For the lovely people in beanaroony's livestreams who keep inspiring me with their love for zutara. :) (I obviously dont own ATLA. Bryke does...don't sue me)
The ground beneathe her feet was sturdy and the wind in her hair, gentle. And though Aang was breathing steadily atop Appa, adrenaline still coursed through Katara's veins. They had only just landed in some random clearing in the Earth Kingdom when Katara slid to the ground, took a quick inventory of her surroundings and then ran for the stream she could feel pulling at the edges of her mind.
Sokka's shouts for her to wait were ignored; the stream was not close and Katara would need a lot of water to get Aang conscious again. She ran as fast as her tired legs would take her and it wasn't until her muscles were heavier than lead, that she stopped to take a breath. The battle with Azula, her Dai Li and that traitor had taken a steep toll on Katara's body. Fatigue fogged her senses so badly that she didn't hear the heavy footsteps coming her way or feel the tremble of the earth that followed. A horror was walking toward her and Katara was blissfully unaware until a thick, strong arm wrapped around her whole torso, clamping her arms against her sides.
Animalistic panic flooded Katara's brain as she kicked and writhed with all the strength she had left. Her efforts were useless, however. The man didn't even stumble as she fought back and instead, only tightened his grip on her, pushing the air from her lungs. Rough rope spun its way around her wrists and legs, binding them together and she was deposited on the ground, landing roughly on her knees.
"Who are you?" Katara choked out, turning to look at her captor. He was a tall man with golden piercings in his nose and ears and a hair style that reminded Katara of Prince Zuko before he grew his hair out.
The man leered at her, his eyes lingering on Katara's chest. She struggled against her bonds, trying to hide herself from his view. This was bad. Katara knew that if Toph was on the ground then she would be coming to the rescue at any moment, but if she was still on Appa with Aang and it was Sokka searching for Katara…the odds weren't in her favor. Suddenly, then man turned around and whistled loudly. The earth began to shake beneathe Katara's knees and she could hear branches breaking accompanied by great snorts of what she could only assume were large beasts.
Her assumptions were correct as a gang of komodo-rhinos burst into view with men on their backs in various forms of Fire Nation armor. Realization smacked Katara in the face as she looked at each one in turn. The Rough Rhinos. This was very bad. The man with the piercings crouched in front of her.
"Where is the Avatar, girl?" He asked, his burnt-flesh smelling breath wafting under Katara's nose.
"He's not here. He's escorting the Earth King to a camp of Earth Kingdom loyalists." The lie fell from her lips before she even realized she'd come up with it.
"Why would the Earth King need an escort?" A man with a braided ponytail asked from his komodo-rhino.
"He's not a bender and he needs to get to the camp safely so he can lead their troops in the invasion." Sorry, Sokka.
"What invasion?!" Piercings-man demanded. Katara only glared at him. She refused to divulge all of their secrets.
"Answer me, wench!" He yelled, raising a fist wreathed in fire. Katara turned away, waiting for the blow and pain of the burn that would follow.
"Colonel Mongke, wait!" Another man, smaller than the others and his face half covered in red paint, shouted.
"What, Vachir?" The colonel turned, fist still raised.
"The Fire Lord must know about this invasion. We should head for the Fire Nation capital; we can get the information out of her on the way." He reasoned. Colonel Mongke took a moment to consider this, then dropped his fist to his side, the fire extinguishing in a puff of smoke.
"Fine. Tie her to my mount." He instructed.
An older looking man with a lush beard hopped down and strode over to Katara. He lifted her off the ground without so much as a grunt of effort and threw her, chest-down, over the flank of the biggest komodo-rhino. More coarse rope covered her as she was strapped tightly to the creature. Colonel Mongke mounted the beast and then turned in his seat to giver her an evil smirk.
"When we're done with you, there's a brothel in the capital that will pay a great deal of gold to have an exotic thing such as yourself." He said the words sweetly but deep, paralyzing fear blossomed in Katara's chest. As the tears began to well in her eyes, she thought with a small bit of relief that at least they wouldn't get Aang.
It took several days and nights for them to reach the Western Lake, all of which were a haze of pain and questions to Katara. She didn't know what she'd told them, the only thing she really knew was the sensation of burning skin. Each night, the same thin man who had stopped Mongke from hitting her, laid Katara in a body of water and calmly told her to heal herself. A girl with burn scars wouldn't fetch quite as good a price.
The Fire Nation ship that they'd secured passage on was heavily guarded and Katara assumed there was someone of importance on board. She never found out who as her captors/torturers kept her tied up with the komodo-rhinos in the cargo bay. Occasionally, Vachir would come in to give her a few sips of water. One night, Mongke came into the cargo bay, wobbling slightly. As he got closer the smell of alcohol got stronger until it was all Katara could do not to gag. He plopped down unsteadily in front of her, staring at her chest again. A creeping feeling of unease made its way up Katara's spine.
"Tell me, waterbender; do you have any experience with men?" He almost slurred. Her feeling of unease grew stronger.
"What do you mean?" She asked caution lacing her words. He laughed a dark, haughty laugh.
"I'll take that as a no. It's okay though…I'll teach you." He said, leaning closer and brushing the hair from her face. Katara realized she was trembling as he brushed a rough thumb across her bottom lip.
"Please…don't…" She begged. This man was nearly twice her age; he shouldn't be touching her like this.
"Am I not good enough for you?!" He snarled, the fury evident in his eyes. Katara didn't know what to do; would he burn her again if she refused him? The ship's walls were too thick this far below deck, she could barely feel the water outside the hull.
"Please don't do this…" Katara pleaded in a voice that was unusually small for her.
"You're mine! I'll do what I want with you!" He screamed. Mongke pushed Katara on her back, the cold metal biting into her skin through her tattered robes. The heat of Mongke's body crushed her, a stark contrast to the cold at her back. He needed only one hand to pin her bound arms above her head, the other he used to push up the bottom of Katara's robe exposing her sarashi.
She struggled with muscles made weak from her interrogations and he laughed at her.
"The fighters are always the most fun…" He whispered in her ear and then he burned through her wrappings. Hot, thick tears rolled from the corners of her eyes into her hair and her heart was hammering in her chest, trying to escape what it knew was going to happen.
His hand left her skin and he grunted, struggling in his inebriation to remove his pants. Katara made desperate prayers to Yue that he was too drunk to get his pants undone. A pleased sigh told her that she was not so lucky. A dark chuckle was the only warning Katara had before he pushed himself into her. The scream that tore its way out of her throat reverberated off the metal walls of the hull and assaulted her ears. The pain was so sharp and at the same time dull as he forced himself in and out of her, grunting and huffing his stinking breath on her like the beasts that shared the hull with them.
It hurt so badly and she prayed to the spirits, to her mother that it would stop; that he would lose interest in her. But he didn't. He took his time, drawling out the trauma; he told her she was beautiful then turned around and called her peasant trash when she refused to look at him. When it was finally over, he stumbled his way out of the cargo bay, leaving her there half naked and alone.
She was dirt now. Less than dirt. Bile crept its way up her throat and she turned to the side, vomiting what little her stomach held. Shame washed over her in waves as she struggled to rub his scent from her skin and more tears poured down her cheeks. It was hours before she finally fell into a restless sleep. They would arrive in the Fire Nation by morning.