The Warrior's Gambit (Zutara)

XVII

We have some very exciting things ramping up for this story plot-wise in the near future!

By the time Katara woke up the next morning, the chatter was revolving entirely about the trial. It seemed that not only Katara and Toph were being asked to talk about the incident. They may have been the only girls required to go before the jury and give detailed reports of their incidents, but almost anyone who had so much as passed Bahiravi walking in the halls was being questioned in a tiny, private room by the Grand Judge. As Katara ate breakfast and got dressed for the day - Aiga had picked something out that was more frilly than usual and a clean white color - most of the girls had been called to testify one-on-one.

Bahiravi had poisoned contestants. This was a most egregious sin, and her trial was not a small affair. If the tournaments had not been fast approaching, Katara would have been sure that this would be the event of the season, chattered about for months to come.

Katara had not thought of the girl with sharp, cold eyes for a long time. While some of the girls were whispering that Bahiravi was someone like Azula, Katara found this incredibly untrue. Azula rarely did anything without careful, specific forethought. When she looked at you, you could see a hundred queued insults in Azula's eyes, a burning flickering flame that would not be stifled. Katara realized whenever she had looked at Bahiravi, her eyes had been blank and emotionless. It was as though there was hardly any light left. They were like those of an animal. Driven purely by instinct and savagism.

Unbeknownst previously to Katara, the trial had officially begun a week ago, but it was only now that they were getting around to the witnesses. Katara was slated to talk today, Toph tomorrow, Iroh and Lu Ten the next day, and Zuko as the last 'big' account.

Aiga was allowed to attend as Katara's 'support friend'. Pan, among other officials, as they led Katara and Aiga all the way across the grand palace grounds to the Courthouse, kept looking at Katara like she may break at any second.

Maybe it would have been smart to pretend. For any normal girl, an attempt on their lives would have been traumatic. This would have been an awful, cruel experience and they would have been close to shattering. Katara was not a stranger to near-death. Her childhood, while it had been good overall, had also been hard. Living on a piece of floating ice was not for the faint of heart. Starvation near-misses were about once every three years, but Katara could count on her hand the number of other times she was sure her time was up. There'd been the one time she'd accidently sliced her leg open with no one around and it wouldn't stop bleeding, and it was only her shoddy waterbending healing skills that kept her conscious long enough to limp back to camp. There was another time a bear had ran after her and if she'd just tripped, she would have been the animal's lunch. There were other times, when she was younger and her waterbending was more unrefined and uncontrollable, where she'd fallen into the water in her furs or when she'd gotten trapped under snow.

This was the first time someone actively tried to kill her, though. Well, as far as she knew about it. Even still, she'd just gotten sick - thank Tui - so it was a hard time equating her sickness to death after all this time.

"Pan, would I possibly be allowed to ask Bahiravi some questions?" she asked as they stood, waiting to be announced and called into the room. The jury and the judge were recounting the trial's history thus far.

"You survived her attempting murder. I think you'd be allowed near anything. A few questions are hardly an issue." Pan coughed. "Though, I'm not sure if she'll answer you. If she can."

Katara hummed, frowning. Bahiravi had a right not to answer any questions she had but Katara would still try to unravel the poison conundrum she'd been thinking about non-stop.