Zuko's Discovery

"Katara! Zuko!" Aang shouted as he ran to greet the two. He wore a tan parka. Iroh trailed behind the young benders in a thick brown fur coat. Katara was in her parka, hood up and gloves on securely. The young Prince wore a thick coat. There was fur on the inside which was dyed red. Prince Zuko had his hood up also, blocking out most of the hollowing wind. Black fur trimmed the coat as it swayed softly in the harsh wind while his hands were cover in thick black mittens. The prince looked around, slightly confused as to why the villagers were acting calmly. This village was similar to the one Katara lived in until she met Aang. Only this one was far bigger. It was a marvelous site, even to a firebender. The water temple, to which he guessed the building to be, had a large ice crystal on top of it. It was . . . . breathtaking how the cold walls built up to a dome covering. Zuko was jerked from his thoughts when a man with the appearance of a warrior walked up to him with an old woman leading him somewhat. She peered at the prince with her cold blue eyes. Her face, wrinkled as though it was a map of her lip, was drawn into a small frown. A few trickles of steel gray hair ran down the sides of her face. A dark blue parka covered her small body. The white fur lined her parka and surrounded her face. She held her arms behind her back.

"So . . ." Her voice creaked. "You are the scarred fire prince." Zuko stiffened alittle, which did not go unnoticed by Katara. "You're name is Zuko, correct?" A curt nod confirmed this. "The Avatar has explained the current situation to us." Her eyes hardened. "You are not welcome here. But we will allow you to stay here." With that said, she turned to Katara. A softer look greeted the young woman. "Ms. Katara, I am Tallulah, the Water Shaman of the North Pole." She smiled. "I learned from the Avatar that you have taught yourself how to waterbend. That is quite impressive. I will teach you how to master the water to the best of my abilities in the short amount of time you have to be here." Katara became confused and it was evident on her face.

"What are you talking about?" The shaman sighed and glanced at Zuko.

"As soon as the Avatar masters water he must leave for the Earth Kingdom. When the Avatar leaves, so does the tolerance towards Prince Zuko and his crew." Katara's eyes saddened when she heard this and she nodded while Zuko only gave another curt nod.

"It would be best if the firebenders do not come on shore unless needed." The harsh voice of the warrior rung in Katara's ears as Zuko nodded once more.

"Do not worry. The soldiers were not considering stepping onto the ice unless needed. They are rather . . . . annoyed with the climate." Iroh's voice came from behind the two, startling Katara. She had forgotten that he was there. The shaman and the warrior nodded before leaving quickly. Aang had waited patiently as the shaman and the warrior spoke. But now that he was gone he launched onto Katara and gave her a hug.

"Katara!" Katara laughed at his antics as Aang released her from the hug and looked over at Zuko. The young prince stared down at the boy, unsure of what he was going to do. "Zuko! Look at this!" He was not prepared for Aang's next action. The boy pulled out a chuck of ice and spun it around like he had done with a marble once. Holding back from rolling his eyes, Zuko sighed before he spoke.

"Avatar, I hope that you are further along than that." Aang sent Zuko a dry look and Zuko barely had time to dodge a ball of snow that had risen up from the ground. Katara let out a small laugh as Aang grinned while Zuko closed his eyes and fought back his temper. 'Remain calm, do not let your temper get the best of you. A level head is the sign of a good leader.' He repeated that mantra over and over again and opened his eyes. Iroh spoke before his nephew lost control of his temper.

"Aang, how long have you been here?" Aang smiled.

"Almost four whole days. Tallulah says that I've mastered the basics and soon I'll be able to master the advanced stuff." Katara did not let her smile falter when she heard that. That meant that she would not have much time to learn more waterbending. She did think she came a long way from just spending time meditating with Zuko. And Iroh, though he was a firebender, had helped her somewhat by teaching her the basics of all bending. But she still had so much more to learn! And it wasn't the same as learning from her own people.

- - - - -

The shadow appeared behind Ceres as she sat in mid air in the lotus position and the shadow's red eyes opened. Black tentacles wrapped themselves around Ceres. She closed her eyes as wind blew up from where her blood had lain a few moments ago. Once more she was trying the summoning.

"The darkness was born of evil." Her voice filled the air but her lips did not move. "The darkness was born of man's desire." A darkness filled the circle. "Now darkness comes to claim. It comes to sire!" A dark mist began to come out of the circle. Slowly it crawled up to her and she breathed deeply, inhaling the mist. She held her breath for a few minutes as her detached voice echoed in the darkness. "The Darkness brings forth despair." She exhaled, a blue mist came from her mouth. Once more she inhaled the black mist. "The Darkness brings forth power." Exhaling, this time a brown mist left her mouth. Again, she inhaled the black mist. "The Darkness brings forth pain beyond compare." A red mist left her mouth. For a final time she inhaled. "The Darkness makes all things cower!" Exhaling, a white mist left her mouth. The four colored mists circled around her as she let her legs fall from the lotus position. She clenched her hands into fists and let out a soft cry as the mists forced their way down her throat and the shadow behind her disappeared. The dark circle below her disappeared as she was lowered to the ground. Ceres exhaled a last time as the mist left her body and took the form of a clear crystal dagger. The tiny handle and tip were encased in silver. On top of the hand was a small loop. The dagger was small and it fit in the palm of her hand. A cruel smile worked its way onto her face. Searching around the room, she found a strong silver chain and slipped it through the loop.

- - - - -

". . . . Prince Zuko . . . ." Zuko looked up to see his uncle approach him with a tray. While they were inside the water temple, it was still cold. So the two firebenders, far from accustomed to the cold, kept the coats on but let their hoods down. At the moment, Zuko was watching Katara practice her waterbending. They had been there for nearly two days. In those two days Katara had come along quite well in her waterbending. She had finally mastered all the basics, several of which she did not know until she came there, and was starting on the advanced moves. Katara had just finished showing Tallulah the advanced move she had just mastered. Zuko did not catch the name of it, nor did he truly care about the name. The young waterbender would freeze several spikes of water and then would kick out, send shards of ice towards her opponent. It would be dangerous in a fight, one Zuko hoped to be on her side. ". . . would you like some tea?" Zuko sighed and nodded. He dared not practice his firebending off the ship, especially when in the water temple, in fear of melting his surroundings. So his boredom reigned over him as he settled for watching the young woman practice. Sipping the tea, Zuko contemplated how much longer Katara and Aang needed. Aang was almost done. It would be painful for Katara., at least, that's what the young fire prince guess.

". . . . she won't be able to fully master her element with her people." Zuko muttered to his uncle. Iroh nodded. The firebenders had had this conversation several times before. The two were out of earshot so it would be fine if they spoke at normal volume but Iroh had a feeling that when it came down to it, Zuko did not want to remind Katara of what would happen.

"No. Katara will have to master it on a ship filled with firebenders." Zuko looked down at his tea before taking a sip.

"Because of me." Iroh looked at Zuko surprised. Never before had Zuko admitted the cold hard fact. It was true. The only reason why was because she was traveling with Zuko. ". . . . will she hate me for it?" Iroh breathed in deeply.

"Who's to say?" The prince looked slightly crest fallen at this. "But I doubt she will." Zuko looked up at his uncle.

"Uncle . . . . why do I care?" Iroh smiled knowingly. He had sensed this was coming.

"Tell me you highness, how do you feel around her?"

". . . . I don't know. I'm . . . at peace . . . . when she's close to me, I feel warm. When I wake up, I'm happy for some reason." Iroh nodded understandingly.

"I noticed that. You seem a lot more calm than before."

"I am. Those simple things that set me off . . . . . they don't seem so bad as before. They don't bother me." Zuko took a sip of his tea as he thought.

"What else?"

". . . well, when you were talking about my birthday, I was bothered when you asked . . . ."

"Why is that?" Iroh asked with a suppressed grin. This was too good to be true! He was sure Katara felt the same, he saw it in her eyes when she watched Zuko train. All he had to do was push them in the right direction and poof! Everything would fall into place.

". . . . I don't know."

"Is there anything else about her?" Iroh was mentally doing a victory dance. It was going to be easier than he thought!

". . . I get . . . . slightly nervous when she's close. I don't like it." Ok, maybe not. "But . . . I do like when she's close." Iroh could hear the crowds cheer!

"What about when she's not around?" All the boy needed was a good push! And of course, the girl too.

"I . . . worry."

"About?" Before Zuko could elaborate Katara yelled her greeting towards Iroh as she finished up her training. Iroh would have fallen over in despair but he had to keep up appearances. The old matchmaker fought back a sigh as Zuko stood up.

"It's getting late. We should head back to the ship." Katara smirked as she crossed her arms.

"You just want to go back because you're cold!"

- - - - -

Sokka looked over at Katara and Zuko as the two began to bicker.

"They like each other." Sokka looked down at Aang, startled. The Avatar looked over at the bickering benders with a small smile. "It's they way they look at each other."

"What are you talking about Aang?" The Avatar looked up at Sokka with a sly grin.

"It's like when you wore that dress because Suki said so." Turning beet red, Sokka crossed his arms.

"I was wearing the traditional Kyoshi warrior's outfit! It was to become a better fighter!" Aang shook his head with a bright smile.

"Whatever you say. All I'm saying is that Katara seems happy, even if she doesn't realize it."

"What? They're fighting!"

"They bicker daily." The two turned to look at Iroh who had snuck away from the two after they had started to bicker. He had seen Sokka come in as the shaman Tallulah left. The Avatar smiled at Iroh.

"Do they really?"

"Yes. It is quite funny sometimes, what they bicker over." Sokka shook his head.

"No way does my sister like some firebender!" Aang rolled his eyes.

"Well, he's not just some firebender. He's the prince." Aang retorted while Iroh nodded.

"How can you be alright with this? He's the one that's been hunting you from day one!"

"Prince Zuko did so only because his father ordered it." Iroh looked back at Zuko and Katara as they ended their bickering with Katara turning her back and Zuko putting his hands on his hips, both rolling their eyes. "My nephew has strive for his father's love ever since he was young. My brother did not allow Zuko a childhood. After his mother died, I was the only one that would love him. Before now, Prince Zuko would do anything to gain his father's love."

"Before now?" Sokka echoed, confused.

"Yes. I think Ms. Katara might be the one to bring him out of that insane fantasy that his father will one day accept him."

- - - - -

Zuko glanced over at Katara while his uncle talked to the Avatar and Katara's brother. His heart skipped a beat as he realized how close she was. He hadn't had the chance to tell his uncle what he was afraid of. What he didn't want to be true. Why he couldn't take another loss. The prince swallowed as he fought the urge to pull her back into his embrace.

'Uncle . . . . I thinki . . . . I think I've fallen in love . . . with Katara . . .'

- - - - -

Hello! Thanks for making it this far. I hope no one is confused. Also, I did get that chant idea from Teen Titans. I was watching and then I thought, hmm, that's a good idea! So mwhahahaha! crickets chirping to fill silence . . . . anyways . . . .I hope you like it. Please review. Reviews make me really happy! And I think I'm over the writer's block completely! Yay! R&R