Yon Rha pushed onto his knees, as if bowing. Begging for the forgiveness that Aang had pushed Katara to have. "I did a bad thing, I know I did, and you deserve revenge. So why don't you take my mother? That would be fair."
Lian watched, then, as Katara shook her head, appearing more disappointed than anything else. Perhaps it had outweighed her anger, perhaps it had not. But she stood still, silent, and watched.
"I always wondered what kind of person could do such a thing." Katara lifted her eyes to meet his. "But now that I see you, I think I understand. There's just nothing inside you, nothing at all. You're pathetic and sad and empty."
"Please, spare me," he begged as he collapsed to his hands, tipping his head to the ground.
The waterbender scoffed. "But as much as I hate you...I just can't do it."
The words rang through her head. Lian's words. She'd said it to Aang, she'd said it to Katara in private. "If you cannot do it, I can do it for you." The offer rang through her head, the thought echoing through her, hollowing out a place in her heart. She could feel the older girl's eyes on her, waiting, as if she, too, knew what Katara thought of. She was waiting, she realized, to know if she would have to kill a man that day.
The waterbender met her eyes slowly, and shook her head. Lian offered a small smile. A nod. And then they turned, leaving Yon Rha alone in the rain.
———
They had arrived back to their temporary home, the sun setting in the sky. Katara had immediately found the dock, found a safe place where she could be alone. But Lian and Zuko had agreed that it would be best to find Aang, to tell him of what had happened. To bring the person who could give her comfort.
He approached her quickly, asking, "Katara, are you okay?"
It took her a moment, truly, to respond. She continued to stare ahead, her eyes cast towards the water, when she said, "I'm doing fine."
"Zuko and Lian told me what you did. Or..." he paused briefly. "What you didn't do, I guess. I'm proud of you."
"I wanted to do it," she admitted softly, almost as if she was scared to say it. To allow those words to leave her. The realization that she had wished death upon another. "I wanted to take out all my anger at him, but I couldn't. I don't know if it's because I'm too weak to do it or if it's because I'm strong enough not to."
Lian took a step forward, kneeling down just enough to place a hand on Katara's shoulder. She inhaled sharply, and spoke, "I know what I said to you before. When you asked me if I would kill Long Feng if I got the chance. I had said yes. But, truthfully, I could say yes to that. I could say it as much as I please. But I can want to, and have the knowledge and strength not to. You did that today. You did the hardest part."
She could hear Aang's intake of breath. The surprise that appeared to rattle him at her words. She was not ashamed of it, truly. She would own up to her words, her thoughts. But her actions, she believed, is what truly shaped her. She could wish hurt on a person, on a person who had done nothing but hurt her. But by hurting them back, well, it made her no better than them. Katara had learned that and, in turn, helped Lian to, as well.
She stood, pulling her hand from Katara's shoulder as Aang spoke. "You did the right thing. Forgiveness is the first step you have to take to begin healing."
She stood, turning to face the three who stood before her. Her brows pulled together tightly, her lips pursed. "But I didn't forgive him...I'll never forgive him." Her eyes drifted, then, to another. One who had been earning her forgiveness for some time now. She smiled at Zuko. A true smile. "But I am ready to forgive you."
She reached forward, then, carefully, and hugged him. With her arms around him, and his around her, she felt as though she could breathe again. As if the air around her had cleared, a new quality within her lungs. She pulled away after a moment, and walked off, gone to join her brother.
"You were right about what Katara needed." Zuko stated. "Violence wasn't the answer."
"It never is."
"Then I have a question for you," the prince turned, his eyes finding the Avatar's. "What are you gonna do when you face my father?"
I think this chapter, more than any of the others, highlights how Lian is not perfect. She's not a saint. She has plenty of anger stored away and hidden from everyone around her, and her flaws are very flawed. She supports Katara and has made it known that she will always support Aang, even when their decisions may be questionable. She is not afraid of the concept of death and is certainly no stranger to it, so she doesn't necessarily try to stray from it in any way. But I said it when I first started this story, and I'll say it again: Lian is not perfect and her morals can be, at times, questionable. She toes a fine line between right and wrong, and her morals can tread in that gray area at times.
We are, officially, almost done with this story, which is crazy! I've had so much fun writing it and Lian, and seeing how, even when it's subtle, how she's grown as a character. It is not super obvious, which was fully intentional, but little bits about her highlight how she has changed since that very first chapter when she met everyone.
Well, that is all for now. I hope you enjoyed, BYE!
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