Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Smile Because It Happened ❯ Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 

“Earth to Katara! Hallooooo!” Toph waved a hand in the Waterbender's general direction.

 

Katara blinked, her gaze shifting and focusing on her young friend. “Huh?”

 

Toph let out a frustrated breath, blowing her bangs out of her sightless eyes. “You were completely spacing.”

 

“…Was I?”

 

“Mmm-hmmm. I could've knocked you right off Appa and I doubt you would've noticed until you hit the water.”

 

Katara glanced down at the broad expanse of lovely blue ocean. “I would've thought we'd be to Kyoshi Island by now.”

 

“We've only been flying for a few hours,” the Earthbender pointed out. “We'll be there around dinner time, unless we have to stop to feed Sokka's bottomless stomach.”

 

She glanced at her brother, who was having some sort of discussion with Zuko and was completely oblivious to what was going on on the other side of the spacious saddle. “…A few hours?”

 

Toph tilted her head curiously. “Yeah.” For a moment, she didn't say anything else. “You okay?”

 

Katara jerked slightly, as if alarmed by something. “Me? I'm fine. Why? Don't I seem fine?”

 

A muffled snort was her answer. “Jumpy as an eel-frog on a hot stone.” She leaned closer to her friend. “Is something… bothering you?”

 

Katara turned away and gazed out at the passing clouds. Images from her dreams the night before drifted through her mind and she quickly covered her eyes with her hand as though she had a headache. “I just… didn't get a lot of sleep last night,” she explained lamely.

 

Toph seemed to accept that and returned to leaning against the edge of Appa's saddle. Katara turned slightly, her vision shifting from her friend to the bald-headed monk sitting peacefully on the huge bison's head, steering the way to Kyoshi Island.

 

My fiancé, she thought to herself, her hand drifting up of its own accord to touch the wooden pendant at her throat. The feel was different than the stone of her mother's necklace and reminded her time and time again that she was to marry Aang.

 

Even her dreams wouldn't let her thoughts rest.

 

-()-()-()-

 

Flower petals fell from the sky, showering her in a cascade of fragrance and color. Joyous cries and good wishes echoed from the crowd, nearly drowning out the festive music that was being played by men and women from every nation.

 

A myriad of color filled her vision, but it wasn't the flower petals. They were the colors of all the nations: Water Tribe blues, Earth Kingdom greens, Fire Nation reds.

 

She glanced down and saw that she wore her mother's wedding dress, which had been her grandmother's as well. The ocean blue dress was edged with white fur and decorated with small white shells and beads that made delicate clicking sounds as she walked. Though how she could hear that amidst all the noise she didn't understand.

 

Her eyes lifted from her dress and looked at her side, where her husband walked proudly. Smiling beatifically, nodding every so often as someone shouted their well wishes, he was the epitome of what a man should be. Everything a husband should be.

 

The crowds vanished. Darkness crept in. She glanced around, slightly alarmed, even though she noticed the faint glow of numerous candles scattered throughout the room. *Room?*

 

A figure stepped out of the shadows and she took a step backwards- and came up against the edge of a large bed.

 

Suddenly, she knew where she was. She knew what was about to happen.

 

Her attention returned to the figure in front of her. One step forward and he was partially revealed in the dim candlelight.

 

*Aang?*

 

It was Aang, but it wasn't. It wasn't the tall, limber Avatar that she had been walking among the people with a moment ago. It was the 12-year-ol d Aang, the young Airbender who had managed to defeat the evil Fire Lord without taking his life.

 

He moved closer and reached out his arms to embrace her. *Katara. I love you. I've always loved you. And now you're mine.*

 

Feeling more than a little awkward, she glanced down at him- and screamed.

 

Aang had vanished and Azula had taken his place, smirking up at her with glowing gold eyes.

 

She pushed the Fire princess away and turned to run, only to get tangled in the long skirts of her wedding dress. She fell. A familiar crackling filled the air. Her hair lifted, charged. Her heart began to pound. She turned.

 

Azula moved like a snake, readying a huge bolt of lightning. The evil, crazy smile remained on her face, taunting her.

 

Her clothes felt wet and she glanced down. The floor was flooded with ankle-deep water. She moved her arms in an attempt to try and block the imminent attack with her bending. The water that had appeared on the floor ignored her commands.

 

She couldn't bend. If she couldn't waterbend, she couldn't bloodbend either. She was helpless.

 

She was going to die.

 

Blue-white lightning barreled straight for her.

 

A figure appeared between her and the lightning, taking the attack full in the chest, then dropped to the ground with a splash.

 

Azula laughed maniacally before vanishing into the darkness once more. She stood up, wondering if she should go after the insane princess.

 

*Katara…*

 

Someone was calling her name. She turned.

 

He stood there, seemingly whole despite having taken Azula's deadly attack into his body in order to protect HER. His amber eyes gazed at her intently, seeming to almost glow in the darkness like the candles around them.

 

She wanted to call out to him. Are you okay? Are you hurt? Those words would not- did not- come out.

 

*Why?*

 

He merely gazed at her with those burning eyes. Her question echoed in the void around them. He moved his hands to the front of his tunic and pulled it open to reveal the scar on his stomach.

 

Her heart stopped.

 

*I would gladly give my life to save yours.*

 

-()-()-()-

 

“Can I ask you something?”

 

Zuko opened his good eye and peered at the Water Tribe warrior. “Depends.”

 

Sokka's expression was as solemn as he had ever seen it. “Do you think Azula would kill to get at Ty Lee?”

 

A few moments passed in silence. “I can't lie to you, Sokka. If the Kyoshi Warriors get in Azula's way, she won't hesitate to whip up a firestorm to take them- and the whole village- out at once.”

 

He sighed. “That's what I was afraid of.”

 

Zuko sat up and gave his friend a serious look. “Look, those girls are some of the best warriors in the Earth Kingdom. They're not going to just give up their friend without a fight, and they definitely regard Ty Lee as their friend.” He leaned back again. “You have to trust in their abilities to take care of the situation until we can get there.”

 

“And if she's already been there and torched the town?”

 

The young Fire Lord knew that Sokka was worried about his wife's friends and family. “Then we do what we can to help the survivors before hunting Azula down again.”

 

It wasn't the answer Sokka wanted, but he had matured enough to know that Zuko was right. “Right.”

 

Aang turned his head and hollered back. “Katara!”

 

The blue-eyed woman lifted her head abruptly, her eyes wide as though startled out of some deep thought. “Oh! Y-yeah?”

 

“You wanna come sit up here?” he asked, beaming and blushing at the same time. “I could use the company.”

 

Katara blinked, then lowered her eyes as she stood up and made her way carefully across the saddle to Appa's head.

 

Briefly, so quickly he thought he imagined it, her eyes met Zuko's before she climbed nimbly over the edge of the saddle to sit by the Avatar's side.

 

What was THAT about?

 

.o(O)o.

 

“Wake up, guys! We're coming up on Kyoshi Island!”

 

Toph stretched and let out a loud yawn as she did so. “About time,” she muttered, sticking a finger in her ear and wiggling it around a bit. “I was starting to get a stiff neck.”

 

“Consequences of taking a flying fur rug instead of my balloon,” Zuko replied as he rotated his shoulder, loosening the muscles in his shoulder.

 

“A Fire Nation balloon might cause panic, even though the war's been over for a couple years,” Katara pointed out from her seat next to Aang. “It takes more than a royal announcement to end a war, you know.”

 

Zuko glared. “No. I hadn't been aware. Thanks for pointing it out for me.”

 

She smirked. “Anytime.”

 

“Now, now, children,” Sokka scolded, checking his backpack to make sure all his supplies were ready, “play nicely or you'll be sent to bed without supper.”

 

Zuko totally expected Katara to give her brother one of her usual set-downs, not turn bright red and turn back to stare at their destination on the horizon.

 

“Man, I can't wait to get back on the ground,” Toph sighed. “I wanna feel good ol' dirt between my toes again.”

 

Zuko crossed his arms and regarded her. “What about the dirt that's already there?”

 

“Not enough. The layers are growing thin and I need to replenish.”

 

“I stand corrected.”

 

Sokka leaned over the edge of the saddle and poked Aang's bald head with a finger. “How much longer till we're there?”

 

“About a half hour,” Aang replied. He pointed at the growing expanse of green in front of them, with a small speck of land off the broad coast. “That's the island there, so we're really close.”

 

Zuko poked his head up on the other side of Sokka's- and as far away from Katara as possible. He narrowed his eyes at the landscape in front of him.

 

“Do you guys see what I see?”

 

“Oh, yeah,” Toph piped up. “That's amazing. I've never seen anything like it.”

 

Zuko shot her a glare. “I'm not talking to you, pipsqueak.”

 

“I'm not Pipsqueak- I'm Toph.”

 

The Fire Lord looked at Sokka. He shrugged. “There really is a guy named Pipsqueak. He's a friend of Smellerbee and Longshot. He was with us during the Eclipse invasion four years ago.”

 

Zuko hung his head. “I don't think I want to know.”

 

Katara sat up straighter. “Is that smoke?”

 

Sokka's attention was immediately back on the landscape below. “WHAT?”

 

Zuko looked up and nodded. “That's what I was talking about.”

 

Aang frowned. “It looks like… the village is on fire,” Katara said softly, worry evident in her voice.

 

He shook Appa's reins. “Let's go, boy!”

 

The bison bellowed and flapped his huge tail as he dove through the air and descended toward the small island.

 

Sokka clenched his fists. Were they too late?