Broken Hearts
Prologue
The snow and glistened brightly in the midday sun. Looking back onto the tundra, the beauty of the South Pole was blindingly evident; the white stretched for miles and miles into the frozen lands. It took visitors to the area a few days to truly get used to the land's singular brightness. But those who lived in the village had no such problem. They had been born into this cold brightness and grew immunity to it early in life. In fact, many of the native Water Tribe that had left the area often needed a few days to get used to the 'darker' parts of the world.
It was a useful ability to have, as the Southern Water Tribe had experienced tremendous growth over the last few years. Since the fall of Fire Lord Ozai almost five years ago, the world had become reacquainted with itself, as the Fire Nation had once again become a trusted ally of its brother Nations. It's new ruler, Ozai's son Zuko, had been determined from the moment he took the throne to heal the damage his country had caused the world. As a result, the Fire Nation had given many of its great technological devices to the other Nations to help heal the damage they had caused. One of those gifts had been the use of their ships for travel between the Nations. As these ships had a propulsion-based engine and were capable of far faster transport then all other naval vessels, they had been a crucial part of rebuilding the Southern Tribe.
The Northern Water Tribe, after the events of the 100-Year War, had finally decided to reestablish its contact with its sister Tribe. Of course, part of this desire had also been out of respect for one of their great fallen heroes, Master Pakku, who had journeyed down to the Southern Tribe to help rebuild. Pakku had died in the great Battle of the Avtar that had ended the war, and Chef Arnook had dedicated the rebuilding effort to his fallen friend. But as the Tribes were located on the opposing poles of the world, such a process would have been impossible had it not been for the Fire Nation. Their ships had cut the journey between the tribes in half, and allowed the two Tribes to reestablish their connection. As a result, the Northern Tribe, the richer and more prosperous of the two Tribes, had been able to send it's best Waterbenders and builders down to the South Pole and begin to rebuild the decimated Tribe.
It had taken many months to truly rebuild the Southern Tribe. Since almost all of their menfolk had left to fight in the war, there had been no real construction in the Tribe since that time, partially because of the lack of skilled builders, but mostly because there were no Waterbenders left to defend the Tribe during the war. But the Northern workers had both expertise and desire and had set themselves to the task with vigor. And since they had developed a 'brightness immunity' thanks to the ice of the Northern Tribe, they were able to work much faster then any builders from the Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom (though many did come and give whatever aid they could). After a year of work, the Southern Tribe was close to equaling the splendor of the Northern Tribe. Using their skills with ice and snow, the builders had used the surrounding area to construct many different homes and buildings for the Southern Tribe. Large igloos and ice buildings littered the Pole, and many of the Tribe were learning the art of Waterbending. Those without bending had been able to learn new hunting skills and soon, food was plentiful. But all those who came to aid the Tribe refused any praise for their efforts. After all, such a place was only fitting for the great heroes who lived there- Chief Sokka and his wife Azula, who ruled the Tribe, Sokka's sister Katara, one of the greatest Waterbending Masters alive, and of course, her husband, Avatar Aang. While it was true that the Avatar was an Airbender, he and Katara divided their time between the two Nations, and often led the Southern Tribe when Sokka and Azula traveled (mostly to the Fire Nation, Azula's home).
Such was the case now in the Southern Tribe. Though the end of the war had brought the end of Fire Lord Ozai's reign, it had not ended the man himself. Ozai had been stripped of his natural Firebending and cursed to a life of endless wandering by the Architect of Fire, Darya, he had not gone quietly. Over the course of two years, he had managed to assemble a rebel force of rouge Firebenders and attempted to retake his throne. However, Ozai's force, strong as it was, had never been able to enter to re-enter the Fire Nation. Instead, he had committed himself to attacks on the other Nations, hoping to draw out his son's forces. But Zuko was no fool, and thanks to the universal hatred of Ozai, had easily been able to convince the other Nations to aid him in his battle, all four working to keep their homes safe and allowing the Fire Nation to remain protected against Ozai. Still, it had required a great deal of coordination on the part of each Nation, which was the reason for Sokka's absence from the Tribe. He had been called to a summit in the Southern Air Temple, along with Aang and several generals from the other Nations. Azula had come along as well, but Katara had been left behind t govern the Tribe. But that wasn't the only reason.
"Mistress Katara?"
"Yes, what is it?" Katara asked, rubbing her eyes as the Water-Tribe guard motioned to the door.
"I apologize milady, but there is a matter that needs your attention. Apparently, there has been an incident within the village. Those responsible have been brought here"
"All right. Bring them in." Katara said wearily.
The guard nodded and opened the door. A second guard entered carrying a pair of men in with him. He placed them down in front of Katara's throne, where she sat in place of her brother.
"Now, what exactly happened here?" Katara asked, looking down at both men.
"It is all this fool's fault!" the man on the right, who was the older of the two with a long white beard yelled, pointing at the other man. "His blasted penguins got loose, waddled into my house and destroyed my belongings!"
"I said I was sorry!" the other man, who was in his twenties with short brown hair and old, hand-me-down clothes. "I didn't mean for them to get loose! But Mistress Katara, this crazed man destroyed my day's shipment of eggs! I'll have nothing to sell at the market this week."
"I see. How much damage did the penguins cause?" Katara asked.
"Enough to ruin almost everything! You must get this fool to repay me for my losses!" the old man screeched.
"Please Mistress! I don't have the money to pay that much. Be merciful to me, please!"
Katara was quiet as both men ranted their cases, and then raised her hands for silence. Looking to the old man to the young, she said, "You want payment for your losses, but you say you don't have the money."
"Yes."
"Exactly."
"Then here is my ruling. You will supply this man with three eggs from your harvests until you have paid back the cost of the damages."
The young man nodded happily, while the old man pouted, but muttered that it was fair.
"Good. Now leave and return to your day's work." Katara said.
Both men bowed and turned to the door, as the guards escorted the men out. Once they were gone, Katara sighed and sank into the throne. How did her brother do this all the time? Katara had only been in charge of the Tribe a few days, but she had already had to deal with an exhausting amount of duties. Everything from trading arrangements to construction of buildings to domestic disputes to defensive measures for the villages harbor. It was a never-ending parade of questions and duties that made Katara gain a newfound respect for her brother. How he managed to deal with all these things himself was beyond her. Even when Katara had led the Tribe before, she had at least had Aang at her side to help.
Aang. Just thinking of him made Katara feel melancholy. He'd only been gone for a few days, but Katara missed him terribly. He hadn't left her side in months, which made this new absence even harder. But Katara knew that he wasn't the only reason for her sadness; after all, she was somewhat unstable these days. Her hand drifted down to her swollen belly and slowly began to rub it. The sensation, even after all these months, managed to bring a smile to Katara's face. She and Aang had been trying for so long to have a child, ever since they got married. But despite their mutual desire and their love for each other, it just hadn't happened. They had tried to remain hopeful, but it had gotten harder as they watched Sokka and Azula have children, as well as Zuko and Jin. After a while, they had both started to wonder if maybe it was them. Aang felt this more strongly, as he thought being the Avatar could somehow be blocking his efforts. Katara had done her best to reassure him, but as time continued to pass with out any good news, it got harder and harder.
But then this year, it had finally happened for them. Katara had been sick for nearly a week before visiting the village healer, and finally learning the good news. She'd almost hugged the poor healer to death when he'd given her the news, and Aang had been so ecstatic, he'd leapt into the air and come down at the other edge of the village. Sokka and Azula had been just as thrilled, and Zuko and Jin had sent word of congratulations from the Fire Nation. Since that day, Aang had not left the Water Tribe, leaving his duties at the Southern Temple to the monks there. This conference was the only thing in months that Aang could not avoid, and even then he had been reluctant to leave. But Katara had known how Aang would be needed there, and had convinced him that she would be fine without him for a few days.
Of course, once Aang was actually gone, this proved to be a difficult task, especially with the responsibility of the entire Tribe on her shoulders. Just having Aang around to give some words of comfort, or answer some Tribe questions, or to rub her feet (By Ruta, that would be so good!). But Katara knew that she wouldn't see Aang again for at least another day, so she would just have to wait. As that thought left her head though, Katara heard the door beginning to creak open. Sighing, she steeled herself for another matter to settle.
"Mistress! There is…."
"Just bring them in." Katara said.
"No no, Mistress! The Avatar's bison had returned, it is right by the harbor!"
"What!" Katara said, leaping to her feet.
"Yes. I wanted to…"
But the guard never got to finish, as Katara pushed passed him and, moving as quickly as an eight month pregnant woman could, ran for the harbor, a huge smile on her face.
As Katara exited Sokka's igloo, she could already see Appa at the nearby harbor. She ran even faster then, looking for a glimpse of Aang. But instead, she saw Sokka slide down off Appa's back. Her older brother landed, the noticed his sister running towards them, grimaced and ran over to her, stopping her in her tracks.
"Katara, what are you doing?! You shouldn't be running in your condition!"
"You…. Think …. So?" Katara panted.
"Yes I do. Now please, sit down or something. We've got a lot to talk about."
"Sure. But I want to see Aang first." Katara insisted, trying to push past Sokka. But her brother held her in place.
"Katara…." He began, speaking uncertainly. "Aang isn't with me."
"Oh. He stayed in the Temple?" Katara asked. "Well, I guess he is needed there. Is Azula there too?"
"Yes, she's helping out there. Katara, please, just let me explain." Sokka pleaded. The tone of his voice, urgent and pleading, caused Katara to stop and stand quietly.
"We were in the Temple, working out some plans for defensive borders around the village. But then…. There was an explosion on the other side of the Temple. The rebels had gotten some of the old balloons from the war and they'd started attacking. Some of the Airbenders flew out to fight, but then…then Azula saw something."
"What?"
"It was this big balloon, much larger then the others. As I looked at it, I saw that it had that damn symbol on it, the old symbol that Ozai used when he ruled the Fire Nation. Then I looked out onto the deck and I saw…. Him. It was Ozai."
"I called out his name and…and Aang, he was so fast. He leapt onto his glider and flew out to the balloon. Ruta, he was so fast, he just dodged all the others and headed for Ozai. I watched him attack, and then there … there was a big flash of fire and…"
"And what?" Katara asked, her eyes wide and panicked now. But Sokka was silent.
"Sokka, what happened? Where's Aang?! Where?!!" Katara yelled, grabbing her brother's shirt and shaking him like a dog. Gently, Sokka pushed away his sister's hand and reached inside his tunic. As Katara watched, he pulled out a burned and blackened piece of wood. Katara stared at it dumbly for a moment, then saw it for what it was. Her face contorting, she took the piece of Aang's staff and stared at it silently.
"Katara, I'm so sorry." Sokka began, but stopped as Katara's eyes began to water. As the sobs issued forth, Sokka reached out and embraced his sister, pulling her close as she wept into his shoulder. She wept for the loss of her husband, the life she'd never see again, and for her child, who had been denied the chance to grow up knowing it's father.