Author's Note: This chapter touches on some adult content. Nothing too detailed, but you have been warned.
A few days had passed since that eventful morning, and Katara had managed to figure out where the kitchens were. The only bad thing was that the kitchen staff was strictly instructed, "She was not allowed to receive anything to eat. They couldn't even give her a glass of water." Poor things were scared for their life; the Fire Lord probably threatened them, personally. He was cruel that way. Sneaky bastard.
After another unsuccessful attempt at stealing food, Katara returned to her room to find an annoyed Princess waiting for her. "Hello Miss Katara, I have been instructed to bring you these items of clothing."
"Hi. Now, go away." Katara grumbled glancing the clothing that was brought to her. She saw that there was probably twenty new sets of clothes on her bed or hanging up in the wardrobe. The colors and styles varied from a few that were traditional Firenation to some purple and some pink, both dressy and informal. They were mostly dressy though. Finally, her eyes rested on a pale blue dress, it was the only blue article in the whole display.
"Will I tell my brother and Uncle that you appreciate the clothing and you will be attending dinner tonight?" She asked rather bored.
Katara nodded absently not really paying attention to the snarky princess. She was too busy admiring the blue dress. It was made out of pale blue silk and it had little white and dark blue flowers scattered on the skirt like morning frost. Katara didn't even notice that Princess Azula had left and promised that someone would be by at five o'clock.
Katara looked down at her muddy attire, she had been playing in the dirt because it was the first time she had ever been able to. It wasn't as if the ice ever melted at the South Pole. Carefully, she brought the dress to the bathroom and laid it on the counter and took a quick bath. When she left the bathroom, she had put on the new dress. It fit her better than her own clothes.
She looked in the full-length mirror admiring her reflection. The dress accentuated her blossoming curves, but also gave her a flare at the waist. She decided to let her hair down. The thick bouncy curls contrasted beautifully and gave her face definition.
There was a soft knock on the door. Katara turned to face an extremely dazed Fire Lord, "You look beautiful."
Her excitement made her temporarily forget the hostility between them, "Thank you, for the dress I mean. It's amazing!" She turned back to the mirror taking one last glance. When she looked back at Fire Lord Zuko, he was bowed at the hip and had his hand extended for her to take. Shaking her head irritably she walked past him quickly to where she knew the dining room was, although he recovered faster than she thought he would, and even went so far as to open the doors for her and pull out her seat.
She scoffed at his gentlemanly behavior. Annoyed that he even tried.
Prince Iroh sat in his normal spot, not even bothering to hide his smiles and pleasure in seeing their interaction. Azula had yet to arrive, but that didn't stop Fire Lord Zuko from starting the meal. Just another reason he was a snob. He didn't care about his family.
Iroh kept up a steady stream of conversation and for some reason the children welcomed it more than the other times he had tried to get the two to talk. Finally they hit it off, about bending of all things. Hey, whatever worked.
After about half an hour they dominated all conversation and were talking to each other on equal levels, his nephew had to work on not talking in such "big words" because she had started to tease him. He knew Zuko liked it though, because it meant that Miss Katara did not feel threatened by his title.
Why it had to be this young girl Zuko had chosen to be his wife, Iroh would never know, but true love was something he never pretended to understand; he merely helped it along as best he could. Iroh really liked young Miss Katara and knew that Zuko had made a wise choice in a companion.
"A spot of tea?" Miss Posts offered tea to the table. Speaking of true love, she was the only woman who understood how much Iroh loved his tea.
Katara was shocked that Fire Lord Zuko decided to walk her back to her room after dinner. "Thank you for joining us for dinner tonight." He said gently just before he kissed her hand. Lightning shot up her hand from the place he had kissed.
Heat rose to her cheeks. "Whatever…" She ripped her hand out of his and opened the door disappeared inside her room. Kicking herself she cracked the door open again and whispered out to him, "Thank you." Her manners kicked in, furious and blushing Katara tried to catch her breath. Well, she couldn't let him be the only one with manners.
"Stupid, what are you thinking?" Katara scolded herself. "But then again, there's something sweet and almost kind, but he was mean and he was coarse and unrefined. But now he's dear, and so unsure I wonder why I didn't see it there before."
Zuko leaned against the door to his bedroom and recounted his departure from Miss Katara's, "She glanced this way I thought I saw… And when we touched she didn't shudder at my hand.
"No it can't be, I'll just ignore, but then she's never looked at me that way before." He practly skipped off down the hall to his own room blissfully unaware of his surroundings.
Katara looked at herself in the floorlength mirror. She was still wearing the dress and cradling the hand the Fire Lord Zuko kissed, "New, and a bit alarming. Who'd have ever thought that this could be?
"True that he's no Prince Charming, but there's something in him that I simply didn't see."
Iroh was busy telling Azula about dinner over evening tea, "Well, who'd have thought?"
Azula nodded not really paying attention, "Well, bless my soul."
"Well, who'd have known?"
"Well, who indeed?" She replied absently.
"And who'd have guessed they'd come together on their own?"
"It's so peculiar. Wait and see."
"We'll wait and see a few days more. There may be something there that wasn't there before." Iroh concluded wisely as they finished their drinks. Azula seemed to be off in a world of her own.
One of the servants was passing by outside Prince Iroh's rooms on the way home with her son and overheard the gossip, "Perhaps there's something there that wasn't there before." She mused.
"What?" Her son asked.
"There may be something there that wasn't there before." She repeated, chuckling and tucked a stray hair behind her son's ear.
"What's there, Mama?"
"Ssh. I'll tell you when you're older. Come along now. Let's give them some privacy..."
The next day Zuko decided to take Miss Katara to look at the extensive library he had under his collection. He was sure that she would be ecstatic, because everyone loves books. They walked quietly, neither wanting to say much. Nor did they realize that they had one nosey uncle following them. They reached the door and in his excitement Zuko said, "Close your eyes. It is a surprise."
"No. I don't know what you are going to do." She huffed warily crossing her arms. She squinted her eyes too.
Oh for Agni's sake, why did she have to be so suspicious of him? What had he done to warrant this? Well, besides the obvious. Oh, forget it. "Please? For me?"
"And that's more of an incentive how?" He was at a loss for words just opening and closing his mouth like a fish. "Fine." She relented, but none too happy about it.
Zuko threw open the doors and carefully took her hand in his, "Don't open them yet." He led her into the middle of the giant room and opened a threw open the curtains letting the sunshine in illuminating the hundred or so bookshelves, "Okay, now!"
Miss Katara opened her eyes and amazement shone on her face, "Wow—I... Wow, are these all books?"
"Yes. You can come here anytime you desire. There are all sorts of books here, from fiction to education. I have a bit of everything." Zuko pulled a book of one of the shelves, "See, this one is titled Love amongst the Dragons. It's a fiction."
"What's it about?" She asked curiously.
"Dragons. And love."
She rolled her eyes and accepted the book that he offered, but seemed unsure for some reason. It was like she was arguing with herself. She looked back to Zuko and asked very quietly, "Could you read it to me?"
"As you wish." Zuko replied with a small bow of his head. He led her over his favorite of the many reading spots and settled down for a long read. She sat beside him so she could follow along. The sunshine warm against their back helped to thaw the cold hearts of both people.
"Leena sighed as she watched the two dragons circling each other in the sky. One red and one blue, they spiraled downward before landing carefully and retiring to their cave for the evening. 'Yes,' She said, 'those two are going to be happy together.'
"'Not if I have anything to say about it.' The blue dragon's rider said." Zuko read. "That's the end of the chapter."
Miss Katara, who was engrossed in the story, blinked rapidly for a few moments startled out of her trance like state that she had assumed while she listened. "Would you like to take a turn reading?" Zuko asked trying to be kind. It wasn't that his mouth was getting dry or anything.
"I can't." She mumbled and refused to meet his eye.
Can't what? I don't unders—Oh, she can't read… "Okay, I'll keep reading." He offered but didn't really give her time to respond because he had already started the next chapter.
Miss Katara quietly murmured a "Thank you" before settling back down to her previous position, except this time she laid her head on his shoulder.
Iroh kept a close eye on the young ones as they read in the library. Zuko read to the young woman and she listened. It was a good book, so Iroh didn't mind watching them. He had been "observing" the children for quite a long time. A few days in fact.
One day, Zuko paused and asked Miss Katara if she wanted to learn how to read. She refused blushing, but Zuko insisted kindly and moved closer and offered her the book. He spent the next few hours teaching Miss Katara the basics.
At dinner everyone seemed to be in an excellent mood, even Azula. She had found a stable boy that she was, as she gracefully put it, was "fucking."
Zuko was sneaking Miss Katara small glances when she wasn't looking and she to him as well. Wow, Zuko had fallen for her and it looked like she was falling for him also.
Azula decided to abscond with her man friend, so Iroh thought that it would be an appropriate time to retire as well. As he was leaving, he spotted his lover waiting for him, "Good evening, Miss Pots."
"Good evening. I came for a spot of tea if you are not too tired." She winked.
That next day Fire Lord Zuko didn't come to the library. Instead, he sent a servant "to give his regards, but matters concerning his country had presented themselves."
Katara knew that after the day of learning she could probably read on her own. She just couldn't help but fell a little annoyed. She couldn't figure out why. Shaking off the weird feeling, Katara decided to take Love Amongst the Dragons to the gardens. It was a bright and sunny afternoon and perfect for sitting by the pond.
Outside, she heard the strangest sounds coming from a hedged in portion of the garden. It sounded like quacking. She quickly found a way to get past the barriers and discovered a pond of turtle-ducks quacking and happily splashing away at the water, despite it's fringed temperature.
She sat content on the dead grass and watched the animals play even bending little bits of water for them to chase. A few minutes later, she felt this ominous presence behind her. Hesitating she turned to see Fire Lord Zuko standing over the top of her glaring angrily.
Startled she almost fell into the pond, except he caught her before she could. His grip was strong and too tight on her wrists, "I told you to stay out of here." He growled.
"I didn't know this was the garden." She said as she tried shaking him off. He was hurting her.
"It had a fence around it."
"I thought it was decoration."
"How stupid can you be? Just—I don't care. Get. Out." He snarled while he threw her toward the entrance where he must have come in.
She landed hard, bruising her hands and knees, "I'm sorry."
"GET OUT!" He bent a few streams of fire at her and she ran.
Katara ran and ran. She didn't stop when she passed Prince Iroh, who called after her. And she didn't stop when she reached the front door to the palace. She ran right out into the capital, Caldera City. She didn't stop at the gates either, she ran right past them into the harbor. She only stopped when she reached the ocean and couldn't run anymore. So, she stepped into the water her bare feet relishing the stinging cold.
Even though it was winter, she had never felt weather so warm—well for this long anyway—and made it a point of never wearing shoes.
Silent tears slipped down her cheeks and fell into the salty water below. She wished she were home with her family. She missed them so much. She wondered how Gran Gran was doing and if Sokka was keeping her warm enough. Her father was probably drowning himself in work per usual. She wondered if Sokka was able to keep up with the chores and hunting while Dad was missing. He was probably worried sick and Gran Gran most likely scolded him for his absent mind.
Katara managed a small smile thinking of her brother's antics and what he was always up to. She missed that the most.
Then there was Fire Lord Zuko, he was so nice the day before. She thought that he was changing into someone nicer. But she was wrong. He hadn't changed at all. He was still the annoying, rude, arrogant, abusive, stubborn—
"Excuse me miss." A man interrupted her train of thought, "Are you alright?"
Katara turned to tell the man "yes" but somehow she couldn't manage to get it out. She shook her head "no" instead and pulled on her dress, which had somehow slipped off her shoulder when she wasn't paying attention.
"Let me buy you a hot drink." The man offered his arm for her to take, which she accepted gratefully. As he led her back into the heart of the city she took her time to inspect the stranger. He was an aging man with graying black hair and thick muttonchops for sideburns. He also wore a uniform, so he was probably on Fire Lord Zuko's business.
Katara probably should leave him then before he turned her in for running away. But he seemed nice so far.
The man led her to a beat up building, but the inside was more welcoming. He left her at a table only to return with a couple of drinks for them. "Okay, miss. Tell me why you are running around without shoes in the middle of winter and crying." He said not unkindly. He smiled trying to comfort her.
"I…"
"Maybe that was too hard of a question, hummm? Where do you live?"
"…The South Pole." That seemed to take him off guard because he looked completely surprised. "Do you know of any ship that could take me back home?" He seemed nice. Maybe he would be willing to help her find a way back home.
"Wow, I never would have guessed. Your eyes, yes, but your dress is pink. Wow. Okay sorry, miss, I do know of a ship. Mine! It is leaving within the week actually." He scratched his mutton chop thinking.
"You're a captain?" Would he really let her have passage?
"I'm an admiral." He boasted puffing out his chest.
"Wow. Could you really take me home?" When he hesitated she quickly added, "I'll do anything you want. Cook, clean. I can work."
"Alright, you have managed to convince me. I think we'll work something out." He said kindly.
"I'm Katara." She offered her hand for him to shake, which he did.
"Nice to meet you, dearest Katara. I'm Admiral Zhao. Do you have a place to stay until we depart?"
"… No. It was part of the reason why I was by the water." She was ashamed that she was taking advantage of this man like she was, but then again she was trying to work off her debt.
He laughed, "Oh, well then. I'll just get a room."
"Please Admiral, you've already been too kind and I don't like charity."
"Don't even think about it. You have a lot of work ahead of you, sailor. I'm sure you will make up for it." He finished his drink before going to the counter and reserving a room. Once it was booked, he waved her over.
She finished her drink and picked up his cup too, bringing them both to the counter, "Thank you for the drinks." She thanked the man behind the counter. He gave her a weird look and took the cups. Admiral Zhao placed a hand on her back and directed her to the stairs. He walked her to her new room and opened the door for her.
"Well, I guess this is it. Thank you, again." Katara said and she walked into the room with slight distaste. It was filthy! She guessed she had been spoiled from the palace pampering. Well, that was all over now. She was going home within the week!
Admiral Zhao entered behind her and closed the door quietly.
"Excuse me, what are you doing?" Katara asked confused.
"I would like that first down payment." He said as he pulled her to his chest.
Katara's heart raced in her chest. This wasn't part of the deal and now she was scared out of her mind. "Let go of me!" She tried to free herself from his tight grip, but she couldn't get his fingers to stop digging into her hip.
"I thought you said that you would do anything to get home." He said sickly sweet in her ear. His breath coming out hot and smelling of alcohol.
The door burst open with splinters of wood and flame littering the air. Admiral Zhou froze while Katara screamed.
"Let her go, Zhao." Fire Lore Zuko growled.
This is from Katara's POV and I think being a naive young girl she would have no idea what she is getting in to, thus the situation.
Thank you to those who reviewed!
fireswim1- Thank you so much for all your support! Thank you for the awesome feedback and love. I loved hearing from you. It made my day 3
Lady Rini- Thank you so much for your kind words. I will do my best *salutes and marches back to the keyboard*
Lorelei Dream- Thanks for the feedback! I like seeing that part of Zuko too, but I have the worst time writing it! Thank you so much for the support and good will! Happy reading!
Posted 9/10/14