A/N: Yes, I had many comments on the last chapter. Thanks so much! Cookies for all! But to most of them, I didn't want to respond because it would be answered soon anyway. Spoilers would have ruined the not-so-surprise. To those reviewers, I'm sorry to keep you waiting!
Katara's heart skipped a beat. She stared at the messenger as if he had three heads. He saw this and slowly edged out of the room, terrified.
"I thought you were the princess." Zuko said the instant the door shut. He stared at his supposed concubine, clearly expecting some sort of answer. None came. She was at a loss for words as the gears in her mind were working.
'Who,' she thought, 'could the princess possibly be? Then again, do I even know her?' She tried to think back to all the young girls who had a strong political influence on the people of either water tribe. No one came to mind. Then, horrified, she thought, 'Did they think I was dead?'
Her thoughts were cut short. Zuko was determined to get answers, so he ordered her to change, that they were leaving soon. He stripped down to his underwear and got dressed without any sense of modesty, and it was obvious by the look on his face that his mind was elsewhere. While this was so, Katara ducked into the bathroom with her nicest dress in hopes of…in hopes of what? The waterbender suddenly realized that she was jealous. She was jealous of the new princess.
Within ten minutes, the pair of them had reached the Fire Lord's throne room for the grand unveiling of the new Water Tribe princess. They made their way into the golden-lit room to bow before the flames. On the other side sat Fire Lord Ozai, along with three other thrones that had recently been added to the décor. In the one furthest from him, a girl's silhouette was shrouded in dancing golden flames.
As the flames died down, both Katara and Zuko looked the girl over. She looked young, Katara thought. Too young to get married. She was petite, and she was no older than thirteen, Zuko believed.
"This is the princess?" Ozai suddenly said, looking out of the corner of his eye to the girl.
Katara's heart plummeted like a stone in her gut.
The girl was looking at her silently, as if trying to remember her face, to recognize her. She had not seen Katara often, or very clearly; she was from the used-to-be Northern Tribe and had usually been confined to her home. Still, she couldn't forget Katara's face. Looking to Ozai, she gave a small nod.
"Well it seems you are no longer required." the Fire Lord said, meaning the second girl.
"Y-yes sir." the other princess replied. The hand she gripped the chair with was turning white, shaking.
"You'll be a maid here." The Fire Lord seemed distracted, almost bored with what was going on in the room. Clapping his hands to call one of the guards in the room, he ordered them to take the terrified girl to the maid's quarters. He said the girl needed someone to instruct her in the basics of being a servant to the royals of the Fire Nation. "And what was you're name, girl?"
"Aya." she mumbled. She was tearing up already, horrified. Katara felt anger rise up within her.
"My lord?" she said suddenly, startling both Zuko and his father. The only noise that rang through the silence was the single guard leaving with Aya, the door clicking shut behind them.
"What, wretch?"
The waterbender fought the urge to clench her fists and kept her hands folded in her lap. The Water Tribe was simply after an alliance with the Fire Nation to avoid another war, and this poor northern girl was turned into a victim. She was treated just like the other outsiders that Ozai came across—like dirt. Katara felt her stomach twist in a mix of disgust and sorrow. Her mind was reeling, complex emotions clouding her thoughts.
"Perhaps she could be mine and Prince Zuko's maid? The boy serving us is truly too young. He might walk in on something he shouldn't." The words felt disgusting on her tongue, and she decided once she got back to her room, she would wash her mouth out with soap. Her and Zuko…the thought was appalling.
Ozai stared down at Katara. She was now blushing while Zuko caught on. He inwardly sighed.
"Father, Katara is right."
The Fire Lord still seemed to be thinking this proposition over, though he saw right through Katara's side of the story. He knew she only wanted to save her kin from whatever he'd had planned for her. Despite this fact, he gave a nod. "Very well. The boy will only come to bring meals. The girl will come to get you dressed, Katara. Your new clothes have been prepared." He waved them off. "Now leave me."
They left, and when Katara stepped into the room, Zuko followed, closing the door behind him. "He saw right through you, you know."
She glared at him, hand on her hip as if to challenge him. "Do you think I care? I was only trying to sound like a nice little girl, not say the things nice little girls say."
Zuko shook his head and decided to drop the subject. Katara was naturally a stubborn person, he had learned quickly enough. Picking a fight with her was not a wise choice, and he was in no mood to make an unwise choice. This was his day off—he planned to use the time well and relax. Thinking this, he walked past her.
"Aren't you going to yell at me? Scold me?" she said, angry. Somehow she had expected him to burst out in anger like he did the few times she got mean and stubborn.
"No. I'm not wasting my time."
She stared at him. "What?"
"I'm not wasting my time. As much as we don't like the idea, we're supposed to get married, and most couples don't fight until they're married."
Katara uneasily shifted on her feet. She hated whenever someone or something reminded her of that part of her relationship with Zuko. It only worsened what little self esteem she had left and brought back those horrible memories from only a few weeks before. That reminded her of how she had failed in every possible way on that day, and soon Katara would lie in bed, eyes closed, pretending to sleep so she would not cry. Instead of taking that route, she left him alone.
"So you're new here?" the woman said to Aya down in the maid's chambers, which was coincidently very close to the prison hold. Screams of the injured and tortured echoed through the halls outside the room they were in like lost specters searching for condolence.
"Yes." Aya said softly. Her blue eyes were cast to the floor, a tear sliding down her face in the crevice beside her pointed nose. The woman put a hand on her shoulder. This girl reminded her of a child, one that was lost and needed her help.
"It's alright. Things will get better, and until then, I'll take care of you." The so-called princess gave a nod. She couldn't possibly see how things in this wretched place could get any better, but she had to hope. It was all she had left, she supposed.
Aya followed the woman around for the rest of the morning. She was being briefed on all of the jobs that she was required to do as a maid, and within two hours, she was exhausted. The woman pulled her along anyway, saying it was best not to be caught slacking, and that punishment was worse than she might think. This made Aya pick up the pace, a bead of sweat sliding down her face. It was not a good day for any more surprises. She would obey orders given to her and work.
Finally, a few hours after noon, their shift was over for the day. The women sat in their shared room to rest. The older one would occasionally ask questions, like where was Aya from and how did she get here?
Aya then told her more about herself. How she came from the once called the Northern Water Tribe, and how her father was revered as a great waterbender, so after the failure of the Avatar, he was called the chief, and she was the princess. She hadn't talked to anyone about this. She was talking quickly, somehow hoping that she would wake up, and all of this would be a nightmare. The woman listened all the while. After Aya had finished, gasping for air, the woman said,
"So Zuko's marrying his concubine?"
Aya almost fell over. "I didn't know she was…that."
"Yes. She started a huge scene on the first day she'd woken up. I don't approve of such things. Men that use them are desperate, barbaric men. But of course, no one will ever find this out. It's just between the two of us."
To this, Aya nodded in promise.
A/N: The plot thickens. laughs maniacally Let me know what you think!