A/N: I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!
In response to reviewers from Chapter 9:
Sarcasm22: Stupid Ozai and his mind tricks! Great chapter!
= = =Thank you!
Jane Keyboard: Eww Ozai... Poor Katara, about to have a case of Stockholm Syndrome, it sounds like.
Truthfully, I'm kind of surprised this type of thing isn't written about more. Except that it's awful and only sick people with a morbid curiosity are interested in reading it (guilty. weird.). But Ozai's animated character was fit and ripped and handsome in an evil way, so other than his complete evilness he's not repulsive. If Katara is tricked into "seeing past that" then I totally buy it!
Of course, I haven't bought nothing yet, because all you've hinted at is "Katara x Ozai" in your summary, and some evil plot from Ozai to earn Katara's trust.
Prince Charming Zuko! Go save her from your creepy dad!
= = =Your review made me literally lol :) I'm glad you're enjoying it. I'm totally guilty of that morbid curiosity as well haha. And I'm glad you find it believable, albeit creepy. I really try to keep everyone in character while weaving a believable story around them. Thanks so much for the awesome feedback!
ArrayePL: I wonder if Katara will fall for Ozais manipulation, probably yes. Very nice chapter.
= = =It remains to be seen, but we all know Ozai's capacity for manipulation. I'd say the odds are not in her favor. Thanks for the review :)
BlueHawk1785:Welldone.Thischapterwasverywellwritten.Ican'twaittoseewhathappensnext.Kataraisreallygoingtoregretsavinghimnow:)
= = =Thank you, thank you! Yes, it doesn't look good for Katara. But something tells me she can hold her own ;-)
AnnaAza: So, how is this going to end? Zutara? Ozai/Katara? I like the latter as...well, a manipulative/dark thing, but I wouldn't really want it to happen in the end. It's like...Zuko dating Katara's mom. It's a bit wrong. But I'm glad Ozai isn't getting all "Katara! Fall in love!"; he is planning on being his evil self.
I winced at the cute animal killing scene. This is part of the reason why I'm vegetarian.
= = =How's it going to end? I can't make any promises either way right now. I guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out ;-) hehe But yeah I definitely don't like to go straight to the "romance" thing when it would be completely out of character for Ozai and not believable. Something along those lines is going to happen eventually, but not in the typical, what-you'd-expected way. Thanks for the review!
The heat of the summer seemed to have been swept away by the prior storm. What had seemed like a temporary cold front was looking more and more like the early onset of autumn. Of course, the climate near the northern coast of the Earth Kingdom was naturally cooler, but such an early autumn would be unusual even for this area. The daytime was still mildly warm and pleasant, but Katara had already spotted several trees that had traded in their summer green for the brilliant hues of fall. She wondered how much farther they were from their destination and whether they would be able to make it there before the cold weather took over.
The three of them had started out walking on a narrow, nearly imperceptible path that Katara was not sure was even a path at all leading into the increasingly dense woods, but she figured it was better to follow it and assume it led somewhere than risk walking in circles and becoming disoriented. They proceeded in single file, Jiao having taken the lead and Ozai trailing in close-quarters behind Katara, who was sandwiched in the center. The farther they advanced into the forest, the more Katara felt engulfed by its essence. The smells of rotting leaves and earthy fungus, the tickle of a spider web across her face now and then, the whine of a mosquito in her ear. It had been years since she had been this deep inside a forest, and all the sights and smells brought memories crashing back to her of the days spent traveling with her friends when things were simpler. It seemed so funny now, to look back on those days as simpler when they had seemed so challenging and precarious at the time.
They trudged on relentlessly throughout the day and into the evening until Katara's legs ached and burned, stopping only a couple of times to eat what they could and replenish their energy. The indistinct path they had been following was finally showing subtle signs of wear as the sun began its evening descent, which Katara took as a promising sign; they must be getting closer to civilization.
As though reading her thoughts, Ozai's voice rung out from behind her. "Jiao, it shouldn't be much longer before we reach a town of some sort, but we won't arrive there before nightfall. We'll need to find a place to camp for the night."
Jiao. That's the man's name, she thought to herself.
"Yes, my lord," he replied over his shoulder.
They passed by many places at which Katara would have been more than happy to rest her weary legs for the night. She could see nothing wrong with any of the surrounding areas, but still they pressed onward. Finally, just as twilight had spread its dusky shroud over the forest, Jiao stopped and turned to Ozai who gave a curt nod of approval.
Their place of refuge for the night was nothing more than a small barren clearing peppered with patchy, dried-out undergrowth in the center of a cluster of broad, towering trees. One tree had met an early demise and lay fallen across the clearing, its roots appearing to have rotted out from the inside.
With no further hesitation, Jiao began gathering firewood from nearby while Ozai cleared a small circle on the forest floor, kicking away debris with his foot to expose the barren earth underneath. Jiao soon returned with a pile of dried-up twigs and branches and dropped them onto the clearing that Ozai had created. All of this transpired without the exchange of a single word and the silence was making her feel awkward. She was not sure if she should do something or stay put, so she simply stood there watching them, one arm across her stomach and clutching her other arm in an involuntary gesture of unease. She heard Jiao mumble something about food and walk off, disappearing into the shadows of the trees, leaving her alone in the awkward silence with Ozai.
Katara shifted slightly on her feet as she watched Ozai pull out his dagger and begin striking it against a small rock and a piece of dried out tree bark. A few small sparks began to fly up as the two objects collided with each other. Katara had seen this technique done many times in the water tribes, with a piece of old cloth instead of tree bark. Her people made it seem so effortless that she found it somewhat amusing how much Ozai seemed to be struggling to make a fire. How ironic, she thought.
"Are you going to stand there being utterly useless?" Ozai snapped, as though he could hear her critical thoughts. "Or are you going to make yourself useful and gather some rocks for around the fire pit?"
"I didn't know you wanted me to do anything," she huffed in her defense, then grumbling, "I'm not a mind-reader." Katara started ambling around the campsite picking up small rocks. In reality, she was grateful to have something to occupy her for the moment. She had no desire to be alone with Ozai any longer than she had to.
"And you didn't have to say it like that," she continued under her breath, desperate for something to fill the silence. "A simple, 'Hey, Katara, would you mind bringing me some rocks?' would have sufficed."
"What are you mumbling about, waterbender?"
She paused and let out an inaudible sigh. "I have a name, you know. And it's not waterbender. It's Katara."
"Waterbender will do just fine." A large spark flew up and landed on the tree bark in Ozai's hand and started to smolder slowly. Within moments, it finally ignited into a very small but satisfying flame as Ozai carefully rested it down onto the bundle of kindling.
Katara scrounged up just enough rocks to surround the small fire, trying not to drop them as she trudged awkwardly back to where Ozai was now sitting on the body of the fallen tree, basking in the glow of the modest but pleasing campfire. After carefully placing the rocks around the perimeter of the fire pit, she slumped down onto the tree as well, keeping a safe distance between herself and the former Fire Lord, and heaved a heavy sigh as her weary legs reveled in the relief.
As though an affront to the fire's brightness, the darkness of the forest seemed to have suddenly closed in on them like an all-encompassing black void, making the silence that had befallen them once again seem heavier and more oppressive. His tacit demeanor made her feel vulnerable, like she was at a disadvantage somehow; she could not help imagining all the horrendous schemes that might be swarming around in his head and that she would never know of them before it was too late. In an effort to make herself feel less helpless and dominate the one thing she did have control of, she broke the silence with the first thought that came to her mind.
"You still haven't explained to me why it is you need me," she said, almost in a whisper. "I think I'm at least entitled to know that much."
His face was illuminated by the soft glow of the fire as he watched the sparks skitter up from the flames. Without turning toward her, he answered, "As I told you before, waterbender, it's none of your concern."
"It is my concern," she shot back, her voice taking on a risky tone. "It involves me." She paused, taking a deep breath to compose herself before continuing. "And whatever it is, you're not going to get away with it. The Avatar will –"
"–What?" he cut her off, finally turning to her. "Come soaring gallantly to your rescue and stop me in my tracks?" The corners of his mouth turned up in a slight smirk. "Perhaps what you should be concerned about is whether the Avatar is coming for you at all."
"That's ridiculous," she scoffed, though her voice wavered with a hint of hesitancy that she did not understand. "You don't know Aang at all. If you did, you'd know that he would never turn his back on a friend."
"A friend? And you believe he still holds you at such a stature? You, his only love, were not only unfaithful – you were unfaithful with one of his closest friends. He was doubly betrayed. Such infidelity cannot be so easily forgiven nor forgotten. And yet you trust him with your life?" He chuckled mockingly, shaking his head and turning back toward the fire. "Foolish girl."
Katara winced and averted her eyes away in a scowl. His words stung her deeply; she hated to admit that what he said was painfully true. "What would you know about love?" she grumbled, shifting her glare back to him, anxious to transfer the focus from her own misdeeds. "You've never loved anyone, have you? All you're capable of feeling is hate and anger, and cultivating that hate into oppression and destruction on any people who think differently from you or get in the way of your twisted agenda."
He scoffed, his scornful laugh piercing the stillness around them. "And I suppose that's just what you've been taught to believe, like a good little girl. Tell me, while they spoon-fed you everything you think you know about me, did you ever once stop to question whether there might be more to the story than they divulged? Apparently independent thinking is not something that's encouraged in the Water Tribes." Ozai paused for a moment, clearly enjoying the insulted expression on her face. "I don't suppose they mentioned that my birth was by all accounts an accident and that my father, Sozin, treated me as such from the day I was born. That's why there is such a substantial age difference between my brother and me – twenty-two years to be exact. He never wanted another child. I persistently felt as though I needed to justify my existence to him, relentlessly struggling for my own place in the world. They never mentioned that, did they?"
Katara was not sure she was hearing things correctly. Was Ozai actually admitting to having been an accident? Unwanted? A man as proud as he would just as soon keep it a secret so as not to taint his powerful image. It could be some kind of mind game he was playing with her. Or could it be that it was true and that he simply desired to set the record straight in his defense? A hundred questions whirled like a tornado through her head at once, but she was unable to formulate any kind of response and instead cast her eyes to the dry, barren earth at her feet.
"I thought not," he went on with a snide smile. "My father cared little more for my children, his own grandchildren, even the firebending prodigy that Azula was. Iroh was always his favorite son, and in many ways as far as he was concerned, his only son; even in the face of Iroh losing his only heir, he refused to revoke his birthright. He never deemed me worthy to ascend to the throne. But without it, I would have had virtually no place in the world. I did what I needed to do."
He turned back to the fire and rested his forearms on his knees, his head and shoulders slumped down ever so slightly, reminiscent of a pose Katara had seen Zuko don more than once. But it was strange to see Ozai in such a stance; he looked bewildered and almost defeated, a stark contrast to his typical harsh demeanor. For several moments he was silent, his amber eyes set ablaze by the glowing flames.
"As for love," he continued finally, "I'm sure they conveniently left out that unlike most Fire Nation royalty, my marriage was not arranged. I married for love, and banishing Ursa was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do."
His voice sounded softer than before; almost sad. A pang of pity and sorrow pinched at her heart as the images of a lonely, neglected childhood and a happy marriage gone wrong washed over her. Perhaps the person he became is not entirely his fault. Perhaps he became who he is as a result of the way he was perceived and treated by the one person he should be able to look up to most – his father.
All at once Katara realized how uncanny a resemblance Ozai's story bore to his own son's. They both struggled with personal identity issues, which were brought on by the lack of love and approval they received from their fathers. The major difference was the paths they had chosen to take in response to their lot in life. She thanked the Spirits that Zuko had chosen not to follow in his father's detrimental footsteps.
That is if everything he was telling her was not a complete lie, and she was not entirely convinced that it wasn't. She needed to fight her natural urge to sympathize and remember who it was she was dealing with. He didn't have to respond the way he did, she reminded herself, shaking off the pity as best she could. He chose his own path, and he chose to banish his wife. His love for power was greater than his love for her.
"Even if your sob story is true," she said, finally breaking the silence, "your disturbed childhood and dysfunctional family life hardly pardon you for all the torment and anguish you inflicted during the War –"
"The escalation of the War under my reign was my way of further justifying my existence to my deceased father as well as myself, to show just how much further I was willing to go than he ever was. I am not asking for pardon for my actions, and neither am I apologizing for them. I was merely trying to illustrate that there is often more than just one side to any story." He finally turned from the fire to look at her again, his face absent of any trace of his typical snide expression. "To help you understand that in many ways I am not entirely the man you've been taught to hate."
He spoke every word in his story with such a believable sincerity that Katara would have been no more convinced if the Spirits themselves had told her. Whatasadexistence, she thought. In his perspective, the world was never meant to have him in it. Everything was becoming clearer. He turned in to a horrible person and was able to commit such heinous acts without any remorse because he feels no loyalty to the world or anyone in it.
It was certainly no excuse, she knew that. But she could not help feeling that there was a sudden honesty, almost vulnerability, behind his story – that his words were driven by real emotion.
He probably always favored Azula over Zuko because she was his second child. It all made sense now. It was a direct symbolic message to his father and older brother. The irony though, she thought, was that by ignoring Zuko and pouring all of his attention and twisted worldview into Azula, he inadvertently paved the way for Zuko to have to grow on his own and be influenced by other people, particularly his mother and Iroh.
"Your dress is torn." Ozai's voice wrenched her out of her thoughts. It took a moment for her to register his words before she instinctively looked down. A deep blush rose to her cheeks as she grasped the tattered fabric that hung down from her shoulder, exposing the top of her bindings, and held it up to its rightful place. She had completely forgotten that her dress had been torn during the tryst with that creepy old beggar.
"You can get a new dress when we reach a market," he said as he looked away, appearing completely unfazed by her embarrassment.
Again, Katara was surprised at the civility with which he was conducting himself. She had not expected him to care about her decency or go out of his way to extend a kind gesture. At least for Ozai she considered it kindness. For anyone else, it would have been common courtesy.
She was about to mutter a muddled form of a thank you when a distant frenzied rustling somewhere to her left caught her attention. Moments later, Jiao came crashing through the shadows of the trees, keeling over next to the fire and panting for breath.
"Some kind of damned pack animals –" he managed through gasps, "– surrounded me, tried to close in – so dark, I could barely see them before it was too late." He stood up slowly as he began to regain his composure, though visibly still struggling to catch his breath. "The fire oughta keep them at bay though."
"Probably just a pack of little coyote rabbits, you imbecile," Ozai snapped.
Katara turned to Ozai in relief at his undaunted reaction. He sighed heavily, his brow furrowed as he continued in his usual cool, snide manner, "Now, when you've finished carrying on like a fool, perhaps you can explain the apparent absence of food you were responsible for."
"Uh… yes, sir," he stammered, straightening up at Ozai's harsh tone. "I'm afraid all I managed to scrounge up was this bit of hawthorn berries." Jiao held out a long, leafy branch full of beautiful crimson berries and unpleasant thorns. "It isn't much, but we're lucky I was able to find anything in this unfathomable darkness. Good thing I can tell the edible plants from the inedible ones too, or we could be dining on poison tonight."
"It's no matter," Ozai cut in abruptly, waving his hand as though to silence him. "A few hours of steady travel tomorrow and we should be upon a town, which means a market. We'll survive." He cast a cursory sullen glance at Katara and then down to the ground before continuing. "You can split my share of the berries with the girl."
Jiao's eyebrows rose in surprise at the unusual gesture. "Sir?"
"I never cared for hawthorn berries." With no further explanation, he arose from his place on the fallen tree and sat down at the foot of a very large oak tree along the perimeter of the clearing, resting back against its robust base and crossing his arms over his chest. "Eat and then get some rest," he said as he lifted his chin and raised a sharp eyebrow to Katara in a poignant expression that seemed to say I'll be watching you. "We move on at sunrise."
A/N: So, my muse must have left on vacation without telling me because I've been really struggling with any kind of inspiration to get more of this story onto the page. I've just been unmotivated and uninspired, so I apologize if this chapter seems lackluster (but hopefully that's not the case) and also for the length of time it took me to update.
Please review and let me know what you liked and didn't like, what worked and what didn't, what you hoped to see and anything else you think of – my motivation barometer is running on empty and you guys provide some much needed fuel to get me back on track :)
Until next time… flameo, Sifu Hotman!