Chapter Seventeen
On nights when the moon was full, Katara could never sleep. It called to her until she answered and tonight, the night before Maiko and Lu Zuo would leave for the South Pole, she saw no reason not to. It was highly unlikely that she would be getting much sleep at all.
Water skin slung across her shoulders, she stepped out into the humid summer night, her face immediately pointing towards the white glow of the moon. She took a deep breath, felt as if she could see the air entering her body and then leaving it when she exhaled. The sound of swords being sheathed had her flicking the stopper off her water skin with her thumb, but her hands stilled when she recognized the footsteps coming up behind her.
"It's late," Zuko said, removing the plain black cloth mask that replaced the mask he'd lost years before.
Katara gestured to the sky. "It's never late when there's a full moon. Did you say goodnight to Maiko and Lu Zuo?"
"They're already asleep," he said hesitantly. "I was sitting with them, watching them sleep, but I heard you out here and thought..."
"It's just me," she said with a smile. "Go back to them, Zuko."
He glanced behind him, at the closed nursery door.
"I can't. If I do, I won't be able to let them go and I have to watch over them this one last time, before I hand them over for someone else to watch."
"It's not weakness to do this, you know."
"I know."
Katara leaned her forearms against the railing that formed the outside walls of the corridor. She thought he would leave, but instead, he moved to stand next to her, his arm brushing against hers. It was hard to think of herself as his wife, or him as her husband, but they had come together for a reason and she would be hard pressed to forget it.
The news of their marriage had spread quickly in the Fire Nation and the world. Just as quickly, the situation deteriorated from bad to worse. Despite having the largest army in the world and resources to match, they couldn't fight a shadow. Iroh's teams had come up with one dead end after another and Azula had turned several innocent homes inside out trying to find the one man doing this.
One man. That was all they knew from a single eyewitness report of a man, dressed in black, running from the Fire Lord's personal stables a moment before he blew the building and everything—everyone—sky high. A single man was keeping the point of his sword at the Fire Lord's back, waiting for the perfect time to push it all the way in.
And Zuko was beginning to look like it was halfway there.
He was paler under the moonlight, ghostly. Exhaustion and constant pressure had robbed him of sleep and appetite. His clothes hung off a slimmer frame, the hollows in his cheeks deeper than before. But his eyes continued to glow that golden color that was like the core of a fire and they glowed now as he stared up at the moon.
"When the children are gone, I'm going to hunt him down myself," he told Katara in low, dangerous tones. "A decade as Fire Lord hasn't dulled my skills or senses and I can play his game. I will hunt him and find him, then execute him in front of my people to show them what would happen to anyone who dares to challenge the Fire Lord."
She wanted to argue with him, that he shouldn't do something so bloody and unmerciful, but she knew she would lose him if she did. She remembered her promise to Iroh, that she would relieve Zuko of his burdens when she could, and cutting him down when he was hanging on to his pride and honor by a thread would not be the way to do it. Instead, she put a hand on his forearm, tightened her grip to make him look at her.
"You're not in any condition to do that," she said. "Not right now anyway."
"It'd be nice if I could take a short vacation and catch up on some sleep, but this can't wait," he retorted.
"Well, your tongue isn't tired."
"Since you're Fire Lady, you'll sit in my place while I'm gone," he said, ignoring her barb.
Startled, she drew back. "What?"
"You know how it works," he said dismissively. "Uncle is here if you need help."
"You can't leave me to run this...this..." she fumbled for the right word.
"War? Rout? One man show? It's not hard."
"Really. Is that why you look like death warmed over?"
"No. I never looked good under the moonlight."
Katara snorted out a laugh. He sighed at the sound of it, hung his head.
"You're the only person in this whole damn world that I can't order around," he muttered. "Why is that, Katara? Is it because you're my wife? What did you do to me that I can't just tell you what to do. Why do I want to say 'please' all the time and 'thank you'?"
His softly uttered words rooted Katara to the spot. She slid a look at him, but his head was still bowed, his thoughts inward.
"Somewhere in between your arrival here and this moment, I started to feel beholden to you, for all that you're doing," he said matter-of-factly. "I look at you and I see my right-hand, my second-in-command. Not wife, not Fire Lady. I see my partner. What did you do to me to make me think that?"
She couldn't answer and wasn't sure he wanted her to. He put his mask back on, hid himself away from her.
"Do this for me," he said, his voice muffled by the cloth. "I've told you I trusted you, so now it's your turn to trust me to do the right thing. The enemy taunts me, calls me out to play, and I'm going to answer. I have to so that my daughter will one day sit on the throne. I have to so that my people will believe again that this land is worth fighting for."
"Zuko..."
He put his hands on her shoulders and though she couldn't see his eyes, she could feel them on her face.
"Fire Lady Katara," he said. "I'm asking you to do this as your Fire Lord."
She nodded wordlessly. Satisfied, he let her go. Then, he leapt, gripped the eaves and pulled himself up. Alone, Katara felt a chill, wished she'd had the courage to tell him to be careful and to come back to her safely. She touched two fingers to her necklace.
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The next day, the sun was bright in the sky and the warm summer breezes blew in from the ocean. It didn't seem fair that the day the Fire Lord was losing his children would be a perfect, clear day.
The docks were lined with Fire Nation soldiers and the waters peppered with Fire Navy ships, but the ship that waited for the children was made of wood and flew blue sails proudly. It was a ship of Sokka's own design, light and fast, but with an arsenal that made Zuko nod in approval. Only Sokka and Toph would be sailing with the royal children on the ship but a smaller Fire Navy ship carrying the elite Royal Guards would be following. Zuko had handpicked those men himself and they were led by none other than General Jee, the man who had sailed with Zuko for two years during his exile.
The Fire Lord's family, including his new Fire Lady, made their way to the Water Tribe ship. They were dressed formally, the Lord and Lady in armor, and the children in red robes. Four crowns shone in the light and it was as if they were being blessed by the sun itself. They walked down a line of guards, hidden from view and Zuko held Maiko in his arms while Katara held Lu Zuo. They'd explained to the princess what was going to happen and she'd managed to slide her small hands in the top edge of Zuko's neckguard, hanging on tight. Lu Zuo was too young to know, but he wasn't too young to understand that something was happening. Soft, mewling cries escaped his pouted lips and he rested his cheek on Katara's armor-clad shoulder, not seeming to mind the material, his arms tight around her neck.
"We'll come and pick you up soon," Zuko whispered in Maiko's ear. "Be good for So...Uncle Sokka and take care of your brother."
"Daddy, I don't want to go," Maiko whispered back pathetically.
They reached the ship where Sokka was already preparing the sails. Toph was still on the docks, not wanting to set foot on the ship until the last possible moment. She was standing with Iroh who looked grim. The two of them turned towards the family as they neared, matching wide smiles on their faces. Toph beamed that smile at Maiko and didn't seem to care that the little princess shied away from her, hiding her face in Zuko's neck.
"Aren't you excited to be riding in a pretty boat like this, Maiko?" she said.
"No," came the muffled response.
"It'll be a nice visit," Iroh added. "The Water Tribe city in the South Pole is one of my favorite places in the world to visit. You can have all the Jasmine ice candy that you want. There are lots of animals and snow, too! You can ride penguins and make snowmen..."
"I want Daddy and Katara to come."
"When we come, we'll make the biggest snowman," Katara said, tapping Maiko's cheek. "The biggest anyone will ever see."
Before she could take her hand back, Maiko grabbed it in hers, her golden eyes shining with tears that threatened to fall.
"I don't want to go!" she cried, as one tear managed to escape.
Katara held a hand to her mouth as her own tears pooled in her eyes, but Zuko knelt down and after a bit of a struggle, managed to extract Maiko's hands from his neckguard. He held them in his own and put his face close to his daughter's, his countenance grave.
"Remember who you are," he said. "You're going to be Fire Lady one day. Look at Katara. She's strong and even though she probably wants to go back to her Dad, she's here with me because she has to be. You're going to the South Pole to protect your brother, even though you don't want to, but you will because you have to."
A determined look hardened Maiko's face and in that moment, she was her father's daughter. The same hard line of a mouth, the diamond hardness in her eyes, but what separated her from Zuko were the tears that now fell freely from those eyes. The Fire Lord's eyes were dry, but there was sorrow in them as he bid his daughter farewell. Then, they began to glow with pride when Maiko tipped her chin up and met her father's gaze.
"Okay, Daddy. To protect Lu Zuo."
"That's my girl," he said softly.
He kissed her forehead and let go of her hands. Iroh knelt by her side and enveloped her in a warm hug that she returned.
"Try not to melt anything important, okay, Princess?" he said gently.
"Melt?"
"You'll see."
Zuko turned to Katara and took Lu Zuo from her, held him for a heartbeat. He said something to Lu Zuo that Katara couldn't hear and then passed him on to Sokka's waiting arms.
"Da!" Lu Zuo exclaimed, shrieking the single syllable he knew how to utter and to everyone's surprise added, "Kaaaa!"
Katara choked back a sob and waved at the little boy.
"We'll see you soon, Lu Zuo," she said hoarsely. "Maiko...don't forget your waterbending training, okay? There are lots of..."
Her words were cut off when Maiko threw herself at Katara's legs. Katara got down on her haunches and wrapped her arms around the princess. She felt Maiko's hot tears on her neck and the desperate grip the little girl had on her. Then, showing an incredible force of will that shouldn't have belonged to a child her age, Maiko let go and ran up the gangplank
"She's a strong little thing," Toph said.
"Take care of them," Zuko said.
Sokka looked at his new brother-in-law and with a deep breath, he put a hand on Zuko's shoulder.
"With our lives," he said and looked at Katara. "You take care of her."
Zuko looked at the woman by his side. Katara wiped at her eyes with her sleeve and looked back at him.
"With my life," he said.
It didn't take long to cast off. Zuko, Katara and Iroh stood on the docks, while Sokka, Toph, and Lu Zuo watched them from the deck of the ship. Maiko was nowhere to be seen. They waved until they couldn't wave anymore. Zuko merely watched. Katara glanced sideways at him, saw the muscle jumping in his jaw, his throat working as he choked back his own emotions, setting his own head straight. She wanted to reach out to him but was afraid of what would happen if she did.
"Let's go," he said, whirling on his heel and making her decision for her. "We have work to do."
10,000 (divided by 16 chapters but hey it's still a big number) hits and counting! Wow...thanks for reading. Home stretch now. Stay tuned.
-R