A/N warning, non otp lemons ahead

Chapter 11

It had only taken him two weeks to find his new bride. Once he had decided where to look it had been easy; an order went out to every general to send their best and most loyal female benders to the Capital. 20 young women had arrived within the week. Of those, 15 volunteered once they had been told why they had been sent. After a short tournament of sorts that lasted three days to determine which was the strongest, he had her. Lei was 20, a powerful bender, if not quite the prodigy Azula had been, and had a face that was not at all unpleasant. Her loyalty to her country and her sovereign burned in her like the fire she bent so well, Ozai knew she would be a much more fitting mother to his progeny than Ursa had been.

They had been married two days later in an ostentatious, public celebration. On their wedding night Lei had been eager as he fucked her. That had been four days ago and he had fucked her every night since, hopeful that his seed would soon take root. He was glad that at least one of his plans was going the way he wanted. His other two ventures were causing endless frustration, which he decided he rather enjoyed working out between his new wife's legs.

There had been no news of his son and the water tribe bitch for a week and a half after the Comet, until finally they had been spotted on one of the eastern islands. Apparently they had been island hopping on foot heading towards the Earth Kingdom when they were intercepted by a small naval vessel that had been docked for resupply. Unfortunately they managed to give his soldiers the slip, easily incapacitating the men that had cornered them. No one had seen them since. Ozai had been furious when he learned of Zuko's evasion, and the lack of new knowledge as to his whereabouts gnawed at him. As long as he lived, there was a chance he could return and attempt to reassert his right to the throne. He doubted very much that it would happen any time soon, but he was not fool enough to believe that Zuko and his brother would cease their attempts to defeat him, Avatar or no. The sooner he could produce a new heir to name next in line, the better.

Just now Ozai sat in his office, glaring at a scroll on his desk. It was from one of his naval generals informing him as to the state of his fleets. Apparently Iroh had anticipated that he would send ships to the North Pole in an attempt to capture the next avatar and had advised the Earth Kingdom navy to head them off. They could not pass, though his officers were hopeful that the blockade would not last as the Fire nation clearly had the superior navy. In his rage, he burnt the missive and scorched his desk beneath it. Agni damn his traitor brother! The knowledge that he was now advising his enemies made everything that much more complicated. For all that he was a tea obsessed old fool he had always been a genius at military strategy. Even with the weaker navy, his blockade would give the Northerners time to enforce their defences and prepare for an attack. Ozai closed his eyes and tried to reign in his temper. He reminded himself that there was plenty of time to worry about the new Avatar, if he even needed to at all. It would be some time before they were identified and more than a decade before they would be a threat. Still, if he could capture this incarnation as a babe and raise him to be a weapon for the Fire Nation their power would be absolute. Perhaps waiting until the identity of the new Avatar was at least know would be the wisest course?

He rubbed his temples and breathed slowly through his nose until he was sufficiently calm again. Yes, he could be patient. He would recall his fleet for now and focus on furthering his cause in the Earth Kingdom. Sending spies to infiltrate his brothers ranks would be the surest way to learn what he needed. That of course would be doubly useful. Standing, Ozai summoned a servant.

"Send for Fire Lady Lei, I would speak with her." He stared out a window thoughtfully, hands clenched, as he waited for his command to be fulfilled. Five minutes passed and there was a small nock on the door.

"You sent for me my Lord." She made a shallow bow and looked at him from beneath her lashes, a coy smile playing about her lips. The corner of his own mouth turned up at her obvious grasp of his true intentions. They had done very little "speaking" in the days since they'd married. Lei's eyes traveled over his large desk before meeting his again, the heat in her gaze matched that roiling in his gut. He watched as she slowly padded across the room, untying the front of her dress so it hung open as she came, never once dropping her eyes. When she reached him, she ran her hands down his chest and drew him close as she sat herself on the edge of his desk. He roughly parted her thighs and stepped between them as she undid the front of his robes, freeing him with practiced motions. Firmly gripping her bottom with one hand and yanking her by the hair to reveal her neck to him with the other, he plunged into her. Laving and sucking at her already bruised neck, he fucked her hard. She clung to his mantle and mewled loudly as he drove into her again and again, his anger and frustration leaving him with every thrust. When he was finished with her, she leaned back across his desk on her forearms and gave him a satisfied if calculating look. After he had righted himself, she spoke in a husky voice.

"I know I will soon give you a son my lord husband, you need not trouble yourself over the whereabouts of the other one." She ran her right hand lightly over her abdomen before standing and moving to retie her own clothing. Ozai grabbed her arm to stop her and pulled her to himself, glaring down into her face. She met his gaze fiercely and went on. "The son I will provide you will be greater than either of his half siblings, you will never have cause to doubt his abilities or allegiance. You will see."

Still holding her tightly, he said, "Do not speak of my other children to me. You know nothing of them." He kissed her fiercely then before he let go of her. She inclined her head in apology as she turned and refastened her dress before slipping out of his office.

Alone, Ozai's mind once again wandered to thoughts of his son. He wondered if he was correct in his assumption of Zuko's future movements. It was clear based on their direction when spotted that they were headed to Ba SIng Se. It was only logical that he would want to rejoin Iroh before planning another attempt at deposing him. How long would they wait he wondered. Ozai knew that were he in his place he would not wait long, an attack when he was vulnerable now that his navy had been scattered and his air fleet decimated would be the obvious choice. Zuko may have been a coward, just like his brother, but that did not mean he was without sense. They would know he would expect an attack now. No, it was more likely than that they would wait, perhaps for some time.

He tore his crown from his head and pulled down his top knot. Shaking out his hair in frustration he turned back to the window, bracing his hands on either side of the frame. He had no way of knowing when the attack would come. The spies he'd thought of would have to be sent out immediately, Fire Lord Ozai would not be caught unaware. He'd triple the reward for Zuko's head too. It would take the best killers he could hire to ensure his first born's death.

Turning toward the door and retying his top knot, Ozai went to call his council. They'd need to be informed of his newest plans. As he strode purposefully down the halls of his palace, he considered Lei's promise and hoped she was right.

Traveling with the small group of southern water tribe was not nearly as uncomfortable as Zuko had expected. After a few days, the intrigue surrounding his relationship with Katara seemed to wear off and the personal questions stopped. Well, at least regarding that.

He had noticed some of the small children in their group watching him curiously as they traveled during the day. Many times he caught them staring cautiously around their parents legs. Finally, after three days on the road, one little girl who looked about seven bravely approached.

"Hello Prince Zuko. My name is Anyu." Momentarily taken aback at being addressed by the child, he took the hand she offered. "How come you like us now? My mommy says you used to chase the Avatar around and that you were bad but now you're good and you saved Chief Hakoda and that you love Katara and how did you get your scar?" She took a huge breath when she finally finished and looked up at him expectantly. He could only blink stupidly at her for a moment as he processed all of her questions.

"Um.. nice to meet you to Anyu. Your mommy is right, I did used to chase the Avatar. I guess, I was the bad guy for a while."

"So why aren't you anymore?"

This was difficult for him to answer at all let alone simplified for a child. He did not want the story behind his scar, or his relationship with his family retold to all of the tribes children like some kind of folk story.

"Well my father is the Fire Lord, and he is really, um.. bad. I realized that I didn't want to be bad like him anymore and that I wanted to help end the war. So I found the Avatar and asked him to forgive me for chasing him and then I taught him firebending." She gave him a doubtful look as if she knew he was oversimplifying.

"What about Katara? Didn't you chase her too?" He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to explain something he still didn't fully understand himself.

"Well it took Katara a lot longer than Avatar Aang to forgive me. After I...helped her with something, she decided to stop being mad at me and we became friends." Anyu gave him a sage look and nodded.

"And now you share a tent. Mommy said that's what grown ups do." He closed his eyes and immediately felt his face heat. Zuko thought then he would almost prefer the glares and mistrust to the open contemplation of his sex life. Blessedly, the little girl seemed satisfied with his answers for the time being and decided to move on to more age appropriate topics.

"What kind of animals do they have in the Fire Nation? Do you have Polar bear-dogs?"

The next few hours were spent describing every animal he had ever seen to Anyu and the few other children who had wandered over to hear. After a while, a thoroughly amused Katara joined them until it was time to camp for the night.