AN: Katara's POV yayyyyy! I've been waiting so long to write this chapter. (Like 3 years) Also I'm not saying there will be sparks in this chapter…. But there will be something.

Chapter Seven: Solstice

"Katara, you look so beautiful." Kya stood behind me as I stared at my reflection in the large mirror. My dress was white and red, encrusted in gemstones that sparkled and shimmered when the light hit them. My mother put her hand on my bare shoulder and I turned around to look at her. She was so beautiful, even with the signs of aging weighing her down, she was still the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She reached behind her neck and undid her necklace.

"Something to remember home." She tied the blue necklace around my neck, "So that I will always be with you." She smiled, followed by a short cough.

"Mother are you okay?"

"Of course, it's just a cough Katara. I'll be fine." She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"I was worried you wouldn't come."

"And miss your wedding Katara? Nonsense, after all it's not every day that my only daughter betrays me." Kya's fake smile stayed strong, but mine fell.

"What? Mom I'm not betraying anyone." She just kept smiling at me.

"Of course you are sweetie, you're betraying all of us, me, your father, your Nation, we are so ashamed of you." her voice was so sweet and soft I could hardly believe the words she was saying came from her mouth.

"No! Mom it's not like that! I'm just trying to protect our people. I'm doing this for you." I pleaded with her, why didn't she understand. She began to cough again, longer than before.

"The Fire Nation destroyed us, they wiped us out, if it weren't for them, maybe there would have been healers to save me. How can you marry one of those people Katara?" Her coughing became more rampant.

"No! Mom, it's not like that! Why don't you understand?"

"Of course" She coughed "If you hadn't left for the north, you could have saved me. Maybe you should be with them, you're just as bad."

"Mom I'm sorry." I sobbed, "I tried to help, I wanted to-"

"No Katara, you only wanted to be a waterbender, well congratulations, you're a waterbender now. I hope it was worth killing your own mother." Her coughing became hysterical, and I watched as her face turned blue."

"No! Mom, I can save you, let me help you! MOM!" I screamed and reached for her, but I couldn't touch her.

"MOM!"

My eyes shot open. My breath ran ragged and my face was wet with tears. This was the third time that week that I had that dream. I pulled myself out of my bed, I'd need to have all the sweat washed out of it. I quickly filled up the tub with water and sunk into it, trying to wash the nightmare away.

I couldn't remember a time when I did not hate the Fire Nation. Ever since I was a child I heard the stories about how the Fire Nation attacked our people, picked off our benders one by one. Of course, the point of the stories was to teach about the strength and resilience of the Water Tribes, but I never saw them that way. All I saw was a ruthless nation, going to extremes to destroy another. After all, I was a warrior's daughter, and nothing brought out my bloodlust like mention of the Fire Nation. The North had managed to subdue my rage, for a time. And when my mother died, Yugoda helped me let go of the anger I had, she taught me that to truly be a healer, I first had to heal myself. Then I was shipped off, to be married, and I was given no choice but to forgive the fire nation. But even now, as I sunk into the luxurious tub, surrounded by peace and comfort, I couldn't keep my mind from thinking about all the blood that was shed by this family.

It was summer now, and the of the fruition of the Fire Nation's lush, tropic, landscape was at its peak. I was still trying to acclimate to the change in weather. Even though the poles were surrounded by water, it was dry and frigid. The Fire Nation was nothing like that at all, everything was just so wet. The humidity in the air was so thick that at times I thought I could bend the water right out of it. I'd have to ask Aang if that was even possible.

I knew I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep in the heat. The only people I knew who would be up and doing anything of interest at this hour were the Prince and Princess who would no doubt be sparring by now. So, I quickly threw on a dress and made my way to the back courtyard, which wasn't really a courtyard as it was a training arena. I made it just in time to see Zuko knocked to the ground by one of Azula's blasts.

Zuko hated training with Azula. Not because she was better than him, although that was also infuriating, but because Azula was such a poor sparrer. She used dirty tricks and always used more force than necessary. She didn't fight to practice, she fought to win, she fought to kill. I didn't know how he managed to put himself through that kind of torture every day.

"Ouch. That looked like it hurt Zuzu." Azula mocked as Zuko pushed himself up from off the ground. I could see the energy build up inside him, ready to hit her with all the rage and power he had in him. I knew Azula was ready for the retaliation, and the second he went for it she would slam him right back into the turf.

"Careful Azula, one day he might actually win." I shouted across the courtyard, breaking up the fight.

"Zuzu? Win? Wouldn't that be a sight." Azula laughed.

"You're up quite early Katara. Any reason you decided to grace us with your presence?" Azula smiled.

"I can't sleep in this heat." I wasn't ready to share my recent nightmares with anyone, especially Azula.

"What a shame, I think you're just going to have to get used to it." Azula shrugged. I glanced at Zuko who had pulled off his shirt and was prodding at a large scrape across his shoulder.

"Want me to take care of that?" I asked, reaching for my water pouch. Zuko glanced at me, and then at his sister.

"It's just a scrape, it'll heal." He was trying to be tough, it was admirable, but not going to work.

"Don't be ridiculous, it'll only take a few seconds." I grabbed his arm, he winced as I pulled him forward. It was only a flesh wound, and took hardly any time at all to heal. Once I was done he yanked his shirt back on.

"That's quite an impressive talent Katara. I never knew waterbenders were capable of such things."

"Well I'd imagine there's a lot of things you don't know about waterbenders." I was constantly being reminded of the Fire Nation's ignorance of other cultures and my anger from earlier was starting to bubble up.

"I suppose that's true. I guess I'll just have to put in more effort to learning about my future sister in law's culture." Azula smiled, almost as if she actually had any intention of following through, which I knew she didn't.

"Speaking of culture, are you planning on going to the festival with us Katara?"

"Festival?" It was the first I had heard of it.

"For the Summer Solstice? Surely you remembered what day it was?" I hadn't noticed, with the days and nights being more or less unchanging here, I figured there was no reason to pay attention to the solstices.

"I hadn't realized the Fire Nation celebrated the solstices."

"Just the summer, you must have noticed Zuko and my bending being stronger than normal?" I shrugged, it all looked the same to me.

"Well, there's a big street festival in celebration tonight. You should go, Zuko was planning on sulking in his room, this would probably be good for both of you." Zuko glared at his sister, even when Azula was nice she still managed to be mean. I looked to Zuko, seeing if he would backup his sister's idea.

"It's a peasant festival, we wouldn't fit in there." He shrugged, but I had a feeling that wasn't the reason.

"That's never stopped you before Zuzu, or did you forget all the times you and Mai snuck out to go see the festivities." Of course, it was about Mai, it was always about Mai. He looked at me pleading, he wanted me to say no, but I didn't feel like complying with him today.

"It would be nice to get out of the palace. I've barely seen any of Capitol City." I chimed in, noticing Zuko's face fall into a glare.

"Fine, we'll go. But if we get caught this was NOT my idea." Zuko stalked off, he was always so rude that way. Walking away when he didn't get his way.

"Has he always been like this?" I asked, as if I didn't know the answer.

"Pretty much." Azula shrugged. And signaled two guards to come over to us.

"Clean this up." She gestured to the mess of scorch marks and charred wood around us. I would never get used to treating the staff the way the royal family did. Even in the North, we gave our servants (oh how I hated that word) with respect and dignity. At the very least they could offer the occasional "please" and "thank you." But that wasn't the Fire Nation way.

I couldn't get over the nightmare from last night, or Zuko's temper, or Azula's general disregard for human life. Everyone here acted like they were the only real, living person in the world, as if everyone else was here just to give and satisfy what they wanted. They didn't care who it hurt. How could anyone be so selfish?

I pulled at the water, wrestled with it, but eventually I lost the battle and it came crashing down around me.

"Katara! What's gotten into you today?" Aang snapped, it frightened me, I had never heard him yell out of anger.

"I'm sorry, I've been distracted lately."

"A wandering mind can never have a focused body."

"I know. I'm sorry, I can focus." I got back into position and began to work through the set again. I would carry on as normal. Just like I did when she got sick. I didn't mean to think the thought, but once it entered my mind I couldn't remove it. The water splashed around me, but I couldn't hear it. The tears began to roll down my cheeks and I slid to my knees.

"I could have saved her." I couldn't stop the tears anymore. "I should have gone home. I could have healed her."

"Saved who Katara?" Aang kneeled in front of me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"My mother." I really was trying not to think about her. But I couldn't help it. This always happened this time of year. Every year I told myself that this was going to be the year I would be okay. But it never was.

"Would you like to talk about it?" I nodded, if there was anyone on this godforsaken island who would understand it was Aang.

"It was four years ago. When she got sick. She was sick for a long time. No one thought it would be serious at first, it's a common illness in the North, easily healed, but the South, we don't have healers." I was still sobbing, hardly able to get words out. "Arnook told me he would order a ship to take me home if I wanted. But I knew if I went home, I probably would never come back. It was right when I was starting to get a handle on my bending. So I stayed. And prayed that she was strong enough to fight it off herself. She wasn't" My shoulders began to shake and I wrapped my arms around myself as if I could somehow hold myself together.

"I could have saved her." But despite my efforts, I crumbled anyway.

"You can't blame yourself Katara, it was not your responsibility to save her." Aang placed another hand on my shoulder. The tears subsided and my shoulders calmed.

"You're right, if the Fire Nation hadn't killed off all the other waterbenders there would've been someone else to save her." I the anger that I felt earlier was back, I looked up at Aang, who was still calm as always. But I could see the pity in his eyes.

"How can you be here? How can you look at these people? They took everything from you, I couldn't even imagine. How can you look them in the eyes and not want to strike them dead on the spot?" And then Aang did something I didn't expect. He smiled.

"Because hatred only breeds more hatred. The only way we can ever rid the world of evil is by showing the evil another path. One of love and kindness. That is what I have tried to do for the Fire Nation."

"So just like that? You forgave them?" I knew airbenders were all into forgiveness and whatever, but I couldn't believe that Aang, or anyone, could just let something like that go.

"No, not completely, I have tried, but I will never forget what Sozin did to my people, or yours. But we cannot blame these people, our friends, for the sins of their ancestors." "Friends" seemed like a reaching word. From what I had seen, these weren't the kind of people I wanted to be friends with. Even Zuko, who I wanted to want so badly, was hard to stomach at times.

"But they're just as bad, they have no respect for human life that isn't their own."

"That's why they need us Katara. The royal family has a long way to go, but I think with a little bit of encouragement they will prove to be better than the generations before them. Besides I think you'll find that not everyone in the Fire Nation is like them."

Of course, I knew he was right. I wanted to ask him more. I knew how Aang had historically defeated Sozin and saved the world. Somehow, Aang had become friends with Azulon, and left the Fire Nation in his hands. I know he's the Avatar, and we trusted his hand, but I wonder if it was a mistake to leave the monarchy intact. Nevertheless, whatever friendship Aang and the Fire Lord had, it was clear that it had hardened and frozen over the years.

"But how long? How long do I have to suffer like this? They're insufferable, and you've been friends with Azulon for nearly a century and things seem to be getting worse not better."

"Azulon is not all bad. But our interests are very rarely aligned. I would like to tell you that we have been strong enough not to let our political disagreements come between us, but after so many years, there is a certain toll disagreement has on a friendship." Great, so even if Zuko and I did ever find a friendship, I'm sure years of contrasting morals and political values would eventually tear us apart anyway.

"So what do I do?"

"Prince Zuko has had tremendous pressure from his family to become a certain type of man. Show him that it is okay for him to be a different kind, one who is kind and compassionate. I have seen it in him, he just needs to be given permission to let it out."

Aang thought it best that we end our lesson for the day, to give me time to "calm my heart." I took the long way back to my room, through the garden. As I walked through I found an odd sight. General Iroh sitting in the grass with some sort of game board.

"Miss Katara, what a pleasure to see you."

"General, what are you doing alone in the garden?" Sitting on the grass by yourself, hardly appropriate for a member of the royal family, I added in my head.

"I was just working on my Pai Sho strategy. Have you ever played?" I'd played once before, the first time Sokka came to visit me in the North, but he had beaten me so quickly that I didn't find much fun in it.

"Once when I was younger, I don't recall being very good at it though."

"I have spent many hours perfecting my game, but I must admit, it is more fun to play with a partner."

"If you'd like I could play with you." Maybe it was because I didn't know him well enough, but from what I had seen Iroh was the kindest of the royal family, I hoped that spending time with him would remind me that not everyone here was as dreadful as the Fire Lord and his grandchildren.

"Well if you insist." Iroh grinned.

I sat down on the grass across from the General and he reset the board. The first time we played I had to have him re explain the rules to me and he beat me in a matter of minutes. The second time I took a little longer, but it was still a pathetically swift defeat.

"Do not just haphazardly make moves Katara, you must think about the decision before you make it. This is not a game of speed, but a game of strategy Katara." Iroh told me as I reached for one of my pieces. I withdrew my hand and looked at the board, examining Iroh's pieces for a weak spot. Finally, I made my move, Iroh smiled, and without hesitation, quickly captured my piece.

"And sometimes, even when we have thought our strategy out, we still fall short." He snickered. And I wasted no time capturing both the piece he had just moved and another in one short move.

"You're better than I gave you credit for, good job Katara." He brought his hand to his chin as he looked for his next move.

"Sometimes you have to make a sacrifice to win the bigger prize." It was the basis of waterbending, you must give something before you can take.

"Very good. But remember, there must be balance Katara, if you sacrifice something too big, you may not be able to recover." In the end, Iroh still won, but the game lasted for almost an hour.

"You fared well Katara, much better than Zuko has ever done at least." That was no surprise, Pai Sho didn't seem like the kind of thing Zuko had the patience for.

"Let me guess, he gets half way through and gets frustrated that he isn't winning?" Iroh let out a loud cackle.

"You must know him well Katara." I strained a smile, not well enough.

"How are things going with my nephew?" I hesitated, wondering how truthful I should be with him.

"Zuko can be ill tempered" an understatement, "But I have hope for him, afterall, he did bring the Avatar here to train me."

"My nephew has a lot to learn, but I think if he has someone like you by his side he will grow into a fine young man." Apparently, General Iroh and the Avatar were very like minded.

"I hope so. I never thanked you, by the way, for bringing Aang here. It has meant the world to me."

"My pleasure Katara, no one should be cut off from their bending, it is a part of who we are. Now, would you like to play one more round before dinner? I think this time you might actually be close to beating me." Iroh grinned, both of us knowing well that he would smoke me, and he did.

After dinner, I stood in front of my wardrobe looking for something appropriate to wear to a festival. I had a feeling that the silk and gold dresses would not go over well in a crowded street. Eventually, I pulled on my blue dress that I had worn during my training with Aang earlier. He had insisted that I trained in traditional Water Tribe attire, although I thought it hardly mattered what I was wearing, as long as I could bend in it.

I heard a knock on the door, Zuko, no doubt. I opened the door and he looked at me with a look of disappointment.

"You're wearing that?" He questioned. I examined his outfit, it was different from his normal militaristic outfit, and looked common enough, but the vibrancy of the red and the gold embellishments on the overcoat gave him away. One might not guess him to be the prince, but it would be clear that he was no peasant.

"Well I thought it would be better than a silk gown." Zuko rolled his eyes, as if I was the biggest idiot on the planet and I had half a mind to smack the condescension right of his face.

"You'll stick out like a sore thumb; the commoners will realize who we are right away. I had a feeling this would happen, here." He shoved a wadded-up pile of fabric at me.

"Is this a servant's gown?"

"If we're outed as royalty there could be a riot, especially if they realize who you are, not everyone is in favor of a prince marrying someone from the Water Tribes." I sighed, but took the dress from him, leaving him outside while I changed.

We snuck out the palace through the back door. The trick, according to Zuko was to avoid the guards, who would insist on escorting us throughout the night. Most of the palace had been given the night off to enjoy the festivities, so I used my waterbending to distract the lone guard watching the dock entrance. Once we were behind him we ran along the gate back to the front of the palace and out the gate.

Outside of palace walls we were almost immediately thrown into the festivities. Vendors from around the Fire Nation had set up booths, and the street was full of people from all around the country it seemed. Being around so many Fire Nation citizens was making me feel uneasy. Even with my disguised wardrobe, my skin was still that of a Water Tribe, and after Zuko's warning I did not like the idea of people recognizing me for who I truly was.

"Is it always this loud and crowded?" I yelled at Zuko, having to raise my voice for him to hear me.

"Are you kidding? It's usually worse!" He yelled back.

"Hot fire whiskey! Fresh off the pot!" The vendor next to us yelled, shoving a tray of small cups in our direction.

"Get your hot fire whiskey!" He yelled, his voice clashing with the many other voices all trying to be heard. I gave Zuko a questioning look and motioned towards the man.

"You wouldn't like it, it's very hot." I rolled my eyes, I didn't think I needed to be told that something labeled as 'hot fire whiskey' would actually be hot.

"Besides, I have a suspicion you're not the best at holding your liquor." He smirked, unaware of the challenge he had just created.

"Is that what you think, Zuko where I'm from we drink Seaweed Wine like water. I promise I can handle myself just fine." I turned to the vendor and raised my fingers.

"Two please." I smiled, and Zuko mumbled something as he handed over a few coins to the man.

"What?"

"I said, it's your funeral." He handed me the small tea cup, I could smell the heat wafting up off cup, but I was already determined.

"On three?" I said, raising my cup. One. Two. Tree. I gulped it down in one quick motion, and for a brief, relieving moment, I thought it would be okay. Then the burning began. It started in my stomach, raising up into my chest, my throat felt like it was being sliced into. The burning kept rising, turning my cheeks red and making my ears so hot that I couldn't feel them at all. I exhaled and a puff of smoke dispersed, followed by an unrelenting cough that I couldn't stop.

Zuko burst into a fit of hysterics as I tried to rid the burning feeling from my body. I could feel the tears rising out of my eyes but I would not let them win. Eventually the coughing subsided and I began to laugh.

"Don't you dare say it?"

"Say what?" Zuko broke in his laughter. "That I told you so?" He laughed, "You should see your face." His eyes got wide and he blew his cheeks up, mocking me, and then he blew out actual fire. I glared at him, which just caused him to laugh more.

When Zuko finally got a hold of himself we continued through the festival. I made us stop at many of the different stands and I got the impression that my enthusiasm for the festival was a foreign experience for Zuko.

"Look Zuko!" I pointed to a man who was juggling fireballs, but instead of being orange and red they were a whole rainbow of color.

"It's a simple trick, he has different type of powder on his hands that make the fire change color." It didn't stop my awe. The bender threw the fireballs up into the air and they exploded into a roar of flame, shooting upward into the sky. The small crowd around him erupted into applause.

My body was still warm from the fire whiskey, but the heat I felt now was more from the whiskey than it was from the fire. We stopped at almost every cart, most of them were selling food or liquor, but some had various trinkets. I made Zuko try most of the food alone, as most of it was too hot for me and I was still burning from the fire whiskey.

I spotted a small cart with a sign claiming to serve traditional Water Tribe cuisine. My heart fluttered and I turned to Zuko but realized he was no longer by my side.

I turned myself in a circle, looking for where he might have gone.

"Zuko?" I shouted but my voice was quickly lost. I turned around again and a wave of relief crashed over me when appeared in front of me.

"Spirits where'd you go?" I yelled, and he held up a bag of small white balls. He held it out to me.

"What are those?"

"It's fried dough, stuffed with jam and covered in sugar, try one." I gave him an unassured look, the last time I was offered something with jam, it turned out the jam was made from hot peppers.

"It's good Katara." He laughed at my uneasiness. I took one and slowly bit into it. But what I tasted wasn't spicy, it was sweet. I plucked another one from the bag.

"See I told you it was good!" He chuckled again.

"Zuko look, that stand is selling Water Tribe food." I pointed to the cart and pulled Zuko to it before he could protest.

It turned out that the word "traditional" was used more loosely than I would have hoped. It was clear that the owner of the stand had never eaten or even seen Water Tribe cuisine. The only thing worthwhile that he was selling was imported Sea Prune rum. Which he was serving in large glasses. I felt tempted to tell him that Sea Prune rum was used for cooking not for drinking. But I was so starved for a taste of home that I hardly cared.

Zuko gagged, "This is disgusting! You people drink this?" I laughed.

"No it's used for cooking fish mostly, I just didn't have the heart to tell him."

At some point during the night we found ourselves at a mask stand. We had seen many people walking around the festival with masks on and the streets were littered with various mask sellers.

"You have to get one, it's part of the celebration, right?"

"They're just all so tacky." Zuko frowned as he prodded at one of the masks.

"You're no fun!" I pouted.

"Fine, which one should I get." I looked through the many options, some were beautifully crafted with jewels and feathers, while others were depictions of large monsters. All of them were equally vibrant and fantastic.

"Here." I pulled out one and handed it to Zuko.

"So how do I look?" Zuko's voice was muffled through the mask. The mas was blue, with white embellishments. It was smiling, but the large tusks gave it a menacing aura. It was funny, seeing him with that ridiculous mask. It was like him, trying to seem scary and tough, but failing horribly.

"It suits you." I laughed, "What do you think of mine?" It was an eerie replica of a porcelain doll, like the ones that they sold in the earth nation, done up with white makeup and bright pink cheeks.

"Absolutely hideous, it's perfect."

We were almost to the heart of the festival, where a large circular stage was set up in the middle of the street. A set of performers were up on stage. They were dancing to a band that sat at the end of the stage, and while they danced, they bent fire around them, as if the fire was dancing with them.

"If you look up there, you can see the watch tower where the royal family is supposed to watch the festival." Zuko pointed to a large red tower on the corner of the street, it was up high enough to see the whole festival in one gaze. It was just like the royal family, even on days of celebration, to stay separated, raised above the rest of us as if they deserved better than their people. Even in the middle of the festival they were untouchable, watching the people, never with them.

But I didn't want to think about the royal family. I was drunk and surrounded with people and festivity. There was no room for those thoughts right now. So instead I swayed to the music and watched as the dancers hypnotized me with their bending. I watched as the crowd jumped and spun to the music. I grabbed Zuko's hand, pulling us further into the dancing. Zuko gave me a scared look.

"What, don't tell me that you don't know how to dance Prince Zuko?"

"Of course, I know how to dance, but this isn't exactly the kind of dancing that takes place at court." People clapped along with the drums and stomped the ground.

"You just have to feel the music." I told him, lucky that he was loose from the whiskey and the rum, making it easier for him to catch on. I remembered something my brother once told me "If you drink enough seaweed wine at dinner you'll always be the best dancer in the room." Of course, Sokka drunk was a sight to be seen for reasons other than his dancing.

We spun and twirled as the glow of the fire reflected off us. Zuko spun me into the crowded and when he pulled me back, he was behind me, his hand on my waist.

"Katara." His mouth was close to my ear and I was suddenly glad I was not facing him so that he could not see the blush that covered my face.

"There's something I need to-

A giant boom cracked throughout the sky, interrupting us, I jumped and looked to the sky. Another one, fire seemed to be exploding in the sky and raining down on us.

"Are those fireworks?" I yelled over the explosion.

"You've never seen them before?" I nodded no. We didn't keep much gunpowder on stockpile in the North Pole.

"They're amazing!"

After they ended the dancing continued but it's charm had worn off. I noticed that many of the vendors were beginning to close.

"Let's walk through the stands again before they're all taken down." We walked through and I convinced Zuko to buy more of the fried dough balls. Zuko told me about how when he was younger he would beg his mother to go to the festival all by himself, but it was always 'too dangerous' so one year, he told everyone that he was sick and would not be attending with the rest of the royal family, and then snuck out once they had all left. And that was how he began the tradition of sneaking out to the festival. I told him about the countless times I had snuck out of the Northern palace to watch the sky lights or to take boats out on the water. I didn't even notice when we made our way out of the festival and back to the palace.

"Arnook has always been overprotective of Yue and I, he, and all the North, view women as very… delicate." Zuko snorted.

"You are many things Katara, but you are not delicate."

"You know, now that I have Avatar Aang here to train me, we could always start sparring again, it might finally be a fair fight."

"With you and me? It'll never be a fair fight."

"What's that supposed to mean." My eyebrows furrowed.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." Zuko mumbled.

"I could beat you right here, right now if I wanted to." I reached at my side for my water pouch, remembering I didn't bring it with me. Zuko crossed his arms with a smugness that made me want to cringe.

"Well maybe not right here right now. But that doesn't mean I couldn't beat you."

"I know." Oh, I hadn't expected him to agree with me. We were in the palace now, walking through the halls. I started walking again but stopped when I realized Zuko was no longer behind me.

"Katara, where are you going?" I turned back, realizing Zuko was stopped in front of my room.

"I- uh, sorry I was distracted."

"Mhmm, I think maybe you've had a little too much to drink?" He laughed, but I scoffed.

"I've had just as much as you have, which granted, that prune rum was quite a lot, but it's not as if I can't handle myself." I opened the door to my room.

"Katara, thank you, for coming to the festival with me." My eyes softened, and I smiled.

"Thank you for taking me." Before I could stop myself, or even think about what I as doing, I reached up onto the tops of my toes, and kissed him.

I let go of his arm, trying not to notice the completely shocked look in his eyes.

"Good night Zuko." I slid myself into my room and closed the door before he could respond.

I still didn't know if I could forgive the Fire Nation, or the royal family. I remembered what Aang said, about making them better, and I knew I couldn't save them all. I didn't know if I could save Zuko, maybe it was too late for him, maybe it was too late for all of them. But if I was going to try, I had to let him in.

A/N: Hey, you. Yes you? Did you read this chapter? You did? Well then review it. That's an order. Not really, but please review.