Katara was unconscious.

When she awoke, she realized she must have been out for a couple of days. Her clothes were dirty, and her face showed some signs of healing from Azula's actions. She found herself on her bed, in her room, with the palace physician beside her.

'Ah,' said the physician, noticing she had awoken. 'You're back.'

'How long was I out for? A couple days?' asked Katara.

'About three days or so,' replied the physician. 'Not terribly long.'

'Oh,' said Katara. She lay in her bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling. She was too tired and hurt to move much. 'I... I want to see my maid, Mina.'

'Whatever for?' asked the physician. 'My student, Lim and I are here to cater for your needs.' He nodded to a young man standing beside him, who was holding a towel and a small basin of warm water.

'I appreciate that,' replied Katara, 'but I really need to see Mina. I want to know if my mail has arrived yet. It's imperative that I do not delay my replies by too much.'

'What mail is so important that you must compromise your health for?' asked the physician sternly. 'You must get better soon. The Firelord demands it.'

'Zuko... I mean, the Firelord... he called you here to attend to me?' whispered Katara.

'Yes,' replied the physician. 'He was adamant that you get better. He sent for me personally. I am Doctor Fengdi, the royal physician. I have been looking after the royal family for as long as I have been in practice. They are very exclusive. You must be of high importance to the Firelord for him to summon me especially.'

Katara blushed and smiled to herself. She let out a sigh, and her head felt a little dizzy, her heart light. Quickly, however, some memories of her previous encounter with the young Firelord began to creep in. She had rejected him, so harshly, right after he had revealed a very personal and painful aspect of his life to her, and right as he was about to tell her how he truly felt towards her. Katara felt twisted inside - from the guilt of being so awful to him, and, for the first time she realized, from letting go the love of her life.

She let out a huge, sudden gasp.

'I need to see the Firelord,' she said firmly as she attempted to sit upright. She was a bit weak and too shaky to get up on her own. Lim and Dr Fengdi rushed to support her arms.

'My lady you must rest!' cried Fengdi exasperatedly. 'All this epiphanies! First you must she Mina, and now the Firelord! Your body can't take the stress!'

'No!' Katara yelled, frantically trying to loosen their grip on her. 'This is important. I must see the Firelord!' Beads of sweat were trickling down her forehead, and her joints and muscles ached and burned. She could now see her left arm was swollen and there was a huge, slightly yellowing, purple bruise. Lim quickly dipped the towel he was holding into the warm basin of water and applied the towel over the swelling. 'You must rest,' he told her. It was the first time Katara heard him spoke, or even looked at him properly. He was a tall and skinny young man with typical Firenation features - very pale skin, jet black hair and golden eyes. But he had a kind face; a very concerned one. In contrast, Doctor Fengdi was short and stout, with a round belly (probably as a result of the numerous banquets in the palace) and a thin, greying beard.

'Please,' repeated Lim. 'You must rest.'

'I must see the Firelord...' Katara began to protest, but Lim cut through her.

'If you must really see him, I would be honored to call him here to visit you,' said Lim. 'But you must promise to rest, and I cannot promise he can take the time to see you.'

Katara just stared at him and nodded slightly.

The young man exited the room, leaving Katara in the care of Fengdi.

A couple of minutes later, he returned - alone. 'The Firelord says he is very sorry that he cannot see you,' Lim said. 'He says he is about to attend to some very important business and will see you as soon as he can.'

Soon it was dinner time, and Lim was ordered to bring some hot medicinal soup prepared for Katara especially. Fengdi had been monitoring Katara's breathing patterns, heart rate and temperature. 'Your condition is improving,' he said.

Katara was indeed feeling better. She was well enough now to support herself, and the swelling had gone down by a bit. She had never endured such a painful kick in her life - it was obvious that the move was executed by a grand master in martial arts - which Azula indeed, was.

Leaned up against the wall on her bed, she asked Fengdi if he could get her some wet towels so she could at least clean herself slightly. She also asked for a set of clean clothes. 'I think I would feel better if I was a bit cleaner,' she joked.

After she had cleaned down her face with the towels, she proceeded to get dressed in some clean clothes. Fengdi and Lim had left for this duration, and Katara had to slowly put on the clothes herself, careful not to touch any of her wounds.

Sure enough, after she had cleaned herself, she felt rejuvenated and invited Fengdi and Lim to come back inside. It was late afternoon by now.

'Did the Firelord mention when he was going to arrive?' she kept asking Lim. Lim looked extremely nervous. 'Um, no,' he said quietly to himself. 'He's...um... preparing to meet up with his generals to talk about the war and such.'

Katara noticed that Lim kept checking the window and looking outside. He was also sweating profusely.

'What's wrong?' Katara asked.

'Nothing,' Lim said, turning away from the window. He pulled a smile. 'The sky outside tonight is terrible. Better not stay near the windows, lady Katara.'

Katara smiled at the well-meaning young man and settled back into her sheets.