Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Shout out again to Mitsy Shoujo for comparing my story to Game of Thrones, it's an honor.

The inspiration for this story was taken from a Chinese drama called The Legend of Zhen Huan. You can watch it on Viki with English subtitles. It's one of my favorites and I always wanted to do one of those type of things.

Katara

Everything happened all at once. It was like something out of a nightmare.

The minute she saw Iroh collapse, Katara stood up. The other girls backed away, and the royal family did the same, creating a large circle with a convulsing Iroh as its center. Lady Tiang screamed. Azula was the only one who remained calm, placing a morsel of food in her mouth as though this was an ordinary occurrence. Iroh lay sprawled on his back, his head turned to the side as he convulsed.

His face was turning purple and choking sounds were coming from his throat. Someone screamed again, she didn't look to see whom. Lu Ten moved Song out of the way, pushing her to the side as The Fire Lady and Princess Ursa crowded around Iroh as he lay dying on the ground. Lu Ten let go of Song and ran to his father, clutching the old man's hand as it lay limp on the darkening grass, covered in the bile from Iroh's mouth.

"Call the Imperial Physician!" Ursa screamed. For the first time in her life, Katara saw Gu Zhi run, darting off towards the Main Palace in a rush.

Guards in red and silver masks covering their faces swarmed the entire garden, creating a wall between the Royal family and the rest of the girls. Several of the girls screamed at the approach of the men, big and burly and carrying swords, though Katara knew that these men could likely fire bend as well. She looked from the men to Iroh who was still coughing up black blood as he turned on his side. Deciding to risk burning to a crisp, Katara approached the guard closest to Iroh.

"Let me through." She said, trying to sound as regal as possible, keeping her chin high. She wished her mother were here. Even Yue would have sufficed. Yue would have had these men eating out of the palm of her hand. The guard agreed with her thoughts, because he pushed her away roughly, causing her to fall on her rear. Standing up, she tried again. "I can save him!"

The guard ignored her, he reminded her of a statue. "We must wait for the royal physician." He said, deep voice booming at her. She glared at the guard before backing away. She could hear Iroh's choking, ringing in her ear like a howling wind. She would never forget the sound. Several of the girls that didn't leave, retched at the sound and sights before him.

Come on, there has to be some way.

Katara scanned the faces of the Royal family. They were all crowded around Iroh, leaning over his body, tears streaming down their cheeks, though Fire Lady's incessant wailing drowned out their voices as they screamed Iroh's name. They were hoping for him to acknowledge he'd heard them. He didn't. His eyes stared straight ahead, unblinking, unfocused. Should she try to get the Fire Lady's attention?

No, the woman wasn't paying attention to anyone, solely focused on her husband. She loomed over her husband, rubbing his face, wiping the blood away from his lips with a red handkerchief, the black blood staining it as she screamed for him to wake up.

"Iroh you can't leave me like this! You can't leave me! Please!"

Lu Ten squeezed his father's hand firmly, trying to feel for a fading pulse. He sounded close to tears. "Father no! I-I can't be Fire Lord! I don't want to do it without you to guide me!"

Princess Ursa? She might not be the best choice. After what happened last time, Katara didn't think that the older woman would let her help. She didn't know if the woman trusted her. But that didn't matter. Fire Lord Iroh needed help. Her help.

She ran forward, and the guard tried to push her away again, but she quickly ducked under his arm, his hands grabbing the air instead. Pushing the big man to the side with all her strength, she darted closer to Iroh, eyes looking for a way to get close. It wouldn't be long before the guard caught up to her, but she would have to take the chance. Bending her arms as she moved, she pulled water from the turtle duck pond. It wasn't the cleanest body of water, but it would do the job. She ignored the heavy feet of guards chasing after her and marched towards Iroh determined to save his life.

I won't stand by this time. I swear I won't.

Nevertheless, they caught up to her before she could even try to reach him. Large arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her away. She dropped the water, gasping in surprise and it fell, soaking into the grass beneath her feet.

Iroh's face had gone deathly pale, the only sign that he was still alive was the constant twitching of his arms and legs as the poison worked its way through his system. She elbowed the guard in the side, but her elbow hit the side of the metal armor causing her to groan in pain. He yanked at her roughly, trying to carry her struggling and writhing form away.

"Zuko!"

Then time stopped, or at least, it seemed like it did. There was silence as she called out Zuko's name, as everyone stared at her. She didn't know why she called his name. He was the only person that she could think of now. His head tore itself away from his dying uncle. There was immense pain in his eyes, but they widened when they saw her writhing in the guard's.

She called to him again. "Zuko help me!" Katara fought in the guard's arms, wrestling with him, as Iroh drew his last few breaths, choked sounds that barely escaped his lips.

Tiang pointed a long nail at her. "She's trying to kill the Fire Lord, arrest her!" No one seemed to believe Tiang's accusation. Instead, they were torn between staring at Iroh, and staring at Katara.

"He's going to die if I don't save him!" Katara shook her head vehemently, squirming. She looked in Zuko's golden eyes and pleaded with him. She had to get Zuko to listen to what she was saying.

"Zuko?" Princess Ursa asked. Her son didn't say anything, but merely stared at Katara, his eyes searching.

"Zuko you know that I can heal him! Let go of me!" She pleaded; Iroh's lips were paling, the blood draining from his face towards his heart. She squirmed and wriggled, fighting in the guard's arms as he struggled to keep her steady. "Zuko you trust me, don't you?"

Zuko didn't say anything, but only looked between her, and his uncle.

"She's obviously lying!" Tiang yelled, charging at her before being restrained by Ozai.

"No, I'm not!" Katara yelled back at her.

The guard struggled to keep his grip on her waist. Her hair was coming undone from the braid, but she didn't care. She fell on her hands and knees, and then rolled quickly away from the guard as he tried to grab her again. Righting herself, she ran to Zuko, her hands gripped his shoulders. She stared at him, looking up into his eyes as he towered over her short frame.

"Zuko…please…trust me."

He nodded, unspeaking, but smiled at her encouragingly. She let go of his shoulders and threw her arms around his neck. Oh, she could have kissed him right then!

For a moment, as their faces grew closer together, it seemed like he might have kissed her too. Releasing him, she ran to where Iroh lay. Katara moved behind Iroh's head as it lay flat on the grass, the weak gasps of an incredibly ill man escaping from his lips, A determined look came into her eyes as she breathed heavily, feeling the weight of everyone's stare on her. The girls of the Hana Matsuri, the royal family, the guards, everyone. Waiting…watching…judging… She looked down at the Fire Lady, who was hovered over Iroh's chest. Her face was red and puffy, tear streaks and smudged makeup marred her face.

"This will help, I think, but I need fresh water to really heal him." Katara told the crying woman plainly. She and Lu Ten watched her intently.

"Please," The Fire Lady begged. "Do what you must to save his life."

Katara knelt closer to Iroh's body. She could see that black marks were starting to appear on his skin, and she knew she had to act fast. She rolled Iroh over onto his back, his body's twitching starting to lessen. Looking around for something to use to cut his clothing, she grabbed the meat knife from the grass, sliding off the upturned table. She ripped the heavy silk fabric of the Fire Lord's gown, gaining access to the underrobe beneath.

Closing her eyes, she raised her arms in the air, quickly pulling water from the turtleduck pond. It floated up, over the heads of everyone in a stream. She pulled her arms towards her, moving her hands in a circle, shaping the ball of water. When it reached her, it enveloped her hands in a soft glow She took a deep breath and placed her hands on Iroh's chest, a soft glow coming from the water. The glow lit up Iroh's and her skin as well as the surrounding area. Katara heard gasps all around her, but she didn't bother acknowledging it.

Expelling the breath that she had been holding, she concentrated on finding the poison in Iroh's body. A majority was focused in his stomach, where he'd ingested the most recent amount. But…no…there was poison all through him, but that was impossible, it should not have spread so fast. The water acted as her fingertips, moving through Iroh's system, and clearing out the blood of impurities. She moved her hands around on Iroh's chest, separating the water into two spheres surrounding them. She trailed her right hand up to his mouth, clearing away the blood that rose from his throat.

Once she wiped his mouth clean, she discarded the water in a bowl that someone placed near Iroh's body. Concentrating on his chest, she breathed deeply, feeling the poison in his lungs, as she worked the healing water into and through his system. Katara started almost too late, the poison was almost to his heart, and once it reached there, he would die. It felt like walking though the ocean, but the poison was like a wave, forcing her back a step with every beat of his heart. She grits her teeth, placing her hands open-palmed on Iroh's chest, right above his heart. She pushed down on his ribs, feeling his weakening heart.

"Come on. You can make it…" She bit out, breathing heavily.

She was running out of water to use. As she extracted increasing amounts of the poison from his blood, she had to keep discarding it in order to keep healing him. What puzzled her was that the poison… should have been out of his system when she first started. Once she started healing him, she immediately felt poison throughout his muscles, his veins, and bones. There should have been none, other than in his stomach, where the poison should have been concentrated. Instead, it was everywhere.

He wasn't getting any better in her mind. The black spots had disappeared from his skin, but his face was still deathly pale. She needed fresh water, and fast. Iroh's eyes closed then, seemingly at peace, mirroring death. The only thing that signaled to Katara that he was still alive was the shallow sound of his breathing and the faint rise and fall of his chest.

"Is he going to…?" The Fire Lady asked, not bothering to finish the question, worry lines etched onto her face.

"Not if I can help it." Katara forced out weakly, all her energy going towards healing Iroh at that moment.

She heard footsteps approach from her side, turning her head, she saw Gu Zhi and another servant approach, carrying a large tub of water between them. When they sat down the metal bin of water, she threw away the other water into the grass, and worked the fresh water into her hands. She could have cried then, and the relief must have shown on her face as the Fire Lady's calmed as well. Fresh water would work so much better than pond water. Placing one water-enveloped hand on his chest, Katara took a bit in her right hand, about the size of a marble, freezing it solid.

She looked to the Fire Lady and Lu Ten. "Can one of you hold his mouth open?"

The Fire Lady looked at her strangely but agreed. She moved to Iroh's head and forced his mouth open. Katara dropped the marble sized ball of water down his throat, and she ran her hand down his throat, tracing lines over his skin, hoping to heal his wounded stomach. Closing her eyes, she breathed once more, throwing all her energy into healing the old man.

Eventually, as she breathed, as she waited, she felt the poison start to wash away from Iroh's system. One more extraction later, his cheeks were starting to turn pink with signs of life, and his lips were regaining their normal color. His body was weak, and similarly, so was hers. She sat back on her heels, arms dropping to her sides, letting the rest of the water fall away from Iroh's body.

"You've done it then?" Lu Ten asked her eagerly. "My father will live?"

She nodded weakly. "He… will…" she said breathless. "be…weak for a while… but… with other… healing sessions…he should …be… fine."

Fire Lady Yun Xi grasped her hands in her own. "I-I can't thank you enough." She said, looking at Katara with an expression of gratitude. Tears formed in her eyes, but they were not tears of sorrow, they were tears of joy.

Katara was too tired to respond as her eyes closed, her arms felt lifeless, as she sat back on the damp grass, leaning to the side, barely having the strength to hold herself up. She had never healed such an intensely aggressive poison before. Hunting injuries, colds, headaches…those were things she'd had a lot of experience with. The last time she remembered feeling this way was when she healed half of Kyoshi in the course of a week.

It was strange…Iroh displayed the same symptoms that Suki's village had. Pale skin, blurry vision, rapid heartbeat and then a dramatic slowing of the heart. The black spots…they meant something…she had seen this before…here…in the Fire Nation …but for the life of her, she couldn't remember where. She was tired, so…so tired.

"Are you okay Katara?" Lu Ten asked her, concerned. Her mind was fading in and out and her vision was blurry.

"Katara?"

"What's wrong?" Someone else asked, their voices growing hazy and distant as she swayed. A pair of arms pulled her close to a warm chest. The warmth was comforting, in the way of curling up next to a warm fire after a long day out in the cold. "What's wrong with her?"

She blinked, trying to stay awake, but her eyelids were heavy, and she grasped for the fabric of a shirt, but she couldn't tell whose. Pushing against the person, she tried to sit up, but found that she didn't have the energy, collapsing back down onto the grass. Eyes fluttering closed, she felt herself being lifted off the ground as someone wrapped their arms around her.