Chapter 32 - Setting the Trap
"So, this is the path you expect the Fire Lord to take from the harbor back to the royal palace?" Suki asked, peering at the large map of the capital they had laid out on the living room floor, Zuko having drawn a path with a bright red crayon on it to mark the Fire Lord's passage.
"I think so, yes," Zuko remarked. The three of them had huddled quite close while examining the map, Katara in particular, her chin propped against his shoulder in a highly distracting way. Toph had been left to sit alone at the table, having to listen in.
"Spirits, I so wish Sokka was here, he's really good at examining maps and working out plans," Suki sighed, Katara giving her a pensive nod in agreement. "Anyway, correct me if I'm wrong, but I like this spot the most," she pointed at the map where it displayed a large body of water, marked with the name 'Queen'. "No watchtowers nearby," Suki counted the benefits on her fingers. "Only accessible from one side, the other side is blocked off by the lake. Fewer exits for Toph to block than anywhere else. Oh, and of course, all that water is good for Katara to play with."
"I plan to rely on something else against the Fire Lord," Katara smiled grimly. "But you're right, Suki. It would be nice to have all that water at my disposal, just in case any reinforcements manage to break through."
"They probably will, I doubt Toph will be able to hold them off indefinitely," Zuko nodded.
"Hey, did you just diss me, Sparky?" Toph growled at him. "I'll hold them off, don't you worry. You'll probably end up begging me to save your asses against your jerk of a father."
"I apologize most profusely, honorable Toph, I did not mean it as a slight to your abilities," Zuko offered respectfully. "But anyway, I agree with Suki about the location. Suki, you and Toph will be responsible for stopping any aid from reaching my father. In the meantime, Katara and I will do our best to stop Ozai for good." And hopefully Azula and Ty Lee would be standing with them as well on that fateful day, or else Zuko did not think much about the chances of their little group dealing with a comet-enhanced Fire Lord and his retinue.
"Sounds good," Suki smiled at Zuko, then looking up at Katara. "That work for you, Katara?"
"Yes, it seems like a fine plan," the young waterbender nodded in agreement.
"How come nobody's asking me?" Toph complained.
"Actually... I think we should do more than just ask you, Toph," Suki said. "Since you'll have to block off the square where we intend to fight the Fire Lord, it's important that you know the location well beforehand."
"Does that mean we're going out for a walk?" Toph asked excitedly. "Good! I'm so sick of this boring estate!"
"That's actually a brilliant idea, Suki, Toph will have a much easier time of it if she knows where everything is in advance," Zuko nodded approvingly. He then glanced outside where the sky had darkened considerably, with a tinge of orange red from the comet's presence. "Should be safe for you to head out, I think. As long as you're careful."
"Be careful yourselves," Toph shot back, jumping out of her seat and insistently tugging on Suki's sleeve to get her to move.
"Alright, alright... I didn't realize you were this bored, Toph," Suki laughed. "Fine, let's go." She turned to Zuko and Katara before leaving. "This probably won't take long."
"Suki, they won't mind if we take longer, in fact, they'd probably just thank us for that," Toph laughed as she was being led outside by Suki.
"That's what I'm worried about..." Suki's last words reached the ears of Katara and Zuko before the front doors closed.
"What was that all about?" Zuko shrugged, turning to Katara and blinking when he realized that she was staring at him with a predatory look in her eyes. She pounced almost instantly, pinning him to the ground, her hands on his shoulders as she bent down and pressed herself tightly against him, their lips meeting in a hungry kiss.
"I... wasn't sure... if you still wanted this..." Zuko managed, struggling for breath once they had finally parted.
"I did feel a little confused after Ember Island," Katara admitted. "But not about the strength of my feelings, only about me being ready for them. But now that we'll be taking on your father in a few days... I no longer want to hold back, Zuko. I was just waiting for the opportunity to tell you that, but with Toph always being around, and knowing how perceptive she is..."
"I'm just glad to know that what we have is real," Zuko sighed with relief. "After what happened on Ember Island... I thought maybe I had ruined everything. You felt so distant..."
"I didn't want to create a distraction for us both," Katara explained. "But now, we have our plan, and all that is left for us is to wait until we can carry it out. And while we are waiting..." she leaned in and they melted together in another prolonged kiss that left them gasping for breath. "I just wanted you to know that I am yours, Zuko. Any way you want me. If you would like to take me upstairs and to your room..."
"Katara..." Zuko sighed, reaching out to cup her cheek with his palm. "You know that we rushed into something that happened way too early for both of us." Katara gave a reluctant nod at that. "We don't have to sleep together for me to be reassured of your feelings, Katara. It's enough to just hold you, kiss you... say stupidly romantic things."
"I guess I just thought that because you're older than I am, perhaps you might want... more," Katara admitted with a blush covering her face.
"We could have just talked about it, like we are talking about these things now," Zuko gave her an encouraging smile. "It's not so hard, is it? Sometimes you just shut down so tight that..."
"Yes, I know, I can be hard to talk to sometimes," Katara lowered her eyes guiltily. "That was never the case before... before Ba Sing Se. The others called me an emotional crybaby behind my back because I always wanted to talk about the way everyone felt."
"Perhaps a balance between the two approaches can be found," Zuko pointed out.
"Balance... right, balance," Katara laughed bitterly. "We've all been thrown completely out of balance by everything we've been through, wouldn't you agree?" He nodded at her silently. "Bah, but I don't want to think about that. We don't have that much time left before Suki and Toph come back. Let's make better use of the time we have," she bent down to kiss him again and again.
Starting to become uncomfortable on the hard floorboards, Zuko eventually rose and gathered her in his arms, carrying her over to the sofa. He gently laid her down on the cushions, watching with his breath held as her hair splayed beautifully beneath her, stray locks falling in her face. He settled comfortably atop of her as they resumed their kisses, Zuko trembling from how she rose to meet his touch in a way that enabled him to feel every curve of her delicate body.
Suddenly, the resolution to not allow this to escalate beyond kissing became much more difficult to maintain, but Zuko honorably held his ground, remaining content with the kisses and caresses they were able to steal during this unexpected and blessed moment of privacy. Still, it seemed that Katara was intent on driving him crazy, for she firmly guided his hand upwards to cup her breast, gasping into his mouth when he could not resist rolling her stiffening nipple between his fingers.
"Spirits, Katara… what are you trying to do…" Zuko gasped, finally managing to break off their kisses, looking at Katara's flushed face. "Let's just… take it a little slower, please," he managed, regardless of how difficult it was to get these words past his lips, knowledge that it was the right thing to do prevailed in the end.
"Sorry, I guess I got carried away a little," Katara smiled up at him, looking more pleased with herself than actually apologetic. "You're right, of course," she spoke, then giving him another quick peck on the lips. "What we're about to face… I feel like it's putting pressure on me to do things I normally wouldn't."
"I can understand that, Katara," Zuko smiled back at her. "But we have to believe that there will be a future to look forward to after we have faced my father. I refuse to believe in any other outcome."
"That makes me feel more confident too, it really does," Katara nodded gratefully. "And speaking of future… I've been wondering what will happen after we have defeated your father. The throne will be yours to take, won't it?"
"Ha!" Zuko laughed aloud with bitterness. "You're joking, right?" Katara narrowed her eyes at him, as if she needed an explanation. "Katara, I've killed Fire Nation soldiers by the dozens, on the Day of the Black Sun, and then again on the Boiling Rock. And I'm probably going to kill even more before this is all over. There is no way that the Fire Nation citizens, or it's army, would accept me as their leader. Perhaps there was a slim chance of that before, but certainly not now."
"Oh…" was all Katara said, but the expression on her face was a difficult one to read. "Regrets?"
"Ruling the Fire Nation was a dream that I once held on to, it was one of the things that kept me going," Zuko said, slowly disentangling from her and sitting up on the bed, Katara also rising to sit next to him. "But now… no, I don't want it. I don't think I could do it, not after all the things I've done."
"I'm sorry, Zuko," Katara said softly, reaching out to cup his cheek. "If you're not going to rule the Fire Nation, what would you like to do then?"
"That really depends on you, Katara," he smiled at her. "I said I wasn't going to leave you and I meant it. Wherever you want to go, I'll follow."
"You might get bored quickly," she warned cheekily. "We already spoke about this, but the first thing we should do will be to bring Suki to the South Pole. She needs to be reunited with Sokka. And I want to check on dad, and see how Gran-Gran is doing…"
"You need to be with your family so that you can finally start healing," Zuko spoke softly. "I may not be all that fond of snow and cold, and I know that Toph can't stand it either, but I think we'll be fine enduring it for your sake, Katara. You have earned the chance at a normal life."
"We all have earned that, and staying in the South won't be exactly normal for you and Toph," Katara sighed. "But… I would deeply appreciate it if we could all stay there at least for a while, until we figure out what to do next. We're all family by now, aren't we? I won't stand for us drifting apart. Nobody else is allowed to leave me," she said, almost possessively.
"And I'm fine with that, believe me," he smiled, leaning in to kiss her. The contact between their lips didn't last long this time, as they were both distracted by the sound of the front doors opening to announce the return of Suki and Toph, the two chattering excitedly. "I'm really glad we got to talk like this, but perhaps we shouldn't give Toph more ammunition for teasing," Zuko said, Katara nodding at him and then stealing one more kiss before he pulled further away from her.
Zuko was still riding high from his emotions by the time Toph and Suki entered the living room to share the impressions from their little survey mission. Still, Zuko could not quite suppress the slight nagging thought at the back of his mind, that Katara's sudden outburst of emotion was simply one more attempt to reinforce his loyalty and devotion to her on the eve of their most important confrontation with the Fire Lord.
Azula glanced alertly to both sides while listening carefully for any sounds of approaching footsteps, pressed with her back against the wall surrounding the Fire Nation communications tower, built into the steepest edge of the caldera. Ever since her father had taken the Fire Nation forces on his mission of the Northern Water Tribe genocide, it had been her and Ty Lee's nightly task to sneak into the communications tower and sift through the messages coming back from her father. As soon as they learned anything important, they would then leave the missives in the designed drop spot by the turtle duck pond for Zuko to pick up.
The climb up to the communications tower was hardly a challenge for someone of Ty Lee's acrobatic ability, but still, Azula always felt nervous waiting at the bottom of the tower for her friend to reappear. After all, there were still plenty of guards in the tower, but the night shift tended to make them sleepy and distracted, and the knowledge that the Fire Lord was away from the capital made everyone sigh in relief and allow themselves to relax.
It didn't take too long for Ty Lee to reappear, jumping down from an outcropping in the tower's wall and landing at Azula's feet with exaggerated flourish. "Stop goofing around, you goof," Azula chided her, unable to stop herself from smiling. "Do you have it?" she asked.
"I do," Ty Lee retrieved the note she had copied. "Sorry about taking so long, but there was a little problem," she apologized while passing the message over to Azula. "Snappy tried to take a bite out of me," Ty Lee chuckled, smoothening out her disheveled hair.
"Snappy?" Azula gave the other girl an incredulous stare. "No, don't tell me... you've named the eagles, haven't you?"
"Sure!" Ty Lee nodded happily. "There's Snappy and Bitey, and then there's Plucky and Fluffy-..."
"Alright, alright, I get the picture," Azula snorted, though she could not quite contain her amusement. Ty Lee's antics always made her smile, and if she was honest with herself... smiling actually made her feel good. "Anyway, Snappy probably just mistook you for an overexcited fire ferret," Azula grinned, then turning her attention to the message. "Crap, do you know what this means?" she waved the note in Ty Lee's face.
"Yeah... tomorrow is the big day," Ty Lee nodded. "We have to get this to Zuko and pray that he comes to collect it before the morning."
"Exactly!" Azula exclaimed worriedly. "Come on, we need to run!" she began to jog in direction of the royal palace.
"Race you there!" Ty Lee laughed joyfully as she dashed right past Azula, the banished princess immediately starting to chase after Ty Lee with a determined look on her face.
Royal Caldera City looked almost like during the evacuation on the Day of the Black Sun. With the Fire Lord absent, there were barely any guard patrols out in the streets at night, their superiors letting the discipline slip. The pair didn't even have to be particularly careful when scaling the wall surrounding the palace and picking the fastest route to reach the more remote parts of the garden.
"Wait, someone's there!" Ty Lee whispered harshly, coming to a halt. Running ahead of Azula, she reached out with her hand to stop the fallen princess. Ty Lee then took another peek through the bushes and immediately relaxed. "Oh, it's just Zuko, false alarm."
"We're stupidly lucky, it seems," Azula stated, the two of them leaving their cover and announcing their presence to Zuko, her brother sitting on the edge of the pond and staring at the reflection, a strange mix of colors from both the orange trail of the comet and the pale light of the moon. "Hey, Zuzu, glad we caught you," Azula greeted him. "We have news you wouldn't have wanted to miss," she added, passing the note over to him.
"Hey, you two," Zuko smiled at them both as he accepted the note, unfolding it and quickly reading through its contents. His eyes widened ever so slightly at what he had read. "Spirits, and I was just about to leave. If I hadn't received this tonight, all our plans would be ruined."
"Yes, we need to strike tomorrow," Azula nodded, looking rather eager and excited. "No last-minute changes to the plan, I should hope?"
"No, everything should be as we have discussed," Zuko replied. "Just be there on time, and we'll end our father's yoke over us forever."
"Wouldn't miss it for anything, Zuzu," Azula chuckled. "Agni, I'm so impatient to face him again. I think it's that comet. It's filling me with so much energy that I feel like I'm about to burst! I can't sleep at nights, I'm just too excited. I want to firebend all day, and yet I haven't been able to do that at all…"
"I know exactly what you mean," Zuko smiled at her. "It's so hard to endure, but tomorrow, our father will be on the receiving end of everything we've stored up for him. But don't forget that the comet's effects will still make him incredibly dangerous."
"But it will do the same for us, Zuzu," Azula nodded confidently. "And it's two against one. We can take him, I know we can... and we will. You just keep your crazy waterbender off me once our father is history."
"I'll do whatever it takes to make sure there is no more violence afterwards," Zuko nodded grimly, wishing he knew just what it would take.
"I'll be ready to chi-block if necessary," Ty Lee stated firmly. "Katara won't suspect me. I don't want to hurt her, but I won't let her hurt Azula."
"Just promise to let me try and talk her down first, Ty Lee. Both of you," Zuko implored, receiving quick nods from the two girls. "We'll get out of this mess alive. I'm going to make sure of it."
"I'll hold you to that, Zuzu," Azula smiled at him as the siblings embraced, Ty Lee running up to make it a group hug. "I can't wait to see what I can achieve in a world where not everything I do is defined by my father and his sinister influence."