Chapter 11: The Burden's Back

I wanted my life with Aang to be perfect, or at least closer to perfect than what most couples had. Blissfully, Aang and I went to the Fire Nation palace, where he had been given his own wing of the citadel. Now we would share the rooms there and maybe someday get a house of our own. I had already realized that being the Avatar's wife would require me to be willing not to settle down. As a couple we would have to do a lot of traveling.

Sokka, Suki, Toph, and Zuko all followed me and Aang into the well-furnished living room of our wing. We were chattering and laughing still. But when I walked in to sit on the couch, my eye strayed to the low, broad tea table between the two sofas. Sticking perpendicular out of the dark wood was a long, black knife.

So much for perfect.

We all stopped laughing and talking to stare in perplexity at the weapon. It was a very long, straight knife with a black blade and serrated edges. It was like no other weapon I had seen, the hilt endowed with a huge pommel, and having a cross-section above it. It was an intimidating sight.

Sokka darted ahead of us and carefully scrutinized the almost two-foot-long weapon. Then he shot up his hand and said "Aha! Somebody left this here as a threat!"

"Are you sure it wasn't the room service?" Zuko asked ironically.

"No, I don't think so," Sokka answered, oblivious of the sarcasm.

"Okay Sokka, I think we've all gathered that much," I interjected. "Do you know who could have left it here? I don't recognize that kind of weapon."

Sokka again gazed at the knife, squinting in an overdramatic way. "Well, as far as I can tell, this knife is foreign!"

"What nation is it from? I've certainly never seen anything like it." Toph could get a good idea of what the knife felt like from tiny vibrations.

Sokka seemed very interested, but perplexed. "I know it sounds weird, but I don't think this was from any of the four nations."

"Not unless it's a new style anyway," Suki pointed out.

My brother shook his head. "But the wear on the edges shows too much age."

"Whatever," I cut in crossly. "The make of the weapon doesn't matter. What matters is who put it in here!" I was infuriated than anyone would dare threaten me on my wedding day. I looked behind me to see Aang's reaction. His brow was knitted and he was frowning in dismay. As I looked at him, he shook his bald head.

"I think I know why it's here," he said. "There's always so much political turmoil here. It must be some of the radicals or somebody in the Royal Circle who doesn't like us."

"Uh, yeah," said Zuko with a touch of irritability. "Who else would it be?"

"Ooh, I know!" Sokka had that look like he was going to crack a joke that wasn't very funny. "If it wasn't the Royal Circle, it could be the Royal Square! Get it? Royal Square?" he burst out laughing.

But I didn't. It was time for me to get a full debriefing on the state of things in the Fire Nation. If things were still so troubled that council members were threatening each other with black daggers, I definitely needed to know what was going on. There was no time to lose; I had to get to work on handling things at once. "Aang, Zuko. I need to talk to you guys. Now."

They followed me immediately into the next room, while Sokka and Suki and Toph chilled on the sofas. "Alright," I said, sitting on my bed beside Aang while Zuko took a chair; "tell me everything I need to know."

Aang spoke first. "Well, you know the main palace groups, right? The Royal Circle is a name for the military council, like the Generals and Lieutenants. The Fire Lord leads it, with help from the other Royal family members and their advisors."

"Like those two old ladies that Azula banished," I nodded. "I know that. Who else is involved in the politics? Is there an aristocracy?"

"For the most part," said Zuko, "the army leaders are the upper class."

"What about the lower classes?"

"Peasants and Soldiers. The Peasant class is the lowest, even though they provide most of the food and are responsible for the businesses that make the capital. The Soldiers are those that aren't high enough officers in the army to be part of the upper class. They live pretty comfortably—middle class, I guess."

"Fire Nation economy is a weird thing," said Toph, coming into the room. Sokka and Suki had gone to the spare rooms for the night, but Toph was interested in our conversation. She sat down in a chair beside Zuko's, and I was again mildly surprised by how much she had grown. She was thirteen now, and the last year and a half had given her an inch or two of height, and slightly more noticeable profile. The only really shocking difference was her hair, which she had allowed to grow down to her shoulders.

She continued on Fire Nation economy. "It's not built on the merchants, like it is in the Earth Kingdom. Foreign trade is everything where I come from, but here, everything's home grown and raised."

"Fire Nation couldn't risk depending on other countries, with our plans to conquer and all," Zuko explained. "So what do you want to know Katara?" He redirected the conversation toward me.

"Well, where's the problem?" I asked. I understood how the war's ending had potential to mess with the state of things, but I was too ignorant to be aware of the details.

"The war ended," said Zuko flatly. "There's the problem. Thousands of soldiers are out of jobs, and the upper class of army Generals lost their precedence."

"But Aang says there's still a lot of fighting," I pointed out. "At least in the Earth Kingdom."

"Not enough to meet the demands of the nation. So the upper and middle classes have kind of joined. They're lobbying for military hold of the colonies in the Earth Kingdom. But as Fire Lord, I've declared those colonies no longer under my rule, and I've selected Earth benders for governors."

"So the bad guys want more power," I shrugged. "Just shut them down. Fire all the old Generals and get rid of those stuffy aristocrats."

A hint of a smile played on Zuko's sharp face. "Well Katara, giving me orders already? I'll do what I think is best for my country. The meanest of the old Generals were fired, but the rest stay. And as for getting rid of their precedence altogether—that's insane."

"Hey, it's just an idea," Aang defended me. He added, though, "But you have to understand, Katara. That's not all that's happening. The class of peasants has the age-old argument for lower taxes and better business. And then there's the colonies. A lot middle-class soldiers are fighting for possession of the colonies and other small Earth Kingdom towns. We call them Radicals."

"Yeah, and they're everywhere," Toph said, irritated. "Even here in the capitol city. Can't get rid o'those darn rats." Darn rats had barely replaced other words she had intended to say in time. I could tell she was stifling curses left and right—being in the army probably left Toph with a foul mouth for one so young.

I shifted my focus away from the eternal tomboy and back to the discussion. "So who do you think left the knife here? The Royal Circle or the Radicals?"

"Probably the Radicals," replied Toph. "If the upper class wanted to scare us, they'd do a darn good job of it instead of sticking forks in our plates. The Radicals have no power in the council Circle, so they'd want to be heard in any way possible."

I glanced over at Zuko. "Why not threaten you, then?" I asked. "You're the Fire Lord."

"They probably tried to scare me, knowing I just got back," Aang stated.

"That's stupid," I laughed. "You're the Avatar!" A death threat in a private room was frightening to me, but in Aang's case the description Toph had given fit better—it was just a fork in his platter.

"I don't know," Toph said, yawning. "But I guess we'll figure it out tomorrow. Heck, it's past midnight. The reception went late, didn't it? I'm going to bed." The earth bender got out of her chair, stretched her toned muscles, and waved. "Catchya in the morning, Sugar Queen."

I stood up. Zuko looked at me. "You going to bed too?"

"Tomorrow's a big day," I replied sternly. "We should all be rested. In the morning I'm going to work on figuring this mystery out. I'm the Avatar's wife now, so I'll help him in every way I can." I spoke courageously, and Aang took my hand in admiration. But deep down, I was consternated. My old burden had just grossly increased.