[FIC] Sense and Sensibility (11/16)
Title: Sense and Sensibility, Chapter Eleven
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Pairing: Eventual Zutara, mentions of Sokka/Suki
Wordcount: 1924
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 Eleven: What Do the Simple Folk Do?---
Katara studied her reflection in the mirror as a seamstress marked where the hem of the gown should fall. She had not worn any Fire Nation clothing in four years, and it was as strange now as it had been then. The person that looked back at her was not the girl who had traveled with the Avatar on his flying bison, fighting to bring balance back to the world. No, Katara saw instead the woman who was soon to be Fire Lady, and her reflection certainly looked the part. Katara noticed Vana standing behind her in the mirror. “There you are. What am I supposed to be doing today?” She frowned suddenly when the nervous seamstress pricked her with a pin.
Vana fought the urge to laugh at Katara’s expression. Of the four young ladies who had been called to the palace just over two weeks ago, only she remained. The others had returned to their families two days ago, the morning after the ball. Vana, present at the official farewell, had mentioned her desire for Lady Ming-Ming to fall overboard on the way back to the Earth Kingdom shortly after said lady had boarded the ship that was to take her back there. The comment had earned a hearty laugh from Katara’s brother, a chuckle from the warrior-girl, and a smile from Katara. The Fire Lord even had a faint smile on his face. Vana took all of those as a good sign.
She checked the list of things that needed to be done before the wedding, according to Lady Junbi, which the royal matchmaker had given to Vana with the order that she should carry it around everywhere. “Well, after you’ve been fitted for your new wardrobe, you still need to appoint your ladies-in-waiting, approve the decorations in the Greater Dining Hall for the reception, be fitted for your crown, and greet whatever guests are arriving today. I don’t have that list yet, but Lady Junbi said she’d send it.”
Katara sighed, eliciting a small sound of protest from the Royal Dressmaker (who was observing the fitting) because the action made the gown move slightly. “I don’t know when I’m expected to do all of this. Give me one thing at a time, please.”
“The ladies-in-waiting, then,” Vana said with an amused smile.
“You, of course,” Katara replied. The seamstress at Katara’s feet declared herself finished and began to collect her tools and materials. The Royal Dressmaker helped the future Fire Lady out of the elegant red dress, and Katara stretched her arms happily.
“You’ll need at least fifteen ladies-in-waiting, Katara.” Vana said as she handed her friend the blue clothes the waterbender still preferred to wear as long as she could. The Royal Dressmaker, leaving with the dress and her assistant, looked rather disgusted at the sight of the garments. Katara and Vana held their laughter in until she was gone. Suki entered the main room of Katara’s new suite, a sheaf of paper in her hand and a scowl on her face. That only made the other two laugh harder, until finally Suki smiled as well.
“I don’t really know what you find so funny, but I’m not going to ask.” She handed the papers to Vana. “It’s the list of guests and when they’re arriving. That Lady Junbi seems to think I’m some kind of messenger girl.”
“I’ll make you a lady-in-waiting,” Katara told her future sister-in-law. “I’ll even give you a higher rank than hers.”
Suki laughed. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I know, but I want to.”
Vana, meanwhile, was reading the list Suki had given her. “Lady Junbi certainly doesn’t want to make my job easier. She has this listed by the person’s rank, then their name, and then the range of dates during which they should be expected to arrive.”
“When is my father supposed to arrive?” Katara asked.
Vana scanned the first page, and then turned to the second one. “Your father’s chief of the Southern Water Tribe, right?”
“Yes…”
Vana frowned. “This can’t be right.” She turned back to the first page. “Here he is. It says ‘unable to attend’.”
“What?” Katara sank down onto a blue cushioned chair, probably the only one in the entire palace that wasn’t red. How could her father not be coming to her wedding?
Suki put an arm around her soon-to-be-sister-in-law. “You’ll see him when we go down to the South Pole,” she said, trying to be reassuring.
The thought brought a tiny smile to the waterbender’s face. Lady Junbi had not been pleased when Katara and Zuko informed her that they would be leaving after the wedding to go to the South Pole, but they told her that arrangements had already been made and it was too late to cancel. Katara had been determined that she would not miss her brother’s wedding, and not even Lady Junbi could stop her from going.
“Thanks,” she murmured to Suki.
The warrior smiled. “I know it isn’t much, but it’s something.”
Vana, meanwhile, had continued to study the first page. “The Avatar is due to arrive today.”
“What?!” Katara shrieked. She remembered Lady Junbi saying something about Aang and an invitation the night of the engagement ball, but she’d been distracted at the time and forgotten all about it. Suki raised her eyebrows at the waterbender’s reaction.
Vana chose not to react to the outburst. “It says he’s to arrive ‘with his lady.’ Who’s that supposed to be?”
--Two Years Earlier--
“Hey, Toph, do you wanna dance?”
They were at Zuko’s coronation ball, which the new Fire Lord had already opened by dancing with Katara. The orchestra was playing their third song, and Zuko was dancing with Katara again at his uncle’s insistence. A reasonable number of other couples swirled around them, while most of the guests hovered at the sidelines or, in Sokka’s case, the buffet table.
Toph rolled her eyes. “I don’t dance, Twinkletoes. Go find some pretty Fire Nation girl to dance with you; I doubt any of them would refuse.” Toph’s sharp ears had caught snatches of the assembled courtiers’ conversations all night, most of them about how wonderful it would be if the Avatar chose one of their girls as his future bride. The idea was ludicrous to Toph, and she knew Aang would agree if he heard. He was only fourteen and still restless (not to mention immature). It was highly unlikely that he would settle down within the next five years, much less with one of these giggling twits.
Aang just smiled at the earthbender. “Maybe, but that takes all the fun out of asking. Come on, if Zuko and Katara can dance together so can we.”
Toph wondered if she should tell Aang that Zuko and Katara were actually having a heated, though whispered, argument about the reason Zuko chose to dance with Katara in the first place. “Ugh, fine.” She let Aang lead her out onto the dance floor. “Now what?” At home she’d been excluded from formal parties and considered too young to dance with anyone anyway; she had no idea what to do.
“Just follow what I do,” he told her.
After a few minutes, Toph got the hang of it. “Where’d you learn to dance?” she asked. “And don’t tell me at the air temple where you grew up; I seriously doubt the monks ever did anything like this.”
“You’re right. Iroh taught me. He said it would probably come in handy.”
They passed a small knot of courtiers just then, and the pair clearly heard what one noblewoman was saying.
“It makes perfect sense, of course; they traveled together for quite some time. I only wish someone had mentioned earlier that Lady Bei Fong was the Avatar’s fiancée.”
“I’m not his fiancée,” Toph corrected loudly. Aang turned a deep red that matched the clothes he wore in honor of the event.
The rumors, naturally, spread like wildfire after that.
--Present Day--
Aang was nervous, and he knew Toph could tell. The pacing made it obvious, but she would have known anyway. Toph was leaning casually against the wall of the same room (though she and Aang didn’t know it) that Suki and Sokka had waited in a week ago.
“Relax, Twinkletoes,” the earthbender advised. “It’s just Hothead and Sweetness. Even if they are getting married, they’re still them.”
“I know, I know.”
Toph crossed her arms. “Well, you aren’t acting like you know.”
“I know!” Aang shouted.
“You two haven’t changed.”
The Avatar turned away from the smirking master earthbender to face Zuko. “Oh. Hi, Zuko.”
Zuko opened his mouth, but whatever reply the Fire Lord might have made was lost as Katara ran inside the room. “Aang!” she cried, dashing forward to hug her friend. Zuko barely controlled his urge to glare at the Avatar, reminding himself that there was absolutely no reason to get jealous. Toph’s smirk grew. Katara noticed the earthbender and released Aang to engulf her.
“Toph, you’ve grown!” She let go and stepped back so she could get a better look. “You’re the same height as me.”
“Yeah, that happens when you haven’t seen someone in two years,” Toph replied.
Katara was sure the blind girl could feel her guilt. “Oh, Toph, I’m sorry…”
“Don’t sweat the small stuff, Sweetness. It wasn’t your fault.” Toph shot a pointed look in Aang’s direction before turning back to Katara. “Twinkletoes made sure to fill me in on everything--and I mean everything--that you guys were up to during the rest of each year.”
Katara pulled Toph toward the cushioned sofa. “So what have you been up to? Aside from roaming around with Aang, of course.”
Toph rolled her eyes. “My parents have been dropping names of important families with unmarried sons ever since the moment I turned sixteen. I told them I’d rather live with badgermoles than get married, but they don’t pay attention.”
Katara laughed. Aang watched the two girls who had become his best friends during the war. Katara looked happier than he had seen her look in… well, in about two years, since they’d last all been together. The light glinted off the Fire Nation symbol carved on her engagement necklace.
Aang turned to Zuko as the girls continued to talk. “Do you really love her?” he asked. He knew he shouldn’t have; it wasn’t as though he had any claim on Katara. But once it was out of his mouth, it was too late to take it back.
Zuko blinked. Then he glanced at Katara again, and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Yes.”
Aang smiled. “Good. I think you two will be really happy together.” It was like letting Katara go again, somehow, but this time it wasn’t as hard.
A servant entered the room and bowed before speaking. “Lady Junbi asked me to show the Avatar and his lady to their rooms before dinner.”
The room’s four occupants were silent. Katara and Zuko’s eyes widened. Toph’s eyes narrowed. Aang blushed.
“Toph’s not my…my lady,” he stammered. “We’re just friends.”
The servant looked horrified. “Forgive me, please. Lady Junbi referred to Lady Bei Fong as such, and I simply followed her orders as they were given.”
Toph still looked annoyed. Katara stood up. “Why don’t I go with you? I’d like to see what rooms you were given anyway.” She ushered Toph out of the room, earning grateful looks from both the servant and Aang.
Zuko shook his head. “Matchmakers,” he muttered. “That woman never stops.”
---End Chapter Eleven---
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Pairing: Eventual Zutara, mentions of Sokka/Suki
Wordcount: 1924
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 Eleven: What Do the Simple Folk Do?---
Katara studied her reflection in the mirror as a seamstress marked where the hem of the gown should fall. She had not worn any Fire Nation clothing in four years, and it was as strange now as it had been then. The person that looked back at her was not the girl who had traveled with the Avatar on his flying bison, fighting to bring balance back to the world. No, Katara saw instead the woman who was soon to be Fire Lady, and her reflection certainly looked the part. Katara noticed Vana standing behind her in the mirror. “There you are. What am I supposed to be doing today?” She frowned suddenly when the nervous seamstress pricked her with a pin.
Vana fought the urge to laugh at Katara’s expression. Of the four young ladies who had been called to the palace just over two weeks ago, only she remained. The others had returned to their families two days ago, the morning after the ball. Vana, present at the official farewell, had mentioned her desire for Lady Ming-Ming to fall overboard on the way back to the Earth Kingdom shortly after said lady had boarded the ship that was to take her back there. The comment had earned a hearty laugh from Katara’s brother, a chuckle from the warrior-girl, and a smile from Katara. The Fire Lord even had a faint smile on his face. Vana took all of those as a good sign.
She checked the list of things that needed to be done before the wedding, according to Lady Junbi, which the royal matchmaker had given to Vana with the order that she should carry it around everywhere. “Well, after you’ve been fitted for your new wardrobe, you still need to appoint your ladies-in-waiting, approve the decorations in the Greater Dining Hall for the reception, be fitted for your crown, and greet whatever guests are arriving today. I don’t have that list yet, but Lady Junbi said she’d send it.”
Katara sighed, eliciting a small sound of protest from the Royal Dressmaker (who was observing the fitting) because the action made the gown move slightly. “I don’t know when I’m expected to do all of this. Give me one thing at a time, please.”
“The ladies-in-waiting, then,” Vana said with an amused smile.
“You, of course,” Katara replied. The seamstress at Katara’s feet declared herself finished and began to collect her tools and materials. The Royal Dressmaker helped the future Fire Lady out of the elegant red dress, and Katara stretched her arms happily.
“You’ll need at least fifteen ladies-in-waiting, Katara.” Vana said as she handed her friend the blue clothes the waterbender still preferred to wear as long as she could. The Royal Dressmaker, leaving with the dress and her assistant, looked rather disgusted at the sight of the garments. Katara and Vana held their laughter in until she was gone. Suki entered the main room of Katara’s new suite, a sheaf of paper in her hand and a scowl on her face. That only made the other two laugh harder, until finally Suki smiled as well.
“I don’t really know what you find so funny, but I’m not going to ask.” She handed the papers to Vana. “It’s the list of guests and when they’re arriving. That Lady Junbi seems to think I’m some kind of messenger girl.”
“I’ll make you a lady-in-waiting,” Katara told her future sister-in-law. “I’ll even give you a higher rank than hers.”
Suki laughed. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I know, but I want to.”
Vana, meanwhile, was reading the list Suki had given her. “Lady Junbi certainly doesn’t want to make my job easier. She has this listed by the person’s rank, then their name, and then the range of dates during which they should be expected to arrive.”
“When is my father supposed to arrive?” Katara asked.
Vana scanned the first page, and then turned to the second one. “Your father’s chief of the Southern Water Tribe, right?”
“Yes…”
Vana frowned. “This can’t be right.” She turned back to the first page. “Here he is. It says ‘unable to attend’.”
“What?” Katara sank down onto a blue cushioned chair, probably the only one in the entire palace that wasn’t red. How could her father not be coming to her wedding?
Suki put an arm around her soon-to-be-sister-in-law. “You’ll see him when we go down to the South Pole,” she said, trying to be reassuring.
The thought brought a tiny smile to the waterbender’s face. Lady Junbi had not been pleased when Katara and Zuko informed her that they would be leaving after the wedding to go to the South Pole, but they told her that arrangements had already been made and it was too late to cancel. Katara had been determined that she would not miss her brother’s wedding, and not even Lady Junbi could stop her from going.
“Thanks,” she murmured to Suki.
The warrior smiled. “I know it isn’t much, but it’s something.”
Vana, meanwhile, had continued to study the first page. “The Avatar is due to arrive today.”
“What?!” Katara shrieked. She remembered Lady Junbi saying something about Aang and an invitation the night of the engagement ball, but she’d been distracted at the time and forgotten all about it. Suki raised her eyebrows at the waterbender’s reaction.
Vana chose not to react to the outburst. “It says he’s to arrive ‘with his lady.’ Who’s that supposed to be?”
--Two Years Earlier--
“Hey, Toph, do you wanna dance?”
They were at Zuko’s coronation ball, which the new Fire Lord had already opened by dancing with Katara. The orchestra was playing their third song, and Zuko was dancing with Katara again at his uncle’s insistence. A reasonable number of other couples swirled around them, while most of the guests hovered at the sidelines or, in Sokka’s case, the buffet table.
Toph rolled her eyes. “I don’t dance, Twinkletoes. Go find some pretty Fire Nation girl to dance with you; I doubt any of them would refuse.” Toph’s sharp ears had caught snatches of the assembled courtiers’ conversations all night, most of them about how wonderful it would be if the Avatar chose one of their girls as his future bride. The idea was ludicrous to Toph, and she knew Aang would agree if he heard. He was only fourteen and still restless (not to mention immature). It was highly unlikely that he would settle down within the next five years, much less with one of these giggling twits.
Aang just smiled at the earthbender. “Maybe, but that takes all the fun out of asking. Come on, if Zuko and Katara can dance together so can we.”
Toph wondered if she should tell Aang that Zuko and Katara were actually having a heated, though whispered, argument about the reason Zuko chose to dance with Katara in the first place. “Ugh, fine.” She let Aang lead her out onto the dance floor. “Now what?” At home she’d been excluded from formal parties and considered too young to dance with anyone anyway; she had no idea what to do.
“Just follow what I do,” he told her.
After a few minutes, Toph got the hang of it. “Where’d you learn to dance?” she asked. “And don’t tell me at the air temple where you grew up; I seriously doubt the monks ever did anything like this.”
“You’re right. Iroh taught me. He said it would probably come in handy.”
They passed a small knot of courtiers just then, and the pair clearly heard what one noblewoman was saying.
“It makes perfect sense, of course; they traveled together for quite some time. I only wish someone had mentioned earlier that Lady Bei Fong was the Avatar’s fiancée.”
“I’m not his fiancée,” Toph corrected loudly. Aang turned a deep red that matched the clothes he wore in honor of the event.
The rumors, naturally, spread like wildfire after that.
--Present Day--
Aang was nervous, and he knew Toph could tell. The pacing made it obvious, but she would have known anyway. Toph was leaning casually against the wall of the same room (though she and Aang didn’t know it) that Suki and Sokka had waited in a week ago.
“Relax, Twinkletoes,” the earthbender advised. “It’s just Hothead and Sweetness. Even if they are getting married, they’re still them.”
“I know, I know.”
Toph crossed her arms. “Well, you aren’t acting like you know.”
“I know!” Aang shouted.
“You two haven’t changed.”
The Avatar turned away from the smirking master earthbender to face Zuko. “Oh. Hi, Zuko.”
Zuko opened his mouth, but whatever reply the Fire Lord might have made was lost as Katara ran inside the room. “Aang!” she cried, dashing forward to hug her friend. Zuko barely controlled his urge to glare at the Avatar, reminding himself that there was absolutely no reason to get jealous. Toph’s smirk grew. Katara noticed the earthbender and released Aang to engulf her.
“Toph, you’ve grown!” She let go and stepped back so she could get a better look. “You’re the same height as me.”
“Yeah, that happens when you haven’t seen someone in two years,” Toph replied.
Katara was sure the blind girl could feel her guilt. “Oh, Toph, I’m sorry…”
“Don’t sweat the small stuff, Sweetness. It wasn’t your fault.” Toph shot a pointed look in Aang’s direction before turning back to Katara. “Twinkletoes made sure to fill me in on everything--and I mean everything--that you guys were up to during the rest of each year.”
Katara pulled Toph toward the cushioned sofa. “So what have you been up to? Aside from roaming around with Aang, of course.”
Toph rolled her eyes. “My parents have been dropping names of important families with unmarried sons ever since the moment I turned sixteen. I told them I’d rather live with badgermoles than get married, but they don’t pay attention.”
Katara laughed. Aang watched the two girls who had become his best friends during the war. Katara looked happier than he had seen her look in… well, in about two years, since they’d last all been together. The light glinted off the Fire Nation symbol carved on her engagement necklace.
Aang turned to Zuko as the girls continued to talk. “Do you really love her?” he asked. He knew he shouldn’t have; it wasn’t as though he had any claim on Katara. But once it was out of his mouth, it was too late to take it back.
Zuko blinked. Then he glanced at Katara again, and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Yes.”
Aang smiled. “Good. I think you two will be really happy together.” It was like letting Katara go again, somehow, but this time it wasn’t as hard.
A servant entered the room and bowed before speaking. “Lady Junbi asked me to show the Avatar and his lady to their rooms before dinner.”
The room’s four occupants were silent. Katara and Zuko’s eyes widened. Toph’s eyes narrowed. Aang blushed.
“Toph’s not my…my lady,” he stammered. “We’re just friends.”
The servant looked horrified. “Forgive me, please. Lady Junbi referred to Lady Bei Fong as such, and I simply followed her orders as they were given.”
Toph still looked annoyed. Katara stood up. “Why don’t I go with you? I’d like to see what rooms you were given anyway.” She ushered Toph out of the room, earning grateful looks from both the servant and Aang.
Zuko shook his head. “Matchmakers,” he muttered. “That woman never stops.”
---End Chapter Eleven---