Chapter 56

A/N Sorry this is late. Uploading as I go makes for a more irregular schedule.

WARNING this chapter has non-con moments. Mostly mentioned but the opening scene is the lead up to. I stop the memory before anything goes too far but it definitely could be triggering. If you would like to skip the worst bit, scroll to the first page break. There is another non-con scene in the last two paragraphs, it is kind of important to the plot though so..

The last three months had been the worst of Ming's life. She had known that certain… distasteful things were possible when working in the palace, but never in her wildest dreams was it like this. When the Fire Lord had summoned her so late the night Sozin was born the other maids had given her pitying looks as she redressed. It was late and she had already been in her bed in the servants quarters when the summons came. Between the looks from her fellows, and the way the Fire Lord had been acting lately, Ming walked the dark halls filled with dread.

He was wearing nothing but a silk robe when she got to his rooms. Ming had never seen the Fire Lord look so casual. She had stood in the middle of his bedchamber, eyes downcast, as he rose from his seat to stalk toward her. A chill raced down her spine at the dark look in his eyes.

"Disrobe."

Eyes wide as she stared at the floor, Ming trembled where she stood. It was as she had feared, he had chosen her to take his wife's place in his bed.

"My, my Lord?"

Two callused fingers tipped her chin up until she met his eyes. His grin was vile and his voice was low as he enunciated slowly so she would be sure to understand.

"Disrobe."

Pulling back from her, Ozai watched hungrily as she began unfastening the ties on her dress. Her fingers shook worse with each knot, shame coiling hot in her gut. Once she was bare before him he circled her, running a hand up her backside as he went. When he stopped before her she could feel his breath on her face. Gripping her wrists, he roughly tore her hands away from her breasts. Ozai seemed to appraise her for a moment, rolling a nipple painfully between his fingers as he did so.

"You are untouched?"

Ming nodded, choking back a sob when she felt what she knew was his manhood forcefully prodding her stomach.

"Good."

His kiss was demanding as his lips and tongue roamed her chest before he dragged her to the bed. She tried to remember why she was there, why it was so important that she worked in the palace but anything she could think of was completely inadequate a reason to endure this. As her innocence was ripped away, Ming couldn't stop herself from crying and tried to focus on the coolness of the red silk against her cheek.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Afterward, Ming shook as she dressed and fled as fast as she could, ignoring the burning ache between her thighs. Back in the servants quarters, she was surprised to see her lamp lit and one of the older women waiting on her bed. Lu had been another one of the servants rehired after princess Azula was gone and had worked in the palace some ten years before that. That wretched night, she was sitting with her head bowed, only looking up when Ming sat beside her.

"Was he terribly rough with you?"

Tears poured from her eyes as she sobbed into her hands, but she shook her head after a moment's thought. Lu wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her until she could cry no more, the shame and humiliation and anger all threatening to consume her. Once her sobs had quieted what felt like hours later, she helped Ming to sit up and handed her a cup of tea. 'To keep his seed from taking root' she had said.

While she sipped the bitter drink, Lu talked to her, quietly so as not to wake anyone else.

"A year after I began working here, I too caught the Fire Lord's attention. It is a privilege of his station that we cannot refuse him anything lest he decide to execute us for treason." Her voice was soft but her tone was bitter as she shared the painful memories. "It was nearly a year before he grew bored of me and moved on to someone else." Ming's horror must have been evident on her face as Lu gave her an uncomfortable smile. "Do not worry Ming, there is a Fire Lady now. I am certain that once she is healed from childbirth the Fire Lord will have her in his bed again. It is painful but you will endure it."

"Must I? Why can't I just leave? There are other wealthy families who need servants."

"Ozai is vengeful and not sound of mind. It would not be surprising to me if your family would suffer were you to flee. Besides, in no other family's service would you be privy to the kind of information you have been sharing with those outside the palace still loyal to the prince."

Ming was terrified for a heartbeat that she had been found out. Lu's knowing look was not reassuring.

"Do not worry, I know your older brother and he shares things he hears when I see him. I only know it is you passing information because I pay attention. This new position you find yourself in may be beneficial to you. Ozai will call on you to serve him during the day instead of his lady wife as you have been. The better to ogle you and grope you when he can not take you as he'd like. When you pour tea during council meetings, listen. When you are bent over his desk in his private study, try to read the missives he leaves scattered beneath you. He thinks us weak and stupid, but he is wrong. Use your temporary position. Keep your eyes and ears open while he keeps you close."

Ming frowned at the intensity of the other woman's gaze. After a swift kiss to her temple, Lu left her to her thoughts. Lying in bed that night, she decided Lu was right. She didn't really have a choice but to endure the Fire Lord's whims, it would give her strength to use the situation to her advantage.

For the last 12 weeks Ming had done just that. Ozai's touch was painful and hated but knowing that as he used her, she was gleaning information for his enemies brought her a sick kind of pleasure. He had no idea his indiscretion was costing him so much. She only hoped she wouldn't have long to endure.

She had seen her brother once before he shipped out again a few days after her special service began. He knew right away something was wrong but Ming said nothing. If he knew the truth he would never have let her return to the palace. The second time Ozai had summoned her she asked him what would happen to her if she refused him. Lu had not been exaggerating. She was thankful the marks he had left were hidden by her clothes or she was certain her brother would have stormed the palace himself.

There had been little contact with her family since as she spent her scant personal time meeting with one of Lieutenant Jee's men in seedy locals. Most frequently, her news was of the much abused Fire Lady. It might not have seemed terribly important but Ming knew how much it angered the soldiers and their support would be needed when it came time to overthrow Ozai. Sometimes though she would overhear what the Fire Lord was scheming to unburden his people of even more coin. Just four weeks ago she had been able to send word ahead of palace guards who had been tasked with rounding up villagers from unimportant smaller islands to work on his new air fleet. By the time the guards arrived the villagers had fled to to colonies or bigger cities. That victory had made all of her suffering feel worth it, but then Ozai had taken his rage out on her body. She had not been able to sit the next day.

What she was doing today though, if she wasn't found out, could very well be the difference between success and failure. As the Fire Lord's preferred servant, she was given any missives to bring to him. Apparently the male servants thought he was less likely to hurt her if it was bad news since he was fucking her. Well, he never burned her. One of her friends in the palace laundry of all places had shown her how to steam the seals open and replace them in a way so that no one would know the difference.

That was how she learned the Fire Nation outposts in the Earth kingdom had seen large groups of people moving from Ba Sing Se, south west towards the coast. These groups appeared to be Earth kingdom, but the fact that they were headed away from the walled refuge city was suspicious. Ming knew, from her late night clandestine meetings with prince Zuko's agents that those groups were his forces, such as they were. If Fire Lord Ozai found out about this, he would likely try to ambush them before they reached their goal.

Missive tucked into her apron, Ming made her way to Ozai's private study. There were two options before her. The obvious answer would be to destroy it. Ozai would never see it and the banished prince's forces would hopefully continue on unmolested. However, the Fire Lord would know there had been a ship from the colonies and if she did not bring anything to him it would be highly suspect. There was also the issue of an expected reply. A thought struck her suddenly and without further thought she was headed in the opposite direction.

In the palace library she found a fresh sheet of official Fire Nation parchment just like the one she had tucked in her apron. Taking out the original, Ming carefully peeled the seal back. It was still soft since she'd only just opened it. Taking a brush, she did her best to copy the rushed, heavy strokes of the soldier. Rather than alerting the Fire Lord about the groups moving south west, Ming wrote of a small rebellion in the northernmost colonies. Already put down but worthy of note anyhow.

Once her false message was complete, she held the seal over a candle before pressing it gently to the new paper. Letting out a breath, Ming held the original over her candle. Evidence destroyed, she made for Ozai's study once more.

He was sitting at his desk, looking for all the world serene and thoughtful. Ming knew better. These days Fire Lord Ozai was nearly always three wrong words from fury. Lack of sleep and slow progress towards his goals made him more volatile than ever. She hoped her news would be well received, he was so much more violent when he took her if he was angry.

"As it is you that has sought me out, I assume you have something for me."

Ming gave a perfunctory bow and withdrew the message she had written.

"Yes my Lord. This was sent from the navy ship that docked this morning, it had just returned from the Earth kingdom."

Muscles tense as she watched him read it, she tried to mentally prepare herself for what would come next. Hopefully it would go the way she planned.

"Hmm. Not more ill tidings for once." She kept her eyes on the elaborate carpet and tried to appear as timid and anxious as she could, the sick bastard seemed to get off on her fear and she needed this to go just right. Through her lashes she could see him eyeing her, weighing the importance of his schedule against his desire to fuck her now that she had turned up on her own. Finally he tossed the parchment down onto his desk and grabbed her arm, pulling her flush against him.

"This hardly warrants a reply, but as you're already here…"

He tugged on her braid to expose her neck to him, licking her from clavicle to cheek before turning her and shoving her down against the desk. Absently she felt something sharp pressing into her stomach as he yanked up her skirts behind her. Bracing herself for the onslaught, Ming inched her arm towards his royal seal as he jostled her.

It was fast and brutal and it was all she could do to keep from crying out from the pain even as she focused on her goal. She needed his seal. The officer that had given her the original message was expecting a response. Forging the Fire Lord's hand and seal, sending false orders to his troops, it would be more than her virtue if she was discovered. So she grit her teeth and slid her hand along his desk with every bone rattling thrust, thanking Agni for voluminous sleeves.

A/N I'm sorry if that was hard to read. I felt it would have been disingenuous to gloss over what we already knew Ming was going through and I wanted to establish the enormity of her sacrifice and role as a spy.