Title: A Love That Couldn't Be Part 1: A Forced Love
Author: WishHe-LovedMe
Pairing: Zuko/Katara
Chapter: 14. Thinking
Summery: Katara isn't a water peasant as Zuko seems to enjoy calling her. Her birthright entails her a lot more than that. This is the story of Katara; and how she discovered her past, controls her present, and forms her future. Zutara
Thinking
"Well, you and the Princess are—" Iroh started, but Katara cut him off.
"We are married." Katara told the shocked Prince. She was hysterical at this just as much as Zuko was, but she hid it better than the firebender. She mentally told herself never to tell him what he didn't want to hear, but soon regretted the decision. She knew that he needed to be kept in the loop, as did she. She looked at Zuko's Uncle, and with her eyes, pleaded with him to leave them alone.
Iroh nodded, and left without saying a word to his nephew. He figured his wife would do a better job at calming him down, even if they both didn't know it. He knew that the two had a connection, even if they couldn't see it, and he wasn't about to get in between their argument.
"We're MARRIED? How did this happen?" the Prince asked in a rage as soon as his Uncle had left.
"Well, you see, apparently your Uncle told the Fire Lord that we were to be married, and he made arrangements as soon as he found out, and in fact, we are married." Katara tried to explain. She tried her best to be excited, but she couldn't be happy to be married, not to Zuko. Not right now.
"You are kidding me, right?" Zuko asked Katara. "You and my Uncle are just trying to play a joke on me right?" When the Prince looked at the Princess he knew that she wasn't joking.
"I'm sorry, but this is no joke." She told him solemnly.
"He did this just to punish me, didn't he?" Zuko asked, more to himself than to Katara.
"No, your Uncle loves you, he wouldn't do this unless he thought it best—" Katara said, but was cut off by Zuko.
"No, not my Uncle, my father," Zuko said, but he didn't explain, he just left Katara standing there.
Katara groaned. She sat down on the bench that looked out toward the ocean. She was married to the person she hated most in the world. She was married to the enemy. She didn't want to do this, she really wished that she wasn't going to, but she couldn't stop it now. Not unless she wanted exceptionally terrible things to happen to the people she loved.
She started to think about Aang and everything that they have been through. Then she thought about her brother. Could she really betray the both of them? Yes. If it meant keeping Aang alive she could. She knew that her brother would hate it. She knew that when he found out he would kill the Fire Prince. He might even kill him with his bare hands. For some reason, as much as she hated the Prince, she didn't want him dead. She didn't want her husband dead.
Wow, that was going to get some getting used to. Never, in a million years, would she have thought she'd be saying that Zuko was her husband. She also never thought she would turn out to be a Princess, but look how that turned out.
Soon the Water Princess felt the tears fall down her face. She wiped them away dismissively, trying to pretend that she was fine. She went into her room and changed into her nightgown, let her hair down, and lay upon her bed.
"But I don't love him." she said aloud to herself. She was still in her room, lying on her bed, contemplating everything that has gone on that day. "I don't love Zuko, I never will." She said. She couldn't sleep that night. How could she? "I am married to a person that I don't even love, and never could." She sighed. "I am going to be the Princess of the Water, and Fire Nations. I am going to be the Fire Lady when Zuko takes the throne. I will be the Fire Lady to a growing empire that killed my mother, and most likely my father...both my fathers. I will have to be Zuko's wife in every way…" she stopped suddenly.
A thought came to her as she said that last sentence. "If I am married Zuko that means that I will have to give him children, I will literally have to sleep with the enemy." She said her thought out loud; hoping that somehow, someone would tell her different, but no one was going to. Sokka would never go for that. She knew that her brother would almost rather Aang died than have her give Zuko children. Thankfully, Sokka wasn't so evil as to really see Aang dead to protect her. Would he? Did she even need protecting?
Yes, Zuko had been chasing the gang for who-knows-how-long, and yes, he hasn't given any sympathy to anyone of them, but he had saved Katara from being raped, and from falling off the ship into cold waters that could have killed her. He did almost kill her in his room the other night when he started throwing everything though. Would he really hurt her?
Her immediate answer was a quick and simple 'Yes.' But nothing was quick and simple. When she thought it over, she realized that he wouldn't hurt her; not on purpose anyway. She knew, though, that her brother didn't care if he did hurt her… just that he could. She also knew that if Sokka tried to kill Zuko, the Fire Prince would fight back, and they would fight until one or the other died.
Katara gave a piercing shriek and yelled "NO!" at the thought of her brother dying. But was she really just worried about her brother?