Lady Katara's Diary

Twenty-Third Day of the Eighth Month (the time when silkworms feast on Mulberry leaves)- Iroh, Year X
Today, we gathered mulberry leaves to feed the silkworms. These greedy beasts' appetites are insatiable, and we can hear them munching and chewing throughout the palace night and day. They wouldn't even stop when the weaving hall caught on fire because of Princess Azula's latest tantrum.
The handsome Prince Bumi is visiting court from Omashu on behalf of his great-great-uncle, King Bumi. On-Ji says that her father, Lord Tanaka, told her that Fire Lord Iroh proposed a match between Prince Bumi and his niece, Princess Azula. According to Mai and Ty Lee, Princess Azula is keen on her prospective suitor. Ty Lee advised her to laugh at his jokes and be interested in what he was doing. Princess Azula pretends to care about the palace gardens and sailing on Sukuni Lake. She even lets Prince Bumi win during their sparring matches. Or so Mai says. That Princess Azula would actually throw a match is too incredible.
We all thought we knew how this would end. Prince Bumi would be putty in Princess Azula's hands. But to everyone's surprise, he turned her down. Princess Azula took this rejection as well as could be expected. Song, the chambermaid, says that her mother, who works in the royal apartments, had to clean up a tea set King Bumi sent Fire Lord Iroh as a gift after Princess Azula smashed it. According to Song's mother, Prince Bumi told Princess Azula she might be as beautiful as a fire lily, but she has the temper of a starving platypus bear.
Since then, Princess Azula has been trying to win her prince back by playing the gentle lady. Part of her act includes visiting the weaving hall. Princess Azula normally wouldn't dirty her hands with such lesser, womanly work, but the weaving hall is on the path Prince Bumi takes on his morning walk. Today, she just happened to run into him as we returned from gathering mulberry leaves. Prince Bumi walked right by her with only a curt bow. Princess Azula threw a flame, and the weaving hall caught on fire.
Thankfully, the fire was soon extinguished, and the poor silk worms were unharmed.

Katara's head broke the glassy surface of Lake Sukuni. She opened her eyes and filled her nostrils and lungs with pure mountain air. On the far side of the lake were the two mountains the locals called the Older Brother and the Younger Brother and the resort towns of Kongkaya and Koyakaya, famous for their hot springs. The green hills that sloped down to Lake Sukuni's shores were the best places in the region to view the full moon, which caused Caldera's nobles to build their viewing pavilions in these hills and gave the lake its name-Sukuni meant "moon mirror" in the Fire Tongue.
The first court function Katara attended was a moon-viewing party at the Golden Pavilion. That was when she was introduced to Princess Azula, who asked her to spar sometime after she learned that Katara was a bender.
"I've already bested everyone here," Princess Azula said. "Some new blood should liven things up."
Katara swam back to the boathouse and climbed onto the dock. She rolled up the sleeves of her smock. The burns on her arms were beginning to heal.
Princess Azula was a skilled bender but arrogant. She often underestimated her opponents, leaving her vulnerable. Most of Princess Azula's energy went toward offensive attacks, and she neglected to watch her blind spots, which gave Katara an opportunity.
Anxious to impress her trainer, Master Pakku, who watched the match with disapproval (the old hog-monkey didn't think girls should fight and only agreed to teach her because Lord Ukano made him), Katara tried out some new techniques she'd come up with. Mai was teaching her knife fighting and Katara found she could use ice shards instead of knives. While Princess Azula came at Katara with her famous blue flames, she left her sides open. Katara threw her ice daggers. One sliced off part of Princess Azula's perfectly symmetrical bangs, and the other pinned her sleeve to the wall. The referee declared Katara the winner, and Princess Azula seethed with rage.
Katara looked toward Master Pakku, expecting praise for her ingenuity, but he simply shook his head. Princess Azula melted the ice shard that pinned her to the wall like an insect specimen. She sent a fire blast in Katara's direction, and Katara tried to block it with her arms.
A stream of glowing water rose from the lake. It circled Katara's arms, and the burn scars that crossed her flesh turned a lighter shade. The ugly marks would be gone entirely after a few more days of visiting the lake.
"Scars are a mark of honor..." Katara turned around. Prince Zuko stood behind her on the dock. "Carry them with pride."
Katara lowered her eyes. "That's easy for you to say, Your Highness," she said. Men weren't taught to be ashamed of their scars. The warriors of her tribe boasted about them, making women swoon. The hand-shaped burn covering half of Prince Zuko's face elevated his handsome looks to true beauty. He'd earned that scar by standing up to his traitorous bully of a father, and that only raised people's opinion of him.
But a girl like Katara? Especially in the Fire Nation, flawless skin was a sign of beauty and status. Even Princess Azula, perhaps the strongest firebender of her generation, was utterly unscarred. Possibly, there was a law prohibiting anyone from damaging her precious complexion.
"I'm serious." Prince Zuko pushed his hair behind his ear and away from the burn on his left eye. "You stood up to a bully. That's something to be proud of."
Katara smiled at him. "I did, didn't I?" The look on Princess Azula's face when she beat her would have been worth third-degree burns all over her body.
"And Azula ended up looking much worse than you did."  Azula's fiery outburst during the match made her look like a sore loser, something the court would never let her live down.
Yes. Katara's scars would heal, but Azula would never rise from the shame and humiliation of losing to a water-bending peasant.
A servant emerged from the boat house with two glasses of yulska, a refreshing drink made from fermented milk and rice water. Prince Zuko handed one of them to Katara.
"Thank you," Katara said. She became aware of the fact that her wet smock clung to her breasts and hips.  But Prince Zuko, always the perfect gentleman, looked her directly in the eyes.
Mai was lucky to have such a faithful suitor.
"Zuzu!" Prince Bumi of Omashu, who was visiting the Fire Nation on a diplomatic mission for his great-great-uncle King Bumi, stepped out of the boathouse. "There you are." He bowed to Katara, then clapped Prince Zuko on the back. "Who's your lovely companion?"
"This is Lady Katara of the Southern Water Tribe," Prince Zuko said.
Katara lowered her eyes and gave Prince Bumi a flirtatious grin before bowing to him. "Your highness." He was pretty good looking and no wonder Princess Azula was said to be madly in love with him.
"Charmed, my lady," Prince Bumi said. He noticed the burn scars on Katara's arms. "You must be the water bender who knocked Azula off her high ostrich horse."
Katara nodded. So, her reputation preceded her?
"Brave girl."
Prince Zuko put a hand on the taller Prince Bumi's shoulder. "Is my girl ready?"
"All set to go." Prince Bumi winked in response.
"My girl" was a small sailing junk with red sails moored at the dock. Characters painted on the bow read The Turtle Duck. Both Prince Zuko and Prince Bumi were avid sailors. Prince Bumi had even won a gold medal at the Kyoshi Island Regatta.
"If it isn't too impertinent for me to ask," Katara said. "Where are your highnesses going today?"
"Prince Zuko's taking me out to Sonuchia," said Prince Bumi.
Sonuchia was a forest on the far side of Lake Sukuni, said to be atop the burial mound of some ancient king. Katara had heard stories about how it was haunted by evil spirits and the only inhabitants there were witches and feral dogs. But it was one of the best spots in this part of the Fire Nation for falconry. Judging by the wooden bird cages onboard the Turtle Duck, this was why the young men were going there.
Prince Zuko finished his yulska, then handed the empty glass to the servant, who'd returned to collect it.  "The head game keeper says there's still time in the season for goose-swan hunting," he said. "And we wanted to take advantage of it while we could."
Katara said a traditional Water Tribe blessing for a successful hunt as the two princes boarded the Turtle Duck. Prince Zuko bowed to her when the boat set off.
"A pleasure, Lady Katara," he said.
After giving the servant her empty glass, Katara walked toward the boathouse. She needed to change out of her wet clothes before going back to the Lotus Villa.
"The little water bender is very pretty," said Prince Bumi. Katara stopped in her tracks. Prince Bumi must have thought the boat was too far away for her to hear him. "Are you two-timing poor Lady Mai?"
Prince Zuko's face was out of view, but he must have turned the same pink color as his burn scar. "Azula was picking on her... I was just being nice."
Prince Bumi laughed. "Not too nice, I hope."