Chapter 26
"Are you sure you don't want to stay a while longer?" Katara asked, standing next to Toph by the palace's air balloon landing pad, watching the balloon being prepared for her flight back to the Earth Kingdom.
"Nah, I'm good," Toph shrugged. "'sides, I need to get back to the academy sooner or later. There's no telling what my students have been up to during my absence. I didn't exactly tell them how long I was going to be absent."
"Oh, in that case perhaps you should go back, yes," Katara nodded reluctantly, looking around the palace gardens. "I wish Sokka would have come and said farewells. Zuko asked me to pass on his best wishes. He would have come himself, but I think he received some report that left him in a foul mood."
"That's alright, tell him not to worry," Toph replied. "As for Sokka, we said our farewells earlier. He seems a little taken with that On Ji girl."
"Yes..." Katara sighed. "At least he followed my advice and stopped chasing after Suki. But I fear he's just setting himself up for more heartache. I don't think he really wants to stay in the Fire Nation."
"Sokka's just being Sokka," Toph chuckled. "He'll learn one day. Maybe."
"I guess so," Katara nodded. "Still... you're going to be alright, Toph?" she looked at her younger friend with concern.
"Why do you ask? Why wouldn't I be alright?" Toph shrugged, but to Katara the shrug felt uneasy.
"I don't know," she replied thoughtfully. "But sometimes I get the feeling that you're lonely, Toph."
"Maybe I like it that way?" the younger girl replied. "Anyway, don't worry, Sweetness. At least I'm no longer completely cut off from my family. Dad and I have actually been... talking, recently. It's been... good. Awkward, but good."
"I'm so happy to hear that, Toph. And have a smooth journey," Katara smiled, giving a hug to the younger girl, and even thought she was grumbling a little bit, Toph eventually hugged her back. "See you soon, Toph!" she called out as her friend climbed into the air balloon's basket.
"Better believe it, Sweetness! You're not getting rid of me that easy!" Toph laughed back as the balloon started to gain altitude.
Having spent a while watching the balloon departing, Katara realized with some embarrassment that she had been waving her farewells out of habit to someone who could not see it. Blushing a little, Katara all but ran back inside the palace, also recalling that she had asked Ursa to join her for a cup of tea at her quarters while Kiyi was taking her afternoon nap.
Katara arrived back at the consort's chambers just ahead of Zuko's mother, and as they both sat down in the parlor, one of the palace servants entered to serve them tea. Once they had been left alone again, Katara took a sip of the fragrant spice tea before picking up the conversation. "And how's Kiyi today?" she asked with a smile on her lips. She was quickly growing very fond of Zuko's little half-sister and the feeling seemed to be mutual.
"Asking for you all morning, same as yesterday and the day before that," Ursa laughed. "You're quickly becoming her favorite, Katara."
"Aww, she is such a sweet kid," Katara beamed happily. "I'll make sure to visit her later before she is tucked in for the night. I should be able to make time even though I know reports for the next cabinet meeting have been delivered and I should catch up with them."
"I shouldn't delay you with a lengthy conversation, in that case," Ursa offered apologetically.
"No, no... it's fine, really," Katara reassured the older woman. "The reports won't take that much of my time. I'm happy to talk for as long as you can stand my company."
"In that case, perhaps you can indulge my curiosity," Ursa began, taking an idle sip of the tea. "I said that we were very surprised by the news that Zuko had taken you as his royal consort, but that it was a welcome surprise. I was wondering... it probably was a surprise for your family as well, was it not?"
"Umm... it probably will be!" Katara laughed uneasily. "I only sent out the letter to my father a week ago and it probably hasn't yet reached him in the South Pole. My father, Hakoda, the Head Chieftain of the Southern Water Tribe, bears no love for the Fire Nation, having fought them his entire life since he could wield a weapon. Gran Gran... or Kanna, my grandmother, Hakoda's mother, saw this war pull her son away from the family for many years. My mother was taken from us during a Fire Nation raid... yes, you could say that my family has a complicated relationship with the Fire Nation."
"And yet you have decided to tie your fate with the ruler of the nation that your family despises," Ursa wondered.
"Well, my father knows Zuko," Katara explained. "He also attended Zuko's coronation after the war ended. He thinks very highly of Zuko, so I hope his reaction will still be favorable. And he and Gran Gran would both want me to be happy above everything else, regardless of their sentiments towards the Fire Nation."
"If your compassion, empathy and open-mindedness is a trait that runs in your family, then you should have no reason to worry," Ursa reassured the younger woman, Katara happy to hear the words. "But what astounds me most of all is... well, let's just say that Zuko has entrusted me with stories of his adventures in exile together with Iroh, trying to track down the Avatar. It was painful for Zuko to relive everything that he had done, but I know that his actions caused great personal harm to you in particular, Katara. That you should be able to love him despite everything... I find that remarkable."
Katara could not stop her eyes filling with tears, a lump of emotions swelling in her chest. "For the longest time, Zuko's face for me was also the face of the enemy. But then something happened. In Ba Sing Se, we were both imprisoned by the Dai Li. During our imprisonment, we began to talk. I told him about losing my mother, and he told me about losing you, and I felt that we established a common ground." Katara stopped for a moment, finding it genuinely hard to discuss the events of that day, taking another sip of the tea to recompose herself. "I saw the potential for something good within Zuko. I felt hope that perhaps he could be the key to break the century old cycle of hatred and destruction. And I thought that I had gotten through to him. But... he was not ready to turn that page, not yet. He turned on us yet again, and I was devastated. I honestly believed that he was ready to embrace the good within him."
"Oh, my dear child," Ursa set her teacup aside and turned to embrace Katara. "I have heard Zuko tell this story. And I have never seen him weep as hard as he did after he was finished with it. He was inconsolable." Katara felt hot tears rushing down her cheeks at Ursa's words.
"But he eventually made the right choice," Katara sobbed. "He returned to help us, and I was the last to forgive him, and for the longest time I treated him with nothing but scorn and mistrust, I didn't have a single kind word for him. I saw that my disdain was hurting him, and I took despicable pleasure in it."
"Because you thought you had established a personal connection with him, and when he turned on you, his betrayal felt very personal for you in particular," Ursa surmised correctly. "You wanted to hurt him the same way that he had hurt you. It's understandable, Katara."
"It's unforgivable!" Katara managed, fighting a fresh flood of tears and failing miserably. "Why did I have to be such a... witch about it?"
"You're only human, and it was a perfectly human reaction. You shouldn't blame yourself," Ursa spoke gently, stroking Katara's hair. Katara soon began to relax and regain her composure. She felt safe and protected, almost forgetting that she was in Ursa's arms, feeling like it was her own mother hugging and comforting her. "You and Zuko share a painful and conflicted past, just like the Southern Water Tribe and the Fire Nation. But through it all, one thing is clear to me. Even back then, both you and Zuko were capable of causing deep emotional impact to one another through your actions."
"Are you... are you saying that we loved each other back then already?" Katara whispered.
"Not necessarily," Ursa smiled. "I'm saying that the potential for an extremely powerful connection between you two was always there. Perhaps the circumstances did not allow you to realize it back then, or you simply were too young. But it is certainly no surprise that such powerful feelings have sparked between you now."
"I love him so much," Katara ground out through the ball of emotions in her chest. "I love him with all my heart and then some."
"I see that very clearly, dear child," Ursa hugged the young woman tightly before releasing her, Katara straightening herself and quickly wiping her cheeks. "It's a rare and beautiful sight to behold."
"Thank you, Ursa. And thank you for listening," Katara sniffed a little. "I really needed to air all that to someone who isn't Zuko... I feel so much lighter now."
"I was happy to help," Ursa smiled. "Of course, there is one more matter in which I feel I must offer my advice," she added, a little awkwardly for some reason. "When feelings run so strongly between two young people, it's very easy to lose your heads. And while I am certainly expecting grandchildren eventually, I trust that you are currently taking all precautions."
Katara turned extremely red in the face. "Uh... Gran Gran is not only a very wise, but also a very practical woman," she managed to explain. "Before I left on a world changing adventure with the Avatar, she made sure that I had all the necessary knowledge in the... matters that you refer to."
"So we don't need to have this talk?" Ursa chuckled. Katara grinned at her and shook her head. "I'm glad to hear. And I'm glad we had this talk, Katara. The more we speak, the happier I become with my son's choice. But now, I believe it is time for me to let you work," she said, rising from the sofa.
"Thank you for stopping by, Ursa, I enjoyed our talk," Katara smiled at her. "And tell Kiyi I will stop by later!"
After Ursa had left, Katara spent a few minutes to finish her tea and recompose her thoughts. The talk with Ursa had been very emotional, but now she needed to switch to a more grounded, dispassionate attitude with which to tackle the reports that had been delivered to her study.
Having gathered her composure, Katara left the parlor and proceeded straight for the study, finding a neat stack of documents in a case lying on her desk. There was a note saying 'copy of the Royal Consort' written on the case, and someone, probably one of the junior scribes, had also drawn several hearts on the case. Katara blushed and chuckled, a little amazed at how she had already obtained a share of admirers among the court. She wondered what Zuko would say about that, but she also hoped he wouldn't become unnecessary jealous over a cute, innocent little gesture like this.
Still smiling, Katara sat down at the desk and opened the case. She was rather looking forward to the cabinet meeting in two days time, mostly because she had good news to share and impress the advisors with. She had received reply from Teo in Yu Dao, her friend writing that together with his dad, they would be arriving at the Fire Nation capital very shortly. Katara felt fiercely determined to do all she could to persuade them to remain in the Fire Nation, and improve the health of the royal treasury through their inventions.
Starting to go through the reports, Katara soon found herself struggling. The first dozen or so of the documents seemed to contain nothing but numbers, and Katara would always freely admit that she just didn't have the head for numbers. She understood the general gist of the reports, but just couldn't get into the details. The intelligence reports made for a much more interesting read, though when she began to browse the updates on the situation on Kirachu Island, Katara blinked, unable to quite believe her eyes. In an instant, she jumped from her seat, grabbed the report and ran off to Zuko's chambers, finding the passage unlocked as per usual.
She quickly tracked Zuko down in his own study, the Fire Lord sitting there with a concerned look on his face, gently rubbing his temples as he glared at the report before him. "Did you also just read the report from Kirachu?" she asked with bated breath.
"Yes, how did you guess," Zuko grumbled. "When I asked my people to spook Ukano's sympathizers, I could not imagine that one of them would get so spooked that he would incinerate three of our agents to blackened crisps! And then disappear without a trace!"
"And what do you make of what they later found in that man's apartments? Stacks upon stacks of pro-Ozai pamphlets?" Katara gasped. "Could your father somehow be directing this entire plot from his prison cell?"
"I don't think so," Zuko shook his head. "He hasn't had any contact with anyone on the outside for months. No, this is Ukano hiding behind the pro-Ozai drivel."
"What do you mean?" Katara asked, sitting down at Zuko's desk.
"Well, Ukano's not going to get anywhere if he started a plot to put himself on the throne," Zuko explained patiently. "What right does he have against someone of royal blood like me? He has no legitimate claim whatsoever. No, he can only advance his plots by claiming that he is doing all of this to restore Ozai to his rightful place on the throne."
"I'm surprised that's even working," Katara sighed. "I mean, your father has had his bending taken away, he is powerless. And he was beaten convincingly by a twelve year old."
"Sure, but I was also beaten by the same twelve year old, several times. I was even beaten several times by my own girlfriend," Zuko chortled. "Besides, these people who buy into this dream of Ozai, they are not thinking of Ozai as he is now, rotting in prison. They are buying into Ozai as an idea, a symbol of the Fire Nation that is greater than any other nation and dominates the rest of the world."
"I see," Katara nodded, shifting uncomfortably. "Zuko, I'm going to sound like a terrible person for what I'm about to say, but... I'm starting to see how your father being alive is actually a serious problem."
"No kidding," Zuko rolled his eyes. "But of course, Aang just had to be damned pacifist about the whole thing. He may have taken the high road and done the noble thing, but it's now putting my hold on the Fire Nation at serious risk."
"I don't want to blame Aang," Katara frowned. "Even if you are probably right... it would have been easier if Ozai was gone. And... I guess I wouldn't even feel too bad about it. I mean, he committed terrible crimes, didn't he? And he is unrepentant about them. I would consider him irredeemably evil."
"You'll find no argument from me," Zuko nodded.
"What are you going to propose at the meeting?" Katara asked.
"What are we going to propose," Zuko smiled at her. "I actually wanted to run my ideas past you first."
"I... would love to help," Katara beamed happily, feeling deeply flattered.
"The only way to deescalate the situation now would be by cutting off the heads of this rebellion, but sadly, we still have no direct evidence against Mai's family. They are being exceptionally careful," Zuko sighed. "Any other steps I take will only escalate the issue."
"Explain," Katara urged.
"Three good people have died. There should be some kind of response, or else we will appear weak and these rebels will only take it as an encouragement to go on the offensive," Zuko explained. "But if I order crackdown on the rebels, that will also trigger a response, and we'll end up in a back and forth of ever increasing violence. Really, it's not going to be good regardless of what we choose to do."
"One of those lesser evils choices?" Katara smiled pensively at him.
"Indeed," Zuko nodded. "What do you think we should do?"
Katara thought for a while, brow creased in thought. "Well, I still believe we need to focus on tying Mai's family to this conspiracy and go after them, but it's going to take time," she said eventually. "In the meantime, I think we need to answer this act of violence, firmly, but by escalating as little as possible. In short... we need to buy ourselves more time."
Zuko smiled at her. "You summarized that better than I could ever hope to," he said approvingly. "I'm glad that we are of one mind on this. And I think I have just the move to make in mind. There's a known resistance cell operating in the Fire Fountain City. They haven't committed any crimes yet, but I think I will order them to be thrown in the local prison on some trumped up charges. Maybe it'll put the fear in some of the rebels and they'll reconsider their path."
Katara frowned a little, but eventually relented. "Well... I don't like it, but... at least we're not killing anyone," she sighed. "Fine, you have my approval. But this whole mess makes me feel a little dirty."
"I know exactly what you mean," Zuko winced.
"I think we've both earned a distraction now," Katara suggested. "I was going to play with Kiyi after reading the reports," she asked hopefully. Watching Zuko play with his little half-sister was the sweetest thing she'd ever seen. Like Ursa said, it would be a while before they should think about having children of their own, and until then, this served as a wonderful substitute. And Zuko was so gentle and caring with Kiyi that it made Katara practically melt and triggered all sorts of motherly instincts inside of her.
"I was hoping for a different sort of distraction," Zuko gave her an amusingly pleading look.
"Spirits, you are incorrigible! There will be time for that later!" Katara growled playfully, giving Zuko a light bonk on the head. "Now, come with me! It's time for the fearsome trio of Zuzu, Tara and Kiyi to get up to no good yet again!"