The Last Airbender is not my creation, the people at the Nickelodeon Studios created it, but that will not stop me from making my own little episodes of excitement and romance.
The only thing I own is the plot on your screen. If you plan to take my ideas and put them into your own fanfic, claiming to be your own mind that thought them up, get a hobby. Plagiarism is wrong, don't do it!
After setting Luna in her crib for her afternoon nap, the Fire Lord walked towards his bedroom, wanting some peace from the world. His earlier attitude with the Avatar was beginning to catch up with him and small amounts of regret began biting at his mind. Maybe I shouldn't have been so tough with him, he considered and opened the door, finding Katara sitting on a chair beside the window. He smiled and closed the door behind him quietly.
Katara directed her gaze from the outside world to Zuko and frowned. "Where's Luna?"
Zuko's smile faded. "Sleeping." He hesitated between laying down or leaving for his study again. Deciding that he'd stay, he walked to the bed and stiffly laid upon the mattress. He glanced at Katara and sighed deeply when he saw her immediately look away. He closed his eyes and placed his hands over his abdomen.
The waterbender looked out into the garden as she continued to think about what Tai had said. If your hearts aches more with every word that leaves his lips, he's lying. If his eyes refuse to meet yours, he's lying. If your soul doesn't connect with his' at that moment, stop and start the conversation over, you're being too stubborn... She turned her head and contemplated her husband, who seemed deep in thought. Am I being too stubborn? she asked herself and observed his chest rise and fall with every breathe that he took.
The Fire Lord could feel his wife's gaze upon him but decided not to open his eyes to look at her. "I wish you didn't hate me," he blurted out randomly and kept his eyes closed. He agreed that it wasn't a great way to start a conversation, but the silence between the two of them was beginning to get insufferable.
Katara somewhat froze at the accusation before blinking in realization. "I don't hate you," she said remorsefully and went back to look at the garden outside her window.
"Right."
"I don't," she insisted and sighed when he didn't respond. She stood from her seat and sat down next to his body. She didn't really know what she was doing. Her actions seemed bold and out of place. Look at what has happened, that this closeness between us makes me feel uncomfortable, she thought miserably and looked at his hands. Oh, how she wanted to hold them and tell him that she loved him so. But all that left her dry lips were two cold unfeeling words that depended on everything and nothing at the same time: "Let's talk."
Zuko opened his golden eyes in surprise. "Talk?" he asked incredulously and sat up when he saw her nod. He swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat and allowed a small smile cover his face as he slid closer to his wife. "About what?" His heart had begun to beat faster with excitement. This was the first time in a month that she wanted to have a conversation with him.
"...About what happened between you and that maid," Katara answered, her voice shaky with nerves and fear.
"Oh," Zuko breathed disappointedly and straightened his posture on the bed. He glanced at the door for a moment before looking back at the waterbender's blue truthful eyes that, lately, held a lot of hurt emotions.
"I want to hear your side of the story."
He raised his eyebrow at the statement that left her lips. Where was this attitude one month ago when he was pleading for her to hear him out? He mentally scolded himself for sounding resentful towards Katara. I probably would've acted the same way if I caught her kissing some other man, he speculated before realizing that she was staring at him intently. "Where do you want me to begin?"
Is he stalling? she asked herself as she looked deep into his golden determined eyes. No, I'm just being paranoid. She shrugged mildly and glanced down at her fingers, which were tightly interlaced. "...In the beginning."
Zuko took a deep even breath and rubbed his temples, trying to remember everything that had happened.
...one month ago...
The teenage Fire Lord sat back against his chair, disappointed that his wife was determined to feed her craving for tea and had to leave him to do so. He shuddered when a familiar bad vibe washed over him. He closed his eyes and tried to pry the feeling out of him, not wanting to be an uncomfortable mood when Katara arrived.
A soft knock sounded in the room a few moments later, and thinking that it was Katara, Zuko stood from his place and opened the door. "Yes?" he asked, realizing that it was not his wife but a mere servant.
"Good day my Lord," the woman saluted and bowed down before her ruler. "I have an order from General Iroh."
Zuko raised his eyebrow at the maid and allowed her to enter. He stood in front of her and waited patiently for her to speak. Her green eyes seemed hesitant about something as she continued to shift them between his face and the book that was clasped tightly in her hands. "Well?"
Nothing. She stood just there, as if waiting for the right moment to act. Then, out of mere randomness she held the book out towards him and smiled. "The General wishes that you read this," she said tremulously and took a step closer.
The Fire Lord gently grabbed the book and lazily read the title: The Book of Mountains and Seas. He laughed softly and passed his hand over the cover of the old volume. "Tell the General that I read this book when I was ten." He placed the book on his desk, remembering the nights that he'd stay up to read the stories that were written on those pages.
The maid stood frozen in her place when she heard the faint sound of footsteps and voices. The Lady is coming! she yelled in her mind and got uncomfortably closer to the Fire Lord. Act quickly, before he starts to suspect something!
Zuko blinked at her actions and frowned disapprovingly. "Is there anything else?" he asked and felt sweat beginning to form on his forehead. He saw the maid's lips form a smirk. His entire body froze as he realized what she wanted to do, and although he wanted to push the insolent woman away, he couldn't. His brain had completely shut down, preventing him from doing anything but breathing and blinking. He felt the maid's lips press against his, before immediately hearing a gasp and the loud clanging of metal hitting marble.
As soon as the Fire Lord finished speaking, a overwhelming silence filled the room. He told her what had happened and got no response from her the entire time. There were no gasps or interrupting questions. She had listened to him intently, and observed his every hand gesture and flicker of the eye. And although he had felt extremely uncomfortable telling her about his encounter, he now felt relieved to know that she finally knew the truth. Though if she believed him was still up to question.
Katara sat there, not knowing what to do. She took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling, as if it had the answer to her question. Did he tell me the truth? It was no longer about if she believed him. She did. In her heart and mind, she believed every single word that had left his lips. Oh, but to know if he had told the truth!
A hurried knock interrupted the quiet of the room and Katara took this opportunity to stand from her place. She slowly opened the door after glancing at Zuko, who was still sitting on the bed giving her a small smile.
"My Lady!" Tai yelled and waved her hands above her head, signaling her urgency. "I have news about the Fire Lord."
"...News? About me? Do tell," Zuko said as he walked up from behind Katara. He crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow in expectation as he waited for the servant to continue.
Katara mindlessly pushed him away and allowed space for her friend to enter the room. "Come in Tai and have a seat," she said and offered her a chair. She walked past Zuko and waited for the young maid to enter, before signaling at him to close the door.
The Fire Lord eyed Tai suspiciously before taking a seat across from her. He leaned back against his seat and waited patiently for Katara to take her place before asking the maid anything. Seeing the Lady well-comforted on a chair beside him, he decided to speak. "So what news do you have about me?" Zuko asked, his tone a bit harsher than he intended. He shrugged it off, he was the Fire Lord after all.
The female servant swallowed visibly as she tried to think of a way to explain to the Fire Lord and Lady what she had witnessed. "I was going to come earlier but I was stuck in the kitchen doing chores," she began. "Anyways, I got here as soon as I could." Tai's eyes flickered between Katara and Zuko. "When I left your bedroom, I walked by Atar's room and I overheard a conversation that she was having with someone."
The waterbender looked over at her husband and frowned. Oh no, please don't say that you saw Zuko with her.
"I found out that the whole thing was planned. Atar and the person that she's working with want you out of the palace. So, they made a plan to make it seem like the Fire Lord was unfaithful to you. They probably thought that after seeing him betray you, you'd be disgusted with him and leave." Tai smiled shortly at the Fire Lord after noticing him mouth 'thank you' to the ceiling. "But that's not all, the person that's she's working with isn't satisfied. They want Atar to do more damage."
"H-how?" stammered Katara. …What?
"I don't know, but Atar doesn't want to do it. She's afraid that you'll condemn her for adultery. Apparently, she's going to be paid well to finish this 'job', if she's willing to go through with this."
Zuko passed a finger under his chin in wonderment. "The other person...do you know who they are?" he asked, directing the girl's attention away from Katara.
Tai closed her green eyes and shook her head in disappointment. "I'm sorry my Lord, I haven't worked in the palace long enough to recognize everyone's voice. I couldn't really tell you who it was…"
The Lady sighed. Although her heart was skipping in joy that her beloved husband did nothing wrong, her mind was racing with worried thoughts. Someone wants me gone. And it's probably the same person who threatened to kill Luna… "Could you tell if it was a man or a woman?" she asked softly and licked her lips.
The maid shifted her gaze between her mistress' gentle blue orbs and her Lord's fiery golden ones. It's funny how two different people can love each other so much. "I'm sorry, I couldn't."
August 16, 1516
I've finally created tension between Zuko and Katara, thanks to
some greedy pushover that I found in the palace. Getting the
stupid waterbender should be no problem. If everything continues
to go this smoothly, I'll reveal myself to them soon. Wait until you
hear what I have in mind for their child…
Murder.
Write back when you receive this message.
The figure rolled up the piece of parchment and smirked as they looked outside their window. "It's sad, how even an ocean away, I can still get back at you two…" They took a seat upon a hard wooden chair and laughed maliciously. "It's all about making connections with the right kind of people."
"…I'm sorry Zuko," Katara whispered shamefully as she walked down the long corridor towards the staff dormitories. Soon after Tai left the Royals bedroom, the couple decided that Atar's deceitful action would not go unpunished.
The Fire Lord gently grabbed his wife's hand and pulled her closer. "It's OK," he assured.
The waterbender sighed and stopped in her tracks, pulling Zuko to her. "No, it's not OK. I should've believed you. You're my husband. I'm your wife. I'm suppose to believe you!" She closed her eyes and slightly shook her head. "I failed you and I'm sorry."
"You didn't fail me Katara. I probably would've done the same thing if it was the other way around." Zuko lifted her soft delicate hand and kissed it lightly. "Don't worry about anything anymore. I'm going to fix everything. Just watch."
Katara smiled and began walking again. That made her feel better. She gripped his hand tighter and let out a quiet sigh of happiness. She had missed his touch so much and now she could enjoy every moment of it because he was innocent!
"We're here. Are you ready?" a soft voice asked, snapping the waterbender out of her silent moment of ecstasy.
The Lady looked up at the Fire Lord and nodded sternly, her entire face covered in seriousness. She felt his strong hand slip out of hers and an involuntary pout left her before she regained her business-like façade. Katara watched Zuko knock the wooden door twice before the entrance to the room opened, exposing the woman who had caused so much suffering with a signal kiss. A malicious kiss.
Atar froze to her spot when she saw her master and mistress standing before her with the most somber of faces. This wasn't good. Not good at all. She curtsied hesitantly and offered them both the brightest smile that she could conjure. "Good day my Lord and Lady."
Fire Lord scowled at her fake sweetness while the waterbender crossed her arms with an indignant expression upon her young face. How could this woman be so calm? The man's golden eyes were fired with hate as he continued to stare at the tramp standing before him. "Good day," he automatically choked out and felt his wife's gaze fall upon him momentarily.
"Atar…we need to talk," Katara stated coldly and observed the woman's face blanche. She took a small step aside and extended her arm, exposing the narrow path that she had created between Zuko and her. "Follow me."
The maid's heart skipped a beat. Yeah, this wasn't a good day…
A/N- The Book of Mountain and Seas is an ancient Chinese children's book created during the Han Dynasty. It's full of mythical and religious stories. I read a couple out of it. Very confusing, but whatever.
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