Save Me

Author: YolandaFriella

Sorry for the long wait! I wrote all of this at late night hours out of pure boredom :D. I also made a banner for this story, so if you're curious, check it out. I'm sorry to say, but Zuko won't return in the story until a few chapters. I must let Katara's character go through a developement first :) Out of all the characters in the TV show, I like Zuko. Not only because he's hot, but because he has such a strong and endearing personality. Katara has to be my second favorite, since she makes girls look tough!

Here's a shout out to all my reviewers: cartunegirl56, Forsaken Angel 13, issa, spockjasperzukowriting, Densharr, Bunzilla894, I'm-INSANELY-aweSOMEful, Marnie Wolffe, sokkantylee, AnnaAza, Lone Fairytale, and Draminoe-Fan 17. Thanks so much guys! Wow. That's three more reviews than the previous chapter. Seriously. Thanks so much people. You motivate me beyond words :D.

Special thanks to Marnie Wolffe for her detailed and thought-out review. Also, thank you girl for showing me your thoughts. I prefer reviews such as yours! :) check out her Twilight story, I'm going to do it as well.

Chapter Four: Tragic Love Appeal

Soon after, I woke up to find myself encircled in a rather disturbing scene.

I found myself lying in a bathtub full of sweltering, warm water. Water vapor assembled around my head lavishly, making my vision obscure from the lack of oxygen. I could practically feel the celestial, hospitable water consuming my thoughts; relaxing me even further with such an affectionate and recognizable sensation that no embrace could ever contrast. There were people in the background speaking in hushed murmurs, rumbling in my mind. Still in a daze, I lifted my hand to find both of them masked under the water, bubbles dotting the horizontal exterior. In the midst of my abrupt reappearance, I then realized one crucial, mind-blowing feature:

I was completely, utterly stripped of my prior clothing—of anything.

I was naked.

I let out a flabbergasted gasp, brimming with mortification, and felt hands in my hair, kneading my desiccated scalp; and not in a gentle way.

Helplessly, I attempted to screen my feminine features with my brown arms, my eyes wide from the comprehension churning the wheels in my head, and jerked away, disentangling the duo of hands from my hair.

"What's going on?" I demanded sharply, my vision sharpening from as the ongoing seconds passed by. "Why am I….naked?"

What was even worse than illuminating a woman's hair to someone, in my tribe, was revealing what was unseen within her garments. Adultery was considered an immense transgression within my people; whoever shall do it shall be in disgrace until they mourn their mandatory days. I could honestly say I've never known or seen a woman who committed adultery…

….yet here I was, unclothed for all these strangers to see, without me even knowing who they were. Of course I had no idea I was naked in the first place, nor was I involved in any sexual activity. I merely awoke to this nightmare, and I'm now clearly panicking.

"Your ceremony is about to take place," The woman behind me, who I didn't dare to even look at, told me.

"What ceremony?"

"Your….welcoming ceremony." Her hands returned to my hair, and I went rigid, my eyes widening from her informal contact Do these people have no shame? No value for one's space? "It's traditional for a recruit to go through the ceremony."

I tried to draw away from her hands, but she tried to drive me back in return. My teeth gritting together, I was beginning to lose the patience I've never had.

"Please," She said, laced with irritation. I could tell she was getting aggravated as well. "Just….let me give you this bath."

"I can do my own bath." I snarled stubbornly. I knew I should've never healed that boy.

"You speak of your own action's results. Since you healed, especially the Prince—"

Time itself came to a dead stop. The water, sparkling around my ankles and body seemed to turn frozen as well. If the world ended right there, I wouldn't have known it. I didn't even hear the end of the girl's sentence, alas; I felt nothing as my back pressed against the tub.

"Since you healed, especially the Prince…"

The Prince? The words repeated aimlessly in my mind, draining of all my sense of thoughts. I don't even recall breathing—my entire body went into an immediate shock.

Disgust soon followed, accompanied with horror. I, Katara, healed the Fire Prince? The Fire Lord's son?

I remembered his eyes, the panic and unbearable pain flaring right back into my shocked sapphire orbs. I should've known he was significant with his ample room, or how golden his eyes were. I should've known when I recognized the sign of a warrior within. That scar probably originated from an innocent person defending themselves. And I just eased his pain!

"Oh spirits," I whispered to only myself, imagining my spirit leaving my very body. Only I could imagine what Sokka would say in this situation…..

"I cannot believe you healed him, Katara! Just because a strange, creepy lady gave you some bread doesn't mean you listen to her! For all we know, she could've done that on purpose for you to go against us. She sounds nuts to be. What did I say about talking to strangers? Especially Fire Nation? You can't trust anyone there, Katara. Do you hear me? Now look what you did! You helped the Fire Lord's son, who's probably done the things his evil daddy or whatever did. He's probably killed someone, too. He's absolutely no different than the Fire Lord himself."

Sokka's strict and uproarious voice sounded so authentic that I wondered if he was somehow speaking telepathically to me. But as I returned to reality, I realized that was actually my conscious speaking to me.

But then my mind went back to how charitable the woman was as she handed me the roll, her voice full of lament and agonize of my well-being.

"I know my son's a good boy—he is. He has the strongest heart I've ever seen."

I sulked as her voice plugged my thoughts, erasing Sokka. She sounded so hopeless….a want to protect her son.

Or she just might be a normal mother.

I was yanked from my thoughts as I felt something jagged on my stomach. To my horror, the girl was running a cloth over my body, drenched with soap.

Before she even saw me move, I bended the water from the tub into my possession and encased it over her, gaining a startled shriek from her in response. I stood stiffly in the tub, the water oozing off my skin back to the tub slowly. In moments, she was enveloped inside of my element—trapped inside its natural grasp.

Thankfully, my hair was able to cover my torso, and the bubbles hid my other secretive parts. The women around the room all went silent when the girl let out a screech as the ice covered her face, her eyes gaping at me in frozen terror.

"You," I snarled, "any of you, will not touch me. Understand?"

I know I must've looked less than a lady; instead, I looked just as these people thought I was: a barbarian. And for once, I didn't care. I will never allow anyone to ever touch me in places without my personal consent.

They all nodded, too stunned to even verbalize.

"Good." I sank back into the tub, not bothering to congeal anyone else, and began washing myself. I felt better after doing what I did, even though it was rash and an instantaneous feedback to someone touching me.

"Now we understand each other."

"Anger is only a natural reaction; one of the mind's ways of reacting to things that it perceives to be wrong. While anger can sometimes lead people to do shocking things, it can also be an instinct to show people that something isn't right."

~Psychology

"So what happens in a welcoming ceremony?"

The girl, who I previously froze, was gone. A new girl replaced, who was much more tolerant and sympathetic; in my opinion.

"Our main healer, Lady Ayaka, will give you her blessings. And then she will speak to you in private."

"In private?" I questioned as I dressed in the under garments she handed me. They were tight and highly uncomfortable, nonetheless, I wore it; knowing I would look irrational without them.

"Of course. When she gives you her blessings, she likes to say it in front of the entire healers." She smiled thoughtfully at me. "Are you nervous?"

I drew my hair back with the strap she gave me earlier, securing my hair firmly in my traditional water tribe style. I was affronted when she shook her head, with a remorseful smile, and pulled my hair free.

"Sorry," She whispered, parting my hair from the back of my neck to the top, and taking the top half, she pulled it into a chignon tall on top of my head. I knew what she was doing with my hair looked like hers. "But this is the hairdo you much wear….it suits you."

I could tell she was trying to calm me down, but I was angrier when she told me the last part. "It most certainly does not suit me. I cannot believe I'm actually becoming a healer."

She pulled back, appreciating her clever work and shrugged. "Well, you aided the banished Prince. That counts as healing, if not, a miracle itself."

My eyes blinked. "He's banished?"

"Haven't you heard? He insulted a general during a meeting." She glanced around almost guardedly, leaning forward to lower her voice. I leaned in to hear easier. "He had an Agni Kai, and apparently, he was too inexperienced to think he was dueling the general himself. He was wrong."

"What's an Agni Kai?" I whispered back.

"A duel between fire benders. It's quite popular here in the Fire Nation. Anyway, so I heard from someone that Zuko had to face his Father instead of the general. And guess what?"

I waited, my entire body tensed up, wondering what the supposed "strong-hearted" prince would do. Did he kill his father? Was the Fire Lord….dead?

"He refused to fight." She chuckled under her breath at my stricken face. I felt as if I've been slapped in the face. "Can you believe it? He refused to fight. I even heard that he got down on his knees, pleading for the Fire Lord to forgive him." She began laughing and I suddenly felt lightheaded.

"He doesn't deserve what happened to him. He doesn't! He did it because he stood up for something good! I just—"

"Such a pity," The girl said, moving away to rummage through a dresser. "That the almighty Fire Lord gave birth to such….a person full of dishonor."

I stared at her in pure shock. How could anyone be so….cruel? The poor, teenage boy was scarred—scarred! Not only was it because he was doing a wrong deed, but it happened from his own father, only because he didn't fight back.

I remembered his eyes, seeing the hurt and degradation gleam back at me. I shivered, feeling as if my soul left my body once more. I would never believe my father could do such a thing—even if the person was the Fire Nation. I cannot imagine how much it hurt for the Prince to be burned alive in front of millions of people, mocking him sadistically; including the formerly gracious girl in front of me. Now, I realized she's just like the rest. There was no difference.

And just to make it worse, the person who was behind all the damage, was his own father; the person who should protect him at all costs.

"So now," She continued, pulling out an outfit to hand it to me. The crimson fabric looked magnificent; velvety and glistening in importance. "The Fire Lord banished the Prince from the nation. He's supposed to leave in three days, for the Fire Lord granted him to heal before he goes off in his journey."

"So he's supposed to just leave? Never to return?" I felt close to fainting now.

"Well, in a way, yes. Everyone knows the Fire Lord holds humiliation from his son's failure. So, he told the Prince that the only time he could return was when he brought back the Avatar."

I gasped, my hands tightening around the fabric in my hands. "B-but the Avatar…doesn't exist. He disappeared hundreds of years ago."

She smiled deceitfully. "Exactly."

Finally, it dawned on me. The Fire Lord sent the Prince out on this unattainable pursuit, knowing it would be impossible, so the Prince would, obviously, never return because the person he was to bring back, didn't even subsist.

I stared vacantly up at the girl, seeing her now perplexed.

"You should dress quickly," She informed me, returning to her warmly self. "The ceremony's already waiting for you. Lady Ayaka is eager to meet you, hearing about your astounding healing powers. She is new to this as well, since our former Lady left shortly when her husband died."

"Oh." I recognized the former Lady immediately. "I know who she is. She visited me before."

"Impossible. She fled the country shortly after his death."

I sighed, knowing it was entirely my fault. If I would've healed her husband, she may still be here and her husband may still be walking among us. But being my usual bitter self, I disregarded her pleas.

I dressed rapidly into the attire, feeling half naked as the shirt barely reached the skin above my belly button. The skirt was lengthy, almost reaching the ground. But the outfit I detested, since it was anything but unassuming. The girl then gave me shoes to wear, which felt so good on my spoiled, uncovered feet, but they weren't worth anything. Flat and with no support, they reminded me of planks of wood. Nonetheless, they were obviously better than nothing at all. So I accepted them with appreciation, putting them on willingly.

"I wish you luck," She whispered as she led me out of the room, seeing that I was ready.

I was positive the spirits above could hear the thumping of my heart.

I was expecting people to cheer as I walked in front of them, on the platform.

Instead, I was met with an eerie, upsetting silence.

I tried my best to hold my head high as I walked shakily to the woman in the middle of the platform, who was smiling at me cheerfully. My footsteps made a clanging noise as I walked, the wooden shoes connecting with another type of wood. She was younger than the former Lady, her face free of wrinkles and her hair a dark, raven shade. This woman actually seemed as if she just became an adult.

However, of all these things, her face stood out.

She was gorgeous. To me, it looked as if the spirits blessed her highly, giving her narrow cheek bones and stunning, spacious eyes that gleamed happiness and generosity. She had a petite body, and was a bit chunkier than I was, since I almost starved to death hours before.

I stood before her, feeling so unsightly under her noteworthy stature. I felt the tons of eyes staring at me; some in antipathy, some in interest. And some even contained jealousy of my "supernatural" abilities.

"Hello Katara," Lady Ayaka greeted joyfully. "We give thanks for your….kind and lenient healings of our banished Prince. We all value your valor and devotion to the nation once you tended to him, and we all give thanks because frankly; none of us would do it."

I was everything but loyal to this nation. Deciding against speaking at the moment, I stayed silent, staring at her impassively.

"We're fortunate to have you join us." She continued, louder this time. "The spirits above has established a marvel—perhaps a miracle; a bender who may use her abilities to cure our injured soldiers, or tend to our sick and fatigued elderly." She lifted her head to the ceiling, closing her eyes as she paused considerably. "Thank you Spirits, for allowing this girl to come to our aid—our help—when we need it. Thank you for her potency, her stamina, her fortitude, and most of all; thank you for her very soul being here before us." She looked back across the healers, a wide grin on her pale face. "Thank the spirits for the latest healer, Katara! And welcome her to us healers everywhere."

The women in front of me broke out in a courteous round of claps, not saying a single word in return. I stood before them, feeling so small and tiny before them, until finally, it ended.

That went well.

"I assume you're from the water nation?"

Lady Akaya asked me immediately as we entered the room where we were to converse in private. She seated herself before a fire, with me following her directions, seating myself directly across from her.

The shadows pranced across the pastel yet exquisite planes of her face, giving an astonishing facade to her. She shot me a gentle smile full of compassion and nodded for me to answer.

"I can tell from your eyes," She said quietly, studying me through those angelic eyes. "They're blue. I've never laid my eyes upon such a color belonging to an eye. Never."

I knew I stood out from these people, my tanned skin unlike their whitish color, or my curly hair compared to their glossy straight locks.

The room was warm, I had to admit. But it was nothing compared to the throne room—nothing indeed.

"Yes." I answered in an undecided undertone, my voice coarse from the lack of use. After the girl, who gave me this attire earlier, led me here, we didn't talk. I felt no need to; realizing she was just as unfeeling as the people surrounding her.

"I understand what you're going through." She told me peacefully. And for some reason, as I heard her voice, it peculiarly reminded me of someone. I thought hard to think who it was, but I couldn't get it quite definite yet. "I know you were taken here against you will. The Fire Nation attacked your village in the South Pole." I was confused to how she knew this much about me. "A parallel story happened to me. I was taken by force from my home, which is a few miles from here. They overheard about the garden I grew in my backyard, which was full of herbs because my father was the town physician, so they heard about my curing with herbs. At first I reacted just like you, which is why I admire your determination to be strong, until I finally gave in." She smiled desolately. "I'm obviously not as strong as you, seeing that I found my true love here in the Fire Nation capitol."

"You did?" I whispered.

"Yes. And at first, I felt like I was betraying my family and all I stood for. But as I realized I truly did love the man, then I figured that….I would love him no matter what." I noticed her eyes were getting glossy, so I knew what happened next.

"What happened to him?"

She gazed into the fire, the flames reflecting in her golden eyes. "He died. During the siege of Basing Se. His father, the retired General Iroh, failed at conquering the city, which I knew was wrong in the first place. But Lu Ten, being the faithful and loyal son he was, listened to Iroh and went. He died…..leaving me here." Lady Akaya frowned bitterly. "So I decided to heal whoever I could. Now, here I am, the Lady of healers. I just wanted to let you know, Katara," She reached out, carefully above the flames, to grip my shoulder comfortingly. "That now since you're a healer, you're not alone."

"The Fire Nation killed my mother," I confessed, feeling the tears fill my eyes. I stared at her through emotional eyes, realizing just who she reminded me of.

Her. My mother.

"I'll never forgive them for what they did." I said hatefully, glaring into the flames. "Never."

"Oh, honey." Lady Akaya was at my side unexpectedly, her arms wrapped warmly around me. I finally decided to break down, burying my head in her neck as tears escaped my eyes. "I'm here…..it's alright."

And then the next words she told me plagued my mind forever:

"Forgiveness is easier than hatred."

TO BE CONTINUED! :D

Aw I miss writing with Zuko :( I'm eager to get the further chapters done so I can write with Zuko again.