A/N. So, Katara's POV! I wish to reassure some readers : there will be drama and violence in this storyline, but nothing horribly traumatizing. This might be an M rated story, but only for war crimes, xenophobia and smut (good smut).
A sharp pain in her head made its presence known as soon as Katara regained consciousness. Groaning, she kept her eyes closed, trying to figure out why her head was hurting this much. The last thing she could remember, was landing Appa on a cliff to make sure he was rested, so that they could go over the Mo Ce Se… To get to the others on Wulong Peninsula. Then, darkness… And in that dark void, a voice, whispering terrible things.
Avatar Aang shall not enjoy his victory for a long time. He will suffer unspoken horrors, to begin with you. First, he shall know heartbreak. Then, I'll make sure that death will await him with open arms. And only then, only then, shall you be reunited. You shall only hear the last words he will speak.
Opening her eyes in terror as she realized what those words meant, Katara closed them immediately, because the light had blinded and hurt her. Where was she? She could feel the damp, restraining air of the Fire Nation's climate all around her, so she had to still be wherever they had landed. The waterbender moved her right hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, but after a few moments, the other hand followed, as if attached each other. It was only then that she could hear the jingling of chains.
"Ah, you are awake. Good." A voice spoke sympathetically from a small distance. Opening her eyes cautiously, as not to be blinded once more, Katara tried to adjust to the light and the environment. After a few seconds, shapes became clearer, but her vision was still blurred by long shadows. Only when a few brief instances passed, she realized what those shadows were. Bars.
"Sorry for the way my comrade handled your arrest. He is from the latest batch of recruits and is still a bit raw. Doesn't realize that cruelty doesn't solve everything." The voice continued. Blinking, Katara tried to sit up, only to be hit by a horrible pain in her brain. Falling back on whatever she had been lying on, the waterbender closed her eyes, feeling horribly weak. Those words… It had to be a lie, no Spirit would even consider hurting them, right? This was just a spirit, trying to scare her. No Spirit had the power to do this. Katara had never seen spirits interfere in someone's life's unprovoked. Hui Bei had protected his forest, and the Ocean Spirit had unleashed his power after the Moon Spirit had been killed. Even the stories she had heard about Koh the Facestealer were like that. Never did a spirit attack unprovoked. And she and Aang had never hurt one. No. No spirit had this kind of power. They were lying.
"I have to register your name, for the records. So, would you tell me your name please?" The voice came from the left, behind the bars. No, from outside the bars. She was inside them.
"My…" Tui and La, her head hurt, making thinking an ordeal by itself. Her brain was reconstructing whatever had happened, and she seemed to recall two soldiers, asking about something like a curfew… So, they didn't know her name, otherwise she wouldn't be locked in a cell, with her hands chained. No, she would be in a wholly different situation…
"Sap… Sapphire." Katara managed to whisper, choosing that ridiculous name she had used during their undercover months in the Fire Nation. If she was in that country, as the climate suggested, it wouldn't be a weird name.
"Alright, Sapphire. Care to tell me why you walked around after curfew, outside the city?" The voice, which had become distinctly male now that her hearing was improving slightly, asked gently.
"I…" She didn't have a good lie, or even a bad one, "I don't know."
"Agni, Marzu hit you pretty hard. Listen, you know what, I think we can forget all this." She heard something drop on wood, and, risking her eyesight once more, Katara opened her eyes. This time, her surroundings were somewhat clearer. Yes, she was in a cell, but not a horrible one. It had a view on spacious, whitewashed room. It looked like the cell she had shared with Toph in Fire Fountain, only this one had iron bars instead of wooden ones.
On the opposite side of the room stood a long desk, clearly old and used for decades. The man sitting behind it seemed slightly familiar, as if he was a memory from a dream. Fire Nation armour hung on a hook next to the desk, a spear lazily standing against the wall beside it. Moving her head slightly, a pain spiked through her head, before calming down. Her cell was bare, except of the thing she was lying on. Trying to sit up, this time, her body obeyed. The rattling of the chains made her look down. Her hands were linked together by handcuffs, but it didn't seem like she was truly in danger… yet.
"Apparently, there are more pressing matters to the governor than the fact that curfew was broken. I suggest you go home, and just keep your head down the coming days. That way, I don't have to do all the forms, and you don't get punished. Sounds alright?" The soldier stood up, stretching his back as he did so. Katara frowned at the sentences that drifted towards her. Was she just… free to go?
"Home?" She asked, trying to clear her head.
"Yeah, home. And I'll give you some clothes from the bin, you can't walk through the streets wearing that." The man's eyebrow raised slightly as he pointed his chin towards her. Looking down, the waterbender saw she was just wearing her normal blue dress… But of course, the Fire Nation had strict dress codes. Groaning, she nodded. Disguise herself, get out of the city, to Appa, and to Wulong. That wouldn't be too difficult.
"Seriously, you young folks have been driving me crazy these last few months. First, I had to break up that cave riot, then you didn't stop annoying the authorities. This town was respectable enough, but now that the school is closed… Agni, you don't even realize how luckily you all were before you got ideas." The soldier grumbled softly, but not unkindly, as he walked over to a closet. Katara watched him in silence as he opened it and began to search through it.
Cave riot? School? That seemed familiar…
"Where am I?" She managed to whisper, realizing her throat felt horribly dry.
"Where… Agni." The man lifted his head to the ceiling, shaking it, "Kirashi, of course. Or as I like to call it, my worst placement since Yu Dao. I really have to stop that idiot from hitting people from now on…" With those words, he turned around, holding a simple red tunic and skirt.
"Sorry, I have nothing better that might fit you, but at least, you'll get home without causing a scandal for your parents." The man nodded sagely, before grabbing the keys from the desk, and walking to her cell. As he was searching for the correct one, Katara tried to think.
Kirashi. That was not bad… The town had seemed friendly enough, and this guard seemed more than amiable. Perhaps all her fears were unfounded, she would be able to find Appa, and fly away, having lost only…
"How late is it?" She asked, regretting the loud way she spoke, as it sent a sharp pain through her head.
"Late? Agni, you mean early. It is just an hour after daybreak, miss. Curfew has just lifted, and people can walk the streets now." The man shook his head once more, in what seemed to be his signature move. Katara watched him turn a key in the door and open it. Daybreak… That was not bad. Just a few more minutes of this… farce. It was nothing more than a farce. How, in the spirits name, had she been dragged into this idiotic situation?
"Here, let me get these off. I would be grateful if you don't try to scratch my eye out in the meantime." The soldier shook his head once more, but with a smile in the older face. He began to turn another key in the handcuffs, and before long, Katara felt the weight of the chains fall off her wrists.
Daybreak… That meant that…
"Sozin's Comet." She blurted out.
"What?" The guard looked confused for a moment.
"Sozin's Comet! Is it gone?" She stood up, before staggering and putting a hand to the wall to find some support as her head began to swim once more.
"Lord Sozin's Comet was in the sky until half an hour ago, yes. Why?" The man took a step backwards, turning around, and walked back to the desk, "There is a screen in the back, you can change there miss." He waved to a corner of the room she couldn't see from her cell.
"What happened?" She knew what had happened in the caldara… Well, what had happened until she left. But that had been some six or seven hours ago if this man was to be believed. She could have been at Wulong already… With Aang.
Because she remembered the blue light on the horizon now. She remembered what that had meant. Aang had to have won. And if that was the case… Surely the Fire Nation would have received the news. Hawks flew fast, certainly in the Fire Nation's communication system. They should have news!
"They have yet to announce, news will arrive in the day, as it always does." The soldiers nodded as if he was conveying great wisdom, before respectfully turning to the other side of the room, his eyes trained on the wall. Katara stood in her cell, hesitating. If she wanted, she could knock him out, run with his keys and be gone before anyone even knew she had been here… But this man had been nothing but kind and actually nice. So, taking a few hesitant steps, the waterbender took the clothes lying on the desk and got behind the screen.
It felt weird, changing clothes close to a complete stranger. But as her dress slid off her shoulders, Katara had to be glad about a fresh bit of clothing, as her dress had been burned, and worn for days on end… So, yes, it wasn't the most civilized she had ever looked. But as she pulled on the fire red clothes, she knew she had to go, as soon as possible. If all this was true, and the Fire Nation wasn't aware of new orders… What had happened in the capital? Surely Zuko would have sent hawks to all corners of the nation, to tell them the war was over.
And… Aang.
Aang had to be somewhere. He had won, the voice had said so… But then again, the voice had surely lied about other things, so it was always possible… Possible… That the blue light had meant something else.
"So, you live with your parents?" The soldier spoke from the other side of the room, clearly trying to make small talk as the rather awkward moment began to stretch a little too long. Katara quickly looked through the pockets of her dress to check if she didn't forget anything, pulled the skirt up, and emerged from behind the screen.
"Ehm… no." Parents would be a bad idea. Parents would be traceable.
"So, with whom then?" The man deliberately turned around, eyes closed. Tui and La, if this had been before Sozin's Comet, he would have been so easy to disable… But Katara couldn't do that to this one. He had never done her injustice. Quite the contrary actually.
"With my… husband." She answered, trying to sound even. Husband… Aang. Spirits, she really needed to go, to know what had happened out there…
"Oh, you're married! Sorry, I didn't realize." The man smiled brightly, "Who is the lucky man? A soldier, I bet. Oh… Of course!" The man smacked his forehead in a playful manner, "He is stationed somewhere on the island, in one of the watchtowers! That was why you were outside the walls after curfew!" The soldier laughed merrily, as if he had just solved a great mystery. Katara forced a smile, hoping that it would look like a grimace of someone who had been caught in a rather embarrassing moment.
"Yeah… hehe…" She chuckled awkwardly, "Can I go now?" She took a step towards the door.
"Of course! But seriously, I'm sorry, you can't go out again. Even if your husband is stationed outside the perimeter. Orders are orders, and we have to obey them. Good day, and again, sorry for the knocking out part." With that, the soldier opened the door for her, and let her step outside.
To Katara's surprise, there was no sun. Looking up, grey clouds covered the sky. Grey like Aang's eyes…
Where are you my love?
The door led to a street, long and straight. This had not looked like this before… The whole city actually looked different. When they had been here, three months ago, the walls had been ruined and in bad repair, but even from the street, the waterbender could see the shadows of the high walls and the towers. The street had not been paved, but now, there was gravel making up the roadbed. It was clear that this place had been changed a lot, for whatever purpose…
Looking left to right, Katara saw no one on the street. Deciding to take the left, towards the north, she walked for a few steps before another soldier appeared from an alley. Bowing her head towards the ground, she tried not to attract attention to herself.
A few more hours… Then, she would be reunited with those she loved. And then, her life could finally be normal. Because Aang had defeated Ozai. She knew it. The voice had said so, and she could feel that, at least, that had not been a lie. But the other part of the voice's threats… What had that been? Was there some Spirit angry with Aang, and had he hoped to make her do something stupid? Katara knew very well that her own temper sometimes got the better of her, she wasn't so naïve as not to know that. But still, it was a shaky plan. The voice, or whatever it had been, should have been cleverer. If he had said those things just before the fight with Azula, she would surely have killed the princess out of anger.
But the voice had waited hours. It had waited until the blue light had adorned the horizon, signalling to the world that something had changed forever. As fear kept its grip tightly on her heart, Katara made her way north. The street was still silent, except the few coughs, the soft murmurs and the laughs coming out of the houses on either side. It sounded so… normal. As if no one was aware of the cataclysmic fight that had taken place the night before.
These people had gone to sleep with the idea that their Nation had won the war, and that the fight was finally over, in their favour… And now, they woke up, without knowing any of it. They didn't know about Azula's defeat… Or what had happened in Wulong.
The guard had said that news would arrive later, but the waterbender wasn't going to stay here to find out. That could be hours, and hours, she didn't want to spend here, in this Tui and La forsaken place. As she approached the wall, Katara frowned.
The wall was a buzzing place, soldiers walking up and down the pathway on it. Squinting her eyes, the waterbender saw that from this side of the wall, there were no crenelations or defences. Sure, that was a good plan, because in case of an overwhelming enemy, taking the walls, they would not be able to hide against a counterattack from the city.
But what surprised her was the fact that on regular intervals, the wall was packed with baskets of rocks and arrows. It had looked like this on the great Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se, the one time they had seen it all those months ago. But the city of the Earth King had been under constant attack… Why were these people acting like an attack was imminent?
Perhaps a drill. Perhaps Ozai had wanted to keep them alert during the passage of Sozin's Comet, and had ordered such training exercises for the soldiers that didn't participate in the fight in the Earth Kingdom?
"No further." A gruff voice halted her, and, looking back to the street, she saw three soldiers, wearing the armour and face plate of the elite firebenders, standing in front of the gate. The gate she needed to get through.
"I need to get out." She answered, trying to sound as if it wasn't such a weird request… It wasn't, right?
"Yeah, and I will marry the princess, sure. Rules are rules, and no one is to leave the city without the express permission of the governor. And I doubt you have that." The man laughed, before turning back to the conversation he had been having with his comrades.
Katara stayed put, not believing her ears. This city was in total lockdown… For what? What on earth could they give as a plausible reason for keeping the whole population inside these walls? And surely, there was a need to get out of the city from time to time.
"When will the gates open?" Perhaps it was still curfew, and the guard had orders to only let people out with permission during curfew.
"They won't, lady. Orders. Now fuck off." The soldier didn't turn back to her.
"Open these gates. Now." She didn't have time to negotiate with these soldiers, without attracting attention to herself. As much as she didn't want to hurt them, Katara had to get to Appa. The bison had probably woken up all alone, in the dark, and had not known what happened. Knowing the gentle soul of the bison, he would probably get searching for her, and he would not find her around. He would, however, realize something was wrong.
"Last warning, fuck off."
Katara balled her fist. Her attention was drawn to one of the barrels. Through her bending she could feel something liquid inside it. And suddenly, she remembered. She had tried to waterbend at the two soldiers the night before… But she had lost her grip on the water. Or, rather, something had made her lose her grip. It had been during the words that voice had spoken inside her head. Had… had he, or whatever it was, done that?
But apparently, it wasn't permanent, otherwise she wouldn't sense the liquid in the barrels…
"I will get on the other side of those gates. So, you can open them, or I will." With that, she stepped past the soldiers, marching towards the great wooden gates, barred and locked with long iron bars. But before she could even get a few yards, hands grabbed her arms and threw her back towards the street. Katara lost her footing and fell down on the gravel.
"Seriously, fuck off. Go see the governor, get permission, and then, and only then, will I let you through." With that, the three soldiers set themselves in front of the gates, clearly not going to let her through.
Getting up from the street, she pushed the hair out of her face, looking at the barrel. Biting her lower lip, the waterbender hesitated. Sure, she knew she could probably take these soldiers on with her bending, and easily defeat them. But what if… What if the voice returned, and made her lose her bending once more, at a critical moment. And she would attract unnecessary attention to herself…
"I'll do that. I will be right back." She spoke through gritted teeth. Turning her back to the wall, Katara knew that there was no way to get that authorization from the governor of the city. But, if the information from the soldier in the jail was correct, news of Azula's defeat would probably be here shortly. And that meant that they would also know that Zuko was Fire Lord! She needed to get back… Back to Aang.
Marching off, this time, she began to recognize several things. This was the same street they had walked up towards the market square all those months ago, and, peering down the long straight line of the street, she saw that the square was still there.
Where were the others? Sokka, Suki and Toph… Would they have won their fight? There were no airships in the sky, flying over the town in a triumphant parade… But to be honest, Katara didn't really care if every airship had been destroyed… As long as her brother and their friends were safe. And Aang. Tui and La, the waterbender felt her hands tremble at the mere idea of him dead…
She couldn't bear that. No way.
A gong sounded through the city, and, looking up, a plume of smoke appeared from the square. What was that? Sighing, she put her trembling hands in the pockets of the skirt… Pockets. Her pockets! She had checked the ones of her dress before leaving it at the jail, and they had been empty! But she had… She had put her necklace inside of it! Not her mother's… But the one Aang had given her.
No… no not that. Everything but that…
Had she left it in one of her bags, on Appa's saddle? Surely, she was mistaken. She had not lost it, it could not be! It had to be with the bison! There was no other way! Feeling her throat contract lightly at the horrible feeling of loss, Katara tried to breathe in and out, like Aang did when meditating… It was with Appa. Had to be.
The street widened into the square, and she saw what the plume of smoke actually was. Two men in black had lit a small fire, and a wooden signboard has been placed in the middle of the market. Squinting her eyes, Katara could see that a long parchment had been hammered on it. The news! The news that Zuko was Fire Lord! With that, and her identity, she could make the soldiers open the gates! Because, of course, the orders would have been reversed by the prince! No one would use her to get to Aang! No one would do that anymore… They would finally be free!
She broke into a small run, arriving in front of the display in a matter of seconds. And felt her heart shatter as she began to read.
To all Fire Nation citizens.
Our great and beloved Fire Lord Ozai's fire has gone out. As he prepared to deal the final blow to our enemies, he was traitorously struck down by the Avatar and his cronies. At the same time, Zuko, formally known as Prince Zuko, and the Avatar's paramour attacked our gracious princess.
The traitor and the waterbender were defeated, but Zuko does claim the Fire Nation's throne for himself, usurping our rightful ruler.
Curfew has been strengthened. In two days, Kirashi Island will publicly swear allegiance to our new Fire Lord, Azula.
Governor Kantuno of Kirashi Island
No! No!
They had done too much to end this war! This was not fair! Looking at the two figures that had hammered the announcement to the sign, she couldn't help it.
"Lies." She hissed to them, pouring as much venom in her voice as she could, "Azula was defeated. Zuko is the Fire Lord, and the Avatar has not killed Ozai."
Of that, she was certain. Aang was not capable of killing another person, he was just too much an Air Nomad for that. No, he would have defeated the Fire Lord his own way, the way that would show the world a new dawn was breaking. A new hope for this war-torn world.
"Wait… I know you." One of the hooded figures spoke quietly, sounding distinctly female. The hood was removed, and revealed a middle-lengthened girl, around her own age. Katara felt a slightly familiar pang, as if her brain knew she knew the girl from somewhere but couldn't pinpoint it. The girl looked as any other Fire Nation girl, but had wide, pretty ember eyes, full of kindness.
"Ehm… Sorry, I don't think so." Katara smiled awkwardly. She didn't have time for small talk. She needed to get out of here, as fast as possible.
"Oh." The girl looked around, as if to check if there was anyone close to them and begun to hum. The soft melody suddenly jolted Katara's brain. That music… Spirits, yes, she remembered this girl now.
"The cave!" The waterbender could have slapped herself. This was that girl that had tried to flirt with Aang, who had been disguised as Kuzon then, and who had failed miserably. Not because Aang had rejected her, but because the airbender had not realized what she had been doing. But Katara also remembered that this girl had immediately stopped trying when Toph had warned her that Kuzon had a girlfriend.
"Shh!" The other hooded figure hissed urgently.
"Yes!" The girl nodded quickly, before taking her hand, "Come on, I know a place we can talk."
Katara didn't want to go to "a place we can talk"…
But… But perhaps this place would be outside the walls. And the minute she was outside… That would give her the opportunity to leave. To go back to Aang!
Answers:
Spelare: Yes, I found it a good way to introduce the story! I could have shown what happened to Katara the first chapter, but it wouldn't be as intriguing. I wanted to show how most people, who lived their whole life with propaganda, may think.
: Thank you! I know this chapter isn't too exciting, but I need to set the storylines in place.
Kalaong: Exactly! Of course, the Fire Nation is heavily inspired on imperial Japan, and I wanted to use that too. In real history, they forced the emperor to surrender, so that the country would accept it. But in this case, there are two claimants. And that is going to complicate matters! And yeah, the only person who would be merciful on the Fire Nation is… well, you'll see next chapter…
Jjsmith103: Precisely! I always asked myself how they would be able to change people's mind, after a century of war and hate. And the only logical thing is… They didn't, at least not overnight. So, that will be an important part of the story!
Lenoravampire1: Me too, if that makes you feel any better lol!
TheQuietReader23: Yeah, it was horrible to write actually… To get in that kind of mindset, it was not easy. I had to redo several parts, because I found them too much. I hated to write those insults, but if you want to get the idea across that the Fire Nation really hates the other nations… It can't be done by being nice. And yes, the Gaang made a horrible mistake. But Aang is a mess, Sokka, Toph and Suki have followed him to help, and Zuko thinks the Fire Sages are loyal, so he had no real reason to doubt his orders.
Alyssa: No, not at all! I hate those kinds of stories and will certainly NOT do anything of the kind. And of course, chaos like that is going to be perfect kindling for a little rebellion!
