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The Price of Peace	By : Looneyluna Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > Het - Male/Female > Katara/Zuko Views: 19166 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Interlude Nineteen –

So they can boil water at the drop of a snowflake. So what!

The women around the two Fire Nation guards cheered. Katara grimaced as she watched her two “protectors,” Frostbite and Whale-bait, as they used their Firebending to heat the water.

She had to treat Frostbite for frostbite after the idiot had stayed out “on guard” all night while Whale-bait recovered from his injuries. Whale-bait still wouldn’t go near any of the fishing holes. She had told him to stay away from the icy field of holes, but he had wanted to do his part and catch some fish. Of course, he hadn’t realized that they fish differently than the people in his village. Anyway, Whale-bait had had a lucky escape that day.

Katara had discovered early on that her two guards were part of an “elite” core of Fire Nation soldiers. They were both Firebenders, which baffled her, seeing as Frostbite got frostbite in the first place. Both were married, which made her angrier with Zuko. How could he consign two married men to the drudgery of “protecting” her so far from their own homes?

Her silent musings went unanswered as she considered the depths of Zuko’s actions. He had gotten what he wanted from her and he had left. Her father tried to talk to her about him, but she had walked away. She didn’t want to talk about Zuko. She didn’t want to talk about the last couple of months. She wanted to send Frostbite and Whale-bait home and forget about her journey to the Fire Nation. She wanted to forget the dreams and her brush with the Spirit World – the brush that had convinced her of her “higher purpose.”

Mostly, she wanted to forget Zuko. She wanted to forget his dark golden eyes…the way they stared into hers as he possessed her body with his. She shivered in remembrance. Her dreams would not let her forget. He had abandoned her. She is reminded of the embarrassment daily with the stares of pity from the other women in the village. Most of the men in the village didn’t even look at her anymore.

Playing in the distance, the frivolity of the nearby children turned to shrieks of excitement.

A bird flew overhead, circling a barren perch of wood Frostbite had place next to their igloo. It landed with an indignant squawk, panting heavily after its long journey and looking for someone to attend to its immediate needs.

Katara eyed the messenger bird warily, her heart thundering wildly in her ears. The South Pole was her home, but there were times like this she felt the isolation of their location. She wondered how old the letter was. Surely it carried news – news of Zuko. She didn’t want to care. She didn’t want to feel anything for him, but the lure was too great.

Reaching for the bird’s pouch, Katara jumped back when the animal pecked her hand and flapped its wings in irritation.

“Excuse me, my lady,” Frostbite, the bird’s handler, mumbled as he walked past her.

“Will you please stop calling me that?” asked Katara impatiently. “It’s not my title and I am not married to Fire Lord Zuko.”

Removing the scroll from the bird’s pouch, Frostbite offered the bird a treat and read who the message was assigned to. “It’s a message for your father.”

--

Katara paced around the fire in the center of the igloo. Her father was reading the letter carefully. She could tell by the expression on his face that it was not good news.

With a definitive slump of his shoulders, Hakoda looked up at his daughter and sighed. “You are to return to the Fire Nation.”

She shook her head. She probably had snow in her ears because she knew the words her father just spoke were impossible. “What?”

Hakoda held up the scroll and handed it to her.

Looking at the paper as though it might harm her, Katara reluctantly took it from him and started reading, skipping the elaborate greeting Zuko’s uncle had taken such time to scrawl.

The ruse has been discovered and I fear for the safety of your beloved daughter. The nations are united as one and the raids have stopped… for now. One who was thought lost, has returned.

Azula of the Fire Nation, my niece, is alive and well…

Katara gasped, running her fingers over the polished bone of her betrothal necklace.

Fire Lord Zuko is recovering from injuries he sustained…

She crumpled the paper in her hand, feeling the lance of betrayal slice into her soul.

“I can’t believe this,” she hissed, her voice thick with tears. “What is this? You actually think I am going to go back there? Why? To heal Zuko?”

Somehow she resisted the urge to toss the letter into the fire. Instead, she tossed it to her father. Stamping down the fear she felt for Zuko’s welfare, she crossed her arms over her chest and sat across the fire from Hakoda. She felt drained and lost.

“They have competent physicians. I’m sure they will attend to his injury,” she stated softly, her voice trembling to maintain control.

“You did not read the entire letter,” replied Hakoda, trying to hand the letter back to her.

“I am not one of his subjects!” she railed, swatting the offensive summons away. She wondered if Zuko even knew that Iroh had sent the letter. Humiliation burned in her cheeks as she remembered his response upon her arrival. He had been adamant that he would marry no one – especially her.

“You should read the letter again,” her father coaxed calmly, refusing to feed into her anger.

She pushed it away again, standing on shaky legs. “No! It won’t make any difference. Zuko made his choice very clear.”

Hakoda opened the letter and bowed his head to read. The light was poor and he struggled to make out words. “General…Qiang is in…custody. In the ensuing…chaos of apprehending him and his accomplice, Azula escaped. Her whereabouts are…unknown.”

She was still trying to grasp the concept of Azula being alive. Her empty stomach churned and lurched as if reminding her of her last run-in with the Fire Nation princess.

Hakoda continued reading. “My nephew has…entrusted me to…write this letter. He fears for…the safety of his…beloved wife and prays for…her safe return. Zuko…fears, as do we all, that…Azula will seek vengeance upon…anyone that he…loves. The –”

“There!” Katara interrupted her father. “That solves that problem. I am not Zuko’s beloved wife. He doesn’t love me, so I have nothing to worry about!”

“The Avatar has…returned…to protect…the Bei Fong family.” Hakoda shifted, unperturbed by his daughter’s outburst. “General Qiang…remains in our…custody.

“Azula is…relentless. She will stop…at nothing before she gets…what she wants. She has killed…so many already. My niece will destroy…anything and anyone who gets…in her way. Even if she…has to go to the end of the earth, she…will find Katara and…kill her.”

Hearing the words, Katara shook her head in disbelief. This was just another ruse. It had to be. Her thoughts lingered on Sokka. Where was he? Was he safe? Did he know about Azula? Her anger dissolved in a cloud of worry and fear.

“Where’s Sokka?” she whispered.

Even in the dim lighting, Hakoda could see the pallor in his daughter’s cheeks. “In the last letter I got from Sokka, he requested that I send him some whale bone so that he could carve something.”

“Did he say where he was?” she asked.

Thinking back to the letter he received several weeks ago, Hakoda recalled no such information. “He said he was with someone named Toph.”

Her wariness had given way to fear. The news that Azula was alive filled her with dread. If anyone had the power to unravel the peaceful existence between the nations it was her. Azula could very well challenge Zuko for the throne. She shuddered and huddled into her parka.

“You’re right, father,” Katara murmured. “I do need to leave, but I won’t go to the Fire Nation capital. I’ll go to the Gaoling province.”

Hakoda stood, walking around the fire, sitting next to Katara, and pulling her onto his lap. He wrapped his blanket around her and sighed heavily. “I did not say you needed to leave. I said you are to return to the Fire Nation. You have duties there, things –”

“There is nothing there for me,” she replied angrily, stiffening in his arms. “Zuko –”

“Will say and do anything to protect you,” her father pointed out softly, placing a kiss upon her forehead. “And for that, I will always be grateful. Please reconsider your choice.”

Katara sighed heavily, resting her head against her father’s shoulder. She was tired of being manipulated and could feel the gentle persuasion of her father’s tone. Closing her eyes, she vowed to be resolute and go to the Gaoling province and find Aang, but knew she would probably journey to the Fire Nation capital would be inevitable.

--

TBC

A/N – Even though I would like to pound Moncapitan into the ground at times for him incessant drive for detail, I must thank him. Without him, this story would be over! At this point I should give him co-author credit because he keeps poking at me and showing me directions I never would have thought of. I love you, man!
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The Price of Peace