Author's Note: You guys all hate me for writing Zutara now, do you? I'm sorry that I disappointed all you Kataang readers, but just know that I'm not very partial to the ship myself. I like Zutara more as a friendship kind of thing. I'm sorry... it's just plot progression. Maybe the damage won't be as bad this time around?

(And yes, writing these Zutara moments do give me great amusement mixed in with some inner regret. Here's hoping that this installment won't be so hard on you all.)

Part Two: Spring

Chapter Two: Letters, Lies, and Northern Lights

There was so much to take in again. So much wonder and grandeur and

Light. The light reflecting off the icy, opaque walls

And blanketing the seas like

A dazzling, surreal dream.

She stepped forward

The young boy in her arms

And spoke to the others

Her pained, quiet words falling like

Rain, like

Wind

Like snow-

The snow that blanketed the ground

And covered the ashes of the ones that had fallen.

"He'll - he'll be alright, then?"

"Our healers will see to it that the Avatar gets the best of care."

A ghost of a smile played at her lips, and she looked at him quietly.

"Will he survive?"

A jarring silence answered, and although she knew it was unevitable, the pain of having her worst fear confirmed shot through her heart.

After all this, he was still going to die. There was no use in lying to herself.

She gave a curt, polite nod and waited. What she was waiting for was unexplainable, she reasoned. She already knew that Aang wasn't going to make it, and the sooner she accepted that, the less misery she would feel.

Maybe she was waiting for him to wake up and tell her that he loved her. Maybe she was waiting for a miracle.

They carried him away.

He looked so pale and fragile in the midst of all this splendor, like a rock admist a cave of crystals. So weak. She had to resist the urge to run up to the boy and hug him, to reassure him like she had done so many times before. And yet, there was a jarring feeling in her heart that told her not to waste her time with attachments.

She was falling in love with a corpse. A dead soul, a dead body. It wasn't as if he would ever tell her that he returned her affections.

Strangely, though, as the healers took what was left of the Avatar away, it didn't feel as empty as Katara thought it would. She gazed up at the buildings bathed in light and covered in melting snow and felt small.

But not insignificant.

As the light fell from the sky, she walked away, turning her back on things she could never have again. She was to play a role in something else, she figured. Something that could distract her from feeling sorry for herself and her broken, miserable heartbreaks. Something that could take her mind off of her horrible loss.

As far as she was concerned, Aang was already gone. The sooner she believed that, the better off she would be.

Zuko,

I anticipate a safe return. Fire Lord Iroh asks of you. Perhaps you should take up a correspondence with him as well.

Your last letter was not as descriptive as I hoped. You must be preoccupied.

Apologizing must be harder than it sounds, Zuko.

Yours,

Mai

The Palace Garden had always felt eerily consistent to Mai. Silent, consistent, and beautiful.

The light danced across the water of the fountain, and she recalled the summers of years gone past. The summers that had gone by, so fleetingly, that she didn't recall much save for the heat and the laughter. And the exclusion.

She had never really understood the meaning for her existence. There were times when she felt like she had no purpose except to be a pawn, a playing piece for those around her. They told her to sit still and behave, to refuse fruit tarts during balls and to speak only when spoken to. They took her, the obedient, young girl she was, and tried to mold her into a formal, fancy lady. One who could make connections, who could capture the hearts of rich and influential men. She wasn't the most important playing piece on the board, but she knew that she did have some purpose.

She also knew that she could be easily sacrificed.

But Zuko had came along and made her his Queen. It made no difference, in all actuality. In fact, she had been sacrificed all the same, back when he had left her and his nation to fulfill his destiny. Back when a letter was all that she had to remember him by.

Why did it feel so eerily similar, these comings and goings of her prince? Why was it that it all felt the same? His banishment, his betrayal, and now this... it was like a distinct pattern. Zuko left and came back. Left and came back. Her heart broke a little bit every time he did.

At least some things remained the same. The garden. The fountain that she had been pushed into by none other than her prince. The tree that she had sat under for so many years, longing for a day when she could be rid of her tight, uncomfortable dress, her unimportance, her invisibility.

Now, she figured, as she sat under the same tree, staring into the same garden, wondering about the same person. Wondered why he thought so little of her, now that he had seen her and acknowledged her in that way.

She had wondered why duty always had to come before the heart, why Zuko was so "preoccupied" with his work as prince. So preoccupied that he didn't even send her a proper letter. She was the object of his affections, his girlfriend. A word of affection would've sufficed, instead of a strange, cold, short note.

His letter didn't seem hurried and rushed, like a prince who was taking some time out of his busy day to write to his beloved. It seemed fake and forced, as if he couldn't think of anything better to do at the time.

I don't know if he really loves me, her voice came echoing back. And she knew, at that moment, where her loyalties lay.

"You know, I wonder how Aang's doing," the warrior remarked, leaning against the wall as a cool spring breeze blew in from the open window. "I mean, it's been about two months now. He should be healing."

"You mean if Katara doesn't smother him with her nursing first," Toph replied dryly. She sat on the bed, feet dangling from the side. "You've seen the way she mothers him."

"True enough. Anyways, I'm a little worried. Two months without a word from Zuko or Katara... it's kind of unnerving, you know? They should've gotten to the North by now."

Toph stayed silent, pondering the situation.

"I mean, wouldn't they have thought to give us a little heads-up? Some letter or something? They know we're at your place, but so far, we haven't heard anything."

"That's because they're thinking human beings, Snoozles." The Earthbender sighed, a hint of boredom in her voice. "My parents want nothing to do with the Avatar, or you, for that matter. Therefore, any letter would've been promptly ignored, shredded, or downright destroyed. Want me to go into specifics?"

"Eh, that's alright, Toph. I'm good," the boy replied sheepishly. "I'm still worried, though. You think something bad's happened?"

"If something bad's happened, it would be all over the world by now. Trust me." Toph sighed and fell back onto the green, silky sheets that covered her luxurious bed. "Now how about that letter."

It was a statement, not a question, and Sokka knew that it was best to follow orders at the time. He promptly handed a piece of parchment to the Earthbender, who frowned, shook her head, and pushed it back towards him.

"I'm not using this," she stated with mock seriousness. "You are."

"That wasn't part of the deal!"

"Well, you never said that I couldn't have someone else do the writing. All I have to do is tell you what to write. Hmm, so being blind isn't that bad when it comes to letters."

"That's cheating."

"No, it isn't. Now sit your butt down and write."

Your Majesty,

I, Lao Bei Fong, have decided to postpone my daughter's engagement ball due to unfortunate circumstances...

Miles and miles away from home, a prince stood at the edge of a frozen city.

He was so far away. He wasn't banished or a traitor, he was royalty again.

This journey had gotten him to thinking that there was more to his duty than sitting with his girlfriend and eating fruit tarts.

There was more to being prince than sitting on a throne. There was a delicate balance to the world, and it connected everyone and everything. The world was like a clock that never stopped.

It had just hit him that he could be a turning point in how the world ran. He could change it all.

His power frightened him sometimes.

He quietly slipped into the streets and walked, the moonlight hitting the icy walls and making them glow an eerie, otherwordly white. It was beautiful, yet strange, and it was only now that he saw the grandeur of the Northern Water Tribe. When he had first arrived, war had clouded his vision, made him blind to the beauty around him.

Now he could see the city as it really was. A masterpiece.

It was the same for people, he figured. People like Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph. Before, they had been prizes. Objects. Things he had to obtain to gain honor from his nation, to be accepted.

But then it had dawned upon him that they were just people. And he joined them because of it.

Now he could see how they truly were.

The Avatar's innocence, his charm, his power.

The Earthbender's strength, will, and stubborness.

The warrior's intellect, skill, and his bravery.

And the Waterbender.

Zuko had never known how to describe Katara. In a sense, she had been a mixture of her friends' personalities, both fierce and caring, both stubborn and compassionate. But there was something more to her, some inner passion that he had yet to see in other girls he had known. There was a fire in her heart, a goal she fought for. She fought for Aang.

He thought to Mai then. An emotionless blah, he had called her. Inwardly, he had cursed himself for insulting her, but a small part of him had held on to that statement and known it was true. And he thought of the times he had held her close to him, the times that he thought she had felt for him.

She loved him, he knew, but he hardly even knew her. It felt so much different with Katara, because she understood him. He held on to that, too, because in a way, she was the only one he had now. She could never be his, though. Her heart belonged to another, and it was cruel to steal it away.

But even if Katara loved him, he knew that Mai wouldn't care.

The Fire Nation official walked down the corridors hesitantly, his stride uneven as Azula's cell came into view.

"You asked for me," he called into the halls. His voice echoed in the dark of the prisons, and the former princess smirked. The man she had requested was alone, just as she had planned. She turned to look at the official, a small, wicked smile on her face, and her eyes shone with a malice.

"I see that you've followed my instructions. You're very smart to do so, you know. So many imbeciles call the Fire Nation their home these days, I'm surprised that at least some still have their intelligence intact."

She said this, her voice unfaltering and sickly sweet, and the official wondered if it was a mistake to come.

"As you well know, my traitorous uncle has taken the throne. A pity that we didn't do anything to him while we had the chance." She smirked, noting her visitor's obvious discomfort. "Of course you agree with me. Otherwise, I'm afraid that I've found the wrong person."

The danger in her voice suggested a much more dangerous prospect. He tried to stare back unflinchingly, but failed when her deadly amber eyes met his.

"I'm sure you've familiar of the white jade bush. " Azula continued. "One of my acquiantances have told me all about it. Beautiful, but deadly."

The official decided that the white jade bush was a perfect metaphor for the girl before him.

"The white jade is a common flower in the Earth Kingdom, I've been told. My dear uncle has actually had the fortune to be acquianted with it. However, he is still very much alive today." She paused for a minute, seeing a flicker of unease in the man's eyes. "I've also heard that it's easily mistaken for a rare flower that can be used to make tea. The old fool."

She drew a small vial from her sleeve, its contents sloshing in the glass container. The official took it without a word, his eyes betraying his otherwise unnoticeable discomfort.

"The essence of white jade," she stated, as if it was of no importance. "I expect that you know what to do with it."

Author's Note: It's a short chapter, I know, but I've been busy lately. I'm so sorry for the break between updates, though, and will try to update sooner. Thank you all for reading this far.

In the Next Chapter: A young Avatar wakes in a frozen city, and the first person he sees is a certain young prince. Meanwhile, Toph and Sokka mail their letter, and Sokka seeks the perfect birthday present for his blind friend. Mai, Ty Lee, and Azula meet for some conspiring, and Zuko wonders how his uncle's faring back at the Fire Nation. And what happened to that vial of white jade?