Chapter 15: Vacation
I would not fully recover from my father's death for many, many months. Aang arranged for me to spend the spring in the earth kingdom with Toph, fearing I night do something drastic if I stayed. I felt selfish leaving him, but I thought I wouldn't be gone long. As spring came and the appointed date for my departure drew nearer, things with Aang got a little more strained.
"In a few days it'll be our first anniversary," I told him as we ate breakfast together. "I'm going to throw a party." It was the last thing I felt like doing, but I had to keep up appearances.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Katara." Aang blushed and stared down at his untouched plate. "I'm not gonna be there that day. I've been speaking to Guru Pathik about what we should do to stop the carnage. I think I know what to do, but I need more opinions. I'll be really busy with the Fire Sages and the Earth Priests that day. And my past lives."
"Oh—okay." I tried not to sound dismal.
Aang gave my hand a squeeze and gave one of his prominent smiles. "But don't worry," he told me. "We'll still have a party. It'll just be a little early."
The party was a huge event, organized by me; but I was only half-hearted about it. The palace was crowded with hundreds of guests from all classes, though mostly the upper class. There was feasting, talking, listening to the musicians, playing games, and dancing. Everyone seemed to be having fun except me. I greeted and talked formally with all the important guests as they entered.
"Lady Katara!" said Admiral Tai, coming in and sweeping a bow. "You have my deepest sympathies on the loss of your father. I sincerely hope we can put those dastardly peasants in their places."
"So do I," I replied, clasping his hand.
It was almost time for the final dance. I excused myself and went to find Aang. I poked through all the large rooms, having no idea where he was. Finally I found him in a quiet, closed-door sitting room with a bunch of young ladies his own age, plus Mai, Zuko, and Ty Lee. Why were they here alone when they should be out dancing? There was a bottle of rich wine on the tea table between the sofas, and much of it was already depleted. Zuko looked grim and annoyed, standing against the wall with his arms crossed. He noticed me, raised his eyebrows, and looked at Aang.
My gaze followed his. I looked at Aang. Then my cheeks flushed in embarrassment and anger as I realized that Aang had been the prominent consumer of the wine. There went my last dance. "Aang, I think it's time to go," I said stiffly. Grabbing his arm roughly, I moved toward the door.
"But Katara, I have guests to entertain!" he chuckled, waving stupidly at Mai and the younger, swoony fan girls.
Toph was among the younger girls. She had come back from the Earth Kingdom but hadn't had a chance to greet me. She stood up, saying, "Oh, go on, twinkle toes! I'm sure we'll be able to survive without your entertainment."
"It'll be hard," Mai said sarcastically.
"Yeah," Ty Lee piped in with a giggle. "You gotta admit, the Avatar is pretty funny when he's drunk!"
I blushed fiercely and pulled Aang forcefully out of the room, Toph considerately helping. "This will be the talk of the nation tomorrow!" I growled, taking Aang outside through a clandestine back exit. The refreshing night air cooled down my hot face. Aang stumbled along beside me, smiling and singing some random air bender lullaby.
"I'll say!" Toph agreed with my pessimistic statement. "Damned if old twinkle toes hasn't set the example for orgies everywhere."
"Toph!"
She suddenly remembered she was splaying the part of a refined young lady. "Tell you what, Katara," she said by way of apology, "I'll take Aang inside. You go dance."
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea," Zuko, behind me, agreed. "I'd happy to dance with you, Katara."
"Wouldn't you!" I sneered. "You and those other goofballs probably talked Aang into his so you could ruin everything for me!"
Zuko frowned. "Aang mad an ass of himself. It had nothing to do with me. There's more going on with that kid than you know."
"It was the party. He got carried away."
"No Katara. Something's wrong with him. I've never seen him act this way before."
Top bowed out gracefully. "I'll just take Aang up to his room," she said hastily. "Maybe a nice pounding with granite will sober him up."
I turned back to Zuko. The tall Fire Lord, looking regal with the golden ornament that crowned his long, black hair, had not tippled in the least. "Katara," he said, "when was the last time you talked to Aang about his work?"
"Just this morning," I replied defiantly.
"And what did he say?"
"He's got a theory about how to stop the violence. But he doesn't like it, so he's meeting with some elders."
"Maybe you should ask him exactly what's going on. Iroh says spiritual troubles can be strange things. You never know." He shrugged, dropping the topic in response to my stubborn silence. "Dance with me?"
Reluctantly, I agreed. After all, there was nothing shameful in a little trot around the room with an old friend. While we waited for the musicians to get in order for the last piece, I made myself forget my anxiousness for Aang at least for a few minutes. "Zuko, there's something I've been meaning to ask you. What's Bender's Plague?"
He looked only mildly surprised. "It happens to Fire Benders; at least to the best ones," he stated.
"So, it's hereditary?"
"No, it's not that kind of disease," the Fire Lord said with a chuckle. "They just call it a Plague. It had something to do with Chi energy. Apparently when fire benders rely too much on their Chi, it depletes your inner ability to create more. It's overworking the system." He shrugged, almost indifferently. "At least that's how I understand it. It's hard for healers to know, since all that inner energy stuff isn't really in the physical body."
"Is there a cure?"
"Not definitely. Some things prevent the intensity—good tea, meditation, warm weather."
Warm weather. Perhaps my upcoming spring vacation in the Earth Kingdom. At this point I would do anything to stop robbing Aang of his energy. I didn't tell Zuko what I was thinking, or that I too was suffering the Plague.
"The music's starting," I said, feeling a little out of my depth.
We took our positions. One of the things I loved doing the most with Aang was dancing. Zuko's skills did not compare, but I tried to enjoy it anyway. At the end of the dance, I looked up into Zuko's eyes. He had seemed so distant ever since I got married; like he wasn't all there. But he was here now, here with his intense, almost frightening gaze directly on me. When I looked into his hard, red-brown eyes, it seemed that everything I had ever done wrong was staring down at me. I broke away and retreated to my own wing of the palace.
The bed welcomed me like an old friend; its sheets and covers were like arms waiting to envelope me in cottony comfort. I flopped down into it, glad to be away from Zuko and his soul-searching eyes.
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The time came for me to go the Earth Kingdom for a spring vacation. I went with Top. We stayed in a spacious cottage near and army base, where Toph frequently visited. The grounds were lovely and green, acres of grassy hills bordered by dark evergreen woods. I walked very often and wrote many letters to Aang and Sokka. My spells of Chi-depletion did lessen, but not considerably. Toph brought guests over nearly every day, but I had trouble adjusting to her "friends," who were all big, bad-mouthed officers. I was shocked by the way she had become integrated into their society: swearing, drinking, and staying up late were the norm for Toph. It was difficult to remember that she was a young teenager and a rough-and-tough, roguish sergeant.
Other than the guests, letters, and strolls, the only eventful things that happened during the vacation were my visits to the Fire Nation Colonies. This first occurred after an epically crazy party night, when Toph got tipsy on ale and wrecked the house earth bending at her guests. In the morning I discovered what went on and scolded her fiercely.
"This is sick, Toph! You're a little girl. Little girls don't do stuff like this!"
"I'm fifteen years old!" she retorted. "And you're not my mother!"
No, I wasn't her mother; but I was worried about her, and resolved to keep my eye on her. So, when she said she was visiting the Fire Colonies to speak to some soldiers, I went with her.
It was nothing like I expected. The city of once elegant Fire Nation houses was half burned and torn to pieces. Earth bending troops were everywhere, and passing Fire Nation colonists didn't dare to meet their gaze. The grand houses and pagodas that weren't destroyed were surrounded by soldiers, who were forcing the occupants out. I saw great lords and ladies and high-born children being torn from their homes and taken to the prisons. If they were not found guilty of alignment with the Radicals, they would be moved into a small house and forced to part with most of their possessions and riches. Earth Kingdom citizens would divvy the formerly "hoarded" treasure among themselves.
I tried to imagine being torn away from my home and my rights like that. I left the south pole willingly; I couldn't imagine being forced out and then having it overrun by strangers. Thousands of colonists would be ripped from royal riches and shoved to the bottom of the chain of jobless poverty.
"This place looks like a battlefield," I said in a low voice.
"That's because it is a battlefield, genius," Toph answered dryly. "Where did you think the fights with Radicals happened?"
I said nothing and felt very foolish. All this time, I had no idea of what these people were suffering. I didn't like it. Even if they had tormented the Earth Kingdom for the last century, it still pained me to see these families hurting. "Doesn't it make you sad?" I asked Toph.
"Sad? Well, in a way…I guess. But I really love my job. Fighting in real battles is awesome!"
"And forcing people who lived one way for a hundred years to accept a new life? Is that fun?"
"Hey, sometimes change is a good thing."
Our conversation was cut off as Toph suddenly earth bended and sent a rock slamming into the back of a young but huge soldier. He whirled around with a grin and said, "Well, my buddy Top! Of all the little witches!"
"Hey, you're talking to the greatest earth bender in the world, you big s.o.b," Toph laughed. She and the soldier slammed their fists together with force that would have left a bruise lingering on my knuckles for weeks.
"Oh no," said the brawny soldier, folding his arms and looking at me in dread. "It can't be—had Toph actually started hanging out with girls?!"
"Not just any girl," Toph said, clapping me on the back. "She's a water bender."
"Nice to meet you," I lied.
The soldier grinned. Then the three of us began walking through the streets and looking at the "progress" that was being done. The soldier stayed very close to me and bragged incessantly about all he had done. Toph threw in an occasional insulting remark that she thought was funny.
"So, water bender, huh?" the soldier asked. "I'm a pretty darn good earth bender, you know. So what are you doing here?"
"Vacationing."
"How long?"
I moved a step to the right for some distance. "Till Spring ends. Why?"
He closed the gap between us. "Well, you're a girl and I'm a guy. An earth bender and water bender—we should be able to make some pretty good mud between us, huh?" The soldier put and arm around me unabashedly.
I slapped his face with a miniature wave of icy water and pulled away. "Don't touch me!" I exclaimed furiously. "I'm a lady—the Avatar's Lady, Katara!"
The soldier wiped his face while cursing. "Coulda mentioned that a little sooner, your ladyship," he said with irony in his voice. Not seeing where he was going, he stumbled into a Fire Nation child playing on the road. "OW!" He uttered another curse and bended a rock to knock the kid down.
"Stop it!" I shouted, whacking him soundly with the water whip.
"I've had enough!" the soldier roared, leaving.
Toph and I walked on. I gave her an icy glance because there was a smile on her face. "Do you see something funny, Toph?" I demanded.
"Sorry, Sugar Queen. It's just seeing your reactions. But don't worry—they're not all like that. Some of the soldiers are gentlemen."
"The ones you don't hang out with."
"Naturally."
I gave and irritated sigh. Toph worried me more and more. She had guts, willpower, purpose, and a zest for life—but she had no discernment. No moral values. Her parents taught her strict manners, but they left out consideration and respect. Hiding inside on their piles of money, they had also failed to teach her the dangers of the world. Toph was a messed-up kid by my standards.
There were many more visits to the Colonies during the spring, and through all of them I remained outwardly unbiased. I did not think badly or kindly about the suffering colonists—I just felt lost. But at the end of the last visit, the toddling son of a nobleman gave me a distraught, pleading look that almost broke my heart. I would not stay aloof. I would go to Aang and tell him what needed to be done.