They had been at the Royal Palace for two days, and Katara hadn't left her father's side. The bags under her eyes ached and her skin felt slick with the grime of not washing. The area around her bedside chair in the Royal infirmary reflected the healer's state of mind. Various scrolls and correspondence were strewn around that through her tiredness Katara attempted to read. The flip of paper often accented by Hakoda's labored breathing.
Despite her best efforts, Ursa's herbs, and the greatest doctors of the Fire Nation seeing to his wound, the water tribe chief had developed a major infection and sunk into a coma. Katara along with the doctors had fished much of the stray metal from his left shoulder; however, it was hard to tell. She wished Tofu was here to metal bend any stray shards. Additionally, after further probing, the waterbender realized there was trauma to his heart - which explained the copious amount of bleeding. Yet, due to her unfamiliarity with this new type of injury, her healing felt messy.
The waterbender began to doze off in the early morning light when the large door of the infirmary swung open.
"Katara!" Kiyi, Ursa's daughter said, as she rushed into the room and bounced over to Hakoda's bedside. "Good Morning!"
Katara jerked awake causing the papers on her lap to fall to the floor.
"Kiyi," Ursa said gently as she glided into the room. Graceful as always. "We must be calm in the infirmary."
The 8-year-old pouted a little, then sat cross-legged on the floor next to the waterbender.
"It's okay. I really need to be working anyways." Katara responded rubbing the sleep from her eyes and offering the little firebender a smile.
Kiyi flashed her a huge grin and Ursa frowned slightly - but said nothing. The older woman then passed Katara a cup of tea, as she had the last two mornings. The water bender accepted the small black cup. Grateful for the relief it provided against her morning sickness.
"I added butterbur this morning. For headaches." Ursa added moving to the side table.
"But I don't have one."
"It's preventive. The lack of sleep with eventually catch up with you."
Katara offered a small nod then gulped the warm liquid down. She watched Kiyi for a second play with her doll on top of the diplomatic papers, and for a fleeting second hoped she would have a daughter.
The thought surprised her. She hadn't had a moment to consider what the future might look like now that Aang was gone. A heaviness began weighing on her chest, but Katara was determined not to dwell. Instead, she stood up, stretched, and walked to stand beside Ursa.
"What are you making?" The waterbender asked. She had been in awe of Ursa's knowledge of herbs the last few days and attempted to absorb some of her knowledge.
"Topical painkillers," Ursa said, sprinkling some fresh herbs in her well-worn mortar. "Two parts Boswellia to one part capsaicin."
As the woman crushed the leaves, a pungent aroma began to hang in the air. It smelled vaguely familiar to the healing igloos of the North.
Katara watched Ursa pulverized herbs for a long moment. "Can I help?"
"Do you want to bundle the lavender? I need to take some down to the hospital today." The older woman said pointing at twine and dry stocks to the left of Katara.
The water bender nodded and began cutting the string. They continued for a few minutes working in comfortable silence as Kiyi talked with her doll.
"I received a message from Iroh today." Ursa said breaking the silence, "It was vague, for security I'm sure, but he said the White Lotus had a lead."
Guilt stabbed at Katara's heart thinking about how she was not joining the hunt for her missing brother. She was grateful for Iroh and the White Lotus stepping in when the other nations refused, but it felt selfish being holed away in a royal palace.
"That's good to hear," Katara responded in a numb tone as she placed her bundles in a wicker basket.
"By the way, Zuko wanted to know if you would like to accompany him to City Prison this morning. He's going to question the prisoner."
"Yes." Katara quickly responded. She had almost forgotten about the captive the last two days. But the prospect of questioning him made her guilt and fatigue evaporate. Their place quickly filled with rage.
"I can take you by on my way to the hospital," Ursa said, not looking up from the workstation.
"Do you think we could have someone watch over my father while I'm gone?"
"Of course. I'll arrange it before we leave."
—
Zuko was waiting at the entrance of the prison for Katara. She hadn't seen him since they arrived in the capital city. His face was gaunt and dark circles ringed his eyes. A stark juxtaposition to his fair skin. The water bender grimaced. She hadn't thought to ask Zuko how he was doing with everything. Her focus had been solely on the funeral, her brother, or her father. The guilt that already weighed heavily on her increased.
Ursa bid them farewell, and the duo entered the prison flanked by two guards.
Their footsteps filled the claustrophobic space. The sound sharply echoed off the gray walls as they descended smooth stone stairs.
"Are you okay?" Katara whispered to her friend as they approached the maximum-security area.
"Just tired."
The waterbender was about to respond but was cut off as two firebenders blasted flames through a large lock contraption on a dull, metal door. It reminded Katara of the temple on Crescent Island. After a hot moment, the heavy door swung open.
There was one cell in the solitary room. A tanned man, with thick brown hair, sat in a perfect lotus position behind the bars. His eyes peacefully closed and his chest moved methodically with every breath. Katara surprised he wasn't chained or cuffed.
"Fire Lord Zuko and Master Katara what an honor." The prisoner said in a deep baritone his eyes remaining shut.
Katara's fist clenched, but she forced herself to don her diplomatic mask of neutrality. It appeared Zuko did the same to her right. His face went blank.
"I am surprised there has been this measure of security for a non-bender." The prisoner stated, finally opening his brown eyes.
"Non-benders can be as much of a threat as benders," Zuko replied. His tone even as he approached the bars of the cell. He then sat down mirroring the prisoner's position. Katara hesitantly followed suit. Her hands grew sweaty as she neared the captive.
"That is one of the few things we can agree on Fire Lord."
"Will you tell us your name?" Zuko asked after a moment of silence.
"I am nameless. I am nationless."
Tension built in Katara's chest and her head swam with fantasies of revenge. Yet, the hard, stone-ground growing uncomfortable against her calf kept her in the present.
"Will you tell us who you work for then?" Her friend continued. His voice still deadpan.
"I work for no man. Not anymore."
"Then what group are you part of?"
The prisoner was silent. His eyes scrutinized Katara's heat filled cheeks.
"What do you want?" Zuko pushed.
"That will be revealed when the time is right." The brown-eyed man said with a smirk.
That look set Katara on edge. Her hands lay in her lap and her fingers twitched. She could feel the blood pulsing through his body. It would be so easy to bend the answer out of him. To cause just enough pain.
The prisoner glanced down at her hands. "I can assure you I will not give up any information. Regardless, of what means of torture you inflict."
Her teeth felt as if they would shatter from the force she clenched her jaw. Katara could feel herself losing her grip.
"We no longer use torture in the Fire Nation. However, if you are unwilling to talk we make our exit." Zuko said as he stood up. Once standing, he extended a hand to Katara to help her to her feet. "But do know, I can be very reasonable if you do decide to cooperate."
And with that short exchange, Zuko and Katara left the room and began their way back to the entrance. The waterbender's vision clouded as they climbed the stairs. Her arms shook from pent-up adrenaline. She wanted to punch something.
The pair exited in silence onto the street. The pleasant sounds of the city and birds singing slightly cooled Katara's rage. Here in the bright afternoon sun, it felt shameful to want this violence. Aang would not have approved of these feelings.
"That was… frustrating," Zuko said as they wandered back to the palace on the back streets. Katara knew from past visits he almost always refused to use the royal palanquin when moving around the capital.
"I don't know what I expected," Katara said watching a lone bypasser do a double-take. "But his unwillingness to even talk concerns me."
"Interrogations take time, or so I'm told…"
Katara nodded saying nothing more as they made their way back to the palace.
—
The low bed was a mess of scrolls and scratch paper. The tips of Katara's fingers were stained with ink from trying to take notes. Her mind was too active tonight, and any attempt at codifying her thoughts devolved into doodles.
Ursa had basically kicked her out of the infirmary once she and Zuko returned to the palace. Promising her she would watch her father if she took a bath and slept. But even though her body was heavy with exhaustion, Katara had a hard time forcing herself to go to sleep earlier than midnight.
As her candles burned low, a soft knock came from her door. She figured it was a servant bearing one of Ursa's many remedies, but was surprised to find Zuko standing in the entryway instead. He was dressed in a casual tunic and held a wooden Pai Sho board under his left arm.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep," her friend said as he rubbed his neck and looked down at his feet. "I saw the light from under your door and figured you were awake."
Because of the nature of her prolonged stay, Zuko and Ursa had insisted she be placed in the family quarters of the palace. So her room was now between the Fire Lord private spaces and his mother's bedroom.
"Don't apologize. Are you okay?" Katara asked stepping aside to let Zuko cross the threshold. The woven mat floor crinkled softly underfoot.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Her friend said, moving to a corner where a tea table was placed. "Anyways, I should be asking you that."
"At the moment, I'm just bored. The plans for a new South Pole port are fairly dry." The waterbender said, gesturing to the piles of papers ontop of her silky, red comforter.
Zuko gave her a small smile. "I detest looking over architectural and domestic engineering plans."
"Really? I would've guessed you enjoyed that type of work."
The small talk was a welcome relief to Katara. It had been weeks since she had talked about mundane topics.
"I like conceptualizing those things, but the small details are difficult."
Katara nodded as she walked over to the black table where Zuko stood. "Pai Sho? I thought you didn't like to play."
"Uncle always says it's good for practicing strategy and patience." Her friend shrugged. "I thought it could be a good distraction?"
The waterbender smiled at Zuko and sat down at the table. "You better set the board up then, so I can beat you."
Zuko's tired face lit up with amusement as he placed the board down. "I'm won't go easy on you out of sympathy."
Then his eyes widen, at the realization of what he just said. Katara snorted.
"I would be angry if you did." She said chuckling as she grabbed the bag of tiles and dumped them out on the table with a clatter.
Zuko relaxed a bit across the board, and they began arguing about the 'proper' way to play the game. Katara knew each nation had slightly different variations on the rules. However, she enjoyed watching Zuko get flustered as he defended the Fire Nation rules and she insisted the Southern Tribe rules were the only correct ones. They finally settled on a hybrid and played in comfortable silence for a few hours. Zuko wasn't wrong - it was a welcome distraction. It calmed Katara's racing mind.
Only when the moonlight was giving way to the soft sunlight of the early morning did they stop playing. Both friends truly tired with peaceful minds.
They left the board mid-game for another day.