Hello again. This is sort of a shorter chapter, but it was more exciting I'm really disappointed by the amount of reviews this is getting. I don't know what you readers like or dislike, and I know that way more people are reading this than the reviews show.

So please, take some time and tell me what you think, because I don't want to just clutter up my computer with something that people don't want to read.

Chapter Three
Illusions in the Night

Two Years Later

Katara heard a knock on her front door, and visibly tensed. It could be someone looking for help, but it could also be someone looking for trouble- in these times, the latter seemed to be the most popular option.

She crossed the creaky floor of her apartment, not bothering to be upset about the mold on the ceiling, or the shabby state of the rug on the floor. There were few material possessions that still held any power over her, and she'd never leave those out in the open anyway.

She looked through a crack in the door and saw a woman standing outside her apartment- from the sliver she could see, the woman looked as ragged and desperate as Katara felt, and compassion unfurled its wilted blossom as she drew the hood of her cloak over her face and opened the door.

"What is your business?" she asked quietly, and the woman looked at her fearfully, trying to see behind the shadows and discern kindness from her features.

"Are you the… the Painted Lady?" Katara felt a rush of excitement, and nodded. The woman seemed to fold within herself, and she stepped forward. "Thanks be to Agni. My son… he's very sick, and we have no money for a doctor. They say that you can perform miracles, and bring people back from the brink of death- please, help us. I don't have money, but I'll give you this."

The woman took off a ring on her left hand and held it up for her to see. A fiery crystal was set in a simple silver band, flashing in the low light emanating from her home. She pushed it back, and opened her door wider.

"Where is your son?" she asked, and the woman explained that she hadn't been sure if this was the real place or not. She rushed down the stairs to the tea shop below Katara's apartment, and she saw the lady sling a small boy up into her arms, carrying him up the steps and looking too weak to take anything more. Katara took the boy and felt his face, noticing a temperature and swallowing thickly.

It was always the poorest ones, the youngest ones. They were the citizens most affected by Azula's cruelty and frivolity- while the corrupt, foolish upper class had parties and balls every night, the working families got paid less and less and fell deeper into poverty.

She did what she could to help, but she'd known that being Katara would have been too conspicuous. Few people knew of her time as the Painted Lady before, and they were all on opposite sides of the world. So she'd disappeared from her furnished house in the rich streets of Caldera, fleeing through shadows until she found somewhere so deep that no one would ever follow her.

And this was her life now- it had been so ever since he died.

She laid the kid on her couch, noting the way he moaned and tried to shift away from the ratty fabric. She hushed him and felt the mother move in behind her, collapsing to the floor and staring at her son. Katara couldn't risk waterbending while she was here- it was too rare of a cure, and she might tell someone, but at the same time there was something about the woman that told her she wouldn't be leaving her son's side.

This left the remedies she'd picked up along her journey. A mixture of licorice root and thyme and some mint would bring his fever down enough to discern what else was wrong. She turned, being careful to keep her face hidden, and pulled a wooden box out from under the loose floorboards. It was full of herbs and salves she'd need- but on closer inspection, her heart sank.

She was out of licorice root.

Dreading what she was going to have to do, she stood up and turned to the woman. "Are you alright?" she asked, putting a hand behind her back and calling a thin, hidden stream of water to her fingers. It wound around her digits as she knelt by the woman.

"I'm just tired, please, can you help him?" she said, and Katara bit her lip, then tilted her head up and let her eyes shine through the dim shadow of the hood. The woman gasped.

"I need you to close your eyes. If you don't, then your son may get worse. Please, ma'am." The woman searched her gaze for malice, the nodded and closed her eyes. Quick as lightning, Katara touched her neck with the water, and the woman slumped to the floor, passed out. She turned her over and covered her with a blanket to her chin, then turned back to the boy. His eyes were struggling to open- she had to work fast.

The water went over his temples, and began glowing a bright blue that reminded her of Aang's tattoos- though the last time she'd seen him was almost three years ago. The healing liquid soothed the pain from his head and cooled him down, but she knew it was only temporary.

There was a new moon tonight, the sky black and choked with stars, and she didn't have the energy to heal him completely.

So instead, she stood up and left her house, blowing the lanterns out on her way, taking off across the rooftops to the only licorice trees in all of Caldera- the ones from the Royal Garden outside the palace.

It took her only fifteen minutes to make her way into the Upper Ring- also known as the Fool's City, named for the vapid rich people who occupied it. After that, she left the rooftops, stalking through the alleys, hiding amongst the shadows and praying that she wouldn't be caught.

She knew how to get around the guards, which fences to climb over and which ones to avoid. She'd taken the trip many times, and she didn't have any time to lose. She vaulted over the wall to the garden, forcing the water to spring up from the grass and catapult her to the top- a move that almost got her killed when she realized that two soldiers stood right below her.

She froze on the wall, holding her breath, waiting to be discovered- but they were talking low, not paying as much attention as they should.

"They say she's been taking her dinners in her room lately, but no one knows why. I think she's cracking up under the pressure, even the nobles think-"

"Quiet, you idiot, do you want to get us killed? So what if Azula can't handle the pressure? It's not like there's anyone to take her place, after what happened to Z- did you hear that?"

Katara clapped her hand over her mouth, too late to realize that she'd been the one to gasp. But the guards just shrugged and left, leaving her to process what she'd just heard. Azula was withdrawing again? What would that mean for the Fire Nation, higher taxes to pay for more of her madness? Maybe they were overreacting. The last she'd heard, the Fire Lord was cruel as ever, but completely sane- as sane as one could be, at least, with Ozai for a father.

She shook her head clear, ignoring the desire to remember Ozai's son, to spend all night trying to recreate the memory of his touch on her cheek. She instead dropped to the ground and rolled, then ran as fast as she could to the licorice trees.

She hacked off a root with her waterbending, noting that she was only able to pull a small stream- she was getting too tired, too weak, and the new moon wasn't helping. As she pocketed the roots she stood and went to the trellis, knowing that it would be faster and easier than bending herself over the wall.

Within moments she was back in Fool's City, racing down the streets, ignoring the cries of women as she darted out of alleys and back onto side streets. She knew what she must look like- a dark, hooded figure flitting like a crow through the night.

A loud scream startled her, and she stumbled, not catching herself quickly enough and crashing to the ground. The echo died out, but her heart was beating fast and clear- someone was hurt, she could just tell. A muffled cry rang out from her right, and she dived down the alley, struggling to see in the darkness.

"Shut up, you little brat, shut up! Come with us quietly and you'll see your parents in no time." A dark voice rasped out, a she caught a glimpse of a pale, terrified girl before she was once again blocked by three tall, burly men.

"Please, I'm an orphan, I don't have parents! I don't have money, please, let me go!" One of the men swore, and turned away, roughly shoving the little girl away from him.

"Dammit, Tyoni! You were planning on holding an orphan for ransom? Just kill her, she's seen our faces and she's of no use to-" He broke off with a grunt, collapsing forward onto his knees as a rock clattered to the ground.

Katara picked up another one, aiming for his head again. She knew she couldn't bend, doubted she'd be able to do it now anyways- this was the best she could do. Suddenly, the other two men were rushing towards her, and she threw the stone at the one closest, hitting his groin and making him howl with agony as he too dropped to his knees. She swung her leg out and kicked him in the head, heard him gasp as he passed out.

The other kidnapper caught her off guard, and she felt him connect with her body, sending them both flying to the ground. She kicked at him and lashed out, trying to free her arms from his iron grip, crying out in pain as he kneed her in the stomach, and-

His weight was gone, and the glint of two Dao swords flashed in the weak street light. A towering figure stood above her, his back to her, facing the attackers. The man he had thrown back was staring in horror, mouthing the name of Katara's defender.

She turned her eyes away as he unsheathed his swords, having seen him do so before, then remembered the reason she'd come to help in the first place and sat up, wincing. He was already moving forward, raising the swords over the head of the unconscious men as the others begged him to have mercy.

"Stop!" she cried, "There's a child here!"

The figure stopped in his tracks, halting the swing of his swords. Then, he turned to face her, and the mask of the Blue Spirit leered down at her. The hollow black eyes bored into her soul, and she realized the hood had fallen from her face during the struggle.

It didn't matter, though- he'd seen her before.

Hope you liked it :) please review. Seriously- if I don't start getting some feedback, there's a chance I won't continue this. As you can guess, I know how it ends, and it's no big deal to me whether or not I get the entire thing up on FF. So if you want to know what happens, say so.