Don't own anything that seems at all familiar


It seemed they had arrived.

It took only a single word for the young bender to break down in tears: "Yes?"

She knew that serious, calm and deep voice almost better than her own after all. Ripping open the door, she flew inside the small chamber. "Zuko!"

Her husband received no further warning before 110 pounds of young woman slammed into his hunched form. Luckily he had been sitting on his cot so when her attack ploughed him over neither was worse for wear. "Ka… Kanna?"

For a moment she stared at him as if he had lost his mind, before she nodded her head in understanding: "Lee! How dare you? Do you have any idea how worried I've been? We have been so afraid! How could you? And what are you doing here?"

"Later." The implications were clear: Not here. "For now we need to get off this ship and somewhere where the walls don't have ears."

"Oh, sure, but first let me have a look at you. You haven't even tried standing up so far, so you obviously aren't doing so well."

"It's fine, Kanna. It can wait."

"No, it can't. I have been waiting for days on end for any news of how you are. Now that I have you right in front of me, there is no way I'm not going to finally get some answers! Shirt off!"

The boy who had stood in the doorway until this point, quickly entered and locked the door. It seemed he had some idea of Zuko's personal likes and dislikes for he looked rather startled, when the Fire Bender actually did as told to.

He also didn't seem to be surprised at the bandages which were revealed, when the undershirt came off. Judging by the perfect wrapping, Zuko hadn't been doing them himself. Interesting. So he had let the boy close enough to actually help?

The wound though looked if possible even worse than the last time she had seen it. It had been weeks! It should have healed almost completely by now, but instead it was still obviously open and red rimmed. For it to look this tender and to still be leaking the infection had to have been very bad indeed. By now most of it seemed to have passed, though it probably had taken almost all of her husband's strength as well.

She did her best to clean it and take the last of the infection out, before beginning to close it from the inside once more. She had to be careful though not to leave any parts half healed. If any of the outer parts of the wound were healed without the inner ones being completely closed, infection would spread once more.

The young boy had been keeping himself busy with making tea and bringing her everything she could possibly need to treat the wound. It obviously wasn't his first time assisting a healer though he did seem to be rather surprised at her bending.

"We have to get out of here without anyone noticing. No one is officially allowed to leave the ship yet, but we can't risk anyone from the dock personal recognizing me. We will need every minute we can get, before word gets out." Zuko whispered when she was leaning over him.

"But he was out and about, wasn't he?"

"He never left dock though. If you hadn't followed him, he most likely would have been in trouble. This way anyone who saw simply assumed someone couldn't wait for some female company."

Her face grew as red as a tomato, but had to admit that what he said made sense. It probably wouldn't be the first time a camp follower was smuggled on a ship.

"I could move us till the end of the docking area, before getting us on shore, but if you don't want people to know you returned it might not be wise to go home."

"I know. I was thinking of staying in a hotel somewhere until tomorrow evening. It would have to be one of the shadier one's though. It wouldn't do for anyone to ask any questions."

"But isn't that where anyone who thinks you might be back would look first? Besides, you would be completely open to any form of attack and you aren't in any shape to protect yourself!" Katara had trouble keeping from shouting. As if she would let him stay in some completely insecure place on his own? It wasn't like she could remain gone for a whole day after all.

"I'll be fine, I'm not made out of glass. Besides, I'm feeling a lot better already."

Katara's mind began to race. Where could she keep Zuko safe and undiscovered? Whom could she trust with such an important secret? "No, no I have a better idea. There is someone who might be able to keep you for a night or two, but they aren't exactly going to be happy about it."

"It's too risky. Anyone who won't be happy to see me could sell me out, Kanna."

"No, they won't. I trust them."

Before they could discuss matters any further, they could hear someone passing by their room.

"Shift change. We have to go. Any later and we won't be able to make it back to the volcano without meeting anyone. The fishermen will be up several hours before dawn after all."


Despite Zuko's claim of doing better, she could see how moving exhausted him and she insisted on straining him as little as possible. Luckily Katara could do most of the work with her bending.

The boy got her Komodo Rhino, which she insisted Zuko rode. She doubted the animal's movements were comfortable for him as they had to be jarring his wound, but it would be better than walking and he never complained. The group moved mostly in perfect silence, both to avoid waking anyone lurking in the streets, but also because Katara had to concentrate to make sure they were not followed.

She had been surprised when the boy had followed them from the ship, but Zuko didn't seem to mind his presence and she knew it was not the time to question him about who he was. If it had been the time for questions, she certainly had quite a few others to ask. Besides, there were also quite a few choice words she wished to say to him for making everyone worry so much! The longer they walked the less secure her legs felt. The last few weeks had simply been too much!

The track up the volcano proved to be exhausting as the steep path exhausted them all and Katara could not help but notice how her husband was losing colour slowly but surely. She too had to look more like a ghost than a human being, so it was with great relieve when they finally passed the gate leading into the volcano. In war times these gates were closed during the night, but for several months now they were open all the time again.

The house Katara finally stopped in front of was one of the smaller once located in the outer districts. Judging by the many names written on the entrance it served as an apartment complex now and Zuko could not help but wonder, who Katara might know here. He knew she kept in touch with some of her servants, but he doubted any of them were able to afford even a small flat in the volcano. Most servants lived on palace grounds and the few who didn't, came from the lower areas, closer to the harbour.

Standing before the gate Katara turned to her husband. "Nayami is absolutely trustworthy, you have my word on it, but just as a fair warning, she is NOT going to like having you here, so try not to frighten her too much, all right?"

"Any chance she might simply not recognize me? You said before how I didn't look like myself in these kinds of clothes."

"Anyone else probably wouldn't, but I've told her too much for her not to figure it out. Don't worry though, she has personal reasons why she won't like having you here, but she would never do anything to harm you. In fact because of her personal problems she desperately needs you to continue ruling. She is just rather easily frightened, so try to look harmless?"

She knew her request was in vain. Even if Zuko had been unconscious and tied up, Nayami would have still been terrified of his mere presence. If she knew anyone else who lived in a secure area and whom she could rely on being absolutely discreet she would have gladly spared her friend the anxiety, but sadly she had little choice.

Pulling several small ice shards out of the air she made sure to keep them round and light, before raising herself high enough to throw them over the outer wall against the buildings wooden frames. It took several times, before finally a candle was lid in the room and a woman's figure could be seen through the white rice paper. Gently the shoji was opened ever so slightly.

"Light up my face a bit, Lee."

As soon as a small flame made her features visible, the woman opened the door completely.

"My Lady! Why…"

"No time and not out here. Will you let us in, Nayami?"

For a moment the young servant seemed to hesitate before nodding. "One moment."

The small flat they were led into had obviously seen better days, but it's current occupant's pride in the two rooms she shared with her younger sister was easy to see.

"Thank you again for helping us get such a great place, my Lady! We love it here." Were the words they were greeted with, her bow being rather careless. The friendly smile on Nayami's face however quickly disappeared when she noticed the man standing behind her friend.

"Your Highness…" Quickly she bowed once more, this time far more deeply than only moments before.

"None of that now, Nayami. There is no need and we have no time. Can we come in?"

"I … well…"

"Please?"

"Yes, yes of course." Still the young woman did not move from her spot in the middle of the door.

"You would have to either go in or come out for us to be able to pass, you know?" Katara chided her young friend gently.

"Oh, sorry, I…" As if burned she jumped back, stumbling over her own two feet.

"Don't worry about it; our own fault for showing up in the middle of the night."

Quickly closing the door behind them the young boy moved as far into the room's right corner as he seemed able to. Who was he?

"Now I know this is going to sound really crazy, but we need a place for Lee to stay till tomorrow and we were hoping you would be willing to hide him here."

"Lee?"

Katara gently pointed towards her husband, who seemed just at adept at disappearing as the boy even without a corner. She could tell the second Nayami understood for her whole face turned ash white. "I wouldn't ask if we had any choice, but things are rather less than unpleasant at the moment"

"But what about…"

"He's probably going to sleep for most of the time anyways and I promise he won't bother anyone. You won't even notice he is here at all."


In the end Nayami had given in and allowed them to stay though it was obvious to anyone with eyes that she was less than pleased with the arrangements. To Lee she introduced her younger sister only very shortly, before practically showing the three intruders into the second room and closing the fusuma behind them. The next time Katara would come out of the room the young woman would be gone, staying with one of the neighbours for the next few days, supposedly since there wasn't enough room. Katara knew better and couldn't help feeling bad for pressuring her troubled friend so.

"I promise you, we will be gone in no time at all. I'm sorry for all of this so suddenly, I know you aren't comfortable with him here, but he really won't cause any trouble at all."

"Of course, my Lady." The young water bender let her head fall, she deserved it, she knew. After all she had acted just as one would expect from a spoiled young ruler - simply ignoring anyone else's needs. "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

Her friend though merely shook her head: "No, don't. You have done so much more than anyone else ever has; it's rather ungrateful of me to make you feel bad for asking to stay for such a short time. I wouldn't have a home at all if it weren't for you. I just can't help feeling how I am about the man next door."

"I know."

"Maybe someday, Katara."

"Sure." She recognized the empty promise for what it was. "Would you mind keeping the boy in here for a little while, so Zuko and I can talk?" She should really ask for his name.

"No, not at all. He looks like he could use a meal or two anyways."

"Thanks."


Once alone Katara finally had the chance to say what she had wanted to all along: "I'm so glad you are all right."

"Kanna, I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Sorry for worrying me?" Katara looked at him with disbelieve. "Do you have any idea how hard these last weeks have been? How much you hurt your mother and me by never writing? Would it have hurt to let us know you were still alive?" Katara grew continuously louder, as she moved towards her husband, who was leaning against one of the room's supportive beams.

"Shh, the only thing keeping us form the neighbours are fusuma, Kanna, so try to be quiet! The whole area will overhear us this way!"

She stared at him in disbelieve. They had been so worried for him and all he could offer was a: Keep quiet? Maybe he was right, but still! Couldn't he have at least given her a hug? Did he have to be so distant? Tears welled up in her eyes. Had it only been her imagination that they were getting closer to each other?

Seeing her tears, Zuko grew restless. "Please, I'm sorry! I'll make it up to you later, but we really don't have time right now."

Of course he wouldn't manage to say even one halfway nice thing to her, would he?

After all he was obviously preoccupied with more important things than herself! She was only the stupid wife who had been worrying for no reason, wasn't she? For the first time she resented his dedication to his work. Even when they were on their own, his work still took precedence.

She knew she was being unfair. Knew that some matters truly couldn't wait, but she couldn't help feeling shunned.

We live to serve.

Pulling herself together, Katara did her best to get control of her body again. She would be disappointed later, for now she would prove to all those who had criticised her during the last few days, how much of a royal she truly was!

"What's going on?"

"That's what I would like to know," her husband grumbled. "After I regained some small amount of strength I left the ship I had been using until then, when we were docking at the harbour of Fire Fountain City. Since they had sent an open message informing of my physical condition I couldn't risk remaining on board. The small single war ship wouldn't be able to defend itself against a major attack after all. Sadly my assumption proved to be true; it sank three days later. The next boat leaving from the harbour and headed towards the capital was one of the larger trading ship's, which I didn't take since the chances of being discovered were too high. Luckily the first and second wind departed only one day later. They are privately owned by a smaller merchant, so chances of anyone knowing how I look were rather slim and despite the ships haggard looks the crews are quite good at what they do. They took the same route through the black cliffs as most small ships do and we found the remains of my previous form of transportation. They didn't have the means to start any larger form of investigation and I don't think they know, who was supposed to be on board, but most likely we weren't the first to discover it. I'm guessing by now quite a few nobles know of the ship's fate. They will be assuming I'm dead."

"Oh, they have been assuming you dead since the first letter about your sickness arrived at the royal palace. In fact they have been rather preoccupied with dividing the nation between themselves."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, a lot of things have been happening and few of them good. The nobles somehow seemed very convinced you would not make it and started very quickly with taking positions. Almost half of the nobles support the idea of me marrying Zento, the rest is split between supporting Zento and supporting me. Officially more than half of the Fire Nation's elite has sworn their loyalty to me, including the palace's staff and troops, though only some of them actually listen to what I say. Not that they would openly disobey, but they don't seem very interested in my opinion outside of direct orders either and amongst them many think a quick marriage would be best.

"The core surrounding Zento would prefer me disappearing all together, though they too don't seem to care much for Zento's opinion. I don't think he has realised as much yet. Ursa and I have been trying to keep peace, but the unease is getting easier and easier to notice. Market activity has gone down considerably, probably because people are afraid of civil war. Ursa has also hinted that the troops close to the royal city might be everything but loyal and although the citizens opinion of me remains high, they also seem to think a waterbender alone on the throne won't do for any period of time."

"So they jumped the gun."

"Pretty much. Only a very small minority of mostly unimportant nobles seems to consider you might possibly return and they are mostly shunned by the others for thinking so."

For a moment Zuko seemed to think, before he continued: "The nobles, who swore their loyalty to you, swore it to you unconditionally and to you alone?"

"Yes." She wanted to say something more, something which might ease Zuko's heart, but she couldn't think of a single thing to say.

"How have the governors of the crown lands been acting?"

"They have been keeping out of it mostly, I think."

"You have the loyalty of the palace's staff and the guard?"

"Yes."

"No chances of them changing their minds?"

"I don't think so, no."

"All right. We should be able to work with this then."

"Should we?" None of the questions seemed to lead to any form of conclusion in her mind.

"Yes. What's happening is actually quite simple: An external source – and there is only one I can think of with enough influence to pull something like this – supplied the different nobles with 'super-secret' information of how I'm not going to come back home. They probably gave some form of prove for the quality of their information, like the letters of my sickness or some such nonsense. Now everyone of course wanted to use this supposed advantage to secure a good position for themselves under the next ruler. However they quickly noticed others seemingly knowing of the same things as they did, making their advantage suddenly very small. In order to not lose it completely they started a race of pushing their own preferred ruler to the front. The ones who knew you well and had been getting along with you, preferred you, the traditionalists and very power-hungry ones wanted someone easier to influence. This is the reason why some swore their loyalty to you. They were hoping to strengthen your position so much that the other fractions would give up, but obviously failed. Now time is running out and they are stuck, because no one can afford to change position any more. Those who swore to you, can't undo the vow and those who didn't can't join now and hope to gain anything from it. The only possible solution of ending this conflict in their eyes would be to marry you two since then neither side would lose face. Sadly though it would only postpone the battle. It would turn into an endless power struggle.

"Luckily for us though the thing they are most afraid of isn't losing some influence or having to give up some personal ideals, but rather being attacked by the outside. Until now they thought they could turn the table to their own advantage and thus avoid civil unrest or foreign attack while still gaining influence. When they fail to reach their goal, they will be willing to turn to anyone who will help them out of their self-made disaster."

Katara obviously wasn't catching what he was trying to get her to understand. She wondered if Aang always felt so clueless when he failed to catch on. "So?"

"So we will push them to the point of no return and afterwards give them a way out under certain conditions." Seeing her confused face, Zuko changed his angle of explanation.

"You will go to the palace and write to the two generals currently stationed in the closer area. In your letter you will tell them to ready their troops, since you have discovered a plot against the throne and Agni himself. Supposedly you are only waiting for the final confirmation, which will be arriving at the latest in three days. At least one of the general's though is definitely involved with the nobles plotting, otherwise the nobles would be more careful. That the loyalty of the royal guard to you does not bother them can only mean they have reason to believe a stronger force will back them up if it comes to blows.

"Chances are the generals will use your letter as an excuse to move their troops closer to the gates of the capital city, waiting for word that their assistance is needed. At the same time Zento and his group of supporters will start to panic, especially when you reveal that the ship I was supposed to be on had sunk. Since you reveal this information without any pressure being applied, it can't be the plot you are speaking of. After all if you were still waiting for conformation about who the traitors are and were intending to afterwards call on the army to support you, you wouldn't have told everyone about it so early on. Now they will start to guess what other kind of threat you could have discovered and everyone involved in one will wonder if they have been discovered. If you corner a dangerous animal though, it's likely to rush into an attack. Without the generals close enough to have the army do their dirty work for them and with you guarded by loyal men they will have to dirty their own hands. Most likely they will attempt to pressure you into marrying as quickly as possible, if necessary under knife point; to do so though they will have to reveal themselves. In my estimation they will believe that they have at least 2 days to marry you, so they will most likely want the marriage to be held on the evening of the second day. The army should not be able to arrive before the third day due to logistical problems.

"You will tell your nobles to stand by until you say otherwise, but to keep their men ready to assist if you wish it so - supposedly to avoid a blood bath. In consequence the royal guard will be overwhelmed by the traitorous nobles' personal guards, which will in turn identify every noble participating in this plot. They will not care about such matters though, since they will be convinced that they have reached their goal anyways.

"Since you are neither the main sovereign yet – not without official confirmation of both my death and your right to the throne – you won't be able to order the death of unrelated nobles for a families disgrace. In other words you won't be able to threaten the nobles with the deaths of their children for disobeying you. You also won't be able to call for an Agni Kai since you are not a firebender and have no one in your family present who can take your place. They will feel perfectly secure in what they are doing."

"You just found a wonderful plan of how THEY will win, how is that supposed to help us?"

"It's going to help us because they are acting on mistaken assumptions: You do have a family member, who can fight for you, me."

"And what if they decide they would rather simply kill you? They could just refuse an Agni Kai, you know?"

"Though legally they could not, you are of course perfectly right. The stronger makes the rules after all. However that's not the only thing we will have going for us. As soon as I reappear the only way to avoid a civil war would be to kill me and afterwards hush the whole incident of both forcing you to marry and my death up. On top of it they would have to make sure you can never speak your mind at all since you might reveal the truth and in consequence your followers will lose all of their influence which they would want to desperately avoid. In other words they would fight to their deaths against 'my dear cousin'. Zento though at most has one fourth of the nobles truly behind him. So it will be over half of the nobles against one forth."

"But how does that avoid a civil war? Won't it just lead to one huge massacre and the death of a great deal of nobles, leaving us weak against outside attacks? Besides won't the families of those killed call for revenge?"

"Which is why we won't let it get that far: Instead of an all-out war, an Agni Kai will be seen as the only true and just solution. Who better than Agni to decide who should rule?"

"But you are hurt!"

"Exactly! If I weren't they most likely wouldn't simply agree to an Agni Kai, but with me having just been at deaths door? They will assume they have good chances at beating me, so they will agree to the Agni Kai and it will have to be held immediately since matters are so dire. After I win, their resistance will crumble. Outnumbered three to one and without even a figurehead leader they should be easy enough to overcome. Afterwards we will be able to use the fact that every last one of them betrayed their Lord in some way against them. The involvement of the military will also give us a way to remove some dangerous generals. You will of course play the role of forgiving and gentle, yet stern ruler, which will strengthen your position while I will be able to do some cleaning up."

"And what if you lose, Zuko? What if they kill you beforehand? This plan is ridiculously risky, Zuko! Besides, what if a real external threat uses this as a chance to destabilize the nation?"

"It might be very risky, but think Katara. This is an endless loop unless we break out of it at some point. Even if we were to find the organisation which is instigating this specific event, the next one will only follow. We have to break out of it while we have the chance. We have to get matters secured before I die so you can take over."

"No."

"Katara, it's the only way!"

"No, it's not. You are right, it is an endless loop and we have to break out of it, but not how you are suggesting. The very reason why things are unstable is not because of conniving nobles. It's because no one trusts their current ruler."

"Exactly, so we have to give them a ruler they can trust."

"Yes, but not me, Zuko. I will never be their true ruler. I'm of water and always will be. Even if they might grudgingly accept me for some time, I will never be their true ruler."

Zuko was about to disagree, when Katara put her finger over his mouth to silence him. "But you already are. Maybe it's time to stop running away from that fact. You always say it's your duty to live to serve, well maybe it's time you started living, Zuko. Break out of this endless loop of trying to do the right thing without letting anyone know about it."

"But, …"

"If I'm to go along with this crazy plan of yours, I have three conditions."


Hui, … Ok, one huge mass of political intrigue. Now I know I have said so before, but we really are getting somewhere ….

Well, let me know what you think,

Greetings Yorushike