"In our nature, however, there is a provision, alike marvellous and merciful, that the sufferer should never know the intensity of what he endures by its present torture, but chiefly by the pang that rankles after it."
Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter
The next morning, Iroh humbly supplicated Katara for a few copper coins. She cheerfully agreed and showed him the way to the town. She admonished Iroh on the town's slight Earthbending chauvinism. Shaking his head, Iroh chuckled as he perambulated blithely away.
Walking to the stream to fill her canteen with more water, she traced the ridges of the conch in her pocket. She had woken up to its azure gleam, and she felt giddy at her unexpected discovery.
Flippant as she appeared in Zuko's eyes, she was actually quite discomfited at his friendly gesture. She knew it was Zuko that had taken the shell from the beach- most likely against his better judgment- and placed it by her side while she lay asleep. She didn't know what to make of it; she didn't know what to make of him.
She sat for a moment and listened intently to the gurgling of the little stream. Katara placed her hand on the surface of the water, and the cool liquid ran placidly beneath her fingers. The stream babbled with the secrets of many ages and of many people, betrayed only by the lucidity of its rambunctious contents.
After Katara had calmed herself enough to confront Zuko, she headed back to the encampment. Momo greeted her with brimming cordiality, and she giggled as it scurried tactfully onto her arm.
"Sorry, Momo. I didn't bring back any food," she whispered. Its ears stood erect before it drooped its head and scurried back down.
Aang was tending to Appa, who had apparently caught a cold. Catching sight of Katara, he grinned asininely and waved. She smiled and went to check on Appa.
"Is he doing any better?" she asked Aang as she patted Appa's velutinous head.
"I think so, but you can never really tell with flying bisons," Aang wiggled his nose.
"I see Sokka is still asleep," she sighed.
"As usual."
"Where's Zuko?"
"On the beach, I think."
"Oh. I'll be back then," Katara glanced at the fire burning brightly in the middle of camp. "Do you want me to make breakfast?"
"Nah, I'll take care of it today."
"Okay." Katara muttered an incoherent goodbye as she sauntered towards the beach. She heard the gurgle of the stream as she traversed through the foliage of the forest. A bird chirped mournfully in the distance.
Gingerly lifting a branch out of her way, she saw that Zuko had begun another austere session of practice. Treading softly onto the sand, she waited until he was willing to notice her.
Fortunately for Katara, Zuko had an excellent visual acuity, and he stopped in the middle of an attack. The flame dissipated lethargically into the crisp morning air. Turning slowly to face her, Zuko noticed as a rosy blush crept surreptitiously onto her cheeks.
"Sorry to interrupt," she murmured. "I just wanted to thank you."
"For what?" He straightened his back as she walked towards him.
"For the conch."
"Oh."
"Zuko! Katara! Excellent timing!" Iroh traipsed buoyantly into view. He was followed by a young lad of auburn hair. The boy carried an instrument idiosyncratic to the Earth Kingdom. The device's well-polished wood gleamed effulgently in the sun as the boy tightened its ebony strings.
"I'd like you to meet Reni," Iroh continued elatedly. He breathed with a quickened pace, and his face was rubicund with excitement.
Zuko and Katara exchanged glances, but both were thoroughly confused.
Noting their puzzlement, Iroh laughed heartedly. "Reni is an excellent musician, and he would very much like to play for you two. Zuko, if I may have a word?"
Zuko walked briskly to his uncle.
"Prince Zuko, this may seem like an awkward question, so you must excuse my asking," Iroh watched as Zuko narrowed his eyes.
"What's the question?"
"Well, have you forgotten how to dance?"
Zuko took a step back. "Excuse me?"
Iroh shook a dismissive hand. "Yes, yes. I know that you haven't had time to think about it, but what better opportunity than now to practice?"
"What? Why? I don't understand."
"Just because you are banished from the Fire Nation does not mean that invitations to balls and the like will cease."
"Why have you thought of this now?"
"Because we have been fortunate enough to make the acquaintance of a beautiful young lady!"
"Her?" He pointed at Katara with an incredulous finger.
"Surely you find her quite pretty!"
"She is tolerable, but not enough to tempt me." Zuko heard a rustle as the end of Katara's skirt disappeared into the frondescence of the forest.
Iroh disapprovingly shook his head, "At this rate, you'll never get a wife. Come, we must apologize."
"Apologize for what?"
"Your impudence!"
"My impudence?"
"Reni, we will be back shortly. If you could be so kind as to wait for us?"
The young boy nodded and plopped carelessly onto the sand.
"Uncle, I have no intention of dancing, let alone with her."
"Why?"
Zuko narrowed his eyes. Why didn't he want to dance with her?
"You see, you don't have a cogent reason," Iroh smiled cheerfully. "You are simply allowing your emotions to get in your way."
"Are you implying that I have feelings for her?" Zuko drew in a sharp breath.
"Not at all! You may interpret whatever I say however you wish. But I must implore you to reconsider."
Katara was sitting petulantly by the fire when Zuko and Iroh arrived back at camp. Iroh gently nudged Zuko forwards.
"Propriety. Decorum. Do not forget them," Iroh whispered.
Advancing slowly, Zuko watched as Katara poked at the flames. "Katara," Zuko began slowly. She did not turn to look at him. He continued, "I would be honored if you would join me in a dance."
She smiled cynically, "If Your Highness could please excuse my disinclination, I must regrettably decline."
Zuko stared at her. "May I ask why?" He was not inured to being refused. In any case, she was in no position to dissent.
"Surely there are a thousand pretty girls in town who would be more than willing to dance with you. And at least half of them must be barely tolerable."
Iroh laid a hand on her shoulder, "Katara, you know that Zuko would risk recognition if he so much as laid a foot into town. Please, it would also be my honor if you consented to Zuko's behest."
Katara raised her eyes and sighed, "I can't."
"Please," Iroh gently beseeched. "As you can clearly see, Katara, I am not one accustomed to begging, but I now most humbly ask you to acquiesce."
Katara stared at the dying embers as she slowly stood up. "This is for your honor, Iroh, not Zuko's."
"Excellent! Shall we return to the beach?" Iroh smiled as he led the way.
Zuko and Katara remained silent as they walked through the forest. Upon reaching the immaculate sands, Reni jumped up.
"Now, as you are both aware, music is one of the few things that the four, or rather, three nations share in common," Iroh began, hands clasped ceremoniously together. "And there is one dance which we all share: the Anatta."
Zuko heaved an audible sigh.
Iroh nodded to Reni, who immediately began to play a slow tune. The instrument was lugubrious in tone and pitch, but the song was incongruously light and carefree. "Now, both of you must bow to your respective partner," Iroh announced.
Katara bent her legs in a slight curtsy while Zuko lightly leant his head forward.
"Now, Zuko, place your left hand around Katara's waist."
Zuko slowly reached out and followed Iroh's instruction. Katara turned away and flinched at his touch.
"And Katara, place your right hand on Zuko's shoulder. Yes, like that. Excellent! Now, both of you, take your partner's free hand. Yes, yes. Brilliant!"
As Iroh continued to apprise them on the proceeding moves, Katara felt the ambience melt into an inundation of primal tremors. His body had been pressed firmly against hers, and she felt a strange calefaction emanate from his chest. Breathing deeply, she was engrossed by some preternatural force that held her in place.
"Now, Katara, it is time for the twirl," Iroh's voice drifted from a distance.
The warmth was suddenly taken away from her as the colors in her entourage suddenly amalgamated. She felt an astringent chill bite her arms as she felt herself spinning farther from the warmth. She was strangely euphoric when she felt herself enveloped by the strange heat again. Somewhere, the instrument swelled and cried to her, and she held the intangible thing as best as she could.
Zuko felt that she was dancing mechanically, but she was uncannily supple and lissome in her movements. He felt a foreign coolness when she was pressed against him, but he only grew warmer in turn.
"You must have gotten a number of chances to dance," Katara muttered. "That is, in the Palace."
"What makes you say that?" he turned his head slightly to look at her.
"I don't know. I just had the idea that all royalty had the privilege of dancing with the most beautiful specimens of the opposite sex in their nation that they could procure. Maybe I had the wrong idea."
"That would be a correct idea."
"Then it's a pity that you're stuck with me."
"I don't consider it a pity."
Katara breathed. Had he just complimented her?
"I was once betrothed," he muttered.
"Really?"
"She was a nobleman's daughter, with satiny, obsidian hair and honey eyes. I suppose you are a bit of a step down from her."
Katara tightened her grip around his hand. She stopped dancing and glared into his eyes. "I suppose you're used to being surrounded by beautiful women."
"Yes. Hundreds."
"I really do wonder why you're dancing with me."
"There's no one else around."
"So that's your reason?"
"I thought you would have figured that out by now."
She craned her neck, her face inches from his.
"Alright, back to dancing now!" Iroh's voice approached from afar. Zuko shot up his hand to silence his uncle.
"I think practice is over," Katara turned away and broke into a brisk walk towards the forest. She heard footsteps behind her, so she broke into a run. She found herself sprinting in the direction of a foreign stretch of the forest; the more arcane the haven, the better.
Iroh sighed, and Zuko snapped, "I didn't say anything she didn't already know!"
"It's not that," Iroh closed his eyes. "Men have been slipping obtuse faux pas to women since the beginning of time. I just wonder at your not following her."
"She might get the wrong impression," Zuko muttered.
"And what kind of impression do you intend to make?"
"To be honest," Zuko clenched his fists. "I don't really know."
A pair of golden eyes gleamed maliciously from the forest. The plan had been seamlessly set into motion. The eyes followed Zuko into a nebulous growth of flora, and the corners of crimson lips slowly curled into a simper.
As Iroh watched Zuko disappear into the blackness of the forest, he felt his arms contort into an unwieldy position. When he tried to move them, he heard the familiar chink and clatter of iron manacles.
A deep female voice whispered into his ear, "Don't try to move, uncle. You're lucky enough to have a front row seat to today's main event."
Iroh narrowed his eyes and whipped around, only to find a scarlet and sable blur abscond into the forest. He looked around. Reni was gone.
How long had she been running? Ten minutes? Half an hour? Katara slackened her pace as she bent over to catch her breath. She squinted her eyes in an attempt to distinguish the nebulous shapes in front of her. Had she been too rash? Too sensitive? She sighed as she collapsed onto a bed of multifariously colored leaves.
She heard a rustle and a thud behind her. A darkened shape had appeared on the ground, and she charily approached it. She suddenly recognized a head of disheveled auburn hair.
"Reni!" She breathed as she ran to his side. She laid two fingers on his neck and was relieved to find a tenuous pulse. Looking around, she tried to gather her senses. Something was awry.
As Zuko glided through the forest, he noticed that the undergrowth appeared increasingly feral. He stopped abruptly when he spotted a white rose growing clandestinely in the tenebrosity. As he reached to touch it, he saw a fire emerge beside him.
Turning slowly, he met the avaricious eyes of his sister. Frowning, he conjured a large sphere of fire.
"What are you doing here?" He asked through gritted teeth.
"Father sent me," she licked her lips. Closing her eyes, she sent an undeviating line of fire towards him. "I see you've made some new friends."
Suddenly, she began to run. Zuko sent arrow after arrow, but the fire just landed on the forest's unfortunate foliage.
"Too slow," she called over her back.
Zuko ran faster, sending more and more rivulets of fire. His aim had languished in response to an increase in agility, but he was unswerving in his determination.
"Your firebending has vitiated, dear brother. It is such a pity," she laughed as she quickened her pace.
Zuko sent a vehement spiral of fire toward her, leaving only a glowing conflagration in his wake.
"Stop running, and fight me!" he yelled. The chase had been uncharacteristic; her style was usually more intimate; their father had once called her a virulence of power that razed everything in its path.
She laughed as they neared the beach. Turning to face him, she snapped her fingers. A small ember danced across her digits as she waited for his next move.
"We just went in a circle!" He shouted. Her style had grown sloppy.
"Yes."
"Why?"
She smiled as she paced around her brother. "Take a guess."
Zuko frowned. She had a subterfuge, and he wasn't sure whether he wanted the epiphany to hit.
"If I could have easily challenged you to an Agni Kai and killed you, why would I choose to play with you instead?" She smirked as she walked towards the water. "Oh come now, you can't possibly be that doltish!"
He scowled as he watched her playfully steam a pool of brackish seawater.
"Take a look around," she jeered. "Anything missing?"
"Where is uncle?" Zuko demanded immediately.
"I haven't a clue. I suppose he waddled back to camp. Anything else missing?"
Zuko cogitated. "The boy! What did you do with the boy?"
"I haven't done a thing to permanently harm him. Anything else?"
Zuko was silent.
"Oh, you're no fun at all! If you keep bungling your women like that-"
"I was behind her the whole time! You couldn't have done anything-"
"Me? I didn't lay a finger on the girl. But from the looks of it," she smiled. "It looks like you've just about killed her."
Zuko's eyes widened as he turned to face the inferno burning acidulously in front of him. He knew he only had minutes.
A/N: Yes, that one bit was a verbatim quote from "Pride and Prejudice". No, I don't own the rights to the movie. Yes, it was a fantastic movie. Yes, it was also a fantastic book :-)
Important A/N: Okay guys, here's the deal. To be quite frank, no more updates for a really long time. Schoolwork has begun, and school itself restarts its vicious cycle on Monday.
As much as I appreciate all the reviews that have heretofore been submitted (je vous aime encore, mes lapins), my huge ego is kind of bummed at the sheer lack of reviews. Unless a sudden deluge of reviews come flooding in, I won't be updating for a reallllllly reallllllllly long time. Sad as it is, a girl's got to have her priorities.
I've enabled anonymous reviews in case anyone had trouble submitting a review before. :-)
Bottom line: No update unless I get a ton of reviews. Désolé!