Chapter 9
Zuko found one of the old torches Shira had told them about, and he put a small flame into it, so that it lit up the rest of the tunnel, or whatever the light was able to reach. Katara walked next to him silently; she was having an inner battle about leaving her home, escaping and never seeing her mother again. Zuko knew what it felt like; he had done it as well. She edged away from him, and her eyes wouldn't look anywhere near him. Was she blaming him for this? She probably was…
"It's the only way we can live Katara…"
His voice made her jump slightly and she finally looked at him, the shadows of the burning torch flickering over his face and along the walls. Who was he really? Did she know anything about him truly? Only a week ago she had met him, and somehow grown fond of him, so much in fact that she risked her life for his. And now she was running away from her home because of it. Anger swelled up in her chest and she pounded her fists to her side.
"The only way? The only way this wouldn't be happening is if I had never met you!"
Her echoes replayed on down the rest of the tunnel, and Zuko stopped. His eyes seemed full of hurt, and he looked away from her. Katara regained her breath and slowly calmed down. She bit her lip and found herself rerunning her own words in her mind. Was it really true that she had never wanted to meet him? No, it wasn't.
"Zuko… I,"
She reached out to him, but Zuko walked on past her, and up ahead towards the tunnel.
"Come on. We have to find a way out of here."
His voice was harsh and bitter. It was like he had transformed into a different person. Katara felt like crying, but her face was dry. She had cried enough. Instead, she took it all in, and knew she deserved it. So she followed Zuko's orange glow, as their surroundings got more and more rough. She would have to look down all the time to make sure she didn't trip over a pile of snow, or slide on a sheet of ice. The icicles above them were also a danger, so she made sure not to say anything that could anger Zuko, not until they finally reached the end of the tunnel.
"Is this the end?"
"Of course this is the end! What kind of question is that?"
Zuko's powerful voice made Katara tremble and all too late he realized what kind of a monster he was becoming, just because of something a girl said to him. That girl was Katara though, and Zuko's heart bled inside to know how she really felt about him. His gaze shifted though, from her eyes to the masses up above them. They couldn't really make out what was up there, but Zuko sensed that it wasn't anything good. There was one more faint echo and then something in the tunnel began to rumble. Katara didn't know what to do, so instinctively she edged nearer to Zuko. Suddenly, his eyes widened.
He pushed Katara forcefully to the side and she hit the wall with a tremendous impact. Instantly Zuko shot his arms up, with that a blaze of fire flying upwards. Ice cold water fell down onto Zuko, and he sighed with relief. Katara got up, shaking her head. She immediately sprung up to him.
"What was the big idea? You want to kill me, or something? Is that your plan?"
"Kill you? I just saved your life! I never knew you were so ungrateful!"
Katara looked livid and aghast.
"Ungrateful? I, ungrateful? It is you who are ungrateful! Because of my mother, you are still alive!"
"I know that! And I am grateful, did you not hear me thank your mother from the bottom of my heart?"
Oh right. Katara softened her expression and avoided looking at his eyes.
"Sorry… and thanks…"
She couldn't resist any longer and so she smiled and looked up at him. But her smile disappeared instantly because the look on Zuko's face made her feel sick. Katara had said too many hurtful things to him, and now it seemed that he would be forever scarred because of that.
"You're welcome."
He turned around and looked at the wall at the end of the tunnel. His hands ran up and down it, trying to see if there was a secret door of some sort. The only two options, he concluded, were to either use fire bending, or water bending.
"Do you want to try that trick your mother used?"
Katara nodded and stepped forwards. She breathed in deeply and placed her hands on the wall. When she exhaled, the wall seemed to disappear from her fingertips. Ahead of them seemed like another tunnel or cave. They stepped through to the other side, and Katara rebuilt the wall, just like Shira had done. Inside, it felt like someone was stabbing her heart. Every second that passed by she felt more alone. But Zuko was there with her right? Right… Zuko, the only person she had left to rely on, and she had messed that up too.
Suddenly, Katara shivered as she felt a light breeze on her face. The fire in Zuko's torch was gone, and only a strand of smoke was left. He left it on the ground, and then extended a hand to Katara.
"Are you ready? Your mother said we would be able to find the tundra… and so here it is."
She nodded bravely and the two of them walked out of the small cave. Instantly, she stepped back when they saw the miles upon miles of white snow. Heaps of it was everywhere and Zuko gave Katara her parka. He slipped his on as well and the two of them started heading out into the wintry tundra. Thankfully there wasn't a blizzard. Not yet anyways.
The sharp wind diced Katara's face and Zuko felt it in him to uphold his promise. So he walked in front of her, so that the wind wouldn't fly into her face as painfully. He was used to this however. One wouldn't have expected that of a person born of the fire nation, but it was all the traveling that helped him. They walked on and on, trying to find someplace far enough so that a search party couldn't find them. And sure enough, they did have to worry about that.
..:-:..
"What?"
"Yes… I am afraid that it is very true."
Sokka fell down into his chair and sat there stunned. There was no way it could have been true, that his sister was dead and gone forever to be up in the skies as the moon spirit.
"How?"
It was the only word he could manage to speak. Inside, a tornado of emotions was spinning, waiting to erupt.
"It is said that the prisoner Zuko, was with Haan, Katara and Yue herself in the temple. The moon spirit was killed, and by touching it, Yue became the moon spirit. From what I have heard, it was Zuko's fault, and Katara was protecting him."
"Traitors!" his voice boomed throughout the whole room, "where are they? I swear I will kill them!"
"No need Prince Sokka. They are sentenced to execution at sunrise."
He eased back into his chair and through gritted teeth he snarled.
"Good."
Suddenly another guard burst through the doors and into the room. Sokka looked up curiously.
"The prisoners! They have… escaped!"
His eyes narrowed and he slammed his fist into the table. Sokka's tornado was heading north.
"I'll find them… and then kill them myself."
..:-:..
The moon shined brightly in the sky up above, casting a sad light on the two travelers. Every time Katara looked at it, her sister, she felt guilty. But Yue had said that she shouldn't blame anyone… not herself or Zuko… and most importantly, Yue said she was sorry. After a while, Katara realized that Zuko was slowing down. Anyone would have become tired after walking who knows how many miles, if it were that anyways. So she boldly stepped in front of him, and started to walk, the wind cutting her face like ice. But she gritted her teeth and walked on. Zuko saw this and grabbed her arm, so that she was facing him.
"What do you think you are doing?"
She pulled away her arm from him and snapped back.
"Don't think that you are the only one here capable of leading the way! Even if it is the tundra!"
Katara turned around and started to walk on forward. A small smile crept on Zuko's lips. She sure did have a fiery attitude when it came to her pride. Inside he was thankful as well, because he was in fact becoming tired of it all. Hopefully they would find a spot somewhere, and soon. Katara found it a bit more difficult to walk on, but she pushed herself. She wanted to show Zuko that she wasn't someone who was fable and not capable of handling herself. She was strong, and had great power.
That was it. She had power. Katara could water bend.
She didn't know why she hadn't thought of it before, but now as the snow began to fall down, she pushed her arms forward, causing the snowflakes to fall to her sides. She had a clear straight path. Her arms began to grow weary after a while, and so she let her guard down. Instantly, the pack of snow pushed in on Zuko and Katara, literally pushing them back. Zuko recovered first, and stood up, giving a helping hand to Katara. She stood up but marched away confidently through the blizzard. She wasn't weak. She was strong. She could handle anything.
Her eyes widened, as out of nowhere the ground beneath her cracked and gave way.
"Katara!"
Zuko was only able to see her arms falling into the ground and he dived near the whole. He saw her head bobbing up and down slowly on the surface of the water, which was beginning to freeze again. This time, he panicked. He didn't want to use his fire bending, because it might hurt her, but as each second passed by, he grew wearier as the snow pounded into his face. No more time to think, he pushed his arms forward, and hoped that it would work. When he opened his eyes, he saw that it had. His fire had formed a circle, so that Katara was left unscarred. The ice around her was now gone, and he saw more of her body floating upwards. Quickly, he pulled her out of the water, and carried her away from the thin surface.
The snow still pounded on his face, and his vision was blurred. He had to find shelter now, or something else could happen. He could lose Katara. Determined with a new force of energy, Zuko pushed onwards, step by step, until finally he didn't feel the snow anymore. His eyes blinked and he saw that he was in the entrance of a cave. His heart did a back flip in his chest and he beamed with happiness. Even better yet, Katara was beginning to stir in his arms. She coughed out some water, and then Zuko let her stand up.
"Where are we?"
"A cave I think…"
She nodded and then with the rest of her strength, Katara walked over to the entrance. Outside, she saw the dim outline of the moon vanishing from the sky. She smiled; Yue was now going to look after her, just like her sister should have done all along. Katara sighed and brought up her hands. She winced as the hard and stiff snow piled upwards to form a wall. The light was gone, and the cave was dark. So Katara focused on her surroundings, and washed the wall of snow with melted snow, so that it froze together. The two of them could hear the faintness of the whizzing wind, and Katara, finally feeling like she could stop, did. Zuko immediately caught her as she fell down to the ground.
He gently set her down on the little amount of snow that covered the ground on the inside of the cave. First thing was first, he needed to start a fire. Zuko kicked around and thankfully he found a pile of sticks. His fire lit the pile, and soon he could see the outline of the cave. Hurriedly, Zuko rushed over to Katara and saw that her teeth were chattering and that beads of sweat were forming on her forehead. This wasn't good.
"Zuko… Zu…ko…"
Her voice was barely audible and her mouth parted only slightly. Zuko felt so guilty. Because she wanted to lead the way, she had caught a cold. He knew that she had never ventured out into the frozen landscape of the tundra, so why had he let her do it? Maybe it was because he had a small grudge against her for saying the things she said? Well now it didn't matter. Katara was sick, and he needed to tend to her immediately.
"Shh… don't talk… I'm right here."
He cupped some snow into his hands and put it on her forehead. The snow melted almost instantly but at least she wasn't quavering as much now. There was nothing really in the cave, but Zuko thought of something. He thought of how all the way in the north, Katara still had a place where grass grew. So Zuko bent down, and touched the snow on the ground with the flame in his hand. The layers weren't so thick, and within seconds, the snow melted into the green grass. Zuko rejoiced and began to melt a portion of the cave that had snow on the ground. Soon, the cave had turned into a resemblance of the spiritual temple that Katara had gone to. He heard her murmur and knelt down beside her.
"What is it Katara?"
"Water…"
Of course she needed to drink some water. He scooped up some more snow, and melted it into her mouth, so that it resembled somewhat of a drinking fountain. Katara kept her eyes closed and swallowed the water. It felt soothing riding down her throat but suddenly she felt pricks on her spine, and she started to shiver again.
"Cold… so cold…"
Zuko winced as he saw her quivering from the inside pain. He felt her forehead and recoiled his hand quickly. She was burning up really fast; Katara must have been sicker than he at first thought. His thoughts scrambled around in his head, trying to think of something that would help her. All he had was his own parka and himself. An idea sprung into his head, and he slipped off his parka. Zuko placed it over her as a blanket, and then he placed her on the patch of grass, which was starting to emit some warmth from the fire a few feet away.
Nothing. She still shivered and kept repeating, "Cold… I'm cold…"
Well if two parkas weren't enough to keep her warm, what was? She was right next to the fire already, what else could give her warmth? Suddenly, Zuko began to feel a bit uncomfortable. He remembered what his uncle had told him. The way to bring down a fever was to give the person… body heat.
Zuko decided that maybe she didn't really need that much heat, and that maybe he was just exaggerating the situation. But then he looked at how much pain she was in, and how her fragile body shook violently time and time again. He inhaled deeply, deciding he had to do it if he was to save her. Zuko took off his robe, and then he unbuttoned his tunic. That's as far as he would go, nothing more than that. He knelt down next to her, and pulled off her parka gently, putting it on the ground next to them as a blanket. Reluctantly, Zuko began to untie her kimono…
He sighed with relief to see that Katara was wearing a red nightgown under it… a beautiful, sleek red nightgown that is. A blush spread across Zuko's cheeks, but he turned serious when he saw how much she really was shivering. Her skin felt like ice and he concentrated, trying to bring all of the heat within him to the highest level without making it dangerous. He lied down on the two parkas and gathered Katara in his arms tightly. Her bare shoulders quaked, so he started to caress her back and hold her in close to him by her waist.
"Katara… you're going to be fine… you'll be just fine… I promise…"
At the sudden sound of his voice, Katara began to relax, bit by bit, and soon she was resting peacefully in his arms. He continued to stroke her back, and she placed her hands on his bare chest, feeling the heat radiate from his skin. After a while, her cheeks became flushed, and Zuko realized that he had done it. She was finally back to normal, and her fever was gone. He sighed and closed his eyes, feeling overwhelmed by the joy at the sight. His heart felt like it soared to the top of his chest and a tear shed down his cheek. This girl made his life complete, and without her, he wouldn't know what to do. Zuko had finally understood this, after being so close to losing her.
Katara was coming back from her state of unconsciousness and she felt a surprising warmth spread through her feet up through her shoulders, and down to her arms to her fingertips. She felt an arm around her waist, and another one wrapped around her shoulders. Suddenly she realized that she could really feel the skin of the arm on her shoulders. Her eyes shot open to see Zuko's exhausted sleeping face up above her head. Katara's heart started to pound madly. He was shirtless and she was… in her nightgown. She felt even hotter on her cheeks, but she quickly cooled herself down. Zuko's pants were still on. She sighed with relief, and let her head fall lightly onto his chest. But even though it hadn't made that much of an impact, Zuko still felt it and his eyes opened right away.
"Katara?"
She lifted her head up, and when she saw his tired eyes, she smiled fondly.
"Thank you Zuko."
Katara reached one hand up to his neck, and pulled on it lightly so that she could kiss him on his cheek. At the touch of her lips on his cheek, Zuko woke up fully and smiled.
"I'm so glad that you're okay."
He stroked her hair and looked at her with deep concern and sincerity. She smiled meekly and looked down at his chest, then his arms, and then back up to his eyes. She never really knew that he was so sculpted and good looking. Zuko saw the firelight dancing on her face and on her red nightgown. Her hair loosely fell onto her shoulders and down her back. She was extremely gorgeous at that moment, more than he had ever thought her to be. When she looked back at him, her sapphire eyes connected with his and he steadily brushed his fingers on her cheek.
"Katara, I never meant what I said back in the cell… about you just dealing with not seeing me again. I'm sorry I said it… I didn't want to hurt you like that…"
She leaned into him a bit more and her voice was hushed.
"Really?"
Zuko leaned in closer as well.
"Really."
The embers sparked and crackled in the cave as the two of them kissed each other. They had held back so much since the last time their lips touched, and now everything spilled out openly. Zuko embraced her with deep passion and she responded by tenderly kissing him back. For a moment, Zuko pulled away and whispered quietly to her.
"Katara, I love you…"
She sighed happily and rested her head on his chest.
"I love you too Zuko."
They watched the flames of fire flicker, and Zuko just kept a strong hold on Katara. He never wanted to let go of her, he was afraid he would lose her just like he almost had. She reached up to his shoulders, and pulled herself up to his face. Katara kissed him and pulled back slightly.
"You don't have to worry about losing me Zuko… I'm not going anywhere…"
She said this with a playful smile, and then she began to kiss him, starting with his cheek, and going down his neck. He rolled to his side, and pushed her against the ground teasingly. Zuko kissed her neck softly and she let out a small moan. Unknown to them, the fire a few feet away was rising with more strength each second. Finally, the two stopped and noticed when the wall of snow melted and they felt the cold breeze sweep into the cave. They stood up and Katara shivered, her nightgown not providing any warmth at all. She quickly raised her hands, making another wall, and Zuko tended to the fire, calming it down. He walked over to her after putting on his tunic, and he helped her slip into her kimono. Katara smiled and Zuko laughed.
"I didn't know I was that happy about us…"
She laughed along with him, knowing he was referring to how big the fire had gotten. Suddenly a cloud of smoke surrounded the two of them. It came from deep inside the cave and Katara waved her arms so that the cloud disappeared. Both Zuko and Katara stepped back when they saw a little boy emerge. He waved at them happily and smiled.
"Hi! My name is Aang! What's yours?"
Katara's mouth hung open and Zuko shielded her with an arm across her shoulder.
"I am Zuko. This is Katara. Who are you?"
Aang looked around curiously and saw the two parkas on the floor.
"Oh! You two must be water benders! That's really cool! Do you know any tricks?"
Zuko calmed down his defense at once. This was only a little kid; there was no need to worry. Katara seemed amused by him, and she laughed.
"I'm the water bender. Zuko is a fire bender."
"A fire bender! Wow! This is great! … So, what are you two doing here?"
Zuko and Katara looked at one another and Katara nodded.
"Well, Aang, you see… I am… I mean, I was a Princess of the northern water tribe. But I was sentenced to hang along with Zuko, so we ran away. It's a long story."
His eyes bulged and a big smile formed on his face.
"Wow! Me too! I didn't want to be the avatar, so I ran away! Oops!"
He clapped a hand over his mouth as he let the secret slip out. Zuko and Katara looked at him with amazement. But Zuko wasn't wholly convinced.
"You're the avatar? Prove it."
Aang loved the challenge so he did.
"I think the two of you should put your parkas on."
"Why?"
"Just do it! I want to show you something!"
Zuko handed Katara her parka, and the two of them slipped their parkas over their heads.
"Stand back!"
They did as they were told, and Aang slid his hands together, and then pushed them towards the wall of snow. Instantly, a vacuum of air shot at it, and the wall was pushed outside. A small rise of smoke erupted and the cold wind zapped inside. Suddenly, from within the cave, came a rumbling sound. Aang knew what it was.
"Zuko, Katara, got out of here now!"
They followed him and soon a giant shaggy animal came out of the cave. Zuko couldn't believe his eyes.
"What, what is that thing?"
"Oh! Meet Appa! He's my flying bison!"
Katara's eyes sparked with happiness.
"You mean, he can fly in the air?"
"Sure can!"
"Wow… then I guess you are the avatar. It was said that you were an air bender."
"I sure am, but listen. I don't want to go on bragging about it or anything. It's not like I asked to be the avatar or anything. So can we just forget about it?"
Katara put a hand on his shoulder and smiled.
"Sure thing Aang. But don't you need to learn how to water bend, and fire bend as well? Zuko and I could teach you. Right Zuko?"
She edged him with her elbow in his rib cage and he winced slightly.
"Uh, yeah. Why not? But in turn, you have to help us escape."
Aang's eyes lit up with excitement.
"All right! It's a deal!"
..:-:..
Sokka trudged forward on the tundra with his armed troops and when he saw the cloud of dust arise, he smirked.
"Found you."
..:-:..
"Well, okay, first thing is first, you have to bow to Appa."
Zuko and Katara shrugged their shoulders and they did that.
"Okay now repeat after me. Appa, you are the best bison on the earth…"
This was a bit too much, and Zuko and Katara didn't say it, but they didn't get a chance to because they heard an all too familiar voice.
"I'm going to kill you both!"
They spun around to see Sokka snarling at them angrily. Katara immediately thought of what Yue had said.
"Sokka, Yue wanted me to tell you not to blame anyone for her death, and to tell you that she will always be with you."
"Hah. I don't believe a word of that! Why would she say that to you?"
She started to get defensive.
"She changed Sokka! She apologized to me! Unlike you, who I see still has a grudge!"
Zuko stepped up in front of Katara and took a fighting stance.
"I see you still like protecting my good for nothing excuse of a sister. That doesn't matter though, you're going to pay for what you did to Yue!"
He charged at Zuko with a spear, but the spear caught on fire from Zuko's blast, and Sokka was forced to drop it to the ground. Zuko swung his leg at his head, and Sokka fell down to the ground. He smirked and Katara smiled joyously at Sokka's defeat. But her smile disappeared, as she saw the mass of troops and water benders following up the hill. Zuko backed away and overshadowed Katara. Aang looked on dumfounded, but quickly realized that the enemy wasn't his newfound friends. So he took out his staff, and swung it around violently in circles. Katara held onto Zuko so that she wouldn't be flung off. The army retreated and Aang jumped up on Appa.
"Come on you two! Before that guy wakes up!"
Zuko and Katara climbed onto Appa's back and settled in comfortably on the saddle.
"Yip yip!"
Suddenly, they were thrust backwards as the huge animal lifted into the sky. Katara laughed out with amusement and Zuko just gaped at the sensation of flying in the air. Down below, Sokka started to lift his head slowly. He saw the large bison fly away into the clouds, and it disappeared.
"I'll get you. I swear it."
Up in the sky, Aang steered Appa towards the south.
"Aang where are we headed?"
"I don't know…"
"How about the earth kingdom? You need to find someone who knows how to earth bend."
Zuko thought deeply, and then an idea came to mind.
"Hey Aang? How about we make a quick detour?"
Katara looked at Zuko curiously, but Aang nodded happily.
"What do you have in mind Zuko?"
"Oh, you'll see Katara. I just have to… say hello to an old friend…"
A/N: Hmmm… this chapter was a lot shorter than my other ones… but that's how it goes lol… Sadly this fic only has one more chapter, and it's probably not going to be that long… just a sum up and stuff…
Was there too much fluff? I don't know… I just thought that they needed to finally say those things lol And I bet you didn't expect me to bring in Aang, now did you? lol I love twists, don't you? lol
Have a great day!
-Monika-