Sorry this chapter has taken so long to get out. I've had horrible writer's block as I'm sure will be evident from the chapter. Thankfully the rest of the story should pour out since it's my favorite parts!

Chapter 15: Impressions

"Now that we're here, it's so far away

All the struggle, we thought was in vain

And all the mistakes, one life contained

They all finally start to go away.

And now that we're here, it's so far away

And I feel like I can face the day

I can forgive and I'm not ashamed

To be the person that I am today."

From the song "So Far Away" by Staind

The army marched out of Zen Hong almost as soon as everyone had set foot on land. Skirmishes happened, more villages and towns were taken from ruthless commanders.

Some places did not even have to be fought over. Soldiers happily handed over their commanders to the Avatar and even more defected to their side.

Rumor and gossip turned into their greatest weapons. It wasn't long before the Court was whispering of the Avatar's march to the palace. Not only with the famed Dragon of the West but with the Fire Lord's own wife and son as well.

Other's swore that the Avatar was simply walking in with a huge army of the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe. Still others swore that Airbenders had risen from their graves to seek revenge from Sozin's slaughtering of their kind.

Still the army marched through the jungle as fast as they could manage.

It was Ursa who recommended a day of rest from their double time march. Exhaustion had started to set in on many soldiers and the worst part of the fighting was to come.

They had to fight their way through the Dragon Throat pass.

A brief history lesson from Iroh and Ursa informed the many who did not know about the pass and some who hadn't thought it would be a problem. The Fire Palace had not always been a palace of royalty. At some point in ancient times it had been a fort. Although no one remembered what the fort had been guarding at the time it was still as impregnable as ever. Anyone wanting to get the the Palace without weeks of marching over treacherous mountains and dense jungle had to go through Dragon's Throat.

With only a rough estimate of when Sozin's Comet was arriving, speed was more important then ever, and logically they could be held off in the pass for months without making headway.

So having soldiers well rested and ready for a long fight was paramount.

The village they decided to rest at was more then welcome to them. So welcome that someone had decided that a great party had to be held.

"This will be great!" Aang cheered happily. "Everyone's pitching in so we can all have a good time tonight."

"Yeah I know." Mari grumbled. "Iroh's been hounding me to sing. Just give me warning if you see him so I can escape, please."

"You sing Mari?" Toph asked.

"Not if I can help it." The female airbender replied.

Zuko's lip twitched from his spot where he was trying to meditate under a tree. Mari had come to pay him a visit only to be followed by the rest of the group.

"Don't even think of saying it Zuko." Mari growled.

"I don't know what you mean Mari." He said in a neutral tone.

"I bet you sing beautifully." Katara soothed.

"She croaks like a dying frog doesn't she?" Sokka whispered to Zuko.

Mari glared at Sokka having just barely heard the comment.

That was how Ursa found them. Joking and bickering like the children they had been instead of the adults the war had pushed them into becoming. She debated simply leaving them be for a moment but Zuko spotted her and called a greeting.

Katara fussed nervously for a moment. While Ursa and her had seen each other in passing and knew a bit of each other they had not had time to really visit.

"It's good to see you all out enjoying what rest you can get." Ursa told them with a smile.

"Did you need me for something Mom?" Zuko asked.

"Actually your Uncle is looking for you boys. I actually came for the girls."

"What's going on?" Toph asked curiously. Ursa was hard to read but she felt a bit of mischief from her vibrations.

The Fire Lady shooed the boys away before looking back at her three charges. They worked and fought as hard as any of the men in the army. All three were well cherished by the men as well.

"With the party tonight I thought it would do us girls good to have a little something for ourselves. We've been living among men so much we're starting to turn into them." Ursa said, her tone making it sound like turning into a man would be worse then the end of the world.

All three girls giggled at the comical drama Ursa put forth.

Ursa gave them a smile. "Some of the women from the village offered to give us more festive attire if we wanted to use it."

"You mean a dress?" Toph asked in a dangerous tone.

"She said only if you want to wear one Toph" Mari stated. "I think dressing up would be a nice change of pace myself. Robes and pants get boring after awhile."

"It would be nice." Katara said. Her mind wandered to the thought of Zuko's face if he saw her in a dress. He'd never seen her in anything but her traveling clothes.

"You just want to impress Prince Charming." Toph said.

Katara turned red and looked at Ursa while Mari elbowed Toph.

Ursa couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "I think it would do him some good. Nothing gets attention from a man then a girl all dolled up."

Toph scowled a bit digesting this thought.

"Don't worry Toph I got you covered." Mari said looping an arm with Toph's. "We'll find something nice for you without a skirt if you want."

"What did I do to deserve this punishment." Toph pleaded.

Ursa and Katara laughed as Mari glared.

No matter how much Mari begged Ursa refused to let her be in charge of any of the girls, even herself.

"The three of you have either been deprived or willfully refused to care for your appearances really . While I might be a little out of practice I know what I'm doing."

Katara wasn't sure how Ursa managed it but she convinced Mari to let her have the reins of the operation while convincing Toph to dress up. Each girl took her turn in the back room of the little dress shop none to happily but came out with smiles.

When it was finally Katara's turn she gave Ursa a smile. "Saved the easiest one for last?"

"Actually I was thinking you'll be the most difficult."

"Really? Why?"

Ursa gave Katara a smile back. "I've had the pleasure of sharing stories with your father about our children. From his tales and from seeing you around the camps I have come to the conclusion that you put everyone before yourself. Along with a stubborn streak that rivals my own son's."

"I think Sokka got the stubbornness out of the family." Katara grumbled thinking of how her brother had been hanging around whenever Zuko was nearby.

Ursa decided not to point out that the siblings had both inherited the family stubborn streak.

"So...you don't mind Zuko being...friends with me?" Katara asked praying that Ursa wouldn't see her blush. She'd almost said boyfriend but wasn't sure how it would be taken.

Ursa grinned to herself. Hakoda had been right in saying that his children were terrible liars, almost as bad as Zuko was. "Zuko is almost grown. He's been making decisions for himself for years. I doubt anything I could say would dissuade him from you. Even if I did disapprove."

Katara breathed a sigh of relief. "It's good to know that not everyone in Zuko's family besides Iroh is some hateful lunatic."

Ursa suddenly went very still, causing Katara to replay her words in her mind. She'd been referring to Azula and Ozai after all.

She cringed suddenly realizing what she'd just said about Ursa's own daughter and husband. "I...I'm so sorry...I didn't mean..."

Ursa shook her head looking sad. "It's alright. While I'm not sure I would call them hateful lunatics, they are rather far from the definition of family."

"But they are your family. You still love them."

Ursa shook her head again. "I will always love Azula as a mother loves her children. That does not mean that I don't see what she is. Azula is much like her father. Calculating to the point of cold and obsessed with being more powerful then the other guy. As if it makes them better to have no feelings and to rule with an iron fist over people they should be helping."

She sighed as the thought of failing her daughter crushed in, but she'd long ago shed her tears over Azula. "I tried to put her on a better path but she would have none of it, even when she was younger."

Katara could see Ursa's internal mourning of her daughter. "What about the Fire Lord? I mean you two loved each other enough to get married didn't you?"

Ursa's face went blank and for a moment Katara was reminded of how Zuko had looked in Ba Sing Se. Finally the Fire Lady sighed. "I thought he did. He worked very hard to give me the illusion that he cared and make me care for him. Once he had me though I was just another conquest that was a means to an end. He didn't have to pretend to care once we were married."

It wasn't her face so much as the matter of fact tone Ursa used that broke Katara's heart for her.

Ursa said nothing as she held up another dress to Katara. Although she wasn't entirely seeing how they looked. "I have worked very hard to make sure that Zuko would never be like his father. Not in that regard at least. He was the one good thing to come out of my marriage to Ozai." Ursa's face fell again. "Then I abandoned him thinking that he was better off there." A world of bitter regret dwelt in her voice.

"You did what you thought was best. What any parent would've thought best." Katara stated.

Ursa gave a small smile. "Zuko stated something along those lines when I apologized to him. I was expecting him to rant and rage myself. You must be an influence on him."

Katara once again blushed in mild embarrassment as Ursa grinned. To her mind Katara was turning into the best thing to happen to Zuko yet.