Disclaimer- I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender

makeshiftlinebreakmakeshiftlinebreakmakeshiftlinebreakmakeshiftlinebreakmakeshiftlinebreak

Chapter 10- Dancing on Water

"Rise and shine, me dear! Court etiquette lessons begin today!" the old man shouted through the closed door.

Katara rolled over in her bed and hid her face in her pillow.

"I don't wanna," came the muffled reply.

"And I'm sure your brother and friend don't want to be on my niece's ship," Iroh shouted through the door.

"…I'll be out in ten minutes."

makeshiftlinebreakmakeshiftlinebreakmakeshiftlinebreakmakeshiftlinebreakmakeshiftlinebreak

"Prince Zuko! Wake up right now! Get out of bed!"

"No. Leave me alone," the prince grumbled.

"Don't we all rise with the sun?" his uncle asked sagely.

"Let's don't and say we did."

"The sooner you wake up, the sooner we can put your plan into action and capture the Avatar."

"…I'll be out in ten minutes."

makeshiftlinebreakmakeshiftlinebreakmakeshiftlinebreakmakeshiftlinebreakmakeshiftlinebreak

"I just fell back asleep and he comes and wakes me up," grumbled the young ruler-to-be as he rolled out of bed, deciding today wasn't a day that would require armor. Instead he donned his tight collared shirt and reddish-brown robe, clasped mid chest, along with a pair of loose pants of the same color. "I wonder how uncle will make me help today," he thought idly and headed out to the deck.

"Silly old man. But it's not his fault. He didn't know I didn't sleep well last night…" she mumbled to herself as she picked out an outfit for the day. Wow… what a selection… blue or green? Katara rolled her eyes. At least I have clothes. Green would do today. She wore the blue dress yesterday and could clean it today.

She took her time in dressing and washing her face in the small washbasin she requested from the first servant that walked by. Katara was struck by the sudden thought that she would be late. She was taught to always be on time if she could help it. She grabbed the sash she had yet to don and hurried from the room, trying to tie it all the way.

The young waterbender, not looking where she was going, ran out of her room and right into one of the ship's residents. She gasped as she tripped and was even more surprised when she didn't fall. Katara righted herself and turned to thank and apologize as the arms around her waist released her. And Katara gaped.

"Shall we?" Prince Zuko asked with a slight smile as he gestured towards the stairway to the deck. The fourteen-year-old could only nod, stunned. Zuko followed behind her down the hall and up the stairs.

"Ah, wonderful! You two are right on time! We will be having breakfast in the fresh ocean air today," he said happily as he sat at the table set up on deck. "Now, first things first. Zuko will be your escort to breakfast. We will start with etiquette at the table. Zuko, you remember this right?"

"Yes, uncle," he sighed and extended an arm to Katara. "Take my arm and follow me," Zuko murmured to her. They crossed to the small table, arm in arm, like a perfect lady and gentleman. Zuko pulled out her chair for her and pushed it in when she sat, as was expected of him when in court with the other lords and ladies.

"Now, let's dig in!" Iroh exclaimed. Katara shrugged. She had expected an immediate lesson in table manners, but they were the experts, so she just followed their lead. Her mother had drilled manners into her young mind for as long as she could remember. Katara just did what came natural.

After the meal, Iroh announced that they wouldn't be working on dining etiquette at all.

"Why not?" the adolescents blurted out. Katara was sure she was doing something wrong, and Zuko, being raised by a cruel dictator, never noticed how full of himself he was and automatically assumed those of lower social standings were rude and ill-mannered.

"No need. She has been taught well. So," he continued, "we shall move on to… dancing!" Both teenagers paled as Iroh began calling the men. "Come on now, Jee, bring that pipa! Who's going to play the sungi horn? It's going to take two of you to carry that konghou! We'll need a couple of you to play the xiao, and the same goes for the dizi!"

"Dancing? I have to learn how to dance? I knew I would have to dance at the ball, but I thought I was just going to- oh, I don't know! I should have expected this," Katara murmured.

"I had to learn when I was about seven. I was no good. I kept stepping on my partner's feet and falling over. Azula, being so advanced in her firebending, was my dance as soon as she was old enough to learn. She would try to trip me or fall and blame me. She still learned to dance faster than I could," Zuko whispered back.

"Well? Are we going to dance or what?" Iroh asked impatiently when the band was all set up. Zuko and Katara rose from the table and, again arm in arm, moved to the center of the dance floor. "We will begin with a simple waltz. Prince Zuko will lead. You just follow him, Katara."

"O-okay," she stuttered.

Iroh began tuning his orchestra while Zuko took Katara's hands, placing the left on his shoulder and the right in his own hand while he snaked his other arm around her petite waist.

"Uncle, am I the only one who could teach her this? Surely one of the other men knows how to dance," the prince protested.

"Stop complaining. You will teach her."

"But-" he tried.

"No. You will teach her." The old man's voice became stern.

"Yes, uncle," he mumbled grudgingly.

Iroh turned back to the band and began to conduct. Zuko led Katara in a simple three-step waltz. Katara learned the steps quickly and soon they were spinning around the "dance floor" and twirling about each other. They practiced the dance in several different tempos until Katara was sure she knew the steps by heart.

They stopped around noon. Iroh could see both dancers were tired, although they were both to stubborn to admit it. And Iroh was sure this would not be the last time their stubbornness would rear its ugly head.

makeshiftlinebreakmakeshiftlinebreakmakeshiftlinebreakmakeshiftlinebreakmakeshiftlinebreak

Over the course of three weeks, they worked on several different and increasingly more difficult dances, as well as a variety of other courtly gestures, such as how to address the fire lord and other lords and ladies. Katara learned fast. Soon, the steps became second nature to her and she knew the name of every court royal in the palace.

"Today, we will move onto a more complex, traditional fire nation dance, the Tanzen Flame. It's tradition for the young couples to dance it for the entertainment of their elders, so you will need to know it," Iroh explained.

Then Zuko spoke up.

"Uncle. Can we take a break? The girl is obviously tired. And it's too soon for such and advanced dance."

"We have only a limited amount of time. We need to start now-"

"Now wait just one minute!" she interrupted. Katara looked enraged. "You think I couldn't learn this dance just because I haven't been dancing as long as you have? And I suppose you aren't tired either?"

"No, of course I'm not tired. Why should I be? I learned endurance long ago and there won't be time enough for you to learn it for one simple dance," he answered with an air of superiority.

"Really? Well, I'm not tired either. I could keep dancing for hours," she boasted and did a little pirouette for effect.

"Is that so? Fine. Uncle, start the music, but we'll just start out slow. I'll show you to dance the Tanzen Flame, but be warned," he whispered into her ear, "it's a dance between lovers, and only the best and the fastest dancers can stay on the dance floor. Can you keep up?"

"You just watch me," she hissed defiantly.

The makeshift band started up in a medium paced tune and the prince pulled her closer and led her in a large, whirling circle around the deck. She spun out and back into his arms before ever realizing she left, was lifted into the air and dropped lightly back on her toes quick as a wink, and twirled under her partner's arm. He crossed her arms in front of her, his body pressed tightly to hers behind her, before spinning her back to face him.

The dance was seductive and beautiful and felt as advanced as Prince Zuko had described it. Katara knew she must look clumsy, being pulled around and dragged by her arms out about the dance floor by a master such as the one before her.

He must be a master to move so fluidly. So much like water… how curious…

As the music steadily grew faster, Katara slowly began getting the hang of the steps. When the prince grabbed her left hand and spun her out, instead of flailing wildly with her right hand, trying to stay balanced, she flowed into his movements, spinning perfectly back into his muscular embrace. When he picked her up and twirled under her, she stayed still, determined not to show she feared he would drop her, even though in the back of her mind she knew he would never let that happen.

They would have kept dancing for hours more, but Iroh knew the band was beginning to tire. Their notes were starting to slur and slow. The wind instruments were out of breath and the string players' fingers were sore. Iroh knew that needed a break. He stopped the music.

"Uncle? What's going on?" the prince demanded.

"The men are tired. And my arms are sore from all this conducting. Let me get some tea from the kitchen and we'll all take a break." The old man hurried off to the kitchen, returning moments later with a steaming pot and three cups on a silver platter. Setting the tray on the table where earlier that day breakfast was eaten, he quickly poured the tea and beckoned the young people over.

After tasting the tea, Katara asked what type of tea it was today.

"Oh, it's ginseng, my favorite!" he replied exuberantly.

"Really? It's tastes… sweeter than usual."

"Yes, uncle. What did you add?"

"Oh, nothing. Just a little sugar," he answered with an oddly sly smile.

Zuko noticed his uncle still hadn't had any tea, only raised the cup to his lips and then put it down again to talk. He thought nothing of it for the moment. Hearing a thump at his side he turned to see Katara unconscious on the ground. Before he could scrutinize the sleeping girl, his own head began to spin and before he could take much more than a step toward her, he fell to his knees. His arms felt so heavy and he was suddenly so tired. Trying to focus long enough to make a complete sentence, he turned his head towards his uncle.

"I really hate you right now."

"I know." The man seemed cheerful. "But you'll thank me later."

Zuko let go of his straining hold on his consciousness and slumped forward into a dreamless sleep.

"Silly children. Don't know when to stop. They must be exhausted," Iroh muttered to himself. Calling a few men to him, he ordered them to take the sleeping teenagers to their quarters. "I'm glad I picked up that sleeping draught in Cidade da Terra."

makeshiftlinebreakmakeshiftlinebreakmakeshiftlinebreakmakeshiftlinebreakmakeshiftlinebreak

Ooooo! "Muscular embrace!" Lucky Katara! -faints!- I'm just a big ball of fluff today!

Sorry about my line break. Stupid button isn't working and I wanted to update! I'll fix it later...

Tanzen is actually dance in German. Pinky, my dear friend, and I were having a conversation on AIM and I was using an online translator and translating "dance" into a bunch of different languages and telling them to her. I spat out "tanzen; German" and she was just adding flame or fire to the end and then we would giggle at what we got, but when she said, "flame tanzen," I almost broke the keyboard I couldn't type fast enough! Tanzen Flame just sounds so cool.

I hope everybody was IC. I think Katara is getting over her injury, cuz now she's getting back into her defiant nature. Yay defiance! Although Zuko is getting softer. Too soon? And I'm pretty sure Zuko is definitely crushing. Now I have to work on Katara…

I actually researched some of the things in my story. All those instruments are real, except for the sungi horn. That's an Avatar universe special. I feel silly. Although wikipedia is a lovely site. It's an online encyclopedia. Very helpful. And it has some crazy cool facts about Avatar!