disclaimer: don't own avatar the last airbender
A/N: WARNING THIS IS A STRANGE CHAPTER!
"Maybe." She paused. "What's in it for you?" Katara calculated the Fire Prince carefully, suspicious of a trick.
"Over the years of the avatars… imprisonment, many have fallen into poverty. My father is living in luxury and splendor when the rest of our nation lives in deficiency and filth, save the favors of my father. I have to stop this." Zuko said firmly, staring intensely into her eyes, all thoughts of her beauty forcefully shoved away. She nodded.
"Yes, I'll help you. But on one condition; I call the shots when it comes to anyone's life. Anyone." She said in hushed tones, fingering Evadne's reins. Zuko eyed her but agreed shortly. "And another thing, I won't wait for you if you fall behind. You'll have your work cut out for you."
Zuko snorted in disbelief but retrieved Ignatious. When he turned around Katara was gone. "Girl, where are you?" He called and she stepped out from a brush, her clothes changed. She was wearing simple black breeches and a light blue tunic, the style much like the one she wore with her travels with the avatar.
"Come on. If we are to cross the river before nightfall, we best get a move on." She said simply, putting a bundle in her saddle bags.
"Which river?" Zuko asked, mounting his stallion. Ignatious trotted in a circle, eager to be on their way.
"The river Thor." She said, squinting at the setting sun. She murmured something to Evadne, ordering her into a gallop. Zuko followed closely as the traveled steadily through the forest.
"How are we going to get across? The river is at least a mile wide, rushing currents, and thirty feet." Zuko said in disbelief as the neared Thor.
"You forget I am a Water Bender." She said condescendingly, urging their mounts to go faster. At the edge of the roaring river, she alighted, handing her reins to Zuko. In a fluid movement, the water raised with ease into a frozen bridge. Zuko would have gaped if his training hadn't prevented it.
They trotted to the other side, the horses unafraid of such heights and the bridge they walked upon creating a dam. Right as the touched solid ground, the immense ice bridge buckled under the pressure of the strong river. The sun above them sank lower into the horizon; the only sound was the creaking of tack, clomping of hooves, and a nightingale singing.
Katara tensed and glanced up at the sky. Tonight will be only a crescent Katara thought in panic. She doesn't have that strength yet! "Nature calls." Katara called shortly as she raced away from Zuko, galloping into the shadows as she searched for the chosen oasis.
"Gekkou, Yue, why now? The moon isn't full yet?" Katara whispered to the shadows, listening for any signs of life. She sighed in relief and stripped of her clothes, dipping into a pond she had listened for. She submerged herself in the cool liquid listening as it gurgled upon the rocks, rippled around her body. Feeling every droplet as individuals. Moonlight flooded through the over-hanging canopy, bathing the water in silver brilliance.
Katara manipulated the water around her, covering her whole body in the sheen of healing powers. Once fully embraced by her element, she could contact the spirit world. Yue had visited her in a dream to tell her secrets none other had found, telling her secrets that would help her against all other enemies.
"I am ready, Yue, my friend, my sister." She whispered, feeling the serene of night flow soothingly through her veins as Yue called upon her body, mind, and spirit to the moon. She floated a few feet in the air, a glowing figure of beauty and brilliance, her hair twirling in the air as it defied gravity. Her body paused; a single note from the nightingale beckoned her warmly. In a flash of silver, she vanished.
Zuko looked up from the campfire as he saw a flash of blinding light emanate from the direction Katara went. The nightingale that had lulled him into half sleep sang one last soft note, almost one of reassurance and hope, and then fell silent. The whole wood fell silent, eerily quiet.
Zuko shivered as uncomfortable coldness seeped through the woods, the wind picking up to a howling shriek. Despite all his training, Zuko couldn't help but be frightened by the sense of someone ethereal watching him. He stood up abruptly, goose bumps forming on his alabaster skin as he decided to investigate the bitter cold on a summer's night. He walked stealthily to the source of the flash, Ignatious following behind slowly.
In front of him was a little oasis, Katara's clothes dusted with a silvery patina. His brow furrowed as he bent to the water, it didn't seem natural. It was clear, the bottom and sides made of marble, as it someone had just punched a hollow in a slab of rock. The water was unnaturally still, no life form swimming in its crystal depths.
The sense of someone not human watching him intensified, as if they or it was scrutinizing him with strong emotion. Zuko shuddered, his fear spilling out of every pore of his body. He turned around to the darkness that had engulfed a corner of the clearing and shrank back in horror and disbelief as two women stepped forth from the clinch of night, glowing of the moon's touch.
They didn't seem to notice him as they neared his repulsed form; instead of running into him they walked straight through him, and vanished in the single note of a nightingale. He scrambled to a near by brush and emptied his stomach; never before had he been so frightened and yet so awed and calmed in his life. The clash of emotions set him in a fevered illness until he looked upon the moon.
Cool relief flooded his body and somehow he got back to his element, and fell into a deep aware sleep as the fire watched.
'Yue, why did you call upon me when the moon is a crescent?" Katara asked in worry as she appeared in the plane of Moon's Light; Haven. "I know you are the strongest only near and on the full swell of the moon."
"Relax, the call of the nightingale was not of me. It was of my mother." She answered softly as she gazed at something in the distance. The spirit world, or at least the portion she was in, was beautifully strange. Everything had the haze and shine of silver or pearl, the opalescence of the moon. Underneath a dogwood tree was a single nightingale, silver in the shower of moonlight.
It took flight and landed on Katara's shoulder, preening her ear. She giggled, set at ease in Haven. The nightingale took flight once more, transforming into the most beautiful woman. Gossamer hair spilled over the woman's thin, lean shoulders, cascading into a river of tresses down to her knees. She was, as everyone at Haven, naked, her body developed and smooth.
She flashed a radiant smile, her metallic blue eyes glowing in warmth and love. A delicate flush colored her white face, midnight blue lashes setting every feature into splendor.
"Hello, Katara. I am Yue's mother, Twi, but you may call me Mother, as you would have been my daughter in law through your brother." Her voice but a whisper of a breeze. Katara bowed low, her hair falling in rivulets of mahogany tresses.
"I have called you to help." Mother paused, troubled. "Your brother…he is… on the brink of death, the avatar also. But they can't allow Aang to die, because of reincarnation. But Sokka is dispensable." Katara let out a strangled cry, listening intensely to the vital information. A tear slid down her face, sparkling in the metallic light.
"In six days time, he will die." Yue whispered, sorry and excitement mingling in her features, "I will be joyous on any other occasion to see Sokka, but under the circumstances…" She sobbed. Mother settled a hug around her daughter, stoking her pure white hair lovingly.
"He has fallen for a servant girl, one who takes care of him in his imprisonment. She weeps for his situation, but knows life must go on. When you meet her, know that the loving look in her eye when she thinks, talks of, or sees your brother is false. He is her insurance. If he gets out, he will bring her with him, setting her free. They call her Yumi." Mother said bitterly.
"Thank you, mother." Katara said softly, still weeping for her brother's near death. "I will dispose of this two-faced wench before he breaks his heart." She said spitefully, her eyes flashing angrily.
"Katara, I will have to take the body of someone to help you, guide you along the way. The moon spirit has preserved my body. I will win Sokka's heart once more." Yue said firmly, pulling away from her mother's comforting embrace.
"You will win his heart once more, only to break it." Katara said indignantly, her eyes growing dark. Yue looked as if she had slapped her.
"You are right. If I see him, two hearts will break, along with one hope." She said sadly. A crow called harshly, destroying the soft assurance of Haven; announcing Katara's leave. In a burst of light and the sad song of the nightingale, Katara reimbursed to the mortal realm, leaving a grief crazed Yue.
"I will see you Sokka, no matter the heart ache." Yue whispered, her fate resolved.
"Zuko, wake up." Katara whispered, the glow of the moon darkening as the sun slowly rose. Katara had changed into a silver skirt that had slits up the thighs to the hem o silver chains. A transparent top covered a breast band of silver. All in all, she looked dazzeling in silver radiance as the first rays of the sun caught her attire.
Zuko muttered and cracked open his eyes and had to let out a gasp at the sight before him. Katara was clad in silver, a metallic sheen to her hair as if dusted with silver powder. The sunrise behind her was as equally as breathtaking, a rainbow of blues matching Katara's eyes as if this day donned for her and only her.
A thin determined line had transformed her plump lips, grim settled in her eyes. "We have to leave. They are near death. We have six days." She said shortly, standing up in one fluid movement, withdrawing her dagger as something caught her eyes in the remaining shadow of the clearing.
A woman with pure white hair that flowed down her back stepped out, her face full of pride and resolve. Her clothes were like Katara's, silver, but was formed into a dress. Slits also ran up to her thighs, the low neckline revealed pale half moons of her bosom. Startling light blue eyes stared defiantly at Katara.
"Do you wish to break his heart?" Katara demanded harshly, her voice going coarse with rage.
"I wish to regain his heart." The woman said simply. The warrior females were ignorant of Zuko's questions, glaring at each other with unspoken words streaming out of their hard eyes.
"You will break my brother's heart; you will have to leave him for a second time. I will tie you; chain you to mortality to keep you from his heartache." Katara whispered threateningly, her voice and eyes full of promise. The woman nodded, a white horse trotting over to her.
"Who is she?" Zuko asked, feeling tiny compared to the goddesses' intense emotions. Katara's face was looking straight ahead, a veil of hair obscuring her features.
"The one who will lead to Sokka's heartache, the moon spirit, Yue." Katara said, her voice still coarse with anger and threat.
The trio rode on, silence engulfing them as they paraded down the street of a near by village. The citizens were frozen to the spot, seeing the three most fair humans ever. One, a male, had midnight black hair that flashed blue when it caught the light; golden eyes glowing in the sunlight. His alabaster skin was unaffected by the sun's rays, his posture regal and proud.
His features were chizzled and dangerous, drawing all the maiden's stare to him. But the middle one was the most beautiful they had seen.
A woman with glossy tresses that cascaded to her waist rode with ease, the sunlight catching the silver of her fine clothes. Her body was well toned, not muscled like the man, but lean and slender. Her legs were bare, the slit in her skirt revealing tanned skin, along with her flat torso. Her blue eyes flashed as the sun caught them, setting off the silver flecks. All men stared in awe and lust, feeling power radiate from her; all women stare in jealousy and excitement as she rode fluidly past.
But it was the third that set the town at unease. Hair as white as snow was pulled into a top-knot, her clothes as out-landish as the other woman's, if a bit more modest. Her light blue eyes were determined, her skin as pale as the moon. Everything about her seeped unearthliness; her posture, eyes, skin, perfection.
The villagers shied away from her, but were still captivated by the three. They were like moths to a flame, harmed, but were left wanting more. The trio rode through town, buying food from the tavern and left, leaving the village in the after effects of wonder and dazed as if they looked directly into the sun.
Katara sat by the fire, pondering their visit to the village, her silver attire still clinging to her body after a short dip. Zuko watched her, a spark of new emotion flaring in his eyes. The golden orbs trailed her body involuntarily, shivering in delight.
Yue watched Zuko closely as she saw his reaction to Katara. She let out a giggle, her solemn wall broken. Katara glanced at her, unaware of Zuko's gaze. Yue gestured to Zuko and she glanced at him. Raising a brow she stood up and walked to her saddle bags, pulling out a new outfit. She left for the woods and came back five minutes later in an out fit identical to her last, only in the color of black.
"How did Aang and Sokka get captured?" Zuko asked suddenly, his eyes all for Katara. She blushed under his predatory gaze and answered slowly.
"Aang went off for nuts, being a vegetarian. He didn't return, even when night fell. Sokka and I were arguing about what we should do…" She paused, Yue and her eyes swelling with tears at the mention of Sokka. "I said I hated him because he wouldn't go out to look for him. That made him go search for him. He didn't come back. They never came back." Katara said, the tears flowing freely.
Yue pulled Katara into a hug, imagining the prospects of a relationship between Katara and Zuko. Grinning deviously through her tears, Yue formulated a plan to get them together.
yes...strange chapter. RnR