Chapter 15

4 Years after the Hundred Year War
North of Serpent's Pass Lake

Starting out early the next morning, the first task for Katara and Azula was to find a place where to cross the river, which was easier said than done when the other bank of the river was an impressively tall cliff. After a bit of scouting up and down the river, Katara eventually decided on a spot where the cliff was considerably lower and growing a pillar of ice underneath them, she managed to safely bring them both across the river and safely deposit them on the other side. Also, the little detail of Azula holding her tightly around the waist had made the whole encounter even more enjoyable.

It hadn't taken them too much time to locate a path on the other side of the river, taking them slightly more inland into the forested parts of the region, but fortunately, the path still snaked reasonably close to the coastline where the scant few villages of the region were located. Team Avatar had never made a stop at this part of the world during their adventures, and Katara felt as if they had truly missed out, as the views were absolutely breathtaking. The terrain was challenging to trek across, rocky and uneven, but the ancient forest surrounding them was truly a marvel to behold, sparse and massive conifers stretching so high above them that they seemed to be brushing against the clouds.

"I've been here before," Azula spoke up suddenly as they walked along the mountain forest path.

"You have?" Katara asked, surprised. "Ah... you must have launched your attack on Ba Sing Se from this direction."

"Partly true, but for that we used the river that's even further east from here," Azula said. "No, this is where we fell back to regroup after the Battle of the Drill."

"Oh... that was a nasty encounter," Katara frowned. "I have to admit, that drill looked so intimidating. And it almost worked for you... if we hadn't showed up at that very moment, you probably would have broken through the outer wall."

"It should have happened even after you showed up," Azula shrugged. "I had already beaten the Avatar, he was down and out, I just had to finish him off... ugh, but there's no point thinking about it," she scoffed, Katara pleased that the princess was not dwelling on it. "Anyway, this is the forest where I took out the Kyoshi Warriors. Oh, and I suppose Mai and Ty Lee were present too, looking pretty and dumb."

"That happened here?" Katara asked, earning herself a nod. "Suki and my brother probably haven't forgiven you for that episode."

"Like I care," Azula shrugged again. "They want to keep hating me, let them. They mean nothing to me."

Katara frowned a little, but decided not to say anything for now. It seemed that Azula was starting to care a little bit about what she thought, and that was something in itself. Expecting her to care about Sokka and Suki's feelings was perhaps a little too much at this point, and so they continued to walk on in silence.

Several hours later, as the day stretched into the afternoon, the terrain gradually began to change by becoming more flat, the path slowly widening into a proper road, most likely connecting the coastal villages. Along the way, they came across other travelers, Katara starting up a conversation with some of them to learn that most of the people on the road were on their way to celebrate a Harvest Festival in one of the villages further up the coast to the east.

"I think I know our destination for tonight," Katara said after they had left another group of helpful villagers behind them on the road. "I want to see what that festival is all about."

"Ugh, must we?" Azula grumbled. "It'll just be crowds of sweaty, foul smelling peasants, milling about and shouting drunkenly."

"It's all a part of what makes festivals so much fun, Azula," Katara gave the princess an irrepressible grin. "Besides, there's going to be lots and lots of delicious food, and I'd rather avoid cooking if we can help it. We have just enough money left to indulge ourselves a little."

"I suppose," Azula shrugged reluctantly. "But if anyone ends up annoying me too much, they just might find themselves set on fire."

"Absolutely not," Katara shook her head insistently. "No bending from either of us. I thought we didn't want to attract attention because news might make all the way to some Dai Li sympathizer." Azula sighed and nodded in understanding. "So, we're just two simple Earth Kingdom peasant girls."

"I thought we were traveling students from the university of Ba Sing Se," Azula grinned at her.

Katara laughed out loud. "Ha, sure... if you want to go with that backstory, let's do that," she chuckled. "Maybe it's for the best, I can pass off as a Water Tribe exchange student."

"Like anyone's going to care," Azula smirked. "These bumpkins most likely have never seen anyone from the Water Tribes."

"You may have a point there," Katara admitted as the pair continued on their way. It wasn't until early in the evening that they reached the village hosting the festival, the place absolutely buzzing with activity. During regular times, it was probably a sleepy village of barely a dozen of houses, but right now, it seemed as if people of all neighboring villages had flocked in for the celebrations. There was a large stage in the middle of the village square for the musicians and dancers, and many smaller and larger stalls surrounded it in a loose circle. Fires were being lit everywhere and the air hung heavy with the overpoweringly sweet scent of jasmine from all the garlands strewn about.

Katara and Azula were about to enter the village to join the festivities, when one of the festival greeters came up to meet them, a plump elderly woman with a cheerful smile on her face. "Welcome to the Harvest Festival, my lovelies," she exclaimed, passing a pair of beautiful wildflower wreaths for them both.

"Thank you," Katara smiled at the woman, then noticing that Azula was stubbornly refusing to accept her wreath. Frowning, she took the other wreath as well. "I'll talk her into wearing it," she nodded at the greeter woman.

"Good luck with that," Azula rolled her eyes.

"Ah, don't be like that, princess," Katara sighed, putting her wreath on. "See how pretty it looks?" she gave Azula her best disarming smile. "Come now, I bet it'll look real pretty on your head, too," she held the wreath out for Azula.

The princess seemed to have frozen momentarily as she looked straight at Katara, then snapping out of the daze as her cheeks became flush with heat. "I... I suppose there's no harm in that," she reluctantly took the wreath and carefully placed it on her head. "I guess we don't want to stand out in the crowd, right?"

"Right," Katara nodded. "There, I knew it would make you look even prettier," she smiled, curious to see Azula's blush intensifying. She meant every word, though. The flower wreath somehow made Azula look almost innocent... and in a way, that was fitting in itself. Katara had come to realize that in some ways, Azula was actually quite sheltered and innocent.

"So... you wanted to find something to eat, yes?" Azula asked quickly, looking like she was seeking a distraction.

"I think we both could do with a bite or two after a day of walking," Katara smiled as they began to make their way towards the stalls with plenty of delicious food on offer. Some of the stalls were very crowded, and they chose to give those places a pass, eventually coming across a less crowded stall where the vendor was offering delicious looking chicken skewers. They had quickly devoured the crispy chicken while sharing a bag of fried sweet potatoes, which Azula again had nearly ruined by adding her taste bud annihilating Fire Nation spices.

Still feeling a little hungry and craving something to satisfy their sweet teeth, the two girls had each bought a sticky rice cake from one of the vendors, and while absolutely delicious, it had also been ridiculously messy to eat and now they both felt extremely sticky and likely to get stuck to anything they touched. Deciding that something needed to be done about it, the pair crawled into a dark space between two stalls where Katara could use her waterbending to help them to become less sticky again. It had been rather amusing to watch Azula reach into the blob of water she was maintaining with her bending, and carefully gathering some of the liquid to wash her hands and face. Katara had been so very tempted to use that moment and splash Azula completely wet, but she did not allow herself to do something so silly. Katara knew that she should not do anything to undermine Azula's slowly forming trust in her.

Having sated their hunger and made themselves presentable again, Katara and Azula rejoined the other festival goers, starting to explore around the circle of the other stalls and attractions. There was certainly a lot on offer, and Katara was delighted to see that the scowl had gone from Azula's face and she seemed to be genuinely entertained by everything going on around them. At some point, the musicians had began to play, light and playful romantic tunes that made the feet itching to dance. Many of the villagers had taken to the dance floor, and as a result the crowds surrounding the many stalls had thinned considerably.

There were plenty of small craftsmen shops, and while Katara felt like she could get lost browsing all the curious and intricate knickknacks, she knew that their money situation was very tight. They stood around for a while watching the local blacksmith forging a majestic sword, Katara reminded of observing her brother working on his meteorite sword at Master Piandao's dojo. Moving on, they came across an archery range, set up to challenge the marksmanship skills of the militia men from the local villages. While Katara did not feel interested in taking part, she immediately noticed the eagerness in Azula's eyes, passing the princess some of the change she had received when paying for their food earlier.

While some of the local youths nearby had rolled their eyes while watching a girl picking up a bow and drawing the string, the boys were quickly made to swallow any comments they had intended to make. Having come close with her second and third shots, with her fourth attempt Azula confidently struck the bull's eye, staring the onlookers down with a sassy grin on her face.

"There you go, young lady, your prize," the proprietor beckoned Azula over, handing her the prize, a large plush lemur.

"What would I want with that?" Azula blinked, shaking her head.

"You can always give it to your lucky boyfriend," the man grinned at Azula, then noticing Katara nearby. "Or girlfriend, I suppose."

"I don't have either," Azula shrugged.

"I'll be happy to have it," Katara said as she walked up to the man and grabbed the toy from him, then turning towards the princess and smiling at her. "Thanks, Azula."

"Right..." Azula sighed as they left the archery range behind. "Don't tell me you're going to lug that stupid thing around? It's not like we don't have enough to carry already..."

"Hey, don't call him stupid, you'll hurt Momo's feelings," Katara stuck her tongue out at the princess. At Azula's dumbstruck expression, Katara began to laugh. "Don't worry, I haven't become crazy, I'll give it to the first child we come across, alright?" Azula huffed, but said nothing, and soon enough, Katara had her opportunity to gift the toy lemur to someone who would appreciate it far more than she would, a tiny girl of barely three years of age, immediately starting to strangle the plush Momo in her embrace, while her parents thanked Katara, looking grateful.

"Well, aren't you happy for accomplishing your good deed of the day?" Azula rolled her eyes once they had left the happy family behind.

"I'm happy because the good deed is shared between us both," Katara grinned. "Remember, you won that toy in the first place."

"I knew I shouldn't have bothered," Azula grumbled as they came upon the next stall, which in this case was a large tent of garish purple cloth. "A fortune teller," the princess read the sign. "Ugh, not one of those..."

"Come, let's give it a try, it'll be fun," Katara urged her. "I'm sure your fortune will be really... fortunate, after performing your good deed of the day."

"I don't want to hear some idiocy about my aura being yellow with bright orange crust like the nonsense that Ty Lee came up with all the time," Azula sighed. "Just don't tell me that you believe this crap, Katara."

"Not really, but I still think it's amusing to hear," Katara grinned, then grabbing Azula by the hand and pulling her towards the entrance to the tent. "Let's get entertained... my treat."

"Fine, fine," Azula grumbled, allowing Katara to drag herself into the tent where an elderly crone sat at a table, staring at the proverbial crystal ball.

"Cross my palm with silver!" the crone screeched demandingly as soon as she noticed the two girls approaching her. Katara hastily gathered the last of her spare change and placed it on the fortune teller's extended palm, the old woman greedily pocketing the coins as she beckoned the two girls to sit down at the table with her.

"Do you want to go first?" Katara asked the princess.

"If it means being done with this sooner, then fine," Azula sighed, letting the soothsayer crone take her hand and starting to examine the lines of her palm.

"Interesting... I can tell you are not a simple peasant girl, my dear," the old woman nodded with certainty. "I can sense that you are on a journey of self-discovery. An important choice awaits you at the end... choose carefully, your very fate may depend on it. And remember, sometimes admitting weakness takes true strength."

"Amusing platitudes, nothing else," Azula quickly withdrew her hand, looking slightly annoyed, but also thoughtful.

"My turn," Katara reached out, offering her palm to the old crone.

"Hmm... I can tell you have been through much, girl," the fortune teller mused. "And you have taken on a dangerous venture. I must warn you... if you continue down this road, your friends and family will abandon you."

Katara shuddered from the soothsayer's words as she quickly removed her hand, instantly regretting the decision to enter the tent. Apparently, not all fortune tellers simply told their customers what they wanted to hear, because this old woman had just told Katara something that had privately worried her for a while now. She muttered a few insincere words of gratitude before walking out of the tent, Azula hot on her heels.

"I told you we shouldn't have bothered with that stupid old crone," Azula told her. "She clearly has no idea what she's talking about."

"Yes, I'm sure you're right," Katara nodded numbly, desperate for a distraction. The sounds of music coming from the nearby stage seemed perfect for that purpose. "Can we stop at the stage and watch the dancers for a bit?" she asked.

Azula looked like she was about to protest at first, but then something in her face seemed to soften slightly. "Sure, why not," the princess nodded at her.

The crowds surrounding the stage were particularly dense and it took Katara a lot of effort before she finally managed to push herself to the front of the gathered masses, standing at the edge of the wooden stage. Unfortunately, she had become separated from Azula in the crowd, but Katara no longer truly worried about the princess deciding to ditch her. She was certain that Azula would find her sooner or later, Katara turning her attention to the musicians and dancers.

Despite the ominous words of the fortune teller, Katara soon found herself relaxing, tapping her foot to the rhythm of the melody, smiling broadly as she watched the village men and boys spin their sweethearts around the large rectangular stage. Everyone seemed to be in a great mood as the merriment hit its peak. By the time Azula squeezed through the crowd to stand next to her, Katara was busy hooting and hollering as she clapped her hands to the rhythm of the music, cheering the dancers on.

"Well, this is certainly... quaint," Azula commented as she stood next to Katara.

"Shush, I'm enjoying it," Katara shot her a quick smile as she stopped clapping, reaching out to take Azula's hand. "Just making sure you don't disappear in the crowd again," she said, answering Azula's questioning stare.

"Right," Azula nodded, making no effort to remove her hand.

Smiling, Katara returned her attention to watching the dancers. It didn't take her long to notice something unusual when the couples began to spin each other around while moving in a wide circle. One of the couples were not at all like the others, because it was a pair of very attractive raven-haired women, appearing to be in their early thirties. They moved with such grace and poise, their movements mirroring each other's so elegantly that they truly stood out in the crowd. Katara found herself staring at them with open fascination, enchanted by the beauty of their union, clear admiration for one another on their flushed faces.

Katara stole a quick glance at Azula, realizing that the princess had also spotted the dancing couple of two women, Azula staring at them with the same fascination as Katara. The waterbender could not stop a blush from spreading across her cheeks as she turned her gaze back to observe the dancers. As the two women danced past the pair, one of them seemed to notice the two girls standing by the stage, their hands still joined. The beautiful raven-haired woman smiled and winked at them, giving the pair a subtle nod of encouragement and approval.

Completely red in the face, Katara turned to look at Azula, noticing the heated blush on the other girl's cheeks, the princess staring back at her with a particularly intense look in her golden eyes. Like jolted, they both pulled their hands away at the same time, averting their eyes in embarrassment, realizing that the dancer had assumed that the two of them were also in a romantic relationship.

"I, ah... maybe... maybe we should go..." Azula eventually ground out, Katara barely able to hear her over the loud music and the pounding in her temples as her heart would not stop racing.

"Yes... yes, let's go," Katara finally nodded, the two girls starting to push through the crowd again, soon leaving the village and the Harvest Festival behind, as they sought out a quiet place some distance away to set up their tent and enjoy a peaceful night's rest.

Perhaps she hadn't been able to shake off the fortune teller's prediction after all, because that night Katara ended up experiencing a rare and powerful nightmare. It had forced her to relive that terrible Agni Kai between Zuko and Azula from start to finish. The absolute worst part of it all was to look at Azula as she screamed and rattled her chains, glaring at them with all semblance of sanity gone from her golden orbs. The image had started to shift and change in her nightmare, however, leaving behind a broken and tormented girl, chained and helpless as she desperately begged Katara for help. She had reached out to Azula, trying to run to her, but something had been holding her back, keeping her away from helping the other girl.

Katara had woken up shivering in cold sweat, disturbed by the terrible image that was now etched in her mind as soon as she closed her eyes. She tried to relax and steady her breathing, slowly starting to regain control over her rattled senses. It didn't take her long to realize something startling, however. Azula had shifted way over to her side of the tent, cuddling up against her back. Azula had also wrapped her arm around Katara's waist, copying what Katara had done to calm the princess down when she was having a nightmare of her own.

The simple gesture touched Katara to the bottom of her heart. Overwhelmed, she began to cry. She eventually cried herself back to sleep, but the tears had been ones of happiness.