Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar.
Okay, this is a fluff chapter...kind of. It's pretty dramatic, still, but mostly fluffy. Don't worry, it's still very, very important to the plot. Hope you like it, and leave reviews!
'If I told myself a month ago that I would be sitting on Ty Lee's bed in Fire Nation clothes talking calmly to Azula about capture and death, I would have water-whipped myself in the face and saved everyone the trouble of killing me,' thought Katara, stunned. And yet, there she was, doing that exact thing. Minus the water-whip to the head.
"So, with Zuko gone, seeing as he has no heir, the throne will be free for the taking. Iroh was too weak to bury Ba Sing Se when his son died, he'll just fall apart like last time. So, the Avatar will take the throne through me, of course, and we can bring peace to the Nations," said Azula seriously, her face set. Katara frowned.
"Are you sure we should kill Zuko? He hasn't really done much to deserve that," pondered Katara out loud, her chin in her hand. Her confidence wavered when everyone stared at her disbelievingly. Sokka's eyes were wide open.
"Are you kidding me? Just whose side are you on, Katara?" he asked, his voice amazed. Azula held up a hand in his direction, commanding silence.
"Don't you worry about the killing part, I'll take care of that. And yes, he most certainly deserves death. He betrayed his country multiple times! Surely you understand the importance of honor and loyalty, Katara! He killed so many in the war, both directly and indirectly. He chased you tirelessly across the planet! And many, many more will die if his reign continues. We must destroy him before he produces an heir," said Azula, and Katara's brow furrowed. She remembered having suffered capture, worry over whether Aang would live to see tomorrow, and the pain of exhaustion. Yes, she was angry. The fact that Azula, too, had chased them endlessly was swept from her mind.
"How do we know that you'll allow Aang to stop the war through you? How do we know that you won't just...take over?" asked Katara. Azula smiled devilishly.
"Well, you'll just have to trust me," she said softly, and smiled to herself. 'You don't have any other choice.'
"Katara, you have one job and one job only, so you had better not mess this up. Your job is to find the Avatar so we can set the plan in motion. You're the only one with the appearances and abilities to make my brother talk, an innocent, harmless dancer," said Azula, and Katara frowned.
"How am I supposed to get him to tell me where Aang is?" she asked, and Azula smiled wider.
"Use your imagination," she purred, turning to leave. She missed the outraged indignation Sokka's face clearly displayed.
Katara wandered the halls, aimlessly searching for Aang. She knew that she wouldn't find him, but couldn't quash the feeling that she wasn't helping in the least. One person knew where he was, and Katara knew where that one person was.
She reached the double doors, taking a deep breath. 'Calm down, he won't recognize you, inside he's just a normal, average, everyday...Fire Lord.' Katara sighed and pushed the doors open.
Here sprawled the throne room, filled with officials discussing war, noble ladies discussing who wore what on which occasion, and there, in the throne, the Fire Lord. Katara noticed several dancers already there, including Rin, but Zuko looked rather uncomfortable. Iroh, however, looked pleased. Katara took another deep breath and ran a hand through her hair, undone for the occasion. Her hair was usually fairly straight, but since she wore braids, it was wavy whenever she took it down. She almost forgot what it was like to have straight hair. A bun was done up, though, with the top layer, and pinned with the flame emblem. The rest lay, sleek and dark, to the middle of her back. She put on her best smile and strolled towards the throne.
Katara was surprised at the reactions she recieved from the noblewomen. Some of them sniffed or whispered to their friends quite audibly, but most glared at her venomously. Katara offered a weak smile, but no one smiled back. She lowered her eyes to the ground, embarrassed and wishing she could just go back to where she came. She looked up, and her eyes met Zuko's. For some reason, his expression relaxed, and she felt calmer.
"Ara?" he asked, beckoning to her. Katara could almost feel the indignation radiating from behind her, and smirked to herself. Those petty noblewomen...they were jealous! She sauntered over to Zuko, and rested on the armrest of his great, golden throne. Rin looked posotively murderous, and Katara couldn't blame her. She doubted that Zuko even knew Rin's name.
"Fire Lord Zuko, how is your day going?" she asked harmlessly, and he shrugged and smiled.
"I can't complain, we just ...re-renamed...New Ozai to New Iroh to honor my uncle. He did, you remember, nearly conquer the city years ago. And, with the Avatar in our grasp..." he stopped there, and looked around suspiciously, catching his mistake. Speaking of the Avatar was never good in the Fire Nation. Several men and women looked away to pretend they weren't listening. Zuko shifted uncomfortably.
"I need some fresh air. Would you mind coming outside with me?" he asked, and Katara grinned. Hook, line, and sinker. He trusted her enough to be alone with her. Then again, it didn't take much trust to agree to be alone with a small, unarmed girl. She nodded and took his offered arm as he stood, and they headed for the door. Katara returned the furious looks of the noblewomen with smiles, and, to further enrage them, waved as they passed through the door into the beautiful Fire Nation gardens.
For a while, they just walked, admiring the gorgeous flowers. Katara had never seen such magnificent specimens. There were fire-flowers, emberroses, chimneynuts, and sunflowers. Katara paused to touch a particulary beautiful emberrose, its dark petals sighing in her fingers' embrace. She turned and smiled at Zuko, in pure joy at the sight of the wonder. She noticed him smiling back, and she looked away, blushing slightly. His warm hand reached around to cup her chin and lift her face, and she trembled with fear. Would he recognize her? Her hand was positioned, ready to draw a water whip from any of the nearby fountains.
He looked like he was going to say something, but he didn't. Katara relaxed the ready muscles in her left arm, and breathed deeply. Maybe he didn't notice. He released her chin, and sighed, looking away.
"You remind me of someone," he said softly, "someone I didn't particularly like." He stopped there, and decided not to say any more. Katara's brow furrowed. Was he talking about who she thought he was talking about? She decided to push it.
"Who?" she asked innocently, and he frowned, anger rising. Katara felt his temperature go up a few degrees, and flinched.
"Just...someone who was a barrier to my victory," he said vaguely, and Katara knew who he was talking about. She decided not to talk anymore.
As they walked, she couldn't help but shiver and move closer to him. The cold seasons were passing, and it felt like it would snow. Zuko was, she admitted grudgingly, unexpectedly warm, and she had forgotten her coat. He noticed her shaking, and wrapped his cloak around her, shielding her from the wind. Katara lost her breath, basking in the heat that seemed to radiate off of her former enemy. She took deep, steady breaths, and noticed he smelled faintly of summer, sun, and smoke. It actually took her a while to realize that they were no longer standing, but sitting together on a marble bench, hiding under an oak-willow from the cold. Katara looked and saw tiny, white flakes floating serenely from the sky. Their appearance didn't match the temperature, because Katara shivered harder than ever. Zuko looked concerned.
"Here," he said kindly, and he raised his body temperature a few more degrees, and Katara sighed in comfort. This was heaven. Here, under the trees and stormy, gray sky, she felt at peace. Everything was wiped from her mind as she relaxed, heat enveloping as she leaned against Zuko's side, his arm around her. Her face nestled in the hollow of his neck, and the last thought that flew through her mind was about how perfectly they fit together.
Zuko looked around, wondering what to do. Looking down, he noticed the girl's eyes were closed, her lips curving up into a smile. Her cheeks were tinged pink from warmth, but he felt how cold she was. 'She must not be a Firebender,' he decided. Fire Nation women who couldn't bend were more likely to catch cold than those who could. He remembered, with a wince, the day he had to swim to the Northern Water Tribe, a massive city of ice. He remembered the pain of biting cold, and every day thanked the spirits that he was a bender.
"Ara," he said softly, shaking her shoulders. She appeared to be fast asleep, and the wind was growing faster, stronger. Worried that they might not be able to find their way back into the palace, and yet knowing that he couldn't carry her there without the risk of her freezing to death, he shook her again, but gently.
"Ara!" he said, more insistently, but she only mumbled incoherently and shifted in her sleep. He smiled slowly, but then remembered the situation. Looking outside, he saw the snow was falling thick and fast, blinding them of light. Oh, how he hated snow. He could melt a path...but it would quicky refill, and he would have trouble melting a path if he had to carry Ara, too. He didn't want to burn her.
With a sigh, he carried her over to the base of the wide, comforting tree. Maybe ther could sit this out. Leaning back against it, he pulled his cloak around himself and Ara, trying to keep her warm. She was so small...he held her tiny hands in his, warming them steadily. She smiled again, and leaned against him. Zuko didn't think this was proper, but he felt it was right. He put his arm around her for added heat, and fell asleep.
Aang couldn't sleep. He was so, so tired, and yet the biting cold kept him awake. Shivering and blowing on his fingers, he struggled to keep warm. He hoped dearly that his friends were better off then he was. Huddled in the corner, he tried to figure out how long he had been in that cell, eating little and sleeping less. He had used his poor firebending skills to warm himself, using what Jeong Jeong had taught him. Unfortunately, he could do little without something flammable. Occasionally he could create a small flame, but it extinguished within seconds. He had been here for a few weeks at least, maybe more. It was hard to tell when there weren't windows.
Suddenly, the door opened, and Aang leapt to his feet. The only person who ever visited him was Zuko, and it usually wasn't with good news, only to give him foor, or mock his efforts at escape. Aang readied a ball of air, knowing that an attack could lead to severe punishment, but deciding to risk it anyway. Anything was better than sitting in a cold, pitch-black cell forever, and Aang kind of hoped that Zuko would launch a humongous fireball at him. Maybe then he wouldn't be so cold.
As a snap of fire lit, Aang almost threw the ball, stopping when he saw the holder.
"Azula?" he asked, amazed. Why was she still alive? Didn't Zuko hate her? Why was she able to bend? Then, he noticed that she held a torch. Oh, so she couldn't bend. Why not?
"Avatar," she said shortly, bowing. Aang bowed back politely, but cautiously. Why was she here?
"Where are my friends?" he demanded, and Azula smiled grimly. Aang wondered whose side she was on.
"At the moment, I don't know. I do, however, know where your lady friend is. She's the only one who isn't kept locked up in a cell," lied Azula cleverly. Aang's expression was so furious, so fericious, that Azula wished she could pause this moment forever.
"Yes...she's kept as a dancer...and entertainer...for the Fire Lord. I can't tell if she's that thin because they want her to be prettier or if they just don't feed her," purred Azula, watching as Aang grew angrier and angrier. Just as she thought, the young monk had been in love with the girl. Azula pushed further.
"Zuko rather likes her, I'm not sure why. Maybe it's her clothes...she doesn't wear much," added Azula, and Aang looked like he was going to explode. Azula smiled to herself. The bait was set.
"I am, however, currently working on finding the whereabouts of your other friends. I have converted to your side, as I wish to stop my brother from continuing this abominable war," she said, bowing low again. As she predicted, Aang looked relatively suspicious.
"Why should I trust you?" he asked sharply, and she sighed.
"I want to stop my brother, and I want the throne. I chased you and your friends so I could gain glory in my father's eyes, and become the heir. For an unknown reason, he named his traitorous brother heir, and his brother named Zuko Fire Lord. I wish to rule, and with our combined efforts, we can stop my brother once and for all." She paused and watched his face. Aang still didn't look sure.
"But we won't...kill him?" asked Aang softly, and Azula scoffed. Here he was, ready to kill Zuko himself, and now he didn't want to? He was such a child. Azula sighed again.
"No...but maybe just lock him up forever for his heinous crimes," she said, and Aang looked much more willing. He shifted his pale gray eyes to her face, and she covered the greedy look with a sorrowful, serene one.
"Alright. I'm in."
Ohoho, is Azula a tricky one. Come on, anybody, let's see if you can figure out her plan. And that reminds me...anyone else here hate the episode that showed this Friday??!! Is Zuko going to disappear from the story? HE BETTER NOT!!