Chapter 42.2- And so the Dragons Danced

Their presence was noticed in seconds and all the present forces turned to them almost as one. The old men seemed to take that as their cue and their circle broke apart and began rushing at the guards surrounding them. The man on the throne who she figured was the Fire Lord seemed to regard them with boiling hatred.

“How fitting is it that the coward known as the Avatar would choose to confront me at this hour when I am most vulnerable” If he expected these words to have any effect on Aang, then he was mistaken as Aang just watched him with blank eyes. When he moved, it was with all the power and force that one would expect from the most powerful bender in the world. Invisible winds moving at incomprehensible speeds slammed into the first set of Fire Nation Guards that separated them and Ozai, sending them flying backwards and away from the fight with bone crushing force.

“Surrender, Fire Lord. You are beaten” Aang said next, giving a meaningful look at the fighting still taking place.

“You seem to be-“ The Fire Lord began to speak, and then suddenly one of the guards behind him broke ranks and stabbed their pike right through his back. She gasped in shock just as the Fire Lord did the same.

“Y-you?” He asked as he fell forward from the throne and onto the floor. The other guards broke their stupor, and moved to attack the one that had killed the Fire Lord but Katara felt at her water skins and created a whip of boiling water that slapped all of them away from her as she moved to the guard’s aid. She had no idea why it had happened, but the fact that the guard had killed the Fire Lord meant that she was at least an ally. Aang, eyes flashing white for a second but no longer, brought an end to the fighting in a matter of seconds. Powerful blasts of air tore through all the fire nation soldiers and guards, sending everyone who failed to surrender into a broken heap on the floor.

The guard who had killed the Fire Lord ripped their helmet off their head revealing a beautiful woman in a ponytail. For the first time in a long time, Katara learned what it felt like to look at someone more beautiful than her and crushed the feeling of inadequacy that rose in her chest as quickly as she could.

“Who are you?” She found herself asking.

“Zhufu”, the guard responded, voice cold as ice.

“Why would you do that?” Aang cut in as he floated to land between them. On looking at the Fire Nation woman though, Aang seemed to freeze in his steps, obviously taken in by her beauty. Part of Katara couldn’t even blame her. From a few meters away, Sokka was in much the same state.

“This bastard raped me. Repeatedly. Multiple times a day he demanded that I ‘serviced’ him or else he would see to it that my family was punished for my impudence. I swore that I would kill him one day, and you gave me the perfect opportunity.” She said, spitting down at the body of the Fire Lord even as Katara felt disgust and pity overwhelm her in equal measure- disgust at the pathetic waste of space that was Ozai, and pity for this woman.