Author's Disclaimer: I don't own a thing belonging to "Avatar: The Last Airbender!" Nada nada.
Author's notes: I fully apologize for the shortness of this chapter. May be a fast read. But not to worry; I have not run out of ideas. Drama commences next chapter so enjoy the break for now :P
Maraghoul: As always, thank you so much for helping me form the base for this story before I started writing it :P And you are right; rulers are generally blamed for times of famine or disasters. Zuko is up to his ears in troubles! I just hope Aang brings him a gift basket when he apologizes for his Avatar State Shenanigans :P
QueenTyzula: I know we discussed other imagery for snow aside from popping in a "Game of Thrones" episode, but here we are in a winter wonderland of dread ^_^ This story is also partly dedicated to your messages and jogging my mind to certain scenes. Thank you.
Harley Quinn Davidson: Thank you for the kind words! Enjoy.
CharlieBarrow: Full creds goes to Charlie for the nudge toward parental chi signatures on a child. This is mentioned in this chapter and will be further explored once Ty Lee's baby is born. Thanks again!
"Stoking the fire"
Chapter twenty-five "Winter's Beginning"
Azula growled. She walked through Lady Sachiko's snowy courtyard, ignoring the soldiers who bowed at her approach. Their retinue had stumbled back to the lady's manor, frozen through and covered with ice. Azula herself and her Kemurikage had been bundled inside, and into hot baths. Alcohol was pressed on everyone and the soldiers that had to camp in the courtyard had sturdier leather tents that blocked out the icy winds. Soon bonfires were erected in the courtyard and merry singing and laughter echoed from the tents as the soldiers wound down.
After her bath, new bedwarmers had been pressed on her. Despite the surging of blood to her shifted cock, Azula had dressed and made rounds through the resting soldiers. Many snapped to attention, but she knew the ones out of sight in the tents were enjoying each other's company, whether through song or sex or both.
"The winter won't last forever, Princess. We'll have you on the Fire throne yet," one of the soldiers slurred. He lifted a cup of sake to toast her. Azula's golden eyes flickered, and her face was still. She stalked past and back inside. The servants took her heavy cloak and gently brushed snowflakes off of her shoulders. Azula flung them off when they made to pat the snow from her hair.
"Get off me," she hissed. The servants backed up and kowtowed. Azula stalked past.
She found her Kemurikage in their own chamber, enjoying the fire in the hearth and trying to enjoy each other's company.
Zirin was in an overstuffed chair, sipping at sake. Her expression was oddly bleak. Azula stopped at her elbow.
"You look as downcast as the weather outside," Azula commented. Zirin flashed her princess a pained look.
"Winter wasn't due for another two months at least. This is highly abnormal, princess," she commented. Azula shrugged, but inwardly she couldn't help worrying it had been somehow caused by Zuko. Somehow!
"Tell me about it," Azula growled. "I take it you're all settled?"
San nodded and the other girls lifted glasses of sake in toast to their princess. "What about you, Princess? You need to rest."
'Or calm down,' Zirin thought.
"I'll find a way I'm sure," Azula drawled. She left the women to it and met Lady Sachiko outside. The bent woman took Azula's hand and led her to her own bedchamber.
"You can take my son's old room. It's the finest I can offer you," she said. Azula nodded, feeling fatigue and frustration tug at her mind. She blinked.
"And a bedwarmer?" she found herself asking. Sachiko laughed.
"You alphas always need a sheathe don't you? Sure. I'll send a girl," Sachiko smirked. Her milky white eyes twinkled in Azula's direction. Azula smiled.
"Always," she admitted. A servant girl entered the son's bedchamber with her. Azula cast over quick strategies in her head as the girl went about tidying the room. Some of the old-timers were downright superstitious…they could spread rumors that Zuko's bad reign had caused the drop into icy winter's embrace. Yes, that could help while they waited it out….
Azula turned and blasted a fire into the fireplace. The blue flames flickered, casting an eerie light around the room. She grabbed the girl's wrist when she sidled past with an armful of bedding and supplies. They dropped to the floor.
"Undress. It's been a trying day," Azula growled. The girl stared at her, doe eyes wide with longing as Azula's chi slammed against hers aggressively. Azula's eyes swept up and down the body before her and her cock gave a needy twitch against the lap of her trousers. She began removing her own garments, unlacing her trousers slowly. The girl's stare was appreciative as her cock was released. When she climbed on the bed, the girl's touches were annoying. Azula's mind was agitated and she wanted to fling the needy girl off of her.
She grit her teeth and closed her eyes. It galled Azula that it was Ty Lee she was thinking of when the girl bent her head over her cock, taking it into her mouth.
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Zuko waited opposite Ty Lee as the court healers assessed her huge belly. She was in the seventh month, and felt as ungainly as an otter-seal. She had to stop katas and forms, but kept up careful stretches with Zuko and Ying alone.
Ty Lee clasped the top of her robe to her breasts, but her belly was bare for the old men to dote over. One smiled, patting the roundness.
"The baby kicked. It's strong," he grinned. Zuko shared a look of silent pride with Ty Lee. Her heart fluttered with warmth for him despite herself.
Yes, its sire was definitely strong….but the way Zuko doted on her made her heart surge for him. He was trying so hard to make her happy…..
It could be the pregnancy hormones, but Ty Lee was awash in guilt and longing. She longed for her child's sire, to make things right and take the insanity from her eyes. But the rational side of her mind knew it couldn't be so. Not when she lay with Zuko and let him touch her, dote on her, make love to her….Her chi must smell of his through and through by now.
Azula would attack her as well as Zuko. Not even her love could stop that. Ty Lee started when one of the men pressed into her side a little too hard.
"Hey!" she protested. She snapped out with two stiff finger points and paralyzed his shoulder. The man's arm sagged to his side and he yelped in surprise and pain.
"My apologies, my lady, I was just assessing the little one's chi!" he cried. Zuko strode forward and tucked Ty Lee's robe around her.
"It's strong. That's all you need to know," he growled. The men bowed, acquiescing to the alpha's pride. He smiled at Ty Lee and despite herself, she gave a sly smile back. They had lain together that morning, all the more to mask her child's chi signature with Zuko's. There was so much they could due to cover up Azula's signature before the child was born, but it was enough so far.
"Yes, my lord."
Ty Lee slid her arms into the robe's sleeves and leaned back into Zuko's arms. "How are you?" she asked softly as the old men gathered up their tools. He gave a soft smile down to her.
"Wonderful. Making you happy makes me happy," he said. Ty Lee rubbed her cheek against his sleeve and sighed.
"You always make sure I'm well rested."
"And you take care of my needs even though you don't have to…."
"I wanted to," Ty Lee gave a careless shrug and arched back into him. She was pleased when he pressed into her from behind. "I may get tired easily but someone has to take care of you…."
"Thanks," Zuko gave a wince. Ty Lee turned in his arms and slung her arms around his waist. Her belly stood prominently between them.
"I mean it." She said. Zuko's eyes were too soft gazing down at her. Ty Lee's heart skipped a beat.
"Ty…."
They arched to kiss before Ying and Suki sidled in to follow the two to the concubine's apartments. Ice and snow swirled around the high windows of the corridors and Ty Lee marveled at the feet of snow piled out in the courtyards.
Palace servants, heavily bundled against the cold, shoveled the pathways.
Back inside their bedchamber, Ty Lee undressed Zuko slowly. He stood, smiling softly as her nimble fingers unfastened his tunic and worked on unlacing his trousers. His pants opened around his cock and Zuko turned Ty Lee's face up for a kiss.
"It's merely the afternoon," he teased. He was glad his council meetings had been earlier in the morning. Ty Lee was making it abundantly clear she wanted his attention.
Ty Lee's fingers grazed up and down the muscles along his sides. "I know…. Maybe it's the baby, but my body's on fire. I need you…"
'I love you,' echoed in Zuko's mind. He bit his lip, not wanting to spoil the moment or cause Ty Lee worry. She kissed him back eagerly and he purred into her mouth. "I do too…"
"How are you going to take me?" Ty Lee gave a coy smile and allowed Zuko to strip her robe. His hands gently cupped her round breasts. He bent his head and gently sucked her nipples to hardness. Her fingers twined through his hair, loosening his top knot. The motions hurt her breasts after a moment and she gave a small grunt of displeasure. Zuko hurried to comfort her.
"What do you want? Do you want me on top of you? Do you want to be on your knees?" Zuko gasped. His cock pushed out through the opening of his trousers and pressed against her hip. Ty Lee pressed against it and moved her lips along Zuko's throat. She ran her tongue over his mating bite and he gasped. His cock hardened against her.
"I want to be on top of you. Take care of me, Fire Lord," Ty Lee purred. She pressed her breasts into Zuko's chest, her belly pressing against him. His arms went low around her back and he began to rub her lower back.
Ty Lee murmured her appreciation and yelped when his hands went low and groped her ass. Zuko kicked off his trousers and they climbed onto the wide bed. Zuko spread his legs and leaned on his elbows, watching Ty Lee carefully crawl up. He sat up and helped guide her. With her pregnancy so far advanced, balancing was an obscene trial.
Ty Lee grasped his arms with a smile of thanks. She sat on his lap, his cock standing up between them. She ran her nails lightly through Zuko's loose hair and scratched his scalp lightly in passes. Zuko leaned back against the pillows propped up against the headboard and moaned. Just that felt too good. The sex would come but their closeness was more than enough sometimes.
Ty Lee leaned forward, her breasts pushed against Zuko's chest. Her belly stood out between them. Zuko's hands roamed her wider sides, and rubbed the swell of her belly. He leaned down and pressed kisses along Ty Lee's collar bone. Her arms slung around his neck.
Ty Lee didn't have to kneel up; Zuko supported her weight in his arms and pulled her against his erection. Ty Lee pressed against him; his cock was damp with her.
Zuko stared into Ty Lee's face as it shifted with pleasure as he carefully helped seat her onto his erection. Ty Lee gasped, fluttering around him, clenching down. He throbbed inside her. His hips shifted under her and drove upward in deep languid thrusts. Ty Lee grasped his neck and leaned for a kiss. Their tongues stroked eagerly.
"Hmm….." Zuko growled. Ty Lee's hand pressed against his chest, feeling his heart flutter. Mai's scratch marks had healed. "Ty…."
Ty Lee ground her hips against him, letting Zuko push her along. She gasped and moaned highly, riding him. Zuko's hands cradled her backside, pulling her onto him.
The ice and snow painted the window in sweeps of white. But inside, the Fire Lord and Ty Lee moved against each other, clinging to warmth.
They had the moment and in that moment, they had each other.
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Mai frowned. She and her Kyoshi Warriors had done another round that night, despite her growing exhaustion. Tsung stuck to her like glue, even offering her arm when she tired. Mai rested a hand on her belly. Azula's child gave her little rest, and why she was using what spare time she had to rest to listen in on the palace soldiers was beyond her.
But if they were planning something against Zuko, she had to know about it. Zuko had to know. "Their patrols sure are sporadic," Mai murmured to Tsung. She and Yoshiko nodded seriously. Mai knew they didn't mind the nightly forays. It had to beat sitting around her family's apartment.
"Are you certain you want to be out so late? The other warriors are working with Iroh," Tsung murmured. Mai ran a hand over her belly.
"There's something going on here. There hadn't been a soldier death in a few days. That tells me the soldiers left have to be under Azula's thumb," she suggested. It made sense. Tsung turned that over in her mind.
"And those soldiers need an eye kept on them. There are dissenters under the Fire Lord's very nose," she swore. Mai gave a shaky laugh as they walked through the shadows of the long corridor.
"No one ever said I didn't have loyalty to the crown," she said. It was half her crown too, being Zuko's wife, but there it was. Mai contemplated going to their old apartments to share her thoughts with her husband. She would even be civil when she told him. But a pass of the royal apartments showed no one on duty guarding the double doors.
Mai sighed. Tsung touched her elbow softly. "Just ask the Fire Lord for his time. He does care for you…."
Mai knew the woman was trying to be kind, but even the nice words hurt. She sighed, mind going to dark places. He was with Ty Lee. Of course. Mai cursed them both in her head. Why was she trying so hard to secure Zuko's hold on the throne?
The Fire Lady patted her rounder belly, mind and heart awhirl. She WOULD demand Zuko's time, first thing in the morning if she had to. He'd better enjoy his rutting while he could.
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Ty Lee woke in the middle of the night against Zuko's chest. His arm was draped over her waist and he was breathing heavily as he slept. She had been dreaming of Azula as she was wont to do. Her child was growing so much and put strains on her body. Zuko helped relax and rub the parts of her that hurt as she carried the energetic pup, and even though they were close she was still awash in guilt.
Where was Azula in all the ice and snow? Was she safe? Was she in a secure shelter? Ty Lee didn't want Azula to touch anyone else; selfish and hypocritical, considering her current attachment to Zuko. But suddenly she wished Azula would be warm, no matter how she got that warmth.
'Please, let someone warm my alpha tonight…' Ty Lee thought. The wish stabbed her heart and she wiped a tear from her eye. Zuko gave a sudden snore, fingers twitching. Ty Lee laid her hand over his and rubbed it against her side. Zuko murmured in his sleep. Ty Lee blinked and leaned close. She brushed her lips over his. He sighed in his sleep.
'You're only kissing him because he's near. You're only touching him because Azula hates you…..' Ty Lee's mind argued. Her fingers splayed along Zuko's belly as she watched him sleep. She frowned to herself. No, she did care for him…she had grown to care so much what happened to him. As crazy as he had upended her decisions, she still wanted his happiness.
'And that happiness will come with Mai, not you,' her mind argued further. Ty Lee leaned against a few pillows and rested her arms on her belly. 'But Azula hates me…..'
If this was her last chance for affection before she actually landed on any crazy ideas, Ty Lee would take it. She was deeply troubled though. The atmosphere around the palace was as equally chilled as the weather outside. Her child was due in the dead of winter, but even with the early snow, Ty Lee had a feeling the population would rejoice in the pup's birth.
She had to take care of her child and ensure it was healthy.
But afterwards…after the pup was born….what then? Stay on as Zuko's side woman, sleep with him when Mai didn't demand him? She wanted to help raise her child, and that would have to be at Zuko's side. But what of its true sire? What if Azula came back? And it was foolhardy to hope she wouldn't.
'Maybe I could stop her…..' Ty Lee bit her lip. 'Yes….after the pup is born….'
But she didn't want to leave her current position of warmth. Zuko was passionate and endearing to her; and she hadn't even glimpsed her child's face yet. She wanted to stay.
But she knew another option had to be viable.
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Azula grunted and leaned her head back on the pillows. The stupid servant had slid onto her cock and was riding her in slow short thrusts. It would have served to turn anyone on, but it was hard to remain, well, hard. Azula was getting more and more irritated at the stupid girl's annoying high gasps that sounded more fake as the moments went on. Azula sat up, her cock shifting up further into the girl. She gasped, and clasped her legs around Azula's waist. Azula roughly yanked the girl off of her; she shoved her across the mattress.
The girl half fell off the bed, upper torso falling off. She gasped in surprise. "Ow," she murmured to herself.
Azula couldn't find it in herself to be sorry. She flung the sheets over her waist, feeling her cock shift back down and away. "Get out of here," she ordered. The girl scrambled off the bed and for her clothes. She gave a clumsy bow as she tried to dress and leave all at once.
Azula regarded her with slit eyes, waiting for the door to open and close. Finally, the girl was gone and she flung the pillows off the bed. She flopped on her back, sighing with frustration. She was in for a couple of months of down time. Well, she was going to drill the soldiers. Even if it was snowing, they could practice firebending.
As she watched the shadows flick up the stone walls from the blue fire in the fireplace, Azula was displeased that her thoughts circled back to the woman she couldn't have. Ty Lee had left HER. She shouldn't be concerned with her. But Azula rolled on her stomach and hugged the pillow under her. Was Ty Lee happy with her decision? She bet Zuzu was taking every opportunity to fuck her.
Azula felt a headache coming on. She groaned and rolled on her back. She scraped her palms across her eyes, hissing steam. Well, she'd had her fun with Mai in return. Azula was somewhat pleased yet troubled that the news would have reached Ty Lee by now. She would have been hurt, she would have cried she bet.
"She deserves to cry….." Azula muttered under her breath. She knew the action would have hurt her once lover, but still, she was troubled that it did. And she was going to have Zuzu's pup soon… right before the new year? She wondered if Ty Lee was happy about it. More than likely she was decorating a room with pink accessories. That would so be like her to do.
"Whatever she's doing….she's safe," Azula muttered. She wondered if they pushed into the palace and took it over what she would do. Would she give herself up? Surrender? Or fight her? The muscles along Azula's back tensed on reflex as she remembered the harsh strikes Ty Lee had struck on Boiling Rock. And when she was on top of her, inside of her during that treacherous heat….
"She could have said she didn't want to be bitten!" Azula growled. Instead, she had been paralyzed and her orgasms had been sucked right out of her. And more than likely, she was carrying a bite mark from Zuzu now. It wasn't fair. He already was mated to his wife. But now to his concubine…..
"Dammit!" Azula yelled. She flung the pillow clear across the room in a childish fit and flung herself on her back. Well, when she took back the palace, what she would do with Ty Lee would depend on her temperance. She would take what she wanted. If Ty Lee resisted, well…. Death was always an option.
Azula's heart sank despite herself at the thought.
End for now
End notes: I wanted to go abit more into Azula's thoughts. And sorry so hella short, I wanted to get something out before the next chapter. It's going to be a doozy!
Like it? Smash that button and do that review thing :P
Most sincerely, pen
1/21/2017