- 𝑭𝑰𝑵𝑨𝑳𝑳𝒀 𝑻𝑶𝑮𝑬𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑹 ⊰

Chapter 1

As sight of the Fire Nation Capital broke over the horizon, she reread the letter again:

Katara,

Your presence is requested in the Capital immediately. Please come quickly.

-Zuko

Not "Fire Lord Zuko," not even "Lord Zuko." Just "Zuko." She sighed as she folded the worn paper back up and slipped it into her pocket. It wasn't "Love, Zuko," though, either. She had received the letter last week while staying with her father and had left without hesitation-on the ship that had followed the letter. That is, she had not hesitated until she had been left alone with her own thoughts in her cabin for a whole week.

She should have been a little upset about his presumption that she would come, so he automatically sent a ship, but, surprisingly enough, she wasn't.

It had been...almost a year now since she'd last seen Zuko; she could hardly believe time had passed so quickly...and so painfully at the same time. They had started to become good friends after the war. They had spent years together, rebuilding; she had even sensed the possibility of them becoming something more.

Perhaps that's why she'd left.

But his letter had sounded-even through its brevity and official nature-desperate.

As she stepped ashore in the Fire Nation, she was greeted by a royal entourage. She told the man that greeted her that his presence was not necessary, but he appeared wounded and informed her that the Fire Lord had sent him and his men to her personally. She sighed and accepted, but drew the line at riding in the palanquin he offered.

Much to her surprise, she was taken straight to the throne room, not to a guest room. She wasn't given one moment to recover from her long journey. She was exhausted and sure she looked awful. When she entered, she realized the room was...different than what she remembered it to be. She looked around, taking in the long room, the huge, menacing columns. Then it hit her: the fire usually consuming the walls of the room was out. Instead, many glowing lanterns illuminated the room with soft white light. Zuko stood up on the dais, his back to her. He wore his red, black, and gold royal dress robes and armor; his hair was up, but it was sloppily done, or it hadn't been fixed in a few days. Katara took a deep, steadying breath.

Something was wrong.

"Leave us," he said, his voice soft but commanding. The guards did as instructed, closing the great doors behind them without a word, and left her alone with Zuko.

Katara stepped forward. "Zuko, what was the-"

"Sh!" he hissed sharply.

She was taken aback and furrowed her brow in frustration. What was wrong with him? She did not travel all this way to be "shushed." She stepped closer and noticed he was rocking back and forth on his heel, holding something in his arms.

As she got a better look, she gasped quietly. Swallowing the lump in her throat and ignoring the cracking sound her heart had just made, she forced on a smile and asked with a laugh, "Why Lord Zuko, have you fathered a child in my absence?"

He looked down at her and scowled. "Don't joke, Katara. This is serious," he stated, trying to peek at the apparently sleeping child.