change of fate

Royal Brat

Lu Ten had Katara sent away to his rooms as soon as they entered the palace. Men in court finery swarming him as he marched ahead, trying to simultaneously usher her forward and sheild her from their gazes.

"Stay in here Katara, Soza will stay with you, I have business that needa to be sorted out," he told her in his Prince voice.

"Yes your Grace." Katara said in kind, also in her 'Prince' voice. Lu Ten nodded and turned. He stopped at the doorway to issue a quiet order to Soza before he disappeared through the heavy looking wooden door. Voices flurrying to speak as soon as he stepped out.

Katara decided to occupy herself with exploring the rooms while she waited. Soza stayed posted by the door.

There were many. The front room, a sitting room, a dining room, a bedroom, a closet as big as the sitting room and a bathroom just as big connectes to the bedroom. She found an office- library deep into the maze of rooms.

The ceiling was higher than all of the other rooms in Lu Ten's apartment's. The two side walls were made of heavy wooden book cases, stocked with tomes, scrolls, and books with the marks of every nation. Katara even spotted the Air Nomad symbol mixed once or twice. She traced the end of an delicate looking Air Nomad scroll in awe.

A Northern Water Tribe scroll caught her eye and she drifed from the Air Nomad piece. She unraveled it gently, her hands felt too clunky on the fancy paper. Too unrefined.

There were painted images of men in water bending stances. Showing different poses and how the movements correlated to the movement of the water. She was intrigued but Katara could only make out a couple of simple words. She made a mental note of where the scroll belonged for latter and put it back. Gently sliding it into the empty slot she had found it in.

"What are you doing in here?" Demanded a little yet nasty voice from behind her.

Katara jumped and turned. A little girl stood in the doorway, dressed up like a doll. The little girl's hands were crossed infront of her and she glared at Katara with temperamental amber eyes.

To say Katara was confused was an understatement. Who was this girl? Did Katara accidentally wander into another set of rooms without realising it? Did Lu Ten have a secret daughter?

"I asked you a question girl. Can you not hear or speak? Answer me." The little Fire Nation girl said. Katara was confused by being called girl- this girl was at least a year younger than her.

"I- I'm waiting for Lu Ten to get back?" Katara told her, the confusion evident in her voice. Forgetting to use her Prince voice or to call Lu Ten 'Prince Lu Ten'.

"Why are you snooping about? What business do you have with my Cousin?" The girl prodded.

Katara Immedeatly fell into a bow. Clicking the relation together in her head, the little girl with the mean voice was Princess Azula, Prince Ozai's daughter.

"I apologize Princess, I was just looking around. I am sorry if I offeneded you at all," Katara said still bowing. Trying desperately to recall all the things her tutor had taught her in the short time she had to learn them. Her first interaction with Fire Nation royalty outside of Lu Ten wasn't off to a good start.

The Princess let her bow for a while, not responding to Katara's apologies. She could feel Azula's smile as the moments dragged on.

"Who are you?" The Princess finally asked.

Katara hesitated. Unsure of how she was supposed to answer. She wasn't going to lie to Azula, but she didn't know how Lu Ten was explaining her to the Fire Lord. She couldn't contradict him.

"Well?" Azula snapped. The impatients in her voice making her sound her age.

"I am Katara of the Southern Water tribe, your Grace. A guest of Lu Ten's," she said, straightening. Her eyes still downcast, like her tutor had instructed her. She keept it simple, vauge incase Lu Ten was going to play with the details. Katara wanted to live long enough to escape, not to die because she couldn't keep her story straight.

"Well that doesn't make any sense." Azula said marching over to the desk and ploping into the large chair. She reguarded Katara with keen eyes, which Katara thought looked out of place on a six year old's face.

"Why did Lu Ten bring you back, hm? Was it because your secretly his bastard child with some water peasant?" Azula speculated aloud, Katara was shocked, she was used to hearing the older boys talking like that. Not girls, and especially not little girls.

"Or maybe its because he has a taste for younger ladies, it would make sense that he'd refuse to court anyone if that were the case." Azula's words were cruel and far to worldly for a girl her age. She spoke so horribly about Lu Ten that anger started to well up in Katara's stomach. But she stayed quiet and let the Princess monologue. Instead balling her fists to keep from defending Lu Ten, her nails biting into the palms of her hands viscously.

Azula grinned ear to ear at the rage simmering unchecked in Katara's eyes. She stood and walked straight up to her, only reaching Katara's nose in height. The Princess's smile didn't fade as she picked at her duller robes.

Then she turned and left, going all the way to the door before throwing words over her shoulder. "You're as easy to rile up as Zuzu."