II
The next night, the Council could be found in a group by the back entrance to the great Hall of the Fire Palace. Each of them was to be introduced individually, and now they were waiting to be summoned by the host, Iroh. None of them had seen the Hall yet, not even the Fire Lord, so none knew what sort of banquet awaited them. They knew it would be extravagantly decorated, just by looking at the honorable invitations they had received. Accordingly, each Council member, and hopefully each guest, had dressed formally, in attire that was respectful to their Tribes.
Jet was dressed in uncharacteristic, but quite flattering, earthy tones. A deep green tunic with golden thread woven through the fabric framed his muscular form beautifully, and a neatly polished brown leather belt hung loosely at his waist. The hem, sleeves, and collar were discreetly trimmed in tiny gold leaf-patterns that could only be seen if the shirt was examined quite closely, but they added just the right amount of glamour to the shirt that was needed for such an occasion.
His breeches were less defined, a soft tan lambskin pair that outlined the muscles in his legs, and, Zuko noted, left no real guess as to whether or not he was hiding weapons. Obviously Jet felt confident enough that nothing would happen at such a banquet. Thus, he had dressed accordingly, in comfortable, form-fitting clothes with no weaponry to be seen. His boots were lacquered leather, brown and shining in the candlelight of the back room. He stood leaning nonchalantly against the far wall, and for some reason, the Fire Lord couldn't help but think that there was something he had missed about him...
Shaking himself from those thoughts, he swept his gaze from Jet to Suki, who was also dressed in Earth Nation attire. Thankfully, she had abandoned her usual warrior's uniform and makeup, and the Fire Lord could tell that she was naturally more appealing to the eye without them. She wore a long, roundabout dress that left one shoulder completely bare. Dark green, much like Jet's tunic, it had a silver weave woven at the bottom, cluttered and sporadic. As the design moved upward, it lessened out, until at the waist, it stopped altogether. The same design trimmed the single sleeve and the side-swept collar.
She wore an odd, silver armband that was made of a very flexible silver-colored metal. It started at the junction of her upper arm muscles and ended at her wrist. It seemed to be a written word or phrase, perhaps her name. Zuko wondered on it for a moment before disregarding it altogether. It was beautiful to him, but nothing more than being a trinket.
She had also let her hair down, as short as it was. It had a scattering of braids and tiny jewels throughout it, and the Fire Lord didn't even want to know how long that had taken. There was a light accent of kohl around her eyes and some soft pink paint on her lips and cheeks and light green and bright gold powders on her eyelids. Her green eyes stood out against her tanned skin and dark lashes. Zuko noted that she was in fact very pretty and would get many invitations to dance this night, even if most of them were from Sokka.
Thinking of the young Water Tribe warrior made Zuko send his gaze in that direction. Bearing the strict colors of the Southern Water Tribe's traditional war paint, which in itself varied from that of the North Pole, Sokka had thankfully left the paint off of his face. Instead, he had taken to a deep navy tunic and a shining black leather belt about his waist. The left shoulder bore the Water Nation insignia, and his right arm sported a small silver band. His breeches were black linen and his boots had been purposely scuffed to contradict the lacquer of his belt. A bit simple for such a formal banquet, but Zuko supposed it would have to do. There wasn't much else he could make Sokka agree to wear...
Aang stood next to Sokka, conversing quietly with the older young man. The Avatar was cheerfully dressed; a compliment to his sunny disposition, and because of it, the Fire Lord had to hold back an involuntary smile. He knew that three years ago he would have scorned the bright orange and yellows the Avatar chose to wear and would've turned his gaze away in anger. Now, though, he was more prone to happiness and smiles; laughter and jesting. He supposed it had to do with all the time he'd been spending with the comical young monk.
And being a monk, Aang had begun dressing accordingly for such things as meetings and banquets. He still wore more practical clothes for teaching and training and battle and fun, of course, but the young Avatar had matured and wizened and taken to the traditional orange and yellow robes of the Airbenders before him. The wooden pendant carrying the Air Nation insignia was draped around his neck, and the blue tattoos on his head and arms and feet contrasted against the rest of his outfit and his brown leather sandals.
Misu stood off to the side of Aang and Sokka, staring off into space somewhat disinterestedly. Zuko didn't know much about the Northern Water Tribe man, and hadn't gotten to know him well in the time that he had been with the Council, but he liked and trusted him all the same. He saw no reason not to, Sokka, Aang, and Katara had nominated him for the position in his village, and no one fellow villager had protested. And since his acceptance into the Council, the Fire Lord had kept a close, discreet eye on him and had found none of his habits or mannerisms to be suspicious, though he did get this rather annoying tick in his eyebrow every now and then, but that was easily ignored.
Misu was dressed much like Sokka, though the leather on his boots and belt was brown and dull, giving him a more militaristic look. His tunic bore no fancy designs or weavings; it was just clean and crisp, much like his shining shaven head. He had a single, ever present silver ring slung through his left ear. Zuko had come into the knowledge that the ring wasn't for show, but actually had a practical use, though he didn't know quite what that was just yet. It was apparently extremely important to the warrior, however, because he never took it out, even in sleep.
Beyond Misu were Jun and Haru, who seemed to be in deep conversation about something or another. The Fire Lord assumed it had to have something to do with bending or battle strategies, judging by the way they were flailing their arms or making quick motions. That, and they were always talking or debating about something military related.
Standing in a formal Fire Nation gown, Jun was the epitome of nobility, though when Zuko had stumbled across her in the Earth Nation three years ago, that had not been so. To his knowledge, the secret bounty hunter had been the daughter of a praised noble, until his 'treachery' of the Fire Lord. Her father and family were killed, and somehow she had escaped, finding her way into the Fire Nation Militia under the alias of Jun. Zuko wasn't sure he even knew her rightful name...
Her dark hair was pulled back into an elegant bun, rubies woven intricately through the strands. Her face had been powdered and paled, light as a lily blossom, her lips painted a striking red. Her eyes had been outlined in black on the bottom, gold on the lids, and shimmering red dust had been sprinkled above the gold. Her cheeks had a pink tinge, reflecting the light off of the elaborate ruby and gold earrings dangling from her ears. An extravagant pendant hung from her neck, and several bangles tinkled at her wrists. Zuko shuddered to think how long it had taken her to get ready...
And Haru, like Suki and Jet, was dressed in Earth Nation colors. He wore a dark brown tunic, trimmed in gold at the collar and sleeves, and light khaki breeches. His boots were a dusty color, shined along with his belt. A long-sleeved, khaki undershirt distinguished him from the others, who were not yet accustomed to the heat of the Fire Nation.
After examining everyone's clothes, Zuko couldn't find anything more with which to occupy himself. Dressed in his gold-trimmed, crimson plated, decorative armor, the Fire Lord had to fight to keep himself from pacing. He hadn't seen hide or hair of Katara yet, nor had he heard anything of her arrival. He had begun to worry hours ago, despite constant reassurances from Aang, and now he was three steps away from being downright fretful.
Before he could inquire about her whereabouts again, a loud and overly extravagant fanfare sounded beyond the door behind them. Knowing his cue, Zuko straightened and stepped through the doorway as his uncle introduced him. He nodded to the retired General as the older man stepped aside and took his place before the large and diverse crowd.
Looking around him, the Fire Lord realized know just what his uncle had been planning whenever he took all those expensive and tedious shopping trips during his exile. All of the curios and trinkets and tapestries he had collected over the years had accumulated to become an array of international decorations for an international banquet. Zuko had always been annoyed by his uncle's useless shopping and had often wondered what use Iroh could have for such things. Now he knew. Old and new, all of the antiques were scattered about, Fire Nation decorations mingling with Earth Nation statues, and so on and so forth. The Fire Lord noted that it reminded him greatly of the Table of Equality, and silently praised his uncle for all those hated and uninteresting shopping trips.
At least they had some purpose.
Like the decorations adorning the Hall, the guests were a myriad of Nations as well. Fire Nation and Water Tribe soldiers stood together off to his left. Groups of friends consisted of peoples from all Nations, and were scattered about the room. Zuko's long-awaited vision of equality was finally coming true.
After sweeping his gaze around the room and waiting for the peoples' applause to die down, the Fire Lord turned to the door he had entered from and began to introduce the members of the Council one by one as they appeared in the doorway.
As the number of members left dwindled and Katara had still not appeared, his heartbeat began to race as disappointment settled into the pit of his stomach. Finally, after the other seven, Jun appeared, smiling brightly at him. He gave her introduction and as she walked up, he looked away from the empty doorway, his throat tightening and his spirits faltering.
Katara hadn't made it...
"Zuko!"
The Fire Lord turned, his heart leaping in his chest. There she was, just as he remembered her, for the most part. Back at the door, her cheeks pink and her chest rising and falling heavily. Apparently she'd run from her chambers. She waved at him and smiled, and he couldn't resist reciprocating. Turning back to the crowd, he let his voice carry proudly across the room.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, if I could have your attention once more..." Everyone turned, stopping mid-sentence in all conversations. He smiled, waving a hand to the doorway. "It seems we have a late arrival. Council member Katara of the Southern Water Tribe." He took a step past Jun and held out his hand to Katara, waiting for her to step forward.
Katara hesitantly came from the doorway as Zuko waited for her, his hand outstretched. As the light fell onto her form, a collective gasp filled the room. Likewise, Zuko's breath hitched in his chest
Katara was dressed in a shimmering, floor-length, red and gold dress. Slightly off the shoulders, it hugged curves that had not been there the last time Zuko had seen her, and fell gracefully to the floor, ending in a gold weave that glided across the shining black tile of the Hall. It accented her deeply tanned, flawless skin, the sleeves flaring gently until hiding her hands subtly. Her dark tresses fell in waves down her back and across her shoulders, a single, flame-shaped comb in her hair. Her mother's necklace still rests at the hollow of her neck and I honestly doubt she's taken it of since I gave it back to her three years ago. The only flaw of her skin was the edge of something peeking out of the left side of her collar, though from his point of view Zuko couldn't tell what it was.
Katara's fingertips brushed his and her cool palm came to rest in Zuko's warmer one. His fingers enclosed around her hand as shivers raced across his skin. Without thinking twice, the Fire Lord led the young woman to the dance floor as the musicians began to play.