Published April 19, 2021

"Secrets and Security"

The scepter of the wicked will not prevail in the land given to the just, lest the just themselves turn their hands to evil. ~ Psalm 125:3

It seemed that as more time passed, Katara and Zuko saw each other less often, and the times they saw each other were increasingly marked by high emotions and stress.

There were three more assassination attempts. Katara wondered if Sokka and Mai had made errors in the process of interviewing palace staff. Zuko suspected the problem was not with security but with the sheer number of competent fighters who wanted to put him out of power.

The palace guards and local law enforcement tried to investigate each attempt, but they seemed to be isolated, unrelated incidents. And each one made Zuko more restless, more paranoid, and more agitated.

The most disturbing part, for him, was when two of the would-be assassins also expressed contempt for Katara, who they knew to be the Avatar's master and the one who ultimately defeated Azula. Some people, it seemed, blamed her for the princess' descent into madness, not knowing that Azula had already been approaching that before Sozin's Comet. While Zuko was their primary target, they would have gladly killed Katara as well if given the chance, and they might have used her as leverage over Zuko if necessary.

Zuko had known, when he took the throne, that his life might be endangered as a world leader. But Katara had never signed up for that kind of danger, and it made him feel even more guilty for having her here, with him.

They began to argue, in earnest, for the first time since they started dating. Katara thought he was being overprotective and overbearing, wanting her to have her own guards and keep him notified of all her movements.

"With all due respect, Fire Lord, I don't have to answer to you! You're not my husband!" Yet.

"No, but I am your host, which means I'm responsible for your safety."

"I can take care of myself."

"I know that way of thinking, Katara, and it doesn't always happen. We've both been defeated when trying to fight on our own. I don't want to take that chance."

Eventually they compromised: she could go as she pleased, but she needed to let him know when she was leaving and check in when she had returned.

Zuko also began to consider, with difficulty, the possibility that perhaps she should move out of the palace, for her own safety. But he could not get her to even contemplate it.

"If something like this happens again, I don't want you getting hurt just by accident of being here," he said after one attempt in which she had been close enough to intervene with waterbending. "Maybe you should stay in the city proper."

Katara was incredulous, and more than a little indignant. "Then what would be the point of me staying in the Fire Nation at all?"

"We'd still get to see each other," Zuko reasoned. "It wouldn't be much different than now."

"Except that it would take much longer for us to communicate or check on each other, if something did happen."

"I guess you have a point."

Accepting that she was staying—and hiding how happy that made him—he tried to come up with other protective measures.

"I know you like to go into town by yourself, but maybe you should take the palanquin."

"Seriously? Aren't those just for royalty, here?"

"So what if it is? I'm the Fire Lord; I can change the rules."

Katara was not at all comfortable with this suggestion. "I'd really rather not. It's one thing to ride Appa or some other animal; it's another to have other people carry you somewhere. Plus, wouldn't it just draw more attention to me?"

"Hm." Zuko held his chin in his hand. "Maybe we could use a decoy …"

Katara tried to laugh this off. "I'm not going on missions, diplomatic or otherwise! I'm just exploring. I'd rather go incognito."

"What will you do if someone figures out you're not Fire Nation?"

"Well, I don't mind revealing that I'm a waterbending prodigy. But if you want me to keep a low profile, I'll tell them I'm from the Earth Kingdom colonies."

Zuko seemed satisfied with this, but he pointed out, "You may not be able to say that much longer."

This was true. Aang and Sokka had sent letters with updates of the Harmony Restoration Movement's progress. Colonists were being notified of the removal of their colonies and were being asked to plan their relocation. Aang reported that so far, the communities he had transferred had been happy to return to the Earth Kingdom and learn about their cultural roots.

Sokka also wrote that Toph was establishing a school for metalbenders near one of the oldest colonies, Yu Dao. But he did not give many details or convey his own opinion.

"I hope Aang is okay with that," Katara said after reading a letter aloud to Zuko in the garden. "That makes Sokka his only traveling companion, other than Appa and Momo." She wondered how much the boys might have been leaving out of their letters—she now knew how much could be happening that one might want, or need, to leave unmentioned in written correspondence.

They were lounging under a tree that provided some shelter from the sun. Since Katara was still studying the letter, she did not see how Zuko was looking at her. She always seemed wistful when she read correspondence from her friends and family.

Finally Zuko said what was on his mind: "Are you really happy here, Katara?"

She looked at him in surprise. "You know I am."

"I know you always make the best of things, and put on a happy face for me. And I appreciate that. But I have to wonder if you miss your friends … your family …"

Her features betrayed some sadness, but she remained composed. "Of course I miss them. But I hope to see them again. We exchange letters—I've heard from my dad and Gran-Gran and Pakku too—and we can plan visits now that things are settling down."

Zuko looked down, and then back at her. "What would you be doing now, if you weren't here?"

For a moment Katara thought seriously about it. "I'd be traveling with Sokka … doing exciting things to distract myself from missing you."

Zuko couldn't stop himself from smiling. He leaned in and pulled her into a hug, and she huddled against him. He had tried to quash his selfishness, but her words only seemed to justify it.

"I love you so much," he said.

"I know, Zuko. I love you just as much."

They both found, to their chagrin, that their lightning wounds became more painful when they were stressed. When Katara realized what was happening to her, she asked Zuko if he was experiencing the same thing, and he reluctantly confirmed it. Immediately she insisted that he let her give him a healing session. Zuko did not argue—in fact, he welcomed having a reason to spend time with her, and an excuse for her to examine and touch him.

He had felt her healing touch before, but he was newly amazed by how soothing it was, how the pain seemed to drain away under the glove of water around her hand.

"Thank you," he breathed.

She smiled warmly, and touched his unscarred flesh with her hand. "You're welcome."

When they were done, and she was bending the water back into a container, Zuko stood and asked, almost shyly, "Can I see how you're healing?"

Katara's water dropped into the bowl with a splash; the suggestion startled her. Zuko's cheeks reddened. "I just―I wasn't the only one wounded. But you don't have to show me. Forget I said―"

"No, that's not it," she said, instinctively reassuring him. "I don't mind. I just … I know how you feel about what happened that day, and I don't want it to upset you."

"It won't."

Slowly but decisively, Katara turned away from him and took off her blue outer tunic. She glanced back at him as she started to roll up her shirt. "Don't act weird," she said before taking it off; "you've seen me in my underwear before, at the beach."

"Thought it was your swimsuit," Zuko muttered.

"Is there really a difference?" She pushed her hair over her right shoulder, leaving her back exposed, except for the band of white sarashi cloth that supported her chest. Her scar was a few inches lower, about the same level as her navel.

She heard rather than saw Zuko coming over to her. She stood still, letting him stand right behind her.

"How does it look?" she asked. She knew how much it had healed, but she could not easily see her own back.

"It's haled about as much as mine." She looked over her shoulder and saw him lift his hand. "May I?"

She nodded; after all, he had let her touch both of his scars. Zuko's hand was tentative on the rough patch of skin. The red looked unnatural against her tan complexion, and his own fair skin stood out against both.

"Aang and I match," Katara murmured, remembering the wound Azula had inflicted on the Avatar's back.

There was a beat of silence before Zuko said, "Or you could say we match." He grasped her shoulders gently, then hugged her from behind, the way he had at the beach on Ember Island, pressing his front against her back. Their scars did align. She felt his chest heave against her as he sighed. "I'm sorry―"

"Don't apologize for that," Katara said. "You've still been through more than me." She reached up to touch the scar on his face. His arms tightened around her, and he pressed the unscarred side of his face against her neck and shoulder.

When she finally, slowly turned around, she was not surprised when he kissed her. But when they broke apart momentarily, she cautioned, "My dad and Sokka trust us enough to let me stay here. Let's not abuse that trust."

Zuko stepped back, coughing slightly, embarrassed once again. "Of course―I wouldn't dream of it."

Katara looked at him, her expression turning playful. "Really? You wouldn't?"

"What―dream?―okay, maybe literally, but―you know what I mean. Not unless―I mean, not until we get married."

"Good. Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me." He hugged her once more, then kissed her forehead. "I love you."

Her smile was gentle. "I know you do."

"I'm sor―"

She pointed a finger at him, threatening, "If you say 'I'm sorry' one more time, I won't speak to you for a week."

Zuko actually smirked at this. "You'd try not to, but you'd give in after a few days. You'd miss me too much."

She swatted him in a rather Toph-like gesture. "Get over yourself!"

That made Zuko laugh, for the first time in a long time.

One day, to her surprise, Katara received a letter from Mai, inviting her to tea. Katara had no pressing commitments to prevent her, and she had wanted to stay on good terms with Mai, so she accepted, not knowing what to expect.

She wore her Fire Nation clothes and walked to the suggested meeting place, a flower shop. Mai was waiting for her under the sign, which showed a multi-petaled flower with a flame in the place of the topmost petal. Mai waved her inside.

"My aunt owns this shop," she explained when Katara looked confused. "She gave me a job here. We can talk privately in the back."

"Oh. Alright."

Inside, Mai's aunt, who she introduced as Auntie Mura, was arranging flowers. A little boy, no more than three or so, sat on the edge of the counter eating candy out of a bag.

"You remember my brother, right?" Mai said.

Katara laughed in delight as she recognized him. "Oh my goodness! Yes! What's his name again?"

"Tom-Tom."

Katara bent down to the boy's eye level. "It's good to see you, Tom-Tom! My name is Katara. Do you remember me at all?"

He studied her, unsure. Then his eyes widened and his countenance lit up. "We went camping! You had a monkey-bat with a long tail!"

"Oh—that was Momo! He's our flying lemur. I can't believe you're so big now!"

Mai had to pull Katara away to get her to stop interacting with Tom-Tom—he was the first child she had encountered in months—and get her into the back room, where there was a small kitchen area and a table.

"Does your aunt know who I am?" Katara asked.

Mai didn't look at her as she prepared the tea. "You mean, does she know you're the Avatar's ally, or does she know you're dating the Fire Lord?"

"Either one."

"No. She just thinks you're a friend." Mai turned and appraised her. "You're smart to dress like you're from the Fire Nation. If I hadn't been expecting you, I might not have recognized you."

"… Thanks."

When the tea was ready, Katara was slow to drink hers. She now associated drinking tea with several different memories: getting to know Iroh, sharing a last meal before Sozin's Comet, and, most recently narrowly thwarting an attempt on Zuko's life. At the palace, Zuko had actually considered hiring someone to taste their food in case it turned out to be poisoned; Katara had stood firmly against this idea. Now, something as simple as eating or drinking was a sign of great trust.

She took a few sips of the tea, which tasted normal if a little too spicy for her liking. After some small talk, she decided to broach the camelephant in the room. "Mai, I have to admit, I was a little surprised to get your invitation. Pleased, but surprised."

"I'm not trying to be social," Mai said flatly. "I invited you because I need to tell you something."

"About what?"

"Zuko."

Katara frowned. "I don't understand. Unless—" She broke off, wondering, for the first time, whether Mai had anything to do with the assassination attempts. She put down her teacup. "Explain, please."

"You're the person who's closest to him, and I know from experience that you're a better fighter than his guards. You can protect him better than anyone."

"Is this about—do you know about—"

"I've heard rumors."

"Do you know something we don't?"

Mai looked away as she spoke. "They won't stop. They're just beginning."

"How do you know?"

When Mai met her gaze again, it was with a look of guardedness, and a vulnerability that Katara had never seen in her before. "Can I trust you, Katara?"

She was rather taken aback by the question. While she had been thinking through whether she could trust Mai, a former enemy and romantic rival, it had not occurred to her that Mai might be wrestling with similar thoughts about her. "Of course. Can I trust you?"

"You wouldn't be drinking my tea if you didn't."

Katara nodded and raised her cup in a toast. "Fair enough." She took a long sip, as a sign of her trust. Then she waited, and finally Mai began to talk of her own volition.

"You know my father was the governor of Omashu, otherwise known as New Ozai."

"Right—King Bumi's city," Katara said pointedly.

"Well, after the war ended, Zuko offered my father a new government position, but he turned it down—called it a desk job beneath his dignity. He should have been grateful, really. Most Ozai loyalists got worse." Mai paused to take a draught of her tea.

"Go on," Katara said.

"Well, the other day, a guy visited the flower shop and asked me out on a date."

"Oh?" Katara blinked in confusion, not seeing what that had to do with the issue at hand. "That's—nice."

Mai snorted. "It might've been, only it turns out he was working for my dad."

"Wait—your dad tried to set you up on a date?" Katara might have laughed, if Mai had not looked so bitter.

"No, the date was just a cover story. The whole point of taking me out was to bring me to a meeting. My father was here in the city. He's been running a secret society of nutjobs bent on overthrowing Zuko."

Katara almost spilled her tea. "What?" This was something out of Team Avatar's worst fears. "But—Zuko is the legitimate heir! What do they want to do—put Ozai back in power?"

"It sounds that way. They call themselves the New Ozai Society. The place I saw looked like a training gym, with weapons and practice dummies. Apparently they use Zuko's picture for target practice."

"How many people are in it?" Katara asked, dreading the answer.

"I don't know for sure. I saw about five, not counting my dad, but I'm sure that's not all of them. A coup like they're talking about would take a lot more people, or at least more skilled ones than them. My dad sent Kei Lo to recruit me. I didn't go for it, of course. Then I found Tom-Tom in their hideout."

"No!" Katara gasped.

"My dad thinks he didn't start training me for politics early enough, so he wants to raise Tom-Tom differently. When I told my mom about Dad's little hobby, she left him. He was endangering all of us, you know? Especially Tom-Tom."

Katara covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh, Mai … I'm so sorry. That must be hard on all of you." Separation of family members was extremely rare in the Water Tribes, where the ties of family helped to ensure survival in the harsh arctic environment.

Mai shrugged, looking uncomfortable with being the object of sympathy. "You don't have to feel bad. I just wanted you to be aware."

For a few moments they sat in silence as Katara processed this new information. Any appetite she had had when she arrived was now gone.

"I knew some people don't want Zuko in power," she said, looking into her teacup. "But this is the first we've heard of any organized effort."

"That's why I thought you should know."

Katara nodded gratefully, though she was still confused on one point. "I appreciate you sharing this, Mai … but what I don't understand is … why are you telling me this, instead of Zuko, or the police?"

Mai looked away, and Katara now thought she recognized the emotion in her posture: shame. "I don't want to get my father in trouble. Besides that, I don't know how many of the police and other officials might be involved."

"So you're—not telling anyone else?"

"Not if it can be avoided. As far as I know, they haven't actually done anything. But if they do, you're close enough to Zuko that you can protect him—"

"Hold on: do you expect me to keep this from him?" Katara said incredulously.

"Ideally, yes."

"How can you think I would do that? I've never kept anything secret from him!"

Mai looked at her with eyebrows raised behind her bangs. "Really? Not anything?"

"No! Nothing he should have known, not since we became allies." Katara folded her arms. "You don't know how hard it was for us to learn how to trust each other. I'm not going to let secrets and conflicting loyalties come between us again. We've come too far for that."

"Zuko knows what it's like to not want to betray your father," Mai insisted. "If he found out, I think he'd understand."

Katara thought about that. "You might be right. He knows what that's like. And I know what it's like to have conflicting loyalties. But, Mai—" She reached across the table and grasped Mai's hand. "—this is a matter of life and death. The life of the Fire Lord, not to mention someone we both care about. I'll protect him as much as I can—you can count on me for that—but I can't be the only one on guard about this. He, of all people, needs to know what he's up against."

Mai slouched in defeat. "I guess I see your point."

They both avoided each other's gaze. Then Katara offered, "I could ask him not to arrest your father."

"I would appreciate that."

"He kind of owes it to you, after you saved him at the Boiling Rock. He hasn't forgotten that. And neither have I."

Mai studied her. "You love him, don't you?"

Katara nodded. "I wouldn't have stayed in the Fire Nation after the war if I wasn't serious about making this work."

"What would you have done instead?"

This was something Katara tried not to think about too much, but for once she allowed herself to do so. "Probably kept traveling with Sokka. Maybe we would have gone back to the South Pole at some point—if not to stay, at least to visit our family. I miss my grandparents."

"What's it like having a brother so close to your age?"

Katara's smile was crooked, but her eyes were soft as she answered, "Annoying, most of the time. But we're there for each other. Or at least we used to be."

"Did he go back to the Water Tribe?"

"Not yet. He's traveling with Aang—the Avatar, that is."

"You must miss them."

"Yeah."

That was as far as their conversation got, because at that moment Tom-Tom toddled in and tugged on Katara's skirt, wanting to sit in her lap. She eagerly welcomed such a happy distraction, and chatted with Mura about Fire Nation cuisine and the flower shop.

When Katara finally took her leave, carrying a complimentary bouquet, she decided to ask the question she had wondered about since the war's end. "Mai, aside from being allies … do you think there's any chance we could be friends?"

Mai's answer was frank. "Any chance? Sure. A good chance? Hard to say."

"You're not half bad," Katara said truthfully. "A little gloomy, maybe, but you're loyal, and brave. I respect that about you." She hesitated, weighing a half-formed idea. "Maybe … maybe you could show me how to throw knives? I sometimes turn ice into spikes or discs; it can't be that different."

"Sure. Actually … there's something I've always wanted to try, only I don't know if it's possible to do here."

"What's that?"

"I've heard there's a way to skate on ice, by balancing on a kind of blade."

"Ice skating?" It was not something Katara would have expected of Mai, but upon reflection it made perfect sense.

After some tense discussions with the guards, Katara and Zuko both moved into the most secure tower of the palace. It was a pretty good arrangement: their rooms were just down the hall from each other. But it felt impersonal, which made it hard for Katara to feel at home. The thought made her smile, realizing that she had reached the point of thinking of the palace as her home. Perhaps someday, it would be, officially.

Katara received Zuko's permission to temporarily turn the plaza into an ice-skating rink by bending water across the ground and freezing it. The idea bewildered him somewhat, but he was more than willing to oblige Mai after she had provided such valuable information, and he was glad to see that she and Katara were getting along. Mai took to skating very quickly. Eventually, word got out about what was going on, and other people, including servants off duty, visiting dignitaries, and townspeople looking for a good time, came to try walking or skating on the cold surface. Katara enjoyed observing their amazement: ice was truly a novelty in the equatorial nation.

After the fifth assassination attempt, Katara called in the best reinforcements she and Mai could think of: the Kyoshi Warriors. Suki, Ty Lee, and several others came and started a guard rotation. While she wished they had reunited under different circumstances, Katara could not help being glad to have more friends to spend time with, including someone else who missed her brother. Zuko, for his part, was happy that she had company while he was busy, and that said company would help keep her safe if necessary.

That was how the Kyoshi Warriors ended up apprehending the sixth would-be assassin, who turned out to be a girl not much older than Zuko and Katara. They heard her shouts from their rooms in the middle of the night: "Down with the traitor! Down with the Fire Lord who betrays his own people!"

Katara approached cautiously, and reached the scene as Zuko was confronting the restrained prisoner, who seemed just as angry toward him as he was toward her.

"Convince me not to take your life!" Zuko challenged her.

Before Katara could protest, the girl retorted: "Go ahead! My family has been loyal to yours for generations! By getting rid of me, you would simply complete your betrayal!"

"Your family?" Zuko repeated blankly.

"My father is the mayor of Yu Dao!"

Katara had learned that name fairly recently, but Zuko had known of it all his life, for its place in Fire Nation history. "Yu Dao … the first of the Fire Nation colonies."

"Yes, my home! And now you and the Avatar are going to destroy it with your precious Harmony Restoration Movement!"

"That's why you wanted to kill Fire Lord Zuko?" Katara cut in. "Not because you want Ozai or anyone else to take his place?"

"I don't care who's on the throne, as long as they aren't hurting their own people!"

"Is that what you think I'm doing?" Zuko demanded.

"What propaganda have you been fed?" Katara remarked.

Those words infuriated the prisoner. "Propaganda? I'm talking about what I'm living! We were told we had a month to leave. No questions allowed, no explanations. Just the orders of the Avatar and the Fire Lord."

Zuko and Katara stared at her, and then exchanged glances with each other. They had never heard the work of the Harmony Restoration Movement described that way, or seen such passionate opposition to it.

"What should we do with her?" Suki asked Zuko.

He considered the girl thoughtfully, though his anger was not entirely gone. "I won't put you in prison. I won't put your family through that." He spoke with firm resolve. "We'll take you home, and I will personally enforce the removal of Yu Dao from the Earth Kingdom." He nodded to the warriors, who took her away to place her in a holding cell.

Katara took Zuko by the arm. "If you're going, then so am I."

His expression softened as he looked at her. "You don't have to, if you don't want to."

"Of course I want to! I go where you go." She paused. "Unless you don't want me to?"

"No—I'd like that. We haven't gone on any trips together since the war ended." He smiled just slightly. "And I'd appreciate having at least one person with me that I know is on my side."

Author's Notes

Dear Readers: I'm updating this story on the 10th anniversary of the beginning of its publication—the first time I ever published fan fiction online. I know I've kind of let this story go by the wayside, despite having years-old material written for future chapters. I've had a few things holding me back: I've been busy with real life; I've been busy writing stories in other fandoms (check out my stories about Voltron: Legendary Defender and Star Wars); and I simply haven't had much inspiration for this and other Avatar-universe stories. I have, however, revised some early chapters of this story. I thank you for your patience and welcome your reviews and prayers for my writing process.

Technical note: This story used to have 50 chapters, but then I replaced two early chapters with a single chapter, so the count went back to 49. Now it's back to 50, but if you reviewed the previous chapter 50, you may not be able to leave a review for this chapter. If that is the case, you can leave a review by going to a different chapter and submitting it from there.

Disclaimer: This chapter references events depicted in "Rebound," a comic book released by Dark Horse Comics on May 4, 2013, for Free Comic Book Day, and uses lines from the Smoke and Shadow comic trilogy. I'm placing these events earlier than in the canon timeline, because Mai hasn't been living in the palace, so she took the job at her aunt's shop earlier.