Chapter 12

Update 2/4/18: I had to rewrite this chapter three times because the file kept getting corrupted. A lot of the details I really wanted to include were changed, simply because I couldn't remember them. Here's hoping 4th time's the charm.

Tiang

She was up before dawn.

The concubine was naked, a slip of the coverlet barely covered her as long legs slipped from beneath it onto the floor. Old and musty, the room was cheap, with peeling paint and rotted out floors. She shuddered at the place she'd landed herself in for the night it brought back too many bad memories. It was in the shadier part of town, one that she was familiar with, where there were no questions asked about who was staying in each room and she needed to keep it that way. She leaned over across the bed and whispered to her companion, with her lips touching his ear.

"I've got to go, love." She chuckled, "Can't keep a Prince waiting."

Her companion let out an uncharismatic snort and rolled over. Tiang's face turned up in disgust.

The things I do to get ahead. Oh well, all women must do what they have to… She thought, pulling on a simple red gown, covering her skin from her neck down to where the hem swept along the dirty floors. It was strange, wearing a fabric so thick and conservative…it made her feel itchy in her own skin. Not wearing makeup was something she also was unused to. She felt bare, exposed, uncomfortable without the mask she usually wore. But it was her design not to be recognized.

She slipped on her shoes and placed a kiss to her lover's temple. He snored louder into the pillow and she grimaced. Picking up her beaded purse she walked towards the door, but not before placing a red lily on the night table and a card with instructions for when he woke up. He was useful…for now.

She walked down the hallway of the grimy hotel and out the door, into the market of the small town just outside of the Fire Nation capital. A plain boxed palanquin waited for her, and as she approached the bearers all knelt. She walked to it quickly, carrying the heavy bag, passing whores on the street, and men begging for coins at her feet and couldn't help the smirk that came across her face. She used to be one of them. But no longer. The buildings surrounded her were all a dark grey, with more dirt on them than it would take a year to clean off. She sat inside, her maid helping her, and they took off in the direction of the rising sun, towards the Capital, hopefully before anyone realized she was missing.

Yes, she thought to herself, feeling the bag weighing heavily in her hand. I've got a lot of things to do.

Zuko

Zuko wasn't surprised when his mother asked to see him the following morning. He knew his mother wanted to talk to him about the first round of the Hana Matsuri that went on the day before. Would she be angry that he'd interfered? Perhaps. Perhaps not. She sent one of her servants with a message as soon as the sun rose, but he was already awake.

He dressed quickly and walked behind the servant as she led him to his mother's rooms. His mother lived in a part of the palace away from his father and his concubine, in rooms that would have been reserved for one of Lu Ten's sisters if he had any. They were mostly a lighter red, with yellows and gold paneling, several large windows covered the wall by the bed to let in the daylight. Her rooms were more elegant than his, his father's or his sister's but that's only because his aunt wanted to make a statement of exactly how she felt about the whole…Tiang situation.

His family was practically divided in half, at least as far as where Zuko was concerned. His aunt, uncle, cousin, and mother all stood on one side of the invisible family line, and his father, Tiang and Azula stood on the other. He didn't hate them truthfully, he hated what they did to his mother. His father was ambitious and cruel, yes, but he did love his children, and Zuko couldn't help but want that love. Azula was his sister, and she wasn't all bad, she did do good things if resulted in a benefit. As for Tiang…was it a crime for her to love his father so deeply? Can love be a crime?

His mother was sitting outside, on the balcony that extended from her sitting room, watching as the sun crested over the ocean waters, turning the purple sky into a dark pink. The salty breeze gently rustled her hair, blowing it gently away from her face, long and unbound as it was. She was still in a pale red dressing gown, legs crossed as she sat on a large low couch, waiting for him, watching the ships dock and leave the harbor. A white Fire Lily rested softly in a vase between two place settings, the other one no doubt for him.

The set up was very standard, with a large bed pushed up against one wall, her private bathroom door along the adjacent wall. Various chests of drawers as well as lounging couches low to the ground took up most of the other wall space. Steam flowed from it as he guessed servants were preparing a morning bath for her. She still hadn't noticed his arrival. He nodded once to the servant that had brought him, she bowed deeply in response before disappearing into one of the adjoining rooms, leaving him to cross the floor to her. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to her, opening the doors that led outside. When she heard him close the balcony doors behind him, she looked up and gestured for him to sit, and then she looked away again.

Unsettled by her behavior, Zuko placed a light kiss on her cheek. He felt her cheeks lift in a light smile beneath his lips.

"Good morning, mother." He said and sat down, picking up the full teacup and eyeing the small breakfast of congee that his mother had no doubt made for him. He sipped it, lightly, not being bothered by the scalding temperature of the tea. Her bowl was empty.

She still looked out over the ocean, not turning at the sound of his voice. Holding the cup in both hands, she said absentmindedly, "I love the sea, Zuko. It calms me."

He faltered, confusion darting over his face, surprised that she had not confronted him directly, "I know that. It reminds you of your childhood."

"I love everything about it, I love the smell of the salty air, the sounds of waves hitting the cliffs and even the sound of men shouting curses to each other down at the harbor." Ursa chuckled softly, leaning closer, putting her teacup down. She finally turned to him, looking down, lost in a memory. "When I was a little girl, about 6 years old, I wanted to be part of the sea so badly, I used to imagine that the Spirits would turn me into a fish and I could swim in the ocean forever and ever."

Zuko kept silent, uncertain about where his mother was going with the topic. She turned in her chair to look at him, her bright golden eyes filled with mirth. Zuko was puzzled, weren't they going to talk about what happened yesterday?

His mother continued, chuckling lightly. "Doesn't that sound foolish Zuko? Your mother, wanting to be a fish?" She smiled at him, but he couldn't return it. He instead felt increasingly unsettled by the second. "Wasn't I such a foolish child? My grandmother used to pat me on the head and call me her 'little fool'. What do you think, Zuko? Does wanting to be in the ocean make me a fool?"

Zuko paused for a moment, unsure whether his mother was joking or not, and then shook his head, replying honestly. "No mother, I don't think that makes you a fool."

His mother then hit the table hard, jolting the teacup and spilling tea out onto the red tablecloth. Zuko sat back, recoiling away in surprise. She leaned closer, sudden anger in her eyes. "Then why did you think me a fool yesterday, Zuko? Do you really doubt your mother's intelligence that much?" She snapped at him.

"N-no, I—," Zuko flinched from her sudden outburst of anger. He had never seen his mother this upset, usually his mother was the most even-tempered person in the whole family.

She glared at him, an unimpressed and disappointed expression coming over her face. "I'm no fool, Zuko. As soon as Mai's name was called as Azula's bid, I knew you had a hand in it, somehow."

"What do you want me to say, mother?" Zuko asked her, hands coming up questioningly. "That I didn't want Mai to succeed? She would have been just fine without me anyway. If you hadn't noticed, Mai got the question right." Zuko couldn't help but point out that fact.

"I wanted you to give the selection a chance, Zuko." His mother said, quieting slightly, but the disappointed look remained. "I wanted you to give Katara a chance."

"You mean you wanted Katara to win. I know you and Cheiftess Kya are friends, Mom but—," He paused, eyes turning accusing towards his mother. "Did you tell her to write that answer?"

She sat back in her chair, aghast. Instantly he regretted the allegation, a nasty bout of guilt forming in the pit of his stomach. "How can you accuse me of such a thing, Zuko?" Her eyes narrowed at him. "For your information, she came up with that on her own. Yes, I wanted her to come to the Hana Matsuri, but I wouldn't resort to cheating."

Zuko sat there in silence, lips pursed. "I know that mother." He said after a moment.

His mother's tone turned soft, and she looked at him with concern in her eyes. "When will you understand that not everyone is like your father and Azula? Just because the two of them can't speak to someone without an ulterior motive doesn't mean that everyone is out to get something from you."

"I know that." He grumbled under his breath. His mother's posture relaxed, but she raised an eyebrow.

"Really? I don't think you do."

Zuko looked out over the ocean with a glare in his eyes, as if he was angry at the entire sea for what he was going through right now. "Is there a problem with Mai? I like Mai. I don't like Katara."

"You seemed to like her well enough at the Southern Water Tribe." His mother said softly, reaching across the table to hold his hand. "I know that you've known Mai for all of your life. She is comforting, familiar, two things you desperately don't want to lose. But you're becoming afraid, my son. Afraid of taking risks—,"

"Look what happens when I stray outside the lines, Mom." Zuko said, more harshly than he'd intended. He paused, swallowing. "Our relationship—Katara and I, that is—it isn't what you think it is. We had an agreement—,"

"What are you talking about, Zuko?"

"Coming to the Hana Matsuri wasn't her idea." He said reluctantly, not looking at her. "She—we—overheard this guy talking about her. They were…engaged, at one point."

"Hahn? She came here because of him?"

"You know about him?"

She gave him an incredulous look, pointedly raising an eyebrow at him. "Of course I know. I know everything."

Because of course she does. Zuko took a breath and then continued. "Yes…Mom you should have heard what he and his friends were saying about her. It was disgusting. Maybe it's better that you didn't."

Zuko grimaced, but continued on, "She worried that her village wouldn't think kindly of their breakup. She said she would be shamed…that she'd lead a life of self-imposed solitude and anonymity." Zuko's eyes lifted. "I couldn't let that happen…she's got too much potential. So, I figured that by the time the Hana Matsuri is over, and we send her back home, everyone in her village would have forgotten about it."

His mother sat back, leaning on the back of the chair, a smile tugging at her lips. "Potential, hm?"

Zuko leaned forward, forcing himself to look stern, though a smile played at his lips as well. He narrowed his eyes at her. "I know what you're thinking, Mother, and the answer is no."

She laughed for a moment, looking out over the water again, before placing the teacup down. He relished in the silence, eating the rest of his breakfast. It was quiet for a few moments, the last of the purple was disappearing from the sky, the blue of early morning taking its place. Suddenly, his mother gasped, a hand flying to her mouth as her eyes grew wide, almost fearful.

"I've done a horrible thing." She said quietly, a slight quiver voice. Her hand ran over her forehead, sliding over the bridge of her nose. "Oh, what have I done?"

"Mother?" Zuko rose onto his knees, scooting around the table to her slumped figure, the near empty bowl abandoned. "Mother what's wrong?"

"I've doomed that girl to suffer Zuko." She said, shaking her head. "If I knew that it was you who'd invited her, and what your plan was, I wouldn't have made her my personal bid."

"What's wrong with that? That guarantees her staying longer, right?"

"Yes," She nodded, hand gesturing towards the palace, she turned back to him, severe in expression. "But it also paints a huge target on her back. You and I both know how far people are willing to go to get what they want."

"Mom, I'm pretty sure Katara can handle herself." Zuko said calmly, trying to placate his mother, who seemed to grow more worried by the second. "I mean did you see her fight with her grandfather?"

"Zuko, she's not prepared for this kind of fight." His mother still insisted. "Go. Warn her. Please. For my sake."

For her sake, he would.

Katara

Katara slipped through the gates of the eastern wing, sneaking down the stairs at the end of the hall down to the lower floor. Aside from the odd servant shuffling about with buckets of water or linens, she didn't see anyone. Still, Katara poked her head around the corner with caution, waiting until whomever was in the hallway left before proceeding thorough. There were many rooms here, she knew that these were the Concubine's Quarters, used for the various mistresses and young children of the Fire Lord and his offspring.

Made up of three floors, the higher your room was meant the higher your status. All the girls in the Hana Matsuri, regardless of birth (in theory) were supposed to make up the bottom floor of the building, but Katara and the other girl, Mai, were placed on the floor above, setting her apart from the others.

But there was no one of nobility awake this early in the morning, and for that, Katara was thankful. Despite being of a higher rank in the Hana Matsuri, she still wasn't ranked high enough to have a room with a private bath. She had to share with the rest of them. And given the venomous looks she'd received when servants began moving her things to the floor above, she was glad if she never saw those girls again. Prince Ozai's mistress lived on the top floor as did her daughter, Princess Azula, but Katara didn't know where. She hoped that she wouldn't run into them, either.

Wearing a dressing robe the color of midnight and carrying the things she needed to bathe, Katara tried to remember where exactly the bathhouse was according to Gu Zhi's directions. The old woman had insisted on being allowed to serve her in the bath, citing that it was improper and not the Fire Nation way to bathe herself. But Katara had scoffed at the notion. She would keep this—even if she lost everything else.

She saw the large dark brown door at the end of the hall, so tall it reached the ceiling, and hurried towards it as it matched Gu Zhi's description. The large windows leading up to it let in the pinkish light of early morning. Glancing by as she passed, she noticed a beautiful garden with a thick oak tree and a small pond just outside the gates of the Concubine's Quarters. Katara wondered if she'd ever be able to go out there.

Reaching the door to the bath house, she opened it, and was greeted by a rush of steam and hot air, escaping into the cooler temperatures. The bathhouse was all white marble with golden trim around the tops and bottoms of the wall. A large skylight set in the high ceiling let in the only light, but with it being only morning, the room was quite dim. There were two pools of water on opposite sides of the room with a small set of stairs leading down to them, separated by long rows of benches.

Katara chose the pool closest to the door, setting down her things on the nearby bench, sweat beading constantly on her brow and the back of her neck miserably heated by her unbound hair. There were no windows to let out the humid and sweltering air, the only reprieve would be if someone actually came in and opened the door to the cooler air outside.

How do Fire Nation women bathe in here? This heat is unbearable.

Stepping forwards, Katara hesitantly stuck a foot in o the pool before recoiling with a hiss. The temperature was near boiling! Calmly, she soothed her foot before waving a hand over the pool, breathing outwards softly, lowering its temperature. Testing it again, she was satisfied and undressed quickly to her bindings before getting in and beginning to bathe.

While she bathed, she thought.

Only 20 girls survived the first round, 11 girls from the Earth Kingdom, and 9 girls from the Fire Nation from the original 35, the rest were sent home immediately after they'd failed. As Katara was led further into the palace, away from the crowd, she was shocked by the amount of despair on these girls' faces, begging, pleading on their hands and knees to be allowed to stay. The hateful glares in her direction from the ones who weren't crying also surprised her.

And only showed that they disliked her more than ever.

Katara fought the urge to let out a groan of frustration, letting go of her now clean hair to focus on the rest of her body. Why? What was so great about living here? It was so hot all the time, and there were so many rules, Katara felt stifled just taking in a breath. Gu Zhi had spent the last evening going over proper palace etiquette in painstaking detail. She was so exhausted, she didn't join the rest for either dinner or a bath. And maybe that was a good thing.

Katara's thoughts were broken as suddenly she was yanked backwards by her hair, a sharp ache spreading through her scalp. The back of her neck and shoulders slammed against the stone wall of the pool, a pant escaping her mouth as her skin scraped along the harsh tiles as she was dragged along them. Gasping for breath, and trying to steady her racing heart, Katara's arms flailed as she tried to reach upwards, to pull herself free but her feet slipped on the tiled floor beneath her.

Finally, whoever they were, yanked her up and around, forcing her to face them. Her mouth was set in a grim line, betraying no emotion, beyond straining with the effort to keep Katara restrained in her grip. But her eyes, dark golden eyes hooded and outlined with heavy lines and shadows of kohl, underneath thick bangs as black as ink. Katara gasped as she realized who she was—Mai! The girl Zuko liked, the girl he had waiting for him back here in the Fire Nation!

"What are you doing!?" Katara forced out through clenched teeth. Her hair was coiled around Mai's arm of like dark brown length of rope. Katara hissed as Mai dragged her head back, driving their faces closer, only inches apart now.

"You think you're good enough to have him?" Mai spat in her face, pulling her hair again, showing her again, how much control she had over her in this moment. Her feet slipped over and over, as her legs flailed in the water, trying to find some form of stability. Katara's arms frantically reached upwards, grabbing at the dark silk Mai wore to loosen her grip.

Katara tried to speak but barely had enough time to inhale a shallow breath before Mai forced her under the water, the arm with her hair pulling her forward, but it was her right hand that scraped along her scalp, dragging lines down the soft skin of her neck until the pale hand circled around it tightly, squeezing as Mai pushed her down, letting her body weight force her beneath the surface of the water. Katara's lungs burned as Mai let her linger, choking her, sharp nails breaking through her skin, blood beginning to drip from the small wounds. Katara's arms and legs thrashed as she fought, getting everything in the bath house soaked. She had to let go, had to breathe, but just as she was about to exhale, Mai pulled her back up. She could have been under there for seconds, if not minutes. Her feet slipped again, but she grabbed onto the rim of the pool, gasping for breath, feeling the relief surge back through her as she inhaled.

Coughing, she looked up at Mai, her neck and spine aching. "I don't want him!"

The sharp pain caused by Mai aggressively pulling on her hair had slackened as Katara had risen out of the water, eyes flashing quickly over to where Mai still had her hair coiled, she saw that the hold had slackened some, she had some freedom of movement as she shifted, feet finding an unsteady sort of balance on the slick floor of the bath. Mai hadn't noticed that she was now more secure where she stood.

But Mai acted like she hadn't said anything, only stared at her with hateful eyes. Katara would have been threatened, but Mai only wanted to scare her. Not kill her.

"Don't lie to me. You might be able to fool the rest of them, but not me."

Katara looked down, still trying to catch her breath, but Mai's hand gripped her chin roughly, making her gaze back up to meet Mai's eyes. Her sharp nails dug into Katara's skin, brushing where they pressed her face between Mai's fingers. Lowering, her hands curled around Katara's throat again, cutting off her air supply. "Mai—," She said through clenched teeth. "You don't have to do this—,"

But Mai wasn't listening. "What makes you so special? What makes you think you're good enough to be on the same level as me? How did you become Princess Ursa's bid!?" If possible, Mai squeezed tighter, and tears pricked at the corners of Katara's eyes, as she tried to breathe. "I've been raised for Zuko since I was born. You're not even a real princess. You're just some lucky girl from a backwater country nobody cares about."

Katara's fingers balled into fists. While Mai was speaking, sneering at her, really, Katara secretively twitched her hand, feeling the warm water respond to her movements now that she'd found some purchase. She couldn't help the smirk that came to her lips despite the pain that moving her jaw caused her. Before Mai had time to react, Katara's fingers reached forward, pushing against Mai's fabric, knocking the girl off balance and away from her. Standing firmly in the pool of water, Katara inhaled and exhaled deeply, thrusting her arms forward, and half of the water she stood in followed suit, rushing over Mai and violently moving her backwards into the other pool of water.

Trying to right herself, Mai struggled to find her footing, weighed down by layers of thick and expensive fabric. Easily, Katara lithely climbed out of the water, a small smile of satisfaction on her lips. Slowly, she made her way over to the older girl, who had apparently given up and stopped trying to fight her way out of the deep water. Still, Katara maintained a good distance away from the irate girl.

"Don't ever do that again." Katara said quietly, the threat conveyed through her eyes as she leveled a hard look at the older girl. Breathing rapidly to the point of hyperventilation, Mai met her eyes once before looking away, venom and indignation still in her gaze. Only magnified now by her embarrassment and frustration. resisting the urge to sound more menacing and threatening than was necessary. She started to walk away, but paused, turning around on her face. "By the way, Zuko asked me to come here. So, don't take your anger out on me."

With more confidence than she thought possible in that moment, Katara gracefully grabbed her soaked things and strolled out of the bath house as calmly as she could manage, though her hands shook the entire time. Hurrying down the hallway, Katara waited until she got to the stairwell, sure that she was alone, before she broke down.

Zuko

Zuko strolled through the hallway, light streaming in through the large windows. The morning sky held no trace of pink in its depths, now it was the bright light of early in the day. He passed several doors of empty rooms, and servants going in and out of them carrying boxes, chests and linens, either these were the rooms of the girls that had left yesterday, or these were rooms being prepared for the girls that would receive their own chambers today. He stopped one of them, a young man carrying a box of jewelry who bowed to him on sight, almost dropping the box on the floor. The young man looked positively terrified.

"Prince Zuko!?" the man exclaimed from his bent position. "What are you doing here in the Concubine's Quarters?"

Zuko rolled his eyes, did he have to be so theatrical? "Never mind why, just tell me, what room is Princess Katara staying in?"

The man sputtered out through pursed lips, raising his head. "T-T-The Pearl Room, Your Highness, I can take you there if you would like."

Zuko thought about this for a moment. He had a vague idea of where the Pearl room was…but having a guide would surely spare him from being lost.

Zuko nodded. "Fine, you can take me…"

The young man stood. "People just call me Longshot, my lord."

"Longshot?" Zuko thought about it as they started to continue down the corridor. "That must be a nickname. You couldn't have been born with that name."

Longshot's expression was of total seriousness but suddenly he laughed and said, "It's a nickname, my prince." The teen said, "I don't know my real first name, actually. I've been an orphan for as long I can remember. My friend gave me this name." They rounded the corner, walking briskly.

"Where is this friend of yours?" Zuko asked. "Does he work here?"

"He's not… he's actually…he doesn't work…here anymore." Longshot suddenly looked cautious about how much he should actually reveal to Zuko about his life. "I've been taking care of his sister though."

"What's his sister's name?" Zuko wondered curiously, he was careful of the look on Longshot's face.

"Smellerbee." Longshot looked away. "She works here too, in the kitchens."

"Let me guess. That's not his sister's real name?"

Longshot laughed. "No, your highness, we're all orphans, traveling around, through swamps, deserts, anything, looking for work. Until…" Longshot shook his head, suddenly speaking quickly, "Until we came to work here, of course, Prince Zuko." Longshot finished in a rush as though he wanted to be rid of Zuko that much faster.

Longshot barreled down the hallway, Zuko trailing at his heels, until his came to a door with pearls encrusted on the frame, obviously the Pearl room. Zuko turned to thank Longshot but found him already leaving back the way they had come, the box of jewelry still in his hands.

What a strange person. Zuko thought, but turning back to the door, Zuko took a deep breath, bracing himself. He hadn't spoken to her since Kyoshi, after which she'd suddenly disappeared, remaining on the ship for the duration of their journey.

Fortunately for him, the door was opened by his old nanny, Gu Zhi. Zuko opened his mouth to say something but Gu Zhi held up a finger to shush him. She stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind her. "Prince Zuko," She began in a whisper, "What are you doing here?" She looked at him sternly, as if he was a child again, getting caught stealing cookies from the royal kitchen.

"I-I came to speak to Princess Katara on behalf of my mother." he said.

"Forgive me for saying so, Prince Zuko, but when you speak to Princess Katara, I would recommend you use some tact." She said, sounding like a grandmother would have. Nothing like his own grandmother, of course. "That girl has cried a long while this morning."

Zuko shrugged, "I think perhaps she's just homesick Gu Zhi. I'm sure she'll be fine once she gets used to it here."

Gu Zhi nodded, but still looked perturbed. "I'm sure some of it's homesickness, yes…but…" Her voice lowered, Zuko had to lean in to hear her clearly. "There was an…incident, this morning, earlier in the bath house."

"She'll be fine…" he shrugged, pausing, glancing at Katara's closed door. "You know, it might be her moon's blood. I know that girls are more sensitive—Ow!" He yelped once Gu Zhi poked him at the end of that last sentence. Zuko rubbed his chest where she poked him. "Who said you can poke me?"

"Prince Zuko," She said his title respectively, but her eyes were the stern gold of his childhood. She looked much like she had when he was little, the grey streaks in her hair and the lines around her mouth and eyes ever present. "l raised you and Lu Ten. I sincerely doubt that your mother would object if I bent you over my knee and thrashed you like I did when you two got it in your minds to steal custard tarts from the kitchen."

"I was eight!" Zuko protested, hands out in front of him. "And it was Lu Ten's idea!"

But she nodded, satisfied. "And all your mother said was 'thank you'. I doubt she'd scold me now." She ended her sentence with a light chuckle in her gravelly voice before sobering, quietly placing her hand on the door handle. "Come inside, quickly. We've only just calmed her down and gotten her dressed. We must leave soon for her lessons."

She pushed open the door and the first thing that Zuko thought of when he walked inside of the room was how odd it was to see blue in the room. It seemed to Zuko a stark contrast to the red that drenched everything in the palace. Her room was a standard red, with typical dark brown furniture and her bed placed furthest from the door, near the window, but the sheets and the coverlet were blue, and so were the clothes that hung in the open closet on the opposite side of the room. Her pillows were white, but the robe that lay on the bed was the color of the night sky was trimmed in white. It dripped water onto the covers, discoloring the fabric as the liquid soaked in. The vanity mirror she was currently sitting was low to the floor, and the window was low enough for her to see out of it.

The four servants that had been assigned to Katara were rushing around the room, two were unpacking Katara's things and stowing them away in drawers, and one girl was clearing away ink from the desk next to the vanity. The last girl was at the vanity closest to the blue-eyed Water Tribe girl. Katara's long tresses were being brushed, the hair falling in gentle curls down her back. Gu Zhi walked inside, leading Zuko. Her back was to him, but there was no mistaking her voice.

She spoke softly, "Lin," she said, addressing the maid kneeling behind her, "I really can brush my own hair, you know."

Servants are there to serve, Katara, Zuko thought to himself. Zuko was surprised. He wasn't sure he knew any of the servant's names…well, besides Gu Zhi and Longshot, now.

"I don't mind, Princess Katara." Lin said softly, but at Katara's exhale the girl decided to back off. "Well, if you won't let me brush your hair, perhaps let me apply a poultice to your neck and shoulders."

Katara turned around to face the servant girl, though she hadn't noticed his presence yet. Katara placed a gentle hand on the other girl's shoulders. Zuko could only watch, partly in shock, partly intrigued, as she showed more intimacy with a servant that she could have ever thought possible.

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm going to be fine." She smiled slightly, though it faltered as it widened. Something shined at the corner of her eyes…tears? "If you hand me that wet rag, I'll heal it myself." Lin nodded, albeit reluctantly, and moved away.

Gu Zhi walked to the center of the room and clapped, causing everyone in servant's attire to turn their head towards the sound. "Everyone, out. Princess Katara has a guest." Everyone froze where they were and dropped what they were doing, filing one by one out of the room.

"Gu Zhi, what's going on—," Katara whirled around in her chair, her hands gripping the back of the seat as she asked the question. When she caught sight of Zuko standing behind the elderly woman her eyes narrowed. She stood; her posture was oddly confrontational. "Oh. It's you, Prince Zuko. Is there something you need?" Her words were curt towards him.

He opened his mouth to speak but froze. It was then that he saw the discoloration along her chin, and the shallow small cuts that dotted her cheeks. The faint bruising along her face trailed down to her neck, tinging her dusky skin with a barely noticeable bluish mark. With the way it continued across her collarbone, he imagined the same bruising reached her shoulders as well.

"Princess Katara," Gu Zhi cut into the silence, looking back and forth between Katara and Zuko, "Prince Zuko has a message for you."

"Oh I think I've had enough messages from Prince Zuko." She snapped, glaring at him, looking incensed at the mere sight of the 17-year-old standing before her.

"I-I…" His mouth opened and closed, unable to form the right words to ask how that came to mar her pretty complexion. And it was true, he was suddenly struck by how pretty she was. In the light of the morning streaming through the window behind her, she practically glowed, her skin the color of cinnamon in this lighting. She looked like the sun herself lived inside of her skin, radiating heat outwards. But her eyes were a cool, icy blue, blazing with a hidden fire that even he wasn't sure even a fire bender could possess. The lightness of her eyes was offset by her dark hair, loose, falling over her shoulders in thick curls, framing her face. The longer he went without speaking, the darker her eyes grew, no longer the light blue of a sky on a summer's day but now the color of the sea before a storm.

Though she wore the simple plain red dress of a girl in the in the Hana Matsuri, there were distinctions that belonged solely to Katara. The golden trim at the hemline and at the end of her long sleeves marked her as a member of a ruling royal family. The belt around her waist was a burnt orange, the same color as the sash she wore about her wrist and matched the ribbon that would use to tie her hair back.

"Well?" She said, her eyes challenging and fierce, stopping him from staring at her for much longer. "Spit it out, then."

He cleared his throat. "I came here to…um…on my mother's behalf." Katara raised an eyebrow. "She worries for your safety."

If he was expecting a reaction from Katara, her scoffing and looking away with irritated eyes wasn't it. He looked at Gu Zhi for support. The older woman offered an encouraging smile to him, but he still felt uncomfortable with the girl's response. "Too little, too late." She muttered under her breath.

"Is something wrong, Princess Katara?" He asked, but she just frowned at him.

"No, nothing's wrong. Unless you consider that I was attacked this morning as something wrong?" She said harshly towards him, gesturing to the bruising on her neck.

There was silence, as Zuko looked to Gu Zhi for help, silently asking her to calm down Katara, but as they stared at each other, but she quietly excused herself from the room. Zuko mentally rolled his eyes. Of course, she would abandon him in his time of need. His mother would have done the same thing and hung him out to dry. His eyes followed Gu Zhi out the door, before turning back to Katara. Her eyes narrowed again, she shifted, putting her weight on one leg in an expression of impatience.

He took a deep breath. And after another pause, he rushed out, "I'm sorry you're hurt." Katara's expression didn't change, but her head did tilt in his direction. He tried again "Maybe you could tell my mother—she'd assign guards."

"No." Katara said firmly. "They already hate me. Why would I paint a larger target on my back?"

"Well what do you want me to do?" He asked, voice rising. "Do you know who attacked you?"

Katara swallowed, a hand coming up to rub absentmindedly at her neck, before wincing at the contact. The bruises that were on her face were darkening now slightly. But she sighed, looking down. "Your girlfriend."

"Mai?" No, she wouldn't, it wasn't like her to be so direct. "She couldn't have."

"You think I'm lying?" Her crystal eyes snapped up to his, and for a second, he forgot to breathe.

"N-No—," He said, waving his hands in front of himself. "I just think you're confusing Mai with some other girl. She's not like that. She'll sit and complain, but she rarely gets…physical with people she doesn't like."

"But I'm not a threat." Katara's hands flew up in the air. "When I agreed to come to the Fire Nation, Prince Zuko, I was under the assumption that I'd be protected, at least."

"You're the one that doesn't want guards!" He fired back. "If you don't want our protection, as you're entitled to, then you can't complain when you get hurt." He paused, stopping. This wasn't what he intended at all. She fixed him with an icy stare, eyes narrowing. "Wait—I mean—,"

"No, I get it." She said dismissively. "You don't care about anyone else that's here. So long as you get your girlfriend, the rest of us can die for all you care."

Her anger seemed to radiate off her in waves as she fumed. As her finger balled into fists, the teacup as well as the pot of tea on the desk shattered, the liquid inside going everywhere before they froze into icicles, crashing down to the floor. Zuko dodged some of the bigger ones from hitting the thin robe that he wore.

"No that's not what I meant—," He murmured, looking down, gathering his strength. Finally, he had the strength to look back up at her. She was still fuming. "I'm sorry—I truly am sorry that you're hurt. I don't want you to be—unhappy here."

Her eyes were pensive as she blinked at him, a sad understanding in them. "You're sorry I'm hurt—but you don't believe it's Mai."

"No. I don't." He said simply, shrugging. "That's the truth."

She nodded dismally, sniffing quietly, backing away from him before turning to the vanity. Slowly she sat down onto the low couch, while he could only stare at her in confusion. She didn't look at him, but he could see the redness in her eyes as he looked at the mirror. She sniffed again, there was a small moment where he thought he saw a tear rolling down her reflection in the mirror before she spoke.

"I think it best if you leave." She said quietly, a hard edge to her usually lyrical voice.

"What?" He said, surprised. "I'm—you can't—,"

"Leave, Prince Zuko." Katara scowled at him in the mirror. Around her, the room started to decrease in temperature, rapidly, he could see crystals of ice, forming in mid-air, solidifying, and falling to the ground, as though she were manipulating the very water in the air itself.

Zuko had a healthy sense of self preservation and decided to take her advice to heart and got out of the room before the ice did him any actual harm. He backed out of the room quickly, slamming the door shut. He breathed heavily, having escaped danger when he looked up and saw Gu Zhi standing there along with the rest of Katara's maids.

"Don't go in there yet," he advised the woman. "I think she needs some time to calm down."

Gu Zhi nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Who needs time to calm down?"

Zuko turned his head, and standing there, followed by her servants was the girl he had requested as his personal bid. She was just as pretty as he remembered. She wasn't pretty in the same way Katara was. Did I just think that Katara was pretty? But there was a certain plain and simplicity to the girl that he loved that had always enamored him. She never wore anything bright, but she could brighten up his day by just being there. He looked at her, and he felt the altercation with Katara fade from his memory. To be filled up by this girl and this girl alone…

Mai.

Edit 2/4/18: Finally done with this after rewriting this like three freaking times…ughhh. If you want to know what the bathhouse is like, I picture the hamam (Turkish Bath) from Muhteşem Yüzyıl, a show that I'm currently obsessed with except it's so hard to find English subtitles.