"Your boy is strong,"
Azula kept her eyes on the medic Ty-Lee hired. The medic pressed her belly one more time to check before she stepped back. The silk robes Azula wore were like water on her skin, and the toasty warmth of her old room calmed her.
"What is he?" Azula asked, after letting the new information sink in. She blinked at the medic's strange gaze.
"A non-bender."
When Azula caught the lie, she smiled. Over and over again - she listened to Ty-Lee's important advice as she thought of her son - you must play this game. The message had been so strong, that something in her blossomed the moment she found Katara. The little girl she had been crept up, eager and ready to take control.
What would the old Azula do?
Azula responded by telling Ty-Lee to blackmail Princess Illah the moment Ty-Lee told her everything. She had no time to shed any tears, no time to contemplate the life her mother must have lived - or the man who made her happy - all that rang through her mind, was skinning Princess Illah alive in the only way she knew how.
"Thank you," Azula said, "you may leave."
As the medic bowed, Azula kept her hands on her stomach and waited until the medic pulled the doors open. "If you tell anyone about my son's water bending - I will know who said it first."
The medic froze.
"The Southern Water Tribe know what their children are before they are conceived," Azula said. "I just need you to know I will know who said he is a waterbender- do you understand?"
"...of course, princess."
The medic bowed before she stepped out. Azula leaned back, resting her head against the pillows while her hands stayed below. Her back felt stiff and her neck ached.
Knock knock.
Azula kept her eyes closed, "I'm here."
She listened to the doors open and close. Ty-Lee's steps were distinct. Quiet, and light on their feet.
"Any news?" she asked.
"Cowered more easily than I expected," Ty-Lee responded.
Azula heard Ty-Lee stop once she got close enough for Azula to listen to her soft breathing. Azula peered her eyes open to face Ty-Lee's wide gray ones.
"You look like you are about to have him out any moment," Ty-Lee said with a frown, "Are you sure he will arrive during the Winter Solstice?"
Azula closed her eyes, thinking hard about the last and only time Gran Gran checked her. "His father is tall."
"I heard." Ty-Lee stopped, then snatched her gaze away to stare at her stomach, before she placed her well-manicured hands on it, roaming it right on the spot where her son's head would be. "Are you sure you are seven months along? I can feel his aura - it's too present for him to still be developing."
"We don't know when he was conceived," Azula sent her a bored look.
Ty-Lee scoffed. "Of course you wouldn't."
"I forgot to say this when I came," Azula said, waiting for Ty-Lee to look up. "You look like the women we used to pull pranks on."
There were times she felt Ty-Lee looked like she hadn't slept in days. Azula wondered if she did - how was she able to cope as the Phoenix Queen and how did she survive when Mai could not?
Ty-Lee returned a wide grin. "I'm supposed to look expensive, mother bear," she tilted her head, "and the gossipers of Capital City are right - you are Aunt Ursa's twin. You just have a little touch that makes you Azula - maybe it's your eyebrows."
"I don't see the resemblance."
Ty-Lee laughed. She sat on the edge of her bed, taking out a small scroll from her pockets.
"Yuatak received word that the Northern Water Tribe have been taking in a flood of refugees from the Earth Kingdom. Chief Arnook was able to get a messenger to smuggle this."
Azula took the letter. "How did you come into contact with him?"
Ty-Lee shook her head. "No. It's how he got into contact with me."
Azula stopped. News ran that Chief Arnook's wife was killed in the massacre, and she remembered the elder woman visiting her and Sokka on several occasions.
Yue, the chief's daughter, used to frequently take her out on walks anytime she arrived in the Water Tribe. Her visits including long days of heavy deliberation between the North and the South, and discussing Azula's purpose in a developing tribe were memories Azula used to get closer to the husband she started to fall in love with.
"I don't know the code it's in."
"Yuatak explained the Chief said you would know what it means."
Azula unrolled the scroll. She read carefully - over and over again until the voice behind the words became clear. It only took the first opening line for her to know that Chief Arnook did not write this.
The sun rises in the south.
The early morning did not arrive when Ozai woke up. He did not dress in his royal garb but listened to birds flutter out in the gardens as he ambled down to the arena. The sun started to peek when Ozai counted each henchman belonging to Zuko. They all bowed before him, but he could see the glint in their eyes and their rough attire. All still dressed in the same clothes they wore when he scheduled his secret meeting with Zuko.
Zuko's role in the massacre had not been planned. Ozai had eyes and ears everywhere in the world, and word reached him about a familiar criminal who terrorized the Lower Ring. The story, short and sweet - his spy told him the criminal looked too much like the son he banished and did not have Iroh beside him. When Ozai discovered that Zuko worked under a drug lord when Iroh died, and stayed with the man till he grew old enough to begin to forget who he was, he saw an opportunity.
He found Zuko in the Crystal Catacombs, an older and wretched reminder of the boy he forced out of the palace. Azula's change had been a disappointment to him - his son, however, confused him, even when he used him to gain the Earth Kingdom.
"Where is my son?" Ozai asked one of the guards.
"In the arena, your majesty."
Ozai found the arena a few minutes later - the same place where he forced Zuko into an Agni Kai, the very place where his daughter betrayed him. He opened the doors.
Zuko's back tensed, he seemed to be in the middle of a kata. Under the lit torches, his back sheened. Ozai read the marks etched on them, and looked back at the scarred side of Zuko's face, half-hidden by long black hair.
"I wanted us to take a morning walk," Ozai said. "Join me."
Zuko blinked, before nodding. They left the arena. Ozai walked at his own pace and noted that Zuko took his speed. He walked confidently without a shirt and smelled like his morning training. They reached the open corridors, that morphed into the pathway towards the gardens.
"I just received word today that the vessels overlooking the Southern Water Tribe have barely moved for the past six days," he said, not looking back as he stopped by the turtle duck pond. "A comrade visited these vessels and found the entire crew dead."
Zuko did not budge but yawned. "In addition to that, the Northern Water Tribe has steadily been receiving refugees from the attack you orchestrated in the Earth Kingdom. How do you intend to fix this situation?"
Zuko walked until he crouched near the pond, sitting on a rock. He took a few pebbles and started tossing the rocks inside the pond. "You asked me to kill King Kuei. I did. You told me to take Azula back - that has been done. I heard nothing about killing my sister's husband."
Ozai paused. "He is not her husband,"
"You made him her husband,"
The Phoenix King glared. "I'd watch my mouth if I were you."
Zuko did not respond but kept the same posture overlooking the turtle ducks. Before tossing the last rock, he rose.
"I was a prince," Zuko murmured, looking ahead. "But I'm a simple man now. I follow orders, that is all. It isn't my fault you weren't clear."
A baby turtle duck took the last hit. While Azula's tosses used to bruise the turtles, Zuko's throw killed the baby instantly. Zuko did not wait for Ozai to respond. He wiped his pants and left his father standing in the gardens, watching the blood pool in the pond.
Katara vomited in the yard.
Yuki rubbed her back, pulling her hair away from her face. "Oh dear, he wasted no time did he?"
Katara panted, keeping her eyes shut to the wave of nausea in her stomach. She cringed at the scent of her illness, and the fire lilies nearby. She ignored sharp eyes from servants staring her down - the worst were ones from her tribe, watching her as if she were a whore as if she asked for all of this.
"Don't worry," Yuki smiled. "I will find something to get rid of it.."
It did not seem to be working. Another wave hit. Katara hurled, ignoring the hooded glances from the guards who kept her from threading too far from the prison disguised as a bedchamber. They all knew what went on, they all probably knew the sound of her voice - that ranged from screaming to the soft moans she uttered when she started using Yuki's medicine.
"When?" she asked.
"Not too long. I should have something by tomorrow," Yuki said, "But this one may kill you too if you take too much."
"I want it."
Yuki paused. "Of course. I understand you, and I will get this for you."
Katara snatched her arm, "Please, don't forget. I will kill this thing inside me if it exists, with or without your help."
The servant's eyes glinted before she smiled. "Don't worry - this world is too terrible for that to happen. I will make sure you get rid of it."
Their low chatter fell when familiar steps forced Katara to stand. The look on Yuki's face told her everything she needed to know, but she stopped when someone else stepped into her view.
"Yuatak," Yuki said. "What brings you here?"
The blue-eyed Fire National sent Katara a strange look. She saw the Fire Nation in the woman, but parts of her home in her eyes. The younger woman cleared her throat and bowed to her.
"Lady Ty-Lee wants to see you." Katara kept staring at the other woman, who started to squirm and began to speak again. "I've asked the guards for permission, so he should not -"
"He does not own me," Katara asked, her chest burning with a strange dislike growing for the girl across from her. "Don't you ever compare me to what your mother must have been like."
Yuatak's face distorted in a pain that struck Katara, but Katara was too angry to soften the blow she sent the girl. Katara ignored the worried expression Yuki sent her.
"My apologies, princess," Yuatak said. "Is it alright if you follow me-"
"I need a bath first."
Yuki stepped up. "Of course - could you wait for a moment, Yuatak?"
Yuatak paused, her gaze welling up, before nodding. "Of course."
The afternoon sun shone when Princess Katara walked alongside Yuatak through the corridors. Ty-Lee noticed Yuatak's sunken posture. She spotted Katara's tense body, under red silk while her wavy hair trailed down her back. Her skin, once dark and smooth, looked paler under the sun and her aura flickered but too on a whiter hue.
"Thank you, Yuatak," Ty-Lee said, "You may leave."
Yuatak bowed and she did the same to Katara, who did not budge. Yuatak seemed crushed and left Ty-Lee's chambers with her shoulders sloped down. Ty-Lee kept studying Katara. She took in whatever Azula told her about the woman she lived with for years - Katara's will spoke through the gaze she sent Ty-Lee.
"Unfortunately I could not bring Azula," she said, "you two are not allowed to see each other, under the condition that it happens under King Ozai. You understand, don't you?"
Katara blinked. "I am pregnant."
Ty-Lee stopped.
"Come sit down," Ty-Lee said. "I have this tea - I drink it every time I have to lay with his father."
At the mention, Katara finally calmed herself and sat. She waited as Ty-Lee prepped her cup and began to pour tear inside. Ty-Lee did not like thinking of the nights when she could not sleep in her room. She smelled Katara's sweet scent as the woman sat at the table.
"You and I both know that a lot is at stake. If you are gone, Azula would go insane. She is strong now, only because you are."
Katara did not speak but look away.
"It never gets easy over time," Ty-Lee said. "Sometimes it feels like you're going to war each time you have to do it...but I do it. I've done it for as long as I could remember."
Katara still did not speak, but she started to drink her tea. Ty-Lee spotted burned marks on her hand.
"Yuatak deserved none of what you may have shown her," she said, watching Katara's hands tremble. "She was a product of her father's crime - and she paid for it. I can take anything else you may say to me, but taking your frustration on the wrong person won't do you any good. Remember that your nephew will be like Yuatak as well."
"There is a difference, Queen Ty-Lee," Katara spoke. "My nephew's father was an honorable man, not an animal."
Ty-Lee tempered herself. Katara leaned back. "Do you know what he says to me each time he does it? What he whispers in my ear?" her eyes widened. "Everything. Filth, that's what comes out of his mouth. Do you know how difficult it is to not be able to fight back?"
"Princess Katara-"
"Stop!" Katara snapped. "This isn't a political game to me! I have to look at this beast in the eye and watch him do this to me and you lecture me about keeping cool? Don't underestimate me-"
"Your brother is not dead."
Katara froze. "What?"
Ty-Lee sipped her tea. "Your brother is up north."
The other woman's anger dwindled. She shrunk into herself, looking down. "Does he know? About me?"
The Fire Lady kept quiet and watched shame wash over Katara. "You are his sister, this won't tarnish your bond."
"My people listen to me with him in the room," Katara said, tears trailing down her cheeks. "The look they give me is enough for me to know...I'm no one right now. I'm nothing-"
"Forget your people," Ty-Lee said.
Katara paused before she wiped her tears. Ty-Lee could see, that she finally understood.
"If they were useful, it would have made a difference. They can't help you, so you should not care about your people right now. Your mission is not to let that animal kill you one day," Ty-Lee whispered.
She paused, before letting herself say the rest.
"Bend him to your will, like how you bent the waters and almost choked him to death. Do it with your body, turn him against my husband."
Katara stared at the queen.
"My husband wants you executed to show the people an example," Ty-Lee said. "But Prince Zuko doesn't - use that to your advantage."
"It doesn't mean anything," Katara said. "I'm just a toy he plays with-"
"Azula has told you about him, did she not?"
Katara quieted. "Yes."
"You know his story, do you not?"
The other woman paused. Her fiery gaze dimmed. "I do."
Ty-Lee nodded. "Your brother and his wife need you alive. I need you to make this work...I know you want to end it all and I did too. I know the rage, I know the feeling of wanting to kill him with your bare hands."
Ty-Lee leaned forward, controlling the tremor in her hands.
"I am you," Ty-Lee said, tightening her hold. "You are me. Azula and your brother have no idea what I am asking you to do, but this is the only way out for you and I. Regain your strength, use him, then you can kill him."
Katara did nothing but stare back. Ty-Lee believed she had the most beautiful face, round, pure - full of an aura flickering in white-hot anger. Katara tightened her hold back over their hands clasped together, before nodding slowly.
"I understand."
Sokka counted the ships docked nearby.
Refugees were easy to spot - they had an uneasy presence about them, and the more damaged they appeared, the more he worried about the safety of his family.
"You're a quiet one," a soft voice crept out.
Sokka turned to a short-haired woman. She stood, bundled in her coat with no servant beside her, so she wasn't a noble. He looked towards the docks. "Who are you?"
"Suki, of the Kyoshi Warriors," she said.
"What do you want?"
Suki frowned. "Chief Arnook wants you,"
Sokka ignored the quiet look the woman sent him as they walked to the meeting chambers.
The middle of the chambers filled up. A crowd of fighters and refugees stood in the area. What was left of the Kyoshi Warriors, including the woman he met - Suki. Fire Nation soldiers who fought only for Azula, were hidden in the shadows. Earth Kingdom officials and soldiers, all followers of King Kuei and battered from Zuko's takeover of the kingdom, stood near the chief. Their dead eyes were a testament to their fury over who took over Ba Sing Se. And him, one of three survivors from the Southern Water Tribe massacre. He could see Yue near her father.
"We may have another enemy in the midst," Arnook said, unrolling a scroll on the table. "And that enemy may be a greater foe than the Phoenix King."
Sokka knew instantly. Prince Zuko blinked up in his thoughts. The wild look he sent Sokka went they fought. He knew he should never have trusted him. Azula never sensed it, or perhaps, she could not have suspected it yet, but Sokka saw the look immediately when he met him. Now, this same man held his sister hostage.
"Shortly before the massacre, King Ozai managed to get a hold of his son, who happened to already have been a menace in the Lower Ring of the Earth Kingdom under the name Li. King Ozai had a spy track Prince Zuko down and scheduled a meeting with him.
"During this meeting, these two made a deal. Zuko kills King Kuei, gives his father the Earth Kingdom, lends the Fire Nation his men and strength, and regains his honor as Prince to the Fire Nation. However, an old accomplice of Prince Zuko revealed that the Zuko today would have no interest in being a prince of the Fire Nation."
Sokka frowned. "Why would he think that were true?"
"The first sign," a soldier from the crowd said. "King Ozai wanted to imprison Katara and schedule her execution. Prince Zuko refused."
"Second sign...Prince Zuko was scheduled to leave the Fire Nation as soon as he turned in Katara and Azula." Princess Yue spoke up. "But he has yet to leave and his henchmen have been scouting the palace and speaking to the criminals of Capital City."
"Third," Chief Arnook said "...one of our own found a tip that Prince Zuko talked with a notorious hitman in the Fire Colonies. We found a hit list. The names mentioned on the list are here."
Arnook started reading. "Princess Illah of the Fire Nation, Queen Ty-Lee, the possible illegitimate children of King Ozai if any exist, King Ozai, the heir of Chief Sokka,"
Sokka braced himself for the name that would come next.
"...and Princess Azula."
An Earth Kingdom official spoke up. "Prince Zuko is targeting the entire Fire Royal Family."
"And all rulers once he gets rid of his father," Arnook said. "This boy is a menace, it's not King Ozai we need to worry about. It's him."
"Katara not on the list," Sokka said. "What does he want with my sister?"
They all paused.
Arnook nodded. "For whatever reason it is, we must count on the fact that it is keeping her alive."
Sokka clenched his fists. An uncomfortable cloud hovered over them all. Everyone knew about Katara's situation - the spies in the Fire Nation were graphic about what was happening to his sister. He feared, the day Prince Zuko stole Katara would be the last time Sokka ever saw her.
"Your wife should have received the message now," Chief Arnook said later after the meeting ended, and they both retreated to Sokka's chambers. "You should get a response soon."
Sokka stared at the horizon through the balcony of his guest chambers. The burns on his body were dark pink patches, thanks to the several healers under Arnook's request.
"I told her not to write back in the letter," he said. "It's best if we don't communicate - we will talk when we see each other."
"The ships will be ready in a few days," Arnook said. "Your plan is risky, but it is a good one."
Sokka blinked. "Thank you for the kindness you've given me since I came here."
Arnook chuckled. "Your father lives on in you. I'm sure he'd be proud to have a sharp man as a son."
Knock knock.
Kiyi glared at the doors. She had been in her chambers since morning, did not shower or train. She kept staring at her door, waiting for her first task. Ty-Lee had her locked in her room and instructed the guards to not release her.
She listened to the intruder walk inside her room.
"Get up."
The younger sibling rose, getting out of bed. She watched the woman Ty-Lee called, her older sister, stare her down.
"You told Ty-Lee to blackmail me, didn't you?" Kiyi asked. "I will get revenge - I will kill you when I have the chance, you ungrateful bitch!"
Princess Azula tilted her head - Kiyi saw something savage in the way she looked at her. The elder sister leaned against her poster. "Did you expect me to be joyful when Ty-Lee told me my mother left a wonderful gift? I hope you didn't. But I will use you, until you're dried up and ready for my father to burn you whole in front of Capital City. You wouldn't want that, would you?"
Kiyi stepped back when the woman placed a hand over her stomach.
"Don't flatter yourself. You wouldn't handle who I used to be," Azula said. "Make yourself useful and follow me."
It did not take long before they traversed through the corridors, and saw General Zhao heading in their direction. The old fool stopped once he took in Azula before he bowed. "Princess Azula! It is good to finally see you safe and sound."
Kiyi watched the older woman's expression flicker.
"Move aside,"
The man froze. "My apologies.
When they passed him, Kiyi took a look behind her. General Zhao seethed, but he straightened himself and walked away.
The palanquin almost killed her. Kiyi could not remember the faces of the guards who carried them both, but the long hours she spent traveling with the princess made her squirm. She kept her eyes away, but Azula kept staring while she kept her hands over where her son would be.
Kiyi could smell the mountains when they arrived. Were they at the temple?
"Get out," Azula said.
"Why?"
A hand grabbed Kiyi's shoulder. Kiyi yelled when guards dragged her out. "What are you doing?!"
The Fire Temple loomed ahead. The very soldiers Kiyi commanded, tossed her around like a rag. They dragged her, let her stumble over the rocks as they accompanied Azula. Waters thrashed around the boulders. They kept dragging her until they threw her on the other side of the temple's entrance. Kiyi coughed, catching a glimpse of the priests going about their business. They did not give her a second thought.
A guard jammed her nose. Kiyi felt her nose heat up and could feel something cool drip down. She tried to shoot a fiery blow, the guards knocked her hand off while the other sent multiple light blows to different parts of her body. She fell limp, her entire body, paralyzed. They dragged her up by the arms. Princess Azula stepped up in front of her.
"I'm disappointed," she said. "When I was a little girl I used to look at each guard's face...every servant, every maid my father would keep in his bedroom. I did this because I wanted to be prepared the day someone may infiltrate the palace."
Kiyi shuddered.
"But I admit," Azula said. "I grew comfortable in the Water Tribe...I'm surprised you and my father did as well. Guess when they infiltrated the palace?"
Kiyi could not look into the guards' face, they stood above her. But she saw those standing behind Azula. All Fire Nation. But there were a few who could not pass as Fire Nation. It was so clear that they were foreign, that Kiyi wanted to kick herself for not spotting them!
Azula smirked. "Can't guess? Too hard for a rat like you?"
The younger sister trembled when Azula started to turn.
"Where are you going?" Kiyi yelled. "Why are you leaving me here?"
Azula tossed her a bored look. "I'm going to pray."
Katara heard him enter the room.
She found a bird chirping behind the window panels, it flew around. It looked so bright and happy riding near the skies, but it has been hovering near her window for the past hour.
This time, Prince Zuko broke nothing in the room. She listened to his low breathing. Katara felt the hum of Ty-Lee's drink sooth her. As promised, she bled immediately when she returned to the chambers, so much that she felt light-headed. She cleaned herself after and hid any evidence.
But she could see him watching her through the vanity, but she did not look away this time. He filled up two cups firewhiskey - one for him, and one for her. The lamplight defined his built figure and made his black hair gleam.
"The people tell me you are sick," he said.
"Food poisoning," she replied.
Zuko drank. "Food poisoning?"
Katara could see the bird fluttering around, erratically. She controlled her response. The bird flew away. Zuko rose, carrying the cup he filled for her. She took it without question and drank. She ignored the burning in her throat.
When she finished, he said, "You look nice."
It worked. Katara remembered Ty-Lee snatching out a pile of clothing for her to wear. Sleeping robes Ty-Lee instructed her to wear around him. "Thank you."
Zuko looked down, drinking his firewhiskey until he finished and put the cup next to her own on her vanity.
"I know you killed the baby," he murmured.
Katara froze. She jumped when something slammed against the window. Zuko's paused. She did not turn when he leaned over to open the window. She listened to weak chirping, looked up to find the bleeding bird in his hands.
"There is no one outside,"
Katara kept looking at the bird, bleeding in Zuko's hands. Why did it bleed? Why did it fly to the window? A drop of blood fell on the vanity.
Zuko threw the bird back out.
Something ticked in her mind. She remembered being a little girl, having her mother batch her by the fire and watching drops of water float in front of her eyes. She had no idea she did it, but she giggled so much at the floating drops that water started splashing out of her basin.
She stared from the drop of blood to Zuko when he walked away to wash his hands. Then she went back to the drop of blood and shifted.
Nothing.
She raised her hand towards it.
When she heard heavy steps she snatched her hand back. Zuko started undressing in the closet. Listening to the sounds of clothing falling on the floor, she watched the blood drop again.
Again.
She performed a basic kata, one a two-year-old could do, but when she made the small tug, she saw the blood drop start to lift. Katara's chest melted and let go. She closed her eyes and whispered a burial hymn, praying for the bird she accidentally killed.
She tested her hands. She moved her blood until her hands ached, she bent her blood down until her hands started to feel cold. She repeated for her limbs below - her leg went up without her moving, then it went down. She could control her limbs by bending her blood.
When Zuko came out, she already leaned against the four-poster bed.
Zuko blinked. "I won't kill you though...that servant girl you've been comfortable with, however, is dead."
Katara froze. "What?"
"Yuki," he said. "That's her name, right? The one who gave you the medicine to kill the baby?"
Katara panicked.
"...yes," she lied. "She gave me the medicine to help-"
"She could have given you anything else," he murmured. "Something to spike your blood up, make you more energetic...make you get your bending back."
Katara controlled her posture when he came up close and loop his hand against her waist.
"I have to take precautions," he said, letting his hand trace her hip. "I'm not concerned about the baby. I'm concerned about the fact that you took the medicine without me knowing. What else do I have to be concerned about?"
"Nothing."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," Katara said, feeling her heartbeat as his hand tightened over her hip.
Zuko stared longer.
"Good."
Hey everyone. Long story short - I've been trying to get a job as a developer and these whiteboard interviews were really tough for me. Even when I would pass, I never get a call. I stressed out a lot, coded often, but could never forget this story.
I really apologize for the long wait. Next chapters are going to be closer to the end so I'll do my best to keep updating.
