Katara was getting oils rubbed into her body in the harem. The woman was an expert at taking out all of the knots in her muscles, and she sighed in pleasure. "Kei, you're a treasure."

She didn't see the blush since she was lying on her stomach, but she did hear the woman stammer, "th-thank y-you."

Katara looked over her shoulder at the woman, "are you nervous? Why?"

"You're the most powerful woman here! What you said, calling me a treasure, means a lot to me."

Katara lay back down, "I am the Mistress of the Prince. It just makes me outrank all the other mistresses."

The woman snorted. "Sorry. I don't mean to be rude. But, you're the most powerful woman in the palace, not just the harem. Fire Lord Ozai doesn't respect women. The only ones around him come from here. Yes, you're Prince Zuko's mistress, but you're also the only woman who has any kind of sway with him. You stabbed Mai, one of his daughter's best friends. Not only was he impressed, he all but threw his favorite child out of the palace over Mai, threatening you. And you helped him taunt Chief Hakoda." She blushed over how much she was talking. "I say too much."

"No, you don't talk too much. You're a huge help." Katara sat up and looked at the woman while she wrapped a towel around herself. "Kei, there is a wives' luncheon today, right? When is it?"

"In thirty-six minutes."

"Good, I need your help."

Kei nodded enthusiastically. She was thrilled to be helping Katara, and not only that, the woman knew her name! She couldn't wait to tell her mother.

"I assume you can come and go as you please from the harem."

"Yes."

"Wonderful. Please go and have the staff make food and set an extra place for me at the wives' luncheon. I assume they use place markers with everyone's names, so they know where to sit."

Kei was almost vibrating with excitement over how well she'd be able to help Katara. "My mother runs the luncheons here. They do; where would you like to be placed?"

"Marvelous! At the head of the table. I think it's time I see just how much power I have here."

"I-if I'm wrong-"

"Kei, do you really think you are?" Katara asked skeptically.

"No, but the wives… They…"

"I'm going to point out I'm not their worst nightmare. I'm not here to play games and take the easy way out. I am Prince Zuko's official mistress, and I would do anything to help him achieve his goals. Respect is one of them." Katara then stood. "Also, select two bodyguards that are free to escort me and hang around. I want physical proof that I'm protected."

Kei smiled, "the bigger, the better?"

"Exactly."

Kei then quickly left to go and do precisely what Katara had asked of her.

Katara dressed quickly and made her way from the harem. On the way to Zuko's room, she ran into Aya.

"I was just coming to hang out with you in the harem," Aya commented.

Katara smiled at her and gave her an exaggerated, funny look. "And I'm on my way to stir the pot. Wish me luck."

"Where are you going?"

"The wives' luncheon. It's time I met them."

Aya laughed, "want reinforcements? Or a witness that will lie and say you weren't responsible for what happened, when someone ends up stabbed with a butter knife, or maybe if someone is really nasty, a spoon?"

Katara laughed. "No, but thank you. I am sorry you'll miss out on the show, but I don't want them to think I need support. This is for a display of strength."

Katara quickly dressed, glad she smelled of expensive oils, ones many of the wives wouldn't even be able to afford but would recognize. She put on one of her best, most modest, day dresses. She then added the gold bangles that she didn't wear to the harem, not wanting to remove them in public when she was pampered. She then did her hair in a perfect Fire Nation style, but added a large exotic red flower behind one ear from one of the beautiful bouquets in the room. It was from the royal garden, and the women would easily know that since it was only grown there. She then did her makeup and quickly left the room.

Two huge, burly, and handsome guards were waiting for her outside of her room. One had a scar that ran across his right eye, and the other had one on his left cheek. Katara was very pleased with Kei.

Still, she paused and looked them over. "Any scars on your backs?"

"No." They both replied in unison.

"Good. You're always facing your enemy, then. You'll both do well. Follow me." She started walking. "This won't be an exciting job for either of you, but it's what it is. I want you to escort me to the wives' luncheon and stand inside the room looking intimidating while I make friends." One chuckled and stopped abruptly at that.

"Do feel free to speak. What's so funny?"

"This will be more entertaining than you think. I'm looking forward to this."

She smiled over her shoulder at him and said, "Well, I'll make sure to keep you for the interesting parts. I do anticipate being able to dismiss you at some point. Hopefully, before you resent being pulled into this. When I do, stay in the hall. I will want them seeing me escorted away. Even Fire Lord Ozai commented that I get attacked in the halls quite often."

They then got to the room for lunch, and a smiling female servant opened the door for her. Katara thanked her, and as she passed, the woman whispered, "Kei is my daughter."

She then heard, "surely not that, Katara," from inside the room.

Katara strode in with the guards following her. As they took position on the wall, she sat. "Is there another Katara in the Fire Palace?" she asked sweetly, looking at all the women.

She saw Kei's mother hovering in the door. "Do go ahead and serve lunch. The place settings are lovely." The woman bowed and went to do as she was told.

"What are you doing here?" Said one bold woman scowling. Since she didn't know names, she decided she needed a new way to keep track of them. "This is for wives, and you're… not one of us."

Katara kept a smile on her face. "Yes, but I'm Zuko's mistress. Which means I won't be sleeping with any of your husbands, and I was a virgin before he brought me to his bed, so it means I haven't slept with any of them in the past either."

She then paused as all the plates were set down in unison by a vast amount of servers, who then all exited the room.

"This looks delicious." Katara took a bite as the other began reluctantly eating. Once she swallowed, she said, "I'm not a threat to any of you. In fact, for those of you that have husbands who do make use of the harem, I'm assuming you're relieved. If they're having sex with the whores they aren't touching you. Surely that is a comfort when you lay down at night."

One woman, Katara had noted, that she had a pretty gold necklace on, held up her wine glass, and said, "I'll toast to that!" She then took a big sip. "That harem is my favorite part of this Palace. I gave him an heir and a spare, and now some other poor woman gets to have supremely unsatisfactory sex with him. And she has to pretend to like it! They get my appreciation." She then drained her glass, and a servant went to fill it quickly. Katara amended her distinction of the woman; she was now "the already drunk woman with the beautiful necklace."

Katara laughed and tried not to show how weird that whole speech was to her. She couldn't imagine bashing a man in public. She wasn't raised like that. Of course, the men in the water tribes weren't raised to have whores either. She had to admit, at least it was likely the guards weren't bored.

"It's still demeaning," a young woman said who had a beautiful heart-shaped face.

Another woman, older and wearing pearls, scoffed and said, "you were a fool, and you believe he loved you. You'll get over that soon enough."

Katara frowned; things were getting off track. She decided for honesty and hoped it wouldn't bite her in the ass later with Ozai. But she wanted to risk it. This was her first meeting with them, and it would stand out the most to them in the future because of that. She wanted them to remember her view on things when they would hear she would become Fire Lady. She hoped it would help her gain quicker acceptance and make Zuko's life easier.

She took a sip of her wine, and as she elegantly put her glass down, she said, "well, they could hardly refrain from a mistress and have any acceptance at all from Fire Lord Ozai. I know for a fact that some of the men bite their mistress, leaving heavy bruises, just to get his notice." She stretched her known truth, but she really did assume that was true. She had started paying attention to the number of bites and locations on the other women. She was satisfied when all the women looked at her in utter shock. Even the drunk one with the pretty necklace.

They all ate in silence for a while. It was uncomfortable, but Katara was thrilled. That boded well for her.

After a bit, she smiled and said, "yet, Zuko has the benefit of being Prince, and he doesn't have to do that to get his father's attention." She was informal as she dared be about the royal family. She wanted the women to notice she was different but not be disrespectful either. "Fire Lord Ozai was impressed with Zuko for getting me to submit to him. So he seems not to mind that his son doesn't… make full use of the harem. That really isn't part of Prince Zuko's proclivities." And there it was, the not-so-subtle hint that Zuko wasn't like his father and wouldn't only respect men that slept around. Along with the strong hint that many of their husbands probably had sex with women from the harem solely to stay in Ozai's favor.

She then switched tactics; she wanted to keep control of the conversation and keep them a bit off balance. And last time, she left things too open, "drunk chick with the pretty necklace," overshared. She didn't think it would help if any of them thought she was trying to make fools of them.

"And like I said, I'm not a threat-" before that, very woman could interrupt like she was obviously about to, Katara added in, "or a help to you," she said, looking at the woman significantly. "I'm with Prince Zuko, and only Prince Zuko and none of you are betrothed to him. So, how can I help you?"

"What?" was the response that came from many women.

She took a sip of her wine and said, "I didn't stutter." And for dramatic effect, she said, "guards, you may wait for me outside the doors." They left, and she liked that it showed they could talk to her without being reported on. "Now," she added. "Watch your words. I'm not asking for anything that could get you in trouble or me. I merely mean that there must be something you want that is reasonable that you can't achieve on your own."

"And you can achieve it?" the bold woman from the beginning asked.

"Well, it's why I asked for something that wouldn't cause a problem. I intend to prove myself to you."

"Why?" another asked.

"Power, I have it, and it's time I show that. You know that I'm Zuko's mistress, but you don't know I'm utterly devoted to him. I will serve him in ways he doesn't even ask of me, he doesn't know I'm here right now. But he will. I'm entirely his to command. I even turned my back on my own people for him. I'm not Fire Nation born, but I chose this nation as mine."

It was quiet for thirty seconds, and then a middle-aged distinguished-looking woman said, "A Ball, with the wives, well those that have wives. I guess mistresses too." She worked hard to maintain her composure in the end, but she did.

Katara smiled kindly at her. "Well, that would be going to Fire Lord Ozai for that. More challenging than I had hoped for, but a Ball it is." Dang, did she hope she could make that happen.

Lunch finished up twenty minutes later. She hadn't made friends, but she really didn't expect to, yet. She had to prove to the wives she was more powerful than they were, and then they would come to respect her. Friends came later.