Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar.

Oh yeah, there were some questions and comments about the last chapter, so I'll answer them now.

thatsphat: Thanks for the catch, I completely missed that, and it might have caused a lot of trouble/confusion. Really, really grateful I owe you one, and I fixed it!

La Zorra: I know, Momo does seem unloyal, but Zuko hasn't really done anything to invoke his anger. I mean, usually pets can sense their owner's emotions, but Aang doesn't really hate Zuko, right? And Momo doesn't know what's going on, he's an animal.

Oh yeah, and a couple of you commented on the dancing, some said I didn't make Katara good enough and some said I described it well. Katara wouldn't be a great Fire Nation dancer because she's from the Water Nation, with different styles and customs. I kind of pictured her dancing like she would fighting, since waterbending is kind of smooth and flowing. She's a good dancer, but her style is just different.

Katara stood outside her new room, staring at the black and red doors. It wasn't too far from Toph's prison, only a few halls away. She made a mental note to visit her often.

Taking the small gold key from her neck, she unlocked and opened the doors. Once she stepped in, she was immediately grateful to the girl that had told her about this job. As a rule, all dancers were required to stay in the palace, because sometimes they danced late at night and the person in charge didn't want them to get attacked as they blundered home. Katara was indignant, but didn't want to risk losing the job. The room was large, with a bedroom and a small entrance room. The walls were dark red, lined with molten gold. Katara threw open the heavy curtains to be greeted with the warm sunlight.

Katara ran a hand through her grimy hair. Wincing, she decided to take a bath. Madam Ulia had given her a map, with the places she could go outlined and labeled. Finding the bathrooms, she started walking down the halls.

Once she opened the door, Katara's jaw dropped. The dancers' bathing area was like a...a spa! Tubs sank into the ground, shaped intricately like shells or flames. There were some mud baths, and even some exquisite milk baths. Katara stared as steam fogged the entire section. She couldn't honestly call it a room. It had many hallways, leading to other sections. Servants were everywhere, mostly very young girls. They painted and filed the dancers' fingernails, applying a thick, sweet-smelling paste on their ravishingly pretty faces. They grated feet, waxed eyebrows, legs, arms; one girl couldn't be more than twelve. They sweated for the womens' beauty.

Katara exchanged her clothing for a thick, soft towel and stood, shivering, in her undergarments. Ducking her head, she hurried by to find an emtpy tub. It was difficutlt, as there were many girls. Finally, she found a tub towards the back.

Katara walked up the steps, wondering why this tub was empty of others. It was actually very, very nice, with a gold tile rim and marble slopes. Dipping her feet into the water, Katara sighed. The water here was always warm. She slid in all the way, burying herself in the heat up to her ears.

She almost fell asleep. Dozing, she soaked in the heat and steam, feeling the dirt and grime of months with Aang and Sokka melting away. The Fire Nation sure knew how to live! Suddenly, Katara sat up, gasping. Fire Nation! What was she doing? She was here, in absolute comfort and warmth, while Toph, Aang, and Sokka were probably freezing in cold little cells! She was about to leap to her feet when she heard footsteps and laughter approaching.

"...and Li said she needed to go wash her hair, but we all knew what she was doing!"

"But what about Cho? What did she do?"

The talking stopped as Katara turned. There stood three young women, each very beautiful and very angry looking. The two in the back were twins, and had dark brown hair and gold eyes. Their freckles stood out on their pale skin, and they had full, lovely lips and ponytails. The one standing in front was clearly the leader, with black hair that hung loose, stunning hazel eyes, and a pert, delicate nose. A beauty mark sat comfortably near her mouth. Her lips were thin but cleverly, if not malisciously, shaped. They were twisted into a frown.

"New girl? I guess she doesn't know the dorm rules yet," she said, smiling cruelly. Katara just stared. Suddenly, the girl shifted and a blast of fire spiraled from her fist straight towards Katara's face. She yelped, and her first thought was to quench it with a rush of water, but more than twenty servants were standing around, watching. Instead, she ducked quickly, her reflexed toned as a result of being chased by an insane teenager for the past year. The girl looked mildly disappointed.

Katara was a good fighter, but without her bending she barely stood a chance. This girl was obviously very practiced, and almost as good as Katara. The fact that she had firepower didn't hurt.

"Rule number one. This is my private bath. Rule number two. No ugly people allowed in the bathing area," she said, flipping her long, luxurious hair over her shoulder. Katara felt like waterwhipping her in the face and showing her how to really bend, but chose to grind her teeth angrily instead.

"Your private bath? What makes you so special?" snapped Katara, watching the pale, slender hands for another attack. The girl laughed, a charming, sweet laugh.

"Well, I'm the best dancer, and I'm requested the most...I'm also the best bender here," she cooed, fluttering her eyelashes. Katara resisted the urge to summon a monster wave. It didn't help that she was surrounded in more than enough water to make it.

"Who do you think you are, pushing everyone around?" snarled Katara, standing menacingly, hands curled into fists. The girl looked scornful. She smirked.

"I think I'm Rin, and I can push anyone I like anywhere I like," she said smugly, moving like lightning to shoot a blast of red hot fire at her new enemy. Katara gasped and ducked, the flames singing her back. "This is Yuri, and this is Hana. Nice to meet you..." said the girl, gesturing towards her two friends.

"Ara," said Katara shortly. "and I'm fairly surprised you have friends, the way you pick on people." Rin didn't even blink. Yuri and Hana, though, looked indignant. Rin strolled calmly up to Katara, who didn't back down. She looked the girl straight in the eye.

"This is your first day, I'll save your punishment for tomorrow. Until then..." she smiled sweetly and batted her eyelashes. Katara could see the loathing behind the hints of green. Suddenly, without warning, Katara was grabbed by the arm and literally thrown from the tub, flying towards the unforgiving ground. Years of practice and fighting allowed Katara to land on her feet, uninjured.

"...you better stay out of my way." finished Rin, flames covering her raised fists. Katara severely wished she could put them out with a lash of water, but there was nothing she could do. Instead, she sucked up the last of her pride and turned to leave.

Katara sat on her bed, fiddling with the soft blankets. She had neatened the room, carefully cleaning and arranging everything to make it a nice place to live. It was probably a good idea, seeing as she might be here a while. Sighing, she put her face in her hands. Why couldn't a rescue just be easy for once? She heard a soft knock on the door.

"Come in," she called dully, barely bothering to raise her head. A girl came in, a grungy, dirty girl. She was obviously a servant, with the traditional dark hair, thick and braided.She bowed to Katara. She was actually quite pretty. Katara was startled.

"Who're you?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. The girl cringed.

"My...my name is Suzu," she said softly, her voice surprisingly light and musical. Her eyes were dark gray. Katara smiled.

"My name is Ara, nice to meet you," she said, holding out a hand. The girl looked confused, but shook her hand anyway. After a moment, a grin spread slowly across her face, and she looked pleased. Katara was glad to find a friend in this dark, lonely place.

Zuko frowned unhappily. This meeting was a bore, and he was starting to fall asleep. His eyes were steadily closing, and he was getting delusional. Stifling a yawn, he opened his eyes forcefully.

"Meeting ajourned, let's go," he said dully, rubbing his eyes. The officials looked startled, but didn't dare contradict him. They gathered their charts and maps and left, huffing frustratedly. Zuko didn't really care. He was too tired. Iroh glanced worriedly at his nephew.

"Are you sure you're up to ruling?" he asked carefully. One golden eye slanted open and glared at him.

"I'm quite capable, uncle, I'm just tired," he snapped, closing it again. Dictating a Nation was hard. His uncle looked thoughtful.

"Hey, how about we have a feast tomorrow, with food and dancers and everything! It'll be fun," he added, grinning hopefully at Zuko. Zuko didn't answer.

"And I'm sure that you will show your officials how civilized and fit to rule you are," said Iroh, resting his hands on his great belly. Zuko frowned.

"Fine...but not to show off to the officials, I don't give a damn about what they think," growled Zuko, getting up to leave. Iroh smiled after him. Maybe he would find a wife at this feast, and finally settle down. He had caught the Avatar; what more could he want?

Okay, this chapter is a nice filler chapter, where I introduce the main characters, and a new sourse of Katara's problems. I found the names on this super-cool website on google that gives you a bunch of japanese names and their meanings. I picked names to relate to the characters' traits.

Rin-cold

Hana-flower, favorite

Yuri- Lily

Suzu-bell

Oh yeah, and if you're wondering why there isn't a dance scene, you can blame the lazy non-reviewers. (Go ahead, tear them apart at will.) Reviews didn't reach thirty, so I didn't put a dance in. MAYBE I'll make a dance scene next chapter at the feast, but if I don't get at least 45 reviews, the feast MIGHT get canceled. You lazies better review! And as for those who did/will review, I owe you a thanks and a big hug, and an apology for not putting in a dance. Blame the non-reviewers.