Chapter Twenty Three

The next morning duty called for the fire lord and he was forced to attend meetings most of the day. The group hadn't come up with any good ideas and for a much needed distraction, they decided to head to the market place. Suki and Sokka had an arm wrapped around each other's waist and they were whispering flirtatiously back and forth. Toph trudged along, finger digging in her ear as she kicked a rock along, and seemingly bored. Aang and Katara held hands as they led the little group from stall to stall.

Katara seemed a bit anxious as she looked around, eyes always scanning. Aang gave her hand a light squeeze and leaned in to give her a kiss. Katara turned her head to catch the kiss on her cheek instead of on the lips. She saw the hurt in Aang's eyes.

"Sorry…" She apologized, wincing slightly. "We're in public and…" She trailed off feeling guilty.

"No, it's okay." Aang quickly reassured her.

Katara felt bad, she wasn't entirely sure why she had rejected him like that. Sure she was nervous being out in the open with Azula still at large, but she was surrounded by her friends and boyfriend. But that wasn't the reason; she was almost embarrassed by the public displays of affection, which had never bothered her before. She just could not put her finger on why it didn't feel like it used to. She tried to put aside her jumpy unease and enjoy their time in the market. She stopped to admire some jewelry and Suki joined her in eyeing the glittering gems as they laughed and giggled. Sokka rolled his eyes at the frivolity of the women when he suddenly noticed a shiny thing of interest himself.

"Ha… Ah…" He sputtered unintelligible sounds as he examined the glinting weaponry across the way. He picked up a sword and examined it, then quickly swapped it for a spear, then a mace, then some throwing stars… basically anything he could pick up, he did so. Toph had followed him and was attempting to lift a war hammer bigger then her, to no avail with lots of grunting sounds. Sokka pointed and laughed until Toph used her bending to lift the iron hammer and send it chasing after Sokka as he ran screaming.

Aang had found a stand of nothing but a funny array of hats. He tried on one with a large brim and it immediately sunk over his head, covering his eyes. Then he tried on a tiny fez that did nothing to cover his head. Katara joined him and tried on a large floppy sunhat and struck a pose. Suki laughed and found one that had an arrangement of feathers coming off the side. Sokka ran past them, still screaming as Toph chased him with random, pointy, metal things. Ignoring Sokka's plight, they continued trying on hats and laughing.

After a while, Sokka and Toph's stomach began to rumble and they were insistent on getting food. They wandered to a section of the market where all manner of delicious smells wafted on the warm breeze and found stalls and carts selling delectables. Full and sated their small group decided to split up. Sokka wrapped an arm around Suki's shoulders and steered her off into a different direction. Toph patted her full stomach then crossed her hands behind her head muttering something about finding some action where she could make a few bucks and wandered off before Katara had an opportunity to lecture her on the legality and safety of such activities. That left Aang and Katara to explore alone.

After a few hours and several purchases later, it was time to find their friends and head back to the palace. Aang and Katara started scanning the crowds, looking for the familiar face of Toph, Sokka and Suki. Katara turned to scan and her eyes riveted on a face in the milling mass of people. She paled visibly as her heart stuttered and her stomach clenched painfully. All she heard was blood rushing in her ears as she spotted a great hulking bald man. Cane. Panic engulfed her as images assaulted her. The way Cane tormented her and Zuko, how he was cruel and abusive, the way he would sneer as he pulled the lever to dump the chair into the icy waters. Survival instinct kicked in as she pushed her way through the crowd in the opposite direction, fleeing in absolute terror. She barely realized she was pushing through crowds of people, knocking them and their purchases aside. She was so consumed in fear she didn't hear Aang call after her or recognize that he was following her, jumping roof to roof to keep up and avoid the multitude of people.

She fled blindly, spurred on by sheer terror, taking turns at random, her legs pumping and her breath becoming ragged. She ran for indeterminate time until she came up short in a little back alley and she collapsed behind a dumpster, head between her knees as she heaved for breath. Aang landed in a little puff of dust as he dropped down, staying crouched and making eye contact as Katara's head whipped up with a stream of water poised.

"Katara…" He said softly. She let the water fall and Katara lowered her head back to her knees and slowly shook it. "Katara?" Aang tried again and he reached to touch her carefully. "What happened?" He sounded so confused and concerned, but Katara was embarrassed and reluctant to answer so she spoke to her knees instead.

"I thought I saw somebody…"

"Who?" Aang looked around the empty alley before turning his attention back to her.

"Cane." She whispered, face burning.

"Where?"Aang asked, jumping up and gripping his staff, head darting.

"It wasn't him." She said, finally looking at him and suddenly feeling tired.

"Are you sure?" He asked, voice sharp.

She nodded, closing her eyes. The initial panic had finally abated and she could think clearly again. He had looked similar, but his nose was too long, eyes softer, the lines of his face were wrong. Now she just felt humiliated for running from nothing.

"Maybe we should check." Aang worried, still looking to the people passing on the street.

"It wasn't him." Katara said and wearily held out her hand for Aang to help her stand. She brushed off her skirts as Aang looked for a way to phrase his next sentence.

"Then… why did you run?" He asked with honest confusion.

Her jaw clenched in embarrassment but she channeled it into anger. "Because I made a mistake." She hissed.

Aang put his hands, palms up, in a placating way. "Okay, okay… Do you want to go back?"

"Yes."

"Should we find the others?"

Resignedly she shook her head. "No, they'll come back eventually."

"But, if there's a chance Azula's men are in town, we should tell Sokka and Toph and Suki!"

Sighing, she felt even more exhausted and shook her head again. "I just want to go lie in bed for a while. I don't feel well."

Aang nodded and put an arm around her to steer her through the crowded market back to the palace. She was relieved he didn't push the subject anymore and let herself be led back.

She had been resting in bed with the curtains drawn, trying very hard to clear her mind when she heard her brothers angry shout outside her door.

"My sister is in danger Aang! If there's even the slightest chance they're in the city, we have to go check it out!"

In a much softer voice, Aang soothed Sokka. His words lost in a soft mumble.

"How can she be sure? She must have been pretty sure when she ran the first time!"

Katara groaned and pulled the pillow over her head to drown them out. It grew quiet again, they must have moved on, so Katara threw the pillow off her face and glared at the ceiling in the dim light.

A knock came at the door. "Go away!" She called, not wanting to deal with Aang, her brother or anything else. She heard footsteps retreat. Shortly after a softer knock came from the panel between her room and Zuko's. Feeling bad as she realized it must have been Zuko the first time, she called a gentle "come in". The panel clicked and Zuko backed into the dark room carrying a silver tray with a tea pot and two steaming mugs. He looked around the gloom, set the tea set on a small table and set a few sconces ablaze with a flick of his wrist. Katara blinked in the sudden light and grudgingly sat up in bed, leaning against the head board. Zuko watched her a moment, then took the two cups and sat beside her without saying anything. He positioned himself so he was propped up next to her, staring straight ahead like she was and held out her cup. She took it and stared into the amber liquid without breaking the silence for a beat.

"Iroh?" She asked, lifting the cup.

"Yes."

She let the silence continue, expecting him to speak to ask her what had happened. Ask what she had seen. Ask if she was sure it wasn't Cane. Ask why she had panicked, why she had run. She turned the mug around and around in her hand, letting all the questions run through her head. Finally she got tired of waiting for him to ask.

"Don't you want to know what happened?" She finally snapped, sounding harsher than she had intended.

He looked over at her, a little bewildered at her hostility. "Only if you want to tell me."

She closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the head board. "Aang and I were walking. I thought I saw Cane. I freaked out and I just started running. But it wasn't him." She finished, feeling embarrassed all over again. Her story was followed by silence and she looked over at him curiously. "You're not going to ask why I thought I saw him?"

He turned to her, looking serious, his brow knit together in something akin to concentration as he slowly shook his head. "No. Because I've seen him too. And Azula." This surprised her and he gave her a small smile. "I'll see them in a stranger in a crowd and by the time I look again, they're just a stranger once more. I've talked to Uncle about it actually." He rubbed his eyes as if suddenly tired.

"What did he have to say?" She asked with muted curiosity.

"I'm not very good at quoting him but it was along the lines of 'after a great trauma, you're mind can play tricks on you'."

Katara mulled this over a moment and drank from the mug. "So… Because you're sister tried to kill us, we're hallucinating?" She surmised with grim sarcasm.

A tiny smile pulled at the corners of Zuko's mouth. "Something like that." He too brought the mug up for a sip.

Katara rubbed at her eyes before turning a baleful look on him. "Will it always be like this? I mean yesterday I was walking through a room and I saw a chair. It looked a little like the one I was strapped to and I got really bad flashbacks and I had to get out of there. I haven't been back to that room since."

"I could burn the chair if you'd like." Zuko offered lightly.

Katara grimaced. "I'm serious Zuko."

"I'm sorry." The small smile smoothed to utter seriousness. "I was training the other day, like I always used to and I was sparring with one of the guards, when he switched to fire bending, I froze." He took a moment to gather himself. "I would have been burned if Uncle hadn't intercepted it." Katara's free hand sought out his and she gave his fingers a squeeze. He turned to watch her for the next part. "He took me to the gardens and sat me down. After a while, he told me that we had both been injured. I told him we were healed but he shook his head. He then pointed to my chest and my head. 'On the outside you have healed, but here and here… the wounds are still raw. You have to give yourself time to heal your mind and your heart. You would not push yourself to spar on a broken leg. Why should this be any different? You will face challenges, obstacles if you will, but with time and understanding, you will overcome these as you have with everything else in life'."

More than anything else, this had soothed her the most. She didn't always have to be strong. She could rely on others. She quickly kissed his cheek and he gave her a startled look, his face coloring slightly. "Thank you Zuko. That really does help."

Sarahplainntall here! I'm SO sorry it took so long to update. January, February and March I had 3 family members pass. It's been rough... anyways, I'd appreciate any reviews/feed back you have!