Earth.
Fire.
Air.
Water.
Only the avatar can save us all.
Previous on Legend of Katherine!
It's doomsday on the ship! Northern Raiders ambush the crew, then two find their way into the room where all the girls are! After icicles, gruesome death, and a crazy-fied Kat, we're left with two escapees charging down a soaked hallway, trying to save the day! …That sounded better in my head. Unfortunately, things go awry and it turns out Admiral Shenjin is a coward, Captain Baracak is dead, Betty is a very skilled fighter, and Stacy is a waterbender! And don't forget about the Fire Nation princess, Lizzie! What does the future hold for our heroes? Who is this person Lizzie speaks of? And most importantly, why is Stacy so good at singing Let it Go?
Book 1:Water
Chapter 5: Capital City
"Attention, candidates. We are now arriving at Capital City. Please exit the room in a calm and orderly fashion—woooaaahhh!"
The second the lieutenant began to speak, everyone in the room sped outside with jittering excitement, like torrents of water unleashed from a broken dam. The poor soldier was overwhelmed in the of an eye.
"Let's GOOOOO!" Kat declared excitedly, rushing out with everyone else. They were probably gonna be reprimanded about this later, but who cares when Betty's in charge? After that one incident having to do with the fountain in the middle of the town square a year ago, pretty much everyone knew who her elder sister was. And her gentle, playful personality.
"Fire flakes. Royalty. Gummies. Volcanoes! Fire flakes. Royalty. Gummies. Volcanoes!" Stacy rapped breathlessly. Vixella looked slightly eager, but it was always hard to tell with her.
The first thing Kat noticed when she stepped onto the deck was the sky and the sea around them. Back in the South Pole, the ocean was always a shade of dark, threatening navy blue, littered with jagged ice flows. The sky was usually covered with gloomy gray clouds, and even when it wasn't, the sun always seemed dim and bleak, somehow. But here, the ocean was a spectacular admiral blue color, and the sky was as light as the shallow arctic ponds back home. It was overwhelmingly gorgeous.
"Girls, please keep calm and don't overwhelm the crew!" The familiar voice of Betty called. Kat turned around to see her older sister standing at the front of the ship, giving out orders to the crew and the girls. "We will be docking in less than five minutes."
"I honestly have to say, this is kinda exciting." Vixella commented as she sauntered up beside Kat. "One of busiest cities in the world, technically the capital of the entire world, fairly technologically advanced, and a place brimming to the rim with rich history full of art. Even if all the people there are total jerks."
"Come on, Vixella!" Stacy teased playfully, gently elbowing the lavender haired girl. "Not everyone's gonna be super mean and stuff! There'll definitely be some decent people."
"Not convinced." Vixella snorted, her small smile fading into an aggravated frown. "But anyways. We'll probably get some time to explore the place. Where to first? A theater?"
"Sure!" Kat laughed. "We can watch Frozen together!"
At the moment, the ship's horn blared loudly three times. The first two were long-lasting and earpiercing, but the third was shorter and quieter. Kat covered her ears, wincing at the noise.
"Hey there, little sis!" Betty smiled as she walked over just as the horn stopped. "Wanna know a little secret about the ship? The way they just sounded the horn is the secret code for Fire Navy ships to state their affiliation with the Fire Nation. Unless you've been on a Fire Navy ship, headed to the capital, nobody knows what it is!"
"Oh." Kat mused, not sure what to make of that piece of information. "That's…interesting."
"Look over there!" Stacy shouted excitedly, gaining Kat's attention. "There's some kind of festival going on!" Kat glanced in the direction that her friend was pointing, and sure enough, saw some small figures marching down the seaside street. The main attraction was a colorful, intricate dragon surrounded by drummers dressed in shiny and glamorous costumes. She could also see a small crowd gathered loosely around the parade, although the details were very blurred from this distance.
"Ah, now that's the beginning of the Sozin's Comet Festival!" Betty commented, an indecipherable undertone to her voice.
"What's that about?" Vixella asked with mild interest.
"It commemorates the burning of the Earth Kingdom, thirty years ago." Betty responded with a more remorseful tone. "The festival begins one month before the official date, and slowly accelerates, building up momentum as the days go by. It's almost as big as Lunar New Year, in the Fire Nation."
Everyone fell silent after that. Kat stared at the dragon parading down the street, feeling slightly sick. So many people died that day…how can anyone celebrate something as dreadful as that?
Whilst they were talking, Kat failed to notice the ship steadily approaching the port at a swift rate, until the vessel lurched abruptly as it came to a halting stop next to the docks. What had to be a good one hundred soldiers were stationed on the wooden platforms, some going to assist and escort the passengers inside another ship, just as large as theirs.
Kat assumed that the rest were escorts for them. From what she understood, they were high priority, as Phoenix King Ozai didn't want to lose the avatar, if he did have her in his clutches the whole time.
As two soldiers opened up the entrance/exit, a middle-aged soldier wearing fancy armor that signified he was of high ranking stepped forward. But no matter what angle she looked at him, Kat just couldn't take him seriously. His mustache looked too much like a boarcupine!
"Greetings, Commander Betty." The boarcupine mustache man addressed her sister formally. "It is my understanding that Admiral Shenjin has been demoted due to neglect of duty, and you are now in charge of the ship. It is an honor to meet you."
"It is a greater honor to meet you, General Zhan." Betty responded, bowing. "I have heard much about your great accomplishments and feats."
"Well, we can speak along the way." General Zhan said, stepping aside. "Right now, our main and highest priority is escorting the candidates to the Palace."
Kat, along with the other girls, stepped off the ship, and followed Betty and General Zhan. As they walked past the bustling streets, Kat felt the full impact of the culture shock. Harbor City…looked so alive. A group of young children playing here, a watermelon juice vendor over there, two friends conversing from their windows while hanging laundry up above. So different and contrasting to Kat's village.
Her hometown was small, and filled to the brim with soldiers. Everywhere. They were on every block, every turn, every street, and sometimes even in alleyways. The native citizens were always anxious around them, and the children never played outside the unsupervised park in fear of offending the officers. Many people made it their personal mission to avoid the soldiers as much as possible.
Here, in Harbor City, there were definitely lots of soldiers. But the people here looked fine, even comfortable, with them stationed around. They didn't look nervous or panicked around the soldiers, and some even gave the men dressed in armor small, polite smiles. The children ran around on the streets and played, without a single ounce of fear. It was so different….and in a good way.
"One day, this'll be our hometown." Stacy murmured, as if reading Kat's thoughts. "A place where everyone can be happy and not live in fear of the soldiers."
"That's exactly what I was thinking!" Kat exclaimed, amusement crawling up her face.
"That's because they're Fire Nation." Vixella said bitterly. "Of course they don't fear their own protectors! But it's different in the South Pole. Nothing will ever be like this there. Especially not in the Icy Fortress." The lavender haired girl muttered the last part quietly, sounding bitter and…almost remorseful.
"Things can change, Vixella." Kat reminded, gazing around them. "And for the good."
"You think that people bowing down to the Fire Nation is good?" Vixella cried indignantly and mockingly. "Oh wait, nevermind. You told me that two days ago."
"Hey. Sometimes we have to be like the water that surrounds us all. To adapt." Kat pointed out. "If we can't beat them, we can learn to live with them. And that's the less violent way for everyone to be happy."
"But the Southern Water Tribe doesn't belong as part of the Fire Nation!" Vixella snapped angrily. "We are meant to be a free country, not a colony!"
"There would be too much at risk!" Kat snapped back, irritation building up inside her. "And for too slim of a possibility. If we took our chances, we would be ruining the lives that people have spent so much time and hard work and effort building up, from the ashes of their previous lives. This isn't just about you, or me, or our village. It's about, and concerns all the Water Tribe citizens in the South Pole."
"Vixella, you have to think of the entire tribe's well being." Stacy added, shaking her head sadly. "We have no more waterbenders. Half our people are in prisons, their spirits broken by the harsh rules there. The other half live in fear of the soldiers every day. There's no way we can rebel and win."
Vixella opened her mouth to speak again, but nothing came out. They continued to walk down the street in awkward silence. Kat was glad they had managed to quell that argument before it got too out of hand.
After walking for a good twenty minutes or so, they exited the farmlands surrounding Harbor City and started to take the narrow path up the volcano. Kat noticed some areas of the path were jagged and narrow, buried in a rockalanche, or clustered with odd cube shaped holes. It made it really difficult to cross.
"Hey, what happened here?" Kat asked.
"I think it's left over from the Day of Black Sun." Stacy replied. "Remember? Earthbenders wreaked havoc on the city. It took forever for the Fire Nation to fill in all the holes and rebuild, and the path up the mountain is still missing some parts near the base."
After an exhausting climb, they finally reached the top. Here, on the outer rim of the caldera, there was little life. Most of the landscape was made up of looming, jagged peaks in a rough zigzag pattern running around the entire edge, some small, dry and brittle shrubs, and the occasional elephant rat skittering about.
Then…
They reached the highest point of the rim. The glistening sun blinded Kat's eyes for a moment, but once they adjusted, she was breathtaken. Below them was a sea of shimmering reds and whites and oranges, surrounding a large, stark white pristine courtyard and the colossal royal palace.
Capital City.
From here, everything looked so astonishing. Although the details were hard to tell from this far, Kat could see—and hear—the busy, bustling streets below. It was as lively as a spider-ant's nest! Kat could see the Imperial Palace as clear as day from here. The palace stood out like a moose-lion in a flock of sea vultures(ahh sorry for the bad reference), despite it being red, like the rest of the city. The area surrounding the palace was barren of streets, buildings, and people, and gleamed in the spotless sunlight.
"Wow." Kat breathed. "This has to be the most impressive thing in the whole world."
"Did you know that there's a bunker underneath the city, in case of emergencies, like being invaded?" Stacy said. "It was used during the Day of Black Sun, the only time that there was an attack launched on the Fire Nation capital during the Hundred's Year War. But I wouldn't put it past Northern Raiders to try and infiltrate it, though."
"You speak of them as they are enemies." Vixella snapped angrily. "But they're our allies, trying to defeat the Fire Nation and free us from their wretched rule." Kat and Stacy both shot her a dirty look.
"Yeah, because they totally wouldn't ambush our ship and kill many poor, unfortunate souls." Kat said sarcastically. "Oh wait, they did do that!" The lavender haired girl huffed, before walking away.
"Hey, look!" Stacy pointed at the bottom of the hill, trying to change the subject. "I think I can see Princess Lizzie's palanquin from here." Her intentions worked, in a way, as they fell silent altogether.
As they made their way into the city itself, Kat was even more impressed with it than Harbor City. The city itself felt alive! And not in a simile context, like Harbor City, but truly. Its capital building was its eyes, the other buildings its body, and the people were its voice. The streets were teeming with people, from vendors calling out the prices of their Fire flakes and cabbages, to everyday citizens, making their way home after a visit to the market, to young children running around and playing on the streets, laughing and occasionally dancing. Picture perfect.
Kat wouldn't mind living in a place like this. Safe, beautiful, happy, and content. Where soldiers wouldn't bother her if she dressed in red and followed all their rules. Maybe even a friendly smile or wave every now and then!
As they made their way out of the crowded city parts, which were giving off homey vibes to Kat, she suddenly felt very small and anxious. They were approaching the royal palace quickly. There were a lot more soldiers now, guarding the polished quartz ground.
Reaching the front of the palace, Kat could see many servants, soldiers, and a palanquin to the side. And in front of it all, two figures in armor and the royal hairpieces in their topknots.
Fire Lord Azula and Princess Lizzie.
Once they approached close enough, Betty stooped into a deep bow, and so did all the other soldiers. Kat immediately bowed as well, out of respect and a little intimidation from the most cunning and manipulative people in the Fire Nation. And of course, because of the Other Self.
Out of the corner of her eye, Kat saw Azula give a wave of her hand, and they all stood back up. The Fire Lord swept her gaze briefly around the crowd, and it might've just been Kat's imagination, but she stared at her a second longer than the others. Finally, looked Betty in the eye.
"Commander Betty." Azula greeted formally. "I've heard of your impressive swordsmanship and chi-blocking skills from my daughter. For a Water Tribe colonial, you have skills greater than some officers in the army."
"It is with great honor to meet you, Fire Lord Azula." Betty responded sincerely. "Thank you, for your compliments."
"No need to flatter yourself." Azula dismissed, then turned to one of the servants. "You! Lead Commander Betty and the candidates to their quarters." Azula turned back to Betty. "I also want to speak with Shenjin. He still has not had a proper punishment for his actions aboard the ship." Kat heard a menacing undertone as Azula spoke those last words, enough to make her shudder and fear what would happen to the once great admiral. If Lizzie was the rattlesnake, able to strike fear into the hearts of others by just appearing, Azula was its venom, deadly to the touch. If you made one wrong move…bam. Gone in a heartbeat.
"Of course, Your Highness." Betty bowed, before the servant that Azula had pointed to started to lead the wall into the palace.
The inside of the palace was just as beautifully decorated, from porcelain vases embroidered with carvings and designs to the portraits on the walls to even the designs of the torch holders, made of gold and filled with a brightly burning flame.
They passed courtyards that were beautifully decorated with flowers, ponds, statues, lilypads, bushes trimmed to resemble different animals, and turtle-ducks, swimming in the ponds. There were never things this nice in the South Pole! Well, things that weren't the many creative games that Kat and her siblings came up with. Every time there was a new one, all the kids in the neighborhood would rush to the park to participate in one of them.
Eventually they came to a closed-in hallway that was long and the walls were covered with doors. The servant stopped and stepped aside.
"These will be your quarters during your stay." She said. "Commander, I will show you to your quarters right after this."
Betty nodded, then turned to look at everyone. "Girls, you are free to explore the city during your stay, at the appropriate times. But only in Capital City, and not Harbor City." She announced. "You must be back at noon for lunch, and at 5 in the evening for dinner and curfew. Understood?" Kat and everyone else nodded. She couldn't wait to explore the city!
As Betty left with the servant, everyone started piling into the rooms. Kat opened one of the doors, and was astounded at the sight. Each room was rather large, with two four-poster beds covered in silk bedsheets and draped in translucent fabric and velvet on the edges. There were intricately carved nightstands, and in the middle, a large poster with the Fire Nation insignia on it, along with a golden shrine of a dragon about the size of an arctic hen.
"Guess this means two to a room, huh?" Kat turned around to see Stacy smiling at the door, tugging at her bag.
Kat smiled back, before putting her bag down on the floor and collapsing on the left bed. It was SOOOO soft and cozy! It was nothing like the rather stiff bed that she shared with Kim back at the South Pole. A pang of nostalgia hit her. If only Kim could be here to see and feel all of this, and Allen, and Wenny….
"Stacy, would you choose to live with your family and life back in the South Pole, or to spend your life here, where everything is so….royal?" Kat asked out loud.
"Well," Stacy started with uncertainty, "this is definitely very tempting. I've never felt something like this before, and I can't imagine what the service would be like. But my life back home isn't terrible either. I have a great family, a good home, and we aren't in any trouble with the Fire Nation. That is more important to me than riches and extreme comfort."
"Me too." Kat quietly agreed. For a second, she imagined that she and her family were Fire Nation royalty. They could have such a good life and still be with each other! But the minute she considered that, Kat shook the idea out fiercely. The Fire Nation royalty were all cruel, cunning, and manipulative. If they had been born royalty, there was no way that their lives would be so happy and free.
"Hey, Stacy, can you hold off unpacking for a bit?" Kat grinned, turning to face her green eyed friend. "'Cause I'm so ready to start exploring Capital City!"
"GAAH! FIRE FLAKES! TOO HOT!" Kat giggled as Vixella ran around in circles with her arms in the air. What did she expect? It was fire flakes, after all! Stacy was also giggling uncontrollably.
"Here, have some watermelon juice." Stacy handed her one of the watermelons to Vixella, who must've gulped down half of it in one go. She then relaxed, sighing, relieved.
"Now I'm glad I got the sweet buns instead." Kat snickered.
"I hope the fire gummies aren't as hot," Stacy said concernedly, glancing down at her cup of fire gummies. She popped one into her mouth, and her eyes comically widened, her face blushing red. Stacy took a big gulp of watermelon juice, before shaking her head intensely. "Nope."
"Oh dear." Kat frowned. "Is everything here going to be this spicy? I hope not."
"Don't get your hopes up." Stacy panted. "If fire gummies, which are supposed to be sweet, are this spicy, I doubt anything would be less."
"Ice cream! Get your ice cream here!" Kat turned to see a vendor on the side of the street, with a cart of ice cream.
"You know what, let's all get some non-spicy ice cream." Kat suggested, grinning mischievously. "There's no way that can be spicy!"
Kat, Stacy, and Vixella walked up to the ice cream stand, and all decided on one delicious flavor.
"Three strawberry cones, please." Kat said politely, handing him three copper coins. The man took the coins, and scooped up three strawberry ice creams for them. Kat took two and gave them to Stacy and Vixella.
"If this ice cream is spicy, I swear I'm going to make my own food in the royal kitchens." Vixella muttered. The three of them all took a bite of the ice cream, and thankfully, it was not spicy. It was cool, refreshing, and sweet, like what all ice cream should be.
"Yeah. I'd warn you away from all things that have 'Fire' in its name." Kat turned around to see a boy around their age with dark brown hair and green eyes standing behind them, smiling. "I learned that the hard way when I first came here."
"Thanks for the advice," Stacy joked. "What's your name?"
"I'm Joel." The boy introduced. "I'm actually from New Ozai, but my father is a carpenter and he has a client here in Capital City. I came along to learn from him."
"Nice to meet you, Joel." Kat said. "Is this your first time in Capital City too?"
"I've actually been here a couple of times before, along with my father," Joel admitted. "I have to say, my favorite part of Capital City would be the Royal Palace. The architecture is just stunning!"
"I can see where you're coming from," Vixella agreed. "but I like the liveliness of the city itself more. It's something I've never seen before."
"Really?" Joel blinked. "Where do you come from?"
"The Southern Water Tribe." Kat responded. Joel's expression changed several times, morphing from shock to excitement to…fear? Before landing on sympathy.
"Oh," he said. "I see. The recent introduction of active Fire Nation soldiers there had caused the relationship between the natives and firebenders to be…rather tense. At least, that's what Father told me."
"Man, all this talk is making me crave a bowl of Water Tribe noodles," Stacy mumbled, rubbing her stomach with one hand.
"Well, I don't know of a restaurant in Capital City that serves Water Tribe cuisine, but I do know someone who does know how to make Water Tribe noodles!" Joel offered. "She doesn't live far from here, in fact. I can take you guys to her!"
"You're too kind." Stacy refused politely. "I'll be fine."
"She and her brother are actually from the Southern Water Tribe, you know." Joel went on. "They came as children. Sapphire's been longing for someone from their birth nation to talk to!"
Kat's eyes widened. "Really?" She asked excitedly. Joel nodded comfirmatively.
"C'mon! I'll lead the way." He said, beckoning for them to follow as he headed down the street. Kat exchanged looks with Stacy and Vixella, who both gave shrugs.
"I've never met someone as nice as Joel before!" Kat thought as they followed. "But that is a bit suspicious. Is he just a kind soul, or plotting something?"
"Are we safe with him?"
"Who knocks at the garden gate?"
Kat could see a single blue eye through the peephole. She looked promising! Water Tribe people often had blue eyes. Kat did, after all! But what she said…made no sense at all.
"One who has eaten the fruit and tasted its mysteries." Joel responded. Apparently what she had said made complete sense to the boy, which puzzled Kat even further. What kind of a secret code was that?
The wooden door opened, revealing a woman probably in her 30s or 40s. She was wearing a red tunic, like everyone else in the Fire Nation(of course), but the rest of her features screamed Water Tribe. Ocean blue eyes, dark brown hair, tanned skin. Kat was feeling gleeful about this, for some reason. Why? …the author and Kat do not know.
"Hey, Joel! I see you brought some friends along!" The woman greeted them with a wide smile on her face, before turning to them. "Sorry about the code. We had some issues with robbers in the past."
"It's okay." Kat responded. "Makes perfect sense."
The woman stepped aside, opening the door wide. "Come on in!" She smiled. Kat and the others stepped inside, which was a very cozy apartment. The first thing she noticed was the different color schemes. Not everything was a solid red or black or yellow. On one table, there was a small earthen statue of a fire ferret in a sedate shade of green, most likely from the Earth Kingdom. There were also some minor bits and pieces painted blue, like the wooden edge of the mirror, the frame holding up the lantern on the ceiling, and the edge of the center rug.
"...seriously, T—Dung! I don't know how to get through to you! Stop leaving dirt trails all over the house!" An unfamiliar voice shouted.
"Well you stop intruding in my business! I thought Sapphire was supposed to be the mom, huh?" Another voice retorted.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" The woman that had answered the door said, crossing her arms as two people walked into the living room. One looked like he was also from the Water Tribe, with his blue eyes and tanned skin. The other girl looked significantly shorter and her eyes were glazed over.
"Wang! Dung! We have some visitors!" Joel called. The two snapped out from their deep conversation, noticing Kat and the others.
"Oh, hi!" The guy, Wang, greeted. "My name is Wang. What are your names?"
"I'm Kat, and these are my friends Stacy and Vixella." Kat quickly responded.
"We're from the Southern Water Tribe." Stacy added.
"Really? That's amazing! Wang and I are from there too!" The first woman who answered the door exclaimed. "Oh, and by the way, I'm Sapphire."
"Nice to meet you, Sapphire!" Stacy smiled. "Joel brought us here because of Water Tribe noodles."
Kat punched Stacy's shoulder playfully. "Be more specific, Stace!" She teased.
"We're here because Stacy said she wanted Water Tribe noodles and Joel said he knew someone who could make them." Vixella said, crossing her arms.
"Well I sure can!" Sapphire smiled warmly. "Come sit with us; I have a lot of questions! I haven't been to the South Pole since I was a child!"
Kat smiled back. "Of course!"
*Insert You'll Be On My Mind here(by Waykap)*
Kat had to admit, she was really enjoying herself. Normally, she was antisocial and shy around strangers(especially soldiers), but there was something about Sapphire that made her open up and chat openly as if Kat had known this woman for years.
She could feel the impenetrable barrier in the back of her mind growing warm. Whenever Kat descended on it, she was filled with…undesirable snippets. Each would last less than a second, and just make her head hurt. Most of them went too fast to make out any details, but Kat caught a glimpse of…a theater? And…ice and snow? But what stood out the most, and lasted the longest, was the face of a young girl with ocean blue eyes, just like hers and Sapphire's.
Stacy was really enjoying the time as well. She had struck up a conversation with Wang, who kinda reminded Kat of Betty with his terrible puns. And of course, halfway through, Sapphire left and came back with a steaming pot of Water Tribe noodles. They tasted just like the ones served at McSouth's, or even better, like the ones Mother made.
Even Vixella was settling in, making small talk with Dung and Joel. Seeing her so relaxed, gave Kat hope that they could become lifelong friends in the future.
If the circumstances let them.
You'll be on mind
Modernization, funny skits, to even fashion trends they talked about. Time flew by so quickly that day, and it made Kat feel like she was back home, chatting with her siblings while munching on seal blubber jerky.
I'll be dreaming 'bout this 'till the end of time
The laughs they had while talking about Betty's accident with the town's fountain, the hardcore expressions while playing some cards at one point, their sleepy faces after devouring the entire pot of noodles.
We are young, we are free, down for the ride
But like everything in the world, it came to an end at some point.
Might be over tomorrow but we got to stay forever
This day was surely going to be on Kat's mind for quite some time.
End of song
And this, is the result of a poorly written chapter attempted to be fixed by severe editing lol. Btw, thank you all for over 100 views! It really means a lot to me that people are reading, and maybe enjoying the story I've written. As always, constructive criticism is very welcome! So with that conclusion, until next time! :) –Frosted Petals