A/N First chapter by Zombiequeen13 on deviantART. Tried to link, couldn't.

*Katara*

I took in a deep breath, forced a small smile, and walked up onto the stage.

Ah, auditions. Fun, trilling, and terrifying all at the same time.

Ty Lee was judging. Wow, I was lucky. The smile turned genuine and I waved. She grinned and waved back.

I walked over to Song, at the piano, and told her the number. She smiled and giggled.

"Why am I not surprised?"

She flipped to the page and started.

I sucked in a breath and joined in.

"iI dreamed a dream in time gone by/i
"iWhen hope was high and life worth living/i
"iI dreamed that love would never die/i
"iI dreamed that God would be forgiving/i"

I had to force back a smile now. I sounded better now than I had hiding in my room, practicing.

"iThen I was young and unafraid/i
"iAnd dreams were made and used and wasted/i
"iThere was no ransom to be paid/i
"iNo song unsung, no wine untasted/i

"iBut the tigers come at night/i
"iWith their voices soft as thunder/i
"iAs they turn your hope apart/i
"iAs they turn your dreams to shame/i"

That'd been the note I was worried about. Not bad, if I do say so myself.

"iHe slept a summer by my side/i
"iHe filled my dreams with endless wonder/i
"iHe took my childhood in his stride/i
"iBut he was gone when autumn came/i

"iAnd still I dream he'd come to me/i
"iThat we would live the years together/i
"iBut there are dreams that cannot be/i
"iAnd there are storms we cannot weather/i

"iI had a dream my life would be/i
"iSo different from the hell I'm living/i
"iSo different now from what it seemed/i
"iNow life has killed the dream I dreamed/i"

I got my breath back and relaxed my shoulders, smiling. Ty Lee and Song were applauding. But something else grabbed my attention.

I squinted at the corner of the theater. There was a figure in the shadows, but I couldn't make out who it was.

"That was great, Katara!" Ty Lee snapped me out of it.

I smiled again. "Thanks."

"Next?" Ty Lee called.

I walked off, a bit more confident.