Chapter 5: An Enigma
Zuko silently shrugged out of his sleeping bag, hissing in a sharp intake of breath as he emerged from the cocoon of warmth. He didn't know what he was doing. Looking for her? Just getting some fresh air? He quietly stole across the room, the thick carpet muffling his footfalls. Zuko opened the door and, with a slight shiver, stepped out into the cold night air.
The moon was bright, and the world was bathed in a silvery glow. Zuko was surprised to notice that the city looked quite… nice in the moonlight. The ice walls were illuminated by an iridescent glow that seemed to come from within each wall; they hummed and pulsed with a subtle silver blush. Zuko felt a strange sense of insignificance in the city built of crystal. It held an ethereal, almost magical, quality.
Zuko was startled out of his reverie when he heard a soft sigh that made him instantly alert. Zuko turned his head and looked up in the direction of the sound. A figure was standing, unmoving, on the bridge. Katara.
Katara leaned on the railing, gazing up at the moon. She had never realized how essential and beautiful it was until the world had come so close to losing it. She knew it was probably quite late, but she had needed this. She needed to be out in the night air, near the water and under the moon. Katara gazed at the silver-crested waves that lapped gently against the staircase below her, gurgling playfully. Smiling, she lifted her arms and began to work in concert with the waves. Katara let all her worries slide away as her mind became focused solely on the liquid grace of the water.
Zuko stopped short when he saw her. The moonlight caressed her dark hair, making it gleam with silver accents every time she turned her head, as if a crown fashioned out of pure silver light adorned her. Her movements were graceful and her expression serene. She seemed utterly different from the Katara he knew. She seemed… peaceful. Zuko watched curiously as Katara started to bend the water, coaxing a thick strand from the pool below her higher and higher.
Zuko began to understand what she was doing now. Of course. This was how she managed to keep up with the Avatar. She snuck out at night to practice her waterbending. Zuko understood her perfectly. He, too, had often ignored his trainers and instructors' directions to get enough rest. After rising at dawn and training all day, performing hundreds upon hundreds of drills over and over and over, struggling to reach perfection, Zuko had still crept out at night to practice more. He had still retained the foolish idea that maybe, if he practiced hard enough and became good enough, his father would be proud of him. So Zuko trained, all day and all night, ignoring the exhaustion that hovered at the edges of his consciousness and threatened to overwhelm him, fighting off the desire to sleep. He remembered the intensity that gripped him during those midnight training sessions, the overpowering desire to push his body beyond all limits, to keep going even when he couldn't feel any part of himself anymore. He remembered pushing past the pain as his body screamed in protest because maybe if he just did this drill for one more hour, just one, he could perfect it and prove that he was worthy of being his father's son. So Zuko understood why Katara was out here at night.
With a mind born and bred of training, battle, and war, Zuko watched as Katara took one step, two steps, and then started to… dance.
A few seconds later, Katara had fashioned herself a dress made of the glimmering water. It covered every inch of her skin from her neck down, hovering a few millimeters above her skin so as not to soak her clothes.
Katara looked down at herself and laughed with delight. She loved it when she made up her own waterbending tricks. As some went, this one was pretty useless, but it was fun nevertheless. Plus, it felt so good to be surrounded and encased by water. It soothed her. Calmed her. Katara danced a few steps, the dress made of water shifting fluidly to remain flush with her body. It took intense concentration to focus and move the water in imitation of herself, but it was a welcome distraction.
Katara began to hum softly as she twirled beneath the starlit sky. Sometimes, she was the only person in the world.
Zuko was dumbfounded. He'd always thought of his firebending as a tool, a weapon that could be used to make others fear and submit to him. He'd assumed that everyone else felt the same way. Bending was just another weapon to be used in combat. The thought had never crossed his mind that someone would use her bending to play. But there Katara was. Zuko could hear her soft giggles and quiet humming as she twirled and spun, dressed in water and moonlight. She was enjoying the water in a way that he'd never done with his fire.
Then another sound, quite different from Katara's voice, broke the stillness of the night. Zuko cursed as he saw a dark figure, silhouetted against the firelight behind him, stagger out of their room. Apparently, the Water Tribe boy had woken up. Amazing.
"Katara!" he called out hoarsely, running towards his sister on the bridge. Zuko sighed as he tried to press himself into a darker corner.
"Katara!" Sokka was running towards her, waving his arms wildly. Alarmed, Katara broke her concentration and allowed her water dress to slip away.
"What is it, Sokka?" Katara asked frantically. "Is Aang okay?"
"Yes, but—oh—I'm glad you're safe—when I saw both you and Zuko gone—" Sokka gasped, panting heavily. He threw his arms around her in a quick embrace. "Did you—did you see him at all?"
Katara's head snapped up. "Zuko?" she asked in surprise. "He's not inside? He was still there when I left."
"No," Sokka said, shaking his head violently. "Zuko's gone."
Katara was gripped with immediate fear. Chief Arnook had trusted them to keep an eye on Zuko, and they'd failed him. Chief Arnook had been kind enough to allow Zuko to stay, and they were repaying him by possibly putting his people in danger. Where had the firebender gone? Had this been his plan all along? Sneak out at night and attack the Water Tribe citizens? Or worse, gather up an army… Katara shook her head, trying to clear her mind of the images that crowded it, vying for her attention. Calm down, she said to herself. There's probably a logical explanation for his disappearance… probably, Katara tried to reassure herself. Then why can't I think of one!
"Okay," she said, her calm and even voice belying her inner turmoil. "Don't panic now. Let's go look for him. He can't have gone far." She started off at a brisk pace, Sokka hurrying to keep up with her. Katara glanced at him, noting the angry and worried look on his face. Quickly, Katara tried to think of something that would take his mind off of their current search.
"How have you been?" she asked. Sokka looked at her in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"Since Princess Yue… left," Katara said awkwardly. She groaned inwardly at her tactless remark. That's the way to calm him down… remind him of the girl he loved who died
Surprisingly, Sokka's face took on a tranquil, peaceful look.
"I'm okay," he said simply. "I was angry at first, but I can't blame her for wanting to fulfill her duty to her people. And she did it so beautifully and nobly, the way she sacrificed herself. She may not be the Avatar, but she saved the world just the same." Sokka looked down for a moment, and then up at Katara again. Katara held her breath, too surprised and gratified by this rare glimpse into Sokka's softer side to say anything that might stop it. "Besides," Sokka continued. He glanced up at the moon that still shone brightly above them. "She didn't really die. And now she's always with me, wherever I am." He was silent for awhile, apparently embarrassed by his sudden outpouring of emotion. Katara gave him a smile and hugged him briefly, the way he had hugged her.
"Let's go back," she said, wrapping her arms around herself. "I don't see anything. Maybe Aang can help us."
"Yeah, he could probably get a better view from the air," Sokka agreed as he fell in step beside Katara. They hurried back towards their room, their backs hunched over in defense against the sudden chilled wind that had picked up.
Zuko had followed the siblings as they walked, melting in and out of the darkness, his body composed of shadows. Their conversation had both confused and intrigued him. "Princess" Yue must mean that the girl had been some kind of royalty in the Water Tribe. Zuko remembered the way it seemed as if color had seeped from the world, and the coursing relief of the vibrant return of those many-hued shades, but he didn't know exactly what had happened.
Zuko heard the siblings decide to go back, so he darted swiftly ahead of them, always careful to keep out of sight. Zuko dashed into the room and hurriedly crawled back into his sleeping bag. He shut his eyes as he heard them approaching.
Katara quickly walked up to the doorway, hope rising in her chest like ice that insists on floating to the water's surface. She let out a sigh of relief as she saw the black hair and unmistakable lump that was Zuko, back in his sleeping bag.
"He's here," Katara breathed to Sokka, who had come up behind her. "Shh."
Sokka nodded as he shut the door. "Is he asleep?"
"I think so," Katara whispered.
Sokka scowled. "We should wake him up and make him tell us where he went."
"In the morning, Sokka," Katara said firmly. "I think we could all use a little rest now." She snuggled back into the plush warmth of her sleeping bag. "Good night, Sokka."
"'Night," Sokka replied softly. He sat cross-legged on top of his own sleeping bag.
"Aren't you going to sleep?" Katara asked sleepily.
"In a minute," Sokka said after a moment's silence.
"Okay," Katara agreed drowsily, sleep already claiming her mind.
Katara woke the next morning, pleased to find herself situated perfectly in a patch of sunlight. She yawned and stretched lazily, sitting up.
"You're up early," a sarcastic voice interrupted. Katara raised her head and saw Zuko looking at her with his fierce, golden eyes. Immediately, the night's events rushed back to her.
"Where did you go last night?" Katara demanded, trying to speak quietly because Sokka and Aang were still asleep.
"Where did you go last night?" Zuko countered. "I woke up, and you were gone."
"What is this, some kind of interrogation?" Katara asked, her voice rising despite herself. What gives Zuko the right to question what I do? she fumed. He's the one who can't be trusted. Aang stirred and murmured something in his sleep. Katara sighed and stood up, motioning for Zuko to follow her.
Out in the morning air, Katara turned to face Zuko, crossing her arms. "I had some… business to take care of," she said stiffly, hoping that he would infer her meaning.
Zuko raised an eyebrow. Since when is "business" playing around with water in the middle of the night?
"As did I," Zuko replied smoothly, noting satisfactorily Katara's barely audible sigh of frustration.
Katara didn't say another word; she turned and went back inside. After she finished putting on proper clothes behind the screen that stood in a corner, she went back outside. Zuko was still standing where she'd left him. Ignoring him, Katara walked through a series of twists and turns, following the waterway that led back to the courtyard. I should probably visit the sickroom first, then maybe get some breakfast… Katara stopped when she heard the crunch of ice behind her. She turned around.
"Stop following me," Katara said, annoyed.
"I'm not following you," Zuko replied, a hint of indignation injected into his voice. He turned to look at a tall fountain in which a sculpted stone penguin continuously spewed water out of his mouth. "I'm just… taking a walk. I can't help it if we happen to be going the same way."
"Right," Katara said skeptically. "Just leave me alone."
"No problem," Zuko said through gritted teeth. Does she really think that I have nothing better to do than follow her around? I have my own agenda to take care of! Zuko seethed as Katara rounded a corner and disappeared from sight. He stood still for a moment, looking around. Okay, so maybe I don't have anything to do, he acknowledged in defeat. In the next moment, he brightened as an idea occurred to him. Zuko glanced around the little clearing. It was a rather small place, but he could definitely practice firebending in private here. Zuko began to feel excited at the prospect of finally getting to firebend. He had missed the way…
He threw a series of punches, fireballs flaring to life as they rocketed out from his fist. Zuko felt a thrill of happiness explode like tiny fireworks within himself.
His joy was cut short as his fireballs impacted the nearest ice wall.
Katara's eyes widened in shock as the wall of ice to her right suddenly started melting. What the hell? Katara raced back the way she had come. She stumbled into a small clearing to find Zuko standing in the center, frozen still as the wall before him melted into slush, water creeping towards him in a slow but definitely advancing fleet.
"What's going on?" Katara asked in confusion. "What did you do?"
"Uh…" Zuko cleared his throat. "I was just… trying to practice firebending."
Katara stared.
"I didn't know this would happen!" he said defensively, crossing his arms over his chest.
Then Katara did something wholly unexpected to either of them. She burst out laughing.
"Sorry!" she managed to gasp through her laughter. Zuko glared at her. "I'm not laughing at you!" Katara cried, tears of mirth forming in her eyes. "Hold on," she instructed. Katara breathed in deeply a couple of times, and then lifted her arms. She concentrated on the water that had now spread to cover nearly half of the clearing's ground. Slowly, Katara halted the advancing water, then pushed it all back the way it had come. She formed the wall again. Just like repairing the city, Katara thought to herself. She inhaled, exhaled, and then froze the wall of water and slush back into smooth ice. Katara let out a sigh of satisfaction. She'd done that one all on her own. Katara turned back to Zuko.
Zuko let out his own sigh of relief. "Um…" he said hesitatingly, seemingly fighting some kind of inner battle.
Katara held her breath. "Yes?" she prompted. Is he actually going to thank me this time? Has he finally started learning some manners?
"Sorry about that," Zuko finished offhandedly. Katara exhaled loudly, disappointed.
"Should I even ask what you were thinking?" Katara asked, the corners of her mouth twitching.
Zuko scowled. She had been laughing at him. That was definitely a totally new experience for him. Maybe he'd been a bit remiss in his plan to practice firebending while surrounded by walls made of ice, but that was no reason for her to ridicule him. Zuko started getting more and more angry. No one had ever had the courage to laugh at him, at least to his face, and he wasn't about to let some Water Tribe girl start now.
Katara rolled her eyes as she saw Zuko's hands start to smoke. "Did you forget what just happened?" Katara reminded Zuko. Annoyance started to well up in her as she recalled the way he'd just dismissed her help. "I'll leave you alone now," she said, turning to leave. "Try not to melt down the entire city," she added bitingly.
"Wait!" Zuko called, unable to stop himself. Katara faced him again.
"What?" she asked impatiently.
Are you actually going to say some sort of thanks? he asked himself. She did help a bit… quite a bit…And it would be the proper thing to do. Zuko struggled, unwilling to express some sort of gratefulness to the girl who had, seconds before, been laughing him with such derision. "You're better than I thought you were," he finally choked out. Katara eyed him with surprise.
"Thanks!" she replied, smiling confusedly. Not exactly his undying gratitude and a wish to be my slave for life, but it's more than I expected.
"Not that I thought you were that good in the first place," Zuko couldn't stop himself from muttering. Zuko groaned as Katara's eyes narrowed. He really didn't know what it was about this girl that made him so unsure of himself. He braced himself for her retaliation. But to his surprise, she just shook her head at him.
"Of course," she said. "It would be too much to expect decent manners from Fire Nation royalty."
Zuko bristled. He was sure that the Fire Nation was infinitely more civilized than these Water Tribe people. But as much as Zuko tried to convince himself that he was in no way to blame, he couldn't deny the fact that she… was right. Well, he would show her. He could outdo her in etiquette any day.
"Th-thank you," he managed to say. He gave her an awkward bow.
Katara inwardly laughed as Zuko played right into her hands. It was… amusing… the way he let his competitive nature control him. And he did look funny trying to be the gallant gentleman. Katara showed none of this.
"Thank you," she replied, giving him a tiny smile.
Zuko couldn't stop the faint hint of the beginnings of a smile forming on his own face.
Katara had been working in the sickroom for a couple of hours when she decided to go outside and take a break. She wandered outside and sat down on a low stone bench, lost in her thoughts of her strange morning with Zuko. He's such an enigma…
"Katara!" Aang was running towards her. He stopped in front of her. "We're going to leave tomorrow, okay?"
"What?" Katara asked, taken aback. Leave?
"Since I've already mastered waterbending, it's time to travel to the Earth Kingdom," Aang explained. "I need to hurry up and learn earthbending. We don't have much stuff; we can leave on Appa tomorrow morning."
"But…" Katara started, trying to think of reasons to delay their departure. She faltered. Aang was right; he did need to learn earthbending, and fast. "Okay," she reluctantly agreed.
"Cheer up!" Aang said, giving her a bright smile. "Don't you think it'll be nice to travel again? Fly through the air… see the world…"
"Eat days-old bread… sleep in the dirt..." Katara added, but she smiled back at him.
Aang laughed. "I'll see you later, okay? I just need to talk to Chief Arnook." Aang thought. "He'll probably be overjoyed to hear that we're taking Zuko away with us."
Katara nodded. After Aang left, she went back to the sickroom.
"Katara!" Airi had woken up. Katara made her way to Airi's bedside. The little girl smiled at her, her eyes bright.
"How are you?" Katara asked softly.
"Great!" Airi replied. "Well," she amended, "it's been sort of lonely since that boy next to me left. I haven't had anyone to talk to." She brightened visibly a moment later. "I have you, Katara! I know that you won't leave me," she said confidently.
Katara fought back the tears that suddenly sprung to her eyes, threatening to cascade down her cheeks in an endless waterfall should she let them.
"Actually, Airi…" she began, her voice wavering. She faltered. How do you tell a sick little girl that you're going to abandon her? she wondered desperately.
"What is it, Katara?" Airi asked, her face heartbreakingly innocent and trusting.
You have to tell her. You can't just disappear one day like her parents did, without saying good-bye. Katara struggled with herself. A thought occurred to her. Do I have to leave? Katara put a hand to her chest at the craziness of her idea. Don't be ridiculous! Aang needs you. Sokka needs you. Especially with Zuko around. They need you to keep them from killing each other, she scolded herself. But… so does Airi. So do all of these people in here. So does the Water Tribe. I have to help their wounded… precious few of the other waterbenders can heal… and I need to help them rebuild their city…It would only be for a little while. They can always come back for me. Katara debated furiously, trying to weigh all of her options, her love for Aang and her brother against her love for Airi and the Water Tribe.
"Katara?" Airi spoke again. "Are you okay?" she asked concernedly. "Why do you look so sad, Katara? Don't be sad! I won't ever leave you," she assured Katara. The little girl reached up and touched a quivering fingertip to the single tear that had managed to escape all of Katara's best defenses.
And Katara's heart broke. She couldn't leave. She just… couldn't.
"I'm not sad," Katara smiled through the tears that were blurring her vision. "And I won't ever leave you as long as you need me," she promised Airi.
"Good," Airi sighed in contentment. They sat in silence for awhile, Katara softly stroking the little girl's hair.
How are you going to tell Sokka and Aang?
A/N: Oy vey. It's 5:30 AM. I don't know how soon I can update because finals are coming up, but encouragement is quite persuasive. Please review! I love feedback.