Chapter 30: Chapter 30

Zuko

Nearly four days.

He had counted every second.

And with each passing second, he felt like his heart was going to shrivel up and die. With no word of her well-being, he couldn't be sure of her condition, and he missed her—needed her, practically more than he needed anyone. He loved her obviously, but he didn't know what he had until it was gone. Until she was gone. He missed her bright personality, her eternal optimism, the way she found good in nearly everyone. She changed him, and Zuko wondered, without Katara there, could he still be the man she had changed him into being?

He stood in the antechamber before the War Room; ready to make his grand entrance to the soldiers he would be sending to stop this rebellion led by Shin. He'd barely memorized the speech, only managing it with help from his mother, but he still wasn't confident in himself. Over the course of the two days, he and Lu Ten deployed peace-keeping forces to restore order to the towns and villages affected by crime. There was one problem. Taiyang had not been hit by an attack, and this puzzled him.

Were Shin's forces waiting for a Command from Zhao? And where was the bastard anyway? Had he gone into hiding? Was he snuggled up by Tiang's side when his father wasn't around? Did his father perhaps have something to do with this? He had so many questions, but he couldn't answer them all now. Now he had to save the Royal Family.

Those three words still haunted him.

杀王室

Wishing death upon the Royal Family.

Lu Ten did have a point. Who would dare?

Such words could cause mass panic in the city, especially among the nobility. He'd talked it over with his aunt and encouraged her to tell the people that the signs declaring this curse were actually just stylistic flyers for the End-of-Summer festival. He'd never been more thankful that the people couldn't read ancient. This festival just so happened to be on the same day as Katara's birthday. He wondered if they could go to it together, provided they got her back in time.

But his Aunt agreed and sent out soldiers to tear down the signs and steer anyone who asked too many questions in the wrong direction. That had also been the day she said that she was proud of him. She said he was showing signs of a leader. She said he'd be a great General for Lu Ten's army someday, and he wondered if that was the life for him.

But he knew on the inside that his Aunt silently resented him. Because, like all mothers who loved their children, she wanted Lu Ten to be the one that devised the plan to save the Royal Family. It would show that Lu Ten was fulfilling his role as the Crown Prince of the Nation. But so far, his plan was working, And Lu Ten…was fuming.

His mother startled him out of thoughts when she put a calming hand on his shoulder. He turned to her—when did he become taller than his mother? When did he have to look down into her eyes? Maybe this was a sign, of how much he'd changed and hadn't even noticed it.

"Are you nervous?" She asked. "You've always dreamed of this."

He nodded, removed her hand from his shoulder and clasped both of them tightly. She took his silence for something else and kissed him softly on the cheek. "We'll get her back Zuko. Katara's innocent. Whatever allegations are against her, they'll all be disproven one way or another."

"I know that." He says softly, but he still won't meet her eyes. The guilt weighing down on him is almost too much to bear. "But this should be Lu Ten's meeting, not mine. Lu Ten is the Crown Prince. It's only right that he—,"

She cut him off and he looked up startled when she did. "Don't you say that Zuko. Lu Ten may be the crown prince, but this is your plan. Thanks to you, the earliest villages that were under attack have been put at ease. It is only right that you finish the job and prove yourself a worthy member of this Family."

"Do you think that Lu Ten resents me?"

"Oh Zuko, I know you love your cousin, but hasn't there been a time where you have resented Lu Ten for his success? This is your time. Don't let your guilt guide you." She said reassuringly, patting him on the shoulder.

He brought her in for a hug, and as she wrapped her arms around his waist, and he felt like a small child again. "Can't you just use your magic mom powers and make everything okay?"

She kissed him on the cheek yet again, squeezing him tightly. "Oh, my dear Zuko, I truly wish I could. But I think that this is one time even mom powers won't work."

The door opened, and they separated, and Longshot peered into the room. "Your Highness, everyone is ready for you." Zuko looked at his mother and she nodded, and he led the way into the War Room.

This war room hadn't been used in a very long time. Gone was the long table with the map of the Four Nations, instead, a red carpet lined the walkway from the door to the dais. He walked down the aisle in the center of the room, surrounded on each side by 10 soldiers standing in perfect formation. Their commanding officer, Lieutenant Jee stood apart from them, but also perfect. Not a breath could be heard, not a hair or chink of armor out of place. They were the Fire Nation's elite. Only these men could be trusted to perform this task.

It was silent as he made his way up to the dais. Lu Ten occupied the position of the Fire Lord, with Song and Aunt Yun Xi on either side. As Zuko walked towards them, he saw the hardened glint of Lu Ten's golden eyes and Zuko wanted to turn tail and hide in his room. His suspicions were confirmed. Lu Ten did resent him. He was tempted to look back at his mother for reassurance, but all eyes were on him. He couldn't afford to look weak now.

He remained standing at the front of the room, while his mother walked past him, lightly brushing his arm with hers to let him know that she was there for him, that he still had her support, and that Katara was supporting him too, from wherever she was. His determination strengthened, because Katara was fighting, she had to be. He knew it. He knew that she wasn't taking her incarceration lying down, and that he needed to be strong like her if he was going to survive. Once his mother sat down on the other side of Song, he gritted his teeth.

All right. Here goes nothing.

"Soldiers!" He called them, and he expected some sort of acknowledgement, but they gave him nothing. Their eyes stared blankly ahead and Zuko wanted to fall into a hole and die. "The threat—that we face now is more prevalent than ever. Somehow, underneath your—our watchful eye, an enemy force has been allowed to multiply and grow strong."

He'd forgotten that he'd changed your to our, to not alienate them. If the soldiers thought that he shared some of the blame, they'd be more willing to fight. He was growing nervous again. He paused, trying to think of what to say next.

It was hard being in front of these expressionless faces. Couldn't they just take their masks off? He coughed slightly, trying to find his voice. He stammered over the words, talking too fast. "Guolu, Ranshao, Shandian, Liangdu. They were the h-hardest hit, and yet…t-they are now on the path to recovery—thanks to your efforts. But there is much still to be done. Much that only you can do."

He pictured Katara, the way her eyes would light up when she was passionate, the determined set of her mouth and forced himself to relax. He had to relax, or he would never finish this.

"These are your cities—your towns, your villages that are being plundered and looted. These are your family members being attacked, their hard-earned belongings stolen before your very eyes." He looked out at them, his voice was stronger, and he couldn't identify the reason why. "If the rebellion hasn't affected you directly, why wait until it does? Even if you live out in the countryside, would you wait until the rioting gets that far? It is better to stop this now, than to let the rebels take control over everything—and everyone we hold dear. If they succeed—which they won't—then all that will remain is chaos and anarchy."

He noticed some movement in the crowd of soldiers, hands tightening into fists, shoulders squaring—a few nods. Was he perhaps affecting them? He didn't know. It was only when Lieutenant Jee stepped forward that he knew that he was successful. He'd won over the coldest, most unfeeling men in the Fire Nation military. The ones who didn't give a second thought about killing, the ones who could be trusted—were loyal to the crown.

"What are your orders, Prince Zuko?" Lieutenant Jee said strongly. He bent at the knee, helmet off, greying hair shining in the light, fist firmly pointing downward, head bowed. "I will follow them without fail."

The others quickly followed suit. "We will carry out your orders without fail, Prince Zuko." They said in unison and Zuko couldn't help the boiling pride that threatened to burst inside of him. He actually did it.

"Well." He said stepping forward. "The first step is an ambush. We must ambush the traitors while they are en route to their next target which we believe is Taiyang." He noticed Lieutenant Jee grow nervous. "Does your family live in Taiyang, Lieutenant?" He asked kindly. He then looked around the room. "Do many of your families live in Taiyang or the Capital City?"

Lieutenant Jee nodded from his bow. "Yes, your highness, my wife and children. Most of our force hails from those two cities."

Zuko couldn't help it. He felt like a leader, like a commander, for the first time in his life, he felt like he was worth something. "Stand up, Lieutenant Jee. All of you." They did as they were told, and Lieutenant Jee looked at him with dark eyes. But Zuko's eyes were fierce and resolute.

"Then that gives us all the more reason to stop them, doesn't it?"

The Lieutenant nodded. He pumped a fist into the air. "All Hail Prince Zuko! All Hail the Royal Family! All Hail Prince Zuko! All Hail the Royal Family!"

The soldiers echoed the cry so loudly that it resonated off the walls and roared inside of Zuko's ears. Oh, how Katara would be proud of him if she were here. What's more, he did it by himself. He rallied a force on his own.

But Zuko didn't see Lu Ten leave the room. He didn't see Song follow behind him, and he didn't see the way his Aunt Yun Xi, the Fire Lady, stared daggers into the back of his head.

He felt it more than anything.

He felt their anger, their rage. Especially Lu Ten's. Anger from a firebender was lethal and could easily be felt, especially now that he could firebend again. He couldn't handle this guilt. What his mother said was wrong. He didn't want his cousin to be jealous of him. Zuko had to make it up to him somehow.

Once they'd quieted down, Zuko cleared his throat. "Alright. Crown Prince Lu Ten will be leading the attack tonight." Zuko was originally going to do it himself, but the louder the cheers became, the more anger he felt from the rest of his family. "All of you will be under his command."

But Lu Ten never heard it. He was long gone.

Lu Ten

It wasn't fair.

How could Zuko do this to him? After all they'd done together, looked out for each other, how could Zuko betray him? How Zuko could steal his glory, steal the crowning moment that had been entitled to him since birth?

He tore down the hallway at near breakneck speed, ignoring the painful way his legs burned and the strange looks he got from the passing servants. He just wanted to get away, to get away from the shame staining his crown. He wanted to rip the thing out of his hair and throw it where he could never see it again.

He didn't deserve it. Not with Zuko stealing the adoration of the army. Zuko had done the one thing that he'd never been able to. He'd won the support of the army's elite. Once word spread of Zuko's plan, the rest of the Fire Nation military would soon follow. Zuko had gotten the best on his side, the rest were only a matter of time.

He stopped when he got to the garden, and tried to empty his mind, but the only thing that he could think of was the rage he felt when Lieutenant Jee bowed down to his 17-year-old cousin. Those were supposed to be his soldiers. His adoration. His fame, fortune, and power that he was entitled to as the Crown Prince.

"Lu Ten!" Song's soft voice was behind him and gaining quickly. He stopped walking and turned to see her walking quickly towards him, still remaining graceful in her demeanor while the cloak of the Fire Nation Crown Princess flapping behind her. "Will you slow down? My legs aren't as long as yours." She stopped a few feet away from him, unsure whether to approach.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked her, voice coming out rough and strained, and she smiled softly at him.

"I couldn't bear to see you in pain. And I know that you're in pain, so please do not try and pretend that you're not hurting."

He closed the distance between them and intertwined his fingers with hers. He placed a kiss to her lips. "Only you understand me." She leaned against him as they started walking away from the Main Palace.

"You're not that difficult to understand Lu Ten." She says quietly. "Now why are you so upset?"

He frowns. "Because Zuko was right." Song looked at him confused. "When I became Crown Prince, I was twenty years old, already a man grown. I had lived most of my life in relative obscurity until my grandfather died and my father became Fire Lord. All of a sudden, I was thrust into this new position. Everyone was suddenly at my beck and call, fulfilling whatever wishes I had, whatever desires I had…I'm almost ashamed to admit the power went to my head a little."

"That's understandable." She agrees with him and he looks at her in surprise. "Do not misunderstand me. It is not right, but it is understandable. When my brother became Earth King, he let the power go to his head. He had his fill of women and wine until the parties stretched well into the morning. He grew out of it soon, though." She finished this sentence on a bitter note and he had to wonder just how much she knew. Maybe Song wasn't as innocent as she professed.

Lu Ten had the decency to blush. "I take it that you've heard about my less than pure lifestyle."

"I have." She said, stopping. She turned and looked him in the eye. "I may be a princess, but I'm no fool Lu Ten. I know that you're not pure, but I'm and I won't be discarded like some concubine. Please promise me."

He looked into her eyes and they were so brown, so warm, that he couldn't bear the thought of lying to her. She was his everything now, and although a small voice registered in the back of his head that he still very much cared for Yue, he pushed it aside. Yue was in the South Pole and very far away. With any luck, he'd never see her again. But Song was here, Song was now, and he couldn't let her down.

"Of course. I promise you. I won't cast you aside, Song." He said calmly, kissing her temple. He was lying through his teeth to her, but he couldn't—wouldn't lose her too, as well as his dignity. "I love you."

She squeezed his hand, but the guilt began to settle in his stomach. He needed to get rid of it. And fast.

"Now let me ask you a question," She said, as they strolled through the hallways of the Concubine's Quarters. How did they even get here? "Are you really angry at Zuko?"

"I'm not so much a fool to pretend Zuko's plan is better than anything else that I could have come up with." Lu Ten sighed. "For so long, being the Crown Prince has been such a huge part of my identity, but I was so wrapped up in my title, that I failed to understand it."

"What do you mean?"

"I did skip out on my training. Much like your brother, I preferred the company of wine and women to learning how to rule a country. But Zuko and Azula went to each one of those lessons. Heck, a lemur could probably rule the country better than I can right now." He was ashamed to say it. He thought back to how he treated his Tiang and Azula on the trip to the Southern Water Tribe. Maybe if he'd been more gracious, this never would have happened. "If I hadn't made such a big deal out of being the title that I was, I would be in there, instead of Zuko, having everyone praise my name as I saved our country."

"But Zuko has been obscure all of his life. I spoke with Princess Ursa, and you and Azula constantly shadowed him growing up. Everyone needs their moment to shine, Lu Ten." Song says softly. "You've shined all of your life. Perhaps it is time to let Zuko have his time in the sun."

"Perhaps your right." He murmured, letting go of her hand.

Somehow, they've wound up in front of her door, and he doesn't want to leave her just yet. He feels the guilt of lying to her, and he needs some way to chase it out of his system, and he best way to do that was…well…maybe Song would be up for it.

"Are you going to kiss me goodbye?" She asks him, pouting her lips innocently. Lu Ten chastises himself for it. He's barely kissed her and yet he was going to ask her to sleep with him? She's so innocent. So beautiful, so…unlike Yue.

No. Yue is gone, you idiot. Get that through your big head.

His lips press onto Song's with more force than necessary. He grabs her shoulders. Maybe if he kisses her long enough, he could see that Song was 100 times better than Yue, that Song was all he needed now. He kissed her long and hard, and her back found the wall outside her doorway. Her arms wound around his neck and she kissed him back, though her lips were tentative.

They're thinner than Yue's. He thought quickly, but then shut himself up.

Lu Ten is panting into her mouth, their kiss was over too soon, and Song pulled away, confusion lining her symmetrical face.

"I'm…confused." She said quietly. She still clung to him, arms still around him, so he guessed she wasn't as confused as she let on.

"Perhaps…I can enlighten you." He says softly, kissing her again. He gestures to her closed bedroom door. "Inside?"

Her eyes are full of uncertainty, but Lu Ten needs this. He needs to get rid of Yue, to get rid of his anger at Zuko, and focus on this girl who would spend the rest of her life with him. So he kisses her once more, hot, passionate, full of moving lips and gnashing teeth and at first Song doesn't respond. he wonders if he'll have to find a brothel in town when her lips start to move against his.

They separate. She looks at him, searching for love in his eyes. He gives it to her, not because it is what he legitimately feels, but instead because it's what she needs. Song needs to think that he loves her, and he will give it to her. But he knows that he's given his heart to another, and although he knows it isn't fair to her, this is the only solution he can come up with that satisfies him for now.

"After all," She pants and Lu Ten smirks. Good, She's winded too. "We are practically married right? It wouldn't be shameful if…we are to be married."

Lu Ten can feel a small bit of fire come back into him when she says that. "Song, the way I'll make you feel will be anything but shameful."

She smiles, kisses him then, and Lu Ten can barely get into the room fast enough before he's untying the belt at her waist.

Katara

There was no light in this room. Her cell was suspended off the ground and hot, like the inside of a volcano. Katara wriggled her wrists inside of the iron chains that kept her inside of the cage suspended above the metal floor. Dim torches lit up the room and were the only sources of light. She had no idea how much time had passed, or how long she had even been here. Just like Jin said, the days blurred into nights, and trying to figure out the passage of time was like trying to hold water in the palm of your hand. Useless and disappointing.

Every day, Ozai would come, yell at her and then when he didn't get the answer he wanted, he would have his guards drag her to another chamber where he'd try and beat the answers out of her.

She would have healed herself, mend her broken ligaments and tissue, get rid of her scars, and chase away the burns, but she had no water to use. Ozai never let her be infected, where the prospect of death was only hours if not days away, but he relished in her pain. If only she could bend her blood, to use the water in her own body to manipulate and speed the healing process.

Could I?

If she did, would there be consequences? Would she be dehydrated and die?

But she couldn't die. She was sure that Zuko would find some way to get her out. Or she would get herself out. One thing was for certain. She didn't plan to stay in this birdcage for very long.

But trying to move hurt so much. The lashes on her back stung from the whip Ozai used on her, and her arm was still bruised from where the guards manhandled her. She tried to move, feeling her own blood drip down her back, she wanted to knit herself back together—when the tingling started at the base of her spine is when she was interrupted

"Oh, Princess Katara, how are you this fine day?" The unmistakably charismatic voice of Prince Ozai called out to her, and she looked up to see his grinning face. She scowled, turning away. "The sun is beautiful outside. I wish you could see it." He cackled as he taunted her. This is how most of their conversations went.

She raised her head in defiance, the scowl remaining. Ozai stood before her, a sneer on his lips as his hands clasped behind his back in a relaxed way. Behind him, his chief torturer stood, whip in hand. Ozai never dealt out punishments himself.

No, he must always remain innocent and out of the picture.

"Prince Ozai." Her eyes narrowed. "What a pleasant surprise."

He laughed, much to her irritation. "It surprises me how much fire you have left in you. I thought I would have gotten rid of that by now."

"I'm stronger than I look." She bites back at him, and he smirks at her, his eyebrow raised.

He nodded and her eyes narrow further. She didn't trust him within an inch of her life. "That's good." He says quietly. He sneers. "Because I couldn't bear the humiliation if I had a daughter-in-law as worthless as the pathetic whelp that I call my son."

"Zuko isn't worthless!" She cries, lunging forward, but it turns into a whimper as the lashes on her back start to sting. Her arm hurts, throbbing where it is held up high above her head. Adding salt to her wound is only the fact that Ozai just laughs at her, cackling wickedly.

If he wasn't plotting her demise, she imagined that he looked something similar to an older Zuko. Ozai was handsome, in a psychopathic sort of way, and she could see the resemblance to both of his children, especially Zuko. They had the same angular face, sharp jaw and golden eyes. But the hard lines of his father were softened in his son. Softened due to age, but also due to those around them. Zuko was loved by his mother, had so much support around him, that he had turned out 10 times more kind, humble and sensitive than his father. Of course, he wasn't always like that.

When she was alone, trapped in the dark, she remembered how much she despised him when she saw him wearing Hahn's cloak. He'd infuriated her with his insensitivity, with nearly every word that came out of his mouth. Then all of that changed. Somewhere, along the journey of her and Zuko's relationship, that hatred had turned into tentative friendship, like…and then finally love. She was 15 years old, and although she'd loved before, Zuko was the first and only one who she'd give her life for. But as far as she knew, Zuko was fine. Zuko was alive. And that was all that mattered.

But up until now, she hadn't figured that Ozai was a major player in this continual battle for the Crown of the Fire Nation. She hadn't even considered him, merely believing that he was only interested in his role of Commander of the Armed Forces. She hadn't even stopped to realize that with Tiang as his concubine, they would have the same political agenda. Her fame and power rose and fell with Ozai's and she should have realized that when Tiang wanted power, she had to go through Ozai to get it.

And right now, with Katara locked away and who-knows-what happening outside of the palace, all the cards were in Ozai's hand.

She should have seen it before. He was behind all of this. Not Tiang.

"Where have you taken me?" She asked roughly, biting back another hiss of pain.

He tsked her and shook his head. "Always with the same questions." His voice took on a high pitch, mocking her. "Where am I? Why do you have me locked away? When can I see Zuko? Well let me tell you something my dear, you've been a very uncooperative prisoner. I won't—,"

"So, kill me then." She spat, interrupting him.

"Oh, but you're far more useful to me alive, than dead. For now, at least. I wouldn't risk a war with the Water Tribe for a mere hunch." He chuckled darkly, sending shivers racing down her spine. Suddenly, in this very hot room, she felt cold. And scared. His sinister smile held no traces of kindness behind it. "I just came to tell you that I have added another charge to your case. Adultery in the Third Degree."

"Adultery? But I never—," She pauses as her mind races over her actions in the past few weeks. Jet. Oh no. "Wait—," She said to him, but he cut her off.

"No. There is no more waiting. I won't wait for my throne any longer!" He snapped at her, eyes blazing much like Zuko's when he was angry. She knew that Zuko wouldn't be happy to hear of their shared characteristics.

"Let me guess, the punishment is death?" She deadpanned, sounding more like Mai than she wanted to. He had given her a thousand death threats every day, but none stuck.

His smile returns. "You're catching on quickly."

He opens his mouth to speak again, but the prison door bangs open with a loud clang, and she can catch a quick glimpse of outside before it quickly shuts again. She can see trees all around, very green, very forest-like and she can tell that she is nowhere near the Fire Nation Royal Prison. When they brought her in the first time, she'd been blindfolded and couldn't tell anything about her surroundings. She had wondered if that's how Toph felt sometimes, only she lacked the ability to earthbend.

"Prince Ozai, Prince Ozai!" A young man runs in, his voice slightly muffled by the mask he wore. "A message from the Palace!"

He holds in his hand a strip of parchment marked by the Royal Seal, though Katara can't make out the words on the page. He gives it to Ozai with a bow and a mumbled greeting. Ozai scans it quickly, leering at the words as though they could be potentially disastrous. But apparently, this paper held more good news than bad, for Ozai was grinning from ear to ear in genuine happiness.

He actually chortled, still sounding menacing, but something in that paper had elated him and Katara was itching to know what. Finally, he calmed himself and looked at Katara with bright eyes. "Oh, this is too good to be true. I'd anticipated that once Zuko knew you were arrested, he would force a trial quickly, but I could never have imagined that he would be this fast with it." He smirks at her. "Apparently, my son must love you more than even I could have thought possible."

"He does." Katara fires back. "But he certainly didn't get that from you. I doubt you have the capacity to love anything or anyone."

Ozai hums contently to himself. "Yes, I suppose you're right." He sighs. "My son has too much of his mother in him. A pity really. If he were half the man I am—,"

But there is a storm raging inside of Katara's mind and she wouldn't let anyone put down the ones she loved. "Zuko is twice the man you are!"

She nearly screams these words at him, but then she actually does scream when the Torturer holding the whip lashes out the accursed thing, striking her knees. She can feel them become inflamed and the muscles crying out in protest as she collapses to the ground.

"But there's always Azula." Katara hisses, trying to remain strong. But she is in so much pain, and her body aches all over. "You must love her at least."

"Azula has her uses, as do both of my children." Ozai sneers. "Fortunately, she is not weak. Though, Zuko is trying to prove his worth."

He turns from her, and proceeds to walk towards the exit, nodding to his guards to lower her cage. As she can hear the sound of the metal lever being pulled, and sees the ground becoming closer she asks him one more thing. Her voice is raw, broken and scarred, but she is still strong. She knows that Ozai can hear the strength in her voice and she knows that her strength in the face of pain frightens him just a little bit.

"Just one more question." She says and he pauses, his back still towards her. He cuts a look over her shoulder, nothing negative, merely inquisitive.

"Yes?" He asks.

"Why do you hate me?" She whispers softly although she knows he can hear her. "What did I ever do to you?"

He starts walking and for a moment, she believes he isn't going to answer. But he does answer, and his voice holds a bit of uncertainty though Ozai covers it well with his cold tone.

"I don't hate you."

Katara lets out a ragged breath, for that had not been the answer that she was expecting. What exactly she had been expecting, she couldn't say for sure.

"What?" Her question is barely audible, and his eyes narrow and he turns from her. His voice is dark when he speaks next, and that one glimpse of humanity that Prince Ozai had inadvertently shown her was gone in only a second.

"But you're in my way, Princess Katara of the Southern Water Tribe." He walks away from her, footsteps echoing on the metal floor. "And anything that is in my way—must be eliminated. Unless…I can use you."

Katara felt the crack of the whip on her knees this time, forcing her to pay attention to the Torturer. But she doesn't look at him. She only watched Prince Ozai disappear into the early morning, and the iron-clad door slam shut behind him.

For the first time, Prince Ozai didn't stay to hear her scream.

Yes, Lu Ten and Song sleep together.