[FIC] Sense and Sensibility (9/16)
Title: Sense and Sensibility, Chapter Nine
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Pairing: Eventual Zutara, mentions of Sokka/Suki
Wordcount: 1723
Warnings: none
Summary: Four years after the end of the war, Fire Lord Zuko is told he has two weeks to choose a bride from a group of five girls. Luckily, Uncle Iroh stacked the deck.
Author's Notes: I'm archiving things, so this one (which is my longest finished story to date) was written before season three premiered. Thus it is technically an AU. Chapter titles are from the musical Camelot, because I am a giant dork.
---Chapter Nine: If Ever I Would Leave You---
“The soldier thought very carefully about it, and found that he could not reach a decision. He told his bride that she should choose. She hugged him joyfully, for the final condition of her curse was that it could only be broken when her husband allowed her to exercise her own free will. And so the lady was made beautiful once more, and her marriage to the king’s soldier was a long and happy one.” Katara finished braiding her hair and tossed it over her shoulder. “What do you think?”
Suki laughed. “I think more husbands should have to learn that lesson, but in a different way. I don’t think men like that soldier exist in real life.” She made another stitch in the gold embroidery adorning the dress she planned to wear to the ball tomorrow night. Zuko had very graciously extended an invitation to Sokka and Suki, knowing that Katara would be mad at him if he didn’t. Also, though he hadn’t said it to Katara, he felt like he owed Sokka something.
Vana, whose thread-work was much more complicated than Suki’s simple, single color design, bit her lip as she considered what exact shade of green the leaves she was embroidering should be. “Suki’s right; I’ve never met the man who would marry such a hideous woman, no matter how much the king’s honor depended on it.” She decided on a lighter shade and reached into her sewing basket for it.
Katara smiled; she had never liked embroidery and had no clothes that needed mending, so she got to tell stories while the other two worked. “Neither have I, to be honest, but it wasn’t just the king’s honor at stake. His life was in jeopardy.”
Vana shifted in slight discomfort; the mention of a king’s life being in danger was not a pleasant reminder of the only secret she was keeping from Katara.
Since the ball was tomorrow, the candidates would have no more meetings with the Fire Lord. Katara, Suki, and Vana had instead elected to spend their morning and part of the afternoon in the parlor that had been used for storytelling night. Vana and Suki had both brought their sewing; Katara brought only stories. It was still a nice arrangement.
They’d invited Lady Ming-Ming (but only because it would be impolite not to), Lani, and Kanai to join them, but all three girls had refused. Ming-Ming had sent her negative reply first, which led Vana to assume the noblewoman also influenced the other two girls’ decision. She didn’t really care.
Suki stood up, her dress now folded over her arm. “I’d better hang this up before it wrinkles too badly. Then I think I’ll find someone to spar with.” She left the room.
Katara giggled. “That means she’s going to beat the snot out of Sokka. Either that or kiss him to death; I still can’t tell which one she plans to do.”
Vana bit her lip again. “Katara?”
“Yes?”
“I have to confess something. It’s something that I should have told you days ago, but I was afraid. I hope that you can forgive me.”
“It’s hard to forgive you for something when I don’t know what it is, Vana,” Katara replied, her blue eyes dancing.
Vana’s serious look was very sobering. “The night that Fire Lord Zuko was poisoned… that wasn’t entirely an accident.”
Katara’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
Vana looked down. “I mean that the water was poisoned on purpose, but it wasn’t supposed to be given to the Fire Lord. It was meant for you.”
Katara gasped. Vana continued in a rush, knowing that if she stopped she’d never be able to confess.
“Lady Ming-Ming convinced me that it was the only way anyone else would have a chance at the Fire Lord. I didn’t really understand that she wanted you out of her way, and I went along with it. She found the poison; I paid a servant to give it to you. Then you didn’t take the poisoned water and Fire Lord Zuko asked for some… I really should have told you sooner, but… oh, there’s no excuse. I know what the punishment is and I’m willing to accept it.”
Katara was silent. Vana waited in agony.
Katara took a deep breath. “You said that it was Lady Ming-Ming’s idea.”
Vana looked up. “Yes…”
“I’m not going to repeat what you’ve told me. No one else needs to know.”
Vana let out a tiny sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
--------
“Tomorrow,” Lady Ming-Ming hissed as she paced. Lani and Kanai watched her, their expressions wary. Surely there was a reason they weren’t aware of that had caused Vana Bei Fong’s rebellion against the Earth King’s niece, but they weren’t really willing to question either of them. Instead they sat in chairs in Lady Ming-Ming’s room and listened to her rant.
“Tomorrow is the ball, and he’s not approached her yet. Maybe there is still a chance.”
“Or maybe he’s going to propose at the ball,” Lani suggested. Kanai elbowed her sharply in the side, and Ming-Ming gave the younger girl a dirty look.
“Or not,” Lani said quickly. Ming-Ming sniffed and resumed her pacing. Kanai shook her head at the foolishness of her companion.
Lani secretly hoped that the Fire Lord did ask Princess Katara to marry him, just to spite them both.
--------
“Tomorrow,” Zuko murmured, leaning back in his desk chair. He stared at the pendant he had carved. Tomorrow was the ball and the announcement of his… engagement. Assuming he was engaged by then. He wanted to ask Katara in private, just in case he was horribly, horribly wrong and she didn’t feel the way he thought she did. He knew it was absurd to think so, since everyone else seemed to believe that she was in love with him. But still he was- difficult as it was to admit- afraid.
--------
“Tomorrow,” Lady Junbi said, giving the decorations already being put up for the ball another going-over. She had resigned herself to the Fire Lord’s choice. It wasn’t what she wanted, but there was little she could do about it now. Instead she was already mentally making other plans… wedding plans.
--------
“Princess Katara,” a servant said, peering into the parlor.
Katara looked up from the stitch Vana had insisted on teaching her. She’d just decided that embroidery was a good way to pass the time but still absolutely useless when the servant appeared. “Yes?”
“The Fire Lord wishes to speak with you. He asks that you meet him in the southern garden, near the pond.”
Katara looked quickly at Vana, who smiled warmly.
“As if I’d tell you not to go,” she teased.
Katara smiled back and handed the embroidery frame to Toph’s cousin. She stood up, brushing the loose threads off her clothes, and headed for the eastern garden.
--------
Zuko sat in front of the turtleduck pond in the southern garden, unconsciously rubbing the ribbon of the necklace in his pocket. Was he ready for this? Was she? Would she even say yes? Such insecurity was ridiculous, and it was too late to back out now, he thought as he heard her soft footsteps. For a moment he fought off the completely irrational fear that she would be once again wearing Earth Kingdom clothes and makeup. But when he turned around, it was just the normal Katara who smiled at him. He smiled back. “Hi.”
“Hi. You wanted to talk to me?”
“Yes. Sit down, please.” He gestured to the grass next to him. Katara sat down gracefully. He loved how she had no problem with sitting in the grass. She probably wouldn’t have minded if it was plain dirt, and he loved that too. “My mother and I spent a lot of time here when I was young,” he explained as he watched a family of turtleducks splash and play in the middle of the pond.
Katara saw what Zuko was watching. “This place must be very special to you, then.”
“It is.” He paused for a moment. “That’s why I asked you to come here. I wanted to make another good memory for this place.” He took a deep breath. “First let me say that I don’t want to force you into anything. If you don’t feel the same way I do, just say so and I’ll let it- and you- go.”
“How do you feel, Zuko?” Katara asked, her voice shaking just a tiny bit. Why was she nervous? It was just Zuko. Sure, he was the Fire Lord and extremely handsome and they had recently kissed, but he was still just her friend Zuko. Her friend Zuko that had, in a somewhat delirious fever, more or less admitted he loved her. Her friend Zuko that she had somehow fallen in love with.
“I love you, Katara,” Zuko whispered. He cleared his throat and managed to continue in a slightly louder voice. “I can’t say when it happened, but I’ve known for a while now. I have a tendency to be selfish, and mean, and I have a horrible temper.”
Katara laughed. “I know all that, Zuko.”
He smiled at her again. “Let me finish. I know I’m not perfect. But the most important thing to me is for you to be happy. I ask this with the hope that I can be the one to make you happy.”
Zuko moved behind her, pulling the necklace out of his pocket. He held it in front of her, much the way he had once, long ago, taunted her with her mother’s necklace.
Katara stared at the piece of jewelry with wide blue eyes. It was almost identical to the one she wore, but the ribbon, rather than being a dark blue, was dark red. The symbol on the stone was that of the Fire Nation, not the Water Tribe emblem of her mother and grandmother’s heirloom.
Zuko swallowed. It was now or never. “Will you marry me?”
There was no hesitation. There was no need for it. Katara smiled and unfastened her mother’s necklace. She then guided Zuko’s hands to her neck, and he tied the ends of the ribbon together.
They were both silent for a moment.
“So… is that a yes?”
Katara turned around and kissed him.
“Yes, idiot," she whispered when they parted for air. "Yes.”
---End Chapter Nine---
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Pairing: Eventual Zutara, mentions of Sokka/Suki
Wordcount: 1723
Warnings: none
Summary: Four years after the end of the war, Fire Lord Zuko is told he has two weeks to choose a bride from a group of five girls. Luckily, Uncle Iroh stacked the deck.
Author's Notes: I'm archiving things, so this one (which is my longest finished story to date) was written before season three premiered. Thus it is technically an AU. Chapter titles are from the musical Camelot, because I am a giant dork.
---Chapter Nine: If Ever I Would Leave You---
“The soldier thought very carefully about it, and found that he could not reach a decision. He told his bride that she should choose. She hugged him joyfully, for the final condition of her curse was that it could only be broken when her husband allowed her to exercise her own free will. And so the lady was made beautiful once more, and her marriage to the king’s soldier was a long and happy one.” Katara finished braiding her hair and tossed it over her shoulder. “What do you think?”
Suki laughed. “I think more husbands should have to learn that lesson, but in a different way. I don’t think men like that soldier exist in real life.” She made another stitch in the gold embroidery adorning the dress she planned to wear to the ball tomorrow night. Zuko had very graciously extended an invitation to Sokka and Suki, knowing that Katara would be mad at him if he didn’t. Also, though he hadn’t said it to Katara, he felt like he owed Sokka something.
Vana, whose thread-work was much more complicated than Suki’s simple, single color design, bit her lip as she considered what exact shade of green the leaves she was embroidering should be. “Suki’s right; I’ve never met the man who would marry such a hideous woman, no matter how much the king’s honor depended on it.” She decided on a lighter shade and reached into her sewing basket for it.
Katara smiled; she had never liked embroidery and had no clothes that needed mending, so she got to tell stories while the other two worked. “Neither have I, to be honest, but it wasn’t just the king’s honor at stake. His life was in jeopardy.”
Vana shifted in slight discomfort; the mention of a king’s life being in danger was not a pleasant reminder of the only secret she was keeping from Katara.
Since the ball was tomorrow, the candidates would have no more meetings with the Fire Lord. Katara, Suki, and Vana had instead elected to spend their morning and part of the afternoon in the parlor that had been used for storytelling night. Vana and Suki had both brought their sewing; Katara brought only stories. It was still a nice arrangement.
They’d invited Lady Ming-Ming (but only because it would be impolite not to), Lani, and Kanai to join them, but all three girls had refused. Ming-Ming had sent her negative reply first, which led Vana to assume the noblewoman also influenced the other two girls’ decision. She didn’t really care.
Suki stood up, her dress now folded over her arm. “I’d better hang this up before it wrinkles too badly. Then I think I’ll find someone to spar with.” She left the room.
Katara giggled. “That means she’s going to beat the snot out of Sokka. Either that or kiss him to death; I still can’t tell which one she plans to do.”
Vana bit her lip again. “Katara?”
“Yes?”
“I have to confess something. It’s something that I should have told you days ago, but I was afraid. I hope that you can forgive me.”
“It’s hard to forgive you for something when I don’t know what it is, Vana,” Katara replied, her blue eyes dancing.
Vana’s serious look was very sobering. “The night that Fire Lord Zuko was poisoned… that wasn’t entirely an accident.”
Katara’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
Vana looked down. “I mean that the water was poisoned on purpose, but it wasn’t supposed to be given to the Fire Lord. It was meant for you.”
Katara gasped. Vana continued in a rush, knowing that if she stopped she’d never be able to confess.
“Lady Ming-Ming convinced me that it was the only way anyone else would have a chance at the Fire Lord. I didn’t really understand that she wanted you out of her way, and I went along with it. She found the poison; I paid a servant to give it to you. Then you didn’t take the poisoned water and Fire Lord Zuko asked for some… I really should have told you sooner, but… oh, there’s no excuse. I know what the punishment is and I’m willing to accept it.”
Katara was silent. Vana waited in agony.
Katara took a deep breath. “You said that it was Lady Ming-Ming’s idea.”
Vana looked up. “Yes…”
“I’m not going to repeat what you’ve told me. No one else needs to know.”
Vana let out a tiny sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
--------
“Tomorrow,” Lady Ming-Ming hissed as she paced. Lani and Kanai watched her, their expressions wary. Surely there was a reason they weren’t aware of that had caused Vana Bei Fong’s rebellion against the Earth King’s niece, but they weren’t really willing to question either of them. Instead they sat in chairs in Lady Ming-Ming’s room and listened to her rant.
“Tomorrow is the ball, and he’s not approached her yet. Maybe there is still a chance.”
“Or maybe he’s going to propose at the ball,” Lani suggested. Kanai elbowed her sharply in the side, and Ming-Ming gave the younger girl a dirty look.
“Or not,” Lani said quickly. Ming-Ming sniffed and resumed her pacing. Kanai shook her head at the foolishness of her companion.
Lani secretly hoped that the Fire Lord did ask Princess Katara to marry him, just to spite them both.
--------
“Tomorrow,” Zuko murmured, leaning back in his desk chair. He stared at the pendant he had carved. Tomorrow was the ball and the announcement of his… engagement. Assuming he was engaged by then. He wanted to ask Katara in private, just in case he was horribly, horribly wrong and she didn’t feel the way he thought she did. He knew it was absurd to think so, since everyone else seemed to believe that she was in love with him. But still he was- difficult as it was to admit- afraid.
--------
“Tomorrow,” Lady Junbi said, giving the decorations already being put up for the ball another going-over. She had resigned herself to the Fire Lord’s choice. It wasn’t what she wanted, but there was little she could do about it now. Instead she was already mentally making other plans… wedding plans.
--------
“Princess Katara,” a servant said, peering into the parlor.
Katara looked up from the stitch Vana had insisted on teaching her. She’d just decided that embroidery was a good way to pass the time but still absolutely useless when the servant appeared. “Yes?”
“The Fire Lord wishes to speak with you. He asks that you meet him in the southern garden, near the pond.”
Katara looked quickly at Vana, who smiled warmly.
“As if I’d tell you not to go,” she teased.
Katara smiled back and handed the embroidery frame to Toph’s cousin. She stood up, brushing the loose threads off her clothes, and headed for the eastern garden.
--------
Zuko sat in front of the turtleduck pond in the southern garden, unconsciously rubbing the ribbon of the necklace in his pocket. Was he ready for this? Was she? Would she even say yes? Such insecurity was ridiculous, and it was too late to back out now, he thought as he heard her soft footsteps. For a moment he fought off the completely irrational fear that she would be once again wearing Earth Kingdom clothes and makeup. But when he turned around, it was just the normal Katara who smiled at him. He smiled back. “Hi.”
“Hi. You wanted to talk to me?”
“Yes. Sit down, please.” He gestured to the grass next to him. Katara sat down gracefully. He loved how she had no problem with sitting in the grass. She probably wouldn’t have minded if it was plain dirt, and he loved that too. “My mother and I spent a lot of time here when I was young,” he explained as he watched a family of turtleducks splash and play in the middle of the pond.
Katara saw what Zuko was watching. “This place must be very special to you, then.”
“It is.” He paused for a moment. “That’s why I asked you to come here. I wanted to make another good memory for this place.” He took a deep breath. “First let me say that I don’t want to force you into anything. If you don’t feel the same way I do, just say so and I’ll let it- and you- go.”
“How do you feel, Zuko?” Katara asked, her voice shaking just a tiny bit. Why was she nervous? It was just Zuko. Sure, he was the Fire Lord and extremely handsome and they had recently kissed, but he was still just her friend Zuko. Her friend Zuko that had, in a somewhat delirious fever, more or less admitted he loved her. Her friend Zuko that she had somehow fallen in love with.
“I love you, Katara,” Zuko whispered. He cleared his throat and managed to continue in a slightly louder voice. “I can’t say when it happened, but I’ve known for a while now. I have a tendency to be selfish, and mean, and I have a horrible temper.”
Katara laughed. “I know all that, Zuko.”
He smiled at her again. “Let me finish. I know I’m not perfect. But the most important thing to me is for you to be happy. I ask this with the hope that I can be the one to make you happy.”
Zuko moved behind her, pulling the necklace out of his pocket. He held it in front of her, much the way he had once, long ago, taunted her with her mother’s necklace.
Katara stared at the piece of jewelry with wide blue eyes. It was almost identical to the one she wore, but the ribbon, rather than being a dark blue, was dark red. The symbol on the stone was that of the Fire Nation, not the Water Tribe emblem of her mother and grandmother’s heirloom.
Zuko swallowed. It was now or never. “Will you marry me?”
There was no hesitation. There was no need for it. Katara smiled and unfastened her mother’s necklace. She then guided Zuko’s hands to her neck, and he tied the ends of the ribbon together.
They were both silent for a moment.
“So… is that a yes?”
Katara turned around and kissed him.
“Yes, idiot," she whispered when they parted for air. "Yes.”
---End Chapter Nine---