Nothing else happened for about three days. Gradually, Katara felt better and was able to move around without the fear of fainting. She joked that Zuko was worrying over her for no reason. Zuko would just retort that a sick captive made poor bait. Everything was fine.
Until day number four.
It was normal. At least, as normal as it could be. Zuko was meditating, Katara was jabbering on. Kyru and Kiena were out doing whatever they were told. (Kyru's escape plan was coming along nicely. "Now we just need to find someway to pull it off.")
Katara was talking about how obvious it was that Kyru was sweet on Li Se. Zuko, of course, had learned to block her out when she was rambling. Suddenly, Katara stopped talking. Zuko turned to her. "What was that?" he whispered. Katara shrugged and listened, Zuko following suit.
It was Su! She was talking to Kiena, who was clearly trying to direct attention away from the hovel. "No, really Kiena, I'd like to see what my husband has done in the compound. He said he'd make some changes," came Su's voice. Kiena finally relented.
Su must have realized nothing changed because her next statement was on another topic. "Oh, tomorrow night is the Anniversary, remember? I want you to do something nice with my hair that afternoon. The hovels will not be a safe place, so it'd be in the best interest of everyone to be there."
"Of-of course, Madam," Kiena said. "Speaking of hair," she said quickly, "why don't you show me precisely what ornaments you want in your hair?" Su consented and the two left.
Katara let out the breath she had been holding. "That was close. Too close. That crazy lady is bound to find us out sooner or later, Zuko." The prince nodded.
"Let's hope it's after Kyru's escape plan has been set into motion," the prince replied.
It was later that night when Kyru returned from picking up the items Ji Li needed. "I forgot the Anniversary was tomorrow until that bastard ordered one hundred pounds of candied lichi nuts," he grumbled.
"What's the Anniversary? And why did Ji Li want one hundred pounds of lichi nuts?" questioned Katara.
"Ji Li and Su's wedding anniversary. Every year, Ji Li orders all the Benders to celebrate his marriage, even though everyone here would rather celebrate his untimely demise. We light this huge bonfire in the center of the compound and basically take the entire day off. Except for the cooks and me," Kiena added. "The cooks, well, cook, and I help prepare Su."
"And the guards have a lichi nut eating contest. Whoever can eat ten pounds the fastest wins," replied Kyru. "Ha! All the winner gets is a stomach that could kill and keg of beer the size of Ji Li's ego, if that's possible."
"What? The keg the size of Ji Li's ego? Not even Appa's large enough," Katara laughed. "Appa's Aang's flying bison," she added seeing Kyru and Kiena's blank looks.
"Is it a required event, this Anniversary?" Zuko asked. Kyru nodded.
"Yep. If you don't go, you're more likely to be found. You have a chance to mingle when you're with everyone else," he explained. "Besides, the food's great." Laughter filled the tiny hut.
"I still think this is a bad idea, Katara," Zuko muttered.
"You think anything remotely fun is a bad idea. Besides, you heard Kyru. We have less likely a chance at being found of we go," Katara said, tying her hair back into the kerchief.
Kiena popped her head over. "Hurry! The bonfire's starting soon and being late is almost as bad as not showing up!" Smoke emitted from Zuko's clenched fist as he followed Katara and the twin Earthbenders out.
The sound of revelers came before the sight. Zuko remembered the last time he had been with the other captive Benders they were all rather subdued. Now, seeing them at this celebration, it was evident how they must have led their lives before Ji Li ruined them.
Li Se spotted Kyru and ran to meet him. The strong Earthbender easily lifted her up on an embrace. Smirking, Kiena turned to Katara. "I believe you owe me something," Zuko heard her whisper. Katara shot Kiena a dirty look and handed over a comb she had found a few days prior. Kiena smirked as put it in her hair. "Ready?" she asked Kyru.
"Um, yeah." The Earthbender blushed as he realized his sister had just seen that. He looked at Li Se, who quickly went back to her original spot, but not before giving Kyru a peck on his cheek.
As they walked off, Zuko noticed Kyru following Li Se and gave him a look. "What?" Kyru demanded. "You look at Katara the same way. Whoa!" He had to duck as Zuko sent a shot of fire over his head.
The bonfire was huge, even by Fire Nation standards. Everyone was talking and there were musicians preparing. Kiena smiled. "This is the only place in the world where you can here music from all Four Nations. Even the Air Nomads. That is some really haunting music."
As if on cue, someone playing a roughly carved flute struck up a song that made everyone hearing it want to cry and dance at the same time. "That would be an Air Nomad song, right?" Katara asked dryly. Kiena nodded and sat down on one of the log benches set out.
"If you two want something hot, I'd suggest you sit down," she said. "Food only gets hotter in the Fire Nation when it sits out." Katara laughed and sat down, taking the bowl of…something handed to her. Zuko followed suit, deciding that asking what the something was would not be wise.
For about two hours, Zuko watched as everyone else had fun. He was reluctant to have fun himself, in case a guard happened by and spotted his scar. Katara, on the other hand, actually danced to the some of the Water Tribe dances.
Katara sat down next to Zuko, panting and laughing. "I haven't had this much fun in years," she panted. "Those Fire Dances are fast. How did you learn dance to them?"
"They're easy when you've been learning them since you were five," Zuko replied. "And they're all not as fast as the ones you've heard. And I still think this whole thing is a trap."
Katara rolled her eyes. "I think the problem is you can't dance."
"You think I'd spend fourteen years in the Fire Lord's Court and not know how to dance?" Zuko asked. "You're thicker than you look."
Katara put her hands on her hips. "Oh really? Then prove it."
"I don't have to prove anything to a Water peasant."
"Either you show me you can dance or I'll call you a liar," Katara threatened. Zuko smirked and got up.
"Fine." He listened as the musicians began a familiar waltz. "This is a waltz from the Fire Nation." Katara shook her head.
"Oh no. I don't prove I can dance."
"Well, you're threatening me, so you're part of this dare." Zuko took Katara's hand and led her to where the other people were beginning the waltz.
It was a long waltz, with many twists and spins. If it were not for the fact that Zuko knew this particular waltz perfectly, he would have been as dizzy as Katara looked. (And that was dizzy.) By the time the waltz was through, the kerchief that was usually on Katara's head had fallen off and she holding on Zuko for dear life. Zuko helped her up.
"Still say I can't dance?"
Katara shot him a look. "Shut up."
From distant memory, Zuko remembered what his uncle, who had taught him (and his sister) the steps of the waltz, told him what every gentleman did at the end of the waltz. Still holding Katara's hand, the prince brought it to his lips.
Katara's face looked like it was on fire. But there wasn't embarrassment in her eyes. If anything, Zuko saw…pleasure? Zuko bowed like the prince he was and quickly returned to his seat, leaving Katara in center staring after him.
No sooner had he sat down did Kyru come dashing over to Zuko. "You should have seen yourselves! Everyone else had to stop, the steps were too complicated. But you, you two were keeping the beat and keeping track of the steps. It was amazing!" Kyru spluttered. "You two are bound to win that dance contest."
"Contest?"
"Yeah, didn't Kiena tell you? That particular waltz is a contest to see who can do the steps properly. And seeing as you two were the only ones who went the whole waltz without so much as a trip…" Kyru trailed off. Zuko groaned.
Soon, the lead musician, who played a roughly hewn flute, called for everyone's attention. "Well, that contest went rather poorly," he said bluntly. "But, thank the Avatar that two of the dancers knew what they were doing." Here, the musician pointed a hand in Zuko and Katara's general direction. Everyone clapped politely. "Well, usually Ji Li gives me something to use for a prize, but this year he didn't, for some reason. So instead, how about another round?" Cheers from everyone echoed throughout the compound. Everyone but Katara and Zuko, that is.
"I just got caught breath," Katara muttered. "I really don't to do that again."
"Neither do I," admitted Zuko. "No one even told me it was contest."
"No one told me either, or I would never have challenged you. Should let in? They sound like they're not gonna shut it unless we do," pointed out Katara. She was right. Sighing, Zuko nodded and led Katara back to the center area. The waltz began again, this time a bit faster. Katara groaned and allowed Zuko to lead her in the waltz.
Again, they executed the waltz perfectly, even though Katara nearly fainted from all the spinning. When they finished, the roar of clapping was loud enough to wake the dead. The two teens refused calls for a third, faster round. "I feel liable to faint. Did you have spin me so fast?" Katara complained to Zuko.
"At that tempo, yes. Sorry," Zuko muttered. Everyone was starting to head back to the hovels. Katara spotted her kerchief on the ground. She made to get up but Zuko stopped her. "I'll get it. You might fall with dizziness." Katara made as if to argue, but realized the prince was right and let Zuko get it.
"Hehe." The weird laughter caught Zuko's attention. Looking up, Zuko saw the crazy old man, Chon, from his first night in the compound.
"May I ask what is so funny?"
"Fallin' love wi' the enemy?" Chon cackled. "What would yer daddy think?"
"Come again?" Zuko asked innocently. Chon laughed again.
"Never mind. When have you cared whether or not yer Fire Lord approved of what ye did? Never, not even now. Iffen ye did, ye wouldn't 'ave saved the Waterbender from Ji Li." With that, Chon ambled off.
"Crazy," Zuko muttered as he shook head. He picked the kerchief and went back Katara.
"Thanks. What were you talking to Chon about?" Katara asked as she tied her hair back.
"He was doing all the talking. He said…something disturbing," Zuko said. Katara stood up. Zuko took it as a sign she was ready to follow Kyru and Kiena, who were already back at the hut.
"What did he say?"
The question caught the prince off-guard. "He…he said something I really didn't understand," lied the prince. He understood Chon perfectly, though he didn't want to.
"Kiena made some really weird comments after the first waltz," Katara remarked. "It wasn't like her. The comments were cryptic and…about you." Katara fell silent, rubbing the hand Zuko had kissed at the end of the first waltz. "Why didn't you dance until I dared you to?" she asked.
"I'm not a big dancer," came the reply. "I avoid it whenever possible."
"You really are driven aren't you? I'm sure if this were your ship, the very thought of any sort of…frivolity would be quashed," Katara muttered.
"Not if my uncle had a say in it. He loved his music nights." Zuko cringed. "They were annoying. My uncle can't sing, yet he insisted on singing." Katara laughed.
"That bad?"
With a straight face, Zuko replied, "To say his voice sounds like a dying Hogmonkey trapped beneath a hot stone would be a great injustice, both to Hogmonkey and stone."
"Oh, like you sound better," retorted the Waterbender.
Zuko thought about it for a minute. "You're right," he admitted. Again, Katara laughed. This time, Zuko joined in. It wasn't a cruel laugh, it was a genuine, pleased laugh that threw Katara for a loop.
"Whoa, you can laugh!"
"In my father's court, you need a sense of humor at a young age. That or be a prodigy, like Zula," Zuko replied with a hint of bitterness. They lapsed into silence.
"You did well tonight."
"What?" Katara asked Zuko. His question had thrown her.
"Tonight. No one but Fire Nation citizens has ever learned the dance so quickly, and kept up with the Fire Prince." Zuko smirked. Katara shoved him.
"Stop smirking. Just because you knew the dance and I didn't is no reason to brag. If you must know, I was bluffing my way through," admitted Katara.
"You bluff rather well, then," Zuko corrected himself. Suddenly, Katara swayed on her feet and fell against Zuko.
"Sorry. I must still be dizzy from dancing," she murmured. Zuko simply helped her up, accidentally brushing Katara's kerchief off her head. They bent down to get it at same time, resulting in a head bump. The two teens winced. "What, is your head made from stone?" quipped Katara.
"Hmph," Zuko muttered, rubbing his head. "You're head isn't exactly soft either, Katara." He looked at Katara, both realizing that neither had gotten the kerchief. "Leave it. You can get another one from Kiena," Zuko whispered. "Everyone else is more than likely asleep. Come on."
"I don't think I could sleep even if I wanted to," Katara said. "That waltz jumped started my energy." They finally got to the hovel. Zuko held the curtain back for Katara, who gratefully collapsed on her pallet as soon as she could.
"I thought you said you couldn't to sleep even if you wanted," Zuko whispered, careful not to wake Kyru and Kiena. (The former's snores were so loud, Zuko doubted even the sungi horn could woken him.)
"I can't. But that doesn't mean my body doesn't feel it was just rammed by an Elephant Koi," Katara whispered back. "What about you? And don't you're fine. Hiding the fact you're in pain, if you are, does nothing for my opinion of you."
"Who said I care about what you think of me?" asked the prince.
"Uh, you did, when you danced with me?" Katara pointed out.
Zuko snorted quietly. "A Prince of the Fire Nation never backs down from a challenge, even when it comes from a Waterbender. Especially female Waterbenders."
"Matter of honor? Or it is a macho thing?" Katara asked playfully.
"Honor," replied Zuko. "I've yet to meet a Firebender who does anything just to prove he can."
"I have," Katara said. Zuko looked her. "You, Prince Zuko. I don't think you lived a normal childhood back in the Fire Nation. If you had, you wouldn't have taken me up on my dare. I was only joking, you know."
"I did-" Katara held up her hand.
"You felt that you had to prove something to me, like you've had to do since Spirits-knows-when." She looked the prince. Zuko looked away. He hated it when women were right, especially about him. It was rather scary.
The Fire Prince let that subject drop, as did Katara. Katara did not, however, let the conversation drop.
"Kiena said we were a blur of color that second time; everyone stood staring at us."
"It was probably because of you," Zuko murmured. Katara looked at him.
"What?"
"You…you were beautiful when we were dancing," muttered Zuko quietly. Katara blushed slightly and muttered something about Zuko being a liar. "I'm serious. And I don't give complements to anyone, Katara."
Katara's face was obviously red, even in the dark. "Thanks," she whispered. "Something's confusing me, though. I always thought you Firebenders were, well, harsh, and that they couldn't be gentle. But when you were leading me in the waltz…" Katara trailed off and looked down at her lap. Zuko brought her face up to face him. (He also noted his body temperature was slightly hotter than usual, something that happened when was experiencing extreme emotions. Like now.) Katara looked the prince in the eye. "I didn't think that you could be gentle."
"Gentleness is considered a plague in the Fire Nation," he replied. "I've gotten used to hiding it." It was dead quiet in the hovel. Even Kyru's snores stopped.
"Gentle looks better on you than anger, hate, and malice do," Katara said. "It makes you look more human." She sat closer to Zuko than she had ever dared to, still keeping Zuko's gaze.
"If we were in my father's court," Zuko said, "you'd be arrested for looking me straight in the eye." Katara didn't break off. She gently brushed the edge of Zuko's scar. (The prince swore he heard Kyru and his sister move closer to the curtain.)
Zuko brushed some strands of hair out of Katara's face, not realizing Katara's hand was still on his face. "Zuko, I-" Katara began. She was cut off by the kiss.
For the first time in the two years after he was banished, the prince felt...accepted. For the time in his life, he felt normal. (Living in the Fire Lord's court doesn't lead to a normal life. Living with Iroh definitely didn't lead to a normal life.)
Zuko felt Katara fall against him. She broke the kiss. "Zuko…?" The prince held a hand.
"Not now. We're both tired." Katara nodded and went back to her pallet, lying down and asleep before you blink. Zuko sighed as he lay down. Before drifting off, he heard three distinct words in Kiena's voice, talking her brother.
"Told ya so."
Sorry for the MAJOR fluff, but the escape will rely heavily on it. Beside, if I didn't get those two together soon,I'd have driven myself insane. Oh, yeah, Li Se and Kyru are falling in love, as well. Again, something major regarding my plot, or I would have never mentioned it.
Pop Quiz! Do you think I've ever been kissed?
