Of Firelords and Birthday Cakes (Zutara)

The problem with Water

It was a perfect market day. Nice and warm, but not too warm. A good breeze, still damp with yesterday's rain washed over us. A few muddy patches lingered on the edges of the road. I didn't avoid them, letting my bare feet sink into the wet dirt, then crust over between my toes.

The traffic on the road was slow, so we had practically the entire walk down to the market by ourselves.

Eggs, flour, sugar-berries, hay, and a gift for Zuko.

With the three miscreants in front of me, this might take all day.

As we reached the market, I caught up to them and reminded them of our mission, pulling Aang away from a cabbage cart and bringing them all in.

Once they all assured me that they would stay on task, I lead the way, plowing through the crowd at the market.

We found the sugar-berries first.

"How many do we need Katara?" Sokka asked, pulling out a bag to put them all in.

"The recipe says three bushels." I walked over to him.

The lady behind the cart, Mrs. Goh, smiled at us, "That's three coins for three bushels."

I fished inside the coin bag for the right amount, then palming them, handed them to her. She placed them in a bag next to her cart, and they landed with a few clinks.

"Thank you Mrs. Goh." Aang beamed, trying to sneak a berry off Sokka, who bagged three bushels, then tied off the top. Aang made a sad face.

"My pleasure." the older lady smiled again at us, then looked at me, "I know it's a bit much to ask, but my water bucket fell into the well this morning. If it won't trouble you Katara-"

"Oh no, I would love getting it out for you." I responded before she could finish. I couldn't count the number of times someone had asked me to do a favor for them. It was strangely satisfying when I did something simple for someone else who didn't have my abilities.

"Thank you dear, it's just around that stone wall." Mrs. Goh took out her walking stick, "I'll show you."

We walked over to the solitary well in the middle of a side courtyard, Mrs. Goh's walking stick thumping rhythmically against the stones. Before we had even reached the well, I sensed around the ground and found the thin tunnel of water, with a small bucket floating on top.

The stones were cool under my feet as I walked over to the well, then glanced down. It was too dark to see the water below, but I could sense it's movement. I reached over the well's opening and contacted my bending.

Before I could draw the water up, and the bucket with it, I heard a whispered, "Katara."

I glanced behind me to see Aang, Sokka, and Toph all cowering behind the wall that separated the main market from the side-courtyard. I raised an eyebrow to question them.

Sokka and Aang instantly pointed further down the road to my left, their eyes wide with fear.

Toph simply shifted her foot in the dirt and stated, "Zuko."

I whipped my head to the direction where they pointed, my heart suddenly leaping to my throat. Just as quickly, I chastised myself. It's not like if he finds out about the cake he's going to firebend us out of existence.

Still, nervousness clenched my gut as I saw Zuko, looking over the wares of some glass seller just down the street. His longish black hair was what gave him away. He seemed occupied, with already a few bags in his arms, his tan casual robes covered with paint from our hut. Hopefully he wouldn't look this way.

Hurry Katara, hurry.

Swallowing, I urged the water from the earth with an outstretched hand. It came up faster than I anticipated, running to the light with a rushing noise, the bucket tossing above it. With a loud splash, the water reached the top, spilling over through the cracks in the stones at the top of the well.

I grabbed the bucket, then handed it to Mrs. Goh. She smiled warmly, "Many thanks my dear. I dropped it in just this morning, and no one could get it out." She emptied any contents it had onto the ground, and a few drops sprinkled out.

"No problem." I said, returning her smile with a grin.

Taking her staff, the old woman headed back to her shop, hobbling along with the bucket under her arm.

As she passed Toph, Sokka, and Aang, my brother motioned to me, "Come on Katara!"

"Hold on!" I turned back to the well, quickly gathering the drops Mrs. Goh had sprinkled onto the ground, and hovering them in the air to let them fall back into the well.

I kept an eye on Zuko the whole time, trying to hide myself behind the beams of the well.

"What are you doing?" Sokka yelled quietly.

I turned the few drops into a tiny sphere before letting them fall into the well. Then, I dropped my bending, letting the water fall back down into the earth.

I was about to dash away to safety when I saw Zuko glance up the road. I froze, my gut clenching.

"Katara! Run." Aang pleaded.

"He saw us." I breathed.

Zuko looked back down at the cart, busying himself with buying something.

"Maybe." I squeaked out.

"No." Sokka lit up, "He saw you." he pointed at me, "If you can stall him here for long enough, our shopping trip will go much more smoothly."

"What? Hey, no!" I lowered my voice as Zuko looked up at me again, "You can't just leave me here."

Toph crossed her arms over her chest, "Why do we care of Zuko sees the sugar-berries or not?"

"BECAUSE." Sokka yell-whispered, "It's a surprise."

"Well, I hope it's not too much of a surprise." Toph stated, "I'd hate to get my feet burned again."

I could almost feel Zuko's gold stare on the back of my neck, and it was making me sweat, "You had better be productive. I am not blowing our cover for nothing."

"Don't worry, we'll come back for you." Sokka smiled happily.

He started herding the two of them away from the wall. I felt a desperate sense in me want to panic and jump after them, but I kept my cool.

"We won't let you down Katara!" Aang grinned and waved at me, before they all disappeared around the corner.

"You'd better." I growled.

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Next part on Thursday (Or at least I'll try).