Chapter Ten
Katara had had her share of elegant dinners that were steeped in protocol and were more for show than a shared experience. She wasn't fond of them, but knew they were necessary at a basic level, in that they forced people to make connections that they never would otherwise...or suffer the consequences. A perfectly pleasant person would have a hard time recovering from a bad dinner party appearance, especially one this high up in political circles. It irked her that the fate of the world hinged on dinner conversation, but there it was.
It came as no shock that Zuko was of absolutely no help when it came to fostering a more comfortable atmosphere. She could almost hear him telling her that it wasn't his place, that it wasn't his party, but she had a hard time imagining him playing host even if it were. The governor, sitting at the foot of the table, seemed to in agreement, staying resolutely silent. His son sat to his right and his wife on his left, their two daughters sitting across from each other down the line. Separated from the governor's family by at three empty seats, Zuko sat at the head of the table with Katara on his right. The space didn't exactly invite conversation but judging from the looks the daughters were sending Katara, she was happy for the distance. The only sound to be heard were their chopsticks hitting their dishes and the occasional throat being cleared.
Unable to bear anymore silence, Katara put her chopsticks down and shifted her position, ignoring the numbness of her feet from kneeling for so long. She could feel Zuko's eyes on her but deliberately ignored him. She was glad she was too far for him to kick her.
"Governor Zi, this is a delicious meal. Tell me, are any of these dishes special to this region?" she asked perkily.
"Actually, yes," Zi replied, chopsticks hovering in midair. "Do you know much about Fire Nation culinary specialties, Lady Katara?"
"Sadly, no," Katara said. "The Fire Lord has been kind enough to have his chef prepare my favorite dishes from the Water Tribe because I've been missing home."
"I'm sure it must be difficult for you to be so far away," Ke An said sympathetically. "But you are settling in well, from what I've heard."
Katara's smile wavered as she thought that that was a very skillfully fired barb and she wondered if Zuko picked up on it.
"Yes, very well," she agreed.
"The red paste you see on that dish is one of my husband's favorite Kitashi specialties," Ke An went on. "Did you try it?"
"Yes. It's like nothing I've ever tasted."
"What is your impression of it?" Zi asked curiously.
Katara picked up her chopsticks and willing herself not to blush, dipped some of her raw fish in the paste. With careful deliberation, she chewed her food and thanked Sokka for using her as a guinea pig for his experimental dishes.
"It has hints of hong spice but not so much that it overruns the palate. I also taste a bit of ki-zi lilies. For the color though, I think you might have used a bit of sea urchin fish and it also gives it a bit of a bolder flavor. It's delicious and goes very well with the whitefish. Don't you agree, Zu...Fire Lord?"
"Absolutely," Zuko said, staring at her as if she'd grown a second head.
"Fire Lord, your Lady has wonderful taste," Zi said, visibly delighted. "I didn't want to boast, but that recipe has been passed down my family for generations and I prepared it myself for tonight's dinner."
"Really?" Katara gushed. "You're a man of many talents, Governor. What else can you tell me about this delicious meal?"
An hour and a half later, Katara tucked her hand into Zuko's arm and followed Ke An to their rooms. She couldn't help grinning at the bemused expression on his face. They refrained from talking until they had some privacy and after thanking the governor's wife for a wonderful evening, Katara all but shoved him into her sitting room so they could talk. It seemed to go without saying that they would have a debriefing, though from the confused looks of their guards when Zuko went into her rooms without a word, they should have said something. But Katara shrugged it off, flushed from her victory.
"That was fantastic," she beamed.
"I don't know what just happened," Zuko said, sitting down slowly. "But I do know that Zi is crazier than I thought."
"You can't call a man crazy for enjoying his food," Katara chided. "I mean, look at him? Doesn't he look like he does?"
"Yes...but I enjoy food as well and I don't go taking over the kitchen and spend six hours preparing a sauce that can only be dipped into twice."
"Who's the peasant now? There's an art to cooking, Fire Lord, and you're missing out."
"I'll try to hold back my tears," he said dryly. "Wonderful performance, by the way."
"That was all real."
"Right."
She sat across from him. "But you have to admit that being nice and 'sprinkling sunshine' works. The governor was relaxed and I think he almost liked you tonight. I bet it felt nice to unclench."
"The same could be said of you."
Katara shrugged. "Might as well use the alliance, right? Tomorrow's talks should go smoothly because of tonight. We set the right tone."
"The right tone for what? Accusing a man of stealing from the kingdom? You might have done well eliciting urbane dinner conversation, but it's a different story around the negotiating table. In the Fire Nation," he added when she was about to argue. "You don't know what it's like when it's just us and I'm afraid you'll be in for disappointment if you think you've made friends here tonight."
"Stop being such a pessimist. It's all about how you present the information, or in this case, accusation."
Zuko regarded her thoughtfully. "You're very confident that this will turn out well."
"I know what I'm doing."
"Alright. Then let's make this a test of your skills, Lady Katara. You can sit as my representative tomorrow."
"Really?"
This time he shrugged. "You can hold your own, I've seen that with my own eyes and tonight, you've shown a gift for...manipulating people."
"I prefer to think of it as charming them."
"Whichever it is, it can't hurt to add another weapon to our arsenal," he said, rising. "Get some rest tonight. If anything else, you can just smile at him and see how far that'll get you."
"Not very far, I'm sure."
He made a sound that was between a laugh and a snort.
"Then smile at his son. He seemed to like you just fine. Goodnight, Katara."
"Wait a second. We didn't do our usual routine. You owe me one bit of information," she said before he could open the door.
Zuko looked back at her. "Oh, I think I've learned enough about you tonight."
He left before she could argue and Katara couldn't help wondering why even though his words were meant to be cutting, they were anything but.
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It was going badly.
Katara's hands were clenched tightly as they rested on the table surface and even though only a half hour had gone by, it felt like two. She, the governor, his son, and two Kitashi councilors sat around a rectangular table while Zuko sat on the dais at the head of the table. He wasn't far but Katara felt like she was standing alone. The kindly, genial man who had explained how to cook a perfect roast duck the night before was gone, replaced by a predator with very sharp teeth. She felt like she'd been on the defensive the entire time and Zuko had simply listened. She wanted to kill him because when it became apparent to the governor that the Fire Lord wasn't going to intervene, he took more and more liberties with his words.
"Lady Katara, if you'll pardon my forwardness, I don't believe you have a complete picture of what is happening here in Kitashi," Zi said. "These numbers do match up and I'm sure the Fire Lord will offer you use of his accountants to verify my statement."
"I respectfully disagree, Governor," Katara said. "We've had the accountants review these documents more than once. You don't think we'd have come all this way on a whim, do you? The Fire Lord's time is too precious for a whim. Your men have been mining more ore than you're giving back to the Fire Nation. You may have been able to hide this fact with false numbers, but there is no hiding the numbers of times Water Tribe ships have docked at your ports. How do you explain that?"
"We are a very attractive tourist spot," the governor said silkily. "I'm sure you've heard of our natural spas."
"Your tone insults me," Katara said, taking a different tack. "Those weren't pleasure craft. You and I both know they were trade ships. Your reasons have been unsatisfactory, Governor. I'm under the impression you aren't taking this visit seriously."
"I assure you, I am," he returned, his expression properly chastised though Katara could see that his eyes were laughing at her.
"You are stealing from the Fire Nation, Governor Zi, and we tried to offer you a way to remedy the situation, but you insist on playing this game," she said, angry now. "The war has ravaged this country and in order to heal, we have to work together. In your selfishness, you've lost sight of that."
"We have to work together," the governor sneered. "You've been here for less than a month, Lady Katara, and you are not yet Fire Lady. You don't know what it's like for us here."
"Don't I? You forget who I am, Governor," Katara said icily. "Your arrogance doesn't help your position and it'll do to act with the honor of your station. I represent the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation in this matter. You're nothing more than a traitor if you insist on pretending you're not lining your own coffers with Water Tribe coins."
The governor's eyes blazed and Katara had the stopper from her water skin off before she even realized what she was doing. But before either of them could do anything, Zuko shot a stream of fire down the middle of the table, controlling it so that it stopped right in front of the governor.
"Enough," he said, his voice echoing in the suddenly silent room. "Governor Zi, you've dishonored your name by your actions. Generations of your family have been loyal to the Fire Lord, in good times and bad, and you are the first to run at the first sign of trouble."
"I was loyal to your father, Fire Lord Zuko. My family starved in order to build your boats and weapons for the war, and I will not be called disloyal, especially by you."
"Your weakness has never become more apparently than at this moment, Governor," Zuko said coolly though from the glimmer in his eye, Katara knew he was anything but. "Did you think you could go up against the Fire Lord and not be punished? I have sent councilors to discuss this situation with you, given you chances to end your relationship with Koga, but you continued. What you are doing is an open secret and I thought I would show respect to your family by giving you a chance, but I see now that was a mistake."
"My father was only doing what he thought would be best for Kitashi," the governor's son spoke up for the first time, his voice quaking with fear. "Ever since you cut the income coming into the city, the coffers have been almost run dry just to meet the our daily needs. If there was an emergency, we'd be lost, my Lord."
"Are you blaming me for your father's actions, Fu-han?" Zuko said, in a dangerously low tone and Katara could feel heat radiating from him.
"No, not at all, my Lord," Fu-han said, backpedaling madly. "I was merely trying to give you an adequate reason for dishonorable actions that my father would not have done otherwise."
"Our definitions for adequate differ. Understand, Fu-han, that Kitashi is one of many cities that the Fire Palace must support on a yearly basis. You're not the only city that has had its funds reduced but you are the only one that has turned to breaking the law."
The governor got to his feet. "Fire Lord, I implore you..."
"To do what? Show you mercy? I've already done that and you threw it back in Lady Katara's face. Your treatment of her shows what kind of leader you are. You insulted my family and that will not be forgotten."
"My Lord..."
"You are no longer governor of Kitashi," Zuko said. "Your son, Fu-han will take over starting tomorrow. Today, you are to tie up loose ends, vacate the office, and take your wife to your vacation home in the mountains. You're to stay there until I allow you back into the city."
"Fu-han doesn't know the first thing about being governor!" Zi raged.
"Would you rather I install one of your daughters, or perhaps one of my loyal councilors?" Zuko said, visibly angry. "Again, you insult me, Zi. On second thought, I have better accommodations for you, accommodations you deserve. Your wife can stay here."
"Fire Lord..."
"Father, stop," Fu-han said, putting a hand on his father's arm. "It's done. Fire Lord Zuko, I'll fix this."
"You're the last in line before the land is passed to someone else, Governor Fu-han," Zuko said. "I suggest you do a thorough job of it. If I hear anything untoward coming out of this place again, you're all gone. I promise you that. Guards, please escort Prisoner Zi to the train."
Fu-han stood up with his cane and bowed to his Zuko as his father was led out of the room. He followed, whispering to the older man. When the room was cleared, Katara looked up at the Fire Lord.
"You'd already spoken to him, to Fu-han, haven't you?"
"Everything was arranged," he said. "Smart of you to pick up on it."
"Then why did you even bother with this whole thing? My head feels like it's about to explode."
"You needed to have a taste of what negotiations in the Fire Nations are like. For us, it's all about saving face and showing strength while everything dances in the background. You played your part well."
"My part," Katara scoffed, standing. "I really am nothing more than an ink brush to you."
"What? Not at all, but did you think I'd send in a novice on a meeting as important as this? Still, you gave Governor Zi the opportunity to defend his honor but he showed us just how dishonorable he is by playing the innocent that he isn't. It's all part of the game," Zuko said, not bothering to hide his confusion at her reaction. "Trust has to be earned, Katara and you showed me you can be trusted today."
"That's more than I can say for you," she retorted, shoving her chair back. "I'll see you on the train."
"What is the matter with you?" he demanded, exasperated.
"I worked hard to not make a fool of you and myself, Zuko, but I ended up looking like a fool anyway, fighting a battle that's already been decided," she said, shaking with anger.
"You're impossible," he said, turning his back on her. "I'll see you on the train."
Katara started to leave but her hand stayed on the door knob. She didn't feel right about ending their discussion like that and his words had reached her, despite her efforts to maintain her own reasoning. He'd warned her that the talks weren't going to go well but she hadn't listened. She had a feeling her pride had more to do with her anger than anything else and she remembered her own words, that they had to make this alliance work. She closed her eyes for a moment, heard Zuko turn towards her again when she didn't leave.
"What? You're not done feeling righteous?" he spat.
"I'm sorry," she muttered.
"What?"
"I'm sorry. You're right, I don't know how things work here, but I'm beginning to understand."
"Are you feeling alright?"
"Shut up, Zuko. Just accept my apology."
She glanced back at him, found him staring at her with a mixture of impatience and incredulity.
"Alright, fine. Apology accepted."
She nodded and opened the door. "I'll see you on the train."