Lady Katara's Diary
Second Day of the Tenth Month (the time when fire lilies bloom)- Iroh, Year X

Master Hama took me to a field of fire lilies near the Hisei Convent this afternoon. Fire lilies only bloom for a few weeks each year and have the loveliest jewel-tone red color. Hundreds of them covering the side of Younger Brother Mountain took my breath away. Master Hama explained that, like all living things, fire lilies are filled with water. With a circular swipe of her hand, she pulled the water out of the fire lilies and used it to slice the top of a boulder in the middle of the field.
This impressive bending display left a dry, grayish shadow in its wake. Master Hama scoffed at me when I said it was a shame about the lilies. She said they're just flowers. We precious ladies at court might be able to weep over plants, but when you're a water bender in a strange land, you do what you can to survive. Master Hama then changed the subject to my betrothal to Jet, or that Earth Kingdom pretty boy, as she calls him. She rolled her eyes and said we must be madly in love.
Of course, she's heard about Jet and I. She knows everything at court despite being sequestered with the good sisters of the Hisei Convent. She's had her fingers in every poisoning and suspicious disappearance that's happened in the capital since I've arrived. Every time I visit her for my weekly lesson, she brags about all the misdeeds she's done in the name of staying alive.
Knowing Master Hama's past, it's hard not to pity her. She was once a girl like me, who trained as a water bender and dreamed of greatness, but her hopes were dashed when the Fire Nation stole her away from her home. Still, you can pity someone, but that doesn't stop them from being a nasty old cow.
Master Hama gathered the dried fire lilies for either a delectable tea or a deadly poison. She told me she thought I'd set my sights higher than being a mercenary's doxy. I argued that Jet is no such thing. He and his Freedom Fighters are honorable warriors who serve their lord faithfully. Just because Jet is a younger son and has to rise in the world by pledging his sword to a higher-ranking noble house, that doesn't make him a mercenary. But Master Hama just turned up her nose and said that all warriors serve their lords faithfully until someone else can pay them more. 

Ty Lee nudged Katara. "Look," she said.
Katara turned around. Mai and Prince Zuko sat together on a picnic blanket. An umbrella shielded their pale skin from the blazing summer sun.
"They look rather cozy," Katara said. She cooled herself with a silk fan. Spirits, it was as hot as a demon's ass-crack out.
"Cozy indeed," Ty Lee giggled. "Mai's aura is the pinkest I've ever seen."
Katara smiled. It was no wonder Mai looked so happy. Most girls dreamed about being swept off their feet by a handsome prince, and Mai was no different, even though she would have rolled her eyes at the idea. "She'll make a perfect Fire Lady."
Mai was elegant, high-born, and well-educated, just the right girl for Prince Zuko to choose for his bride. If Mai weren't Katara's friend, Katara would be jealous of Mai's good fortune and hate her guts.
Prince Zuko leaned in closer to Mai. "If you could have anything in the world right now, what would it be?" he asked her.
Mai took a moment to think. "A fruit tart," she said. "Sprinkled with rose petals."
"You heard the lady." The nearest servant bowed to Prince Zuko and went to carry out his orders. Ty Lee and Katara rolled their eyes. Lucky bitch, being waited on hand and foot by a prince.
Katara lay back in the grass. She might not have a prince, but she had a dashing warrior who treated her like a princess. And Jet was every bit as handsome as Prince Zuko, perhaps even better looking.
Then, why did Katara see Prince Zuko's face instead of Jet's when she closed her eyes?
Another servant announced that a picnic lunch was being served in the water garden, and afterward, Prince Zuko had a little surprise for everyone. The "picnic" was a buffet set out in a small, al fresco dining room between the water garden's two grand cascades. As the guests picked at their food, they complained about how hot it was and speculated about Prince Zuko's surprise.
"A herd of dancing hippo elephants."
"No, a fire-twirling acrobat who jumps out of a giant cake."
At the end of the meal, the royal pastry chef presented Mai with the fruit tart Prince Zuko had promised her, sprinkled with candied rose petals and tiny berries, perhaps currants.
Mai blushed. "It's too pretty to eat," she said, but she ate it anyway, in several dainty bites.
Katara sipped her barley tea and shot Ty Lee a look. Must be nice, huh? Ty Lee squeaked and lept out of her seat. A small jet of water squirted out of where she'd been sitting. As everyone laughed, more fountains erupted from other people's seats, between paving stones and even the center of the table. 
The ladies ran to protect their silk dresses and painted faces and sought shelter inside an artificial grotto dotted with marble statues. But, they were surprised when the sprinklers embedded in the grotto's ceiling went off. Red and white makeup streamed down their faces, and translucent fabric clung to their arms and legs. The gentlemen laughed when they reemerged, looking like drowned rats.
Prince Zuko laughed the loudest. "I hope you all enjoyed my little surprise," he said. "And will quit griping about the heat."
Katara shivered as she caught a breeze coming from the river. Usually, she would have dried off by bending the water from her clothes and hair, but the chill was delicious on such a hot day.
On the other side of the grotto was another semicircle of cascades and fountains that surrounded a dancing floor. An eight-piece orchestra had assembled, spread out on four tiers. They struck up a lively tune, and Prince Zuko took Mai's hand. Mai moved through the steps of the spring dance, which represented the fluttering of a sparrow's wings and blossoms floating on the breeze, with grace and dignity, but Prince Zuko, a famously good dancer, outshone her. She swayed in the breeze like a reed while he had the strength and energy of a blazing flame.
Nonetheless, all eyes were upon them.
Other couples followed their example. Jets of water spurted out of the ground or from the bushes in time to the music. Katara bent some of the water into a ribbon that twirled around her as she danced. When the music stopped, she made a shower of ice crystals fall from the sky, glittering in the sun. The dancers and musicians, including Prince Zuko, applauded.
"Show off." Mai rolled her eyes.
Katara took a bow and winked at Mai. Sorry to steal your thunder.  Mai always complained about everyone watching her because she was Prince Zuko's prospective fiancée. She should be grateful people were now paying attention to something else.
Giddy from all the exertion, Mai turned pale and green. She covered her mouth with her hands and ran toward the bushes. Ty Lee held her head as she vomited.
Katara raised an eyebrow. The normally poised and proper Mai wouldn't be caught dead doing something so undignified. Unless? Katara gasped. Merciful spirits, no! She picked up her skirt and went to her friend.
Prince Zuko also rushed to Mai's side and helped her toward a stone bench. The other partygoers gathered around to see what was going on out of curiosity as much as concern. Mai was the frontrunner in Prince Zuko's bride season, and her health had potential dynastic implications.
"Poor girl."
"What do you expect? They say she was always sickly."
Katara glared at them. Why were they all standing around gawking and not doing anything useful?
Mai collapsed like a ragdoll into Prince Zuko's arms. Katara held a vial of smelling salts under Mai's nose, and she revived a little.
"Get her some water," shouted Prince Zuko at Kei-Lo, who'd been hovering around waiting for an order. Kei-Lo obeyed him with all promptness. Prince Zuko had to hold the cup to Mai's ashen lips so she could drink. Mai coughed up the water and fell into another swoon.
Ty Lee grabbed Katara's shoulders. "What's wrong with her?"
Katara tapped Prince Zuko on the arm. "Allow me." Prince Zuko moved aside so she could sit down next to Mai. Katara took Mai's hand to check her pulse. Mai's heartbeat was slow and irregular. The dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and palpitations all pointed to aconite poisoning. Aconite was a common plant in the Fire Nation, and Katara often saw patients with these symptoms in the healing hall. "I think she's been poisoned." Katara kept her voice low so that only Ty Lee and Prince Zuko could hear her. Poisoning was a serious accusation not to be uttered lightly.
"Your highness..." Mai's eyes flickered open. Ty Lee stroked her hair and shushed her.
"It's alright, Lady Mai," Prince Zuko said. "We're going to get you help." He picked Mai up and carried her from the dancing floor. Ty Lee and Katara followed him. Kei-Lo cleared away all the on-lookers who'd come to see how Mai was doing.
Katara tugged on Kei-Lo's sleeve. "Send for Master Hama at the Hisei Convent." As reluctant as she was to ask the old witch for help, Master Hama could save Mai if anyone could.
"Who is Master Hama?" Zuko asked Katara. Mai's head rested on his shoulder. She'd thrown up again down the back of his robe.
"A herbalist and water-bending healer," Katara said. Master Hama was also a poisoner, assassin, and hellish fiend wearing the skin of a harmless old lady.
"Is she dependable?"
Katara scoffed. "She and I are the last two living Southern water benders. We have to trust each other."
Katara paced the corridor outside her and Mai's room. That decrepit sow, Master Hama, was certainly taking her sweet time. Two figures approached from the opposite end of the hall. Katara craned her neck and groaned. It was only the royal physician and his assistant. She stepped aside to let them pass. Fire Lord Iroh probably sent them to treat Mai.
The Ukano family's personal physician had already arrived and administered the usual treatment for aconite poisoning: a tincture of foxglove. During her time in the healing huts, Katara once helped Master Yugoda make just such a tincture. "Sometimes, you have to treat poison with poison," Master Yugoda told her. Foxglove acted as an emetic and was usually enough to purge the body after an accidental poisoning. But what about deliberate poisonings?
A skilled water-bending healer could save a more severe case if they drew out the toxins before they diffused into the patient's bloodstream. The only water bender Katara knew who was skilled enough was...
Tui's hairy ballsack. If Mai died because Master Hama didn't get her moldy carcass here in time, Katara was going to ring her neck.
"What are you doing standing around there, girl?"
Katara turned her head and chuckled. There she was, the beautiful, old fossil—finally. "Waiting for you," she said. Tui and La, let it not be too late.
The bedroom stank of sweat and vomit. Lady Michi held Mai's head while she threw up into a porcelain bowl. Otilka wiped the perspiration from Mai's brow with a wet cloth. The royal physician and the Okano family's doctor argued over the benefits of ginseng vs. angelica. None of them noticed Katara slip into the room and open the windows to let in fresh air.
Master Hama swanned into the room and knelt by the bedside to check Mai's pulse. She shook her head. "Poor child...quickly, we don't have a moment to lose."
Katara helped Master Hama to her feet. You wicked old witch, please save her for Prince Zuko's sake.
Master Hama held out her arms over Mai like a priest giving a benediction and chanted. Mai fell into a swoon against her pillow.
"Get back," Master Hama barked at Lady Michi and the two physicians. "Give her some space."
The trio had no choice but to obey her. 
"Katara!"
Katara went to her master's side and joined in on the chanting. Her fingertips tingled with qi, irresistibly drawn to the water in Mai's blood. She followed Master Hama's lead, running her hands over Mai's writhing body and pulling black particles from her bloodstream. Her fingernails became as mucky as if she'd been working in the garden.
Mai collapsed like a rag doll after they'd flushed out the poison. Lady Michi revived her with smelling salts. The sick girl's colorless lips parted, and murmured the word, "mama." Her mother's eyes brimmed with tears.
Katara took Mai's hand to recheck her pulse. It was growing stronger.
Master Hama put a hand on Lady Michi's shoulder. "Don't worry, My Lady," she said. "Your little princess will get to wear her crown."
Otilka returned from the kitchen for ginseng tea and dragon's breath, an infernal-sounding broth seasoned with garlic, pepper, ginger, green onion, and chili. This broth was served to the sick to make them break a sweat (believed to be healthful), and Katara mopped her brow just thinking about it.
Behind Otilka stood Prince Zuko, who carried a bouquet of red spider lilies, Mai's favorite flower. He placed the bouquet on Mai's beside table. "Is there anything I can do to help?" he said.
Otilka handed him the sick bucket to empty.
Katara laughed. He really was in love with Mai, wasn't he?
While Prince Zuko dumped out Mai's vomit, Katara fetched a vase of water for the spider lilies and brought over the goldfish Mai had won at the Proyosk Festival. Watching the pretty orange creatures dart about in their glass bowl brought some color back to Mai's cheeks and a smile to her lips.