Kata
The ice was so cold…
Although Katara sat upon a fur covered chair and had lived in the arctic most of her life, she couldn't stop shivering. She wanted to feel the warm hands of her father around her, or to bury herself in Appa's fur or just bask in the warmth of the sun. The waterbender wanted to be anywhere but the Northern City at the full Sturgeon Moon.
Her melancholy thoughts were interrupted as she heard the door open. She closed her eyes to swallow any tears that may have developed. One can only cry 'tears of joy' so many times. Perhaps it was Yagoda fetching her for the ceremony. It wasn't quite midday, but who knew what tiny traditional rituals she would need to go through?
When she heard no one beckoning to her, she turned around to face the door. Standing nearly six feet tall was a man she had never seen before. He was wearing red and seemed to be shivering slightly. He had black hair about the same length as her brother's, but it was pulled into a top knot with a golden crown. His face was very handsome, but she had seen a similar scar on only one other person…
"Zuko?!" she cried in wonderment and amazement as she bounded out of her chair and leapt forward to give him a giant hug. She noticed it was harder to get her arms around him that it was when she hugged Aang, but nuzzled into his fire cloak nonetheless.
The Fire Lord was stunned, to understate matters. He had walked into the room expecting a young, fiery girl in a long simple braid wearing the trademark blue parka that was so common among her people. After a moment of the foreign contact, he rested his unsure arms around her shoulders.
Katara smiled as his arms warmed her. She had lost most of her hope that he would come. Nightmares of his refusal, poor timing, or disinterest had haunted her for a week after she sent the letter. It wasn't until she had resigned herself to the belief that he would not come did those dreams stop…and worse ones began. She couldn't bring herself to stop smiling as she pulled away from the spontaneous hug and looked at him.
"You've grown so much," she said, admiring his straight nose and strong chin. But then again, Zuko had always had strong features, and she felt a bit foolish that she had not recognized him at once.
"You have not stayed the same either, Master Katara," Iroh said cheerfully, peeking out from behind his nephew in the doorway.
"Uncle Iroh!" the woman exclaimed childishly. Zuko swiftly stepped aside as she ran to give the Dragon a hug. She had always called him 'Uncle,' probably a habit that she picked up from the admiring stories Zuko would tell around the fire. As Iroh began to make pleasantries with her, Zuko was able to look at the new waterbender. The only similarity between the Katara in his mind and the Katara that was currently hugging his uncle was the color blue. Long gone was the young girl; replaced by a strong, graceful woman. The waterbender's eyes were powdered to enhance her enchanting eyes and he had never before noticed her full lips. Her modest braid was dolled up to cascade around her face like frozen waves and the curls flowed as she moved. She was nearly the height of the Dragon; he hadn't noticed that she came all the way up to his chin.
"I-I can't believe you actually came," she said, stepping back to look at both of them.
"So you've lost trust in us?" the Fire Lord said callously, insulted by her lack of faith.
"No, of course not," she said, shaking her head, causing the curls in her hair to flow distractingly. She folded her hands and looked down towards her feet. "I've been a horrible friend. There is no excuse or reason that justifies my actions, or inactions. I should have written to you when I knew Aang would be here, or I should have sent messengers along with the ambassadors. I was just so caught up in my own life and struggles…"
It was then that the two firebenders took note of the dress that the apologizing waterbender wore. A fabric similar to silk flowed up from the floor to meet at her shoulders, which led to sleeves of gauze. It was not nearly the skin that she had shown on the islands, but a drastic difference from the fur lined warrior coat.
"I didn't want to bother you," she finished, looking ashamed.
"Bother me?" Zuko asked, wondering how she thought she could bother him.
"Of course," she said, looking at him in almost wonder. "You're the Fire Lord. You have an entire nation to run and a world to keep peacefully together alongside my brother, Aang, and the Earth Kingdom. It would just be conceited for me to think that you would take time to read a stupid letter from a childish overacting girl." Her face had turned darker with her blush and she refused to look at either of them.
Zuko snorted. "Well that's stupid," he said and crossed his arms. He did not see his uncle smile knowingly. He noticed the waterbender's eyes flash with anger, but that was quickly doused with fear as a knock came to the door. When Iroh walked toward the door to get it she bounded in front of him and made stopping motions.
"Just a moment," she said loudly to the person on the other side of the door. She looked around frantically and saw the wardrobe. It was a magnificent piece of work with seals and penguins and deer carved into the front of it, but more importantly, it was large. Large enough to fit two firebenders. She opened the heavy door, pushed the clothes to one side and ushered in Iroh, and nearly pushed Zuko in after him. She gently closed the doors, careful not to make a sound encasing the two visitors in darkness.
Although unorthodox, the Fire Lord and the Dragon had already surmised that their presence was not exactly meant to be public. At first, Zuko was unhappy about being shoved in a closet with his uncle, whom he recently realized did not get a chance to bathe this week, but the close proximity with another body, and all of the fur coats began to unthaw his frozen bones. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath so that he could better listen to the outside.
He heard the rustling of her dress as she hurried across the room and then a pause of sound before she opened the door. Zuko could nearly see her gently adjusting her now curly hair in her haste. After the door had been opened, he heard much more solid steps into the room. The heavy steps nearly circumvented the entire room before they stopped. A harsh voice coughed and Zuko wondered if the person was having a staring match with Katara.
He noticed his uncle had stopped rustling, but was softly and carefully tracing something on his arm. When Zuko realized his uncle was writing something, he tried to imagine his arm as paper and could tell that Iroh was making characters, but couldn't string them together. Frustrated, the Fire Lord produced a small flame, like a candle in the middle of his palm so that he could see what his uncle was trying to say.
The candle flame played interestingly upon the face of the Dragon, highlighting lines in his face that Zuko hadn't noticed before. Iroh's deep golden eyes were wide and serious and he was trying to mouth a word.
It wasn't an entire sentence, just a single word. It began with an 'ah' sound, that much the Fire Lord could pick up on. Then it ended with an 'oo'. After a few moments of not getting much past the vowels, Zuko of course grew impatient.
He gritted his teeth and mouthed 'what are you talking about?' Although his uncle was a great advisor and master firebender, and questionably talented musician, he was not a lip reader. So when his face grew puzzled, Zuko became even more frustrated. Iroh understood the angered look in his nephew's eyes and decided to take a different approach.
He grabbed a tendril from his nephew's flame and began to write letters in the dark air with the fire. Zuko could finally make out what his uncle was trying to say. He relinquished the fire and let his hand drop.
P…it was nice and easy to see in the dark wardrobe. A…it was getting harder to see it through the smoke. He couldn't make out the next letter because of smoke and the other flame. Zuko furrowed his brow as did his uncle. He sniffed the smoky air, and realized that although he had extinguished his flame and his uncle had stopped writing, fire was very much present in the small wardrobe.
He imagined his eyes went as wide as his uncle's when they realized that one of the fluffier furs had been inadvertently set aflame in the middle of Zuko's frustrations. Both master firebenders panicked, and began to pat the fur coat rapidly in an attempt to quell the fire.
--outside the wardrobe--
When Katara opened the door, she paled. It caused her made-up cheeks to look rosier and her blue eyes widened. She stepped aside so the intimidating visitor could step in and she bowed her head slightly. The tall man walked in with no regard and barely acknowledged the woman in the room. He slowly walked around the room, inspecting everything. She held her breath as he passed the wardrobe, but beyond the sneer that was permanently a part of his expression, he gave it no other thought. He wandered with his hands behind a straight back and finally paused at the fur covered chair she had been sitting.
"You look passable," he said simply, finally looking at the other waterbender.
Katara bowed her head. "Thank you Master Pakku," she said reverently, "that means much coming from you."
His sneer turned into a small smile. "I came here to make sure that you were presentable to the court. You are no longer a child able to run and play as you wish. From this day forward, you will represent the royalty of the Water Nation, and your actions reflect not only on your master but on your entire people."
"Yes Master Pakku," the young woman said, not quite meeting his eyes.
"I am happy to see that you have gained the wisdom of a woman and thrown away that foolish fire of youth." She gritted her teeth, but said nothing. Pakku had never warmed up to the idea of her being a warrior, especially when the war turned to peace time. He did not let her join or instruct classes and scolded her harshly when he found her practicing. The elder master had taken up the unusual hobby of following her within the palace walls to make sure she did not make a 'negative' or 'wrongful' impression on any visiting diplomats, or even more importantly, young female waterbenders.
Pakku was pleased that she did not retort with her usual hot-headed response. Since she was going to become the Chief's bride, she had to learn her place in the royal family as a woman. Although she was a renowned war hero, that was a simple necessity in a desperate time. He approached the quiet woman. "I see you still wear Kanna's necklace," he noted quietly, reaching out to touch it.
She looked up into his light cold eyes. "I never take it off," she nearly murmured.
His eyes softened with kindness, "That will change after today."
Katara stepped back from him, grabbing the necklace herself, horrified. "Wh-what?!"
"It is an engagement necklace. After today, you are no longer engaged and you cannot wear it anymore. It will be your job to keep it safe until your daughter is old enough to become betrothed as well."
His soothing words did nothing to ease the horrified expression from her face. "I will make you another," he said. "More beautiful and appropriate for a wife and mother."
"I don't need another," she said sternly, grasping the necklace even tighter.
He frowned and stepped towards her menacingly. "Then I will-"
Katara had dropped into a stance, ready to defend herself, but they had both stopped moving when they heard rustling from her wardrobe. She looked on fearfully as he looked on suspiciously.
He straightened again, having regained his lost composure. "And what, pray tell was that?" he asked darkly approaching the wardrobe.
Katara began to sweat. If the two men were found out in her wardrobe, there would not only be a scandal but an international crisis. "It's nothing, nothing!" she exclaimed, watching the dangerous man approach her execution.
"Really?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, reaching his hand out towards the handle.
"Fine!" she yelled, and saw his hand stop. "It's-it's-they're-"
She stopped, horrified and clapped her hands over her mouth as his frown grew.
"They're-they're-a couple of…of…leopard-seals…" she said quietly.
After a moment of him observing her bashful face, "Why?"
"I was missing the Southern Tribe," she said, thinking wildly. "There aren't any leopard-seals in the Northern water. I had one of Sokka's tribesmen bring me a pair of cub-pups when he arrived a week ago."
Pakku's face changed from incredulous to almost repulsed as he backed away from the wardrobe. "There is no reason those disgusting things should be in your room. You will remove them at once and place them in a pool, inside the palace if you must."
She sighed and bowed her head once more. "Thank you Master Pakku."
He nodded, his normal chilling self and left the room. She leaned against the door and put a hand over her face. Her anger began to grow as she walked towards the place of trouble. When she opened the doors forcefully she saw a guilty looking Dragon and an indifferent Fire Lord. They both blinked a few times at the bright light of the room, and she could see Iroh take in a deep breath. She also saw that the sleeve on her favorite winter parka had been badly singed. She took in a breath herself and walked away from the open closet.
She sat in front of the vanity and began placing small sapphires on her head. Zuko watched as the silver-lined gems accented her dark brown hair and was surprised that she had not unleashed her scalding rage upon his uncle and himself. "The ceremony is being held in the oasis. Go to the ceremony and wait for me there. Be sure to stay for the reception, there are going to be wonderful foods from all over the Northern and Southern tribes. Late in the evening, as everyone else is leaving, return to your ship and leave."
The two firebenders stared at the woman who was adjusting her dress. Lost was the happy girl that had greeted them, and in her place was a dejected woman giving sad orders with a shaky tone. The Fire Lord was unexpectedly hurt at her dismissal. He had hoped that this dire letter sent to him in such secrecy was more than an invitation, but he began to realize that she had just been playing the dangerous part that she had missed.
Katara stood from the mirror, glittering and tall. She gave a bow to the men and began to escort them out. As she touched Zuko's arm she noticed that it lacked the familiar heat he normally had. "Zuko…" she whispered.
"Hmm," he said, nearly glaring down at her.
She motioned for him to wait just a moment and stepped out of the room. A few minutes later she returned with a large red bundle. When she shook it open he saw that it was lined with light brown fur throughout the entire robe. She smiled wide and asked, "Are you cold?"
He stared at her, not knowing the proper procedure for such an attitude change. She walked around him and flung it over his shoulders. Although a little large, it immediately began to keep in the heat of his body and he began to feel the Northern ice relinquish his body. She began to button up the warm overcoat, making the heat travel to his face.
"I had this made when I sent the letter. I didn't know how much you had grown, but Sokka said that you were a little taller than him. I hope you like the color; it is hard to find red in the markets here."
Zuko continued to stare at the smiling woman. Once she finished the last clasp near his burning neck, she gave him a full look-over to make sure that the sleeves were wide enough and the length was enough to cover his feet. When she seemed satisfied, she put her hands on her hips and said, "Well, it's time to get going."
She opened the door and peeked out down the hall. When the coast was clear she motioned for them to leave. "Remember," she said quietly, "wait for me, and then leave. It is important to wait."
The Fire Lord was puzzled by this quizzical statement, but said nothing as he enjoyed the warmth of his cloak and ignored his grinning uncle. They walked down the icy way in search of the battleground-turned-ceremony at the heart of the palace.
As the waterbender closed the door, she let out a huge sigh, followed by an unexpected giggle. She walked over to the mirror once more and picked up a bag stowed under the table on the way. As she looked at herself, she was relieved to notice the determined river-eyes looking back at her. She nodded to the woman and said, "It's time."