DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN, NOR HAVE I EVER OWNED ATLA. I DO NOT OWN, NOR HAVE I EVER OWNED THE CHARACTERS IN ATLA. I DO NOT OWN, NOR HAVE I EVER OWNED NICKELODEON. HAVE NO AFFILIATION, NOR HAVE I EVER HAD ANY AFFILIATION WITH THE WRITERS OR ANIMATORS OF ATLA. I HAVE NO AFFILIATION, NOR HAVE I EVER HAD ANY AFFILIATION WITH NICKELODEON.
Chapter 122
They had stayed and enjoyed the Palace for a little over a month after it was attacked. Li healed fast and was now back to full health. She was happier than she had ever been in her life. She was so excited to work in the Southern Air Temple Kitchen, she often told Katara about all the cookies and cakes and pies her mother make when she was little. She promised she would give a basket of goodies to each of the pregnant women everyday. Katara and Jade told her they look forward to it.
Katara was packing up her little family's belongings, getting ready for the trip home. "I am so happy we finally get to go home. The Palace is beautiful and the beds are so soft but I want to sleep in our bed. To cook breakfast for our family myself, it's been really great here, but I am more than ready to go back to the way things are supposed to be." Katara told Aang.
"I know, you just can't sit back and be spoiled, you always have to do something." Aang said with a chuckle, "That's one thing I never understood about you... Women all over the world would kill to be spoiled like we were here but you..." Aang shook his head, "You want to work."
"Sweetie, it's not really 'work' its taking care of my family. It's my job to take care of my family."
There was a knock on the huge double-doors that was the entrance to their suite. When Aang turned to see who it was he smiled. "What brings you all the way down here to our tiny quarters." Aang said scarcastically.
"I just wanted to make sure you guys have everything you need before starting your trip back home." Zuko said with a smile as Ursa was truing to wiggle her way out of his arms.
"Down!" She told him.
"Down what?" He asked her.
"Down, please, Daddy." She corrected.
"Okay." He told her as he set her down on the floor. She ran to where Gyatso, Kya and Sapphire were playing. "HI!" she said happily to them. She sat down next to Gyatso, he was building a tower with wooden blocks of all diferent shapes and sizes. "Here!" She said as she picked up a block and handed it to him. Zuko had taken a seat on the couch.
"Thank you!" He said as he placed it at the very top. She grabbed another block and again she handed it to him, and againe he placed it at the top of the tower.
Sapphire was watching them closely, she stood herself up and toddled over to Gyatso and Ursa. She tried to reach for the tower but Gyatso wouldn't let her.
As soon as Sapphire started to get angry she had both of her parents attention. She yelled out, a wind storm started, it was mild at first but the angrier she got the harder the wind blew. Gyatso's tower was blown over and he began to get angry.
"You take Sapphire, I'll take Gyatso!" Katara yelled to their father. "We need to calm them down fast."
Zuko and Ursa watched as the small airbenders created a windstorm inside the main room of the suite.
Sapphire was the first to calm down, she was always happy when her Daddy had her. Gyatso was a bit harder he kept saying "She blew my tower over! She blew my tower over!"
"It's okay, Little One, we can build another." Katara told him.
"But I liked that one!" He sniffeled.
"Well, I could help you build a bigger one." She told him.
"I wanted that one!" He sniffeled, "Ursa helped me make it."
"She can help you make another one." Zuko told Gyatso.
"Really? She can stay and help make one!" Gyatso's whole demeanor changed as he hopped out of his mother's arms and sat down next to Ursa, they started to build another tower together.
"You see what I see don't you?" Zuko asked Aang and Katara.
Aang shook his head, "Yeah... we do."
"He's been doing it since she was first placed into his playpen back in the Southern Water Tribe Village right before the Tournament started." Katara said.
"It's not just him, she does it too. She has been nonstop chattering about him since..." Zuko's eyes dropped to look at the red capret under his feet. "Since the palace was attacked."
"I know you are hurt deeply by what... what you HAD to do. You protected Ursa, you did what you had to, to keep her safe. I can't believe someone could even think about that and be all there in the head." Katara said.
"I know, and if I were in the same situation again, I would do the exact same thing! MY little princess is the most important thing in my life." Zuko said as he watched his daughter help stack the blocks up, building a tall tower with Gyatso, a small smile appeared on his face.
"She makes you happy." Katara pointed out the smile on his face.
"Huh? Yeah, she makes me very happy." Zuko said. "Okay, I'll let you guys get back to packing... I have some of my own to do. I am taking her on a vacation, just the two of us, we both need to forget what just happened here."
"That sounds nice. Where are you planning to go? Ember Island?" Katara guessed.
"No, not even close." Zuko shook his head. "We're leaving the Fire Nation, and everything that goes with it behind. I am going to go work for my uncle for a few months."
"So Lee is returning to Ba Sing Se." Aang pointed out.
"Yeah... Well except Lee will be living in Fire Lord Zuko's house." Zuko laughed.
"It's good to hear you laugh Zuko." Katara told him.
"Ursa, They need to finish packing, come on." Zuko told his daughter.
"Daddy I want play with Gyatso more." The girl pouted, "Please Daddy?"
"Zuko, it's fine, she can play here for a little while longer." Aang told him.
"Are you sure? I don't want to inconvenience you in any way." Zuko told them.
"Watching a two and a half year old is a lot less of an inconvenience than we had in the last month. I wanted to thank you for sending Sokka and his family back home before bad things didn't start happening to them as well." Aang told the firebender.
"I already felt responsible for everything that was happening. I couldn't be responsible for any harm that came to them as well." Zuko told them.
"No, you're not... If I had done my job right, this never would have happened." Aang said. "If I had done what the Avatar Spirit wanted to..."
"Oh, Sweety, No, you're not at fault..." Katara said then turned to face Zuko. "Neither are you, Zuko. It is the NOS's fault nobody elses. They acted on their own free will, NOBODY MADE then do it."
"Now we all have packing to do, Ursa can play with Gyatso until you are ready to get her." Katara told Zuko.
"Okay, thanks Katara." Zuko told her then spoke to his daughter. "You can play ith Gyatso for a little while, okay Little Princess."
"Kay Daddy." She never even turned from the tower she was building with Gyatso.
About an hour later Zuko returned for his daughter, Katara was sitting on the couch, a book was open but face down on the table. She put her finger to her lips in a shushing gesture, she had her twin daughters asleep on her shoulders, on one side of her was a sleeping Gyatso, on the other was a sleeping Ursa.
"Where's Aang?" Zuko whispered to her.
"He and Haru took all our belongings out to Appa and Pumpkin. We are almost ready to go." She hispered back to him. "They all got cranky so I decided to read them a story... now I'm a bed." She laughed softly.
"Okay, let me get Ursa, we will be ready to leave soon too." Zuko told her as he knelt down in front of his daughter. "Little Princess, time to wake up! We are going to be leaving soon."
The little girl stretched and rolled over, her eyes peeked open. "Daddy!"
He picked her up and cradled her in his arms, "Do you want to pick out any special toys to bring with you?" He asked as he walked out into the hall.
Katara closed her eyes and laid her cheek against Kya's head.
"Ssshhhhhh, don't wake her." Aang told Haru, they found Katara asleep on the couch with her three small children. "Let me do it." He knelt down in front of her. He gently brushed his nuckles over her soft cheek. "Katara, wake up... Come on, we are almost ready to go home."
"Home." She echoed with a smile. "I am so happy we will be home soon."
"We already have all our stuff loaded on Appa and Pumpkin, provisions for the trip and all." Aang told her. She opened her eyes as he lifted Sapphire off of her, he handed the little girl to Jade, who was waiting behind Aang with Li.
"Hey, Gyatso, it's time to go home." Aang said as he woke his son up.
It didn't take long to get everyone situated on the bison. Aang and his family on Appa, of course, Li was with them. Jade and Haru along with most of their suplies were on Pumpkin.
Zuko and Ursa had come out to say their final good byes, before starting their own journey in the opposite direction.
"Goodbye! Write to us!" Katara hollored down to Zuko.
"Goodbye!" Aang also said followed by a loud "Yip Yip!" both bison flapped their tails a few times then took off into the sky.
"Now it is our turn to leave." Zuko told his daughter. He walked around the Palace where his personal Balloon was preped for take off, the captain was just waiting for Zuko to board, they already had the clearance to take off.
Ursa ran up the plank and inside, she was closley followed by her Daddy.
The inside was spacious, with royal red carpet. The furnature was the same as what was inside the palace. There was a short table that had a boquet of flowers on it and there was a couch on either side of the table. It had a grand curved stair care that lead up into a second level. On the second level was the bedrooms and an Office for the Fire Lord. There was also a library on the second floor. At the very end of the hall was was a door that lead up into the cockpit. It also went into the engine room and the crew quarters and their dining area.
"Can we play a game Daddy?" Ursa asked him.
"What do you want to play?" He asked the little girl.
Her eyes lit up with her smile, "Tickle Monster!" She squealed as she tried to tickle her daddy.
He played along, laughing and wiggeling. "No! Don't gewt me! Help it tickles! I can't Breath!"
"I get you Daddy!" She glowed with happiness.
"Okay..." He told her, "My turn to get you!"
Ursa let out a playful scream and tried to run from him, he played that he couldn't keep up with her, "You're too fast for me I can't get you!" He told her, and she paused to give him a second to catch up with her. He took the moment to grab her and spin her around. "I love you so much, my Little Princess!"
"I love you too Daddy!" she wrapped her arms as tightly as she could around his neck then placed a special kiss on his scar.
Now that you are at the bottom of the page, please take a few seconds to leave me a review.