The Warrior's Gambit (Zutara)

XIV

Walking up to the Royal Palace late in the afternoon the next day, Katara nearly expected it to be burned down, or to find out that Ozai had done something really crazy in their weekend gone, like invited the Equalists to live with them or culled half the girls himself and thrown their items onto the lawn.

The palace, however, looked exactly as it always had, perhaps a missing spire or two from the attack. Overall, it was familiar. Familiar enough that when they pushed the grand doors open, the scent that was kicked up from the carpet and the walls felt homey. It did disturb Katara slightly to have such a pleased unconscious response to the burning smell of incense and cloves.

Behind Katara, the whole caravan of girls and others followed, some stumbling slightly or wincing at the bright sun.

If Katara asked Toph, having half of the group hung over was a mark of a successful party. Katara wasn't sold on this.

She did consider the party a success on a much different scale; Ruan-Jian had kept away from her the rest of the night, no one made too big a fool of themselves, and the party didn't end with Azula burning the place down. She'd heard stories whispered among other girls about certain events that Katara assumed were true that indicated most other people had equally as good a time.

Maiha apparently found her 'back-up' suitor, and he'd professed he'd wait for her, because Maiha had said she was '98% sure she wasn't going to be the winner'. Ty Lee sent warm smiles to Aang when no one was looking, which made Katara sure something had happened, though she was unsure what. Azula had finished the night with a scowl, and whoever made her so unhappy, Katara wanted to high five them.

She'd heard some other tall tales. Arrluck had been found at the end of the night half-naked with an Earth Kingdom girl, because surprise-surprise...being the possible future leader of a nation was a turn on to a lot of girls. Hahn had struck out horribly with everyone he tried to charm. Ruan-Jian had set his sights on Jin after Katara, but Jin was more tight-lipped about her opinions. Nadhari had apparently gotten so drunk that she became, arguably, nice...but this was one rumor Katara thought was totally ridiculous. She doubted any amount of spirits could make Nadhari a pleasant person.

Aang and Zuko, and whatever their secret plan was, had gone well. Zuko had sat talking to Rasra in the open for about ten minutes before taking him somewhere private. Katara hadn't been stalking Zuko's every move (but then again, she sort of had) and they had been out of the view of the party for at least half an hour, if not more. After they'd exited, Zuko had seemed a mixture between even more wound-up but also pleased? Katara hoped he was planning on telling her, or the group of the secret-keepers soon, because Katara and secrets being kept from her never went well together.

"Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed the beach, ladies," General Iroh said, greeting the group as they arrived, a smile on his face. Katara smiled back. She may not be pleased to be in the same house as Ozai again, but she'd always look forward to the gentleness of Iroh.

"It was a blast!" Toph said honestly, her grin a little bit more mischievous. "Look at how all those girls are stumbling around."

General Iroh laughed. "Lady Bei Fong," he said in a half-serious and half-teasing manner, shaking his head at her.

Zhi elbowed her way to the front, corralling the girls before they could return to their rooms. Zuko, Azula, and the others were able to slip past her. Iroh followed behind Zuko, clasping his nephew on the shoulder, gleefully asking about the weekend.

"Ladies! I know that it's been a long day already, but please quickly drop your items off and meet me back in the Ladies' Area," she said. There was a string of groans that followed, which made Zhi look more frustrated than usual. "Let me remind you all that none of you were forced to partake in alcohol last night, so the fault is merely your own. Perhaps this will be a lesson in decorum and consequences for the future. Now, swiftly!" she said, clapping loudly twice. The sound echoed around the chamber. Nadhari rubbed her temple, sighing loudly at the noise, and Kilee, who had certainly had too much to drink, winced very visibly.