Katara gave up on sleeping. With a heavy sigh, she rose from her bed and slipped on a robe, then quietly slid open the door that led into the main room of the suite. Being careful to make no noise, she stole across the parlor to a small tea counter and began fumbling silently in the dim, ever-present glow of the green crystal wall sconces, looking for spark rocks to heat up some water.
"There's got to be a set around here somewhere, it's a palace for pity's sake," she grumbled under her breath when her search left her empty handed.
"What are you looking for?"
Katara nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Zuko's voice from his door across the room. She whirled around and her hand fell instinctively to her absent water skin, before she realized it was only him.
"You startled me," she whispered as she regained her composure. "I didn't mean to wake anyone," she added apologetically.
"You didn't," he reassured her, "I couldn't sleep."
"Oh," was her meek response. She didn't have to ask why he was restless; Iroh's trial would begin in the morning.
"So what are you looking for?" he repeated his earlier question.
"Well, I was going to have some tea to try and relax," she answered with slight exasperation as she began rifling through the drawers and cabinets again, "but they apparently didn't give us anything to start a fire with."
As she heard him coming up behind her, she straightened and stood aside a bit, half expecting him to open a drawer or box wherein would be the spark rocks, and making her feel foolish for not finding them herself. But instead, he merely picked up the water-filled kettle and held it. She looked at him quizzically.
"What are you doing?"
"Heating the water," he replied simply, eyes fixed on the teapot.
"Oh…I knew that," she said lightly, trying to hide her embarrassment and wanting to smack herself for her stupidity.
For the briefest of instances as she glanced back at Zuko, she could have sworn she saw the faint flicker of a smile tug at his mouth, but it was gone so swiftly that she wondered if it wasn't actually just some trick of the light. Suddenly feeling awkward in the silence, she began stuffing tealeaves into the infuser, while trying to think of something to say.
"Would you like some too?" she finally asked politely. "I'm afraid I'm not very good at making tea though, it's probably nothing compared to your uncle's-" she trailed off nervously.
"It can't be any worse than mine," he mumbled, and again she wondered if she had glimpsed a wry grin tucked in with the remark.
"But weren't you working in a teashop?" she asked genuinely.
"I didn't make the tea," he replied dryly, breaking his gaze from his task just long enough to slide his eyes towards hers for a second.
And this time she was certain that he smiled. It was small, and inexplicably short-lived, but she knew she had seen it and refused to discount the occurrence even after the fleeting expression was replaced with a worried crease in his brow. As he set the steaming teapot back on the counter, she gathered up her courage to try and ease him out of his shell.
"You're really worried about tomorrow, aren't you?" she asked gently as she watched the tea ball drop into the hot water.
For a moment, he said nothing, as if considering whether he should even acknowledge the question. When he finally spoke, his voice was with filled with skepticism and annoyance.
"You honestly think this trial is going to change people's minds?" His tone made the question sound almost rhetorical.
"Don't you?" she asked. looking up at him with slight disappointment at his harshness. He didn't look at her, and was quiet for a few heartbeats before responding.
"Just because a hated enemy one day decides to do the right thing, it doesn't mean the world is going to simply forget who he is and everything he's ever done wrong. It's foolish to think anyone is that forgiving," he answered bitterly, replaying in his mind a certain Earth Kingdom town and an altercation with a bunch of bullies parading as soldiers.
"Maybe," she said slowly, suddenly realizing that it wasn't just his uncle he was talking about now. "But that doesn't mean that people can't forgive, or that they won't. I think most people would be more than willing to see past a person's mistakes and…actions…once they knew all the reasons behind them."
As soon as the words were out of her mouth and she saw the shrewd glower darken his face, Katara turned her attention resolutely to her steeping tea. She didn't dare look at Zuko, for she could feel his suspicious stare boring into her, and she was positive that if she looked him in the eye, he'd know what Iroh had told her and the others.
"Well, we'll find out tomorrow, won't we?" he finally said coolly, and then he walked back into his room and closed the door behind him with a soft 'thump' that rang in her ears like the shattering of glass, despite the fact that the sound had not been loud at all.
It wasn't until she was alone again that Katara realized she had been holding her breath, and when she let it out, she felt so tired that the tea was practically pointless.
The trial was held in one of the city's largest buildings, which even then had to undergo some slight, last minute modifications due to the sheer number of people permitted to attend. Shops had been closed throughout Ba Sing Se as throngs of citizens came to watch. And when all the seats inside were full, the unlucky souls who couldn't get in crowded the streets outside in order to be among the first to hear the outcome.
The King was situated on a raised platform at one end of the long hall, a thin veil obscuring him from the eyes of those assembled, and he was flanked on either side by members of the Council of Five. Iroh was placed in the very center, on a specially recessed section of floor that allowed the acoustics of the room to carry his voice clearly over the crowd. Behind the accused, a special section was arranged for witnesses, wherein Aang and his companions sat in the front row, while a number of others whom none of them knew were seated behind them.
To Zuko, the atmosphere and arrangement of the room was disturbingly like the Agni Kai arena at the Fire Palace, and so strong was this impression, that for most of the trial he could barely keep his attention focused on what was going on.
There had been murmurs of astonishment when it was revealed that Iroh was a fugitive from the Fire Nation. The audience was then held spellbound as his act of 'treason' at the North Pole was verified in heartfelt testimonies by none other than the Water Tribe siblings. And when the attorney asked if the young warrior harbored any ill will toward the general for his part in Yue's sacrifice, the answer was a steadfast 'no'.
Accounts were given by no less than a dozen other people; a masseur from the lower ring who stated that the old man had turned him from the desperate slide into a life a crime, several regular customers of the tea shop in the Lower Ring where Iroh had worked under the name of Mushi, and the investors of the Jasmine Dragon who received a healthy chuckle from the crowd when they asked if the condemned man might be able to return to his duties as proprietor of their Upper Ring teashop.
By the time the events of Azula's coup d'état and Iroh's assistance in aiding the Avatar's escape had been recounted, the crowd was rendered completely silent. Zuko's involvement was not mentioned, much to the relief of everyone in the Avatar's group. And last, Heng gave his account of Iroh's successful plan to restore the Earth King to the throne, and Sokka was once again called on to provide the details of how Iroh had negotiated the Fire Navy's surrender in Chameleon Bay.
The Council of Five adjourned only briefly to discuss the evidence, and when they returned, the room was shrouded in a stillness so intense that one half-expected to see a visible haze in the air.
"Has the Council reached a recommendation?" intoned the Earth King solemnly. General How stood up.
"We have, your Majesty," he replied calmly.
"And what is your counsel?"
"Your Majesty, given General Iroh's assistance in the preservation of the Earth Kingdom's rightful rule, and due to the testimony provided by Sokka and Katara of the Southern Water Tribe of his retribution on behalf of the Moon Spirit to the benefit of the entire world, it is our belief that the accused no longer poses any threat to the Earth Kingdom, and should instead be considered an ally to the Crown. We propose that he be granted full absolution of the charges brought against him."
A murmur rippled through the hall as Kuei took a deep inhalation before continuing.
"And are there any present who wish to oppose this course of action?"
A steely hush fell over the hall, as everyone held a collective breath. This was the moment that would decide the trial. Should anyone speak out against the suggested pardon, the trial would have to be rescheduled while a new prosecution was arranged. If that happened, the chances of Iroh's release were slim to none. The stony faces of the Council betrayed no emotion, while Aang and his friends waited with eerie calm. Zuko was visibly trembling, despite his best efforts to keep still.
Minutes seemed to linger for an eternity.
"So be it," rang out the voice of the Earth King so suddenly that half the courtroom practically jolted from their seats in surprise. "As the Mortal Embodiment of the Divine Element of Earth, I hereby exonerate Prince Iroh, Son of the Late Fire Lord Azulon, of all charges of unwarranted conflict. Henceforth, the Dragon of the West is absolved in the eyes of the Earth Kingdom. General Iroh, you are free to go."
As the echo of the Earth King's voice faded from the walls, Zuko suddenly felt all the strength leave his limbs, and he half-collapsed across the table where he sat. Like the unleashing of a floodgate, the courtroom suddenly broke out into a racket of turmoil. So drained was Zuko from his emotional ordeal, that it took him several long moments to understand just what he was hearing. And when his jumbled mind finally sorted out the noise, he was dumbfounded with shock; the people were cheering.
He hesitantly lifted his head, as if expecting his eyes would somehow betray the sound filling his ears. But there was his uncle, beaming happily and surrounded by a chattering Avatar and his friends, while General How stood nearby with a congratulatory grin. It occurred to Zuko that he should be over there as well, but he was just too thunderstruck to move.
Iroh caught Zuko's gaze and smiled knowingly. This had been a much greater strain on his nephew than anyone could imagine, and Iroh wasn't the least bit disappointed that Zuko had not yet come over. They would have a chance to celebrate later and that was just fine with him. So instead, he merely nodded, and when a soft smile graced Zuko's face, that was suddenly the only thing that really mattered.
By the end of the day, word had reached every corner of Ba Sing Se that the Dragon of the West had not only been acquitted, but that he would be personally overseeing the Avatar's fire bending instruction. For the most part, the citizens felt this was a tentative first step towards the end of a hundred years of war and the beginnings of a possible peace with the Fire Nation. But there were some, or rather one, who was not at all pleased.
"A pardon. A full pardon," Jet spat as he read the battered leaflet Smellerbee had given him.
"He's going to be Aang's fire bending teacher," the girl beamed, but Jet only glowered at her.
"Yeah, right up until that…prince," his lips curled as though the word tasted foul, "hands him over to the Fire Lord or murders the Avatar in his sleep. Why don't they just throw open the city gates and let the entire Fire Nation in?"
Smellerbee let out a frustrated sigh.
"Why can't you just accept the reality that not everyone from the Fire Nation is a monster?" she seethed.
"Because I KNOW BETTER!" he shouted, not caring about the sharp twist of pain in his ribs. His dark eyes flashed with such fierce hatred that Smellerbee took a frightened step away from him, even though she knew he was still too injured to do her any harm. It took her a moment to recover enough to speak again.
"Well I don't," she said quietly. "And maybe, just maybe, you don't know as much as you think you do." She stood there for moment, hoping her words might sink in, but the furious scowl on his face let her know that nothing was ever going to change his mind, and so she made up hers.
"There's enough coin in the bedside drawer to pay your room for two more weeks," she stated calmly as she started gathering up her things. This actually got a response.
"What, you're going to leave me now?" he said with angry accusation, not really believing that she would. "After everything we've been through together; after all the time's I've saved your butt!"
"I'll have Longshot bring you more medicine tomorrow and send the healer back over in a couple of days. He said you'd be able to move around by the end of the week."
"You're really leaving," he gaped, as he realized she was serious. But his shock quickly turned to rage as he shouted at her again.
"You know what, FINE! Just go. It's not like I need your help anyway!"
Smellerbee just looked at him with hurt eyes, and for one swift instant, he almost softened. But before he could take it back or try to apologize, she was gone, and his fury came crashing back.
He slammed his fist into the wall with an outraged cry, and then gasped for air against the pain his sudden exertion caused.
"I can do this on my own," he snarled to himself angrily, "those two fire benders aren't getting off so easy…I'll make sure of that if it's the last thing I do."
"So you intended a full pardon from the very beginning?" Iroh asked as his jaw dropped.
General How grinned a little shamefully from across the table where Aang, Sokka, Katara, Toph, Iroh, and Zuko were gathered. The rigors of the trail had left them all famished, and the King had ordered a private banquet for them. How had only stopped by for a moment but they insisted he stay and eat with them. After a little prompting from Aang, the earth kingdom general had finally told Iroh about the rigged trial.
"I wish I hadn't needed to be so secretive about it," How said apologetically "but I couldn't risk anything going wrong."
"No need to apologize, General," Iroh waved the other man's concern aside, "I'm merely impressed that you could come up with such a crafty plan. You never really seemed the type," he finished with a sly smirk.
"People can change," How answered meaningfully.
"Yes," Iroh agreed ponderingly as he cast a look over to his nephew, who was too lost in his own thoughts to notice. "Yes they can."
"So will you be continuing on with the Avatar, General Iroh, or will you take up your investors offer to return to the Jasmine Dragon?" asked How with an amused smile.
"You have no idea how tempting that is," Iroh chuckled, much to the disheartened astonishment of the others, "but I do not go back on my word, and I promised to teach Avatar Aang fire bending."
"Actually," Aang chimed in a bit sheepishly, "before we knew you were going to be pardoned, Zuko offered to teach me. He's done a pretty good job of filling in for you over the past few days, so if you really wanted to stay-" he trailed off a little uncertainly. As much as Aang hated the idea of Iroh staying behind, didn't feel it was fair to expect him to come. After all, they would be going back into the Fire Nation soon, and Iroh was still a wanted man there.
"And miss all the fun?" Iroh chortled as he noticed Zuko nearly choke at the thought going facing Ozai as being considered 'fun'. "I wouldn't dream of it. Besides," he added with cunning humor, "I've not yet taught my nephew to brew a proper cup of tea."
Everyone at the table laughed as Zuko simply groaned and dropped his head into his hands. But no one saw that, hidden in the pretense of his annoyance, the prince was actually grinning: for secretly, though he'd never admit it to anyone, this was perhaps one of the happiest moments of his life.
-fin-