The night breeze was cool against my skin. I breathed it in slowly, letting it fill my lungs completely. The stuffy rooms of the Fire Nation Ball going on inside the palace made me want to gag on air and I was grateful to get away from those noble boys. They never seemed to take a hint. Whenever I caught a moment alone, one of them would find me and gloat over some incredible task they had accomplished.

I'd turned nineteen this past winter. In the Water Tribe, sixteen is the marriageable age, but in the Fire Nation, it's nineteen. There were several high-ranking young men back inside just waiting to impress me. I snorted in a very unladylike way.

"Like they would ever impress me more than Aang."

I heard a shuffling behind me and I looked over my shoulder to see one of the said noblemen strolling out of the golden ballroom to join me. I turned away and tried to calm myself, anticipating the coming barrage of compliments. I was always so flustered when they talked to me.

This particular young boy's name was Lee. The son of a general of the Fire Nation, he was haughty and arrogant. He wore satin dress robes, the bright red color and gold embroidery of the fabric making his ivory skin seem even paler. I could feel his orange eyes on me.

"You look lovely as always, Katara." His voice slithered from his throat like a two-headed rat viper. A cold tremor ran up my spine and I suddenly longed for the warmth of the palace, willing Lee to ignore the goose bumps already appearing on my arms.

He was right behind me now; I could feel his breath on the nape of my neck. His icy fingers trailed down my left arm, leaving patches of shivers in their wake. I shook him off and headed into the gardens, away from Lee. I knew there was a fountain somewhere in the depths of the yard and I was perfectly capable of protecting myself.

I had meant for my abrupt exit to deter Lee from following me but he seemed to ignore my hint. I quickened my pace, my sweeping blue gown trailing behind me. I cast worried glances over my shoulder, shaking a bit as Lee tried to keep up with my gate. I didn't know why he made me so uncomfortable; I'd faced Azula for spirits' sake! What was I so afraid of?

I had reached the fountain and I confidently turned around to face Lee, only to jump in surprise. He was so close that his face was inches away from me. He smiled in a gleeful way that made me want to deck him in the jaw. But he wouldn't be grinning for long so I calmed myself and covertly drew some water from the pool at my back.

I felt him make a grab for my arm and I immediately shaped my water whip. But it didn't form like I wanted it to because the next thing I knew, Lee had hit several spots all the way up my left arm. My eyes widened in realization; this boy was a chi blocker.

"Shoot, shoot, SHOOT." I thought desperately as my arm dangled uselessly from its socket.

I dodged his next attack but he was able to pin me with the third. I was about to cry out when I felt him poke the side of my throat and my voice went dead. I couldn't speak. I couldn't yell. I couldn't scream for help. I was completely and totally screwed.

I had originally pinned Lee as a firebender but this was absolutely unexpected. I groaned inwardly as his fingers prodded my side and I fell to the garden ground, defenseless and paralyzed. Why hadn't I realized that he wasn't a firebender? His fingers were icy, for spirits' sake.

"Stupid, stupid, STUPID."

Lee flipped me to my back and he propped me up against the side of the fountain. He knelt next to me, "Well, Miss Katara, we won't be trying any more of that will we?"

I hated the way his words slipped into my ears.

But as soon as I'd gotten the thought out into my head, a new one popped up…Lee had his hands on my shoulders. He slowly slid them down my arms, making my skin crawl in agony at his touch. It was disgusting.

His eyes wandered to my chest. Alarms were already going off in my head but now it felt like they were physically deafening. I suddenly developed a hatred for Sukie and her cursed fashion obsessions. The dress she'd picked out for me had originally seemed like a great idea but now I was having major second thoughts. The low V-neck was showing off way too much at the moment and I struggled to somehow move it up.

Lee felt my feeble squirm beneath his palms and he shushed me, "Don't you worry, Katara. I'm going to take good care of you…"

I was thinking about some way to wipe that evil little smirk off of his face when I felt pressure on my lips. It took a few moments for me to realize that Lee was kissing me. I wiggled weakly but violently trying to get away from him but it was hopeless. I was paralyzed, lost.

Lee's lips were bruising against mine, forceful and angry, so unlike Aang's. My boyfriend's kisses were soft and lovely, as if he were afraid he might break me. Lee seemed to want to break me.

A whimper caught in the back of my throat and tears began to course down my cheeks. Lee felt the drops against his skin and pulled away, pleased with himself. I barely had three seconds to draw a tired breath before he smashed his lips down onto mine once again. One of his hands began to move towards my chest.

I choked out a whisper against Lee's mouth, "Please…anything but that…"

Lee stopped kissing me and watched me carefully as he replied, "And the beautiful Water Tribe Princess regains her speech…"

His mouth turned up into a cruel grin and he did what he had set out to do. His palm landed flat on my chest and his lips crushed against mine once more. I let out a gargle of distress and anger. A strangled sob escaped my throat.

And then Lee was gone; just gone. His hands were gone and so were his angry lips. I gasped at the sudden release of pressure and struggled to crawl away should he come back. That was when I heard a body thud to the ground.

Slowly, my vision cleared and my limbs began to tingle, a sure sign of the feeling coming back into them. I looked up wildly to see Aang standing over Lee. Though, his back was to me, I could tell he was furious through the way his shoulders tensed up. Every part of his body was rigid with rage and disbelief. He just stared at Lee sprawled on the ground in front of him. Minutes passed.

"What the heck was that?" Aang finally spoke, bristling over Lee. The nobleman scrambled from the cobble stone, straightening his robes as he went. He managed to stutter something unintelligible before the unmistakable crack of a fist against a jaw split his words.

I could barely make out Lee stumbling away in the dim evening light. He held one hand to his face, shock covering every corner of his features.

Aang turned his back to Lee and stiffly walked back to my side. He knelt and gently took hold of my trembling fingers, placing his other hand on the back of my neck. He stared angrily at Lee, "Don't you ever touch her again. I don't want to see you near her. You got that?"

Lee only glared and turned away, strolling back to palace as he rubbed his jaw. There was sure to be a bruise there in a few hours.

Aang looked at me once more. His gray eyes were shining with worry and concern, "Are you alright, Katara?"

I nodded numbly, the feeling in my arms slowly returning. I tried to hold back what I knew was coming but it was all just too much. I burst into tears and let my useless body fall over onto Aang.

He pulled me onto his lap, cradling me as I sobbed in earnest. He made little hushing noises and rocked me, holding me close. We sat for almost an hour until my frame wasn't racked by frightened sobs. I was reduced to a shaking tremor of nerves and soft cries.

Aang tucked me close to him, my nose buried into the base of his neck, his hand on the back of my neck, the other arm wrapped around my waist. He just held me there in the garden. He didn't tell me it was okay, because it wasn't. I had been grossly violated, touched in a way that I didn't want to be touched. He just let me cry it out.

After a while, when I had regained most of my feeling, I propped my head up on his shoulder, sniffing a bit. Aang searched my face, wiping away the remainder of my tears with the calloused pad of his thumb. I sighed, loving the way his touch was so gentle.

"I love you, Aang."

"I love you, too."