A/N: Thank you, thank you for all your honest feedback! It means a lot to me :)
In response to reviewers from Chapter 11:
BlueHawk1785: Brilliant. Keep up the great work. Needs more Zuko (I could be obsessed) anyway keep them updates coming :)
= = = I share your obsession, and I agree it's been way too long since we've checked in on him. Correcting that now :) Thank you for the review!
xSilentSakurax: I just love how you keep ALL the characters in the story. You don't neglect the gaang. I feel bad for waiting till the last chapter to review but I didn't want to stop reading. Haha I love how you protray Katara (as her own person instead of just a 'love intrest')I look forward to more. :)
= = = Thank you so much! Yes, I definitely think all the characters are deserving of their place in the story – it just wouldn't be the same without them. Thanks for the review, I'm so glad you like it!
AnnaAza: I'm glad someone saw them. But Ozai was smart. Think about it. He's racing to chase a strange, exotic girl who runs into an alleyway. If he did punish her there, there would be a "Get your hands off!" and cause more problems. I mean, if you see a hooded guy coming out with a bruised, burned girl, you'd do something. And Katara didn't hesitate. Brave girl. I wouldn't have ran very far; I'd be wheezing for my inhaler and collapsing on the ground.
= = = Hehe :) Yes, Ozai was smart enough not to punish her there, but he's also trying to gain her trust so I'm sure he also took that into consideration. Thank you for the review, as always!
Jane Keyboard: Wow-you got me with the whole, "I'm feeling lenient today" thing from Ozai, even though it's perfect and fit just how you set him up! I figured he'd have to put the smack down on Katara to insure she wouldn't try to escape again. But, he is trying to gain her trust... Poor thing. I was so upset for her, knowing she wouldn't get away.
There was one thing about Ozai though... His super excellent aim and skill with the knife throwing. I don't know if my ideas of Ozai have been compromised by other writers who insist that he would have looked down on defensive forms other than bending, Zuko was ridiculed for learning the dual Dao swords or learned them in secret and all that. I didnt expect Ozai to have that great of grasp on throwing weapons and all that. But, he wouldn't make a very good villain if he wasn't scary and deadly.
So now Katara and Ozai are going to be playing house together, hiding in the Earth Kingdom..? And what's Zuko been up to?
= = = That's a really valid point about Ozai and weaponized forms of offense/defense. And while I think it's totally plausible that he would've looked down on any form of combat besides bending, my thought process was that even if he did look down on other forms and preferred not to use them, that at some point in his lifetime he would've learned them and used that to his advantage. As a well-rounded villain, I think he would be too flat if the only form of combat he was proficient in was firebending (he just never had to use anything else before his firebending was taken away). Just my personal standpoint. But I appreciate your input – it's something I hadn't considered. Thank you for the review!
Zuko leaned on his elbows against the stern of the ship as he watched Caldera City and the Fire Nation palace shrink into the horizon. The stifled humming of enthusiastic voices rose from below deck as Sokka and Suki enjoyed a warmhearted reunion with Hakoda. He had arrived at the palace not more than an hour ago. Zuko had done his duty as Fire Lord and had been there to greet him, but the scene could not have felt more awkward. It was evident in the Chief's mannerisms that he was not ignorant of the inadvertent part the new Fire Lord had played in his daughter's abduction, and Zuko's discomfited aura had done nothing to quell the palpable tension. Beyond the courteous, obligatory hello's and how-are-you's, the two had not interacted in any capacity since they had stepped aboard his ship, which only further augmented the situation.
The plan was to start at the seedy merchant's pier in the eastern Earth Kingdom where Katara stole the waterbending scroll. It was an infamous haven for people of questionable backgrounds to engage in equally questionable activity without the concern of being ratted out. People went out of their way to respect the secrecy and privacy of one another's personal affairs. As long as you did not try to interfere with others' lifestyles, you could be selling dead bodies on the black market and they would look the other way. If all went well, the group would eventually meet up with Aang and Toph somewhere in the middle, doing their best to communicate by messenger hawk, unless either one of them sent word otherwise. Hakoda had corresponded with the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe to send fleets of ships from both tribes to each Air Temple in case Ozai might have chosen one of the remote locations as a hideout to buy him time. The search had officially extended to all four corners of the world. Ozai was not an individual any of the nations would allow to have free reign of the world again. He could run, but he could only hide for so long.
The thumping of footsteps along the deck shook Zuko from his thoughts. The paces sounded unfamiliar and he did not have to turn around to know who was approaching. His jaw tightened as Hakoda emerged in his peripheral vision. Taking a place next to him, he followed suit and leaned forward against the ship, gazing briefly out to the horizon before speaking.
"Hey," he said casually.
Zuko cleared his throat briefly. "Hi," he croaked out, doing his best to sound nonchalant and keeping his gaze fixated on the smudge that was now the Fire Nation in the distance.
"Don't think I've seen you since your coronation. How's life as Fire Lord been treating you?"
"Uhh… Pretty good I guess."
"That's good to hear."
Is he really gonna talk small-talk right now? Zuko shifted on his feet and glanced down, taking a sudden intense interest in the cracks in the wood along the ship's side. The rhythmic sloshing of the waves against the ship had become deafening as he desperately searched for some way to lighten the awkwardness.
"Kinda cool weather for this time of year, isn't it?" Hakoda said, finally breaking the silence.
"Yeah… Chilly."
If the tension were any thicker, it would have suffocated him. At this rate, he would much rather Hakoda just wring his neck and get it over with. If he did not kill him, the awkward silence surely would.
"Sokka told me about you and Katara." Zuko gritted his teeth as Hakoda's words pierced the heavy cloud surrounding them. With a resigned sigh, he hung his head and let his shoulders slouch forward, admitting his guilt.
"While I'm disappointed in you both," he continued, "I'll spare you the lecture. You two are old enough to make your own choices in life and to know that every choice you make comes with a consequence, good or bad. It's not my place to get involved. All I care about is bringing Katara back safe and sound."
He paused for a moment as though debating whether or not to add onto what he had said. "Though I have to say I wasn't all that shocked when Sokka told me." Zuko cocked an eyebrow and finally looked Hakoda in the eyes. He had not expected that. Hakoda appeared to be trying to hide the smirk on his face as he spoke. "I thought I saw some sparks between you two after the war ended. Chocked it up at the time to my aging eyes. Guess I need to trust my instincts more often."
The corners of Zuko's mouth turned up slightly at Hakoda's light-hearted jab and he exhaled in relief as he realized he was not about to be destroyed, verbally or otherwise. But fate deemed the feeling short-lived, as though directly mocking his unspoken thoughts.
"Just keep in mind that this is my little girl we're talking about. Do this old man a favor and keep your teenage-hormone-driven hands to yourself, will ya? I'd hate to have to sever one of those pretty royal fingers because I found out my baby's purity had been compromised."
Zuko's heart stopped mid-beat as every muscle in his body tightened at once. He could not fend off the mortified expression that quickly spread across his face. This had officially become the single most humiliating moment of his entire life.
"I'm just teasing you!" Hakoda chuckled, slapping Zuko on the back. "Oh, you should've seen the look on your face."
It took a moment for Zuko to recover from the mild shock. What?! Was he supposed to find that amusing or just be really, really relieved? Just as he had regained enough willpower to force a half-hearted chuckle and try to smile, Hakoda resumed his stone-faced expression and added, "But, seriously…"
Zuko could do nothing but stare at the cracks in the wood, his eyes wide in disbelief. What he would not give for the spirits to just smite him now and put an end to his humiliation.
"Well, I'm starving," Hakoda changed the subject, giving Zuko another good-natured slap on the back. All traces of his solemnity were gone, replaced by a tone so congenial they could have been conversing about the weather. "What d'ya say we fix ourselves some lunch?"
He walked off, calling out to Sokka to bring up the stewed sea prunes. Zuko remained frozen in place by the blow he had just sustained. He could only shake his head in bewilderment, unable to break his wide-eyed gaze from the cracked wood, and slowly released the breath he only then realized he had been holding. At least that's over with, he thought as he slowly turned around and made his way toward the tangy, pungent odor of the notorious Water Tribe delicacy.
.:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:.
The sun had almost drained out of the sky overhead, once again sheathing the woods in shadow. Thankfully the forest was far less dense now than it had been, though with fewer trees providing insulation, the evening was growing cooler much more rapidly.
Ever since their escapade in the market earlier that afternoon Ozai had been hovering more closely to Katara than he had before. Perhaps he was wary that she might try to escape again, but whatever the reason, the close proximity he seemed determined to maintain was making her nervous. Every so often she could feel his warm breath graze the back of her neck, at odds with the crisp evening air, creating a wave of goose bumps over her skin that made her shiver in response.
With the darkness setting in, Ozai decided on a suitable spot to set up camp and they eagerly dropped the heavy sacks of food and supplies they had been carrying on their backs. Katara slumped down to the ground to rest while Ozai worked on making the fire. He was getting better, she thought; it only took him half as long as it did last time.
She instinctively brought her hand up to her neck to touch that familiar pendant that personified comfort and happiness as she often did in difficult times but was unexpectedly met with only the warmth of her own skin. A pang of dread wrenched her stomach as she frantically padded herself down, but to no avail. Her mother's necklace was gone; she must have lost it in her dash for escape, probably trampled now and lying in a gutter somewhere in that market. With a heavy heart, she reminded herself that all she could do was concentrate on the present. Letting this loss overwhelm her would only cloud her senses, and she needed all the clarity she could muster right now.
Ozai sat by the fire with his legs crossed under him as Katara got up and shuffled over, warming her hands over the flames opposite of Ozai and trying to hold back her tears. There was nothing she could do about it now, and she did not want him to see her crying lest he try to monopolize on her vulnerability. Neither one of them said a word for several minutes. She kept waiting for him to scold her for her earlier insubordination as he promised, or at least make eye contact with her, but she ended up waiting in vain. When she could stand the silence no longer, she finally spoke.
"You didn't have to kill those men."
As usual, he did not bother breaking his gaze from the skyward-reaching flames in front of him. "They gave me no other choice," he uttered in a monotone voice.
"There is always a choice," she shot back. "You could have rendered them unconscious and kept going; it would have had the same effect and those men would still have their lives."
"And therein would lie the problem, wouldn't it?" Ozai stood then, his eyes narrowed with a callous glint, the impatience evident in his sardonic tone. "You know they had discovered who I was. If I hadn't killed them, they would have later sounded an alert and this area would be swarming with guards. So, as I said, they gave me no choice." Quivering shadows splayed eerily across his face as he towered over her on the opposite side of the fire, raising his chin in a gesture of power as he looked down at her. "And you would do well to remember your place, peasant. You are in no position to dictate to me what should and should not be done."
She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at the ground. It was a senseless argument – what's done is done, she thought – and she was much too tired to argue with a man who would never back down about something that could not be changed.
Katara turned around and plodded heavily over to where she had dropped her sleeping mat earlier and struggled with its pouch before finally yanking it free with an aggravated groan. She endured an equally arduous tussle with the mat itself as she unrolled it and tried to position it so that it lay perfectly out of the way of any rocks or tree roots. Finally just as she was about to drop her weary body down to sleep, Ozai's voice rang out.
"Girl," he called out, startling her back into full consciousness. "Move your sleeping mat over here."
Katara heaved a frustrated sigh as she rubbed her throbbing temples. "Why should I do that? And I told you, my name is Katara." Grimacing in his direction, she saw that Ozai had already prepared for sleep, having shed his cloak and shirt, and was lying inside the cover of his mat. He was resting on his side, propping his head up with his right hand. His ebony hair flowed freely down the back of his neck onto the bare, muscular arm that supported his head. It was the first time that she had gotten such a personal glimpse of his physique and the sight made her face flush slightly.
"You are not entitled to question my orders, peasant," he grumbled, emphasizing the word peasant. "But in congruence with my lenient mood today, I suppose I can oblige you with an answer." His tone was cool and hinted of disdain. "Since you have become an increasingly irritating thorn in my side and I cannot be bothered by another of your poorly conceived escape attempts, you will be moving your mat here," he gestured to a flat spread of earth near his own mat, "and henceforth you will be spending your nights beside me."
Katara glared at him but decided not to argue at the moment, given the current circumstances. Swallowing her pride, she picked up her mat and situated it relatively near Ozai, making a point to keep several feet's distance between them.
"What are you doing, girl?" His voice was sharper this time, more forceful, but still collected and colored with what sounded to her like a hint of amusement.
"Moving my mat as you so instructed," she responded in a scathingly obedient manner, never bothering to look up as she stooped beside her mat to arrange it once again the way she liked it. Although she knew better than to put up a fight at the moment, she could not resist jabbing a little indignation his way.
A deep, guttural laugh pierced the stillness, seeming so out of place that it made her flinch. Katara stood up quickly and turned to see a smug smile splayed broadly across his face. Her brows quivered in anxious tension, fearing the reason behind his behavior.
"Apparently I need to be more specific to cater to your inferior peasant understandings." He sneered as he saw her jaw tighten in anger at the insult. "When I said beside me, girl, I meant it in the most literal context."
"What?!" she shrieked as the implication of his statement dawned on her. Katara's eyes widened with furious intensity as he again gestured to the clearing next to his own mat. Was this what he'd had in mind at the marketplace when he had promised to deal with her later? She certainly would not put it past him, being who he was; but surely even he would not commit an act as vile as… that. Her fists clenched so tightly in bewilderment that she did not notice her finger nails digging into the palms of her hands.
"If this is some sleazy attempt to try and…take advantage of me, you better think again!" Her sapphire eyes were smoldering and she no longer cared to keep her defiance in check. She was met only with the same scornful, mocking chuckle and that arrogant expression which then quickly diminished to a condescending glower.
"Allow me to make two things inescapably clear to you, peasant," he began, his voice assuming a grave and severe tone. "And I will speak slowly so you will be sure to understand. First of all, do not dare take such a tone with me, girl. I have been exceedingly merciful with you so far. It would be most unwise to further try my patience, as it is wearing very thin. Under any other circumstances, someone in your position would be dead. I have killed people for less. Understand that."
An arrogant sneer now mingled with his more severe countenance as he continued in a salacious tone. "Secondly, do not flatter yourself. A woman of such lowly stature could only hope to dream of a man such as myself desiring her. Perhaps you should examine your own desires before making such accusations, to assure that you are not projecting your fantasies upon others."
Katara was dumbfounded. She could not believe what he was saying to her, what he was accusing her of. How dare he? She opened her mouth to object, but the words seemed to be conspiring against her, leaving her utterly speechless.
"I am losing what little patience I have left with you, girl," he growled, the fire in his eyes darkening in intensity. "Move your mat over here. Now."
Katara hesitated momentarily, but knew it was best not to fight him on this. She could use her bending now while he was open and vulnerable, but at best it would only buy her time – she doubted she could outrun him and she was no match for his brute strength – and at worst… she did not want to think about that now. She would wait until the opportune moment to fight back; there would be a time and a place for that later, but this was not it.
She picked up her mat and dropped it heavily next to Ozai's. Slowly and cautiously she crawled into her mat, her body tense, half expecting him to lunge at her as she had feared. But that moment never came. Cautiously, she turned her head to look at him but he had rolled onto his back and was staring up at the tree canopy above them. The moonlight shone through the lattice of leaves overhead, creating a pale kaleidoscope across his features.
Never moving his gaze from above, he spoke. "If you are contemplating running away again, you should reconsider if your life holds any value to you. I will not be so merciful again." His voice sounded cool and monotone, almost bored. And with that he turned his back to her and left her to sleep.
.:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:. .:.
Ozai stared off into the ever-darkening shadows surrounding them, unable to quell his restless mind. He had a feeling sleep was going to elude him tonight.
It was a peculiar thing. Ozai had spent half his lifetime building a virtually impenetrable shell around himself to keep his innermost thoughts and emotions hidden from others, anything that might translate to weakness and lead to vulnerability. In the process, he had purposefully hardened himself to the plights of others so as not to be swayed by an inconvenient emotional response. It had been decades since he had let his guard down long enough to open up the way he had last night to another individual. And when that moment asserted itself, that individual happened to be none other than a teenage girl. He knew he should be furious at himself, but instead he only felt moderately aggravated. It was far too perplexing to leave much room for anger. What had come over him?
It was an answer that seemed bent on evading him, taunting him to no end. Naturally there was the desire to win her trust, bring her to his side, but there was something else. What troubled him was his lack of pretense and the fact that he had harbored no ulterior motive while speaking to her.
Perhaps it was that she had willingly salvaged him from that endless abyss of dark, icy water, coming between him and a watery grave. It was something he could still not shake from the far corners of his mind. If she had left him to die, that would be something he could understand. That would have made sense. He would have even respected her for it. It was her saving him that had caught him off guard and left him bewildered. Was it possible that without his knowing it, the incident had softened him toward her just enough to persuade his subconscious mind to let her in?
Or perhaps it was the way she had looked at him as he divulged his story; there seemed to have been a faint glimmer of sympathy yet unhardened by complete hatred in her eyes. The girl was inclined to believe the best in everyone. There must be some small part of her that was still moldable, yet to be fully won over by the years of indoctrination. For the first time in as long as he could remember, his words had not fallen on entirely hate-hardened ears. And that was something he was certainly no longer accustomed to.
He stopped himself short and inhaled deeply, trying to cleanse his mind of the rampant thoughts. It was of no consequence, he told himself; none of that had the slightest hold over him. He needed to focus on what really mattered, on the task at hand. As his mind drifted back to more comfortable waters, a ghost of a smile touched his lips as he reminded himself of how that same naive sympathy would serve to keep the girl in the palm of his hand. Slowly but surely, he would loosen the harness of trust that bound her to the Avatar, snaring that pathetic boy into a trap that his one and only would help create.
Ozai sighed as he felt the earlier nagging thoughts receding into the dark corners of his consciousness. Yes, he would play the poor girl to his advantage. It was so wicked a thing to do, he almost felt guilty about doing it. Almost, he smiled to himself. But life is never fair, he knew that firsthand. And as certain as life itself, no good deed ever goes unpunished.
Please don't forget to review! :)