here we go...and this one was up waaaay faster than the last. i hope you enjoy it!
disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. sniff. makes me sad.
Chapter Thirteen: Realizations
"No. Propriety dictates that a bride shouldn't see the groom before the wedding."
Katara made a sound of disgust as she tried to dodge the robust woman blocking her way to Zuko's wing. "Listen, I was on a ship with him and saw him every day!" Katara cried, still trying to wriggle out from under the woman's arm. "I think it's okay to see him now. I have to talk to him!"
But Kouta, housekeeper and bodyguard extraordinaire, refused to listen to any sort of reason. She stood her ground, shaking her head with a disapproving look at the Fire Lord's bride. "I'm afraid I can't, milady," she said. "Already your encounters with Zuko on the ship have tarnished your virtue."
Katara kindly refrained from laughing. After all, how could they talk about saving her virtue when she had Mitsuko and Sunil. Already, she had been informed of the rumors going around the city. Apparently, a lot of people had seen the resemblance between the Fire Lord and his bride's children.
Still, trying one more time couldn't hurt. "But this is of grave importance."
Kouta shook her head. "Be that as it may, you'll have to go through the Imperial Advisor first."
"But I already talked to Uncle Iroh and he told me to see Zuko!"
"I mean no disrespect to the Imperial Advisor, but he is a man and cannot possibly understand this sort of thing. I'm afraid that you'll simply have to listen to me." And with that, Kouta took hold of Katara's arm and began to lead her away from the South Wing and back to the West Wing.
Suddenly, Katara switched gears. "Kouta, you know that Mitsuko and Sunil are Zuko's children." It wasn't a question. Katara felt the woman's shock, but she went on. "Zuko loves me, but for the longest time, I was afraid to tell him. I thought he didn't love me; I though that, were I to let myself love him again, something horrible would happen. Now I know that's not true, but something horrible will happen if Zuko and I don't stop it. And I really, really need to talk to him."
Kouta stopped and looked down at Katara for a long moment and then she nodded. "All right. I suppose if it's for something important, I can't really keep you from talking to him." She let go of her charge. "But if I hear of any funny business going on, you're definitely not going to see the Fire Lord until the wedding, even if the palace is falling down around our ears."
Katara breathlessly promised she was only going to talk to Zuko and then hugged the larger woman. "Thank you," she said before running off down the hall.
When she reached Zuko's door, Katara paused to take a deep breath. She hadn't seen Zuko in at least three days and she was excited to see him again. When she had calmed herself enough, Katara knocked on the door.
"I'm busy!" came the answering shout.
Frowning, Katara tried to open the door but it was locked. She heard Zuko groan and waited as he went to the door.
"I told you I'm--" he stopped short as he opened the door and found Katara.
"Fine. Then I'll just go back to my room and not talk to you." She turned.
Zuko grabbed hold of Katara's arm and pulled her into the room. With a kick, he shut the door and pinned her against it. He kissed her passionately, making Katara sigh. When he pulled back, Zuko grinned. "Hi," he said.
Katara smiled. "I thought you said you were busy."
"Not anymore."
Katara laughed as Zuko leaned in for another kiss. "As much as I'd like to kiss you until we passed out, I promised Kouta there'd be no funny business." She grew suddenly serious. "Besides, I have something to tell you."
Zuko frowned. "What is it?"
Katara pulled out the small book the old woman had given her. "We need to talk about some things," she told Zuko. "And there's something I need to show you."
Zuko sat down and listened to Katara's tale. He was a shocked and hurt but he understood. At least he wanted to understand. He shook his head. When Katara disappeared, he had at first thought that it was because she didn't love him. And then, when he found her, he believed she had run away because she wasn't convinced of his love. Now, Katara was telling him that it was because of a prophesy she didn't fully understand. That, at least comforted him.
"But what was this prophesy about then, if it wasn't a warning?"
Katara sat down next to Zuko, blue eyes wide. "But don't you see? It is a warning! Only, it's not saying what I thought it said. The young woman reached into the pouch by her side and handed Zuko her stone. "Do you remember this?"
Zuko turned it over, frowning. He did remember it. Katara had found it in the Air Temple all those years ago. His golden gaze darkened. "But what is it?"
"I think it's one of the two stones the prophesy talked about," Katara answered, taking the stone back. "And I think it's up to us to find the other one."
The Fire Lord was quiet a moment. "But how are we going to find the other stone?" he finally asked, voice low. "You found your stone almost by chance. It could take years to find the other one."
This time, when Katara looked back at Zuko, her face was full of excitement. Her hands unconsciously tightened on the book in her lap. "I have something. An old woman gave it to me the day we arrived here." She looked down. "I haven't opened it, but I'm hoping that it will help us." Katara sighed and turned back to Zuko. "There's still a part of me that worries I'm making a mistake by marrying you…not because I don't want to or because I don't love you…but because of that prophesy. I have to find that stone, Zuko. I have to."
"I know," Zuko said gently. He took hold of the book. "Now why don't we see what's inside?"
"Mama's worried."
Sunil glanced at his twin. "I know."
"I don't want Mama to be worried."
"Me neither."
The two went silent again, playing with the toys Iroh had given them. They liked it here in the Fire Nation. It was warm all the time and there were so many people. And there were so many pretty things.
"Wanna go out to the fountain?"
Mitsuko nodded and Sunil took her hand. Together, they raced out into the empty garden, laughing and giggling, their somber mood forgotten.
The twins jumped into the fountain and began splashing each other. Even the water here was warm. They could play all they wanted and their Mama wouldn't get worried about them.
Sunil moved closer to Mitsuko. "You be the princess and I'll rescue you from the evil water monster," he said, moving her towards the center of the fountain. "He trapped you and I'm gonna save you!"
Mitsuko pouted and shook her head. "I wanna save the princess, too! Why do I have to be the princess?"
Sunil frowned, thinking. How could they play the game without a princess? Suddenly, Sunil's attention was brought to the sound of rustling leaves. He turned to look and then grinned. A man and a woman were walking in the gardens. Without another thought, Sunil raced up to the woman.
"Will you be our princess?" he asked her. "We need one so we can play our game but 'Suko doesn't want to be the princess."
The woman's golden eyes lit up and she smiled. "Of course I'll be your princess," she said, laughing. As Sunil dragged her to the fountain, the woman glanced back to her blue-eyed companion. "I'll be back in a few minutes."
The man smiled. "All right."
The twins had their fun. And, when the game ended, the woman drew the children close. "You two are very special." She smiled and stood. When her companion took her hand, she told the two one last thing. "Don't worry about your Mama; she's special, too. Just tell her that Savitri and Nilam will help her when they can."
They turned and disappeared into the garden, leaving the children to their games.
"Mama's worried."
"I know."
"I'm gonna help her."
"Me too."
okay...what did you think? did you like it? well, first off, i would like to thank all of you who review, it means a lot to me! so...please review! and criticism, constructive criticism that is, always is appreciated!
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