I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who has reviewed this story. The latest review count is 110, making it my most-commented story ever. I literally cried with joy, and I'm proud to admit it. You are the ones who make the hours of editing seem justified, the endless frustration bearable. You are the ones who make me keep writing when I have writer's block; even if I end up deleting everything I've written, it gets me past the trepidation and allows me to continue.

Thank you. Please continue to review, I'm much honored.

Chapter Thirteen
Ringmaster

She stepped out of the salon furtively, her skin still stinging from all the treatments and her nerves still shot from the changes she'd made, even though they were temporary. Her skin had been lightened until she could almost pass for Fire Nation, and her hair had been infused with an inky herbal mixture which darkened the color from chocolate brown to deep, midnight-sky black. According to Lari, her skin would stay that way for up to six days if she stayed out of the sun. Her hair was supposed to last about two weeks as long as she didn't use any perfumed soaps or anything.

She was wearing makeup to accentuate her lips and her eyes, and her hands and feet had been softened to the point of aching tenderness. Katara sighed, then pulled her hood up and made the walk down to the town square, looking for the brightly colored posters which would direct her to the next phase of the plan.

Her disguise was only partial so far- she needed another alibi before she could make her move, and it took some planning. She wandered down a narrow street teeming with people, smiling at passing children and laughing when a young boy ran into her shins, stood up and bowed, then ran away without a word. Everywhere she looked, women were talking, soldiers were holding cups of light amber liquid, and old maids gossiped about 'flighty young things with no respect for their elders'.

A deep green and orange poster caught her eye, and she approached a bulletin board. She pushed away the wanted posters and the job offers, pulling the one she wanted off the board. Huge black letters exploded from the bright background, which depicted an artfully drawn woman dancing with scarves, looked upon by a man wearing the Fire Lord's five pointed crown of flames.

Come see 'The Slave of Fire'! A gripping play of love, passion and forbidden fruit! She rolled her eyes and scanned the release date, then gulped. It opened in four days, which didn't give her much of an opportunity- she'd been counting on waiting for months for a performance, which would have given her time to prepare, time to investigate. She looked up, trying to ascertain where the theater was from her current location, then gave up and began wandering aimlessly again.

She'd asked the people at the salon to make her look as desirable as possible, and she took off her cloak, instantly wishing she had maybe been a bit less vehement about it. She was barely dressed in a small burgundy shirt which fastened in a halter around her neck, pushing her breasts up uncomfortably. Her stomach was bare, and an artist had drawn a sharp, striking sun around her belly button in henna paste, leaving a deep reddish stain behind. Her pants were dark gold and gathered around her knees, and they matched the accent on her top and her shoes.

In short, she looked like one of those women that Suki and her had giggled about a few years ago- preening, shiny and way too concerned about appearances.

Katara spotted a large building ahead, remembering that this was the theater where they had seen the Ember Island Players perform that awful rendition of 'The Boy in the Iceberg', where her actress had professed her love towards Zuko's actor, making things suddenly very awkward between the two real benders. She giggled quietly, reveling in her memory of Zuko's skin flushing in the dimly lit theater, and of their silent agreement to never mention that night again.

She knocked on the front door, but there wasn't an answer. Dread pinched the area right behind her navel, and she shifted her weight, not knowing what she'd do if she couldn't find the director in time. After knocking again and waiting longer, she tried to open the door, only to discover that it was locked from the inside.

She looked around, then pulled water from the pouch in her backpack, threaded it through the lock, and twisted it, having absolutely no clue if she was doing it right. She blew a few strands of hair out of her eyes, then heard a little click and froze, accidentally freezing the water as well. She went for the handle and twisted it gingerly, then grinned as it turned without resistance.

"Toph would be proud," she muttered, then gathered the water from the cool metal and pushed the heavy door open, squinting into the darkness. She shut it the most of the way, but left it slightly open in case she needed to make a fast getaway. Then, she put her hands forward and took a tentative step forward, wishing she could recall the layout of the theater.

There were stairs somewhere which led to the actual stage room, but were they in the back, or to the right maybe? She sighed, then waved her hands in front of her, not wanting to run into anything. The path was clear, so she took another step forward-

The ground disappeared beneath her foot, and she wobbled for a moment before tumbling forward, letting out an ear-splitting shriek as her heart threatened to burst from her chest. She hit something bumpy, rolled and tried to brace herself, but the ground just kept moving and-

"Oough!" Her breath was knocked out of her as she finally hit solid ground, and she laid there, wheezing and cursing the stairs, and her insufficient memory of their location. She heard footsteps approaching and sat up, ignoring a rug burn on her elbow and looking around. Her backpack had thankfully stayed intact, and she grabbed it.

Fire erupted close to her, and she flinched back. It receded into a torch-like light, and she could just make out two figures. The closest one to her bent down, reaching for her, and she wriggled away.

"Oh, honey! Are you okay? Come here, you look hurt!" She stopped at the man's honeyed voice, and let herself be picked up and dusted off by a shorter man with a thinner waist than hers. Something sparkled on his eyelids, and he looked genuinely concerned. "Look at that, Yuki, I told you someone should have lit the candles! She just fell down thirty seven stairs!"

The man holding the flame, Yuki, moved it to the side, and she saw his eyebrows lifted in dismay. "Oh no!" he wailed, "I knew I was forgetting something! This is all my fault Su Li, I can't even- oh, baby doll, I'm so happy you didn't break your neck!" He gasped, then moved closer, his voice panicked. "You didn't break anything, did you?"

Katara shook her head, bewildered by the femininity they exuded. "I'm fine, but thanks." Su Li looked her over, and his mouth popped into a comical 'o' as he brought his fingertips to his mouth, pointing to her chest with his other hand.

"Looks like something's out of place," he muttered scandalously, and she followed his gaze, feeling the blood rush to her face- her top had twisted during her fall, and she was revealing… rather more than she ever wanted to. She blushed, began stammering and tried to fix the fabric.

"It's okay, honey, we're all ladies here." Yuki smiled widely, then handed off his little flame to Su Li and walked behind Katara. She felt him jerk something, and her top righted itself. She brushed her hands over the fabric, then swiped under her eyes in case her makeup was running.

"Thanks," she said faintly, watching the men giggle and light torches on the walls on either side of them. The hall lit up, and they extinguished their individual fires. "My name is On Ji, and I want a part in the play. Who would I go to for that?" she asked, and Yuki exchanged a doubtful glance with the other man and began leading her down the passage.

"You're kind of late, baby doll, opening night is in four nights!" She shook her head, not willing to believe that after everything she'd done, it could end here.

"I know that it might be difficult, but I'll do what I have to- please, I don't even want a big part or anything, I just need to be part of the cast!" Yuki stopped smiling, and appraised her for a moment, taking in her serious expression.

"Well, you can talk to the director, Takani. I think he's in his room right now, I'll direct you there. You're sure you're okay?" She nodded, and he shrugged, leading her down a hallway and into the theater itself. Huge set pieces were being moved about on the stage, and everywhere she looked, actors were perusing their scripts, practicing 'bending battles' with brightly colored ribbon, and going over dance moves. That was the hardest thing to watch, especially when one of the girls twirled too far and dove head-first off the stage.

"You all look very… busy," she said lamely, and Su Li nodded fastidiously as the other dancers crowded around the girl who fell, muttering seriously and raning their necks for a better view.

"We are busy, honey! Yuki and I were just going to take a… a little break," he said with a blush, and Katara cringed, hoping he wouldn't share the details. "But we were interrupted by an unearthly shriek, and by the dazzling young lady who emitted it." He inclined his head graciously, then took Yuki's hand firmly and led the way around the stage. They went down a few more halls, some of them only separated by curtains, and then pointed to a room with a shabby wooden door and a hastily scrawled note across it- "Takani, Director and Supreme Commander of the Ember Island Players". For a moment, she thought the 'supreme commander' part was a joke, but one look from Yuki told her the title was a serious one.

She took in an unsteady breath, once more adjusting her clothes as the two men left her. She pushed her breasts up and summoned all the flirtatious energy she'd ever possessed. She let a sultry smile tense her lips, and lowered her eyelids a bit, hoping the look she'd practiced in the mirror would be good enough.

Then, she knocked on the door. It only took a few moments for it to open, and a man blocked her way into the room- he was short and squat, with a long thin mustache and sideburns the size of her igloo at home. "Yes?" he asked imperiously, and she bowed, pushing her chest out and then straightening up, feeling like a complete fool.

"Can I come in?" she asked, and he nodded, opening the door further to admit her. She cast a look around the room, searching for inspiration, then perched upon the little desk and leaned her chin on her fist, which in turn was supported by her elbow on her knee. "Director Takani, it is my pleasure to meet you," she said huskily, and watched his eyes widen.

"Do what do I owe the pleasure, miss…?"

"On Ji," she said smoothly, then got up and strode towards him, trying to shimmy her hips, knowing she probably looked drunk. "And I'm here to do you an enormous favor." He raised his eyebrows, and she smiled again, taking a chance and tracing the collar of his jacket as soon as she was sure she wouldn't be sick.

"I'm here to give you an amazing dancer for your newest production. I'm not taking no for an answer, especially since I viewed your other dancers in their rehearsal. You need a little something extra, Takani. I'm that something, and I'll expect you to help me to help you." She groaned inwardly, but his eyes shone, and he stepped closer as she beat a hasty retreat, hoping to seem aloof and mysterious instead of entirely out of her comfort zone.

"But you don't know any of the choreography, and it's far too late to change it!" he sighed, and she shook her head with another cheek-cramping smile.

"I can learn quickly. Give me a chance, and I promise, you'll be extremely… content," she intoned, and watched the tremor go through his body at the innuendo in her voice. She gagged mentally, but he didn't seem to notice that she was laying it on too thick. If I were any worse at this, I'd be as bad as the Ember Island Players themselves, she thought, then leaned back as Takani took another step towards her.

"I can't pay you full wage, you understand- and I'll be, uh, checking in on your progress, to make sure you're up to par." She nodded, and he went on, "I expect complete dedication- this is an art, you understand, and we have some very important, high class patrons who enjoy our performances."

"Like who?" she asked quickly, then realized her slip and smiled to cover it. Takani looked suspicious for a moment, but she pursed her lips and looked him up and down, and he seemed to relax.

"Like nobles who come to visit. We always give a private performance for a certain lady who wishes to remain unnamed, but she pays well to transport our equipment to her personal refuge on the island." Katara's heart beat faster, and she tried to calm down. Takani waggled his eyebrows, and she shuddered.

"I'll call Chihiro to come teach you everything you need to know. You'll be sleeping in the girls' quarters unless you have other lodgings, and… um, fornication with the, eh, male actors is… strictly prohibited." She studied his beet-red face, then stood tall and bowed, letting out a quiet sigh of relief.

"I can find Chihiro, sir- you might want to rest a little, you look flustered," she said sweetly, then backed out of the office and shut the door. She was still for a moment, her eyes wide, then let out a peal of laughter and squirmed. "I did it," she whispered triumphantly, then straightened up and made her way back through the maze of corridors and back to the stage.

Chihiro turned out to be a short, slight young woman with grey eyes and fair skin. Her hair was styled in a brutally short cut, spiking up like a boy's hair in the back, but sweeping her brow with thick bangs in front. "Takani took you on, did he?" she asked when Katara introduced herself as On Ji the new girl, and then she smiled and waved a hand in the air gracefully. "Ah, he always goes for the pretty ones. What did you have to do to get the part?" she asked curiously.

Katara flushed. "Act like a complete idiot," she responded, and was rewarded by a loud shout of laughter from her companion.

"I like you," Chihiro said smugly, "You're properly ashamed of having to sleaze with the boss to get the job. So you're a dancer?" Katara nodded, and Chihiro smiled gamely. "Great. I'll teach you the movements and everything, but you won't have lines or anything so it's pretty simple. Don't fall over or trip over another actor, and if you do, act like you meant to do it."

Katara smiled and raised her arms to mirror Chihiro's, throwing herself into the process, biding her time for the next couple of days until that private performance. She remembered Zuko saying that his mother had almost never missed a performance by the Ember Island Players, and was willing to bet all the money she had left that if she was in a production, she would be near Ursa.

And if she was near her, Katara didn't doubt her ability to get the two of them alone and discover what the woman knew, and if she had any information about the murder of her son.

They practiced all day. Katara was used to waterbending, used to the fluid movements she needed to use in order to maintain balance and power. She knew push and pull- however, push until the point of breaking was new to her.

"Come on, On Ji, you can do this." Chihiro's voice echoed through her foggy mind, and she stood up again, trembling and aching. She swung her arm out in front of her, then swept it to the side as she tilted her head to mirror it. Two graceful steps forward, then putting all her weight onto her back heel as she arched backward. Straightening up, stepping forward and twirl-

"Ugh!" she exhaled roughly as she lost her balance and hit the ground again. She felt Chihiro stop beside her, and sighed, pushing her newly-black hair out of her eyes and getting up. She heard snickers behind her, and whipped around, glaring at a bunch of other dancers. All the girls were stick-thin and sinuous, making her self-conscious about her larger hips and breasts. They slunk like cats through the shadows, with feline smiles upon their cherry lips and devilish rumors in their slit-like pupils.

"What are you staring at?" she snapped, and they tittered again. Chihiro touched her arm, but she drew away.

"Not much," one of them said- she couldn't tell who- and they giggled again.

"Yeah? Well same goes for you." She zeroed in on the one in front, recognizing her instantly. "Like you have anything to be laughing at. Tell me, did you get a concussion when you fell off the stage, or are you just naturally this stupid?" Someone gasped, and she smirked savagely before turning on her heel and stalking away.

Chihiro followed her, grabbing her hand and whirling her around. She was smiling delightedly. "I've never heard anyone talk back to those bitches- usually they either take it lying down, or in rare cases such as myself, try and sock one of them in their pretty little faces." Katara didn't respond, being too lost in thought to formulate a coherent sentence.

She used to talk back to people- everyone did. But she'd never been the type of person to single anyone out, even if they deserved it. Except Sokka, but he was her brother, for spirit's sake. She closed her eyes for a moment, vowed to mentally berate herself when she wasn't on a tight schedule, then raised her arms into the starting position again.

"Let's just keep practicing. I've got the first dance down, but the spin is throwing me off on the second one. After that, I have it memorized, but-" Chihiro interrupted her with a laugh.

"Jeez. You practice more than anyone else here, although maybe that's not a bad thing considering you've only got a few days. Still, it's about time for dinner, and after dinner comes bedtime- no use dancing on a full stomach, it makes everyone feel cranky. Come on!"

Katara followed her friend backstage, slipping through a back door and into the back yard. It seemed like every actor in the production was staying for dinner, a roiling mass of people and smells and sounds. A couple girls passed them, gave the pair a death glare, then whispered behind their fingers as they passed. Chihiro rolled her eyes and stuck her foot out, tripping one of them into the other- Katara was suddenly reminded very strongly of Toph, and smothered a laugh.

"Baby doll!" Yuki came running up to her, his eyes animated behind their glittering makeup. He hugged her tightly. "I'm guessing you got the job- little miss innocent, you're not," he murmured with an exaggerated wink, and she blushed furiously.

"I didn't even do anything, I just-" Yuki covered his ears like a true actor, closing his eyes and shaking his head as he shouted 'No more, no more details!' which made a few passersby jump in surprise and look at him strangely.

"Ah, I thought I heard your dulcet tones," Su Li said from behind her, and Chihiro smacked herself in the forehead, muttering something along the lines of 'oh great, now there's two of them'.

"Um, Chihiro, these are my friends, Yuki and Su Li. Do you know them?" Su Li looked over at Chihiro guardedly.

"We've met," he said snobbishly, and Chihiro's eyebrows shot up.

"We have?" she asked, and Yuki giggled quietly.

"You're in the room below us, honey. You came bounding up the stairs in the middle of the night, pounded on our door in the middle of an… arduous moment, and… well-"

"And you threatened to castrate us with a pair of rusty kitchen scissors unless we kept the moaning to a minimum," Su Li finished matter-of-factly, and Katara let out a shout of laughter. Chihiro grinned too, apologizing and blaming lack of sleep as they all went to find seats and got their plates of food.

The dinner passed quickly, and she felt a certain companionship she hadn't experienced since her younger days. Yuki protested loudly when Chihiro flung mashed beets at him, and Su Li criticized her blunt haircut good-naturedly.

"So how many performances are there?" Katara asked, and Yuki leaned forward conspiratorially.

"There's four public ones, and then a private one for a mysterious noblewoman. This will be our third for her, although we weren't sure we'd be invited back because last year someone accidentally set her porch on fire." He caught her shocked expression and misinterpreted it, hastily assuring her, "There wasn't any damage to the house, though, we got in under control."

"So does anyone know who she is?" Katara asked, and Chihiro snorted.

"Nope. She's really careful, always sits in the shadows, and she usually wears this huge cloak too. We don't know if she's young or old, pretty or ugly. Maybe she doesn't want her friends to get jealous about the private performances?"

Yuki laughed at that. "Honey, we're on Ember Island. Jealousy is like gold here, and the housewives are the big sellers and buyers."

"Maybe she's disfigured or something," Su Li mused, and Chihiro shrugged nonchalantly.

"It's not that big of a deal, our Fire Lord had a great big scar on his face and that didn't make him any less of a leader." Katara froze at the casual mention of Zuko, casting a glance around the table and seeing unusually somber expressions on every face. Chihiro sighed, then ruffled her hair, making it stick up more in the back. "You know, I don't get how he could spend years on a ship at sea, and then die as soon as he becomes Fire Lord."

Yuki tutted softly. "Chihiro darling, you're starting to sound like one of those conspiracy theorists," he said mockingly, then lowered his voice. "Not that they aren't sometimes right, though."

"Do you guys really believe that?" Katara asked in surprise, and they looked at her patronizingly.

"Come now, baby doll, you don't think it was actually an accident, do you?" he asked, and she hesitated for a moment, then stood up, unable to trust herself enough to talk about this without breaking down.

"I'm not feeling very well- I think I overdid it or something. Where do I go to get some sleep?" Chihiro exchanged glances with the two men, and stood as well, dumping her trash in a bin.

"You can sleep in my room, okay? As long as you don't snore. See you tomorrow boys, don't keep me up tonight," she said to the men, and they smiled innocently and exchanged goodbyes. The dancer led her to the hotel next door to the theater, and they went up a staircase to the third floor, stepping into a hallway. She counted the doors on the left, and watched as Chihiro unlocked the fourth door and pushed it open.

"It's not much, but it's only for a little while. We can separate that big bed into two smaller ones, and don't worry about paying for anything because the hotel owner is a patron of the company."

Katara nodded in thanks, and together they pushed the beds apart. By the time the hour rang out, she was tucked under the light covers, staring out the open window at the stars, letting them sing her to sleep in beautiful silence. Two of them grew brighter and larger as everything else faded, and she had to close her eyes to keep from being blinded. She smiled and laughed, hearing the sound echo around her, and she reached up to touch what was surely the most stunning star in the heavens. It felt like a whisper, like fingers ghosting over chiffon and like a secret kept in the shell of a child's ear, sweet and innocent. She reached further, into the light, and felt something smooth and cool. She tapped it, and it exploded in waves of shimmering bliss.

She laughed aloud, her eyes tightly closed, until the light faded. Then, she let her eyelids drift open, and saw the Blue Spirit standing silently in front of her. She stepped forward and raised her fingers to his shining cheek. The material beneath her fingers was cold as ice, hard as steel. Curiosity tugged her forward towards the unmoving masked man, and she looked him over. The Dao swords no longer glinted in the darkness- they were covered with rust and a black, tacky liquid. She swallowed, and tried to step back, but her body wouldn't cooperate.

"No," she said, then wrenched at her feet. They were frozen. "No," she said again, more urgently. Her hand wouldn't fall back to her side, it just kept inching towards the edge of the mask- but she was suddenly very certain she didn't want to see what was beneath it, she couldn't… "Stop! Wake up!" she ordered herself, screwing her eyes shut.

"No, Katara… reap the benefits you deserve." Azula's voice taunted her, and her eyes opened. She wasn't in control, as if her blood was being bent, and her fingers gripped the underside of the mask. In one smooth move, she ripped it off.

A skeleton stared back at her, a rotting corpse with empty eyes, empty eyes, empty-

She screamed as she shot up out of the bed, feeling bony fingers wrap around her. She struggled and clawed, then heard voices shouting and turned over the bed, vomiting on the floor.

"On Ji, stop! You're awake, you're fine!" She fell back onto the pillows, the dark, demonic shapes becoming clearer and morphing back into the familiar features of Chihiro. She looked scared to death, and Katara shrank back.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, and heard someone pounding on the door. She jumped, shook violently as Chihiro answered it hastily, obviously telling whoever it was to go away.

"Yeah, we're fine. I was leaning out of the window and lost my balance, which is why I was screaming. On Ji pulled me back in. Sorry for the disturbance, but you can go now." She shoved the door closed and leaned against it, stared at Katara with guarded eyes. "Maybe we should just get back to sleep?" she suggested.

Katara nodded. "I'm sorry," she said a second time. Chihiro waved it away, turned out the light again. Her voice drifted over to her in the darkness.

"Don't be sorry, On Ji. Everyone has ghosts- some just haunt us in the waking hours, while others infiltrate our dreams."

Phwew. That took a lot out of me. I'm beginning the next chapter right now, and I'll probably continue writing through the entire night, so expect a quick update :) Also, I know this one is really long, but I think you'll enjoy it anyways. Thanks for everything! Please review!