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The Fire Sages watched, aghast as Prince Zuko fell, lightning arching through him into the sky.
They had never seen a man move so quickly, nothing short of a miracle, to save the water-tribe girl's life. In awe, they watched as the girl screamed his name.
Before any of them could process it, Princess Azula was continuing the fight, and all of them halted, confused.
It was over... wasn't it? Her opponent was defeated. There was nothing left to do.
Soon enough, though, it became painfully clear what the princess's intentions were.
As waves of water covered the arena, the sages looked to eachother, eyes wary and unsure.
"What is she doing?" One of them hissed. "Doesn't she know the rules?"
"It won't matter," the oldest refuted. "The princess has the Comet on her side. No other element could defeat her now."
Whether it was said to squash hope or bolster morale, that statement shut them all up, and they continued to watch as the waterbender evaded the rain of fire covering the arena.
Still, it was on all of their minds. Tradition would dictate that the moment Prince Zuko fell, Princess Azula won. But the moment the princess continued to fight, the waterbender became a contender for the intended victory. A runner-up of sorts.
It would not be unkind for them to wish the watebender a quick death as opposed to the, however unlikely, alternative.
After some time, it became apparent that the girl wasn't even trying to fight Princess Azula. She seemed to be trying to keep the attacks away from the fallen prince, while also trying to reach him.
"This is beyond foolish," one of them muttered. "We shouldn't let this go on."
"I'm sorry," another hissed. "Do you want to interrupt the princess as she plays mind games with her victim? Or did you forget the events of her sixth birthday?"
"This is not the same," the first bit back. "Does the waterbender even understand what's happening?"
"It doesn't matter," the old one spoke again. "There's no way she gets out of this alive."
And for the next few minutes, his words seemed to be true. The waterbender, while far beyond the skill level she was than the last time the sages had encountered her, was fighting for her life, evading and avoiding being flayed alive for however long she could.
At one point she tripped, then rolled out of the way as fire nearly scorched her, and she was back to running, circling around, trying to get closer to the boy.
All the sages could do was watch as their princess tormented the girl. One could even see the fallen prince, somehow still alive, yet clearly on the brink of death, trying to move.
It was sad, really, the display of such longing from both of them. Attempting to fight, just to be near each other again before the inevitable.
But then something happened.
The watebender seemed to vanish under another torrential blast of flames, but the princess did not seem to think her vaporized.
Princess Azula prowled the arena.
The sages held their breaths.
"There you are, you filthy peasant!" She crowed spitefully as she rounded a corner. Before any of them knew what was happening, the watebender leaped out, the princess charged her strike, and the two were encased in a wave of ice.
Struck dumb, the sages watched the girl breathe out, and begin to move in the ice.
The waterbender used a firebending technique to defeat the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation.
And she didn't even seem to know what that meant.
As the girl ran to the fallen prince, likely to share a heartwrenchingly tragic and romantic goodbye, the sages all whipped to the oldest.
"It doesn't matter," one mimicked the older sage. "You codfish!"
"Princess Azula had the power of the comet!" He defended. "What other outcome were we to expect!"
"The impossible one, obviously," another barked with a scathing chuckle. "What are we to do? We cannot have a- a waterbender heading this nation!"
"Tradition dictates-" the quietest of all of them so far spoke, "-that the girl has won. She is the rightful owner of the prize. That prize is the crown."
"Are you actually implying-"
"Silence!" The oldest cut them all off. Raising a shaking hand, he pointed to where the two lovers knelt in the middle of the arena.
They all turned.
The waterbender was helping the prince to his feet. He was hunched over, a hand clutched to his stomach, but he was alive.
The sages looked at each other. Then back to the pair as they embraced. Then back to each other again.
"... So what now?" One of them asked. "He's alive, but she won."
"We put him on the throne instead," another answered as though it were obvious.
"But what about the rules?"
"Screw the damn rules, the world will be thrown into chaos if we put a waterbender in charge. Especially not if Ozai comes back."
"Don't be foolish," the quietest denied. "We cannot so blatantly ignore the Spirit's guidelines. The girl won. She gets the prize."
"But Prince Zuko is the rightful heir-"
"Exactly," the man smiled, a bitter yet calm thing.
All at once, they understood what he was suggesting.
"Excuse me," a voice spoke, and they all looked to see the waterbender helping the prince towards them. Walking as he was, his eyes were clouded and his breathing labored. The young woman seemed to be holding most of his weight. "Where's the nearest healing bed?"
They all stared.
Her eyes hardened. "Fine. I'll find it myself."
"Young master," one of them began rather suddenly. "What is your name?"
She blinked. "Katara."
"Well then Master Katara, we will show you the way."
She looked hesitant, but then Zuko began to cough, and she quickly melted. "Thank you."
As they walked the halls, the few remaining servants poked their heads out, some rushing to grab medicine, bandages, whatever the sages asked. The sages could hear Katara wispering with Zuko, their hushed conversation seeming to keep the prince lucid.
As they were ushered into one of the rooms, the waterbender got some wary looks, but no one dared speak against the Fire Sages' instructions to do as she said.
Once the prince was laid on the bed, the young woman turned. "Thank you all for your help. I'll need all my concentration for now."
"If there is anything you need, do not hesitate to ask," the oldest said, voice aloof enough to sound unbiased. "The palace is welcome to you, Master Katara."
Confusion crossed her face, but she only nodded before shifting her attention to managing the room, all her focus on keeping the Fire Lord-to-be awake and breathing.
Days later, it was clear there would no longer be a Pheonix King Ozai. The Avatar had won, and the world was preparing for change. He and his friends showed up at the palace, demanding to know what had become of the remaining members of their team.
As they were dealt with, Master Katara spent day in and day out tending to Prince Zuko, tirelessly and effortlessly taking over the leadership of the palace staff.
The sages knew from the way all of them spoke that none of the revolutionaries knew what had transpired in that arena.
The sages decided then and there that bending tradition would be the best thing in this scenario. The world needn't know, and the spirits were loose enough in their technicalities.
After all, they would be sure to have Katara still get her prize. It was quite simple really, considering the look the two young benders exchanged when the prince regained conciousness. All they really had to do was wait, and if that failed, they would meddle.
Because as Fire Lord, Zuko would lead their nation into this new era. He would be the crown in eyes of the world.
And so, tradition would dictate, as Fire Lady, Katara would still have the crown.