I spent forever writing this, and I'm glad to get it out so quickly. Quick notes: Niulang and Zhinu are from an actual chinese story. I borrowed their names, but changed everything else. That's about it actually. Enjoy:

Purity

Book One: Sand

Chapter Eight: The Caves

"Speak, speak, for underneath the cover there ”

The sand is running from the upper glass,

And when the last grain's through, I shall be lost.

-William Butler Yeats

"Zuko, I don't think this is such a good idea." Katara said, for what felt like the hundredth time. The ostrich horse she was seated on shifted, and the hollow mouth of the cave yawned in front of them.

His hair was pulled back into his royal top knot, and the gold diadem gleamed in the sunlight. He looked at the cave in front of him, Captain Jee at his side.

"Sokka spoke to me about the caves. I don't think it'll be a problem." He answered calmly, and at this Katara blushed. She hadn't told Sokka anything about her separate journey through the maze of tunnels, but even still...

"He said that the easiest way out is to play music for the badger moles."

"But Zuko these caves are-" Katara started helplessly.

"I know. The tunnels change constantly. It'll be fine."

Katara sighed, wishing that she could exhale steam like Zuko did. As it was, sighing ice wasn't quite the same.

She threw a cautious look over her shoulder, watching as Zuko's personal retinue fidgeted in their seats. She turned to face back towards the entrance as the men situated themselves and counted out their supplies.

She didn't notice at first when he did it but Zuko had nudged his Ostrich horse closer to her. He leaned over, and he spoke quietly but clearly in her ear.

"Katara-" She jumped.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to sneak up on you."

"You're just so quiet Zuko." He shrugged, and fingered the ostrich horse's reigns as if in thought.

"Habit, I guess. You learn to sneak around when you're hiding from Azula." He relaxed into his seat. "Are you ready to go?"

She sighed once more, but nodded anyways. "I guess so. It is the fastest way to Omashu from here."

Zuko nodded, and then directed the ostrich horse over towards his men, and started giving out commands. Several of the men held up hands of dancing flames, and others lit long torches.

Of course. This time they knew how to get out of the caves without putting out all the light.

Zuko held up his own hand of flame, firmly taking the beasts reigns in his other hand, and he let some of the men file past into the cave. He then motioned for Katara to ride in, turning his own horse to go into the cave.

Katara bit her lip and thought of the day she had been here last, and the song that Chong had sung echoed in her ears.

'Two lovers, forbidden from one another; a war divides their people...'

She directed the feathery animal into the caves, following the gleam of the human torches in front of her.

'Built a path to be together...'

Still more men filed in after her, and Zuko continued moving forwards, the sunlight gradually fading behind them, replaced by larger fires that made the normally chilly cave slightly muggy.

The whole group moved forward and just as Katara started to wonder if maybe they could still turn around, because if you squinted you could still see the entrance, the ground behind them shook violently and the tunnel closed off behind them.

Katara mentally groaned as the last bit of the verse resounded in her head and she was sure that somewhere out there the spirits were laughing at her.

'...And die!'

Katara wished, after the sixth hour, that she had her own torch to hold, even if she didn't think she could balance both it and keeping upright on the ostrich horse at once. She was getting colder as the tunnel was getting wider and the torches and men were spreading out further apart.

Strangely enough, they still hadn't run into a single badgermole even when they stopped for lunch; although they had heard plenty of them rumbling past on the other sides of the walls. It was unnerving to say the least, and with the temperature inside the cave, Katara wasn't sure she wanted to try removing the one and only heat source in the whole spirits-forsaken cave.

Zuko's hand held the brightest and warmest flame, although he had become so quiet that it felt odd. Zuko had never been the most talkative of the group, but even so...

She nudged her horse into picking up its pace to match with Zuko's.

"Can we take a break soon?"

Zuko barely grunted in response.

Katara looked at him carefully. He didn't seem very responsive.

"Zuko." She set her hand on his leg, tapping him gently. He almost jumped off the saddle.

"What?" He said, a little wide eyed. Katara rolled her eyes.

"I said, can we take a break? I'm cold and tired. And we've been riding for ages."

"I guess. But we should go a little further before stopping for dinner."

"How much further?"

"Not very much." Zuko frowned softly. "Maybe another half hour."

Katara groaned, and then muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like 'tyrant of dinner'.

Zuko snorted and pressed the side of his foot into the horse, letting it pick up pace, Katara rode after him.

"Please Zuko?"

"Be Patient."

"Zuko, I'm hungry."

"It seems to be a family trait."

Katara raised an imperious eyebrow at this. "You're (the) one to talk. Your whole family is power hungry. Mine just like to eat a lot."

"That's not fair, Uncle doesn't-"

"Zuko, just because your Uncle doesn't want power over land, doesn't mean he doesn't want to conquer the world of fine tea-shops."

Zuko opened his mouth and struggled for the right comeback, his mouth working furiously, but no words came out.

Katara took this oppertunity to breeze past him-an impressive feat on an ostrich horse- and find the large chamber outside the tomb of Oma and Shu.

Katara slid off the horse in time for Zuko to catch up with her, with the rest of his men not far behind.

"I'm stopping for dinner." She said, reaching into her saddle bags and pulling out a small bowl and chopsticks. She threw Zuko a smug grin, causing him to roll his eyes as he dismounted in one swift move. Captain Jee followed suit, and soon the whole group had unpacked all the trappings for a traveling dinner. Zuko took out a few logs of wood, which he efficiently lit, and the group situated themselves around the fire.

Katara leaned against the wall of the cavern, and watched as someone besides herself boiled water and began to make the meal. It was a relaxing feeling not having to cook for a large group of hungry people. She stretched out her legs, and listened to the boisterous chatter going on around her. Most seemed pretty optimistic about the travel through the caves, and Katara couldn't think of a reason to disagree with them. Everything seemed to be going fine.

The steam of the soup rose up towards the ceiling, and Katara caught a waft of something hot and spicy smelling. The benefit of Firebenders’ doing the cooking was that they could boil water within seconds and make it go by so much faster. Their food wasn't bad either, although it took some getting used to, and Katara still cringed every time she remembered trying a green root paste with her meal once. She felt like someone had decided to coat her whole tongue in acid or something equally painful. Zuko, on the other hand ate what he called wasabi in large quantities without so much a flinching.

After a few minutes, Zuko walked over with two bowls of steaming soup, and sat down neatly beside her.

She sniffed the pungent soupy air gratefully, and leaned over his shoulder. "Is one of those mine?"

Zuko lifted the bowl up to his face, blowing on it gently. "Nope."

"What?"

"No."

"What do you mean, no?"

"I mean these are my soup bowls. It's my soup."

"What are you going to do with two soups?"

"Eat them." He said, looking at her as if she'd misplaced her head that morning. "What else do you do with soup?"

"Share." Katara huffed in reply.

"You never said you wanted me to get you soup too."

"It was implied. You should have assumed."

"I don't like assuming things. It never works out for me." He casually slurped the noodles.

Katara let out a garbled shriek in frustration and promptly froze the soup inside Zuko's bowl, while leaning over his lap and snatching the other bowl of soup.

Zuko frowned as he began to thaw the icy noodles. "That was unnecessary." He licked the corner of his mouth. "I was going to give it to you eventually." The soup began to become liquid again, but it was still quite lukewarm.

"Then why didn't you just give it to me?" She replied exasperated.

"Well you didn't say 'please'." He said dryly.

She was about to hit him, and hard, when she realized the corner of his mouth had twitched upwards. He was teasing her.

And she hadn’t even noticed.

"You!"

"Me." Zuko said, his straight face slowly slipping.

"You did that all on purpose!"

"Did what on purpose?" Zuko asked innocently, although he grinned guiltily.

Katara did what she did best, something that she had learned to do very quickly growing up with Sokka. She stuck her tongue out, and blew a big raspberry.

By this point, Zuko was holding his shaking sides and had slid down the cave wall in a fit of laughter.

A few of the men looked over at the pair curiously and Katara glared into her soup as she ate it.

When Zuko had composed himself, he straightened and sat back up.

"Turnabout," He whispered in her ear. "Is fair play." She shivered unintentionally. His breath was hot and ticklish in her ear.

They finished their soup in a mostly peaceful silence, listening to the rest of the group talk about the 'Crazy' King Bumi in charge of Omashu whom they were headed to meet.

Katara leaned over. "Not saying I disagree with them, but your men gossip worse than the women in my tribe on the endless night of winter."

"You're telling me." Zuko said shaking his head.

Captain Jee made his way over before Katara could reply. "Respectfully speaking Zuko, I think we should rest here for the night. The animals are weary and we have enough supplies to take an extra day in the caves."

Zuko looked visibly uncomfortable for a moment, but then he looked at the crackling fire and relaxed. He sighed in resignation.

"We're getting an early start tomorrow."

Jee nodded his thanks, and began to arrange the whole area into a makeshift campsite.

Katara stood up and grabbed her roll from her pack and arranged it neatly facing the fire, and away from the archway into the tomb. All the warmest spots directly in front of the fire had been taken, but if she scooted to the edge of her roll, the heat still emanated strongly enough to feel. Zuko laid down his own bed roll next to hers, unraveling it with a flick of his wrists, and then setting it down carefully. He glanced up quickly, and then tugged his roll a good three feet away from its original starting point.

Katara looked at him strangely.

Zuko ignored it, and took his sack and pulled it closer to his body. With a practiced ease, he pulled the long golden pin out from his head piece and removed the diadem, tucking it into his backpack. His black shaggy hair spilled onto his face, and it had a wrinkle in it from where it had been pulled into a topknot.

"Why so distant Zuko?" Katara joked pointing to the large gap in the arrangement of sleeping bags.

He looked at the expanse of grey stone between them.

"I didn't notice."

"Zuko it’s not like you haven't slept in the same camp as me before. I notice these things."

"I know. Nothing has ever been more...informative."

"What?"

Zuko grinned and kneeled, leaning forward like he was about to share a secret.

"You like to sprawl." He said, his normally yellow eyes turning a deep dark gold that glinted against the firelight. Katara's eyes widened and she felt her face heat in embarrassment while Zuko stood up, raking a hand through his unruly hair and walking to sit in the circle directly around the fire.

Katara sat in place for a moment.

She sprawled?

In her sleep?

Did everyone know this?

She shook her head, and stood up to sit by the Captain who was chatting amiably with the rest of Zuko's men.

"You know I thought this would be more difficult to transverse." Lao-Tzu, the navigator commented.

"Yeah, you won't believe the crazy stories I heard about this place." Someone piped up.

Katara sat down in the circle and shifted to make herself comfortable.

"They're true." Katara said plainly.

The men around her laughed. Lao-Tzu smiled and looked at her. "This place isn't really cursed; it's just filled with badgermoles. I thought you've been here before."

Katara frowned, and then she noticed Zuko was doing the same. "I have." She looked down into the fire. "I was talking about the reason why this cave got its name."

Captain Jee turned to watch Katara. "Go on. We don't know what the actual story is, just rumors. Surely you could tell it best to us."

Shuyi nodded. "We don't know the local stories. Tell us!"

The men around the fire nodded and started asking her to tell the story, chanting and growing loud. Zuko remained silent. He looked up at her, and annoyance crossed his face.

"You can have fun. I'll be over there." He pointed to his roll. "I don't have time for stories." He said, and strode through the fire, letting it split when he walked through it.

"What's his problem?" Lao-Tzu asked bluntly.

Jee shrugged. "Please begin Master Katara."

Katara cast one glance back towards Zuko who was apparently meditating, and then nodded.

"Okay." She smiled. "It begins long before there were any Earthbenders in the Earth Kingdom." She paused, thinking. "The two lovers met atop this mountain that divided their villages. The villages were at war with each other, and they were forbidden to see each other." Katara said, appreciating the attentive stares from the crew of firebenders.

She mentally laughed. If there was one thing she hadn’t expected to ever do in her life, it would be telling an Earth Kingdom story to a group of Fire Nation elite warriors.

"But they found a way to meet in secret. Their love was strong, and they couldn't be stopped. They came here, and learned Earthbending from the badgermoles. The lovers were the first Earthbenders." She saw Captain Jee nod in understanding.

"They met in the cave, building elaborate tunnels to prevent anyone else from following them. Those who did would be lost forever in the caves." She gestured around the cavern.

"One day the man didn't come to meet her. He had died in the war between the villages." She let the words sink in.

"The woman was devastated. She unleashed her most powerful earthbending powers, and she almost destroyed them all. But she didn't." Katara tugged on a lock of her hair. "Instead she ended the war, and the two villages began to build one new city for everyone to live together in. Her name was Oma, and the man's name was Shu. The new city was named Omashu, as a monument to their love for each other."

She pointed at the huge archway behind her. "In that room is their tomb."

"We're staying in a tomb?" Shuyi asked.

"Well, yeah."

Shuyi shivered. "That's not good you know. We could anger the spirits, sleepin’ in people's tombs."

Katara shifted uneasily. "Well, technically we're not in their tomb. We're outside it."

"That's enough distance if you ask me. I don't think they'll mind it." Lao-Tzu said, and the subject was dropped. The group continued to talk about stories they had heard about Omashu and by extension, King Bumi. Katara brought up his crazy antics and the trials he had put Aang through on her first trip to the city, which brought much incredulous laughter. It was Jee however, who insisted everyone take the chance to rest, and Katara shuffled back towards her roll.

She lay down, and listened as everyone fell asleep. There were soft gentle snores, and the groups breathing slowed to measured counts. Katara however, didn't fall asleep, her mind still buzzing from the day's travel. She waited for several minutes before she was sure everyone was asleep, then quietly stood up.

She was careful to move as silently as possible, tiptoeing past Zuko who had a small candle burning by his own roll. It was odd to see the candle there, and lit, but Katara decided against putting it out, in case he decided to wake up.

Katara made use of the candle however, and lit her own candle with it. She looked over at the tomb entrance. She wouldn't be away from the campsite for long, and she just wanted to walk off her energy. It wouldn't take more than a few minutes, and she wanted to get a look at the sarcophagi again.

The tomb itself was large and for the most part, much darker this time. Katara suspected it was the difference between a long torch, and a small tapered candle that made the room seem darker, but it was still light enough for her to see where she was going.

Katara rubbed the sides of her arms. It was cold in the tomb, and her source of light did nothing for the temperature. She walked over in front of the statues of Oma and Shu, and gazed upwards as the intricate stonework.

It must be nice to have someone you loved this much. She sighed, and the candle flickered dangerously low.

"Something the matter?" A soft voice said.

Katara whirled around. Zuko was leaning against the archway, one hand acting as a torch, the other folded over his chest. She gasped.

"Stop sneaking up on me."

"Start paying more attention to your surroundings. You should've heard me coming."

"Zuko, you move quieter than a spirit."

He sighed. "Not anymore I don't. What are you doing up anyways?"

"I'm looking at the statues. They're pretty." She paused. "I couldn't sleep." Katara added defensively.

Zuko snorted and walked over to stand by her. "I should've known."

"Known what?" Katara frowned.

"That you'd like this story. He ends up dead in the end." Zuko waved a hand to the statue.

"It’s not as if people don't end up dead in your stories." Katara replied hotly. "Were you listening the whole time?"

"No. I didn't need to. I already know the story." He looked at her out of the corner of his golden eye. "And the story of the Phoenix wasn't a love story."

"You right Zuko. The phoenix only kept flying to the sun to steal fire because she enjoyed getting burned up. What do you know anyways?"

Zuko looked taken aback for a moment, and Katara wondered if she'd been too harsh. He looked away before answering.

"I know that they didn't get the ending that should've happened."

Katara looked at her feet, and he continued. "The fire nation has a similar story, but without the caves."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He looked back at her, smiling. "Really." He looked back at the carved lovers in front of them.

"Their names were Niulang and Princess Zhinu. She was the princess of the main Island, before all the Islands united. Niulang was the elected leader of his island, the second biggest one. The Islands had been warring for hundreds of years. Like their villages." Zuko added.

"They seem to do that a lot." Katara noted.

"Do what?"

"Fall in love when they shouldn't. With people they shouldn't. With their enemies."

They don't stay enemies. Their love overcomes it. Which is the point." Zuko replied. "Do you want me to finish the story or not?"

"By all means."

"Niulang had traveled to the main Island with some of his best warriors in order to try and steal Fire Lord Azru's battle plans. When he climbed the castle walls he passed Zhinu's bedroom window and saw her having her hair combed. They say she was one of the most beautiful women in the world, with eyes that shone like the sun. He fell in love with her, and continued to return to watch her at night."

"-Zuko."

"What?"

"I hate to break it to you but that's creepy. He just...watched her sleep? Isn't that weird?"

Zuko's sole eyebrow twitched in irritation, and one of his veins pulsed through his forehead.

"He was working up the courage to talk to her. Stop interrupting!" His fire burned a violent shade of red, and then returned to its natural color.

"He ended up running into her in the Royal gardens when he was trying to break into the royal vault. They fell in love and met in secret at night, Niulang told his men to return to the Island without him because he thought he could sabotage some of the military forces on his own. He managed to prevent the forces from reaching his Island, and the Princess ran away with him to his capital city. She told her closest friend and servant where she was going before she left, and when Fire Lord Azru found out he was furious." Zuko paused, while Katara leaned in attentively.

"Of course, because of what Niulang did, he couldn't organize an attack right away, because Niulang destroyed the communications system. Princess Zhinu and Niulang got married in a huge festival in the city of Tianguan, Niulang's capital. The whole city lit lanterns that night, and the city was supposed to be brighter than any star in the sky that night.

When the Fire Lord arrived, they were already married, and Zhinu refused to leave. For several days both sides waited for the other to attack first, until Niulang and the Fire Lord held a private meeting. The princess went with her husband and pleaded desperately with her father to end the fighting. It was then that one of Niulang's men, who despised the Princess and all the trouble she had caused, tried to kill her with senbon. Niulang saw them coming, and shielded her from the attack."

"I thought you said no one dies!" Katara cried.

"I'm not finished with the story! And he doesn't die, it missed his heart. The Fire Lord realizes that Niulang was ready to die for his daughter, so he ended the war, and the two main Islands joined forces in order to unite all the other Islands. The city of Tianguan holds a week-long festival every year in honor of their marriage and the alliance. Niulang became the next Fire Lord, and Tianguan was even the capital for his reign."

"You know a lot of stories Zuko." Katara said, surprised.

"It's the history of the Fire Nation. I'm supposed to know it. The Fire Lord is supposed to stand outside the gates of Tianguan every year and demand that Zhinu be given back. There's a contest every year in the capital to see who will be Zhinu, and another in Tianguan to see who will be Niulang. It's very elaborate; they even kidnap the girl who's playing Zhinu every year. My cousin Lu Ten was once chosen to be Niulang, and I helped him kidnap a noble girl in the middle of the night. She was so excited to be a part of it. My whole family showed up outside the gates, and demanded she be given back. I was seven, I think. But Ozai stopped showing up when he was crowned."

"But now you do it? You just show up and demand the Princess back?

"Yeah." Zuko smiled and rocked on his feet. "You should see it; it's the best festival all year long."

"It sounds lovely." Katara said, yawning.

Zuko tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, like he had done back on the ship. "We should get some sleep. It's late and I want to start early tomorrow."

"I guess. First I wanted to reread the story out here, though.”

Zuko eyed her now mostly melted candle. "Fine. I'll wait."

"Thanks. I'll be quick I-"

Katara stopped. There was a loud rumbling behind them.

"Oh no!"

The huge disk door began to roll back into place. Zuko ran forwards, his fire trailing behind him in a guiding light, but the stone slammed shut, sealing them off from the rest of the group.

Zuko fell against the door, and groaned. His fire leapt back into his hand.

"I blame you." He groaned.

"Me?" Katara glared at the Prince. "You were the one who upset the spirits by mentioning you dislike the story of their lives!"

"I never said I didn’t like it, I just said they should’ve gotten a better ending!"

"Well you didn't have to bring it up in their tomb! You're supposed to respect the dead, not annoy them!"

"Says the girl who keeps showing up in their tomb, instead of letting them rest in peace."

"You know what? It doesn't matter. There's another exit around here somewhere. Help me find it."

Zuko sighed. "You mean that one?" He said sullenly pointing at part of the wall that had obviously caved in. "I hate this cave."

Katara let out an annoyed sigh, and sat down. "I told you this was a bad idea. This place is cursed."

Zuko's good eye popped. "Cursed?"

"You mean you didn't know? Didn't Sokka tell you?"

"He mentioned going through this cave, and the badgermoles. And then he started prattling on about hippies! I wasn't exactly paying attention! When Jee and Lao-Tzu suggested this I didn't think anything of it!"

"Serves you right." Katara snorted. "The whole cave network is cursed."

"So what do we do?"

"Sit tight and wait. There's nowhere to go. If the other tunnel was open we could get out, but it's not." Katara twirled some hair around her fingers. "If we're lucky they'll be able to move that stone back in the morning, and let us out."

"They better." Zuko let out a puff of steam. "They're supposed to be the best fighters in the nation. If they can't move aside one big rock, they're in for a big pay cut."

Katara laughed quietly. "I don't know about you, but I don't care if we're trapped in here. I'm tired. I'm going to sleep." She stood up and walked towards the statue of Shu. "Goodnight."

"Katara wait," Zuko called. She stopped and turned. "What's the curse, exactly?"

"Oh." She said, and he walked up to her.

"You'll get trapped in here forever. And die. If you don't trust in-” She looked up.

“-Zuko what are you doing?"

Zuko placed a hand on the knees of the statues, and stared at the plaque between the bodies.

"Love is brightest in the dark." He read before climbing onto the knees of the Oma statue. He hung his legs over the side. "Why does everyone have to be so cryptic? What on earth is that supposed to mean?"

Katara set down her candle. "It's our way out!" She said excitedly.

"What do you mean?"

"Listen Zuko, last time I went through the caves my brother tried to scare off the bats with his torch, but Appa accidentally caught on fire and he crashed into the wall. Aang tried calming him down, but he caused part of the tunnel to collapse. Aang and I got trapped on one side, and Sokka and Chong, Lilly and Moku on the other."

"Who's-"

"-The hippies. Well, nomads. But the point is we ended up wandering into this room, and that's when I read the story. The inscription, it's how Oma and Shu met in secret!"

"Katara get to the point."

She frowned. "Zuko, the only way to get out of here is to put out the lights." She picked up her candle and blew it out forcefully.

"At least, I think."

Zuko looked slightly frightened, and his normally pale complexion turned an even brighter ivory.

"What do you mean, put out the lights?" His good eye widened again. "And what do you mean, you think?"

"It'll show us the way out. I think. It's hard to tell actually. Either that or we have to..." She trailed off.

"Well if you get rid of your light, then we can find the way out. Maybe. I mean, last time the exit wasn't blocked, but maybe it would still work." She turned to him. "Put out your fire."

"What?"

"Put it out Zuko."

"No! Are you crazy? We'll freeze!"

"You're a firebender. Warm up the air around you!"

"I'd rather wait until morning, thank you."

"Zuko!"

"No! Last time there was an actual exit! This time there's nothing but dead ends!" He pushed himself off of the statue neatly.

Katara fell silent and looked at him. He was pacing back and forth now.

"Zuko, what if they can't open the door?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"They'll open it." He answered, as if saying it made it true.

"Zuko sit down. Your pacing is making me dizzy."

"I can't." He snapped. "I have to figure out what to do to get us out of here. Aside from finding an earthbender hidden somewhere in here, there isn't another way out!"

"Sit down!" Katara commanded and he slumped down beside her.

"Spirits Zuko, you need to calm down." She said, taking her head in her hands and leaning against her knees.

"At least I didn't suggest the other way."

"The other way?" He mumbled in a miserable tone.

"Last time I thought maybe if Aang and I kissed, we'd be able to make it out alive. You know, cave of two lovers?" She laughed. "It was a stupid idea, but I couldn't think of anything else, and I was willing to try anything. We almost kissed too, but that's when our torch ran out, and we found the way out. I had told him kissing was a crazy idea, and then he told me he didn't want to kiss me at all."

Zuko snorted. "Idiot."

"Yeah well, he was just a kid. Is just a kid. He wasn't trying to be rude." She sighed. "He never tries to hurt anyone's feelings, but it happens anyways. I let it slide that time, because he tried to explain what he meant, and started rambling. It was pretty funny, actually." Katara yawned, and stretched.

"Zuko, seriously. Put out your fire, it won't get that cold."

"No." He said sharply.

"Spirits Zuko, you're a little old to be afraid of the dark. Just put it out, I'm tired."

Zuko stiffened visibly, but continued to sit in silence.

"Zuko?"

He said nothing.

"Zuko, are you afraid of the dark?" Katara asked incredulously.

He turned away, avoiding her gaze.

"You're afraid of the dark?"

"Go ahead. Laugh."

Katara looked at him, and his small column of flame. One of the most powerful men in the world, her best friend...was afraid of the dark?

She didn't find any laughter.

"I didn't know." She couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Obviously. It's not something I've chosen to share with the world." He said bitterly.

She laid a hand on his shoulder. He continued to stare at his fire.

"Zuko there's no reason to be afraid of the dark." She assured.

"I know that." He said, frustrated. "But you don't get it."

His fire wavered.

"Everyone leaves in the dark. Nothing good ever comes of it."

"But Zuko, I've seen you out at night."

"Outside. Where there are stars and a moon. It's not dark."

"But if you put out the fire, we might be able to find the way out. It won't stay dark for long."

"No. I always lose something in the dark. The last time I slept in the dark my mother left, and I haven't seen her since." His voice was hoarse. "Everyone I know leaves."

"Zuko your Uncle didn't leave."

"He escaped from prison before I could save him, and I had no idea where he was."

"But you found him again. You found him and he took you back. You're his son and he loves you. He wanted you back."

"I'm not putting out the fire." He said. "If I put out the fire you could find the way out without me, or we could get lost down separate tunnels, or one of them could collapse on you and you would die, because I'm not the healer." He turned to look at her, his golden eyes glossy, and his face set with a frighteningly serious expression.

"If I hadn't jumped in front of the lightning, you would have died, and I would never be able to forgive myself. I'm so sick of seeing people I care about get hurt, and leaving me."

"Zuko, I'm not going to leave you."

"You don't know that." He snapped. "You don't know what might happen."

"I'm not leaving." She said again.

"And I'm not putting out the fire. I guess we’re both stuck here."

Katara bit her lip, hoping to figure out the right solution.

"Zuko give me your hand." She said, holding out her own palm. He held out the hand that was not bending, and she took his hand in hers, interlacing their fingers. The warmth of his hand quickly spread to hers, and she began to rub his knuckles with the pad of her thumb. She leaned on his shoulder.

"I can't leave if I'm right here, Zuko."

"Oh." Was all he could say.

"I'm really tired." She said, picking up her other hand, and tracing circles onto the back of his palm. His grip on her hand tightened slightly.

"Scoot back against the statue." She said, and he pulled her backwards with him.

She moved to sit in front of him, moving her hand over his, so that her palm was touching the back of his hand. She leaned backwards into his warm chest, feeling his heartbeat a steady tempo against his chest. He shifted the hand that was lit, and she wrapped his arm around her waist. Her hand was now atop his, holding her into him.

She took the other hand with the wavering fire, and placed it in front of her to watch.

"Close your eyes." She said placing her head under his chin.

"Why?" He asked.

"So you can't see the dark. Its dark when you sleep, isn't it? If you close your eyes you can't tell if it's dark."

"How do I know you won't leave?"

"Zuko the only way I could leave now is if you let me go. Close your eyes."

"It's fine. I'm not that tired-"

Katara turned in his grip to look at him face to face. "Close. Your. Eyes." She said, and his eyes fluttered shut, his long lashes standing out against his pale skin. She returned to her previous spot, and took the hand with the fire by his wrist.

"Let your fire go out."

"But-"

"Zuko, you need to get some sleep. Your eyes are already closed. The only one who can tell if it's dark is me."

The fire extinguished from his hand, and the room suddenly went pitch black.

“See? It’s not dark. I’m still here.”

Katara took his other hand and wrapped if around her, feeling him tighten his grip on her, sinking his face into her hair, and let herself relax into his chest completely. The crystals glowed a faint greenish color, but they didn't lead into a path, instead they stopped where the cave-in was.

Zuko's whole body was warm, and his breathing was deep and slow. "The crystals are glowing, but it's still really dark." Katara said, quietly. "You were right. There's no other way out. But we should be fine until morning."

She nudged her fingers back between his, locking them together around hers.

"Thank you." He said, and it seemed to repeat itself in her ears several times over.

"You're welcome. Now go to sleep." She said, into the darkness that Zuko couldn’t see.

Katara listened as Zuko’s breathing fell into a steady pattern, and she began to match his inhales and exhales. He had fallen asleep, but his grip had not loosened in the slightest, and his face was now nuzzled into her shoulder, the smooth side placed against her neck. Katara closed her own eyes, and slowly let sleep take her also, her eyelids drooping and the tension in her body slackening in the relaxation that utter exhaustion brought.

Katara found that she hadn’t slept for long; or at least it felt like she had not slept nearly long enough when she was woken up by a white glow leaking in through her eyelids.

She opened her eyes slowly, in hopes of seeing that the rest of the group had noticed they had gone missing in the middle of the night and had come for them.

What she saw surprised her. The sarcophagi in the middle of the room were glowing a pure white. The glow seemed to cover them like large blankets, and it looked as if they were slowly being pulled upwards by an invisible hand. The entire room was bathed in the soft light, and although it wasn’t bright she could see everything in the room.

“Zuko.” She said quietly, in the hope of not attracting the moving light’s attention.

He mumbled something into her shoulder, his words vibrating into her skin.

“Zuko, look.” She said again, this time into his ear. “Something’s lighting up the room.” She continued, gently nudging him. He gasped softly when he woke up, tightening his grip on her.

“I don’t know what it is.” She said staring at the growing white columns.

“Don’t move.” He said in a steely voice, and she could feel his arms tensing.

“I don’t think its going to hurt us.” She said, watching the glow become slightly brighter.

“Oh.” Katara gasped. “Look.”

The columns began to meld into more distinct shapes, and they began to look more and more human like. One was tall, and the other was shorter but still very tall. Katara and Zuko watched in fascination as the lights clothes took shape around their slowly forming bodies. One was a curvy and beautiful woman with long black hair that fell to the waist of her red kimono. Her eyes glowed copper against the white ethereal glow of her skin. The other was a muscular and handsome man, who wore a long blue outfit that matched the woman’s. He also had black hair, pulled into an elegant topknot.

Oma and Shu were now hovering before them.

Zuko’s eyes widened, and his breath caught.

He pulled the both of them to their feet, and positioned himself at Katara’s side, not letting go of her.

With one swift movement, the spirits before them raised their arms in one synchronized movement. They slid into an earthbending position that Katara remembered Toph doing once before, and their hands moved forward, while they pulled their other arms back. The rocks blocking the exit were blown backwards, and the two lovers straightened neatly.

The crystals suddenly glowed in the new hall, and the tunnel gave off a soft green light.

Oma and Shu glided off of the stone coffins, and began to make their way across the room.

“What are they doing?” Katara breathed.

“I’m not sure.” Zuko replied, squeezing Katara’s hand gently, reminding her that they had been holding hands. “I think they might try to inhabit us.” He let her hand slide gently out of his.

“What?”

“Uncle once told me that some spirits possess humans for short amounts of time. I don’t think it hurts, but that’s only because they’re good.”

“So they just…take over?”

“Yes.” Zuko said, nodding as he watched the man clothed in blue coming closer to him. The spirits were mesmerizing, and neither of them could look away from the famous lovers.

“Will they be able to talk to each other if we let them take over?”

“Maybe. I don’t know. I’ve never been taken over by a spirit before.”

“I don’t think I’d mind if they take us over.” Katara decided, and she looked at the women standing before her.

Oma smiled at her, and Katara felt suddenly very calm, and she knew she was going to be taken over by the spirit.

Oma stretched out a glowing hand, and she began to pass into Katara. The sensations were odd; not unlike having your whole body fall asleep and tingle. It was invigorating, and when Oma raised Katara’s hands she saw that her skin glowed with the spirit’s essence.

Katara felt herself turn to Zuko, and she smiled. It was like she was seeing two people at once-the regular Zuko- and the veil of Shu over him, like a shadow or a strange aura, one which she could only guess even Ty Lee hadn’t encountered.

“It’s nice seeing you again.” Katara felt herself say, although it was a voice that was not entirely her own.

Zuko and his aura of Shu smiled. “I’ve missed you. I’ve missed us.” He walked to her, holding her close. Hugging her. “I’ve missed our mortal forms.”

“I have too.” Katara whispered back. It was still not her voice, but somehow this felt just as natural. “But you know we only have a few moments.”

Zuko sighed for Shu. “And so our moments will have to be an eternity.” Shu cupped a hand under Oma’s face, under Katara’s face, and gazed into her eyes. “But this is where I will remain happiest.”

“Me too.” Katara said along with Oma. Shu, or was it Zuko? - It was hard to tell what to call him- Pushed his hand back into her hair, letting his hand rest on the back of her head. The statues behind them echoed the closeness of them both, and Katara saw Oma’s red kimono sleeves hang towards the floor out of the corner of her eye.

He leaned forward, and kissed her gently, and although it wasn’t really Katara at all, she could feel it down to her toes. Oma took her hands and wrapped them around Shu, pulling them both closer, deepening the kiss between them.

The tingling sensation returned, but Katara ignored it, her lips were crushed against Zuko’s, and she could smell the warm, spicy, smoky smell that had lingered on his shirt. His lips were warm and soft on hers, and he was holding her so closely she could feel him breathe into the kiss, his whole chest moving with every inhale and exhale, his heart beating softly.

She broke away from the kiss first, her whole face flushed.

“Oh.” She gasped.

At some point, Oma had vanished from her body, and Shu had done the same to Zuko.

He slowly pulled his hand out from where it had tangled itself in her hair.

“Well,” He said quietly. “That was unexpected.”

“Right.” Katara managed. “I didn’t mean to, you know…I mean, I didn’t….” She sighed. “That was really unexpected.” She said, trying to catch her breath.

Zuko gave a soft smile, but before he could speak, he saw the white lights of Oma and Shu out of the corner of his eye. Katara turned to watch them bow deeply, and they said ‘Thank You’ just like the Painted Lady had done.

Their body forms dissolved, and two white hovering balls of light rose to the ceiling. The lights filled the crystals, brightening them all significantly, casting a brighter green glow across the whole room. The crystal’s lights rippled in the direction of the opened tunnel.

“We’re supposed to follow the lights. They made them brighter for us, so we could see better.” Katara said, taking her hands away from Zuko's neck where Oma had put them and stepping backwards.

“Okay, let’s go. I don’t think I could handle anymore of this cave. The crew will be able to find their way out.” Zuko began to move forward, and for a second Katara lifted her fingertips to press against her lips. They had kissed. Actually kissed, and not just as Oma and Shu. Or at least, she thought they had.

“Katara, are you coming?” He glanced back at her, his eyes shining with worry, and perhaps some deep seated fear that Katara didn’t quite understand.

“Oh. Yes. Sorry. I’m coming.” She followed after him, and they continued down the tunnel silently, each one thinking to themselves.

The firebender bowed as deeply as her body could possibly allow.

“We’ve had reports that the body was discovered, Lady.”

The other woman’s eyes turned icy like her element. “Fools.” She said viciously. “You should have burned it.”

“My apologies, Lady Saghani.”

“See to it that the same mistake doesn’t happen twice. I’d hate for you to end up in an alleyway.”

“Of course.” The firebender assured.

She paused. “There is talk that we should abandon Omashu temporarily while the Fire Lord is present. If he finds us, he will not stop fighting us until he destroys us.”

The woman waved an uncaring hand. “Oh I wouldn’t worry. Every man has his weakness, and our associate tells us he has several. We’ll be able to destroy him long before he can destroy us.” She said in a bored tone.

“It’s not like the King will notice a few street rats going missing, when he’s so busy being senile. Besides,” She smiled broadly, and the firebender shivered. “I think we might be close to another breakthrough. Someday only benders will walk this earth.” She inhaled sharply as if savoring the smell of her favorite flower, and she clenched her fist. “I can smell it.”

I'm running out of quotes relating to sand. If you have any suggestions (like poetry, lyrics, etc.) please reccomend them. This is one of my favorite chapters so far and I hope you agree. grins

On another note, I'll be editing my main page to add the newest fanart, which is of Katara in Zuko's shirt. There's also a link to my LJ comm Safefrompirates, where I've put some extras. (Soon to add an Icon based off of this chapter.)

Please review. It lets me know what I'm doing right/wrong.