Still Day Eight

Zuko was down in the garden surrounding the gazebo. He was looking for some other path to the cave, and had been since he woke up. (It was now about noon.) I was still in the gazebo, my ankle fractured, another problem in many. (Let's see, Yue's dead, Sokka's a brat, Aang needs to learn Earthbending, I've got a fractured ankle, and right now am stranded on a hill, in a garden, with Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. (The fracture wasn't large, that much was clear. It just made it painful to walk.)) This month just couldn't get any worse, could it?

I shifted a bit, looking out to the garden. The various hues of the exotic flowers stood out brightly against the grey skies and dirty blue of the flooded ruins below. Suddenly, something bolder, something black, caught my eye.

Zuko. He was furiously looking for a way out of the garden. I would have been down there helping him, but my ankle didn't want to cooperate. I watched as Zuko reached the opposite end of garden, found nothing, sighed, and hold his head in his hands.

"Why is he beating himself up like that?" I mused. "There's no way out; it's not his fault."

He thinks it is. Where did that come from? I sat watching the Fire Prince until he made his way back.

"We're stuck here until the floodwaters go down," he said. Zuko sat down on the bench opposite of me and held his head. I looked at him.

"It's not your fault, you know. The weather here is just wacky," I said. "The waters should go down in a few days."

Zuko sighed in anguish. Anguish? When did he show anguish? I gently got up and walked over to the seat next to him. "Zuko, what's wrong?"

He stormed off. "Okay, don't answer me," I muttered. Some people, I swear.

I reached for the water below and brought a small quantity to me. Gingerly pressing it against my ankle, I willed the fracture to heal. I felt nothing but wetness. Usually, I feel a tingling sensation, but not here. Sighing, I decided to rest, the day exhausting me. Closing my eyes, I let the silence lull me.

The silence was broken by footsteps on the gazebo soon after. I kept my eyes shut tight, hoping Zuko would just let me be. That wasn't going to happen.

I heard him come closer. For some reason, the air was warmer around him. "Katara?" Zuko murmured. "Are you awake?" I breathed deeply and hoped it told him "no". The wind blew across my cheek, causing a few loose strands of hair to move to my face. I felt Zuko lift me up again, the third time in as many days. (I felt rather helpless.) Zuko carefully set me down on the other bench, the one closer to the water. I curled up a bit more, moaning softly. (I've seen Sokka try and fake slumber too many times.) I heard Zuko go to the other side of the gazebo, sit down, and sigh. I soon fell asleep.

I woke up a few hours later, after lunch. I was on my side, facing the gate. Yawning, I sat up.

"About time," a voice said behind me. I turned and saw Zuko behind me. He had his arms crossed and was leaning up against a pole in the gazebo. "You've been asleep since breakfast."

"Having a fracture does that to a person, or at least me," I quipped. I reached into my pack and got out a small apple. I then noticed my hair was down. "Why is my hair out?" I asked.

"It pulled loose while you napped," Zuko said, not looking at me. I suspected he was lying, but then again, why would he? I took a bite of my apple and stretched.

"What time is it?"

"Past noon." Obviously. Why do guys state the obvious a lot? Is it all guys or is it just the ones I know? "How's your ankle?"

I was still getting over the fact Zuko could show concern. "Oh, fine. A bit sore, but fine," I said, moving it around. "Any luck finding anything?"

Zuko shook his head. "Nothing but flowers and some vines growing on a trellis." He turned away, muttering something about his honor and returning home. That got me. Why can't he return to the Fire Nation?

"I need the Avatar to restore something I've lost; my honor."

That was what Zuko told me when I was captured by the pirates and refused to tell him where Aang was. He lost his honor? How? Did it have to do with his scar? I took a deep breath.

"Zuko, why are you after Aang?" Zuko jerked like my question had hit him in the face.

"To regain my honor and my throne," he muttered. I gingerly stood up.

"How did you lose them?"

"Why do you care?" he spat. "You're just some dirty Water Tribe peasant's brat I have the misfortune to be stuck with." I bit my lip in anger. Before I could stop myself, I reached out and slapped Zuko in the face. Hard. The mark I left on his face matched the hue of the scar on the other side. Zuko staggered and felt his cheek and jaw.

"I wanted to know because you said you want to capture my best friend, and the world's only hope, so you can regain your stupid throne and honor!" I exclaimed. "If you lost them for doing something stupid, I was going to hurt you worse. If you lost them because your stupid father, I don't know, banished you for something that is trivial, I'd…ugh!" I stormed off, ignoring the pain in my ankle.

I walked down to the gate, half sliding, half stumbling. "Stupid prince," I muttered. I climbed up the stone fence surrounding the garden, sat down, and plunged my fractured ankle in. I reached down and placed my hands on top, hoping it would heal, or at least sooth, my ankle. It was still fractured, but the pain receded.

Why was Zuko so strange? One minute, he's gentle, the next he's haughty and spoiled. I wanted to know why he was after Aang, why he had all these mood swings, why he was so troubled. What was it about him that confused, excited, and terrified people?

"What makes you tick, Zuko?" I muttered, looking up at the sky. The sun was setting on the horizon, giving the world a golden glow. I brushed my hair, still out of its braid, away from my face. "What makes you different from everyone else?"

I got down off the wall and started to perambulate through the garden. There were roses, violets, lilies, and pansies from every nation it seemed. I saw Crystallized Gardenias, Wilting Tulips (called such because no matter how much water you gave it, it looked wilted), and the Avatar Blossom. The latter was rarest flower, because it only bloomed when the Avatar was present. I smiled as I brushed the soft orange petals. They matched the color of Aang's tunic. When he died, the flower would change from this soft orange violet to an icy blue lily as soon the next Avatar was born.

I sighed as I continued my walk. I wished Aang and Sokka were here, instead of being trapped in the cave, so I could complain about how stubborn Zuko was getting. What would they say?

Why are you worrying about him, Katara? He's a jerk.

How you know that, Sokka? He's element is stubborn one; it's in his nature.

I smiled a sad smile, missing them. It was dry; Aang could have flown over with his glider…if it hadn't been ripped when he ran into the thorns. I had meant to fix that when I got back.

My luck couldn't get any worse, or so I thought. Just as I thought this, rain came pouring down on my pitiful head. "Just my luck. I'm stuck on an island with a weird weather pattern, in a garden, with the Prince of Firebenders!" I moaned, sitting down among the flowers. I began to cry; I couldn't help it.

I must have fallen asleep, because when I woke up, it was dawn and dry. The flowers around me were covered with remaining raindrops. I popped my back, getting the cricks out that come with sleeping on the ground. Standing, I realized my ankle no longer hurt. I must have healed it when I was asleep. I had heard that when a Waterbender with healing abilities slips into unconsciousness, and they have injuries, they would heal automatically, provided there was enough water. It was raining, I was hurt…it didn't take a genius to derive that conclusion. Bending the water from my sopping clothing, I shook my hair and went back to the gazebo.

Of course, Zuko was up, meditating. (He did that a lot.) "You were out all night," he said, not even looking at me.

"I feel asleep," I replied sharply, sitting down and taking the brush out of my pack. I was still sore about the remark he had made the previous day. Ignoring him, I began to brush out my tangled knots of hair. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Zuko was watching me again. (Why was he doing that? It was really starting to make me paranoid.) I also noticed that the red mark was still there. Inwardly, I winced and my conscience began to berate me. Did you really have to hit him so hard?

Yes! He called me a dirty Water Tribe peasant's brat!

He's upset; he doesn't want to be here any more than you do.

So why'd he insult me?

To hide his true feelings. With that, my conscience shut up. Why is it, when you want your conscience to speak up, it never does, yet when you could care less about it, it rears its ugly head? True feelings? Oh, I knew Zuko's true feelings. He hated my gut, and that was that.

Would he have helped you various times if he did, as you say, hate your gut? Would he have watched for you last night?

He did that?

Would he be looking at you now, watching?

I was left nonplussed by my conscience yet again. I finished brushing my hair and began to braid it. Deftly, I wove the strands back and forth, finishing in a matter of minutes.

"Do you know when the rain stopped?" I asked. Zuko seemed to snap out of…what?

"Not long after midnight." Midnight? Why was he up that late? Had he really been watching for me? The thought pleased, and shocked, me.

I nodded, tossing my braid back over my shoulder. There was tense silence in the gazebo, neither of us wanting to apologize or break the silence.

Zuko ended up doing it, remarking, "Why do you hit me so hard? My jaw still hurts."

"Good! You shouldn't have called me a peasant's brat!"

"You shouldn't be trying to meddle in the affairs of your betters."

"Better? Is that what you think? That you're better than me? Just because your nation is winning this stupid war, and you happen to be royalty, doesn't make you better than me. It just means that your status is higher!" I exclaimed. Zuko smirked.

"Wasn't it I who beat you in that oasis?"

"Yeah, but afterwards it only took me two blows and I had you out cold! I bet I could do it again if it was night!"

"What about during the day?" Zuko asked.

"Is that a challenge?" I asked.

"Yes." Zuko stood. I followed suit and gestured to the garden. Zuko left the gazebo and I followed, sticking my tongue out at him.

Ooh, Zuko's in trouble...