Katara paced on the landing outside Zuko's door. It was midmorning; the sun was high, but the banished prince hadn't come to wake her as he promised. He had not even left his room.
At the South Pole, Iroh had explained briefly what Zuko was trying to accomplish in Ba Sing Se, but Katara hadn't had the presence of mind then to really appreciate either the enormity of what Zuko had begun or the dangers it entailed. It was only now, when the relief of seeing Zuko alive had had time to sink in, that Katara began to understand. True to form, her motherly nature kicked in, and she began to worry.
Tui and La only know what Zuko's been through. He's been planning insurrection against the Fire Lord - his own father - with the most dangerous people in the world, the Dai Li. No wonder he's still in there, dead to the world. He probably hasn't slept well in weeks.
By contrast, Iroh had no problem sleeping, whatever the circumstance. Zuko's uncle was still abed as well, the grinding sound of his snores echoing from the next room. Katara grinned. It was easy to see why Toph had all but adopted the cheerful, warm-hearted old man as her kin. In the brief time she'd known him, Katara had come to feel an affection for Iroh that was every bit as sincere as her love and respect for her father and Master Pakku.
Katara hugged her arms close around her chest and leaned against the wall. I miss them. I wonder how everyone back home is doing. No doubt, they were busily rebuilding the Southern Water Tribe after the battle. She wondered if Master Pakku had proposed to Gran-Gran for the second time, and if this time she'd been wise enough to accept him. She wondered about Sokka and Suki, imagining the sweetness they must be experiencing as newlyweds. All these nostalgic thoughts made her homesick. She momentarily wished she could be back there, surrounded by the culture she'd grown up with, in which she could always feel comfortable.
But as she stood just outside Zuko's door, basking in the warm yellow glow of the sun and listening to the bustling sounds of the Earth Kingdom town just beyond their lodgings, Katara realized that she was precisely where she wanted to be. Many things had changed since she found the boy trapped in the iceberg, but each one of those changes had molded her into another Katara, one far different from the limited person she would have been had she remained in the Southern Water Tribe all her life. She had been all over the world, seen many different places, and met many different kinds of people. She had tenaciously fought for the right to learn the art of waterbending, and had become one of the most powerful waterbenders in the entire world. Vaguely she realized that her journey was not over yet, that all her experiences had been preparing her for some even greater adventure still to come. Still, it was nice to relax for a little while, and just reminisce.
"No… please, no… NOOO!"
Katara jerked alert. Zuko. His door was locked, but being a master waterbender, no measly lock could stand in her way. She bent water from her flask, froze the pin and broke it, then easily made her way inside, letting the door swing shut again behind her.
Moved to pity by what she saw, Katara cupped her hand over her mouth and tried not to cry. Zuko was tossing and turning on the bed, tangled up in his blankets, sweating feverishly as he moaned in his sleep.
"No," he groaned, his fists clenching as he thrashed, "only had… best interests at heart… NOOO!"
Katara rushed to his side, putting her hand to his forehead. He was burning up. Maybe that was because he was a firebender, but she wasn't about to chance it. Thanks to Jet, she'd seen the damage painful thoughts could inflict. She straddled his writhing form to keep him relatively still, then bent water about her hands until they formed the lucent liquid gloves of a healer. She cupped her glowing palms on either side of Zuko's head. He visibly began to relax after a moment, unclenching his fists and breathing more easily.
His amber eyes fluttered. "Katara? What are you doing here?"
Katara suddenly realized how awkward it must look, her being on top of him in his bed when he awoke. She streamed the water back into her flask and scooted back away from him, trying not to look abashed. "I heard you screaming," she tried to explain. "It sounded like you were in pain."
"I'm sorry if I scared you." Zuko sat up, reaching for her hand when Katara started to move away. "Please, stay. I don't want to be alone right now."
Katara sat back down in front of him, letting Zuko interlace his fingers with hers, a gesture of comfort. "That must have been an awful nightmare. You seemed so scared."
"It was awful." Zuko squeezed her hand, needing to feel the realness of Katara's presence. "But it wasn't just a nightmare. It was a memory. I was remembering the day I got my scar."
ooo LL ooo
The red-feathered hawk came to the window in the middle of a war meeting with the Council of Five. Tai Lan hastily retrieved its message and took it back to his seat at the long rectangular table, nodding for General Sun to continue. The Outer Wall's general went on, relaying the report that the remnant of Azula's Fire Navy ships had been captured once they arrived in port and their crews detained. He used his earthbending to move stone pieces that represented the annexed ships into position on the large-scale map of the Earth Kingdom built into the table, as though magically moving pawns on a chess-board. Several Dai Li agents and Earth Kingdom army generals nodded in approval and began making suggestions on how best to move from here.
It was a sign of the times that this meeting was even taking place. The highest-ranked generals in the Earth Kingdom had been reluctant to place their trust in the Dai Li, let alone some unknown personage like the mysterious, blue-masked Lord Naga, but the promise of recovering the Earth Kingdom's independence had been inducement enough to unite them.
Tai Lan half-listened as he unrolled the letter, curious to know why the real Lord Naga had not yet returned to Ba Sing Se, and why he had had to make excuses to the Council of Five on his behalf. The contents disappointed him. Zuko gave no reason for his delay, but only said that he might not return for several weeks.
As long as he's back before we plan the invasion, Tai Lan thought crossly, crumpling the letter in his hand. We need his knowledge of the Fire Nation terrain, and the layout of the capitol and the palace. He knows that. What could possibly be more important than that, at this time?
ooo LL ooo
In the safety of her room, Mai pulled her robe close about her and shivered. Her body still tingled with the afterglow of what had happened the night before. It was unreal to think that she had let her guard down enough to let Tai Lan get close, physically as well as emotionally. Still, the uncomfortable chill from a cold bath in a dank place was quickly bringing her back to reality.
She missed having servants. She missed not having to find a place to bathe - she'd actually resorted to the canals in the caverns of old Ba Sing Se, which was why she was practically freezing - and she missed there being someone to bring her food anytime she wanted to eat. She was hungry, and had no idea how to forage for herself, let alone cook. Having to live like an ordinary person stinks, she thought glumly, reverting to her former attitude for a moment as she indulged in self-pity.
She stared at her reflection in the mirror for a long time. The last time I really looked at myself in here, Azula was still alive, she thought now. Ty Lee was sitting here beside me, looking all cute and sickening as a Kyoshi Warrior, making fun of my makeup. It seemed as though years had passed since then: long, lonely years, that made the senbon-wielding girl feel much older than she appeared.
Then she thought of Tai Lan again, and her mood lightened. She realized that she didn't feel quite so lonely now as she had before, or so devastated over Zuko's aloofness towards her. Fear had almost kept her from accepting him - fear of his secrecy and duplicity as a Dai Li agent, fear of his lethal earthbending skill, fear of being with an older man - but one night in his arms, allowing herself to feel for the first time in a lifetime, suddenly made those fears seem groundless.
"But how long can it last?" she wondered, voicing her last remaining fear where Tai Lan was concerned. "How can this possibly work?"
"How can what work?"
Mai whirled around, her wet, stringy locks smacking her in the face. Ty Lee was standing beside her, hands on her hips and grinning as though she'd never left.
"Ty Lee? What are you doing here?" Mai demanded.
"This is my room, too," Ty Lee said, her ever-present smile fading a bit. "Remember?"
"It was our room," Mai retorted, "at least, until you started disappearing with your Dai Li loverboy and forgot you had other friends."
Tears sprang to Ty Lee's wide brown eyes. "That's not fair! You're with a Dai Li agent too."
"How did you know that?"
"Tai Lan gave orders to leave you alone. Koji told me."
"Oh. Of course he did." Mai narrowed her eyes. "I'm not angry with you over seeing someone, Ty Lee. Agni knows you'd stop breathing and drop dead if you didn't have at least one boy drooling over you at any given moment. What I'm mad about is that you've practically left me here alone. Zuko's gone, Azula's dead; you were all I had left - and you disappeared on me! Do you have any idea how hard it's been for me? Have you thought about how I might be doing, or what might have happened to Zuko, since he's been gone longer than anyone expected? Have you tried to grieve over Azula, even the least little bit? Have you thought about anyone besides yourself, or your beloved Koji? Because I'm guessing the answer is no."
By this time, Ty Lee was bawling outright. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Mai."
"No, of course not. You were just too busy thinking of yourself and being happy to think of anyone else, least of all me." Mai's shoulders slumped as she gave a heavy sigh. "So, what's the plan?"
Ty Lee hiccuped, wiping at her eyes. "Plan?"
Mai rolled her eyes. "You know, where you and Koji run off and get married and you leave me here by myself, just forever this time?"
"We're not running off anywhere," Ty Lee defended. "Koji is loyal to the Dai Li and to the Earth Kingdom. He's sticking this out. We both are."
"Loyal to the Earth Kingdom," Mai echoed softly. "Is that what we are now, Ty Lee? We came here from the Fire Nation to try to take over, to win the war. Even though Azula's dead now, I keep wondering if that makes us traitors."
"Oh." Ty Lee sank onto the bed across from Mai's chair by the mirror. "I hadn't thought of it that way. So… do you think we should go back to the Fire Nation?"
Mai shook her head. "We're in too deep now. We helped Zuko betray Azula. We made our choice then. I just didn't realize it until now."
"So, we can never go back?"
"I don't think so."
"Mai? Would you be mad at me if I said I didn't really want to go back?" Ty Lee's eyes were wide and hopeful.
Despite herself, Mai almost smiled. "No. I know you're really happy here, and you weren't at home. I mean, you ran away and joined the circus. Life had to be pretty miserable for you to do that."
"You were never happy there either," Ty Lee pointed out, "but look at you now. Tai Lan must be making you as happy as Koji has made me. Your aura's practically glowing!"
"Oh, good grief. Come here." Mai wrapped her friend in an uncharacteristically warm hug. "I can't stay mad at you, even if I want to. You're the only friend I've got. Just promise me you won't run off like that again, not without telling me first."
Ty Lee squeezed Mai close, laughing aloud with joy and relief. "I promise! I'm just so glad you don't hate me! Best friends?"
"Oh, all right. Best friends," Mai sighed, although not without the pursed lips of a little grin.
ooo LL ooo
Zuko took a deep breath, finding the courage to say what needed to be said. The steady gaze of Katara's azure eyes calmed his fears. He could do this. He was ready to let it go, once and for all. He was ready for it to heal.
"When I was thirteen, I begged Uncle to let me attend a war council. He told me not to say anything, but… when one of the generals suggested doing something horrible to our soldiers, just to win a battle, I spoke out against it. I thought I was doing the right thing, protecting our people, but it made my father angry.
"He forced me to fight a fire duel. He said it was the only way for me to recover my honor. But I didn't know it was him I'd be dueling, until I turned around and saw his face." In his mind, Zuko saw Ozai's cruel smirk staring down at him as he strode nearer, traditionally barefoot and bare-chested for the heat of an Agni Kai. He blinked hard, forcing away the memory.
Katara's eyes widened. "What did you do?"
"I got on my knees and begged for forgiveness. He was my father. I loved him. I couldn't fight him. But… he saw that as weakness, and he… punished me." His fingers grazed the scarred folds over his eye, tilting his chin down against his chest with shame.
"Your father?" she echoed, shaking her head dismay. "Your own father did that to you? Even when he saw you weren't going to defend yourself?"
Zuko nodded, unable to look at her now without breaking down. He stared at their joined hands instead. "But that wasn't punishment enough for him. He banished me from the Fire Nation. He said I could only return home and regain my honor by capturing the Avatar. At the time, I believed he was sincere. I thought he truly wanted me back and loved me as his son." His voice was gritty with emotion. "I was a fool."
By this time, Katara's heart was about to come out of her chest. She wanted to let go of his hand, to pull him close and let him cry his fill in the safety of her arms, but she could see he wasn't ready to be that vulnerable - not yet. This was something that could not be rushed. "So that's what you meant in the cave. When you called it 'the mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever,'" she murmured.
Zuko's expression was grim. "I cursed myself. Only an idiot would go chasing after an empty dream the way I did. But now I finally have a chance to undo some of the harm I've done. I want to make things right, Katara."
"You will," she said reassuringly. "And you won't be alone. Your uncle and I will be with you."
Zuko nodded gratefully. "You know it's going to be dangerous."
"More dangerous than fighting alongside the Avatar?" Katara queried with arched eyebrows and a smile. "More dangerous than fighting Azula?"
"Maybe," Zuko admitted, sobering them both. "Azula was scary, but she was just one person. If I make one wrong move with the Dai Li, we're dead." The banished prince sighed heavily. "It feels wrong to say these things to you when we're finally alone. I wish we had more time."
"I know." Katara squeezed his hand. "There are things that have to be done. But for now, it's enough that we're together."
"It's more than enough. It's a miracle." Zuko smiled, then leaned forward and brushed his lips across hers. "We should get going."
"Then go wake Iroh. I know he'll want to talk to you. I'll go buy some food for us and get the ostrich horses ready." Katara shared one more tender smile with the young firebender before releasing his hand and making for the door.
Zuko watched the Water Tribe girl leave with a fond warmth filling his heart. When the war is over, he promised himself, we'll make up for lost time. He slipped quickly into his green and brown Earth Kingdom traveling clothes, then donned his cloak and closed the door behind him. He noted with some satisfaction the lock his waterbender had broken. No locked doors between us. I could get used to that. He allowed his thoughts to follow that promising trail for a few happy moments as he made his way to Iroh's door.
ooo LL ooo
"Are you sure you know where we're going?" Toph asked, the wind whipping through her hair as they flew through the clouds. Momo was sitting in her lap eating nuts from a little bag, a last-minute gift from Sokka. "I hate to say it, but you've never been the best at reading maps, Twinkletoes."
"Yeah, I know. That's why I had Sokka show me the way before we left," Aang replied. "He told me what to look for. We've just passed over the Bahn Yu Mountains, and now we're following the river north. The Bei Fong estate is close to the river. I'll know it when I see it."
The little earthbender nodded. "So, we're close then."
"Probably just a few hours away," Aang confirmed. "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"
"You need to finish your Avatar training with the guru," Toph reminded him. "That's more important than anything right now. Why would you want to skip that to come with me… unless you're nervous?"
"It's not that," the Avatar lied hastily, thankful his blind friend couldn't feel vibrations very strongly while riding Appa. "I just remember you telling me about those two guys your dad sent after you. Who's to say he doesn't have some other trap set up in case you decide to come home, so that you'll never be able to leave again?"
"It'd have to be a pretty serious trap for him to get me this time. Besides, you'll be coming to pick me up in a few days, with all your Avatar powers back. Even if he managed to catch me, I doubt any trap my dad could think up would hold you."
The bald airbender smiled at the vote of confidence. Coming from her, it was a refreshing change. Toph had always been sparing with her praise. "Thanks."
"So what's the plan after we meet up again? Iroh said it was still too dangerous for us to go to Ba Sing Se."
"I know. I just wonder why he said that. It can't be any worse now than it was when Azula was in control of the Dai Li. I feel like there's some other reason he's trying to keep us away from there…"
"Oh, come on!" Toph bursted then, startling Momo enough that he flew from her lap to a defensive, wide-eared stance atop her head. "Do you honestly think Iroh would lie to us like that? He saved your life! He betrayed the Fire Nation to help us! How can you not trust him, even now?"
"I don't think Iroh lied!" Aang amended hastily, knowing Toph's soft spot for the old firebender. "I just think there are things he's not telling us."
"Uh-huh. I don't have to feel your vibrations to know what you're thinking." The earthbender's sightless eyes narrowed in annoyance. "It's about her, isn't it? About her going with him to Ba Sing Se, and you not being invited."
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked defensively.
"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about! You're obsessed with Katara, and you're mad that you still have to save the world even if she won't be by your side every minute, and then waiting for you at the end like a reward!"
Aang gripped Appa's reins tight. "That's crazy!"
"Oh, really? Then prove me wrong. Give me one solid reason why you'd doubt anything Iroh says or does." A moment passed in awkward silence. "You can't, can you? Because I'm right."
"What do you want from me, Toph? I can't make my feelings for Katara go away just like that. I can't help how I feel. Besides, aren't you just mad because I don't feel that way about you?" Aang knew as the words left his mouth that he'd crossed the line, but it was all too late to take it back.
"That's it! I've had it with you!" she shouted, the hurt evident even in her strongest tone of voice. "Once you drop me off, we're through. Don't bother coming back for me. I'll find another way to help fight the war."
"And how are you going to do that? You can't even see -"
"I see more clearly than you ever could. That's the problem." Toph leaned back into the saddle, folding her arms across her chest. "I really hope the guru can do something with you. No one else seems to be able to get through to you."
Aang gritted his teeth, not wanting to hear more. "Just shut up, Toph!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
An hour and a half of apprehensive hush later, Toph was on the ground and Aang was hurling her satchel down at her. He made a face when Appa tried to nuzzle her, and pulled the reins in the opposite direction so hard the bison actually groaned with discomfort. Momo chittered unhappily, but abandoned Toph to return to his place in the saddle. They flew away, and she couldn't be sorry that they were going. Goodbye and good riddance, she thought angrily, some 'hope for the world' he's turned out to be.
Toph dug her toes into the earth, relishing the feel of being able to 'see' again after so many months in the icy south. She was on the grounds of the Bei Fong estate, near the place where she'd first met the Avatar and his friends after Earth Rumble Six. Just like in the old days, a couple of guards quickly came running, but Toph had them wedged between stiff earthen panels before they could lay a finger on her.
"Hi, guys," she grinned, with none of the former demureness she'd displayed as the younger mistress of the estate. "Either of you know where I can find my dad?"