day journey to the Water Tribe, and another three days to get to the Fire Nation from there."

I straighten up, "That's how you can time it," I stand up; walking over to the map he's laid out. There's a large marking where the nationless must reside. I point to the Water Nation on the map, "We can evacuate the Water Tribe six or seven days before the comet arrives."

He watches my finger as I trace the distance from the Water Tribe to the Fire Nation, "She'll leave as soon as she finds out and she'll find out as soon as we begin evacuating them," He says, nodding wordlessly to my idea.

I move aside as he pulls out a few more papers. My eyes travel over them as he straightens them out. He sets one down. It's a calendar showing the arrival of the comet, "It's planned to arrive exactly nineteen days from now, which means we'll have to leave for the water tribe exactly twelve days from now. The comet arrives at midnight," He places a finger on a meeting of the time and the comet, "And lasts for a full twelve hours."

"That's the time to attack, after the comet, the Fire Benders will be drained of their energy- they will still be able to Fire bend, but they will be exhausted- as will the rest of us, so we'll have to do as much damage as we can before the end of the comet. With the remaining people from the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribe, we might be able to be a match against Commander Jane."

His emerald eyes meet mine, as if for strengthening. I nod, because I'm not sure what else to do or what else I can say. I stare down at the papers and my eyes catch on something and my heart feels tight in my chest as I stare down at it. It's painfully familiar and my fingers brush aside the sheets on the top as I pull it up.

Jet watches me as I stare at the same symbol I saw General Chan covering with his arm as I entered. My stomach writhes as I lift it up and hold it.

"Katara?"

It's a wave of water circled by a black thickened line, "What is this?" I ask him.

He nods towards it, "The Nationless symbol."

That's where I had seen it. The images of the symbol on the flags of the ships stream through my mind. But what was Chan- I stagger back, ramming the paper into the pocket of my suit. I turn around, my heart pounding a million beats per second as Jet grabs my arm, "Where are you going?"

I look up at him, "Jane has to have allies- even within the Fire Nation, you've told me yourself about them," My mind is racing, "But what would a general be doing with a nationless symbol?" I'm thinking aloud suddenly, "Chan has to be working for Jane- but if he's working for her- he knows about me."

Jet is watching me, his eyes drawn in.

I shake my head, "He has to know about me," My voice is growing frantic.

Jet shakes me slightly, gripping my shoulders, "Katara, I have no idea what you're talking about."

I shake my head hard, "I have to go," I turn and run. I burst through the doors of his house and I hear him calling behind me, but I don't process his words as I see the carriage parked at the foot of the cobblestone path. I race towards it, practically jumping in. The driver doesn't seem fazed even as Jet sprints out, bewildered. The door shuts in his face just as he reaches towards me.

I lean back in the seat as it starts with a jolt. I pull the paper out and stare at it, my eyes trailing over the black line that circles the water. There's no doubt this was the same symbol I had seen with Chan. I don't see why it worries so much but I can't seem to calm down for the entire ride. As the carriage stops, I stumble out of it and somehow find my way back to my room in the dark.


Tell me what you thought!

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