A/N:
Here we are! The second chapter of the night!
Chapter 35:
The course of the next week was challenging. Between the feud within the family and the family's feud with everyone else, it was getting very very ugly.
It all started when Ozai went to his council to tell them that he was taking his former second wife as his wife once more. They had no problem with this. They were all present for when the couple had been married before and despite the distraction Katara was for their lord, this was an era of peace so there was no war to be distracted from. The waterbender added a nice flair to things and was a lot easier to work with than Ozai. They figured that she could sweeten things up when presenting certain laws and policies they wanted to pass.
However, Arnook refused to divorce Katara as she was his wife and he wasn't letting her leave him until she had been punished. He made that very clear that until she served her time in prison up north, she wasn't free from being his wife. Ozai wasn't having it and had his council create a marriage certificate. In an hour's time, he wrote his name down as well as Katara's. Making her as much his wife as Arnook's.
When the evening came and they sat down to eat dinner, Ozai told Katara what he did and she looked at him like he was bat shit crazy. Unfortunately, everyone else at the table thought the same thing.
Pinching her brows together, Katara sighed. "I appreciate your eagerness, Ozai. But you just married me without me even being there!"
"Not to mention there was no ceremony." Hama pointed out. She was feeling a little better after taking a few days to heal herself from Kya setting her on fire.
Zuko wanted to tell his father that he was stupid as all fucks but his younger brother and Sokka beat him to the punch.
"Dumbass!" Zhiar scoffed.
Sokka shook his head, "Just a fucking moron."
Hakoda and Kya simply sighed, poking at their food, not really sure how to respond to that.
"We can still have a ceremony. Those sort of things are for the public but I did the same thing the first time we married."
Oh, freaking La help her here because she wanted to slap him so hard. "Ozai." She bit out. "The fact that you're doing the EXACT same thing as before is a PROBLEM."
"But the reason is different." He pointed out.
Needing to take a moment to calm herself down, "Ozai, you were being a dick back then when you did it the first time and you're being a dick now." Katara told him.
"That bastard won't divorce you! I didn't have a choice!"
"Then talk it out with me and we can handle it together!"
"Arnook wants you in prison! I'm not letting him near you!"
Katara sighed and pushed herself away from the table, got up and then walked away. "I feel nauseous, I'm going to lay down." She said on the verge of tears as her hormones and Ozai were driving her crazy.
Sighing as he looked at everyone else asking them what he could have down better.
"You could have just left it alone." Hakoda pointed out.
"Not be a dumb ass." Zhiar chimed in.
"Included Katara." Zuko added.
"Killed him." Kya stated.
Shrugging, "I don't know, guys. I think I might have done the same if I were him." Sokka said as he stroked his beard.
They all looked at Sokka like he was nuts too.
"Hey, don't look at me like that! Listen, who wants to share their wife with another man? This goes public and Arnook is going to look like a fool. A man can't take that kind of blow to his pride."
While Sokka was right, Ozai was nuts and they weren't adding logic to his madness.
As if that wasn't problem enough, the Ambassador from Bei Seng Sei arrives with news that Princess Kikyo was arriving to begin courting the Phoenix King. Ozai groaned as he had forgotten all about the damn girl. He informed the ambassador that he was already legally married now. The ambassador didn't seemed fazed and told him that he would likely just have two wives. The luxury of being king in the Earth Kingdom. Multiple wives was nothing new. A very old tradition.
Ozai informed Katara of this and she told him he was crazy as hell if he thought she was going to let him have another wife at the same time. He tried to point out that Arnook and him were both her husband. To which Katara slapped him and kicked him out of his own bed for the night. If you asked him, she was lucky that she was pregnant.
In the morning, he tried apologizing to her but she was moody and not very receptive. He was standing behind her, trying to get her attention, get her to respond to his affection, he felt needy with her being upset with him.
Holding her to him from behind, Ozai purred in her ear and roamed his hands over her stomach. "You're my wife again. You should be more loving, dear."
"Ozai, you can't possibly think I'm going to be okay with you marrying another woman." She eyed him in the mirror. He was interrupting her morning routine of hygiene etiquette and she was in the middle of detangling her hair. While she loved that he felt guilty for upsetting her, she wanted him to leave her alone at the moment. Her nerves were bad and she felt very hurt that he would even consider the thought.
But Ozai had not considered it at all. He didn't want to marry that brat of a princess. He didn't want to marry anyone but the waterbender to be quite honest. He told her that six times yesterday and somehow she was only focused on the fact that Princess Kikyo was coming anyways despite him not wanting to see her.
"Katara, listen to me, for the seventh freaking time, I'm not courting anyone else, marrying anyone else, being with anyone else. I don't want this brat showing up here but she's coming anyways. All I'm asking you is to help me get rid of the girl when she shows up. Okay?"
Tearing up as she cupped her mouth and shook her head, "Why are you doing this to me?!"
Katara shoved him and ran out of the bathroom in just her towel.
Ozai sighed as he pressed his forehead into the wall. Agni help me!
That very same day Princess Kikyo showed up and Ozai along with his council had to greet the girl. She was still a guest and he couldn't actually turn her away due to formalities. He did sign some documents regarding Kikyo's stay in Omashu during this time. He was responsible for her wellbeing and overseeing that she was treated well. Fuck!
"Princess Kikyo." The council all bowed to the princess as Ozai eyed her.
Kikyo looked to the Phoenix King and was mesmerized by him. He was everything that the rumors had to say about him. Incredibly tall and carried himself in an aloof fashion. Like he was there and yet not there. A young girl like Kikyo could easily be tempted by a man like him. And as if he didn't already have enough going for him, he was handsome, though she'd use the word sexy. He was far more attractive than those old bastards back home.
If it wasn't already hard enough to not roll his eyes, after reading those thoughts of hers, it was impossible now. This little girl was absolutely absurd.
"Phoenix King Ozai." The princess said all too happily as she bowed in a very grandiose fashion which wasn't all that hard for her to do.
Princess Kikyo was dressed in an elaborate pink hanfu dress with her hair tied up and decorated with ornaments. She looked every bit a princess. A spoiled one that was, the council noted. She was no more than a pretty face. The council was not impressed. Not when the Phoenix King had a Fire Lord for a son, both his daughters were powerful benders, and his youngest was a phoenix like himself. The royal lines of all others were inferior to the Phoenix King's line and this girl was a prime example of how poorly the other lines measured up to their sovereign's.
Sensing that their ladyship was being sized up by the council of the Phoenix King, one of her representatives stepped up to speak on her behalf as to remind them why they were all here.
"Phoenix King Ozai, we came as you have agreed to court her highness." The representative stated.
Ozai wasn't speaking directly with a servant, he shoved one of his council members forth to speak on his behalf.
Clearing their throat, "Umm, Princess Kikyo must be made aware that Phoenix King Ozai has recently married already."
Princess Kikyo and her entourage were all outraged by this. The Princess herself was most furious about this and threw a fit.
"And when did this happen?! When were we to be informed?!" Kikyo demanded to know.
"It was only two days ago that the marriage certificate was signed. The ceremony hasn't yet happened which is required before we can make public that his majesty is married."
Not happy with this one bit, "Okay, fine! I can settle for second place but who is this whore?!"
"Watch your fucking mouth, you little runt!" Ozai growled, speaking to the princess directly as he shoved his council members away and approached her. Her entourage backed off as the Phoenix King came upon them. He scowled at the girl as she cowered at his tall stature. "You will not speak of my wife as if she were some pathetic little thing like yourself. You are a guest in my home and I am not interested in courting you nor have I ever been but I'll tolerate your stay if you're behaved. Otherwise; you can leave."
Kikyo watched as the Phoenix King sucked his teeth and walked around her. Her eyes didn't leave him as she heard him say he was going to spend the rest of the day with his wife. If this wasn't already infuriating for the princess, it was about to get a whole lot worse.
…..
Katara was in the garden with Zuko and their son when Ozai came looking for her. If only the waterbender understood that just as she became jealous, he did as well. Arnook was one thing, he knew she didn't have any feelings for that bastard but Zuko, she would no doubt end up in bed with him again if he led her astray. Bad enough that when he saw them together that he pictured them together and if she hadn't ever been his wife and he never fell in love with her, he'd approve of Zuko being with her. Of course, if none of that happened then he'd probably still be Fire Lord and Zuko would be dead. But he just couldn't help it, he really did hate seeing them together, even if he knew Katara would not betray him.
"A duel-bender?" Katara said as she held up her son and looked him over. His big eyes stared back at her as he beamed.
Zuko chuckled as he could tell Katara wasn't buying it, "Sokka called it."
"You know my brother isn't the brightest." She looked at him from the corner of her eye.
Rolling his eyes playfully as he leaned on his side in the grass, "I assume the same goes for you since you never figured out that Kya was a duel-bender."
Katara glared at him over the baby's head as she brought Ryu to her chest to hold.
Snorting as he snickered, "I'm just saying, you're the one that taught and trained her for the early years. At no point did it stand out that she was a duel-bender?"
No. Not one time did she ever assume Kya was a duel-bender. Sure, sometimes in the beginning Kya had the stance and posture of a firebender but Katara never thought she was a duel-bender because of it. She thought it was because her father was a firebender. And to be very honest, anytime her children did anything that didn't make sense to her, she blamed it on their father. Ozai was always the scapegoat and sometimes it was rightfully so.
"Sorry to break up your little time together but I need to speak to Katara. Alone." Ozai finally interrupted them.
Zuko glanced up at his father and then looked to Katara. She shrugged and told him to take the baby with him. He crawled over in the grass and took Ryu in his arms, pecking Katara on the cheek before standing up and eyeing his father before sucking his teeth.
Remaining seated in the grass, Katara leaned back on her hands and sighed as Ozai came sitting beside her. "Isn't the grass too beneath you to be touching your fair skin, your majesty?"
"You and your jokes, waterbender. If I didn't find them funny, I'd be offended." He retorted.
Tilting her head up to look at the sky, "Well, I am your legal wife again. I'm not concerned with offending you. I'm concerned with being mistreated by you." She told him.
Following her gaze up into the clouds, Ozai took in a deep breath and shut his eyes. "Princess Kikyo has arrived."
"Then what are you waiting for? Aren't you supposed to be courting her?" Katara hissed.
"I told you sev-"
"I heard what you said the very first time." Katara's gaze came back down to earth and fell on his just as he reopened his eyes. "I know you don't want that girl. But you agreed to it no less and here we are. I'm hurt. I truly am and no words are going to fix that, Ozai. Not yours or the next person's."
Ozai couldn't help but feel at a loss here. If nothing he said was going to make it better, then what did she want him to do because he would do it. Anything to get her to not scowl at him or make her remarks towards him. Every time he felt like he was getting closer, she somehow ended up further away and it was really starting to get to him.
"What do you want me to do, Katara?" He asked her. "Tell me and it is done."
Katara couldn't look at him with the expression he was giving her. He looked like some sad puppy and it was really getting hard to be mean to him.
"I'm your wife, aren't I?"
"Yes."
"And you love me, don't you?"
"Of course."
"Then I don't want you out of my sight for the rest of the time this girl is here. Got it? Anytime someone sees you, they see me too."
"You're sounding clingy."
"Because I am and all you've been doing the last few days is work and not include me. I get you can't make me your queen until the wedding ceremony but I still would like a hand in things."
Ozai eyed her as he repositioned himself on his side and propped his head up in his hand as his elbow was in the grass. "You're not doing much of anything until you've given birth. That's when we'll have the ceremony but as for you wanting to be with me at all times, I can do that."
"Really?" She started to smile at him. Getting on her hands and knees, the waterbender crawled over to him. She pushed him flat on his back and climbed on top of him, straddling his waist as his hand laid on her hips.
Nodding his head, "I have a meeting in an hour, you sure you want to sit through those boring sessions with tons of old men talking your head off."
Katara told him she did and then leaned down to kiss his lips. It was met to be chaste but it couldn't be helped that she wanted to do him right there in the garden. He seemed to notice this and sat up with his arm wrapping around her middle. Standing up with her in his arms, Ozai didn't break their passionate kiss as he began carrying her to a more private area of the garden where they wouldn't be seen.
…
Sokka was walking with his niece in the hallways from the library as he had been trying to convince her to get some fresh air. She was reluctant. Stubborn like her mother but she eventually put her book down and took her Mr. Fluff in arm to follow him out of the library she had been residing in the last few days. He knew she and her brother were not happy about their parents getting back together and he didn't blame them. However; they had to understand one thing and one thing only, whatever happened between their parents did not concern them. Whether they were together or a part, that wasn't their problem.
"I wish my parents had been able to be together." Sokka started. "I think your mom would have liked that too."
Kya kept her eyes ahead of her, holding Mr. Fluff to her chest, "How did grandma die?"
Sighing, "During that time, the Fire Nation believed that all the air nomads were dead and that the next in the cycle was water. At first, during our grandmother's youth, they would just take any waterbenders they found and lock them away, it's what happened to Hama. But by the time me and your mother were around, they weren't taking any more waterbenders. They just killed them." Sokka sighed. "We all knew eventually they would come to find your mother was the last waterbender and they came, storming the village. I don't know exactly what happened but your mother was there when it happened. She saw it all and it haunted her for years. I think she only came to terms with it when Zuko took her to face the man that killed our mother."
Pressing her lips to Mr. Fluff, Kya saw up ahead that her mother and father were just leaving the meeting hall. It was the first time in her life she had seen them like that. Her mother's arm looped into her father's. They both genuinely looked happy. Not the fake smiles and the half honest grins. They were happy. And maybe it was selfish of her and Zhiar to want anything less for their parents. Maybe they were so used to being divided and apart. This was their chance for normalcy. The chance to have their mother and father under the same roof. Sure, it wasn't going to be perfect. Of course not. Her parents were nuts. But it was the next best thing.
Neither of her parents had a very functional home. Her older siblings included but she and Zhiar were about to have what they didn't, they should at least try to be grateful.
"I need to talk with Zhiar." Kya told her uncle. "He and I need to have a chat."
Nervous about letting the twins anywhere near each other, Sokka told her that he first wanted to get her grandfather to accompany them so they could all talk.
After gathering Hakoda to join them, Sokka went to get Zhiar while Kya sat at her balcony table looking out at the city. The wind was blowing through her jet black curls as her gold eyes shimmered in the sunlight along with her light brown skin. She looked slightly different. No more the look of a doll as she was becoming more and more the young woman of her age. When Zhiar showed up with his uncle, he saw his sister turn to look at him immediately and for some reason, he felt a calm storm behind her gaze.
"You wanted to see me." He decided he would not be hostile upon greeting her. Kya had shown her true colors, her true face, and she was frightening. Though he wouldn't admit it. Not to her.
Waving her hand in gesture to the seat in front of her, "We need to have a talk."
"About?" He asked as he walked over to her and sat where she had wanted him to sit.
"Mom and dad. Us. Our family. Things are changing and we need to change with them." Kya told her brother. "Even if they somehow have issues in the future, I don't want to hate my family. I don't want to hate you."
Zhiar folded his arms and looked away from her, "You saw mom and dad too?" He dropped his head and signed before looking back up at his sister. "Look, Kya, I know I've said things that have hurt your feelings in the past and we've fought plenty. I just want to say I'm sorry." He snorted and cleared his throat as he didn't necessarily like having to apologize for anything.
"I forgive you, Zhiar." She told him and apologized herself for killing him a second time. "I'm capable of violence but I don't like it. I really don't like resorting to those things. Dad used to tell me he made a mistake with Azula, turning her into a weapon, and that he didn't want me to harm anyone unless my life was in danger. So I won't hurt you again...as long as I don't have to."
Zhiar chuckled and smiled at his sister, telling her that she was so mechanical with her speech, he said it was sometimes hard for him to see her as a person when she spoke. Easy to forget she had feelings because a lot of times there was no emotion behind her words. She just spoke them like she was reading them straight from a page. He told her she was very direct, straight to the point.
The young water siren looked at her brother in confusion.
"I can teach you to be more human." Zhiar told her. "Trust me, everyone in the North Pole is more lively than the people around here."
Hakoda watched as his grandson took his sister's hand and pulled her out of her chair and along with him. He was happy to see they might actually be getting along. Sokka came up to him and told him that he now thought it was good that his sister and the Phoenix King were back together. It seemed to have a positive effect on the twins that had been feuding for a long time.
….
"Oh wonderful! It's about time!" A noblewoman from the Fire Nation chuckled as she held to her husband's arm and chatted with the Phoenix King and his wife.
Seemed everyone that had followed Ozai from the Fire Nation were really taking well to their union. They all complimented Katara on her new clothes. She no longer dressed in modest attire but the robes and dresses of an empress. Ozai literally spared no expense on her in the last several days. He even had a few artists work on the project of creating headpieces for them both to represent their status. The man even began planning out the wedding ceremony that would take place next spring a month or two after their baby was born. He wanted it to be as large and as grand as any for the next century. She thought she was supposed to be planning the wedding .
As if that wasn't enough, following the Earth Kingdom tradition of a diamond ring as a display of a woman's marital status, Ozai woke her up in the middle of the night to show her the ring he had crafted a few months ago. He told her he knew eventually they would be together again and wanted to make sure he had it on hand. The ring had only just finished being forged when he slipped it on her finger. It was an understatement to say the ring was beautiful. The pure gold band on the ring had their symbols engraved on the outside. The diamond was cut and shaped into a blooming rose bud.
Katara literally tackled him with excitement and joy from how beautiful the ring was. This morning every noblewoman, Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom were absolutely jealous. She was never the type to rub something in someone's face but it was hard not to show off her ring.
"I hear rumors that her majesty is already with child again." The nobleman chuckled. "Couldn't wait, could you?"
They all laughed but Katara really didn't like the mention of her sex life. So what if she was pregnant...again...she and Ozai were happy.
As the couples chatted amongst themselves at the morning brunch that Ozai put together for the nobles of his court to introduce Katara as his wife, one of his guests had finally shown up and was once again grandiose in her gesture as she approached them.
Bowing low and humbly, Princess Kikyo and her entourage waited for the Phoenix King to greet them. Ozai just stared at the top of the girl's head with a deep annoyance and scoffed as he turned around. Katara didn't even bother to correct him on being rude. The nobles present all chuckled to themselves as the Phoenix King took his bride up the dais where they were seated above everyone else.
The princess lifted her head slightly to see this and her expression hardened as she rose back up abruptly. Her advisors tried to stop her as rising before a sovereign had greeted you was most disrespectful.
"You do not greet a royal princess with centuries of royal blood in her veins but you marry a peasant from a desolate nation." Kikyo spat.
The room gasped.
"Princess! Stop thi-" She shoved her advisor that tried to get to stop.
Sitting on his throne, Ozai clenched his teeth as he looked at the annoying little princess. He was going to tell her off and order her servants to be executed as a show of his power and how little he gave a fuck but Katara beat him to the punch.
"Peasant? I haven't heard that term in a while." Katara chuckled as she smirked "Mostly I get called a whore, a wench, a slut, a witch, or something along those lines. But peasant, I kind of miss being called that. Do you have any more names you'd like to call me?"
The princess glared at the woman at the Phoenix King's side, "How about a bitch?!
The room was in absolute shock at this outburst. Even Ozai was surprised that the girl had enough guts to say what she had. He was about to stand up to give his orders to his guards but Katara had him sit back down with her bloodbending as she stood up and laughed at the princess, stepping down from the dais.
Katara held a steady gaze with the younger woman and smiled, "You remind me of myself." Stopping just a few feet away from Kikyo. "I spat in his face the first time we met and called him some names. I was fearless. At least that's what I thought." Getting closer, Katara looked the scornful princess over and then circled her. "But I grew up and I realized that there is a thin line between fearless and being an absolute moron."
"You have a lot of nerve, peasant!" Kikyo raised her hand to hit Katara but the waterbender caught her wrist and eyed her dangerously.
The room's temperature dropped and grew dim as ice formed along all the window fixtures. Katara's eyes glowed as she furrowed her brows at the princess as she stood in front of her and shook her head.
"What does being a peasant or royal blooded matter when one of us will never grow old and live for centuries to see era after era while the other will grow old in twenty years give or take." Katara explained in a calm tone, she wasn't going to yell, she wasn't going to lower herself to the girl's level. Royal or not, Katara saw herself above this princess. "Royal blood is a joke. I came from literally nothing and I could end everyone in this room's life with a small gesture of my hand. Most being of this royal blood you speak of."
Kikyo stared wide eyed at the Phoenix King's wife. It was dawning on her that this woman was not human. Her gaze went to the Phoenix King and his eyes had begun to glow as well, only his were red. She swallowed hard and her gaze went back to his wife.
"You're a monster! You're not human!" She shouted in fright.
"No, I'm human. For the most part." She smiled sweetly. "If I wasn't I'd probably kill you because you've really ticked me off with your rude behavior and advances towards my husband. But I'm human and I choose to be kind even when it is not deserved." Katara's eyes stop glowing and she let her anger subside, thawing the ice out and returning the room to its original summer temperature. "And I believe there is more strength and power in restraint and mercy." Looking over her shoulders to her husband, "My love, don't execute her servants. I ask on my behalf that you spare them and forgive the princess for her offenses."
Ozai grinned at his wife, loving her demonstration as it would seem to have gotten the point across much better than his would have. This is why no one else could be better suited to be his queen.
"You'd pardon this wench?" Ozai asked his wife.
Nodding her head, "I would."
"Then fine. I'll spare her servants but I want them removed from my court immediately." Ozai ordered as he rose from his throne, eyeing the princess as he came to his wife's side and stood in contrast to their smaller frames. "Your advisors may stay but insulting my wife will not go unpunished. Whether you ask or she does. I will not tolerate it. Do not allow it to happen again or you will see how little I care about your royal blood when I have it painted on the walls."
The threat resonated with the Princess and her entourage. From what was just revealed to them, they now knew that the Phoenix King and his wife were not to be trifled with. They were no different from a demon and a witch. Perhaps those would be better terms to describe them.
Having left the banquet hall, the couple hurried off to their bed chambers and attacked one another. Passion turning into violence as they were in desperate need of one another. Ozai had torn off Katara's dress as soon as they were in their bedroom. She was no better as she jumped him and raked her nails through his hair as she attacked his mouth, biting his bottom lip.
"You don't know how much it turns me on to see you deal with idiots like her." He pushed her up against the wall as he nipped at her neck.
Breathing heavily, Katara moaned while biting her lip and tried undoing the ties of his pants. "I couldn't let you go off killing people again. You're supposed to be good now."
Ozai bit down on her neck hard and listened to her cry out, "You make it hard to be good, Katara. You really fucking do."
…
Hama sighed, lounging on her side while reading a book. She was so bored. With the twins getting along and her granddaughter remarried to Ozai, everything was peaceful. Maybe it was the dysfunctional side of her that lived for the drama or the intuitive side that anticipated something in the midst, but she really felt bored with all this getting along shit. Fortunately, she wasn't the only one that wasn't happy while everyone else was holding hands and singing of happy days to come.
Sitting across from her with a bottle of whiskey was Zuko. He was drunk after a long day of being around his father and Katara practically itching to fuck each other's brains out. It was pure torture. Having caught the two sparing no time to bump uglies, the Fire Lord wanted to literally gorge his eyes out. He couldn't stand it. His asshole of a father that didn't deserve a damn thing suddenly had everything. People loved him, he had Katara, an empire, women fighting over him, he had it made. And sure, it was a lot of jealousy talking but Zuko seriously just didn't get it. After all he had done, after all he had fought, and all he tried to make right, he just wasn't good enough. No wonder his father wanted him dead as a child. He probably saw the future.
"You really shouldn't beat yourself up, Zuko." Hama told him as she flipped the pages of her book and glanced up at him briefly before returning to her reading. "At the end of the dad, you know it and I know, your father is going to fuck up and when he does, you will, as you always have, be the one to clean up his mess."
Scoffing as he pressed the whiskey bottle to his lips and tilted up to drink. He drank quite a lot in one go without pause. Hama smirked and shook her head.
"Would you like to have pity sex with me, Zuko? You're pitiful. I'm pitiful. Why should they be the only ones getting any action around here?" Hama closed her book and sat up on the lounge chair. "I mean, we all get it, they've wanted to fuck like this for fourteen years."
Finally putting the bottle down, Zuko with baggy dark circles under his eyes looked to Hama and roamed his eyes over her. "I'm not going to use you as a substitute for what I really want." He looked away and ran his hand in his hair. "I've loved her long before he decided to notice her and when he was gone, I was there for her every step of the way. I helped raise Kya and Zhiar. I kept Katara from killing herself or drinking herself into insanity or- or fucking fuck some stranger in the slums or a possible gang rape. Katara was self-destructive after what he did to her and I saved her. I'm always saving her! And she runs right back to him like he will be any different this time around! He hasn't changed! He's just doing this to make her happy! He's still evil but I'm good...I'm trying to be good."
Hama saw him place his hand over his face and tears fall from under them. She sighed as she got up and walked over to him and sat in front of him, wrapping her arms around him. Resting her head on top of his, Hama rubbed his back as he cried.
"No matter what I do, I'm never good enough!" Zuko buried his face in Hama's chest. "I love her! I love her more than him!"
Rubbing his back, Hama tried to soothe him. "You know your father is going to do something stupid that'll cause it all to blow up back in his face. He's just an idiot that way."
"I'd rather be an idiot than some fucking faggot crying out about a woman that wasn't ever really his." Ozai made his presence known.
He had been hearing the two talking since the very beginning and he had to say, he wasn't a bit surprised. Ever since they got back from the Fire Nation, Zuko had been upset with him and giving him a side eye look every time they saw each other. He ignored it. Figuring that eventually Zuko would get over himself but no, he was here bitching and moaning about shit that couldn't be helped.
Looking up at his father, Zuko glared at him and stood up. "You don't deserve her!"
"Says who?" Ozai folded his arms and raised his brows. "I'm just kind of confused here with how you go from being angry that she left you for Arnook to angry at me for taking her from him."
"You don't deserve shit! Not after everything you've done! You're a piece of shit and yet, you just get everything you want! How is that fair?!" Zuko shouted drunkenly at his father.
Ozai chuckled as he shook his head, "Zuko, I worked for everything I have. It didn't just come to me on a silver platter. Nothing ever has."
"Bullshit!"
"I never got anything handed to me, Zuko. Not once. You think your grandfather made me his successor? HA! I had to kill him and then forge his will. You think Katara just wanted me over you? Guess again, Zuko. If I didn't let my guard down with her and make her see me for more than some tyrant, she would have gladly slit my throat herself. And this kingdom, I had this in the makings while I was in prison. My allies were working in my favor, knowing that I was still alive, and this people didn't just trust me, I proved myself and in seven years, I made an entire wasteland look far better than the upper ring of Bei Seng Sei. Not because it just so happened, I made shit happen and I will continue." Ozai was now in Zuko's face, insulted that his son would ever think this all just poofed out of thin air. Practically growling, "You think I didn't suffer to get here? You don't know suffering, Zuko. I told you that before and I'll tell you again."
Liquor had a way of making someone act out on sober thoughts and he had a sober thought before he was even of age to not be sober to do what he just did. Throwing his fist, that covered itself in dragon scale, into his father's face and then tackled him to the ground. Hama tried pulling Zuko off of his father as he punched him relentlessly.
"Stop it!" Hama yelled as she tried grabbing his arm.
Ozai was trying to block Zuko's fist but having been caught off guard by the fact Zuko was overpowering him, he wasn't able to stop him from bloodying his face.
"I'm going to kill you!" Zuko growled viciously as his eyes glowed and dragon scales formed along the rest of his skin. "I'm so sick of seeing your fucking face! EVERY TIME I LOOK IN THE MIRROR!"
Managing to stop his fist, Ozai spat out blood to the side and glared at Zuko. "You son of a bitch! You don't look like me!"
"I can see past the scar!" Zuko hissed angrily.
Ozai laughed as he shook his head, "Listen to me, Zuko. You don't look like me, not because of your scar, but because you're not my son!"
"Ozai, stop it!" Hama yelled at him as she was still holding Zuko's arm even though her efforts to stop him were futile.
"What?!" The shock took over. "Wh-wha-"
"Your mother was a slut that fucked her way around court and through the slums!" Ozai laughed. "Your father is probably some piss poor drunk from the slums."
Zuko lost it and was determined to remove his father's face, "YOU FUCKING LIAR!" His claws protruded through his fingernails and sliced through the side of his father's face.
Hama could see this was only getting worse and she attempted to bloodbend Zuko, however; he was able to resist her. The siren's call was the next best thing which seemed to have an effect on him as he was trying to cover his ears. He thrashed onto his side, holding his hands to his ears as he was trying not to be affected by the siren call she was placing on him. With him falling off his father, Hama hurried to Ozai as he was trying to regenerate but was struggling to.
"What is going on?!"
Hama looked over her shoulder to see Katara was standing in the doorway of the lounge, gaping at the sight.
"He's not healing." The older siren said. "I'm going to try to heal him but you need to get Zuko to calm down!"
The waterbender looked from where Ozai was on the ground to Zuko, who was literally losing it on the floor thrashing about. She cautiously approached him, calling his name as she did, hoping he would recognize it was her through his breakdown. Obviously, he wasn't in a good place right now. She had never seen him act like this. And when she glanced back over to where Hama was tending to Ozai, she could hear him holding back his cries of anguish. She had never known him to be in such pain.
Looking back to Zuko, Katara saw him easing as she got closer to him. When her hand reached for him, he immediately grabbed it and yanked her towards him as he stood back up.
"Zuko, what's wrong with you?!" Katara asked him as she was face to face with him and he stared at her with a crazed look on his face. "What happened?!"
Eyes roaming her, "You keep picking everyone else over me!" He told her. "Why?! WHY AM I NOT GOOD ENOUGH?!"
Katara looked at him somberly, "Zuko, that's not-"
Smashing his lips to hers, Zuko held Katara tight to him as his claws scraped her dress and smeared his father's blood on her. While he was trying to force his affection on her, it didn't look that way to Ozai as Hama was still trying to heal much of him that had yet to regenerate. To him, he had believed the blood he was seeing was hers and that Zuko was slicing her with his retch claws. The fact that Katara was motionless with tears in her eyes didn't help much either.
Shoving Hama away from him, Ozai struggled to his feet while holding the side of his face that Hama wasn't able to finish. "You little piece of shit! You keep your fucking hands off of her!"
Removing his lips from Katara's to see she was staring at him with teary wide eyes, "Why are you crying?"
Katara began trembling as she looked wide eyed at Zuko. He watched her spit up blood and his eyes widened. Pulling away from her, he saw her throw up more blood as both their gazes looked down and saw that the claw over his thumb had impaled her. He pulled it out and her hands went to her stomach as tears rolled down her face.
"My baby…" She gasped before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she collapsed backwards.
Seeing this, Ozai's face betrayed nothing and Zuko could see that as he backed away. It was one thing to attack each other and it was another to attack Katara. And even though it was an accident, even Hama knew Ozai wasn't going to see that as anything less of an attack.
For Zuko, it was his first time seeing his father make such a face. The look of a man that was watching everything before him fade away. He looked lost, defeated, in despair. Zuko had thought taking his father's power and reducing him to the dwelling of a cell would be enough to making his father's face contort the way it did. Not even trying to beat his face into the floor could Zuko get the man to look so pitiful. But Katara, accidentally stabbing her with one of his claws, made his father look nothing like the prideful man he always boasted about being.
There was no light or spark in his eyes as he was knelt down with Katara, holding her in his arms as he tried to stop the bleeding. Zuko saw Hama look at him and shake her head when he tried to take a step forward.
"Leave."
Zuko heard his father say.
"I don't want to kill you but I will if you don't leave." Ozai held Katara's limp body to him with her hand pressed to his limp. His eyes shut as he didn't want to see her this way.
"I-I I didn't mean-"
"LEAVE!" Ozai roared at him as his body emitted black flames that shot out at Zuko and threw him against the wall.
Hama decided to go to Ozai's side to take a look at her granddaughter as Zuko hurried to flee. She knew Katara was alive, her heart was shallow but she was fine. However; the baby- that was a different story.
Gazing down at the unconscious waterbender, "Did we lose it?"
Nodding her head, "If she were further along perhaps there would have been better odds but she's not even a few weeks along." Hama told him.
There was a brief pause followed by a long exhale of breath before Hama heard Ozai tell her to get the guards to help carry her as he was too weak to lift her. She looked at him and saw his injuries were not healing anymore. It concerned her. Though it likely had to do with Zuko being a dragon and able to inflict injuries on him as a phoenix. Whatever it was, Ozai looked the worst she had ever seen him physically.
"What of you?" She asked carefully.
Staring at her as blood had still dripped from the left side of his face, "I'm fine." He told her. "Just do as I ask you."
"As always."
…...
Zhiar and Kya weren't sure what exactly happened last night but everyone had been disturbed in the late evening from the sound of yelling and then they saw Zuko hurry into their chambers. He took Ryu from Kya and told her he had to leave, Tomoe quickly following after him. They were even more confused when they saw their mother being carried off to the medical wing by the guards as their father, whose face was covered in blood, followed behind them. Now, as it was morning, they went to their parent's chambers to see how their parents were.
It first came as a shock to see their mother in bed, pale as can be with servants trying to tend to her. Her weak eyes looked at them and she said something to the servants. Zhiar was approached by one of the servants that told him that they should go see their father as she didn't want them to see her like this. They nodded and left the room as the servant closed the door behind them.
As they spotted the back of their father's head, the twins walked over to where he was sitting in the lounge area.
"Dad," Zhiar started as they walked around the sofa he was sitting at. "What's going o-"
The young teen stopped as did his twin sister as they saw their father's face. Their eyes widened at the terrible mess his face had been. Kya ran from behind her brother and went to their father's side to get a closer look at him. The healer side of her wanted to see what she could do to fix it but their father shooed her away, not wanting her any closer. And Zhiar didn't blame him. There was a long jagged scar on his left side going from his forehead down past his eye and three claw marks pulling across his jaw on the same side, the corner of his mouth damaged enough where they could see his teeth.
"What happened to you and mom?!" Zhiar felt squirmish from the sight of his father's face.
Ozai looked up at his twins and sighed while eyeing them, "There was an incident. Your brother, Zuko, is not on the best terms with your mother and I."
"He did this?" Zhiar was confused. Fighting their father was one thing but he thought Zuko didn't bear ill feelings towards his mother anymore.
"I don't believe it. Zuko would never." Kya defended her older brother. "You getting disfigured is one thing but mom," Shaking her head as she eyed her father stoically. "He would never hurt mom."
Eyeing his skeptical daughter, Ozai sucked his teeth and leaned back as he swept his hair from his face, giving them a better look at the damage Zuko had done to him. The claw marks that tore through his mouth and jaw, combed through his scalp, shredding his ear. From what they could see, the scars were deep enough that the side of their father's head had to be shaven in order to stitch up the gashes. Zhiar cringed and looked away as Kya looked her father in his eyes.
"What he did to your mother was an accident. I know it was but I still want to kill him for it. As for me…" Ozai grinned all too wide for his kids and they both squealed and looked away causing him to burst out laughing as he threw his arms on the back of the sofa, grinning wider. "I believe your brother had every intention of returning the favor I did him when he was thirteen. Jokes on him, I think I like this look."
Zhiar knew his father was nuts but he was crazy as fuck if he thought looking like a half dead man was a good look.
"I need to go." Zhiar averted his eyes from his father and started heading out.
Following his squirmish son with his eyes, Ozai laughed even louder, though it was painful to even open his mouth to talk, he couldn't help it.
"You're insane, you know that?" Kya said as she shook her head and began to leave.
Scoffing as he looked at Kya, "What happened to my little girl caring for her father?"
"Oh, I care. Care enough to tell you you've lost your mind." Kya decided to leave, also unable to really look at him.
Ozai snickered as he shook his head and reached for the pipe he had on the low table, "You kids have no spine." Stuffing the opium into the pipe and lighting it up with his finger, "When I was your ages, my father beat me into the marble floor of the throne room in front of all the noble families close to the royal line. The very next day I had to start the academy with their children, got my ass kicked again. Being a prince didn't mean shit when you weren't the crown prince."
Kya watched her father put his pipe in the hole of his jaw and blow the smoke out from his lips. Yeah, he's lost it. Then she watched him do the opposite and blow smoke from the hole in his jaw. And I'm out of here.
Amused by how easily he managed to get his children to leave, Ozai tilted his head back and looked up at the ceiling. He wanted to go check on Katara and see how she was doing. But as demonstrated by the twins, he was not his best looking even if he did sort of like how freaky he looked now. Anything to keep people away. He just wasn't trying to keep her away. Especially not after- A deep breath, Ozai didn't know what his waterbender was going to be like once it all settled in with them losing another child. He remembered at the end of his reign as Fire Lord, she was pregnant again and was mishandled by a guard in her effort to defend him. It seemed that very same thing happened again. Why was this all repeating itself? Sure, things were different now but he just didn't understand why. Then again, he never understood why. He just knew this shit was happening and he was powerless to stop it.
"Your majesty, your wife is now resting but she should be fine. Is there anything you require of us?" A servant interrupted his thoughts.
Lifting his head back up, Ozai looked at the three servants that had their heads slightly bowed. He could see they were avoiding looking at him. Didn't have to wonder why that was. While he didn't mind the reaction, he knew he couldn't go around looking like this and scaring people. So, he sighed and requested that they have his council and a tailor brought to him. Some things needed to happen.
….
Hakoda and Sokka were a bit uneasy with everything that was starting to take place and from what the twins told them, things were not good. Katara was injured badly enough she had to be in bed for some time. The Phoenix King looked as if he were permanently scarred though Zhiar told them that his father liked it and didn't seem like he wanted to change it, Kya telling them what their father did with the pipe. They both said he was going nuts. And the last thing anyone who had fought the war almost fifteen years ago wanted to hear was that the former Fire Lord was losing his mind.
The two of them were heading to the Phoenix King's chambers when they bumped into Hama and Arnook arguing in the hallway. Seemed Arnook hadn't left and barged his way into the palace after probably catching wind of things.
"If he sees you, he's going to kill you!" Hama warned the idiot Chieftain.
Arnook scoffed, "Just because a little whore like you fears him, doesn't mean I do! He might have signed that flimsy paper but Katara is more my wife than his! You know the rules of marriage, there has to be a priest or sage along with witnesses and both parties for the marriage to be acknowledged. And from what I saw there that day, none of those terms were met. So I could care less about the damn certificate!"
"You are one stupid fuck, Arnook!" The siren yelled as she threw her hands up and then pointed her long nail at him. "But I'm not letting you in! My granddaughter is in that room resting and the last thing she needs is-"
"None of this would have happened if she wasn't being coached on how to be a slut by the likes of you and your manwhore Phoenix King!" The Northern Chieftain hollered. "She was my wife! And he went out of his way to ruin our marriage after he, himself, told her to marry me! He gave his blessings! Why the fuck do you think I let him come to our wedding?! The bastard is playing games with all of us! Her included! We're all responsible for his downfall years ago! I don't doubt he's going to make us all look like fools in the end!"
Hama got in Arnook's face and growled viciously, "Is that what your master, Lao, told you?"
Arnook's eyes widened for a moment before the narrowed back down and he got closer in her face, "No one needs to tell me what I can see clearly with my own two eyes." He clenched his teeth.
"Then I shouldn't have to tell you that Katara never loved you, especially not the way she loves him." Hama smirked.
The Chieftain raised his hand to slap her when Hakoda and Sokka hurried to stop them. Sokka grabbed Arnook's wrist while his father pulled Hama away.
"You two stop it."
"No," They all turned their head to the sound of that voice. "Please do continue. I want to hear more about this plan I'm devising to make you all look like fools."
They all saw the Phoenix King standing at the threshold of the massive doors to his chambers with his council and servants behind him watching the scene. The group noticed first thing, that upon the Phoenix King's face was an oni mask that covered only the bottom half of his face. Only his eyes were visible and instead of wearing his hair pulled back in a topknot, he wore his hair parted down the middle with the top of his hair in the back pulled together in a ponytail while the rest hung down his back. They could all see the claw mark that scarred his left eye but his other injuries were covered by his hair and the mask. As if Ozai wasn't already intimidating, then he surely was now. Hakoda and Sokka realized what the twins had to them was, in fact, true. Not that they didn't believe them but it was hard to picture.
"You bastard! Let me see my wife now!" Arnook wasn't backing down.
Ozai's eyes skimmed over to the Northern Chieftain and his brows kneaded, "You wife? You mean our wife?"
No one could see his mouth but they could tell he was smirking, Ozai always thought his jokes were funny. Not that anyone ever laughed.
"Listen here, you fuc-"
"Come, Chieftain Arnook, let us talk before you start getting ideas in that head of yours and start spouting out more bullshit." Ozai waved his hand for the man the way one would do so for their pet. It was insulting and it was meant to be. Even the council did not approve of the way the Phoenix King was speaking to another leader of a nation. Of course, none of them were going to say anything.
Arnook yanked himself away from Sokka and fixed himself up as he eyed the three of them. "You all had better start thinking hard of whose side you're on because I mean what I said, we're all going to be made fools out of, and I, for one, will not be made a fool of." He looked to Hama specifically.
As Ozai watched the Chieftain come forth, he grinned under his mask and told his council to show Arnook to the sitting room so they could begin. His eyes then went to Katara's family.
"We'll all talk once I'm done with him." He told them before turning around to go back in his chambers, the servants closing the door behind him.
Looking at one another, the three knew this was just the beginning to whatever freak show that was about to take place. Whatever it was. They just hoped they survived this next chapter.
….
A/N:
Yup we're heading into a new arch and I'm totally excited because I've been plotting this part out for months, almost a whole year! Hope you all are enjoying thus far! Thanks for continuing to read and being so patient! Will be back with more! Already writing the next Chapter!