Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Tempestuous ❯ Chapter Three ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: I do not own any of “Avatar: The Last Air Bender's” characters, etc. This story is for entertainment purposes only.

TEMPESTUOUS

Summary: Ten years have passed since Sozin’s war ended. Alliances must be forged between embittered nations, and Katara must marry to keep stable the peace. But can she ever find love in the arms of an old enemy? (Zutara)

A/N: Thanks for the continued reviews. They give me the WAFF’s and keep me typing way past my bedtime. ^_^ (Sidenote: Katara may seem OOC but there's a reason, I promise!)

Chapter Three

“Do you know what it is you have gotten yourself into, Lady?” The gravelly voice interrupted my uneasy reflections upon my folly, and I did not turn to look at the obnoxious old woman. Pressing my fingertips against my pounding temples, I tried to dismiss her with the headache that presently clamored inside my head.

Suni, much like my headache, would not go away. With a grunt, the woman laid her burden of cleaned clothing on the nearest chair, and said waspishly, “You do not, I can see.”

“Suni, please lee---” She broke through my half-hearted protest.

“I will not leave. I will stay and I will tell you exactly what mess it is that you have gone and gotten yourself into, for I know. I once served a great Queen, my lady, and you will listen to my words and you will take my advice.”

She hardly ever left room for argument with that kind of tiresome speech. I sighed, wishing the interfering old tyrant might just accidentally step through the nearest open window and fall to her death some three miles below.

I blinked at the surprisingly vicious thought and immediately felt ashamed of my angry bitterness, for it didn’t stem from the bossy old woman, but from my own inner turmoil with the paths my formerly carefree life were now being bent down.

Gathering my frayed peace around me, I deliberately sat up, composing myself into something akin to inquiring interest, though I still felt stiff, and my temples pounded in protest.

Suni smiled, showing teeth Appa would envy. “Much better, my lady.”

I scowled. The woman sorely tried my thin patience.

Suni fixed me with a critical eye. “That will never do, my lady. That look does not become you. You will not do it again.”

My brows rose in some bewilderment.

“Better, but still not good enough. You must work on it. You will work on it, for the last thing you need to do is look like a startled or peevish child.” Suni daintily settled her short, round figure on the cushions in front of me, brushing her simple robe as if it were the costliest gown. “I know these things and you would do well to heed my words, for you are stepping right into the lion’s den by marrying this Fire person.”

*Zuko.* I shivered, and bit my lip.

“You will not do that one, either, my lady, for you look nervous, and you will be eaten alive by that rabid Court if you were to show the slightest sign of weakness,” Suni absently chided, though she pursed her lips and thought for a long moment. “Hmmm. That might not be a bad thing…”

“What?” My brows rose again, though I quickly lowered them at the old woman’s dark look.

“You can hardly fight fire with fire, for you are a Waterbender. Your nature is water. Water is patient and enduring, sweet and calming, soothing, fluid, beautiful.” Suni actually smiled at her description, rather satisfied with her summation.

I blinked. It was something like what my Masters had tried to teach me---though a little off.

Suni’s beady black eyes twinkled. “It is perfect.”

“What is perfect?” I asked, confused.

“You will not knit your brow like that, for it will give you wrinkles. Confusion is not a good look. Bewildered is better. Raise your brows---delicately!---and widen your eyes. Do it now.”

I stared at her, my mouth open.

“Gaping like a fish is not queen-like, my lady,” Suni said primly.

“Queen-like?” I felt like a babbling idiot, repeating every word the old woman spat.

“You will be the Fire Lord’s lady. You will be a queen in a Nation of ancient lineage and proud traditions. You are a simple Water Tribe maiden. They will eat you alive,” Suni snapped.

“Who will eat me alive?” I was suddenly amused by the old woman’s fervency, and smiled.

“Better,” Suni’s voice was tightly clipped. “But you will have to work on it, my lady.”

“Suni, what is this all about?” My patience grew short, and showed in the sharpness of my voice.

“The Court, my lady,” Suni sniffed, as if I should know better. “You have no idea, do you?”

“No idea of what, Suni?” I snapped, patience broken. Subtlety was not one of my strong suits. I hated the old woman’s dithering and scolds, as if I even knew of what she spoke!

Suni stilled, her eyes hard as obsidian. “The Fire Nation is a land rich with ancient honor and thorny pride. They are a harsh people, full of the fire that fuels them, and fierce in their loyalty and disdain. You are ill prepared, my lady. for the hotbed of competition and conspiracy that awaits you there. The Fire Nation does not tolerate weakness and will not hesitate should you fail.”

“Fail?” I blinked.

“Yes, fail. If you show that you are weak, my lady, and that you are but a simple country peasant stumbling about court without knowing what is what, than they will eat you alive. You will never have their respect and your life will be as nothing. If you prove weak enough, than the enemies you will inevitably have, being the new Fire Lady, will not hesitate to kill you.”

“What?” I stumbled on that one.

“Assassination has a long and honorable tradition in the Fire Nation’s history, my lady. The nobility are caustic and unforgiving. If they saw you as a weakness, a stain upon their honor, than they would not hesitate to burn you out, as they would any illness or withered limb.”

I could only stare at her, uncomprehending such callous disdain. My own people were so loving and tolerant. But this was Fire, not Water, and perhaps Suni had the right of it, for I had no idea now what I had gotten myself into.

Uncertain for the first time in a long time, I finally unbent my pride long enough to say warily, “What is it I should do, then?”

Suni smiled. It was not a nice smile.


“She has accepted, then?” Iroh settled his bulk more comfortably in the wide chair especially provided for him. His joints ached from time to time, and they reminded him more often than not nowadays that he was as mortal as any other.

“Was there any question?” The arrogance in that sharp reply would have staggered someone who did not know his nephew as well as the general did. He knew more than any other, though, how much Zuko had always, deep down, desired acceptance from others---though the proud Fire Lord would never admit to such a weakness.

“Not in my mind,” Iroh reassured the Lord, though Zuko would never admit that, either.

“We will set sail tomorrow for the Southern Air Temple---at dawn.” Zuko picked his way through a variety of lists and other paperwork that littered the top of his wide desk. Iroh often wondered why his nephew ever employed a secretary, since he so often took it upon himself to see to things. A bit of a control-freak, was his Lord nephew.

“Isn’t that a bit hasty?” Iroh asked, just to dig a little at the Fire Lord. He was the only one who ever dared.

Zuko made no reply, merely signing another document detailing what was to be done during his brief absence. He had planned a strict schedule to go and retrieve his bride. He had entertained the notion of having the wedding ceremony preformed by proxy, but had quickly discarded it for purely political reasons. He did not want to give the Court any reason to doubt this alliance, and if he gave even the appearance of reluctance, than that would be food enough for the hungry scavengers eager to sniff out any weakness they might then exploit.

“General Shaolin was quite taken with young Katara,” Iroh filled in the silence. There was a momentary pause in the scratching of Zuko’s pen, then it resumed.

Iroh pursed his lips. “He said she was quite beautiful.”

Scratch, scratch.

“And gracious. Very gracious.”

Another pause. Then the scratching resumed.

“I wonder how she has filled out in the years since last I saw her,” Iroh commented idly to himself, his golden eyes half-closed as he waited for a reaction.

Nothing.

“There was promise there. Good promise,” he continued.

Paper rustled as the Lord drew another stack of missives to him. Dipping his pen, he resumed his writing.

Scratch, scratch.

“She had the most beautiful eyes. Blue as the sky on a clear day.”

Rustle, scratch.

“Her breasts were like ripe, young peaches. Firm, yet supple.”

Pause.

Zuko finally raised his head and turned a hard look on his uncle. The glow in the Fire Lord’s golden eyes was molten.

“What?” Iroh feigned innocence.

“Enough, Uncle. Even you have limits,” Zuko said flatly, his voice like fire-forged steel.

Iroh affected a look of injured puzzlement.

Scowling, Zuko returned to his work. The pen scraped across the parchment, which rustled as the Fire Lord slid the next request that needed his personal authorization.

Burying his folded hands in the wide sleeves of his kimono, Iroh closed his eyes. His lips twitched as he added, “Peaches, you know, can be quite succulent.”

The pen’s tip suddenly snapped, leaving a large blot across the page.


“One step, two…now, bow.” Suni’s voice was sharp as she bit the tempo out.

I paused as the door was pushed open, caught in an awkward position as I was half-way through the graceful motion.

“What is it?” Suni snapped, irritated by the interruption. But she paled upon seeing it was Aang, and bowed low in deep reverence.

“Aang!” I was happy to see him, for he was the one person who could shut Suni up. She regarded the Avatar with a mix of fear and awe that often left her speechless. All the better, to my mind---though I felt instantly guilty for the thought. Suni was only trying to help me not to trip all over my big, peasant feet, so to speak.

“Learning a new dance?” Aang asked with a smile, his gray eyes lighting up. The Avatar liked to dance.

“No,” I said, disgruntled. “I’m learning how to bow---correctly. I didn‘t know there were so many ways.”

Aang’s grin was full of sympathy. He must have gone through a similar rough time of it. Being the Avatar didn’t have all it’s fun moments.

“Mustn’t offend the Fire Nation,” I bit that out with more bitterness than I should, for Aang’s eyes grew instantly sad. I felt immediately contrite for my hasty words. “Oh, Aang, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I’m just tired, and cranky.”

“It’s okay, Katara. I’m sorry, too.” And he meant it, for it was there, in his sorrowful gaze.

I forced a carefree smile. “It’s all right. I just never knew how little I actually did!”

Aang chuckled. “It was hard for me, too. Suni’s a good teacher, though. She knows the ins and outs of a court better than anyone else here.”

Suni blinked at the compliment and blushed like a young girl. “Thank you, my lord.”

“I think I need a break, though.” I grasped at any straw. “Before I trip over more than just my tongue!”

“Want to go visit Appa?” Aang asked, the gray eyes lighting up with mischief.

“Boy, do I!” I bowed an insincere apology to Suni, and fled.


There were few hours that we could spend as care-freely as we did that afternoon with the giant bison. Aang’s duties as Avatar kept him busy and my time was not my own now, either. I was kept constantly running, learning how to be what a good Fire Lady should, though Suni would shake her head more often than not and I had to rein in my temper more than ever. To be honest, I was frightened of the very thought of my upcoming marriage, but I was a Waterbender and would not dishonor my tribe or Aang’s trust in me. I buried my fears by trying to be everything Suni wanted me to be, though it often went against my nature.

But the old tyrant, as critical and sharp-tongued as she was, had plenty of good arguments to back her up. Her arguments were persuasive as well, and somehow fit with what Master Pakku and my various other Waterbending teachers had always told me---that I needed to learn more patience, to master myself as I would Water. Still, it was hard. But then, was any worthy goal ever easy?

Or so I tried to reassure myself as I bit back a sharp comment and only fluttered my fan. Though Suni promptly scolded me for fluttering it so hard. “You will not look like a bird flapping its wings, my lady. A fan is not a weapon. You will not flail it about like that. You will keep your movements slow and decorous, leisurely, dainty, beautiful.”

Suki, my sister-in-law, could have argued that point, but then I remembered how graceful Suki’s motions had always been, and bit back my angry retort. Slowing my movements, I deliberately pictured the peaceful tides on the beach of Kyoshi Island and felt the tension running out of my arms as the peace of Water surrounded my doubting self and soothed my irritation away.

“That’s it, my lady!” Suni actually clapped her hands together, her black eyes beaming, and I smiled tentatively at the woman’s approval.

Perhaps she knew best after all.


The Fire Nation ships, all twenty of them---to do me honor, I suppose---made good time. I was actually a little depressed by that fact. I had hoped to delay the inevitable as long as I could, though I had known from that night in the garden that my life could no longer be called my own, and nothing would deter that fact.

Still, damn.

I was not there to actually greet Zuko, or any of the dozen or so generals he had brought with him. Suni had been adamant that it was the Fire Nation’s custom that the bride must not be seen before the actual wedding ceremony and I was happy to leave all that mess up to Aang. He was the one who had persuaded me to this farce, and a tiny part of me was still angry with him for forcing my agreement. A fact which immediately shamed me---for who was I to feel such bitterness when he, as the Avatar, would bear ever so much more than I ever could?

Still, damn.

I could not miss the unmistakable tension that now overhung the Temple. Although I had seen no one of the Fire Nation, sequestered as I was, I could feel them. They were like a dark, ominous presence hanging over my heart, and I deliberately ignored the fearful thoughts that plagued my troubled mind. I had not given much thought to the Lord who would become my husband on the morrow, deliberately diverting my uneasy fears with the trivia of Suni’s constant scolding, or the outfitting of a wardrobe far superior to anything I had ever owned. Aang’s gift, I suppose, though it was Suni’s insistence that had the Temple storerooms ransacked for anything that could be fit for the dignity of a future Fire Lady. I had been pinned and prodded and fitted to within an inch of my life and although I had hated the whole tiresome process, I could not but feel a certain girlish delight over the beautiful gowns and robes thus made for me.

On this last night of freedom, though, I eschewed the fancily embroidered gowns and other finery to don my own clothing. Having the familiar loose garments of home around me soothed my troubled spirit more than I would have thought and I even felt a bit more cheerful as I strode toward the central fountain in the small courtyard closest to my rooms. I was able to relax enough, with the burbling water surrounding me, to meditate, and I let my worries go one by one as I felt the rising moon’s light bathe me in a comforting embrace. I felt as if Yue herself stood beside me, touching my shoulder lightly, and it was with surprise that I opened my eyes and found that it was actually Aang, his face lost in the shadows.

“Aang? What is it?” I asked quietly, worried by his silence and the dark shadows in his eyes. He touched my cheek, and smiled gently.

“You looked so peaceful there. I hated to disturb you,” he said.

“Are you all right?” I asked him, tentative. There was something in his voice, a sadness that made me ache for him, though I could not name why.

“I will be.” He smiled, then, and a bit of his old self, the boy I had known, danced in his eyes. “I wondered if you might not want to take one last fly on Appa with me tonight? For old times’ sake?”

I laughed, and jumping up, raced past him, all dignity abandoned. With a yell, he sprinted after, and grabbed my hand as we darted down the steps in search of the giant bison.


An unmistakable roar shook the night and while his guards gripped their knife-hilts---for that was the only weapon allowed within the Temple precincts---and exchanged nervous glances, the Fire Lord merely looked up, his eyes narrowed, as a white blur launched itself from another tower. As he had many times in the distant past, he watched as the giant, six-legged bison circled up and away from him, his face an expressionless mask.

“Ah, Zuko, there you are.” Iroh slipped outside on the balcony, his eyes thoughtfully following the shadowy behemoth until it disappeared among the clouds that always wreathed the Southern Air Temple, it was built so high.

“It’s a beautiful night,” Iroh said circumspectly. “The moon is full.”

Both men’s eyes lingered on the moon’s silver face. Even half-covered in wispy clouds, it’s light bathed the stones of the balcony in creamy brilliance, etching harsh shadows across the hard lines of the Fire Lord’s face. The scar that covered one eye and cheek stained a dark blot against his pale skin and the darker blackness of his hair.

“You rise with the moon…” Grimacing, Zuko looked down at his hands, which had clenched over the balcony’s railing until the knuckles were white.

“What was that?” Iroh raised an inquiring brow at the Lord’s husky whisper.

“Nothing, Uncle.” The Fire Lord abruptly turned away, striding back inside with a closed, hard look the general knew of old. Sighing, the old man did not follow, but turned his weary eyes back up to the moon, which glowed luminescent, as if it understood.

Perhaps it did.


Stripping the formal robe off of him, Zuko carelessly dropped it on the floor in his wake as he stalked through the second set of doors in his suite of rooms at the top of the western-most tower. Aang had given it to his party as a courtesy, and the creamy yellow walls bore stylized flames in an orangey-red abstract design. Zuko ignored the simple, yet elegant, surroundings as he lifted first one leg and then the other to pull off his boots. Dropping them where they fell, he hauled off the loose kimono and draped it over a chair back. Shirtless, he closed his eyes and breathed slowly. Finding his center, he walked with a panther’s grace toward the small row of candles that faced his mediation mat.

Eyes still closed, he sank down into a lotus position, hands clasped together palm up with only the tips of his thumbs touching. A slow breath of fire lit all four candles with little effort. Concentrating, he lost himself in the exercise, allowing his distracted mind to settle as he examined the troublesome thoughts that plagued him, searching for any inner meaning that might help to dismiss them.

Her face formed in the stillness of his mind, a face he remembered from so long ago. It wasn’t hard to trace the fine lines of her high cheeks or stubborn chin. Her eyes, blue, so blue…her lashes, long and thick, like sooty feathers…the fine, thin arches of her brows…the soft curve of her lips. She was so young, so innocent then.

Too innocent. Too trusting. Too hopeful.

He almost despised her for it, even as he envied her innocent belief in humanity’s basic goodness. Denial, was what it was. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen the darker side of men.

Or of him.

His gut twisted, and his lips thinned as his dark thoughts turned her eyes, those blue, blue eyes, into regret and sadness.

Betrayed…

The touch of the green light of the crystals in the buried old city beneath Ba Sing Se, where they had been imprisoned together, lit her dusky skin with a hallowed light, shining in the tears that did not fall from her eyes but lingered there, taunting him with his betrayal.

All for love and acceptance. All for honor and a father’s affection, never given.

Had the cost been worth it?

Not in the end, it hadn’t, for he had betrayed them, too, his father and his sister, and helped the Avatar. He knew it was right, it had been right, but it didn’t make betrayal any less bitter a draught for the end it had brought about.

“RAWH!” With an angry flare, the candles toppled as fire burst into wild life around him.

*Damn it!*

Had the cost been worth it?

No. It hadn’t. But it was what it was. He had needed love and acceptance then, needed it so much that he had even crawled for it. That was a weakness of need he had burned out of him long ago. He didn’t need that now. He didn’t need it from anyone…