Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, its characters, designs etc. Those are © Mike and Bryan, and Nickelodeon. Raihyou and other original characters are © me, Lady Asvin.
When Katara came to, she noticed that she was dressed – albeit skimpily – in what seemed to be a white pillowcase, and that there was a bowl of some mushy-looking substance placed before her to where she could eat out of it sans the help of her hands. Half of her was insulted and humiliated by the treatment; that lasted mere seconds until the practical half of her brain took over and decided that she should eat while she had the opportunity. She was in a strange place, after all – she had no idea as to when she'd be fed again. She ate slowly and with great effort, all the while mulling through her situation, trying to find a possible way out of it.
There were several things she could put in the category of things she knew. For one, she was now property of General Chen Shu Yin, and therefore ostensibly in a Fire Nation Colony. The man had mentioned a swamp, so there would be water nearby – and perhaps friendly swamp people, leading her to believe that there was a small chance of her finding another waterbender. She seemed to belong to a collection of girls owned by this man, or married to him, or some hybrid of the two, and she was the only non-Fire Nation of them.
In the category of things she did not know resided questions. Why had she been branded and brought to this place? The Qi Shi Qi Gai explanation was a flimsy one. What was her purpose here? Had Zuko survived the raid in which she had been captured? Was he on his way to help her now, or would he have turned back to the Fire Nation to wait it out? The questions began to whirl around and around inside her head; firmly, she turned her attention to her surroundings. Clearly, she could not make any assumptions or plans until she had observed more of her environment – that is, if she could ever make it out of the uncomfortable chains and away from the tent. She heard footsteps approaching and froze.
Oh, Raihyou, she thought, sending up a silent prayer. Protect me. A flap opened, pouring sunlight directly into her eyes and obscuring all but a silhouette of the person entering. Katara was still blinded when the person dropped the flap, but she squeezed her eyes shut and forced them to adjust. When she opened them again, a woman Katara would have guessed to be about Jun's age stood before her. Her resemblance to the bounty hunter was strong, but this woman wore no makeup and for clothing wore simple green wide-legged pants and a plain yellow sleeveless tunic. Her thick, dark hair was caught up in a no-nonsense leather cord, and she wore no shoes.
"I am Sarasvati," said the woman quietly. "I will undo your chains now, and begin teaching you how to weave nets. Please do not attack, as there are guards all around us." Her voice was low and her small hands made quick work of the locks. Her attitude smacked of brainwashing, the same studied lines and precision of movement as Joo Di in Ba Sing Se; but this woman seemed more alert, more reactive to her surroundings. The chains fell from Katara's wrists and she released a breath as she took in the bleeding joints; the manacles had skinned her wrists raw, and they were gushing freely. Sarasvati took a look at Katara's hands and met the waterbender's eyes.
"I will take you to Ahma," she stated clearly. "She will take care of that. Follow me." Katara stood, her legs wobbly, and attempted to pull down her tunic as she followed Sarasvati out of the tent. The sunlight didn't bother her as much when she was leaving, and for the first time she could see that she was in a military camp of sorts. Men sharpened and cleaned weapons, studied maps, or set up tents and fires, and there were women and girls everywhere tending to the million menial chores the men did not deign to perform. Sarasvati led her through the outskirts of the camp to a wooden cabin that stood apart from the rest of the lodgings, and seemed to be the only solid structure. They made it to the doorway before the woman turned to look at Katara.
"While you are in this camp," she said, "only your husband knows your true name. It is better that you adopt a false one." With this brusque advice, she turned away from Katara; only for a half-second as the woman was sweeping into the cabin did the waterbender observe the small crescent-moon tattooed on her neck, nearly invisible beneath her thick knot of black hair.
"What-" but before Katara could complete the question, Sarasvati had disappeared into the cabin, leaving Katara alone on the proverbial doorstep. She shifted her weight uncomfortably and regarded her skinned wrists. What was I thinking when I left home? The question hadn't even fully formed in her mind when a vision of a falling coronet, long, shiny black hair, a devil's smirk and blazing gold eyes answered it. She sighed and looked around her. Zuko, where are you?
"Who is this?" A gravelly voice interrupted her thoughts, and Katara turned quickly to regard an old woman with knotty hands and a face mired in wrinkles. Quickly she ran through names in her head; the woman looked at her expectantly, and Katara cleared her throat.
"I'm Sen," she said finally, going with the first name to come to her head. The woman studied her blue eyes and her short, curly brown hair and said nothing for a while. The rheumy eyes – were they grey? – traveled up and down her form, stopping at her skinned wrists and then continuing on to the brand on her leg and roaming back up to her neck, fixing themselves on her mother's necklace.
"Come in, Sen," said the woman, making it clear that although she did not believe Katara's lie, she was going to accept it for the moment. Katara followed the woman into the cabin. The structure was very dim inside; cross-beams holding up the thatched ceiling had various dried herbs hanging from them. A futon in the corner of the room was laid out with clean blankets, and next to it was a low table with a pitcher of water, a bowl and some cloth for drying off. The opposite wall from the bed was almost entirely taken up by a large hearth. There was no fire going at the moment, but Katara could see where the previous night's flame had died down to glowing embers almost invisible under a layer of ash.
"Sit," said Ahma shortly, and pointed to a little wooden banquette built into the side of the cabin near the hearth. Katara obeyed, sitting stiffly as she watched the older woman putter around the cabin. There was an old cauldron on the hearth, and as Sarasvati poked the embers to life beneath it Ahma threw herbs and spices into what seemed an ill-smelling soup. Katara shifted uncomfortably; despite the fire under the cauldron, the ambient temperature seemed to be slowly getting cooler. Her sack-dress didn't cover much, and her body was not thanking her for the ever-more abrupt change in temperature. It was when her breath began to steam that Katara's senses prickled uncomfortably. Out of the corner of her eye she watched as Sarasvati inched toward the door; Ahma, at the hearth, squared her shoulders. The temperature in the room lowered considerably; herbs were freezing over, flies and other swamp things fell from where they flew or posed. Katar's fingers were turning blue, but something was off about the old woman…
A whooshing sound activated Katara's base instincts and caused her to throw herself down on the frozen-hard dirt floor. Before she could stand, her eyes caught a dim movement to her left and she scrambled to the right. Looking up, she saw that the old woman was in an offensive bending posture, sending ice daggers raining at Katara. The younger waterbender rolled and ducked, finding herself on the futon. She felt for water, trying to avoid getting stabbed in the process, and finally decided to halt the ice daggers coming at her and use them against the old woman. What are you doing?, she screamed internally, Why are you attacking me? The daggers paused in midair and melted, and as Katara was drawing the water back into a whip the woman held up her hands.
"Welcome to the swamp, Katara of the Water Tribe," said Ahma, and Katara's mouth dropped open in surprise. The temperature in the room increased again, and everything that had been frosting over began to steam. Only when it truly felt like a swamp again did the waterbender speak.
"Who are you?" She asked suspiciously, turning to catch Sarasvati in her question. "How do you know me?" Sarasvati released her black hair from its cord, fluffing it with her fingers. From a pocket, she drew a thin cosmetic pencil that she drew across her eyelids with practiced ease.
"You may know my twin sister," said Sarasvati in a tone much different from the one she had used that morning in the tent. "She is a bounty hunter, usually chasing the dregs of humanity around the Earth Kingdom." Katara nodded but did not speak, waiting for an explanation. Sarasvati narrowed her eyes.
"She helped you and your boyfriend when you were searching for the Avatar." Katara's face went red and she clenched her fists.
"He's not my-"
"Save it for someone who will believe it," interrupted Sarasvati smoothly. "Through my sister, I know of you, and through other connections, I know of your whereabouts and your actions. Do not be offended that I have been keeping track of you. Few come under the protection of the spirits; as Raihyou's priestess, I have been endowed for years with the mission of protecting you." Katara remembered the crescent moon on the woman's neck, and noticed now that the insides of her arms from her wrists up were covered in tribal tattoos. Although they bore a faint resemblance to the motifs of her own Tribe, they seemed to shift with her every movement and appeared to incorporate all of the elements into one dancing pattern.
"Why am I here?" tested Katara slowly, wondering if she could ask. The old woman turned to her and rolled up her sleeves; her arms too were covered in tribal tattoos.
"Every town, every village, every city has a sanctuary that will protect Her own," said the old woman. "In this cruel, mean little camp, my cabin is the sanctuary. You have been brought here to learn how to survive in this place until you are rescued." The old woman met Katara's eyes, and their rheumy grey inspired another question.
"But… you're a waterbender," began Katara. "Can't we just escape using our bending?" Ahma's eyes crinkled at the sides and she frowned. Sarasvati sighed from her corner of the room.
"Child, I am a guardian of Raihyou," said Ahma sternly. "I would no sooner leave my post than you would kill the Avatar." The mention of Aang made Katara wince; their friendship had endured many trials, but her romantic rejection had hurt him more than she cared to admit. His infrequent letters since then had been cold and distant, and Katara wondered what it would be like if – when – she saw him again. The woman was right, however; Aang was her dearest friend, and if protecting others for the sake of the Painted Lady attached the old woman to her post like friendship attached Katara to Aang, she would not easily leave.
"So again," asked Katara, exhaling slowly. "Why am I here?" This time Sarasvati intervened.
"You are here to remain under protection until the New Moon festival. On that day, if the one known as Feng-Huang has not rescued you, we must find a way for you to escape to another sanctuary, and another, until he has found you." Katara was more full of questions than ever; as far as she was concerned, Feng-Huang was an unfamiliar name; who was he, and why was he to rescue her?
"Feng-Huang is already on his way," said the old woman. "We must simply keep you safe until the New Moon festival, and all will go according to plan. This is the Year of the Impossible Miracle," she added reverently. "The priests have foreseen that before the sun sets on the final day, the unthinkable will have happened." For a moment, she stared dreamily at the space before her rheumy eyes; when they fell on Katara, however, she snapped to attention.
"Your husband in this camp is General Chen, correct?" Katara looked confused for a moment, and then nodded. My husband… yes, I suppose so. Ahma looked at Sarasvati.
"He is cruel; we must keep her out of his tent as long as possible." It was not a question, but a statement, and Sarasvati's mouth set in a thin line, replicating her twin's scowl. The younger girl nodded.
"Katara of the Water Tribe," she stated. "During the day, General Chen wants his wives contributing to his household wealth. Like I said earlier, you will wake at the crack of dawn and weave nets with me, and with several other wives. You are permitted two hours' rest in the middle of the day, after which will come a meal – usually gruel or soup. When that is over, the other wives will continue to weave nets. But you, Katara," – here she paused for emphasis – "you will come with me, and learn to dance for the New Moon festival. This way, General Chen will leave you alone, and you will be front and center when the one called Feng-Huang reaches the camp to rescue you." Katara nodded dumbly, hardly noticing when Ahma pressed a vial of something into her palm.
"Put this into your soup, Katara," said the old woman seriously. "It will make your two hours' rest seem a full night's sleep. You will need it." The old woman did something very strange then; she bowed low, reverently, as though Katara were someone with position and power.
"Raihyou protect you, young Umi," she murmured. "For the first time since my childhood, I will see your spirit reunited." Katara awkwardly bowed back, rising only when Sarasvati put a hand on her shoulder.
"Come with me," she said. "I have better clothing in my husband's tent." Not able to take in any more that day, Katara simply followed the woman out, tilting her head to the sun.
Oh Zuko, she thought. Your culture is very strange. How did I end up here?
A rare breeze stirred the baby hairs tickling her neck.
I don't know who this Feng-Huang is, she griped mentally. So hurry up and get here first. Let the priests say what they want – I'd rather be rescued by somebody I know!
Have faith, the breeze blew into her ears. Have faith, Daughter. This is the Year of the Impossible Miracle.
From a distance, Katara told herself she could just about see Zuko's ship coming for her.