Chapter 15: Bittersweet Meetings

I've found the traitor.

Katara thought her heart must have stopped beating. She waited for something to happen. She waited for the Emperor to leap forward and burn her to ashes for her deception.

She watched numbly as Ensei stepped forward, his face tight. "Who?"

The Emperor brandished the crumpled piece of paper in the air. "Admiral Zhao."

All of a sudden she could breathe again.

The Emperor continued to talk. "We must leave now. He has a rendezvous with the rebels in three days time. I- we -can't miss this opportunity to expose him!"

Upon hearing the words "leave" and "now" in the same sentence, the patrol automatically moved into packing and readying their things for a long-distance trip. So it was practically midnight; what did it matter? Their monarch, their Emperor, had come and request their help in capturing a traitor of the Fire Empire. Nothing more was needed. This obedience was ingrained into them as deeply as their own names-it was who they were, what they were here to do.

Only Lt. Ensei had the precedence to question, or ask information of, the Emperor. Katara caught snatches of their conversation as she hurriedly stuffed an extra set of clothing into her bag.

"How do you know it's Zhao?" asked Ensei, voice low.

The Emperor didn't bother to explain; he merely shoved the letter at Ensei. The lieutenant read it quickly, eyes scanning the paper while his face grew more tense. He finally finished, looking up at Emperor Zuko.

"There's no certain evidence it's Admiral Zhao-"

"That's what my uncle said too," the Emperor cut in impatiently.

"-but," Ensei continued, undeterred, "seeing as he's the only Admiral who's enough of a bastard to attempt something like this, my thoughts agree with yours."

The Emperor nodded tightly.

Lt. Ensei turned back to his patrol. "Ready to go?"

Their breaths made clouds in the air as Patrol One and the Emperor made their way towards the army stables. Once inside, the warmth of the animals helped frozen fingers saddle and bridle the horses.

Katara was silent as she brushed over her horse's coat hurriedly. She wanted to stall for time, pretend she was sick, anything to prevent her from going on this mission-why oh why couldn't the Emperor have picked a different Elite Patrol to accompany him?

The rational part of her mind answered her; the Emperor was close friends with Lt. Ensei. It only made sense that he would trust his friend to be the one to protect him from an ambitious, traitorous man like Zhao.

She lead her ready horse out of the stable and into the courtyard. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, another form barreled into her and Katara caught herself before tripping.

"Katara!" it was Kaz's excited face, shining in the dim light. "Are you leaving for a mission? Are you?"

She impatienty shoved him to the side as she put one foot in the stirrup. "Yeah. What's it to you?" It was past midnight and they were leaving for a mission. Add on the fact of this 'traitor' business and Katara was in a bad mood.

"Can I come?"

She gave him a blank look. "What?" Kaz was a trainee healer, not a soldier.

"I need field experience before they'll let me become a full-fledged doctor- please, Katara?"

Katara gave him a disbelieving look. "Kaz, this isn't really the best mission you could tag along on- really serious business- I'm not sure if the Emperor-"

The look on his face was that of a pleading child. Inwardly, she seriously doubted that he was really seventeen years old.

Shrugging him off, she nodded towards Lt. Ensei and the Emperor, who were still inside the stables. "Check with them. I can't say anything."

Kaz dashed into the brightly lit stables, and in less than a minute, a disgruntled-looking Emperor and Lieutenant came outside with the younger boy at their heels. She could hear his excited chattering from her position atop her horse. "Katara said I could ask you—I would really appreciate it if you would allow me to come—the exam is in a week's time—"

"You know this guy, Katara?" the Emperor called to her.

"Uh—yes, sir," she tried to avoid eye contact. Kaz was making a fool of himself. "I worked with him during my week in the hospital."

Kaz grasped this chance. "And I'm sure Katara will tell you what a good worker I am—I can take care of cuts, bruises, any type of wound you want me to deal with—"

The Emperor flashed her an annoyed glance. "Can you take orders, kid?"

Kaz ceased his babbling mid-sentence and nodded enthusiastically. "Of course I can, and I can also—"

"Fine," the Emperor bit out, waving a hand in dismissal. "I don't have time to deal with you tonight. Ensei, fill him in."

The Emperor stomped off to his own horse, and the Lieutenant eyed Kaz up and down. Swallowing nervously, Kaz looked at his feet; his goal accomplished, he was at a loss for what to do.

"Me and my soldiers don't have time to babysit, you hear me?" Ensei drawled. "You ride your horse, you carry your stuff, you do your share of the work. Hopefully this trip'll be a clean one and we won't end up needing you."

Kaz nodded again.

"Just don't get in the way, and you'll most likely stay alive," Lt. Ensei said, and now Katara knew he was just teasing. "Get your stuff and get on a horse before we leave without you."

Then they were all mounted, all six of them, and galloped off into the night, much to the confusion of the sleepy stable hand boys.

It was probably one of the hardest trips Katara had ever taken. Clinging numbly to the saddle, she tried to ignore the chilling cold and keep herself awake at the same time. She had been so ready to have a good night's sleep, and that strange healing thing she'd done on Gian today hadn't helped keep her strength up. If anything, it seemed to have depleted her energy, slowing her reflexes, muddying her awareness.

She was unsure of how long they rode like that. Many times she found herself drifting into sleep, waking up with a start only when she felt her body starting to slip off the saddle. She bit her lip, slapped her face, pinched her arm, anything to keep herself awake.

It seemed like whole years had passed when she finally heard Lt. Ensei shout something ahead. "Zuko! We have to stop sometime tonight… horses will… can't go any further!"

A nod from the Emperor, some kind of signal exchanged, and they were galloping off the main trail, into the light trees bordering the road. They stopped in a small clearing, and as Katara tried to dismount, she ended up tangling her feet in the stirrups. Her mind was full of unclear smoke, the tiredness dragging at her eyes and body. She was unbalanced and dizzy sliding out of the saddle, and landed in a heap on the ground. She couldn't even see clearly in the dark as to her fellow soldiers' conditions.

Her legs were still bent in the position they'd been in for the past hours (how many? four? five? It seemed like a million) and try as she might, she couldn't seem to get them to work. And after all, this dirt wasn't so uncomfortable- mighty soft actually, good to sleep on, drifting off-

A hard hand clenched her arm and hauled her up from the ground.

"You alright?" the voice of Emperor Zuko permeated her mind.

She was almost about to tell him off for interrupting her impromptu nap when she realized who it was.

"Fine," she said, shaking her head, "I'm just fine." Wrenching her arm from his grasp with perhaps a little more force than necessary, she walked off, intent on setting up camp and getting some sleep.

Katara wasn't sure how she accomplished setting up the tent with Hiro, but she distinctly remembered missing the tent stake and ending up hammering her finger instead. Damn.

The patrol laid out their sleeping bags inside after picketing the horses and taking bathroom breaks. Katara gratefully slipped into her warm cocoon at the very back of the tent and was surprised to find the Emperor on the other side. He said nothing as he settled down as well. He must not have had time to pack his own tent like he usually did. Oh well. The Elites' tent was certainly roomy enough, and it was cold tonight.

Katara fell asleep almost instantly, her back to the Emperor. Her old insomniac habits were no longer a problem; as a soldier, she'd learned to get sleep when she needed it, because she knew now that rest and relaxation were never guaranteed by the future.

They rode into a prosperous village around noon of the second day. The townspeople gave them a wide berth, because the patrol looked quite official, all mounted on horses and dressed in uniform.

"I suggest we split for supplies and meet in an hour in the village square," Ensei said, squinting at the sun to judge the time. "Get whatever you need and be back here on time or we're leaving without you."

Katara nodded before she spurred her on horse onto the marketplace. They'd left the previous night without time for preparation. Things like food and other essentials had been left behind in the Emperor's haste. They could pick up a few quick things here before leaving.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw that most of her patrol members had split up for their own needs, but Kaz was still trailing behind her. Stopping abruptly, she dismounted, and when he did too, she walked over and shoved the reins of her horse in his hands.

"You stay here and watch the horses," she said curtly. "they're too much of a hassle to ride through crowds. I'll get whatever we need, since I'm the one with actual experience here. Do you want anything special?"

Kaz looked at her, wide-eyed, and shrugged slightly. "Maybe some food?"

"We all want food," she said, giving him a small smile, before turning and mingling in with the crowds. Kaz stood there nervously to wait for her return.

She made a quick round, buying bread, fruits, and other plain fare. She was in the shadow of a stall selling apples when a stranger's arm brushed her back; she would have put it off as an accident except for that same arm began to curl around her waist. Instantly stiffening, she was about to turn around and smash the apple she was holding into the bastard's face when a low voice spoke in her ear.

"Katara! What a coincidence, seeing you here! I only just met your baby niece the other day." The tone was warm and friendly. Katara thought quickly. He knew her name—and because of the fact that he'd said it was a 'coincidence' seeing her here, meant it was no mere 'coincidence', but a planned meeting. And he'd mentioned Suyan, her brother's newborn child. Definitely somebody from Kyoshi.

She turned, and for the sake of the apple merchant, made a show of hugging this stranger. In doing so, she made sure that her back was facing the crowd, and hoped that the awning of the fruit stall would be sufficient enough to keep her face in shadow should one of the Elite members come trotting along.

Katara pulled back and looked up into the face of one of Sokka's childhood friends; Makito. He was taller than she remembered, and his face was one of friendly congeniality.

"Makito," she replied warmly, "it's been a long time."

He took the arm from her waist and slung it across her shoulders in a casual gesture. He tossed the apple merchant a small coin before taking one of the fruits. "Let's go somewhere and have a drink. We have a lot to catch up on." Behind the smile on his face Katara could read a calm urgency.

They worked their way through the crowd. Katara kept close by his side, sometimes curling in towards him like a besotted sweetheart hiding her face bashfully. In truth, she hid in fear. Fear of what sort of explanations she would have to dream up if Oran, or Faozu, or god forbid, the Emperor, came upon her like this with a strange man. It took far to long for them, in Katara's mind, to duck into a small side shop that was moderately crowded for business. They took a small side table, Makito and her, in the back of the room.

Pulling out a chair and almost slamming herself into it, Katara ducked low and whispered, "I have less than an hour here, so talk."

Makito dipped his head, pretending to read a menu over her shoulder. "Your brother and Suki send their regards. We heard about you from Kian, who made it back safely."

She nodded, and waved away one of the waitresses who had come to ask for their order. "Anything else?"

Makito took a deep breath. "Something's happened in Kyoshi, to your family."

Her hands clenched beneath the table. Sokka? Suki?

"Your niece. Suyan."

"Spit it out," Katara gritted through her teeth.

"You ever heard of the Avatar?"

Katara tried to relax her hands. "A fairy tale. Rumor. No one's heard of the Avatar since the last one died." Then it hit her. "Suyan? The Avatar?"

One of his hands shifted to grip her arm under the table. "Keep it down."

"Just tell me already—"

"Your niece was three months old when she levitated the water in her bottle."

That made sense, Katara thought frantically. Sokka was her brother—it probably ran in the family or something—

"Then she started to spit fire when she sneezed."

"Impossible," Katara gasped. "She's had no training—absolutely nothing. She's what, six months now?"

Makito shook his head urgently. "Nobody believed it at first but I've seen it, Katara, and believe me, this is the truth."

"It's the truth," she repeated dumbly.

"And if the Fire Empire finds out—"

"They'll kill her."

"Yes. And you know how people talk, even if they swear themselves to silence. Rumors slip out, people can't be trusted. It's impossible to keep something like this a secret. Impossible." His hand was a vise on her wrist, and he was speaking low and fast into her ear. All she could do was nod like an idiot.

"The Mistress sent me here to tell you: now is the time to kill him," Makito hissed. "Now, before any word of this gets out. The Empire must be disorganized, ruined, without a leader, so Suyan will be safe as she grows up and becomes the Avatar."

So this was it, she thought. The long-awaited proclamation. Whispered from one rebel to the next in the back of a dingy, smelly little restaurant in a nameless countryside village. This is how someone dies.

"Do you hear me?" he shook her, still hissing. "Do you understand me?"

She nodded again. Then she thought of something. "Wait," she said. "We're going right now, with the Emperor, to find a traitor at Luxing Fort. A traitor who's apparently been meeting with rebels, Makito." Katara looked him in the eyes. "Has the Mistress authorized any sort of alliance with a high-ranking Empire official?"

Makito almost recoiled at her words. "What?"

"The Emperor told us we were going to go catch an Admiral, a traitor who was conspiring with rebels—"

"That's bullshit," said Makito. "No Kyoshi rebel would willingly make an agreement with one of those Fire bastards. That's… that's impossible."

"This is what he told me, this is what I heard," she said, darting a glance out the windows towards the street. She couldn't have much time left.

"Alright," Makito snapped. "Don't kill him yet—go with them to Luxing Fort and find out about this traitor and his little rebel friends. Find out the truth and get a message to us—"

"How?"

"Um, I don't know, uh, I'll have somebody in Kotzut meet with you when you get back."

"Alright, I'll do that—"

Makito ran a hand through his dark hair. "Shit. This ruins everything. I'll tell the Mistress you've been… delayed. We'll get somebody else to tell you when the real time comes."

"Fine," she said, and pushed back her chair, eyes on the passing crowd outside. "I have to go."

"Do you want me to tell your brother anything?" Makito called.

She shrugged, eyes still fixed outside, a cold, unfeeling, callous shrug because it was the only thing she knew she could do without breaking. "I guess I miss him," and then she was out the door, pushing past the people, trying to shake it all off and forget and become a different person, a different Katara, before she saw her fellow Elites again.

"You took so long!" Kaz cried as she jogged up to him and the horses, clutching her parcels in one hand.

"Yeah," she snapped, "And you're very welcome," she shoved the packages into his surprised arms.

He mumbled something that she didn't bother to catch while she swung herself up onto her horse. Her face schooled into a neutral mask, she felt her interior harden and pushed any lingering thoughts brought on by the talk with Makito from her mind. "Let's go," she called tersely to Kaz and they were off, the crowd parting around the horses like water around stones.

The Emperor's face was tense as they joined the rest of the group in the town square. "You were almost late," he said. It was Katara's turn to be snapped at.

She almost fired off a retort before she bit it off at the edge of her tongue. The Emperor Zuko could see that she had been about to say something before stopping; he gave her a look, a 'try me' glare, before the patrol silently moved out of the town and back onto the trail towards Luxing.

Shifting slightly on her sore muscles, Katara prepared herself for another full day's ride.

And she tried not to think about how she'd consciously tried, and succeeded in, delaying the death of the Emperor.

She woke up and there was no one next to her. Sleeping bags flat and rumpled. She put one hand on the cloth next to her, the one that belonged to the Emperor. Faintly warm. Where were they? Had somebody attacked? No; she would have heard it, and it was utterly silent outside. Besides, her patrol would have woken her up if they were leaving.

The panic rose inside her, and she threw back her sleeping bag, anxious to get outside. Where was everybody? The eerie sense of loneliness crept up her back, like tiny tendrils of fear that quickly grasped her head in a tight, deadly grip.

She flipped aside the tent door, and outside, all was bathed in the moon's silvery glow. Calm, tranquil, utterly silent.

Katara looked down and the Emperor's bloody face was next to her feet, eyes glazed over with death.

She screamed, stepping back and almost stumbling on another body. Qin, his face almost mangled beyond recognition. Katara put her hands up to her mouth in horror. There was Faozu, and Oran, and Lt. Ensei. No. What had happened? Had the rebels attacked? How had she possibly slept through it?

"Katara," a voice called to her from the edge of the clearing.

She whirled around, grasping for a knife from her belt. Who was it?

A white face stared at her, floating above nothingness; a mere blank, inhuman disk illuminated in the trees. And Katara recognized the Mistress' calm features.

"A job well done," said the head of the Mistress, in a kindly tone- a motherly tone. It was a voice that Katara had never before heard directed at herself. "A very good job well done."

"What?" Katara gasped. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm so proud of you," continued the Mistress. "I'm so proud of what you have done for Kyoshi."

"What the fuck are you talking about!"

"Look at yourself," said the Mistress, as if Katara hadn't said anything. "All grown up. My beautiful daughter."

Katara looked at her hands, one of them holding the shaking knife. She screamed in horror. The metal of the weapon was slick with red, a crimson stain that dripped over both her hands, all the way up her arms and she could feel it on her face

She kept screaming, a never-ending wail of horror and denial and no no no no she couldn't have done it she couldn't have.

"My beautiful daughter," said the face. "My beautiful Katara."

Katara flung the bloody knife away from her, threw it to the ground and raised her sticky hands to cover her red cheeks. No.

"I love you," said the Mistress, in an almost sing-song tone.

"No! No!"

The face smiled, and its teeth were red. "I love you so very, very much."

There were hard hands gripping her shoulders, keeping her prisoner. She fought them, clawed at them, tried to escape.

"Katara! Katara, wake up!"

She opened her eyes and the scarred face of the Emperor was next to her, his tawny eyes darkened with worry. She was panting, gasping for breath. Her mind was still stuck in her dream, trapped in that nightmare.

"You're alive," she said, and heard her voice as if someone else had said the words.

Emperor Zuko gave her a look, not letting go of her shoulders. "Of course I am," he said.

She raised one hand wonderingly, marveling at her clear, tan skin. No trace of blood anywhere. Katara looked more closely at his face. His scar- it was so red.

Emperor Zuko almost flinched as her cool hand touched his face. It slid over his cheek, from his eye to his temple.

"Bloody," she said.

He tried not to shiver.

"I hope you're okay," she continued. "I'm very sorry."

She must be sleep talking, he thought to himself. He raised one of his own hands to cover hers, the one on his face, and gently brought it down to rest at her side. He almost missed her cool touch. Almost.

"Go back to sleep," he said. "Go back to sleep."

"It was an accident," she said, eyes unfocused. "I didn't mean to do it."

Zuko pretended to know what she was talking about. "Of course. I understand completely."

She smiled, and he tried not to smile back. "I'm glad."

Katara woke up the next morning, an unsettling feeling in her mind. She had dreamt yetserday, she knew it, but the only things she could remember were flashes of red, a face of white, and a calm voice saying it understood her. It carried an overlaying film of dread, as if something horrible had happened and she couldn't remember what.

But she was rested, and her body felt all the better for it. She packed her things, rolled away her sleeping bag, and emerged into the bright sunshine of the day. After saddling and readying her own horse, she helped the patrol take down the tent and clean up the clearing. The Emperor was no less urgent than yesterday to get moving. He cast her a few strange looks as they worked, but Katara shrugged this off.

In less than an hour they were ready to continue to Luxing Fort, where, according to Emperor Zuko's information, the traitor Admiral would be having a secret meeting.

They rode in silence, with the Emperor at the head. He was filled with an intensity Katara had never seen before; he was always rushing, and snapped at anyone who did something to slow the group down, however unintentional the actiton might have been. She personally grew annoyed quickly, but kept her mouth shut as to her opinions on his behavior. He was the Emperor, and she was a lowly soldier. He ordered, she obeyed.

It was as simple as that.

"Do you have nightmares often?" the Emperor asked her as they laid out their things inside the tent. They were camping by the trail that night, and the others were outside rubbing down the horses.

Katara froze. "What do you mean?" The dread from earlier this morning crept up on her again. Her dream- the one she couldn't remember -what had it been about?

"Last night," he said, letting go of his sleeping bag to look at her intently. "You were screaming and I tried to wake you up. Then you began to talk. I don't think you were awake."

She tore her eyes from his gaze and tried to concentrate on rebuckling her pack. Her fingers trembled. "What did I say?" Oh please, she thought to herself, please let it have been something he wouldn't understand. Please let me not have said anything incriminating.

He frowned, as if trying to remember. "You said- you said that I was alive, and that you were sorry, and that... that something was an accident, and you didn't mean it."

Katara shook her head, confused. "I don't know what you mean," she said. "I don't remember anything." Except that I was very, very scared.

"You did something else too," he continued, voice a bit more uncertain. "You... you touched me."

"I what?"

And slowly, so very slowly, he lifted his hand and cradled her cheek in its warmth. "Like this. On my scar."

Katara stared at him, marveled at the heat of his hand against her face. There was an instant, the smallest period of time, when their eyes connected, blue against gold, and she knew this was right.

Then it was over. Katara, a strange fear in her throat, separated them by turning her face to the side, and his hand dropped.

"I'm sorry," she said, voice shaking. "If I offended you, your Majesty."

And boundaries were back, rules set, strong walls built high between them again.

"Forget it," said the Emperor, his tone almost harsh. She looked at him, surprised at the anger. "Forget anything ever happened."

Katara didn't understand his heated tone, and struck back unconsciously. "Then you didn't have to bring it up!"

He recoiled almost visibly, more from surprise than anything else.

"So I touched your scar in my sleep," she continued, letting go, "What is the big deal? Did I taint your royal personage because of an accident?"

He probably wasn't used to people snapping at him like she did. The Emperor's eyes were wide, shocked

She hurried to make amends. "I apologize, your Majesty-"

He cut her off. "It's a mark of shame."

"What?"

"The scar. It is dishonor."

Katara was curious, but also wary. "I'm not sure what you mean."

He lifted one hand to gesture impatiently at his face. "It's a curse on the eldest son of every generation in my family. Because of what my ancestor did."

"The first Zuko? What did he do?"

"Something involving his father. Shamed in an Agni Kai. But the reason it is passed down in the family is because of what he did later in his life."

Katara had a feeling she knew what this was.

The Emperor continued, almost as if he was reciting from a history book. "He fell in love with a Waterbender woman. And had a son- my grandfather -by her. In doing so, he mixed the blood of two races and ruined the pure line of the royal family. The scar is a symbol of this dishonor.

"It is considered evil, and bad luck on the person who touches it," he finished. "You are the first person who has."

"Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?" she whispered. Noises permeated the cloth of the tent from outside; the others must have finished their chores for the night.

The Emperor regarded her calmly. "I haven't decided yet."

Katara woke in the middle of the night, unsure of why she was breathing so heavily. She tried to cling to the dream she had been in, but it slipped away, thin as smoke and just as perishable. She sighed. Nothing she could do now but try to go back to sleep. Her back was warm, pressed against the person sleeping next to her. Lifting her head, she looked over the crowded occupants of the tent.

The Emperor's eyes were open, staring at her.

"You were doing it again," he said quietly.

She looked at him, uncomfortable. "What?"

"You were having a nightmare again, I think."

"Oh," said Katara, and she lay back down again. "What did I say this time?" She already knew it couldn't have been anything revealing; otherwise he would have already choked her to death in her sleep. Hopefully all she'd said had been pure nonsense, like last time.

"I couldn't understand you," he replied, shifting. She could feel him move inside his sleeping bag. "But you sounded... scared."

Limbs tense, Katara rolled herself away from him, leaving behind the warmth and separating their bodies. "Sorry I woke you."

He didn't reply, and all was silent again inside the tent.

Katara waited; soon his breath seemed to even out enough that she could conclude he was, in fact, asleep. Shifting as little as possible, she managed to wiggle her way out of her sleeping bag. Tonight she had slept in the position closest to the opening, with the Emperor on her other side.

She made it out into the bright moonlight with hardly any difficulty or noise. It was chilly and she strode towards the edge of the clearing, into the trees, rubbing her arms under her thin clothing. With a bit of exercise, she'd be able to get her blood flowing, at the same time dispelling the thoughts that refused to relinquish their grip over her tired mind.

When she judged that she was sufficiently far enough away from the campsite, Katara turned and in one smooth movement, drew a knife and sunk it into the nearest tree. Her bones and muscles almost sighed as this long-ago movement, this familiar ache, returned and she thought that it had been far, far too long. Inspecting the knife in the tree, she noted that without constant practice, her aim had shifted and was slightly off. How depressing. There'd been a time, back in Kyoshi, when she could have nailed a distant target with one glance. Not so much anymore.

These Fire soldiers, they were all about close combat, face-to-face fighting, with swords and fists and sweat in your face and honor. If they had to fight from a distance, it was all about the bows and arrows. She'd adapted because she had to; didn't mean she had to like it.

She established a calming rhythm. Three knives in, step up to pull out, and back away to repeat again. Automatic, reflexive, known.

Katara pulled back an arm in one swoop, and then uncurled her body, letting go at the precise moment; it sank into the tree trunk, inches away from a scarred face suddenly appearing from behind the leaves.

"Shit," she said, heart pumping fast. "I could have killed you!"

"No," he said, coming around all the way from behind the tree. "you couldn't have. Your aim is not that bad."

"I should hope not, your Majesty," she said stiffly. She was angry that her peace, her solitude had been disturbed. "Why were you following me?"

Emperor Zuko wrapped one pale hand around the hilt of her knife and jerked it out of the tree. She held her breath; what were the chances that he might recognize the make? But nothing happened. He merely ran a finger along the blade before holding it out, hilt first, towards her. "I heard you leaving. I wondered what you were up to."

She walked up and all but snatched the weapon from his fingers. Katara dimly noticed the leather-wrapped hilt was warm. "A midnight piss not good enough for you?"

"And the knife practice?"

"A hobby. To keep my aim up."

"A hobby," he said, coming around closer. "Like meeting strange men in strange towns is a hobby?" His voice was chill; almost colder than the winter air on her skin.

Katara froze, fingers curling around the knife. "A distant cousin," she lied through her teeth. "Coincidence. My family is very large and we have some wanderers. It's almost impossible to travel to a town and not meet somebody I'm related to."

"Large family?" the Emperor stepped up, eyes unreadable, the unblemished side of his face in shadow, hidden from the moonlight. "Tell me your clan name; I know possibly every influential family in the Empire."

"We're just a farming clan from Yeriv," she said, mind racing. Don't come any closer. "The Monguei's. Not very wealthy or rich, you wouldn't have heard of us."

"Yeriv. Earth Province? What's in your bloodline?"

"Majority of my ancestors were Earth," she replied. "but no benders, it doesn't run in the family. And a bit of Water, from very far back. That accounts for some of the strange coloring in my family. We get a bit of trouble for that, occasionally." Katara thought she sounded rather confident in her role. Good acting, if she could say so herself.

"I know what you mean," his voice had changed, suddenly bittter and self-deprecating. "I get the same problem."

Katara must have shown some kind of questioning expression on her face, because he continued on.

"Some of the idiot nobles think that because of the Waterbender several generations back in my family, the royal blood has been ruined, and we need a new, pure bloodline to rule the Empire." It wasn't clear whether he was mocking himself, or those nobles he spoke of. "They fight me at every turn, every decision I make, as if they think they could do a better job! The tiniest mistake is because of my impure blood, and gives them all the more reason to undermine me."

Katara's eyes widened at this sudden onslaught of confession. What could she say now?

"You understand," he said, eyes focusing on her face abruptly. "you must understand why this mission is so important to me, why I've been bitching at everyone, rushing everyone on this trip. The rumors of a traitor have already begun to spread. If I don't fix it, they'll find somebody more capable of flushing out a betrayer. Somebody better suited to rule my empire!"

"Your honor is at stake," she said simply.

Emperor Zuko stared at her, almost as if in surprise, or maybe relief that finally, finally somebody had figured him out.

"Thank you," he said.

A/N: I've committed the cardinal sin of Avatar Fanfiction. I have made an OC the Avatar. I know it's terrible, but of course it couldn't be Aang again! He must be reincarnated as a different person! Feel free to scream at me all you wish. I deserve it.

Late update. There is an explanation. The plot got screwed; storyline and events completely mixed up. I wrote half of this before realizing it wasn't going where I intended it to go and so I had to start over. Then I split it into two, then three, then two chapters again with all these confusing events and a freaking messed-up timeline in my head and I hate being. So. Fucking. Disorganized.

So of course I scrapped everything and started all over again, cursing my stupidity and redoing my outline to get everything straight. So here you have the product of my lame attempts. Sorry I'm in a bad mood. If it makes you feel any better, because I split this in two, that means chapter 16's already halfway written.

And I'm sorry about the OOCness, if you guys notice. I'm having a hard time lately keeping them all in character; they grew up in different situations and have had different experiences than the characters in the show (plus they're three years older). This complicates their personality and it's hard to keep them as they truly are. My fault.

What is an AU story?
Somebody asked me this question; I can't remember who, sorry! XD Anyways AU stands for Alternate Universe, where the author takes the characters and places them in a different setting, or an 'alternate universe'. Although I've kept the characters in the Avatar world, the world situation is extremely different, I've changed the history (or the future?) to suit my needs. Like the Fire Empire and Kyoshi rebels; I altered those from their original Fire Nation and Kyoshi Island to suit my own needs. A story where you put the Zuko and Katara in say, a high school setting, would be a more drastic AU.

is Iroh the original, or is he a reincarnation, too? - Celtic Warrior
Reincarnation.

What would it have been like if THATP had a happy ending? - SarahNev
Not sure. I didn't think they possibly could have had one. The relationship was much too destructive; they were stuck in this endless cycle of violence. That was my fault. Katara had her principles and morals in the way; Zuko had his honor and his quest. They could not be happy together. (And yes, this is my outlook on the Zutara ship. Why do I still support it? Because I'm clinging to hope when there is none. Or I'm just stupid.)

If I may ask, how come you have the first few chapters in first person point of view, but the rest is in third person? - SilentRain
Only the first chapter and the first part of the second chapter were in 1st POV. Originally it was going to be ONLY the prologue in first person, but then it kind of overflowed into the 2nd chapter. Maybe I'll go back and fix that later. Mostly because I wanted the prologue, the part about Katara's early life, to be told from her personal view so we could get inside her head and learn about her experiences in Kyoshi and how she grew up. After that, I knew I would have to be switching between views for the rest of the story, because I need flashes of Zuko and Zhao, so I went to 3rd POV. What do you all prefer?

PS: I have a new story. It had nothing whatsoever to do with LTE or THATP. It is different. It is Zutara.

... maybe not so different after all. Anyways read it and review, por favor.