Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything pertaining to it.
Ethereal
Chapter 10: The Moonlit Dream
"A Dragon's greatest conflict is His duty to His people and His duty to Himself." - Epitaph of the High Priest of the Sun Temple, Roku
The rope tasted bitter and though she was doing her best to tear through it, she considered taking a much slower pace. Zuko wanted to kiss her. How was she supposed to process that information? Part of her felt accomplished he wasn't immune to her; the other part wanted to be sick.
The kiss of a siren could be deadly. It was infamously known to cause obsession to an unhealthy level. The only person she knew that hadn't gone mad from it was, well, her father.
On the other side of her mind was what Aang had told her. If he was right, and she suspected his foresight to be so, she knew what she must do - no matter what sacrifice it asked of her.
The carriage suddenly came to a halt and Zuko peered over his shoulder, "Pick it up, Katara."
She turned and spit the pieces of rope that were in her mouth to the floor, then looked to examine her work. Though she had not torn through the entirety of the rope, it was weak and thin enough that Zuko could hypothetically pull apart.
She began to resume her chewing when the carriage came to a sudden stop. He returned to his seat, nodding at her to indicate it was enough. Katara sat backwards and became very conscious of the familiar heat. She concluded the sun must have risen at some point.
But still... it felt hotter than she remembered the crater of the volcano feeling. A wave of anxiety hit her; something was imbalanced.
"Capital Prison," he mumbled as the door swung open. "They mean to have us executed. Soon, too."
They stepped out and Katara turned her head to avoid the direct light.
"This heat wave is unbearable," the guard with his hand on her shoulder said to the one leading Zuko.
"You're telling me. Princes - Dragon Queen Azula says some nonsense about how it's really just the Sun growing closer to give the Descendants of the Dragon strength," the other snorted. "Whatever. I'm just glad we're guarding prisoners and not going to fight her war."
"What war?" Zuko demanded.
The guard leading him shoved him forward a bit. "Shut up."
Katara glanced over at him and shook her head to tell him to stand down. Zuko growled and pulled his wrists apart, then reached around and grabbed the sword from the guard's hip. He wrapped his arm around the guard's neck.
"Release her," he ordered.
The other guard held his sword at Katara's neck threateningly. "The queen doesn't care what happens to this one. Let him go or I'll kill her."
Zuko paused, searching Katara's eyes for an answer. She shook her head a bit, then leaned forward and brought it reeling back to head butt the man holding her hostage. She grabbed the sword from his sheath, and held it to the guard's throat. "Where is the queen?"
The guard laughed a bit. "Going to challenge her then, siren? Good luck. The queen is more powerful; she has the support of her grandfather the Sun. Your people abandoned you long ago."
"Tell me where she is so I may spare your life and the lives of your people," Katara warned.
"What are you talking about, Katara?" Zuko asked.
She didn't respond, then used the hilt of the sword to knock the guard unconscious. "I must go."
"Go where? I don't understand." He shoved the guard in the back of the carriage and bolted it. "Why are you looking for Azula?"
"Because she must be stopped," Katara moved to un attach the emu horse from the front of the carriage.
He grabbed her arms and looked into her eyes. "Is it about the war? It isn't your fight-"
"But it is my fight!" she shrieked. "Aang, the monk, he told me about something horrible. He is the Avatar, he is the medium that connects the gods to our world. And the gods are angry. My mother the Moon is furious with the Descendants of the Dragon, for one has tried to cheat death, and another seeks to wage war against my people and those living in the Glacierlands. And your grandfather the Sun seeks to punish the Volcanic Islands."
"What are you talking about-"
"The Sun will dry up all the water in the Volcanic Islands to punish for the sins of the Daughter of the Dragon and her father before her. She must be stopped or innocent people will die," Katara jerked free of his grasp, tightening the saddle on the emu horse. "I am a guardian of the fountain of life, for all people - not just those of the Glacierlands."
"Are you going to kill my sister?" he asked quietly.
Katara stood still for a moment. Was she? Sirens were not known for killing women, and truth be told, she had not known anyone of her sisters to have ever taken the life of one. Would she hesitate? No, no, she couldn't treat Azula differently just because of her sex. She would have to be just.
"I do not have an answer," she admitted.
"That's why we're helping," a stern voice contributed. The pair turned around to see the girl in green and the young monk jogging up slowly. "Crazy has to be stopped."
"For the balance of nature," Aang explained, holding onto his staff.
Katara's fingers released the reins of the emu horse. "You should not have come, I can handle this."
"It's my duty," the grey eyed boy sighed, dipping his eyes down.
"Right, so a siren, a monk from the Windmountains, and a defenseless blind girl are going to siege the palace and take down the queen?a What could possibly go wrong?" Zuko snapped.
In a flash his hands was twisted behind his back and he was hunched over to alleviate the pressure. Toph let go of his hand and the prince began rotating his shoulder to relax it. "Who you calling defenseless?" she asked.
The siren placed a thumb at the blind girl's forehead and closed her eyes. "Amazing. You have been blessed by the spirits."
Toph slapped Katara's hand away gently. "Quit fussing. Now we can discuss this elsewhere, or we can wait for another patrol of guards to show up."
The heat grew more intolerable by every passing moment, and finally, Katara had to rest. They took solace in the thick brush of the jungle nearby a trickling creek.
"The water is drying up," Zuko lamented quietly to himself.
"The gods are angry," Aang repeated, leaning against a tree. Such a young child, cursed with the burdens of the gods. He would be forced to serve as the medium between the gods and the planet until his body finally withered away with age and exhaustion.
The prince crouched down near the stream "So what's your big plan here? Stroll up to the palace, knock on the door, and tell Azula to back off?"
"No," the monk let out a dramatic sigh. "But we can't just run away from these problems. People will suffer if the water dries up."
"So I'm asking what are you going to do?" Zuko sounded impatient and frustrated.
Katara reached out to touch his arm but he jerked away. "We must correct the wrongs in order to restore balance."
"What 'wrongs?'"
The blind girl snorted. "Bloody hell, Sparky doesn't even know. Well, I'm not telling him. This is all you Twinkletoes and Sugar Queen."
Zuko's eyes trained on Katara and demanded answers. "Tell me what?"
Silence.
"Your father tried to cheat death; he's caught in a sort of limbo between life and death. He must be released." Aang finally confessed.
"And you knew!" he accused Katara, going to wrap his fingers around her throat and pin her to a tree.
She gasped for air and grabbed at his hand for him to release her. Aang and Toph moved, but she held her hand out to instruct them not to intervene. "I did not-"
"You should have told me. I trusted you, and you betrayed me like this. I even saved your life!" his grip tightened before he released it finally.
She rubbed her throat, choking on the air that rushed into her lungs. "I did not know until last night. I suppose this makes us even for your injustices against me. No matter, it is clear to me your sister must be stopped and your father must be put to eternal rest. You may stay here, and pretend things are well or alright, but they are most certainly not."
Zuko agreed with some persuasion to aid the trio in their plight against his father and sister. While Aang and Katara were clearly doing it for the balance of nature, the golden eyed prince was a bit more ambiguous about his reasons.
Concern plagued Katara as she lie awake, trying to sleep. Toph had returned to the ship, promising to be prepared in case they needed a quick getaway. Tomorrow, they would return to the palace. Tomorrow, she would fulfill her duty to humans.
The siren stared up at the sky, admiring the stars. They looked different here in the Volcanic Islands. If not for the unbearable heat and lack of water, it would have felt peaceful. Her eyes felt heavy...
"Katara," a gentle voice called. "Katara."
She sat up and looked around before seeing a dark figure sitting on a rock. Then a single beam of moonlight peered through the clouds. A middle-aged woman dressed in a blue parka with her hair pulled back from her face gave her a sad smile.
"Mom," she breathed, going to move towards her. "Mom, is that you?"
When she finally pushed through the branches in her way, her mother no longer sat in front of her. Instead, a beautiful girl not much older than Katara sat in front of her. She had long white hair pulled up in a series of intricate braids.
"Do you remember me, Katara?"
The siren pursed her lips. "Yue. You were high priestess of the moon years ago."
She smiled at her. "I was. Until I was called to serve. A good deed any of us can do is children is to honor our parents; the greatest honor we can do is to return the life they gave to us. Our mother was weak, and she called upon me to lend her my spirit. Now she presents herself in my image."
"My brother misses you," Katara said quickly.
The white haired girl cast her eyes downward. "And I him. But Sokka will do great things with a better woman at his side." A breeze drifted by and Yue looked up at the moonlight. "Katara, we do not have much time."
"Much time for what?"
"The Avatar told you of his mission, but you must understand the consequences of what is happening." The moon spirit rose to her feet and pulled aside the thick vines behind her. Behind her was a vast desert. "When the moon committed the original sin with her affair with the ocean, sirens were born. The sun was angry, and he cast a dark curse on her. The one that plagues you."
Her hand reached out and cool fingertips brushed against Katara's cheek. The siren looked down at a puddle by her feet and saw her reflection; she closed her blackened eyes at the image. Her teeth were white, but sharpened and almost like small daggers. She felt bile rising in her throat.
"Be still," Yue removed her hand and the siren felt her face return to normal. "In her anger, the moon has cursed the Daughter of the Dragon for her sin against us. Her mind is not well." She waved her hand over the puddle of water and Katara saw Azula, screaming and pulling at her hair. "Our mother takes no pride in her deed."
"Then why has she done it?"
A gust of wind caused ripples in the pool of water and the image of Azula was gone. "Sins of the father," Yue frowned. "Her father has insulted the gods by using the fountain of life to attempt to cheat death. And in response, the moon drove the princess to madness."
"The fountain of life? I don't understand."
Yue leaned in, tracing her finger from Katara's elbow to her wrist then whispered in her ear, "The fountain of life is the blood of a siren." When she leaned back, the white haired girl was no longer there. Instead, the dark haired middle aged woman remained.
"You must end the suffering of the princess and give the king eternal rest."
"Mom!" Katara screamed, her eyes burning with tears. She closed them as a bright light began to overwhelm her. When she opened them, it was daylight.
But she knew it was more than just a dream - it was a plea.
The moon had risen by the time they had reached the gates of the palace. Aang separated from them hours before, traveling to the nearby Sun Temple where Ozai was resting. He promised he would rendezvous with them as soon as he possibly could; after he had put Ozai to eternal rest by channeling the gods. Katara wanted to ask him what he meant by "channeling," but the look on Aang's face discouraged her from doing so.
The journey to the palace gates was faster thanks to the emu horses they took from the prison. It made traveling by foot seem almost futile, and Katara cursed the time she and Zuko had wasted. Fortunately, sneaking into the palace was easier than sneaking out had been.
"I need to find my uncle," he whispered silently. "He'll know what to do after this is over."
"Find him, I will handle your sister." she replied.
Zuko shook his head. "No, I'll handle Azula. You find my uncle. He can help me."
"You cannot face Azula alone," she frowned. "She's very ill."
He looked at her and said before running off. "It's my sister, which makes this is my fight. Now go."
Katara's fingers trembled a bit as she snuck down the palace hallways, gripping a dagger in one hand and a sword in the other. Zuko helped her sneak in, then split away from her. She was reluctant to let her go, but he assured her he would be in the training dome.
Now it was up to her to find Iroh. She crept down the hallways silently, sneaking into a dark corner when she heard footsteps.
A hand clamped over her mouth.
"Come along now; we've been expecting you."
She struggled to break away, but she was wrapped in chains and forced into a hallway. Azula stood there, her eyes wild and untamed. Something was different; normally, she was collected, albeit sadistic, but still calm. Now, she seemed to have lost control.
"So the little siren couldn't help returning to the scene of her crime where she inflicted great insult among our people," the dark haired girl sneered. "How unfortunate for her; she is going to miss the opportunity to my stupid brother's demise. Tie her to the marble pillar in the throne. Then set it on fire."
The siren fought to break free, making note of how she had weakened. She needed her element. Katara tried to pull loose from the chains, but they seemed to only dig deeper and cut into her flesh. The guard behind her gave a firm tug on the chain, then wrapped it around the pillar.
"Please, do not," Katara whimpered.
She was going to be burned. Alive. The guard did not even look at her; he was ashamed of what he was doing. He began knocking over and throwing lanterns onto the tapestries and ground. He tipped over large barrels of oil onto the ground and into the water.
"Zuko!" she screamed. Katara kept screaming his name over and over until she felt hoarse. He probably couldn't hear her; he was fighting his sister, defending his nation. And she was weak and helpless.
The doors to the throne closing echoed through the room and Katara tried to sink down and avoid the smoke. It was thick and black and made her lungs feel like they too were on fire. The siren banged the back of her head against the column. How stupid was she to think she could stop Azula? She was a fool. If only she had been strong enough.
She watched the fire migrate to the canal cut into the palace, then closed her eyes as the smoke began to sting them.
"Is this the will of the gods?" she shouted in her native language, not caring how foolish she sounded. "Is this the will of my mother the Moon? Your will is to let me die?"
The fire grew.
"What have I done that is worth punishing? I have only served you and your will! If anything, my greatest flaw is serving you blindly! No matter how disgusted I was with myself and my kind, I served you!" Katara looked down and felt the pendant of her mother's necklace against her skin. "What would you have me do?"
A droplet of water landed on Katara's cheek and she looked up, then her eyes darkened. It became clear what she must do.
Posted 06/12/2012