Chapter 33
4 Years after the Hundred Year War
Agna Qel'a, Northern Tribe capital
Katara was still in the process of healing her father's burns and other injuries, when she realized that she had just done something terrible and unforgivably damaging to Azula. The more she thought about what had happened, the worse she felt about her reaction. Azula had stumbled upon her father standing over her and berating her, and it had undoubtedly forced Azula's memories of Ozai to resurface. And after she had attacked Katara's father, probably misunderstanding the situation, Katara had acted in a way that had made it appear as if she was siding with her father. Worse of all, she had called Azula 'crazy', after spending so much time reassuring and convincing the other girl about the strides she had made in her recovery. She was an idiot, a bloody idiot, and she needed to put things right.
Still, as Katara finished treating her father's injuries, feeling reassured that he was no longer in any danger or in too much pain, Katara could not stop feeling angry at more than just herself and her own reaction. None of this would have happened if Sokka and Aang hadn't brought her father to the North Pole, if they had just stayed away and stopped their meddling, trying to break her up with Azula. She definitely intended to dispense some very choice words towards all three men, but that would have to wait. As she rushed out of her quarters and ran down the hallway, there was only one thing on her mind. She needed to find Azula and she needed to do all she could to salvage the situation. Perhaps the trust she had fostered was not broken completely yet...
Katara was running through one of the halls downstairs, when she nearly crashed into Aang and Sokka who appeared to have just left their audience with Chieftain Arnook. "Katara!" Aang cried out as the young waterbender zipped right past him, making no effort to stop. "Hold on! What's happening?"
Katara was about to ignore him altogether, but something made her stop and turn around just before leaving the room. "I need to find Azula," she snarled angrily. "If something has happened to her... if I can't find her... I'm going to hate you until the end of your days. Both of you!" she pointed at Sokka as well.
"What are you talking about, we didn't do anything to Azula!" Sokka exclaimed defensively.
"Yes, we were with the chieftain," Aang nodded. "But if something has happened to Azula, let us help!"
"Like you care about helping her," Katara scoffed. "No, thank you, I don't need anything from you," she turned around and resumed running. Once outside the palace, following Azula's tracks was very easy, she had been throwing her firebending around spontaneously, but fortunately it seemed as if nobody had been injured. Apart from my father... but perhaps it was not entirely unjustified. How dare he break us apart and send Azula back to the Fire Nation? He has no right to do so!
Katara felt her heart rate spiking when Azula's trail led her to the gate leading out of the city and into the wasteland of icy tundra, the gate having been badly damaged by Azula's firebending. She looked around, noticing a couple of badly battered guards, slowly digging themselves out of a pile of ice and snow, Katara quickly freeing them by using her bending.
"Did my friend pass by here?" she asked in a frantic voice. "Princess Azula of the Fire Nation. Red and orange parka..."
"Yes, and we tried to stop her from leaving the city," one of the guards grunted. "But she gave us a right battering, collapsed the gate and ran outside despite our warnings!"
Katara felt herself becoming numb with fear. The weather outside was turning particularly foul. A massive blizzard was forming nearby."I'm going to follow her," she stated resolutely, as if daring the guards to stop her.
"Please, Master Katara, don't be reckless," the other guard pleaded with her. "You know that it is too dangerous to wander outside when the blizzard hits, especially if you go alone."
Katara knew perfectly well that the guards were absolutely correct. The right thing to do for her was to return to the palace and ask Aang to lend her Appa, or come along on this search and rescue mission, but... Katara was done asking for Aang's help. Her pride and stubbornness would not allow it. And she could not simply sit in the safety of the royal palace while Azula was out there. Katara knew that Azula had no chance of surviving the blizzard, not even with her firebending. Without any further deliberation, Katara dashed through the hole in the gate, ignoring the pleas of the desperate guards.
Fortunately, Katara managed to spot Azula's footsteps in the snow, picking up the general direction the princess was heading in. However, as the wind and the snow picked up more and more with every passing moment, the tracks in the snow disappeared quickly and soon Katara was left wandering the icy waste without any hint of direction she should be heading in. The visibility was absolutely miserable, and for the longest time, Katara trudged around clueless.
Desperation slowly began to seep in, as Katara realized the extent of her recklessness. In these conditions, she had no hope of finding her way back to Agna Qel'a. But what else could she have done? How could she have remained at the capital, while Azula froze to death in the blizzard, alone and afraid? And even though it felt overly dramatic, Katara was absolutely certain that she would rather perish while searching for Azula, than live with herself knowing that she had let her princess down so abysmally. That was not a life she felt capable of living.
As Katara continued to wander around the frozen wastes, an idea of using her bending to control the blizzard occurred to her. Focusing on her surroundings, Katara managed to exert enough control to stop the snowflakes in their tracks, almost as if freezing time itself. It took immense effort and concentration on her part, and she could only do so for a few seconds, but the improved visibility allowed her to scour greater distances while looking for any signs of Azula, yet there were none.
Hours passed, and Katara felt her movements becoming sluggish. She kept using her bending as often as she could, trying to identify some promising landmark to check and then trying her best to reach and explore it, praying that Azula might have found shelter there. For the longest time, she found nothing, starting to lose hope, dark thoughts starting to creep into her mind. She had never thought that it would all end like this. At least she had found true love, however briefly, however fleeting, and yet she could not stop herself from crying when she thought of what could have been, for them both, and especially for Azula. She didn't deserve to die, not like this, alone and so far from home.
Katara had almost resigned herself to her fate, when she decided to use her bending one last time before she would simply stop walking and let the deadly cold carry out its grim task of ending it all. However, when Katara stopped the blizzard this time, she noticed something unusual. There was a large crack in the thick ice sheet just ahead of her, and judging by all the signs, it had appeared only recently.
Spurring herself on, Katara somehow made it to the crack in the ice, leaning carefully over its edge and peering downwards. Her heart leapt into her mouth at what she saw some twenty yards below her, the red and orange parka of her princess, Azula lying on her back at the bottom of the crack, unmoving.
"Azula!" Katara screamed as with renewed energy she jumped into the crack, panic surging through her. "Azula, please… please hold on, please be alive!" she pleaded as she bent a slide of ice that carried her to the bottom of the icy crack.
She was instantly at Azula's side, gathering the princess in her arms. She was unresponsive, and so cold, so very, very cold... but still alive, her heartbeat very faint as she was clearly suffering from severe hypothermia. In a strange twist of fate, Azula had probably managed to survive this long only because she had fallen into the crack, as it was considerably less chilly down here than it was up top, in the biting wind of the raging blizzard.
Still, Katara was well aware that she needed to get Azula somewhere warm, or else she would perish sooner or later. The only thing that Katara could immediately think of was to remove her own parka and use it to wrap Azula even more tightly, making sure that the princess was not losing any more of her remaining body heat. This meant that Katara herself was in grave danger of suffering from hypothermia, but it was a risk she was willing to take. Katara knew that she needed to regain some of her strength to make it back to Agna Qel'a, but she also needed the blizzard to stop for them to be able to make the journey.
Unfortunately, after what seemed an eternity of waiting, the blizzard still showed no signs of abating. Katara was starting to feel increasingly sluggish and confused, as her own condition began to deteriorate and Azula was not getting any better, either. Even if the princess was now losing heat at a much-reduced rate, it was clear that Azula didn't have a lot of time left, unless Katara thought of something... and somehow, despite her own worsening condition, Katara did manage to think of something, a risky but ingenious idea.
Bloodbending, she could use her bloodbending! Katara began to focus on Azula's bloodstream, calling on her bending and starting to manipulate the flow, increasing it, stimulating the circulation of Azula's blood. The effect was rather astonishing, as color returned to Azula's cheeks after only a few minutes of intense work. Another minute or so later, the golden eyes of the princess opened and she awoke with a startled gasp, shocked to be looking in Katara's face.
"K-Katara?" she managed in confusion.
"Yes, it's me..." Katara whispered, struggling not to cry. She was starting to lose most of the sensations in her body, as her hypothermia became worse and worse, making her wonder if she could bloodbend herself. Still, that didn't matter right now. Azula was conscious and there were things that needed to be said. "Azula, I... I'm so sorry about the way I reacted, and about the things I said earlier. It was terrible of me, and I didn't mean any of it... I was surprised by your arrival, and I reacted poorly to the surprise."
"Forget all that," Azula whispered hoarsely. "What are you doing here? Where are your clothes? Oh..." she only then noticed that she was wearing Katara's parka. "Don't you need it? And how am I even still alive? Did you save me? Did you... did you really came out here looking for me?" the princess gasped.
"Of course, I did," Katara smiled sadly, biting back the painfully icy chill in her bones. "You mean everything to me, Zula, even if my recent actions might have made you doubt that. But I could not sit around doing nothing while you froze out here. I would risk my life to save you, and that's the truth. Although… it's entirely possible that now we're both going to die out here, so..."
"At least we'll meet the end together," Azula said somberly. "Though... I feel very much reenergized, somehow. I remember slowly freezing to death... becoming so sluggish and sleepy... and then there was this strange desire to remove my clothes, even if I was freezing."
"That happens with severe hypothermia," Katara replied, her teeth chattering from the cold. "I... I did something to you that probably saved you from dying, Zula. I'm not sure how you'll feel about it when I tell you what it was..."
"It saved me... at least for now," Azula smiled at her. "I think I'll be alright with you telling me."
"I used my bloodbending on you," Katara confessed. "I used it to increase your blood flow and warm you up again."
"Amazing..." Azula gasped as her eyes widened and she gave Katara a very impressed stare. "Kat, you are absolutely magnificent."
"So... you're not angry for me doing that without your permission?" Katara sought to clarify.
"Of course not, you saved my life!" Azula exclaimed. "And now I have the energy to repay you with this," the princess quickly embraced her shivering girlfriend, using her firebending to turn herself into a living furnace that served to quickly warm Katara, the princess then removing Katara's parka and returning it back to her. "How are you feeling now?" Azula asked, still looking concerned.
"Much better, my strength is coming back," Katara nodded with relief. "I think I'm ready to try and find our way back to the capital."
"Me too," Azula nodded. "There, do you see? Nothing can stand against us when we work together, Kat. Even nature bows to our combined power."
"That's very poetic, Zula," Katara grinned at her beloved.
"Well, a near death experience will do that to you," Azula winked at her, then pulling Katara into a heated kiss. "One for luck," she chuckled, as they then repeated the kiss one more time. "And one for the road," Azula added.
"Alright, let me get us out of here," Katara smiled, raising a pillar of ice that safely brought them up to the edge of the chasm in the ice sheet, allowing them to climb out safely. The blizzard was still going strong, but now, with Azula's hand in hers, it didn't scare Katara so much anymore.
Still, despite having been joyously reunited, they were not out of the woods yet, Katara realized that only too well. Using her bending to stop the blizzard for a moment and improve the visibility, continuously drained her energy and they had no supplies of food with them, meaning that if they didn't fortunately stumble upon the capital or some of the smaller settlements, they would still meet their ends in this frigid wasteland.
"I feel like there's so much we should talk about to clear up just what happened back at the palace," Katara spoke up as they walked. It felt as if her rescue of Azula had been enough to make up for her earlier actions, but Katara still felt desperate to clear the air thoroughly, just to make sure there were no lingering ill feelings.
"If you want to," Azula shrugged. "This might not be a good time for it, though. Let's focus on finding our way back, before I need you to bloodbend me again..."
"Good idea," Katara nodded, giving the princess a hopeful smile, despite feeling rather worried deep inside. The blizzard showed no signs of letting up... or was it? There seemed to be a stretch of clear sky that had suddenly appeared ahead of them, and it seemed to be constantly moving and shifting.
"What's going on over there?" Azula asked, also having noticed the strange weather phenomena.
"I'm not... entirely sure," Katara muttered, squinting in the distance. Then she let out a strangled gasp upon spotting something familiar in the patch of clear sky, the always hope bringing silhouette of a certain sky bison. "Azula! I need you to firebend, now!"
"Why, what's going on?" the princess looked at her, wide-eyed.
"It's Appa! That means Aang is searching for us!" Katara exclaimed.
"Searching for you, more like," Azula pointed out.
"Probably, but it doesn't matter... just do one of your fire jets up in the air, as high as you can!" Katara urged.
"Ugh, I guess I'll have to cope with the embarrassment of being saved by the Avatar," Azula sighed theatrically as fire leapt from her hands and burst high up in the air in a wide and impressive arc of the brightest flames. There was no way Aang could fail to spot it, and sure enough, moments later Appa landed in the snow next to them.
"Katara, you're alright!" Aang exclaimed happily. "And you found Azula!" he added. Katara had to give it to Aang. He actually managed to sound happy. Maybe there was hope yet.
"Climb up quickly, so that we can get you back to the capital," Sokka's head appeared above them, her brother addressing the two girls from Appa's back. "You must be freezing and exhausted."
Katara glanced at Azula, sensing the hesitation in her. Katara did not believe that the princess would insist that they refuse the offered rescue, but there was an understandable wariness about her. "Let me handle them," she spoke quietly, relieved when Azula responded with a trusting nod. "Thank you for the rescue!" she called out to Sokka and Aang while climbing up into Appa's saddle, Azula following her, making sure to stay close.
"Of course, we're so happy to have found you! We were starting to get really worried... you were gone for almost six hours," Aang replied, sounding relieved. "Appa, yip-yip!" he ordered his loyal bison to take off.
"What were you thinking, running off like that all on your own?" Sokka immediately began to chide his sister. "It's like you hadn't grown up at the South Pole! You know how dangerous it is!"
"I think you both should understand that I would gladly risk my own life for a chance to save Azula," Katara replied earnestly, feeling an extra surge of warmth coursing through her when Azula gratefully slipped a gloved hand into hers. "Remember that before you try again to tear us apart."
"We weren't trying anything like-..." Sokka immediately began to protest, but Aang quickly cut him off.
"Sokka, I think she really means it," the Avatar spoke somberly, as if he had finally reached the bitter decision to accept certain truths about where Katara's feelings lay.
"You better believe it," Katara nodded firmly. "If you are thinking of pulling something like this again, you're going to lose me as a friend," she gave Aang a hard stare, then turning towards Sokka. "Or lose me as your sister."
"Don't say that!" Sokka gasped, appearing horrified. "You can't mean it, Katara!"
"Do you want to try me?" Katara glared at him.
"No… not really," Sokka seemed to shrink a little inside his parka. "I just don't understand how... or what happened with you and... her," he briefly glanced at Azula.
"Well, we're not going to try anything like this again, right, Sokka?" Aang spoke up quickly, giving Katara's brother a meaningful stare. Sokka gave a quick nod at that. "We'll try to be more respectful of your choices, Katara. And to be more supportive of what you're doing. I guess it also means that we owe Azula an apology," he said, looking at the princess.
"I guess so," Sokka agreed, also nodding at Azula. "Sorry about taking our mistrust of you a little too far."
"I don't want your apologies. I'm much more used to fighting than being friends with you two," Azula shrugged. "Instead, apologize to Katara. You were complete assholes to her."
Aang winced at Azula's words. "Well... I guess you're not wrong there. I'm sorry about the way we've been acting, Katara..." he sighed. "I know it might seem difficult to believe, but our intentions were good."
"Exactly, what Aang said," Sokka echoed the sentiment expressed by his friend. Katara was not exactly certain if Aang being motivated by his jealousy counted as good intentions, but she wasn't going to argue now that some sort of peace had been reached at last. Besides, she had very little energy left for arguing, starting to feel very sluggish and sleepy once again.
"I accept your apology," Katara yawned, struggling to stay awake, exhaustion hitting her like a block of ice now that the adrenaline had drained from her body.
"Are you alright, sis?" Sokka asked, his voice full of concern.
"Yes, just... just exhausted..." Katara slurred in reply.
"Me too..." Azula managed, leaning heavily against Katara's side as they both propped each other up.
"Take us to the healing huts... once we reach the capital... Aang," Katara somehow managed. "Yagoda should... check us out..."
"We're almost there, Katara! I can see the capital right ahead!" Aang shouted back to her, but the world had already become completely foggy for Katara, like her very senses being muffled and scattered by a blizzard inside of her. "Next stop, the healing huts!"