Chapter 1: Prolouge
Chapter Text
100 AG
August
So far his coronation and its celebrations, if it could even be called that, had been completely exhausting. He had spent the last week sorting through long piles of paperwork and documents that needed to be arranged as well as filled out for him to be able to rule legally, not to mention the handwritten letters he painstakingly wrote inviting certain leaders of nations to his coronation. He felt if he even made a singular mistake under the watchful eye of his ministers he would be under imense scrutiny. Currently, the fire nation was in complete disarray and didn’t quite have a pristine reputation and even though he had called off the one-hundred-year war officially, he was sure it hadn't removed the copious amounts of doubt in people’s minds, natrually the eyes of the entire world were on him. He had thousands of duties to fulfill, promises to nations to restore peace and pay back reparations but he was only one man: one boy, he wasn’t even eighteen yet, he was still only a child. A child forced to wear long suffocating vermillion robes and forced to shoulder the burden of his familie's sins.
The place’s large halls felt completely barren when he roamed them late at night after he finished his work for the day, each looked the same with infuriating burgundy rugs that streamed down the length of the corridors and large gold frames that hung on the walls detailing the faces of the previous Firelords and Ladies to have ever reigned. The corridor closest to the family wing of the palace where his quarters lay, detailed the faces of the most recent fire lords: Ozai, Azulon, and Sozin which filled him with immense disdain when he stared at their foul faces with his drooping eyes late into the night. These men had not only sent the world into chaos and destroyed the lives of many people and affecting the many generations to come, but they had also been utterly despicable to their family members, Himself included. Abused and broken down for years, he was made to feel useless “Azula was born lucky, Zuko was lucky to be born” his own father had said that about him as a young child. He was raised with towering expectations and no instruction on how to reach them, tought to give and never receive, to scheme and plot the downfall of others, to be a pawn in his father’s conquest for power. He ransacked his room for any large cloths or covers to drape over their insufferable faces, he would make sure to burn their portraits once his coronation was through: their faces stood for nothing but a reminder of the gallons of innocent blood that were spilt in the last 100 years.
-
People had started arriving in the capital last night for the ceremony the following day and the palace had been lavishly decorated and furnished for the occasion.
Across the crowded room of the Summer evening, all he saw was her in her blue satin gown with soft brown curls loosely hanging over her shoulders; his gaze was cemented upon her and the sly ministers he was meant to be conversing with had yet to notice this fact. At his own party, he only wished for one moment of respire. Thankfully after some time he was able to weasel his way out of the conversation by introducing some nobility to one of his ministers which gave him a chance to slip free from the dreadfully boring conversation and maneuverer over to his friends across the room who were standing outside the door of the palace’s newly expanded garden. He was finally able to join his friends, he watched their faces light up as they acknowledged his presence. Katara’s eyes stared at him with wonder, she opened her mouth as if she was about to speak but before she could she was interrupted by Sokka who had his arm around Suki’s shoulder “So now that you’re the Firelord are we meant to bow at your presence?” he teased while he retracted his arm from Suki’s shoulder and did an exaggerated bow towards Zuko. Toph snickered “No way you’ll catch me doing that!” she exclaimed, Katara giggled softly at this and Zuko watched how she politely covered her mouth while doing so, unsure whether she was using proper etiquette at such a formal event. “Maybe calm down a bit Toph, to these aristocrats and nobles we already look foreign enough; no need to draw too much attention to ourselves,” Suki spoke. “Not at all, I hope you may be able to feel at home in the palace and enjoy yourselves, especially tonight seeing as it’s a party” Zuko grimaced “Why don’t we go over to the family wing in a bit and just relax after all the commotion dies down?” He suggested.
-
Suki and Sokka lay together on top of one of the three couches facing towards the fireplace in the center of Zuko’s room, with Aang sat cross-legged in front of their sofa on the luxurious mat facing the sofa Toph lay, sprawled out atop, Katara sat beneath her on the floor her legs extended and tucked neatly beneath the low coffee table that stood in the center of the box of sofas and housed the countless snacks and drinks they had snuck from the kitchen towards the end of the party. The door to Zuko’s Chambers opened and the five of them turned directly towards it, Zuko emerged from behind it and then took off his weighty formal attire and hung it up on the clothing rack next to his door leaving him in a simple red tunic, and black shorts. He took his place on the only available sofa. Whilst the days were for many unbearably warm, the evenings provided comfort as its cool and thin breeze drifted through open windows.
Once everyone was settled chatter began to flourish and packs for fire flakes and fire gummies began to be torn open and mercilessly devoured, “So how did you manage to escape, Zuko?” Katara inquired as she opened the caps of some soda bottles and bent them into six different cups she had already formed ice inside of. “I convinced uncle to watch the party and told my ministers I had ‘paperwork’ to attend to” he chuckled slightly. Katara pushed the glasses to the edges of the table closest to where the other two sofas were and in front of Aang. “Have you been able to rest much? You looked quite tired earlier.” She asked pitifully, this was echoed with “How much sleep are you getting” and “You need to remember to take care of yourself”. Zuko interjected “I have… or at least I’ve been trying to but I can’t seem to fall asleep sometimes and when I do I...” he trailed off at the end, they all knew what he meant, they all had nightmares. Katara swallowed softly, the smell of burning flesh seamingly materializing to her. She responded trying to hide the slight tremor in her voice “Hey... they’re not real and we’re all still here.” She smiled softly as she wallowed internally. She knew she was one of the recurring figures in his nocturnal visions; he had said so when she had woken him up harshly as he tossed and thrashed violently in his sleep with his face contorting distress in the week that followed his Agni kai with Azula. Guilt pooled in her stomach while she watched him sleep after each taxing healing session.
Toph broke the tense atmosphere by clearing her voice “If you ever need anyone to talk to remember we’re here and more than happy to listen but I think what we all need today is to celebrate that we are still alive and are together ” She tried to say cheerfully as she munched loudly on some fire flakes however upon looking into her light grey eyes the group noticed tears began to well at the edges. At this, Sokka began to snuggle closer to Suki and she lightly kissed his cheek with Aang leaning his back closer to their sofa, Zuko moved entirely from his seat to sit next to Toph in front of Katara and hug her from the side, leaving the furthest couch uninhabited. “What are you guys going to do now?” Sokka asked, “I’ll probably go back to Wolf Cove and help rebuild, suppose you’ll be doing 'Avatar stuff' right Aang?” Earning a small nod from him. “I think I’ll go back to the Kyoshi warriors for a while, or at least try and split my time between there and the South Pole so we can regroup and hopefully train some new recruits” She smiled as she rested her head onto Sokka’s shoulder “Whelp you all know where I’ll be.” Zuko grimaced “working hard to rehabilitate a neglected nation!” He threw his hands up in the air and waved them sarcastically. “I have plans for what I want to do in the future but honestly none for right now” Toph stated plainly “You could always work as my security detail for a bit?” “Eh... I guess that would be nice” she responded. " Also Katara if you don’t have anything to do either, you could become one of my Ambassadors," Zuko added, Suddenly Katara realized she had no clear plans for what she wanted to do now that the world coming to an end was not a looming threat. Aang looked at her intently and edged forward waiting with baited breath to hear her response; He had made her an offer to travel with him as he restored relations between nations and helped those in need, continuing to restore balance to the world. But to her, this had sounded more like a proposition with romantic implications after their conversation regarding the Ember island players, she knew that deep down he was still too young, and for the last year she had never really considered him as a romantic partner so when he had sprung his feelings unto her she was unsure on how to respond without hurting him, for this reason, she was hesitant to accept, she wasn't sure if Aang was someone she wanted to see romantically. “I’ll probably just go back to Wolf Cove for a bit too or something…” She sighed sheepishly. Aang seemed somewhat disappointed by her response and slumped backward onto the sofa. In all honesty, Zuko was too; not in the sense that he was dejected because he couldn’t have Katara all to himself (Similarly to Aang, in his opinion) but in that of he was worried for her. Ever since he had first met her he had thought she was always sure of herself, she carried herself with purpose and to see her look so… lost? Felt unnatural to him. “That’s great!” Sokka exclaimed, “I’ve got a bunch of projects to build and i really want to improve things around there and I will most definitely need some water-bending skills if you catch my drift!” He erupted into laughter the rest joining in at his stupid sense of humor “Do you guys get it?! I-It’s be..cau..se sh..e’s a wat..er ben..der!” he wheezed out. Despite her slight giggles, Katara wasn’t feeling very amused. Sure the joke was a nice distraction, but it sure didn’t last very long.
-
Everyone had probably been asleep for a while by now but Katara couldn’t sleep; she had too much on her mind. It also didn’t help she felt as though the moon was calling to her, drawing her closer. She was currently stood on the balcony of Zuko’s grand room where she let herself bathe in the soft glow of the moonlight and listen to the gentle breeze of the night. Her mind wandered and explored the different lives she envisioned for herself with these propositions, each time she did so the alternatives seemed bleaker and bleaker.
Chapter Text
103 AG
April
It had been 3 years since the war ended. Three years she recounted in her head trying to figure out how she had ended up like this: miserable. For a few months she had stayed at the South Pole to help rebuild and improve the town; this had become her sole focus, she worked around the clock until she felt the village, which was ever expanding, didn’t need her constant attention. At some point she and Aang began to correspond via letters where he shared his plans to rebuild the air nomad civilization and culture. He had found descendants of air nomads hiding under the disguise of Earth kingdom citizens, who now that the war was over and they would no longer be persecuted, wanted to reconnect with their roots and culture.
She didn't know when, her perception of time was skewed. Mid-winter? Early spring? It all felt the same. She and Aang had officially begun dating yet she hadn't begun to experience the happiness and comfort she had always invisioned that came with a relationship. She wasn't even sure she had felt the initial spark like she had done with her previous crushes. Even during the war she had begun to feel something for Aang: anxiousness, and excitement fluttering in her stomach. But a crush is childish and nothing like a real relationship, right? This was surely what mature love was like.
6 months later it was all still the routine, she just now she permanently resided in the southern air temple to help restore it. This just worsened the situation, she was even closer to him in proximity but it fealt like their relationship was even more distant and strained. Katara felt utterly useless, she had no purpose of her own at the temple other than to be the Avatar's girlfriend, the only time she really practiced her bending was when watering the flowers. She didn't know many of the acolytes there and it seemed as though she would always be the last one to hear about any progress or ideas for the temple.
Everyone was busy but her.
The stream of letters and messages she usually received had run dry and with that, her little semblance of normality had slipped away. Months passed by quickly yet each felt just as painful and long.
-
It was a sunny morning in spring when the flowers were in bloom the following year, that she had received a letter adressed from the 'Imperial royal palace of the Fire Nation'. Clutching the beige scroll Katara felt more excitment than she had in the past year. She ran to her room, closed her door, sat at her table, and read the letter.
-
Dear Katara,
How are you doing these days? Sorry I haven't written to you much, i've been pretty busy with things over here in the Fire Nation but I was hoping to come visit you soon. i know you and Aang are busy working at the Air Temple (How is that going by the way?) maybe the 6 of us could meet up in the south pole for a little reunion? , ALSO I know your birthday is soon and I was wondering what you wanted because I've kind of run out of ideas. P.S. - When we meet up I need to give you the backlog of gifts I've been saving for the last three years.
Yours Sincerly- Zuko
-
The paper began to feel damp under her padaded fingertips. When had tears started to fall? Why had such a simple letter caused such a swell of emotions within her? She knew she was miserable in the Air Temple but didn't want to admit it to herself, she was too stubborn.
-
Katara woke up in a cold sweat after she had gone to bed at sundown, when she looked outside her window it was completely dark outside the only light in the vast bleak sky was the full moon. She often found that when the full moon was out she was at her most vulnerable, she felt it increased her bending but her head foggier and her thoughts unclear. She stood up from her little cot; She and Aang had probably not shared a room or tent since the end of the war, they had separate rooms in the temple and rarely communicated most days. They were together in nothing but name. She sat at her desk reaching for a peice of paper and her quill, gracefully dipping it in ink as her hand was flew over the page. She tried to convey all the thoughts and emotions she had bottled up for the past three years and a half, it was messy and crude. She knew she was a coward for writing a long letter addressed to all her loved ones explaining how she would be away. Aang wouldn't appreciate a breakup letter, her family and friends would probably be worried sick for her and for a moment her hand hovered over the page coming to a stop; for Agini's sake Zuko would probably send the entire fire nation on a search party mission for her, she felt her lungs constrict at this thought from the sheer guilt but she wanted to do this. Something was telling her to run, run as far as she could, let herself be engulfed by the ocean and its sweet waves, let the wind run through her voluminous hair, let herself bathe in the moons soft glow. Thoughts racketed through her head, and in the end there was only one conclusion she felt truly content with.
She wouldn't be alone with Tui and La.
Katara folded her letter and left it neatly on her mahogany desk. She rummaged through her drawers trying to scrounge up all her belongings. When she placed her belongings on her bed she realised she had nothing of value other than her quill, ink, and a couple of sets of clothes. Those wouldn't be necessary. She didn’t know how long she would be gone for, or where she would go.
Katara turned the doorknob of her small room and ran through the narrow hallways of the bulding, entering the wide garden full of freshly planted saplings and vibrant flowers. When she reached the entrance of the temple. She looked up at the large ivory pillars that held up the lavish structure and walked past them, passing underneath it to exist her confines. Now finally able to see the full moon in all its excellence she felt renewed, her shoulders relaxed, an immense weight lifting off them and floating away like an insignificant feather. Suddenly something surged within her, she felt her pupils dilate, her veins engorge and her heart beat rapidly widly tumping against her cheast. She peered down at the long winding staircase, what once felt impossibly unattainable felt as natural as the flow of a lazy stream. The next thing she knew, she was sinking.
-
It was about one in the morning when a female acolyte named Linuh reported she couldn't sleep and decided to take a stroll through the peaceful gardens of the air temple, when out of nowhere a giant wave of icy blue water sprayed her and the entire temple. Sat in the rear of the garden on a small wooden bench, she didn't have a clear view of what was going on so she approached the outer wall of the enclosure and climbed up its stone fence. When she took in the sight before her she nearly stumbled back, she was truly bewildered by what she saw in front of her. The temple was very high up in the sky, so much so that during the day you could see clouds surrounding it, but somehow a large wave of water, one bigger than the entire Air temple island was being held up and back from washing over the entire surrounding area and beyond. It crashed, thundering against its restraints with a loud claps, splashing its surroundings. Her only thought was that this had to be bending, despite this she couldn't believe anyone would be capable of such a feat, apart from the the avatar and possibly only in the avatar state. Her face dropped when she saw who stood in front of the large wave. A small feminine figure with arms held out infront of them pushing forwards as their long brown hair swished in the wind: Master Katara.
Linuh called out to her trying to ask if she was okay, but when Katara turned to look at her she saw nothing in her eyes other than a bright blue glow, She gasped with a sharp intake of breath. Katara snapped her head back to the giant wave and then raised her hands before spinning them in a circular motion. The wave swirled up like a tornado soaring higher. Linuh blinked for a second and in an instant Katara had jumped off the ledge of the island into the eye of the storm. As quickly as the water had appeared high up into the sky in its abundance it had disappeared back down to the sea where it belonged.
The next morning the area surrounding the Air Temple woke up to heavy rain and a dark grey skies, highly unusual for the area at this time of the year. Local fishermen reported that during an early morning outing, they had spotted a large glowing orb traveling under the surface of the water with a swarm of fish in its pursuit. For the next three days under the full moon, no one in the area had been able to catch any fish until one evening a fisherman pulled up his net in a huff to call it a day and return to shore, only to find one small fish. Despite the orb having disappeared the fish were still acted sporadically, the fish the man had caught spasmed violently in the net. Its normally beady, eyes were replaced with an etherial bright blue; rather unusual for this specimen...
Notes:
HEYYYY
ik its been a while but im trying to get more regular updates hope u like this chapter :)
Chapter Text
103 AG
April
Zuko couldn’t believe it. he wasn’t sure why, but he was sure he had been the last person to know. Before he could even open the letter addressed to him by Aang, one of his maids rushed the daily tabloids to his quarters early one morning. He usually never concerned himself with them, after all, they were generally just full of petty political drama, 'Has this one had an affair?' 'Has that one had a baby?' These were just things, he as the ruler of the nation shouldn’t concern himself about; passing decrees and pledging to build and repair things were lot higher up on his to-do list. But when Zuko read the headline plastered at the top of the paper, his heart dropped from the confines of its cage, its pace quickening as dread began to pool in his stomach
-
THE PRINCESS OF THE SOUTHERN WATER TRIBE, MASTER KATARA GOES MISSING
go to page two to get more juicy details!
-
Zukos eyes widened in shock, he rapidly flicked over to the second page.
-
'Late last week a female acolyte reported seeing Master Katara, a close friend of Firelord Zuko and now the Avatar's former girlfriend, for the last time before her disappearance. A letter was found in her room however the contents have been kept private with Avatar Aang refusing to discuss the matter further with the press. Is the young, Avatar sour he was dumped by his girlfriend, adding insult to injury, via letter before disappearing? Has Master Katara found a hunky northerner to replace the Avatar? Is this all just a stunt for attention?'
-
Zuko was furious. Obviously, Katara clearly has a lot going on and instead of worrying if she is okay, or in danger. The tabloids publish wild theories about whether this is a frivolous escapade or not. 'How dare they attempt to defame her!' He thought as his eyebrows knit together and his frown deepened.
Zuko canceled all of his meetings for that day and told his council he would be absent for 'urgent personal reasons'.
Aang's letter described the rest of the details the acolyte was able to recount and how their group planned to travel to the fire nation to discuss her disappearance.
He already had an idea of what to do: send a ridiculously large search party after her, he needed to know if she was okay and he would find out by any means possible, he couldn't imagine his world without her, there were so many things he still wanted to say. His mind began to race, creating different scenarios where Katara was in danger or where she was safe, he thought about how the journey to find her would be, without the faintest clue of where she could be other than surrounded by water and unfortunately for his aching heart it was the most plentiful resource. He pictured a thirteen-year-old boy standing in front of him, smaller in stature, with a long slick-backed ponytail, a fresh burn wound on the left side of his face that reeked of rotten flesh, he saw his sullen face, and the way his golden eyes narrowed towards him; purple eye bags trailing behind.
Shivers shot through Zuko and reminded him of a painful time when he was but a child, cast aside by the same father meant to love and care for him, As punishment for defying him and attempting to protect his people he was sent on a perilous and isolated journey with an impossible goal. He was a prince yet he lived worse than the most treacherous of villains in the nation, in a small cabin trapped on a small fire nation ship with an unruly crew who held little to no respect for him, eating white, tasteless, gruelling slop for every meal, vomiting that same slop into the vast blue seas while the ship rocked back and forth in the turbulent winds of the most obscure and unknown parts of the oceans. All whilst dealing with the immeasurable weight of his father's expectations, the toxic notion of regaining his 'honor' and the scars of his internalized trauma.
Zuko’s stomach began doing flips, reminding himself of the past only resurfaced un healed wounds. The only way to look: was forward and he knew forcing the people of his nation to endure the same suffering of a never-ending voyage bound for a fruitless destiny, probably wouldn’t bring her back but if there was a chance it didn’t mean he wouldn’t yearn for it.
-
Sat in the palace's meeting room at a large rectangular table were five of the members of their gang; Katara's absence left a noticeable void in the group and anxiety pulsated from all of them. Zuko was sat at the head of the table and Aang directly opposite him at the polar end. Suki and Sokka sat beside each other on the left side of the table with a gap between them. Opposite Suki on the right side was sat Toph and opposite Sokka was an uncomfortably empty chair where his little sister should have been. He stared intensely at the spot. Maybe if he looked hard enough, he would be able to picture her and have her materialise on the chair with a comforting smile across her face. He had thought as a desperate attempt to console himself.
The table and the room were in shambles. Papers, and maps spread out everywhere and new arguments erupting between them every second "Well we should send someone after her!" Aang shouted sounding annoyed "We've established why that would not be beneficial to anyone, how are we even meant to find her if the only report we have recounts how she jumped into an ocean." Zuko spoke firmly. "I agree with Aang, can't we send someone after, or at least tell people look out for her" shrieked Sokka "Guys, please calm down this is going nowhere" Suki added calmly. "Have you even considered maybe she doesn't want to be found? On a spiritual journey or something.. or maybe she just wants a break from everything at the moment. I mean last I heard from her she wasn't exactly pleased with the way things were going at the air temple" Toph said as she crossed her arms. Aang huffed at that in annoyance but felt a pang of guilt knowing he might have played a part in that, maybe they were just dragging on their relationship for the sake of old times or maybe what he thought was 'Love' was a more basic and childish understanding than hers, perhaps if he.. It probably wasn't something he should dwell on, he wanted to find her but he was starting to realize that he wanted her back as a friend and he was ready to move on from this chapter of his life which only further dug into his wounds of guilt, he would move on whilst she remained lost and possibly in danger.
"I think the best way to deal with this is to have coastal guards on high alert for any missing people who turn up.." He had to stay strong and get through this he wouldn't let the bile rising in his throat out. "or any bodies that might wash up on shore" Zuko stammered slightly. Everyone in the room quieted down. It was the worst possible outcome and they all hated considering it but, it was still possible. They continued discussing what they would do regarding the tabloids and politics surrounding her dissapearance and ultimately decided to try and withdraw information surrounding Katara from the public which was a lot easier said than done, considering they were all basically celebrities.
-
Once the meeting was over they had dinner in the dining room this time Iroh joined them which somewhat lifted the mood of the five however there was still a semblance of mourning and grief that weighed down on each of them. They were like a piece of cloth with fraying edges, she was the glue that stuck them together, usually being the mediator when people argued but also bringing life and hope to the group with her inspiring and fierce attitude. They all made light-hearted and easy conversation, it was pleasant but still felt shallow and it seemed that a new topic would be discussed before Zuko could even finish a bite of his chicken skewer. He felt glum and heavy with sleep, so shortly after he finished the food on his plate he excused himself from the table and left for his bed chambers.
He passed the wretched hallway with the fabric draping over the portraits of the previous fire lords, he had forgotten to get them removed, too busy worrying about the well-being of his people and the reparations being demanded by other rulers. He felt as though the faces of those monsters taunted him behind the ivory fabric, reminding him of his cursed past and wishing malice upon him.
When Zuko reached his room he removed his robes and changed into his nightware. He went out onto the balcony where he had once stood with her three years ago, this time feeling lonelier and colder than back then, the nightly winds pushing past him and ruffling his jet black hair. Starring at the moon and bathing in its soft glow he thought about how he was even more unsure about what the future held in store than when the war had just ended and he had been crowned as the firelord.
Notes:
STOP NO WAY THIS TOOK ME SO LONG. I'm sorry the chapters short but i hope this way i can make more quicker i promise i'll get back to work now that i've finished exams for a bit.
also one of my concerns was to maker sure Aang doesn't come across as evil but as somewhat flawed/childish for not understanding Katara's emotions because i felt like it was never coverd in the show anyway i hope this story actually makes sense to someone other than me and you enjoyed this chapter. As always if anyone has any feedback i'd love to hear it :)
jg32 on Chapter 1 Sat 27 Apr 2024 01:17AM UTC
Comment Actions
Delulugirlie4 on Chapter 1 Sat 27 Apr 2024 07:49AM UTC
Comment Actions
jg32 on Chapter 1 Sat 27 Apr 2024 03:25PM UTC
Comment Actions
Rfy5e36ugg5 on Chapter 1 Mon 21 Jul 2025 01:09AM UTC
Comment Actions