Intertwined Legends (Zutara)

Chapter Eleven

In a matter of seconds, Katara was standing in front of the general and the half a dozen soldiers around him. The general pushed two of the grunts forward, lunging himself back in the process.

        "Do something!" he ordered them. Shaking as they did so, the two of them stepped forward. Below Katara, hidden from the village, Aang was crawling like a spider under the wooden boards, waiting for the waterbender's signal. Thank La that Katara's robe reached the floor because when she slipped her toes between two wooden boards, Aang understood; not a moment too soon the two soldiers' headgear was blown off their heads. That caused them to shriek (even the male of the two) and both of them backed away immediately, not picking up their fallen gear.

        Mist continued to swirl around Katara and the villagers. She stared at the general who held eye contact as he yelled, "Stand your ground!" to the remaining two soldiers.

        Katara walked forward, her face expressionless. She wasn't afraid of these people. Her left arm swung behind her, her right arm following as best as it could. She brought her arms around, causing he two boats nearest to them to shoot out of the water and stay airborne for several long seconds. With a swift move of her right arm, the water lunged both boats towards the underside of the nearby cliff, exploding in their midst. Raising my hand at the soldiers remaining, the four of them ran back to the boats.

        The general growled, upset at the cowards that were thought to be his soldiers. He turned to face Katara. "I'll take care of you myself!"

        The general placed his fists together and, directing outwards, sent a long flame in the shape of a scythe near her. She didn't move.

        Come on, Aang. There were no loose boards where she was currently standing, so all she could do was hope he knew what he was doing. As if her prayers were answered, she felt a gust of wind come from under her, sending her spiralling into the air, missing the attack by a mere inch. The wind caused the general to cover his face for protection, a fault on his part since he had let his guard down. Before Katara could do anything more a shot of wind split the wooden boardwalk straight down the middle, right where the general was standing. The blow sent him tumbling into the water. As Katara began to lower back to the boardwalk herself, she landed on her own two feet and willed the mist to surround her once more. She raised herself so that she stood on the surface of the water, staring down at the general from the factory and willing her voice to sound louder than it was.

        "Leave this village," she commanded, "and never come back." The general began to swim away, only to get picked up by one of the boats that had fled earlier. When she reached the boardwalk where all the chaos had pursued, it took her a moment to take in the sound around her. The village was cheering—for her, nonetheless! Off to the side was a small boat; Sokka was paddling while Toph sat behind with her arms crossed, clearly upset by the lach of earth around her.

        Kai ran up to Katara, his grin appearing wide enough to break his face in two. "I knew you'd come," he said with a grin. Shortly after, Shu walked up to Katara and thanked her, followed by a random voice from the crowd yelling, "Painted Lady, you're the best!"        

        "Me and my brothers really owe you a lot," Shu said, oblivious to the man to called out after his thanks. Katara couldn't help but smile just as Shu cocked his head to one side. "Wait a minute, I know you—you're not the Painted Lady, you're the colonial girl!"

        Instinctively, Katara put a hand up to touch her face. When she took it away it was smeared with the red paint. When she looked up again she saw Kai point an accusing finger at her. "You're the lady who gave me a fish!"