A small fishing canoe slipped through the Fire Nation ships in the early hours of the morning. The guards on duty ordered the canoe to stop and made a half-hearted search before letting its occupants, three young women shrouded in hooded parkas, go free. They didn't even bother to make the women remove their hoods. It was too early in the morning to care who they were.
Katara didn't feel like talking as she, Mai, and Ty Lee paddled a canoe towards the shore. The good thing about Mai: she knew when to keep her mouth shut. Even Ty Lee, who had a habit of chattering like a sparrowkeet simply for the sake of something to do, quickly gave up her attempts to start a conversation.
Katara stared at the shore in front of her. She was finally returning home after what seemed like a lifetime, but her homecoming was bittersweet. When she'd left, her life had been hard, but it was simple. She'd been sure of the world and her place in it, certain of who she was. But now, everything had changed. She was no longer the person she'd been when she left.
The canoe hit the shore with a bump. "Land ho!" Ty Lee said.
The three girls climbed out of the canoe. Katara turned to look at the Fire Nation ship off in the distance. She let her eyes linger on it for a moment before turning away. Any longer and her strength might falter.
This goodbye wasn't permanent, Katara told herself. Zuko would deal with Zhao and then come back for her. In the meantime, she would spend time with her family, including her new sister-in-law, Princess Yue, who she was anxious to meet.
The chattering of Mai's teeth echoed across the tundra. Mai pulled her parka closer to her body. "Agni in heaven," she said.
"Shhh, Mai," Ty Lee said. "The entire South Pole will hear you shivering."
"Whatever. The sooner we get to Katara's grandmother's place, the sooner I can warm myself by the fire."
As they continued toward the village, Katara fumbled in her pocket for the knife that Zuko had given her when they parted. Zuko had asked Katara for her mother's necklace to wear during the Agni Kai.
"It's customary to wear your lady's favor," he said.
Katara then asked him for something in return as a pledge that he would give it back. Zuko produced a knife with a heavy handle inlaid with enamel and mother-of-pearl and inscribed with the words, never give up without a fight and placed it in Katara's hand. "It was a gift my uncle sent me from Ba Sing Se."
"It's much too pretty to be a weapon," Katara said.
"Take care of it, Peasant." He closed her fingers around the knife's handle.
That handle now weighed down the pocket of Katara's parka like an anchor.
The village was only a few yards away from the shore, but to Mai and Ty Lee, it might as well have been miles. While Katara was used to trudging through the snow, they were not. Katara had to stop every few minutes to let them catch up with her. Mai grumbled, and Ty Le whined.
"Almost there, my delicate fire lilies," Katara called to them.
Rows of igloos gleamed in the rising sun. Wispy plumes of smoke wafted out from their ceiling vents. "Which one is your grandmother's?" Ty Lee asked.
At first glance, the igloos all look pretty much identical- it took Katara a moment to recognize which one belonged to her family. "The one in the center," she said.
Ty Lee blinked, and Mai furrowed her brow. So why did the chief's family's dwelling look the same as every other house? They probably hadn't expected something on par with the Fire Lord's palace, but at least something more than the modest cabin in front of them. Poor Katara, having to grow up in such a hovel. It's a miracle she turned out as well as she did.
A familiar wolf-tail swayed as its owner gathered logs from the woodpile.
"Sokka!" Katara ran towards her brother.
Sokka swept her up in his arms. He was so warm and smelt of wood smoke and salty sea breezes. "Is that really you?" he said.
"The one and only." Back on her feet, Katara gestured to her companions. "You remember Mai and Ty Lee?"
Ty Lee blushed. "Hi, Chief Sokka."
Sokka brushed off the Fire Nation girls with a quick nod. He hugged Katara again. "What are you doing here?"
"I'll explain later," Katara said. A near frozen Mai was shaking like a wet polar bear-dog. "My friends need a warm fire and fast."
"By all means, come inside." Sokka ducked his head to get through the low passageway the lead into the igloo.
Katara, Mai, and Ty Lee followed him. They removed their boots and outer clothing in a small mudroom. Then, of course, Sokka was the first to pass through the woven hanging that separated the mudroom from the central part of the igloo. "Gran-Gran," he said. "You'll never guess who's here."
Gran-Gran nearly dropped the bows she was holding when Katara walked through the door. Then, after putting the bowls down, she rushed over to hug Katara. "My little seal pup," she said. Gran-Gran smelt like the herbs she must have used to make whatever was bubbling in a pot on the fire and perfuming the entire central room with its delectable aroma.
Like well-bred Fire Nation girls, Mai and Ty Lee made low bows to their hosts as a sign of respect. However, Sokka and Gran-Gran shared a look: such a display was a tad excessive, wasn't it?
"You must be starving," Gran-Gran said. "I've put a pot of stew on the fire for breakfast."
"Thank you," Mai and Ty Lee chimed in unison.
"Yue... please bring in three more bowls."
A tall, slim girl stepped out from one of the storage corners, carrying the bowls that Gran-Gran asked for.
Katara heard that Princess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe was beautiful, but those reports hadn't prepared her for what she saw. With her fragile, ethereal looks, Princess Yue was more moon spirit than an ordinary woman.
Most Water Tribe women were hardy and sturdy, but Yue was willowy and delicate. Katara wouldn't have taken her for someone of Water Tribe ancestry if it weren't for her coppery complexion and blue eyes. Yue's most striking feature was her cascades of silvery-white hair. With her elaborate coiffure, which looked too heavy for her swan-like neck, she resembled a snowdrop, one of the few flowers that managed to grow in the South Pole during the warmer months.
Ty Lee tapped Katara on the shoulder. "I didn't know you had a sister."
"I don't have a sister," Katara replied. "That's Princess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe, Sokka's fiancee."
On Ty Lee's face, you could see all her hopes of snagging Sokka for herself die.
Yue came over to Katara and kissed her cheek. "My dear sister," she said. "I was beginning to think I'd never meet you."
Katara had been thinking the same thing. "I didn't expect to come home and find I now have a sister." She embraced Yue. "I thought I'd gotten rid of a brother."
Sokka rolled his eyes. "Did you escape, Katara, or did Prince Hot-Head let you go because he was sick of you?"
Katara bit her lip. Her brother had no idea, did he?
"Sokka, let your sister catch her breath first before the two of you start fighting." Gran-Gran gestured for everyone to sit down by the fire. "Their squabbles were the one thing I didn't miss while Katara was away."
Mai sat down close to the fire that Katara was concerned that a spark might fall on Mai's clothes and set her ablaze. Nonetheless, Mai still shivered.
Gran-Gran handed Mai a bowl of stew. "Have some of this, My Dear," she said. "It'll warm you right up."
Mai sniffed the stew. "What's in this?"
"Seal meat."
Mai shrugged her shoulders as if to say that it could be dragon piss for all she cared as long as it was hot.
As she sipped her stew, Katara looked around at the familiar interior of the igloo: the wooden beams and paneling, the snug cubbies for sleeping with their piles of fur pelts, and the smells of smoke and moss. This place had been her home all her life, and she knew nothing else before her months onboard the Fire Nation ship. Now, it looks pretty cramped and primitive.
Sokka finished his stew with a loud and uncouth slurp. "Now are you ready to explain?"
Katara took a deep breath then told the whole story, starting with the rescue of the Avatar, then Zuko's quarrel with Zhao, and ending with Zuko sending her away to keep Zhao from taking her.
"Zuko behaved like a spoiled child," Sokka said. "Throwing away a favorite toy to keep someone else from using it."
Katara lowered her eyes. "That's unfair, Sokka." Sokka hadn't been there and had no right to act like he understood Zuko's motivations.
"Don't tell me he did it because he cares about you. If you believe that, then you're slightly less foolish than Zuko is if he think's he's going to take you back."
Yue nuzzled Sokka like a turtledove, making Sokka blush. "Your sister's back home safe and sound. That's all that matters. Please don't start trouble."
Katara smiled. Perhaps she had an ally in her new sister-in-law?
"I'm serious, Yue. If Zuko tries to take her again, I'll kill him. I'll run a sword right through his chest."
Mai glared at Sokka. If she had her knives, she definitely would have drawn one on him. "You'd shed the blood of your own brother-in-law?"
In the Fire Nation, shedding the blood of a family member, even one only related to you by marriage, was a shocking impiety, but this didn't stop people from getting rid of inconvenient family members by other methods: poison, strangling, suffocation, and the ever-popular Agni Kai. On the other hand, the Water Tribe had no such taboo. If Sokka had a mind to shed Zuko's blood, nothing would stop him.
"Like I told Zuko at the summit, My Lady," Sokka said. "Fucking my sister doesn't make him my brother."
"Sokka, that's enough." Gran-Gran smacked Sokka on the head.
Katara put down her bowl and stood up. "Mai, Ty Lee, I'll walk you back to the shore."
The two girls caught the hint that it was time for them to leave and rose to follow her.
The walk to the shore would give Sokka a chance to cool off and Katara time to sort out her thoughts and feelings. Had Sokka been right? Was she just a toy to Zuko, and his pride wouldn't allow anyone else to play with her? If Zuko did come back for her, perhaps Sokka would make good on his threats and run a sword through Zuko's chest.
What if none of Katara's worries about the future even mattered because Zuko was already dead.
Katara let out a deep breath. She waved to Mai and Ty Lee, who were paddling their canoe back towards the ship. It was well past sunrise, and Zuko and Zhao would probably be fighting their Agni-Kai somewhere on that ship.
Zuko put down his calligraphy brush after writing a decree that his throne would pass to his uncle, Prince Iroh, should he, Fire Lord Zuko, first of his name, perish without an heir: a perfectly sensible plan for the succession. But, no matter what solutions Zuko came up with, they wouldn't be good enough. He wanted to smash his head against the table.
Uncle was well-prepared and more than capable of being Fire Lord, having spent his youth and most of his adulthood being groomed to succeed his father, Azulon. For decades, he had been at the center of Fire Nation political and military matters and was well-liked by the council and the court. Uncle never wanted to be Fire Lord, but the nation would flourish under a wise, just, and fair man like him.
It was one of the great ironies of power that those most worthy of yielding it rarely desire to.
Zuko's plan had only one flaw. Uncle was an old man and wouldn't be around forever, so his reign would only be a placeholder.
And then what...?
Azula would obviously be Uncle's successor. She was the wild tile in this game. In his decree, Zuko allotted Azula enough power to hopefully keep her, if not happy, then at least content. But could she be trusted to be patient and wait her turn to be Fire Lord? Only Agni would know?
A spiteful impulse inspired Zuko to write down that any husband Azula might take wouldn't have a claim to the throne. He heard rumors that if Zhao won the Agni- Kai, Zhao would force Azula to marry him and rule the Fire Nation through her. Good luck to him. Even as a toddler, no one could make Azula do something she didn't want to.
There was nothing like the prospect of death to make a man wonder how he will be remembered. Would his name mean anything to people living years, decades, or even centuries after his death? Unfortunately, Zuko's name would probably be just a footnote in history. A Fire Lord whose reign was only remarkable for its brevity and the pathetic way it ended. If he were lucky, maybe a few weepy ballads would be written about him being cut down in the flower of his youth and potential, but Fortune rarely favored him. Father always said: Azula was born lucky; you were lucky to be born.
Zuko ran his thumb across the carved pendant on Katara's necklace. It was easy to remember that he had it tied to his upper arm. The heavy, stone pendant bumped against his bicep whenever he moved.
Would he ever return it to Katara? Would he get a chance to place it around her exquisite neck where it belonged and bring her back with him to the Fire Nation as his bride?
Only Agni would know.
Uncle knocked on the door. "Lord Zuko," he said. "It's time."
The Agni-Kai field had been set up on the ship's main deck. Both Zuko and Zhao's crews had gathered to watch. Usually, nothing would have been able to drag these pampered slackers out of bed this early on such a cold morning. However, they were probably bored being stuck here at the South Pole, and the Agni Kai was the most exciting thing to happen since they arrived. They wouldn't miss it for the world.
Zuko and Zhao took their places in the center of the field and threw off their out robes. Then, at the ringing of a gong, each man adopted a fighting stance and stared the other down. The reassuring weight of Katara's pendant thumped against Zuko's forearm.
Zhao sneered. "Is that the Water Savages' favor?" he said. "How sweet. Speaking of the Water Savage, where is she?"
Zuko smirked. Where you can't get her.
"Wherever she is, I'd bet she's missing her bauble. I look forward to returning it ot her."
Drawing fire, Zuko made the first advance. "Come and get it, if you can." He threw a fireball at Zhao with a piercing war cry.
If he was going to die, he would at least go down with a fight.
Zhao dodged the fireball by moving aside with a swift leap. Zuko scowled and tried another fireball, but Zhao, damn him, blocked it with his arms.
Zhao laughed. "Is that all you've got, boy?" he said.
Anger burned white-hot through Zuko's body. He sent a flaming kick in Zhao's direction, but Zhao redirected it back at him. Zhao took whatever Zuko threw at him without so much as getting his clothes singed.
"Basics, Zuko," Uncle shouted from the sidelines. "Break his root."
Zhao didn't give Zuko much time to think about Uncle's words. He switched from trying to frustrate and tire out Zuko by blocking Zuko's attacks to making an attack of his own. His flames sent Zuko flying back against the deck.
Zuko landed at the feet of someone dressed in long red and black robes. Mai glowered down at him. She met his gaze and raised an eyebrow as if to say, what are you doing on the ground? Get up!"
Before Zuko could get back on his feet, Zhao pounced on him. Mai stepped aside as cooly as if she were avoiding a rain puddle and not two brawling fire benders.
Raising a burning hand, Zhao moved in to strike Zuko's face. Zuko froze up. Father, please, no!... you need to be taught a lesson, and suffering will be your teacher.
"What are you doing, Zuzu?" Azula shouted. "Get up!"
Zhao leered at Azula. "Your sister looks lovely today," he said to Zuko. In her layers of dark robes and her furious expression, Azula looked like a merciless goddess of vengeance. "I look forward to seeing more of her when we're done here. But don't worry, I'll still have plenty of time for the little water savage. Soon they'll both learn what a real man is."
Zuko laughed. Thanks to Mai and Ty Lee, Katara was well out of Zhao's reach, and Azula was more likely to roast Zhao alive on a spit than passively accept whatever he had in mind for her.
And Zuko sure as Hell wasn't going to let Zhao get anywhere near them.
Zuko lept to his feet, offsetting Zhao's balance. A few flame kicks brought the Commander tumbling to his knees.
Zhao smirked at Zuko. "What are you waiting for?" he said. Zuko hovered over him, about to strike the final blow. "Do it."
Zuko was tempted; Agni knew he was tempted but, still, he hesitated. On the one hand, Zhao wouldn't give the matter a second thought if he were in Zuko's position, so why shouldn't Zuko? If Zuko didn't get rid of Zhao, Zhao would continue threatening Zuko and everything he cared about. But on the other hand, if you kill a monster, does that make you the real monster?
Zuko didn't want to find out. Too many men of flame and vengeance (like his father and Zhao) had made his life miserable. He would rather be dead than be like them.
Shooting his flame at the ground, Zuko walked away from the duel.
"Chain him and bring him to the brig," he said to a pair of guards. "Once we get back to the Fire Nation, he'll spend the rest of his miserable life on the Boiling Rock."
One of the guards put a pair of chi-blocking handcuffs on Zhao. The other pushed him onto his feet. "Get a move on," he said.
The former Commander made a sorry sight as he was dragged off the deck. He tried to fight off the guards, but the chi-blocking handcuffs left him as weak as a mouse-kitten.
Uncle clapped Zuko on the back. "You did well, Lord Zuko," he said.
Zuko sighed and slumped his shoulders, trying to rid himself of the stress weighing him down the past couple of days. He'd dealt with Zhao, but something told him that he couldn't breathe easy just yet.