A/N: Sorry I haven't written in FOREVER, but I have been SO busy with schoolwork. My English teacher is KILLING ME. LITERALLY. On top of that, I've had writer's block, and this chapter was somewhat difficult to write. So, I'm hoping that you guys will like it. Again, there isn't as much fluff as I would like, but I will put some in as soon as I do a couple more things to this story. In case you can't tell, this is probably around two hours after the previous chapter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Does it look like I own Avatar the Last Airbender? If I did, the finale would have turned out differently. VERY DIFFERENTLY. Now on with the story!

Katara looked over her shoulder. 'Is it just me, or has Zuko been gone for a really long time?' she asked herself.

She had sat herself down on a bench a few minutes after Zuko had went to talk with the Earth King, but it was beginning to get a dark out and Zuko still wasn't back yet.

She looked back down at her hands which were shaking ever so slightly. She shook her head slightly.

She shouldn't be worried. 'Everything probably went fine,' she told herself. However, she couldn't quite shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

There was the sound of a door closing in the distance and Katara let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I was starting to think he wasn't coming back to me!" she said to herself.

As she was walking, she realized that the person that came out of the palace wasn't Zuko. Much to her surprise, it was the Earth King.

'Where are you Zuko?' she thought to herself. She continued to walk towards King Kuei, who she could now see from where she was standing.

As Katara became closer and closer to the King, she notices that he seemed rather worn down and tired.

The King didn't appear to notice Katara coming toward him until they were only a few yards away from each other.

When he did notice her, he gave her a hesitant smile, and Katara smiled warmly back at him. "Katara," the Earth King said in order to greet her.

"It's good to see you again, King Kuei," Katara said warmly.

"It's nice to see you too," the King said. "But I have to ask you why you're still out here. Not that I mind, but I would have thought that you and the Fire Lord would have gone back to General Iroh's tea shop by now," the king said questioningly.

Katara gave the king a funny look that implied she had almost no idea what she was talking about.

The king returned the look promptly. "Did he not come out? We finished over an hour ago..." he trailed off.

Katara felt her face fall into another look of confusion. "No, he didn't come out. I was starting to get worried, but apparently there was nothing to worry about," Katara said.

The Earth King began to rub his hands together nervously. "Yeah... Nothing to worry about," the king whispered.

Katara reached out and put a hand on the King's arm. "Are you okay Kuei? You seem a little stressed," Katara said.

She smiled at the king, and the King's face suddenly turned sorrowful. Kuei put one of his hands over his face. "You're a sweet girl Katara," Kuei said almost nostalgically.

Katara's eyes widened. This type of behavior was very odd for Kuei. He was usually happier and more lively, but today he just seemed anxious.

The king opened his mouth as if to say more, but hen closed it quickly. He gave Katara a pat on he shoulder, and then appeared to change his mind about speaking again.

"I have to go now, but I wish you the best of luck until the next time I see you. Zuko and I met in the first conference room on your left when you first walk in. He might still be there. Have a nice day Katara," Kuei finished.

He bowed slightly before the water bending master before heading off to somewhere within Ba Sing Se.

Katara stood there dumbfounded. 'That was rather odd...' she thought to herself as she began to head where the Earth King had instructed.

She approached the doors and took in a nice, long breath before pushing them open.

She wandered down the hall for a minute or two before she came across the first conference room on the left wall of the corridor.

She knocked on the door three times. There was no answer. She knocked again, louder this time. Still no answer. She rolled her eyes and pushed the door open.

There, sitting in a chair, looking at the wall opposite him, was Zuko.

Katara felt a rush of emotions come to her all at once. First there was joy, then relief, then anger, then sadness.

Katara finally settled on exasperation before talking to him. "Would you like to explain yourself Zuko?" she asked him.

Zuko's eyes shifted toward her for a brief moment, and then turned back to the wall where they had been before.

"So you're just going to ignore me now? I waited for more than an hour out there waiting for you. I was worried sick! What if something had happened? I can't bear to lose anyone else because of this war! I know it's over, but there are consequences because of it, right?" she took a deep breath and calmed down a bit.
"You're my best friend Zuko. Please talk to me," Katara finished. She looked at Zuko again. He was still looking at the wall.

Katara sighed. "At least tell me what the meeting was about," Katara said.

This, at least, caused Zuko to flinch. 'Now we're getting somewhere,' Katara thought to herself.

"Was it really that bad?" Katara asked Zuko. Zuko shook his head back and forth. It seemed as though he was struggling for words.

Katara waited patiently for him to answer, and although it took a while, he did answer.

"Yes Katara. It was that bad," he looked up at her with a deep pain etched in his golden eyes.

"And it's entirely my fault," he uttered just beneath a whisper.

Katara rolled her eyes. "Zuko, whatever this is wasn't your fault. Nothing has ever really been your fault, for that matter..." Katara trailed off.

"Well this time it was my fault. When I first took on the duties of fire lord, I should have made the prisons more secure. Azula escaped," Zuko said slowly.

Katara let out a small giggle, and Zuko shot her a patronizing look. "What's the worst she can do Zuko? Aang took her bending away! You saw it happen! It's not like she would go around killing people just because...of..." Katara trailed off again when she saw Zuko's face.

She had never seen anyone's face look so grave. "Katara," Zuko started, "I don't want to be the one to tell you this, but you need to know. Shortly after Azula escaped, there was an assasination attempt on one of the delegates," Zuko continued.

Katara gasped. She couldn't believe that there was so much trouble already now that he war ended. "Was it someone we know Zuko?" Katara asked in a shaking voice.

Zuko looked into her eyes again. "Yes Katara. We believe that it was Azula who attempted to assassinate the water tribe chief," Zuko paused to take in Katara's reaction. "Azula tried to murder your father," he said even more quietly.

Katara felt her knees begin to shake uncontrollably. She felt her body hit the floor as her vision became hazy. Then, everything went black as she drifted to unconsciousness.