Disclaimer: AtLA doesn't belong to me. It never has, most likely never will. Zuko and Katara are not my characters. I have no legal right or claim. Moving on to the story...another chapter of smexy lemon...Insomnia is the driving force behind the following story.

8/8/10: EDITED! (I have writer's block so I'm editing old chapters while I work on Ch. 7... . Trying to add some details here and there. Nuffin' major. ;) )

The Prince's Slave
Chapter Three

She was pregnant?

"No, that can't be—are you sure?" Her dark skin paled visibly. Of course, she should have expected this, what with how often Zuko had been calling her to his bedroom, but still...pregnant. How could she-or Zuko-forgotten to take care of such a thing? There were herbs to prevent and end pregnancy, but Katara wasn't about to do anything to terminate a child already growing. It had been foolish of her to think the signs were merely an illness and it would be even more foolish to continue to live in denial.

"I know it when I see it." The healer said dryly. "There's no doubt about it. You're one month along, I believe. You should come back to me or another healer periodically, to make sure you and the baby are doing all right."

One month. That meant she had gotten pregnant roughly around her first or second week in Zuko's bed. She had been captured in early August and arrived in the Fire Nation roughly four weeks later. It was now mid-October. "Thanks for your help."

"Is this your first?"

She nodded, biting her lip so hard that the coppery taste of blood tinged her mouth. The healer looked at her compassionately. "The first is always the most dangerous. Sometimes they end in miscarriage. If you stay healthy and refrain from heavy work, you'll have a better chance—and don't forget to check in with a healer. Try to eat well and stay hydrated. Don't do any labor-intensive work."

Katara paid the healer a few copper coins she had managed to save and thanked her again for her time, leaving in a daze. The dusty streets of the capital passed by in a blur, the city din barely registering in her mind as she made her way back to the palace. She returned to her tiny room, wishing she could talk to someone—anyone. She had no friends in a land of enemies, however. Trust was short in the palace. Even if she could find a way back home, Sokka would find it the height of betrayal that she had willingly submitted to the Heir of the Fire Nation and was now pregnant with his child. Gran Gran would be disappointed and the rest of the village would never look at her the same. And when her dad came home-Katara shook her head. She didn't want to think about it. Hakoda was busy fighting with the resistance, and here she was sleeping with the enemy. None of it made any sense.

"And this is all because I had to go play with my magic water." Tears gathered in her eyes and she pressed the palms of her hands against her eyes tightly, trying not to cry. Her throat felt tight and constricted and she couldn't stop the flood of tears. She missed Sokka so much. She'd give anything to have him in front of her right now, even if it was to yell at her for being the greatest idiot in the world. Sniffling, she collapsed on her bed, crying into her meager pillow, her tears soaking through the thin, shabby casing. The room was tiny and cramped, but the walls were solid stone; no one would hear her sobbing through their thickness.

Some hours later, Katara was walking to the library to clean when she spotted Zuko. She bowed appropriately as was expected, still feeling shell-shocked from her visit to healer. "Good afternoon, your highness." Slaves usually didn't address their betters, but there was no one else in the hall and she took the risk. Now, how to broach the sensitive subject of him being a dad...

"Good afternoon." He replied, watching her closely. "You look ill. Have you not been eating well enough?" He hadn't wanted to stay away from her for so long, but Mai and her family had arrived. For Katara's safety, he couldn't let anyone find out about the slave's visits to his personal chambers.

"I've been eating well, Your Highness." The food had simply refused to stay eaten. Despite the nausea, she had attempted to eat. What she had hoped was a mere flu had been morning sickness—and it didn't restrict itself only to the morning. "I heard about your upcoming nuptials. Congratulations to you and Lady Mai." She was still kowtowing, waiting for permission to rise.

"I can tell that you're lying to me. Rise and tell me the truth."

She stood up, brushing at a few insignificant specks of dust that clung to her red skirt. What was it with everyone being able to tell she was lying? Apparently, she needed to work on that particular skill. "I'm perfectly well, your highness." The hall wasn't really the place to tell him she bore his illegitimate child.

Zuko was quiet for a moment. Two people couldn't share the intimacies they had and not recognize that something was amiss. It was just a matter of getting her to tell him, he mused. She was his slave and he felt responsible for her as such. "Follow me." The brief command was clipped and left no room for argument.

She obeyed quietly and he led her to his chambers, the walk a long and silent one. He closed the door behind her as they entered and she studied the Fire Nation tapestry for a moment before turning to Zuko. He was leaning against the door, golden eyes studying her as intently as she had been regarding the wall hanging. There wasn't any point in dancing around the subject. "I'm pregnant." She tried to keep her words even but she couldn't prevent the trembling in her voice.

"By whom?" He asked calmly. It was well known that the male slaves helped themselves to whatever female slaves they wished, but it hadn't occurred to him that she was pregnant by him. He was irritated with himself as he realized the thought of some low slave bedding Katara irked him.

She looked like he had slapped her in the face with his question and then focused her gaze down at the floor, wishing she could lose herself in the maze of black lines and red stone tiles. "I haven't slept with anyone else."

He didn't know why, but he felt compelled to explain. "By now you ought to know the slave hierarchy here. Due to your seniority, you have a low standing in the eyes of the other slaves. Many of the male slaves can order you to their beds and you will be expected to consent."

"None of them have, Zuko." Katara replied, getting annoyed. What did that have to do with anything? He was the father. Period. End of discussion. Was he that slow? "You are the first and only man I have slept with in my life. You're the father."

Zuko considered; even the boldest slave might be hesitant to touch a woman bedded by his prince, on penalty of death. "Whom have you told of our—encounters?"

"I've told no one. I've tried to avoid the other slaves and no one's approached me." There was a tight feeling in her chest as panic began to well up, like her binding was too tight, and her breathing grew short. What would Zuko do? Did he even care? This wasn't going as well as she had hoped.

He didn't reply, debating what to say or do. She blurted out, "I know what the law says—I've pored over the law scrolls every time I've dusted in the library. Please don't let my child be given to a vulture griffin." Illegitimacy was not dealt with kindly in the Fire Nation, but then, little was dealt with kindly in the Fire Nation. Sickly children and bastards were treated the same—left to die or be eaten on the cliffs and crags of the volcano.

"The law is—"

"Please, Zuko, I'm begging you." She slid to her knees before him, clinging to him. In any other situation, he'd have no problem with her being on her knees, but such as it was...Zuko told her to stand, running a hand across the shaven side of his head.

"If I make an exception, he must be a slave for life, never knowing his true father." He really had no intention of letting his child die, but it would be disastrous for everyone involved if his family or the councils discovered he had a bastard child. Considering his upcoming marriage, it would be especially catastrophic. A bastard could cause rebellion and discontent in an attempt to claim the throne.

This woke a stubborn streak in Katara; she wasn't about to settle for the enslavement of her child. She would ensure that he was declared his father's legitimate heir or set free. "You'd let your own child be a slave? If you don't let him be eaten, that is."

"Are you forgetting your place?" She didn't answer at first; Zuko gave her liberties, but slighting his character wasn't one of them. Somehow, that wedding had to be called off. She and her baby wouldn't have a snowball's chance in a volcano until Mai was no longer his fiancée. "You're dismissed."

Katara left without a word, tears in her eyes, but her resolve still firm. She simply had to make sure Mai was out of the picture-the only question was how could this marriage be prevented?

As his slave went out the door, Zuko undid his top knot with a sigh and removed his royal armor. Sometimes, things would be so much easier if he wasn't bound by his damn duty. His hand touched his scar lightly, before a flaming fist punched the wall as the prince growled. The sound bounced around the room like the cry of one of the ancient dragons, trapped by a fate it had never asked for.

That evening, Katara saw that Zuko was resting in his quarters, his eyes were closed. She spotted the burn on the wall momentarily, and then slipped next to him on the bed, one hand reaching under the crimson sheets to caress his length. He was obviously frustrated by the situation and she hoped she could provide an incentive for solving everything.

"Katara, what are you—?" His golden eyes flew open at her touch.

"I thought you could use some company, my prince." Cool fingers stroked his hot length as his arousal grew apparent.

"I didn't tell you—"

"Don't you like my company, Zuko?" She asked huskily, nibbling on his ear. She inhaled his scent, like incense and spices, her tongue flicking at his ear. He had spent weeks teaching her how to please him and now she used every bit of that knowledge to make sure he was thoroughly pleasured. Perhaps she could drive Mai out of his mind if she worked extra hard to satisfy Zuko in bed, the waterbender thought naively. At least it was some sort of plan.

"I am to marry Mai—" The strain in his voice betrayed his desire and revealed the struggle he had in holding back and not dragging her beneath him then and there.

Tui, that hadn't stopped him before and she wasn't about to let him use that excuse now. "Does Mai please you like I do?"

"That doesn't matter—" He replied, as though he was trying to convince himself, but Katara and her slender fingers managed to cut him off for the fourth time.

"Has she even come to your bed? A good fiancée would please her future husband, instead of leave him alone and frustrated." She began trailing her mouth down across his chest and abdomen, tantalizingly closer to Zuko's arousal. It was always useful that Zuko slept in the nude; saved so much time, Katara mused with wicked amusement. "But you did not summon me. I should leave, my prince." She moved to rise, knowing that at his state of arousal he'd have to jump into the northern sea to cool his lust.

"Stay." It was a command.

"What do you want me to do, my prince?" She murmured, not moving to rejoin him.

"You know what I want from you." Zuko growled as he grabbed her hand, tugging her back down. He swiftly rolled on top of her, pinning his lithe slave beneath him, golden eyes on fire with lust.

"I live to serve, Prince Zuko." Katara said with an impish smile. He kissed her hungrily, from her lips to her loins, until they were both on fire with their passions. She came beneath his tongue before returning the favor, her eyes never leaving Zuko's face as her lips trailed kisses down his toned abdomen to his manhood. Her lips surrounded his smooth length, her tongue swirling and teasing, flicking at his head. In a few minutes, Zuko grabbed her, quickly repositioned them, and entered her. The waterbender cried out as he thrust into her, her hips rising to meet his. She came with another wild cry, panting her prince's name. He continued to thrust into her, withdrawing until he had almost completely pulled out before thrusting all the way back in, causing another crest of pleasure to send Katara to the moon and back with pure bliss, before he finally came with a shout.

Both of them were breathing heavily from their exertions as Zuko lay beside her. Katara propped herself up with one arm and looked at him with mischief in her eyes.

"Again?"