Chapter 13: The Upper Class

Admiral Tai was a tall, broad-shouldered man of middle age. He had a pleasant face and eagle's nose, though it was marred by a battle scar over one eye and under the other. Like most Admirals in the Fire Nation, this one had sideburns. His hair line above his brow was rapidly receding, even though he wasn't really old, and he was growing slightly pudgy in the middle. Expensive, burgundy robes cloaked him, as well as a bright scarlet neck-cloth.

When I knocked on the door, the Admiral's face was covered with surprise and annoyance. What with the giant bison in his back yard and the unexpected company, he had every right to be upset. But the Admiral's good breeding won out and he greeted us graciously.

"Come in, come in!" he said with a big, toothy smile.

Tai and his servants led Aang and I into a spacious sitting room where we were served tea. I looked around and saw that many bandanas, like the scarlet one around the Admiral's neck, were set up as decorations around the room.

"It's patriotic," said Admiral Tai, sitting in a chair opposite mine. "The scarlet cloths of the upper class represent our rights."

"Yes. I've seen from your records that you're a Circle Lobbyist," I told him. I noticed that he looked troubled or confused as he looked at me. "Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Well, I must say—you're both very young."

"You've never seen the Avatar before?"

"Only from a distance. I thought he was just short. I knew you were both young, but—"

"Not this young," Aang finished for him, chuckling.

Tai smiled at the Avatar and inquired, "So, why have you come? I am very grateful for the visit. How can I help you?"

Aang pointed to me and said, "She wanted to see you."

"Oh? I'm delighted to be of service. What can I do for you?"

I was direct and straightforward, which, unlike in the Earth Kingdom's upper class, was deemed appropriate. "You know a lot about the middle class Radicals. Well, you might have heard some gossip about the threat left in my room last night. We think it could be the Radicals."

The Admiral's face reddened and he stood up out of his armchair. "Are you accusing me of being involved?"

"No, that's not what she meant!" Aang interjected quickly.

I had slipped up. Being direct in most conversation might be proper, but not when it came to touchy political allegiances. Military commanders in the Royal Circle were very careful about picking sides and making decisions—too often, in older regimes, such things could lead to death or exile. Zuko himself had been banished for hotly arguing with a well-respected General.

"I'm sorry," I corrected myself. "I didn't make myself clear. What I wanted to do was ask you for information about the Radicals because I know you're a good source. I didn't meant to offend you."

Tai ran a hand through his brown hair and calmed down. "Think nothing of it…though a more hotheaded Admiral would have challenged you to single battle for that."

"Ha! What Admiral would be that stupid?" I laughed.

"Point taken," said Tai, and gulped own his tea.

As well he might. After all, my importance to the country as the Avatar's wife would be enough to scare most challengers; not to mention I was one of the greatest water benders alive. Or at least, I had been so before these strange spells. "Have you ever heard of Bender's Plague, sir?" I questioned politely.

"Yes, I believe so. It was rumored that Fire Lord Ozai had it. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but I know its effects are only applicable to those who are bending Masters. You'd probably need to ask a healer for details," he added, before steering away from the subject. It was time to talk politics. "I'll tell you what I know. What the Radicals talk about in their private meetings is largely a mystery to peasants and commanders alike. In the council hosted by the Fire Lord, we rarely speak of the Radical leaders or movements. All we know is one, they want their jobs; two, they want the Colonies; and three, they will kill to get their way." He spoke so casually the grim topic seemed ironic

"Isn't that pretty much what you noblemen want too?" I queried.

"Well yes, my lady, but we wouldn't be so brash. And we are also vying for the power we hold in council and lawmaking, which lately, the Fire Lord does not want us to possess. He's not so revolutionary that he wants t remove the hierarchy altogether, but he wants a system that makes the peasants happy."

"And I agree with him," Aang stated. "Everybody should have a right to live a happy life. That's not gonna happen with all this unfairness."

Admiral Tai looked uncomfortable. He obviously disagreed, but he could hardly argue with the Avatar and not look like an idiot. He turned the conversation back to the Radicals. "Avatar Aang, I believe the Radicals threatened you because they knew you take the peasant's side."

"They must be pretty stupid," I said frankly. "Aang's not gonna let a little threat bother him. What's the point?"

Tai poured himself another cup of tea and gingerly squeezed the juice of a lemon slice into the cup. He took a sip and then looked at me with his causal, unconcerned eyes. "I don't know, Lady Katara. Maybe they didn't want to threaten the Avatar—maybe they wanted to threaten you."

Aang looked horrified, but I stood up boldly and said, "If they kill me, Aang will kill them."

The Avatar did not trust himself to speak steadily, but he nodded grimly to show his agreement.

"They would never try to kill you. They would try to use you and get the Avatar on their side. You know. Manipulation."

Yes, I knew all about that.

"If you want to ensure your safety, I'd recommend watching the members on your own house. Servants, guards—do background checks on them all. Someone had to be close enough to put that knife in your room."

I thought of Beka. As a peasant, it didn't make sense for her to be involved with the higher-level Radicals. But thinking of Beka made me think of Freda, and that made me think of everything she had told me today. "Admiral Tai," I raised a final question, "what do you know about the Lion Turtle?"

At this, both Aang and the Admiral looked at me in surprise. "Katara," Aang began, "how did you—"

"Be quiet, Aang," I interrupted sharply. I was still angry at him for not telling me about this twist sooner.

"The Lion Turtle is a dangerous animal," Tai told me sternly. "He's been seen around the coasts of the Fire Nation for the past year. Now many of the peasants believe he is capable of telepathy, and instilling strange ideas into their heads. In the Royal Circle, we prefer not to speak about those things."

I was furious that nobody had explained fully until now. "Come on, Aang," I said, grabbing his arm, "Let's go."

We were of toward the palace without another word. No doubt the Admiral thought we were rude, but I didn't care. I grimaced as I drove back. Leaving the servants to take care of Appa I jumped off the saddle and stormed inside.

I almost collided with Zuko.

"You're back," he said, looking at my furious face and Aang's dejected one with mock-surprise. "What, no honeymoon?"

"Move," I snarled, pushing past with Aang.

"Ah, young couples," Zuko said to our retreating figures.

We found Mai in a sitting room, probably waiting for Zuko. She had heard the brief interchange outside. "Don't mind him," she said in her dry voice. "Some of your brother's sense of humor rubbed off on him, that's all."

My brother. Sokka! I had completely forgotten about him!

Mai noted the horror on my face and said, "He hasn't left yet. He's getting ready to go. You can still say goodbye."

At last Sokka would be heading off to college in Ba Sing Sey. I ran back downstairs and outside just in time to see him loading his luggage into a coach. "Sokka!" I threw my arms around him.

Sokka was never especially comfortable with hugs. But this time he put his lanky arms around me and gave me a gentle embrace. The emotions of the long day forced themselves out of me, falling from my eyes in the form of tears. I was suddenly aware not only that Sokka was independent man beyond my control, but that I had begun to respect him as such. I would miss him terribly.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly.

"Everybody's going away," I said in a shaky voice. "And there's so much work I have to do."

"Well don't try to handle everything by yourself," Sokka advised, still holding me close.

"If I don't do, who will?" I was suddenly filled with resentment. "Nobody cares the way I care. I have to do everything or it won't turn out right."

Sokka looked at me sympathetically, but had nothing else to say on the matter. I hoped my clinging and tears would convince him to stay, but he was too smart for that. "Take care, Katara," he said, embracing me one last time and planting a kiss on the top of my head. Then he broke away and leapt spryly into the coach.

I watched him go, unaware that the next time I saw him, we would not be friends.

"Don't worry. Sokka will be fine."

It was Zuko's voice. I turned around, saw the Fire Lord, and launched into what I needed to say. "Hey, I've been at Admiral Tai's house. I want to discuss what I heard—"

"Well, the great lady stoops to speak to the lowly Fire Lord," Zuko interrupted. "Please lady Katara, condescend to tell me more."

Ignoring his sarcasm, I told him all him all about Freda and Admiral Tai. "You're the Fire Lord. What do you think?" I addressed him as a distance political figure, not as a friend.

"I've had some suspicions," he answered, dropping all jokes and getting serious. "You news seems to match up. I think the middle and upper classes are joining forces. I think people like the Admiral are the instigators of the Radical groups. And I think they would rather die than give up their privileges for the peasants."

"And the threat in my room?"

"Must be the Radicals. I don't know where they got that weird knife though." He shrugged. "Well, it's about dinner. Shall I show you to the kitchen?"

"The kitchen?" I reiterated. "Is it proper to eat in there?"

"No. But I figured you'd want to cook our meals. You've got your nose in everything else—why not control our food too?"

I splashed him with the water I always kept by me for bending. But Zuko wasn't angry—in fact, he chuckled. "I was getting too hot under all these robes."

I envied his new-found lightheartedness.

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That was only one day, my first day. There would be hundreds just like it, full of stress and temper, with a few isolated, scattered moments of happiness with Aang. Toph stayed for a while and then went back to the earth kingdom, Grangran and Paku returned to the South Pole, and but Dad picked up on my anxiety and stayed with me. Days and months rolled by as Aang and I did our best to resolve small issues in Trial Hall and the Royal Circle. We waited for Zuko to make his move and promote the peasants, but he bided his time. The Royal Circle grew restless and bitter about Zuko, so much that directly overriding them could cause revolution.

While he tried to keep the aristocracy from violence and tried to help the peasants at the same time, Zuko had to deal with the Radicals in the Earth Kingdom too. A sweltering summer passed with little time for relaxation. I found time to write letters to Grangran and Paku, asking about the progress of the construction and so on. I also asked about Bender's Plague, but since none of the healers from either water Tribe seemed to know about it, I began to wonder if Freda had just made it up. Or the Lion Turtle--he was now notorious for spreading strange rumors. Anyway, the spells did arrive, more and more frequently, Aang would always pass me some of his own energy. I tried to avoid this because the procedure left Aang much bereft of vitality. He eventually confessed to me that he too was experienced a weakening in his bending, and was researching some way to cure it.

Fall came in like a gold-cloaked wraith, spreading its rustling, golden cape over hill and plain, forest and city. At last Zuko began to take some action. He sent five thousand troops to defend the Colonies in the Earth Kingdom from Radical takeover. Meanwhile, the lower class was in great unrest, impatient for action.

As fall deepened, so did the intrigue in the Royal Circle. All the noblemen seemed to be holding their breaths, waiting for Zuko to do the inevitable—revoke their privileges for the good of social justice—after which they would probably rebel. Perhaps, as Zuko said, they were already rebelling. The Radicals seemed connected to the upper class, whether inadvertently or otherwise. The military commanders started holding secret meetings, which I tried and failed to spy into. Various members of the Royal Circle had already been arrested for treason and conspiracy, and the numbers were growing.

Freda and Beka helped keep me company. I loved with Aang too, but much of the time he was away at the Trial Hall or settling issues with nature spirits. I started to feel like I had no control over anything, and that scared me. I was desperately grabbing and clinging to what I had left, which seemed less and less with every passing day and sleepless night.

It was a long season.