*Disclaimer- I own nothing of Avatar: The Last Airbender*

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Chapter 7

"So you escaped?" Sokka asked, leaning against the ex-princesses door.

"Sokka?" the princess was startled to see the watertribeman standing in the front of the doorway. "What are you doing here? I never told you where—"

"Why did you leave?" He asked abruptly. "I asked the guards and everyone in the asylum…they didn't even know you had escaped until I realized you weren't in your cell."

"You wouldn't understand." She sighed. "All the times you came to see me…you kept me going…I thought you would understand. I thought you cared." Closing her eyes, she pressed her lips together. "The keys, you dropped the keys…"

Sokka closed the door and gritted his teeth together. "And that meant for you to escape?! Azula, you are being wanted around the whole firenation! Do you know what this means?" He did not wait for her to answer. "They will kill you if they find you."

"I'm not going back to the asylum, Sokka. I can't go back," she said softly. "All I want to do is start over. Do you understand that? I just want to start over again." She started to turn away from him, but he grabbed her forearm, pulling her back.

"You've done a lot of horrible things in your past, and I came to the asylum not only because Zuko told me to, but because I wanted to see you pay for it. I wanted to see you pay for all the things you've done." He took a deep breath and continued. "But the more I came, the more I realized how much you have been hurting and how much you have changed."

"Sokka—"

"And I did care," he stated. "And I still care, more than you know." He held her hands and pulled him towards her, pulling her into a hug. "The world might not be ready to accept that you've changed, but I am." He squeezed her, lightly kissing her on top of her forehead.

Azula did not know how to react. She wrapped her arms around the watertribeman and hugged him back tighter than he had expected her to do. There was hope for her, and even if she did not believe in it herself, she knew that Sokka was there on her side.

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"Katara…" Zuko breathed out as the waterbender ran her hand down his chest, slowly opening the buttons to his robe at the same time. Once the robe was fully opened, Katara did not hesitate to lower her head to his chest, sucking gently on one of his nipples, teasing it with the tip of her tongue, scraping it with her teeth as it hardened. Zuko sucked in his breath as the waterbender continued.

But before Katara could even reach his other nipple, the firelord hastily threw off his robe and picked her up, placing her back on to the king sized bed. "Zuko…" but it was the waterbenders turn to go in shock. Zuko placed his mouth on hers and at the same time started to pull down Katara's chest bindings while she simultaneously ran her hand back down his perfectly, sculptured abs.

Straddling her hips, Zuko felt his erection twitching and growing in response to her movements. Seconds later she knew it, too, since she reached down with one hand and grasped it, stroking the firm length through his clothes. Groaning out, Zuko placed wet butterfly kisses starting from her neck down to her naval. Katara gasped, pulling her hand back wrapping her arms around the firelord's neck.

Teasingly kissing the inside of her thigh, Zuko slowly pulled the waterbenders underwear binding down, where a fully naked Katara lied in his presence. He was pleased; time had done the waterbender well.

"What?" she breathed out. "You can't just stop."

The corners of the firebender's lips curved upwards. "I know." With those last words, Zuko delved into Katara's womanhood. Katara moaned loudly as she clutched his hair. It was just like how she remembered it, though she did not remember it being this good. The firebender had definitely been practicing his "tongue game".

Zuko smirked, as best as he could in the position he was in, and decided to continue the pleasure. He pressed his index finger against the tiny nub and rubbed gently. Hearing her release a loud moan, he knew she was close. He continued to thrust his tongue in and out of her, and sooner than later….she screamed.

Zuko sat up and stared down at her, pleased with himself. It had been a long time since he had heard a scream like that before.

"That was…" Katara breathily started. "Amazing." The firebender pressed his lips against hers for a long, leisurely, probing, toe-curling kiss. Katara flinched as she could feel the growing erection on the firebender. She stared at the tent in his pants. "Do you want me to—"

Zuko shook his head and slid his robe back on. "No, this was a gift from me to you." He rolled off the bed and looked down at himself, smirking slightly. "I think I'm gonna go to my room and adjust myself." He gave her one last peck on the lips and sneakily snuck out of the room, closing the door silently behind him.

Katara fells backwards on her bed, sighing in content. "As if things couldn't get any better."

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Two loud knocks woke the drowsy waterbender from her nap. Groggily sliding out of the bed, she looked through the peephole. Toph. Rolling her eyes, she slid on a shirt and allowed the blind earth bender to come in.

"Toph, do you know what time it is?" Katara asked, sitting back down on her bed.

"Yeah, it's almost 5pm, dinner is in a couple minutes," the earthbender said, scrunching up her nose. "Were you sleeping? Have you been in this room the whole time? It smells like…" she frowned and turned her attention towards the waterbender. "Did you have Kang over?"

Katara coughed, choking on her own saliva. "Not recently, no….why? You don't smell him or anything do you?"

Grunting, she reached out and touched the waterbenders stomach, feeling the fabric. She shook her head, "Just as I had expected. Sparky was in here, wasn't he? Do not go lying on me either, Sweetness. I can smell him."

Katara groaned. "Okay! He was in here, geez, Toph."

She gave her a mischievous grin. "What did you guys do? C'mon, c'mon…" she poked her in the stomach.

"Nothing," she slapped the earthbenders hand away from her body. "We didn't do anything. We just talked."

"You're lying," she stated bluntly. "You guys did more than just talking, Sugar Queen." She crossed her arms over her chest and chuckled. "Just tell me." Katara sighed, blushing slightly.

"Lady Katara, Lady Toph," a servant bowed, standing in the front of the waterbenders doorway. "Lady Mai wishes for you to join them in dinner. The chefs have prepared a lovely meal for today."

A cold chill went through the waterbenders body as the fire lady's name was mentioned. Did she know what had happened? Why was she asking for her to come to the dinner? "Did she just wish for us to join them?" she asked nervously.

The servant shook his head slowly. "She wishes for everyone to be present. She is going to be presenting an announcement, and she wishes everyone to be there."

"Will Zuko be there?" Toph asked bluntly.

"Yes, the firelord will be there," he stated. "Please, my lady's that is all the information I have been given to tell you. Please arrive promptly at 5pm." With a bow the servant quickly left, leaving the two young women back to the conversation they were previously having.

"You should get dressed," Toph said, pointing at the waterbenders closet. "I'm sure Mai wouldn't appreciate you wearing that to the dinner table." She smirked and left her friend to her business.

Katara flopped down on her bed and stared at her unopened dresser, sighing loudly.

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"So, Katara," Mai started, blowing onto her soup and taking in a spoonful, "how have you been? Has the palace men and servants treated you well these couple of days?" Looking up from her soup, she gave the waterbender a small frown.

Cutting her chicken slowly, Katara nodded her head. "My stay here has been very pleasant. Thanks for asking."

"Dinner smells delicious," the firelord said, walking into the palace dining room with a small smirk on his face. He sat down next to Mai and patted her lightly on the thigh. "This was a great idea, Mai. Everything looks delicious."

The firelady grunted. "What took so long for you to come down here, Zuko? I promptly told everyone to be down her at 5pm?" She frowned as the watertribeman and the Kyoshi warrior walked in and took their seats. "It seems as if everyone just decided to be late huh?"

Sokka sighed, sitting next to his sister. "I had some business to take care of at the asylum." He glanced over at Zuko who gave him a confused frown. "It would be better to discuss in private, Zuko, after dinner, maybe." The firelord nodded his head and continued to eat his food.

Suki sat across from Sokka and shook her head slowly at him, but looked over at his sister who was intently staring at the firelord with interest. Sipping at her tea, she decided she would talk to her friend later.

"Katara," Zuko spoke, biting at a dumpling, "I'm surprised Kang isn't here…are you and he still doing ok?" Raising her eyebrow at him, she twisted her lips into a small frown. Catching the expression, Zuko said, "Sorry, I just thought he'd be with you."

"Why does it matter if he's with me or not?" she asked.

Mai chuckled. "I assume you two aren't on good terms, right?" she did not wait for the waterbender to respond, "I actually spoke to your lover today, and he told me that you two had broken up because an irrelevant argument you had with him."

Katara bit the inside of her jaw and took a long sip of her tea. "We had an argument, but I doubt he'd tell you it was…irrelevant."

"No?" she questioned with a small smirk creeping onto her face. "Then what was the argument about then, if it wasn't irrelevant?"

"Quit it, Mai," Sokka sternly spoke, taking up for his sister. "This is a dinner, not a time for criticizing or arguing. Could we have a dinner without any type of petty bickering or disagreement?"

Mai grunted. "Okay, Sokka, how about we talk about you then? How has your visits with Azula been going?" She hid her smirk as the Kyoshi turned her attention towards her boyfriend. "I'm sure you guys are pretty good friends now, right?"

"We are actually," Sokka confidently spoke, "and my visits to the asylum have been very productive, by the way. Azula has been doing very well, and I believe she has the potential to live back in the firenation as a princess."

"How can you say that?" Suki suddenly spoke. "She's done so many horrible things, how can she be your friend? Why should she live back in the firenation? She should stay in the asylum!"

Mai ignored the Kyoshi warrior and continued to speak. "She's very manipulative, Sokka. She can make you believe anything; she's a snake in a human's body, and she's cunning, a seductress at times…" the eyebrows of Sokka's raised. Mai smirked, "She'll do anything to get what we wants…even befriending a watertribeman to escape the asylum."

Sokka slammed his fist down on the table. "Shut up! You have not even visited Azula since she has changed. She is not like how she used to be, she is different, even your own husband can tell you!" Sokka stared at his food. "If you believe she could never change…then you never really knew the true Azula."

Mai scoffed. "That's because there never was a 'true' Azula, stupid. Azula changes to whoever she thinks she can manipulate the easiest." She looked over at her husband. "You see, she couldn't choose her brother or the earthbender, they'd sniff her lies out in a heartbeat. She couldn't pick your sister or the Kyoshi warrior because they wouldn't even give her a chance," she smirked at the reaction the watertribeman was giving her, "and of course she couldn't pick me because I know her too well. The only person that was left was you and the avatar, and she was not going to pick a 17 year old air nomad that can bend the four elements, so that left you; a pathetic, non-bender with a boomerang and a sword." She laughed at herself.

Sokka shook his head and stood up, pushing his plate in front of him, suddenly not feeling the urge to eat the meal prepared. "You are a sick woman, for all we know maybe it was you who was the actual manipulator after all."

Mai sighed, placing a piece of dumpling into her own mouth. "Whatever you say."

"Sokka, please," Katara tried to calm her brother down.

"I'm sorry, Zuko, but if you'll excuse me, I have some unfinished business to take care of." Everyone turned his or her attention to the watertribeman walking away.

"Mai, quit!" Zuko said sternly once Sokka had walked away. "This was no time for arguments."

"As if I can't get on you, too, Zuzu," she stated. "Where did you go earlier this afternoon? I had my servant search out for you, but they could not find you anywhere."

"I had to take care of some business," he said without hesitation. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No," she spoke quietly. "As long as it wasn't with this water wench."

Katara frowned, having had enough of the firelady's talk. Squeezing her fork tightly in her hand, she hastily flicked the food off her fork onto the firelady's face.

She gasped. "You peasant!" Mai screamed. "This was silk!" Staring at her now ruined clothes, she picked up her bowl of soup and flipped it over towards Katara's direction.

Katara easily bended the soup out of her way, leaving vegetables and meat falling onto her own lap, but before she could retaliate, Mai hopped over the table and lunged for her.

"Mai!" The firelord yelled.

"Get her, Katara! Get her!" Toph cheered, rising up her own fist and taking a big gulp of her drink.

Rising up her fist, Mai immediately smashed her fist to the waterbenders face.

Katara grunted, realizing that she had bit her tongue in the process. Using her anger as energy, she used her bending to smack the knife thrower in her face, pushing her off her. She could see Zuko run over to the other side of the table but she had already balled up her fist in a ball of ice and swung it at his wife's face.

It was now Mai's turn to grunt, surprised that the waterbender had actually gotten a hit. Spitting out blood, she pulled out two daggers hidden up underneath her sleeves…

"Mai, don't!" Zuko yelled.

Before anyone could do anything, Mai sprinted towards Katara and dove at her, hitting her face again this time with the back of her dagger. Trying to dodge the second attack, Katara raised her arms to her face, but the firelady had used the other daggers to pin both of her arms tightly to the ground. She struck again…again…again...she could taste her own blood.

"This is from me," she swung again at the waterbenders now swelling face. "And this," she pressed the blade of her knife deeply into the waterbenders shoulder and pushed in slowly, pulling out quickly, "is for fucking my husband."

Katara screamed. The last thing she could remember was one last punch and an angry Zuko pulling his wife off her…then she blacked out.

"Katara!" Zuko yelled. He looked over at the earthbender and the Kyoshi warrior; they were on the floor…paralyzed…sleep? He hoped. "What did you do to them?!" He yelled.

Mai smirked. "A tea your uncle taught me how to make years ago. It blocks your chi."

"Sokka was right," he spat coldly, holding the waterbenders head up. "You're sick." He suddenly felt his legs go numb and his vision was fading. "You…you poisoned me, too!? How could you?!"

"Payback," she stated simply.

"For what," he yelled with the energy he had left. He fell back onto his back, dropping the waterbenders head back onto the floor. His arms were going numb, and so was his neck.

"For lying to me about Katara. You did sleep with her!"

"I didn't," he said in a raspy voice, his breathing was slowing down and he could feel his heart rate was decreasing.

"Then what do you call leaving her room earlier!" she was now yelling. "You can't just marry me and fuck with someone else, Zuko! You can't do that!"

"We didn't do anything," he whispered. "You don't trust me?"

"No," she tightly held the dagger in her hand. "But it doesn't matter, you won't remember this when you wake up so forget it. Everything will be back to normal when you wake up."

"What are you talk—" before he could even finish the sentence, Mai swung her fist at his jaw, knocking him out cold.

Mai shook her head slowly. "Servant! Clean this mess up. I do not want them remembering anything. Place them in their beds." She kicked the waterbender in her stomach.

"Don't you think that's enough?" a voice said behind her. "You are going to kill her."

The firelady smiled and turned around to face the firebender. "Oh, Kang, you're late. I know what I am doing. Just remember your job when the peasant wakes up!"

He rolled his eyes at her. "This was unnecessary, Mai."

"Was it?" she asked, as she watched the servants pick up the paralyzed bodies and place them on gurneys.

"Yes," he nodded his head slowly. "Maybe Zuko was right…maybe he didn't mess with Katara."

Mai grunted, pondering at the thought. She did all of this because she had thought her husband had slept with the water peasant. But maybe Kang was right, maybe he didn't. Was he right? Did she do all of this for nothing? Was this work of action a pointless reaction to jealousy?

"You are starting to remind me of Azula," he said softly.

She turned towards him and slapped him in his face. "Don't you ever compare me to her! I am nothing like her! Leave, leave and go do what I told you to do, and I do not want to see your face until the deed is done! Leave!"

Kang did not hesitate to walk away from the firelady's presence, but not before turning back around to see the firelady on her knees with her head in her hands in tears. He turned his attention back to the hallways ahead of him…

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*Please read and review! Thanks for the reviews btw, please continue to review, review, review. PLEASE tell me how I did on this chapter. I know the chapter was not as long as I usually have them, but it is midterms at my college and studying has been taking a long time, so I decided to post something before I started studying for a while. But I do wish I could have added a little bit more. Nevertheless, there you go chapter 7 people! Review and tell me what you think about it. I will post another chapter so do not worry, my friends, this story is far from over. Thanks a lot!*