Chapter 16 - The Dance
"Thank you for all of your informative assistance Commander. You've been quite helpful," noted Azula as she proceeded to the office door. "And to think, all it took for your steadfast cooperation these past couple of days was for my associates to... babysit your youngest daughter."
"I've kept your presence in this town hidden by suppressing both witness testimonies and evidence from your overt display of firebending in that tavern. And I also permitted your little charade at that inn. You're going to release my daughter now, right?" pleaded the Earth Kingdom Major.
"Permitted?" echoed Azula as she paused mid-step, slowly turning back around to face the officer. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Let's be crystal clear about everything, Major. You have no control here anymore. When I say something, you will consider that an order. One that you are enthusiastic to comply with immediately and without question. Otherwise, all your simple minded warriors here won't be able to help you or your daughter."
As the Major looked tense and apprehensive, Azula smiled sweetly, which on her face, only appeared all the more terrifying. "Keep following orders like a good little soldier and you and your family might still have a place of power in this flea-ridden town after the bulk of my armies arrive. I will, of course, need someone loyal to manage the town for me after all. And we've gotten to know each other so well."
Azula took a couple of measured steps towards the Earth Kingdom Major, who in turn unconsciously took a step or two backwards, which only widened the smirk on the face of the Fire Princess. "Let's review, shall we? When my armies arrive, what are you going to do again?"
Any defiance in the Earth Kingdom Major's eyes had long since left him. "I will have the city guard stand down and surrender the city. I will order my men to disarm and submit to the Fire Nation so that the city will be left unharmed."
"Perhaps not completely unharmed," laughed Azula. "There are always one or two fools who think they can inspire the masses to resist. My armies will have to make an example somewhere. Mustn't let a fool's courage take hold now."
"But you promised that no further destruction or harm would occur to the town if..." returned the Earth Kingdom Major.
"I made no such assurances," shut down Azula sternly. "When my forces display their might, what will you do?"
The Earth Kingdom Major lowered his eyes. "I will order my men to stand down and surrender."
"There may just be hope for you yet Major," mocked Azula as she turned to leave once more. "You know what? As a show of good faith, I will release your daughter within the hour." The Fire Princess paused as she slowly glanced over at the Earth Kingdom Major. "But you know just how easy it was for my associates to get to your family. Try to hide them, try to send them away, try to resist or defy my orders..." Azula let her threat hang on the air tensely for a moment as the Earth Kingdom Major's imagination filled in the blanks for her. "Well, let's just say I would hate for us to meet again under such unfortunate circumstances."
The Earth Kingdom Major kept his head hung low. "I... understand, Princess Azula."
As Azula reached for the door handle, the Fire Princess paused one last time. "Oh, and those three prisoners you have, the ones who thought they could kill me like cowards, give them to my armies when my forces arrive. I want those prisoners brought to me. I intend to educate them thoroughly." Then, she left. Directly out the commander's office door, right down the main hallway and steps, and straight through the front door of the city garrison headquarters building. Like she owned the place, which wasn't too far off from the truth.
Returning to another sizable inn on the far east side of town, Azula entered the room that she had been staying in with Mai and Ty Lee. "Pack up girls. We move out tonight. My Brother will not evade me a third time."
Sitting on a couch near the door, Mai glared at the Fire Princess. "I want to confirm that we're only here to detain and capture Zuko. We're taking him back to the Fire Nation, alive."
"Fine, fine," dismissed Azula with a casual brush of her hand. "Are you seriously still upset about last time? It was Zuzu's own fault for nearly getting himself killed anyway. Zuko just had to try and play the hero. I was targeting the waterbender after all. You know, the one who pinned you to the wall like a wet fish." Azula smirked. "The one who stole your precious Zuko away from you. And the one who has had these last several days to dig her claws deeper into his impressionable mind."
Mai's mood continued to darken as she huffed and started to gather her throwing knifes and weapon pouches. She was going to ensure that Azula wouldn't attempt to kill Zuko this time. The waterbender, on the other hand, could disappear into a dark hole for all she cared.
"Just like that! Oh, you almost have it!" cheered Ty Lee from the middle of the room as she taught a small child how to perform a cart wheel. As the young girl managed to clumsily tumble from side to side, Ty Lee clapped her hands wildly. "You did it!" The small girl, who couldn't have been older than perhaps four years old, smiled with a toothy grin at the older girl's recognition.
Azula scoffed as she walked over to collect her travel pack. "Ty Lee, get rid of that thing. Go leave it in a park somewhere."
Ty Lee looked back at the Fire Princess with wide eyes. "We're not going to return her to her family?"
"We don't have the time to do that. I'm sure the brat can find her own way home," stated the Fire Princess without remorse. "Or she can't. It doesn't matter. It's not our problem."
As Ty Lee took the little girl by the hand, Azula issued further orders. "And after you're done with that, saddle up the mongoose lizards. We're leaving soon."
Ty Lee departed quickly and found a passing patrol of Earth Kingdom guards roaming across a nearby park. Instructing the little girl to go run up and tell the guards that she was lost, Ty Lee watched the young child do just that. The acrobat smiled when she heard the guards say they would help the little girl find her way home. Figuring that the city guards would eventually determine that the little girl was their commander's daughter, Ty Lee proceeded to the stables.
Azula and Mai met Ty Lee at the stables shortly thereafter and the three departed the town in the direction of Sierra Bonita Ranch. As the town faded away behind them, Azula mused to herself, 'Taking the little girl was effective in controlling that weak-willed joke of a commander. But that was too slow and it may not work on a more cold-hearted person. Now, if there was a way to control the town's army itself, then that could have more merit.' The Fire Princess continued to analyze a future tactic for the next time she needed to infiltrate a secure location.
"So to summarize, Jet, Smellerbee, and Longshot were arrested for nearly blowing up the better part of the northside of town. Pipsqueak and the Duke left to go their own way. And we need to leave soon because I'm fairly certain that there's a crazed firebender after me who might now have a good idea of where I am," finished Zuko as he recapped the day's events to Camila, Han, and Ralin as everyone sat around the dining room table.
Han rubbed the back of his head as he looked over at his wife. "I'm sorry hun. If I had known what those young'uns were capable of, then I would have never hired them onto the ranch in the first place. I should have found a different group to hire."
Camila shook her head. "How could you have known? Jet hid his darkness well. I'm just glad that the little one and the kind hearted giant finally broke ties with him. At least some good can come from this."
Then the lady of the ranch looked across the table at the remaining teens. "And I'm happy that you all are safe, but that was very dangerous, getting involved like that. I worry for you Jin."
"Grandma," returned Jin. "I was careful. I just alerted the guards."
"I know, but a Grandmother reserves the right to always worry about her Granddaughter," replied Camila with her arms crossed. "It's the responsibility of the older generation to make sure that the younger generation grows up safe and sound after all."
"Grandma," drew out Jin a second time. "Now you're just being embarrassing. It's our job to make sure that you can retire in peace. You've worked hard enough already."
Camila rolled up her sleeve. "I'll have you know that I'm still quite spry. Don't go underestimating your elders. We might just surprise you."
Then, to everyone's astonishment, Zuko smirked slightly as he thought about his Uncle.
"Oh, Spirits!" gasped Ralin. "He can smile!"
"You sure you're alright kid?" asked Han lightheartedly.
Camila hushed her husband and their long-time ranch hand. "Don't mind them. They need to go and start getting ready for tonight anyway." When they didn't move, she added, "Go on, git!"
As the two men rose, Zuko clarified. "I was just remembering how powerful my Uncle could be whenever he got angry. Which wasn't often, but it is quite intimidating when it did happen."
Camila nodded in understanding. "Looks like one of you gets it. Now you all need to hurry up and get ready too. This celebration will be two-fold now. First to celebrate a successful cattle sale and second to wish our young travelers well."
As Jin dragged Katara off to her room to get ready together, Zuko stood and started walking to the front door. "And where do you think you're going?" asked Camila.
"Umm... training?" the Fire Prince answered, suddenly unsure of his response. "I don't have anything fancy to wear, so I figured I would get some practice in first. If I'm going to be traveling all day tomorrow, then I won't have any time then."
Camila shook her head in disbelief. "And get all sweaty and gross before the party? I don't think so. Han! Get back in here!"
Her husband came jogging back into the room as Camila pointed at the Fire Prince. "Help get this lump ready too. He's hopeless on his own." Han laughed as Zuko started to look self-conscious.
Katara dried her hair with a towel as she sat on a chair in Jin's room. The girls had used the bath house first, before the menfolk. She played with a loose strand of hair as she looked at herself in the small vanity mirror that Jin had on the nightstand. To her surprise, her dark brown hair was much longer than she had realized. It was starting to reach pass her shoulders now. It had been a long while since she had taken the time to worry about her appearance.
The waterbender held a thin black ribbon in her hands. Maybe she should take some time to style her hair instead of just leaving it with the natural look. She toyed with a couple of strands to see if she could make her 'hair loopies' as her Brother liked to call them. However, her hair was not quite long enough for that yet. The loops were too short and looked a bit funny as she held up the strands to view them in the mirror.
She could braid it into a pony tail again, she supposed. Her hair was long enough for that now. It was one of the few hair styles that she knew how to do anyhow. Extravagant hair styles weren't exactly wide spread down in the Southern Water Tribes. But would Zuko like that style? It was very simple.
Katara paused with her attempts to hold her hair up in different styles as she previewed them in the mirror. Why was she getting so worked up about this?
Sighing, the waterbender figured that she should just leave her hair as it was. It wasn't like she needed to get too dressed up anyway. Zuko was going to be hanging around with Jin all night, not her. She would have to entertain herself with talking to Camila and Han.
Jin emerged from her closet with two nice looking dresses. "These two are my favorites. Which one do you want to wear?" she asked as she held both of the garments up in either hand.
Katara turned to look. In Jin's left hand was a stylish, dark green sleeveless dress with white embroidery of fancy looking leaves along the base and rising up the right side of the dress. In Jin's right hand was a more modest light green dress with long sleeves and a white folded-in collar. There was a slit in the base of the dress that seemed like it ran up to about knee length in height.
If the Water Tribe girl had to chose, then the light green dress seemed more her style. Instead, she shook her head and replied, "They're your dresses. You get to pick. I'll just take whichever one is left over."
Jin pouted. "You're the guest. I think you should pick the one that you like the best." The Earth Kingdom girl could see which of the two dresses in her hands that the Water Tribe girl kept looking at, but she would wait until the waterbender herself voiced which one she wanted.
Katara picked up a comb as she lightly started to brush at the tangles in her hair. "I'm just going to be sitting with your grandparents all night, so it doesn't really matter."
Jin set both dresses down on her bed as she walked over to the waterbender. "Now Luna, why would you go and say a thing like that?"
The Water Tribe girl kept combing her hair while avoiding the Earth Kingdom girl's gaze. "Please Jin, I don't really want to say it out loud," muttered the waterbender. "I think that you're a good friend and you've been so kind to me. So please, just leave it alone."
Jin put her hands on her hips. She knew something was eating away at the Water Tribe girl and she had a pretty good idea about what that something was. Now, if only she could get her friend to be honest with herself. "No, I think I need to hear you say it." Jin took a step closer. "And more than that, I think you need to hear yourself say it too."
Katara stopped combing her hair as she gripped the comb tighter in her hands. Jin was starting to get in her face and Katara was one to push back when tested. "You want to hear me say it? Fine! I'm frustrated because you took Lee from me! I know that I said that he and I were just friends, but every time I saw you hanging around him; every time I saw Lee talking so easily with you; every time I saw the two of you growing closer, it was like my heart was getting stomped on over and over. I didn't realize how much I cared for him until he felt so far away. And I couldn't even say anything because that would make me a hypocrite and a poor friend. And now it's too late!" The Water Tribe girl's knuckles had turned white as they continued to clench the hair brush in her hands. "So I'm angry at you for pushing it, at him for... I don't know... not isolating himself like he always does! And worst of all, I'm angry at myself for being too slow realize anything."
The waterbender looked away with tears in her eyes. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"
Jin pulled Katara's face back to hers as she wiped away the girl's tears with her sleeve. Katara pushed her away. Stepping backwards, Jin sighed. "Lee turned me down, you know."
Whatever follow-up rant Katara was preparing came to an abrupt halt as the waterbender stumbled at the Earth Kingdom girl's admission. "W-What?"
"Yesterday, during the cattle drive, Lee and I talked for a good while. He thanked me for the date I took him on, but told me that he didn't feel the same way about me that I felt about him," Jin confessed.
"He said that?" muttered Katara as she slowly absorbed her friend's words.
Jin smiled sadly. "Yeah. It hurt, but he did offer to be friends." She laughed a bit. "I know he meant well by saying that. He's probably the only person I know who honestly meant it too, instead of just trying to be kind." Then, the Earth Kingdom girl sighed a little. "Still, I'm more than a little stunned to get the 'Let's just be friends' line. Back at my old village, that was my line."
Katara shook her head. "The fact that he thinks of you as a friend is really saying something. I haven't seen Lee being friendly with anyone before."
Jin's thin smile transformed into a guileful grin. "Oh, I can think of someone who he's always been friendly with that isn't me."
Katara's heart skipped a beat. When the waterbender didn't say anything, Jin continued, "You really should talk to him tonight. I think you both have a lot to say to each other."
The waterbender started to lightly pull at her hair nervously as Jin walked back over to the dresses on the bed. "So, which dress did you want?"
After another pause, the Earth Kingdom girl heard her friend whisper, "The light green one."
Jin smiled again. "Excellent pick. And I think I have a nice pink flower that would go beautifully in your hair."
Zuko fussed with the collar of his shirt for the fourth time in the last five minutes. He hated wearing formal clothes. Though, the outfit Han had given him wasn't too bad if Zuko was being honest. A nice pair of slacks and a fancy dark green with black stripes button up, collared shirt. A pair of boots, a leather belt, and one of Han's leather, wide brimmed hats completed the ensemble.
The old rancher had called the style 'cowboy formal' and said the look suited him. Camila said he looked dashing. Zuko just thought he looked weird. There was nothing like this outfit in the Fire Nation. This must be an Earth Kingdom thing out here on all these open fields and ranches.
The Fire Prince wouldn't admit it to Han, but he did like the hat. It seemed to be fashioned out of some fur-based tempered leather with a tall, rounded crown and a wide flat brim around the entire perimeter of the hat. A simple green band decorated the otherwise dark brown hat around the outside base of the crown in the center.
Zuko's current task found him carrying the last of the food from the kitchen in the ranch house outside to the picnic table that Ralin had set-up. He had to resist trying to taste the delectable smelling smoked picken that was cooked with some kind of tangy sauce as he placed the tray onto the large picnic table.
The Fire Prince was finishing up arranging the food when he noticed Jin walking outside with Camila and Han. The Earth Kingdom girl was wearing a stylish dark green dress with a white leaf pattern. Each time she stepped, the embroidery made the leaves appear as if they were dancing in the wind.
"You look very nice this evening," stated Zuko formally with a quick bow as she walked up to him.
"Thank you," Jin replied with a small curtsy. "You look quite fetching yourself." Then, as the formality ended, they laughed to each other slightly at the stiff exchange.
"Did we really need to dress up for tonight?" asked Zuko as he tugged at his collar yet again. "It looks like we're just having dinner outside."
Jin looked at him for a moment and then, stepping up onto her tippy toes, she reached out with her left hand to remove his cowboy hat and used her right hand to ruffle his hair. Zuko stepped back a bit as he lightly pushed her hand away. He half-heartedly attempted to recomb his hair with his fingers. "Your Grandmother took ten minutes to do my hair," he complained as his previously combed down hair was now back to his normal, scruffy-looking tangle.
"You look better like this, rather than with that stuffy comb down," smiled Jin as she handed him back his hat. "And besides, it's fun to dress up every now and then. You might even agree with me in just a minute."
Zuko scoffed. He seriously doubted that. Placing the hat back on his head, he did idly wonder if he should get one of these hats for himself someday though. He really did like the hat. Hearing the front ranch house door opening again, Zuko ceased adjusting his hat and looked up as he stopped and just stared.
Katara was standing there on the wooden porch in a stunning light green dress that appeared to suit her perfectly. The dress was more modest than the one that Jin was wearing, with long sleeves and a full length that traveled all the way down to her feet rather than her knees like Jin's dress did. There was a slit cut into the left leg of the fabric that rose back up to the knee. Her hair was down and brushed out with a pink flower braided into the back near the middle.
Faintly, somewhere in the back of the Fire Prince's mind, Zuko recalled one of his previous lessons under the tutelage of the old Fire Sages. Specifically, the lesson about how Water Tribe women sometimes used their tribalistic, feminine wiles to tempt and lure unsuspecting Fire Nation men.
But then again, those same Fire Sages would teach that Earth Kingdom women were nothing but liars and deceivers too. Those lessons would always end with the Fire Sages telling him that he needed to find a nice Fire Nation bride.
So far, in Zuko's learned experience, Fire Nation girls were the most deceitful and the Fire Sages clearly did not know what they were talking about.
All in all, Zuko couldn't seem to look away from Katara standing there on the front porch. Not that he was trying very hard to do so.
Jin sighed to herself as she observed Zuko's reaction to seeing the waterbender. "I know that I helped her to get ready for tonight, but it still hurts my pride a bit to see how much more you prefer her outfit to mine."
Zuko didn't seem to hear the Earth Kingdom girl on his right. That earned him a swift elbow to the side that he barely reacted to. Fortunately, the jab did at least return him to his senses enough to hear Jin as the Earth Kingdom girl spoke up again. "Don't just stand there, go say something to her." She gave him a push forward.
Zuko visibly gulped. Taking an unsure step as he steadied himself from the push, he slowly made his way toward the front porch as the Water Tribe girl took notice of his approach and started to look anxious herself. Zuko looked back to make sure that everyone else was back at the picnic table and out of earshot.
Satisfied that they were far enough away, Zuko opened with, "Katara, you look..." His cheeks flared up as he couldn't believe that he was about to say this out loud, "Very beautiful this evening."
Color set in quickly on the waterbender's face as well at the direct compliment. Meeting his eyes after taking in the striking appearance of the firebender's outfit, Katara answered, "Thank you Zuko. You look very handsome yourself."
An awkward silence fell upon them after that as neither knew how to continue. Each was looking in a different direction trying to avoid the gaze of the other. Then, suddenly, together;
"I wanted to say-" started Zuko.
"I need to tell-" began Katara as they both spoke at the same time.
They both paused for a moment. Then, again;
"About the other day-" attempted the Fire Prince.
"What I'm trying to say-" tried the Water Tribe girl as they repeated the same process.
Another pause. Then, once more;
"I need you to know-" changed up the firebender.
"The thing is that-" endeavored the waterbender for the third time.
Before the cycle could continue endlessly, Katara held her hand up to keep Zuko from starting again. "Please, let me go first." At his nod, she continued, "I wanted to apologize for trusting Jet and his friends. I thought that they were nobly fighting for the Earth Kingdom and trying to help people. I thought they were going to help us with Azula and her friends. But in the end, Jet was just as dark and twisted as Azula herself. He didn't care about how he accomplished his goals or who got hurt along the way. You and Jin didn't seem to trust him, but I did. I should have listened."
Zuko cringed inwardly. His distrust of Jet had absolutely nothing to do with Jet being a manipulator or an extremist. Zuko only recently learned about that side of Jet today himself. His dislike of the other teenager was due to a much more personal reason.
Replying to the waterbender, Zuko returned, "You don't need to apologize for anything. I know the doubt that you're feeling right now. Azula always lies." At Katara's curious look, Zuko elaborated, "My Sister never tells the truth. At best, I get half-truths from her. Just enough to sound like something I want to hear or something to provoke me. It can be so easy to believe in those we want to trust. Those that prey on our emotions and spin a nice sounding story."
"I still can't believe how easily Jet lied to me and I didn't even see it until it was almost too late," groaned Katara.
"Azula's been tricking me ever since we were children and I still always seem to fall for it. Some people just know the right things to say or do to exploit others," reasoned Zuko. "Especially when others want to trust in them."
"So, I'm just too trusting, is that it?" frowned the waterbender.
Zuko shrugged. "You see how untrusting I am of people and I still get tricked." They both managed to laugh a little together at that.
After a pause and gathering his courage, the Fire Prince decided to speak his piece. "I told Jin that I wasn't interested in her. Romantically! I mean I wasn't interested in her romantically. She's a nice girl and everything. I know that you are good friends with her. And I think I'm her friend now too. One of the very few I think I have actually. And she's the only one to ever ask me out on a date. The first official one I've ever been on in fact. She showed me this tree all lit up by fireflies. It was amazing to see. But that's all that happened! Just the sandwiches and the firelight tree. That's all the date was. Food and the scenery." The Fire Prince thought for a moment. "Well, I guess, we did almost kiss." He froze, then blinked as he started to panic. "I'm not really sure why I just mentioned that! But we didn't actually kiss! We're just friends. So there's no need to worry!"
Katara smiled charmingly. Whenever Zuko was anxious about something, he tended to ramble on and on while spilling out things he wouldn't usually say while he was composed. He was actually quite honest like that. It was definitely one of his more adorable traits. Deciding to mess with him a bit, the waterbender asked innocently, "Oh? And why should I be worried?"
Rubbing the back of his neck while turning his head away from her, Zuko managed to get out, "Because... well, you know?"
She leaned inward, closer to him, standing up on the tips of her toes, as her face was raised expectantly and ever so slightly to match his height as her hands were held sweetly together behind her back. "What do I know?"
Zuko stopped rubbing the back of his neck, but kept his hand there as he looked back with his eyes while keeping his head turned off to the side. Lowly, he whispered, "You know, because... I think, I think I'm starting to like you."
Leaning back, the waterbender's breath caught. But she couldn't be sure that she heard him properly. Suddenly, her little bit of teasing seemed silly to her. "Umm... what was that?
Zuko promptly looked extremely uncertain of himself. However, the cat owl was already out of the bag. "What I meant to say was..." he trailed off as he appeared to be running through several thoughts in his own head all at once. Eventually, he faced her directly and clumsily asked, "Is it alright if I say that I am starting to really like you, more than just as friends?"
'Is he asking for my permission to like me?' mused Katara inwardly. The same Zuko who charged headfirst into danger on a daily basis? No hesitation when he fought off vicious bandits and soldiers, engaged in a showdown against brutal thugs, jumped in front of lightning launched by a psychotic Sister. But when concerning matters of the heart, he was tentative. Katara smiled. That was so earnestly... Zuko, wasn't it?
But he admitted it first, didn't he? Katara noticed how squirmish Zuko was getting as he nervously awaited a reply from her. Now the Water Tribe girl had to answer in kind. "I think that it's more than alright." A slight blush rose to her face as well. "I think I like you too."
Relief washed over the Fire Prince as the tension in his shoulders went slack. "That's... good to know," he commented as he stood tall again. Then, they looked at each other again and each of them broke into another round of laughter. "We're... not really good at this, are we?" managed Zuko after a moment.
Giggling into her hand, Katara shook her head. "No, we really aren't." Then, composing herself once more as she took his hand into hers, "But we can figure it out together."
"Hey you two!" shouted Han from over at the picnic table. "Come on! Food's getting cold!" His wife and his granddaughter both pinched him on either side of his stomach as he yelped in surprise. "What was that for?! The sun's almost set and I'm getting hungry." Ralin merely shook his head from the other side of the table.
"Honestly, this man," complained Camila as Zuko and Katara both walked over together with a red blush on each of their faces.
As the waterbender sat down next to Jin, the Earth Kingdom girl leaned over and whispered to her friend, "Everything all better now?"
Katara smiled back. "Yes," she nodded.
Supper was a joyful affair as Katara told tales from her village in the South Pole and about the misfortunes that her Brother would usually cause to himself. Jin responded with stories from her old village about the adventures and escapades that she used to get into with her old friends there.
Even Zuko eventually offered up a short anecdote about his Uncle dragging him all around a random marketplace to find a White Lotus Pai Sho tile only to discover that the token in his own sleeve several hours later. Camila seemed particularly amused at that story.
And, somehow, near the end of the meal, Ralin and Han managed to coax Zuko into a peach cobbler eating contest between the three of them. To which the Fire Prince found himself standing triumphant at in the end as the two older ranchers raised the white flag in defeat.
At some point, Ralin pulled out a fiddle and started to play an animated and vibrant tune. Han took Camila's hand and they started to dance in a traditional country Earth Kingdom style dance that appeared to involve lots of footwork, stomps, and movement as Ralin called out various dance steps for the couple to perform as he played the fiddle loudly and expertly.
Katara and Jin were clapping along to the rhythm of the music as they watched the elderly couple perform moves that the waterbender was quite frankly astonished to see them pull off. She had not imagined either of the two old ranchers could be that limber or light on their feet, but they were proving themselves amazing dancers.
Even more unexpected was when Zuko appeared at the Water Tribe girl's side with his hand outstretched. 'He couldn't be?' her mind flared. Katara saw his confident smirk. 'He is!' she gaped inwardly. Now it was her turn to feel incredibility self-conscious.
She didn't know any dances. Back at the South Pole, their village was so small with mostly just elderly and small children. They never had dance nights. Or at least, they hadn't in years. Katara somewhat vaguely recalled watching the adults perform tribal dances around the campfire back when she was a small child. But she never had a chance to learn. Never had a chance to practice. All of that kind of fun and merriment seemed to fade away after all the warriors left the village to go fight in the war. No one really felt like dancing after that.
Fidgeting with a loose strand of her hair, Katara muttered, "I don't know. We probably shouldn't. I mean, I'm not even sure if..." she protested weakly while trying her hardest to ignore the gushing squeals of the Earth Kingdom girl at her side.
"Take my hand," assured Zuko calmly with a daring smile as he set his cowboy hat down on an empty chair.
Somewhere, in the back of her mind, Katara recalled Jin's voice from the previous couple of days saying 'sometimes, you just need to take a leap of faith.' Setting her eyes in resolve, she reached out and let him lead her closer to where Ralin was playing the fiddle.
"We don't have to do any thing too fancy," whispered Zuko just to her. "Start with your waterbending forms. I'll match your movements."
'It can't be that simple,' Katara thought to herself. Then, as he raised her hand so that their arms were resting again each other in a ready stance, she wasn't so sure. 'Could it?'
He seemed to be waiting for her to make the first move. Breathing in to calm herself, Katara started to sidestep to her left as Zuko matched her to his left, their arms still resting against each other. She stopped and switched arms as she started to move back to the right. He mirrored her motions. They repeated this once more, this time with Zuko adding a spin to his movements when they switched directions and Katara grew more confident with herself as she watched Zuko showing off a little.
Taking a step back to gain some room, Katara started to flow into a rhythmic sway of her waterbending warm-ups. She smiled as she watched Zuko shift into a close copy of her forms on his side of the dance floor. This was starting to remind her of when he first tried to help her learn how to waterbend several weeks ago.
Returning together, Zuko grasped the Water Tribe girl's hand as they swung together with their other arms outstretched. As the spin stopped, Katara backflipped away while Zuko shifted his movements from his awkward renditions of waterbending movements into more familiar firebending movements. Camila seemed to share a look with Han as an amused smile crossed both their faces.
Falling back into her regular waterbending stance, Katara spun her hands together several times as the water from the cups and pitchers on the picnic table answered her call and she looped the liquid overhead into a large floating ring. Condensing the ring into a orb, she burst the water out into an erupting plume as she shifted the water into a powdery soft snow that flurried downwards gently. She gave a smirk of confidence right back to Zuko. This was becoming fun.
To his credit, the Fire Prince looked quite impressed with her bending display. As Ralin's music rose to a crescendo, the two dancers came back together, each clasping each other's hands as Zuko spun out Katara once, pulled her back in, and then out in the other direction. Upon Katara's return this time, Zuko dipped her down low as he caught and held on tightly to her back with a firm hand, their other hands outstretched in a big finish.
They were breathing heavily as they looked into each other's eyes. "Nothing too fancy?" quipped Katara in-between breathes.
Lifting her back up, Zuko grinned. "You started it first with your bending."
"I think you started it first with that spin you showed off," smirked Katara. Whatever retort Zuko had was lost when the sounds of Camila, Han, Ralin, and Jin clapping for them brought the two of them out of their own little world.
Self-consciousness returned for both Zuko and Katara upon being spotlighted like that. Then, Katara noticed a mischievous glint in Ralin's eye that she was positive that she didn't like. Setting the fiddle under his chin once more, the old ranch hand started to play again, except this time the tune was much slower and deliberate.
Looking back at Zuko, Katara noticed that even the Fire Prince looked a little uncertain this time as he semi-glared at Ralin, who had the nerve to wink back. Before Katara could object, she felt the Fire Prince take her right hand in his left and raise her left hand onto his right shoulder as he placed his right hand on the small of her back and pulled her in dangerously close.
Katara's cheeks flared red at their close proximity and she almost didn't hear the Fire Prince when he whispered, "I'll lead. You just need to follow. These movements are... actually pretty simple."
Zuko gently took a small step forward as he waited for her to match his tempo with a slight step back. Then to he moved to his right, her left, which was followed by Zuko taking a step back as he slightly pulled Katara into taking a step forward and then to her right as he glided left. They made a small square as Zuko had them repeat the same steps slowly in rhythm to the melody. 'This is quite easy to pick up,' thought Katara as she was getting the hang of the straightforward movements.
They continued for a couple of minutes until Ralin relented and the music stopped. Breaking apart, Katara noticed Jin sitting by her lonesome in solitary silence at the picnic table. Feeling a little guilty, the waterbender waved the Earth Kingdom girl over and placed Jin's hand onto Zuko's. "You should have a dance too," she told her friend.
Jin's eyes lit up as Katara stepped back a little ways. Zuko looked at the waterbender oddly as Katara told him, "Jin should get to dance too."
Ralin took that as his cue to start replaying the same song. Raising their hands, Zuko and Jin started their slow dance.
"I wanted to say thank you," commented Zuko as they danced. "If you hadn't given me the kick I needed, then I'm not sure if I would have ever found the courage to tell Luna what I needed to. Or at the very least, not anytime remotely soon."
"What are friends for?" whispered Jin faintly as she followed his lead.
As they danced together for a little longer, Jin placed her head on Zuko's shoulder. 'I'm actually dreading when the song ends, aren't I?' she thought to herself. 'Because when it does, that's it then, all we'll ever be is just friends.'
Zuko was a little apprehensive at the girl's head on his shoulder but he said nothing as he glanced over at Katara, who looked equally curious.
As the song faded away and the music ended, Jin leaned in and whispered in Zuko's ear, "I'm sorry, but I'm going to be a little selfish, just this once."
Before the Fire Prince could ask what she meant, Jin gripped the side of his face with her hand and pulled him in for a kiss. Zuko's eyes shot wide open immediately. The kiss itself only lasted a brief moment, but as Jin stepped away, she started to run with her head cast down and her teary eyes obscured by her hair. The Earth Kingdom girl darted back into the ranch house through the front door that was left wide open at her charge.
Zuko just stood there, torn between looking at the empty door frame and at Katara and back again repeatedly. "I didn't..." he started, but Katara shook her head knowingly.
"I know," the Water Tribe girl said. "I'm going to talk with her." And just like that, the waterbender walked into the ranch house in a hurry as well.
Ralin walked up beside the flabbergasted Fire Prince, who had been left standing there completely dumbfounded. Placing a hand onto the teen's shoulder, the old rancher said, "Han was right kid. You've got the Spirit's luck."
"Never much been one for luck. Don't want it. Don't need it," replied Zuko.
"Neither do the Spirits!" laughed Ralin as he slapped the Fire Prince on the back with his free hand. Zuko stumbled forward at the unexpected hit with an annoyed expression that only caused Ralin to laugh louder.
Then, changing the subject, the old rancher handed his fiddle to the firebender. "I'm sure your girl's going to get that sorted just fine. Probably best that you just stay out of it. Now then, you hiding any more skills in your repertoire? Like say, the fiddle?"
Zuko examined the instrument that had been placed in his hands. Shaking his head, he returned the fiddle back to Ralin. "Uncle says I'm a pretty good tsungi horn player."
Camila's eyes sparked from across the way. "Oh, did he now?"
Katara found Jin in the Earth Kingdom girl's room, lying with her face down on the pillow in her own bed. The waterbender closed the door quietly behind herself as she walked in, but she knew that the Earth Kingdom girl had heard her enter when Jin shifted slightly as the door clicked shut. Sitting on the edge of the bed next to the distraught girl, Katara didn't say anything for a moment. Then, "Jin..."
"I'm a terrible friend, aren't I?" whimpered the Earth Kingdom girl, her voice vaguely muffled from the cloth of the pillow. "I thought I could be okay with it. I thought that I could be happy for you. I thought that I could smile through the pain of knowing he chose you over me. But in the end, I'm just horrible."
The Water Tribe girl shook her head. "I don't think that. I don't fault you. You generously stood aside and helped me. And we both know Lee. You definitely helped him as well. You're the entire reason why we were able to acknowledge our growing feelings. So, I can't fault you. I won't fault you." The waterbender placed a hand on the other girl's shoulder. "Because just a couple of hours ago, I was feeling the exact things that you're feeling right now."
"That's me, gallant Jin," hyperboled Jin about herself. "Except, I was selfish. I wanted to kiss him. And I did," pressed the Earth Kingdom girl, her face unmoved from the depths of her pillow. "You've been at his side much longer than me, but I just had to act on my impulsive emotions."
"That doesn't make your feelings any less real," consoled Katara. The waterbender idly wondered to herself if she sounded hypocritical since their roles were essentially reversed not that long ago. When Jin didn't reply, Katara spoke again, "Don't cry because it's over, smile, because it happened."
When Jin meekly raised her head from the pillow, Katara elaborated, "Something my Gran-Gran told me when I was crying after our Southern Water Tribe village broke up into smaller groups to hide from the Fire Nation. All of my friends ended up in different villages and I knew I might never see them again. I haven't seen them again actually. But, Gran-Gran wanted me to focus on the joy of the moments we shared together instead of dwelling on the fact things were changing."
Katara brushed a tear out of her own eye. "Spirits, I really do sound like a hypocrite. I couldn't even take my own advice earlier and here I am lecturing you." Standing up, she turned towards the door. "I'm only making things worse, aren't I? I'll go find your Grandmother. She'll know what to say."
A firm hand on her wrist held the waterbender back. "No, your words helped. Really, they did," claimed Jin as she turned onto her side. Looking melancholy, the Earth Kingdom girl added, "Some day we've been having, haven't we?"
Nodding in agreement. Katara said, "Like you wouldn't imagine."
Slowly easing herself into a sitting position, her back against the headboard of her bed, Jin sniffed a little. "I'm sorry that I stole his first kiss from you..."
Looking out the window, Katara replied, "Actually... you didn't."
At the Water Tribe girl's confession, Jin raised her head in surprise. "He never mentioned that you've kissed him before. And I think we both know that Lee's not exactly good at keeping secrets like that."
Sheepishly, Katara admitted, "He... doesn't actually know."
Now that caught Jin's attention as she wiped away a final tear from her eye and looked at her friend in disbelief. "Luna, you didn't take advantage of him while he was sleeping now, did you?"
Faint color rose to the waterbender's cheeks as she shook her head vigorously side-to-side in the negative. "It wasn't like that." Then, the Water Tribe girl paused and thought for a moment. "Well, maybe it was, kinda?" At Jin's incredulous expression, Katara quickly explained herself better. "Lee was ill and wouldn't wake up. I was told some bacui berries might help him. But he couldn't chew them on his own. And I was sitting there with the berries in my hand. There wasn't anyone else around. I was panicking and didn't know what to do. He looked to be in such pain. I just chewed the berries and pressed my lips against his." She was rambling near the end, but managed to describe the situation fully.
A thin smile crossed Jin's face as she slowly composed herself once again. "So... you're telling me that you literally kissed him back to life?" Jin gave a mirthful laugh as her smile grew bigger. "I guess I really didn't have a chance at all, did I?"
"You don't have to put it that way!" blushed the Water Tribe girl in embarrassment.
Standing back up and stretching her arms over her head, Jin attempted to smooth back down the folds on her dress. "I'm glad we're friends Luna. I can't seem to stay upset when you're around. You're just too much fun to tease."
Rising up herself, Katara placed her hands on her hips. She was not going to be out-teased. "Just so we're clear though. I'll grant you a pass for that kiss right now, but I won't be so forgiving in the future."
"Ohh! Getting possessive already?" grinned Jin as she walked out of her room and towards the front of the house alongside her friend.
As the two girls finished understanding one another and opened the front door out of the ranch house, they were greeted by the sight of Zuko carrying a large curved, tubular horn that was wrapped around his body as he played a festive tune. Camila, Han, and Ralin were nearby cheering the Fire Prince on as he demonstrated his musical skill on the instrument.
Jin closed the door, and then opened it again. Nope, the same scene. Closing the door once more, the two girls looked at each other and then back outside as Jin opened the front door a third time. Zuko was still playing that tsungi horn with a surprising level of skill. Jin closed the door one last time as she and Katara looked at each other again. Then, both started to laugh uncontrollably.
"Good luck," managed Jin in-between chuckles. "You may not be able to leave him alone for five minutes without him getting himself into trouble."
A short while later, after the celebrations settled down, Zuko stretched out in the loft of the barn underneath the large cut-out square window on the arched roof that he opened slightly to let in the evening breeze and view the stars overhead. He was dressed in his travel clothes once again, ready for an early morning of travel.
With Jet and the Freedom Fighters gone, the Fire Prince could have slept in the empty leftover room back in the ranch house. However, he found himself preferring the solitary comfort the wooden barn granted him after resting in there for the last couple of days.
As he sat peacefully up in the loft, Zuko thought back over his time on the ranch. Days that had been filled with hardships and new discoveries. Never before would he have ever pictured himself working on a ranch and not actually hating his time there. 'This place actually might have even been enjoyable,' the Fire Prince mused to himself.
Then, slowly, another realization dawned on him. Something that he had not thought about even once over the last couple of days. Zuko realized that he hadn't been thinking about his perpetual quest to hunt down and capture the Avatar. It hadn't even crossed his mind once. In fact, ever since he woke up from that fever dream a while ago, the goal of capturing the Avatar was seeming less and less important to him. Almost... almost as if he had lost the single-minded focus that had driven him for so long. But perhaps the more interesting thing was that, Zuko felt more free than he had in a long time.
A creak on the wooden ladder signaled that someone else was there. "Are you still awake?" asked Katara as her head poked up across the ladder. Seeing Zuko lying on a blanket staring at the night sky, she scurried up onto the loft and lay down at his side. She had already changed into her regular travel clothes as well. "Hey there." Zuko nodded in recognition. "It's been quite a crazy day, hasn't it?"
With his hands on his stomach as he stared up at the nighttime stars above, the Fire Prince grinned. "It's had it's ups and downs."
Katara raised an eyebrow. "Oh? In that case, what was the best part of the day?"
"I'm not entirely sure. Maybe Camila's cooking?" stated Zuko matter-of-factly as he continued to watch the stars lazily.
The Fire Prince could sense the Water Tribe girl staring at him. "You sure that's the answer you want to go with?" he heard her ask him.
Zuko smirked. "That barbeque picken was very tasty." He was promptly rewarded with a splash of water to his head. Deciding to double down, the Fire Prince continued, "I probably should ask her for the recipe actually." Zuko rolled to the side to avoid the next water whip that was aimed at him.
"You'd better run, if you keep that up," warned Katara playfully.
Zuko raised his hands as he relented. "You know what my favorite part of the day was. It was when we cleared up all those misunderstandings between us."
Returning the water she was bending to her waterskin, Katara smiled. "I know. That was mine too."
It was a strange feeling, having an amusing back and forth like this. Ask Zuko last month if he would ever have seen himself lowering his defenses and helping others, then he would have said there was absolutely no chance. Ask him if he would ever have a girlfriend and he would have said there was a better chance of him capturing Ba Sing Se singlehandedly. Yes, this was a strange feeling, but one Zuko was slowly getting more comfortable with.
Furthermore, Zuko certainty never imagined ever getting this attached to the waterbender when he first helped her out back in that port town. He had told himself that he only helped out because of his conscience; the same conscience that sounded suspiciously like his Uncle. The first several days of travel had been particularly rough. To be honest, they nearly died several times. Well, Zuko nearly died several times. But that was probably due to his typical luck.
The Fire Prince couldn't pinpoint exactly when the Water Tribe girl managed to breach his normally stalwart walls of uncompromising stoicism. Maybe it was because of all the healing sessions and times she patched up his wounds. Or maybe it was during the time he spent teaching her how to swim and regain her confidence to waterbend. Or maybe it was when she comforted him as he fell apart after the plains village fiasco. Or, quite possibly, it was some combination of all the above.
There were all the little moments on the road as well. All those times that he caught himself glancing at her without really meaning too. But maybe there wasn't any real use in trying to figure out the when. Whenever it was, it happened already. And now that Zuko had finally admitted his budding feelings to both himself and to her, the last of those barriers that he had set up to shield himself were feeling less and less necessary.
Zuko was broken out of his thoughts when he heard the waterbender ask im the question, "Where did you learn how to dance?"
"I learned for my Mother," the Fire Prince began as he thought back. "She loved the theater. Especially this one troupe known as the Ember Island Players. The actors, the plays, the dances, the music, the stories, my Mother loved all of it. Within the confining walls of the Imperial Fire Palace, it was one of her few joys." The Fire Prince smiled. "And I wanted to be a part of that, so I learned how to dance."
Zuko chuckled softly. "Remember how I said it took me forever to master the basics of my firebending? Well, dancing took nearly the same amount of time for me. Rhythm and coordination were never my forte. I had to put in the work, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. But I learned, so that I could make her proud."
"That's so sweet," cooed Katara as she watched the stars twinkle overhead.
"Yeah," whispered Zuko. He sighed. "Unfortunately, I only ever got to show her one dance, briefly, on the day before my Mother disappeared. Afterwards, I practiced over and over again as I hoped against hope that one day she would return to the Fire Palace. I wanted to show her so many more dances so that she wouldn't ever leave again. But each passing day, Father only continued to remove any trace of her ever being at the Palace in the first place. And then, gradually, even the staff members and workers stopped mentioning her or ever spoke of her again. At some point, I realized that my Mother was never coming back. I never wanted to think my own Father capable, but I think I knew, somewhere in the bottom of my heart, that he had her removed, permanently.
Katara gasped. "You mentioned that she disappeared before. You don't think that..."
The Fire Prince nodded. "Father most likely had her killed."
"But why? What did she do?" pressed the waterbender.
"I don't know. I can't imagine my Mother doing anything worthy of such a punishment," answered the firebender. He reached up and touched his scar. "But he did this to his own Son, just for speaking out in a war council. So who knows what he thought she was guilty of to receive the punishment he gave her."
Katara fidgeted with her Mother's betrothal necklace around her neck. "When my Mother was killed in a Fire Nation raid protecting me, I was devastated for the longest time. I still am, honestly. The pain never actually goes away, you know? So, I'm sorry for bringing up such a sad memory."
Zuko shook his head. "Don't be. I think my Mother would be very happy to know that I'm still thinking about her. And I know that she would have been thrilled to meet you if she was still around."
A blush rose to Katara's cheeks. "I want to say that my Mother would have been happy to meet you too, but, truthfully, I'm not completely sure. The Fire Nation raiders have plagued our villages for so long." At his grimace, the waterbender continued, "I know that you're not them. Being Fire Nation doesn't make you bad. And I'm sure that she would have been happy to know that I'm happy right now."
A couple of minutes passed as they watched the stars in silence. Then, Zuko broke the stillness. "Are we being foolish?"
"It's possible," answered Katara candidly. "I think we both know from our given track records, that we both have a tendency to be a little foolhardy."
"I mean, an exiled Fire Prince and a water peasant, who would have thought?" mused Zuko with a smile.
Katara splashed Zuko with some more water playfully. "Just so you know, this water peasant just happens to be a Water Chieftain's Daughter who could wipe the floor with that Fire Prince."
"No one is going to accept us together that easily, you know?" Zuko thought aloud.
"Then, we make them accept us," proclaimed Katara boldly with her fist raised high. She looked over at the firebender. "Or is the big bad Fire Prince scared of letting people know he cares for someone?"
"Petrified. But somehow, also strangely excited for the challenge." Zuko looked over at the waterbender. "Is that normal?"
"I'd call you a weirdo, if I didn't feel the same way," laughed Katara.
Another couple of minutes passed as the stars shone overhead, the two of them watching as they lay in the barn loft, staring upwards. Then, it was Katara who interrupted the tranquility this time. "We're really going to give this whole being together thing a chance, aren't we?"
"Their villages were enemies, so they could not be together," recited Zuko as he recalled the line from Camila's hometown origin story.
"You were awake! I knew it!" exclaimed Katara as the Fire Prince smirked.
"I'm willing to try and find a way to make this work, if you are," Zuko stated with conviction. Taking a breath, the Fire Prince asked another question. "Is there anywhere you wish to go? Anything you wish to see? Perhaps, your home in the South Pole once more?"
Katara's mind raced. Was she ready to return home yet? She was a little ashamed to admit that she had rarely thought of the South Pole over the last several weeks with all the new experiences that she had gone through in the Earth Kingdom. "What about your Uncle?" the Water Tribe girl asked in return.
"I do want to find him first and make sure he's alright, but after that? I don't exactly have a place to go," Zuko answered.
'Home,' the waterbender thought inwardly as she closed her eyes and thought about the snow covered ice dunes, cozy igloos, and clear arctic night skies. "I would love to show you the South Pole," she finally whispered happily after a minute, her eyes still closed as she reminisced about her childhood home.
Then, she felt it. Warm lips on her own. Soft and tender, unsure and fleeting. It was over in a moment as she slowly opened her eyes. "Zuko?"
The Fire Prince lay back in his original spot on the loft with a faint red blush on his cheeks. "I just wanted you to know, that you're the only one I want to kiss."
Matching his courage, Katara leaned over and kissed him back, compassionate and innocent. Longer this time, before she broke away, both of them feeling a little winded. "Good, because I would hate to have to freeze you in ice," she smiled mischievously as she snuggled up next to him.
He smirked back. "Firebender."
"You've spoiled me with that firebender warmth," she admitted. "I don't think a cold bedroll is going to cut it anymore." Zuko merely gave a contented grunt as he closed his eyes to sleep under the nighttime stars above.
Katara found herself standing alone within a lush green garden surrounded by frigid water and an encircling ice wall. Two simple wooden bridges connected the garden to some ice patches that led to dark tunnels carved into the ice walls. In the middle of the tranquil garden was a small pond and an elaborately carved wooden arch with the symbol for the moon and the ocean at the very top.
Walking towards to the pond, the Water Tribe girl recognized the white and black fishes swimming in a continuous circle in the center of the water. She had seen those same fishes before when she was gathering bacui berries. As Katara neared the pond, the waterbender realized that there was a figure kneeling down next to the water's edge, her hands locked together in prayer.
Drawing closer, Katara observed the regal features on the unknown stranger; silvery, white hair and a sad expression. Katara had never seen this girl before, but for some reason, the girl didn't feel completely unfamiliar. Katara had seen her before, but the waterbender could not quite put her finger on exactly where.
Suddenly, the reflection of the girl in the water widened her eyes in fright. Katara spun around to see a looming giant of a man with hideously long sideburns standing over the praying stranger with a large wave of fire burning in his raised hand. With a malicious smile, this man brought the flame down with a striking blow.
Katara gasped in shock as she woke up in a cold sweat next to Zuko in the loft of the barn. She felt around herself trying to put out non-existent flames, but there was no fire on her. Several questions buzzed into her mind as she slowly calmed herself. 'What was that? It felt so real. Who was that girl? And that firebender? Why is the moon so bright?'
The waterbender paused at that last question. Looking over at Zuko, he seemed to still be sound asleep. Quietly getting out of bed, Katara made her way down the ladder and over to the barn door. Exiting, she scanned her surroundings under the luminous moonlight.
Just as she was about to consider the entire situation a weird dream, Katara spied movement on the main road leading directly towards the ranch. Squinting her eyes to focus her attention, she made out three lumbering beasts carrying three riders speeding down the road.
"No, no, no..." the waterbender muttered as the pieces fell into place. Darting back into the barn, she shouted at the top of her lungs, "Azula's here!"
To his credit, Zuko was awake and down the ladder, swords in hand, in less than a second. "Where?!"
"She's coming down the main road. And she's riding some kind of large reptile, I think," urgently explained Katara.
The two of them ran outside and Zuko narrowed his eyes at the incoming threat. "Let the others know. I'm the one she wants. If you can get everyone else out of here, then she might just ignore you all."
"Are you joking? Because it's not very funny," replied Katara tensely. "I'm not about to let you sacrifice yourself."
Before Zuko could argue further, a familiar voice cut in from behind the two of them, "Well said, little lady." Spinning around, the pair witnessed Camila standing behind them wearing a white and dark green tunic decorated with what appeared to be a large White Lotus Pai Sho emblem on the front. "Both of you, behind the house now," she ordered.
"How did you...?" started Katara.
Camila cut her off. "I've said it once before. I know about everything that moves on my ranch." Katara noticed the older woman wriggling the toes of her bare feet, but Camila offered no further explanation to the waterbender. Looking at Zuko, Katara realized that the Fire Prince was just as confused as her.
Zuko turned back to face his Sister, who was still rapidly approaching. "Azula's not going to stop until she gets to me. This is my fight." As he took a step forward, a wall of earth rose up to smack him in the face as he walked into it.
Shaking off his stunned expression, the firebender turned back towards the lady of the ranch with another confused look. However, it was the waterbender who spoke first. "You're an earthbender?!" exclaimed Katara. "You never said anything!"
"You never asked," smiled Camila in return. As Zuko attempted to move once more towards the oncoming enemies, a small, firm ball of earth burst up in front of his foot and tripped him up again. "Behind the house, now," the lady of the ranch repeated with a crafty smile on her face.
When the Fire Prince didn't move, Katara took him by the hand and led him behind the ranch house as Camila directed. Once the trio made it there, they noticed Han putting the finishing touches on saddling up Biscuit. The old ranch master was wearing a similar outfit to that of his wife, though he also wore the traditional Earth Kingdom soldier circular bowl-shaped helmet.
Jin was sitting on top of another ostrich horse, dressed for travel and with a confused look on her face. "What's going on? You still haven't told me why we have to leave right now instead of when the sun's up," the Earth Kingdom girl stated with worry growing in her voice at all the activity. "And why does Grandpa have his spear from his time in the Army?"
"Just some uninvited house guests sweetie," answered Camila. "You're going to leave with Lee and Luna while Han and I entertain them for a while. We'll find you and your parents again in Ba Sing Se."
"Grandma, you're scaring me," pressed Jin. "Who are those people racing down the road?"
Looking at Zuko and Katara, Camila replied, "That is not my place to say. However, I love you honey. Be strong and be brave. You know that your grannie is a tough old bird. We'll see each other again." With that, Camila stomped hard on the ground and pushed her arms forward as she shifted a large swathe of earth behind the house open to reveal a large underground tunnel leading away from the ranch.
At his wife's nod, Han helped Katara up onto Jin's ostrich horse behind the distressed Earth Kingdom girl. "Luna's going to be right at your side Jin. Trust in your friends and trust in yourself." He gave his Granddaughter a kiss on her hand. That seemed to bring Jin back to her senses after seeing her Grandmother earthbend for the first time in her life. "Your Grandma and I, we trust in all of you."
Since Jin looked extremely torn at how everything was happening so fast and appeared about a second away from hopping down from her ostrich horse, Han slapped the animal on the side as he shouted, "Hi-yah!"
The ostrich horse neighed and took off down the tunnel in a gallop, carrying the waterbender and the Earth Kingdom girl.
"Thank you for everything!" shouted Katara over her shoulder.
Then, "Grandma, Grandpa! I love you!" yelled Jin in tears.
Zuko turned to return to the frontside of the ranch as Camila stomped on the ground again and the earth pivoted him back around towards Biscuit. "I'm not arguing with you anymore boy. I told you that it's the responsibility of the older generation to protect the younger, and I meant that. This war, we failed to put an end to it, failed to prevent it from enveloping the world. And now each new generation suffers for our failures."
When Zuko still looked defiant, Camila played her ace in the hole. "If you care even the slightest bit about that waterbender and my Granddaughter, then you'll go after them right now."
"That's not fair," grumbled Zuko. But he knew and Camila knew that his course was now set. Grabbing Biscuit's saddle, he pulled himself up and took the reins.
"You're a good lad. I know that my Granddaughter's in safe hands with you around. Take care of her until Ba Sing Se, alright?" asked Han.
Zuko nodded as he looked back at Camila as she spoke once more. "I know that you're one of the good ones. The world's in short supply lately and I'll not let your flame be snuffed out here." Zuko narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Bah, get going. We'll meet again, don't you worry."
As Zuko turned Biscuit to face down the tunnel, he heard Camila say to her husband, "Let's go dear, it's not often that we get to host two royals on our humble ranch in the same week." The Fire Prince immediately spun around in his saddle, but Camila and Han were already running back to the front of the house. Zuko spurred Biscuit into a gallop as he scowled.
Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee burst onto the empty ranch homestead as their mongoose lizards hissed and flickered their tongues about wildly. All three girl dismounted quickly as Azula sent a ball of flame to ignite the wooden Sierra Bonita Ranch front gate sign. The wood was set ablaze instantly as the bonfire bathed the ranch in light.
"Oh, Zuzu," Azula shouted in a sing-song voice. "Come out and play!"
The wide patch earth in the center of the ranch twisted and spun open as Camila and Han rose up to welcome their uninvited guests. "You're trespassing here little girl," noted Camila calmly. "Did your Father not teach you any manners?"
"Oh, he taught me plenty," gloated the Fire Princess as she already started pulling at the ying and yang energies of her firebending. This little welcome party told her all that she needed to know. Zuko was here and he was letting others do his fighting for him.
Azula raised an eyebrow as she watched the old man lift a thick, large copper metal rod about his height in length into the air before he drove it deep into the ground that had been softened by the earthbending woman. Then, the man threw several wire coils, attached to the copper rod and with weights on the end, away from the metal pole and the elderly couple.
'Pitiful,' the Fire Princess thought as she unleashed her charged lightning directly at her opponents. Best to finish this quickly and collect Zuko. He was bound to be hiding around here somewhere.
What the Fire Princess was not expecting was for her lightning to be drawn to the metal rod and directed into both the earth and along the wires away from the elderly couple. "What?!" she cursed at her ineffective attack.
"You never got much school'in, did ya?" mocked Camila as she stomped heavily on the ground as the earth whirlpooled underneath each of the three girls. Azula launched herself upward with a burst of fire from the heels of her feet and away from the desert sinkhole. Light on her feet and springing up immediately, Ty Lee managed to jump out of the trap as Mai was quickly pulled down to her neck with her arms pinned underground.
Ty Lee was already charging forward as Han met her head-on with a long spear to keep her at bay. Regardless of how much the acrobat sprinted, cartwheeled, and darted around, she was unable to make it past his guard. The elderly man was maintaining minimal movements with his far reaching weapon, pivoting as he needed to and expending very little energy while Ty Lee was already starting to look a little winded.
This was not developing how Azula envisioned her attack on the ranch originally going. With uncommon frustration, she let out a growl as she launched multiple jet streams of flame directly at the earthbender. Camila braced in a horse stance as she raised her arms to lift multiple walls of earth up to block the incoming attacks.
As each plume of flame exploded each rock wall into pieces on contact, Camila looked slightly concerned. 'This girl is too powerful for her age!' her mind shouted at her in alarm. As the onslaught of fire bursts rapidly collapsed her defenses, Camila rushed to bring up a flat rock slate under her feet, and, using her earthbending to move the slate, started to zip about on the rock vehicle.
Azula answered in kind as she ignited kicks of fire at the heels of her boots to swiftly propel her around the open field as well. Each of the combatants launched various arrays of fire and earth at one another while managing to dodge or block incoming attacks by a hair's breath with their quick movements.
Eventually, Azula got fed up with the stalemate as she noticed how close she had gotten to the copper metal rod still stuck in the ground. With a clap of her hands, she unleashed an intense wave of flame that gradually caused the metal to soften and melt into a useless blob of molten scrap.
Camila's eyes widened at this. With another push of her arms, she projected the earth slate that she was riding on towards her husband. Knocking the acrobat aside with a jagged rock column that she punched out of the ground, Camila rushed up alongside her husband. As the elderly couple held hands, Camila twisted the ground to swallow the pair of them down into the depths of rock and soil. Azula's lightning struck an empty field just a mere moment later.
The Fire Princess scanned the area wildly as she prepared to charge another burst of electricity. However, a minute passed, and then another, and another, until finally, Azula settled down. Her enemy had clearly fled the field. She growled. Zuko never showed himself during the fight. And if those two annoying flies had run away, then her Brother was no longer here either.
Enraged, Azula turned towards the ranch house and slung multiple fireballs against the wooden structure as it caught ablaze. Then, she did the same to the barn. She was breathing heavily in anger as she turned away from the destruction, a backdrop of billowy, blazing red and gold flame crackling against the night sky. Rich, dark smoke was already engulfing the black sky and drowning out the stars overhead.
'Again! Again he slipped through my fingers!' Azula shouted to herself. This was getting ridiculous. How was Zuko constantly managing to weasel ferret his way out of her entrapments?
Turning around towards the flames, Azula willed herself back into her normal state of control. "Fine. If dear Zuzu doesn't want me to come to him, then I'm get him to come to me," the Fire Princess declared aloud into the night.
A couple of minutes later, still trapped up to her neck in the ground, Mai stated in a bored sounding tone, "A little help here please?" Ty Lee came jogging over with a shovel that she had found next to a fenced area near the barn.
"Don't worry Camila," reassured Han as he helped his wife get to the tree line a good distance away from the burning ranch in the distance. "I released all the animals when I got the ostrich horses ready. Ralin will be by tomorrow morning and he'll gather them all. He'll probably be a bit concerned about the ranch, but I left a quick note in the saddlebag of my horse. He'll get the message."
"A bit concerned?" noted Camila as she coughed lightly from all the exertion she had just done. "You always did like to understate things."
"Alright, he's probably going to go mad with worry. That is a lot of fire," commented the old ranch master. "Our stuff is all torched."
"It's just stuff. The important things are safe," wistfully replied Camila. Then, taking one last look at her burning home, she turned back to the tree line. "Come on, we have a lot to report to the Grand Lotus." A small consolatory smile crossed her face. "Especially, the latest gossip about his young Nephew."