Chapter 8

Zuko

At first, he just stared after her in shock. But turning back to the rest of everyone seated at the table, embarrassment colored his cheeks as his family stared at him. His mother, Princess Ursa looked positively outraged. Katara's family did as well, the brother had stopped eating, and was now giving Zuko a glare that he probably imagined was threatening. But Zuko had seen true ire, and no number of glares from this little boy was going to scare him. Katara's father looked…menacing, not simple anger, with dark blue eyes of storm clouds and thunder crashing over swelling seas. Anger and vitriol boiled barely under the surface and the man's fists were clenched so hard that Zuko could see the whites of his knuckles. But it was the Cheiftess' face that made him feel the worst, she didn't look angry at him, she just looked…sad. Disappointed, even…which is altogether worse than anger itself.

"I um…" He began but found that no words could come. "Excuse me." He said, and started to rush out of the room, pausing for a moment, before bending down and taking the cloak that she'd so painstakingly made, and hurrying out the door.

Stepping outside, the bitter cold that smacked him in the face almost chased him back inside. He couldn't regulate his own body temperature, but at least the wind wasn't the full-force gale that greeted him on the journey to the Southern Water Tribe. The surrounding area was dark, though the stars were many and so bright, you could barely see them in the Fire Nation skies. He looked around in confusion. She couldn't have gone that far, but he saw nothing. He took a few steps forward, the cloak dragging on the ground. With another gust of wind, he shivered in the frigid air and quickly wrapped the cloak around himself.

It was then that he saw her tracks in the snow, trudging off towards a small building in the distance. He followed her path, through the meandering lanes of the Water Tribe's streets. He hoped that everyone was asleep, or too afraid of the cold to come outside and question him. She was only a few meters in front of him, the bright blue of her clothes stood out in the dark night against the white of the fresh snow.

"Princess Katara!" He shouted before wincing at the volume, hoping that no one came outside to investigate. "Princess Katara." He whisper-hissed at her.

She froze in her tracks, and turned her head to glare at him, before continuing to walk at a brisk pace. He caught up to her quickly, his long strides outpacing her.

"Why are you following me?" She bit out harshly, not looking at him.

"You have to understand, I—,"

"I don't have to understand anything." She whirled on him, glaring at him with dark eyes. "You think you can come here and just make assumptions about me and my life?" She began walking away again, her tunic blowing in the wind behind her. He tugged the cloak tighter around himself as the wind gusts reached him.

"That wasn't my intention—," He began before cutting himself off. She was still walking away.

Come on, Zuko. He thought, commanding himself. Get real. If you're not going to be honest with yourself, at least be honest with her. You came to the Water Tribe expecting a backwater country which it isn't—not really anyway.

He hurried after her, unsure of how to get back to her house. "Look I'm sorry, okay?"

She turned back, whirling on him so suddenly he stopped in his tracks. "Oh, real convincing."

"I'm serious!" He insisted, trying his best for genuinely apologetic. "I'm sorry I insulted you. I thought you were—someone you clearly aren't."

"I…" She shrugged. "I just…didn't want this day to happen." She sniffed, turning, hiding her face from him, her hand coming up to cover her mouth, rubbing at her cheek. It wasn't until he saw the shine on her face that he realized she was wiping a tear away. "I've been taking it out on you, and that's not fair to you or my parents. I'm sorry too, really I'm."

Zuko shifted from foot to foot, uncomfortable with the sudden display of emotion, but felt her feelings were genuine, nonetheless. "For what it's worth," Zuko started, reaching out to her. "I didn't want this either."

At this she looked up at him abruptly. "You didn't?" She asked him, large blue eyes filled with the tears that he knew were there.

"No. I didn't." He finally said, voice glum as he thought of Mai in the Fire Nation, waiting for him, alone. He wondered if she thought about him on this trip. If she was worried, he'd find someone else, if he would abandon her. He wouldn't. He could never. She'd been the only constant in his life besides his mother and Uncle. He needed her.

"There's a boy…" Katara was saying, her voice barely loud enough to be heard over the wind. "He's sweet and kind and—,"

"Are you cold?" He blurted out, cutting her off. She blinked at him, confused. He blushed, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, it's just that I'm freezing, so I know you must be."

"No, I'm fine, actually, waterbenders don't get that cold." But as soon as she said this the young princess shivered. "Okay, maybe a little."

"Here." He said, pulling the cloak from around his shoulders and tucking it onto the girl's shoulders. She gave him a small appreciative smile, fastening the tie securely.

"But won't you be cold?" She asked, her voice laced with genuine concern.

"No," he said quietly, but willed himself to be more confident as he spoke. "Firebenders can warm their internal body temperature, so I'll be fine." He finished this off with a laugh to cover the lie, an air of confidence that wasn't truthful in the slightest.

Katara pursed her lips, as though she didn't quite believe him, before nodding. "I made this cloak for him…the boy I love." She patted the downy cloth softly, and he could see the immense amount of care in her eyes that had gone into the making up such a fine garment. "His name is Hahn, and he's the bravest warrior in our tribe."

"Is he really?" Zuko quirked, tilting his head, something playing akin to humor playing at his lips. "Maybe I should challenge him to a duel for your hand."

Her mouth trembled, but it was a smile that hinted at her lips, not sadness. "Hm…I wonder who would win." She let out a shaky breath. "He asked me to marry him the day I found out about the Hana Matsuri."

"Really?" He stared at her. "You're what, 15?"

"I'm, most girls here get married at 16, but I get to bend the rules a bit." She chuckled at this, some unknown memory. "I'm supposed to be marrying you, aren't I?"

Zuko shook his head. "The Hana Matsuri isn't the same thing. You must have been betrothed for a while." He added, "That's how it works in the Fire Nation."

"No, actually, I loved him from afar. Somehow it spiraled into a proposal. Suddenly now that I think about it."

"Well at least you're in love." Zuko said with an air of wistfulness. "That's something many people don't get to have."

"True." She murmured, her eyes flashing up to his face for a moment. There was a silence between them, with only the winds swirling as the only sound. But footsteps thundered down an adjacent street, crunching through the snow with an untroubled attitude. Multiple voices talked loudly as they went, passing enough into the light for Zuko to see their faces. He didn't recognize them from their trip through the town. Katara hesitantly crept forward, back towards her home, the way they'd come.

"I know them." Katara whispered.

"You do?" He said, voice at normal volume.

"Ssh!" She hissed and tugged him back around the corner before peeking her head around, Zuko doing the same, before pulling back behind the wall, realizing exactly how close he'd gotten to Katara. The boys had stopped outside an igloo, light from an entry way illuminating their faces. He recognized a few from the training area earlier today, but most of them he didn't know. One of the boys, taller and stockier than the rest turned his head in their direction. Zuko prayed their faces were hidden in the night.

"Mehmet, Kohan, Nanto, Janekk…Hahn."

"Is that fiancé Hahn?"

She nodded.

"Would now be a good time to challenge him to that duel?" Zuko whispered with a laugh in his chest. She poked him, glaring at him in mock anger, her shoulders shaking silently in constrained laughter.

"Ooh the Fire Nation are coming!" The boys hooted loudly, their voices echoing in the night air. "Save our women and children!"

"The spiky haired one is Mehmet." Katara murmured from his side. "The shortest one is Janekk. Next to him are Nanto and Kohan, they're twins."

Katara gasped, grabbing his hand and pulled the both of them back, further into the shadows. Her back crashed against him, causing them to almost topple over. He grabbed her around the arms tightly to steady them both, their close proximity uncomfortable to them both, to which she turned and glared accusingly at him.

"Sorry." He whispered. "I take it that they're not happy we're here?"

"No, they're not." She murmured under her breath; he wasn't sure if he was supposed to hear it.

"Come on Hahn, stop worrying." The one called Janekk was saying. "We all know Katara's not going to fall for that prince."

Zuko tried not to look at her. Only listened to the sound of their breath dissipating in the night air.

"I know, I know." Hahn shrugged. "But what if—,"

"With the way Katara drooled over you every day?" Kohan said excitedly, "Trust me, you have nothing to worry about."

"He's not wrong." The other twin said, "The girl is obsessed."

"And you're not wrong." Hahn said, arrogant and with a whining attitude. This fool literally wouldn't last a day in the Fire Nation. "Honestly, I was shocked she said yes so quickly. I barely even had to turn on the charm."

By the end of his sentence the boy's voice had gotten smarmy and arrogant, leaning back against the wall with a cool swagger. He heard a sharp intake of breath from Katara and turned to see her eyes wide and mouth slightly parted, a look of confusion on her face.

"You think she'll let you sleep with her before the wedding?"

"The way she was talking to Mehmet earlier, I think if you just walked up to her and told her take her clothes off, she would do it in a second." Janekk added, undeniable enjoyment in his voice.

He and the twins laughed. Hahn and the other were silent.

Zuko risked looking at Katara's face, and nearly broke at what he saw.

Her lip quivered, shaking, Zuko wanted to say something, but what could he say? These were her people; these were her customs. He didn't know anything about what was going on. Maybe this was a Water Tribe thing. Though…from the look on Katara's face, he could see that this wasn't typical of courtships in the Water Tribe. It didn't matter that Zuko barely knew her, it didn't matter that they were yelling at each other a few minutes ago, no one deserved to be talked about like that by anyone especially someone who claimed to love them—or their friends.

"Guys…" The one named Mehmet spoke up, though his voice was quieter than the others. "If Hakoda heard us talking like this—,"

"Don't be stupid Mehmet." Kohan snapped. "She's not a princess like those shits in there. She's one of us."

"Exactly!" Mehmet said. "We've all known her since we were kids. It's not right for us to just—,"

"It doesn't matter what's right or not." Hahn cut in and the other boys instantly quieted down. He towered over them, broad shouldered and hulking muscle. Even Zuko had to admit, in this low lighting, the boy was intimidating. "Tomorrow they'll be gone, and we'll have the wedding in two weeks."

"A week?" Mehmet asked, sounding disturbed. "These things take months to plan."

"It has to be done before her birthday."

"A birthday that's still 3 months away!"

"Hahn would have it tomorrow if it meant getting into Katara's bindings sooner." Janekk laughed loudly. The others except for Mehmet laughing along with him. Janekk inched closer to Hahn, nudging him jovially. "Would you be willing to share?"

Hahn thankfully ignored him apart from an aggressive punch to the other boy's shoulder. Crying out in pain, Janekk staggered further from the group as disgust settled in Zuko's his stomach. Hahn continued as though nothing had happened. "And then once we have the wedding and Katara gives me a son, Hakoda will have to choose me as his successor. Hakoda wasn't 'royal' before he married Kya. I don't have to be to marry Katara."

"You don't think Hakoda's going to actually skip Sokka do you?"

"Oh please, the walking moron?" Kohan said. "The idiot can't even hold a spear properly."

"Whether Sokka's qualified or not doesn't matter." Hahn said, silencing them all with a dark look. "What matters is that I'm going to marry Katara, and then I'll be chief. Shame she's not prettier. Not like Yue was."

"Yeah but Yue's a priestess." Despite the topic of the conversation, the word priestess was said with a small amount of respectful reverence. "She'd call the spirits to smite you for talking about her tits."

And then it was gone.

Zuko didn't notice that Katara had gone from in front of him until he spied the cloak, he'd put around her shoulders trailing up the narrow alley way towards where the boys sat laughing. After a brief moment, wondering if he actually should, lest he get into trouble, Zuko wondered if he should follow her. But he couldn't let her face them on her own. She was just one girl, and there were four of them. If they got her into a position where she couldn't waterbend—

Before he could finish the thought, he tore off down the street after her.

"No. You're not," Zuko heard Katara say, stepping into the light. He saw them stagger away from her, the twins and Janekk stumbling over themselves, falling onto the ground. He followed, staying far enough away that he hoped he was out of sight, but close by in case she needed him. Ha. Why would she? That waterbending display showed she could take down a great master. "You're not going to marry me, Hahn."

"Hey Katara," Janekk leered at her, leaning forward off the wall. "We were just talking about you, and how excited you must be for the wedding, you know? Hey um…do you think you'll…let me watch?"

He saw Katara's hands tighten. Her back was still to him. "I think you forgot who you're speaking to, Janekk. I'll give you a minute to correct yourself." She hissed before turning to the rest, clearing her throat. "Like I said, Hahn. You're not marrying me."

"Katara, love, what are you talking about?" Hahn stepped forward, but Katara jerked, taking a step backwards. Hahn followed, coming further into the darkness where he lay in wait. "We're meant to be together."

Katara glared at him hotly, angry tears threatening to fall. "Until I give you children, right? What then? What now, Hahn?" She said quietly. "Sure, I liked you, I have for a while. And when you talked to me last week, I thought you were going to ask me out or something. But I never expected marriage. Now I guess I know why you wanted to propose before I turned 16."

Hahn scoffed, leering at her. "You're one to talk about marrying soon, when you have the Fire Nation Prince at your back, out here, alone." Hahn stared right into his eyes, despite Zuko's hidden location. And they all turned to face him. Zuko moved out of the shadows, seeing no point in remaining hidden. Katara turned to look as well, eyes wide before turning back to her fiancé.

"Have you been on your back lately, Katara?" Hahn questioned her reproachfully.

"Are you accusing me of—?!" Her mouth dropped open indignantly.

He barely saw Katara move, but before he realized it, she'd bent the snow up to surround Hahn's waist, sending him to the ground in a move not unlike what she used on her grandfather that afternoon. The teenager grunted as he hit the snowy ground, and she stared his lackeys down, daring them to do something. Zuko had to admit for the second time that day, this girl was impressive.

Katara started speaking as Hahn continuously tried to stand up, but she kept pushing him down with the snow she'd gathered. after his third time, crashing back down with a groan, Katara turned it into a block of ice, practically sealing him to the icy ground below. Only one eye was visible to see, the rest of his face beneath him.

"It's true that Sokka's not good with a spear, that's only because he's more talented with a sword. He likes the flexibility of it, the ease of movement. He says the spear is too bulky."

"I'd still be better at it than he would—," Hahn let out a curse as the ice tightened around his arms. "You need me, you love me."

Katara frowned at him, hands on her hips. "I need you for what exactly? Oh sure, it was fine to let your friends talk about me the way they did, but suddenly you're the perfect man for me?" She snapped at him, as Janekk moved forward to grab Katara, but Zuko moved swiftly, blocking his approach, grabbing his arm. The boy was all skin and bones, easy to snap, easy to bruise…if necessary.

"I wouldn't try it, friend." Zuko hissed in the boy's ear. The other quivered, gulping before backing away from Katara until Zuko was satisfied with the distance.

"This whole Hana Matsuri is just an excuse for your parents to whore you out, Katara. You know that right?" Hahn spat, his words becoming cruel and vindictive. "They're just going to sell you to whichever prince you open your legs to first." His visible eye narrowed at Zuko. "If you haven't done it already."

"I don't know what I ever saw in you." She snapped, her voice strong at first, but it broke on the last part of the sentence. Zuko noticed the walls of the houses around them start to crack. After a long pause, she sighed, her tense arms releasing, the ice keeping Hahn hostage melting away. The boy stood up in a hurry, clothes ruffled and covered in snow, glaring at the young princess in front of him. Katara sighed wearily and turned away from him, towards Zuko. She blinked rapidly, and her lower lip trembled. The girl grits her teeth, breathing in deeply, apparently fighting the urge to cry.

"You better hope I don't tell my parents about this."

"But you won't." Hahn smarmily replied, bravado returning, arms crossed over his chest. "You might put on the brave princess act with this guy around—," Hahn jerked a thumb in his direction "But we both know what you're. A desperate little girl trying to live up to her older cousin—And everyone in the Water Tribe knows it. And that's why you're not going to tell them. Because it'll make you look stupid, Katara."

"She might not," Zuko said, speaking for the first time to this boy that claimed to love her. He stepped forward into the light. He was smaller than Hahn, but Zuko knew he would be quicker. A four on one fight wouldn't be easy, but he and Katara would both walk away. "But I make no such promises."

"Prince Zuko," He heard Katara murmur from his left. "Don't…"

Zuko's eyes filled with disdain for the other boy. No matter what she'd done, or how she'd acted, (and he didn't really think it was that bad) no one deserved to be talked to like that.

"I really don't know what Katara saw in you. Probably not the smartest move on her part." He acknowledged to Hahn, tilting his head in her direction. The girl let out a shaky breath. Hahn rolled his eyes. Zuko continued speaking, trying not to punch this guy in the face for the crime of simply existing. "I don't even know you, and I already hate you. You've insulted the Fire Nation. Do you really think we came here without guards?"

"You wouldn't." The boy dared, and Zuko snorted. Who did this guy think he was? Clearly out of his league.

Zuko felt a smirk grace his lips, suddenly feeling so strong, so capable. "You don't know what I'm capable of." Zuko said with a tone of finality, letting the threat linger in the air as Hahn and his friends gawked at the pair of them with ever increasing dread in their eyes.

Katara waved him off, face twisted with revulsion. Her eyes were tightly shut, refusing to look at them all. But she looked tired. And sad. Like his mother used to when he was a child. "Just go, Hahn. Go back home and pray that you never have to talk to me again." Katara said, stepping forward. "Because the minute you do, you'll regret it. I promise."

"I'll make sure of it." Zuko added for good measure. The fearful looks on their faces gave him a sense of satisfaction that he hadn't felt in a very long time.

Hahn only gaped for a moment, before his eyes narrowed and he ran down the street without a word. Only the boy that spoke up for Katara before hesitated, turning towards her with apologetic eyes.

"Katara…" The last, Mehmet said, an apologetic look to his face, and distress in his eyes. "I tried to tell you…"

"Don't say it Mehmet." Katara said, and this was the coldest her voice had been all evening, face completely devoid of emotion except for the betrayal that lingered in her crystal blue eyes. "Don't you dare say a word to me."

"I didn't mean for this to happen—,"

She let out a humorless laugh, nodding to herself. "No, no you probably didn't." She stepped closer to him, pointing a finger at his chest, looking up into the boy's sad eyes. "You knew what he was planning the whole time! You knew! And you didn't tell me. Not. One. Word"

"Don't—," He tried again. "It's not—,"

"What, it's not that bad?" Katara raised an eyebrow. "If the Hana Matsuri hadn't come along, you all would have let me delude myself into thinking I was in love with Hahn! I would have only seen what he truly was after the wedding. When it was too late! Was the whole village willing to let me suffer?"

"Everyone thought you'd be happy Katara. We all knew how much you liked him. "

"If only he'd liked me just as much." Katara turned her back on the person that Zuko assumed was her friend. "I'd never be happy living a lie."

Katara

Mehmet backed away from her, and Katara didn't know if he was genuinely sorry or not. The distress in his eyes told her that he was, but she couldn't look at him, he'd betrayed her. They all had. Everything she'd wanted for a while, for someone to love her…to look at her the way her father looked at her mother…it had all gone up in smoke.

After Hahn proposed last week, she was so sure of who she was, and her path in life, but now…now what was she supposed to do? Katara waited until Mehmet's shadow disappeared from underneath the lamplight before turning away from the street, balled up fists banging against the nearest wall, cracking it with the force. She could feel Prince Zuko's eyes on her as her fingers opened up, and her shoulders shook. The tears flowed freely down her face as she collapsed into ugly sobs.

Katara fell to her knees, back sliding along the icy support. The confident mask she'd held before shattering before her eyes.

"I'm so stupid. So stupid to believe he loved me." She rubbed intensely at her eyes, hating the way the tears didn't stop, and her throat burned hotly, like she was choking and gasping and unable to get enough air in her lungs. "I feel like I can't breathe." Hesitantly, she looked up at her companion, who looked down at her with an unreadable expression on his face. What must he be thinking? She probably looked ridiculous.

Not that she cared what he thought.

"Princess Katara…" The older prince murmured, crouching down to her level. The wind blew and they both shivered a bit. Not for the first time, she was grateful that Prince Zuko had given her the cloak. There was a sense of sadness in his golden eyes as he met hers.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." She forces out through tight lips, her hands trying to wipe away the tears again. "Ugh, I want to hit something, or someone, preferably him." She added through a mess of hot tears and snot that she wiped away on her sleeve. She thought Zuko might flinch from her anger, and he did, but he recovered quickly, seemingly not bothered for long by the angry tears. For a stuck-up prince…this one seemed almost sensitive. He had defended her when she'd needed it, which was more than Mehmet had done.

"If there's one thing I've learned…" He said quietly, reaching out to take one of her hands. She tried not to flinch at the contact. His fingers were icy, freezing like she'd never thought firebenders could be. But his eyes were genuine in both their sadness and kindness. "It's not stupid to want love, or at the very least…acceptance. It's human."

"It wasn't love, or acceptance." She grumbles, looking away from him, from those eyes that seemed to read so much more. "It was me being a silly little girl."

Zuko rose, holding out a hand to her. "We should be getting back before your family thinks I've done something to you."

The corners of her mouth upturn in a smirk, "You'd never get the chance." There's a laugh in her voice as she takes the prince's hand despite the threat.

"Oh, I know," He says, "I've seen your skills." He ends on a light chuckle and Katara can feel the pain in her heart dwindle to a sting. "You're good."

"Thank you," she replied. "Maybe we could spar sometime, for fun I mean. Your sister doesn't seem to like me."

Here Zuko paused, breath catching in his throat before he shook his head. That sadness was back again and for some reason she knew that what she said had been the cause. Did he not spar against girls? Did he have something against waterbending? His mouth was sad, and there was an intense pain in those brooding eyes.

Finally, he let out a deep breath. "No, no I don't think that would be the best idea. Besides, Azula doesn't like me either."

"Oh." She says quietly. "Okay, then."

They walked in silence for a moment, the night wind blowing gently around the igloos and homes of her people, the light from their fires spilling out into the bare street, the crunch of the snow underneath their footprints the only sound in the calm night air. The silence is bordering on uncomfortable. That pensive look is still on his face, he's not saying anything to her, or even looking up. Somehow, she knows what she said upset him. But why?

Finally, Zuko breaks the silence. "What are you going to do about him? If you don't mind me asking."

Katara shrugs. "What can I do? There are laws about breaking engagements, sure." She offers by way of explanation. "But we were never officially engaged…so he didn't break any laws…just a silly girl's heart."

Wistfully, he nudges her. "My mother tells me there's a lesson to be learned from everything."

"I'm sure I'll think of something clever eventually." She says, and there's a ghost of a smile on the prince's face. "But I can't be so silly again."

"You're 15 years old, Princess Katara. That's the perfect time to be silly."

She wanted to nudge him back. She didn't. "That's not what I meant. I'm going to give up on marriage altogether. I might not be a priestess, but I can still devote myself to serving my people. When Sokka gets older and gets married, I'll look after his children and teach them the arts of waterbending or healing or whatever else they're interested in. It will be a simple life, but a good one."

Light streamed through the cloth covered windows and doorways of her home. Smoke trailed from the chimneys positioned above the stone building and she almost collapsed in relief. At least they were still there. She hadn't ruined everything.

When she was about to open the door, Zuko murmured something so low that she had to strain to hear it, stopping her in her tracks. "Simple, yes. But it sounds like a lonely life, Princess Katara."

"Yes." She said quietly, turning towards him. "It does."

He gasped suddenly, as something crossed his mind. "Oh right, I suppose you'd like to have that back—or burn it, more likely," Zuko said, gesturing to the cloak around her shoulders. "Looking at it would only remind you of him."

"You're right, it would." She whispered quietly, sadly, thinking of Hahn, of his laughing expression that once filled her with such joy, could turn so mocking, so cruel. "You keep it." At his horrorstruck look, she added, "It seems like you get cold very easily, Prince Zuko. Your hands were like ice."

He didn't look at her then, and again she found herself wondering why. Was he all right?

But her thoughts about the prince next to her were drowned out as another thought made its way to the forefront of her mind. Groaning, her hands came up to rub her eyelids, willing to both be done with the drama and this night altogether.

"I don't even know how I'm going to look the rest of them in the eye again. They knew! They all knew that he just was using me, and they let me think that he loved me. Oh spirits…the entire village knows. How can I face them?"

"You've done nothing wrong." Zuko offered, "If anything they should be mad at him, not you."

"That's not the way it works here." She sighed dismally, foot kicking the snow around.

"Well," Zuko said hesitantly, "You could just…not deal with it for a while."

"What do you mean?"

"Come to the Fire Nation." At her shocked look, he put his hands up defensively and added, "I'm not saying we get married, I actually have a girl in mind for myself." At this his cheeks reddened in the torchlight, but for his sake, she pretended not to notice. He continued, clearing his throat. "Hana Matsuris take weeks—months, even. If you come back to the Fire Nation and stay long enough, by the time you come back everyone will have forgotten about it."

"You think it'll work?"

"It's worth a shot."

"You know…" She pauses, stepping before the door once more. "You're all right, Prince Zuko. You're more decent than I gave you credit for, and surprisingly, you weren't as big of a jerk as you could have been. But you were still pretty awful."

"Thank you, I think." He said awkwardly, hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. "And I'm sorry, again."

Katara nodded mutely. She opened the door to her home, shivering as the warmth from the interior fireplaces melted the cold inside her bones, loving the sensation as the feeling came back to the tips of her frozen ears. It seemed like Prince Zuko was enjoying the sensation as well, shaking off the snow from his clothes with a vigor she hadn't seen up until this point. They walked forward in an amicable silence towards the dining room door. Cracked open, she could hear her parents' voices coming through the door, the smell of her mother's home-cooked food trailing out towards her, but she can't make out what they saying. But the tone was light, pleasing. Katara's glad for it. Even if her situation with Hahn or Prince Zuko didn't work out, at least her parents were able to foster a good relationship with the Fire Nation like they wanted. One good thing would come from today.

"Do you feel better?" He whispered, warm breath shockingly close to her still icy ear. She jumped, trying not to let it unnerve her as a slow shiver trailed down her neck.

"Not really." She murmured back, trying not to look at him. But only barely. "I still feel like hitting something."

This chapter is another that I rewrote. It was hard to get everything to fit in the space that I'd allotted for the scenes at the Water Tribe, and I didn't want to risk extending those chapters into the Fire Nation period and in doing so, pushing everything back. Chapter 43 would become Chapter 44, etc. So I'm doing the best with what I've got, and that means you guys get long rewrites.

The confrontation between Hahn and Katara is also very cliché and contrived and not very well written, but these edits are starting to get to me. I'll probably fix it later.

Anyway, please let me know what you think of Katara's new motivation for going to the Fire Nation, and how she and Zuko are starting off as (somewhat) friends.

I appreciate and love ALL of you! Mwah! 1/24/18