Chapter Five: Kanu

The powerful, blinding midday sun is making Kanu feel dizzy.

After all, he is not used to such heat – he grew up in the Northern Water Tribe, and has only left its capitol a handful times.

The crowd almost suffocates him, too – seemingly the whole Fire Nation is out on the plaza, waiting for the great double doors of the temple open and the newly wedded Fire Lord and Lady Katara to emerge. He hears excited murmurs from everywhere; the whole crowd vibrates in waiting as one.

He doesn't know what is he doing here – he detests all of them; this whole ordeal – the wedding, the ceremony, the fireworks. But he detests the Fire Lord the most. He doesn't care about his reforms, about the decrease of the army, about this new era… in Kanu's eyes, the Fire Lord still remains a filth on his shoes.

He can't comprehend what Katara, that sweet, darling girl sees in him.

He has known her for more than three years – they studied under Master Pakku for a short period of time, when she was fourteen and he was nineteen. It was the last year of his studies (and yet, though he won't admit it to anyone, she pummeled him on several occasions), and he even had a little crush on her during that time.

…Okay, so a little crush is a tiny bit of an understatement. For a time, he was crazy for her. He has even played with the thought of marrying her – for quite some time he considered – no, wanted – to ask for her hand from her father when she turned sixteen; he has even craved an engagement necklace for her. But then this Fire Nation mongrel had to come, and snatch her away from him (not that she was ever his, but a man can dream).

But he even went to battle for her, damn it! He still has to scars to prove it – scars he has gotten from her Katara's dear husband.

It was during the great siege of the North; he was supposed to guard the walls, keep the enemy out, but he wanted to show his bravery – alright, he was a fool, wanting to achieve more than he was meant to. He ran foolishly into the midst of the battle, thinking about how heroic Katara would find his actions later.

The thing he didn't count on was running into the prince; in the end the battle turned out to last five minutes for him. Four minutes of which he was looking for an opponent and one the actual duel with the Fire Prince – and then he spent the next two weeks in the infirmary, mostly in feverish haze. Zuko caught him on his left shoulder, burning the skin completely away, and, with a well-aimed kick, breaking two of his ribs (and no, he won't admit his superiority when it comes fighting. The Fire Nation mongrel only had luck. If they were to fight again, Kanu would most definitely defeat him). And even thought he was treated by expert Water Tribe healers, his shoulder hasn't been the same anymore.

And by the time he was back on his feet, Katara had already left the North Pole – so, in the end, he accomplished nothing of his wooing.

Not that it stopped him from pursuing her – as already having been noted, he went to the South Pole for her sixteenth birthday, intending to ask for her hand. Of course, he arrived late – when he got there, the golden pedant hanging from a red silk ribbon was already resting against her collarbone.

…But, thinking about it now, he doubts that she would have married him anyway.

A sudden uproar pulls him out of his thoughts – the doors of the temple are finally opening, and a minute later there they are: one tall figure in royal red, and one shorter, more fragile one, dressed in silks of the mix of red, gold and light blue.

So it has happened – the ceremony has ended. Katara is a wife now.

The people around him start clapping and cheering; some has even set off a few fireworks on the other side of the plaza, and their deafening noise annoys him greately.

It is making him sick.

Kanu sees her letting go of his husband's arm, taking a tentative step forward. He reckons that she is supposed to give a speech, at least he thinks that because the crowd suddenly goes silent; even the buzzing a fly-wasp could be heard. But she says nothing – maybe she is intimidated by the crowd, he thinks. Maybe she is so touched by its size that she has forgotten her speech. Maybe she is on the verge of tears, because she has been forced into a marriage she didn't want.

Kanu hopes it's the latter.

Finally she takes another step forward, puts her hands together, and bows to the direction of the people – her people.

For a moment everybody – even Kanu – is so taken aback by her actions, that they do nothing. Her gesture is so unheard of, so foreign, so… generous. Then slowly, starting from the first line, everybody starts returning her bow.

Kanu feels like he is to only one in the thousands surrounding him who stays upright.

He is standing too far back to see the faces of the newly united ruling couple, but he swears that the Fire Lord beams in his pride of her. Maybe in his love for her, too, but Kanu doesn't want to think about that.

Then everybody is standing with straight backs again, and Katara is kneeling down – it's time to crown her, to make her the rightful Fire Lady, in front of her subjects – just like it is in custom in the case of the Fire Lord.

It's not the same sage's responsibility to crown the Fire Lady as it is to marry her and the Fire Lord, Kanu knows that much. He also knows – sees, thinks – that there's something wrong with this one.

He, this unsympathetic man in the great red robes and hat, takes the crown of the Fire Lady from the velvet pillow held out to him, takes one, two unsure steps towards the kneeling Katara, but then hesitates – he rises to crown, but then lets his hands fall back. The moment drags out to an eternity.

"Yes!" Someone shouts from behind Kanu; he turns back, but he can't see the shouter. "Don't let the Water Tribe bitch on our throne!"

Kanu's blood boils – how dares he, this, this… Fire Nation filth saying things like that about such a remarkable Water Tribe woman? He almost runs to that mongrel, to break his neck, but some get to him before he could. He can't see them, but knows from the voices what is happening: three or more men are on the disturber, hitting him – he grunts painfully – and trying to drag him out of the crowd, maybe to give him over to the royal guards.

But the fire has already been lit: more shouts rise from the crowd in mere seconds, half of them demanding the marriage to be annulled; demanding Katara to go back to the South Pole. The other half wanting to take the disturbers' heads, the hesitating sage's head, demanding to ceremony to go on, demanding Katara to be crowned.

"Enough!" someone bellows in a clear voice, ending the starting riot. "Enough!" Kanu turns his gaze to where he hears the order coming from – to the steps of the temple; only then he realizes that it's the Fire Lord who has spoken.

Suddenly everything goes silent again.

"This is… This is insanity!" The Fire Lord is visibly shaking with rage. Kanu sees that he wants to say more; wants to scold his whole nation for behaving this way; wants to throw into prison the ones who were shouting only a minute ago; wants to kill the one who called Katara a bitch.

But he says nothing more. But it is okay – his silence tells everything.

He steps forward from his place of a mere spectator of the ceremony, goes straight to the sage who started the whole riot, snatches the crown from his hand, almost knocking him over, stands behind Katara, who has been kneeling there almost motionlessly for the last few minutes, and holds the golden crown above her head.

He slowly lowers it, placing it into Katara's hair – and Kanu only then realizes that this man, this man he despises so much, has just defended the honor of Kanu's people and declared his love for Katara. Maybe this man is not as bad as he has thought; maybe he is worthy of Katara.

Fire Lord Zuko steps beside Katara – Fire Lady Katara, Kanu corrects himself – and helps her stand, linking her arm with his.

"All hail to Fire Lady Katara!" He shouts, and everybody in the crowd, without exception, kneels in front of them, showing their respect.

This time Kanu kneels with them.