Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything pertaining to it.

A/N: Since I am incredibly behind in this fic (I planned to be at least halfway through it by this point - how ambitious of me knowing how quickly it takes things to go awry in my life), I am making a double-chapter release. I could have made it a super long chapter, but it just makes the flow of the story weird and unnatural, so it's being split up so it's easier to digest and less wonky-looking. Chapter 5 is part 1, Chapter 6 is part 2. I've gotten some very positive feedback about this story and I just wanted to also say thanks. It's very inspiring, and it encourages me to continue writing. Please continue to review. It would make my week if I got 50 reviews before chapter 7! :) And if I do get to 50, I would possibly consider giving a sneak peak of the story I am writing for the Legend of Korra arc (indicate if you're interested in your review). Enjoy Chapters 5 and 6.

Ethereal

Chapter 5: The Sunrise Funeral

"'The only truth of Life is that every creature on the Planet will eventually perish. It is up to them to decide whether they shall rest eternally by the side of their gods, or burn in the Nine Rings of Torture.'" - The Creation, Chapter 7:98-99.

"What do you mean he's, he's -" Zuko stammered, shocked by Mai's revelation.

"Dead," Katara supplied.

Mai looked at him, her eyes expressing something unfamiliar to Zuko. Her hands were trembling and her hair hung limp to her body from the downpour of rain. He took a deep breath and thought for a moment. "How could he be dead? Mai, I don't understand."

"You must come," she took his hand and began leading him away from the garden. His eyes flickered over to Katara briefly before back to his fiancée pulling him back towards the banquet hall.

Opportunity, the siren reminded herself. It was the opportunity she needed; everyone would be distracted by the death. She couldn't have asked for a better time to try and flee. But she didn't even begin to know how to escape, and running blindly through the palace in hopes of finding an exit was nearly as dangerous as sticking around to see what would happen now that her main sponsor was dead.

"Lady Katara," a familiar voice called out. The siren turned around to see the elderly general making his way towards her, panting a bit when he reached her. "You need to come with me. I'm going to escort you back to your room. I've been looking for you everywhere."

"But is it not true your brother has passed? Should you not be at his side and that of your nephew and niece?" Katara asked gently, internally cursing her lack of haste to try and escape the area.

He looked at her, his eyes a bit sad. "It is true, but I need to ensure you are safe. I was worried something happened to you," Iroh explained. "Come along now. Let's get you back to your chambers."

"But," she began to protest. The general shook his head as if to indicate the discussion was over, and led her back to the covered awning of the walkway. He removed the cloak over his shoulders and draped them over her soaking wet frame.

Katara knew that she could easily overpower him, just like she had with his nephew. Somehow, someway, she had surprised Zuko near the pond and he was standing at the mercy of her fingertips. Zuko had youth on his side, Iroh did not. But part of her felt guilty about thinking of harming the man. Yet, all thoughts of fleeing immediately disappeared when she passed a large crowd.

As she walked by the banquet hall, everything seemed to slow down. The prince was pushing through the crowd, shouting at the guards while he broke through to move everyone aside. His black haired fiancée stood back a bit and moved to Ty Lee's side, releasing Zuko's hand as he knelt down and disappeared out of Katara's line of sight.

She could still see Azula, standing just in front of her friends, seeming to pace. Her hand covered her mouth, and her eyes seemed glassy. Were those tears? Did the cruel princess that threatened her barely hours ago show grief for her deceased father? Just when the siren was shocked by the fact Zuko - her angry, conceited, arrogant captor - had a fiancée who seemed to display true affection towards him, she was even more surprised by the princess.

"Lady Katara, we must keep moving," Iroh implored, pulling her by her elbow gently. She stood frozen, somewhat unaware that anyone was speaking her to begin with, and before she knew it, her legs were carrying her towards the audience instead of away. "Katara!"

"Get away from him, you filthy fish whore!" Azula abruptly grabbed the siren by her hair and shoved her backwards. "This is your fault! You cast some horrible curse on him! Everything was fine until that abomination disgraced this household! The House of Dragons are sworn enemies to the House of Sirens! I should have killed you the moment you set foot in our home!"

Ty Lee placed a hand on her friend's arm, trying to get her to release Katara. "Azula, shh, it's okay," she tried to comfort the distraught princess. "Come on, let's get some fresh air." The distraught princess released the siren, then shoved Ty Lee away and resumed her pacing.

Katara looked up, her hair slightly disheveled from the assault and looked to the young man. But unlike his sister, it wasn't a look of grief in his eyes; it was a look of panic, of realization. It was the look of a young man realizing he was now king.

"Get the siren out of here," he said, his voice low and husky. Amber eyes caught sapphire ones before the young woman backed away, back towards her escort. Iroh nodded at his nephew, then began to lead Katara away from the crowd.

"What will happen now?" she asked, her voice cracking a bit.

He released a breath, heavy with concern. "A funeral. An investigation. A coronation. A lot of things, Lady Katara. As uncle to the king, I must advise you it is not a stable time to be here. Many will blame you for the occurrence. However, I must also advise you that by no means am I allowed to tell you to escape, especially not during the funeral. If you are caught, the worst will be assumed and you will be executed. Do you understand?" His tired gold eyes looked into hers, conveying the message he needed to before he opened the door to Katara's room.

She knew what she had to do.

Katara didn't get out much over the next day and a half. For all intensive purposes, her tutoring sessions with Zuko had been suspended. Iroh didn't even come by to see her that much. The only company she had was Wei Lin, who came by occasionally to make sure she was fed and didn't require anything, per Iroh's request. It seemed the crown prince was more preoccupied by the fact he had an entire nation to rule, and Azula had already made her opinion on Katara's presence at the palace very well-known the night of her father's passing.

When late afternoon rolled around, the siren heard a knock at her door. It caught her off guard, and she licked her dry and cracked lips before going to open the door. Her sole ally stood in the frame, a hand rested on his stomach slightly.

"Lady Katara, I was wondering if I might inconvenience you for a late afternoon tea. It's senna tea, great for the digestion. It would help put my mind at ease over some troubling matters," he said gently.

She blinked a few times, then accepted, going to take his arm after he offered it to her. "What plagues your thoughts, sir?"

He shook his head as if to say, "Not here," then lead her towards a gazebo in the main courtyard where a board was set along with a tray containing a pot of tea and two teacups. He moved aside to let her sit, then took his place across from her. She moved her fingers to tuck her hair behind her ears as a small gust of wind passed through the gazebo and watched while Iroh poured the tea into the cups.

"Sir?" she repeated, looking at him.

"Are you sleeping alright, my lady? You look positively exhausted, and a little pale. The food is alright, right? You're not ill, are you?" he asked as a pair of guards passed by the gazebo, giving the siren a distrustful look.

Her eyes returned from the guards back to the pair of friendly golden eyes and she tried to smile reassuringly, "Of course. I am only concerned about your well being, sir. Tell me, shall we continue our lessons of pai sho today?"

"Yes, but first, I want you to translate this passage for me first." he handed her a black, leather-bound book. The cover was soft and well-worn, and it smelled faintly of volcanic ash and tea. Typical, Katara smiled a bit to herself as she ran her finger over the impression on the spine of the book.

"The Creation?" her blue eyes looked up eagerly. "Of course, I would be enchanted to discuss this with you. Pray tell, what passage shall I translate for you?"

He took another sip of tea before answering her, "I have it marked. You'll see."

The siren looked back down to the book, flipping through the pages and scanning in order to try and see the passage he was interested in. As she flipped through the book, her attention was drawn to a folded, crisp piece of parchment wedged between two pages in the center of the book. Unlike the faded and slightly yellowed pages of the text, it appeared to be fresh and new. She took it out carefully, looking up at the elder gentleman then back down to the page when he nodded at her.

"Sir, this is not -" she began.

"No, that's the one. Chapter 27, verses 13 through 18," he insisted, his eyes pleading her to play along.

She looked back down at the page. A drawing of some sort. It seemed to be freshly made, and was made of two different kinds of ink. One in a darker shade of black, and a very light ink that almost blended with the background. There was writing on the page, but it was all written in the common language. She could recognize a few characters here and there, however, such as the ones that comprised "baths," "kitchen," "flower," - oh! A map. It was a map of the palace. Actually, it was a map of the palace passages. But how did he - it wasn't important. There was a small red dot followed by a series of arrows leading through the passages to the western-most portion of the map.

It suddenly dawned on her. It was a map of how to get out.

"But why?" she whispered.

He inhaled sharply before exhaling slowly and going to refill his cup of tea. "Because I respect the gods enough to know not to insult the Moon or the Ocean by keeping their daughter away from her home."

"Tha-"

"Don't. After everything, it should be me thanking you for showing me mercy and not killing me, even when I deserved it for bringing you here." he interrupted. "You are an ethereal creature, you are meant to be free."

Katara quickly pocketed the map and book as a guard came by, then suggested they begin their game of pai sho. She had been practicing with him for quite some time, and although her more aggressive strategy was fairly weak against his thoughtful and more patient style, even Iroh had to admit she had become somewhat of a formidable opponent. With a few more months of practice, she could almost beat anyone. Almost.

When he returned her to her chambers, she went to hand him the book back when he touched her hand lightly. "No, no, it's yours. You should keep it. To remember me by."

"I will surely ruin it in the water," she objected, but Iroh shook his head.

"I still want you to have it. It deserves the respect of one who reveres it the way a humble siren does instead of a proud dragon," he smiled then leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Tomorrow. During the funeral at sunrise. And please make haste."

"Goodnight, sir," she said lightly, watching as he closed the door. Behind it was a small bag. She knelt down to examine its contents. Food, water, spark rocks, coins... and a knife.

A siren was strongest at night, when her mother the moon was behind her to give her strength. However, the funeral was at sunrise. While her people believed the spirit should be put to rest when the sun left the earth, it seemed the people of the Volcanic Islands believed oppositely. It would take all the energy she had to make sure she would be able to escape.

She sat on her bed, wearing clothes that she found in the bag. They were not nearly the same level of quality as the other clothes she had worn, but fine quality would get her caught sooner by drawing suspicion and they would not be as durable. The bag was sitting to the left of her, knife in one pocket, and map of the passageways in hand. As soon as she saw the lanterns against the sky, she would know it was time to go.

For a brief moment, she wondered why she trusted Iroh. What makes her think that this isn't a trap? But wouldn't it be easier for her just to wait here to be executed. It would be much simpler than planning an entire escape for her. And something inside her told her to trust him; she couldn't put her finger on it, but she just knew he was on her side.

There it was: the first lantern. It was now or never. Her heart was racing, palms sweating. Her legs felt heavy, and her lips were dry and cracked. But despite all that, she felt a burst of energy. She slung the bag over her shoulder and moved to climb out the open window frame. Just like Iroh promised, no one was there. Of course not - they were all at the funeral, trying to ensure the safety of their soon-to-be king and princess, not to mention maintain order.

Her back faced the open courtyard, trying to ensure that no one would suddenly burst through the door. So far, so good. If she could only make it to the passages, she would be nearly there.

Suddenly, a hand clamped over her mouth. Her instinct was to close her eyes and scream, but she fought the urge. A low, husky voice whispered in her ear, "Please, don't scream. I-I-I need your help."

Posted: 06/06/2012