Dangerous Ground

Chapter 16

Our faces were almost touching now. His body was warm beneath me. No, not just warm... hot. Really hot. It felt nice in the cold room. I closed my eyes and...

A knock came on the door. My eyes flew open, as did Zuko's. Whatever enchantment had been woven around us was immediately broken. I stood up, hurriedly arranging my skirt. What had just happened? And why isn't Gran-Gran scolding me in my head like she usually does?

Why should she scold me? I mean, I felt the same way about Zuko as when we first met him. He was my enemy! I would never want to... want to...

"Yes. We'll be down right away." Zuko was talking to the guard at the door. It must be dinner time. I straightened my skirt and fixed my hair, careful to avoid meeting Zuko's eyes. But I needn't have worried. He seemed just as careful not to meet mine.

The next few days were... unusual. Zuko's behavior was strange, to say the least. Not because he was yelling and throwing tantrums. That would just be Zuko being Zuko. No, what worried me was that he wasn't doing these things. Instead, he seemed lost in a world of his own. His eyes seemed focused elsewhere, his brow furrowed, as if he were working on solving some problem. I'd taken to staring at him. It was purely out of concern. Concern for his well-being. He was my enemy, but I could still express concern for him as a person, right?

"He certainly fights well, doesn't he?" I jumped. Teikei had leaned down next to me and was following my gaze to where Zuko was fighting. I quickly averted my eyes.

"Um.. Sure. I guess." I stammered. Good job, Katara. You sound like a silly little child.

"Seems distracted lately, though. Doesn't he?" Teikei said nonchalantly.

"I guess. I mean, I really don't care either way."

"Really?" He raised an eyebrow. I blushed.

"Well, it's none of my business what he's thinking."

"Aren't you curious, though? Usually the Fire Prince fights with such intensity and focus. Kind of makes you wonder. Do you have any idea what he's thinking about?"

"Haven't a clue." I shrugged.

"Don't you now."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Hmph. He's a firebender. What should I care what a firebender is thinking about? Probably it's about taking someone's land or executing someone."

"Is that what you really think?"

This was getting annoying, and he was prodding dangerously close to a sensitive area. I didn't bother to stop and wonder why the area was sensitive. I'd been aware of it for a while now, but I'd ignored it. But the area was growing inside of me, like vines slowly overtaking a building.

"Zuko's my enemy. I don't care what he thinks." I growled and attacked my stitching with renewed vigor.

I head Teikei sigh beside me. "Just as stubborn as he is, and twice as blind." I heard him mumble. I was about to question him about the cryptic and slightly insulting statement when he stood up and beckoned to me.

"I have a surprise for you. Come with me." I followed, my curiosity getting the best of me.

Through winding hallways and dimly-lit corridors we walked. It seemed to take forever. I was vaguely aware that we were walking uphill, as my legs began to tire and my breathing became more labored. Even Teikei seemed to be getting winded, and then we stopped. He was facing a wall. It was a dead end. He'd taken me to a dead end?

Suddenly, with a powerful thrust of his hands, the wall slid back and a gust of wind almost knocked me over.

I gasped and walked to the edge of the doorway. I was looking out at hundred of mountains, all circling the peak where I now stood. I was looking outside.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Teikei smiled, leaning against the doorway.

"Forty years ago I stood on top of this mountain and got an idea. An idea for an impenetrable fortress built into this very mountain." He closed his eyes as a gust of wind blew through his hair. I smiled and leaned into the breeze. It was icy, but it felt so good after breathing the stale air of the tunnels for so long.

"Wow. It's amazing." I stretched out my arms, letting the wind glide underneath them, imagining myself as a bird, flying far away from here. From war and confusion and sadness. But then, there was no place like that on earth. Everyone had been touched by the Fire Lord's power lust.

"Amazing, yes, and still free. Thanks to my men and I." He looked over the landscape, surveying it with a protective eye, like a mother platypus bear would do with her cub. I watched him in silence for a while. I could tell he was thinking, formulating words in his head.

"You know, when I was younger I wanted to be a healer." He said finally.

"A healer?"

"Seems strange, doesn't it? Here I am, leader of a Earth Kingdom rebel army, and all I wanted to do was be a healer."

"What happened?" I was genuinely interested in the story. I leaned my back against the doorframe and listened as he began.

"Well, I wanted to help people, and I thought the best way I could do that was to be a healer. I remember those days I used to spend among the elder healers of my village. I soaked up every little thing I could learn. I memorized every word they spoke. I thought it was my destiny to save people... And it was."

I blinked. How much stale air had this guy been breathing?

"Because of my men, and because I know how to lead them, these lands and their inhabitants are kept safe. If not for us, these mountains would have been overrun long ago by the Fire Nation, and thousands of people would have been killed in the process. I saved their lives.

"You see, Katara, I was sure I was destined to be a healer. To become a warrior was the furthest thing from my mind, it seemed to be the exact opposite of what I'd been trying to do all along. But, as I grew older, I found out I had the talent of leadership. Men came to me, listened to me speak out against the Fire Nation. They followed me, Katara, when the Fire Nation struck my town. I fought that day, and I saved my village.

"My small army started out with only twenty men, and now it's swelled to over five hundred. I had to let go of all the prejudices I had about warriors, all the selfish pride I had about becoming a healer. It's after I did that that I realized where my destiny lay all along. In saving people, yes, but not the way I'd planned it.

"Katara, I thought I would be betraying myself by becoming a warrior. It was only after I embraced my destiny that I found out how my heart had belonged there all along."

Silence now descended upon us, making the swish of the wind and the crackle of branches snapping together that much more pronounced. Finally, Teikei spoke again.

"Why are you telling me this?" I finally said, breaking the silence.

"Look inside of yourself Katara. You already know the answer."

He left me. The wall slowly closed, and I was alone.

What did he mean, I knew the answer? I had no idea what he was talking about.

But somewhere, inside that place I was afraid to look, I did know.

Many, many thanks to my kind reviewers. You are my inspiration and my reason for writing!

If you're looking for another incredibly good fic to read, check out Vicki So's new one Bent. It's an incredible work using a new, exciting plot and realistic characterization.

I truly hope you like the new chapter I've added. Just wait till you see where I'm going with this...