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Zuko slams the door of his sister’s chamber and heads for the stables.
Whenever they fought, he’d take his mongoose lizard for a ride through the woods just beyond Caldera City. There is something comforting and calm in the way the sunbeams shine through the gaps between the leaves, and how the forest is alive – the grass rustling in the wind, the sounds of animals living in the forest, and the soft hum of the river.
The river. Zuko enjoys his rides along that river the most, though he never did know why. Despite being a firebender, he seemed to have an affinity for water. Though really it was mostly this particular body of water. Whenever he came to the woods, it seemed to call out to him. He’d ride up the stream for a while until he calmed down and then turn back and ride home.
Not today.
Something feels different this time. The river’s temptations seem stronger than ever before, and Zuko cannot resist. He ventures much further than he ever did before, and only too late does he realise that he got lost. He curses under his breath. He didn’t let anyone know he was leaving, and there is a meeting he’s supposed to attend in a few hours.
His thoughts are interrupted as he becomes aware of the unusually loud roar of the water. He follows the sound and soon finds himself at the base of a waterfall. He jumps off the mongoose lizard.
Zuko has never seen such beauty. Droplets of water gleam like pearls in the sunlight, the soft wind blowing some of them in his direction. The water is refreshingly cold. He notices a rainbow at the edge of the precipice above where the curtain of the water emerges from and smiles.
And then his smile fades.
Out of the corner of his eye he notices the tiniest movement behind the waterfall’s stream and thinks he can vaguely make out a silhouette. He frowns. Who could possibly be hiding behind the waterfall and – more importantly – why?
The question is answered as the figure dives under the surface and emerges right in front of him. He lets out a gasp and stumbles backward.
The creature that appeared in front of the prince looks almost like a regular girl if it wasn’t for the gills, the fins on her arms and most importantly – the long, light blue fishtail.
Zuko blinks a few times and even rubs his eyes, but the girl, fish, whatever it may be is still there, looking at him with curious eyes, head cocked to the side. The first word that comes to mind is “mermaid”, but surely that can’t be. Those were mythical creatures.
He takes a hesitant step towards the being. It seems harmless enough. He’s just about to speak but right as he opens his mouth, the creature dives back under with a laugh, slamming her tail onto the surface in a way that sends a huge splash right at the prince.
He’s completely drenched and suspects some of the water even got into his lungs, because he has to cough for the better part of a minute.
“Hey! What was that for?”
But the fish-girl does not resurface again. Zuko groans and strokes his hands along his clothes to dry them with his firebending. He waits a little longer, hoping to see that peculiar being again, but soon realises it’s not going to happen. He climbs back onto his mongoose lizard and resumes his attempts at finding his way out of the forest making a mental note to return the next day.
Miraculously, he does find his way out and even makes it back to the palace before the meeting starts. He’s unfocused though as his mind keeps drifting back to that strange encounter in the woods.
As soon as the meeting ends, Zuko darts out and heads for the library. He grabs every book about water sprites he can find and spends the rest of the day flipping through them, looking for any being that might resemble the one he’s met at the waterfall.
Sure enough, the drawings that look the most similar are those of mermaids. But all the books explicitly point out that mermaids are a myth. Zuko is frustrated. Clearly, he knows what he saw and the water he almost choked on was very real.
In the end he decides to ask his uncle about it. Iroh is the most open minded member of their family and knows more about the spirits, animals and all other non-human beings of the world than anyone.
He knocks on his chamber door.
“Come in!”
He enters. “Uncle may I speak to you for a moment?”
His uncle gives him a soft smile. “Of course, Prince Zuko, I always have time for you. What is it?”
“Well, I wanted to ask you about- about mermaids.”
“Mermaids?” The general raises an eyebrow. “Where did that come from?”
The young prince looks away and shifts uncomfortably. “I… I went for a ride earlier today and I think I saw one. But all the books in our library say they’re not real.”
Iroh nods solemnly. “Yes, I also encountered one many years ago,” he says and Zuko’s eyes widen.
“Back then, I too thought it couldn’t be a mermaid, probably just a trick of the light. But then I saw several drawings that looked just like her.”
Her.
“Are all mermaids girls, Uncle?”
“Well, yes. The term for their male counterparts is ‘mermen’ I believe.”
Zuko nods. So he was right – kind of. It really was a girl at least for the most part.
The older man continues. “So I do believe they exist, and I do believe you’ve met one. But I cannot tell you much about them. From what I’ve seen and heard they do not seem to be hostile unless provoked, and it is said that they enjoy playing pranks on humans. I hope this is enough information for you, Prince Zuko.”
The young prince bows deeply. “Yes, Uncle, thank you. You have been very helpful.”
He returns to his own room and thinks about the mermaid in the woods long into the night.
The next morning he races to the stables right after breakfast and heads for the woods.
The water sings for him to follow, but it’s no longer the alluring hum he’d heard before. This time he can almost swear he can make out words as if the river was literally calling out to him.
He soon arrives at the waterfall he found yesterday and looks for the mermaid. There is no one behind the curtain of the waterfall now, no matter how hard he squints. Disappointment crawls its way through his mind. He sits down on a large stone on the bank of the river hoping that maybe she will appear after all.
The young prince is awoken by a splash and the feeling of cold water on his skin. He opens his eyes quickly and sees the mermaid in front of him, grinning and splashing around a little.
“Uh… Hi.”
No response, just a quizzical look in her blue eyes, head cocked to the side again.
Zuko tries again, this time with a wave, thinking she might not know what the word means. “Hi!”
The mermaid seems to understand now, for she raises her own hand and waves back. “Ahoj!”
The prince has never heard that word before but assumes that – given the circumstances – it should be mermaid for “Hello.” He tries again.
“My name is Zuko.” A confused squint. He reminds himself that he will need to use his hands to visualise what he’s trying to say for her.
“I,” he starts slowly, pointing at himself. “Am Zuko.”
The mermaid nods and mirrors his movements. “Já jsem Katara.”
Katara.
Zuko gets excited as he realises they’re finally getting somewhere. He’s trying to think of something else to say but nothing comes to mind and talking about the weather feels pathetic. They look at each other silently for some time, Zuko entirely in awe and Katara mildly amused. She breaks the silence.
"Tož co ogaro, povéš dneska eště něco? Mám aji iné věci na prácu."
The prince’s eyes widen. He has no idea what to make of that, but is of the impression he’s being asked something. How can he reply if he doesn’t know what she says?
“W-What did you say?”
"Ty být můj, tož ťa hodím prasatom" sighs the mermaid and plunges onto her back, vanishing below the surface.
Zuko stands there dumbfounded, unsure of what exactly just happened, but before he can come to a conclusion, Katara’s head pops up above the water again.
"Dojdi zajtra, dobře?" And she’s gone for good.
The young man has absolutely no idea what Katara asked of him and the more he tries to wrap his head around it, the more confusing it gets. He makes his way back to the palace and decides on coming by tomorrow.
Katara waits hidden under the foam of the waterfall till the strange boy is out of sight and darts down the stream where her friend Yue waits for her.
"Tož co? Došel?"
"Tož jo, jinak bych už bola dávno zpátky, ne?"
"Tož povídaj"
"Tož nevím. Je ňáký jantar a ta lidština je strašná kokotina. Ale myslím že sa jmenuje Zuko."
"Co říkáš, vrátí sa?"
"Snad jo. Je to taký fešný ogar" Katara grins and her friend just shakes her head full of silver hair.
"Ty jsi blbá jak práca"
Zuko sits in his room trying to figure out what to do. He wants them to understand each other. If she were human it would have been easier, there would have been things they have in common, she’d know what a ball is, a quill or a book. What do humans share with merpeople?
He makes a list of words he wants to teach her in his language and those he wants her to teach him in hers.
Water
Human
Fish
Mermaid
Boy
Girl
Friends
When he arrives at their usual spot the next morning, Katara is already there, floating on her back just far enough from the bank that he can’t reach her. She notices him and waves her tail at him.
“Ahoj!”
“Ahoj!” Zuko repeats without thinking. They blink at each other in surprise. He didn’t realise he remembered it and Katara clearly didn’t expect him to. He clears his throat.
She grins and Zuko could swear he sees the tiniest hint of a blush. He doesn’t push it.
Instead, he pulls out his list and starts explaining awkwardly.
“I want us to understand each other. Let’s teach each other some words!”
“Co to blábolíš?”
“Look!” He puts the piece of parchment into his pocket and gathers some water into his hands.
“We call this water,” he says, parting his palms and letting the water splash back into its source, “What do merpeople call it?”
Katara raises an eyebrow, points at him, then the water and then twirls her finger.
“Řekni to ještě jednou.”
Assuming she wants him to repeat the action, he gathers water again and lets it fall back into the river. “Water.”
This time the mermaid does the same. “Voda.”
Fish, Boy and Girl were easy enough but for Human and Mermaid Zuko had to turn the parchment over and draw sketches. Katara studied them for a moment.
“Člověk,” she says, pointing at the drawing of a human and then points at the mermaid, “Mořská panna.”
Zuko doesn’t hide his confusion at the “ř” sound and Katara lets out a laugh.
She does her best to teach him to pronounce it and it takes up several hours. He’s still far from being able to pronounce it correctly then, but he has to get back. He promises to return the next day and prays to Agni that she understands. They didn’t get to the word for Friends yet.
Come to think of it, he wasn’t sure how to ask about Friends in the first place. How do you explain to someone you want to be their friend – and know the word for it in their language – if you hardly know any words at all in their language?
It turns out that his worries were baseless. Katara figured it out for him.
They practice all the words from yesterday and then, after a moment of hesitation, Katara points to herself, then to Zuko and then she hugs herself.
“Kámoši.”
Zuko stands there, looking confused, just like she was during their previous encounters. Katara realises this parallel and snorts. She then repeats the gesture.
“Kámoši.”
“Wait… Friends?” he asks as the realisation dawns on him. He mirrors her movements.
“Friends? Are you saying we’re friends?”
Katara grins and nods. “Friends.”
This makes Zuko indescribably happy. He starts laughing and can’t help but do a backflip, much to the mermaid’s delight. She laughs and claps her hands cheering him on. Zuko runs over and splashes some water at her. This catches Katara off guard and she squeals before splashing right back.
They splash around in the river until it gets chilly and the sun is about to set.
“I’ll come back tomorrow,” Zuko assures her and he has a feeling that she understands.
They both sleep calmly that night, happy to have made a new friend.