ϡ for a kiss that lets you know I love you.

{ ●•۰•☯•۰•● }

    It had all gone to hell after the coronation. all of Aang and Zuko’s plans had gone awry, thrown away to dust under the new Fire Lord’s counsel’s shoes. Azula was locked away, the key swallowed down, down, down, until even Zuko was lost in the dark of the dragon’s belly. 

          against their better judgement, Zuko and Mai were wed almost immediately, their uniting kiss barely a brush of the lips. they’d been fighting again, and even the thick makeup on Mai’s cheeks couldn’t the red marks under her eyes from the tears she’d shed. (and the dark circles under the Fire Lord’s eyes were so bad even Katara’s calming teas wouldn’t put him to rest.) the expectation of an heir was heavy on their shoulders, even during the reception when Katara danced with a boy she didn’t know she loved and drank until the sorrows around her were blurred and her hands trembled as she stumbled to the guest room she shared with her boyfriend. 

       months passed, and she traveled, but news of another wedding called her back to the hot, humid place she could barely stand. the smell of sweat and anger kept her on her toes in the room where the bride was kept before the ceremony. Katara sat on a chair just in front of the dressing screen, watching the bride’s shaky arms as she slipped the beautiful dress over her head and tied the back to fit her thin frame. Katara swallowed, watching the stone faces of the servants as they waited for her to reveal herself, but Katara, with the most stern voice she could muster, pushed them from the room to make the bride more comfortable, to give her some solitude without the prying eyes. 

           there was a soft sigh as the young woman revealed herself, beautiful as could be, long brown hair tied in a loose bun on her head and face heavy with regret. Katara walked towards her, touching her fingers to the girl’s pale cheeks with a forced grin. 

      “Ty, you look stunning.” she imagined Mai making a bitter comment at the back of the room, but the woman was away – presumably pregnant but flighty – on her own personal mission with her brother, escaping her husband who, although recent propaganda presented otherwise, was miserable. 

          the circus girl nodded slightly, turning so Katara can tie the last knot on the back. the waterbender tugged the girl’s bun down and motions for her to sit down. she watched, her friend’s form frailer and weaker than it should have been. she shouldn’t have to do this. she shouldn’t–

      tanned fingers ran through dark locks, tugging out the knots and beginning to pin it up in the traditional Fire Nation fashion, but Ty motioned for her to stop. “Just a braid,” she breathed, “just… a simple braid.” Katara nodded, beginning to brush through the soft locks and intertwining the parts as carefully as she could. “They haven’t let me see her,” the girl whispered. Katara just nodded silently. they both know who she’s talking about. 

            “Maybe it’s for the best,” Katara said, but she knew Ty Lee would not agree. Katara herself had seen the princess, tied to a bed, eyes watery and fingers clawing at her roped like a caged animal – a caged bird, begging to fly. 

      Ty shook her head. “She should be standing there when I walk down the aisle,” she whispered as if an evil force were listening to them speak. for all they knew, one was, the one that caused the Fire Nation’s bright future to go into a tailspin and crash-land into the dirt. “She should be holding my hand and slipping that ring onto my finger,” Katara breathed in sharply as she finished the braid, tying it and letting it hang against Ty Lee’s back. “You think I’m dumb, but I know… I know what they did to her. What I’ll have to do to remake myself here.” 

            Ty Lee was going to be a Kyoshi Warrior, going to do something great for the world. but a suitor came along and the girl who bathed in smoke straight from the dragon’s mouth had to serve her homeland. and here they were. 

      the door opened and the servants flooded in. they were late, and the suitor was getting impatient. although Katara had not known the girl long, she quickly leaned down and kissed the girl’s cheek, watching as the last light in Ty Lee’s eyes disappeared, and a single tear fell down her cheek as she forced an exclamation of joy from her mouth about this day that would be her happiest.