AN: Wow, how long has it been since I've updated this? Who even knows. Well, here's a chapter to keep you guys entertained. (:
Also! A huuuge thank you to all my readers & reviewers! You deserve to find numerous well written fics with your favorite ship.
Aaaand there was also the question about whether the character death would be one of our heroes, Katara & Zuko. The truth is, I have no idea at this point! I've got a general idea of where I want this to go, but you know that stories have a mind of their own...for now, enjoy.
Welcome to the harem, Katara of the South.
Well, I'm right where I'm supposed to be and that's about it. The room is moderate in size I suppose, compared to other rooms. It is surely bigger than our one room tents in the South.
Silken draperies adorn the walls and everything is gaudy from the heavily embroidered pillows to the intricate mosaics on the floor. I didn't know what I expected, but never could I have imagined this wealth.
It is sickening to know that such wealth is wasted on the wealthy.
I readjust my clothing and realize that the other women are similarly dressed, some in very sheer clothing. I send a silent prayer to the spirits and hope that I don't have to wear that.
"I heard about the North," I say simply and watch Yue for a reaction. She disappoints though, giving no outward indication of her feelings. Likely brainwashed.
"Yes, the North held out for a few weeks before defeat," was her mild reply and she averted her eyes as she spoke. Maybe not brainwashed after all.
"My condolences." I wish I could sound like I cared. She nods as if she understands that we are all browbeaten into stony acceptance of the Fire Nation, and maybe she does. A girl with a tinge of red in her otherwise brown hair approaches us and squats down next to me.
"I'm Suki," she states, offering her hand in greeting. I hesitate to take it in the common fashion, hand to hand, because she might be undercover for our mission. Dad didn't tell me about anyone else in the palace, but news travels slow to the South. I decide to go long, clutching her forearm closer to her elbow.
If I've mistaken her for one of ours she'll probably just waive it off as some Southern Water Tribe customary hand shake, but I see the momentary spark in her gray eyes and I know I'm not alone. She grips my arm in return.
"Katara," I reply. No need to get into details.
"The sun is bright today."
"Yes, and very warm." These are the words one speaks to another to confirm their secret affiliation.
Relief floods me and I could hug the woman if I wanted to blow my cover. Harem girls aren't likely spied on, but you never know what perverted guard may be watching. She's probably on her own mission but it is known that mine holds precedence over most, meaning I have an ally in a pinch.
Yue doesn't say anything but I can tell she knows something secret is passing between Suki and I. Instead she asks, "Are you hungry?"
I have no complaints about being starved on the journey into captivity. On the contrary, I was well fed on gruel and stew and other hardy ship food. The ship's cook wasn't very adventurous, and variety was the spice of life after all.
Yue showed me to platters of exotic Fire Nation fruits; mangoes, grapes, bananas, lychee berries, papaya (which I didn't like), oranges, and so much more. The fruit was there for our snacking leisure, which led me to begin questioning them about what I could expect from my new life.
It turned out that Fire Lord Grumpy Ass didn't spend much time in their company at all and they were mostly left to their own devices. This was probably the most encouraging piece of news I had received in a good while and I chewed on a piece of pineapple while savoring this great victory.
As best they could tell, he didn't even like being around them when he had to. Suki described him as awkward and quiet and I blinked in surprise. Were we even talking about the same man here? The one who had very nearly defiled me on the way back, threatening to feed me to his hungry crew.
"I'm not a bad man. Bad men don't take prisoners," he had said. I only linger on the thought for a second, which is more than it deserved.
But then, it must be a dominance thing I suppose. He's already established some sort of dominance over these women or thinks them suitably cowed so that he lets his façade slip a little. Yes, that must be it.
They were fed well and got plenty of exercise in the gardens, never wanting for much if at all. Except their freedom, but that was not brought up. Sometimes they were called to wait upon dinner parties as serving women at the discretion of the Phoenix King.
Great, I have to deal with a pervvy father too.
"The strangest thing is that he comes for one of us each week like clockwork. Sometimes he fucks us, sometimes not," Suki shrugged as if it was no big deal. Yue nodded with a blush creeping into her cheeks, apparently to delicate to discuss such carnal topics. "It must be some sort of condition from his father."
If you had to be coerced into seeing to your own harem, why have one at all? This was an interesting question that could unlock a lot of things about the Fire Lord's personality and possible weaknesses.
"We're to be kept inside today. I'm assuming it's to acclimate you to your new home," Suki continued with a bitter twist of her lips. It might've been a smile but it looked more like she had bitten into one of those lemons.
That ruined my hopes of discovering if my pleas had been successful for Sokka. Spirits, I missed my family. But these women are the closest thing I'll have to family for a while. Loneliness opens a cavern in my heart when I think of the road ahead. Surrounded by strangers and one among them who I can depend on.
I feel a sudden urge to preserve my own happiness and flee this terrible place as soon as possible but I know I can't. I have to save the world, and that is a heavy burned to bear. My shoulders want to sag as if the weight could be physically felt, but I remain strong. Everyone is depending on me.
Suki and Yue talk about idle things that I don't really listen to. Some of it is court gossip to be mocked, some of it speculation on what is for dinner, and some about the Fire Lord's new bride.
I was tiring of the chafe of the rope around my wrists when dinner was brought to us. The scent from the delicately cut strips of meat in sauce made my stomach growl in betrayal, and I was beginning to wonder how I would eat when I was approached by a guard. Apparently I would have the honor of dining with Fire Lord Zuko tonight. I traded glances with Suki when no one was looking, and then I was back into the corridor once again.
The palace was an enormous maze of thick red marble columns and golden silks fluttering in the evening breeze. How did anyone ever find their way around this place without a map? Which I should probably make and memorize. Maybe Sokka would make a map too, if he was here. He was the one who was good with maps.
Up steps, down steps, around the corner. How big was this place? Or maybe they're taking me the long way around to confuse me. Sneaky Fire Nation…but you're not sneaky enough for me.
Suddenly our trek came to a halt outside of a large wooden double door made of dark wood. The carvings were picked out in gold and so intricate that I didn't know whether to be disgusted or amazed. I stood while one of my escort admitted himself into the room and the other cut the rope from my wrists.
"Finally," I muttered, rubbing the irritated skin. The guard paid me no mind and grasped my upper arm when I was summoned officially, hauling me forward like a petulant child.
The Fire Lord's first impression of me that day was bared teeth and a scowl for the guard who dutifully tugged me along.
"I can walk," I hissed angrily. Who wants to be half dragged all the time? Not me. Plus I'd like to have some dignity restored. The guard did not release me until I was at my proper seat, which was across from the Fire Lord at a sensible table. It was not long like the one in the main dining hall like I heard Yue speak of, but rather round and modestly sized.
The slits in my skirt allowed me to sit cross-legged, my thighs absurdly bare to the world but that was the least of my problems. Why did he want me here? What was I supposed to do? Uncertainty gnawed at me as a polar bear-dog at a bone. To my credit I was completely placid. He bade me to eat (as if I needed an invitation) and I fed noodles into my mouth with two sticks because apparently that's how fancy people eat. He called them chopsticks, I call them just sticks because that's what they are. The noodles were cold intentionally, which makes sense when you think about it, but heart achingly delicious.
Oh, I'm a traitor for sure.
"Why do you not dine with your wife?" I ask, trying to make it look like I was trying to make polite conversation when I was really after information I could use against him later. Being a spy was very confusing sometimes.
"Lady Mai prefers to be in Ba Sing Se with her family," he replied smoothly, but I saw his grip smolder on his eating sticks. I didn't push the matter further. Maybe I was here because he didn't like to eat alone. It's possible he wasn't a complete monster yet—spirits knew he was surrounded by them. It might be too early to ask about her brother again but…
"Where did you send my people." It wasn't a request for information, it was a demand. A quiet demand, but demand nonetheless. I deserved to know this much, I reasoned. And it was true. I could just feel the tirade building up inside of me, ready for him to deny me the information. I looked up darkly from my noodles but his face showed nothing.
"The coal mines. Those who are fit enough will mine the coal. Others will be found work." I quickly beat back the fear for Dad and Gran Gran. What would happen to them? Could I complete this mission before a worse fate befell them?
"And my brother?" My voice almost died in my throat. Surely I would fail without Sokka. I would never escape and we'd die in this La forsaken land. His answer came after a longer pause than before.
"Beginning his servant training in the kitchen." I couldn't hold back the gasp of breath. Let him think what he will, my brother was safe and we will succeed, I just know it. Something flickered briefly on his face. Disgust perhaps, it was too fleeting to discern from my distance. I allow myself a moment and close my eyes, breathing a sigh of relief. Sokka was safe.
There was a raised voice at the door and before either us could act, a woman in black and gold armor burst through the door and was striding the length of the room towards us.
My relief evaporated as quickly as a drop of dew in the sun. I didn't need to see the woman to know who she was, her reputation preceded her. The guards made halfhearted attempts to stop her, but they were clearly just as afraid. As she made her way around to the Fire Lord, I caught sight of her all the same. With those pieces of hair framing either side of her face and manic sneer, it could only be one person.
"Having a little dinner party are we, Zuzu? And didn't invite me?" I wasn't the only one stiff as a board. The Fire Lord looked as if he had turned to stone. A composed stone, but he treated his little sister as the rabid family pet.
"I guess yours got lost in the mail," he replied dryly. This earned a cackle from Azula as she crossed behind him.
"You're so funny Zuzu. I hope you're keeping your new pet entertained with your hilaaaarious jokes." She was bent forward and one arm was slung over her brother's shoulder and her face next to his. "You wouldn't want her to get bored and start wandering. You know how unfortunate your wanderers get," she said with exaggerated remorse, closing her eyes as if mourning the thought of them.
All was still for a few heart beats and in that stillness I was more afraid for my life than ever before. I have seen rabid animals. I know how unpredictable they are; that's part of what makes them terrifying.
"They just seem to…burn up." She had grabbed one of his food sticks and blue flame burst from her finger tips, effectively turning the wood to ash.
A wicked grin had spread onto the princess's face. Not one of those, hey-we-are-going-to-get-into-so-much-trouble-but-let's-do-it-anyway wicked grins, but a cruel, calculating grin that belonged on an evil spirit or something. It didn't help that her eyes were boring into me.
I sat frozen with fear, wondering if the Fire Lord would sacrifice me to his deranged sister. I could only take shallow breaths as she sauntered towards me, brushing the ashes on the table cloth as she went. I tried to keep calm because I didn't come all this way for nothing. I didn't train all those years so I could cower at the feet of this woman. The people I was doing this for, the cause! The end will justify the means.
Emboldened every moment by these thoughts I was at least able to meet her gaze on my own, not because she held me there with hypnotic predator eyes. I could have predator eyes as well. This made her angry more than anything and she looked as if she was going to throw the closest thing at my head. But she didn't. Instead, her red lips curled like a dead leaf and her narrowed eyes said,
Watch yourself, water wench.
And just like that, she whisked herself out of the room as if nothing significant had happened. I know that isn't true just like I know I haven't seen the last of her. I stood my ground but at what cost? Should I have cowered to be classified as a non-threat? Too late now, at any rate. There was a collective release of breath all around the room.
"Your sister? Lovely woman." I can't help myself. It's too quiet and since Sokka isn't around I guess it's up to me to make the embarrassingly stupid comments. This earns me a brief snort of laughter from the fearsome Fire Lord and I can't help wonder how much more is beneath his don't-touch-me looks.