Thank you to all my reviewers: (The Prince's Choice) Ana, kawaii25, NaiomiHikari246, (TWG) Guest, cherokee96, Loftcat27, Aaliyah92, Sebastian Orian Weasley, ZabuzasGirl, Elizabeththelast, dazed liz, pokesyourcheek, Iris Quincy Rosewood, MadamMoonstone, lucel18, StrangeEli22, alias093001, muldora, jacpin2002, Guest, WhatTheHeeHaw111, KnightOwl247, the only Daughter of Pluto, NaomiHikari246, snowflake05, myottodog, and Kawaii25!

Ana: Thank you so much!

Guest: If you want to read a lot of Zutara moments, maybe not in this chapter, but on this book as a whole, I think you'll be very much pleased ;)

Guest: As I always say, I'm so impressed when people read this through in one day! Thank you for leaving a comment :)

"Wait, what? Prince Zuko proposed to you and you said no? Please, oh please, describe his face."

"What part of 'sworn to secrecy' do you not understand, Toph?" Katara asked, throwing a handful of grass at her. "And that's just mean. Heartbroken, as you can imagine." Even thinking of it now caused a lump to grow inside Katara's chest. She'd replayed that moment in her head a million times. And, in at least half of those times, she'd said yes. She had jumped up and down with joy, thrown her arms around Zuko and accepted. In the other half, it had gone the same way, Katara turning him down. And, if anything, those moments were winning by sheer logic of the situation at hand.

Oh, if things were so simple that she could have just said yes.

But they weren't.

"I understand it perfectly. It means don't go gabbing to Avizeh - who we all know is a nasty gossip - about it," Toph said, throwing a whole chunk of earth back at Katara.

"I think it also means not yelling it to high heavens," Suki added dryly. "Because, you know, I think with that tone, Katara's family in the South may have heard you."

"Ach, you two take away the fun. Besides, I would have found out eventually," Toph

said with a wicked glint to her milky eyes. "I know everything."

"Which is why I thought I'd tell you first, get any mix ups out of the way," Katara said. Also, frankly, she'd needed to tell someone. Well, she'd told Aiga - of course she'd told Aiga - but Katara wanted to tell her other friends too. She wished she could tell Eva, but she didn't feel comfortable writing it in a message to Eva, along with her other messages. She'd written Eva five times since the announcement and Eva's leaving eight days ago, wanting to make good on her promise that she was going to continue being Eva's friend.

Last she heard, Eva had mentioned that they were going to try to go to the Moon Spirit Pool to see if the holy water could regain her sight, although Yue - who also had been informed - seemed less than optimistic about it.

"The water can't do everything," Yue had said. "It has limits, you know."

'It saved your life,' Katara had wanted to argue back, and saving a life seemed like the biggest 'everything' there was. Katara would be royally miffed if the reason Yue's life was saved but Eva's sight could not be was because Yue was a Princess, but Katara also admitted that the spirits may have saved Yue for reasons beyond any of their control or knowledge, that Yue may be a piece on a larger board they didn't have the height to see.

Katara got the feeling of late that there were a lot of Pai Sho pieces in motion that she was not privy to, of a larger game brewing on the horizon. That the Equalist attack was just the first move of a long, long game. It frustrated Katara.

However, that also meant that the time she had with the girls here was fleeting, and a part of Katara wanted to retain the simplicity of the reason they'd all come; to win Zuko's heart. This was just another reason why Katara felt obliged to share what had happened with Suki and Toph.

"If things were different," Suki said slowly, and although there was no question in her exact words, Katara understood her imploring and slightly pitying gaze. Katara would have been offended that Suki felt sorry for her, but Katara felt sorry for herself. She swallowed hard, and waited. After a couple moments, Suki dropped her look, perhaps thinking Katara wouldn't answer. In reality, Katara was just trying not to be sad all over again.

"I wanted to," Katara said after a second. She was twirling a grass blade between her forefinger and thumb, focusing hard on it, like it held all the answers she was looking for. "I really, truly wanted to."

There was a silence that followed, as though Suki and Toph didn't know how to respond.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't," Toph said flopping back on the ground with a wide grin.

"Toph!" Suki gaped.

"Oh, don't be so high and mighty. You're glad too. I can feel it," Toph said smugly. "Because, well, of course we want you to be happy Katara, and we want Prince Zuko - who can throw a helluva tantrum - to be happy too. However," she said in a grand and slightly nagging voice, "It would just be done. Poof. Nothing more. Suki would have to return home, the rest of the girls would be scrambling for marriages, and I would have to...I dunno, take off into the night. 'Cuz, I'm sure as hell not returning home! My parents probably have eight dignitaries lined up for my hand, all at least two decades older than me," Toph finished, breathing hard. She grimaced, collecting her thoughts. "Point being, Sugar Queen, one way or another you're gunna marry Zuko." She held up a finger at Katara's affronted expression. "But to have maybe another couple months to get our turtle-ducks in order is a blessing."

"Well, maybe Zuko could let you remain on as some sort of...emissary or something?" Suki offered up. "He loves you, as a sister."

"Unless it also comes with a marriage offer from someone of importance, I doubt my parents will go for it," Toph said glumly. "Because, well, who'd it be? Lu Ten? Well, I mean, I could marry him but it wouldn't be any real fun. Kuzon? Ha."

She seemed to brush the issue away, as easy as clearing dust from her plate. Katara wished she had the mental ability to do that. "Anyway, at least now I know this has an expiration date."

"It always did?" Katara asked, confused.

"Well, sorta, but like...this is for real. Zuko is such an awkward person that I could have seen him unable to make any real decisions and just stretch this out to infinity," Toph explained. As much as Katara wanted to protest that, there was a kernel of truth to it.

Suki reached over for their plate of finger cakes, which was far away from Toph ruining it with dirt. Toph had argued that dirt was healthy for everyone, and frankly, they should all try to incorporate it into their diet. Unsurprisingly, there were few takers on that.

"So, what now?" Suki asked.

"What do you mean?" Katara said, her eyes looking out over the other sets of girls dotted on the lawn, trying to enjoy the quietness of this moment.

"So, he proposed to you. That's huge. You said no. Do you, ah, stay? Leave? Do you continue on like it just never happened? Pull back on affections? Give more?"

Leave it to Suki to ask the hard-hitting questions, the ones that Katara did not want to answer.

She pressed her lips into a thin line.

"I stay, we discussed that much, at least," she began carefully, unsure how much she wanted to share with them. However, since she'd already dropped the big thing, everything else seemed so little in comparison. "I, well, I'm not sure what's going to happen with us. I really like him, and I want to continue seeing him but…if it makes it easier...I told him to ask someone else. Anyone, even Nadhari." She dropped her voice down to a watery whisper.

"Holy shit," Toph said, covering her mouth.

"Oh, wow," Suki agreed, her brow creasing.

"It might not matter," Katara continued. "It's not safe here anymore. We know Ozai is out for me, and this whole big competition might be just an excuse to get rid of me. It might be already decided, my fate. I can't win against someone like him, no matter how good my bending is!" she said, her voice reaching a slight hysterical tone.

"Yikes. I mean, you're right." Toph sat up, looking serious for a second. "You can't win if Ozai somehow worms his way into fighting you. No one would. Not even me."

Katara's jaw hung open to hear Toph admit such weakness. Suki looked just as unprepared.

Toph looked between them, her face reddening. "But if you ever repeat that, I'll deny it!" she snapped.

"Ozai doesn't care about you, no offense." Suki waved her hand.

"Good," Toph sniffed.

"So, chances are, you'll fight like Kuzon or someone. Someone we know you'll beat. But for Katara..." Suki swallowed. "He said to prove your worth. The worth of fighting to General Iroh is going to be different than to Ozai or to Azula. To them, Agni Kai is usually to death or disfigurement. Are you sure you want to chance that? Wouldn't it be easier to give up now?"

"I'd hate myself if I did." Katara pressed her forehead to the V between her knees. "If I didn't even try. I've been told I'm too stubborn for my own good."

"Yeah, I think I told you that verbatim once," Toph said.

Katara didn't look up, but she gave a half smile. "Yeah," she said, her voice muffled, "You wouldn't be the first."

"Well, first, you need to get lessons from Master Pakku. And, I could teach you some Kyoshi moves, something he wouldn't expect," Suki began in earnest.

"She still would need something else! If she goes against Big Daddy Evil, there's no telling what he could throw at her…"

The voices of her friends faded out as Katara let the sound of her blood pumping through her ears overcome her.

Blood.

Her head snapped up. She heard Suki and Toph still waffling between different options. Katara thought about Toph and metal bending. About the flower. About the fly.

"Guys," Katara whispered.

They didn't hear her.

"Guys," she said more forcefully. They looked over, as though forgetting that the person they were talking about hadn't left. "There's something I could do."

"Well, c'mon, lay it on us!" Toph said.

"I'm not sure if it would even work. If I'm strong enough for it...mentally or physically," Katara began. "Toph, remember when we were at the Spa and I was asking you about metal bending?"

"Yep."

"I can't describe it, but it's something that I've been thinking about in theory for a while. It could be game changer. However, I'm not sure if it can be done, or how ethical it is."

"Katara..." Suki began with a slight disapproval. "Cheating?"

"Yes, please tell!" Toph was far too excited. "Lay it on us."

Katara tried to explain the idea of the blood bending to them. About how she'd realized that living things were made up of liquid, themselves included. How when she tested her theory with the flower, she'd ruined it. About how she'd felt that resistance with the fly. All of it. She tried not to look at their faces, sure they'd call her a villain, be disgusted.

"I haven't tried again," she murmured after a beat where neither of them spoke.

Suki looked deep in thought. Toph looked a little uneasy.

"I've heard of that," Toph said, "but only in stories. Nightmares." Her pale eyes locked with Katara's and though she couldn't see, Katara felt like she was looking right through Katara. "Horror stories. Things to keep kids in their beds at night. The Monster of the South."

"What?" Katara said, shocked she'd never heard a peep about this.

"It's an old one too, I never thought any of it was real. I mean, it makes the person who uses it out to be a...a…" Toph gave a pained look, "You know."

"A menace," Katara bit out blithely. "A scare tactic. A savage Water Tribe beast," she said.

Toph looked down. "Yeah."

Katara quelled her anger, just for the moment. "Well, most myths are based in truth. Which means, there's a good chance this entire theory isn't just in my head. It can be done. Now, trust me, it makes me feel weird and squicky to imagine doing this to any person, to basically take away their free will, but with Ozai…" She trailed off, biting her lip.

"You're not a bad person, we know that, Katara." Suki gave her an encouraging smile.

"I haven't been able to find something, anything, to practice on. I mean, I guess I should be happy there are no mice running around the palace, but that would have been my first choice," she said, trying to insert even a modicum of humor into it.

"Well, do me." Toph stood. "Katara, I am giving you explicit and verbal permission to attempt to control my movements," she said firmly, "so no bad feelings."

Katara hesitated, still unsure.

"Okay," she said softly. "But, if at any time and I mean it feels bad or strange or anything, you tell me," Katara added firmly.

"Let's look at it this way, you can heal me. So, if things go south, you can stitch me back together!"

"Not funny, Toph," Katara mumbled. Toph stood, arms out, tilting her head in a 'come and get me' sort of motion. Katara sat on her knees, tucking her long dress underneath her and shoving her sleeves up to her shoulders. She breathed out slowly, trying to slip into a quasi-meditative state, because this wasn't easy. It wouldn't be easy.

Katara decided just to try to move Toph's arm. She imagined all of the veins and vessels in Toph's arm, and she tried to feel where they were. She had a thought; maybe, if her hands were wet, it would be easier. She had to wet her hands to heal someone, so maybe blood bending was just a different step away from doing that.

She dipped the tips of her fingers into the tea cup next to Suki, sending her an apologetic half-smile, but Suki wordlessly pushed the entire saucer toward Katara for her needs.

She looked back at Toph. Having water, some sort of conductor, seemed to help. There was that resistance, but Katara could almost feel it move.

"Are you gunna-" Toph began.

"Shush! Let Katara concentrate." Suki quieted her with a glare. Toph raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything more.

Sweat beaded on Katara's forehead. She breathed in harder, trying to force the will of a power she hardly understood. Her arms ached, though she'd only been holding them in the air for a couple minutes.

"Just a twitch," Katara murmured, "Please."

If she couldn't use blood bending at all, she had to know now, so she wasn't spending her time on a fruitless endeavor and could bulk up on other skills.

But if she could do this, make it move at all…

Just when Katara was going to give up, Toph's arm flailed. It was ungraceful, and Katara found she couldn't much control it, but it did move. As soon as Katara got it, it was like the cord that connected her to Toph's arm snapped back on her, sending Katara falling back hard on her shoulder blades. Toph stumbled, as though she was shoved by an invisible force. She grabbed her arm, holding it firmly at her side, her eyes wide with shock.

"Woah," she breathed out.

Katara sat up, brushing away her slightly damp hair from her forehead. She felt utterly drained. It felt like she'd finished a bending match that had been going on for hours. She downed Suki's tea, trying to catch her own breath.

"Well, you did it," Suki said slowly.

"What was it like?" Katara turned to Toph. "Did it hurt?"

"No, not hurt." Toph was rubbing her arm. "It was totally crazy. Like, one second I can move my arm on my own terms, right? Next moment, it's like I just couldn't feel it at all. Or, I could, but my ability to move it took a back seat in my mind, and I couldn't connect to it. And my arm moving without my precise thought? Totally batty. Like, a bad cactus juice trip or something. It sorta stung when the connection snapped, and now my arm's asleep," she finished. "But, I can move it myself again." She wiggled her fingers.

"I don't think I can do that again today," Katara muttered. "I need to work up my ability, somehow."

"At least we know it can be done," Suki said, placing her hands on Katara's shoulders. "If you get kicked out because you lose this fight, I'll be so upset. We all will. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a riot on the hands of the capitol." Suki offered a kind look.

"Suki!"

Maiha came to stand above them. She was wearing a skirt that was much shorter than anything Katara had ever seen her in, and her hair was pulled up and out of her face.

"Hello, Maiha," Suki greeted, and Katara echoed with a wave. Toph didn't really acknowledge her at all.

"Hey, so," Maiha chewed on her bottom lip, "I'm sorry to interrupt your tea time, but uh, I wanted to ask if you'd show me some moves. You know, as a non-bender. For the thing," Maiha said, twirling a stray piece of her updo in a finger.

"Of course. I'd be happy to," Suki said. "And we were just about done, right girls?"

"Yeah. Have at it. Knock her out. Literally," Toph said, showing her teeth in a grin. Maiha looked a little green.

"She doesn't mean literally," Katara scolded. Suki brushed herself off, leaving to go across the green with Maiha.

"It's crazy to see everyone so worked up about this fight," Toph commented. "It will surely cull some girls. I mean, Maiha's never gunna win," Toph said dismissively.

"Shame, because she's perfectly nice. Sad that the thing that would take away that chance are these matches," Katara commented.

"Tough nuts," Toph snorted.

"Well, everyone's super understanding about helping each other. I mean, I think we want to win because we're the best, not because Zuko's real choice got cut in a stupid Agni," Katara said.

"Not Nadhari. She's practically giddy about this turn of events."

"Most," Katara amended. "It makes me think we should help how we can."

"Teaching bending? I mean, what Waterbenders are there? I would offer it to the Earthbenders, but they're not at my level, doubt they could keep up," Toph said a little haughtily.

"There's something to discuss. Yue has the literal spirit of waterbending in her. I think it just needs to be opened or a switch turned or something. If we can, should we?"

"How?" Toph frowned.

"Aang," Katara whispered. "He's the Avatar. He could absolutely do it. And then she'd have a fighting chance, because we both know that without it, Yue can't fight. She wasn't raised like that."

"We can't help every poor sob story out there. That would mean telling her he's the Avatar," Toph hissed quietly. "Can we trust her with that?"

Katara paused. "Yes. I think so," she said quickly.

"Nuh-uh. You paused. You have to be unwaveringly sure, Katara," Toph said. "This isn't getting the Prince's hand in marriage, this freaking life and death."

Katara hunched her shoulders. "Yeah," she sighed dejectedly, "I know."

"It's a nice thought. If Yue knew, I'm sure she'd be grateful you spared her a spot in that mind of yours. But realistically, Katara, the fewer people who know about Aang, the better."

Who would have thought Toph would be the voice of reason?

Katara didn't reply.

"I can see you still trying to figure it out," Toph said. "Well, not literally see, but you're giving off major thinking vibes. Did you know that when you think it feels like someone's shaking a can of tea leaves? Fun fact."

"What if Yue didn't know? Like, she didn't see or experience it?" Katara asked.

"What? We knock her out in the night, drag her though the Palace, have Aang do his unlocky thingy and then drag her back and act surprised when she can waterbend?" Toph snorted. At Katara's silence, she ran her hands down her face. "Awe hell no."

"Well, do you have another option? I will feel guilty forever If I don't try!" Katara snapped back.

"I say we put a pin in it. The fight's not for a while. Think hard about what you'd risk for one girl. Think, and I demand this of people very rarely," Toph said.

"I-"

"Everyone!" Whatever Katara was about to argue was cut off as Caecillia strolled into the garden. "Everyone, come here! I have news."

The girls got up, eager and nervous, especially after the last 'news'.

"What is it, Cillia?" Anasemla asked, biting her nails.

"I've managed to get the exact, written out, binding rules of this supposed fight. So we know exactly what this is. No surprises, no shocks. It's all in a legal document now," Caecillia said with a tinge of pride. Katara blinked; never would she have thought to procure such an item. From the looks on the girls' faces, it seemed most had similar thoughts.

"Where'd you think to do that?" Jin said.

"I don't know. I mean, I've just grown up around this Royal Family stuff my whole life. Nothing is set until it's in writing. It matters," Caecillia said, kneeling down and rolling out the scroll she carried. She read it over, skimmed it, nodding to herself. "Okay. So, each girl will randomly have to fight one Royal Family member. The 'random' choice will be determined by the Royal Family picking names out a vase with a Fire Sage watching their every move. Each family member will be going up against three girls. The order will be put in place by the Fire Sages, as so that each member of the Royal Family gets at least one match after they've just gone to cool off. As for us; we just have to 'prove the worth of the individual's battle skills to the discretion of the opponent'. Ugg, that's vague as hell, crap. However, that means that we don't have to 'beat' them in order to pass, we just have to prove ourselves."

"How will we know if we don't pass? Can a member of the Royal Family just cut it off right away and say 'nope, not worthy'?" Toph asked.

Caecillia continued to scan through the very long parchment.

"Nuh-uh. You choose when you tap out. It's up to you to give up, though it comments that being knocked unconscious also constitutes as being disqualified. However, this wording means that if you lose an arm - extreme case - and want to keep fighting, seems like you can."

"They could cut off our arm?" On Ji squeaked.

"You'd probably want to fold before it got to that part." Ty Lee patted her shoulder.

"Oh, okay, it talks about what's allowed in the ring as a contestant here, for the girls. The Royal Family is allowed only one weapon, bending included. I mean, that makes it fairer for us, in a way. That's good," Caecillia said. "For us on our end, we can bring up to three weapons into the ring with us, and bending counts as a 'weapon'. They even wrote in something for you, Toph: metal bending vs earthbending is two different weapons, so if you wanted to use both, you'd have to write them down."

"That's utter bullshit," Toph swore, causing a couple of the girls to look uncomfortable with her language, "Absolute fucking stupid! I just knew they'd screw us over one way or another." She crossed her arms, scowling, "Guess it doesn't matter, though. I'll win this with one 'weapon', thank you very much."

"What happens if Toph didn't write down metal-bending, and then she used it anyway?" On Ji asked, looking warily at the pissed-off Earthbender.

"If you use a weapon that is not on the list that you'll give to the Fire Sages, you will be eliminated," Caecillia continued.

"What about Mai?" Alcina jerked a finger toward her. "She has like, twenty knives on her body at all times."

"Twenty-two at the moment," Mai agreed. Katara, as well as many others, tried to covertly look Mai up and down to figure out where she was squirreling away all those items. A part of Katara didn't want to know all the places Mai was hiding them.

"Uhm, yeah, good question," Caecillia said, going back in. "Okay, so with weapons, what counts as (1) weapon is however many are conventionally sold in the Fire Nation together. Like, you buy a sword by itself, but buy double swords obviously in doubles, so you can bring both in and have it count as one. It has a super long list for our convenience, but, hmm…" Caecillia looked Mai up and down. "I see you have throwing knives. Those are sold in sets of three, so you can bring three in that counts as a single weapon. And shurikins are sold in six, and you get the idea."

This sent the girls into a twitter, wondering about, if they wanted weapons, how they could go about getting them.

"Weapons must be purchased by the individual," Caecillia said. "Or gifted. No borrowing, basically, so they can log each one. We have to log our weapon choices no later than four days before the fight."

This was problematic to Katara. If she wanted to use blood bending, she had to tell someone. And, if she wasn't able to use it or master it enough, she would have wasted a spot on her list where she could have put another weapon she could use.

"Will the family know?" Killee asked. "Like, if we're logging it, then they could prepare, whereas we don't know what they're using! How is that fair?"

"I mean, it's not hard to guess," Mai said cooly. "They'll all be using firebending."

"Still," Kilee said, looking red in the face.

"Lemme see…" Caecillia held up her finger. "Nope, nope. Stays between the Fire Sages, it's for their benefit. Because, if anything goes wrong, they have the final say of whether a girl passed or not. Not Prince Zuko, not Fire Lord Ozai."

"Like that's actually gunna happen," Top snorted under her breath.

Caecilla rolled up the scroll. "There's a bunch of other caveats and stuff. I'll try to compile a list of what's important, but if anyone has questions about a specific thing, I'll keep this with me. It can be confusing wading through the proper jargon used, but I'm quite used to it."

"Thank Agni we have you!" On Ji looked completely overwhelmed.

"How do we know you're not making this up?" Avizeh asked suspiciously. "That you're not telling us all the wrong stuff to throw us off and make us lose?"

"You can read it yourself, or someone who also knows all of the terms could, like Ty Lee or Mai." Caecialla tipped the scroll toward them. "I know there's no reason to believe me, but I think this whole affair is just stupid, so."

Ty Lee grabbed it out of her hand. She read the first foot. "Well, everything Cilla has claimed is true." She squinted, scratching her head. "I'd believe her. Plus, her aura is as clean as snow."

"Thanks?" Caecilla laughed uneasily, since Ty Lee was a person who was hard to respond to sometimes. "Anyway, I know a lot about weapons too, and I'd be willing to take you through the basic things sold here, or what you could have your handmaids get. We had to learn it all in Fire Military Training."

"You were in the military?" Suki sounded shocked. Caecillia, who wore the frilliest dresses and the softest makeup, who never wore pants and always had the poise of a future princess, who knew what cakes to eat at dinner with which utensils.

"Mhh. My parents figured that if I wasn't going to marry a Prince, I was going to claw my way up the military ladder. Of course, then the Choice started up again, and I was plucked out of my station," Caecillia explained. "I didn't like it, but I was good at it."

"I knew that's how I recognized you!" Ty Lee gasped. "I talked to you like two years ago, when you were in the Chin province."

"Yep, yeah, that was me," Caecillia sighed. "Well, at least it's coming in handy now. I don't really like talking about it," she said, clearly wanting the matter in general to be dropped, apart from what she was more willing to share.

Luckily, the girls seemed to get the memo.

"Anyway, tonight come to my bed area and I can sort of show you some weapons. Tomorrow, we can practice with them. I'm going to go and study this," she said.

About five or six girls followed after her to ask specific questions they had thought of, and Caecillia left with her nose buried in the parchment and fielding questions.

Toph let out a breath through her nose. "This is going to be much different than I thought," she admitted.

"Different hard? Different bad? Different…?" Katara fished, glancing down at Toph. Toph gathered up the last two finger cakes from the blanket they had spread out, shoving them both in her face.

"Different. Just different."

XXxxXX

Zuko was anxious.

Even if Katara had not seem him of late, she knew this to be true. When she caught a glimpse of him, he always seemed to be ringing his hands or answering eight different people's questions at one time. Most of the girls assumed this busyness was due to the recent attack. Many things needed to be fixed - from the small items such as the broken dishware up to the large items like a chaise lounge burned in two - and beyond that, plans needed to be made so it would not happen again. Many girls also did not bother him in that first week or so after. They understood that he was seeing no one, so they could hardly feel like they were being treated unfairly.

This bothered Katara.

She had grown used to their clandestine meetings, even when no one else got them. In the months she'd been here as the favorite of Zuko's, she'd become accustomed to preferential treatment. Now, in the wake of everything, it seemed even she was unable to catch him.

A part of Katara wondered if he was avoiding her after she rejected his proposal.

Still, she wished she could help with his nervous frown, the one that seemed perpetually plastered on his face these days.

Even if the restorations to the palace were not what troubled him, the battles coming up were sure to. This, very carefully, was going to cut a great number of girls whether Zuko wanted them to go or stay. After that, there would only be a handful left. This meant that Zuko would have to pick very soon who he wanted to be his wife, someone other than Katara.

So, Katara felt bad, since she was sure that part of his anxiety was caused by...well, her. Caused by her because she said no and forced him to have to consider someone else. Caused by her because she remained, giving him the slightest hope. Caused by her, because frankly, why else would Fire Lord Ozai command such a spectacle if not in the hopes of eliminating Katara in such a way that even Zuko could not save her? In other words, if she wasn't here, if Ozai had been able to get rid of her, maybe they wouldn't be parading through this circus they were pretending was to vet everyone.

She told three people her final theory, because it gnawed on her like nothing else. It wasn't fair that girls like On Ji, who could make a great future Fire Lady, would be culled only because a lack of warrior skills, which most high-class women weren't taught anyway. It was like asking a fish to walk on land and being upset when it couldn't.

The first was Aiga. Aiga just paused her brushing of Katara's hair when she heard and gave a quiet laugh.

"Katara, even if it were true, I doubt Zuko would ever be upset that you're on his mind. He loves you," she said simply.

It was nice to be reminded. After the whole palace was thrown upside down and Katara had been lumped in with the remainder of the girls while things were settled, it was easy to forget that moment had happened. But, out of everyone in the palace, Zuko was ready to marry Katara with no reservations.

Hearing Aiga confirm it made her feel better, for a day.

When she told Toph, she laughed. "Oh, gosh, Sugar Queen. Must be nice being you. Strange, though, because I thought you were a waterbender," she replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Katara scowled, hearing the heavy sarcasm in her friend's tone.

"Well, you just basically insinuated the world revolves around you, right? So that must mean you're the sun, which is basically the root of being a firebender and all…" Toph shrugged. "At least you're always gunna be warm."

After Katara got over her offence, that was also nice to hear. She would never tell Toph that, because her ego was big enough as it was, but she could do with someone telling her that it wasn't all about her. She didn't want it to be all about her. She just had a sinking feeling it was.

So, she told Suki. Suki, who wasn't as loyal to her as Aiga nor as blunt as Toph. Suki, who walked the middle of the line, usually, and always had given Katara sound advice in the past.

"I think it's a mixture. I think Fire Lord Ozai wants Prince Zuko to pick someone fast and this expedites the process. I think he wants you gone. I think he's playing some entirely other game we couldn't guess if we had a thousand tries. I also think worrying about it is playing into exactly the trap he wants us to fall into," Suki said after Katara told her the fears she held.

Yes, leave it to Suki to put things in a perspective that made sense. Katara agreed that it was all of those things, and many more.

If she was freaking out about this, she could only imagine what Zuko must be feeling.

There was one day, in which Katara saw him through a crowd between her moving one way and him another, that he sent her such a look of longing that Katara felt as though she'd already lost him. That in denying him, she'd signed her own release statement.

This was not what she had wanted at all.

Her attempts to reach him were all thwarted; she could rarely catch his eyes long enough to tug her necklace (and, when she did, he just gave a sad frown back and held up his long sheet of things to do), all missiles to the Prince were paused while he got his footing, and it had been days since a meal with the Royal Family.

In her loneliness without him around, Katara had time to truly think. After her own revelation of her feelings, she imagined a world where they'd met under different circumstances. Maybe he wasn't a Prince or maybe she actually was a Princess. Maybe it was in the past or in the future. Maybe their love story wouldn't be so filled with other issues. Katara thought of all the different scenarios in which she simply loved Zuko and he loved her in return and there was nothing else to say about it.

However impossible, it was a nice dream.

XXxxXX

Ty Lee was all alone.

Katara noticed this on her way to the bath house to soak away a long day's practice in the gardens, battling against Alcina and Suki. It was late in the day, far after dinner, but the air outside was still warm despite the darkness of night that had drifted upon the city. Kartara was surprised to see anyone still outside, since most of the girls had retired for the day, and were enjoying after-dinner tea and quiet activities before bed. The gymnast was over in a smaller Zen garden, twisted into an impossible knot that made Katara's bones ache just looking at her.

Seeing Ty Lee alone, in itself, wasn't a strange event. It was that Katara realized, as she passed, that she'd been seeing Ty Lee increasingly alone.

Ever since the attack, Ty Lee had been apart from the group more often than not. Before the attack, Ty Lee was almost always attached to someone, usually Mai. In fact, Katara could count on one hand the amount of times she'd seen the pair separated. And, an even lower number, that in the instance Ty Lee wasn't with Mai, she was with someone else, like Azula or Caecillia. In fact, Katara could only think of two singular times before the palace attack that Ty Lee had been all on her own.

Now, it seemed like this was the norm, not the exception.

This in itself stopped Katara and caused her to divert her bath, at least for a little bit, to investigate.

"Ty Lee...erm, are you okay?" Katara asked.

"Oh, this pose is hardly a problem. I learned it back when I was like seven," Ty Lee said, untangling herself. "But thanks for the concern. I could show it to you if you'd like." She seemed all too eager to have someone to talk to. That wasn't strange, Ty lee was always outgoing.

"No, I meant…" Katara wondered if maybe she was making up this issue in her mind. She hadn't been friends with Ty Lee before the attack, and hardly was now, so maybe Ty Lee spent a lot of time alone and Katara had just never noticed. Then, she saw the look in Ty Lee's eyes, the absolute relief to be talking to Katara. "I just noticed you weren't hanging out with Mai or Azula as much anymore."

"Oh, well." Ty Lee tried to force a smile, but it seemed pale and shallow. "I didn't think it was obvious."

Katara didn't really know how to respond to that. Ty Lee seemed to admit it so freely, in such a melancholy way.

Ty Lee pulled on her long braid, thinking.

"You haven't-" Katara began.

"No." Ty Lee interrupted before she even asked. "I guess that's part of it. Katara, can you answer a question honestly?"

"Uhm-"

"Your aura is mostly clear. I suppose that's a yes," Ty Lee said, patting Katara's shoulder. "How did you do it? Keep it a secret? And when did you find out about Kuzon?" It was the unspoken agreement that, when in public, they would all continue to call Aang 'Kuzon', just for pretenses.

"Oh." Katara was expecting something much more intrusive. "A long time ago. Months, I think. But it was an accident, much how you found out. I told Zuko Toph had to know right away too, because she was going to figure it out herself if we didn't come straight out and tell her. I guess...how did I keep it a secret? Well, I could talk to Toph or Kuzon or Zuko. Plus, I knew how grave the secret was to keep. It was bigger than anything else I may know."

Ty Lee nodded in thought. "I suppose that's the hard part. I can't tell Mai. She knows there's something I can't tell her, and that I'm not. I've been told I'm not a good liar, which I always thought was a positive." She sighed.

"Could you trust Mai?" Katara didn't like the idea of letting another person in on the secret, however…

"No." Ty Lee looked terribly guilty to admit it. "She's very adamant about her beliefs, one being that the Royal Family is never wrong. I have many things to be thankful for in regards to them, since they treated me better than my own family did."

"They do?" Katara tried not to look too surprised.

"A story for another day. Anyway, if she knew what Kuzon was...she'd feel obligated to tell. Plus, she doesn't know him personally, like we do," Ty Lee said carefully. "But even if he was a stranger, I couldn't. Telling Azula or Fire Lord Ozai is just as good as kill…" She choked a little on a small sob. She couldn't even get the word out. "I've tried to live my life with no blood on my hands. I've tried to be a better person than the way I was born, the way my parents were. Katara, it's just gotten so hard. It all matters so much now," she all but wailed.

"I know, Ty Lee," Katara said, rubbing her back. "And really, you have the strength of a lion-bear for staying so steadfast. No one ever thought it was easy. And you'll always have a friend with me."

"Really?"

"The secret brings us together," Katara insisted in a hushed but firm tone. "And the only way we're going to survive whatever happens is if we trust each other. No one was meant to protect the world alone."

Ty Lee wiped her tears on the back of her hand. "You're so wise, Katara. No wonder Prince Zuko practically adores you." She sniffled. "Have you seen Kuzon at all? Do you know how he's coping?"

"I haven't." Katara was flustered to realize she'd given Aang a smaller part of her thoughts than she likely should have. "Maybe we should go find him together?"

Ty Lee brightened, nodding with vigor.

The pair set out through the halls of the palace that were fit to travel. Ty Lee was a never-ending stream of words; mostly nothing important, usually about food or music or dance. Katara just nodded and told herself that Ty Lee had practically no one, and that she could be her friend with all things considered.

"Lady Ty Lee, Princess Katara." A familiar warm voice came from behind. Both girls turned to see Prince Zuko, a soft smile on his face at the sight of the pair. Or, Katara, since he was looking mostly at her.

"Prince Zuko." Ty Lee bowed.

"Princess Katara, ah, can I borrow you for a moment or two?" he asked, rubbing his neck. Katara felt a flash of relief overwhelm her. She looked back guiltily at Ty Lee.

"We were looking for Kuzon, so-"

"Oh! No, you go with him!" Ty Lee practically shoved Katara forward. "I guess I should get used to being alone," she said with a slightly sad smile.

"Kuzon is in the Royal Study, Ty Lee. I'm sure he'd be glad of your company," Zuko supplied. "So, if you want to, Princess…"

He held out his hand.

Katara took it.

So, now that we've taken the time to see what our three POVs are up to, we're able to put them all back together, specifically, Katara and Zuko. You can ask my wonderful beta, hepchaton, but there's a slightly steamy bit coming up in the next chapter ;)

I'm still a wee bit behind from answering reviews from last chapter/the last bit of TPC, but I hope to be caught up soon XD School is just super busy for me right now!

Remember to review! Reviews will get me through an exam tomorrow ;)