Chapter 34
My footsteps pounded up the marble halls, a rhythmic beat outpaced only by the sound of my heart drumming in my ears. Although it was black as pitch outside, the torches in the palace had remained lit, giving me more than enough light to see the horror that surrounded me.
Dead guards lay everywhere, slicking the floor with their blood, their eyes gazing lifelessly at the ceiling, as if in watching their souls depart. My stomach twisted and shuddered inside of me, threatening to empty of the meager dinner I'd choked down before battle, but I only clenched my teeth and ran harder. There was no time to obey the whims of my body. I may already be too late.
The marble staircases and hallways echoed with the sounds of my boots thudding on their luxurious surfaces. I felt as if I'd been running forever by the time I got to a great, wide room. A fountain stood in the center of the room, spewing fire instead of water, while all around me were draped golden and red and black tapestries displaying the Fire Nation emblems. The tapestries brushed the ground and ran all the way up to the ceiling, which rose in a graceful arc over my head, so high that I thought it must surely disappear into the stars. Statues of grim, joyless men stood in each corner of the room, their stern faces glowing gold in the firelight. They were dressed in golden battle armor, and carried golden weapons. Their heroic, broad-chested poses suggested that they were ancient kings or revered warlords from the Fire Nation's past, and candles surrounded their golden shrines, a testament to the Fire Nation's warring history.
Everything around me suggested opulence, power, strength. From the imposing, sky-high ceiling to the fierce glares of the ancient warriors, everything had been built to display the Fire Nation's invincibility and superior strength. Standing in the midst of it all, I felt suddenly, jarringly out of place. Standing in the middle of the wide, imposing room, I realized that I was just a small peasant girl from an obscure Water Tribe, clad in only some hardened leather armor and boots.
Could this room, built in stone and stained in blood, crumble today because of the actions of a small, weak peasant girl from the Water Tribes?
In weakness, Katara, there is great strength.
"Thank you, Gran-Gran." I whispered as I sped up the marble staircase, taking the steps two and three at a time. My breath came in ragged gasps, and my body felt soaked with my own sweat. When I reached the top of the stairs, I was trembling. And lost. Where was Zuko? I looked around, my eyes searching the long hallways that seemed to lead in every direction. Finally, my eyes alighted on a faint glow. I sprinted into the room, only to find the glow had come from nothing more than a few candles set up on a long table.
I wasn't in an Agni Kai arena! I was in a dining room! My heart dropped as I surveyed the room. It had been a dead end. There was nothing here but a table and chairs, a few candles, and a small pitcher surrounded by goblets. I turned to leave, but was stopped dead in my tracks by a dark figure standing in the doorway.
"Lost, water peasant?" A familiar voice hissed. My heart froze at the malice, the cruelty, the sadism all layered in the tones of her words. Zula. She must have followed me. Well, I've neatly walked into a nice little trap, haven't I? There were no other ways out of this room except for the door Zula was standing in front of, and only one way out of it. Gathering my courage and my wits, I composed myself and spoke.
"Yes, actually, I'm trying to find Ozai." I snapped back at her, keeping my voice steady as I tried to mimic the arrogance I'd heard in Zuko's voice.
"Oh really? Planning on begging for mercy from him already?" She sneered.
"Actually, no. He'll be the one begging." I spoke with more confidence than I felt. I did not mention Zuko. Maybe she didn't know he was here. Maybe I could keep him safe...
"Well, I'd let you go out there and do your best, but my father is still of some use to me. I don't need him dead... yet." She picked a knife out of her belt and began to twirl its gleaming edge in front of her face, gazing at it with a loving smile.
"Let me pass!" I shouted, bringing a water whip out of my canteen and waving it in front of my face. Zula laughed, an evil, mocking sound that made me feel as if I were nothing more than a small bug about to be squashed beneath a child's shoe.
"Well, I suppose I do have some time to play." She grinned at me and then dropped down into a fighting stance, unleashing a column of fire at me so fast that I could hardly follow it with my eyes. But this time I'd been prepared and expecting her rapid, aggressive maneuvers. I dodged out of the way just in time to have the fire hiss harmlessly past my back.
"You're going to have to try harder, Zula." I said, narrowing my eyes and sending out my water whip to smack her hard in the face. To my surprise the whip hit its mark, causing a small trickle of blood to stain the edge of Zula's cheek. The girl put her hand to her face and then drew it away. A look of surprise crossed her face as rubbed the blood between her thumb and forefinger. Finally, her glittering golden eyes raised to meet mine.
"I underestimated you, water peasant. But that will just make your death all the more pleasant." She leaned forward, pushing a wall of inescapable flame toward me. When she'd done that before, I'd been able to simply throw up a wall of water from the lake that had surrounded me, but I was far from my element now, with only my small canteen of water between me and the rabid princess.
I spread my hands out and focused on creating a thin barrier between me and the flames. The water flattened and spread, but I could smell the sharp odor of burnt cloth and singed hair. I was unharmed, but that wouldn't last long. I was out of water. It had been entirely consumed in blocking her attack.
Before I could gather moisture from the air, I found myself flat on my back and winded. Bright lights exploded in front of my eyes and I tried to blink through the daze. I heard a scream and saw Zula's fist close in on my face as she stood over me. I shut my eyes and rolled to the side. I missed her fist, but I was not fast enough to escape her foot. It connected with my back in a sickening thud and an explosion of pain.
I groaned and rolled to my knees. Zula pounced, swinging her foot in a devastating kick aimed at my head. I arched my back, straining the muscles of my thighs and stomach as I watched her leg swing above me. While she was caught off balance I struck out with my fists, catching her in the back of the knee and sending her to the floor.
Zula howled in rage and twisted, bringing her knees to her chest and then pushing them out in a sharp, fast kick. This time I wasn't fast enough to dodge the attack. Her feet crashed into my chest and knocked the air from my lungs for the second time that day. Gasping for breath, I clung to the floor. Zula took advantage of my momentary weakness and sent a fireball at my face. I twisted away, only to be caught by another fire attack. My bones cracked and my head spun as I was thrown across the room and against the wall. Blackness hovered just outside my mind. I knew I wouldn't be able to take much more. I tried to struggle to my feet, tried to ignore the screaming pain that echoed in every corner of my body.
I felt myself being lifted by my breastplate. I felt hot air in my face. Air that smelled dead. I blinked open my eyes to see Zula's sadistic smile leering up at me as she held me in the air.
"Poor, stupid water peasant. Did you really think you had a chance?" She purred. I felt intense heat cover my body as she let go and plastered me to the wall again with another fireball. This time I didn't try to get up.
I could feel blood running hot and sticky from my nose and lips, could taste the salty sweetness of my own lifeblood. I could feel my limbs splayed at odd angles from my body, the tendons and muscles on the verge of snapping. But I couldn't move. I didn't know where I was broken, but I knew that the next blow that came down on me would be my last. Darkness was creeping through my mind, shutting off screaming pain that knifed through my body. I was glad. Glad for the end of pain. Glad for the end of fighting.
"Poor, stupid water peasant." Her voice hissed in my ear. I could feel heat so close to my face. Such a painful, unbearable heat. I knew I was going to die.
"Did you really think you could defeat the future Fire Empress?"
Torment worse than the heat crawled through my mind. I imagined everyone's faces as they perished in flame. Gran-Gran, Gramma Mae, Shing, Okan, Sokka, Aang...
"I suppose you think my brother will keep that from happening, don't you?"
A surge of fear shot through my veins. Zuko!
"He's battling our father right now. Who knows? He may even get lucky and win." She said in a cheerful little voice.
"Either way, I'll still be Empress, though. Should Lord Ozai win, everything will go along as planned. I will kill him in his sleep and take the crown from his head by morning. If Zuko wins, well, it really won't be that hard to kill him. I was earning my title as master bender while he was still learning the basics."
She leaned forward, her lips just above my ear.
"And anyway, he wouldn't be able to kill me. He's always been weak like that. Just like his mother." She laughed again, and I winced at the sound, it was like metal scraping against stone. "I will enjoy watching him die."
My heart staggered in my chest as her words sunk it. "I will enjoy searing the rest of his handsome little face. I will enjoy the way he'll break when I tell him how I killed you. I will enjoy his death screams as his blood wets my feet." She hissed.
A thousand memories flooded my mind, a thousand moments from the past year: Zuko's arms wrapped around me when he saved me from the cold-sickness. His face set in determination after Teikei's death. His eyes as he looked into mine just after we'd shared our first kiss. His smile when he felt brave enough, safe enough to let some emotion show. His warmth surrounding me, nurturing me, saving me as I saved him.
I would not let Zula take that away from me!
I would not let Ozai tae that from me!
I would not let this cursed war take that from me!
"NOOOO!" I screamed so loud that it echoed off the walls, reverberating in the floor beneath my palms and hurting my ears even as it escaped my lips.
Blood poured into my legs like liquid fire and my arms trembled as they pushed me up. I grit my teeth, ignoring the protests of my broken body as I stood to my feet. Zula's eyes widened and one of her eyebrows went up.
"You're a persistent little water pea-"
I rushed at her, not bothering to gather water or bend. This had nothing to do with bending. This was one human pitted against another. One heart against another, fighting for the lives of many. Fighting for the life of one.
Zula slammed against the wall as I tore at her, scratching, kicking, pulling her hair, punching her with what little energy I had left in me. Zula was shocked for a moment, but then gathered herself. She pushed me hard. I stumbled backwards, felt the edge of the table come up against my hip and trip me. I sprawled out on the table. Zula was coming toward me, anger burning in her eyes.
I searched around desperately for something to defend myself with. The candles were useless; they would only obey her will. I picked up one of the goblets and threw it at her. It bounced harmlessly off the wall as she ducked beneath it. I threw another, and another. She was getting closer. I picked up the pitcher now and heaved it with all my strength.
I realized too late that it felt strangely heavy. I'd expected it to be empty, but it wasn't. It spilled its contents all over Zula before crashing harmlessly at her feet.
"You are going to die now, water peasant." She shrieked, rushing toward me. Suddenly, I recognized a strange odor. I realized that the liquid dripping from Zula's body wasn't clear, instead, it was a deep red color. Horror coursed through me as I realized what the strange smell was.
Alcohol. The pitcher hadn't been full of water. It had been full of wine!
"Zula! Don't!" I raised my hand, desperately trying to warn her.
"Don't bother begging, water peasant." She spat. "You will receive no mercy."
With that, she held her palm up and ignited a fireball in her hand.
But the action caused sparks to erupt on her wine-soaked clothing, covering her in a shimmering gown of flame.
"Aighhh!" She shrieked. I searched around for some water, but just as before, there was none in the room. Zula stumbled backward and out the door of the dining room. I watched in horror as she hit the railing full-force, splintering the thin wooden rails and plummeting down the staircase to the war room below.
Trembling, I walked to the edge. There lay Zula, wrapped in flame and surrounded by the golden, glaring faces of her ancestral warriors.
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I kept moving. I didn't know what gave me energy. I didn't know what kept my legs moving, I only knew that I was running through the halls as if I were flying. Suddenly, I heard a sharp scream to my right. Turning sharply on my heel, I headed toward the sound.
Through long hallways I ran, through rooms of opulent tapestries and high ceiling, across rugs soaked with the blood of dead guards. Finally, I burst into a room that was very different from the rest. It was large enough to hold many people, with many seats surrounding a long rectangular platform. It was here that Zuko stood now, his chest bare and heaving, his body marked with blood and burns, sweat pouring from his body, shining on the purple and black bruises that were already rising on his flesh.
My heart broke for him, then froze at the sight of the warrior that stood on the platform across from him.
Fire Lord Ozai. Zuko's father. The man who had slain every airbender but one, the man who'd ordered the destruction of my village, among many others. The man who'd burned his own son.
Well, irony was about to bite him hard. I watched as Zuko sent a fireball spinning in the man's direction. They'd already been fighting for some time, and it seemed that Ozai was the one worse for wear. Ozai dodged the fireball, but couldn't miss the kick Zuko sent at his feet. Ozai fell with a loud thud to the floor. Zuko ran up and raised a fist to his face, igniting his hand and holding it over his father.
"You are defeated, Ozai! Surrender the crown now!" Zuko shouted hoarsely. Ozai looked at his son in shock, but then a wicked smile spread over his lips.
"No."
The confusion I felt was mirrored in Zuko's face.
"You have no choice! It is the way of the Fire Nation to pass on the crown once the Lord has been defeated."
Ozai laughed a deep, grating laugh, like that of rocks pounding and scraping against each other. "No, son. That rule only applies if the Lord is killed." He purred the word, saying it with loving affection, as if it were water on lips dying of thirst.
"No! You may keep your honor and your life and surrender the crown to me!" Zuko shouted, his brow furrowing in rage and frustration. Ozai only laughed and shook his head.
"I knew it. I always knew you were weak, Zuko." Ozai sneered at Zuko. "You can't do it, can you? You can't kill your own father. The man that gave you that disgusting scar." His lip curled in disgust at his son. "Forever a mark of your shame. Of my shame in bearing such a spineless son."
Rage billowed in me like wind filling the sails of a fishing yacht. I clenched my fists and willed Zuko to let him have it. But Zuko didn't. I saw doubt flicker on his face for a second. No! Ozai can't do this! He can't make Zuko hate himself again! I rushed forward from the doorway, sprinting through the rows of seats.
"Spineless? Zuko just crossed an ocean, beat through a barricade, and fought off a palace full of guards! He did all this while you sat on your throne, sending others to fight your battles for you!" I shouted as I neared the platform.
Suddenly, the weight of Ozai's eyes were on me, pinning me to the floor and filling me with a strange kind of paralyzing fear. Suddenly, the full terror of realizing what it must have been like for Zuko growing up settled on me as I stood there at the base of the platform, caught in the furious fire of those eyes.
"Who are you to interrupt an Agni Kai?" He spat at me, still on his knees and yet commanding me with as much power as if he were seated on his throne. I closed my mouth and stood rooted to my spot, not falling back, but not able to come forward.
"And you! You are not fit to be called my son!" I saw Ozai put his hand behind his back and light a flicker of flame in his palm.
"Zuko!" I screamed. Ozai turned to me in rage and raised his fist. I had no water, no place to run, no place to hide. Beneath him by the platform, I was defenseless. I closed my eyes and waited for the burning.
"NO!" Zuko's yell tore through the room, making my eyes snap back open just in time to see the Prince's body arc and twist in the air. Moving with a speed I'd never before seen in man or beast, Zuko leapt in front of me and sent a kick at his father's legs. I heard the stomach-turning crack of bone splintering, and saw Ozai hit the ground, his head smacking against the ground with a sickening, sloshing, cracking thwak!
Ozai lay motionless on the floor, but even now his chest still rose in breath. The fall should have killed him. Maybe it was just the comet that was keeping Ozai alive. Why doesn't Zuko just take the crown from him now? I grit my teeth as I remembered Zuko explaining the many rules of honor the Fire Nation held to. The Fire Lord had to either die or hand the crown down willingly.
"You are defeated! Surrender the crown!" Zuko's voice cracked and he choked a little, seeing that his father was dying.
"No." Ozai wheezed. "You must kill me first." I saw torment rip through Zuko's features, saw pain convulse his muscles. If he did not kill his father, thousands of men would die, but the agony of what he had to do was killing him inside just as much as it was his father.
"You have caused your son too much pain and grief in his life already, do not heap this upon him!" A voice spoke from the among the rows of seats. "Do one honorable thing in your life, brother. Surrender now." Iroh stepped from the shadows and climbed the platform, his eyes hard and unyielding. This was a side of Iroh I'd never seen before. A side that terrified me and thrilled me at the same time.
"No. I will die before I see him on the throne." Ozai wheezed through bloody lips.
"Then so be it! He is free from you now, and his rule will not begin with more bloodshed!" With that, Iroh pulled a long, slender blade from his cloak and poised it over Ozai's back. Wordlessly, Iroh brought the blade down, ending Ozai's cruel reign and ruthless life.
Zuko stared down at the lifeless form of his father. I saw profound sadness in his eyes, a wish for what had never been. But I also saw relief. He really was free now.
I watched as Iroh led Zuko from the platform and up to me.
"When he is ready, he will know what to do." Iroh said softly to me as he led us from the Agni Kai arena. Once outside, Iroh disappeared again, leaving me with Zuko. Stepping forward, I placed my arms around Zuko gently, careful to avoid the thick purple bruises. He fell into me. For the first time, Zuko leaned against me, instead of the other way around. For the first time, he wasn't afraid to receive my strenth.
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Zuko was bloody and wounded, but he did not stop to find a shirt or a basin to wash in. He just grabbed his sword, and walked up a long staircase. I followed him, remembering Iroh's words. We climbed forever, up and up until we'd reached what must have been the sky.
There, on the far wall, was a large window. Zuko walked up to it and pushed it open. Wind whipped inside, tearing at my dress and my hair, billowing around my sleeves. Zuko walked forward, and I with him.
The clouds were beginning to dissipate, and through their fading mist, I could see the pink light of morning lightening the eastern horizon. I could also see the faint white form of Appa and a small flash of yellow. I smiled. Thank you, Aang. The sun was breaking through, bright and new, casting a golden light on the palace. Far below us, I could see men still fighting, our small earthbender army now pushed back almost to the palace steps. But Zuko raised his arm and shouted a war cry that stilled the fighting below.
"I am Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, and today I have beaten the Fire Lord Ozai in Agni Kai. I am now Fire Lord!" Zuko lifted his sword above his head, thrusting it into the sky and causing the sun to glint off its edge.
Slowly, the fighting ceased. Firebenders dropped their stances and looked up at the palace in puzzlement, staring at the scarred young man with the sword.
"Is this true?" One of them called. "How can we be sure?"
"Because the Fire Lord is dead, and I have brought his crown." Iroh stepped forward on the palace steps, the crown of the Fire Lord glinting in his hands. Excited murmurs and shouts of surprise rose from the crowd and swelled at our feet.
"As Fire Lord, I now pronounce this war over!" Zuko shouted, dropping the sword to the ground. There was silence for several moments.
And then,
Suddenly...
A great roar of cheering rose from the crowd.
A new day was dawning. For the Fire Nation,
And for the world.
So, what did you think? Did the ending live up to its expectations? I really, really really really hope so! (Crosses fingers and holds breath) Tell me what you think! And no, it's not quite the end yet. I'm still writing the conclusion (And it's a long one, with lots more happening) so that should be up in a day or so, Lord willing. I'm still holding my breath... I hope you liked it!