Bitter Alliance

Act II – Bitter Cause

Chapter One –

The ability to adapt has always amazed me. I have traveled through the myriad of catacombs and underground rivers, surfacing sparingly as I am being hunted. Ozai searches for me. As surely as Zuko can feel his father’s presence, so can I. His trackers are relentless. As soon as I settle down, I must move on. The wariness of my nomadic life is complicated by my condition. I am with child…. his child… a child that will be born into a changed world in just a few weeks. I try not to think of the circumstances – the lies and broken promises that created the life within me.

Zuko played his part admirably, convincing me that he loved me and getting me to go along with his demands. There are nights I wake, able to feel his touch upon me. As slumber gives way to reality, I realize my dream and shame. His profession of love was a mere ruse, a lie to garner my cooperation. To think that I was merely his obligation, another footnote in his quest for his honor… My pain is palpable. It churns inside me daily. I close my eyes and try to keep the tears at bay. I am unsuccessful and the moisture leaks from the corners.

“Don’t c-cry, Katara,” my brother stammers over the wind, crawling across the sand sailer and embracing me.

I lean against Sokka, his lithe frame warming me against the night air. He shields me from the biting sting of the sand as we make our way across the desert.

I was reunited with my brother months ago. Throughout our travels, I have worked diligently healing him and burying my grief over Zuko. As much as I want to, I cannot stop loving him. I console myself with the gift my lover has given me. I take comfort in my brother and Toph.

I have followed Toph through the tunnels and underground rivers, relieved to see her but resentful that I am now her “responsibility.” Throughout the months, she has never left my side, keeping her promise to my former lover.

My brother rocks me into his lap, a habit he still clings to from his time of torture. It is an awkward position, for I am larger and heavier now. “I have you, Katara,” he murmurs against my ear and I relax against his strength.

Even though I’ve done my best to heal Sokka, he is still not well. The scars run deep and even the most advanced Waterbending cannot heal old wounds. Time has sealed his fate. Yes, he is better. Taken from the wretched conditions, his health has improved. Zuko has saved my brother. For that, I shall always be grateful.

Clean and healthy, Sokka has gained weight. He walks with a heavy limp, opting to crawl on the floor more often than not. His right hand is rigid and he clutches it close to his chest. The right side of his face has fallen into a permanent half-frown. Thankfully, his personality and sense of humor have not been affected too much. For the most part, he is still the over-protective ogre that he has always been. His wit is not as sharp, but sharp enough to make me laugh.

“We are almost home, Aang,” he comforts me as best he can, putting a hand over my stomach.

I cannot help but wince as he refers to the baby as our dead friend. The rumors that circulate around his or her birth are filled with prophecy and doom. I do not want this for my child. Sokka thinks Aang is inside me, waiting to be reborn.

The baby moves, shifting within my womb as if trying to get comfortable. Soon I will hold him or her in my arms. The baby’s delivery is close at hand. I close my eyes and envision the icy tundra of my youth. I long to return there, but the trackers are merciless. Surely, they lie in wait for me there, waiting to take me back to the Fire Nation.

“Home!” Sokka shouts with glee, throwing one of his fists in the air as if daring anyone to argue with him.

Toph stares into the desert, unable to see anything and ignoring my brother’s outburst.

“Isn’t that right, Toph?” Sokka yells over the roar of the wind.

“Yeah, sure,” the Earthbender retorts with a wave of her hand. “Whatever.”

Home for how long? A day? A week? A month? Ozai will find me. His blood runs within the veins of my child. I have come above ground for one reason only – to have the baby. I refuse to give birth in the cold, dank caverns of the underworld. We travel into the desert to carry out this task. Once accomplished, we will retreat to the protection of the earth.

“Are you all right?” Toph questions me, stumbling along the bumpy platform as it continues its forward motion. She may not be able to “see” very well in the desert, but she can sense my discomfort.

“Yes,” I reply, breathing through the minor discomfort of being jostled about.

She sits next to me, sullen and quiet. “We should have stayed below, Katara,” she repeats her protest.

I sigh, knowing that she is right. But I want the child to be born in the fresh air, under the sun, or beneath the moon. Whichever fate holds in store for him or her. Glancing at the other sand sailer, I watch as our entourage adjusts to the bumpy ride.

We have two bodyguards and a midwife – Ola, the Zhang leader we had crossed the Great Divide with so long ago, the Boulder, one of Toph’s old nemeses from her days as the Blind Bandit, and a young non-bending healer named Song. Ola looks at home on the sand sailer, relishing the sand that stings her skin. The Boulder hangs his head near the edge of the vehicle in the event that he must vomit again. Song sits next to him, offering what little comfort she can.

They are all volunteers – people who believe that I carry the future of our race within my womb. Their belief frightens me. I want only to protect my child against the savageries of this world.

--

I focus on the flame and try to meditate, but the water drips from the cave ceiling, taunting me over who I have lost -- Katara. She haunts my dreams and my nightmares. Does she still carry my child? Is she safe? Is she content?

“Focus,” Jeong Jeong growls next to me, shifting to a spot where the water does not fall.

We live underground, in the catacombs beneath the oceans. My father’s wrath cannot reach me here. More appropriately, he cannot harm the ground above me. The water protects us.

“How can you focus?” I hiss through clenched teeth. “The water is everywhere as if it will claim the earth and our lives at any moment!”

“It is a possibility,” Jeong Jeong states, ready to accept any fate that awaits him. “I trust the Earthbenders to maintain the integrity of our shelter.”

“And what of air?” I ask sharply.

“We have plenty,” the Firebending Master retorts with a smirk. “With the constant shifting of the earth, air floods the tunnels.”

I understand the dynamics of our environment, but I am still uneasy, even after the months I have spent beneath the ground. I miss the sun. I have not seen it in several days. It is always an effort for me to seek the sun. I always go alone in the event I cannot control my thoughts or emotions.

I am like a rodent, surfacing from a burrow, hoping not to be snatched by a predator.

That is what I am preparing to do now. I must meditate… empty my mind and soul so that my father cannot find me. Every time the Earthbenders open a conduit for me to ascend to the surface, the entire colony is in danger. I have worked hard to isolate myself, but we all need the Earthbenders to survive within their element.

“You are looking pale,” Jeong Jeong reminds me softly. “You must attend to your own health before you can confront your father and realize your destiny.”

“And just what is my destiny?” I snap at the man who has essentially taken the place of my beloved uncle as Firebending Master. “To die at his feet like Avatar Aang did? To slip farther into insanity as the comet consumes me?”

The flames in front of me flicker with a controlled burst of anger from the man near me. “If you die at Ozai’s feet, it will be nobody’s fault but your own.”

“What does Mahari have to say on the matter?” I ask, not rising to the challenge in his tone. “Has she foreseen my death? Does she foresee the birth of my child? Does she see Katara’a future?”

“She is not that kind of seer.” The master closes his eyes and exhales sharply.

“Then how can she tell me that I will restore the balance?” I question him.

Jeong Jeong takes a long cleansing breath. His eyes are closed and he is slipping into a state I envy. “If she has seen it, it will happen,” he answers slowly, before he slides into his state of meditation.

Realizing that the conversation is over and I still have no real answers to my questions, I concentrate on the flames and struggle to obtain the state that offers me the blissful oblivion.

--

TBC

A/N – I’d like to thank all of you for the kind wishes and prayers regarding TS Ernesto. They worked! My neck of the woods was unaffected. It was all around us, but we got very little rain and even less wind as it tracked through central Florida.