Happy beleted Easter everyone! :D hope the easter bunny was as good to you as he was to me 'flashes cash'
Well this chapter marks a special time for me. It has officially been one year since I started writing fanfiction. :o Can you believe it? Who knew I'd still be going strong after all this time? And of course, what better way to celebrate a one year aniversary then with more Zutara goodness? :P So please enjoy this delightful and sentimental chapter
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Chapter 13: A Surprise for Katara
Katara awoke early the next morning, feeling refreshed after her long and very eventful night. As she sat up and stretched toward the ceiling, she noticed that her blue dress no longer lay at the foot of her bed. Instead, there was a bright green dress in its place. Also there was a small cart sitting next to the bed, containing a bowl of oatmeal, a glass of milk and a banana.
"Morning Katara!" Toph said cheerfully hobbling to her bedside. "Hope you slept well."
"Yes actually." Katara said getting out of bed and smoothing down her white nightgown. "Toph where's my blue dress?"
"You mean the thing you were wearing before?" Toph asked. "I had it sent to laundry room for cleaning and some stitching up. Thought you'd like this one better. Picked it from my very own drawers."
"It's lovely Toph. Very nice pattern too." Katara said holding it up. "I see you got me breakfast as well."
"Actually Iroh brought it here." Toph said with a smirk. "He said the master requested you have a tray brought to your room."
"He said that?" Katara asked in surprise. "Wow, how very...thoughtful of him." Looking at the bowl of oatmeal, Katara remember the truce they made last night and decided to take comfort in the thought that he was at least letting her eat again.
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After finishing her breakfast, Katara decided to venture out onto the castle grounds. She was surprised to see how different everything looked in the daytime. It wasn't as dark or dreary looking as when she first saw it. It fact the weather and atmosphere was kind of pleasant. Looking around, she soon spotted the stables where Appa was staying.
"Appa?" Katara asked before entering. She then heard the familiar growl and smiled. As she walked inside, she spotted the large bison resting comfortably on a pile of hay while eating from a barrel full of cabbages.
"Hey there big guy." Katara said patting his head. "Feeling better after last night?" Appa growled happily in response and licked Katara's arm. As she went to go get him some water, Appa then let out a frightened roar and jumped back as something ran out from behind the hayloft screeching loudly. Seeing the flash of red cushions , Katara could tell it was Momo and the thing he trying to catch was a rat.
Grabbing a broom, Katara managed to shoo the rat out of the stable before going to calm Appa. Momo then walked up to Katara and started purring against her leg. It tried jumping up onto her lap but couldn't reach so Katara knelt down. The foot stool then jumped onto her and began covering her cheeks with fuzzy kisses.
Katara laughed and happily petted Momo, unaware that a figure was watching her from outside. On the other side of the stable door, the Blue Spirit watched as Katara set down Momo and walked back toward Appa. She then took out a large brush and began grooming his fur, taking extra care around his paw where he had been bitten while also changing his bandages. Seeing how gentle she was being with Appa, the Spirit put a hand on his own bandaged shoulder, which had gotten a bit sore since last night but was otherwise healing nicely.
"Master?" a voice called. The Spirit nearly jumped out of his skin and turned to see Sokka and Suki approaching.
"Don't sneak up on me like that!" he said in a harsh whisper.
"Sorry Master." Suki said bowing apologetically. "We came to tell you breakfast is ready."
"I'm not that hungry. Maybe later." The Spirit said casting looks back at the stable door.
"What are you doing out here anyway?" Sokka asked curiously as he hopped toward the door. "What's behind the door?"
"Nothing! No reason" he said nervously as he tried blocking Sokka from going toward the door.
The candelabra was too quick however looked behind the door where he got a good glimpse of Katara. "Hey it's the girl...but why are-...oh wait." A grin then formed on Sokka's face as he turned toward the Spirit nodding. "Ahh...I see what your doing now. You're a sneaky one master."
"What? What's going on?" Suki also joined Sokka at the door and upon seeing Katara there, she let out a small gasp. "Master...are you spying on her?"
"No! No, I was just passing by. I thought I'd take a walk around the castle and she...she just happened to be there." He said unconvincingly.
Sokka and Suki looked skeptically back at him as he let out a sigh. "Fine...I was spying on her." He then looked around the door where Katara had continued to brush Appa while Momo was chasing a fly around the hayloft. Seeing her graceful movements and her bright smile was causing a knot to form in the Spirit's stomach making him feel slightly queasy.
"I feel...weird inside." The Spirit said as he continued to watch.
"Maybe you're hungry?" Suki suggested.
"Or maybe it's gas?" Sokka added as Suki glared at him. "What? It's possible."
"No not like that...I've never felt this way before...feel like I'm going to be sick, but in a good way..." As the Spirit watched, a thought began to form in his head and turned abruptly to his servants. "I...I want to do something for her. Something...a guy would do for a girl." He then tried thinking of something but no thoughts came to mind. "But, what?"
"Well if you want to give her the usual things guys give girls, then you have the a few options." Sokka said counting off on his candlesticks. "Let's see, there's flowers...chocolates...promise's you don't intend to keep..."
"C'mon Sokka, he'll need a little more than that." Suki said disdainfully. "Girls like romance. Things that really spark their interest. Something like-" Just then an idea struck her. "Wait a minute! I got it!" she then gestured for the master to lean over where she whispered something in his ear.
"Really?" the Spirit asked in surprise. "You think she'd like it?" Suki nodded and proudly crossed his arms.
"What? What is it?" Sokka asked. Suki then whispered the same thing into his ear, much to Sokka's confusion. "Girls are actually into that sort of thing?" Suki rolled her eyes and merely flicked Sokka's forehead in response.
The Spirit thought over the idea then slowly nodded his head. "That's not a bad idea actually. How soon can you get it ready?"
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After making sure Appa was comfortable, Katara decided to head back to the castle. As she walked out the door, she immediately bumped into the Blue Spirit causing her to scream and jump back a little.
"Oh! It's you." Katara said putting a hand over her chest while she exhaled. "You scared me for a moment."
"Yes, I seem to have that effect on people." The Spirit said, who also jumped back and was letting out a breath.
"Sorry, it just...I didn't expect to see you down here." Katara said.
"Well I...uh...wanted to see how your bison was doing." The Spirit said quickly. "I noticed his paw was hurt and wondered if he needed anything."
"Oh Appa? He's doing just fine. In fact..." Katara said looking back at the bison who yawned and leaned on his side. "He seems to be making himself right at home." Katara said chuckling a little as Appa began to snore.
"Looks like it." The Spirit nodding toward the opened mouthed sleeping bison.
Katara nodded and then looked at the Spirits bandages. "How's your shoulder? Getting better I hope?"
"Oh, yes. Much better." The Spirit said flexing his shoulder, which caused him to flinch a bit.
"Your bandages look a little loose. Wait right here. I'll go get some new ones." As Katara went back to the hayloft to get the bandages, the Spirit heard a faint whisper and turned around to see Sokka standing at the doorway. Sokka pointed at the castle and nodded his head, signaling that they were ready.
"Okay I got them." Katara said walking back toward him. "Do you want me to change them here or at the castle?"
"Actually, mind if we do it later?" The Spirit asked. "There's something else I'd like to talk to you about." Katara paused and looked curiously back at the Spirit who was starting to fidget a bit. "I...I want to thank you for what you did last night. And to prove that I'm willing to make this truce work, there's something special I'd like to show you."
Katara was surprised by the Spirit's gratuitous words. "Well that's...very kind of you. What kind of special thing is it?"
"Follow me to the castle." The Spirit then gestured her toward the castle and together they headed back up the steps.
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They had gone up two floors and finally came to a stop in front of a large set of doors. The Spirit cracked the door and looked inside briefly before turning to Katara. "Okay, it's all set. But before you enter, I want you to close your eyes."
"Why?" Katara asked skeptically.
"Cause it's a surprise." The Spirit said. Intrigued, Katara obliged and closed her eyes. The Spirit waved his hand in front of her face to make sure she wasn't peeking then opened the doors. He then took Katara's outreached hands and escorted her into the dark room.
"Can I open them?" Katara asked.
"No, not yet." The Spirit said as he led her into the middle of the room. "Now wait here." He then ran to the large window and pulled open the curtains, allowing light to flood into the room.
Katara smiled as she felt the beams of light on her face and started to become excited. "Okay, now can I open them?"
"Hold on." The Spirit then walked up behind her and faced her in one direction of the room. "Alright...NOW!"
As Katara opened her eyes, she let out a gasp and clamped her hand over her mouth. The room she was standing in was a gigantic library, filled with shelves and shelves of books that covered every inch of the walls and reached as high as the ceiling. Never before has she seen a library of that size and magnitude and the site nearly overwhelmed her.
"Oh my gosh! I can't believe it!" Katara said looking around the room. "I've never seen so many books in my whole life!"
"So, you like it?" The Spirit asked.
"Like it? I LOVE IT!" Katara exclaimed. "This is the most wonderful thing I've ever seen."
The Spirit smiled behind his mask. "Glad you feel that way...cause it's yours."
Katara paused and turned to the Spirit with a shocked look on her face. "What?"
"I figured since you like books, you would get more use out of this place then I did. Course if you think it's too much-" The Spirit was then cut off as Katara rushed forward and threw her arms around him, pulling him into tight hug. Surprised and caught off guard by her reaction, the Spirit stood there awkwardly with his hands at his side till Katara loosened her hold on him.
"Oh Spirit...this is the most wonderful gift anyone has ever given me. Thank you so much." she said smiling at him happily before hugging him again.
Immediately, the Spirit felt the knot in his stomach start to tighten and tried to ignore it as he tried awkwardly returning the hug. From the doorway, Sokka, Suki, Iroh and Ty Lee were in an enormous state of excitiment, mouthing the words 'YES!' repeatedly and high fiving each other with their hands, noses and feet.
After releasing him from the hug, Katara began looking excitedly at all the books on the shelves while the Spirit followed patiently behind her.
"So many books...I haven't even heard of half these titles." Katara said thumbing through them. As she turned the corner, she spotted one book that lay open on a pedestal. Turning it onto its cover, her eyes lit up in excitement "Oh wow, you actually have it!"
"What'd you find?" the Spirit asked.
"This!" she said picking it up. "I haven't read this book since I was little. It was one of my favorites." she then held it out for him to see. "Avatar: The Last Airbender. Have you ever read it?"
"No..." the Spirit said.
"Well you don't know what you're missing! I'd love to read it again." As Katara looked down at the book, an idea came to mind "Wait...You should read it first." she said handing the book to him.
"No, no. That's alright." the Spirit said holding up his hands. "You go right ahead."
"This was your library, I insist you read it." Katara said as she tried handing it to him again.
"No you." the Spirit said pushing her book back.
"No you." Katara said pushing her book forward.
"NO!" the Spirit said loudly knocking the book out of her hand. Katara backed away a bit, afraid he would get angry again. Seeing he was scaring her, he sighed and bent down to pick up the book. "I'm sorry. It's not that I don't want to read it, it's just...I can't." he said sadly as he handed her back the book.
Realizing what he meant, Katara took the book and reproached him. "You mean you never learned to read?"
"I did learn a little. But it was so long ago...I've probably forgotten it all by now." he said as he looked away in shame.
"Well then...you're in luck." Katara said turning the book over. "Cause it just so happens that this is the perfect book to read out loud. And I happen to be the perfect reader to do so." She then grabbed the Spirits wrist and led him over to the fire place. Taking a seat on a round cushion, she re-opened the book and set it down on her lap. "Well don't be shy. Come sit by me" she said patting the spot next to her. The Spirit could feel his face get hot under his mask but nevertheless sat down beside her.
"Okay, let start at the beginning...'Long ago, the four nations lived in harmony'..."
As Katara continued to read, all the servants were congratulating each other on a job well done. They were so excited that they hardly noticed Aang, who had just woken up to find everyone gone and was now approaching them curiously, feeling like he had missed something important.
"Would you look at that?" Sokka said pointing at the two. "See? See I told you it would work!"
"What worked?" said Aang as he hopped into the doorway.
"You mean I told you it would work." Suki said ignoring Aang. "But I must admit guys, this is very encouraging!"
"What's encouraging?" Aang asked as he hoped between the servants.
"Ooh this is so exciting!" Ty Lee gushed as she jumped up and down in excitement. "Don't you agree Iroh?"
"What's so exciting?" Aang asked loudly.
"Yes, very much so." Iroh agreed. "But enough spying for now. We must get back to work to get this place is in top shape."
Everyone nodded in agreement and started walking toward the hall except for Aang who was looking aimlessly around and starting to get frustrated. "But I didn't see anything!"
"Come on Aang" Iroh said looking back toward him. "There are chores to be done in the kitchen."
"But Iroh, what's everyone talking about?" Aang said as he hopped after him. "What's going on? What did I miss?"
As Iroh hopped away and continued to ignore him, Aang stamped himself on the ground and shouted "WHY AM I ALWAYS THE LAST TO KNOW EVERYTHING!!??"
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An hour had passed since Katara started reading the book and the Spirit was on the edge of his seat, eager to hear more.
"With the Sabertooth Mooselion about to trample his friend, the Avatar tried desperately to stop the animal's rampage. He tried airbending the creature from underneath, but it landed back on its feet and turned to charge again. He tried airbending it to the side but the beast got even angrier and continued to charge forward. Finally, after standing his ground, the Avatar airbended the creature head on-"
"And he finally learns the key to earthbending!" the Spirit exclaimed.
Katara laughed at his enthusiasm. "Wait and see."
"Wow...I never knew books could do that..." the Spirit said in amazement.
"Do what?" Katara asked.
"Take me away from this place." the Spirit confessed. "Make me forget for a little while."
"Forget?" Katara asked curiously.
"Who I-" the Spirit stopped and looked sadly down at his clawed hands. "What...I am."
As Katara looked at him, a realization hit her and she gently closed the book before turning towards him. "You know...you and I have something in common."
The Spirit looked back up at her. "We do? What is that?"
"You see, in the town where I come from, the people think I'm odd. Very odd..." Katara confessed.
"You?" the Spirit asked in surprise.
"Yes." Katara nodded. "So I know how it feels to be...different. And I know how lonely that can be."
The Spirit said nothing and simply stared at her, baffled how someone so beautiful and so smart could be considered as odd. Then in an act of sympathy, Katara gently reached over and layed her hand on top of his. At first the Spirit clenched his fist, having never had anyone touch his claws before. But Katara didn't pull away and gradually after a few minutes, his fingers loosened up and entwined with hers. Smiling, she looked upon his face not with fear but with compassion and understanding before giving his hand a small squeeze. Seeing her holding his hand and looking at him in that way, the Spirit felt as if he could float on air.
All too soon, Katara withdrew her hand and reopened the book. Finding the spot she left off, Katara continued reading. "Finally, after standing his ground, the Avatar airbended the creature head on and sent it flying back into the woods. He then heard a clapping noise and turned to see his earthbending teacher sitting on a nearby rock. She praised him for facing the creature head on and after witnessing another earthbending demonstration, she said 'Congratulations Avatar. You've finally learned the key to earthbending.'"
The Spirit then crossed his arms and looked smugly at Katara. "Told ya so." Katara grinned and playfully elbowed his arm before continuing on with the rest of the story.
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Awww! 3 How squee was that? And poor Aang...I always wondered why Chip acted so oblivious in the movie but then i realized, he was asleep when everything was happening! No wonder!
OMT, I want to give a big shout-out to all my readers who have been with me since the Little Mermaid story. I couldnt have done it without any of ya and all for your wonderful support :) A big thanks to you all! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo