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The Price of Peace	By : Looneyluna Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > Het - Male/Female > Katara/Zuko Views: 19136 -:- 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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Chapter Twenty-three

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It had been two days since his arrival in Gaoling. To say his reception had been strained would be an understatement. He hadn’t seen Katara. Aang had greeted him warmly and he took comfort in the knowledge that if he failed to protect Katara, Aang surely would. Sokka had greeted him in the same belligerent way he always had, with a sneer and a curt nod.

“No offense, Z,” Toph had blurted out in her usual tactless manner, “but now that you’re here, Azula is sure to come by and pay us a visit. Just about everybody she hates is here, at my house. You’re just the icing on the cake.”

He had always been able to rely on the young Earthbender to be short and to the point. She wasn’t happy he was here. The same could obviously be said of his missing wife. He could live with that. It was just like old times.

After a week of non-stop travel, exhaustion had overtaken him and he had slept for two days. He knew he had slept for two days thanks to Aang, who had seen fit to finally wake him for a meal and a much needed bath.

The Avatar stood sentry at the window, leaning against the edge and staring at the courtyard below. Zuko gulped the warm tea in an effort to quench his thirst. His uncle would be aghast at his manners, but he honestly didn’t care right now. He needed to find Katara and talk to her.

It was not a task that he was looking forward to. It was one he actually dreaded.

“I sent a messenger hawk to your uncle to let him know that you arrived safely,” Aang stated. “The letters he sent before you got here are on the table. To say the least, Iroh had grown worried that you had been attacked and was about to set out to find you. I assured him that you were fine and that with a few days rest, you would be even better.”

A companionable silence fell between them as Zuko ate the rice and stewed beef that had been set before him.

“I don’t think Azula is out to get revenge,” Aang said softly, moving from the window to the table. “I think she has something much bigger planned.”

Swallowing, Zuko nodded in agreement. He wiped his mouth and pushed his plate away. “You realize that she’s the rightful heir to the throne.” It was more statement than question.

The Avatar nodded, not even wanting to contemplate the strife Azula would cause should she claim her rightful place.

Letting his food settle, he asked the question he had been anxious to ask ever since his arrival. “How is Katara?”

Aang met his gaze with unflinching honesty. “She’s angry. She tried to run away, but Toph locked her in her room.

Zuko winced and shook his head. “I’m sure that endeared me to my wife even more.”

“And that’s something else I don’t understand.” Aang scratched his head. “Are you or aren’t you married? She swears that you and she are not married.”

“We are,” he replied softly.

“Just tell me to butt out if I’m getting too personal, but it doesn’t sound like you’re too thrilled about it either.” Unerringly astute, Aang got to the heart of the matter quickly with a precision that was somewhat scary.

Zuko stood and started to dress. “What’s done cannot be undone. I regret many things, but I do not regret taking Katara as my wife. I only regret the way in which things were brought about.

“Katara was coerced into marrying me. At first, she agreed to marry me, but then she decided against it.” He pulled his pants on and shoved his feet into his boots. “I said things…insulted her honor. I doubt she will ever forgive me.”

Aang scratched his chin. “Have you asked her to forgive you?”

Zuko almost fell over as he laced his boots. The question was so simplistic in his complicated life that for a moment he thought Aang was speaking some foreign language.

He had been so focused on reaching Katara before Azula, he hadn’t thought of what he would do once he had gotten here.

He was determined and self-assured – traits he prided himself on. He rarely questioned his actions. It was a bad habit, as his uncle had often reminded him, that he did not stop to think things through.

Katara had been tricked into marrying him -- by his uncle, and to some degree, her father. He was not guiltless either.

She had intended to return home and he should have let her. Instead, he had insisted that she was in danger. Instead, he had forced her to marry him, and then he had abandoned her.

How would he go about asking for forgiveness?

An idea tickled his thoughts. As far as epiphanies went, this one had a definitive bitter taste to it. “Where is Sokka? I need to speak to him,” Zuko muttered softly.

--

Katara glared at the door, halfway tempted to turn the next person to come into her room into an ice statue, especially if that person happened to be her husband. Toph was running a close second.

It had been two days since Zuko had arrived. She had run back to the villa and had started packing her things.

In hindsight, she was glad the wily Earthbender/ex-friend had locked her in her room. She had wanted to run away. She had wanted to go home and put this nightmare behind her.

But that was not possible.

After a restless night, she had fallen asleep. Her dreams, the realm her people believed harbored the spirits of their dead, had taunted her. It was not her mother who had greeted her, but another – one with a warmth so similar that she could not bring herself to look away.

Dressed in long, flowing crimson robes, the woman wore her long ebony hair down. Her smile was like the fine silk that hugged her lush curves, bright and flowing, and ever changing with her moods. She went about serving tea if she were born to do so, undoubtedly trained in the ancient art. Her movements were refined and practiced as she set the teapot aside and motioned for Katara to join her.

It was then that she realized she was dreaming of Zuko’s mother. She felt it odd that she did not seek comfort from her own mother.

There was just something about the woman’s mannerisms that reminded Katara of Zuko. She had exactly met his father and it was then that she realized how much of a gentling influence Ursa must have been on Zuko.

“I hear my son has made a mess of things,” she stated, the timbre of her voice gentle and melodious. “He means well, but doesn’t think things through.”

Katara had seen this place before. The Fire Nation architecture was unmistakable. She had fallen in love with this private garden when she had stumbled across it while exploring the palace grounds. The wind blew around them, carrying cherry blossoms onto the table and into their hair.

Smiling, Zuko’s mother inhaled. His mother stared at her, sipping the warm tea as if waiting for a response. She set the cup down. “Do you love him?”

The heat from the tea warmed the cup. Wrapping her hands around the delicate porcelain, Katara nodded.

“Do you trust him?” Ursa questioned.

Again, Katara nodded.

“But you’re angry with him,” Ursa surmised.

No matter how hard she tried, she could not put a name to her anger. There were so many reasons why she should despise Zuko, but she couldn’t remember any of them.

“My son has many flaws,” his mother sighed. “He’s stubborn, overprotective…and overbearing.”

Katara hid her smile behind her cup. His mother would get no argument from her.

As if angry with the topic of conversation, the wind whipped the Fire Lady’s robes around her ankles. Ursa sobered, a look of overwhelming sadness cracking the façade of her calm demeanor. “Azula…is her father’s daughter. She has always been jealous of Zuko.”

Looking over her shoulder, Ursa righted herself and leaned close to Katara. “Don’t run from him. Help him, Katara. When the time comes, he will need you.” The wind howled angrily, as if upset by Ursa’s admission.

Katara had woken up, leaving her even more confused than she had been. Had it been a dream or a trip to the Spirit World? She certainly didn’t need her subconscious playing tricks on her now and she certainly didn’t need any sage advice from the Spirit World. That is what had gotten her into this trouble to begin with.

Her heart ached every time she thought of him. He had made it clear on so many occasions that he did not want her…that he did not love her, and now he was here to take her back. He was here to protect her from his sister.

She still had a difficult time grasping the concept that Azula was still alive, but after speaking to Aang, the reality had set in.

Azula held the power to unravel everything everyone had worked for these last few years. In talking to Aang, Katara had realized that she would have to return to the Fire Nation eventually and confront her husband. She hadn’t realized he would come for her.

She sighed, combing her hair and preparing for the day. There was no use sitting around and mopping about her misfortunes. So she had a husband who didn’t love her. Surely she wasn’t the first woman to find herself in such a predicament.

There was a soft knock on her door and she tensed. It opened and she relaxed when Meng poked her head in and announced herself. She looked nervous.

“What’s wrong?” Katara stood, preparing herself for bad news.

Meng held out a letter. “Th-this is from your husband.”

Snatching the letter from the messenger, Katara growled. “Of all the nerve! He could have delivered it himself.”

Meng obviously understood the reason behind Katara’s volatile mood and started to back away.

Katara muttered a quick apology to the Earth Kingdom girl as she opened the letter.

“Please tell me he didn’t come all this way just to give me a letter,” she mumbled under hear breath as she started to read it.

Dearest Katara,
Would you please come to dinner this evening? We have much to discuss.
Zuko

Katara flipped the letter over to see if there was anything else. Disappointment tainted her anger.

“I’m surprised he asked me to dinner instead of just ordering me,” she seethed. Not wanting to frighten Meng any more than she already had, she took a deep breath and smiled.

“Please tell the Fire Lord that I will attend dinner,” Katara bit off softly, disguising the bitterness in her voice.

Satisfied with the response, Meng left.

Katara tossed the letter into the fire and started to prepare. Her husband was going to regret “summoning” her to dinner.

--

TBC
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The Price of Peace