change of fate

Dinner

Lu Ten arrives back to his apartments to find Katara looking out over the Royal family's personal gardens. He relieves Soza from her position hovering at the door.

"I have good news Little Koi," he says. Katara jumps a little, suprised by his presence. She doesn't say anything but looks at him expectantly.

"Fire Lord Azulan says you are to stay with me. He's even invited us to dinner tonight. A family dinner."

"Really?" Katara asks in warry disbelief. It was ridiculous, the Fire Lord- her enemy- is treating her like his own kin. Why? Because Lu Ten vouched for her? To mock her? To threaten? Was she meeting Azulan the Fire Lord or Azulan the man? She'd rather neither.

Lu Ten's eyes dance with excitement, at how well his plan was going. He busys himself at once with the scrolls left on his desk, glee radiating off of him.

Katara takes a moment to study him like this. On his own soil, in the role of prodigal prince instead of warrior captain. He was different in the Palace, relaxed in ways that he had been tense, tense in ways he had been relaxed.

On the ship Lu Ten carried himself differently, his sholders set with hard work and well earned pride. The straightness in his back was molded by the respect of his men. Here, at the Palace, it was different. Yes his sholders were still set broadly, and his back still impeccably straight but it felt different. Here his sholders were set with regal assurance, the kind of posture one got from growing up under the moldings of nobility, not from training and hard work. Here his back was straight in an always on edge kind of way. The difference was plain as day to Katara. Out there he was the Honored Captain, the warrior who had earned the peoples respect instead of demanded it. In here he was the Prince, the dragon's son who had to prove himself worthy of his birth right to everyone.

Katara wondered breifly if everyone here had a mirror image of themselves meant for different eyes. If everyone she saw was just one posturing side of a whole coin. She wondered if one day she'd have masks made for different places as well. If she'd have to preen and pretend with tense muscles and false expressions and lies. That is, if she lived long enough to need a mask.

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Ladies with no names and gentle hands dressed her quickly and impersonally. Katara was drapped in silky cloths decorated in patterns of red and blue. You'd think that the deep water tribe blue would clash with fire nation red but it didn't. The cloth was a base deep red, the patterens a pictures the decorated it was embrodiered in all different shades of blues.

She thought she looked beautiful, her dresses even more beautiful than the little princess Azula's had been earlier. When she was finished she ran to the waiting Lu Ten and twirled around to show off her pretty dress.

"I look as pretty as a princess, like princess Azula even!" She announced earning a big broad and blinding smile from the Prince.

"I'd wager that you look even more beautiful than Azula." He told her in a hushed conspiratorial voice. Katara's smile was a mirror image to Lu Ten's at that. Take that you tiny little fire brat!

"And that reminds me!" Lu Ten said crossing the sitting room to one of the many book shelves. His finger's ghosted over a few scrolls before he snatched one up and returned to her. "You are- in fact legally- Lady Katara of the Southern Water Tribe. Thats your title from now on, in the Fire Nation and all of her territories." He showed her the scroll, and although she couldn't read it, she was struck silent. The idea felt forgein to her and it put a bad taste in her mouth, to pretend like she was one of these demons.

She was Katara, daughter of Hakoda, cheiftan of the Southern Water Tribe. 'Lady' was some frilly term used by spoiled Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation girls. The girls who used it where spoiled and had no understanding of the dependance of their people. Her father was a leader because he was great at it. People looked up to him for guidance and protection. Katara was of her people, not above them.