Chapter 29
4 Years after the Hundred Year War
Northwest of Serpent's Pass Lake
Katara stood at the beginning of the path leading down towards the farmstead that roughly two weeks ago had been burned down by Azula during the relapse from her recovery. Through the fruit trees of the still intact orchard, she could see that some progress had already been made in rebuilding the house. The first floor appeared complete and work was underway to finish the second floor.
The waterbender turned to regard the young woman standing by her side on the road to the farm. Azula was wearing the royal robes of a Fire Nation Princess, Zuko having brought them with him to Ba Sing Se. Still, Azula looked very different from her old self, largely due to how she had chosen to wear her hair, following Katara's suggestion. The raven locks falling freely and framing her face, gave her a much softer and gentler appearance, smoothing the harsh, angular contours of her face that became more prominent when she pulled her hair up to form the top knot.
While Katara would have been happy to just stand there and stare at Azula until they both grew old, there were matters to attend to, as evidenced by the two heavy coin purses which Azula held in her hand. "Ready?" Katara asked in a soft tone of voice.
"I guess so," Azula muttered, taking a deep breath. "I have to own up for being stupid, don't I?"
"I know you might not believe it, but trust me, you'll feel better about yourself after doing this," Katara smiled at her. Azula gave her a slightly disbelieving stare. "Hand?" the waterbender asked. Azula nodded, and the pair linked hands, starting to slowly walk down the path. They hadn't made it all the way to the farm when Katara made them both stop again. She then leaned closer to give Azula a soft peck on the cheek, chuckling at the way the princess looked at her in surprise. "Just something for courage," Katara grinned.
"Thanks," Azula smiled nervously at her. "Still... maybe you should go ahead and let them know that I am not here to finish what I started. I don't want them to freak out from seeing me..."
"That's probably a good idea," Katara nodded, but their good intentions were ruined moments later when one of Tina and Tenshi's children jumped out from the roadside bushes and ran screaming back towards the partly rebuilt house.
"Mom! Dad! That crazy girl is back to burn our house again!" the boy shouted from the top of his lungs.
"Just don't panic, I'll make sure things do not escalate," Katara spoke soothingly, tightening her hold on Azula's hand, having to stop the princess when she tried to take a few steps backwards upon seeing Tenshi emerging from the house, wielding a massive hammer. Three other men accompanied him, all carrying various building tools, laughably inadequate when facing a firebender, should Azula decide to attack them.
"Please, Tenshi, stand down, and tell your friends to do the same," Katara stepped forward, hoping that the farmer would recognize her. Judging by the shocked expression on Tenshi's face, he did remember her. "We have not come seeking conflict. We are here to help and to-..."
"And to apologize," Azula said, taking her place by Katara's side. "And I want to do so in front of your entire family, Tenshi."
"You will not attack them?" Tenshi asked, still looking worried despite Katara's presence.
"I swear, I will not attack anyone," Azula spoke solemnly. Some of the men helping Tenshi were muttering something about the Fire Nation, but the farmer appeared to have made up his mind.
"Tina! Kids! Come out here! It's safe!" he shouted towards the house, his wife emerging shortly after, followed by their three children, looking curious and just a smidge frightened.
"Look kids, it's that lovely young woman who doused the flames and then gave us her money!" Tina spoke to the children, her resolve wavering a little as she glanced at Azula. "Oh... it really is you... what do you want with us?" she asked, her voice harsh.
"I wanted to apologize to your entire family for burning down your farm," Azula spoke unwaveringly, not letting some of the scornful stares distract her. "I was confused and angry at myself, and... I took that anger out on you, which was... a very bad thing to do."
"Yes, it was," the farmer's wife stared firmly at her.
"But I want to make up for my mistake with more than just words," Azula said, taking a few steps forward, stopping when she noticed Tina and the children immediately backing off, the men wielding the building tools stepping in protectively. "Please," Azula looked at Tenshi, holding out the coin purses for him. "This is for you. I hope it goes some way towards undoing the damage that I've caused."
Tenshi cautiously walked up to Azula and took the coin purses, opening one of them. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw the amount of shiny gold coins inside. "Spirits, this is... this will more than cover our expenses! Tina! Tina, would you look at that!" he exclaimed, throwing one of the pouches over to his wife.
"My goodness!" the farmer's wife cried out in disbelief. "This is more than we are entitled to, young lady," she told Azula.
"Use it to hire more workers and get your farm rebuilt faster," Azula replied, shaking her head. "Besides, you need this coin far more than I do."
"Thank you," Tina bowed gratefully. "I... I think we've been wrong about you. You're not the monster we had taken you for, I can see that now. It could not have been easy to come here and try to correct your mistake. You have much courage and honor."
"Don't thank me," Azula replied, slight blush creeping into her cheeks. "Thank Katara," she nodded at the girl by her side. "I would not be here if not for her."
"Now, don't sell yourself short, Azula," Katara smiled at the princess, feeling touched by the compliment. "You've put in a lot of work yourself to come a long way."
"Wait a moment," Tenshi's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. "Did you say Azula? As in... Princess Azula of the Fire Nation?" Azula nodded guardedly. "Tina, are you hearing this?" the farmer spoke excitedly to his wife. "Our farm was burned down by Princess Azula! Do you know what it means?"
"Yes!" Tina replied with equal excitement. "We'll be famous! Oh, this is so wonderful! We'll be the talk of the region!"
"So... you're not angry, then?" Katara sought to clarify, slightly taken aback by this unexpected development.
"Of course not! You have bestowed much good fortune upon us!" Tina spoke gratefully. "Is there something we can do for you? Would you care to join us for dinner, mayhap? It's not much, granted, but..."
"Thank you for your kind offer, Tina, but we should be on our way," Katara smiled at the farmer's wife. "There's a Fire Nation airship just out of view, waiting to take us to the North Pole. We wouldn't want them to wait on us for too long."
"Well, in that case, please accept our gratitude," Tina smiled back, then turning towards Azula. "You have more than made up for your mistake. Kids?" she turned towards the children, hiding behind her skirts. "Say 'thank you' to these two lovely young ladies." The children shyly muttered their gratitude and then hid behind their mother again.
"Yes, thank you," Tenshi nodded in agreement. "And now I recognize you as well," he said, looking at Katara. "You are a friend of the Avatar, Master Katara, a hero of the Hundred Years War. That you would now travel with your once fiercest enemy... I suppose there are inspiring lessons to take from that. After this bloody war, I'm happy to see forgiveness being encouraged."
"Truer words have never been spoken, Tenshi," Katara replied. "But now, we should really be on our way back."
"Yes, thank you for being so accepting," Azula added politely, as the pair bid their farewells and left the stunned and happy family holding the heavy pouches of gold coins.
Once they had put some distance between themselves and the farmstead, Katara stopped, tugging on Azula's hand to make her halt as well. "So," she began. "How do you feel now, Zula?"
"Honestly?" Azula replied, sounding a little surprised. "I hadn't even realized that this whole incident had been still bothering me, so... I'm glad we did this. It's like a weight lifted off my chest. I feel... lighter, somehow. Thank you for encouraging me to do this, Katara," she said gratefully.
In response, Katara wrapped her arms around Azula's waist and pulled her closer, capturing her lips in a lingering kiss. "What was that for?" Azula smiled once they had parted a while later.
"Oh... just to let you know how proud I am of you," Katara grinned, reaching up to brush and errant lock away from Azula's face. "Let's get back to the airship. I know that Zuko is dying to hear about our exploits."
Several hours later, Katara found herself in the Fire Nation airship quarters of Fire Lord Zuko. After their return, Azula had felt emotionally drained from the experience, and had decided to take a little nap, but instead had fallen fast asleep. Katara couldn't force herself to wake up her girlfriend, and thus had decided to spend time with Zuko all by herself. Truth be told, she had been waiting for this opportunity, not just to tell Zuko about how well Azula had done with the farmers, but also because there were some things that she wished to discuss with Zuko in private.
When Katara arrived at Zuko's quarters, she appeared to have interrupted an argument between him and Ty Lee, because the other girl had quickly excused herself, looking slightly red in the face. Since Katara wanted to have a face-to-face talk with Zuko, she hadn't tried to stop Ty Lee from leaving, then at the first opportunity telling Zuko about everything that had happened at the Earth Kingdom farmstead. It truly warmed Katara's heart to see Zuko so very proud of his sister and her progress.
As they moved on to engage in some small talk, Katara was only too happy to accept Zuko's offer of a glass of rice wine, one glass that quickly turned into two, then three as Katara worked up her courage to ask something that could become potentially rather embarrassing. "Zuko?" she finally gathered her willpower to get around to the question, even as she vehemently shook her head to deny his offer for another refill. She was very close to slurring her speech as it was, having very low tolerance of alcohol. "I want to ask you something... personal."
"Umm... is that why you've been getting sloshed on rice wine, Katara?" Zuko grinned at her. "Now I'm incredibly curious."
"Spirits, I'm so transparent, aren't I?" Katara groaned. "Anyway, I just... I just really worry that maybe you're not so alright with me and Azula starting a relationship. I know you said you were, but..."
"Katara, what are you talking about?" Zuko smiled patiently at her. "You're the best thing that could have happened to my sister. I'm delighted for you! Why wouldn't I be?"
"Really?" Katara wondered. "Well, I'm just asking because... you remember, after I broke up with Aang, I came to see you and... we were getting along so well, and I started to think that maybe... anyway, I was worried that maybe you thought that I was leading you on..." she cringed instantly having spoken those words.
"Oh, Katara..." Zuko chuckled, gently patting her hand. "We are both young and we like each other a great deal, but most importantly, we were both single at the time. I dare say that we were both leading each other on, or trying to, at least..."
"Oh... so it wasn't just my imagination," Katara groaned. ""But you see, that's why I'm worried about how you might feel about me being with Azula. I was worried that you might... you know..."
"That I might be still pining for you?" Zuko winked at her. Katara blushed fiercely, feeling like a complete idiot. "Well, you'd definitely be worth pining for, Katara. Yes, I thought that there was something happening between us, and I still think that it could have been something beautiful. Like I told you before, Katara, you're one of a kind... but you also don't have to worry. I will always cherish and love you as a dear friend, but I do not spend my days longing for you."
"You don't?" Katara asked, forgetting that she was supposed to be relieved about it, her pride momentarily getting in the way before she managed to push it away. "I mean, it's great that you don't!" she exclaimed, wincing when she realized that she sounded a little over the top happy. "Does that mean some lovely lady has warmed her way into your heart?"
The expression on Zuko's face became slightly guarded, further confounding Katara. "Quite a lot has actually changed in my personal life since you and Azula both left Caldera," he said thoughtfully. "I was going to tell you both about it, but with so much going on with you two, there just wasn't a good opportunity to do so. I guess I'll do that now... in short, Katara, I'm getting married."
"W-what?" Katara gasped, her trembling hands knocking over the glass of wine, which fortunately was already empty. "Married? To whom?"
"You wouldn't know her, Katara," Zuko replied. "She's the eldest daughter of Admiral Chan, my Minister of Defense."
"Well... I hope that she's lovely and deserving of you, Zuko," Katara said earnestly.
"She's nine years my senior, Katara," Zuko smiled at her serenely. "This is an arranged marriage. Admiral Chan is a very influential man at the royal court, and he has connections with a lot of important people that have been slow to buy into what I'm trying to build in the Fire Nation. With the admiral fully on my side, I would finally be able to force these last few holdouts against my rule to fall in line."
"I suppose that makes sense, but still... an arranged marriage? No, Zuko... just no!" Katara shook her head, feeling crestfallen. "Zuko, you deserve better, so much better!"
"I'm actually fine with this arrangement, Katara," Zuko said. "Let me explain why. I know that my wife to be has a steady boyfriend, and I would never ask her to give up someone she actually loves for this arrangement of ours. That is why I will allow her to maintain a relationship on the side, and she will extend the same courtesy to me."
"Wait..." Katara blinked in surprise. "That means you do have someone! And she's alright with this arrangement? Aren't you afraid of a scandal?"
"This sort of thing is very common and accepted amongst the nobility," Zuko shrugged. "The only thing that is not acceptable is to appear with your mistress in public. As long as it's all kept private, nobody actually cares as long as public appearances and decorum is maintained."
"Well..." Katara frowned, unsure of how to react. "It still doesn't seem right. I don't think I could..." she began, then catching herself and blushing.
"I know what you mean," Zuko nodded. "It's not an easy thing to make work, and there are challenges and sacrifices to make. But I really want this, Katara. It started from caring and comforting, but then it quickly grew into more... a lot more. I am going to do everything within my power to make sure that she is not hurt because of these challenging circumstances."
"I believe you will, Zuko, you are too honorable to do otherwise," Katara said earnestly. "But you're not going to tell me who has captured your heart?"
"I'm sorry," Zuko appeared genuinely apologetic. "I'm sure that you will learn it in time, but for now, I must honor her wishes to keep it a secret from everyone for as long as we can. Again, I'm sorry. I wish I could tell you the truth because you deserve it and I trust you."
"But an oath is important to keep, so I do understand, Zuko," Katara smiled at him. Honestly, as much as Zuko had tried to keep his lover's identity a secret, there really was only one girl who matched the profile, and who would not want the truth to be revealed, at least not right now... because she was still in a relationship with someone else. Zuko was in love with Suki, that much was clear, and Suki was cheating on her brother, which was why she desperately wanted to keep this quiet for now.
"Relationships are complicated, are they not?" Zuko smiled serenely.
"You can say that again," Katara nodded before rising to her feet, then staggering a little, just about managing to keep herself upright. "Oops... I think I might be a little tipsy..."
"Just a little..." Zuko grinned at her.
"I should probably lay down a bit," Katara said, gingerly making her way towards the doors. "See you tomorrow, Zuko..."
"Sweet dreams, Katara," Zuko bid her farewell as she left his quarters, stepping outside.
Having noticed Suki and Ty Lee hanging around outside Zuko's quarters, talking quietly among themselves, Katara decided to confront Suki, still feeling the effects of liquid courage in her veins. "Suki," she staggered towards the girl from Kyoshi Island, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You're like a sister to me, you know that, right?"
"Katara?" Suki blinked at her. "Why are you so utterly sloshed?"
"What? I'm not..." Katara protested, then deciding to just go on. "Suki, I mean it... you're like a sister to me, and you always will be. But I know what's going on, Suki. If you end up hurting Sokka because of this... I'm going to be really, really angry with you..."
"Katara, I have no idea what's going on, but you seriously need to sleep it off," Suki sounded a little frustrated for some reason. Ty Lee, in the meantime, was looking at Katara with her eyes wide, looking as if she was about to say something, but then eventually reconsidering.
"At least let him down gently..." Katara managed, starting to feel very, very sleepy. "Promise me that much, Suki..."
"Right, that's it," Suki had finally had enough. "Ty Lee, help me out here. We're putting this ridiculous drunkard right to bed..."