Thank you so much for all the love and support that you all have showered me with. I'm flattered.

In the previous chapter, Bendy Pen pointed out that Toph's father, Lao BeiFong is an Earthbender. However, I have not found any reference in the series or Avatar Wiki. I've not read the comics, so if it has been mentioned in there, I'm unaware of it. I would love it if someone could confirm it for me so I can incorporate the necessary changes.

Edit: Lao BeiFong is not, in fact, an Earthbender. I have the confirmation from Bendy Pen. It was an honest mistake. All is well!

Also, people have asked about Zuko's and Azula's personalities. I want to take a moment to explain why they are the way they are. Zuko has now been ruling Fire Nation for thirteen years. He lost the love of his life and has been a single father. These things change a person. Besides, he's now thirty years old. No one is the same at thirty as they are when they're sixteen. Life changes them.

As for Azula, I believe that she had a psychotic break at the end of Agni Kai. As I'm seeing it, after the episode, her true personality has emerged. I have always believed that Azula could be a better person, given proper guidance, which Ozai never provided. I'm exploring the possibility where she's understanding the difference between Ozai and Zuko.


Chapter 12

Katara stretched on her bed, enjoying the warmth of sun. Fire Lady's chamber had a huge window, allowing sunlight to stream into the room. Last night, after the wine, Zuko left her chamber. Her eyes flicked to the door that connected his chamber to hers.

As he had explained to her last night, traditionally, the Fire Lord and Fire Lady were given separate but adjoining chambers. With most marriages in the Fire Nation being political, it was quite common for the royal couples to lead individual lives, only to come together when the need for an heir arose. Since Zuko already had an heir and she had children of her own, so no one expected any heirs from them.

Those words worked wonders for Katara's frayed nerves, putting her at ease. For the first time in a long while, Katara slept peacefully, much to her own surprise.

Katara turned to her side, basking in the warmth. She ran a lazy hand through her hair, enjoying the tranquil moment, her first in what felt like forever. On some level, she marveled at the serenity that enveloped her at that moment. Perhaps it was because Bumi and Kya were safe, and Kya at least was happy. Bumi resented the idea of having a new father, a new family, a home. It was a huge change and Katara understood his opposition. With age, she too was getting more and more resistant to change.

And in the past few days, her life had changed. Completely. Just a year ago, she had been utterly lost. Not knowing what to do, where to go. The world had seemed dark, threatening to tear her to shreds, coming at her with its teeth bared. She floundered, faltered, stumbled around, not knowing up from down. Toph had been the one to drag her out of her haze and jolt her into action. Maybe she sought familiarity, or perhaps she just wanted to run away as far as she could, Katara was no longer certain why she had chosen to go to Northern Water Tribe. That time of her life was a blur in her mind.

Coming to the Water Tribe, being surrounded by waterbenders and snow had not been what she expected. Between teaching Waterbending to her students and taking care of her children, Katara had hoped that she could maybe quiet her demons. But her demons continued to haunt her. As long as she was surrounded by people, she could function. The moment she was left alone, however, the chaos of her mind left her breathless. It was easy to lose herself in the monotony, bury her head in the snow and try to drown out the cacophony. But then, out of the blue, she was arrested.

Katara closed her eyes, shaking her head. "Stop it, Katara. Those days are over."

Gritting her teeth against the onslaught of memories, she flicked her blanket aside and shot to her feet. She pulled her hair into a messy bun and marched over to the bathroom.

An hour later, when she walked into the family dining room, a genuine smile split Katara's lips at the sight that met her eyes. On one side of the table sat Sokka and Bumi as the two giggled over something. Next to them was Suki who was engrossed in a conversation with a woman whose face she couldn't see. On the other side, Hakoda and Iroh carried on an animated conversation. Next to her, Kya sat enraptured as Toph made shapes with her space metal bracelet.

"Turtle duck," the girl cried, having fallen in love with the little birds ever since coming to the Fire Nation, "Make a turtle duck."

Toph obliged, earning a gleeful squeal and delighted claps from the child. Katara leaned against the doorframe, smiling. If she could, she would freeze this moment in time. This simple joy had been a long time coming in her life. She wanted to nurture every moment of it.

Toph, as usual, was the first to notice her arrival. Her head perked up and she fixed her sightless eyes on her. "Sugarqueen," she said, her voice lacking the usual chirpiness.

The people at the table turned to look at her. Iroh as the first to react, standing and bowing. "Greetings, Fire Lady."

Taken aback, Katara opened her mouth but found herself at a loss for words. The other people at the table followed his lead, bowing in the Fire Nation salute. "Uh… Um…"

Before she could formulate a response, however, something pink and loud collided with her before she could prepare herself.

"Katara!" a voice squealed just as Katara was knocked off her feet.

She shut her eyes and braced herself for the impact, but it never came. Instead, she found herself resting against something big, solid, and firm. Trying to calm her rapidly beating heart, she breathed in deeply and caught a whiff of smoke and cinnamon. Confused, she opened her eyes and found herself staring at Zuko's face, who was looking at her with concern.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

Realizing that she was pressed flush against Zuko's chest, she straightened with a jolt, her cheeks flush with heat. "Oh… I… Yes, um… I'm fine."

Zuko nodded and stepped into the dining room. Katara shook her head, trying to control the rush of panic and embarrassment that flooded her. She turned to follow Zuko and spotted Ty Lee straightening from her bow for the Fire Lord. Now she knew what the pink thing that had collided with her moments ago.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't attend the wedding, Katara," Ty Lee began talking rapidly, bouncing on her heels. Age had done nothing to dampen her vibrant spirit or her seemingly endless energy. "My sister was sick and I couldn't come earlier than this. I so wanted to and I even picked up this beautiful kimono, you know. I came all the way from Kiyoshi but then everything went for a toss. I have brought a gift too but I don't know where I have put it. I swear I'm such a –"

"Ty Lee," Zuko cut her rambling, "Breathe."

Katara snorted as the other woman snickered behind her hand. She skipped over to Zuko, gave him a brief hug and stepped back. Ty Lee slung an arm around Katara, dragging her along. Zuko fell into step next to them. Katara swallowed the wave of anxiety. As she headed towards the table, something clicked.

"Where are Izumi and Azula?"

"Izumi woke up late," Iroh explained. "She should be coming in shortly. Azula has her meals in her room."

Katara's lips thinned and then she said, "No. That's unacceptable. That changes now. I'll get her. Excuse me, Ty Lee."

She untangled her arm and turned around. She was about to march out when she spotted a strange expression on Zuko's face. If Katara were describe the change, it was as though sun had come from behind dark clouds. Unsure of what to make of his look, she raised her brows, "What?"

He bent down, such that his lips were near her ears and whispered, "There's the Katara I know."

With that, he straightened, gave her a small smile and walked over to the dining room. As she began to make her way towards Azula's room, Katara realized that she had a smile of her own on her lips.

As she walked along the corridors, she realized that she still was not familiar with the corridors of the palace. Especially the Family wing, having moved here just last evening. All around her were swathes of red, gold and black. Everything looked the same. Katara turned a full circle, scratching her head.

"Are you lost?" someone said from behind her.

She whirled around to find Izumi leaning against a wall, her arms folded across her chest and feet crossed at her ankles. A posture highly reminiscent of her father. Katara smiled, "Hopelessly."

"Where are you not going?"

"Huh?"

"You have been turning around in circles, not going anywhere. Really, you're worse than dad when it comes to jokes."

"Oh!" Katara chuckled. "No. Trust me, no one is worse than your dad. Have you ever heard of the 'silver sandwich'?"

Izumi's lips twitched briefly but then schooled her expression back to seriousness and said, "Yes, I have. Grandpa Iroh told me. So… where to?"

"I was trying to go to Azula's chamber?"

At that Izumi straightened, a frown on her face. "You want to go to Auntie's chamber?"

"Yes."

Izumi's lips thinned and her golden eyes studied her with a fixed gaze. After a long while she nodded. "Come, I'll take you."

"Thank you," Katara said, smiling widely. The Princess walked like she owned the place, which she did, Katara reminded herself. Izumi led the way through large corridors, reaching a pair of wooden doors. She turned to face Katara and opened her mouth to say something but stopped. Her golden eyes widened in pure horror and she leapt on Katara. For the second time in less than fifteen minutes, Katara was thrown off her feet and she slammed on the floor, her head hitting the ground.

"Oof," Katara said, stars winking in front of her eyes. Katara sat up to find Izumi yelling orders to guards.

"What? Izumi what's…"

All around her was chaos as several guards had formed a perimeter around her, couple of them taking a Firebending stance.

"What is going on?" Azula's irritated voice cut through the commotion. The woman looked around, taking stock of the situation, "Katara? What are you doing on the floor?"

Katara stood up, massaging the sore spot on her head. Izumi stood next to her, the little face red with anger. "There was an assassin. A Water Tribe man!"