AN: Hey guys, I know I didn't update over the weekend, and I am terribly, heart-achingly sorry. I unexpectedly went out of town to visit family on Friday. Today was one of those days I told you about, whem the speakers come to my school once a week. So I have good news and bad news...

The bad news is, of coarse, that this chapter was late.

The good news is ... I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurence by switching to Geico!

Lol. Just kidding. The good news is that you still got the chapter before this weekend.

And now, ladies and gentleman, I give you - Chapter Ten!

Chapter Ten: Her Lullaby

Katara searched frantically through the smoke. Her eyes watered and her lungs burned.

Zuko tried his best to keep up, his shoulder and leg dramatically slowing him down. He feared he would bleed to death before they even caught sight of the exit.

Yet, thankfully, Katara found the rope that would take them to the ground below. The only problem was how to do so without injuring Zuko further. Sensing the problem even through his dizziness, Zuko inched closer.

"You go down first."

She shook her head. "Your injured. You should go down first. And it's not up for discussion." She added as Zuko openned his mouth to argue.

Seeing as how he wasn't going to win the verbal battle, Zuko took hold of the rope with his unharmed arm and slowly, carefully, slid down the rope.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Zula hadn't moved from her spot on the rail. Though the sun had set, she continued to gaze at the stars that were just beginning to appear.

It was the first time she had thought of her mother since she had died.

Memories flooded back to her, and she couldn't help but think that if her mother was still alive, she wouldn't be so confused.

Confused.

Was that truly all she was?

Zula breathed in the salty fragerence of the ocean.

"Mom," She whispered. "I don't know if you can hear me, and if you can I don't know what good it'll do, but I yearn for your guidence. I thought I loved one man, so much that I would kill Zuko for him, yet now I - I cannot stop thinking of another. He invades my thoughts without warning, and though I constantly get onto myself for allowing him to slip into my mind, I find myself not truly wanting to fight it.

"I suppose what I truly wish to know is, even though one is dead, am I to love two men at once? Should I truly seek vengence for the death of one, even though I love another also?"

Zula didn't know if her mother had truly heard her, but she felt more secure and safe now. This one feeling, the one her mother had always been able to give her, was what made her think that everything was going to be alright, and that her mother had heard her.

Footsteps drew near, causing Zula to turn.

"I thought you would have gone to sleep by now."

"I figured as much for you."

Zula turned back to the stars.

Dear mother, dear Agni, is this truly love I feel, or a heartbreak waiting to happen?

As the young man came to stand beside her, she felt that same feeling of safety and security.

There was something else she felt when Ruhuo was around her though.

It was love.

But this time, she didn't try to block the thoughts of him coming to her mind, and she smiled slightly as she answered her own question.

Tis' love I feel...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Zuko's landing was anything but graceful, and he hit the ground hard, but he was on the ground.

Katara reached for the rope as he sent it back up. Just as Zuko had, she made her way down slowly.

But then...

... the rope snapped.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katara's head ached worse than ever, and her body felt numb with pain.

She tried to sit up, but something pushed her back down to the cold, hard ground.

"Don't do that."

That's about when everything clicked. She had fallen, no , the rope had burned through. Then... darkness.

"Where are we?" Katara mumbled to the teenager beside her, whom she knew was Zuko.

"I'm not entirely sure. There's a river though, and enough trees so that we can hide pretty well."

Very slowly, Katara openned her eyes. There wasn't too much difference though, for all she could see was the faint outline of the trees and Zuko.

"Lead me to the river."

Although Zuko hated taked orders, he took her shoulder and, with fire in his palm, guided her to the river bank. He was rather surprized when she just hopped in, but everything became clear when there was a faint blue glow.

"Let me heal you, Zuko."

He sighed. She was so persistant.

"Only my shoulder, and that's only because we don't have anything to use as bandages and we don't know where the campsite is."

Katara rolled her eyes, although she knew he couldn't see it in the darkness. Zuko and his pride...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It had been nearly two hours since she had healed Zuko's shoulder. In that time they had made a small camp on the river bank.

Not able to sleep, Katara streamed the water over to her. She twisted it into various shapes in the firelight, graceful with her bending. After a while, she started to hum a soft tune as she continued to bend.

Katara had thought that Zuko was already asleep, but he lie there, watching her bend until he heard the gentle song. The tune seemed familiar somehow.

"Are there words?" He questioned.

She was startled to see that he was still awake, but allowed a small smile to grace her features. She started to sing a lullaby as she bent the water back into the river.

"Hush, my child,
Don't you cry,
Soon the airbenders
Will be dotting the sky.
When peace comes to this world.

"Soon, my child,
Late at night,
Firebenders will be keeping us warm,
And soon, my child,
There will no longer
Be the need to fight.
When peace comes to this world.

"One day,
One day soon,
The Avatar will come,
To our aide.

"One day,
One day soon,
History shall
Be made.

"When peace comes to this world..."

There was silence for a few minutes before Katara spoke again.

"My mother sang that lullaby to me every night until she was killed. She would always tell me to think about the words in the song, and to never lose hope. After she died, I would sing it to myself. After I met Aang, it gave me more hope than ever that we would have peace sometime soon."

"Your mother - she was killed?" Zuko already knew how, and it made him uncomfortable.

Katara just nodded. "Not long after that, my father had to go to war. This put Sokka in charge of our tribe." Katara smiled slightly. " He was always trying to train the younger boys how to be warriors. And my Gran-Gran was to one who was really in charge, but she always trusted Sokka's judgement. Then we found Aang in that iceburg."

"Iceburg?"

"Yeah, didn't you know? Aang was trapped in an iceburg for one hundred years."

"Oh, right, of coarse."

"Sokka never liked the lullaby much." Katara tried to change the subject. "He always said it was childish to have false hope in something. He didn't believe in the Avatar, or the spirit world, or anything like that until we met Aang. But I did."

They didn't know how long they talked, all they know is that when they finally said 'good night' the tiny sliver that was the moon was high above their heads.

They had never know how people could be so different -

And yet very much the same.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

AN: There you go! That was chapter ten.

Just so you guys know - I did write the lullaby in this chapter just like I wrote the small verse in the first chapter. What is it with me and writing? The next chapter probably isn't coming 'til weekend, but as you have learned, the updates are never exactly when they're supposed to be.

"What ever happened to Jet?" You may wonder. That, my beloved readers, is in the next chapter. I can tell you, though, that it wasn't pretty.

As always, thanks for reveiwing!

Also, as a side note, I am on the favorite author's list of 18 writers! Thank you guys, you are the most awesomest peoples evers! Like, beyond words!

Until next I happily update,

JAAF