Hello everyone! Welcome to chapter 47 of Sparks Ignite! I hope everyone is staying safe during this virus! We will get through this together! This quarantine is giving me a lot of time to write so get ready for a more regular schedule again! As always, I do not own avatar or its characters. Onto the story!
Fate and Destiny are a funny thing. They are so permanent, but yet can be changed by the smallest thing. It can cause the moon and the sun to collide. Or the most opposite Sparks to Ignite.
Chapter 47: The Lunch
The sun woke her up early. She wasn't used to it, but it seemed the sun shined brighter in the Fire Nation. As soon as her eyes opened, she remembered what day it was. It was the first challenge in her quest to stand by Zuko's side.
She sat up and rubbed her eyes, wishing that the day could just be over. But she knew it wouldn't be that easy.
Almost immediately, she heard a knock at the door, and she let out a very hoarse, "Come in…" from still having her groggy morning voice.
Two servant girls immediately came in and bowed to her, "We're here to start getting you ready ma'am" one girl said. Katara nodded, "For the first task? This early?" she asked them, playing dumb so they will not guess that she already knows too much. Even so, Katara had seen these girls before. She knew they wouldn't tell, but she never knew who may be listening.
"Actually ma'am, to kick off the challenges, you will be having lunch with the wives of the court today" the young girl told her, she looked to be no older then 16. Katara nodded, "Sounds… lovely. But please call me Katara, what are your names?"
The girls looked between each other, "Ana and Willow" she told her. Katara smiled, "Those are lovely names girls… Well, let's get started"
The two girls primed and prepped every single part of her, until she looked like a completely different person. She looked like a fire nation princess, which she was sure that was the point. The advisors probably insisted it, so that way they could look past her darker skin.
She looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a long red dress with gold detailing around the seams. It was particularly simple, letting her natural curves shine through. But her face was he most startling difference. The girls had used a powder all over her face to make her skin appear lighter. When Katara asked them not to, they told her they could get in trouble if they didn't. So Katara begrudgingly let them put it on.
Her hair was in an unnatural style for her, Most of it was up in a bun behind her head, while the a few pieces framed her face.
Her eyes were torn away from the mirror from a knock at the door. One of the girls opened it and immediately bowed, Fire Lord Zuko standing on the other side.
"It is quite alright, Ana. You both are free to go" he told them, before they bowed again and swept from the room.
Zuko went to close the door but the guard put his hand in the way, shaking his head. He sighed, then turned to Katara, "They won't let us be alone, so I won't tell you all the secrets" he winked t her away from the guard's watchful eye.
Katara smiled, "So?" she asked him. He looked her up and down, "You look…"
She groaned, knowing his response, "I know… The girls did a fantastic job for a Fire Nation Royal, not a master waterbender" she spoke, sitting back down in front of the mirror. She pulled her hair out of the bun and let it fall down her back. She took the few pieces in front and pulled them back, in her usual style. Then she grabbed a makeup wipe and wiped off the powder on her face, being careful to leave the delicate eye makeup they had done.
"Much better" he told her, standing behind her. Katara smiled at him through the mirror, "I suppose I'll leave the red dress" she reasoned. Zuko chuckled slightly, "I've always liked you in red…"
She stood up, turning around to him, "Then I will definitely leave it on" she told him, causing him to laugh a little more. Their faces were inches apart. He wanted so badly to kiss her, but another part knew they were being watched. Another part didn't care.
He pressed his lips against her and she reciprocated immediately. They held on for a few stolen moments before the sound of a man clearing their throat, pulled them apart.
The guard stood there, watching them, "Sir it is time for lunch"
Zuko nodded and turned back to Katara, placing a kiss on her forehead, "You got this…" he told her, before leaving the room. But before he left, he turned to the guard, "I told you to shut the door"
Katara giggled quietly to herself before following the guard to the dining room. This room was much larger then the one they usually ate at. It was designed for bigger dinners, but not ones for the large scale parties that were held in the banquet hall.
When she walked in, the room fell to a hush, all eyes landing on her. She felt like a moon flower in a sea of fire lilies. But she cleared her throat and held her head high walking to her seat across from Mai, "Good afternoon everyone" she spoke, trying not to let the glares scare her.
People quickly went back to their conversations. Katara spared a glance at the girl beside her, to which she offered back nothing more then a scowl, before turning back to her mother beside her.
Katara sat there silent, hoping and praying they would serve the food so she could eat and leave. She had no idea how awful this was actually going to be.
But suddenly everyone stood and Katara followed suit. The doors opened and a familiar face greeted her.
Her face lit up as Ursa walked through the door, at least she would have someone on her side.
Ursa moved towards her seat at the head of the table, lightly greeting everyone. But when she reached Katara who sat to her right, she grinned ear to ear, "Hello my dear. You look absolutely divine. Red is truly your color"
Katara bowed slightly, "Thank you Ursa" she spoke. As soon as the words slipped her mouth, she realized her mistake. Seeing Ursa quickly made her lose her royal etiquette. And one of the older women was quick to capitalize on it, "I do believe it is Lady Ursa for a former Fire Lady"
Katara started to stutter and blush at her mistake, but Ursa was quick to retort, "Titles are not necessary for future daughter-in-laws Lady Wan" Ursa gave her a wink and a smile, allowing Katara to smile back.
"Let us eat" Ursa spoke and immediately servants swept in and brought out the first course, which looked to be a salad of some sort. Katara watched as everybody waited for Ursa to take the first bite before doing the same.
It seemed that the meal was going to go quite swimmingly. The fellow ladies did everything in their power to exclude Katara from the conversation, but every time they did Ursa would rope her back in. They wanted to ostracize Katara, make her want to quit and give up. But luckily she had some people on her side.
But when the ladies saw they couldn't ignore her, they tried another approach.
"So Miss Katara" one said. Katara remembered in her lessons how 'miss' was a term for young children or a way to make someone feel beneath them, which didn't surprise the water bender.
"It's Master Katara, actually" she spoke up, waiting for the other woman's response. She grimaced but continued "What is your country like back home?" she asked her.
Katara frowned a little bit, caught off guard by this question, "Well it is very… quaint… We don't have a lot, but our sister tribe has helped us a lot since the end of the war"
The woman sneered slightly, "I suppose quaint is a delicate way to put it"
This caused the other women to laugh, but one comment caught Katara's ear.
"I will never understand how the Fire Lord fell for a peasant like that…"
All of the embarrassment she had bubbled up into anger, "Excuse me?" she asked, cutting the laughter like a knife. Katara was staring directly at the woman who made the comment. She stuttered for a moment, not realizing her comment would be heard. Katara recognized the woman as Advisor Wan's wife and held back no remorse. She stood, still staring directly back at her.
"This peasant… is a master water bender. This peasant found the Avatar and traveled the world with him. This peasant helped save the world from ruthless men like Fire Lord Ozai and your husband. I'm a lot more then a peasant and unless you'd like to find out exactly what, I suggest you keep your mouth shut"
The women were silent around them, even Ursa, who was instead silent out of pride. She kept going, her anger bellowing over at the seams.
"I am not afraid of you or any of the women in this room and those who need to respect me, already do. Not only does Fire Lord Zuko love me, but he respects me. I can't say he feels the same about any of your daughters…"
She let out a breath and looked around at the silent women, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have better business to attend to then gossip and sleep around with each other's husbands" she spoke, as she fled the room.
Ursa watched her with a smile on her face, "I suppose that concludes today's lunch yes?"
Ta-Daaa! How did you guys feel about Katara's speech? Do you think it will affect her standings in the competition? Stay tuned to find out! Until next time!
