Katara was sitting in a chair watching her sister and brother-in-law walk down the aisle after she had woken up, it had been decided that the wedding would proceed as pre-plan, but now, they had two extra guests. Prince Zuko and his uncle had been welcome to the wedding as a thank you for helping Katara the day she had fainted, as of right now the wedding itself was almost over, the after-party would begin soon.
It was a beautiful summer day, the sun was high in the sky, not a cloud in sight, and even though it was hot, a cool breeze was coming from across the ocean, it made it much more bearable to sit out in the sun. Katara smiled as she watched the big smile on her sister's face, her heart throbbed as she thought about Sokka, her brother, her idiot brother, who she missed so much it hurt. The family she thought had abandoned her, the love they had shared, she wondered if they were even still alive. The last couple of days the grief that had hit her like an earth train, slowly tearing her to pieces, the mother she had lost, the father she missed, the brother she did not know...would she ever see them again?
Maybe that's why it hurts so much? The fact she, their daughter, had only just remembered them, she felt guilty. Grief was a strange thing, she was angry at the man who had killed her mother, at the Fire Nation. But she knew it was only an excuse, she just needed someone to blame, not all Fire Nation people were bad, she knew that, but it did not make the pain go away. Pushing these thoughts from her mind, she focused instead on the joy that was on her sister's face; she had never seen someone so happy as she was now. Katara smiled, she had decided that she would tell her family in a few days, that her memories had returned.
Soon Katara was up and dancing with her mother and sister, Suki as well, and for the first time since the memories came back, a sense of joy and happiness had settled in. Smiling as I danced, the adrenaline running through my veins, it felt amazing. The sense of freedom, the warm summer air that filled my lungs, only the spirits knew how I was truly feeling, but it was amazing. By the time the sun had set my sister and her husband had already gone to the bridal chamber, my sister's face had been as red as a tomato as Wong had carried her there, I couldn't help the smile that tugged at my lips. It was truly a happy day.
That night I went down to the shores only to see Prince Zuko practicing his fire-bending. I watched as he swung his body around, his movements were strong and rather graceful. I knew that each style of bending was its own dance, but I had never had the privilege of watching fire bending. As I watched his movements, I couldn't help but notice the way his dance seemed to match the movements of the wind, how the grass even seemed to admire his bending, by bending with him.
I scoffed.
No wonder he was a prince, I thought, with such graceful movements you would think he was a dancer performing for a king. He stopped, and turned and looked at me, the corner of his lips turning up ever so slightly, he waved me down, I complied and made my way down to him. When I was only a few feet away, he plopped down onto the sand, I did the same, and then just stared out at the ocean that had brought me here.
"You know," I started off, "I'm not from here, Kyoshi Island I mean." Zuko turned and looked at me, then nodded his head.
"I figured," his voice came out low and raspy. In the last few days that I had known him, I found that I rather liked his voice. It was calming and gave me this fuzzy feeling when I heard it.
"You look nothing like your parents," we both laughed at that, "Yeah, I was adopted, washed up on this very beach 10 years ago, they have been my family ever since." Zuko's golden eyes looked at me with a gentle look. "You seem...different? While I don't know you well, you just seem downcast." He asked with curiosity.
"Yes." I said, "I have had a lot on my mind, when I washed up on shore here I had lost my memory," I said as I ran my hands through my hair, "For some reason," I paused, looking at him to see how he would react, "seeing your ship triggered my memories, they all came back in that moment."
It was quiet, the only noise being the sound of the waves that came from the ocean, or the gentle rustle of the wind against the trees and bushes, the sound of crickets chirping in the woods not far off, it was peaceful. But for how long could this peace last? Katara did not know, she decided that it was best not to think about it. All she knew at the moment was that she was planning on leaving Kyoshi Island, to go and find her family. And to do that, she needed the help of the man sitting right next to her in the sand. Heck for that matter, she was not sure he would even help her in the first place, but she had to hope he would.
"You have all your memories back? Is your name still Katara?" He asked.
"Yes, it is."
"Then who are you?" This time he looked me straight in the eye, without any waver. I stared right back at him, thinking about how to answer that question, I had a title, I knew that I was a water-bender, that I was a daughter and sister, but I was really not sure who I was anymore, but I felt like I could trust him, Zuko, a fire-bender, the prince of the Fire Nation, yes crazy as it sounds, I still felt he was worthy of it.
"I'm Katara, daughter of Hakoda and Kaya, Chieftain and his wife of the Southern Water Tribe, I am the last water-bender of the Southern Water Tribe, and a healer." When I finished, Zuko was staring at me with wide eyes, staring at me as if he had seen a ghost, which in a way I guess he had. I was supposed to be dead, all water-benders in the Southern Water Tribe were supposed to be dead. And yet here I was, alive and breathing, and growing stronger in my water-bending and healing by the minute.
Zuko took a minute to process what he had just been told. The first thing that came to his mind were the words 'water bender, she was a water-bender? Was that even possible? And the daughter of the Southern Water Tribe Chief? These thoughts rushed through his head causing him a headache, pushing it out of his mind he decided not to think about it too much, or else his head might explode.
But one thing was for sure, that fact that she was alive was not something he could let reach his father's ears. Because it had been his father that had given the order to have all water-benders from the Southern Water Tribe killed or enslaved. He remembers the day he found out. It had ripped him to the core. One of his servants had been a water-bender, and he had been very good friends with him. When he found out he had been executed, the anger and pain had almost killed him.
The news he had just heard changed everything, the fact that there were still Southern benders still alive was amazing, and it excited him, so he turned on to his knee and grabbed Katara by the shoulders, looking her straight in the eye, and with a slightly shaky voice said.
"Katara, no one can know you are a water-bender, if someone were to find out and tell my father you could be killed, in fact, it might be best for you to leave and come with me, that way...at least my father won't find out." He had gone crazy, he knew it, but he did not want her to be executed, like his close friend had.
Katara smiled, she was right about one thing that night, that Zuko cared, cared about his people, and cared about her, she was also right to believe that he deserved her trust, so she would give it to him, and hopefully, pray to the spirits, he would not betray that trust.
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Power Like No Other
FanfictionThey had come. Why? Why now? Kaya had known for a long time that they would come for her, but she had always hoped that it would never happen. But of coarse it was a for not, they were here for her only daughter, and they would get her at all cost.
