Katara
When we get to the Fire Nation capital, We have Appa hide in a cave by the beach and take the rest of the way on foot. We get just outside the city walls when Zuko leads me over to a shadowed area, where we wait until nightfall. Once the moon rises, I feel it's strength empowering me.
"Are you ready?" I ask Zuko.
"Let's go." He says and I nod. We sneak around to a place with a break in the wall's security, and I pull water out of the humidity and use it to give us a lift to the top. Once over the wall Zuko takes the lead and I follow him as he runs through the shadows, down streets and turning corners so fast that I can hardly keep up. He knows the way so well the darkness doesn't hinder him. I get the feeling he could run the whole city blindfolded. We finally get to the military pension office, and the architecture is crafty enough that Zuko climbs it effortlessly with me only a few steps behind him. We get inside the building, ducking in and out of various rooms looking for the right one and hiding from patrols. Finally we get to the records office. Zuko and I start tearing through the scrolls, looking for Yen Ra's information.
"Found it!" Zuko tells me. I drop what I was looking through and look at what he's holding.
"Yen Ra. Former leader of the Southern Raiders. Retired after a full military career to his home island of Kuzin Cove." I read.
"We have his location." Zuko says. My resolve hardens.
"Kuzin Cove here we come."
We sneak back out of the office and over the wall, heading back out of the city. We're not moving as fast this time, though. Zuko seems almost hesitant to go.
"Let's pick up the pace. It's still a long flight until we get to Kuzin Cove." I tell him.
After several restless hours of flying, we finally land on the island. After hiding Appa away, Zuko and I head to the village to start looking around. After not finding him for a while, I start asking around. Walking up to a fruit stand I get a papaya.
"Hello, Sir."
"Hello, young lady. What's your name? Mighty strange attire you're wearing."
"Oh-I'm Sapphire."
"And I'm Lee." Zuko says, stepping beside me. "Apologies for our attire. We're from the colonies, and coming from a funeral."
"Oh. I see. Who died?"
"My mother." I tell him. "We've come here to find someone. Do you know Yen Ra? He had some…shared history with her. Finding him would help me get some closure."
"Old Yen Ra? Sure, I know him. Not a pleasant fellow, that's for sure."
"Can you tell us where to find him?" Zuko presses.
"He lives with his mother up in the hills. I'll show you on a map here." He pulls one out and marks our location and then Yen Ra's. Zuko pays him a few coins and takes the papaya.
"Thank you. We'll be on our way now."
"Hope you get your closure, Miss." he says. We turn and start walking towards the hills.
"Oh believe me." I say under my breath. "I Will."
….
We follow the frail looking man from his house on the way to the village, waiting for a moment to see his face clearly. Finally, it happens. He turns around looking for us. And I see his eyes. They're as cold and cruel as they were all those years ago.
"That was him." I tell Zuko. "That was the monster."
As he walks home, rain starts to pour. Good. Before too long he becomes aware of our presence.
"No one sneaks up on me without being burned!" He declares and sends a blast of fire towards a bush. Zuko and I take the moment to move behind him. Satisfied that no one was there, he picks up his fruit and turns around again, falling over the tripwire we set up earlier. Looking up, Zuko blasts some fire at him to put him on retreat.
"We weren't behind the bush." He tells him. "And I wouldn't try fire bending again!"
"Whoever you are, take my money, take whatever you want. I'll cooperate." He tells Zuko. Coward. Apparently he only fights defenseless civilian women. Enraged, I walk up behind Zuko and pull down my mask.
"Do you know who I am?"
"No. I'm not sure."
"You'd better remember me like your life depends on it! Why don't you take a closer look." I glare at him. He peers into my face.
"Yes. Yes! I remember you now. You're the little Water Tribe girl." He says in surprise. He goes on to tell what happened that day. The whole story. Grief, guilt, and fury overwhelm me.
"She lied to you! She was protecting the last waterbender."
"What?" He says in shock. "Who?!"
"Me!" I yell, and stop the rain around us to form a dome. Fueled by rage, I give up on the idea of a long punishment. I turn the water to ice shards and throw them at him with all my might. But right before they hit him, I stop. The ice melts, and falls over his body without any harm. He gets on his knees before me.
"I did a bad thing. I know I did. And you deserve revenge. So why don't you take my mother? That would be fair!"
"I always wondered what kind of person could do such a thing. But now that I see you, I think I understand. There's just nothing inside you. Nothing at all. You're Pathetic and Sad and Empty."
"Please! Spare me!"
"As much as I hate you. I won't do it. I won't let you consume me anymore. Your life is your own punishment. Go and live out every miserable day you have left." I say, and walk away. The monster falls into pathetic sobs. My emotions are tangled, but it's different. The anger, the hate, while not gone, is falling away.
…..
I walk into the ocean so Zuko can't follow, forming a dome of air around me. I sit down and I break. Years of Anger, hatred, and grief comes out in tears and passionate sobs. Let it out. My mother would say to me when I was little. Tears are Grief's escape. That's what's happening now. Escape. I'm not sure how long I'm down here when I finally get so tired from crying, sobbing, and screaming that my voice gets hoarse and I can hardly keep the dome up. I blast some water in my own face, then bend the salt out of some so I can drink it. When I feel like I at least don't look like a mess, I head back out of the water to shore. Zuko is sitting in the sand with his arms resting on his knees in front of him.
"Are you okay, Katara?" He asks when he sees me.
"I'm not sure that "okay" is the right word. But I'm as okay as I can be."
"Aang will be proud of you." He tells me. I scoff.
"I don't care what Aang thinks about this. And I Didn't do what Aang wanted at all. I'll never forgive that pathetic excuse of a man. And oh, how much I wanted to kill him. And honestly, I could have without ever looking back. But I'm done letting my anger and vengeance consume me. It's time to let it go."
"I think that's wise." He says and gets up. "C'mon. I have an Idea on where our group can hide."
We get on Appa and start on our way. I don't ask him about where we're going. I'll find out soon enough. But the farther we fly, the more down his spirit seems.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
"What? Nothing. It's just-"
"You're homesick." I guess. He bows his head and shakes it a bit.
"Yeah." He sighs. "This is where I grew up. I always loved exploring the capital city with my mother. Sometimes even with Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee. My sister may be a lot of things, but even she had her moments when we were little. She used to steal me Fire Glacier Cake from this street vendor, Lee Flay. It was always my favorite dessert. He's the only one in the world that knows the recipe. His own creation."
"What's Fire Glacier Cake?"
"Ice Cream with a chocolate cake baked around it. No one knows how he can cook the cake without melting the ice cream inside."
"Sounds delicious."
"It is. Maybe one day I can introduce you to it when all of this is over."
"How about now?" I ask, sitting up straighter.
"What?"
"I'm sure you remember where Lee Flay is." I say.
"Well yeah, of course I do, but he sets up shop on the corner of the city square. There's a lot of people there, Katara."
"What? Scared you're not stealthy enough, Fire Prince?" I smirk at him.
"Oh I'm plenty stealthy, Water Princess."
"Water Princess?" I roll my eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you, Fire Prince, I'm not a princess."
"Isn't your dad chief of the Southern Water Tribe?"
"Yes, but we don't really have royalty."
"Royalty enough for me. Just accept it. Are you sure you want a Fire Glacier Cake?"
"It's been a long quest. Let's get a treat." I tell him. A brief but genuinely excited smile flashes on his face.
We fly App back to the capital city and get back in the same way as before. Sneaking along the shadows and moving through allies and abandoned buildings, we eventually reach the city square. breaking in the back door of a building Zuko knew was abandoned, I head up to the second story to look out the window and see where we're going. The life of the city is invigorating. When we were living among the fire nation before The Day of Black Sun I always loved how lively the culture was. It certainly was not what I expected of the nation trying to dominate the world. It made me realize we weren't fighting the people. Just the government and military.
"It's right there." Zuko says and points to the corner. The sign reads Lee flay's Fire Glacier Cakes.
"Let's go." I smile at him. We pull up our hoods and use the shadows to sneak across the street then around the back of the store.
"I thought you said he was a street vendor."
"When I was a kid he was. He eventually saved enough to buy a building."
"Got it."
We find the back door is unlocked so we are able to get in with no issue. The smell envelopes me when I walk in, rich and sweet and soothing.
"How does he store them? In heat or cold?"
"He doesn't. He makes them on demand. So we'll have to grab them as they're coming out of the oven. I better grab them. The oven has to be at least 500 degrees."
"Okay, yeah. Let the fire bender handle the intense oven. Got it." We hide behind one of the prep tables in the kitchen as we watch the sands in the hourglass fall. Apparently we got lucky. Zuko said It takes hours for this to cook, and we got here within I'd say 10 or so minutes of it finishing.
"How many does he cook at a time?"
"He takes the order at the beginning of the day. People pick them up at the end. So normally anywhere from a dozen to 50. Hopefully he'll have a couple of no shows so he doesn't notice the missing cakes."
"Won't he be coming back right as the sands run out?"
"He has his own tuner wherever he is. The sand is rigged to an alarm, he doesn't have to just watch it. So we'll have just a minute." He smirks. Watching the sands trickle to their end, Zuko runs over to the oven and throws open the door. I can see him bending the hot air away from himself, and he drains the heat out of the metal pans. He grabs two, kicks the door closed again, and starts running.
"C'mon, Katara!" I start laughing and follow him. We run the whole way back to the wall. I get us over, and we run back to Appa's cave.
"I can't believe we just did that!" I say as I laugh and try to catch my breath.
"Me neither." He says and lays on his back, using Appa's tail as a pillow. Once his breathing gets back to normal he sits up, that goofy grin still on his face. The realization hits me again that he's really, well, cute. I shake the thought out of my head.
"Ready to try it?" He asks. I sit down across from him and he hands me one of the cake pans. I sit with my legs crossed and take my knife to cut a piece. When I bite it, flavor explodes in my mouth.
"Spirits, this is the best thing I've ever eaten."
"I know. It's so good!" He says with a smile. His smile is still timid though, like he's waiting for something. I guess he is. He's waiting to know if I forgive him or not. I let go of my anger towards Yen Ra, but I Didn't forgive him. But isn't that harder than forgiving Zuko, who put us through so much, but never actually hurt any of us? I'm not sure. I don't know if I can trust and forgive him yet, but I'm not angry with him anymore. Not after all he's done for me the last few days. Forgiveness, though, Forgiveness is different. So is trust.
"Once all this is over and you're Fire Lord, you should invite Lee Flay to live at the palace."
"When I become Fire Lord?!"
"Well, yeah. Who else? Azula?" I ask. He scoffs.
"Definitely not. My Uncle Iroh should take the throne. It should have been his anyway."
"You'll still be crown prince." I point out.
"True." He nods. "Maybe once all this is over I can have Lee Flay teach me the recipe."
"You bake?" I ask. He looks shocked and blushes.
"Well, no, I-" he stutters.
"You Bake!" I exclaim, then fall on my back laughing.
"Nevermind. Forget it!" He fumes, and starts packing things up and gets on Appa's back.
"No! No, Zuko I'm sorry! I wasn't making fun of you, it was just surprising to hear. And I haven't been able to laugh like that in a while." I apologize. His gaze softens. "How did you learn to bake?"
"My mom." A small smile plays on his lips. "My mother wasn't always nobility. She grew up a peasant. So she knew her way around the kitchen. When things got tough, she would wake me in the middle of the night and teach me how to bake. Couldn't do it during the day. My father would never approve."
"Your mother sounds wonderful." I tell him.
"She was." He tells me.
"C'mon." I say, grabbing his hand for him to follow me down off the saddle. "Let's finish the glacier cake."
"Fire Glacier Cake." He corrects with a smirk.
"Oh how could I forget the Fire, Fire Prince?" His smirk becomes a smile.
"Because," He tells me. " You're a Water Princess."