Chapter I.
Katara collapsed onto the bed in the small apartment she shared with Sokka in the palace. Since they were companions of the Avatar, they were given the royal treatment. Even Pakku had started treating her with more respect. She hated to admit it, but he'd even started acting like a grandfather toward the two Water Tribe siblings. After training, he and Katara would sit and talk for hours about home and how Gran-Gran was doing.
It hadn't come as a very big surprise to Katara that Pakku was planning a trip to the Southern Water Tribe to 'protect the remnants' of their sister tribe. She hoped even more that he would find everything safe.
Katara looked over to the wall where she had hung the Blue Spirit mask. She wondered vaguely what Zuko was doing now. They had been forced to face each other in combat. Katara's power had grown since coming to the North Pole, but Zuko was older and had a fair head start on his training. That, and the fact that he had Iroh with him to teach him every step of the way made it hard for her to believe that she could have bested him.
Katara thought she could probably stop Zuko NOW, it was just that when she had first started her training she was pretty sure that she couldn't have stopped him THEN. She couldn't really say that Zuko had gone easy on her, but if he had wanted her dead, then she would have been. It was unlike the Fire Nation to leave enemies alive in their wake especially when they would probably come back to hunt you down.
Katara rolled over and stared at the mask. Sokka hated the thing, but Katara took comfort from it. She wondered if Zuko even realized that the Blue Spirit was generally associated with the Water Tribe. Considering what he had used it for, it was entirely possible.
Most people in the Water Tribe didn't give the mask a second glance. Some of the more spiritual people in the Water Tribe might even possess a similar mask. Many had heard of the Blue Spirit and thought that the spirits had awakened to protect the Avatar. Others thought it must be some sort of brave Water Tribe hero going out to stop the Fire Nation. She doubted, however, that any of them would believe who the Blue Spirit REALLY was. So far it was a secret only Sokka and Aang shared with her. Well, that they all shared with Zuko.
Katara could hear Sokka outside the room talking to Aang. After a few minutes, the young warrior came in and collapsed onto his bed groaning. His own training tended to be more physically demanding than her own.
"So did you manage to make it today?" Katara asked curiously.
The grin Sokka flashed her was all the answer she needed. The boy had been training harder than the rest of the young men. He was probably going to have to face more Fire Nation soldiers than the rest of them and sooner too. As soon as Aang was done training here he had to go to the Earth Kingdom to be trained there. Katara was sure that Bumi would be glad to teach Aang, but first they had to break through a blockade of Fire Nation ships that knew exactly where he was.
"Yeah, I managed to finally make that jump." Sokka said in triumph. "I can't wait to move on to the next level."
Katara shook her head and got up. She walked over to the tub and pulled some water from the pool in the corner of the room and filled it. She quickly heated it to a comfortable temperature and then turned to Sokka. The smell of sweaty warrior overpowered her senses.
"Well, I was going to ask you to leave while I took a bath, but on second thought I think you need it worse than I do." Katara said waving a hand in front of her nose.
"Hey! I don't stink!" Sokka cried in indignation as he jumped up from his bed.
Katara laughed and elbowed him in the stomach. He let out an 'oof' and plopped back down quickly. Katara winced and tried not to reach for her elbow to rub it in front of him. Sokka had been training hard the past few weeks, and now his abdomen had grown quite hard. Not that she was going to admit that to him though. "Well, you can't really say that smelling like a sweaty, grunt warrior smells pretty can you?"
Sokka grumbled but got up from his bed to take his bath. They were eating in the main hall and he didn't like looking like a smelly grunt in front of Yue's father. Katara excused herself and went to go find something to do before dinner.
She wandered around for a while until suddenly someone grabbed her from behind. "There you are!"
Katara was whirled around until she was looking up into the face of a handsome young Water Tribe boy. "Please. Tell me your answer. I have to know!" The young boy said staring into Katara's eyes with obvious longing.
"Uh, who are you?" Katara said slowly.
"What? Please don't play games with me Sienna!" The boy said almost crying.
"Wait a minute, did you say Sienna?" Katara asked uneasily.
"Yes, what else would I call you?" The boy asked dumbly.
"I take it you know Sienna?" Katara said as realization began to creep through her mind.
"Sienna, what are you talking about?" The boy said in confusion.
"You have me confused with someone else. I'm not Sienna. I'm Katara. Please, take me to Sienna. I haven't seen her in a while and I really would like to speak to her." Katara said smiling.
"You're not Sienna?" The boy said trying to wrap his mind around the concept.
"No she isn't. So please let her go." A familiar female voice said behind him.
Katara looked up to see Sienna standing behind them with a miffed look on her face. "Parmu, I told you not to come here. I'll tell you my answer tomorrow." Sienna said tapping her foot.
Parmu looked back and forth from Sienna to Katara trying to figure out what was going on. Finally he released Katara and bowed before heading off down the corridor. Katara looked up at Sienna and smiled.
"A friend of yours?" Katara asked.
"Yeah, a suitor. He's pretty smitten too." Sienna said smiling to herself.
Katara grinned. "Well, I'm happy to see you made it here okay."
"You too. So tell me, how's Zuko?" Sienna said smiling.
"Alive. He slipped away with Iroh after the battle. I haven't seen him since." Katara said uneasily. The heat from her cheeks told her she was blushing.
"That wasn't what I was asking." Sienna said with a wink. "Come, I was looking for you. My grandmother wants to meet you."
"Your grandmother?" Katara asked dumbly. "Yes. You didn't think Kana of the Northern Water Tribe didn't have any family did you, cousin Katara?"
The look of shock on Katara's face didn't fade the entire way through the city to the small house on the canal. Sienna pulled her along mercilessly as Katara tried to come to grips with the realization. Cousin?
Sienna pulled her inside the house as an elderly woman came into the room from the back. She looked remarkably like Gran-Gran.
"Ah, Sienna! I see you've brought Katara! Excellent!" The old woman said as she hugged Katara closely.
"You know Gran-Gran?" Katara said dumbly.
"Of course. She's my older sister. I was just a baby when she left for the south. Please come in and have a cup of tea with your Great Aunt Hannah. Sienna, make us some tea." Hannah said pulling the girls toward some cushions.
"Yes Granny." Sienna said obediently as she set about making the tea.
"So that means that Sienna is my cousin?" Katara continued.
"Yes, distantly. How else could the two of you look so much alike? Kana was my sister. The two of you remind me of her. My last memories of her before she left look just like the two of you." Hannah said taking the tea she was offered.
Katara tried to absorb this new knowledge as she sipped the tea she was given. The three women sat in silence, enjoying the company of family. Katara looked over at Sienna to notice that she too was now wearing a necklace.
"Nice necklace." Katara said trying to find something to talk about that didn't involve earth-shattering revelations.
"Yes, Parmu gave it to me. He wants me to marry him." Sienna said blushing.
"Congratulations." Katara said smiling back. She'd forgotten that the necklaces were engagement tokens here in the north.
"Yes, the money which that nice young man Zuko sent home with Sienna will make a lovely dowry. I really must thank that young boy if I ever meet him. He saved Sienna from a life of hardship on the streets begging. I owe him my gratitude." Hannah said smiling.
If you only knew... Katara thought to herself. She looked over at the slightly nervous face of Sienna who glanced back at her with a look that said 'please don't tell'.
Katara smiled to Sienna and kept her silence. Telling Hannah the truth would have only hurt the elderly woman. "I doubt you'll be seeing him around here any time soon."
"Being a merchant must keep him busy in the south then. How else could he have afforded so much money to take care of our Sienna?" Hannah said sadly. "He must be a generous and noble young man."
"Yeah, I guess you could say he's a prince among men." Katara said ignoring the glare from Sienna. She couldn't help but have some fun at her new cousin's expense any more than she could help making fun of Sokka.
"Oh you know him too, then?" Hannah asked happily.
"Yeah, he was the one that gave Katara that necklace." Sienna said grinning evilly. Katara corrected her assessment of Sienna. They were definitely related, but there was no way she was ever going to get into one of these little one up battles with her again. Sokka simply didn't fight this dirty. Besides he hadn't exactly given it to her, Aang had taken it back from him and then he had given it to her.
"But that's Kana's necklace isn't it?" Hannah asked.
"Why yes, it is." Katara said proudly. Let's see her explain THAT one.
"Oh, how wonderful. The boy must have asked Kana's blessing if she gave him that necklace to propose with. He sounds like an absolute treasure of a man." Hannah said beaming at the two girls. Dang it. Katara thought.
Katara sat there with her eyes struggling to escape their sockets as the corner of her once proud grin twitched uncontrollably. Sienna was trying to keep from laughing and crowing in victory.
"Which reminds me child." Hannah said gravely. "Parmu came by looking for you again. You need to either accept his proposal or give back his necklace."
"You mean you haven't accepted his proposal?" Katara asked curiously, quickly changing the subject.
"No. He gave me the necklace and I took it, but I haven't decided if I want to marry him yet." Sienna said quietly.
"Well, you use your grandfather's dagger if you wish to accept." Hannah said seriously. "You shouldn't keep the young man waiting. It is impolite."
"Dagger?" Katara said in confusion.
"Yes, in the Water Tribe a necklace is given to show a boy's intentions to marry a young woman. However, the proposal isn't official until the young woman returns the gesture by giving him a token of her own affection. Usually something worn, or that can be carried into battle." Hannah said lecturing the young girls in that way that most grandparents have of telling young people things they already know, or at least THINK they know.
Katara looked over to Sienna to find her staring intently at her. It was the same look she usually had on her own face when she was checking to see if Sokka had figured out that he'd just been the butt of a wonderful joke. Katara decided that she didn't like that expression, and if it really DID look that way on her face she was never going to make fun of Sokka again. Well, for a couple days at least.
Realization suddenly dawned on Katara and she gave Sienna a look of 'You didn't!' to which the answering triumphant look was 'Oh yes, I did!' Katara's blood ran cold when she thought about the possibility that Sienna had explained all this to Zuko. It meant Zuko had been in on the joke. She was going to kill him.
"So have you given Zuko anything in return for the necklace?" Hannah asked innocently.
"I… I…" Katara stammered. She had given him a bracelet. She'd wanted to give him something for his birthday to make up for using him to rescue Aang. She'd kissed him when she gave it to him.
The red glow coming from her face probably told Hannah everything. "I'll take that as a 'yes'." Sienna said, finally loosing it and rolling around with laughter.
Katara glared at her cousin angrily. "You're just mad he proposed to me instead of you." Katara accused.
Sienna continued to laugh. "Well, I DID offer to take him off your hands."
"What are you laughing about Sienna? What's going on here? Zuko isn't ugly, is he?" Hannah asked in confusion.
"No." The two girls conceded in unison. It wasn't until they sighed in unison that they looked up at each other. It was like looking in the mirror as the two moved.
"Well, there is the scar." Katara said looking at the confused elderly woman.
Hannah seemed to relax and grinned as she prepared to impart more wisdom to the two young girls. "Oh, I wouldn't let that bother you dear. Personally, I find scars attractive. The right scar can make a boy look like a real man. Makes him look all dangerous and mysterious. Why, your great grandfather had a scar that would scare small children." Hannah said laughing as the memory took her back.
"Zuko definitely looks dangerous." Katara admitted. She tried imagining him without the scar. She wasn't succeeding very well. His scar almost defined him as a person. She hated to admit it, but it was kind of cute too, in a creepy sort of way.
The three women finished their tea before Katara got up to leave. Sienna excused herself from the room and Katara was looking around the room when she spied the dagger. "Hannah, does Sienna really like Parmu?"
"Oh yes, she's just nervous about telling him about her past." Hannah said as she put the dishes away.
Katara looked back at the old woman and was stunned to find a sharp-eyed gaze meeting hers. Before she could say a word, Hannah pressed on. "It embarrasses my grand-daughter to speak of it, but I think I can imagine what things were really like for her in the south. Not much passes in front of elderly eyes that doesn't get noticed, despite what you young people might think."
Katara smiled. This was definitely Gran-Gran's sister. Katara got an idea and smiled wickedly. "Can I borrow that dagger?" Katara asked quietly looking back toward the door Sienna had left through. This payback was going to be so sweet…