Chapter Five: Spirit

The Fire Nation Palace was quiet during the evening- most of the servants were in their quarters, and all the advisors had returned to their own homes after a long day of meetings. A few guards roamed the halls, the gates, silent as ghosts.

Inside his study, Zuko looked over the last letter he had received from his delegates in the Fire Nation Colonies.

There have been riots…

Unrest, unhappiness…

These words seemed to jump off the page, mocking him. With a sigh, Zuko placed that correspondence aside. His gaze drifted towards the smaller piece of parchment that sat on top of his desk.

It was Katara's latest letter- one of the many that she had sent to him. His fingertips brushed over her words, and he frowned..

He knew that after losing her grandmother, Katara felt as though she had lost herself. She often expressed such in her letters. It was difficult, being unable to help her apart from these letters, since his duties kept him here.

Zuko could easily recall the day of Sokka's wedding, or another happy day after the war ended, and he could picture how her eyes would sparkle, full of life and love.

Although she did not look as lost as she had… There was something missing in her eyes, a dullness that unnerved him.

"You look concerned, Nephew," Iroh said from the doorway.

Zuko gestured for him to come in, and the older general sat down across from Zuko. Iroh looked at the letter, his expression full of understanding.

"She's lucky to have a friend like you," Iroh said softly.

"I wish I knew what else I could do to help her," Zuko admitted, his tone equally as soft.

"There is nothing more you can do or say, Zuko," the older man told him. "It takes time to heal after losing someone you love.

"When I lost Lu Ten and my wife… I never thought I would be able to move on. Grief is like quicksand, it pulls you down quick and deep. Understand that Miss Katara will heal in her own time, however long that must be. All you can do is exactly what you are doing- be there for her, like her other friends and family."

Zuko nodded. "Does she still write to you?"

"Yes, but she does not confide in me like she does with you," Iroh said, leaning back in his chair. "She tells me about how things are going in the Southern Water Tribe and how she still practices her waterbending with Pakku. I suggested that she practice with Sokka, perhaps master a weapon, if she ever finds herself unable to waterbend."

"What did she say to that?" Zuko asked, raising a brow.

"She's considering it, if only to fill her time." Iroh smiled at his nephew. "Perhaps she will take up dual swords."

Zuko chuckled, remembering his days as the Blue Spirit. It had been a long, long time since he had dressed as that masked demon, and he had not practiced with his swords in months.

"She will be all right, Nephew," Iroh reassured him, standing. "She may have lost some of her spirit, but you and I know that Miss Katara is a strong woman. She will find her way."

Zuko sat in silence long after his uncle left, looking at the painting that sat over the fireplace mantel across the room. It depicted the rising sun breaching over the mountains, and dancing among the rays where two dragons, one red and one blue.

Ooo0ooO

The island that housed the prison tower did not have a name, but it became known as Lone Island, since it was the only island off the coast of the Fire Nation Colonies for miles. It was solitary in its isolation and its silence.

The sun was hiding behind the clouds, turning the sky a pewter gray, and even the birds had stopped flying to the island.

A guard on duty passed through the tower's halls, hating how cold it was here. The quiet and cold crept down his neck like a spider. Then he heard it- the slightest whisperings coming from down the hall.

"It was mine, mine mine…" The voice hissed through the air and the cracks in the walls. "It was my birthright, I was the Fire Lord and he stole it…"

The guard approached the door of the cell slowly, his hand resting over his sword. He knew which prisoner sat inside, who was silent some days then manic the next. He peered inside through the small slat in the door.

The former Fire Nation princess sat in the middle of the room, rocking back and forth. She muttered, her eyes darting back and forth.

"It was mine, mine, mine!" Her voice shot from a whisper to a shout, causing the other prisoners to stir.

The guard called for their onsite physician, who often had to medicate Azula during her ramblings and delusions. She would inject the princess with a mixture of sedatives and something to suppress her bending. They kept her hands and feet in chains that cut off her bending as well, as an added precaution.

Under Zuko's orders years before, Azula had been taken to this island rather than to the same prison as their father. Even though her mind was lost many days, she was still capable of harming those around her.

The guard shuddered as that dead, glazed look entered Azula's eyes after she was given that injection. He firsthand knew what it was like to see Azula in her manic days… but those did not compare to the fear he felt when she was lucid, when her eyes were calm and calculating. There was something else there, under the surface, trapped in her skin.

As if she sensed his stare, Azula looked up at the guard. A slow smile crept across her lips- predatory and chilling.

"It will be mine again. He's coming for me."

The guard stepped back, slamming the door shut and locking it, before walking away swiftly, trying to ignore the soft, taunting laughter that followed him.

Ooo0ooO

The sun sat low in the sky like a golden coin amidst the blues, oranges, and pinks. The wind had stopped briefly, allowing Katara to imagine that it was warm at the edge of the ocean.

It had been late in the afternoon when she had taken a boat to row out past the icebergs, out into the open sea. Sokka had offered to come with her, so he could fish while she "did her magic water thing".

Katara smirked, looking over her shoulder. Sokka was perched on a flat, floating piece of ice that had a deep hole in it. He had his spear poised, his brows lowered in concentration.

She was reminded of the day they had uncovered Aang in the iceberg. It seemed like a lifetime ago., but even now, some things had not changed. She had still shouted at Sokka while they had made their way out here, before using her waterbending to pick him up and shove him onto the ice to leave her alone in the boat.

Katara idly twirled some water around her hands, wondering if she could snap her whip across the back of his head, even from fifty yards away. She smirked when she realized how easily that could happen now.

"Hey Katara, do you think you could waterbend some fish my way?"

Katara raised an incredulous brow at her brother. "Oh now you want me to use my creepy water magic to help you fish?"

"Yeah, well, there's nothing over here," Sokka said, straightening. "Maybe we should head back."

Katara glanced at the horizon. The sun had sunk below the line between the ocean and the sky and the sky was already darkening.

"You're right," she agreed, bending the boat alongside the ice so Sokka could climb in.

As they made their way back home, Sokka lifted his gaze towards the sky, where some stars were already emerging.

"Remember the day we found Aang?"

"I was thinking about that earlier, when you were playing fisherman," Katara told him, laughing when he stuck his tongue out at her.

"I guess that was thanks to you," Sokka continued. "With your creepy water magic."

Katara rolled her eyes, flicking some water back at him, so it snapped across his nose.

"Ow! Hey! That was a compliment!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Prince Sokka."

The siblings kept teasing each other, even after they had tied off their boat and walked into their family home. Hakoda and Pakku, who were sitting in another room and drinking tea, watched as they strode by, still bickering. The older men exchanged a look, then shook their heads.

Ooo0ooO

The stars gleamed in the black velvet sky, nestled alongside the moon which sat half full. There were no clouds tonight and the warm breeze slid through the open balcony doors to Zuko's private chambers.

He stood at the doorway, hands clasped behind his back as he stared up at the moon. It seemed blue in the dark sky, and the stars were like diamonds.

His thoughts went back to the letter he received this morning. I'm going to learn how to wield a sword and Sokka is going to teach me. Hopefully he's a better teacher than he is a fisher. Sokka mentioned visiting his old teacher, Piandao, soon. Maybe I'll go with him and see what I can learn…

And maybe we can visit you too.

Zuko watched the moon, lifting a hand to his chest, where his heart still raced at those words.

Ooo0ooO

Katara was awake at dawn, despite being up late waterbending. She watched the sun rise, turning the sky pink and gold, and shivered.

Today would be the first day she would start learning how to master a sword from Sokka. She was anxious about it last night, which resulted in her waterbending until the moon was at its peak in the sky to ease her anxiety.

She managed some sleep before she woke up just as the sun was breaking over the horizon. She dressed in warm, loose clothes and waited for Sokka downstairs.

Pakku was the only other person who was awake and they sat in companionable silence, drinking strong tea and eating breakfast.

"Your lesson will be this evening," the older waterbending master informed her.

Katara nodded.

Sokka and Hakoda strode in, rubbing their eyes and yawning.

Katara shook her head, smiling slightly. She let her thoughts drift as her brother, father, and grandfather began talking amongst themselves.

She told herself not to be nervous about learning how to use a sword- reminding herself that she was once a novice at waterbending and now she was a master. Just like her brother, she could learn this skill too, understanding that although she would always have her bending, this could prove to be useful in the future.

So when her and Sokka entered the icy arena they had built for this very thing, she picked up the sword as Sokka had instructed and felt something spark inside her veins.

Ooo0ooO

Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA or any of its characters.

Author's Note: Thank you for all of your reviews so far!

Sweetishcross: thanks for the head's up- the typos were a result of a dying keyboard and typing too fast!

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