The Prince's Choice (Zutara)

VIII

And such the stares or comments continued. Katara really hated being the first person Zuko went on a 'date' with, even if he didn't see it that way and neither did she. It had all stemmed from his concern for her, and then everyone just blew it way out of proportion. They did have dinner together, she supposed, but if Katara called eating with another person a date, well, she'd been on lots then. And note, she hadn't.

Mai returned and was unsurprisingly stoic about it. Most girls didn't even try to worm anything from her. Katara wished they would, just so people would get off of her back!

They all met in the ladies' room for an evening lesson because the Royal Family had business to attend to and would not be having a formal dinner.

"Before we begin, I'd like to announce something that will start tomorrow. We realize that every girl here was raised in different ways and no two people have the same skills or knowledge. However, it is fitting for a future Fire Lady to have a hand in many bowls of knowledge, even just a trifle, and of some information, it is imperative to know. So, we will have a guest lesson every day-voluntary- that will teach everything from proper dining etiquette to how to recognize safe tea leaves in the wild. It might also break up the day to day life here, while the Prince continues with his own choosing. I would say that if you do not know a subject, do not judge it outright, but take this opportunity to gain a new skill."

Katara bit the inside of her cheek. She felt as though Zhi was looking at her often during this announcement. So what if she didn't get proper training on things in the South? She was on the verge of being offended until she saw the excitement in many of the girls' eyes.

Her crusade oozed away from her. She actually was a Princess, by definition, so she did probably have some skills above these women here, such as politics and language. She hadn't taken the time to formally ask around, but now that she thought about it, only a few girls were actually nobility. A lot of the girls, like Jin, were just plebeians. She was probably considered higher-class than most here, sans maybe Yue.

And, the idea of doing something, learning something, did excite her.

"And now, onto a history lesson. Of all things, it is important to know these details, since they are the fabric of our Palace." Zhi said, and Katara blinked to wake herself up a couple times. She kept her face impassive. She wondered how different this narrative would be compared to the one that was used as scary stories for children that were told in her tribe?

All of the girls were given scraps of parchment and brushes in case they wanted to remember things more vividly. Indeed, how Zhi told it was vastly different than how Katara would have told it. In Zhi's world, the history really began only about 100-ish years ago, when Avatar Roku was friends with Fire Lord Sozin.

She told it like this: At that point, the Four Nations all lived and existed in somewhat harmony, but Sozin was intelligent and saw the instability of the world as it was. He set out to unite the four nations under one so that they would have a more efficient world with less death, less famine, and less trouble. The nations would all be united as brothers and sisters, instead of uneasy neighbors. But, once Avatar Roku left to master the four elements he lost sight of his homeland, and when Sozin tried to convince his friend of his mission, Roku failed to see the brilliance in it. Nevertheless, Sozin persisted, and through truth and hard effort, he managed to have the Earth Kingdom join under him, and the Nothern Water Tribe after that too. Roku remained a difficult ally to convince, but Sozin would always try to help his friend. At Roku's death, when his volcano exploded, Sozin valiantly tried to save his best friend, as he was loyal and just, but Roku refused his help. This ended the Avatar Cycle and Sozin continued to make a more prosperous world for everyone.