Fall Of The White Lotus
Chapter 37: Addicted
Music: Release Me, Two Steps From Hell
"Hey there, girly, do you still know me?"
The young woman with the short, hazel tresses froze, her hand grabbing a hold on the mokume-gane hilt of her katana as the women surrounding her slowly turned around, a disbelieving look on their faces. Who would dare to address their leader with such disrespect?
They saw a young man standing in the doorway to their dojo, his silhouette dark against the wintery surroundings of snow covered pine-trees and rooftops.
"Who dares to call me…" The young woman spun around, her gold armband gleaming in the afternoon light and within seconds she'd trapped the man between her metal fans.
"Ow! Stop it, Suki! Stop!" He wailed as he squinted in mortal fear at the gleaming fans holding his face hostage.
The young woman bowed forward, her violet eyes wide with bewilderment in her heavily painted features.
"Sokka? Is that you? What are you doing here?"
"Way to welcome your fiancé, Suki," he moaned, as he unsuccessfully tried to free himself. "Do you mind?"
She blinked and a moment later the fans were gone. Sokka stumbled back as the Kyoshi Warrior flung her arms around his neck. "Sokka!"
His face lit up in a smile as he stabilized himself, wrapping his arms around her as well.
"Yes, it's me, Suki," he said softly.
The other women discreetly retreated as the couple held each other in a tight embrace, reunited at last.
Finally, Suki withdrew and she wiped the tears from her face, smearing the facial paint in the process. A shaky smile formed on her lips.
"But that still doesn't answer my question. What are you doing here? I hadn't expected to see you until spring."
Sokka made a mock indignant face. "Why? Can't a man visit his fiancée anymore?"
But Suki stayed serious and his face fell.
"It's Katara," he then said curtly.
Upon their arrival at the beach house Zuko had made place for Appa to stay in the komodo rhino stables as the dragon moose stables would be too small for him. But still the sky bison looked like a big, fluffy ball pressed into a small box and he didn't seem too happy about it, being stuck in there with the cunning looks of the two komodo rhinos fixed on him. Three years ago these stables had still been empty, but now that the Fire Lord had moved back into the beach house the animals had returned too.
After a quick early morning training session Zuko went to tend to Appa, shaking out a stack of hay for the sky bison and then absent-mindedly filling a trough with water for the animal.
"I'm sorry, boy, but I promise we're going to leave soon -," Zuko mumbled apologetically to the bison, and the riding animal grumbled softly in response. "- As soon as we know where to go."
As Appa took to his meal Zuko folded his arms and leaned against the carved pillar, staring at the courtyard outside with a hard gaze.
There was only a week left for them to find his mother and she could be anywhere in the Fire Nation. They'd lost so much time in Senlin Harbor and he was to blame for it. He'd put way too much trust into the belief that someone would provide them with the next clue to follow on their journey. But he now had to face the fact that they'd only been lucky to be having come this far. And with only one week left before the seasons would change they now had to figure things out for themselves.
A string of water floated past the entrance. Katara.
Zuko's expression darkened violently.
How could he have been so stupid to tell her about his plans to propose to Mai, while he knew very well that they had lost all meaning when he had first became aware of his feelings for Katara - had kissed Katara, if they had ever held any meaning at all?
But when Katara had brought up a possible reunion of Team Avatar on Ember Island he'd let slip the remark, because that's what he'd been preparing the beach house for - a Team Avatar reunion. After he and Mai had gotten married this summer. The words had lingered between them and as she'd been standing next to him, making a beautiful picture in her sundress with its fiery color enhancing the exotic blue of her eyes, he acknowledged that if it hadn't been for his uncle he wouldn't have seen Katara again until his wedding day and the very thought had left him numb with pain.
He'd hadn't dared to look at the waterbender but for one fleeting moment in which he'd seen his own devastation being reflected in her eyes. It had left him feeling confused and not a little hopeful. Could it be possible that she dreaded the moment she would have to goodbye to him as much as he loathed to be separated from her after this week would have ended? Perhaps this was why she'd had trouble sleeping last night, tossing and turning in the bed until he'd taken her in his arms.
And while he felt horrible that he might have been the cause of her unrest he also couldn't help that a small part of him was feeling grateful for her distraught response.
"I can't believe we ended up here. Seriously, this theatre is going to forever haunt us."
Katara looked up at the lavishly decorated and recently renovated exterior of the magnificent theatre building overseeing the sea from a rocky cliff.
Acknowledging the need for groceries, Zuko and Katara had followed a paved road bordered with palm trees and brilliant orchids leading to the small village tucked away in the lush green hinterland behind the prominent beach houses belonging to wealthy mainlanders, as the Ember Island inhabitants called them.
They had yet to reach the village when they had already come across the playhouse Katara loathed to remember.
Back when they'd gone to see 'The Boy In The Iceberg' the theatre had been full of atmosphere with gold lanterns guiding their way up to the large square flanked by the statues of two dragons. Team Avatar had found themselves amidst this distinguished crowd all dressed up in what they'd believed was normal Fire Nation attire and with the dark silhouette of a cloaked figure hovering nearby as they'd excitedly been waiting for the dreadful play to begin, which had ended depressingly with the Fire Nation winning the Hundred Year War and the Fire Lord killing the Avatar.
Now, the theatre was closed for the winter and devoid of its purpose the standalone building looked a bit grotesque against its surroundings.
Katara's gaze came to rest on a yellowed poster of 'The Boy In The Iceberg', plastered against the wall next to a 'Love Amongst The Dragons' poster. Merciless sunlight had made Zuko's fiery scar, placed on the wrong side of his face, fade into an indistinct orange, while her own blue dress had turned into a muddy kind of grey. It didn't enhance the already unflattering picture. Being rendered out of date, the poster was a silent leftover of the propaganda the people of the Fire Nation had lived with for more than a hundred years.
Next to her Zuko made an annoyed noise, not paying attention to either the theatre or the old poster.
"I could have sworn…" he mumbled as he looked around non-understandingly, a frown on his face.
"Do they still perform that play?" Katara curiously interrupted Zuko's train of thoughts on where they had taken the wrong turn.
Zuko looked up.
"What? No," he replied as he followed her gaze. "The Ember Island Players are on tour with their new play."
Katara couldn't say she was unhappy about that. The play had been an experience all of Team Avatar except for Toph and Suki had wanted to forget about as quickly as possible but circumstances kept bringing the horrible play back to memory.
"They have returned to their old topic again," Zuko casually informed her, as he continued to look around searchingly. "Dragons."
Katara lifted her eyebrows. "Dragons?"
Zuko finally found what he was looking for - the way to the little village. With a triumphant grin he stepped away from the theatre building, motioning Katara to follow him.
"Yeah, dragons," he replied, as he walked on. "Remember when I said my mother used to take me to see the play 'Love Among The Dragons' each and every year?"
He sounded horrified and Katara smirked. Of course she did remember that little detail. She remembered everything about him.
"It seems that they have discovered about the golden artefact in the Sun Warriors' ruins."
He'd actually made an appearance on opening night when he'd heard about the topic of their new play, wanting to see it for himself. The troupe had been over the moon with the Fire Lord attending the play, which had never happened before in their modest existence. They hadn't noticed how he'd mostly been making notes as he'd struggled through the cringeworthy play. Afterwards, he'd raised the security level of the Sun Warriors' ancient city, in close consultation with their chief.
He had always wondered how the troupe had found out about the egg - although he'd been relieved to establish that they didn't seem to know the artefact was, in fact, an egg - but somehow the Ember Island Players often seemed to be better informed than even his own secret intelligence service.
"What about it?" Katara asked when they entered the quiet village.
During the summer it was a busy place filled with rich mainlanders visiting the many teahouses and servants buying groceries. But this time of year the richly decorated carriages were gone and the teahouses had closed their doors for the winter. The mainlanders had left for their mansions in Royal Caldera City. Only a few villagers were out on the streets today.
Zuko nodded inconspicuously at the little stand of a greengrocers in the small shopping street and keeping in the background he watched from underneath his hood as Katara collected several vegetables and paid for them. The old woman behind the stand smiled a toothless smile.
When the travellers walked away he cast a quick glance around to make sure they were out of earshot. What he was going to say was classified information.
"It's an egg, Katara."
With her small hands Toph firmly clenched Aang's stomach, pressing her body against his while he made a sharp turn with his glider. She shivered and squeezed her eyes shut as she enjoyed the feeling of the crisp air through her hair, leaving a tingling feeling in her ears. Toph had always loved it when Aang took her for a flight and at this moment she realized how much in fact she had missed those, having been trapped in Iroh's small Upper Ring house all this time.
Aang rested his chin on her head when her fingers entangled in his shirt more firmly.
"We're almost there," his gentle voice sounded from above her. "Are you all right?"
Toph could only nod, letting her thoughts drift away in the knowledge she could completely trust Aang with her life.
She dug her fingers into his well-toned stomach, feeling her heartbeat accelerate as he subconsciously let out a small groan. She was glad he couldn't see her blush as a sudden feeling of sadness came over her. Like now, Aang had always been there to reassure her.
Her thoughts went back to when she'd still been nurturing her infatuation with Sokka, and it had been Aang who had at one time taken her hand, reassuring her that friendship could transcendent lifetimes. No boy had touched her with such care before, making her feel loved… and wanted.
From that moment on, she had began to notice how the charming Water Tribe boy's bravura melted away whenever Suki was near him, feeling his heartbeat quicken every time the Kyoshi Warrior smiled at him. As opposed to Toph whom he usually treated like a younger brother, he showed Suki a gentle, more vulnerable version of himself.
The few times Team Avatar met with each other again she had began to notice something else too. Somehow, during their scarce reunions Aang always seemed to gravitate towards her, seeking her out, not only to play airball with rocks, but especially to just sit and talk with her while Zuko and Katara were off catering to their little group.
The final blow had come a year ago when they'd come together for a reunion at the Western Air Temple to celebrate the start of the season of the Air Nomads. Toph remembered that the wind had still been warm but the air had been filled with a scent of falling leaves and smoking campfires promising the arrival of a colder season.
Upon their arrival she'd lingered with Katara and Zuko while Aang had dashed off to check up on the abandoned temple complex and Sokka and Suki had somehow managed to sneak away unnoticed.
Before Aang had raced off Katara had called him back telling him when lunch would be ready after which Zuko had naturally added, "Don't be late. And if you see Sokka and Suki-"
"I'll tell them," Aang had nodded, noticing only now what Zuko had already seen - that the couple had quietly disappeared on them.
For a while, Toph had contented herself with listening to the steady heartbeats of the other benders, as they'd started to make lunch preparations, marvelling at how peaceful they'd suddenly sounded now that they had been left on their own. There was an unspoken trust and understanding in their hushed conversation while they'd gone about their business, naturally settling in taking care of their family together.
Though Toph would never admit it she cherished the caring way the older teens held together Team Avatar when they were among each other and who over the years had displayed much more parental concern towards her than her own parents had ever done, encouraging and supporting her when needed. Of course she too had chuckled when Suki had once teasingly asked, "Mom, Dad, is it all right if Sokka and I go to bed early?" and the couple had flushed in embarrassment, butToph was silently grateful to them for showing her what loving parents would look like.
This didn't mean however that she'd needed to stick around and risking being put to doing chores so she'd decided to follow where Aang had disappeared inside the temple.
While wandering around the empty corridors the petite earthbender had suddenly run into Sokka and Suki passionately kissing each other behind a pillar, believing they had chosen an unseen place.
Toph had frozen, as she'd unwillingly listened to the excited heartbeats of the two lovers, unable to just up and leave.
At that moment she'd felt a hand gently taking her by the arm as a voice had softly said, "I think you've seen enough."
And Aang had led her away.
When he'd put a safe distance between them and the two lovers the young Avatar had turned around, not letting go of her hand. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I know how you feel about Sokka."
But Toph had only stared at where his voice had come from, her pale, unseeing eyes wide with shock. And suddenly she'd realized that she wasn't thinking about Sokka at all.
Of course, she'd been unpleasantly surprised when she'd walked in on him and Suki on this intimate moment, but the lightning bolt had hit hardest when Aang had taken her hand, his thumb subconsciously rubbing the back of her hand. His care and attention for her she'd recognized from having witnessed it before - between Sokka and Suko and also between Zuko and Katara, although the latter ones had since then turned away from each other in trying to meet the expectations of Mai and Aang had of them. And had forgotten about themselves.
"No… it's all right," she had responded with a rough voice.
Aang had eyed her worriedly, putting his hands on her shoulders, not noticing how Toph's heart had picked up pace at the unexpected contact.
"Are you sure? You seem pretty upset," he'd urged, tugging a strand of her stubborn black bang behind her ear and Toph had only nodded mutely, subconsciously tilting her head towards the caress. His fingers had lingered behind her ear, trailing the sensitive skin before he'd stepped back and left. And Toph had silently listened to his light footsteps dying away in the corridor, understanding that what she was feeling for the airbender went far beyond her previous crush on Sokka.
Back home she'd told General Iroh about what had happened and he'd nodded thoughtfully while folding his hands in his sleeves saying, "So, you've come to the realization then. The Avatar and Lady Mai are both clinging to the persons they claim to love but in reality they are merely addicted to the false images they have of them. It's keeping my nephew and Princess Katara from acknowledging their love for each other. And it's causing Aang to turn away from you."
"We're there."
Aang's voice pulled Toph from her thoughts and she stepped from the glider. He had landed on a snowy hillside in the outer rings of the city of Ba Sing Se.
"Like I said - enough space for building giant snowmen and playing airball with rocks!"
Toph slowly let go of him and turned around. He couldn't have said a truer word. The place was indeed wonderful. The crystalline snow surrounding her felt untouched, but still she could sense her element beneath the airy structure. A smile appeared on her lips.
"It's perfect."
The setting sun bathed the Ember Island beach in a copper glow when two figures came down the path from the biggest, most beautiful beach house in the area. Calmly, they went to stand across from each other in the breakers, the young woman wearing only her white bindings and the young man loose red trousers. The beach was deserted but for the two of them.
Katara looked up at the sky and smiled. The moon already shining high in the sky while the sun had yet to disappear. Their elements would perfectly balance each other.
Their sparring session had begun calmly with each one of them practicing a few moves from their own bending disciplines, not so much battling against each other as well as enhancing each other's strengths. The balance between the sun and the moon had started to shift in favor of the moon when they naturally moved to moves from the other bender's discipline. Walls of fire and jets of water had occupied the beach shrouding in darkness as twilight set in.
Katara felt her strength grow as the moonlight gained in intensity and she saw that Zuko had to work harder to maintain the same level of fierceness in his fire and secretly she loved it. It was the opposite from when they were practicing in the morning.
Finally, he let his fire extinguish and Katara watched as he stood straight, closed his eyes and sighed a breath of fire. When he opened them again they seemed to burn with a hidden fire.
"Care for another firebending lesson?" His low voice had a teasing quality to it, although she also detected a hint of longing in there. An involuntarily shiver went through her as she remembered the touch of his hands on her belly when he'd taught her the firebending move she'd perfected since then.
But she didn't want to grant him the satisfaction of seeing the effect he had on her and her lips curled up in an amused smile as she drew closer, the water from the sea pulling back with the waterbender's every step.
"Do I need one, then?"
She didn't wait for Zuko's response. With a powerful movement, she wheeled a fierce wave of water at Zuko. Caught off guard he stumbled back and fell. It took a moment before Zuko resurfaced, coughing vigorously.
"The movement altogether isn't that difficult, it's all in the balance, really," Katara sweetly repeated his own words and went to stand before him, leaving only inches between them as she innocently looked down on him. Patiently, she waited for him to recover from his sudden bath.
Zuko shook his head at her mischievous expression.
That little -
"Exactly," he confirmed softly and the next moment Katara yelped as her feet were swooped from underneath her. When she scrambled up amused laughter, gentle though, reached her ears. She wiped her hair out of her eyes and coughed.
He was looking utterly content with himself, standing in the water with his arms crossed before his chest and the sea breaking against his ankles. Suddenly, she realized this was the first time she'd ever seen him playful like this, pulling a prank on her and being smug about it. Her features softened and Zuko stopped laughing. A shy expression passed over his features as he uncrossed his arms and reached out to help her up.
"How about a waterbending lesson, instead?" He asked quietly, letting go of her hand.
"I believe you already had one, today," she whispered and his heart skipped a beat when she reached up and tenderly tucked the strand of hair plastered to his bad eye behind his ear.
A feeling of dejectedness descended on him as he looked into her gentle blue eyes watching him with an almost loving gaze.
They had less than a week to find his mother. Less than a week for them to travel together for the purpose of saving the Order of the White Lotus.
And to have a legitimate reason to be together.
"Maybe now is a good time to try and figure out your uncle's rhyme," she said softly. "And maybe the song will provide us with a clue to find your mother."
Zuko nodded wordlessly and as the sun disappeared below the horizon they sat down on the beach, drying up in the gentle evening breeze. Katara lightly rested her head on Zuko's shoulder and heaved a silent sigh, a troubled frown between her eyebrows.
She tried not to imagine how in the future Mai could be resting her head on his shoulder like this. The thought that Zuko could already be engaged to be wed to the knife-throwing nobleman's daughter filled her with horror. When yesterday morning Zuko had hinted at a possible marriage between him and Mai come next summer she'd felt numb, withdrawing into herself for the remainder of the day and at night she'd been tossing and turning in the bed until Zuko had tightly pulled her against him and had caressed her hair, willing her to calm down. The comforting embrace had finally put her raw despair temporarily to rest and finally she had fallen to sleep.
Now, she closed her eyes in silent sorrow as he put his arm around her small shoulders, pulling her in.
With a troubled look in his eyes Zuko looked down on Katara. He knew she was thinking about Mai. During the day he'd seen it in her eyes whenever she thought he wasn't looking and he'd felt the pain radiating from her. His heart had wrenched for her but he didn't know how to tell her he was sorry for hurting her without embarrassing her and risk her shying away from him.
But he'd felt the tension leaving her shoulders when he'd pulled her against him and a little corner of his mind hoped that perhaps the beach would help him help Katara.
The beach has a way of smoothing even the most ragged edges.
"Two old ladies once said about Ember Island that it's a magical place. If you keep an open mind... it can help you understand yourself and each other," Katara heard him say softly and felt his voice vibrating through his body. His tone didn't betray anything, but she felt the words held more meaning to him than he let on.
She realized with aching heart that she had already come to understand Zuko better than any other person while she would never find someone who would understand her better than he did. But where would that lead them?
Katara pulled the disheveled piece of paper out of the folds of her summer dress lying discarded next to her. too reached inside the shirt he'd left on the beach before their sparring session. When he opened his hand he revealed a small object, lying in his palm. It was a stick, made of four different materials on each side.
Rock and wood were facing each other, as were gold and silver. Different characters were carved in the materials. But the most interesting part was the band of mother of pearl on which someone painstakingly had painted another set of complicated characters. All characters were ancient ones, like the ones on the little note.
Black Clock had provided them with an exquisite work of art.
Katara raised her eyebrows in surprise. "And here I expected the key to be metaphorical."
"With the Order things are never as you expect them to be," Zuko nodded and warily turned around the stick, the gold and silver gleaming in the moonlight.
"So, what clues are there in your uncle's message?" Katara asked thoughtfully, her eyes not averting from the mysterious keystone.
"Aside from the key?" Zuko took over the note. "Apparently it's a song we're looking for. A common one, if I remember correctly."
"About seasons," Katara supplied, "and with this peculiar rhythm."
"Which I absolutely recognized," Zuko sighed. "But at the same time can't remember. If only I had paid a little more attention during music night."
Katara thoughtfully cast a glance at the dark sea. "Perhaps it's for the best we didn't recognize the song directly. Now we have the opportunity to learn to understand the language of the White Lotus."
"At least this will help." With narrowed eyes Zuko studied the small keystone. "It really is an extraordinary piece of artwork. And very old. I believe Black Clock may have given us his only possession of value."
A sapphire gaze met with a topaz one.
"We'll get it back to him," they said simultaneously, then smiled at each other.
"So… how to use this thing?"
Katara watched as Zuko turned the stick around, trying to read the inscriptions, when suddenly she recognized two characters written on it. Instinctively, she put her hand over his.
"The characters for summer and winter," she whispered a little breathlessly as her index-finger slid across the back of his hand. She failed to see the tender gaze he shot her as she turned the stick around and the shiny surfaces of the gold and silver sides appeared. Above each string of characters were the symbols for each season in the ancient tongues of the four nations.
Zuko sharply sucked in his breath.
"You're right! Then this must be the ancient Earth Kingdom word for spring," the rock side was turned upwards, "and this," another turn and now the wood side showed its carvings, "is the Air Nomad word for autumn."
"And the mother of pearl in the middle provides the key for translating the language of the White Lotus," Katara whispered as an excited smile curled her lips.
And as the moon rose high in the sky, accompanied by the gently flickering Pole Star, the travellers began to solve the mystery they had been carrying with them since they'd been sent on their journey using the keystone to translate.
Zuko smoothed out a reasonable part of the wet sand near the shore and wrote down the text. Finally, he stepped back and silently they stared at the ground before them as the wind gently played with their light silk clothes.
Letting the lyrics sink in Zuko closed his eyes cursing himself for not having recognized them earlier as Katara clenched the keystone, trying to understand the deeper meaning behind the song she'd heard not too long ago, sung by two little girls in Senlin Village.
Winter, spring, summer and fall,
Winter, spring, summer and fall,
Four seasons, four loves,
Four seasons, for love.
Katara's eyes shot open, her chest laboring as she started awake staring at the dark silk canopy above her with wide eyes. Slowly, she became aware of her surroundings and Zuko's soft breathing against her shoulder while his arm rested trustingly across her stomach.
A trembling sigh escaped her. It had only been a dream. A confusing dream in which two twirling girls had sung a fast version of the Four Seasons song and then slowly had changed into the Painted Lady and the Moon Spirit floating around her. Their white and blue gowns had whirled around them as they'd drawn closer and closer until a silhouette had slowly appeared before her.
He'd turned around and Katara's eyes had widened when she'd recognized his gentle green eyes, set in pale features and framed by chestnut hair. Haru. He'd only looked at her with a small, melancholic smile and had faded away into the black wisps of fog surrounding her.
She'd blinked in confusion but then she'd felt a hand on her shoulder and she'd gasped softly when the crooked smile of Jet had appeared in her view, his dark eyes glistening mischievously as the wind had played with his messy dark brown hair. But before she could say something to him, he too had vanished in the endless nothing the spirits had created around her.
Katara had stepped back in a futile attempt to escape the small circle holding her captive.
"What is going on here?" She'd cried out to the spirits but they had remained silent, a serene smile on their faces.
Desperately, she'd looked around for a way to escape when she'd suddenly felt a kiss being pressed onto her cheek, chaste but wistful at the same time. Spinning around she'd met with the adoring smile of a bald airbender, his grey eyes looking at her in a trusting way. His gaze had broken her heart and had made her feel inexplicably angry at the same time.
"Aang!" She'd shouted and tried to run towards him, hoping that at least the young Avatar would get her out of here. But as she'd drawn closer to him, his arrows and eyes had lit up and Katara had stumbled back, raising her arms to shield her eyes from the blinding light as she'd painfully hit the ground.
There she'd remained, a sad young woman, confused and hurt.
"No," she'd whispered and it sounded like a hopeless sigh.
At that moment, two arms had been wrapped around her, strong but gentle at the same time. She'd turned up her gaze to see a pair of amber eyes, one perfect, one marred gazing down on her tenderly, his expression softening his somewhat reserved features.
Tears had started to flow down her cheeks and Katara's heart had gone out to him who had pulled her against him and had brought her head against his chest to shield her from the raging storm around them, caused by the Avatar State.
The spirits had disappeared from her sight and Katara had put her hands on the firebender's chest, looking up at him pleadingly as the wind had whipped around them.
"I… I can stop him. Let go of me, Zuko. I can stop him. I know I can."
"You can't help him anymore, Katara," an unearthly voice, which had sounded like the voices of the Painted Lady and Princess Yue combined, answered her. "You have to let go of him."
Then everything had gone black.
Slowly, Katara turned her head and silently watched Zuko's peaceful sleeping face remembering how in her dream her heart had jolted in her chest when he'd come for her, a fierce gratitude taking over as he'd taken her in his arms. It had felt as if she'd come home.
It had been a horribly upsetting dream and she was completely in the dark as to what the meaning of the spirits was with this dream.
Hesitantly, Katara lifted her hand and reached out to touch his cheek. A small reflex made him pull back and subconsciously her lips curled up in a tender smile.
Leaning in she brought her mouth close to his ear and whispered, "I'll be at the beach."
She pulled back, allowing her lower lip to linger on his soft ear-lobe for a small moment and slipped out of bed.
Zuko rolled over, turning towards the gentle caress he'd registered while he was sleeping but he only met with smooth silk. His eyes slowly opened and immediately noticed the empty pillow next to him.
She was gone.
Quickly, he sat up straight, scanning the dark room for any signs from the waterbender as he registered that it was still dark outside.
"Katara?"
His voice echoed through the large room and was met with only silence.
With sudden fierce movements he got up and turned toward the door when he froze. An inexplicable feeling, almost like a memory, made him turn around and head for the window instead, pulling away the heavy curtains.
Immediately, cold moonlight poured into the room, setting everything in a silver glow. Looking up at the source he saw the darker spots in its heart and he knew that by the end of the week the celestial body would have reached completion for the last time this season.
His heart wrenched as he thought about his mother. He had been so hopeful that his uncle's riddle would at least have given them a small clue about where to start searching, but all the Grandmaster had provided them with was another mystery. A deeper meaning hiding behind an ordinary song, they failed to understand. That was - he had failed to understand so far.
As Zuko's eyes followed the pale beams of light they came to rest upon a lithe figure standing at the shore and he began to suspect that Katara somehow did seem to grasp Iroh's meaning with all this.
Katara had been confused when reading the lyrics he had written down in the sand. Although she wasn't as familiar with the song as Zuko Katara had recognized it nonetheless.
"Winter, spring, summer and fall…" she had read out loud and had shaken her head vigorously. "This doesn't make sense. What do I have to understand about this song? What is there to understand?"
She had looked at him but she'd fallen silent when she'd seen the deep disappointment displaying on his features and she'd known that he was convinced this rhyme wasn't going to help them any further in their search for his mother.
Now, Zuko leaned his elbows on the windowsill, resting his chin in his hands as he looked at the waterbender down below.
Like always, when she was bending she was wearing her bindings only and her feet had become invisible underneath the surface as she was bending the water around her, her eyes closed as her beautiful face was turned toward the moon. She looked like the Ocean Spirit protecting her people while Tui blessed her beloved child with a moonlight kiss.
Katara performed one of her famous octopus movements, the flowing ribbons reaching for the moon like living, glistening crystals.
Not wanting to disturb the perfect picture Katara made Zuko tried to suppress the longing to go down there and be with the unearthly waterbender bending the Ember Island Sea to her will. But then his eyes grew wide when her flowing movements changed into much more fiery, energetic ones.
Firebending moves.
Slowly, he straightened up.
While trying to forget about the disturbing dream Katara had subconsciously slipped into her training routine which she would always end nowadays with the firebending moves Zuko had once taught her. The sea below glistened as the water splashed around her.
Closing her eyes, she readied herself and with a deep exhale she lifted herself from the ground in a spectacular back flip. Her strong legs wheeled in the air when she suddenly felt two warm hands carefully but determinedly being placed on her stomach to guide her into a soft landing. Then one of them moved to her back to stabilize her.
Acutely aware of the insisting touch of his strong hands on her body she slowly, she looked up and stared right into a pair of amber eyes.
He'd followed her.
A strange feeling of hope had her heart suddenly pounding in her chest.
Vaguely, Katara registered that he hadn't withdrawn his hands although she'd steadied herself long since, instead having moved them to her waist and he was looking at her with a thinly veiled longing in his gaze. She wondered if he could see the same expression in her eyes.
Three years ago, a hand being placed on his shoulder had pulled him away from her and it had felt as if a knife had been stabbed through her heart.
But this time it was a different beach and this time they were alone. Tonight, she had the chance of doing what she'd been wanting to do back then when he'd been looking at her with the same expression in his eyes.
Something was holding her back though. The shadow of the knife-throwing noble girl who had interrupted them back then was with them tonight as well.
Zuko noticed the change in her and suddenly his stomach was in knots as he braced himself for her rejection. Eventually, that look of guilt would always appear in her eyes and he knew that it was because of Aang. He hated that look as it never ceased to remind him of her ties to the Avatar.
Only once, in a damp prison cell on a Senlin Harbor pirate ship, had this look momentarily been repelled by a dazzling gaze of pure love and passion solely meant for him. And every time he closed his eyes he relived that moment while fearing but already accepting that he would probably have to make do with that one moment for the rest of his life.
But the look she was now giving him did not express the familiar guilt he'd been expecting to see. No, this one was far worse. He saw his own pain mirrored in her eyes and he understood that the waterbender was bracing herself for the worst.
"I just want to know one thing," Katara finally said with difficulty. "Can… must I congratulate you?"
His expression darkened in response and Katara's mouth went dry. Suddenly she was screaming inside as she what she'd done. She was losing him. Why did she have to put him on the spot like this? Why?
Her lungs threatened to burst, burning without air and straining against the panic while she mutely waited for his confirmation but then he unexpectedly reached out and pulled her into him. Through the mists of agony she registered that her bare stomach was resting against his as his hands found their way to her back. The depth of feeling in his intense gaze took her breath away and everything began to spin before her eyes.
"No," he replied quietly but firmly and as passing clouds veiled and unveiled the moon above Zuko leaned in and kissed her hard. His hand curled behind her neck and Katara tasted the desperation and regret on his salty lips, capturing hers in this fervent but strangely reassuring kiss. It felt like a silent apology.
A single tear escaped from Katara's eye and as a wave of relief washed over her she wrapped her arms around his neck and, mirroring his emotions, she poured all of the pain raging inside of her in her response.
Zuko's heart jolted in his chest when her small but strong hands pulled him down to her and she parted her lips in a passionate response to his kiss. The coolness of her palms on his skin, caressing the back of his neck as her fingers laced themselves through the strands of his hair made him forget everything around him.
She understood. And not only did she understand she was actually returning his desperate kiss. Furrowing his eyebrow he buried his hand in her damp curls and opened his mouth to her parted lips.
Katara kissed him back hungrily, savoring the taste of his lips and warm mouth welcoming him as she breathed in his intoxicating scent of spices and smoke, softened by the salty seawater. A raw urge, coming from the darkest recesses of her heart, drove her closer into his hold, made her bury one hand in his hair while the other one dug into his back, preventing him from ever leaving her.
He was hers and hers alone.
The feeling of her nails pressing into his skin caused a soft groan to escape Zuko, the possessiveness of her responses causing his inner fire to rush through his veins. He wanted her to know he agreed. Instinctively, he brought her body up against his and his hand wandered to the bindings on her back, his fingers finding the spot from where it would only take a small tug to loosen them. Everything disappeared around him when her body subconsciously arched against his in response, begging him to continue.
Then Zuko froze. Through the mists of want he suddenly realized what he was about to do.
"I-," he said, taking a step back from Katara as he saw the shock he felt mirrored in her face. "We'd better get some sleep while we can."
The tremble in his rough voice betrayed his struggle to regain control of himself.
Katara could only nod silently, stupefied by the excitement still coursing through her, demanding that she return to Zuko's arms. But he'd already turned away from her, leaving her with a stinging sensation of loss.
But knowing he was right she spread out her nightgown on the sand and she was grateful to at least be able to fall asleep in his arms on the beach instead.
"What are you two doing here?"
Katara started awake to the shrill sound of an old woman's voice, tormenting her ears.
"You have no business here!"
Something painfully hit her shins and Zuko responded before she realized he had woken up. A dull bang vibrated through the sand and the woman started to yell.
"This part of the beach belongs to the Fire Lord. Oh, if only I had still your age -," the old woman's voice screeched as she scrambled up.
"You still wouldn't have taken me by surprise and this beach is not yours to protect."
Zuko got up and wiped the sand from his shorts. He felt grumpy.
He had been dreaming wonderfully - about him and Katara being back in the Royal Palace enjoying what had seemed like marriage - until this old hag had roughly woken him up by kicking the woman he had been dreaming about. Well, she'd chosen the wrong person to attack.
He looked at Katara who was just as taken aback by the harsh treatment as he was. She had straightened up, careful to avoid the furious old woman and cast a look at the bright blue sea, so different from the depthless dark of the night. Understanding they must have fallen asleep on the beach, she sighed.
"Why, you spoilt brat! How dare you! I am the housekeeper, appointed by His Majesty the Fire Lord himself!"
The shrieking voice of the old woman harshly pulled Katara out of her thoughts and she turned around, seeing that Zuko looked just as crumpled up as she did, the sand in his hair giving it an ashen look. She couldn't hold back the amused smile forming on her lips as she quickly shot into her wrinkled nightgown and went to stand next to him.
"That must have been the previous Fire Lord then, since I don't remember you," Zuko spoke curtly and the frown between the old woman's eyebrow deepened.
"Of course it wasn't him. He wasn't even born yet when Fire Lord Azulon appointed me, after the old housekeeper had died of old age. And I don't see why you have to remember me… unless, I have sent you away before."
She came closer, squinting as she looked up at him with her far-sighted eyes. "Yes, you do look like one of those boys who were trying to get into the house the other day."
Zuko stepped back, letting his hair fall before the disheveled side of his face as his gaze met with Katara's. She looked just as shocked.
"What do you mean, old lady?" She asked in a friendly manner, trying to get her to talk.
The woman turned around, waving her finger right under Zuko's nose.
"As if this one wouldn't know!"
"I'd never -" Zuko started, but the old woman already turned toward Katara.
"No missy, you're getting yourself involved with a bad man…"
She cast Zuko a nasty look, who opened his mouth only to close it again.
"Trying to break into the house of the Fire Lord. Now, I do ask you… No respect, these days…" her sentence ended in incoherent mumbling.
Zuko desperately rolled his eyes at Katara and she grinned back.
"This specimen over here," the old woman angrily waved in Zuko's general direction, "and that friend of his have already tried to fool me a couple of days ago. Trying to get inside of the beach house for some reason. I don't know why they did it, but they were talking about some group of nobles and then one mentioned an Earth Kingdom port town, what it's called again -"
"Senlin Harbor?" Katara asked with a sinking feeling in her stomach.
"Yes, that one," the woman nodded contently and began to walk towards the beach house, expecting them to follow. "It sounded as if they weren't too happy."
Katara cast a glance over her shoulder her gaze catching Zuko's as he who caught up with them with a few long strides. He looked just as shocked.
"I returned to the house to check if they hadn't come back and -" surprisingly agile for her age she swiftly turned towards Zuko, "- here you are again!"
Katara gave Zuko a questioning gaze but he silently shook his head at her. Better to let the woman think he was one of the trespassers. This way they would be getting more information out of her.
"For more than fifty years I've taken care of this house during winters, even during the reign of Fire Lord Ozai when no one visited the house anymore."
The old woman stood still and looked up at the mansion's façade. "The beach house has been beautifully renovated now. Ember Island is grateful to the new Fire Lord, because his presence here has brought many new tourists to the island."
Zuko grinned sheepishly at Katara behind the old woman's back. Her welcome didn't feel quite so grateful to him.
"So, did these boys do something special?" Katara asked casually as she too admired the beach house, hoping the old woman wasn't planning on going inside. She would notice their presence in there for sure.
"Hmm, they tried to get inside, just when I opened the door. I shouted for them to leave, but I had already given them such a fright that they had fled before I had finished."
"I can understand that," Zuko muttered under his breath, but at the same time he felt grateful for this frightful old woman protecting his house. He would make sure she would meet with him when this was all over, although he had to be careful about it or she wouldn't survive the shock for sure. He didn't dare to think about who would be standing next to him as the Fire Lady by then.
Silently, he followed the old housekeeper and Katara taking the path back up to the beach house. He bit back a smile as he watched Katara helping the elderly woman while working on her in that warm and friendly tone of hers. The old housekeeper didn't seem to notice she was being distracted by the waterbender and when Katara subtly blocked the entrance to the house she patted the waterbender on the arm.
Zuko kept himself at a safe distance.
"You're a good girl," the old woman said appreciatively. "Make sure you don't get involved with the likes of him."
Her far-sighted gaze shot fire when she looked at Zuko, who bowed his head remorsefully.
"I will," Katara promised, not completely succeeding in hiding her amusement.
"I will be going now. The old Ta Min house is waiting for my inspection."
The old woman slowly shuffled away.
But her words had Katara's eyes widen in shock and Zuko audibly sucked in his breath. Then their eyes met. Ta Min. It couldn't be-
"Excuse me," Katara called after the woman. "Who do you mean with Ta Min?"
The woman turned around. "Why, Ta Min. Avatar Roku's widow, of course. She lived here on the island after her husband had died. I take care of the house by request of the family."
A/N: I'd like to thank all of you who have reviewed the previous chapter.
For the Gold prompt I was inspired by the description of a Japanese technique of handling gold called mokume-gane, which is a mixed-metal laminate with distinctive layered patterns. Literally translating as "wood eye (i.e., burl) metal", the name was borrowed from one type of pattern created in the forging of swords and other edged weapons. Which is perfect for Suki's katana.
Thank you all for reading and feel free to review!