"Angels and demons were circling above me
Breaking the hardships and starry ways
The only one who doesn't know happiness
is the one who couldn't understand its call"
- Inner Universe
muted fate; chapter XVI: "a land of vermillion, part two"
"What do you mean by 'sacred mother'?" Katara asked the servant.
A hand suddenly rested on Katara's shoulder. She turned around to see Zuko's sister standing behind her.
"Leave!" Zula barked at the servant. The servant ran away from the girl instantly and went back inside the castle. Zula looked at Katara and smiled. She then looked at Katara as if she was studying her – like a hawk measures upits prey it is about to kill for a meal, "So…you must be her,"
"Excuse me?" Katara asked.
"You know. The girl my brother knocked up," Zula said, with a knowing smile.
'Why am I sensing Zuko was right about her?' Katara thought. She then said, as pleasant as possible, "You must be Zuko's sister I've heard so much about,"
"Oh, I'm sure you've heard about me," Zula said with amsile, "Zula – the Firebending prodigy, the beauty, and the warrior princess. But I want to know about you,"
"Me?" Katara asked.
"Yes, you! I don't know a thing about you! For instance, you surely can't be a lady of high birth, and since you're about my age, this whole affair probably wasn't planned – if you catch my drift – if you are married to my brother,"
Katara could have strangled the girl, but fought her slowly boiling rage, "I am married to your brother. His ship came to my island and it was love at first sight. We were married there," It was a lie, but she wouldn't give Zula the benefit of the doubt.
"Really now? So how did he do it? Was it the 'I'm in exile, feel sorry for me' or the forceful bodice ripping approach?"
Katara made a face, "Let's change the subject,"
"Oh! My sincerest apologies, miss of the soon to be of the childbearing hips! It's just that it strikes me a little bitstrange that my older brother – a prince who has all sorts of more attractice women fall at his feet – would pick a country bumpkin like you for a wife,"
Katara, who decided it would look bad sherepeatedly stabbedZula with one the pruning knives nearby, just left the garden. Zula just smirked – she was enjoying the whole affair.
Aang sat in one of the old and dusty chair in the tower. The sunlight shined through every window and crack in the wall. He felt like going to sleep when something crawled through the window. Aang sat up instantly and saw that it was Beelzebub.
"Man! Dis place is almost as hot as Hell - literally!" Beelzebub said, "'N none of da people are even sweatin' it!"
"I know," Aang said quietly.
"So?' Beelzebub asked, smirking at him, "How did it go wit da lovely lady?" Aang meekly shrugged. "Oh, I see. A little embarassed about it? Ah! No longer a virgin 'n still actin' like a kid. You're a piece o' work,"
Aang changed the subject, "How did you find me?"
Beelzebub shrugged, "I flew 'n looked in da windows. No one really noticed me. It seemed like dey were all busy wit somethin' else,"
"What is it?" Aang asked.
Beelzebub sighed, "Morningstar likes it here – reminds him of home, I guess. Iwatansei hates it though – somethin' 'bout this place spooks him bad. I doan knowwhat. Seems pretty fine to me. So, what did ya find out?"
"A lot," Aang answered, "the Fire Nation knows Katara is the vessel and the Fire Lord was looking for a necromancer and he got one, but he made a series of prophecies. All this stuff in here is his, but he's dead right now. Here, look at this," Aang showed Beelzebub the scroll with the fragmented wheel with all four elements and three unknown ones. Beelzebub's eyes widened when he looked at it and he paled. Aang looked at him, "What's wrong?"
"Forbidden stuff, kid," Beelzebub breathed, "I'll tell ya somethin' – dose other elements are stuff not meant tah be used – it can cause major damage, I've seen it in action before The Creatrix put a stop tah it,"
"But I need to talk to the Fire Lord to get the full story," Aang said. He then paused and finally said, "I've got to stay here, Beelzebub,"
Beelzebub looked at Aang, "Are ya sure about dat, kid?
Aang nodded, "The only way to get to Fire Lord Ozai is through his daughter, I figure. The closer I get to her, the closer I get to him," He looked at Beelzebub. "Will the rest of you be okay without me?"
Beelzebub nodded, "Yeah, we'll be fine. Maybe Morningstar 'n me will probably buy a house somewhere 'n stay here. I sort of like it too. I'm not sure what Iwatansei will do though,"
Beelzebub gave Aang a pat on the back.
"You watch out for yaself, kid. It's a dangerous world out here 'n ya have tah be on ya toes tah survive. Ya gotta think or ya don't live to think at all, but don't worry – ya won't ever be totally alone. We'll keep an eye on each other, believe me," Beelzebub warned and like that he was gone.
At the end of a long day after Seyvan, Ashes, and Pepper had fallen asleep, it was a blessing just to sit in bed and wait for sleep to overcome. Katara sat in bed, looking out the window as a cool breeze wafted through. The door opened and closed and she turned to see Zuko enter.
"What are you doing sitting in the dark?" Zuko asked her as a lamp flickered on.
"Just thinking," Katara answered. She then looked at Zuko and said, "Your sister is a bitch,"
"I told you she was," Zuko said with a smile, "No one believes me until they meet her in person,"
Katara then paused, "Zuko…what does 'sacred mother' mean?"
Zuko paused, "…where did you hear that?"
"The gardener. She took one look at me and started calling me that. And then she tried to confess all her sins to me,"
Zuko was silent.
"Zuko, what does it mean?" Katara asked him.
Zuko was still silent. He then sat on the bed next to her.
"Katara," Zuko said, "you and I both know about mixing Bender bloods and elements – that it produces nothing but monsters and freaks," He sighed. "Katara, there's something I've been meaning to tell you about the child you carry. The people here have know it for a long time. I only just found out through my father. A single public secret in the entire Fire Nation capital and the noble family…" He stopped.
Katara was mute in surprise and not sure what to even expect from Zuko or what to say in reply.
"Katara, our child is going to be the next Avatar," Zuko breathed, "That's why you are the 'sacred mother'. You are a symbol of divinity made flesh; the one who would bring a powerful being into the world,"
Katara paused and held herself tightly as the truth went running through her mind. 'So that is what it means to be a sacred mother,' Katara thought, 'My child would save the world…if she wasn't going to be the grandchild of the Fire Lord and in the hands of the Fire Nation,' But there was no escape from this bitter reality. She couldn't possibly find a way out of the castle – she had the feeling she was being watched at all times by unknown and unseen eyes.
And she began to cry because it was too much to face right now.
'Okay. Not exactly what I was expecting to have as a reaction but I think I would cry too if I was her,' Zuko thought. Zuko asked, "Are you okay?"
'I need to stop. Crying won't help this situation,' Katara thought, 'I guess I can only hope for the best from the child. I'll raise her to not be a pawn of the Fire Nation and maybe she can still help us all as the Avatar,'
Katara then dried her eyes, "I'm fine. I guess I'm just…crying for joy,"
Zuko knew it was an obvious lie, but he decided to leave it alone. He then changed the subjet, "So, how was it meeting my sister?"
Katara growled, "Horrible! I think she enjoyed making me angry,"
Zuko shrugged, "Well, she hates me so it's understandable why she would dislike you as well. I would say the best thing to do is try and get back at her, like I do. Or just ignore her. Either or, she's not going to change her ways,"
Katara grumbled in reply.
The lower city was a sight for sore eyes. People lived in simple wooden shacks – almost like hideous lumps compared to the beautifully made brick buildings of the upper city in the capital. The peasants lived here – the fishmongers, the serfs, the inbred farmers, the ugly and malformed children – the scum of society that even the most bloodlusting warlord would turn his eye away from. It was hot and humid in the lower city, as it always was, the present of animals made it stink even worse than the people who couldn't find water to bathe in.
A miserable existence only plagued by the need and will to survive. Yet, as unfortunate as their own lives were, as awful as it was to go to bed filled with misery, woe, and an empty belly, and to rise up again at dawn to toil in the fields and eat simple roots until the crops came in as starvation stared you harshly in the face, there was a simple glimmer of hope.
"The sacred mother! The serralinde!"
They too had heard from a servant in the upper city come down to the dismal area of where they acted out their lives and proclaim the faith and hope that another had said months ago.
"The sacred mother has arrived! The serralinde has come!"
Now even the landlords and landladies could hear their dependants chanting in the muddy streets and in their shacks and out in the fields in joy that their redemption was near.
"Redemption is near! Forgive us, sacred mother! Forgive us, serralinde!"
Now all had heard the cry from the lower city and knew that something had been put in motion.
"What's wrong?" Zula asked Aang. Aang sighed and didn't look at her. He was sitting up in bed and had his wings stretched out. They often got cramped up staying in his body all the time. Zula looked at him. She was lying on the bed nearby him.
"Nothing's wrong," Aang asked.
"Suryan, I wish you could stay with me forever. I've never really felt anything for anyone else, but I guess they weren't the one I was looking for," Zula sighed as she looked at him, "How long are you going to stay among mortals?"
Aang looked at Zula. He thought of things. Zula's beauty. Katara's pregnancy. Zula's body. Katara's distance. Zula's smile and laughter. Katar's sadness and pain. Her pride. Her piousness. Her Firebending. Her Waterbending. Her fire. Her ice. Her sexuality. Her childbirth. Her own Aang. Her own Zuko.
"I must stay here untilt he next Avatar is born," said Aang.
(Aang the Avatar child. Suryan the demon youth.)
"I must protect the Vessel fom harm,"
(Aang the corpse. Suryan the undead.)
"That is my sole purpose and duty,"
(Aang's death. Suryan's life.)
"For if the next Avatar were not to be born, the world would fall in chaos,"
(Aang. Suryan. Aang/Suryan. Aang is Suryan? Am I?)
"And that is why I am here."
(Aang isn't Suryan. Suryan isn't Aang. They're different now. They're no longerinterchangeable.)
"But I still need a companionship, of sorts,"
(Aang loves Katara. He loves her purity, her kindness, and her way of making everything better in the end. Suryan loves Zula. He loves her brashness, her pride, and her body to fill his needs.)
"And that is why I need you,"
(Aang hates Zula. He hates her because of her pride and howhorrible she treats people.Suryan hates Katara. He hates her for not being there for him and choosing Zuko over himself.)
"Would you want to spend the rest of your time with me?" Zula asked Aang.
(Suryan wants Zula. Aang wants to find out what is going on.)
"Yes, I would," Aang replied.
(But which one am I? Am I Suryan or am I Aang? What do I what in the end? Which one do I love? Do I love Zula or do I love Katara?)
Zula smiled at him and kissed him, "Your wish is my command, my lord – Lord Suyan,"
Time is rarily measured by those whose lives are filled and rambunctious at most times. Too busy to measure time, it simply flies by, unnoticed. Four whole days went by when Zula introduced Aang to the rest of the noble family as Lord Suryan, who was to marry into the family. Three days later, Katara found herself waving goodbye to Pepper, Ashes, and Seyvan as they boarded a ship in the still starry twilight of impending dawn. A week went by before Zula was given the approval to let Suryan into the family, since he was no threat against anyone's power or authority.
Weeks turned into months. And soon three whole months went by. Pepper, Ashes, and Seyvan returned briefly home to a teraful Katara. They had all grown taller. Pepper's hair had grown so long she had it held up in buns and Ashes' hair waas resting down her back. Seyvan's hair looked like he had attempted to cut it but now it was ragged and grew out at all ends. Seyvan, also, – oddly enough – refused to say a word to anyone.
"What's wrong with him?" Katara asked.
"His voice went all funny a week ago," Pepper explained.
"Oh. I see," Zuko said as he looked at Seyvan smiling.
Seyvan's maturity continued on through their time at home and even when they wentr back. His voice settled on a deep and masculine tone. Pepper was considered to be the most obedient of the future child soldiers in the girl's faction. Ashes remained silent but there was a rumor floating around that she had set her sights on a mute boy named Kenta,who couldn't walk on his own and gave him asmall smile. The three of them, although being split up amongst the boy's faction, the girl's faction, and the other's faction on the training island, remained in contact one way or another – either through secret meetings or messages sent through others.
Three months later, when they returned, Zuko and Katara were shocked to find Pepper had a scar on her face from her temple to her jaw line.
"What happened?" Zuko asked.
"Some girls were picking on me and one of them scratched me with a knife," Pepper answered.
"Are you okay?" Katara asked.
"I'm fine," Pepper answered, "The other girl is worse,"
"How?" Zuko asked.
"I took the knife she hadand jammed it into her hand. She won't pick me on me anymore," Pepper answered.
The amount of fights Pepper was involved with increased dramatically. She was seen as a teacher's pet and a target for older and stronger girls, but Pepper fought back with all her strength and often won. And with the commander's favor on her side, the opposing girl often got what was coming to her.
"Pepper! Where are you?" called a girl.
"I'm up here, Lyra," Pepper answered. Lyra looked up the tree to see Pepper sitting in the branches. Dusk was setting over the island that they were all trained on – at least a hundred miles from the shore of the Fire Naton.
"It's almost dinner," Lyra said, "and Ms. Lulei is worried about you,"
"I'm coming," Pepper grunted as she jumped from down the tree.
"What were you doing up there anyways?" Lyra asked.
"Hiding. I had to do it again," Pepper grumbled.
"How many?"
"Three girls – all from the upper cabins,"
"Wow. What happened?"
Pepper sighed, "One black eye from a punch, three loose teeth from a kick to the jaw, and a broken nose from a elbow ram. They weren't that hard,"
"I wish I could fight as good as you, Pepper,"
Pepper turned on Lyra, "Don't say that! I don't want to fight them! I wish they were friends instead of my enemies!" She sighed, "I wish they would just leave me alone…"
Lyra patted her friend on the back and led Pepper into the mess hall. Located outside of the hall were Seyvan and a few of his friends. It was a mixed group. The upper cabins – which rested on a hill on the island – were reserved for older boys and girls while the lower cabins were reserved for younger boys and girls. Each cabin had it's own special sections, but there were a few differences. In the lower cabins, boys' and girls' cabins were kept together but in the upper cabins they were seperated by a thick forest and a few trainer cabins set inbetween, just to be sure.
Since his maturity, Seyvan had bene moved to the upper cabins with all the other older boys, but he still remained friends with all the other boys in the lower cabins. Pepper remained in the lower cabins, though the den mother was discussing having her moved to the upper cabins as well since she wasn't far from maturity herself. Ashes and all the other children like her had their own separate cabin nearby a lake at the other end of the island. They were all bunched together and often not watched very closely at all. Nobody believed that a bunch of dumb children could do any harm.
One of the boys watched Pepper and her friend enter the room, "Hey, Seyvan, your sister is pretty cute,"
Seyvan took one look at the boy and punched him in the mouth. He then growled at the boy, "I swear to the gods that if you even touch her I'll make you feel tha pain ten times over!" He then stormed away from his friends.
"What's his problem?" the boy Seyvan had punched asked.
"Seyvan's protective of his sister," answered one of the boys.
"Yeah, but he overreacts!" said another boy. He was from the upper cabins and a little bit older than all of them, "She's not even his real sister!"
"What do you mean?" asked the hurting boy as he spat some blood out of his mouth.
"Don't you know?" said the other boy. He had know Seyvan for longer than the others since they both were in the upper cabins, "Seyvan and Pepper are both adopted. They're not really even related," He shrugged. "With a deal like that, Seyvan could probably marry her!"
One of the boys made a face, "Gross! Who'd want to marry their sister!"
"You don't get it," the other boy said. He then explained, "Pepper and Seyvan are not related by blood. That means that Seyvan can go and get married to Pepper without any trouble because they're not blood. It's not like it's bad or anything," The boy shrugged. "Hell, if I was Seyvan, I'd be protective too. What's better than having a girl be there waiting for you hwne you're all grown up? At least you don't have to run around searching for her,"
The other boys, who weren't as mature as him, still thought it would be disgusting if Seyvan took an interest in Pepper. Nobody really knew what was going through Seyvan's mind at the time, but many took notice that he didn't even look at any other girls than Pepper.
On the other side of the island, Ashes was enjoying herself. Though her and other children were isolated from the others, they had fun in their spare time. The lessons were fairly easy and they were taught often simple things, such as taking commands or speaking to each other using signs. Most of the time, they would bask in the sun on the lake shore and make up their own games.
While some of the others played in the crystal clear lake water, fully clothed, Ashes remained beside Kenta with admiring eyes. Kenta was about her age, with medium length black hair and blue-grey eyes. His legs didn't work, so he sat in a rickshaw like object as he wheeled himself around. Like Ashes, he didn't speak, but he understood what people said to him.
One of the trainers came by the lake and groaned at the scene. She was the youngest trainer, but the most patient, which made her perfect for dealing with the inept students. However, the job caused her high stress.
"Oh no! Not again!" she groaned, "How many times have I told you all not to go into the lake with your clothes on! You'll all catch colds!"
Like yesterday, and the day before that, the trainer was forced to stip all the children and have their clothes dried and cleaned so that they wouldn't be sick, because there was nothing worse than having to deal with a sick, dumb, child. Ashes, Kenta, and two others couldn't avoid it, even by being forcibly dry, and caught colds.
"Great…another headache," the trainer groaned, "You four get some rest while I make dinner, okay?"
Ashes, Kenta, and the othe two sat on their beds and were silent. Ashes looked at Kenta and made her first attempt to try and communicate with him.
'How are you?' Ashes asked, signing towards Kenta. The trainer had taught them all how to sign to each other with their hands – mainly because she needed a way to talk to the children who couldn't speak, among other things.
'My head hurts,' Kenta signed back.
Even though the conversation was simple, the two built on it and soon they were inseperable from each other.
Back in the Fire Nation capital, Katara was facing a moral crisis.
"Oh no…" Katara groaned, "…not again…"
The lower city was continually sending all sorts of gifts to the palace, intended for the sacred mother– food, clothing, toys, and anything else they could find, buy, or steal. Katara – who had grown up a peasant herself – tried every single way to try and stop the gifts, but the more she asked them not to , the more she was showered in. It was more or less of a moral dillemma for her that she agonized over, but Zuko didn't see what the problem was at all.
"I don't see what the problem is," Zuko said to her that day, "They're just trying to show how important you are to them,"
"Zuko, I can't accept things from people that don't have much to begin with!" Katara sighed, "These people are peasants! They probabyl took food out of their children's mouths so that they can give me these things!"
The other problem Katara was facing that she was feeling worse and worse and often found herself bed ridden. She could feel the child anxiously kicking her from within, as if to remind her that the time was drawing near.
Some days later, Zuko faced his own problems, though they had nothing to do with the lower city, but a noble living inside of the palace. One day, Katara and Zuko were out walking – nothing special about, simple walking because there was nothing better to do at the moment. Then someone tapped Zuko on the shoulder, he turned around to see who it was, and he instantly got a punch to the jaw.
When he came to, he saw a noble lady standing over him. She was tall, with long curly black hair, and wearing an elegant gown embroidered with flowers and other summer scenes. In one hand, she grasped a large fan. She wore simple sandals on her feet. She was beautiful, but her darken skin and golden eyes suggested she wasn't of pure blood.
"…aunt sutashia…" Zuko gulped, as if he was looking at the Grim Reaper himself, "…what a pleasant surprise…"
"Zuko…" the woman growled. She then procedeed to hit him with the fan as she scolded him, "You stupid little nephew! Did you think you could hide from me forever? How dare you come back and show your face without even greeting me! After all I've done for you after all these years, you still don't appreciate me! You stupid boy! Don't think that because you're half-grown that I won't beat you within an inch of your life! Let me remind you that–"
"Excuse me," Katara said to the woman, "but why are you beating my husband senseless?"
The woman stopped abusing Zuko and looked at Katara. She then contineud abusing him yelling, "And how many times have I told you about protection! We had a two hour discussion about this and you still don't listen to me! You men are all alike! You all would rather listen to your balls than your brains! What happened–"
"Excuse me," Katara said again.
The woman, once again, stopped harming Zuko and looked at Katara, "Oh, yes. Terribly sorry about that," She then coughed and formally introduced herself. "I am Lady Sutashia. As I'm sure my lout of a nephew hasn't mentioned, I was his sister and his governess for at least fourteen years. I had them since they were babies,"
'This explains a lot,' Katara thought, but simply smiled at the woman.
"I'm afraid I haven't been very ladylike towards you, miss. You must be my idiot nephew's wife. How do you do?" Aunt Sutashia said, with a smile
"Very well," Katara answered.
"I'm afraid I must be off now," Aunt Sutashia said. She then yelled at Zuko, "And stand the fuck up straight! You slouch too much!" She then smiled at Katara. "Have a pleasant day,"
And just like that, Aunt Sutashia was gone, leaving Katara confused and Zuko were several scratches on his skin from being beaten with her fan. While getting ready for bed, Zuko picked this time to give a small explanation.
"Aunt Sutashia was our governess for the longest I can remember," Zuko said to Katara, "She's not really my aunt by blood. She's actually my father's step-brother's lover's bastard child,"
"I figured she wasn't your real aunt," Katara said, "She doesn't look like you,"
"Her mother was a prostitute from the Earth Kingdom," Zuko said, "and her father was from the Fire Nation. Her father was a spy and he was over there in the Earth Kingdom for a while. I guess when he found out he had a daughter, he bought her back here, but she's not really considered to be a noble, only half,"
"She seems really tough on you," Katara said.
"She really doesn't get along with nobles…or people in general," Zuko sighed, "and she has a short temper, not to mention she's prone to violence. She was only thirteen at the time she was our governess, so she did the best she could with Zula and me,"
"But she really doesn't seem to like you," Katara answered.
Zuko shrugged, "She likes me, but in her own way. Sutashia isn't the one to coddle you, really. The one she really doesn't like she is my sister. She won't even speak to her after…well, it's better if I don't go into that. And she sort of has a reason to be angry because I sort of…ran away from her and joined the military and didn't speak to her. The last time I saw her was…when I was exiled,"
"Really?"
Zuko nodded, "She had only found out and the ship was sailing off, but I saw her coming towards it to say goodbye. She didn't reach it in time, and she stood there on the dock. All she could do was wave to me as I sailed away. Wave and weep. That was the only time I've ever seen her cry,"
Aang was forced to watch Katara from afar – either from the window as she was in the garden or from the ground looking up at her in her bedroom window. She barely knew him and now, he barely seemed to know her. He hoped his engagement to Zula would bring him closer to figuring out the mystery, but he could find no time with Fire Lord Ozai where it was just the two of them and no one else. On the other hand, Zula seemed to be growing more possessive of him, as if she was taking notice that he was thinking about some other woman besides her.
"What's wrong with you?" Zula demanded one evening.
"What?" Aang asked.
"You've been loking as if you were thinking about someone else," Zula huffed, "Is it another woman?"
"No," Aang answered. This was a mixed lie. He was actually thinking about Katara and also wondering where Beelzebub, Morningstar, and Iwatansei were doing.
"Then what is it?" Zula asked him, "You've been distant all day long,"
Aang sighed, "I've just been thinking, that's all," and he would say no more to her on the subject.
Their relationship hadn't changed – the level of affection towards each other still remained but there was another level where the two knew the fact that they were just using each other for their own personal gain. Though not mentioned out loud, they both knew it. Aang was using Zula to get closer to Fire Lord Ozai and to finding out the mystery behind The Shadow. Zula was using Aang to prove to the other noble women that she wasn't a whore and to gain some better ground with them. The truth dampened on their personal feelings for each other, but they continued to kiss and go beyond that because they still felt a carnal need.
No one had actually known where Iwatansei had gone. Beelzebub speculated that he ahd probably decided that his job was done and returned back to the Avatar Realm. Wherever the ancient spirit was, he had left the Fire Nation capital as silently as he had came.
Morningstar and Beelzebub, on the other hand, remained in the capital, and enjoyed themselves very much while they remained there. Using glamouried stones, they bought their own house and plot of land in the loiwer city as well as a few peasants. They lived as rich landlords – sipping fresh blood and lounging in luxury as the people that lived in shacks on their property toiled in the fields for potatoes and other meager vegetables. They dressed up as foreign aristocrats from a land they made up and lived – more or less – happily.
Time soon slowed down neough on one fateful day when Katara suddenly woke up and realized that she was in her ninth month of pregnancy and she could have the baby any time now.
The countdown to the end begins soon. - ZeroSoul