Chapter Thirty-Six

It had been two weeks since Katara had moved home. She had received another scroll stamped with the Fire Nation's Royal Seal. She had fiddled with it and then tucked it into her parka before heading home and adding it to the other letters still buried in her trunk. Katara had left the house needing a distraction and found herself wandering towards the arena.

Since she was usually subtly rebuffed at the healing hut, she spent majority of her time at the training arena. Her first day at the arena, the one where Sokka had arranged several sparring matches and betting odds, Katara had beaten all her competitors and Sokka had raked in the cash. Now, Katara had few offers and no one bothered betting against her anymore. Sometimes if one of Pakku's students started acting up, he threatened to pit them against Katara. There had been a few instances where the student had been cocky and confident enough to take the challenge. Katara had been pulled aside by Pakku for the match each time.

"Remember, no mercy."

Katara sighed and rolled her eyes. "I know."

"It's for the sake of discipline and to teach them humbleness."

Katara sighed again, conceding his point yet again. "I know."

A crowd would gather to watch, but the show never lasted long. Katara was quick and merciless, using as few moves as possible to render them prone and dazed.

Kima, the perky girl that had greeted her on her first day back, spent a lot of her time with Katara when she wasn't busy in the training arena. The girl, once calmed, was a really good companion. She and Katara would go shopping in the market together or sit inside one of the small cafes and drink hot tea discussing a myriad of topics, including Katara's adventures, Kima's life in the North Pole and especially Kima's favorite topic, boys.

Over several cups of tea on different occasions, Kima had grilled Katara on all the boys that had been in her life. Reluctantly at first, Katara found herself telling Kima about her adventures and how they had brought her first to Jet, and how badly that had gone, following up with his redemption and tragic end. Then Kima wanted to know more about Aang. Katara explained how it had started as friendship, then how she had been his water bending master and how their relationship had grown and blossomed over time. Kima squealed when Katara told her about the kiss at that terrible play, and before the invasion… and then there were all the other kisses. Katara always spoke with fondness when she spoke of Aang, but Kima could read between the lines and see why his young age and exuberance with his fans had strained the relationship.

Katara had spoken with her Gran-Gran a little about her time as a prisoner over their late night tea sessions, glossing over most of the details wanting to spare them both from living through the descriptions and to avoid the pitying looks she would inevitably receive.

It had taken Katara another week and a half and yet another scroll from a certain Fire Lord before she had decided that Kima was the person she could trust to unburden herself to. Kima had become a true friend and Katara felt comfortable telling her everything. It would be good to off load this on someone who hadn't been there. Katara decided to skip the café today, preferring a less public place to bare her soul and had invited Kima to her house.

"Hey Katara!" She greeted her warmly when Katara opened the door. "This is different." She said with a smile as she came in, peeling off her parka and boots.

Katara shut the door and motioned her in. "Sorry about that. I thought we might be more comfortable in my room today." Katara explained as she grabbed the prepared teapot and a couple cups, putting them on a tray.

"That's fine. I brought some snacks for us to enjoy." She held up the bag in her hand. Kima seemed to sense the mood Katara was in and didn't pry, following her to her room and they both sat on the bed, their backs against the wall, food and drink spread between them on the tray. They spent a few moments getting comfortable and nibbling on the food Kima brought before Katara took a deep breath, steeling herself.

Katara had alluded to her kidnapping and torture but had never really told Kima anything about it. Until now. "I was traveling the world with Aang until weird stuff started happening."

Kima watched her carefully, allowing her friend to take her time unveiling the horrible bit of history she had survived.

"I started getting attacked by these weird guys in black. We found a clue that led us to the fire nation where we met up with our friend Zuko… Turns out, he'd been having the same weird encounters with these mystery people. We were all trying to figure out what was going on when one night, Zuko was kidnapped. There was a terrible struggle, his room was trashed, and we didn't find any signs of him. Search parties were sent out, but they never found anything. They had at least one earth bender that was tunneling them in and out of the palace grounds, but we could never find the tunnels to follow them. We wrote to our friend Toph, you know, the blind earth bender that taught Aang?"

Kima nodded, familiar with Katara's friends from the stories she told.

"If anyone could find the tunnels, it was Toph, but it was going to be a while before she got our letter and could make it out to the fire nation. About a week after Zuko had gone missing, there was another attack. There were so many of them we couldn't fight them all off and Aang thought he was protecting me when really he just made me an easy target and…" Her voice had started to rise so she took a deep calming breath. "They captured me too. I don't know where they took me, but we were underground and there were prison cells in the tunnel. The tossed me in the same cell as Zuko."

She stopped for a moment, reflecting on her shock and relief at seeing him. How he was alive, but so battered and burned. "They had been torturing him for a week. There was a chi bender and he would always steal our bending before they would let us out to use the bathroom or giving us any water… or when we were being taken to our torture sessions."

Kima placed a reassuring hand on Katara's knee and Katara flashed her a small smile and taking a long sip of tea. "Zuko would resist, so they would beat him and then they would take him somewhere to shoot fire at him when he couldn't defend himself. For me, sometimes Cain, the man in charge of our sessions, would strike me, but the worst part was the chair." Again, Katara took a deep breath to compose herself. "They would strap me to a chair, and they would make it plunge into icy water and stay there until all the breath left my lungs and I would start to drown in the freezing water."

A tear rolled down her cheek and she angrily wiped it away. "They always pulled me out before I actually drowned, but I always thought I was going to die. Before I could catch my breath, they would drop me under water again and again until I became too cold and weak to move. They'd toss me dripping wet and slowly freezing to death in the cell. By then, Zuko usually had his fire bending back so he could warm me up, but this went on for about a week. Two weeks for Zuko. Cain told us he had a surprise for us. It was Azula, Zuko's sister. She had arranged the whole thing because she blamed us for defeating her and taking away the Fire Lord title. There was a big fight and it was close, but I managed to use the chi blocking techniques against her so she couldn't bend anymore fire or lightning at us. I trapped her in ice, and we escaped. It took us a long time to get back to the palace. When we got back, it was such a relief, but things were never quite the same. Zuko stopped practicing fire bending with his guards, I became afraid of a set of dining room chairs and a stranger that almost looked like Caine…" She shook her head in disgust at her own weakness.

"Then there are the nightmares. Spirits Kima, they are so real…" She turned her wide blue eyes to Kima, and the girl could see haunted shadows in those blue eyes. She had heard from Sokka and then later Katara that when she had first arrived, Katara had woken screaming in the early hours of the morning from her nightmares. Katara had even admitted her nightly ritual of tea with her grandmother after each nightmare. Every single night.

"I found out that the nightmares weren't so bad when I slept next to Zuko, so that's what we started doing. It was only ever just sleeping." She rushed to explain. "Then there was Aang and he had good intentions, but he just didn't understand. I couldn't really talk to him about what had happened or anyone really, except for Zuko, because he knew. Things got a little awkward and I told him to keep traveling the world and helping those that needed it. I had found a routine where I had started to feel like myself again. I was working at a clinic in the poor side of town and helping so many people and I was really good at helping Zuko with politics, treaties, policies…" She waved her hand in a gesture to encompass all that that entailed. "I was happy, and I was coping and Zuko and I had kissed… and then Zuko's girlfriend came back."

Kima grimaced at this turn in events, but didn't interrupt, even though she had about a million questions.

"Obviously, I couldn't keep sleeping in the same bed as a man with a girlfriend, so I gave Mai my room and moved into a room further away, but everything had become so awkward. I knew I couldn't stay any longer, it was time for me to come home and here I am." Katara finished with a shrug, not quite meeting Kima's eyes.

Something had just occurred to Katara before her friend had a chance to ask her anything. "Oh! I almost forgot." She scrambled off the bed and opened the heavy trunk at the foot of her bed and pulled out seven identical scrolls, each with Katara's name on it in a spidery scrawl and then Kima's eyes widened when she noticed the seal in the red wax that held the scroll closed.

"Are those from…?"

Katara nodded, climbing back onto the bed, and placing the scrolls between them.

"And you haven't read any of them?" She asked again and she had been turning them over to find the seals were unbroken. "Why?"

"I… I don't know. I think I was mad at first, or upset… I don't know." She said in frustration. "The first couple came on the ship when I was already on my way to the South Pole, so I didn't want anything to change my mind. I was doing what was best for both of us and I didn't want to read what he had to say." She clenched her hands into fists and Kima gently took one in her own, rubbing the back of her hand in a soothing manner. Katara's eyes glistened with tears that she willed not to fall. "What if the letters were him saying he hated me?" She asked in a small voice.

"Why would he ever hate you?"

"When I left… I never told him goodbye. I just… left. I gave a note to his Uncle to give to him because I had been avoiding him ever since Mai came back. It was cowardly and I'm sure that made him mad."

Kima squeezed Katara's hand again. "He might have been mad at you, but he could never hate you. It sounds like you guys have an incredibly special bond and something like this wouldn't break that. Besides, after what you told me, I would never ever think you could be a coward. You're incredibly brave and strong Katara. You and Zuko both."

Katara nodded gratefully and gave Kima a watery smile before resting her head on her friend's shoulder. They sat like that for a little while.

"So…" Kima said to break the silence. "Are you going to read them?"

Katara sat up and stared at her friend as she beamed innocently back, curiosity sparking in her blue eyes. Katara chuckled lightly and swatted at Kima's arm. "Not yet."

"But soon?"

"Maybe."

Sarahplainntall here! I just wanted to personally thank pukachujan19999, Beautiful Evil and Youdabest (guest) for the kind words. Your reviews are the highlight that keep me motivated. I hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you for reading (and possibly reviewing).