Hello everyone! Welcome to chapter 52 of Sparks Ignite! This chapter is where things really start to get crazy so buckle up! I hope you all enjoy this one! 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 52: The Back of her Hand

Katara was up late the night before, practicing her knife throwing. She needed it to be absolutely perfect when it came to the next day.

She barely slept, but made sure when the maids came in the morning, she looked like she had gotten a full nights rest, even though she felt like she would keel over from exhaustion. She let the maids go, allowing herself to get ready by herself.

After this competition was over, she would know how the rest of her life was gonna go. Was she about to become Fire Lady? Or was she going to live a miserable life in the South Pole?

Everyone had told her how important today was specifically. Today she was showing the advisors exactly that kind of Fire Lady she was going to be. And she needed her outfit today to reflect that.

She went into her closet and pulled out an outfit she had been saving just for this. The royal seamstress spent day and night making it in time for the last task. The red pants were tight against her legs and had gold detailing fire coming from her ankles. Instead of a traditional loose fitting top, she opted for a tight fitting one instead with the same red color and gold detailing on the sleeves. She wanted an outfit she could fight in, to show she was not going to stand down to the advisors or anybody. She would fight for the Fire Nation if she had to.

But one thing she wanted to be sure of was that it showed her neck. And on her neck showed her mothers water tribe necklace. As much as she was willing to fight for the fire nation, her home country would always be a part of her. She would not turn her back on them.

She pulled her hair into a braid, leaving in her water tribe beads, again showing her dedication to her tribe. When she finished, she looked herself in the mirror and felt strong. She felt like she could take on a tank and that was exactly what she was doing. That tank was racing towards her and she needed to stand her ground and face it or run away. And she was standing tall, unmovable.

She arrived at the training ground and looked around. The layout was generally the same but on both sides of the center circle, there was a long table with chairs, for judging she presumed. Right as she walked in, there was a table with over 20 knives laid out. Some were simple, but some had crazy designs that she had never even seen before. But one thing she noticed was none of them were water tribe. Every single one had fire nation insignias in the handle. Even if she knew how to throw a water tribe style knife, the opportunity wouldn't be given to her.

People began slowly arriving, advisors, servants, guards. Everyone wanted in the palace wanted to see who their new Fire Lady was going to be.

Katara's eyes scanned the crowd. They first rested on Yohan and his family. Rohan sat in his father's lap, talking his ear off about Lady Katara. She smiled at this and kept looking. In the front row sat Iroh, Ursa, and, Katara was surprised to see, Zuko. She expected him to be with the advisors, making a decision.

She walked towards them, "They're not letting you judge?" she asked him. But he shook his head, "I'm not allowed any input in their decision…"

Katara rolled her eyes, wanting to scream. But Ursa grabbed her hand, "No worries dear… You have plenty of advocates in that panel…"

"Advisor Wan trusts my judgement and has always been loyal… He is on our side and I know he has been persuading others as well" Zuko told her, rubbing her arm softly, comforting her as much as he could in the crowd.

"And you've done a fair bit of persuading yourself my lady…" Iroh told her, "Have hope…"

Katara sighed, "It's hard to have hope when your fate is in other people's hands…"

But Iroh shook his finger, "That is where you are wrong… Hope is something you give yourself… That is the meaning of inner strength"

Katara smiled at him and looked around the room. She bit her lip out of nervousness. Zuko watched her squirm in her spot, and sighed. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Meet me in my office"

He cleared his throat, "Excuse me, I do believe I have a letter I must send right away. The earth kingdom doesn't like to be kept waiting" he spoke, standing and moving past Katara, giving her one last look before walking out of the room.

Katara also cleared her throat and stood, "I think I need some fresh air…" she spoke, before following in a similar direction.

Ursa and Iroh exchanged a look and chuckled to themselves. But suddenly Ursa turned very grave, "Do you think the advisors are going to let this happen?"

Iroh turned grave himself, looking downcast. But still he pondered her question for a moment, "I hope they have changed their minds since the last time this situation occurred… I would hate for the same thing that happened to me… Happen to them…"

Ursa rubbed his arm, comfortingly. She remembered his grief with having to hide his wife, and even more grief when she left after his son's death. The thought of her son having to deal with that grief shook her to the core. She could only hope for better.

Zuko sat at his desk, having to wait only a moment before Katara followed him in. He wasted no time, getting up immediately and moving towards her. He held her in his arms and allowed a few tears to fall from his eyes.

"Is this going to work?" she asked him. He could hear the sniffles in her voice, shadowing her own tears as well. Zuko rested his head against her own and sighed, "It has to… I will do everything in my power to make it work…"

Katara pulled away slightly to look at him, but he continued. He pulled her face into his hands, "You will be my wife… Whether it's tomorrow or the next. You will be mine… I promise you I won't stop fighting for that…"

A few more tears fell from her eyes and he brushed them away, "No tears…" he spoke, willing himself to follow that same mantra. He hoped saying it would help himself as well.

He placed a kiss on her forehead and held her tight, never wanting to let go. They didn't know how long they stayed like that before they both reluctantly decided that they needed to get back.

Zuko held onto her hand the whole way back to the training center. He rubbed his thumb along the back on her palm, hoping he could ingrain his name there somehow. That while the advisors were deciding, she could look down at his name on the back of her hand. She did know him like the back of her hand, he was certain of it. Nobody knew him better.

They both took a deep breath and stopped before the front doors, without evening realizing they did it. Zuko turned to look at her, and she to him.

"I love you"

They both spoke at the same time, as if they both knew that was what they needed. They didn't say it often. They didn't have to, it was like it hung between them. They knew it like they knew the color of the sky, or how fire and ice battled against each other like no other. But every part of them seemed to come together in the end. Like a brand new beginning.

Like sparks igniting.

And with that, they let go of each other's hands and stepped through the door.

Ta-Daa! Even though this chapter may seem fillery, it was a lot of fun to write. And it was absolutely needed to set up this final challenge. This is it! Next chapter we will see what the advisors decide! Until next time!