Haru lay in bed with Aya, sated and panting out for breath. She chuckled, "I can almost hear you thinking. What is it?"
"Azula being back with Ty Lee and Mai wasn't in my plan."
She scoffed, "it should have been. She messes everything up. Just automatically assume she'll be here at the worst time."
"She hates us both."
Aya giggled. "You drank way too much that night."
"To be fair, we all did, including Azula. I just wish she had been blackout drunk."
Haru had a body type similar to that of Ozai. And just over a year ago, that realization disgusted him when he realized it was probably why a very drunk Azula was making eyes at him from across the room. Aya was tucked up against him snoring lightly. She couldn't hold her liquor well. He had her cradled against him when Azula approached.
She raked her eyes over his body and said, "I'm looking for a fuck –follow me." She turned and walked away, expecting him to follow –he didn't.
She stalked back to him on unsteady legs. "I said, followme."
And that was where his drunk self got him in trouble. He stood a bit unsteadily and pulled her flush to his body, and grabbed her ass. "I'd rather fuck a rotting corpse. It would be less disgusting. You couldn't please me a fraction as much as Aya does even if you tried really hard. Speaking of hard, my dick is so limp right now." The next day he fell out of favor with Ozai.
Aya asked, "why do you think gaining Zuko's favor will help us? I get that he's so much better than his father, but Ozai has the power, and Zuko is only in his favor for now."
"Part desperation and part reading the subtleties," Haru said. "I can't force myself to be what Ozai would need me to be to be a trusted ally. You'd despise me. My only hope long-term is Zuko on the Fire Lord's throne. He's changed too much to be exactly what his father wants. I don't trust it, and that's good. I think he's plotting something. And if I'm lucky and I live, and he is plotting, I want to prove useful to him. It gets us a better Fire Lord, and I demonstrate my loyalty. Our best path forward is one under his rule.
"I believe he loves Katara, and he wants to marry her. If so, he would have to make it legal to marry someone from the harem, and that means I could marry you. Zuko is our best hope in so many ways."
Aya teared up. "Marrying you would be my wildest dream come true. Even if I could only help you as your mistress, I would do anything for you."
"Protect Katara. She caused the change in him. She's what can give us everything. My mother wants an heir and is getting pushy. My family's honor is at stake. I need to marry you and get you with child, or I am going to have to marry and mate with someone I despise and let her carry my child. I feel dirty just thinking of being forced to touch another woman. You're all I ever wanted."
"Then I will do anything to protect Katara." And she would. She knew even if it meant her life; she didn't care. Haru would, but she wanted a Fire Lord that he could respect and who would value him. He gave her life meaning, and she would do anything to protect him.
She had friends in the harem. She wasn't a threat to anyone there. She was the constant mistress of a minor councilman. It meant she wasn't competing for attention with any of them. They let her have Haru since it kept her out of the way.
Her plan was to ask them to tell her anything Azula said, saying she wanted to find a way to get back into her good graces. She hoped that would get her all the dirt on anyone. That her friends assumed she wanted to pile on the hate against anyone who angered Azula.
Mai met Zuko in the hall when he finally exited his room. He rolled his eyes and asked, "have you been here since last night?"
She glared at him and ignored the question. "How dare you make a fool of me!"
"You could always convince my father to call off the betrothal."
She gave him a sharp look. "You love me! You just need to stop fucking that whore!"
He gave her a wicked smile. "Do you have any idea how fun she is? They train them well in the harem, but that doesn't surprise me. My father demands excellence. And as far as loving you, that emotion died the moment I got this scar on my face. Azula was thrilled this happened to me, and you stayed her devoted friend. How can you claim feelings for me when you went along with her when she was celebrating that night?"
"I… I didn't celebrate with her. I was just there..." she said, trailing off at the end.
"I lost everything that day, the fight, my honor, and my home! I was banished, and you did nothing. Love," he said, spitting out the word. "I don't love you; I don't even like you. So keep demanding I get rid of Katara. It makes the sex even better, knowing it pisses you off."
They heard chuckling from behind Zuko. He and Mai had been so engrossed in the argument they hadn't realized Katara was there. She walked over and pressed her body seductively up against Zuko. She turned her head and smirked at Mai and then said, "keep angering him. The sex we have when he's pissed off is wild."
"He's still my betrothed," Mai hissed at Katara.
She smiled back at Mai and said, "and when he has sex with you, and his eyes are closed, just know he's picturing me."
Mai pulled her knife to intimidate Katara, who just laughed in her face. Katara said, "you won't stab me. You won't risk pissing off Ozai; it would anger Azula." She then reached out quick as a flash and snatched the knife out of Mai's hand. Katara has spent long winter nights practicing with Sokka in the last few years. He was considering going and trying to join their father and his fighters, and he didn't want to leave her unprotected. Katara then said, "when you pull a knife, you better be ready to use it." She then stabbed Mai in the thigh, carefully avoiding any arteries. Once that was done, she turned and walked away.
Zuko quickly caught up to Katara, ignoring the bleeding and cursing Mai. "What was that?"
"Me fighting and winning. I told you I would," she snapped.
"Why are you angry at me?"
She sighed and shook her head, "sorry. I'm not. My anger isn't directed at you. She pulled a knife on me, and I'm furious."
"Where are you going?" Zuko asked. He was curious since she was taking long quick strides.
"Lunch. Your father will be eating right now, and I want to make sure my side of the story is the first one he hears. Mai will be busy getting stitches right now." Zuko nodded and escorted her to lunch.
When they sat, he noticed Haru was there, and he hoped that would be a help in all this. He had no idea how Katara would convince his father that it was okay that she stabbed his betrothed.
After a few bites of food, Katara sighed dramatically and said, "darn, I got her blood on me. At least the red will hide it a bit."
Zuko watched Haru blink a few times and ask, "who's blood?" He also noticed the whole room's attention was drawn to her at her statement.
"Mai's."
That really got Ozai's curiosity piqued. "Zuko, control your mistress!" He slammed his fist down on the table, and the dishes rattled. "How dare she?!"
Katara pretended that she took the rhetorical question as an actual one and answered him. "I dare because I was raised to believe that when a knife was pulled, it was bad luck if it didn't draw blood."
Ozai narrowed his eyes. "So you pulled a knife on her and stabbed her?!"
"No," she replied lightly and unperturbed by his tone. "She pulled a knife on me. I snatched it from her hand and sheathed it for her into her thigh. I made sure not to nic an artery."
Haru burst out laughing. "You managed to steal a knife out of Mai's own hand?!" That got everyone in the room laughing too.
Ozai looked at her skeptically, "that's truthfully what happened?"
"I was there, father; it's what happened," Zuko said.
Ozai smiled, "that's funny that the master knife wielder got stabbed with her own knife by a whore." He chuckled. "You have a habit of getting attacked in the halls."
Katara shrugged, "it just means I'm safer naked in Zuko's room. I can handle that."
One of the more brutal men spoke up. "And what's her punishment for stabbing Mai?"
Ozai scoffed, "you surprise me, Katashi. I would think you'd understand that if you pull a knife, you better mean to use it. Katara just reminded Mai of a fact that she seemed to forget."
Zuko was trying not to react strongly to his father's announcement. He couldn't believe she had gotten away with stabbing Mai. She didn't even fake an apology.
Five minutes later, when lunch was wrapping up, Azula stormed into the room with guards trailing her. She yelled, "arrest Katara!"
Ozai turned red-faced and screamed, "ignore her order!" The guards froze and turned as one and fled. They knew better than to be there when Ozai was angry.
He stood and glared at Azula. "How dare you order my men around!"
"She stabbed Mai! You need to punish her!" she screamed back. She was sure her loud announcement would draw gasps of horror from her father and his men. When they all started laughing, she was shocked.
"I know," Ozai replied. "Your weak friend managed to have her own knife snatched from her hand and stabbed in her thigh. I thought she was supposed to be good with knives."
"But… But Katara stabbed her," Azula said, confused why it didn't anger anyone.
"She understands a knife's purpose. Mai seemed to forget it and needed reminding, or did she intend to draw a knife on Katara and attack her unarmed? Is she weak or a coward?"
Azula grew pale and drew back a step. Katara noticed and didn't hide her smile. She knew she would make the next move; she was set up too perfectly. To Azula, she said, "you've lost control of your friend. Or did you ask her to threaten me?" And there it was, she was between a rock and a hard place. Admit to not having total control, or lie and say she asked Mai to threaten Katara –either would displease her father.
Ozai took the decision from her. "She can rest her wound on the ship, sail, and then you three can make your way to Ba Sing Se." He then turned from her and went back to finishing his meal.
Azula, understanding she had been rudely dismissed, left quickly to prepare to leave and prove herself to him.
Haru kissed Aya hard on the lip and pulled back, smiling. "Azula has plans to leave at first light. Katara got her tossed from the palace."
Aya looked up at him in shock. "What? That's wonderful! But how?"
He smiled at her and kissed her again. "Mai might not be big on emotion, but jealousy is hard for anyone to resist. She pulled a knife on Katara and threatened her. Somehow Katara managed to disarm her and stab Mai in the leg with her own blade. Do you have any idea how weak that made her look to Ozai?! The great Mai, pierced by a water tribe peasant." He laughed. "Ozai was impressed by Katara. And then Katara managed to turn it around and make Azula look like she didn't have control over her friends. It was brilliant!"
"Were you able to help?" She asked. Aya truly hoped he did. She knew how much he wanted to be an ally to Zuko.
"As much as I could. I did get them all laughing at Mai getting stabbed with her own knife."
"Good." She wrapped her arms around him and said, "she goes to the harem during the council meetings. I'll make sure I'm there too."
He nodded and closed his eyes; he loved being held by her. "My mother has someone in mind for me. It was in the last letter she sent."
"It's what it is," Aya said sadly.
"I had a thought about that. I told her my star is rising among the council and that Ozai is including me in more things. I told her to hold off because, in six months, I could make a better match." He then caressed her face. "I made a very good case to her why it would make more sense to wait."
"And your mother loves power. She'll eat that all up. You're brilliant, my love."
"I need you to be my wife. The moment you insisted that I had to bite you to get more notice… No woman could be more selfless than you are. I don't deserve you."
"I disagree. Just know I love you, and I will do anything for you."
He slid his hands down to her butt and squeezed. "Anything?" He said teasingly, she laughed, and then they made love.