Chapter 10

Katara

The wind howled all around her, a storm was brewing, and it looked as though she had been too late to prepare. She was in her village, and she was alone. She was in the main plaza, a circle of igloos and tents surrounded her, light from fires inside shining through the cracks in the ice. She called out, yelling for someone, anyone, to come and help her but her voice was swallowed by the storm.

She wore a thin cotton Fire Nation sleeping gown of red silk and gold lace, the gilded diadem threatening to leave her plaited hair with each burst of wind. Katara shivered, her toes cold as she walked barefoot over the icy terrain, the wind whipping back and forth bringing snow and freezing wind.

She walked in circles, each house looking the same, and each path seeming endless as she tried to make her way through the village to her home. The wind swirled around her, blowing snow in her face that blinded her vision. She fell to the ground crying out in frustration and anger, though her voice made no sound, the world a colorless black and white.

Then, in the distance, beyond the icy hills and mounds of igloos and endless paths was the palace. It stood out from the snow, aglow and brilliant, giving Katara a feeling of safe, and comfort. Doing her best to ignore the sound of the wind, she started to run, tripping over her long gown, tangling between her legs.

She didn't care that her shoulder ached or that her toes had gone numb with cold, all she could think about was getting to the palace, getting to safety, to where her mother, father, and brother were, with all of the customs she already knew, with all of the—

"Katara."

Katara froze. The voice was behind her, somehow familiar yet unrecognizable. She turned, hoping for the best, and fearing the worst.

They wore a large hood, every facial feature enclosed in shadow besides the mouth, worry lines etched into the corners of the perfect lips. The cloak they wore covered their whole body, black as night. Katara looked at the cloak, it seemed as if the very stars themselves were sewn into its material. She became lost in its beauty, she didn't notice that the wind had stopped, the snow had frozen, as though time had paused. She could feel no pain in her shoulder, nor was she shivering from cold. She felt…nothing. She could only stare as the stars of the cloak swirled around and around in the night sky, entranced, until the owner spoke.

"You failed me, Katara." The mouth moved, but there was no change in posture. The voice, indistinguishable as a man's voice, or a woman's voice held a honey sweet tone, but the words felt bitter.

Her first instinct was to deny everything. "No, I didn't—" She replied, "I don't even know who you're!" Katara took a step toward the person, intent on getting a better look at their face, but every time she took a step forward, the person glided away.

"You couldn't protect me, you couldn't save me, and you didn't even try." The accusing voice was broken, so broken, but Katara had no idea what this person was talking about.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Katara protested to this person. "What do you mean?"

They came closer, and Katara suddenly felt very small, like a child. The guilt of a crime she had not committed came closer with them, tearing at her clothes, crawling up her skin. "You don't know? You've damned us all, Katara."

Katara fell to her knees, unable to comprehend what this person was saying, "Please, just tell me what's going on! I don't understand anything!" She shook her head repeatedly, trying to shake away the feeling that she did harm this person.

When she looked up, the person was gone, a cloud of smoke in their place. Time was still frozen, the night becoming blacker and blacker with each passing second. The light of the palace, her home, fading away…

When the smoke cleared, she saw her brother standing there although he wasn't the person that Katara remembered. Sokka, holding a lantern in front of his face, looking gaunt and starved, his cheekbones more pronounced, and his clothes falling off his body.

"Sokka? Where's Dad? Where's Mom?"

"You promised to do anything for your people, Katara." Sokka's voice was hollow and broken, a shell of the former boy he once was.

"Sokka, where is everyone?" Again, she persisted.

"Dead." Her brother said in a monotone, sounding so unlike himself, stepping close to her face. "They're all dead. You could have saved us."

"It's all your fault, you didn't protect me." A new person materialized besides Sokka, the moonlight and the lantern illuminating her pale white hair, steely blue gaze fixated on Katara, and the girl felt like she was a child, in the sea, the surf threatening to drown her and take her under the waves into the deep. The ice in the woman's eyes made Katara's breath hitch.

"Protect you from what?"

With her question, it was like the world had started to move forward again, she could feel the pain of the cold in her toes, she could feel the wind as it whipped her hair about her face, the golden diadem falling out of her hair and landing in the snow beside her. She bent down to pick it up, and in her outstretched palm landed a black snowflake.

With a blinding gust of wind, the world changed around her, the sky turned red, there was screaming everywhere and a wall of fire advancing on her village. Dead bodies were lying in the streets, the protective wall nothing more than a yard high, something the black and red soldiers could easily step over. The sea was red, as red as the blood that pumped through her veins, and as red as the blood that stained the once white snow. She looked out across the ocean and saw nothing but marching soldiers, people running for their lives…

And a hundred ships of the Fire Nation Armada advancing on the Southern Water Tribe.

Katara awoke with a shriek.

She sat up with a lurch, sitting up the white nightgown she wore drenched with sweat. Her hair matted against her back, sweat dripping down her temples, she breathed heavily. Katara shivered involuntarily, though it wasn't cold. Without turning, she reached for the glass of water she always kept by her bedside. Her shaking hands pressed the cool glass to her lips as she unfroze the water as she drank. She downed the entire thing without pausing to take a breath, and yet when she was done, she still felt like it wasn't enough. She was still thirsty, and still hot, much too hot.

It was still dark outside, the sky barely turning pink with light from the rising sun, but enough light from the moon was illuminating the unfinished letter she had been writing to her mother. She'd have to find a messenger hawk to take it soon, once she got settled inside of her new home, the Fire Nation palace.

The tiny window offered a magnificent view of the palace, the full moon setting behind its tallest tower. It was large, with towering pagodas and large open spaces. But it was red, even in the darkness of night, there was no mistaking how red that palace looked. It was the color of blood, the blood she saw in her dream, the blood of her people as they—

No, Katara. She told herself, you've got to stop doing this! It was just a dream, nothing else.

But still, she couldn't shake the overwhelming feeling that she was missing something, or someone. She suddenly felt very wide awake. Katara used the hem of her dress to wipe her sweaty face, then frowning at the discoloration of the fabric. Letting go, craning her neck upward to see out window, she thought the Fire Nation looked so peaceful at night, the time of day when no one was outside, the ocean was calm, the only movement the ships bobbing up and down with each wave.

Looking out across the dark ocean, Katara thought, Mom, Gran-Gran, I don't know what will happen after I meet the Fire Lord later today, but I promise, that whatever happens, I will protect our people.

The door slid open, the sound of metal on metal startled Katara out of her thoughts.

There stood Gu Zhi, in her regular red robes, the regular frown marring wrinkled skin, her hair pinned and in its usual tight bun. Behind her were two fire nation girls, about the same age as her, dressed like a miniature version of Gu Zhi. In their hands were two black boxes with the silhouettes of two intertwining dragons carved in gold lining. Gu Zhi carried a tray with a large box on hit. Gu Zhi entered without being called, not noticing the shards of ice that froze at Katara's fingertips.

Gu Zhi bowed. She started speaking, her face void of emotion. "Princess Katara, it is good to see that you're awake. We thought you would be asleep for the longest time."

Over the last 4 weeks of their journey, Katara had nightmares just like that one, although asked never experienced something quite so vivid before. She remained on the ship in each territory they entered, leaving after they group left, and returning long before they came back. As a result, she pushed herself to stay awake until dawn, in the hopes that the morning would chase away the fears of the night, until she could bear it no longer and collapsed from exhaustion. When Gu Zhi came every morning to wake her up, it would take hours for Gu Zhi to pull her out of bed and rush her to get to breakfast on time. Katara didn't care much for Gu Zhi, it seemed as if the woman's only role was to make sure she did things in the Fire Nation way.

Katara glanced out the window. The moon was still out, though it was a faint speck of white against the reddish-purple sky of the early morning. Dawn… the melting of night and day together into a cool, calm beginning, when the earth was just waking up from the darkness and coming into the day. The closer the Fire Nation vessel got to the borders of the Fire Nation Sea, Katara could feel a change in the sea. She could feel the waves shift and change, become more aggressive, like the burning flame, especially at dawn, where the cold of night shifted to become the heat of day.

"Princess!" Katara jumped, lost in her own thoughts. Gu Zhi's impassive face was now stern and demanding, the wrinkles more prominent on her forehead as well as the lines by her eyes as she gave Katara an unimpressed look.

"I assumed that when you had woken up early, it meant that you would move a little faster. I can see now that I was mistaken."

Katara stood. "Why are you here? We don't have a schedule for when we have to be up and moving."

"Princess Katara," Gu Zhi said exasperated, Katara had never been more tired of hearing her name. "Please try to remember, you're to meet the Fire Lord and Lady this morning."

She thought back to all the mornings in which she and princess Ursa shared a cup of tea before meeting with the other members of the Hana Matsuri for breakfast. The first meeting that she had with the woman still stuck out in her memory. It was at the end of the 2nd week on board the vessel and Katara was feeling a major bout of homesickness.

"Princess Ursa, I've been thinking, and I really am not cut out for this." Katara complained to the woman sitting across from her. "Zuko hasn't—we're not—He and I—,"

She had an arrangement with Zuko, but it had gone too far. Princess Ursa had begun treating her like her actual daughter in law, asking her what she liked most about her son. The truth was, she didn't know him, so technically, there was nothing to like. But he'd been kind to her when he saw her crying, showing genuine concern for her shame, and genuine anger at Hahn and his friends. Prince Zuko wasn't bad, just halfway decent.

Ursa sipped at her tea before replying. "Believe me, I was terrified when I first arrived in the Capital, and I made mistakes, but over time you will learn to correct them and before you know it, the rules of the palace become second nature to you."

"But I don't want the rules of the Fire Nation to become second nature to me!" Katara let out in a huff of frustration. She didn't plan on staying here that long. "I have no one to talk to and nothing to do. Every move I make is watched."

Ursa said, "Are you sure you have no one to talk to? It was my understanding that you and the daughter of the Kyoshi leader got along well."

Katara replied, "We've been friends for a while, yes, and we do talk to each other sometimes, but no one ever leaves us alone. The armed guards follow me around constantly, and there are these girls that never leave her alone! We can't even go out on the deck without them looking at me like I was going to jump off the ship and swim back home."

As Katara was ranting about her situation, the blush on Ursa's cheeks got pinker and pinker. "I suppose that's my fault. Before we left, I instructed all of them to keep a close eye on you. I suppose they followed my instructions a little too well. You're my personal bid, your safety is my priority."

Katara shook her head. "It's not just that, I feel like those girls are listening to everything we say. It's creepy how they always stay within earshot, even Suki tells them to leave us alone. They just…ignore her."

"Suki's maids were assigned by Lady Tiang."

"Why is she even here?" Katara never met the woman before and couldn't understand why she was allowed on this trip.

"Where my husband goes, she goes." Ursa's thumb tapped the porcelain teacup. "Well, what about my son?"

Katara scoffed. "Zuko? I haven't even seen him since we left from Suki's village. We eat in our rooms and he never walks around on the deck of the ship." Katara's eyes went down to her plate.

"Of course, that's to be sure that no girl has an advantage over another."

"Oh, of course, more rules." She groaned, but then snapped her head up. "Princess Ursa, honestly, I think you've got the wrong idea about Zuko and I."

"What did the two of you get up to, that night in the Water Tribe?" Ursa arched a curious brow, a knowing smirk playing at her lips.

"We didn't do anything, we just…talked." Katara said quietly, looking down. "We apologized to each other—truthfully. I was rude and he said he was insensitive and biased. He's not bad."

"So if you aren't interested, why come to the Fire Nation at all?"

Katara decided to be truthful, and also throw Zuko to the sharks a bit. "He asked me to come. So I did."

Katara wasn't an idiot. She knew that people didn't respect her, and they didn't treat Suki the same way as the other girls on this boat. Unlike Song, for example. She was 19 years old, and was the younger sister of the Earth King, Kuei. Unlike Katara, Song acted like a princess. She was regal, graceful, poised and spoke with a reserved quietness that Katara could never have. Also, unlike Katara or Suki, she was a Princess of Ba Sing Se the largest city in the Earth Kingdom, which was so much grander and more beautiful than Katara's or Suki's Village.

Katara hadn't met all of the girls, most of them preferred not to socialize with her. That was fine. She didn't like them either. There were 25 girls on the ship now, ranging in between ages of 12 and 23 years of age. Toph was the youngest, and Katara couldn't understand how she had been accepted as a candidate. She was only twelve for Spirit's sake! She had only gotten her moon's blood one month before the Hana Matsuri began. But Toph was a Bei Fong, a family so powerful and influential it was rumored that they had ties all over the Earth Kingdom. According to Suki, who was no stranger to gossip, Toph was supposedly related to one of the other girls here, Jin, the granddaughter of King Bumi of Omashu and was 16 years old, like Suki.

"Gu Zhi," Katara reached out and grabbed the elderly woman's hand. Gu Zhi's eyes widened at the surprise contact, but her expression sobered in an instant. Katara continued on, "I can't do this."

I'm lying to the Fire Lord. He thinks I'm interested. I've taken the place of someone that actually wanted to be here.

Gu Zhi said nothing, merely motioned for one of the girls behind her to take off Katara's night dress.

Zuko

The boots on Zuko's feet clicked against the metal flooring as he paced around his room of the large Fire Nation Ship.

Going to each city on the Hana Matsuri was long, and boring. First was the Southern Water Tribe, who's landscape was cold and unforgiving. The people seemed…quaint, but the Water Tribe's way of doing things seemed so different from his own. And then there was Katara. It's not that he had anything against the girl, but his mother made a mistake in choosing a bid so fast. His mother should have waited to hear what he thought before choosing.

That's it! Zuko stopped pacing and made for the door. His plan was risky, but it just might work.

If, of course, she was in a good mood.

Zuko exited his room and walked to the room next to his. He took a deep breath before knocking on the door. "Azula?" He called, half hoping she wouldn't be in there so he wouldn't have to deal with her.

The door slid open, opened by a maid with Azula's personal emblem embroidered on her shoulder. This maid was new. In fact, looking around her room, all the maids were new. It looked as if Azula fired the last ones. These ones were plain looking. Zuko smirked. Azula couldn't bear to be surrounded by people she thought were more beautiful than her.

Azula was sitting at her desk, facing away from him, admiring herself in the golden mirror. Her lips were painted red, her eyes lined in black paint. She looked more and more like her mother every day in Zuko's opinion, but he wouldn't dare mention it to her. Her long black hair was being brushed by maids who sat behind her. The one that opened the door moved back to painting Azula's nails in red lacquer paint. A red and black dress hung on the wall next to her bed, the waist and collar covered in gold thread. It matched his own, and it probably matched the outfits that his father and mother were going to be wearing today. They would sit before his uncle today and watch as girl after girl was paraded in front of them.

"I need to ask you a question." Zuko began. "I want to know if—,"

"You want to know if Mai was accepted into the Hana Matsuri." She said, already guessing what her brother wanted. She held out a manicured hand and the girls backed away from her before exiting the room, heads down, not looking at Zuko as they passed. Azula turned around in her seat, looking at her brother with calculating eyes. "She was."

Zuko exhaled. "How did you know that I was going to ask that question?"

Azula stood. "Because I know you, big brother."

"Well, then I need a favor." Zuko continued. "I was wondering…maybe…"

"Oh, spit it out Zuko!" Azula spat, annoyed, then realization hit her features. "Wait. I know what you want. You want me to use my personal bid on Mai."

"Yes. That's what I wanted." Zuko said persuasively, "I just figured that since Mai is your friend, you'd want to keep her around longer—,"

"Oh, stop your whining," She said, rolling her eyes. "I'll do it."

"Really?" Zuko said, eyes brightening, but then turned cautious. Suspiciously, he asked. "Why would you do that for me?"

"Truthfully I was going to do it anyway." Azula smiled. Zuko almost shivered but stopped himself a second too late. Her smile grew. Unlike most brothers, Zuko didn't like it when his sister smiled. It was too rare. She examined her newly painted fingernails and spoke nonchalantly, "Can't a girl do something nice for her dear brother?"

Not you. Zuko wanted to say, but all that came out, was "Uh… yeah…sure, whatever Azula."

"Good." Azula said, turning back to her mirror, pulling a piece of her hair behind her ear. "Now get out."

Zuko blinked but left anyway. As soon as he crossed the threshold into the lit hallway, Zuko heard the sound of his mother's voice calling his name. Zuko turned to see his mother coming out of his own room.

"Where have you been?" She asked him as soon as she reached him. "I've been looking all over the ship for you! I never thought that you would be coming out of Azula's room."

"I…needed a favor." Zuko said sheepishly, scratching at his neck.

"A favor?" She shot him a look. "From Azula?"

"Well—," Zuko tried to explain, but his mother cut him off.

Shaking her head, Ursa put a hand on his arm, leading him down the hallway and up the stairs. To the deck. "Your father is looking for you. All the men in the family must arrive together, you know that. Azula, Tiang and I are staying behind to bring the girls."

"But mother—," He said as they moved into the daylight of dawn.

"But nothing, now go." She gave a gentle push and he stumbled forward, almost bumping into his father's back.

Ozai and Lu Ten appeared to be involved in an intense conversation. Their heads were pressed close together, Lu Ten only a few inches shorter than his father. Zuko could see the shift in conversation by the tensing of his father's lips and eyebrows. Lu Ten remained calm even though his father grew angrier and angrier. Zuko cleared his throat.

Ozai turned and gave his son a scathing look. "Prince Zuko, late as usual. No matter, your cousin was just telling me about what he's seen of the girls so far."

"The girls?" Zuko shot his cousin a look. That didn't seem to be what they were talking about. The three of them started moving toward the palanquins that waited beside the off-ramp of the dock.

Lu Ten coughed. "Right, the girls, what do you think Prince Zuko? Which girls will make the cut? Obviously, the Fire Nation girls, but who from the Earth Kingdom?"

Funny how he didn't include Katara.

"I don't know, really…" Zuko looked around the deck of the ship. Burly men were moving suitcases and trunks off of the ship and attaching them to komodo rhinos to carry to the palace. "I… mean, I haven't really looked at them."

It was the truth. He hadn't cared. All he really cared about was getting back to the Fire Nation. Back to Mai.

"Oh, come now, Zuko," his father said, wrapping an arm around his son's back. The touch felt weird and awkward to Zuko. "Surely I don't have to tell you what the most attractive parts of a woman are."

Zuko blushed. Lu Ten let out a laugh "No, no, you don't have to tell me, really, Father."

"Right…" Lu Ten said, raising an eyebrow.

"So Zuko, what qualities are you looking for in a wife?" Ozai continued, leaning closer, refusing to let go of the topic even though he saw how much it made Zuko uncomfortable. "Lu Ten tells me he's found several of the girls suitable."

It was Zuko's turn to look at his cousin. "Oh really?"

"Of course," Ozai said, "All of the girls he has an eye on are well endowed both in fortune and…other places."

Lu Ten and his father shared a laugh, walking off together, leaving Zuko standing there by the entrance to the off ramp. Zuko shook his head. Unfortunately, his father and cousin had the same ideas of women that his ancestors. Although he loved his cousin, he acknowledged that they were very different. It's not that he didn't know where to look at a woman, it's just that he didn't really share the views of his father and cousin by looking at women like they were sexual objects merely there for a man's pleasure. Mai would kill him If he ever tried half of the lines Lu Ten said to girls.

"Zuko!" His cousin called out to him from below. Zuko looked and saw his father getting into the palanquin that he would normally share with Tiang. Lu Ten looked at Zuko expectantly. Zuko started to walk toward them.

"C-Coming!"

Yes, someone definitely, like Mai.

Katara

Goodbye, beautiful ocean, Katara thought as she stood on the deck of the Fire Nation vessel. All 25 foreign girls were on the deck of the ship now, and according to Suki, there more coming from the Fire Nation. Each important city of the Fire Nation would send a representative girl, to match the number of foreign girls, totaling 35 in all. Although 35 girls would be in the Hana Matsuri, most would never make it past the interview with the Fire Lord. From the 35, there would probably only be 20 left after this morning, and by weeks' end, that number would be slashed in half. Then the 10 would be reduced to 5 and by that time… the two princes would have chosen. Katara couldn't deny it, but a small—very small—part of her wished that she could be the one. Just to prove Hahn wrong.

Remember, you don't want to be here! Katara thought to herself. You want to go home eventually!

"Katara!" She turned and saw Suki running toward her, a smile on her face.

She remembered entering the small dojo with everyone else and smelling the sandalwood flooring and the rice paper used for the walls. On Kyoshi, the weather rarely became rough or violent, and was never too cold. Katara figured that the tiny island was close enough to the Artic and to the desert to kind of be in the middle.

Oyaji led them inside of one of the rooms, the largest room in the building.

"What's this room used for?" Zuko asked, feeling the paper on the walls.

"The Kyoshi warriors practice here, Zuko." Princess Ursa told him.

Katara remembered the room being bigger than what it was on that day, a large folding screen had been put up dividing the room in half. Across from the screen, there were cushions for everyone to sit on. Oyaji directed for everyone to take their seats. First Lu Ten sat, then everyone else did. Katara raised an eyebrow when this happened. It seemed as though the Fire Nation was so rooted in tradition, that they did these things automatically, without any prompting. So Katara sat as well, she was next to Princess Ursa, behind Lu Ten, smiling as Oyaji went to the center of the room.

"I welcome you, to our humble Island." Oyaji bowed to everyone.

"We are honored to be here." Lu Ten said ceremoniously, mowing his head as well.

"Here, on Kyoshi, we have our own traditions." He smiled. Zuko and Lu Ten exchanged looks. "It is to my understanding that you, Prince Lu Ten do not wish to have my granddaughter Suki be considered a potential bride?"

"She's 16." Lu Ten replied, "I would never do such a thing. That would disrespect you and her." Katara smiled wider, so it seemed that Lu Ten was the honorable one of the bunch.

"Prince Zuko, my granddaughter is chosen as a possible bride for you, and as such, you must adhere to one of our oldest traditions."

"Which would be…?" Zuko asked, Lu Ten elbowed him in the ribs. Zuko mouthed 'ow!' and rubbed his side.

Oyaji grinned. "You must find your future spouse among all of the eligible girls in the village." He clapped his hands, and 2 boys came in that looked about 7 or 8 years old and carefully pushed the screen aside. Once they were done, they bowed to Oyaji and left.

Behind the screen were 10 girls, all wearing green robes in various states of extravagance. Some girls wore expensive things, others wore shells that you could find at the beach. Each their hair done in a stylish manner, with jewels and shells and other bright and shining things scattered across their dresses. One girl's hair was so heavily bejeweled, Katara thought her head was going to tilt over. The 11th girl, however, was a different story.

She wasn't wearing a fancy dress like all of the others, she was wearing the uniform of a Kyoshi warrior, and had the face paint to match. Her hair had no jewelry, save for the headband covered in gold. Her face was white, the area above her eyes surrounded with red paint. Her lips were red too, the darkness of the color contrasting against the whiteness of the makeup. She, like all of the other girls had their eyes closed, to make it fair.

"So please, Prince Zuko, find my granddaughter and place this, in her lap." Oyaji handed Zuko a golden fan, which he drew from the sleeve of his yukata.

Zuko stood uncertainly, turning around and looking at his mother. She nodded encouragingly, and Katara looked at that for as second before immediately directing her attention to the girl in the warrior's outfit. With that encouragement, Zuko moved forward, going immediately to the girl with the most jewelry and the most expensive dress. A smile appeared on her pink lips, but she kept her head down. The other girls smiled as well, their eyes still closed.

The only one that didn't smile, was the Kyoshi warrior. In fact, her face held no emotional change since the time that Zuko stood.

Turning her attention back to Zuko, he was about to place the golden fan in the ostentatious girl's lap but before he could, Katara spoke.

"Wait, Prince Zuko." And just like that, everyone's eyes were on her. Katara blushed as Lu Ten turned around to face her. She gulped but continued anyway. "You're wrong."

Zuko glared at her. "What do you mean, I'm wrong?" Zuko pointed to the girl he was in front of. "This girl looks exactly like a leader's daughter would."

Katara shrugged. "That's what you may think, Prince Zuko, but as far as I'm concerned, you've got it all backwards."

"What—," Zuko sputtered.

"How so?" Lu Ten asked her.

Katara cleared her throat. "Well, the people of Kyoshi are warriors first. They spend decades to master their art and style of fighting." Standing, she looked around the room. Maybe she shouldn't be helping. Sokka would be furious. "I mean, look at where we are. There has to be some reason that Oyaji did the selection in the dojo rather than in his home."

Zuko's shocked expression changed to one of consideration and a little bit of irritation shone in his eyes. But she turned to the others instead.

"May I?" When both Lu Ten and Oyaji nodded, she stood.

Katara walked over to him and held the golden fan. Her skin met his and she felt a little bit of a tingle in her finger and in the pit of her stomach. But she ignored it, pushing that looked into Prince Zuko's eyes, opening the fan with a flick of her wrist and holding it up. "This is your clue, Prince Zuko. I suggest you use it."

Katara saw the look of quiet irritation in Prince Zuko's eyes growing. She thrust the fan into his open palm, ignoring the warmth she felt, chastising herself for her outspokenness. She had said it before she could stop herself, and then she'd basically insulted him by saying that he was too stupid to figure things out on his own. Katara backed away, a deep blush staining her cheeks as all eyes went to her as she made her way back to her seat. When she sat down, she stared into her lap as though trying to find something interesting and tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach and the weight of Prince Zuko's stare.

"Thank you for that, Princess Katara." Oyaji smiled at her. She merely nodded. "You truly are understanding." Turning back to Prince Zuko, he said, "Even with Princess Katara's hint, the choice is still yours, Prince Zuko."

Katara raised her head to see what Zuko was going to do. He looked down at the girl he initially was going to give the golden fan to, but then shook his head and gripped the fan tighter. Pushing past the other girls with a look of determination on his face, he went up to the kneeling girl in the warrior's dress and dropped the fan into her lap. She opened her eyes and looked up. Katara couldn't see Zuko's expression, but whatever it was, it caused Suki's eyes to grow wide and a frown to appear on her face.

It was this same Suki that ran toward her now, her face devoid of makeup, her short auburn hair blowing in the wind. Suki wore a slight deviation of her Kyoshi uniform, without the padding and looser sleeves. She had the golden fan from her selection tucked into the belt at her waist.

She was followed by Toph, the 12-year-old Bei Fong girl. When Suki reached Katara, she gave the girl a hug. "It feels like forever since I've seen you!"

Katara laughed. "Not forever, but close enough, a week, at least." Katara turned to Toph. Gesturing to everyone around them, she said. "Can you believe how many girls are here? Look at them all, it's ridiculous."

Toph made a face. "Well obviously I can't look at them, but from the sound of their voices I already know what they're like. Bitchy."

Right. Toph was blind. Katara would have to remember that.

"Lady BeiFong!" Katara turned and saw a woman in similar clothes that Gu Zhi wore but looked much younger than Gu Zhi. She looked about the age of Princess Ursa. The woman ran up to them and spent a minute catching her breath. After bowing to the others, she said, exhaustedly, "Please, Lady, I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Relax, Jing, what's the problem." Toph shrugged casually, oblivious to the woman's distress.

Ahn Jing let out a large breath and held out a pair of brown shoes that matched the earth tones of brown and green of Toph's dress. "Will you please, wear these shoes?!"

"Toph!" Katara looked at the girl in surprise.

Toph stuck out a bare foot and wiggled all 5 toes. Smirking, she said, "Not a chance. It was bad enough I had to wear this stupid dress, I'm not wearing shoes."

"But Lady Beifong!"

"It's either the shoes or pants."

"Ladies! Girls!" Katara turned as the conversation slowly died down with the raising of a voice that she could only recognize as Gu Zhi's. The old woman was standing on a platform with Princess Ursa, Princess Azula and Lady Tiang behind her, all three of them looking very beautiful and regal, poised high. Princess Ursa wore a deep red gown with a pink belt tied at the waist, with gold trimming around the edges. Azula wore a similar gown but it was dark red, with black dragons on the front, and Tiang was perhaps the most obnoxious of all. She wore a red kimono with one shoulder hanging off, large earrings and a crown so large it made Princess Ursa's look dingy. But of course, as Ozai's favorite, she could probably wear whatever she wanted.

Gu Zhi started to speak her voice sounding even more rough than usual due to her shouting. "Please get into the carriage in groups that will take you from the ship into the palace."

Toph grabbed Suki's and Katara's hands and pulled them towards where the other girls were boarding carriages. Behind them, Ahn Jing watched as they got lost in the crowd and moaned in protest of her mistress' actions.