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Borealis: A Zutara Story	By : jaded_priceless Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > AU/AR - Alternate Universe/Alternate Reality Views: 34026 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, Avatar: The Legend of Korra, any historical figures or events, or easily recognizable persons, places or things. I make no profit from this work of fanfiction

Chapter List
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- 167
Chapter 163
Katara’s nails dug into her cheek as she covered her mouth with her hands unable to believe what she had woken up in time to witness. Admiral Chu-hua had just murdered another Fire Nation officer without any hesitation. She was smiling and showing no signs of remorse. As the prison carriage rolled by she wrapped her arm around her brother’s waist and held him closer. Admiral Chu-hua had warned her. Her deeds and actions would affect Sokka. She had thought it was an empty threat but now seeing how easily the woman had just killed a Fire Nation man and the way she was teasing Azula she wasn’t so sure. Even the princess had turned a little bit green and seemed shaken.
Katara’s did not have to look far to find Zuko. He was riding beside Mai and Ty Lee. He’d had taken the reigns to Mai’s basilisk lizard and secured them to Korhi’s saddle horn. Mai had leapt from her lizard onto the other girl’s. Ty Lee had hidden her face against the other girls back but it did nothing to conceal her sobs.
Zuko’s face remained impassive. His back remained straight as a ramrod. When he did look in her direction his expression was one she had first seen at home after the raid and often during her travels: the emotional detachment of those who had just witnessed something terrible but weren’t sure how to react to it; the only thing they could do was to keep moving.
Zuko did not reclaim her from the prison cart until after they’d set up camp. He carried her to his room in the stone structure the Dai Li created and pressed two pills and his canteen in her hand, “Take this.”
Katara took the pills but Zuko held her against his side and made sure she only drank the water. He apologized before taking the canteen so she couldn’t heal herself then gently laid her on their double stacked sleeping mats.

It was dark when Katara woke again. Zuko had removed her clothes and she smelt an oddly familiar substance. His arm was around her waist and he was pressed against her backside; the sheets were tucked tightly around them. He was gently rubbing her limbs. The warmth of his hands was strangely soothing as he worked the liniment into her skin. Katara’s insides twisted as she realized show much care Zuko was placing into easing the pain he had caused her. She knocked his hands away and crawled out of the bed when she deciphered his sleepy mumbles as “Why did you make me do this to you, Katara?”
Her legs were trembling but she forced herself to stand and walk to her pack and then to the makeshift bathroom. Her pride refused give into her battered body’s desire to accept Zuko’s offer to carry her. She kneeled slowly and picked out night clothing then made the agonizing rise back to her feet. Once inside the smaller room she leaned against the wall and slid down into squatting position. There was a small pitcher of water in the restroom. It was barely enough to clean herself and rinse her monthly wrappings.
She cried as the scrubbed the cloths, separating the liquids until she was once more left with clear water and laundered them again.
Zuko lay in bed pretending he didn’t hear her sobs as he shed his own tears. If only he’d been stronger the day of the eclipse. If only he hadn’t paused before confronting his father. If only he’d done a better job calling them over. If only he’d made a different decision under Ba Sing Se. If only he wasn’t such a coward none of this would have ever happened.
He waited until Katara grew quiet and his own tears had dried to check up on her. She had fallen asleep clutching her wraps. Zuko lifted her and carried her back to the bedroll. He laid her down gently and massaged her again before tucking the sheets around them.

They were awakened by the sound of trumpets before sunrise and by dawn they were already on the move. Against her will Zuko had carried her and their bedding back to the carriage with Sokka. She was grateful for the cushioning as each bump over the rough terrain jarred her injuries. Zuko’s blows had primarily been on her left side but he had grabbed her right arm as she tried run from him. Amayu had reset her shoulder the previous day but it still hurt to lie on. Every way she tried to turn made it hurt in a different area.
She had managed to find a position that was less painful than the others and was drifting off to sleep when the carriage came to a halt. Chu-hua accompanied Zuko to the cage. The admiral harshly demanded, “Get up Waterbender. We are on the outskirts of the desert. Find an underground water source that Princess Azula’s Earthbenders can tap into.”
Katara moved slowly over the arid plain until she felt a slight pull coming from beneath her. “Here.”
They left an hour later. A lake large enough to support a small town stood where there was once only dry land but Katara was taken back to the rolling cage before a drop of it could be any use to her. They stopped three more times before setting up camp for the night. At each stop a new body of water was created. During the trip Katara had heard one of the Fire Navy men say how much easier things would have been for General Iroh’s army if there had been a reliable overland supply route when he was laying siege to Ba Sing Se. They lucky bastards serving under General Zhen Fu had it made.
One of the Dai Li agents who had been riding with them overheard the comment as well. It was brief but Katara and Sokka both saw him tense up and scowl before once again clearing his features. Admiral Chu-hua had summoned Zuko so she was left behind as the Dai Li built the room around them. The man gestured for her to sleep closest to a specific wall and Katara could see a slight demarcation line in the ground. He’d softened it for her. Her eyes widened and she looked at him.
“It’s the least a coward can do. My father, two brothers, and several cousins fought against General Iroh. My father was almost seventy and died to protect his homeland. I never thought I’d be glad he died during the siege. I’d rather he be dead than to know I’m bowing to General Iroh’s niece after helping her to conquer the city he gave his life to defend,” He shook his head, “Here I am a grown man reminded of this by a little girl willing to risk her life to warn her people. I should be ashamed of myself for my actions.”
“But I’m not,” he said with a shrug reminiscent of his new sovereign. “I can do so much more for my children than he was ever able to do for me; especially now that I am on Princess Azula’s lucrative payroll. You are a lucky little fool. I do this more for my father’s sake than for yours. He gave his life alerting his comrades that General Iroh had breached the outer wall. Those were his last words. His heart gave out after running so far to relay the message.”
“I know our paths will most likely never cross in the spirit world but if by some strange twist of fate as part of his reward he gets to take a final look at his children I want there to be a least one action to make him proud. As long as we build these shelters you will a soft place to lay your head in the room’s southwest corner.”
Katara nodded and watched him leave. Most people from the Fire Nation preferred to sleep in the easternmost part of the room so they’d catch the first rays of the sun. She didn’t. Zuko would be none the wiser if she asked him to move the bedding.
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Borealis: A Zutara Story