A Drink for a Queen
by ProblemCats1and2
Chapter 1: Hookup Culture
She had never stolen anything before, until today. It was a theft born of… not really necessity. Boredom, maybe. But it felt an awful lot like a need. She wore a cloak as she snuck into the servants' wing, with the hood pulled low over her head, and ducked into their laundry room, which was fortunately empty. She had come down here during lunch precisely for that reason, which gave her a few minutes to sort through piles of clean clothing before finding something she thought would fit. Stuffing them under her roomy cloak, she turned tail and left the way she had come.
She wondered, later that night, if she should wait another couple of days to use the clothing, as that might avoid suspicion, but she had already told all the important people she was sick and to leave her alone today in order to slip away during lunch, so she might as well make use of that. Besides, she reasoned, this was important. Really important.
So she braided her long brown hair and put on the clean, relatively well-fitting servants' trousers and tunic. Her reflection twisted in the full-length mirror on her wall, eyeing the fit of the clothing, deciding she looked like she thought a normal person would. The trousers were tight across her hips and the tunic across her bust, but she liked it that way. It made her look alluring and just a teensy bit slutty. Perfect. She slung a water skin across her back-there was no point in trying to hide her water bender status, not with her coloring- slipped on soft leather boots, and climbed out her window.
The climb was made relatively easy by a vine-covered trellis that extended all the way to the ground. Fortunately, Aang was a trusting sort and had specifically requested his castle not have walls, and the guards were limited to the main entrances, so it was easy enough to head down the hill into the city. It was dark, but the moon had risen, and Katara felt its light surround her, lighting her way down. She wandered well-lit streets in silence for a while, moving ever farther away from the castle, heading towards a bar on the river she had heard of. It had a reputation, but not a bad one. It was the sort of place where traveling merchants who wouldn't recognize her would go, as it was near the large market and docks.
No one really troubled her on her way there, as the streets were mostly quiet. It wasn't late enough for bar patrons to be thoroughly sloshed and most residents of the city had probably just finished their dinner. Gradually, more people crowded the streets, probably on their way to find entertainment for the night, just like her.
After half an hour's walk she reached the bar. From the outside, it looked well-lit and relatively crowded, but not overly loud, so she walked in and headed for an empty barstool. Ordering a glass of ice wine, she surveyed the crowd moodily. Few people were alone; most sat at tables in groups that were probably merchant caravans, judging by their similar clothing. The crowd certainly did seem to represent a wide range of nationalities, as she'd been told- there were some merchants clearly from the Fire Nation, another group that appeared to be from the Si Wong province, more that were probably from Ba Sing Se, maybe. Or Omashu. Definitely an Earth state city. No Water Tribe members or Air Nobles, though, although that wasn't very surprising.
She turned back to her ice win and sighed. It didn't look like her night would end up as happily as she'd hoped, meaning this whole trip was for nothing. She downed the rest of her drink quickly, hoping she could at least enjoy a little buzz before she had to go back to the palace. Aang wasn't a fan of drinking.
One of the Si Wong men sidled over to her, smiling a snaggle-toothed smile. "Want me to buy you another drink?" he asked slyly. Katara eyed him, see the wrinkled, sun-worn skin, crooked teeth, and thinning hair. She liked to think she was open-minded, but she had at least hoped for someone attractive.
"No thanks," she replied cooly. "I'm married."
Taking a sip of his drink, the man sidled closer to her. "Then why are you here, pretty girl? You see, I don't think that means nothing to you. Or you're lying. Either way, no reason for me to leave, you see?" His hot breath washed over her ear.
Katara rolled her eyes. Seriously, some guys could not take a hint. "How about because I told you to go away? I'm not interested. If you keep bothering me, I will freeze your drink to your face."
A raspy voice appeared over her other shoulder. "Is this guy bothering you?"
The Si Wong man briefly looked scared, then quickly said, "Yeah, ok, sorry I bothered you. I didn't realize you were a waterbender."
Turning to the new speaker, she repled smugly, "No, I had it handled. I can take care of myself." The raspy voice belonged to one of the Fire Nation men, tall and dark haired with a large burn scar covering one eye. She eyed him appreciatively. Despite the scar, he was quite good-looking- well-built, lovely golden eyes, muscular arms. "What are you, some kind of bouncer or something?"
He laughed. "No, although I do know the owner of the bar, so he probably would trust my judgment if I threw somebody out."
Ah, she thought, he's trying to look impressive. Nice. "Well, thanks for stepping in, but your help really wasn't needed." She turned away, trying to catch the bartender's attention for a second drink.
"Yeah, I can see that… although, I am curious. Why are you here if you're married? Were you just lying to get him to leave?"
She sighed and looked at him.
"Look, I swear, I'm not trying to be nosy… okay, maybe a little, but I'm not trying to hit on you. I just wanted to know."
"Yes, I really am married, and as to why I'm here… I need several more drinks before I'd start talking to a stranger about that."
He nodded sagely. "Ah. I see. Well, hi, I'm Zuko. Nice to meet you." He stuck out his hand awkwardly and she shook it with a laugh. "See, now we're not strangers."
"Are you really that curious, or do you just enjoy getting people to tell you about their lives in bars?"
"A little bit of both. Although, if you do want to talk about it, I'll split some sake with you."
She toyed idly with her still-empty glass. "It is tempting. Although, if you're offering to listen, you should know what you're getting into. There's a very real chance I may cry or yell incoherently." Katara looked up at him through her eyelashes. He looked genuinely concerned. And he really was very cute. Maybe she would talk to him for a little while.
"I have a room upstairs, if you don't want to talk in public. Wait, is that creepy? I swear I'm not a killer or anything. I just want to help. Ah, shit, I sound so creepy."
Katara laughed so hard she bent over the bar. "Wow, if you're hitting on me, this is the worst come-on I've ever seen. Besides, if you were a killer, I'd have you frozen to a wall before you could do anything."
He rubbed the back of his neck, blushing. "I feel in the interest of fairness I should point out I'm a firebender. But, again, I'm not a killer. I'm sorry for the… awkwardness."
Katara arched an eyebrow at him. "Ooh, so you might be a little bit of a challenge then. I'm not exactly worried. In fact, your offer of a private place to talk is sounding more intriguing by the minute, as long as you get plenty of sake." Maybe if he heard her proposal, he'd help her out.
"Oh. Okay then. I can do that." He waved the bartender over, asked for two bottles of sake and two cups, then tapped his fingers impatiently on the wooden bar. "Hey, you never told me your name. I should probably know the name of my new drinking buddy."
Oh, yeah, a name. Shit. "Oh… yeah. My name's Kya."
He smiled at her. "Good to meet you, Kya. Shall we go have a drink?"
Author's Note: I read a lot of fanfiction, but have never written any before! I'm hoping this isn't terrible. Clearly, as you can tell, in this AU the Air Nomads weren't killed- in fact, they have their very own kingdom about where Republic City is. You'll find out more about the politics of my AU in future chapters. For now, enjoy Katara being super bored.