Anita: I am so so so so sorry about not updating. (I started my senior project and it's a manga! It's going to be so cool!)
Avatar? Me? Please... it'd be so much better if I was writing it.
Katara jerked awake, her face flushed with embarrassment and… well, other stuff too, but Katara decided to focus on the embarrassment bit.
She flopped back against her pillow and sighed. The morning light of the pre-dawn was filtering through the intricate wooden lace-work of her shutters. It fell in spots across her face and bed clothes.
After Zuko and Katara had escaped from the Fire Lord and discussed what he had said to Katara, she had broken away, fussing with her dress andavoiding his eyes. She'd turned and started walking down the hallway. She had expected Zuko to follow her and he had. Her instinct had been to grab his hand, lace her fingers through his and hold on tight, but she felt that wouldn't be appreciated. He did, after all, have a reputation as the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation to maintain. And she had a reputation as a young girl with no family to speak of to maintain.
He had walked her back to her room where she'd paused in front of her door. Her hand was on the handle but she couldn't bring herself to open the door. Turning with a new found assertiveness, she'd asked Zuko if he might show her a part of this infernal palace that wasn't red or gold or some variation of that.
Zuko had thought for a moment, a crease forming between his eyebrows as he thought. But then, (just as soon as Katara thought he would refuse and insist she return to her room) he had agreed.
They had then walked down the hall and down stairs and more halls and more stairs until the brightness and impressive decors of the higher levels faded away and the halls were merely brown and no carpets cushioned their steps. Katara had frowned, thinking this was what he thought she meant.
But then he'd brought her to the end of a small, dark hallway, where no lanterns lighted the window-less way, and opened the door at the end.
They had stepped into light. Bright and shining off green leaves and softly colored flowers. The small door had been hidden behind a curtain of ivy, like a secret cave behind a waterfall of green. There had been no stones or path, so they'd crossed the grass, crunching healthily beneath Zuko's boots and softly beneath Katara's slippers.
A somewhat wide path had appeared, grey stones that fit together in a lucky randomness that seemed too well planned. But it was good, because trees had shaded over the walkway, grasses grew plentiful and flowers in the softest loveliest colors that made you think if you touched them they'd be like cloud-spun cotton. Soft purples and pinks and blues, trimmed with bright green made everything in Katara's heart lighten.
Zuko had taken Katara's hand and placed it in the crook of his arm, his hand resting over hers to keep it in place. A rush of warmth had flooded Katara's body starting at her forehead and flowing to her toes.
After a while, moments passing in silence that wasn't awkward (it was just words weren't as necessary as they usually were), Katara plucked up her nerves and slipped her fingers between his covering her hand. He tried to hide it, but she noticed. She had noticed his smile.
From the angle she had been at, she couldn't see his scar. All she could see was his handsome face. It was so breathtaking, just how pretty this boy was – how handsome he could be even with his scar, when he wasn't distorted with anger or bitterness. She would almost have said it was because of his return to his homeland after nearly three years that had caused his lightness, but she knew, somehow, that wasn't true.
That was when it had struck her – when she had realized her full potential and the possible power and sway she could have over him if she managed it just right. If she just used enough of her influence, not enough to corrupt their relationship because, honestly, she really liked him a lot. More than she had Jet, anyway.
But it was that moment she had realized that he liked her. More than she had liked Jet and quite possibly more than she liked him, if only because she knew he was the reason Aang was captive and she was basically a prisoner. (Though if all that weren't true, if she weren't frightened for her friend if she left…)
"Zuko," she practically whispered the word, not because she was using her womanly influences but because she just couldn't find her voice so easily while her fingers were lost in the lines of his. "Please…"
Gods, why was this so hard?
"Katara?" Zuko had turned his face to see her and his scar had loomed into sight. Katara's eyes had flickered towards it but she was immediately drawn back to his eyes. It was like he had thrown little invisible fishing hooks and grappled onto her lids, forcing her to never look away.
"Is it all right… Would it be okay…" Katara had taken a deep breath. "Would it be okay if I… if I visited Aang?"
"Aang?" Zuko's face had shown his confusion.
"Aang." Katara had said firmly. She was not going to call him "The Avatar" because she needed Zuko to realize that Aang was a human. He was a little boy, four years younger than him – not an ancient, century-old power. (Well, he was that too but it wasn't the point.)
Zuko's face had changed emotions so rapidly that Katara had difficulty keeping up. First he had been confused, then he'd recognized the name, then he'd been confused, then angry, then frustrated and then he sort of just had… given in. He sighed and turned his face away again.
"Fine," he'd said softly, not looking at her. Katara had the horrible sinking feeling he was disappointed in her. "But you'll have to wait until tomorrow. I won't be able to get to him in only a few hours. This'll take work and influence," He'd turned his face and looked her in the eye and Katara suspected if he hadn't been afraid of letting her go because she might run to her friend, she thought he might have wagged his finger. "But you'll remember this. You'll owe me."
Katara nodded. She had to see Aang.
"And I won't forget."
The present Katara sitting in bed, looking at the light shining on her silk bedspread, sighed. It had basically ruined the rest of their walk, her asking him for the favor. She almost regretted it.
Almost.
Katara leapt up and ran for her closet. She grabbed her bluest, most Water Tribe-like dress and put it on, hurrying to brush out her hair and re-braid it.
Katara slipped through the crack she opened in her door and hurried down the marble hallway, her slippered feet pattering near silent on the glossy floor. She hurried until she reached the large doors where the two guards were standing guard over the Royal Suites. Zuko had explained how she had been invited to eat in the Royal Family's private dining hall and that Zuko's own set of rooms (along with Zula's and his father's) were behind those doors. The guards, he'd said, should recognize her and let her pass.
And they did, with nary a comment.
Katara followed the directions Zuko had made her memorize before letting her to herself in her rooms the day before. She managed to find a door in the exact spot where she was expecting and knocked. It had been curious how Zuko had suddenly stopped Katara from entering her rooms, holding her back with a hand. How he had insisted on her knowing the quickest route to his rooms, how he had assured her she could come to him for any problems, any issues that came up that might require his help.
The room behind the door, however, sounded silent and so Katara knocked again.
Finally, there was a rustling behind the door and it was opened by a bleary-eyed Zuko in grey silk drawstring pants and an open grey silk shirt.
"What is it, Katara?" he asked, rubbing his eye with a fist and yawning.
"We're going to visit Aang, aren't we?" Katara asked anxiously. She was wringing her hands and peering up at him in the most beseeching manner. No, Zuko thought. She wasn't playing coy today.
"Yeah," Zuko spoke as if he were talking to an idiot. "But not until later. After I've finished sleeping." And he made like he was going to shut the door.
Katara stopped him, though. "Wait!" she cried desperately. "You said we'd do it first thing in the morning and that you woke up early! You can't do this, Zuko, please. Please let me see him. Please."
Zuko sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine, let me get dressed."
"Okay," Katara nodded, looking around the hallway. "I'll wait here, then."
"No," Zuko said slowly. With one arm he pushed the door open further and Katara could see his bed and (closed) window. "You're not waiting in the hallway, Katara. You're coming in."
"No… that's all right," Katara said with a fake smile. "I'll just wait here if that's all right with you."
"It's not. Come in or we won't go at all."
"Jerk," Katara muttered under breath as she bent her head, passing under his arm. Surprisingly, Zuko found himself amused, not insulted, and his mood changed from sleepy and annoyed to amused and cheerful.
Katara sat on Zuko's bed while he changed into clothes appropriate for visiting honored prisoners. His entire room was grey, like his pants. But instead of giving the impression of steel and iron, it was warmer, blending darks with lights and touches of darker reds around, and absolutely no gold at all. Katara was heartily sick of gold.
Zuko walked back in, dressed in his armor once again. He raised an eyebrow at her as if to ask why she was still sitting. As Katara got up and walked through the door he held open for her, she rethought her previous thought.
Maybe not all gold.
The dungeons were a dank place and it was only through a certain amount of flattery, bullying and money that they got past the tired guard standing in front of the row of cells that Aang was being kept in. It was the money that Zuko had needed the day to get. He didn't want Katara knowing he still had none of his own, because he'd been forced to ask Uncle for some.
No one was allowed in to see the Avatar unless they were bringing him food and it was a young servant boy who did that, wearing nothing at all that could possibly be used as a weapon or a tool for escape. In fact, the poor thing was forced to strip to his loose pants, wearing no shirt or shoes or anything else, to visit the Avatar.
Katara and Zuko walked down the long hall, torches in brackets lighting every ten feet or so.
More and more cells kept passing. None of them had anyone in them and Katara began wringing her hands once more. They were starting to burn.
Finally, she lost it. She broke into a steady trot, picking up speed as she saw the next and the next and the next cell empty. Aang was no where to be seen and more and more empty cells were passing. She just knew she was going to have nightmares about this.
Ah! There!
Katara stopped and backtracked, finding the orange and red monk suit she knew so well. Grabbing the bars and falling to her knees on the hard stone floor (bruising them considerably) she looked at the huddled figure.
"I'm not hungry," it croaked.
"Aang," she said, her voice sounding breathy not at all her own.
Aang looked up, his grey eyes lacking their usual silvery hue. A whimper escaped from Katara. She reached a hand through (panicking slightly as she did this, worrying he wouldn't accept it) but there was no hesitation, no passing look of disgust in Aang's face and he took it.
Katara let out a sigh of relief and laughed, pulling her to him and hugging him through the bars.
Zuko hung back. There was so much emotion in this scene; it rubbed him raw. If he didn't know Katara couldn't possibly have feelings for this twelve-year-old boy, he'd be jealous. In fact, he as a little, but not as much as if he thought she might love him like she loved…
Him? Yeah. She loved him – Zuko. He knew it in a way that spoke deeper than his bones. At first (yesterday when she had tried to manipulate him) he had worried she'd had more power over him, that maybe he loved her more than she loved him. But he knew now that wasn't true. She might think she didn't love him as much but he knew, and that was what was important.
"Aang," Katara breathed into Aang's bony shoulder. "I'm so sorry… so sorry."
"I know, Katara," Aang said back, his eyes staring straight ahead. Katara looked so nice. At least she wasn't being abused. "But it's not your fault. It really isn't. How could you have stopped him? How could you have gotten away?"
Katara pulled back, guilt lining every curve of her face. "I could have," she said, not looking him in the eye. "I could have left – with Haru. He found me in a village while we were buying…" Katara waved a hand at her dress to show she meant her new wardrobe. "My guards were relaxed and he pulled me into a shop and… and he offered to let me escape. Because he saw Zuko and he knew I was captured. He even offered to stage a rescue for you," Katara's eyes were brimming with tears and she forced a small laugh. Aang's face was stoic, however, and it died quickly. "He's grown really brave since you saw him last, Aang. He's grown so much stronger. But… but Zuko found us and, and he sent Haru on his way and the only reason he didn't kill Haru is because I asked him not to and then he brought me back to the ship and I didn't mean to – to give up so easily, I should have, I should have left with him but I didn't know what to do – I told him no! I told him no!" Katara's chest heaved and she gripped the bars of Aang's cage until her knuckles turned white. "I could have left – you could have escaped without having to worry about me – and I said no."
Zuko knew why and he thought the Avatar suspected the reason, but he said nothing. He just kept his triumph to himself.
"No," Aang said after a while, his face thoughtful. He shook his head. "No, you couldn't have. Because I wouldn't have known you left. Zuko wouldn't have told me – I would have just tried to break free."
"But he said," Katara gasped the words, her sobs of relief and guilt racking through her body. "He said he could have gotten you a message – he said he had money."
"To bribe a guy?" Aang asked incredulously. "Haru underestimated the sway of money. If he'd had walked up to any Fire nation guard, they'd have taken the money and told Zuko you'd escaped, anyway."
Zuko nodded in agreement, proud of his guards' loyalty to him.
"No, Katara," Aang continued. "You did the right thing. The important thing is I have a friend who isn't in jail right now and isn't lost somewhere on a bison. I need you here, Katara, nearby. I don't need you running around somewhere with Haru."
Katara smiled and laughed even while her cheeks were steadily running with wetness. "Thanks, Aang."
"It's the truth, Katara," Aang reached forwards and grabbed Katara's hands, wrapping his own over hers. "I need you here. You did right."
"Still… thanks." Katara reached forward and hugged Aang again and this time he leaned into it, closing his eyes like Katara did and appreciated it.
They stayed like that for a long time, until Katara's eyes ran out of water and Aang felt her sobs subside.
"So, how are they treating you?" Katara asked, reaching up with the back of her hands and wiping wetness away. Her cheeks still shined with it.
"Oh, same old, same old," Aang said. He waved his hand airily."You get captured, thrown in a jail cell, tied up -it's all very routine."
Zuko snorted and Katara turned to look at him.
"Who's there, Katara?" Aang asked, standing up. He tried to look around the bars but his (rather large) head didn't fit through themand he couldn't see Zuko at his angle.
"Me, Avatar," Zuko stepped forward. "Surprised?"
"Not really," Aang shrugged nonchalantly. "Surprised to find someone standing there when I thought it was just Katara and me, but then I was surprised you'd let her walk down here alone."
"Couldn't have you escaping now, could we?" Zuko taunted.
"Stop it," Katara said to Zuko, rolling her eyes. "He's twelve. You're sixteen. Get over it."
Zuko looked shocked beyond words but Aang stuck his tongue out at him.
"Why you little…" he stepped forward his outstretched fist bursting into flame.
"Stop!" Katara stepped in front of Zuko and held her arms out behind her, protecting Aang as much as she possibly could. "This is so stupid! Do you get it? Don't you get it, Zuko? You've won! Aang's not going anywhere! He's not going to fly off and leave you stuck here with me and Zula and your dad. So just stop it and leave him alone. It's bad enough without you making things worse. You've won."
Why didn't he feel like he won, then? Zuko lowered his arm, extinguishing the flames.
"Fine." He said, turning around. "Let's go, then. I don't want to be down here anymore."
Katara clenched and unclenched her fists, glaring at his back. Moments passed, taut with tension. Zuko turned his upper body, arms crossed.
"Well?" he asked snidely. "Are you going to get on with your good-byes? You can see him later."
Katara said nothing, just turned around and kissed Aang on the cheek. "Bye, Aang," she said softly, her anger leaving for just a second as she looked at her young friend. "I'll be back soon. Don't worry."
"I won't, Katara," he promised, a real smile shining through the bars. It was amazing how he could still be in such a good mood after everything. Katara could barely keep her temper.
Though that might be due to a certain firebender who will remain nameless but who we will call Puko, just for the readers' sake.
Katara marched right past Puko and out the guarded door and jogged up the stairs, not stopping until she didn't know where to go, and she still didn't talk to him as he led her back to her rooms.
Anita: Well, here you are my fellow lovely Avatards. (To steal a name that - is it Isaia? - uses. Well, it's either her or Booter-Freak on Deviant Art who have these cartoons about Avatards and their obsession with Avatar. But you should Google both their names and Deviant Art and check their stuff out - it's so hilarious!)
But anyway...
Agh! New Episode! Zuko! (squeak!) And Jun! What was with Iroh and Jun! huh! Isn't he just the creepiest old guy you've ever met! I love 'im!
Katara: Oh, how sweet of Zuko! Will you give him a kiss for me the next time you see him?
Couldn't you just see that? Aang, like, flipping over Zuko and giving him a peck on the cheek and being like: That's from Katara. Zuko would just be like: Ew. Gross.
Gobble gobble gobble li'l Sokka!
Oh yeah, and Jun being all: Ha! Your girlfriend run away? Yesssssss!