Here's the third chapter. As usual, I remind you that I'm French, and translating my own fanfiction in English, so there may be mistakes here and there. Thank you Mimi for your review, it is really appreciated! Enjoy this new chapter!

Previously: During the full moon, Katara was able to heal and recreate what had been destroyed in Zuko's body by the lightning he received. But this healing cost her a lot of energy and made her faint. Zuko stayed by her side to watch over her, while remembering his attack. It seems that his assailant tried to block his chi, but to no avail. He and his uncle strongly suspect that Azula - currently languishing in prison - had shown them the lightning bending and chi blocking practiced by her former friend Ty Lee several years earlier, but there was no evidence to support this theory at the moment. Zuko had later fallen asleep with his head on the bed where Katara was sleeping, who was surprised when she woke up...

*Chapter 3: Awakening"

Katara awoke painfully, her head still filled with Zuko's screams. Black dots were still dancing before her eyes and a terrible headache had taken hold of her head. To top it all off, she felt an unpleasant tickle on her left arm. She turned her head, frowning, and saw Zuko slumped in his chair, his head resting uncomfortably on the edge of the bed with his arm as a pillow. Katara softened at the sight. He looked so relaxed. His left arm was held securely in a sling against his torso by both his bandage and the left side of the red and gold tunic he had put on. His hair was a mess, and as he moved slightly in his sleep, his hair brushed against Katara's left arm, which made her itch horribly. But she was reluctant to move it now that Zuko was sleeping.

Katara sighed. He should have been resting - and not in this uncomfortable position! What was he doing there? She remembered fainting and feeling a blow to her head. The moment she remembered the shock, the pain came. Her hand went to the back of her head. There was a bump. She realised that Zuko must be terribly worried. He had probably refused to go to bed when he saw her in this state. It was normal, after suffering the martyr, to see his healer collapsing on the ground was not really very reassuring. Moreover, knowing him, Katara guessed that he felt terribly guilty. He always had this habit of blaming himself.

The daylight was coming through the red curtains quite clearly, indicating that it was already late. Katara tried to gently extract her arm without waking Zuko, who was fidgeting in his sleep. She struggled to sit up on the edge of the bed, her aching body reducing her range of motion. She felt tired and heavy, like a dead weight, and thought it best not to get up too quickly, especially in view of her pounding headache. Her lips pursed as her eyes fell back on Zuko, still asleep. Perhaps she should wake him up so he could get some proper rest?

She didn't have to, though, her movements - albeit delicate and slow - had woken him up. He opened one eye, then two, looking haggard. He wondered vaguely where he was, until he laid eyes on a thigh dressed in blue. He frowned and began to tip back in his chair to straighten up, noticing at the same time the damage done by the very uncomfortable position he had adopted while sleeping.

Katara, who was sitting next to his head, watched him slowly straighten up. He was now facing her. A small smile appeared on his face, which surprised Katara. It was so rare that he smiled like that. He was happy that she was okay, he had been worried sick. Only his tiredness had managed to get the best of him, but if he hadn't been tired, he would have been fretting all night.

"You should go to bed in a real bed, you know?" Katara told him gently.

Even now that he was living in a palace again, he still found a way not to sleep in a real bed. A habit he'd picked up during his banishment and the time he'd been teaching firebending to Aang, where aside from Appa, there was nothing comfortable to sleep on. He suddenly had a worried expression, forgetting to answer Katara. She was fine on the surface, but appearances were often deceiving.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked her. His voice was still a little hoarse and his golden eyes were still clouded with sleep.

"Yes, I'm fine, I'll help you to bed" she said as she stood up to prove to him how great she was... Then she sat back down almost immediately and stifled a grunt. "Less well than I thought, apparently..." she muttered to herself. She wasn't really well. At least not well enough to help anyone.

Zuko became annoyed at her stubbornness and rolled his eyes. He was really worried about her, Katara was finally noticing. He was the one who'd come close to death, and still he was worried for her.

"You don't have the strength to help me, you shouldn't try so hard either! I'll call the doctors..." he raised his voice a little and then started coughing. Pulling on his voice like that wasn't a good idea right now.

Katara didn't want to call the doctors, partly because they had other patients to attend to and partly because they'd be curious to know how she'd managed to get him back on his feet so quickly, but she gave in. He was right. As she had the opportunity to examine his muscles from the inside, she had a rough idea of his weight, at least in terms of muscle. A weight she could never lift without help and without damaging his left shoulder. She nodded, resigned. But before Zuko could call them over, she held him back by placing a hand on his good shoulder. His amber gaze locked onto her, bewildered.

"No one can know, Zuko" she whispered, locking her blue eyes with his. No one should know that she had practiced bloodbending, she was too ashamed. Even if it had saved lives, it was wrong and unhealthy. And it could make people envious, who would be threats to her. Zuko knew that this secret was really important to her.

"No one will know, Katara" he replied, placing his hand gently on her thigh, unable to raise his arm to her shoulder. "Thank you, I know it must have cost you... "

She looked down, confirming what he had just said. She took a deep breath. "I'd rather sacrifice my morality than see a friend die, but please... Don't let it happen again." she begged. Even though a slight smile flickered across her lips, she didn't want to relive that night that she was sure would remain a nightmare for a very long time.

"I'll do my best." he promised her. Then he tried to call the guards but choked on his voice, which refused to come out at such a high volume. Katara had to hit him hard on the back to get him to recover. This made him wince, his shoulder still aching. Katara wanted to apologise but with a wave of his hand made her understand that it was alright.

She then took charge of calling the doctors, who arrived almost immediately. Some of them helped Zuko back to his bed, supporting him by his good arm and his back, and laid him down to examine him. They took the opportunity to change his dressing. The others took care of Katara, whose condition they also checked. She was obviously fine but should not overexert herself. She asked to get up. The doctors stayed by her side to prevent any risk of a bad fall. Katara took a few steps, her dizziness was still present but she could deal with it. However, her aches and pains made her walk stiff. The doctors gave her a decoction to help with her muscle pain and then left water for her to quench her thirst.

"You have done a wonderful job on our Firelord, Lady Katara. How is such a miracle possible?" asked one of the doctors curiously.

Katara had already prepared a ready-made answer, but answered with a drier tone than she would have liked. "The full moon strengthens my powers, and with such a brave patient, I could not fail." she explained with a forced smile.

Zuko blushed at this compliment, which he didn't think he deserved. One of the doctors undid his tunic and removed his bandage to examine his shoulder, which was already beginning to heal. He wanted to make him do some movements with his injured shoulder, but Katara immediately intervened.

"No! He must not move it, his shoulder is not yet healed! If he moves his arm too much, it could tear and he could bleed internally! And that's not to mention the fact that he wouldn't be able to regain the use of his arm" she exclaimed as she tried to stand up again, in vain.

"Didn't you fix it?" the doctor asked softly about Zuko's shoulder, surprised by the waterbender's vehemence.

Katara felt annoyance rising inside her. That was why it was her job to take care of him. They were competent doctors, but not very good in terms of mortal wounds. "There was nothing to fix, I had to rebuild the entire inside of his shoulder, the lightning charred it from the inside" she explained, trying not to let her annoyance show. The doctors were stunned by this revelation.

Zuko grimaced. He hadn't really realised what had happened, but now that she had described the state of his shoulder before she intervened, he realised that he had a crazy chance of still being able to move it - even with all the pain that entailed. The doctors then told her that she should at least rest today and then they would leave her to work on her recovery.

The Firelord, in his usual persistence, wanted to try to walk on his own. Katara had gone back to bed after drinking a large glass of water and a mixture prepared by the doctors to restore her strength. Her eyes had not left Zuko, who stubbornly tried to get up, stumbling and falling back on her bed or on one of the doctors, who tried not to touch his left arm. Under other circumstances, Katara would have laughed, but his screams of pain came back to her mind and she closed her eyes to block them out. Then, without really realising it, she fell back to sleep.

When she opened her eyes, it was getting dark. How long had she slept? And more importantly... Where was Zuko? She sat up suddenly in bed, panicking, and looked around the room for him. He was by the window, in the lotus position, with his back to her. He was meditating in front of a candle, its flame swirling slightly from right to left. His hair was once again neatly combed, adorned with the flame of the Firelord. She breathed a sigh of relief, he seemed fine. And she noticed that she was no longer dizzy or headachy, which was a very good thing. She pulled herself out of the red sheets and stood up. It was then that she could see again the disgusting state of her outfit. Dried blood everywhere, sticky and messy as hell.

As she looked up, she came across Zuko, who was watching her and also seeing the state of her outfit. He stood up, wavering, and pointed to a chair not far from her. With his bun, he was quite impressive and towered over Katara by a good head. "I thought you might want to change your clothes" he said.

"I really don't see what makes you say that." she joked as she picked up the clothes before settling back into a more serious demeanor. "I'm glad to see you up and standing."

"Standing is a big word..." he mumbled as he walked a little closer to her, taking small steps.

"With only two syllables, you know" she said with a smile in her voice. Zuko softened immediately, surprised by her answer. She wasn't wrong, so his lips quirked into a closed smile. Katara became serious again. "Does your shoulder still hurt?" she asked.

"No, except when I move it" he replied, looking at his arm and the top of his shoulder. "I guess you know where the bathroom is now."

"Maybe I should re-examine you first" she contradicted him as she prepared to put down the clothes she was holding.

"I survived for many hours while you were sleeping, I think I can wait a little longer." he retorted with a mischievous little smile.

She blushed with guilt at his comment. This was the second time she had broken her promise to Iroh to never take her eyes off him. The first time because she had fainted and the second time because she had fallen asleep. Really worthy of a healer! But everything was fine, nothing serious had happened.

Katara then rolled her eyes and gave him a teasing pout. "Are you sure waiting is part of your vocabulary?" she said to him. She would have almost given her word that he wouldn't be able to get up for at least two days.

She didn't even wait for his answer and entered the bathroom, which she locked. Zuko shrugged, a half-smile on his lips. He knew he'd pushed himself to the limit to get up, and he suspected that it was payback time and that he'd be sore the next day. But lying around doing nothing had the unfortunate tendency to irritate him prodigiously. With Katara gone, he sat back in front of his candle to meditate some more.

She looked at the clothes that Zuko had graciously lent her. A red and gold tunic similar to his, but a little more fitted, and black trousers. She smiled at the thought of wearing red again, as she did when Team Avatar was trying to remain unnoticed in the Fire Nation lands. Looking more closely at the tunic, she assumed it must have belonged to Zuko's mother, who was about as tall as she was. Her hands searched for the pearls she used to tie her hair, and undid them. Her brown hair was all tangled up and she was already thinking about the tedious task of untangling it when she got out. She took off her clothes and the bandage she usually wore on her chest, to prevent any discomfort from uncontrolled movements, and then sank into the basin she had filled with water.

She washed herself thoroughly as she always did after a perilous healing. A musky scent filled the room. It was a little too strong for Katara's taste, but much more pleasant than sweat mixed with blood. The warmth of the water was good for her muscles, which were sore after so many hours of standing over Zuko. She didn't take too long, not wanting to leave Zuko alone for too long, he would be able to reopen his wounds with his habit of moving around.

Katara finally came out just as a fireball ignited the red curtains that lined the windows of the room. Zuko instinctively got into a fighting stance, but had momentarily forgotten his arm. It reminded him that he could no longer assume this position, with his arms raised forward - the pain and his bandage, which he had yanked, prevented him from doing so. Zuko staggered backwards in pain. Katara had approached the window, ready to answer their assailant with the water next door... Who was none other than Kiyi, who had missed.

"Sorry!" she apologised and waved her hand in apology.

Katara used water to put out the fire. The curtain was shredded but the fire had not spread. The two sighed, relieved. They were under too much pressure.

"I told her not to train outside alone..." he grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. He wasn't really angry with her, but exasperated that she wasn't listening to him. Asserting his authority over his people was sometimes easier than asserting it over his little sister.

He leaned against the wall, wincing in pain. Katara beckoned him to sit on a chair. He didn't dare refuse. He undid the left shoulder of his tunic to help her with her task. Her fine healer's hands expertly undid the bandages on her shoulder, revealing the healing wound. Katara was very focused, scanning every inch of his burnt skin for any problem. The wound was red, which was a good sign, and the skin had not broken from the shock.

"It's okay, there's nothing to worry about. But for your own sake don't do it again." Katara told him in a serious voice.

He relaxed almost immediately, relieved that he hadn't stupidly aggravated himself. Katara grabbed some clean bandages left by the doctors beside the bed on the small wooden table and re-bandaged Zuko. He hardly felt a thing, Katara knew what she was doing. She finished tying the bandage with a sharp blow, which made him wince, and helped him put his tunic back on. Katara could feel the softness and lightness of the red fabric under her fingers. Nothing like the thick fabric that made up her kimono, which was made to withstand the cold.

"Shall we go see my sister before she burns down the entire Palace?" he asked as he headed for the door, before turning to Katara. "If you feel up to it, sure."

"I should be able to keep an eye on you," she scoffed as she followed him.

Zuko really liked the red on her, it was unusual but it was a colour he thought suited her very well. Or so his subconscious thought. They walked through long corridors and down a few stairs before arriving in the inner courtyard where Kiyi was still training, though no longer using firearms. Normally, Zuko would have sent her a fireball that she would have to dodge or stop, but he could no longer use his mastery, except to light a candle. This was to train him to react quickly to an attack, something he had failed to do the day before with a lightning bolt.

Kiyi finally noticed our presence and stopped her exercises, sheepishly. "Oh big brother, are you- are you done meditating? "she asked hesitantly. She knew her brother wasn't really angry, but she was ashamed that she hadn't mastered her fireball. It wasn't a very complicated thing.

"Yes, since you burned my window." he replied with a slight smile. "I told you not to practice outside alone... Why didn't you go and see our uncle? "

"He was on a war council or something, and I didn't want to bother you." she explained. Then she turned to Katara. "You look better, thanks for saving my Zuzu."

Zuko cringed at the nickname, he'd always struggled with the idea that Kiyi called him by the same nickname as Azula did. He'd never really explained it to her, it seemed to make her happy to call him that, and he didn't want to cause her pain. Katara also winced, she remembered Azula calling her brother that after he'd interfered when she'd tried to strike her down. But she sighed and smiled at the girl, who had a much softer face than her older sister.

"I'm fine, your brother gave me a bit of a hard time, but luckily - or not - I returned him in one piece to you." Katara said with a chuckle.

"Hey!" he jabbed her lightly in the ribs with his right elbow, falsely indignant at her 'or not'. Kiyi stifled a laugh.

Katara let out an "Ouch!" and frowned as she rubbed her ribs, giving Kiyi a knowing look. Zuko put on an offended face, even though he wasn't. Kiyi, believing him to be truly offended, came over and hugged Zuko.

"You know I love you, Zuko." she said in a soft voice. Zuko wrapped his one good arm around her, a smile frozen on his face. The love of a sister was truly something he had missed for far too long.

He smiled a lot in the presence of his little sister, Katara had noticed. That said, it was not surprising after being manipulated and humiliated for so long by Azula, his other little sister. Kiyi offered him the sibling love he had dreamed of when he was younger. Katara even felt like she was seeing herself with Sokka again, years before. Except that Katara had become a bit of a surrogate mother to Sokka at the time. Many even thought that she was the elder of the two at the South Pole.

They were interrupted by the royal guards, who arrived escorted by the Kyoshi warriors. Zuko slowly stepped aside from Kiyi, and assumed his usual serious leadership posture. "My Lord, the Kyoshi Warriors have arrived." one of them announced as they passed. Still dressed in their green kimonos and wearing the characteristic makeup of the Avatar Kyoshi, whose image they fiercely defended, they advanced towards the Firelord.

"It's an honour, Firelord." Suki, the leader of the Kyoshi warriors, which included...

"Oh Zuko! It's so good to see you again!" said one of the warriors who jumped to her feet, walking past Suki to greet Zuko. Ty Lee, Azula's former friend, now a Kyoshi Warrior. Suki coughed at her, who stepped back into line.

"The honor is mine. I thank you all for coming. Chaotic times again..." Zuko said in a dark voice. He had hoped he would never have to call upon the Kyoshi Warriors for protection again. But clearly there were still quite a few who wanted him dead.

"Don't worry Zuko, we're always here to support you, you know." Suki said with a slight smile. "The message Aang sent us was rather alarming... But I guess you couldn't be better surrounded. I'm glad to see you again Katara!"

Katara hugged her with a smile. "I see my brother hasn't worn you out yet. How is Hua? She must have grown in all this time!" the waterbender asked. It had been a while since she had seen her niece, the daughter of Sokka and Suki. She was almost three now, Katara being present at each of her birthdays.

"Oh yes, she's growing up fast! And she's just as much of a prankster as her father..." Suki sighed.

Katara burst out laughing. "I had a hard enough time with one Sokka, but if there's a little Sokka to take over, what's going to happen?" she joked.

Suki laughed in turn, then looked more serious as she turned to Zuko, who was smiling slightly. He still felt guilty about separating Suki from her daughter, but he had no doubt that Sokka would take good care of her.

"I suppose our old quarters haven't changed?" Suki asked.

"You guessed it. I'll go with you, though." Zuko offered. It was his duty, after all, to escort his guests.

"Don't mind us, we know the way." Suki gently declined.

She asked Ty Lee to stay behind in case of trouble. Her ability to block the chi of her opponents was frighteningly effective. She jumped for joy, happy to spend some time with Zuko, and especially with Kiyi, whom she taught a few circus tricks during her time at the Fire Nation.

"Have you been working on your headstand?" she asked the little girl, who was all smiles. She showed her headstand, which he didn't have the elegance and flexibility of Ty Lee's, but the Kyoshi warrior applauded her for her efforts and proceeded to show her some acrobatics.

Zuko rolled his eyes and sighed. He wished Kiyi was a little more rigorous in her firebending skills.

"Let her have some fun, Zuko." Katara said softly, feeling him tense up. Having a vision of everything that was going on in his body had increased her ability to feel his tension and pain. It was quite strange, but Katara pretended it wasn't. She felt the bracelet Kiyi had given her in the pocket of her red tunic. "She was so worried about you, you know."

"I know." he replied with a heavy heart. He remembered perfectly how he had reacted when Kiyi had been taken by Azula years ago. He could have burned everything in fear and anger. But thanks to his friends and family, he had held his ground and investigated the case in cold blood.

"Let's sit down, you mustn't get too tired." Katara said. He grumbled a little, but followed her to a red padded bench. He asked for some tea to be brought in.

The sun was beginning to decline in the sky, illuminating it with colourful halos that always amazed Katara. When she had gone to live with Aang at the Boreal Air Temple, which he had rehabilitated with the help of the Air Acolytes, who also lived there, it was one of her favourite times of the day, when she had a breathtaking view of the sky. Watching the sun dip behind the distant mountains was a sight she never got tired of. Zuko heard her sigh with contentment and turned to her. Her blue eyes were fixed on the orange sky and a peaceful expression had settled on her face. Mai had always told him that she hated sunsets. In fact, looking back, he often wondered what else she might have loved besides him, and Ty Lee. Not much.

"It feels like home." she told him without looking away.

Zuko searched his memories to recall where Aang had chosen to live to revive the Air People. "At the... Boreal Air Temple?" he asked her after a few moments of thought.

Katara hesitated. She was indeed thinking of the Boreal Air Temple, but it wasn't really her home. "Yes, it is. But I'm glad I came back to the South Pole with my father." she muttered.

"There's less tension at home, isn't there?" Zuko asked.

He remembered being invited to the South Pole with Earth King Kuei for a conference with Katara's father, Hakoda, who was seeking to establish economic and trade relationships between the three nations. This had nothing to do with the South Pole he had attacked just under ten years ago, which was essentially an igloo. Now the South Pole looked more like the North Pole with large houses and a fortified ice wall. Much more intimidating than before. And many people didn't like the change, which almost started a civil war between the southerners who were for it and those who were against.

"Yes, it is much better. My father is still working hard to get everyone to agree. Pakku has come to visit us several times from the North Pole, remember the two little ones who didn't want to learn waterbending?"

Zuko didn't remember much about them, having barely met them. But he nodded all the same. "I think I remember, yes."

"One of them has healing skills, she'll be coming to perfect that skill with me soon." Katara said, suddenly realizing that this would have to wait. Until Zuko was healed, Katara was not going anywhere.

"You'll have competition then!" he said in an amused tone.

The competition didn't promise to be tough yet, and Katara certainly wouldn't be teaching this little one bloodbending, so she was still the best healer. Tea was brought and served. Katara took a sip, and recognised it as a recipe from Iroh. He had a gift for creating the best tea recipes.

"More than competition, it'll be an extra pair of hands to protect you." Katara joked. She'd known few people to hurt themselves as much as he did, and especially as badly.

"Your hands are enough for me." he said with a grin before realizing the implication that could come from that sentence. He blushed furiously at the thought and Katara did the same. A strange sensation gripped their chests, strange and surprising at the same time. They didn't even dare to look each other in the eyes.

She coughed and chose to change the subject, looking at his shoulder and his arm inside his tunic, unable to put the sleeve on. "Does your shoulder still hurt?" she asked, pointing to it.

He tried to move it slightly, and took a moment before wincing, which meant it was healing. "A little, but it's fine."

"I'll do another healing session tonight." she told him. "I think Kiyi is tired of acrobatics."

The little girl had indeed sat down and was twirling flames around her. Zuko got up and approached her. "What are you doing?"

"I'd like to practice my bending but I don't want to tire you out, and Uncle Iroh is still stuck out there..." she grumbled. Zuko was touched that she didn't want to tire him out, but also annoyed because it reminded him that there was nothing more he could do at the moment.

Katara felt his body tense up again, and the slight grimace of pain that passed over Zuko's face confirmed the feeling. She put a hand on Zuko's shoulder, and turned to Kiyi. "I can make you practice if you want, would you like to face me?"

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Zuko questioned, skeptical about the idea. Having seen her faint once was enough for him.

"You really want me to show you how well I'm doing?" she said, uncorking her waterbottle, a defiant look on her face.

Zuko raised his arms in defeat, not really wanting to get a waterfall in his face. He'd already done that and knew better than anyone the ferocity of her attacks. Right now, he could hardly defend himself as things stood. "No, no, I believe you!"

Katara grinned with satisfaction. "Good! Let's get started then!"

Kiyi took her place in the courtyard, and Katara stood where Zuko and Iroh usually stood to watch or attack her to display her defense. Fire was not a very defensive element, it was instead the element of energy, of attack, which served as both an attack and a defence, the other way of defending oneself being to dodge. Katara was not far from the place where the water flowed around the palace, the water she had used years earlier to defeat Azula. Kiyi began her attacks meagerly, not knowing the abilities of the waterbender.

Katara dismissed the attacks with a wave of her arm. Even Zuko would have been able to do the same with his good arm. "You'll have to do better than that, Kiyi, if you hope to hit me." she told her solicitously. Kiyi was impressed with Katara and didn't really know what to do with her little tricks.

But she didn't back down and threw much sharper fire whips, Katara had to use both hands to parry them. Then she sent ice blades towards Kiyi, controlling them in case Kiyi couldn't dodge them. But she dodged quickly and followed up with four fireballs she sent in succession. Katara did not move, blocking them with the water she had.

"That's better, but try to get Katara to move, she hasn't moved since the beginning, which means you're getting far more tired than she is." Zuko advised her, trying to be patient and encouraging. Kiyi tended to get offended quickly so he was careful.

Kiyi decided to send two huge fireballs, one to Katara's left and one to her right to force her to back off, but Katara once again used her bending. The young firebender used her fire to move faster and get closer to Katara. She ran all around Katara, sending small trails of fire to overwhelm her. Katara had more difficulty dodging but succeeded in rolling forward. She iced the ground in the hope of making Kiyi slip. But Kiyi propelled herself with her fire, which melted the ice. Zuko was impressed, she was not lacking in resources.

Kiyi chased her, throwing fireballs faster and faster. Katara dodged each one but still struggled to regain her balance as Kiyi gave her no respite. Katara took advantage of a slight break in Kiyi's attacks to send a high wave to distract her from her attacks. Kiyi stopped his pursuit and used a Ty Lee acrobatic move to avoid the wave, but Katara anticipated and placed a slab of ice where it landed. Kiyi could not avoid it and fell on her left side. Katara stopped her attacks until she got up. Zuko was ready to intervene, but Kiyi stopped him with a wave of her hand. She melted the ice and got to her feet, which staggered. She fell again, her hip hurting badly.

Katara used the water to surf to her. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Kiyi shook her head, biting her lips in pain. Katara lifted Kiyi's tunic, which was almost identical to Zuko's, slightly and applied her healing water to her hip. In a few seconds, Kiyi felt nothing and was able to stand up as if she had never been in pain. But the sun was about to set, and it was no longer time to firebend. Iroh finally arrived with Ursa, escorted by three Kyoshi warriors. Suki had to share the work, as the entire royal family was potentially threatened. Zuko hadn't even noticed Suki watching them from afar until that moment.

"Ah I see you're all much better." he grinned before turning to Zuko and Katara. "I need to speak with you my nephew, and you too Katara. I was able to question our friend and get some information from him."

'Our friend' was in fact the soldier who had used lightning on Zuko. He understood what had taken his uncle so long. This was not a council of war as Kiyi had thought, but rather an interrogation of a prisoner. Although Iroh rarely used his bending to make prisoners talk - preferring to offer tea, much to Zuko's dismay - it was best not to let Kiyi see this.

He left his little sister with Ty Lee and Ursa, then followed Katara and Iroh to the throne room, where he would discover that his enemy was not nearly as small as he thought.

I hope you enjoyed this third chapter! Do not forget to leave a review down below, it is much appreciated! See you at the next chapter!