Yin & Yang

Chapter 2.

Katara turned the corners in a slower pace than when she first arrived. She vividly remembered where she'd been. Her goal was the springs, to wait for Zuko. He needed to know! Tears threatened to fall once more but she forced them back. A female servent bowed to her and handed her a fluffy red towel as she approached the hot spring wing of the palace. Another servent handed her a small basket with a cloth, soap and shampoo for her to use. They each bowed to her and left. Sighing, she opened the doors to the washing area. 'Good. No one but me.' Closing the door and walking to the corner of the room, she set down the basket and towel. Her next inspection would be the spring area. Relieved that no one else was indeed there, she relaxed a little.
Though there wasn't another person there, some might come in after a while. Opening the doors to the hallway again, she beckoned a servent girl to her. "I am expecting the Fire Lord. No one is to enter whilst we're here. The girl blushed and nodded with a curtsey. "Thank you." Shutting the door once more, she began to undress. Her blue robes tied together at the waist by a dark blue sash had become dirty. She frowned at them, musing as to how that could have happened. She'd only just arrived in Sozun today from a ship. Sighing, she filled a small bucket of water and pushed them down into the warm fluid to soak. Sitting down on a bucket, she pulled up some water using her bending skills and proceded to rinse her body. Katara was shocked at how much dirt came off her body.
Disgusted, annoyed and now seeing how truely long it had been since she bathed, she took her time to wash herself. The soap she'd been given smelled like lilacs and she inhaled the scent deeply. After a good scrubbing of her body, she began to rinse the suds off herself. A soft knock on the washroom door sent a chill up her spine. It opened slowly but not all the way. "My Lady Katara, the Fire Lord wishes you to know he will be here shortly. If there is anything you need, please let me know and I wll fetch it immediately." The servent she'd met earlier stood on the other side of the door patiently for her answer. He heard a splashing of water and grunting.

Katara sighed. "A brush would be nice.. Have the cook make me something, please. Soup and a pheasant." The door closed and she breathed a sigh of relief. She started to rinse her hair again when the door opened slightly again. "Yes?" She said, slightly annoyed. An arm extended into the room, a brush in the hand. The hand set the brush down and the door closed again. She smiled. He was a good servent. Bending up some water, she reached at the brush with the liquid and froze the end around the wooden handle. Picking it up, it floated through the air to her body. Taking ahold of the handle, she let the water splash down onto her body as she brought her hair to the front of her body to untangle it.

When she was done, she stood up and streched. Her back arching a little and she stood on her toes to get the fullest of the feeling that her body could touch the sky. She looked to the waters of the hot spring. It looked so inviting. How long had she been on the ship? Six weeks? Ending her strech, her wet feet slapping the stone floor as she walked to the waters, she thought of how she'd tell Zuko. Her brow crinkled as she lost herself in thought. She slipped into the shallow end and shivered involuntarily as her feet were encased in the magma heated waters. Such warmth.. Too bad she couldn't enjoy it really. Too much was on her mind. Absent mindedly, her fingers raked through her hair, combing them as she was now waist deep in the spring. She looked down to her feet, but quickly averted her eyes when she did. Was that a door opening on the other side? Freezing in her tracks, she listened intently. The only sound she could hear was the running waters from the spring exiting the mountain and into the pool. It was drained by several ducts under the rocks to poor out into other springs in other areas.

Choosing a rock, she slid her body down into the waters. She could at least try to relax before Zuko arrived. The water lapped at her breasts as she slowly sat down. Fully sitting down, the waters covered up to her neck. Leaning back, sinking down a little more up to her ears, she calmed herself down. The servents were good here. They would follow her orders, so why was she so worried? Her stomach rumbled and she lay her hand on it in a feeble attempt to hush it. A sad sigh escaped her mouth as a tear ran down her face. Sitting back up, she wiped the unruly salt water from her cheek as another snuck from her other eye. Her blue eyes closed as she pulled her knees to her chest as best as she could. "How.. why.. did this happen?" Hanging her head and hiding her face in her arms that hugged her knees, she cried softly. "This is not something I.. we needed.. not now.." her sobs became slightly louder. "Zuko.." she sniffed. "Please. Don't hate me."