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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
- 310
- 311
- 312
Chapter 308

Eiji watched his wife walk away then turned to face the prince and Waterbender. They were smiling and arguing over which of them had won the spar. It reminded him of the way he and his wife used to be. He glanced over at the snow pile burying his soldiers and scientists.

It also contained her brother and Zuko's friends. During their spar he hadn't freed them. The Water Tribe boy and a Zhao twin left partially exposed managed to dig the other twin and Mu out. They were currently huddling together and by their glances he presumed they were avoiding the wrath of the Waterbender.

Eiji sighed as two more figures dug themselves out and asked, "Is that crazy bitch gone yet?"

"No she isn't," Katara retorted as she dumped a fresh pile of snow on them and tightened it around them.

Eiji nodded politely as the prince and Waterbender walked past him. He freed his soldiers then helped his young brother-in-law into the building. He left Mao and Pol in the snowball. His wife was right about one thing - he had five daughters and would not allow men who disrespected women so freely to be around them.

Katara bent all of the water from their clothing before they went inside and Zuko ran his hands over their clothing to warm them. They checked on Aang first. Chu-hua was guarding him; Seon lurked around the corner holding a bowl of hot soup with rice. Seon was very familiar with and frightened by Chu-hua. He and her second son were in the same class room at the Royal Academy during the admiral's last pregnancy. She, like many military leaders, accustomed to the active life she refused to sit at home and convalesce. She taught critical thinking and terrified the class of six and seven year olds.

Zuko took the bowl after they both thanked Seon. Seon remained hidden around the corner as the older couple delivered the food to the Avatar. Facing an all powerful being was still a bit nerve-wrecking even thought they'd been introduced earlier. It felt strange listening to the Avatar chatter about the snowball fight and how it had been ages since he'd had that much fun. Fun was something kids talked about; not something discussed by a threat to the world. Seon was confused to hear the sadness in the Avatar's voice when Zuko announced they were returning to their room. Chu-hua left a short time later and the Avatar was alone.

Seon peeped around the corner. He could see the Avatar sitting on the bed. He hadn't taken off his shoes before putting his feet on the bed, bringing his knees to his chest, and wrapping his arms around them as he huddled in the blankets that had been given to him. He saw the Avatar's shoulders shaking before he heard the sniffles, "I miss Katara and Sokka, and Toph and Appa and Bumi. I don't want to be alone. I don't want to be alone."

In that moment Seon realized why Zuko entrusted the Avatar's care to him. His family had only been living in the Northern Air Temple for a short time. The move was announced after the celebratory period of Quanli's and Mu's wedding. He'd hidden in one of the closets in what he thought was an unused guest room of his grandparents house as soon as he heard they would be moving. Zuko was the one to find him huddled in the dark crying over the prospect of leaving his friends, Aki, his grandparents, almost everyone, and everything that was important to him to go to some strange place so his mother could get better.

His cousin removed his swords, closed the door, and pretended as if he had never seen him. Later he and Zuko had a very strange conversation which still didn't make much sense when he remembered the words but it helped him to understand it didn't make him a bad son if he wanted to be at home with his friends and family even if going to the new place was supposed to help his mom. It just meant he was confused and wanted two different things that both couldn't happen but he hadn't been at home for so long it didn't matter if he left again so long as he fixed what broke because he could always come back...at least he could if everything worked out and he won. Otherwise it wouldn't matter because his father would kill him.

Seon shook his head to clear his mind; remembering that conversation was just as bad as being forced to listen to Grandma Bong Cha, Granny Tsubaki, Grandfather, and his parents discuss practical applications of advanced polymers. He waited until the Avatars sniffles had ceased to peek in on him.

"Katara?" Aang lifted his head hopefully when he heard footsteps approaching.

"Um, no, I'm Seon. Zuko's cousin," he replied.

"Oh, I'm Aang," the Avatar said trying to hide his disappointment.

"Nice to meet you," Seon replied more out of habit than sentiment. He was forcing himself to be brave.

"Nice to meet you too," Aang replied.

Not sure of what else to say Seon opened his mouth and proved he was indeed Zuko's cousin, "So, um, did you come here a lot?"

Aang lowered his feet to the floor and leaned forward to get a better look at the boy.

"I mean, um, before where there were still Airbenders," Seon clarified clumsily; he scratched his head nervously and his cheeks turned red with embarrassment.

"I did, I came here a lot," Aang replied honestly as he looked at the mark Monk Gyatso had made over century ago. He pointed to it, "My guardian Monk Gyatso made that mark."

"He's the one that raised me," Aang smiled as he remembered Monk Gyatso and recalled what his guardian told him, "It was the first time they were allowed to participate in the monthly gatherings; he and one of his friends both wanted to spend time with the same woman. They made that mark while fighting over which one would get to approach her."

Aang leaned forward as he asked excitedly "Do you know who his friend was?"

Seon shook his head.

"It was Avatar Roku. He was old enough to participate when he first came but he had to prove himself as an Airbender first. They both had to sit out that for two months because of their immaturity. When they finally did get a chance to go Sister Iio had chosen another. It took four years before Monk Gyatso was able to successfully woo her. She ended up approaching him because he was sad his best friend, Avatar Roku, had moved to the Northern Water Tribe to learn Waterbending," Aang explained fondly.

He lifted his head to look at the mark, "Each time I came Monk Gyatso brought me to see this mark. He told me it reminded him that life isn't a race to be won by rushing; it's a marathon to be won by hard work and persistence."

"What prize do you get if you win?" Seon asked quietly.

"Prize?"Aang tilted his head and thought for a moment, "I guess the prize is everyone gets to be happy and no one else has to lose their loved ones and family."

"How is that a prize?" Seon asked innocently. He'd never personally experienced death. He didn't really count the sibling his father's secretary lost.

Displaying Avatar wisdom Aang replied, "Katara and Sokka lost their mom. Appa is all I have left of my people. If I were to get them back I'd feel like won everything. I am sure Sokka and Katara would feel the same way."

Seon heard footsteps and complaining as the guards, this time from the Ursa approached. He hastily said his goodbyes then disappeared before they could see them. He wasn't expecting someone to be in the passageway he was using.

"Hey Shorty, where've you been?"

After a meal of soup and rice Zuko and Katara decided to explore. Katara wanted to see if there was anything left to salvage in the library. She gasped when they opened the doors, "Zuko, the books!"

He spun around, "What wrong with them Katara?

"There are so many. There weren't this many shelves the last time we were here!" she exclaimed. "I wonder where they came from?"

"They were here,” a masculine voice clarified. "They just weren't in this location. They were hidden. That silly man who ran this place thought I would destroy them so he hid them."

War Minister Qin extended his arms and turned making a large sweeping motion, "As if I would destroy all this knowledge or allow anyone to do so. I would kill them with my bare hands if they dared to do so much as ruin one single page."

"It's not quite what that old runner has but I'm rather proud of my collection," Qin said fondly.

"Don't you mean my collection, Father?" Eiji corrected. "I should have known you were down here."

Qin's shoulders sagged, "I suppose it is yours since you're living here."

Eiji smiled at his Father's concession before telling him, "A hawk has arrived. The message is in my office."

Katara began wandering around searching for books when Qin called out, "They're grouped by element, nation, island then city."

Katara stopped when she came to section of books and scrolls in Water Tribe. She saw a familiar title and reached out to touch it. She opened it and tears came to her eyes. She whispered, "This is my book. I thought we lost it during the move but it was stolen."

She took a step back to get a better look at the section, "These are ours. Zuko these books are ours. They took them from us during the raid."

She clutched the Water Tribe translation of the "Boyhood Adventures of Kuzon the Magnificent" to her chest, "This is mine. Mom used to read it to me before I went to bed at night. This smudge is from when I tried to get her to read it to me when she was cooking. There was grease on her finger when she steered me to a chair and told me to sit down."

"This is my book, Zuko. These are our books. These are all of our books," Katara sobbed thinking of how many cried over missing treasures that had been given to them by lost loved ones. It was assumed they had been destroyed and hurt to know they had been stolen.

Zuko realized what she meant when she explained how the book was smudged. It was her book. It had been stolen the day they took her mother from her. He wrapped his arms around her making sure his sleeve was in position to absorb all of her tears so her precious book would not receive further damage. "It's coming with us. Any book that you see is yours is coming with us."

He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "I promise, Katara, I will get these back to your people."

He steered her to the Fire Nation section and reached overhead for the same book on one of the higher shelves before guiding her to the closest couch. The Fire Nation library system was arranged by age level; children's books were on the lower shelves while adult books were on the upper. Katara was still holding her book to her chest as he settled her in his lap. He twisted the hem of his shirt and used it to wipe her face. He kissed her forehead and began reading, "The best friends of my childhood were an Airbender named Aang and an Earthbender named Bumi."

Zuko read until his voice began to crack. Katara twisted her wrist and drew water from the cold damp air. She pressed it against his lips and placed a wet hand against his neck to soothe his tired throat.

Katara's eyes were still red and tears threatened to spill as she kissed him on the lips, "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me. We never should have taken these books from your people Katara. We never should have been there. Katara, I swear to you upon my honor to make this right. I'll find a way to bring Kuzon's world into existence again."

The eyes of two twelve year old boys who'd been hiding in the last place anyone would look for them widened as they listened to an altered version of a shared favorite and their royal relative's words. They waited until the prince and Waterbender had left to speak, "That couldn't have been the real story."

"Bumi. Aang said he missed someone named Bumi earlier," Seon whispered.

"But it couldn't have been. Aang was a monkey. Bumi was a dog," Aki protested.

"The Avatar's name is Aang. He's 112. Bumi is that crazy old king that kicked Mai's parents out of Omashu. He's supposed to be a hundred and something too. You saw where Zuko pulled that book from. It was in the section they said contained ugly truths were weren't ready for yet," Seon argued.

Aki shuddered, the last time he'd pulled a book from that section he'd gotten his first sex lecture from Eun Lee. It was a marriage handbook for ladies. The books location gave more credence to what he'd just heard than anything, "So how do we prove it?"

Seon stared at him, "We ask the Avatar. We'll go tonight when everyone is sleeping."

That night Seon, Aki, and Byeol crept down down the hall towards one of the lesser known corridors leading to the prison. She, like her birthday mates, paused when they heard a noise outside Zuko and Katara's door. She covered her mouth in horror when she realized it was the sound of a mattress creaking. The boys with her still had looks of confusion. She uncovered her mouth and pushed them forward the moment she saw comprehension dawning on their features.

She took her hand off the boys back when they reached end of the hall. She whispered to her cohorts, "You heard nothing. Nothing. Do you understand me? Nothing."

Seon nodded. He had long ago acknowledged his mischievous pursuits fared better when his twin was included and it had been the sole reason they'd shared their plan with her.

Akihiro knew Byeol was a blossoming criminal mastermind but this overshadowed everything, "But By, you heard them. They were-"

He paused his face turning bright red as he whispered, "You know what they were doing! They're not married and he's engaged to Mai but he was...He was with her!"

"I know!" Byeol hissed. "That's why we can't say anything. Mom's pissed just because she's here. She had a fit yesterday when she heard him tell her he loves her and Dad carried her back to their room crying. What do you think she'll do if she finds out they were doing that in our house? She'd go ballistic. We can't let her find out!"

Aki's expression was a mixture of fear, confusion and hope, "But they were...I'm going to be engaged soon. Do you think-"

Seon interrupted him, "If you ask Zuko how it feels or how to do it don't you think he'd realize we snuck out of our rooms and ask where we were going?"

"He'd probably get mad too. Do you remember when Maka asked Yuri?" Byeol cautioned. Their normally easy going cousin had become hostile when another cousin asked about her betrothal ceremony and what she had to do to complete it."

"Yeah, Cousin Zuko's nice and all but he's a lot bigger and meaner than Yuri," Seon added.

"Yeah but he said to look out for the Avatar," Aki argued.

"Look out for the Avatar, not eavesdrop on him and his concubine in the library or in their bedroom. What if he thinks we're going to his cell in the middle of the night to do some secret interrogation?" Seon whispered.

"We are going to the Avatar's cell to do a secret interrogation. I know Zuko won't mind that since we're taking cookies but Mom would. So shut up and get going," Byeol reminded them.

The terrible trio as their elders called them made it to the Avatar's cell without further delay. Seon whispered, "Where are the guards?"

"The ones from here are recuperating or with the Earthbenders. The ones from the Ursa were sent down the mountain. They were harassing some of the staff from the Earth Kingdom, Chu-hua is certain he won't leave without his friends so the Water Tribe dude is with Uncle Mu and the twins," Byeol explained with a slight blush. She'd never seen anyone from the Water Tribe and if they all looked like Sokka she hoped he wouldn't be her last.

"So he's by himself?" Aki asked nervously.

"I told you Aang was nice all that scary stuff is just __-smoke," Seon whispered before calling the Avatar's name, "Aang. Aang. Aang."

"He's not waking up," Aki whispered.

"Of course he isn't. They loaded him with bending suppressants and sleepy stuff so he wouldn't wake up before he got a guard. This should wake him," Byeol explained as she slid her arm through the bars and created a small flame.

It slowly grew larger until it got close enough to warm the Avatar. She increased the size and intensity again making him kick off his blankets but he still didn't wake up when they called his name.

Seon looked around; he knew there weren't any other people in that part of the building but he had to be certain. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a set of keys.

Byeol and Aki's eyes widened, "Those are Granddad's."

He nodded, "I grabbed them when he and Dad were talking. He seemed really anxious about something so I can drop them outside his door and he'll think he lost them."

"Man you two are Chief Hakoda!" Aki whispered as his cousin opened the door.

Seon smiled, he wasn't expecting to hear anything like that come from Aki's lips. Chief Hakoda was something their parents would kill them for saying let alone using it to describe someone bold, and sneaky enough to plan the unexpected let alone get away with it. He led the trio into the cage then all three of them began calling the Avatar's name.

The spirit cradling Aang's head in her lap stared at the children. They were and were not Fire Nation. She smiled softly at two of their familiar features. Even if she had not heard them arguing over the best way to wake him up - including the suggestion to wave a cookie under his nose - she would have helped. She'd been here in this place long enough to know these children and become familiar with them. Like the guards who sat with her little one earlier these meant no harm and actually pitied him. She brushed her hands over the stubble sprouting on his head and whispered his name.

Aang shifted into awareness slowly. His eyes opened when he heard a voice, male Fire Nation, softly calling out to him. He rolled over and asked the question before the fog cleared from his mind, "Zuko, are you coming to help me escape again?"

"What?" the others began to say repeatedly.

Aang opened his eyes to see three faces close to his own age whispering frantically asking him to repeat what he just said. He sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes, "Seon? What are you doing here?"

The boy quickly introduced his twin and his cousin then asked, "Aang we heard something today and we want to know if its true? Did you have friends named Bumi and Kuzon?"

"Yeah is what we heard Zuko reading to the Waterbender true?" Aki echoed.

Aang yawned loudly and Byeol could tell he was about to go to sleep again. "Stop you two. Can't you tell he's not in any shape to ask questions? We're going to have to give him more than cookies if we want any answers from him."

"How are we going do that? We didn't bring any more food?"

Byeol rolled her eyes at her cousin and took the bag from her older brother that she'd told him to bring. "Here Aang change into these. I'm going to close my eyes and turn around." She reached into her own bag and dug out the items she'd brought. She turned around when the Avatar said he had dressed showing him a large doll then asked, "Can I borrow your shirt?"

He asked, "What's going on here?"

Aang's mind was slowly starting to process he was awake and not dreaming when she put his shirt on the doll then placed it in his bed beneath the covers. She used their bags, minus the cookies and his pants to make it look as though he was still facing the wall while curled beneath the covers.

Byeol smiled brightly and took Aang's hand, "We're busting you out, for a little while anyways."

Seon locked the door then played lookout as Byeol led the Avatar to the general kitchens where missing food would be less likely to go noticed. She made sandwiches and riceballs. Seon made sure she didn't use any meat for some of them while he grabbed a few small cakes to go with the cookies. Aki made tea. Five minutes later their meal was prepared and they'd snuck into one of the large rubbish bins in the dining hall to eat it.

Byeol was right, food did help to absorb some of the drugs rendering the Avatar capable of yawn filled conversation. The first thing he said was, "We used to sneak food and hide in these too."

"Every month there was a gathering and it rotated from temple to temple. Foods of all kinds were prepared: custards, tarts, dumplings, noodles, cookies, cakes, stuffed eggs, and pickles; things we didn't normally eat. We'd always eat them in here in case there were crumbs left behind we wouldn't attract insects or rodents or be as likely to get caught."

Aang's face light up as he recalled a fond memory that he had forgotten about, "There was a monk at our temple, Monk Tashi. He was a mean old man with a very stern expression. He was always going on about training and discipline and complaining that we younger monks didn't have any. We called him the 'Dour Monk' even the elders like Monk Gyatso did it. One night my friend Tam and I had snuck into the kitchens and taken one of every treat. We hid in this bin and started eating them. All of a sudden, the door opened. It was Monk Tashi. We knew he was going to get on to us but all he did was tell us to scoot over and share. He'd managed to snag better things than we did."

They finished eating and sharing stories times they were almost caught sneaking treats before asking Aang about The Boyhood Adventures of Kuzon the Magnificent. Their jaws dropped when Aang replied, "I've never heard of it. Is it some type of song?"

They immediately ushered him to the library. They found several Fire Nation copies in the upper and lower shelves, as well as the upper shelves Earth Kingdom and Common Language sections. Seon and Aki explained that Katara had found the Water Tribe version so it had to have been translated into all of the languages.

Aang turned to his new found friends, "I don't see any in Air Nomad."

"Of course you don't it was written after we won the war against the Airbenders. There wasn't a reason to translate it since there wasn't anybody around who could read it" Aki blurted without thinking.

In that moment Seon understood Aang's earlier words about loss. He walked over to comfort the Avatar while his twin smacked their cousin, "Watch what you say dumbass!"

"No it's okay," Aang said quietly. "It's something I have to get used to."

Seon placed his hand on his shoulder and asked, "Do you want to try and read one of the common language books?"

Aang sat on the sofa and touched the page after reading the first sentence, The best friends of my childhood were an Airbender named Aang and an Earthbender named Bumi. He lifted his head, "Is this book really written by Kuzon? My Kuzon?"

"We don't know, that's what we wanted to ask," Seon replied.

The truth became evident as Aang continued to read more. He began to make comments "Oh, I'd forgotten about that" or "Hey that was Bumi, not me" or "that liar, Kuzon did that himself" or "I can't believe he told the world we did that!" The Avatar dropped the book and curled around his stomach laughing, "The dragon! Spirits! The Dragon!"

The trio of Fire Nation children picked up his book and read that passage. It was one of the few that was relatively untouched as it described Kuzon being chased by a mother dragon who thought he'd stolen her egg. "No way that happened!?

"Did that really happen?"

"How do you get away from a dragon?"

Unlike the book Aang began with what happened a few days earlier when Kuzon boasted in front of the real thief that he could get a dragon's egg to the punishment his mother gave them. They asked about scenes later in the book and Aang gave them the full details even thought he hadn't read that far.

They didn't realize how much time had passed until the sleepy Firebenders started to get the energy signaling the upcoming rise of the sun. They circled back through the kitchen for a quick snack then returned Aang to his cell using the quickest route. He stopped outside the room when he heard Katara's voice. He frowned when he realized what she was saying - "Zuko." She repeated the Fire Nation prince's name twice more, each time more breathlessly than the time before.

"Aang we have to go," Byeol instructed, tugging his hand along with Aki and her brothers.

The foursome stopped and turned when they heard Zuko's voice. It was gravellier than usual and he said something odd.

"Agni Katara you taste good."

Aki eyes widened; Eun Lee's lectures had including disgusting things such as mouths going places they were not meant to go, like on the body parts normally hidden by underwear. Despite his hand covering his mouth they still heard him utter, "No way. He didn't."

"Didn't what?" Aang asked innocently.

Byeol smacked Aki but Seon dodged and asked, "How long have those two been together?"

"They're not together. Zuko told everyone she was his concubine so no one would know he was being nice to her. I saw some really scary things the first time I went to jail and there's no privacy. Katara gets really scary if someone sees her changing," Aang bit his lip nervously and turned towards the door when they heard another sound - a low masculine grunt.

Aang bit his lip remembering the kisses he thought he saw under Ba Sin Se and in New Ursa then asked quietly, "Why do you think they're together?"

The others stared at each other in disbelief but said nothing. They heard another noise, a feminine whine, coming from the room and started moving before Aang could ask any more questions. The Avatar was old, older than they could ever imagine getting but after spending tonight with him they realized that in many ways they were older. As the eldest children in her household Eun Lee had taught the three of them there were serious penalties for spoiling the innocence of other children - a phrase which included Aunt Ty Lee and the Solstice Rabbaroo which she still believed in.

It was Byeol who opened the door to the cell. Seon's jaw dropped and he pointed at her. She waved him away and picked up her bag, "Did you really think I'd bring all this stuff and make plans to swap out the doll and not have a way to get in?"

"But whose key is that?" Seon asked. Their parents weren't as easy to fool as their granddad.

Byeol smirked, "Mine. I asked the guards for a master key when we moved in and got it after the twins locked themselves in a closet. They didn't want to deal with one of Mom's tirades if they took too long to free her children."

"Wow, you should talk to Sokka. He's really good at making plans to," Aang suggested.

"Sokka?"

"Katara's brother. He's the one that ...got us from one end of the world to another. I mean Appa did all the flying but Sokka made the routes." Aang said remembering no one was to know Sokka planned the invasion.

Byeol blushed again as the thought of actually talking to the Water Tribe boy. She turned around and handed her brother the clothing she removed from the doll. After Aang dressed she locked the cell.

"We'll try to come back," they promised. This time they covered their ears as they sped past Zuko's door on the way to their rooms.
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Borealis: A Zutara Story