A/N:
I'm back! Enjoy peeps and let me know what you guys think of Katara and Ozai's thoughts in this chapter.
Chapter 27:
"Nothing happened."
"I know that's a lie. Just tell me. I promise I won't get upset."
Folding her arms as she had her legs crossed in the chair, Katara stared in irritation out the window of her lounge and tried not to think about what her brother was asking her to tell. How was she supposed to tell him any of it? That she and Ozai had an affair. How could she tell him that she got pregnant and that bastard tortured her? Feeling a bit overwhelmed as she ran her hand over her face, feeling herself burn with anxiety and choke on her despair. Tears fell from her eyes as she remembered begging him to stop and how she slowly felt her child's heartbeat begin to fade. Katara felt sick to her stomach and quickly got up as her breakfast was coming up again.
Sokka sighed as he angrily gripped the armrest of the chair and shook his head trying to reel himself in. He already knew. His informant, Shira, told him everything when she hurried back to the North Pole. She told him and Yue everything. They couldn't believe it. Yue refused to hear anymore after Shira told them how she found his sister trying to escape from Ozai's chambers.
Hearing his sister continue to hurl, Sokka got up and went to make sure she was okay. As he did, the tribesman noticed his sister had tossed off her indoor robes and was holding what looked like a small round belly. He stared wide eyed at this and tried to make sense of it as Shira told him how Katara had indeed lost the baby.
Katara wipes her mouth and looked over to see her brother staring at her in confusion. "Don't ask."
"But how?! Shira said-"
Narrowing her eyes at her brother, "Shira?! You know that bitch?!"
"Yes, I sent her to spy on Ozai. She told me-"
"Told you what?!" Katara climbed to her feet and scowled at her older brother. "Why were you spying on Ozai?"
Sokka stepped towards her as he saw her protectively place her hand on her belly and step away from him. "I knew something wasn't right. There were rumors. People were saying he and you were involved."
Katara shifted her eyes away from him.
"Is it true?" Sokka asked.
"I'm sure you already know the answer to that if you sent Shira to spy on him."
"Then how are you still pregnant? She told me what he did."
Katara's sapphire eyes rose to her brother, "Ursa told me Ozai had to believe the baby was dead and for that to be, everyone had to believe it too."
"Katara, you can't-"
"Only me and Kokasho know the truth." Katara cut him off again. "I went through hell to keep this baby alive through everything Ozai did to me. Don't tell me what I can't do!"
Sokka eyed his sister like she had lost her mind. This was just like her. Doing what any reasonable person would be against. How could she want to have that monster's child? Especially after everything he did to her. What was wrong with her?
"I wasn't supposed to be able to have children, Sokka. Not after that incident."
Yeah, the incident where you took a rusty knife for him. Sokka begrudged.
"This might be my only chance to have what you and Yue have." She tried forcing a smile. "I didn't get lucky like you, Sokka. Dad didn't give me a choice about my future."
"Look, I know what happened." Sokka swallowed as he spoke, seeing his sister's immediate expression of shame. "And I'm not mad about you having an affair with him. I know dad never treated you like more than an heir and we didn't have mom for long. He was the one you sought out for comfort. Maybe that's all any of it was. You looking for comfort but...what he did, Katara, what he did," shaking his head as he averted his eyes. "You can't forgive him for that. Ever. No one that claims to love you is supposed to do those things to you. You understand that, right?"
He hated that he had to talk to his sister like this but something he felt his sister just didn't understand and from what his grandmother told him when he arrived, Sokka heard she was holding onto that man's crown as a keepsake. Like she wasn't completely letting go of him. Their gram gram asked that he help get rid of the crown as soon as possible so that his sister could begin getting better.
Having fallen into tears, Katara sniffled and rubbed her eyes. "I know that."
"You have to treat him like he's dead."
Furrowing her brows, "Sokka-"
"He's dead, Katara. Ozai is dead. And with him, you should bury any of his belongings you possess."
Katara swallowed hard and shook her head, "I didn't bury all of dad's or mom's things."
"Yes but they are people we want to remember. You don't need to remember him and what he has done to you. He should be forgotten." Sokka tried to stress as sensitively as he could but he felt his sister would be difficult as always.
"I can't."
"Kat-"
"I can live like he's dead and I can never forgive him for what he did but I won't get rid of it." Katara stood to her feet. "I know gram gram sent you to make me get rid of it."
"Why are you holding onto it?" Sokka asked her.
"Because...he gave it to me to have 'if'...when he dies. So, if he's dead to me, I want to keep it. I have that right."
Sighing as he shook his head and decided to give up, "I don't know how you are supposed to heal."
"I will in my own way!"
"Fine. But know that Ozai is beyond your forgiveness and no matter what your past with him was like, it doesn't make up for what he did to you. No one is supposed to do those things to you, Katara."
"I'm not a child! I know that!" She hissed.
Sokka just wanted to be sure. His sister was only involved with two people and both of them had put their hands on her. He didn't want her thinking it was normal because it wasn't. As he left her to be alone, the tribesman went to be with his wife and father-in-law who were having tea with his grandmother. Yue got up to greet him as soon as he entered the tea room and looked warily at him.
"How is she?" Yue asked in deep concern for her sister-in-law.
Sokka shook his head and walked his wife back to the table she came from. He took a seat beside her and saw the two elders look at him as if hoping he'd tell them how it went. All he could say was that it was good that Kokasho had taken over her duties for the time being. His sister needed a lot more time to deal with what happened.
Kanna cut her eyes at her grandson, "Ozai isn't getting away with this. I hope she knows that."
"You sent someone already?" Sokka scoffed while his wife poured him a cup of tea.
"I've sent several in the last three months." Kanna spat. "But none of them can get close enough."
"He's guarded?" Arnold asked.
The elderly woman and her grandson both snickered at this.
"What?" The Northern Chieftain was confused.
"Ozai has been dodging assassination attempts since he was twelve. Aside from us recently wanting to kill him, his father has been wanting him dead for pretty much his entire life. Can't even use bloodbenders against him. He's able to resist and chi-blockers are no good, he's dangerous without his bending too. Damn bastard is like a roach! Hard to get rid of."
Never had Sokka heard his grandmother speak so coldly in his life. She wasn't a callous woman but he guessed with what happened to Katara, she couldn't help but feel how she did.
…..
The few months of being at the frontlines had been better than the entirety of his adult life. He got to vent and release his anger on some Earth Kingdom bastards. Sure, he was isolated and ostracized by most in his division but that wasn't much different than it had always been. Ozai was used to being perceived as a monster and a lot of times he was but he wouldn't say he was entirely. He had a heart and feelings and shit got to him. One thing in particular, what he had done to get here.
Lost his title, his status was reduced to commoner, was divorced, children hated him, and he had no home to go back to when this shit war was over. But none of that really bothered him. He always hated being a prince and following the status quo when he would rather do things his way. Divorce was something he had wanted for years but decided to torture himself and Ursa. The children and him were never close. Azula, occasionally, seemed to show interest in having a relationship with him but he just sent her away whenever she got too clingy or mouthy. Zuko either feared him, hated him or both. And he fucking hated his home. Especially the domain his father forced him to live in all his life and the sick shit that took place in his youth there. Ozai didn't give a fuck about any of that. His problem, his regret was what he did. What he did to Katara.
There weren't many things he truly cared about or felt concerned about. But that idiot girl did mean a lot to him. He had been more a father to her than his own children. Helped her father raise her as a sentiment to Kya. He taught her much over the years, manners mostly because for some reason Katara was just born a rude child. He was there for her more than his own children and worried over her development when he noticed her father didn't actually treat her as his daughter but as his successor. Katara would always come running to him crying, asking him why her father didn't love her or why it was always work with him. Ozai wasn't comforting but he humored her and that was enough to cheer her up. Even on the few occasions when he actually wanted to kill her and sometimes attempted, he knew he couldn't go through with it. She'd just look at him with those big blue eyes and melt his heart in a way. The way women's hearts melted at cute animals.
But after watching her grow into a woman, he'd admit he didn't purely see her as a daughter figure. She was a woman. An attractive young woman that he had history with and he stupidly involved himself with her inappropriately, knowing the girl had developed feelings for him over the years because just like him, she didn't see him purely as a father figure. But the impure relationship didn't bother him. Ozai didn't regret fucking his stepdaughter. He'd have continued doing so if things didn't take the turn they did. He regretted hurting her.
Unlike what his family and others liked to believe, he didn't see Kya in Katara. Only a small portion of her reminded him of her. Kya was rough around the edges and had her demons. Katara was gentle and soft masquerading as a hard individual. He fell for them for different reasons. Kya was like him. Mean and cruel when necessary. She was beautiful and had thorns like a rose. Katara was different. She was loving and compassionate but rude due to her childlike ignorance. She was beautiful but he didn't have to prick his fingers to hold her. She was always extending herself to him, wanting him to latch on and when he finally did, she was forced to retreat, breaking the connection because he wasn't what she thought he was. He'd admit, he took things too far but it hurt him just as much to hurt her.
It was sick and he snapped but he took no pleasure in it. Killing their child but she should have known better. She should have known breaking things off and then telling him she was pregnant was not going to turn out good for her. But he should have been a little more merciful. She was still young. Only just turning nineteen before she showed back up in the Fire Nation. He should have just detained her and talked some sense into her. She needed him to teach her and instead he skipped right to the punishment. Katara wasn't a very learned girl when it came to matters like this. But her wanting to end things was not ever going to happen.
It was too late for that. Katara might say things were over but Ozai had no intentions of ending things. He'd find a way to get her back.
"Keep sending your best, Katara. I'll just thin out your numbers and you'll have no one left but me in the end." Ozai said as he dragged the corpse of the fifth assassin this month into the bushes.
Apparently, Katara was angry and tried to have him killed. Or at least, he figured it was her. It would make sense. She had a temper and a right to be furious with him. However, it was a bit out of character. Katara wasn't the type to let others do her bidding. Who's sending these bastards to kill me?
Returning to camp, Ozai got the usual hateful looks from the tribesmen, the disgusted stares from the tribeswomen, and the frightened eyes of his fellow troops. It was normal for him to be disdained and evaded by others. For people to stare and whisper about him. This was nothing new. A walk in the park. Hell, even the assassination attempts were pretty normal for him. Strange how the frontlines of war were no different from the strife in his day to day life.
Ozai fell into a routine while at the frontlines in the camp. Eat, push the enemy forces back, fight off assassins, return to camp, take a cold bath because the bloodbenders locked his chi, enjoy a restless night, wake up and do it all over again. He would have to talk to himself from time to time just so he didn't forget the sound of it. With everyone afraid or hating him, he had no one to talk to. Not that he cared but he was human after all. Every now and again he craved human interactions and no, killing people didn't count.
Bathing in the river as he typically did, Ozai noticed a tribeswoman staring at him from the river bank. He snorted and resumed ignoring her until she removed her clothes. Oh really? Ozai raised a brow. It's been a while. The women, while disgusted by him, did oftentimes make advances towards him in secret. He turned them all down solely because the women wanted to tie him up in order to feel safe. He felt it was better he didn't have sex with them if they felt that unsafe. Plus, he'd be damned if these women fucked him with his hands tied behind his back.
However, this tribeswoman seemed to be interested enough to gamble her safety for time alone with him. If she was going to make such an advance that she'd take the risk of his hands being untied, who was he not to indulge her.
"You're Ozai, right?" The woman asked, naked with the water coming up just at her breasts.
Glancing over his shoulder, Ozai looked the woman up and down. "Who's asking?"
Smirking as she shrugged her shoulders, "Just another curious tribeswoman."
"Curious of what?"
"Curious of what makes you so desirable even though we all pretty much hate you." She said as she grew closer.
Ozai turned around to face the woman and saw how she was sizing him up. Of course, he took it as an invitation.
"AH! HARDER!" The tribeswoman called out as she clawed his back.
Enjoying the first woman he had since being exiled, "Keep being so loud and your friends will find us."
"Oh, you fire brute." The woman smirked as she looked seductively up at him while reaching for her clothes that were beside them as the disgraced Fire Prince had on her back on the sandy banks of the river.
However, as she was reaching for something in her clothes, Ozai grabbed her by her neck and fucked her harder as requested. It went from erotic to murderous in seconds. Riding out his own orgasm as he strangled the woman, the exiled prince snapped the woman's neck after reaching completion and pushed himself off of her. He dressed in his pants before going to examine her corpse, finding a knife in her hand, Ozai removed it and studied the blade. It was a Northern Water Tribe dagger. Not to mention, this assassin was a woman. He couldn't see Katara sending a woman nor a northerner. Someone else was behind this.
Tossing her body into the river, Ozai watched it go down stream.
"Hey, what the hell are you still doing outside the camp?!" Lu Ten shouted at him.
Rolling his eyes, out of all the things he had been dealing with here on the frontlines, his nephew was by far the most annoying aspect of his entire experience.
"You know you can't escape." Lu Ten pointed out to his uncle as the man had gathered his clothes and skulked by him.
Grumbling under his breath Ozai told his nephew to eat a dick and turned to his tent to continue the pattern of his days at the frontlines.
…
Sokka went to see his sister one last time before he and his Northern family returned home. However, when he reached the area near her chambers, he heard his grandmother going off. He figured his grandmother must have discovered the secret Katara was hiding. The Southern Prince hurried along to help his sister against their over the top grandmother. As soon as he entered the chambers, he saw his grandmother leaning against the wall in tears as his sister wore the look of shame.
"You idiot girl! After all he's done! You would still have his child?!" Kanna shouted, steadying herself against the wall.
Holding her small belly, "After all he's done, he couldn't kill my baby! Why would I give her up!"
"Her?!"
"Yes! I know it's a girl! I can feel it!"
Kanna was about to faint. She was so sick to her stomach when she walked in here and saw her granddaughter getting out of her bath. The girl was still pregnant. Hiding her condition due to fear of shame and fear of the child's father. What was she thinking?! If word got out, there was no telling what would happen. Rumors were one thing but actual proof of an affair. Live, breathing proof.
Seeing her grandson enter, Kanna felt relieved and went to cling to him. "Sokka, thank La, tell your sister she needs to get rid of that monster's child!"
"Gram gram," Sokka looked the elderly woman in the eyes as he held her shoulders. "The baby's survived this much, why get rid of it?"
In disbelief, "You want her to keep that bastard child?!"
"My child isn't a bastard!"
"Well, you're not married to its father! You won't ever be! He's as good as dead! I promise you that, Katara! Ozai is dead!"
Kanna went on to storm out the chambers swearing left and right. Sokka sighed and shook his head as he went over to his sister, who had sat down on her bedroom sofa. She held her hand over her face and whimpered. He took a seat beside her and placed his arm around her, showing her the affection she clearly needed.
"Word will get out if you don't do something quick, Katara," Sokka told her. "But whatever you do, I support you."
Sniffling, Katara nodded. "I have to hide them from not only those that will gossip but from its own father. Ozai will kill us."
Sokka assured his sister that she would be safe because neither he nor their grandmother would allow it. He decided not to mention how their grandmother put a hit out on Ozai. It was better she not know any of them had anything to do with it. Apparently, Fire Lord Azulon asked Kokasho to have Ozai killed and their grandmother was more than happy to oblige but wanted Kokasho here instead.
When Sokka got ready to leave, he kissed his sister's forehead and told her to take care of herself. He returned to his wife and father-in-law to prepare their departure. Yue took his arm in hers and kissed his cheek.
"Ready to return to our son?" Yue beamed at him.
Nodding his head, "I am."
Yue could see something was weighing heavily on her husband's mind. "What's wrong, Sokka?"
"Katara didn't lose the baby." He whispered as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
The woman gazed up at her husband in deep concern as her father shook his head and walked ahead of them.
"Everyone will know." Yue pointed out.
"I know but everything she endured to keep it safe, I can't see her not going through with it. I just hope it doesn't get out who the father is." Sokka expressed his concern.
"Heavens forbid."
…..
It was decided that Kanna would oversee the duties of the Chieftainess while she and Kokasho headed south to deal with sudden 'issue' that took precedence over the capital's political matters. Of course, that was the official story. The real reason was so Katara could have the baby in secret and return without suspicion.
Kokasho placed their bags on the polar bear dogs while Katara road up beside him on hers. He eyed her as she seemed to want to ride out of the city, only switching to the sled once they knew no one was watching them, to avoid any suspicions. She was a few months pregnant and was having to hide her belly even more as they were prying eyes everywhere until they reached the foothills. Once out of view, Katara climbed off her mount and made her way to the sled.
The voyage was not as long as she remembered it last but Kokasho was able to navigate the storms guarded the outskirts with ease. When they arrived, Kokasho was comforted by his mother who could immediately since the chieftainess was with child. She evil-eyed her son.
"She needs to have this baby in secret. The father tried to kill her and it." Kokasho explained.
Hama looked over at the Chieftainess and scoffed. "I could have told you that the fire bastard was no good. He looked like bad news."
Katara averted her eyes from the woman and decided to say nothing as Kokasho told his mother to back off. He then led Katara to his hut and lit the fire pit while she settled in.
"I'll have to go skin some arctic foxes if you need a thicker quilt." Kokasho informed her just to make conversation. She had been incredibly quiet the last few days and he knew it had a lot to do with her grandmother being against the baby along with the constant reminder that Ozai would try to kill the baby if he ever discovered it's existence.
Sniffling as she made herself comfy on the edge of his fur bed, Katara pulled out of her sleeves the crown Ozai had given her and stared at it longingly.
"Maybe you could tag along. You'd enjoy a good hun-" Kokasho paused as he saw Katara holding the crown of the disgraced Fire Prince. He furrowed his brows and sighed, willing himself to be as understanding as possible while helping her get past the past. "You still think about him?"
Katara could only nod.
"Any good memories come to mind?" Kokasho asked her.
The waterbender looked up at him and was surprised he even would ask. Everyone else ridiculed her for keeping Ozai's crown but Kokasho never said anything whenever he caught her holding it. Even when they returned from the Fire Nation and her grandmother non stopped lecturing her about ever forgiving Ozai, Kokasho told her she would have the strength to never let what happened before happen again. It was his idea for her to come here so she could peacefully have her baby. She was thankful for his patience and willingness to understand her. She needed that.
To his question, she nodded. "When I was ten, Ozai had come to visit as always and was sleeping well past noon. I wanted him to wake up so he could play with me but he's a heavy sleeper at times and I spotted this crown on the nightstand,"
Kokasho listened to Katara explained how she put her hair in a topknot and went to her father, telling him she was going to marry Ozai. Her father laughed it off and Ozai eventually snatched the crown from her topknot. She told him she had always saw herself with him and having to face life with him no longer in it hurt.
"I know he's done something awful to me but I can't hate him." Katara said while staring at the crown and stroking it. "But I don't forgive him either."
Finding it worked better for her to figure things out for herself, Kokasho walked over and placed his hand on her head in an affectionate way. "And that's completely fine. No one can make you do or decide anything. You have to make sense of things yourself for it to be real."
Smiling up at him, "Thanks, Kokasho."
"No need." He smiles back. "Lay down and rest, I'm going to speak with my mother."
Katara nodded and took off her parka so she could get situated in the fur covered bed. She really did need to rest and calm her nerves. Being pregnant was a little frightening to her but she knew when she discovered that there was a baby inside her that she would not let anything happen to her. It only broke her heart more when Ozai reacted the way he did.
Tearing up at the thought, Katara squeezed her eyes shut and held her hand over her mouth as she cried quietly. Did he use her? Was everything just some fucked up ploy so he could use her for his own gratification? He was seeing Shira behind her back and he made her feel like she could never leave him. Like he owned her or something. Maybe it had to do with her mother. Maybe he was getting revenge on her mother by hurting her. Or maybe Ozai still actually hated her. Maybe he never really stopped seeing her as a child embodying her parents' betrayal.
But maybe, he did actually love her and he just didn't want another kid. Maybe he just wanted her to himself. Ozai did express that he never wanted to share her. He got really pissed off when she suggested it after finding out he was sleeping with Shira. If that was the case, either way, she couldn't be okay with that. She had to see him as an enemy. As someone who was against her in all ways. Whether it was the baby or some other motive, Ozai had no right. Those things he did to her had truly scarred her. Both physically and psychologically.
Remembering the way he ruthlessly beat her and did everything in his power to make sure she lost the baby, Katara was so afraid of him. She knew if she ever saw him again, she'd probably run in the opposite direction. His callous gold eyes, she could never get passed the way he stared indifferently at her when she begged him to stop.
Katara felt she was breaking her heart all over again. How could he have done that to her? There was nothing she wouldn't have done for him. She had even contemplated helping him become Fire Lord. She loved him. In more than one way. When her mother died, he filled that place for her in her heart. He wasn't the kindest or the most compassionate but he was there.
And it was this thought that made her realize how low a criteria she had for someone she had been in love with. She slowly lowered herself on her side and placed her hand on her round belly. Regardless of what Ozai did to her, the child that he had given her, she would love unconditionally. So, there would always be a part of him that she would always love, no matter what he did.
….
"And from this day forward, you shall be Fire Prince Zuko and inherit your father's domain along with taking up his responsibilities." Azulon proclaimed in front of the throne room full of ministers and officials. "Do you accept?"
"I do." Zuko answered.
Zuko was congratulated by a few ministers and officials for taking up his father's place after working diligently for months to repair his image. Many brought up how he was a breath of fresh air compared to his father. Some asked if the rumors were true. Some wondered if his mother would return to court. And others wanted to know if he was interested in courting their daughters.
The newly instated Fire Prince managed to slip away and return to the domain he spent all his life in. It was his first time back here since the incident that took place months ago. He carefully made his way in and looked around, feeling the old memories flood in. Some of them lodged themselves in his throat and caused him to pause in his steps as he choked on those harsh memories. His father's cruel treatment of his mother. The emotional and often physical absence of his father. His mother's sorrow. His sister's unsteadiness and his confusion in regards to whether he should seek his father's approval or tell him to go to hell. These feelings and memories amongst others were so overwhelming that he didn't know how he was going to be able to stay here. How could he?
Well, he did but with him being the only resident of this domain, Zuko reached out to his mother and sister. The two both declined. His mother simply couldn't bring herself to be in the palace and Azula was enjoying a less complicated life with her girlfriend, Ty Lee.
A few weeks later and Zuko was invited to a day party at noble's estate in the city. He attended and ran into Mai. Apparently, things didn't work out to with the nobleman she courted after their breakup. The two of them had gotten friendly with one another again and Zuko had invited her back a few times to the domain. But every morning after spending the night together, Mai would refuse his proposal for her to stay with him. It hurt him a little but he wasn't mad at her. She had her reasons and he could understand.
"I love you, Zuko. I really do." Mai said, cupping his face as they laid on their sides, staring into each other's eyes. "But your family, your father especially, scares me."
Frowning, "I can't really help that."
"I know." She said somberly as she dropped her gaze from his. "But I heard a rumor about your father and your childhood friend...is any of it true?"
Zuko swallowed hard, "Depends. What did you hear?"
Mai sighed and shook her head.
"My father is fucked up. I know. I saw what he did to her and I was the one that stood up to him in order to save her." Zuko sat up in back and ran his hands through his hair. "And now my mother is free from him and he's far far away fighting in a war he caused."
Mai sat up too and leaned her head against him, "Zuko, I'd love to move in here and I see a future with you. But unless your father dies and we all get proof he's dead, cause I know a lot of us are going to need to see a body before we can accept he's dead, I can't even think about agreeing to move in with you."
Zuko's face fell into his hands as he exhaled heavily.
"I'm sorry, Zuko."
Shaking his head, "It's fine. I understand."
His father wasn't even here and the bastard was still ruining his life.
The following day, Zuko was finishing up a report for his grandfather when the man himself came to visit him in his office.
"Heard your lady friend isn't interested in staying." Azulon commented as he approached his grandson's desk.
Nodding his head as he placed his quill down, "Yes, well, Mai is afraid of my father and won't agree unless he's dead."
That is underway as we speak. Azulon thought in amusement.
"But honest;y, I'm kind of sick of being looked at like my father is my problem." Zuko said angrily. "Screw that bastard! Am I going to be alone all because my father happened to be a psychopathic dick?!"
Azulon chuckled, "Zuko, there are plenty of available women out there. One being a pretty qualified candidate."
"Like who?"
Azulon turned around and clasped his hands behind his back. He went on to tell his grandson that Katara was currently buying the army as a way out of marriage into the family. However, he felt the war would make it too expensive and marriage would be her only option.
"You were made Fire Prince solely for this purpose. To bring her into the family."
Zuko eyed his grandfather in confusion.
"You won't be lonely for long, my dear grandson." Azulon assured him. "You'll have a young hot wife soon enough."
As his grandfather left, Zuko was speechless. He didn't know what his grandfather was up to but he knew his father and grandfather were very much alike. He needed to be careful but putting him with Katara after what happened before? How was that going to work?
Sure, Zuko wasn't mad at her for having an affair with his father. Everyone saw that coming a mile away. If it didn't happen, he'd be surprised. But his point was, while he held no offense against her for having an inappropriate relationship with his father, he didn't like the idea of going behind his father. Then there was Lu Ten that she may or may not have slept with but he figured that didn't happen based on what his cousin said about things between them. And Kokasho? Did she have a thing for Kokasho or was it just one sided? Zuko didn't know.
Honestly, if he had to marry her, he would but maybe he and Katara can discuss things first. Maybe she didn't want a physical relationship with the person she married. They could still be friends. But the part of marriage where the romance came in, he didn't really see that for him or Katara. To be fair, they both knew they'd end up in loveless marriages. So at least this was between friends.
Sighing, Zuko got back to his work and tried to bear through the loneliness he felt. If he and Katara did get married, it would put an end to his loneliness. Hopefully, she still saw him as her friend and didn't look at him like his father's son.
….
"Push! You and the child will die if you don't push!" Hama shouted at the Chieftainess.
Katara screamed as she tried her best to push but she was in excruciating pain. As sweat beaded down her face, she forced herself to bear through this gods' awful experience. She knew once she suffered a little more through this, she'd have her daughter in her arms and it would have all been worth it.
Kokasho paced back and forth as he stood outside the hut, watching a few women going back and forth with bowls of water and rags. From the bloody rags and water, he felt a bit nervous about how well Katara was doing. She was told she couldn't have children due to her injury but here she was doing the impossible. He heard one loud agonizing cry tear from Katara's throat that was soon followed by the cry of a baby.
In excitement and thrill, Kokasho entered the medical hut to see Katara and the baby. However, when he entered, he saw Katara passed out in the bed while several healers tried treating her. His mother approached him with the baby in her arms and eyed her son.
"She's weak and will need to be watch tentatively." She handed him the baby. "While we fix up her mother, keep her as warm as possible."
Kokasho took the baby in his arms and took a look at her. She was a small adorable baby. Chubby face, a thick black patch of hair on top of her head, and brown skin like their people. He felt relieved. Maybe they could get away with claiming he was the father. It was a possibility as long as she didn't bend fire. However, the little girl yawned, opening her eyes, and he saw they had another problem.
When Katara was conscious again and stabilized, she saw Kokasho holding the baby as he paced around the medical hut. He had the baby in warm fur and she smiled when he noticed she was awake.
Making his way to her with her daughter, Kokasho sat right beside her and handed the child to her. He watched Katara's heart melt as she brought the child into her arms.
"She's beautiful." Katara smiled as she looked up from the child to Kokasho. "She looks like our people."
Kokasho sighed as he looked at Katara, "She has her father's eyes."
The waterbender dropped her head to look over her daughter and soon the little girl's eyes opened. To her greatest fear, her daughter indeed had gold eyes.
"Did you ever sleep with Lu Ten?" Kokasho asked.
"No!" She said defensively. "I was only ever with Ozai. I never-"
"I only ask because claiming Lu Ten as the father would make this situation a lot easier for people to accept." Kokasho told her. "Ozai wasn't just married but his relationship to your family makes this look a lot worse."
Katara shook her head, "I will think on this topic another time. I just want to enjoy my daughter. She's so beautiful. I couldn't have asked for a better child." She smiled at her daughter.
"Of course. Forgive me." Kokasho replied.
"Nothing to forgive. You're only looking to help me maintain somewhat of a respectable image." Katara said as she looked to Kokasho fondly. "But you can't save me from being looked down on. I had a child out of wedlock. It doesn't matter who's the father. People will ridicule me nonetheless. But I have no shame. No shame in keeping my daughter."
Kokasho could tell Katara was genuinely happy. The first time in months he had seen her smile like this. It made him feel as if she had returned to her normal self. But he knew when they returned to the capital, they would face a new challenge.
….
Cutting down one of the Earth Kingdom foes that ran up at him swinging an elongated blade, Ozai was nearly attacked from the back but he was saved by his nephew. Shooting several more enemy troops with flaming arrows, Lu Ten jumped down to where his uncle was and unsheathed his sword. The two were back to back fighting off the enemy that attacked their fort. Everyone had gotten out for the most part but Lu Ten noticed that no one had tried warning his uncle.
The two fought their way out of the fort filled with the enemy and managed to make a break for it. They ran for as long as they could and found a cave covered by shrubs. Taking covering in cave, Lu Ten assessed himself to ensure he didn't have any wounds while his uncle found a spot to sit in.
"You could say 'thank you'." Lu Ten scoffed.
"Thank you for what?" Ozai asked impassively.
"For saving your ass! The whole camp was gonna leave you to die! But I came back to help!" He pointed out.
Rolling his eyes, "Thank you."
Seeing and hearing the insincerity of his uncle, Lu Ten was starting to regret saving the bastard. But what did he expect. A few months out here and his uncle was quieter and meaner than ever. He never spoke a word and when he did, it was typically some shit no one wanted to hear. However, it was all his fault. He fucked Katara and then tried to kill her when she was knocked up.
Eyeing his uncle from the other side of the cave they were hiding out in, "I got a question."
Ozai looked up from the blade he was sharpening, "What kind of question?"
"Did you ever love her, Katara? or did you only see Lady Kya?" Lu Ten asked.
Furrowing his brows at Lu Ten before dropping his gaze and continuing to sharpen his sword. "Katara and her mother look nothing alike, act nothing alike, are nothing alike."
"Doesn't answer the first question." Lu Ten smirked.
"I did...I do."
Lu Ten chuckled and shook his head. "Impossible. You love no one but yourself."
Ozai snorted. For anyone to think he loved himself, they had to be an idiot. He agreed with everyone that said he was an asshole and a piece of shit. There was nothing to love about him and he really didn't understand how anyone could.
"Well, if you loved her, why did you try to kill her?" Lu Ten asked.
"Didn't try to kill her!"
"Then what do you call hanging her on a meat hook in a hot ass storage house where you whipped her relentlessly?" His nephew narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.
Ozai narrowed his eyes back at him, "You've claimed to love her and beat her as well, don't judge me."
"She's sexy as all hell even with that fiery bitchy personality." Lu Ten chuckled. "Besides, she was my fiancé. I didn't want to end up like you and Aunt Ursa. You fuckers were miserable."
One good thing about this arrangement. Ozai really liked knowing he wasn't married any longer. Now, he didn't feel weighed down.
Lu Ten saw his uncle sit there lost in thought and sighed, "You've known her since she was a child, why would you hurt her if you 'love' her?"
Sheathing his blade, "I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"I don't know." Repeated as he tried understanding why he did what he did. "She was trying to end things so she could go fuck that giant bastard. My pride was hurt. After all the years of her obsessing over me, she just up and decided I wasn't good enough...that shit pissed me off!"
Seeing how angry his uncle looked all of a sudden, Lu Ten smirked. "Then you should have killed the giant."
Ozai realized his mistake was going after the wrong person. Katara could have still been his but he should have killed Kokasho. Kokasho was in the way. He and Katara were fine before that bastard showed up. Katara was putty in his hands and she would have eventually forgiven him for Shira. Besides, with a child, he'd have more control over her. She always looked up to him and having a child between them, she'd look to him even more. But Kokasho, he was in the way. Whispering in her ears. Plus, that bastard was working with Kanna to have him killed from his latest assassin told him. Kokasho, he should have went after Kokasho. That should have been his real target.
Seeing his uncle begin plotting in his head who to kill, Lu Ten wondered how he was going to deal with Katara after his uncle got himself killed. There was no way his uncle could beat Kokasho, a bloodbender, in a serious fight.
"Another question."
"Aren't you full of questions this evening?" Ozai rolled his eyes. "Ask away."
"You say you love her but I doubt she feels the same. What will you do?"
It didn't matter how she felt. By the time he finished things here and went to reconcile with her, she'd know better than to turn against him. Besides, he planned on killing Kokasho and Kanna would have her day with him as well. That old bitch always crossed lines. He hated that old hag when he was a kid and he hated her even more now. But once he killed those two, who would Katara have? No one. No one but him.
Katara was always a loner. With her being isolated from her peers, forced to focus solely on her future as an heiress, and losing her mother at a young age, she always looked for him to cling to. Since a little girl, Katara had always been fascinated by him and wanted his undivided attention. He could now give her that. He wasn't married anymore. As long as she was attentive to him, he would try to not concern himself with other women but that was completely reliant on her ability to keep him satisfied in all aspects of the relationship. And knowing how desperate she could be for his attention, he was sure she would try her damnedest to keep his focus.
"Doesn't matter what I do. I'll eventually get all that I want sooner or later."
Lu Ten could tell his uncle wasn't just referring to Katara.
As enough time passed, Ozai stood to his feet and Lu Ten followed his lead. As they exited the cave, the two looked around to ensure that no one was around before they proceeded to regroup with their division. However, as they were about to take off into the forest, Ozai felt a blade shove its way into his back and then shoved back in after it was pulled out. Dropping to his knees, the disgraced prince was stabbed several more times before collapsing. Ozai fell on his side and looked up to see Lu Ten holding his dagger.
"Bastard…" Ozai groaned in pain.
Lu Ten shrugged, "If it is any consolation, I'll let Katara know you love her. Of course, she won't have much to say when I rip her head from her body."
Coughing up blood that started to fill up in his mouth, Ozai glared dangerously at his nephew, "You had better kill me, boy! Or I'll kill you with my bare hands!"
"I think you're better off dying slowly and alone." Lu Ten wiped the blood off his dagger on his uncle's clothes. "Besides, grandfather and Katara's grandmother put a hit out on you. Whether you live or not, you'll run into the next person who wants you dead."
"You're not working with them?" Ozai bit out as he shivered from the loss of blood.
Lu Ten sheathed his dagger, "Oh no, I just want to get even for you and Katara fucking around behind my back. She'll get her day too."
As his vision began to slip, Ozai saw his nephew step over him and head off into the woods on his own. It was then that he knew he'd die. It was over and now, he'd have to face Kya in the afterlife. Agni, he knew she was going to re-kill him after witnessing his transgressions against her daughter. Then there was Hakoda. Now that he thought about it, his own daughter probably was ashamed. But then again, Ozai didn't believe in the afterlife and therefore feared no ridicule from his passed loved ones. For all he was concerned, they were dead and if there was any chance that did live again, they reincarnated into what should be children anywhere in the world. Therefore he gave no fucks.
Agni, I can't even die in peace. Ozai groaned at his racing thoughts. Kill me already.
…..
The throne room was silent as they were all speechless at what they saw. Only a select few were allowed to be present as Katara didn't want this out in the open. Kokasho and Kanna decided that it was safest for the first few years of Hina's life that she not be known outside of the Southern Water Tribe. It was safest this way. They didn't doubt for a moment that if word got out that those in the Fire Nation would be able to connect the dots. She needed her daughter safe from anyone that would do her any harm. She asked that only those that had been in the Fire Nation with her to be present.
One council member decided to take it upon themselves to ask the question they all wanted to know. "That child...she has gold eyes. Is her father-"
"Fire Nation descent? Yes."
"I was going to ask if she was the daughter of the disgraced Fire Prince Ozai?" He asked.
Before Katara could answer, Kanna stepped forward and spoke on her before.
"That lecherous bastard is indeed the father but your chieftainess could not rid herself of the child nor let anyone else do so. Even after the Fire Prince forced his way with her and tried to kill her with the baby, she refused to let her heiress die." Kanna stated.
This got a lot of people talking and Katara was not happy with the explanation but when she tried to correct her grandmother's statement about Ozai forcing himself on her, Kokasho shot her a look and shook his head. She sighed and decided to have a word with them after the meeting.
As the meeting proceeded Hina was crowned the heiress of the Southern Water Tribe and her identity and parentage was to be kept secret until she was thirteen. In the event that something befell Chieftainess Katara, Princess Hina would have a regent rule in her place until she is sixteen years of age. Katara signed off on the necessary documentation and placed her seal on it.
Once the meeting concluded, Katara took her daughter back to her chambers where Hiki and Nyla were waiting inside to watch over the princess while the Chieftainess dealt with another matter.
"What the hell was that out there?" Katara asked as she sat down on her lounge chair and looked between her grandmother and Kokasho.
Kanna eyed Katara with slanted eyes, "What I said happened for all anyone knows. Ozai has a cruel reputation. Besides, no one is going to believe you, an inexperienced young woman with no prior relationship, was in a willing affair with that monster! That way your reputation isn't completely ruined! I'm saving your tail after the mistakes you made! Who told you to spread your legs to tha-"
"Enough!" Kokasho hissed as he was so fed up with Kanna's crap. "What's happened has happened. Let's move forward. Please! For the sake of everyone's sanity!"
Kanna eyed Kokasho and yielded, "Fine. What do you suggest we do moving forward, Kokasho?"
Kokasho turned his gaze to Katara, "What do you think needs to be addressed now?"
Giving a small smile to Kokasho for gushing up to her grandmother and giving her control over the conversation again.
"We need to win the war, take care of our foes first and protect our people." Katara stated. "I want this war over in a year's time."
~A year later~
"Flood the region." Katara told the generals.
The men all eyed her in surprise.
"But the innocents, your majesty." One pointed out her original concern when this strategy was brought up to her.
Glaring at the man, "Their sovereign should have thought more about them instead of going to war with us."
In the year after having her daughter, everyone noticed how much more fierce she had become and finally took her role as Chieftainess seriously. She demanded obedience and wielded power like it wasn't the most heaviest thing to carry. She was flawless in her execution of authority. The chieftainess had one main objective and that was ending the war. Here and now.
Katara dismissed the meeting room and her grandmother approached her in the empty room.
"You carry motherhood and womanhood well even as you rule out subjects." Kanna said proudly. "That child has changed you for the better. You have something to protect."
The Chieftainess nodded as she came down off of her throne and made her way to her chambers. There, she saw Kokasho and her guards following her waddling one year old around the sitting room. She smiled as Kokasho looked up from Hina and let the guards continue following her.
Approaching Katara, Kokasho placed a kiss on her lips, her grandmother grinning in approval.
"How did the meeting go?" Kokasho asked.
Pulling her crown from her head, "They all seemed shocked that I finally told them to flood the region."
"Perhaps, because they didn't take you seriously when you stated you wanted this war over before Hina could walk."
Katara walked over to her daughter and picked her up, planting kisses all along her face. "Mommy's baby girl is walking and mommy is growing impatient." She cooed at her daughter, who giggled at her mother's voice. "Mommy might have to finish this war for them."
"Katara! You can't be serious!" Kanna shouted as she knew how her granddaughter was. The girl had always looked for trouble or a fight and a war was the perfect scenario for her.
Holding her daughter on her hip, "If I join the effort, we could be saving ourselves millions in yuans! Did you forget we're buying the Fire Nation's army?"
Kanna scoffed, "That literally the best deal you could work out with the Fire Lord?"
"Prefer I marry Lu Ten or better yet Azulon himself?"
"No!"
"Then stop worrying about how I got the damn army! You know what?! How about you stop trying to do my JOB! I'm chieftainess and what I say goes! I will not allow you to undermine me any further, grandmother!" Katara snapped.
Kanna and the others were speechless.
"If need be, I'll join the war effort and that will be my decision. No one else's. Got it?" Katara scowled at her grandmother.
Kanna sighed and averted her eyes, "Yes, your majesty." She said before taking her leave.
The chieftainess watched her grandmother out and handed Hina to Hiki.
"I hate that I had to speak to her that way." Katara began to lament.
Kokasho and Nyla scoffed.
"Someone needed to tell her. She more than oversteps at times." Nyla scoffed.
Kokasho snickered, "She means well but in the end, it's you that is Chieftainess. That should be respected by all."
Katara told herself she would apologize to her grandmother as soon as things calmed down a little. She did mean well but her grandmother had to learn to respect her authority.
…
Zuko had thought things had been miserable before when he lived under his father and things had definitely been miserable. But this was a different kind of miserable. Aside from the staff that maintained the domain, no one else lived here but him. He was lonely all the time. With all the work his grandfather gave him, he had no time for attending garden parties to meet other single highborn or even take a look at the ladies of the harem. How was he supposed to make this place less lonely when he had no one to help him with that?
Sighing, Zuko skipped a rock in the pond and sulked. He repeatedly asked Mai to reconsider their relationship but she made it clear that her father had always been frightening but due to what he did to the chieftainess, everyone kept a distance from him. Mai feared for her safety and so did her family. They were right to but Zuko was so annoyed that this was even a thing.
Deciding to see his mother in the city since he had the time and wanted to be out of the palace. Meeting her at a restaurant that she used to love going to when he was younger. Finding her on the outdoor patio with a glass of wine already ordered, Zuko saw his mother looked years younger and happier than ever. The divorce was just what the doctor prescribed. His father had made his mother so miserable in the two decades they had been together that she never looked so good in all the time he had known his mother.
"My love," she beamed up at him as she stood to hug him.
Embracing his mother, "You look good, mom."
Pulling apart to look her son over and frown a little, "And you look like you haven't gotten a wink of sleep."
"I haven't." Zuko chuckled as they both sat down at the table across from one another. "Grandfather has me working father's old position. He dresses it up as an honor by giving dad's title but I've seen father's records and what his duties were and there's no honor in it."
Ursa sighed as she drank her wine, "Your father was a miserable man. Your grandfather made him that way. Never forget that. You must never let it happen to you."
Zuko nodded. He wasn't anything like his father. What that bastard did made them all look like savages?
"So...you think you could come back to the palace and stay there with me now?" Zuko asked his mother.
Ursa shook her head.
"Why not?"
"Because they can scrub all the floorboards as hard as they like and recoat the wall paint all day but it'll never erase the suffering I endured there." Ursa's expression changed as she remembered how awful things she had to go through there. "Lady Kya loved your father, Zuko, and he loved her more than he loved anyone. But even she didn't want to stay there. Too much pain resides there."
Scoffing as he was brought a glass of wine by the waitress, "Father's doing."
"No." Ursa shook her head. "Your grandfather."
Zuko listened to his mother explain how his grandmother was raped repeatedly by his grandfather in front of his father. His father would watch his mother be beaten and tortured so much that he would have rather stayed in the Southern Water Tribe. When his mother died, Ozai was forced to return more permanently and Lady Kya came to be with him, keeping him company.
"But your grandfather did things to Kya too. I learned something even your father never figured out. Why Kya left him." She uttered before chugging her glass of wine.
"What did he do?" Zuko furrowed his brows.
Ursa eyed her son, "Don't you dare say a word to your water friends. They've been through enough."
"I won't."
"Sokka isn't your father's bastard." Ursa said.
Zuko was confused and tilted his head, "What?"
"Kya told me. She begged me never to tell Ozai and because she was a good friend of mine and this was her dying wish, I never said a word to your father. Your grandfather refused to let Kya be any more than a consort and Ozai begged him to let Kya be his wife. Azulon eventually agreed but Ozai didn't know what he had done. Your grandfather would have his way with Kya whenever your father was away. After your father and Lady Kya lost their daughter, Hina, Azulon cruelly impregnated her."
Zuko listened to how Lady Kya was so distraught that she tried taking her own life but his father wouldn't allow her. So, she left and never told him why. It was very apparent who his mother was calling the REAL villain here.
"If your father is a demon then your grandfather is the devil," Ursa told her son.
Taking in this information as he returned home, Zuko was approached by his grandfather on the way to his domain. He bowed his head in respect to his grandfather's authority.
"How's your mother doing, Zuko?" Azulon asked his grandson.
"She's the best I've seen her but she still drinks a bit too much wine." Zuko forced an awkward chuckle.
Smirking, "Dealing with that bastard father of yours will do that to anyone."
Yeah, well he wasn't just born that way, was he? Zuko thought in his head, after what his mother told him, he would never look at his grandfather the same way.
"Well, I've caught wind of some curious information in regards to our lovely Chieftainess. I need you to go to the South Pole and confirm if what I hear is true." Azulon instructed.
Tilting his head, "Confirm what to be true?"
"A child name Hina."
Zuko's eyes widened.
"I'm told she has your father's eyes. Confirm if that is true."
…..
Being left for dead was easy compared to this shit. Ozai sat in the corner of his cage, wrapped in a fur quilt these heathens allowed him to have and counted down the days until the spring months. That was when he would plan his escape. For the last few months, he had been in the 'care' of a group of Water Tribe soldiers. They found him and had his injuries healed. Everything seemed fine until one of the women recognized him and things turned south.
Ozai was beaten into the dirt by several of the tribesmen that heard what he did to the Chieftainess in the Fire Nation. They kicked him in his gut, pulled his hair, stomped him in his chest, and punched him repeatedly in the face. If this didn't make matters worse then what the women did to him would. They tied his wrists up and took advantage of him and humiliated him. One by one the women rode him and other things against his will. Sure, he wouldn't have mind fucking them but it was the way they went about it that felt humiliating. On top of all that being a daily endeavor, he was fed whatever these assholes didn't finish.
"Yes! You Fire devil!" One of the tribeswomen rode him as his wrists were tied above his head while his bare skin touched the cold metal cage floor.
Glaring at the woman above him, "You're going at it too aggressively, you bitch in heat!"
The woman looked down at him and grabbed his throat as she rode him harder. "How about you shut up, pretty boy, and let me do what I need to to get off?"
Scoffing, rolled his eyes and averted them. "I could get you off but just a different position."
The tribeswoman slowed down and eyed him. She bit her lip a little before thinking real hard about it. Ozai was then on his knees with his arms above his head, wrists tied to the top of the cage.
"Now, fuck me, you sick bastard!"
Fucking the woman was no problem. Being watched by the rest of the group was like he was some caged animal that served as their entertainment. Ozai angrily fucked the woman until she slowly fell forward with ass up and she spilt all around his cock.
"This sick fuck has Olga cumming more than you ever did." One tribesman said to another.
"Shut up!" The other tribesman snorted. "Bastard is lucky I don't go in that cage and make him cum like a bitch."
Come in here and I'll rip your throat out. Ozai already fought one of the men that preferred male company. He bashed the bitch of a man's head into the metal bars of the cage, knocked him out, and pissed on him. Not another man came in here.
Chuckling, "Calm down. I just think it's funny how all the women seem to like this guy. Hell, even the Chieftainess."
"Heard she's coming to the frontlines."
What? Ozai couldn't help but eavesdrop.
"Yeah, heard she wants the war to end soon. So she's taking it upon herself to come and aid us."
"Quite the chieftain we have."
Why put yourself in harm's way, you moron? Ozai thought to himself as he finished off the sex fiend. But then again, getting involved with me wasn't much different.
"What about that kid everyone's been talking about back home?"
Kid? Ozai turned his head at the three chatting amongst each other.
"There's a one year old tribal girl with gold eyes running around the inner sanctum of the palace. I think her name's Hina."
Hina? Ozai's eyes narrowed, you sneaky little b-
"Keep going! Don't stop!"
Going flaccid from what he just heard, "Your stench is making it difficult to keep it up."
"Bastard!" The woman got up and slapped him.
Unable to retaliate, Ozai glared at her and hissed. "When I get out of here, I'm killing you first, bitch!"
"I like to see you try!"
Left alone in his cage, Ozai sat cross legged and stared at the darkness of the thick heavy forest. You played me. I can't believe you've played me. A small chuckle dawned on him but it soon flattened. But to name it Hina...you're trying to wound me. He figured she thought naming her daughter after his dead one he had with her mother would stop him from ever hurting the girl if he found out about her. Well, he knew about her now and he had to say, he never really was against her having the baby. She just got on his last nerves and was trying to end things with him. However, since she was able to protect the baby from his cruel methods, he figured he still had a string that tethered him to Katara.
….
A/N:
Ozai is fucked up. Wonder what a year has done to Katara and Kokasho for him to kiss her. And poor Zuko!