A/N: Round Seven - Final Round :(

Team: Water Tribe

Category: Themed

Prompt: #1 - [First line]

Word Count: 1414

The sun set behind the mountain, casting a beautiful glow across the valley. Only four miles to go, Katara thought, wearily. She had paused to catch her breath in a small hollow off the winding mountain road that led to the capital of the Fire Nation from overland. Night was coming fast, as it did in the mountains - already there was a chill in the breeze that hadn't been there before. She'd set off with energy and high expectations from their ship, which had docked early that morning, telling the others that she wanted to get a head start and that she'd always wanted to see more of the island than just the capital. Sokka, after a little bit of hesitation, had conceded - the Fire Nation was no longer enemy territory, after all. Aang would have gone with her but for Toph, who had convinced him to stay back, telling him that Katara probably wanted some time to herself after the week and a half they'd spent in close quarters on the ship together.

That wasn't the real reason, but it was one Aang would accept easily, and Katara made a mental note to thank Toph later. It was nice to be by herself for a little while, though - no demanding siblings (not that Sokka was a bad brother - she loved him dearly - but sometimes he was a bit much) or fights to resolve ("That was my last piece of pepper jerky, Toph!") or endless show-and-tell ("Katara! Look at this! Katara! Look at that!"). She was just herself, able to enjoy everything: the sun on her face, the wind in her hair, and the knowledge that she would be in the Imperial Palace in no time at all.

At least, she'd thought it would be no time at all. But the sun was gone, the wind had begun to pick up, and she still had four miles until she reached the capital. Sighing to herself, Katara got to her feet. Got to keep going, she thought, smiling wryly. She didn't like the idea of wandering through the mountains in the dark, although it seemed that was where she was headed, and quickly.

o0o

It was full dark, and Katara was beginning to think she was lost. Surely she'd gone four miles by now. The moon had made her graceful appearance, bolstering Katara's confidence - and her bending. The stars had made good traveling companions, silent sentinels, keeping watch for her in the night and unfamiliar surroundings. But the ever-present wind had soon driven clouds overhead, obscuring the moon's friendly face and the watchful eyes of the stars.

It seemed like it had been hours. Katara's feet ached. Her eyes were beginning to ache as well, from staring into the dark, straining to see the path ahead of her. Though the royal road was fairly smooth, she had still stumbled several times, especially when the moon disappeared. Her knees were scraped and scratched, she was sure - her palms certainly were. She didn't want to waste her bending water on healing minor injuries, however - what if there was an emergency?

I should have sent word ahead, she thought now, cursing her overconfidence. Then Zuko would know to send out a search party if I didn't show up in the right amount of time. Then she laughed. A search party? Worrier that he was, Zuko would probably come himself. She amused herself for a moment, picturing her friend out in the mountains searching for her in full Fire Lord regalia. Then she tripped over a tree root and nearly fell again, quickly ending that train of thought.

Did I take a wrong turn somewhere? Katara wondered now. But that was impossible - there were no other paths or intersections on the road. Unless she'd somehow ended up going backward and was even now going over the same places she'd been hours before.

Logically, Katara knew this was next to impossible. But her fear, which had been creeping up on her since the time the sun had begun to set behind the mountain, couldn't let the idea go.

"Spirits," she grumbled to herself. "Why didn't anyone tell me this was a bad idea?"

"What was a bad idea?" asked Zuko, as she came around a bend in the road.

Katara shrieked and flung the entire contents of her bending pouch at him, as well as jumping at least a foot in the air.

"I thought you'd be glad to see me," a drenched Zuko said, flicking his wet hair out of his eyes and glaring at Katara, whose heart was pounding with adrenaline.

"Don't do that," was all she could say, breathlessly.

"Do what? Come up to meet my friends?" he snapped. Then he looked around. "Where's everyone else?"

"It's just me," Katara explained as her heartbeat settled into a more steady rhythm. "I… wanted to be early."

Zuko blinked at her. "So you walked all the way from the port on the other side of the island, by yourself, all day?"

She nodded.

"Well," said Zuko, eyeing her with a bit more respect. Sheepishly, she bent the water off him and into her pouch once more.

"I thought I was lost," she said, as they set off down the road together, Zuko holding a tiny flame in his fist that wavered in the wind but never went out.

Zuko chuckled. "You almost made it the whole way by yourself," he told her. "We're only a few minutes away. I, ah - I knew your boat was coming in this morning so I was expecting you - I mean, not just you! I mean everyone. Anyway. I… might have been waiting… since this morning." He ran a hand through his hair with a rueful grin.

Katara couldn't help but laugh. "You'd think the Fire Lord would have better things to do," she said with a smirk.

"I took the day off," Zuko said, haughtily. Then he broke down and grinned. "Uncle said he would take care of everything while you were visiting."

"So you're free of responsibility?"

"For the moment," Zuko replied with a shrug. "It's actually been… pretty nice."

"I know what you mean," Katara sighed. She glanced at him. "Did you ever get tired of being the responsible one in our group?" she asked, mostly teasing.

"Did you?" he replied, raising an eyebrow. She looked down, biting her lip.

"Does it make me a terrible friend if I say yes?" she whispered, barely audible. Zuko stopped, looking down at her severely.

"No," he said firmly. "You - you're one of the best friends I have, Katara. My uncle - he has this saying: 'Greater love has no man than this: that he lay down his life for his friends.' You do that, for all of us. You're always sacrificing for the group because you care about us. You - " He stopped abruptly. Katara was staring at him with wide eyes. "I'd say you do it… out of love," he finished softly. "And that's the opposite of a terrible friend."

Katara was silent for the entire rest of the trip to the castle, thoughtful. Zuko seemed a little embarrassed by his outburst, and stayed only long enough to see her to her room and wish her a hasty "Good night!"

As she lay in bed, trying to fall asleep but not quite managing, that saying of Iroh's kept echoing in her head. Greater love has no man than this: that he lay down his life for his friends. At first, she was tempted to dismiss the characterization of herself. I'm selfish, I'm snappish, I'm bossy, she thought. That's not love, even on a good day. But as she continued to think, she slowly came to the realization that she would give up her life for her friends - her family.

I'm not the only one, though, she thought, sleepily. We'd all do it for each other. Sokka would protect us all until his last breath, if it came to it. Aang - he was ready to lay down his life to save the world. Toph has the rough exterior, but she cares, too. In fact - Katara sat up, suddenly very awake.

Zuko had done that very thing for her. He'd jumped in front of a lightning bolt with no second thought, endangering his life to save hers.

Greater love has no man than this: that he lay down his life for his friends.

"No greater love," Katara said softly to herself, laying back in her bed.

A/N: Because I had to end with Zuko and Katara.

Well, guys, this is it! Big shout-out to BetterYouThanMe, who set up and managed this entire competition (which was really fun). Shout-out to MaplePucks and Evangeline Douglas, my Water Tribe teammates who stuck it out to the end :)

And, on a final note, Iroh's quote can be found in the Bible, book of John, chapter 15, verse 13.