Chapter 16: Reconciliation

"Would you like to go outside today?"

Katara glanced up, slightly surprised at Zuko's question. She finished drinking the last of her water before standing up from the table, where they had been eating breakfast.

"Of course I would. You'd let me?"

"I don't think there's much danger anymore. Do you?"

Katara was silent, stacking their plates on the tray for the servant to pick up later. What did he mean by that question? Did he mean to ask if she still wanted to leave? Why didn't he just come right out and say it?

"No." Katara finally said. "There is no danger." It had been over a week since Sokka had left the palace. Who knew where he was by now. Katara had spent the first few days lamenting her brother's decision, wondering why he'd left her. After she'd gotten over her initial shock, other things began to worry her. Things like her developing pregnancy.

She was well into her third month by now. The morning sickness was still ongoing, and she'd had a hard time of it concealing her nauseous spells from Zuko. He'd only caught her once, and that she had attributed to a little stomach flu. He was gone majority of the day, and by the time he came back, Katara had cleaned up all evidence.

The size of her abdomen was starting to increase as well. It still wasn't big enough to be noticeable, and didn't even make a bulge beneath her dress. She looked perfectly fine on the outside. But soon, the changes would be apparent, and then how would she hide it from Zuko?

Because it was true she was terrified. Terrified of everything concerning this baby. She was terrified of Zuko finding out, and terrified of the eventual birth. How would she handle it? Would anyone else help her through labor?

And her child. Katara was already beginning to worry about her baby's future. Would Zuko even believe her if she told him it was his? Would he name the child as a legitimate son or daughter? Or would the baby become a nameless bastard, a mistake that would never acknowledge and love? That would depend wholly on Katara's position. What was she to Zuko? A mistress? Illegal concubine? As far as she knew, the rulers of the Fire Nation had only ever had one wife at a time, and did not keep large harems.

She bit her lip. It was all desperately confusing, and so incredibly awkward that she never broached the subject with him. Katara knew that soon enough they would both have to emerge from their pretend world and face the reality. Zuko's subjects would want to know if they had an heir for the crown, or if their monarch was just dabbling with loose women. Her presence here meant everything and nothing to the country. She wondered if rumors had circulated the city yet. The palace staff certainly knew of her presence. What did the rest of the world make of her?

There was only one way to find out.

"Let's go now." She said firmly, tugging at Zuko's arm. She was tired of hiding from the rest of the world. Katara told herself that if she stayed inside any longer, she'd go crazy. It wasn't true, not really. She was terrified of meeting people and seeing their reactions to her. Since when had she become so withdrawn from social situations? Oh yes, the minute Zuko had limited her access to the outside world. That must have been it. Well now she was going to fix all of that.

Zuko nodded and stood up from his seat. He was willing enough to take time out of his busy schedule to accompany her outside. Obviously he didn't trust her with mere guards anymore. She'd proved her ability of escaping the men who were supposed to be watching her. When you want something done well, you do it yourself.

Katara had been prepared for some shocking event that would finally let her out of the palace, but it was as simple as stepping through a doorway. They walked over the same green lawn that Katara had tried escaping over two weeks before. They said nothing of it. Soon they arrived at the beautifully kept gardens surrounding the southwest side of the palace.

"It's mostly kept for social functions and ceremonies." Zuko said offhandedly as they passed the front gate.

"It is beautiful." Katara noted quietly. Flowers and bushes of all sorts surrounded the neat pathways through a miniature landscape. A light fragrance wafted through the air, and Katara began to relax. Until she noticed the others.

There wasn't a shortage of visitors who had come to admire the gardens today. Most seemed to be court ladies and gentlemen come to flirt or improve their social standings. All of them were dressed stylishly, and laughed and chatted as if they were not at war. As if people elsewhere in the world were not suffering from their nation's decisions and destruction. These privileged young men and women could only benefit from it all. If it meant more land, it meant more money.

Majority of them recognized Zuko and made polite bows and salutes as they passed. Eyes followed Katara, curious eyes that could become malicious and calculating in an instant. Her palms began to sweat. She began to regret the decision to come outside. Why had she agreed to come under the scrutiny of these high-society brats? She had nothing in common with them. She did not want to make friends. She did not want to make connections in order to be invited to the next banquet. She had no reason to be out here.

Whispers followed them. Whispers that were only whispers because the gossipers wanted to uphold the idea that they were being polite. But some were raised loud enough that Katara knew she was meant to hear it all on purpose.

"… that Water girl has finally come out…"

"… wouldn't believe the things I've been hearing…"

"… always with the Lord Zuko…"

"… He never leaves her…"

"… apparently she's some sort of important floozy from those common Water Tribes they consider a civilization…"

"… I heard he keeps her with her with him all the time, including nights…"

The loudest rumors came from a small group they had just passed by. The leader seemed to be an extremely confident young woman with a bright peony blossom in her hair. She was hanging onto the arm of a fashionable young man, and the rest of the group followed them like a devoted entourage. When passing, they paid their respects to Zuko, but had nothing for Katara but slanted looks from under eyelids and slightly raised eyebrows.

Katara clenched her hands together to keep from striking out. She snuck a quick look over at Zuko, but his eyes were trained straight ahead, as if he hadn't heard anything. But she knew he had, for the Fire Lord wasn't a deaf man. If he chose to ignore it, it meant that the whispers weren't important enough to deserve his attention.

And if they weren't meaningful enough to deserve Zuko's attention, Katara thought that they didn't deserve her attention either. She would suck it up and ignore them.

The two of them passed silently into a quieter section of the gardens. This section was less flamboyant, with fewer showy flowers. It was more solemn, with straight bamboo branches and graceful, weeping willows. Everything threw a gentle green light on the ground. The pathway they were walking on led to a small, out-of-the-way pavilion near the edge of the gardens. If there hadn't been a tiny trail leading up to it, the pavilion may very well have gone unnoticed behind the maple trees lining the edge of the main pathway. It was made of clean white marble, and had tiny gold details on the roof and pillars.

"It's a memorial." Zuko said quietly as they neared the unremarkable gazebo.

Katara hadn't asked, but now that he'd said it, she was curious. If it was a respected memorial, that was probably why they were the only people in this section of the gardens. No fun little garden parties for the noble's children here. "A memorial for what?"

"A memorial for who." Zuko gently corrected her as they stepped up the shallow marble steps into the cool interior. They passed under a graceful, gently waving willow planted just outside the entrance. It really was very small, just a tiny little temple-like enclosure with a block of carved black stone in the center. The writing on the stone was filled in with gold. The calligraphy had been etched in the archaic Fire Nation style from ancient times, used for formal documents and royal signatures.

"Who?" She asked.

"My mother."

Everything was very still here. There had been wind earlier, but it seemed as if they moment they entered the pavilion, the rustling of the trees and unseen birds had stopped. Both of them stood close together, staring down at the writing on the stone.

"Your… mother?" Katara was slightly surprised. Zuko had never spoken of his mother. In fact, nobody in the world ever spoke of Ozai's wife. Katara realized it now. Of course Zuko had to have had a mother. She wasn't famous like her warrior husband or her banished son. Somewhere, in all the hullabaloo of war and destruction, this woman's name had disappeared from history, had never been spoken on anyone's lips, and had completely faded from memory until all that was left of her was this tiny marble temple in the back corner of the royal gardens.

Katara began to wonder about Zuko's mother. What had happened to her? If she had a memorial, that meant she was deceased, not hiding from the public in some castle on the other side of the Fire Nation lands. And apparently, someone had loved her enough to build her an elegant alter, however modest and unremarkable it was.

"Did your father build this?" Katara had a hard time imagining that ambitious Ozai could have loved anyone enough to construct a memorial for a woman.

"No." Zuko said calmly, looking down at the black block of stone. "I did. Just before I left."

"Oh."

"I wasn't here when they finished it, of course. But I came around to see it several weeks ago. It was just the way I'd planned for it to be built. Peaceful. Unnoticeable. Simple yet elegant and… beautiful."

Katara was silent for awhile. She felt like she was standing on sacred, venerable ground. What kind of woman had Zuko's mother been? Had she been all the things that Zuko had said when he'd been describing the temple? Simple, elegant, and beautiful? She wondered what had happened, how that peaceful woman had come to be the raging Fire Lord's wife. Arranged marriage? Maybe even love, possibly?

She had seriously wondered about Zuko's capacity for feeling earlier. She had worried whether he'd inherited way too many of his father's damnable traits. Did he have even the slightest ability to love anyone?

And now she knew. Zuko had loved his mother.

And very much so indeed, if he'd wanted to build her something lasting and eternal even when he knew he was leaving his home, and there was the good possibility that he might never come back to see his mother's altar's completion.

Katara moved closer to him, slipping her fingers into his hand. His palm tightened around hers. She didn't look at his face, but kept her focus on the simple black block in the middle of the pavilion.

"What does it say?" She couldn't read the archaic styled Fire writing. The graceful gold calligraphy stared up at her, all that was left of a dead woman who had given life to the man she was standing next to.

Lian

Beloved Mother and Loving Wife

Autumn of 1160 to Autumn of 1194

Weep not for the memories

Zuko solemnly read the inscription, and Katara listened respectfully. There was nothing special about it. Nothing extraordinary. Lian. What a simple name. Not incredibly feminine, and not a popular and well-known name for the time period either. It wasn't fancy or ear-catching.

It was just a simple name. Easy to say. Easy to forget.

"Weep not for the memories." Zuko repeated. "That was from a poem she liked. I forget who the author was."

Katara said nothing. Inside, she felt grateful and humbled that Zuko had taken her here. It wasn't the first time he'd come here since he got back. He must have been eager to see the finished building when he finally arrived at home again. He may have visited it the very first night. But he'd chosen to bring her here today. It was obviously a very private place, close to his personal self and not shared often with outsiders.

There was no need to say anything. He sighed deeply and Katara leaned her head gently on his shoulder. Now she was glad she'd come out today. Just being in this quiet, peaceful place brought calmness and serenity.

After a few more minutes, they left the peaceful little temple behind them and ventured down the path again, hands still clasped gently together. They made a picturesque couple, out enjoying the sunshine. They didn't talk small talk. They didn't send each other gooey, mushy smiles. They merely enjoyed the peace.

Katara was still in the haze of happiness when she realized that the whispering group of young nobles from before were quickly closing in on them. They made it seem like a coincidence that they happened to be on the same path, but as Katara grew more alert, she could catch the calculating looks and fake smiles as those ignorant fools closed in on her and Zuko. That girl with the bright peony in her hair was obviously the leader of the pack. Her escort was nothing more than a prop to elevate her own status.

As they neared, they began the customary greetings to Zuko.

"Good morning, my Lord!"

"How are you doing, your Majesty?"

"Fine day, isn't it, Lord Zuko?"

Zuko gave them all polite nods, and Katara could see his eyes were thinly veiled with his monarch look that he used when dealing with his subjects. The elite young aristocrats didn't leave after paying their respects as Zuko had expected, but instead lingered and shuffled a bit closer. Annoyance grew inside Katara. What was their intention? She could see the looks from them that pointed at her left hand, held closely inside Zuko's own right hand. She merely tightened her fingers slightly, and gave them her own neutral, blank-faced look. She wished they would just leave. Katara had been having a fine time with Zuko earlier.

But, alas, they all had something else on their minds. The peony girl sidled even closer, losing her escort, and gave Zuko a secretive look from under her dark lashes. "My dear Lord Zuko! Don't tell me you don't remember me!" She made a slight pout with her cherry-red lips, flirting with the Fire Lord.

Katara couldn't help the heat that ignited in her chest. Gold-Digger, She thought silently to herself. She's nothing but a manipulative girl who's desperate to get her hands on royalty. Although she told herself that Zuko would definitely recognize the signs of a fake woman intent on grasping power and favoritism, she couldn't help the small worry and jealousy that began to plague her mind. Zuko wouldn't fall for it.

But the peony girl was indeed beautiful. Much more beautiful than Katara. She was the epitome of noble upbringing, and her genes had gifted her with exotic, sloe-dark eyes and a perfectly strait, shapely nose. Ivory skin smoothed her face , and she looked like she'd never had one blemish in her entire life. Gracefully tilted eyebrows and long, curled lashes that were made for flirting accompanied the noblewoman's shining black waterfall of hair. Her dress and jewelry were no small matter either. Delicate silks and embroidery covered her curvaceous frame. She was everything Katara found lacking in herself.

Zuko made another polite bow to Peony Girl, and politely apologized for not remembering her name.

Take that! Katara thought triumphantly. He doesn't even remember who you are!

But Peony Girl just laughed a perfect, tinkling laugh and fluttered her lashes again. Her devoted little posse laughed along with her, as if anything she found funny must be the most hilarious thing in the world. Tilting her head to the side, she gave Zuko another flirtatious look. "Adia, your Majesty. I am Adia. My father is one of your respected advisors, Huang. You remember him of course? And, oh yes, my older brother Sakai served with you during your absence from the capital! He is, I believe, an officer on the Golden Flame." Adia finished reciting her lineage and gave Zuko another prompting look.

Is that how you define yourself? Katara wondered disdainfully. You define yourself by association with other, more powerful men in your life? You are so-and-so's daughter, so-and-so's sister, and what's next, so-and-so's wife? What have you ever done yourself that deserves merit, that you can say you did, that you can say you truly earned? And what was so great about being related to Sakai? That man was an idiotic moron as far as Katara was concerned. Maybe it runs in the family?

But Zuko did not let any of his inner thoughts show. He gave Adia an apologetic smile and said, "I do remember your father and brother, Miss Adia. I'm sorry I could not place you earlier."

Adia laughed again. Katara felt like slapping her every time she tinkled that perfect giggle. "Oh, no problem at all, my Lord. Now you're back, we'll have all the time we want to catch up, yes?"

Then she turned her beautiful porcelain face on Katara. "And who is this?" Adia asked in a perfectly polite voice. Katara didn't know whether she was asking Zuko or herself.

Zuko took Katara's silence as a go-ahead to answer. "Katara is my… guest from the Water Tribe."

Adia laughed again, one hand coming up to cover her ruby lips. "From the Water Tribe? The darling little community I've heard so much about?" She smiled patronizingly at Katara, and so did the rest of her followers.

Katara was out of her element, both literally and metaphorically. She felt trapped by all the looks the nobles were giving her, waiting for her reaction.

She had no idea how to play these word games that the young people at court seemed to grow up on. Everything that was said had a double meaning. Was this a concealed insult Adia was directing at her? "Darling little community"? It sounded demeaning. Or was Katara just overreacting? Katara decided to just play it safe for now. Adia was the stronger one, at least socially, here. She knew how to manipulate and confuse and trap. Katara didn't want to make a mistake and end up looking like a fool.

"Yes, indeed." Katara gave Adia her own polite smile. "Although nowhere near Kotzut's magnificence, my home is very dear to me." Translation: I may be poorer than you and a commoner to boot, but don't insult my origins, dearest Adia. Or else.

Adia's exotic eyes sharpened significantly. The laughter from the posse died down until only plastic smiles remained. "Is that so?" She turned to Zuko again.

"She is a… guest, my Lord?"

Zuko nodded silently. He didn't seem to want to get involved with anything. His palm tightened a bit around Katara's. She couldn't decipher what he meant by it. A warning? Or support?

Adia turned back to Katara, still smiling incessantly. "How do you find the guest quarters of the palace, Katara?"

She had not graced Katara with any sort of title before her name. Not Miss, not Madam, and not Lady. Was it an oblique insult?

Are you beginning to close the trap? Katara thought angrily. Trying to trick me into saying something incredibly dumb, stupid little Water Tribe girl that I am? Adia must have heard all the rumors surrounding Katara and Zuko, and she was playing her first card.

Zuko grew tense next to her, but Katara squeezed his hand. She could take care of herself. She had handled worse things than spoiled bratty rich folk before. Things like sorrow, war, and death.

"My room? It's absolutely breathtaking, Adia." Katara replied. I'm not giving you a title either, jerk. "I mean, compared to the conditions back home. Lord Zuko was kind enough to gift me with quarters that possess, might I add, an incredible view at night." She tugged one eyebrow upwards ever so slightly. Take it whichever way you want, bitch. I'm not scared of you.

Katara noticed triumphantly that Adia's eyes flashed with rage before that perfect mask descended over her exotic face again. Understand what I mean, dear? You've lost.

Adia gave Katara and Zuko an even tighter smile. But Katara could see that cold, calculating look underneath her cheery exterior. Peony girl knew she'd lost this round, but she still had the advantage.

Katara was absolutely alone here, other than Zuko. Adia had friends and social connections all the way up the totem pole. However helpless and feminine she pretended to be, Adia was still the daughter of a noble and had a brother in a high position in the army. She had power through association.

But no matter how much contempt Katara had for the idea, knowing the right people in the right places was everything in court life.

And she was being utterly hypocritical. Katara had power as well, for she was associated with the biggest boss of them all- the Fire Lord. However new a monarch Zuko was, he was still the ruler of the kingdom. Everyone in the Fire Nation wanted to get on his good side, especially all the dignitaries and upper-class blue bloods in the royal capital of Kotzut. And now that everyone knew she had his protection, Katara had guaranteed immunity. She wasn't stupid. She knew that if it weren't for him, these petty aristocrats would have torn her to shreds already.

And that's why Adia gave them a fluttering good-bye and left with her entourage. She knew that she could do nothing, not when Zuko was standing right next to Katara. She would never do anything to compromise her father and brother in the Fire Lord's eyes. However useless and spiteful Adia was, she was not an unintelligent girl.

Zuko watched them leave with guarded eyes. As soon as they turned the corner, he relaxed and gave her an accusatory glance.

"What?" She protested.

"You didn't have to do that."

"Do what? I have no idea what you're talking about." She blinked her eyes at him.

"Don't play innocent with me. I need her father's support. He's a well-respected councilman and retired commander."

"So you'd suck up to the daughter just so she'd put in a good word for you with her father?"

"That's not what I meant-"

She cut him off. "I thought it was the other way around. They need your approval. You have the ability to have their heads chopped off if you command it."

Zuko shook his head at her. "It's not like that, Katara. Being Fire Lord doesn't mean having absolute power." He stopped for a minute, as if thinking. "Well, maybe it is. But it takes awhile to achieve it. I can do many things, Katara, but I'm new. I haven't been Fire Lord for more than two months yet."

"So?"

"So it means that I don't have the full support of the country yet. They don't trust me. Neither do any of those old advisors and councilmen who used to serve my father. I'm more than three decades younger than all of them. They probably think I'm immature and will make rash decisions."

"Are you? Will you?"

"That's not the point! The point is that they have no trust in me. They are watching my every move in order to determine what kind of Fire Lord I am. They don't have a choice in me being Fire Lord- it's my inheritance and I've been trained for it ever since I was born. It's my birthright. But they can undermine me and form alliances behind my back. They can take power away from me."

Katara regarded him quietly. She'd had no idea being Fire Lord was so… complicated. She'd thought it was just point, command, and execute. "How did your father do it?"

Zuko took a deep breath. "He had about forty years to assert his power. He was a good politician, skilled at manipulating people to do what he wanted them to do. If they refused, he used threats. Force."

"Threats?"

"Hostages. Usually family members. If one of his advisors or governors was acting out of turn, or gave Ozai a cause for suspicion, that man's family would suddenly receive a royal invitation to move out to some bleak old mansion on the outskirts of the empire, cut off from all civilization. Nobody would know for sure where they were. Anything could happen out there. They would stay cut off from the world, under constant surveillance and solitary life with no one but the guards assigned to them until my father was satisfied that the offender was scared enough and meek enough to do his bidding. And if the offender's cousin or old aunt had a curious little 'accident', that would only help to further my father's blackmail."

Katara was silent for a moment. "And you could never do that? Or you just wouldn't?"

"It's not my… way. My father had very… strong opinions and if he was argued with he had… eccentric ways of dealing with people."

I'm glad you're not like that. "I see. And that's why Adia is important to you?"

"She's not important to me! I just need her father's backing."

"Uh-huh."

"I mean it. Huang's never been entirely supportive of me. He was good friends with Commander Zhao."

"Oh."

"You seemed to deal with Adia well enough. But were the insults and… suggestive comments… necessary? She did seem to take it the wrong way."

"She deserved it."

"For what? Flirting with me?"

"No! She just… I don't like her."

"Jealous?"

"No!"

"Do you really enjoy the view at night?"

"Zuko!"

He laughed at her frustrated expression. "No need to make a huge deal out of it. I was just… joking."

She glared up at him, then couldn't help the grin that overcame her scowl. "I guess I might like the things I see in my room."

"I'm glad."

They walked in silence for a moment, both feeling better about everything. It had been awhile since they'd last bantered like this. Katara thought they almost seemed like a normal couple. Normal? Since when has normal ever described our… relationship?

"Are they all like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like Adia, I mean. Do they all want to sink their claws into the most powerful man they can get their hands on? Are they all gold diggers?"

"I'm not exactly sure what you mean."

"I mean that do they ever look beyond how much money you have and how much prestige your family has? Do they ever see… you?"

Zuko was silent for a bit. It seemed she might have hit a weak spot. "I'm sure there's a few out there that aren't so power hungry. Not in the court though. All of us are raised on the idea that power, money, and prestige goes with survival. We are fighting a war, Katara, and survival is the most important thing in a war."

"Don't over dramatize your court. You're not fighting a war here in the throne room. You're having petty power squabbles."

"Same thing. War is a squabble over land and control and trade."

"It involves death."

"I know that."

They both knew it. And war wasn't something either of them wanted to talk about, not on this beautiful day when nothing seemed wrong with the world except for a jealous, greedy noblewomen who had bothered them for a couple moments.

"Have you gotten a lot of marriage proposals since you've been back?"

"What, envious again?"

"Answer the question, dammit!"

He laughed a bit. She liked it when he did that. "A… couple."

"Interesting. You're what, eighteen?"

"So?"

"How old have your prospects been?"

"I had one offer from a father who wanted to betroth his six-year-old daughter to me. She came from a good family, and as far as I could tell from the portrait he sent, she will become quite good-looking someday. Right now she's missing her two front teeth."

"That's disgusting. What father would do that?"

"He has a lot of money, and is well-respected in the city."

"Still. Why is everyone trying to marry you off?"

"If my father were still alive, he would have arranged something for me by now. A marriage that would benefit, protect, and strengthen the country."

"You're eighteen. You don't need to be married."

"The nation needs the assurance of its next ruler. We only feel secure if we have several infant heirs lined up for the throne, in case one of them dies. My father took a chance with me being an only child."

Katara tried hard not to think about heirs and babies. "Oh. You could have died anytime, and the Fire Nation would have been left without a ruler when your father passed away?"

"Well-"

"If so, I should have killed you awhile ago." She smiled, assuring him that she was joking. But he didn't seem to take it that way.

"Well, even if you had, you saw what Zhao was doing before I arrived."

"What?"

"Ruling the country. Even though he wasn't positive I wasn't dead and unsuccessful. There's always someone waiting in the wings to take your position. Some will kill for it. It's happened before."

"You're a very violent nation."

"It's a tradition."

She couldn't tell whether he was joking or not. "Um-"

"I'm joking."

"No you're not." Katara finally decided. "You are a violent people. Always wanting to wage war on everybody else."

A sigh. "Don't get started with me."

"I'm not getting started on anything! I'm just saying, if you could just stop and think and realize what you were doing-"

"We've been over this before."

"I'm just saying-"

Zuko closed one hand gently over her mouth. "I don't feel like arguing right now."

She glared at him, but couldn't keep it up for long. Katara wasn't really in the mood to fight either. She hated fighting. Like her people, she preferred peace. Even if it was only between two people, not two warring nations.

"I must do what I have to do." Zuko said, removing his hand from over her mouth. "And you must do what you have to do."

"I don't have to do anything!"

"Then you're luckier than I am."

Katara sighed and squeezed their interlocked hands together, leaning into his arm. He was relaxed and in a good mood. She should enjoy this while it lasted. "Are you implying that you don't necessarily want to fight in the war?"

"I'm not implying anything. I am Fire Lord, and being Fire Lord means having to do… Fire Lord things."

When he said it like that, he made it sound so simple. As if he just had a few chores to do, a few laws to sign and put into action, and a couple ceremonies to attend. It didn't sound like Zuko had to kill people or command armies or order people to sacrifice themselves for their nation. It didn't sound like being Fire Lord was hard at all. It didn't sound like death was part of the package.

But Katara knew it was. Katara knew that death was part of Zuko, and that it was something he wouldn't be able to shake off, ever. Because it was part of who he was, it was part of it his duty and honor, and it was part of who he was born to be.

And that's why she chose not to say anything more.


A/N: Some of you were clamoring for more FLUFF. Hopefully this is satisfactory. If some of you prefer more violence and angst, well remember this is A ROMANCE. They have to fall in love sometime.

How did Katara leave the room with out her gold chains being? I got several like this question. All I have to say is:
Please read the author's notes. And if you asked this question, especially read the A/N at the end of Chapter 15. These things are important, if you don't mind me saying. It clears up a lot of confusion, and it's my way of communicating with the readers. It sort of bugs me when people don't, because then I get the same questions over and over again.

How long does it usually take you to write one chapter?
Sorry to Monkey 5ive that I didn't answer this last time. Anywhere from one day to one week. And I've done two chapters a day before, back when I had 2000 words a chapter. But for the longer ones (8000 or 10,000) it takes five days to a week. Also depends on if schoolwork and finals get in the way (like now).

How long do you think this fanfic will be?
Argh. Can you believe I used to think this would end at Chapter 10? Well, as of now, I'm thinking close to Chapter 20 or even more.

When do you think your new story will come out?
As soon as I finish this one. Some authors juggle five or more at the same time, but I like focusing my attention on one, instead of multiple. There's no set date. Keep me on author alert and you'll know when the first chapter of the new story is out.

Thanks for 500+ reviews!

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. The lyrics "Weep not for the memories" comes from the song Angel by Sarah McLachlan. All original characters introduced (including Adia and her family) belong to me. Everything else belongs to the people who own Avatar. Don't sue, I have no money.