The Wolf – Hello again! I am feeling in the mood to write so I may have just posted a chapter but I think that I am going to try and post some more of them. I hope that you enjoy the content and if you have any questions please let me know! I enjoy reading the comments.
Katara had started to really enjoy her days and the time she spent with Zuko. The past two weeks had easily become the happiest of her life and as she spent the morning bending with him and the afternoons going over scrolls and trying new techniques. She had come to the realization that she had been unfair to him and his Uncle. The beast inside of her had been more in control when she had locked them up and forced Zuko to make his sacrifice. As she looked at him across the table she came to realize that she had grown to cherish him in the short time they had been together. She couldn't be certain that she loved him but did care for him greatly and thought that he might be starting to feel the same for her. As the full moon was the next night she realized that she would have to be honest with him and she would have to be vulnerable and that made her uncomfortable.
"Zuko?" she hated how her voice cracked a little as his eyes met hers from across the table.
"Yes?" he tilled his head to the side as he answered and she saw his scar and realized if anyone understood her physical pain it would be him.
She mustered up the courage to continue before it was too late. "Well, tonight is the full moon and there was something that I wanted to show you if you are interested."
He looked thoughtful for a moment before he answered her. "That sounds reasonable to me. Where is what you want to show me?"
"Come to Southern Wing in the room with the Fire Lily. 10 o'clock," she breathed as she left the room. Zuko got up to follow her to ask her what was wrong but she had disappeared before he got the chance.
Later that evening Katara was pacing by the spirit pond and watch the koi fish swim around each other. They were two pieces of a whole and she found some piece in watching them. She was deeply regretting asking Zuko if he would come to see this. She had never let anyone else into the room during her transformation, not even her brother but with Zuko she felt something. And if her life was coming to end soon anyways without his love then she at least wanted to try and get him to understand the prison she had been in all this time. Maybe it would get him to see why she had acted so rashly with his Uncle. She would have told him everything if she could but the curse prevented her from telling him the truth or for anyone else in the castle to either.
Katara felt the time slowly come closer and closer to 10 o'clock. She didn't need a clock to tell her it was drawing near she could feel it in her bones and knew that moonlight would fill the room soon and it would begin. Just before 10, Zuko entered the room. He looked around curiously and she knew he was surprised at how much better the room looked. "You might want to have a seat on the bench," she gestured weakly to the only one in the room.
He slowly sank down onto it, "So, what was it that you wanted to show me? Everything looks the same as the last time I was here…well a lot cleaner but the same."
Katara looked him dead in the eyes and knew that he must see the conflict she was having. She took a second to answer but she knew she didn't have a lot of time to. "I wanted to show you what happens to me during the full moon. It will be hard to watch so I understand if you don't want to but I hope that his will help you understand me a little better. Not that I think it will make up for anything."
Zuko was about to answer when the room was bathed in moonlight. The pond began to glow and he was memorized by its beauty. But his trance from the pond was broken almost immediately. His head whipped to the Painted Lady as she began to scream in the most blood-curdling way he had ever heard. The moonlight seemed to burn her in a way and he saw the fur fall off her legs and heard the sickening snaps of bone as they became human legs again. He watched in horror as the scales on her torso, arms, and face seemed to fall off to reveal perfectly normal mocha-colored skin. The Lady looked like she was going through hell and he could see that she was close to fainting from the amount of pain she was in. He rushed forward as she started to fall stepping into the moonlight. Once in the moonlight, he started to feel a horrible burning sensation where his scar was but he didn't care. He just wanted to help her with the pain. Picking her up stepped into the koi pond dunking themselves completely under the water. Once he surfaced for air he realized that the Lady seemed to be no longer in pain and his face didn't hurt either.
He gingerly moved them out of the water being careful to watch for any sign that she was in pain and place her on the bed gently. If she had to go through that every month it was no wonder she had started to act like a beast. He wasn't sure if he could have been any better if he had been in her place. Looking at her now she looked like any girl her age but there was something about her that drew him to her. Even completely unconscious and after watching her go through that he had to admit to himself that he found her beautiful, not only physically but because of the strength she had to live like this. Zuko left the room quietly after making sure she was alright. The thought of waking her up seemed so cruel and he went to his room. Before he went to sleep he had come to realize three things. First that he was had come to see her as a friend and his heart told him maybe something more. Second that they were going to have a long talk in the morning and he wasn't taking no for an answer. And finally that he wanted to find whoever did this to her and make them fix it then punish them.