CHAPTER 24
ZUKOS POV
Zuko found himself sprinting through the palace away from the south wing and straight to the royal welder. He was sweating by the time he made it there, his Lordly robes weighing heavy on his shoulders.
"Your Grace" the welder said in surprise, stepping away from his current task to bow deeply.
"I have a task for you to complete expeditiously" Zuko wheezed out.
"Anything my Lord"
"You already have Druk's measurements…I need you to create a harness big enough and safe enough for a baby and its mother" he rushed.
He saw the old welder's brown eyes crease with confusion.
"Your Grace I-"
"I need it to be comfortable, so they can sleep if they need to"
"O-Of course your G-"
"It must be done today" Zuko finished cutting the man short.
"Today? But Lord Zuko I-"
"Today" the King reiterated in a much more commanding tone.
The old man bowed in understanding.
"Permission to bring other welders in the city to assist your Grace?"
"Take all the resources you need. Just get it done."
And with that the Fire Lord sulked out the door. As he walked swiftly down the hall he gently probed his link with Druk just to check how far away he was. He was still in the Earth Kingdom but he had already made it to the Great Divide in a short time. Zuko could sense that his dragon was pushing himself, flying as fast as his wings could take him. He fought the urge to just get on a ship and make his way to Katara now, but he knew waiting for Druk would be faster in the end.
After a little while he had finally made it to his Uncle's quarters. He heard laughter coming from the other side of the door, which sounded too light to be a male's.
Zuko burst through the door to find Iroh seated on the floor table with a cup of hot tea to his lips. Across from him sat Mai as she poured herself a cup from the pot. When he entered they both looked up at him in surprise.
"Prince Zuko! Please come join us, I was just congratulating Lady Mai on the good news and going over some of the wedding plans" his Uncle said coolly.
Zuko's brows furrowed in confusion.
"What wedding plans?"
He looked at Mai who's face flooded crimson when his gaze met hers.
"Why your wedding plans of course. Have you forgotten already? Please forgive my nephew Lady Mai…he can be so silly sometimes" he chuckled.
"I haven't even picked anyone yet" Zuko protested.
"Where were you today Zuko? The council announced that Lady Mai has been chosen as the official Queen consort"
Zuko's head buzzed with heat. He shook his head in protest.
"None of that matters Uncle, Katara is alive" he smiled.
Iroh's face went through a myriad of emotions at once. First his eyes widened in surprise, then wrinkled in confusion, finally settling on grave understanding.
"Excuse us my Lady, may I speak to the Fire Lord in private?" he asked turning towards Mai.
She looked upset, her thin lips pressed into a harsh line.
"You've said her name before. Who is this woman?" she demanded. Zuko felt his fists ball instinctively at her audacity.
"I do not answer to you Mai, you'll do well to remember that. But if you must know she is my wife" Zuko snarled. The dark haired woman's eyes widened incredulously.
"Zuko!" Iroh protested looking at him in dismay "please Lady Mai spare us a moment."
With that she gathered her thin skirts and pushed past them to the door. She closed it firmly behind her leaving the two men alone.
"Why aren't you happier?" Zuko demanded in confusion.
"What do you mean Katara is alive son?" he asked in concern.
"I saw her Uncle. She's in Chao living on my farm with our baby! He's beautiful with eyes like mine but more extraordinary…" he rambled on.
His Uncle signed looking at him with sad eyes.
"I feared this would happen…" he whispered.
Zuko's face fell in misunderstanding.
"You feared what would happen?"
"That your mind would break…you've faced so much trauma…and with all the drinking…"
"What? Uncle I'm fine I really saw them through Druk's eyes!"
"Zuko they are deceased, we cremated them months ago. You saw their bodies son…they're gone"
"We don't know that for certain!" Zuko cried…but he was beginning to second guess himself.
"She had your ring on Zuko."
Silence hung like dead weight between them.
His Uncle signed deeply placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Sometimes our minds play tricks on us when unspeakable trauma's have happened…we may see things that aren't there…picture loved ones even when they've crossed into the spirit world. I used to dream of your cousin vividly every night after he passed" he explained gently. Zuko dropped into the armchair, not wanting to believe that something so real could have been a figment of his imagination. Was he having a psychotic break? Psychological disorders did run in his family. He stared blankly at the wall.
"Why don't you sit here and gather yourself, I will go apologize to Lady Mai and send her off."
Zuko stared blankly into space as his Uncle exited the room into his holding chambers to retrieve the Lady.
Before his Uncle could return Zuko had already left, heading swiftly out of the palace and towards the darkest place in Caldera. The royal prison.
KATARAS POV
Katara woke to Salai cooing loudly next to her. He had latched on to a few strands of her wild curls and was playing with them, clearly entertaining himself into a fit of laughter. He had just started laughing recently and Katara couldn't get enough of the sound. She sat up, stretching her arms into the air before bending down to reach for her son. She cradled him in her arms occasionally squeezing him tightly to her chest. She never thought she would enjoy motherhood so much. At first she'd thought that she clung to her child so desperately because she had thought Salai was the only thing left of her husband. But now she knew it was just the bond that they shared. To have a living being that came from her and had a part of her essence was magnetic and powerful. She kissed his forehead one last time before taking them both to the bathroom.
She emerged an hour later, after grooming them both and sharing a bath. Walking from the bathroom she ran into May.
"Good morning!" she gushed grabbing a hold of Salai quickly from Katara's hands. She chuckled. All of her friend's obsessions with her son tickled her and made her warm inside. She felt supported even though she didn't have Zuko by her side.
"I was just about to fix breakfast"
"Sound's good, we'll head out after that"
"There's no rush for you to leave" May protested softly. Katara smiled at her friend.
"I wanted to get a head start on packing. The tickets to the South Pole are only in four days and there's a lot to bring since I'm…not returning" she said softly. May looked down sadly.
"But you'll come visit right?" she asked hopeful.
"Of course! You have to visit the South too, I heard they're doing more construction in the city with the help of my brother. He has been sending resources from the North" said Katara.
"Haru and I would love to, we've always talked about getting out of the Earth Kingdom and traveling more."
Katara stayed for breakfast before mounting her steed, baby in tow, and headed back to the cottage to pack up her life once again.
ZUKO'S POV
The royal prisons were actually kept quite far away from the palace. Their proximity was designed this way intentionally, as the Fire Nation royal family had a history of sneaking out their loved ones and there being little to no repercussions from it. Having it on the edge of Caldera made it more difficult for families to plan an alibi and stage a break out. Zuko dismounted his black steed as the first signs of dawn emerged. His boots crunched on the leaves below as his lordly robes billowed heavily around him. He needed not tie his steed to a post, as the royal horses were trained not to move an inch when their masters were away from them.
He approached the stone steps with angst, climbing them briskly. Each guard he passed sank to his knees allowing their Lord to pass through with ease. He didn't need directions. He knew exactly where she'd be.
Zuko made his way to the cell with the maximum amount of security. There was around the clock eyes on this prisoner even though they were no longer a real threat to anyone. The Fire Lord approached the bars slowly, the guards finally registering his presence and stepping out of the way.
Azula was already staring at him, her golden eyes looking even more manic than he remembered. He stepped closer to her, in near enough proximity to smell the grime covering her skin. He had heard that she refused to let anyone bathe her. She wasn't allowed to do any activities alone for fear of her hurting others or herself. Though Aang had taken away her bending she was still considered the Fire Nation's most dangerous criminal.
"I knew you'd show up eventually" she sneered, her eyes piercing like a dragon's. Zuko regarded her coolly.
"What made you so sure?" he countered "To be quite frank I never wanted to see you again after what you did."
"I knew you'd find out that she's alive…I knew you'd come searching for answers."
Zuko narrowed his eyes knowing that his sister always had something up her sleeve; some price to pay.
"At what cost?" he asked.
"None brother" she snickered "you have nothing that I want aside from my freedom. And I know you'd sooner kill me than release me from this hell."
Zuko winced, feeling a pang in his heart at his sister's words. He took a good look at her again. She looked much younger, her face devoid of any makeup, her normally pristine hair a mess atop her head. It reminded him of when they were children and she'd wake up in their shared room in the middle of the night to jump in his bed. She had always been more afraid of the dark than he was. He silently wondered if the darkness of her cell ever frightened her at night.
He shook his head and returned the mask of indifference to his face, remembering all of the murder, lies, and deceit she had wrought. At some point he had to stop blaming their father for her state. Azula was as much to blame as Ozai. If only she had listened to their mother more growing up, maybe things would've turned out differently.
"If Katara is alive than who is that woman and baby my detectives brought to my shores? I read the records…your signature knot was tied around that woman's corpse."
She smiled a sinister smile, sending an unnerving chill down his spine.
"Katara wasn't alone. We had also captured the Northern Cheiftess…her hair as white as fresh fallen snow…"
Zuko's throat closed, the feeling of lead dropping to the pit of his stomach.
"Father asked me to tie her up. He said that if we let her child live on he'd grow up to threaten our reign. She fought me with all the strength she had left…I actually respected her a lot for it. But in the end father's fire caught up to her…"
Zuko was surprised to find tears rolling down Azula's cheeks. His heart thudded in his chest, unsure of how to process the fact that he had mourned Sokka's wife and child and not his own.
"Why did she have on Katara's ring?"
"They had switched betrothal jewelry before we separated them. Katara has her necklace" she explained. Zuko could not speak. He silently watched as his sister became more frenzied.
"I can still hear her screams. Whenever there's a full moon she visits me in my cell…she haunts me every night" Azula cried. Zuko backed away, watching his sister descend into hysteria. She banged her head against the bars causing blood to leak down her forehead and into her wet eye lashes. Four guards leapt into action opening her cell and tackling her to the ground. One of them hit multiple of her pressure points causing her to pass out immediately. He watched her body go limp on the ground before turning to walk out of the prison. He mounted his horse as he mentally checked in with Druk.
His dragon would be arriving soon. He could feel him.
Sure enough as the morning light broke over the horizon so did a darkened silhouette, it's wings covering the circumference of the sun.
END CHAPTER 24