Hey every one. So this is Chapter Two.
I want to thank everyone who has read the story so far
and everyone who has commented.
As always, please read/review.
Thanks again.
/New Fire/
...Chapter Two...
Guilt
She brushed her long dark hair as she looked in the large vanity mirror propped up against the wall. She examined her own face, running her eyes over it, scanning for any imperfections. When she detected none, she twisted two locks of hair into long strands and pulled them back as to hold the rest of the thick heap. She finished it off with a small red flower tucked behind her ear. She then stood up and made her way over to the enormous closet filled with all the latest Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation clothing she could think of. She pulled a simple, but elegant robe out and wrapped it around her slim frame. She stepped back in front of the mirror to examine the finished product; the effect was nice and she smiled to herself. Suddenly she heard a noise just behind her and froze slightly, but looking up into the mirror ensured her that it was only a small flying lemur nosing around in a bowl of fruit.
"Momo, what have you done this time?" she chuckled, her smooth voice catching the attention of the animal and stopping him in mid bite of a blueberry. She ran her hand over Momo's soft back a few times before looking out toward the large tower-like building that was the prison. She gave a sigh.
"What is it?" said a voice from the door way. She quickly turned to the source of the voice to find Aang standing there. She gave a weak smile and turned back
toward the prison. She paused for a moment. He waited, he was good like that.
"I don't know. I just hate seeing that prison looming over me every time I wake up in the morning." She began. Aang chuckled.
"How come? It is only holding Fire Nation war criminals now." He said reassuringly. She looked into his eyes.
"I know. And that is where they belong, I just…hate it. I just keep thinking that, maybe things could have gone differently." She said.
"You know we all wished this war never happened. But it did. And this is where we are now, as a world, but it will be ok." Aang said, still standing in the doorway.
"I know we will be ok. I just wished it could have gone differently, for some people." She said, looking back up at the tower. Aang understood who she was
referring to. She was always so caring, he loved that about her. He smiled to himself.
"May I come in?" He asked. She looked at him with those beautiful blue eyes and nodded. He immediately stepped over the threshold and over to Katara where
he pulled her into his arms. She welcomed his embrace, resting her head on his chest. She gave another sigh.
"You weren't there. You didn't see her. She was in so much pain; so much anger. It was terrifying and heartbreaking and…" she didn't continue.
"Look, Azula made her own choice. She let the power go to her head and she cracked. It was different with Zuko; he had something to hold on to. But she didn't;
she was alone. It's sad but it's what happened." Aang said. Katara lifted her head up and looked him in the eyes.
"But that is just it, she had no one. No one loved her. Zuko had Iroh that is how he was able to make it through, but Azula? She was like you said…alone. It's
horrible. I mean I know what I did had to be done and I know what you did had to be done too, it's just…I can't get her screaming out of my head." She said
burying her head back into his chest.
Aang stroked her hair for a little while. He knew that it would take her some time to get over this, if she ever would. He started thinking of ways to help her but
he couldn't think of any.
"Hey, why don't we go into town and get some breakfast, okay?" Aang said with a smile. She smiled back and nodded. Maybe this would take her mind off of it for
a while.
They sat down at a small outside restaurant just outside the palace city walls. It was Katara's favorite place, but when they began to eat, she barely touched her
food. Aang didn't say anything. This would take time, he knew that. She would wake up one day ready to forgive herself. And he knew he couldn't force these
things. But then suddenly she began to cry. Not loudly, but Aang definitely noticed. They were in a pretty private area so there weren't many people around to
see.
"Maybe we should leave." Aang said after awhile of hearing her sniffing. She just shook her head.
"No, I'm fine. I just need to forget about it. I just need to…" but she broke down again. Aang set his chop sticks down.
"Come on; let's go back to the apartment. You can lie down for a while…" She looked up at him with her tearstained eyes and her brow furrowed.
"Aang! It's my fault she is in that place. You know that she isn't getting the right treatment in there. For all we know, the guards probably beat her and hardly
feed her. I know she did a lot of terrible things, but does anyone deserve that!"
"You are being too hard on yourself. You make it sound like she had nothing to do with any of it. She tried to kill you. And she would have if you hadn't defended
yourself." But she buried her face in her hands.
"Katara…please, don't think like this. You aren't a bad person. Azula is a bad person. Her father is a bad person. Some people can't be helped. Some just need to
be locked away. You think what I did to Ozai or Azula is something I wanted to do? We can't go around wishing things were different; we don't have the power to
change it." When Aang finished his speech and he reached across the table and wrapped his fingers around hers. She looked up at him with a loving gaze. She
knew that he was right. She knew that it was pointless to be this way, but she couldn't shake off the feeling that she wanted and needed to do something.
"You're right. I will try to forget this for now. I think I just need to clear my head. I think I will walk back to the apartment alone." She said quietly and Aang
nodded.
Moments later she was heading away from the restaurant but not in the direction of the apartment. She looked up at the tower looming over her as she made
her way toward the front gate.
It was a tall solid metal gate with massive chains attached to it in order to open it. When she arrived at it, the guard addressed her.
"My Lady, I was not informed that you would be visiting the prison today."
"Its alright. I just want to ask a question. How many prisoners are in this facility?"
The guard looked at her for a moment, but then recited the information.
"There are approximately sixty-six prisoners in this facility, My Lady. This facility is the strongest and most secure prison on the palace island. This facility can hold
approximately six hundred prisoners." She nodded.
"And what about food and water?" she asked. Again the guard gave her a strange look.
"Uh…all of the prisoners get the same amount of meals each day." He said, but she was already spewing another question in his direction.
"And what about restrooms?"
"Each cell has its own waste disposal unit."
"And how does that work? Is it just a bucket that doesn't even get changed every day?"
"My Lady, I can assure you…"
"And what about guards, are there male guards assigned to female prisoners?" she spat. The guard was starting to sweat.
"Um…My Lady, we simply don't have enough guards…"
"Have any of them been mistreated? Tell me, what is keeping a male guard from harassing a female prisoner?"
"My Lady, there has never been an incident of that kind, I can assure you that. Now, please don't worry. This is the top prison in the Fire Nation and we take
extra care to make sure that all prisoners are taken care of and are under maximum security. Now…" he stated, but Katara wasn't finished.
"I would like to go inside. I would like to examine the facility myself!"
The guard's eyes became the size of dinner plates.
"My Lady, with all due respect, I simply can't authorize civilian entry into the facility…"
"What do you mean, I am no civilian. Why have you been calling me 'My Lady' this whole time? And besides, I fought in the war. You know this." She said now
inches away from the guard.
"I understand, My Lady, but that does not give you the right to enter this facility." He said, and he did look a little nervous even though he stood his ground.
Katara reached for her hip only to find that her water bag wasn't there. She made a frustrated noise and began to walk away. Then suddenly she got a great
idea. She turned back around to face the guard.
She could have sworn that he was wiping a smirk off his face. This only fueled her rage.
"Then I will make a request on behalf of MY BOYFRIEND, THE AVATAR AND MY BEST FRIEND THE FIRE LORD!" she said sharply. A bead of sweat ran down the
guards face. Katara continued.
"I want you to check on a prisoner for me. Princess Azula. Make sure she is getting everything she needs and if she has any injuries. If she does have any injuries
I will take care of them myself." She spat.
"And if there are any problems, don't worry; I will be talking to Fire Lord Zuko as soon as possible!"
The guard gulped and nodded.
"I will personally see that it is done, My Lady." He said, with a forced smile.
"Good." Katara said. Then she turned on the spot and walked back toward the palace. She had every intention of making a beeline strait for Zuko.
It didn't take Katara very long to arrive at the palace. She was immediately recognized by the guards and let inside. She took an immediate right and slipped
through a small private door that led strait to a secret staircase. She made her way down the stairs, took a left went down three more corridors and came to a
curtain. She stopped in front of it and her eyes landed on an unlit torch coming out of the wall.
She pulled it and waited for the sound of metal gears and stone to stop moving before she swiftly ducked under the curtain and made her way down another
narrow corridor. At the end was a small plain looking door. She knocked three times, leaving a short pause before the third knock. Suddenly the door handle
turned and the door swung open and out stepped Zuko. He gave a small scan of the surrounding corridor before letting his eyes land on Katara's.
"Is something the matter?" he said in a serious voice.
"Yes, Zuko, I just ran into a little problem." She said.
"Well, come in." he said and she stepped over the threshold.
She really liked this room. It was a small circular room that was filled with low light and books. There was a small desk with more books and papers scattered over
it, and an ink brush that was saturated with ink. Zuko stopped in the middle of the room and folded his arms.
"So, what is this problem you have run into?" He asked. Katara repositioned herself, folding her arms as well.
"I just need permission to visit the prison tower whenever I want." She said casually. She tried to sound casual but she wasn't sure if it worked. Zuko narrowed his gaze.
"Why do you want to visit that prison?" he said, but she already knew he knew. She unfolded her arms and cut to the point.
"Look, I just want to make sure that the prisoners are being treated well. I have suspicions that the prisoners are being mistreated."
"All the prisoners or just one in particular?" he said with a bit of a stern tone. Katara couldn't play anymore.
"Look, Zuko. I know you may not like her, but I was the one that took her out and Aang is the one that took her bending…" Katara began, but Zuko cut her off.
"I know Katara; I was there. She is mentally ill and she needs to stay in that prison."
"I know you love her and you care about her." Katara said softly. Zuko turned to look her right in the eyes. He had one of his more somber faces on. Katara continued.
"You don't want her to live like that. I understand that the prison is the best place for her, but it doesn't make it the best place. Please, just let me visit her and
the other prisoners. I can help them." She said her eyes glassy again, but Zuko wasn't looking at her. He stayed silent for a bit but then spoke, still staring at the
ground, almost like he was hiding his face.
"I wasn't going to not let you go, Katara. I was just curious about why you would want to. I know better than anyone the pain that Azula can cause and I don't
want to see you get hurt." He said. Katara smiled a watery one and walked over and hugged Zuko. After their embrace, Katara spoke.
"I will be okay. I can handle myself. I just need to do this."
"I know. And I give you full access to the prison." He said.
"Thanks Zuko."
He didn't say anything; he just smiled and went back to his desk.
Katara took another sip of her tea as she smiled to herself. She and Aang were out again. It was evening and the sun was setting, leaving everything bathed in
gold. Aang smiled as he watched her.
"Well, someone looks happy." He said. She just looked up and grinned, shrugged and went back to her food. Aang continued to watch her.
"So, where did you go today, anyway? I hope you went back to the apartment to get some rest." Aang said. Katara looked up from her food; her chopsticks
frozen in mid air with one noodle still hanging off it.
"I didn't want to tell you right away, but I have some really amazing news!" she said setting her chopsticks down and grinning from ear to ear.
"What is it?" Aang asked, still smiling.
"Well, I visited the prison today." She said. Aang's smile vanished.
"Wait, you visited the prison? Why would you need to visit that place?" Aang asked, suddenly concerned. Katara's smile vanished too.
"I didn't go in. Actually I couldn't; the guard at the front gate said civilians aren't allowed in, which is stupid because…" but she stopped at the look on Aang's face.
"What?" she said. Aang was staring at her with an expression of disbelief.
"I can't believe it, you are actually going to try and talk to her."
"And what's wrong with that?" Katara said sudden anger and annoyance in her voice. Now Aang knew he had crossed the line, but he didn't care.
"Katara, this could be dangerous. You don't know what she could do, and that isn't even the point; you need to just leave her alone. She is too far gone."
Now it was Katara's turn to have a look of disbelief. She almost had tears in her eyes.
"You can't believe me? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! I thought you would be for this. I thought you would want to help even." She shouted, her voice raising and
lowering with anger. Aang just looked away. He knew he would never change her mind and now he definitely wouldn't.
"Well, I guess I shouldn't say anything else…"
"That's right, you shouldn't!" she snapped.
Aang went back to eating his food but not even tasting what he was shoveling into his mouth. Katara on the other hand just sat in silence until he was finished.
When Aang finally paid the bill and they left, he and Katara walked three feet apart the whole way and when it was time for them to go their separate ways, they didn't even wish each other a good night.
When Katara finally made it back inside, she flung herself onto her bed and let out a huge sigh; she didn't care if no one would support her in this, it was right
and she would do it. She would visit the prison tomorrow.
She would visit Azula.
Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I am working on chapters 3 and 4 simultaneously, so I will have those up shortly.
Thanks again for reading. Please review.