AU of the future world of Avatar. Just two people who are called Katara and Zuko, reincarnated war heroes.

Day 13: Folktale

Everyone visits the folk festival. It's the best festival of the whole year.

The entertainment is great, the food, too, and everyone can see their friends and families. If you don't go the the festival, you won't be able to join in the conversations the day after at school.

There are theatre performances, music, singers, dancers, poetry, prose reading, choreographed fights and bending, it's all simply beautiful.

Katara's favourite is the theatre stage on which old legends and myths are performed. While her friends concern themselves with more modern and "cooler" things, Katara loves these old stories.

Her favourite one is about a heroine who has the same name as her. It always feels like this story is hers personally, and as if there's something more to it.

The heroine Katara protected all of the South Pole against the bad firebenders for years, until they sent so many troups at once that even the mighty Katara couldn't fight them all. She surrendered and was chained, shipped away to the Fire Nation. The Avatar, an airbender named Aang, had just been awakened by her and followed her together with her brother to rescue her.

In the Fire Nation, the people had heard about what a strong warrior the waterbender Katara had been, and they respected her for that and treated her well. Katara's inmates ahd also heard about her bravery and power and looked up to her. Whenever they had a problem they came to her first. And the inmates had a lot of problems, treated more like animals, not like humans.

The Fire Prince was curious about the waterbender and went into the prison, just when a riot started. In order to calm everyone down and keep peace, he listened to the complaints of the prisoners, vocalised by Katara.

Since then he made sure to meet the waterbender once a week and talk about the prison's conditions. After a few weeks, their conversations trvalled to new topics and they started playing Pai Sho every time they met.

Soon, the Fire Prince started to love her and wanted to help her escape. Their love was strong and passionate, but short, because destiny hadn't forged their paths to meet in a romantic way.

The Avatar and Katara's brother found her and worked on a plan to defeat the evil Fire Nation. The Fire Prince was send to capture them as a punishment for letting Katara escape. He chased the one he loved, craving for her, knowing he couldn't capture her.

But he soon also saw that his father and his nation were in the wrong and chose to join the rebellion. There, he noticed that the Avatar had feelings for Katara. Thinking himself not worthy of her, he was sure she would choose Aang, and he didn't even try to win her heart.

Katara was beside herself with joy, when the Fire Prince joined their group for good, but nothing he said or did indicated that he felt the same for her as she felt for him. So she accepted the Avatar's courting.

When they fought their final battle, the Fire Prince almost died to save Katara, but she managed to heal him in time. They confessed their feelings to each other, but knew that they couldn't be together. The Avatar was a far too important person and he needed Katara. So they sacrificed their happiness for the greater good of the world, longing for each other for all their life and lives after that.

When the play ends, the actors of Katara and Prince Zuko always hold hands, and walk into different directions, until they slowly, very slowly have to let go of each other's hands.

It always touches Katara's heart, and she sometimes wonders how it would be like to be in love with an enemy.

Standing up to meet her friends again, she freezes when she sees Zuko sitting behind her.

He's from another school, but they have met during enough martial arts contests, so she knows exactly who he is.

Does he like the play, too? How is it for him to watch a play, in which the male main character has his name?

Katara always subconsciously thinks about him, when she watches this play. Mostly because of his name, of course, but he also has ancestors from the Fire Nation and they were in opposing school teams during the martial arts contests, so he's kind of an enemy.

"Hi," she quickly says and smiles.

He looks startled, as his eyes widen. He quickly stands up from his seat, so that now she has to look up at him. "Hi!" he replies, sounding slightly somehow nervous and enthusiastic.

She never actually talked to him. She always thought he is as focused and cold in normal life, as he is on the fighting mat.

"Do you like the play?" Katara asks, hoping she doesn't annoy him.

But he seems different now, not like he does during a contest, when he acts like everyone is his enemy, and he always scowls to answer everything.

Now, he seems a bit like a dear in the headlight, as he scratches his head, his cheeks a bit pink. He looks away, as he answers her. "I, uh, haven't seen it before, but it was good. Although it didn't happen like that," he adds, murmuring.

Katara cocks her head to the side. "How couldn't you have seen the play or known the story? It's a really popular folk tale!"

Zuko shrugs. "I haven't been at this festival before, and like I said, it didn't happen like that."

"How would you know? Where you there?" Katara asks, a little bit on edge, since he is ruining her favourite love story.

"My family still has a lot of old stuff from our ancestors, like letters and diaries, logbooks. According to these sources the hundred year war ended a little bit different."

"How was the story then?" Now she is intrigued. Was it maybe even more romantic and heroic?

After Zuko starts to talk, Katara notices that he's not good at telling coherent stories. He sometimes goes back several scenes, or doesn't remember something, flushing, but not apologising.

Katara thinks this might take a while, and drags him with her to an ice cream stall. They stand in a very long queue, waiting to place their order.

When Zuko's finished, she scrunches up her nose. "That's not really romantically thrilling."

He smiles. "Yeah, I liked the play also way better."

She decides that she really likes him like that, and that he should smile more often.

"Although it could have had a happy ending," Katara says thoughtfully.

"I agree," says Zuko, then he scratches the side of his head. "Uh, want me to buy you come ice cream?"

"I..." she starts, wanting to decline his offer. But wait, he's a nice, but still unfamiliar boy who wants to buy her ice cream... Maybe he's interested in her.

Trying hard not to flush, she nods. "I'd like that, thanks."

Zuko smiles and asks what flavour she would like.