#zk2015

Summary: Seeing the stern expressions on the council members’ faces, Zuko knew his fate was sealed. He has already resigned himself to either death or a lifetime in a freezing cell when an unlikely advocate spoke up for him.

The waterbender was taken aback by this. Her eyes widened and she realized that she may have revealed too much. In a moment she knew that she had meant everything she had said about him and that as the journey progressed, her feelings for him had grown deeper than she had ever anticipated.

“Are you sure you can do this?” Katara asked in concern, as she extended her shaky hands to control more of the waves that kept on coming. “I have to try,” Zuko answered earnestly.

“Katara did all the talking while Zuko did most of the heavy lifting. They remained on their guard the whole time even though the few wanderers in the store paid them no notice. As far as everyone there was concerned, here were two ordinary travelers, probably with a long road ahead of them, like everyone else, and there was nothing to attract suspicion.”

“Part of her knew that her growing attachment to him was the predictable outcome of having spent so much time exclusively in his company. Two people traveling together for as long as they had were bound to develop a close bond, no matter how different their backgrounds. And the truth was, the more time she spent with the firebender, the more she saw how much they had in common.”

“Zuko stared at her in wonder. When so many people in his own country had turned their backs on him (except for his Uncle Iroh), it was a novelty to find so supportive an ally in someone who was supposed to be his enemy. He was not accustomed to being understood so easily and defended so passionately.”

“...as their journey progressed, Katara felt the remnants of any ill-feeling directed towards him diminish significantly. There was no changing who he was but she was beginning to change how she saw him.”

In this chapter: “But why choose to leave right now?” Zuko asked in genuine curiosity, “The war continues to rage in the Four Nations and your people need your help.” “It is because I want to help them that I have decided to go on this journey,” Katara replied.