Chapter II.
Katara walked along the street with the dagger tucked into her belt. She had some time before dinner, so she set out in search of Parmu. She was still blushing from the idea of Zuko knowing what her necklace was meant for. She hoped he didn't understand Water Tribe customs. If he did, he might think that she…
Katara's mind refused to contemplate the possibility of him having realized the significance of the bracelet. She still couldn't shake the idea of a bunch of little Water Tribe boys running around with topknots and scars on their faces. The idea made her shiver.
He was probably so furious at having been duped he burned the thing to ash or threw it into the ocean at the first opportunity. Though deep down, part of her wondered if he kept it. She thought back to their recent battle. He could have killed her if he'd wanted to, but he hadn't. She had chalked it up to him being too honorable, but now she was beginning to wonder.
Katara found the object of her search in the marketplace. She started towards the boy when Sokka found her. "There you are. I thought you were going to get a bath before dinner?"
"I was, but I met someone." Katara said smiling as she started towards the stall where Parmu was standing.
"Oh, who?" Sokka said uncertainly until his gaze fell on the form of Parmu.
"Oh, man. I didn't mean to intrude on your date. I can go back to the palace if the two of you would like to be alone." Sokka said quickly.
"No silly, I met Sienna." Katara said rolling her eyes.
"You're dating Sienna?" Sokka said stupidly.
Katara smacked Sokka. Hard. "No. I met Sienna at the palace. It turns out she's one of our distant cousins. Her grandmother is Gran-Gran's sister. That guy over there is her betrothed."
Sokka actually looked crestfallen. "Oh well, I can hope."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Katara asked with a dangerous tone in her voice.
"I'm just saying, that you've been fawning over that mask you got from Prince Zuko ever since we rescued Aang. You need to find a nice Water Tribe man." Sokka said apparently missing his sister's baleful glare.
"I'll choose who I want, WHEN I want, Sokka!" Katara said vehemently.
Sokka just snorted and looked off to the side. "You know Aang likes you."
This took the wind out of Katara's sails faster than an airbender with a hiccup. "I know." She said quietly. "It's just that he's so young. I don't care about Aang like that."
Sokka just grunted and looked uncomfortable. "So why are you looking for this guy anyway?"
Katara brightened remembering her mission. "Revenge." Katara said with an evil grin.
Sokka said nothing as Katara made her way to Parmu. She was just about to speak when someone interrupted her.
"It's you!" An unfamiliar voice said to her side.
Katara turned to look at a young Water Tribe boy dressed in rich Earth Kingdom garb. He was weighted down with gold on his fingers and his neck.
"Do I know you?" Katara asked slowly.
"Of course you do!" The young man said. "I owe my fortune to you Lady Katara."
"Lady Katara?" Sokka said doubtfully. "I think you DO have the wrong person."
The young man shook his head taking Katara's hand in his. "Oh no, I would never forget that face."
The outburst had attracted some attention, including Parmu who came over and looked at Katara questioningly. "Lady… Katara?"
Katara smiled at Parmu as the young man introduced himself. "I'm sorry, how rude of me. I don't think we were properly introduced before. My name is Ojaki. I'm the one who gave you the ivory bracelet."
Katara suddenly remembered the young man from the marketplace. He had indeed given her the bracelet she had later given to Zuko. "Oh Ojaki! You're right; we weren't introduced. It has been a while. What do you mean you owe your fortune to me?"
"Well my lady, after I met you, my employer packed up and went to Omashu. I tried selling more of my bracelets, and one day I sold one to an earthbender from King Bumi's palace. The next thing I know, I am escorted to the palace to make one for the king himself. I told him about giving one to you, and he told me you were traveling with the Avatar. I've been selling them as fast as I can make them ever since. Benders who believe in the Avatar have been buying them to show their support. When I found out the Avatar was here, I came to meet him. I've been selling bracelets the entire time. I've lost count of how many benders have taken up one of my bracelets." Ojaki said happily.
"You travel with the Avatar?" Parmu said in awe. It was still surprising for Katara, coming from a place so small everyone was related to being in a Water Tribe city where everyone didn't know each other. She just assumed everyone knew who she was and that she traveled with Aang. Katara nodded shyly before remembering her reason for being there.
"Here Parmu, Sienna asked me to give this to you." Katara said sweetly as she handed the dagger to him.
"Sienna asked you to give this to me?" Parmu asked in amazement. Hope flared in the man's eyes.
Katara smiled. "Yes, she's my cousin. That dagger belonged to her grandfather. She's still at home if you want to go talk to her."
Parmu darted off down the street yelling his elation to anyone who would listen.
"What was that all about?" Sokka asked watching the spastic young man fall into the canal from being in too big of a hurry.
"I just made Sienna accept his proposal." Katara said grinning.
Sokka looked at her with a horrified look on his face. "You can be down right evil sometimes, you do know that don't you?"
Ojaki interrupted them again. "So my lady, do you still have the bracelet I gave you?"
Katara suddenly blushed. "Uh no, I'm sorry. I gave it to someone."
Ojaki seemed hurt. "You gave it to someone?"
Sokka snorted. "Yeah, she gave it to her boyfriend Zuko." Sokka said sourly.
Katara was just about to dunk Sokka in the canal with Parmu when Ojaki cried out. "Why that's wonderful! I can think of no better use for one of my bracelets than to confirm an engagement!"
Katara looked at Ojaki in horror. Does EVERYBODY in the Water Tribe know about this custom? Apparently, the only people who didn't know about it were Sokka and herself. Oh, no…
Sokka could be blissfully ignorant sometimes. This however was not turning out to be one of those times. Katara watched the entire spectrum of emotion run across his face from indignation, to disgust, to horror. However when he finally looked at her, she saw the emotion that she most dreaded to see… amusement.
Chief Arnook looked down at the general as he gave his report. He was troubled, but he had learned long ago not to let his emotions show to his subordinates. The ocean beneath you might churn and drag you down to your doom, but as long as the surface was calm no one would ever know it. That was how he felt now. Calm over the undertow.
The Fire Nation attack had been brutal. Without the Avatar his people would have finally been defeated. They would have been conquered and possibly slaughtered. His people could no longer maintain the war as they had for these long decades. His nation was crumbling.
In the beginning it had been a simple matter. Send warriors to fight alongside the Earth Kingdom and hope that alliance stopped the Fire Nation on their soil instead of on his own ocean. He never realized how quickly the Fire Nation could spread. Having so many soldiers in the field and the Fire Nation still able to send such a force against the north could mean only one thing. His people were loosing the war.
As long as Ozai continued his offensive against the world, none could stop him. Arnook searched his mind considering what could be done. There were people within the Fire Nation who did not agree with Ozai, but they were in the minority.
Chief Arnook nodded and dismissed his general. It would be better if Ozai were dead, but the man was too powerful as a firebender and no assassination attempt had succeeded. The Earth Kingdom might frown upon such things, but when half of your people have been slaughtered, you start thinking along those lines. Chief Arnook had resolved long ago that he would NOT allow the northern tribe to fall like the southern tribe.
Chief Arnook got up and went to dinner. He missed having Yue there with him, but he felt reassured every time he looked up into the night sky. He almost thought he could see her reflection there.
Chief Arnook smiled as he heard the two bickering siblings that followed the Avatar. They were nearly all that was left of the Southern Water Tribe, and he had come to treasure the two of them. Sokka had felt something for Yue, and Arnook was certain that he would have gladly traded his life for her own. Katara was a gentle spirit, but had more fire than many of the young women in the north. She was an inspiration.
The two of them quieted down as the chief took his seat at the table along with them and the Avatar. He chatted idly with his commanders over dinner, and only half listened to their replies. Instead, he listened for the half whispered argument between the two. He was not long in waiting. It was a known fact to those who moved about politically, that the most important things ever said were whispered. Shouting might encourage warriors in battle, but listening to a whisper might save a kingdom.
Arnook doubted this would be the case today. Plotting and planning simply weren't in the two siblings. He merely liked listening to the two, jibing with each other.
"Would you like some more fish Lady Katara." Sokka was saying with deliberate joy in his voice.
"Just drop it Sokka, I'm warning you." Katara shot back with a dangerous glare.
"Or what, you're going to have your boyfriend roast me alive?" Sokka snickered.
Katara's glare looked murderous. Sokka apparently had a very low sense of self-preservation, a trait common to all the best warriors.
"You'll be lucky if I don't roast you alive." Katara said acidly.
"Oh, I'm sorry my lady! Why don't you just have one of your servants do it for you?" Sokka said pressing the advantage. Arnook was at least reasonably sure that Katara wouldn't attempt violence at the dinner table. Afterwards however… Arnook made it a point to remember to warn the palace guards.
"Look Sokka, it was nothing. I'm sure he doesn't even realize…" Katara was saying defensively.
"What are you guys talking about?" Aang asked innocently.
"Katara's engaged to Zuko." Sokka said smugly.
It took all of Arnook's training to keep from spewing the seal milk he was drinking all over his prime minister. His advisors looked at him questioningly, as he tried to catch his breath. "Sorry, went down the wrong way." Arnook apologized.
The siblings and the Avatar had apparently not noticed his eavesdropping.
"What do you mean, she's engaged to Zuko?" Aang asked in total bewilderment.
"Well, you remember when Zuko got his hands on Katara's necklace? Well when he offered it to her, it was like proposing. People up here give those necklaces when they propose. When Katara took it back from him, it meant she accepted." Sokka said chuckling.
"It was NOT, Sokka. You have to give a token back to the person who gave you the necklace before it's official." Katara said defensively.
"Yeah, Sokka. I don't think that Katara's really engaged just because of that." Aang said jumping to the defense of his friend and crush. However, it couldn't be said that the Avatar didn't like a good joke either. "Though, she did tell me to give Zuko a kiss the next time I saw him when I told her he wanted me to give her necklace back to her." Aang said with mock suspicion, looking sidelong at the girl.
"No wait, there's more. You remember when Zhao caught you and we had to fly through Fire Nation territory to get away? The Blue Spirit was the one that rescued you. I followed him back and clubbed him when I realized it was Zuko. We tied him up, and before we left Katara gave him some sort of bracelet." Sokka said ready to roll on the floor.
Aang was looking at Katara. The look was priceless. It was a look that was totally confused and yet unsure as to whether or not it wanted clarification. If the sky had turned green, the world would have probably made more sense to the Avatar at that moment.
Katara was livid. "It's not like I knew it was a custom!" Katara said defensively.
"Why'd you give him a bracelet, anyway?" Aang asked quietly.
Apparently Katara could tell he was hurt. "I'm sorry Aang. I just felt guilty for using him like that."
"What do you mean?" Aang asked looking at her through narrowed eyes.
Arnook listened while Katara told Aang about the adventure the two Water Tribe siblings had experienced while Zhao had imprisoned him. Arnook listened to the story with some interest. In the back of his mind a plan was beginning to form. He hated the idea of using the girl for his own purposes, but if it meant protecting his people he would do it.
Arnook leaned over to one of his lieutenants. "I want to know where Zuko is, now!" Arnook whispered. He didn't even need Zuko's cooperation. Sometimes belief in a thing being true was just as powerful as the truth itself.
Arnook looked back over to the two Water Tribe siblings, and said a private prayer for the spirits to forgive him.