Hi everyone!

I have the honour of presenting to you the second oldest chapter that I've written, it has been ageing in my hard drive for almost six years now. At the beginning it was a monstrosity of more than one hundred Word pages, so I had to insert the narrative and its explanations in many chapters so as to make it readable. The core of that "Pangea" chapter is to be found mainly in chapters 10, 11 and this one, but bits have been inserted in the narrative of other chapters, future and past. I wanted to describe a Fire Nation wedding ritual, and this whole story began to take place around these scenes and those of what will probably be the last chapter. After writing those chapters I asked myself: How did they get here? What did they do afterwards? What kind of culture is theirs? How do the people of the Fire Nation view marriage as an institution? How did they conceive the relationship between man and woman? And that led to other questions like: How different is the culture of the Earth Kingdom and that of the Water Tribes? How does it affect their social, military and social organisation? How does it all affect the war?

I dare to say that this story is not so much about what happens, who fights who, or who does what, but about how it happens and why it happens in that specific way.

At the end of Chapter 1 there's a list of the names of the important noble families and its members, this list will continue to expand as chapters go on. Do not forget to keep checking the updates of the map at undeclinable D OT deviantart D OT c om. And do consult the Map of the World of Avatar at the Avatar Wikia for further details.

I have good news: Finally a beta has appeared! *Thunderous applause and cries of joy in the background*, everybody please kowtow to Jiang-sama and show your obeisance. *Undeclinable stamps his forehead on the ground*. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I shall sacrifice a lamb in your honour and toast to your health.

The bad news is: the next chapters might take a while.

To DylanTheDemon: You're going to have to keep reading to find that out ;)

To DarknessForgoten: Then hop on and grab your belt, because you're in it for a ride.

To Titi: Thanks, I won't, I promise ;)

Please do not forget to review; those things are what keep this story alive!

That seed is stirred in us whereof we spoke before, when first the age of manhood strengthens our limbs. And as soon as it issues, roused from its abode, it makes its way from out the whole body through the limbs and frame, coming together into fixed places, and straightway rouses at last the genital parts of the body; these places are stirred and swell with seed and there arises the desire to expel the seed towards the object to which fierce passion is moved and the body seeks that body, by which the mind is smitten with love. [...] Thus, then, he who receives a blow from the darts of Venus, be it a boy with girlish limbs who smites him, or a woman darting love from all her frame, inclines to that whereby he is smitten and strives to join with it and cast forth the moisture drawn from one body into the other; for an unspoken desire foretells the pleasure to come.

This pleasure is Venus for us; from it comes Cupid, our name for love, from it first of all that drop of Venus' sweetness has trickled into our heart and chilly care has followed after. For if the object of your love is absent, yet images of her are at hand, her loved name is present to your ears. But it is best to flee those images, and scare away from you what feeds your love, and to turn your mind some other way, and vent your passion on other objects, and not to keep it, set once for all on the love of one, and thereby store up for yourself care and certain pain. For the sore gains strength and festers by feeding, and day by day the madness grows, and the misery becomes heavier, unless you dissipate the first wounds by new blows, and heal them while still fresh, wandering after some wanton, or else can turn the movements of the mind elsewhere. [...]

But Venus lightly breaks the force of these pains in love, and fond pleasure mingled with them sets a curb upon their teeth. For therein there is hope that from the same body, whence comes the source of their flame, the fire may in turn be quenched. Yet nature protests that all this happens just the other way; and this is the one thing, whereof the more and more we have, the more does our heart burn with the cursed desire. [...]

Just as when in a dream a thirsty man seeks to drink and no liquid is granted him, which could allay the fire in his limbs, but he seeks after images of water, and struggles in vain, and is still thirsty, though he drinks amid the torrent stream, even so in love Venus mocks the lovers with images, nor can they sate their body, though they gaze on the loved body with all their eyes, nor can they with their hands tear off ought from the tender limbs, as they wander aimless over all the body. Even at last when the lovers embrace and taste the flower of their years, when the body has a foretaste of its joy and passion is on the point of sowing the woman's furrows, eagerly they clasp and mingle the moisture of their mouths, and pressing lip on lip breathe deeply; yet all for nought, since they cannot tear off ought thence, nor enter in and pass away, merging the whole body in the other's body; for at times they seem to strive and struggle to do it; so eagerly are they locked in the fetters of love, while their limbs are loosed and slackened by the force of their delight. And at length when the gathering desire has burst from their limbs, then for a while comes a little respite in their furious passion. Then the same madness returns, the old frenzy is back upon them. When they yearn to find out what in truth they desire to attain, nor can they discover what device may conquer their disease; in such deep doubt they waste beneath their secret wound.

Lucretius - On the Nature of Things, Book 4, verses 1037-1120.

THE PASSION OF THE DRAGON

Commander Yuan Bei rode on, watching the sunset illuminate the small path in the groove. He paused and looked around for a few moments to ensure he was not followed. He had only two days left to enjoy with his family before he marched out again so no one had protested when he said that he wanted to take a ride through the forests and greet their vassals before leaving for the front lines again. In reality, Commander Yuan had taken the opposite direction and left his father's property; he rode for a few hours before he crossed the limits of his father's province and entered a mountainous region.

As he approached the small familiar house by the lake he stopped again to ensure that no one was on sight, it would not do to have him being discovered now.

"Luyu!" He exclaimed happily as he saw his seventeen year old concubine sitting in the swing in front of the garden playing with her three year old daughter... his three year old daughter. As Luyu heard her lord's voice calling, she immediately rose and bowed in respect making the young commander smile. After so many years, she still didn't know how to act around him; he was the father of her daughter, but he was not her husband or her paramour, he was simply her Lord liege. Commander Yuan greeted her with a kiss that froze her for a moment before she remembered her place and returned her Lord's affection.

"How is she?" asked the commander as he took his bastard daughter in arms.

"She grows strong m'lord," answered Luyu, evidently uncomfortable with her lord displaying his affections so openly. Commander Yuan took his concubine's hand and guided her towards the house. As he held her wrist, he became aroused as the memories of their first encounters came to memory.

He had met her when he was only seventeen and the passions of youth burned through his veins. At the time he had felt the shame of having nothing to boast or when his friends and companions spoke of their sexual exploits with some tavern wench or a servant's daughter. Young Yuan had hated the snickers and disapproving looks he got from his peers when he was accused of lacking manhood, a few times he had even come to fists, much to the disapproval of his Lord father.

Young Yuan had been sitting on his bed quietly that afternoon four years ago when the new servant girl came to change his chamber pot. He had seen the girl before as she cleaned the floors and tended to the gardens. Despite being always covered in dirt he had found her pretty, she was an orphan that had caught the chambermaid's attention because of her slender figure and her fair face, and not wanting to leave the poor girl in an orphanage where only a life of hardships awaited her, the chambermaid had taken her as an apprentice. Yuan knew she had a boyfriend, a stable boy. He had sometimes seen them walking together and his heart had filled with jealousy. How could this lowborn already know a woman's warmth while he, a noble lad and an excellent firebender remained celibate?

"Wait," he had said in a moment of unexpected courage.

Young Yuan had grabbed the girl by the wrist and pulled her to him. He remembered seeing her eyes widen in confusion and then in fright. She had cringed but had not resisted him. Yuan had pulled her to his lap and undressed her. Luyu had never dared open her eyes, she had just trembled and fought back her tears, and she said nothing as he pushed her naked body into his bed.

His manhood was been long stiff and rampant; in his hurry and clumsy inexperience young Yuan had hurt her when he found his target. Much to his surprise Luyu had been as virginal as he was, she had cried out in pain as he claimed her maidenhead, but shrank from any attempt to hinder her Lord's actions. Young Yuan had felt a bit of humiliation at having spent himself in mere moments, but he had been determined to prove his manhood, he did not stop. Not until he reached his peak three more times did he feel sated.

Thereafter he had taken her to his bed nearly every night. He would grope at her small, hard breasts and bull her from behind until he spent himself inside her crease. As the weeks passed, if Luyu did not appear to enjoy his attentions, she no longer wept from them as she had done the first nights. Young Yuan had never felt as proud as when he first saw timid anticipation in her eyes as she entered his room, sometimes she would blush as he looked at her when he saw her working in the gardens or the kitchen. Even the small remorse it caused him to see the stable boy weep sadly at the unexplainable lack of attention of his sweetheart was completely forgotten as soon as he felt Luyu tremble in expectation in his arms or nervously undress herself when he took her to the stables. Just to be rid of competition, young Yuan had secured a better job for the boy in a nearby town, safely away from Luyu.

Their passion went on for months until one day Yuan noticed that Luyu's once slender belly had begun to swell. In his youth and naivety, Yuan had been confused for several moments before the truth surfaced to his mind.

"Are you with child?" he had asked her.

"Yes m'lord," Luyu had whispered in fear, she would not meet his eyes.

Stunned as he was, young Yuan had immediately realised the danger of the situation. His father was respected and honourable man, he had firmly and loudly called to repeal Fire Lord Sozin's civil laws regarding paramours, he considered them and any illicit relationship an abomination. Lord Bei had gone as far as to severely punish adulterers in the family. He had even openly criticised Gn. Iroh for his lack of commitment to his lady wife, even to the point of publicly denouncing the General when he was found in the company of a lady that was not his wife.

"You must speak of this to no one," he had warned.

"Yes, m'lord," she had whispered in tears. Yuan knew he had wronged her, and now he was denying her the right to name the father of her child. She would live in shame and without the protection of a husband or a paramour, her child would be illegitimate, but he had his own neck to worry about.

Far from tempering his lust, the realisation that Luyu was carrying his child -illegitimate as it was- flamed his desire for her. He kept taking her every night even when she had grown round and heavy, Luyu had done nothing to protest or to deter him. The fear that she might accuse him and have him acknowledge her and recognise their child only succeeded in augmenting his desire for her.

Yuan's reputation as an honest and honourable boy kept him out of suspicion as the servants began to whisper about Luyu's growing belly. When Lord Mung Bei found out about the shame of his servant he had done everything to find the culprit and force him to marry the girl, but Luyu had refused to name her seducer. Since the idea of having a dishonoured servant with a bastard was intolerable to the old lord, he had sent her away in disgrace. Young Yuan had predicted that something like that could happen and had secretly bought a small house with a beautiful garden near a small lake in a nearby forest, far away from the prying eyes of his father, but close enough to him to visit her constantly. Luyu was his and no one else's. Abusing the trust his father placed on him, Yuan had gotten her the job of collecting the tax the fishermen paid to Lord Xan for the right to fish in the lake.

After their daughter was born, Yuan had pulled whatever strings were necessary to get her economical support and cared for her every need, all at his father's back of course. After he had left for war he had kept constant contact with his Luyu, dreading the idea that something might happen to her. He didn't love her, but the thought of any other man coming close to her or his daughter was unbearable and enough a reason to risk getting discovered by his father.

Now here they were together again if just for a few hours.

"I'm happy that you both are doing well," stated Commander Yuan as Luyu served them dinner. Although it was a humble house that he had gotten her, it was warm in winter and dry during the rains. Luyu had a stable income and lacked for nothing. There were no neighbours in the vicinity; Luyu couldn't leave her post unattended to go to the town nearby during the week and was dependent on the provisions a local shepherd fetched for her. Yuan made a note of this and promised to get her a small komodo rhino since Luyu had nothing to do but care for their daughter and receive the payment from the fishermen that came to the lake. Having a means of transportation and an animal to care for might help her deal with the boredom.

"Thank you, m'lord," she smiled softly. Commander Yuan felt a surge of pride at the sincerity of her voice. He was everything she had, without him she'd be starving on the streets or whoring away her life for a few pennies, or she could denounce him and demand he recognise their daughter. Under Sozin's paramour laws any mother could demand that the father of her children recognised their offspring and raised them as his own, but that would ruin his reputation and considering Lord Bei's sense of honour and his distaste for extramarital relationships, he might end up disowning his own son. Yuan doubted that Luyu considered any of this, the fact that she remained so staunchly loyal to him moved him in a way that he could never describe.

"My father has arranged a marriage for me," the commander confessed quietly. It pained him to see a bit of disappointment in Luyu's face but it pained him more to see her nod in resignation.

"Congratulations, m'lord," Luyu said.

He didn't speak for the rest of the dinner, taking some consolation by hearing his concubine speak about their daughter and relate to him all the things he had missed. Luyu didn't love him, but she loved their daughter and would never do anything that could harm her, including betraying him.

She's mine, thought Yuan with pride.

After they put their daughter to sleep, they silently walked to their bed. It had been years since he had visited her, but Luyu was still beautiful as ever. Her small breasts had actually grown a bit, just like her firm and beautiful legs.

Commander Yuan removed his clothes and turned to his concubine. He got hard by looking at that timid anticipation in her eyes that drove him mad. Spirits how he wanted her! He undressed her like he had done back that first day in his room four years ago, he teased her by slowly undoing her robe and letting it slide of her shoulders, revealing her small breasts and the small loincloth covering her slit. He embraced her from behind and began caressing her breasts. As he undid her loincloth and felt the fabric slip lowly between her tights, his fingers went to her kuss. Yuan smiled as Luyu trembled under his touch and felt an indescribable pride when he felt her moist petals open away at his touch. She had missed him. It pleased him to no end to know that her body would react this way to his touch.

As he made love to her, Yuan couldn't help but feel a sense of completeness and power. He revelled in the way he could make her scream, the way her back tensed in pleasure as he bulled her, the way she moaned as he thrusted into her.

Commander Yuan felt himself lose control. He saw images of the long march towards Najuan. He saw the night a surprise raid on his camp had almost costed him his life. An enemy soldier had gotten into his tent and tried to strangle him. It had to be the work of the spirits that at that moment his hand had found the knife at his side.

He saw the foggy afternoon in which a rock had fallen right on Lt. Lee. They had been eating a hot soup for the first time in weeks, speaking about what they were going to do when they returned home. The rock had turned the Lt. into a bloody pulp, scattering his members through the whole camp. Commander Yuan had been completely drenched in his blood; one of the Lt's eyes had fallen on his soup. Sgt. Yu and Private Teng had lost a leg and an arm respectively. The commander would never forget the pained screams of the Sergeant as he called for help.

"I can't feel my leg! I can't feel my leg!" he had repeated over and over as they carried him to the medic.

"Hurry we have to find his leg! It must be here somewhere!" said Private Teng as he scanned through the bloody floor, trying to find the Sergeant's leg, completely obvious to the fact that his own arm had become a squashed paste of skin and blood.

He saw the stormy night outside Langlun where he had lain shivering in a trench, wet up to his bones, trying his best to ignore the painful itching on his feet. Hoping that if he ignored the trench foot it would go away. Each time a lightning bolt illuminated over him, he heard a rock being launched from the walls of Langlun, a few seconds later the agonising wails of the poor bastard that had been hit filled the night sky. He had been sure that he was going to die that night.

With a groan he felt his seed spill inside Luyu. He was alive, he was safe, and he was with her.

"M'lord?" Luyu called out softly, but loud enough for his ears.

Commander Yuan followed her sight and realised that his left hand had begun to tremble.

"Are you alright, m'lord?" she asked. Only then did the commander feel the tears trailing down his cheeks.

He pulled Luyu to a deep kiss disregarding his tears and his trembling hand. He was no longer in the front lines, he said to himself. He was safe with his beloved concubine, with the mother of his daughter.

As he penetrated her again he felt another horrible memory begging to take form in front of him. He closed his eyes and began to thrust harder and harder, forcing himself to think only of Luyu's moans as he pushed himself deep inside her, opening his eyes only to see her breasts swing each time he humped her.

"M'lord!" Luyu screamed as she reached her peak. Yuan loved how her feet dangled in confusion at his back, tensing up in desperate expectation as she culminated. He paused and began to suck her nipples.

Spirts she was beautiful! He swore to himself that as soon as his father died he would take her as his paramour and give her another big belly.

The thought send a shiver through his spine, he pictured her belly getting swollen yet again, for some reason the idea made him laugh in happiness and drove him to screw his concubine even harder. He didn't want to go to war again. He wanted to remain here with Luyu, inside of her, he wanted his seed to reach her womb, he wanted to melt in her arms and become forever one with her. He didn't want to go to war, he wanted to remain between her concubine's legs and make love to her until he died.

Three and a half years ago.

"So what did you think of today's lesson?" asked Princess Azula from her high seat. She leaned over the gold embroidered cushion and smirked as the venomous question worked its effect on her friends, a stiff silence took over the inner room of the royal palanquin. Mai's snowy skin became scarlet, it amused Azula to no end how she kept control of her reactions even in these situations. Ty Lee did a much poorer job.

"It was very enlightening," Mai managed to answer.

"Was it now?" countered the princess unwilling to relent in her attack. They were on their way back to the Palace for the weekend, it was one of the few occasions in which Azula was allowed to leave the Fire Nation Academy and join her friends and brother in the Palace. Mai and Ty Lee had awkwardly avoided talking about the day's lesson, they rued the day where they would return to the Academy. It had been hard enough to survive the day's teasing and poorly concealed obscene jokes they had gotten from their classmates, now they would have to survive a whole weekend with Azula and Zuko before returning to the Academy for even more bullying.

It will last months at least, Mai thought.

The lesson had consisted of biology and anatomy; or to be more specific, the human reproductive biology. Being as it were that all the girls in their class where soon to reach marrying age, their instructor -Miss Yen- had taken the opportunity to talk about marriage and marital life including marital duties. She had been very scientific, blunt and specific about it. Their school was after all the pinnacle of Fire Nation educational tradition, not a primitive taboo filled Earth Kingdom harem that hid facts and information from females in order to manipulate and dominate them. And yet they were all young enough to joke incessantly about it, much to Mai and Ty Lee's discomfort.

Both noble girls where the only ones in their elite group to have an arranged marriage more or less fixed. At least they both had a clear suitor and their betrothal was a matter of months or weeks even, it was up to prince Zuko to choose one of them (this was common knowledge). So it was no surprise that the poor girls were the target of everyone's verbal harassment after such a lesson.

"I wonder which of you Zuzu is going to chose, his taste and judgement are so unreliable. Don't you think so girls?" The tone in Azula's voice left no doubt that she expected an answer. Both girls knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't let the subject rest until she had found a way to humiliate her brother, even if it meant taking them down along with him.

"Yes, princess," was the only thing Mai could utter. She turned to Ty Lee for help only to find her head buried in the pink cushions of her seat.

"We'll find out eventually, won't we? At least both of you know what you are up to. How many children do you suspect he'd ask of you Ty Lee?" Azula was not going to let her cheerful friend take the easy way out and hide from her due teasing.

"Well that's supposing he chooses you, isn't it? Zuzu has never been very manly; maybe he's one of those guys that like other guys. Do you think you can seduce him?" continued the princess's onslaught. After a few more rounds, the princess turned to Mai again.

"But maybe Ty Lee is too joyful for him. Zuzu is such a sourpuss and he's never been particularly brilliant. But if he had a brain he's surely pick you Mai, you may not be as pretty as Ty Lee but at least you can keep poor Zuzu from doing anything too stupid. That would be please you greatly, won't it Mai?"

"I...," Mai's face had become so warm that she began to feel a little dizzy, Azula wasn't going to give her get a fighting chance though.

"Please, we've seen how you stare at him when he's training," Azula continued, "It's obvious that you like him, you should go ahead and seduce him before Ty Lee's breasts become bigger and Zuzu can't ignore them anymore"

"Azula!" exclaimed the finally exasperated Ty Lee. It was already embarrassing enough for her to be the most precocious of them, her hips and breasts had already begun to show. The princess couldn't help but laugh.

"Do you think he pictures both of you when he masturbates?" this time even Mai was too shocked to keep a straight face. Instinctively her hands covered her face and she prayed that the earth might swallow her up.

"I mean, Zuzu is still a boy. Maybe one day you'll find him sneaking into your room Mai. Or maybe he'll use grandfather's laws to keep both of you; he can marry Mai for her brains and keep Ty Lee as a concubine. Hmm, no wait, what was it called? A paramour! That's it! Both of you will get to live in the palace and you can raise your little Zuzus together. Wouldn't that be sweet?"

"Azula stop it!" Ty Lee's eyes where getting tearful.

"Of course I'll have to order a new palace section to be built away from your chambers. I wouldn't want to hear you tossing around at night"

A servant announced that they were entering the palace but Mai and Ty Lee knew that their torture was not over.

"We should ask Zuko what he thinks about it. I mean, dumb as he is, he knows that one day he's going to have sex with... at least... one of you..."

No, it was far from over. What made the situation even more uncomfortable was the knowledge that despite her malice, Azula was right. Sooner or later Zuko would marry one of them. That person would share his bed and bear his children, it was a fact.

It was a sunny and clear morning as the guests of The Royalist, Pohuai's most exclusive restaurant (located in front of the Town Hall and behind the city's central park), began arrive set on enjoying a nice breakfast with a healthy amount of gossiping, something particularly liked in a city in which everyone fought over the honour of being the first one to know what officers frequented which brothels, which soldiers had fought over which whore and which daughters or wives were seeing near the soldier's bars.

Since it was the very first time that both Lady Ty Lee and Prince Zuko had openly come into town and interacted with its citizens -its upper class citizens to be accurate- it was natural that they were unaware of how the good society worked here. Had they known what kind of conversations they would overhear, they would have never come to such a place. Alas in his attempt to quickly get both of them out of the inn, Prince Zuko had invited his old friend to an elegant breakfast in a place befitting their noble status, in the hopes dispersing the uncomfortable situation in which they found themselves.

As they exited the inn they found to their annoyance a group of Lord Lee's men ready to escort them wherever they went, if only to impede Ty Lee's escape from the city. They had surely sent a messenger hawk to Lord Lee himself and to the Royal Palace requesting instructions; at the minimum it would take three to four days for the hawks to arrive plus another four to return with an answer. They had a little more than a week to solve their predicament before the Palace and Lord Lee sent emissaries to Pohuai, a thing Prince Zuko and Lady Ty Lee wanted to avoid at any cost. What they weren't expecting was to find their chosen restaurant full of obnoxious well-to-do gossipmongers who apparently had nothing better to talk about than them.

"Did you hear about last night? Incredible isn't it?" said an annoying looking woman from the table behind them.

"I know! Mother wouldn't stop talking with the neighbours about it. One of our servants lives near the wall, he swears he heard the whole thing from his windows," exclaimed her friend.

"My cousin is a guard in the northern tower and he says he saw the men that were chasing Lady Ty Lee, apparently they completely terrified. He thinks one of them had emptied his bladder out of fear," added a third one.

They had had the good fortune of arriving early enough to avoid being recognised by the customers, and their table near the window behind a wall of bamboos and vine was an excellent position to avoid being in their general view. That however did not stop the insistent chatter coming from the tables at their sides and behind from reaching them. It was the first time that a person other than Azula had managed to embarrass Prince Zuko so much; in fact neither he nor Ty Lee had found the courage to utter a word to each other. Each time one of them tried, they would overhear something about them that would mortify and discomfort them.

"And then he took her in his arms and carried her all the way to the inn. He screamed that he'd kill anyone who tried to take her from him," voiced a spoiled adolescent girl from the table at their left.

"Oh spirits! That's so romantic! Is it true that she escaped from home when he was exiled because she couldn't stand living away from her fiancé?" asked another girl.

"Why was he exiled anyway?" questioned a third.

"Who cares? The point is that they crossed the world to see each other again. They must have eloped by now"

"He can't do that; he's not yet done with his military trials is he?"

"What if he doesn't care about it?"

"So that's why he never came to town, he was waiting for his lover!" A chorus of sighs, giggles and awwwws made an already embarrassed Ty Lee bury her face in her half eaten chocolate cake. She didn't dare to look up at Zuko and was positive she could boil an egg in her face right now.

Of course Prince Zuko was not having an easier time. As much as he tried to ignore the deluded fantasies and calumnies that were being said about him and Ty Lee, he ended up hearing every word. The gist of the conversation that puzzled him most was about the envy that a particular girl felt about Lady Ty Lee. Pohuai's citizens were very much aware that their city was basically a glorified brothel and their daily bread was -none to surprisingly- scandals, fights, infidelities and whatnot. It was the first time in living memory that the main subject of every conversation was the romantic loyalty that a man (their prince!), had for his alleged lover, a girl reputed to be so beautiful that she drove men to suicide.

Not once since he set foot outside the fortress had Prince Zuko been seen anywhere near another woman; the only reports about him ever leaving the stronghold were of him visiting the library. This was doubly surprising in a city famous for its loose morals and its beautiful women, if one added the succulent story about an escaped lover, a chase through the night, a daring and valiant rescue plus the already overused rumours about the Prince being almost a deity that stopped volcanoes and whatever it was that the loose tongues of the tattletales spat out, it was no wonder that everyone had an irresistible urge to hear more about it.

"I heard from my father's friend that the prince spends his days in the library reading love poetry and sighing sadly as he looks at a picture of Lady Ty Lee," spoke one girl excitedly, causing another yet more loud chorus of longing sighs and giggles.

"The rumours about him being cold were just slander weren't they? He was just in love!" exclaimed another.

Zuko had to actually stop himself from screaming in frustration. Where do these people get this bullshit?

Eventually Zuko gave up waiting for a good moment and shot away, "How've you been?"

"Ohhh?" asked a surprised Ty Lee still unwilling to look him in the eye, "I've been fine you know, well except for last night, obviously. I worked in a circus these last three years"

"A circus?" asked a very puzzled Zuko.

"Yes, as an acrobat," answered Ty Lee, unable to stop herself from bringing her left leg all the way up to her head as a demonstration. Fortunately for them nobody took notice.

Clumsily they managed to establish what might be considered a fluid conversation, albeit superficial for what would be expected from a reunion of old suitors. Zuko would have liked to ask her other things but he couldn't find the right words for it. He decided at least that when they found a less uncomfortable place to talk he would ask her about his symptoms or some of them at least. She was after all an expert in anatomy and had even begun medical training in the Fire Nation Academy for Girls. Maybe she could help him solve his problem or at least point him to the right direction, and they needed to talk about the men chasing her, Zuko was actually curious about her situation and wanted to know what she had in mind to evade them.

As they asked for the bill, Zuko began to make machinations about how they were going to exit the place without causing an uproar.

"Excuse me sir, do you happen to be Prince Zuko?" asked the waiter as he handed him the bill. Zuko's eyes widened.

"Prince Zuko?" asked one of the girls from the left table excitedly.

This was followed by the screams and excitement of her friends as they looked at Zuko and Ty Lee; it was a no brainier thing. There it was, a beautiful girl accompanied by a handsome looking man with a scar. This effectively initiated a chain of exclamations in the adjacent tables.

"What? The Prince?"

"He's here?"

"Where is he?"

In less than twenty seconds a disturbance dissembling a riot had broken out in the restaurant. This was the very reason why prince Zuko hated being around people.

Lord Mek Kang sighed as he opened up yet another bamboo scroll containing yet another tax report. He hated this part of being a lord; he'd keep receiving requests, reports, petitions and other boring stuff. Still he kept on reading and analysing in a disciplined manner, these were dangerous times and the success or failure of his projects could be hidden in one of these seemingly useless documents.

"Father have you ever seen a dragon?" asked his son as he read the History and Nature of Dragons from Sage Shek. Lord Kang smiled and decided that he could spare some moments to indulge his son.

"Only once Yu, when I was even smaller than you are now, I saw Gral. Iroh kill the last of them"

"Was it as scary as this one?" asked the boy as he pointed at the drawing in his book.

"It wasn't as big, but it was definitely ferocious"

"Why did the General kill the dragon?"

Lord Kang took his son from the seat at his side in the palanquin and sat him on his lap.

"You see Yu," began Lord Kang, "dragons are very dangerous creatures. Very useful if they can be tamed but ultimately it all depends on who controls them. Fire Lord Azulon wasn't sure that all the dragon-riders were completely loyal to the Fire Nation"

"But didn't the dragons aid us in destroying the Air Nomad armies?"

"Yes," said Lord Kang knowing that the Air Nomads had had no armies (but also knowing full well that this was not yet the time for him to teach his son about the use of lying and propaganda in pushing an agenda), "But that was a surprise attack, not everyone was willing to go to war at the time. Some noble families would have opposed had they known. Your great grandfather and other loyal dragon riders supported the Fire Lord in his plans, and then obediently killed off their own dragons when the Fire Lord deemed it too dangerous to allow any noble family to possess a dragon"

Despite Yu's evident sadness when he was reminded that the dragons were all gone, his face lit up at the mention of his great-grandfather Lord Sima Kang, the dragon-rider. The boy spent much of his time watching pictures and statues of his noble ancestor and dreamt of one day becoming a dragon-rider himself.

"I would have liked to have a dragon," he mumbled longingly.

"You would have grown bored of it," said Lord Kang as he stroked his son's head.

"Why?" asked the boy incredulously.

Lord Kang took his son's book and flipped a few pages until he reached the chapter concerning the habits and character of the dragons. He pointed to a very graphic picture of a dragon eating some cattle.

"It's impossible to fully tame a dragon; even if you get him to obey your commands it's still a beast that has its instincts. Dragons need to fly hundreds of kilometres a day lest they grow fat and lazy. They need to eat enormous amounts of meat, enough to impoverish a rich landowner in a few years; as such they need roam free, away from their master's home," explained Lord Kang as he flipped a couple of more pages until he found the image of two dragons fighting fiercely.

"Also they're not very social creatures. A male dragon only desires to do four things: fly, eat, mate and kill every other male dragon that happens to come too close to his females. They're very territorial and possessive and react with disproportionate violence when they feel threatened. For some reason the stronger they get the more flying space and females they desire. So they spent most of the time away from their master and came only when needed. The females will additionally care for their hatchlings for a while but when the younglings grow big enough they will simply go and never return," the young lord further explained, omitting the part about the hatchlings eating each other.

Yu Kang listened to his father's explanations attentively, flipping through the pages when something caught his attention.

"They used them as medicine?" asked the boy, perplexed. His father simply laughed at his reaction.

"Yes, some people tried to use dragons as medicine. The great-grandfather of your great-grandfather once broke the ban on medical applications of dragon organs and attempted to heal a failing kidney with dragon liver. Though the kidney did not get particularly better he did develop a tremendous appetite and a very sensitive bladder. It was said that he needed to go to the privy at least ten times a day! There are numerous stories about people trying to get healed using dragon medicine only to end up with something entirely unexpected. There's a legend that says that one of your mother's ancestors tried to cure his eyesight with dragon blood, he ended up getting blind from it but he developed the ability to eat raw flesh"

After a few more hours of talking Yu feel asleep and Lord Kang returned to his boring tasks. He sighed in frustration. Lu Ten had promised him that he could spend his days chasing pretty girls when the war was over and Iroh sat on the throne. That had been thirteen years ago and now Lu Ten was dead, Ozai ruled and he was reading himself blind while trying to find a way to get the Fire Lord to pardon and recall Prince Zuko.

I do this for you, he said to himself. It was pretty much the only motivation he had left. Getting Prince Zuko back was of no importance to him, but it was something his dear friend would have asked him to do. He needed to get done with it and quickly, for each minute that passed was minute that he did not use in preparing his revenge.

Lady Ty Lee quietly strolled on top of the roofs behind her prince, she stopped when Zuko halted near the end of one and waited. After a few moments of tension, Ty Lee watched as the prince carefully stuck out his head and looked for their pursuers. They had spent the whole day evading the frantic mob. It had taken a few hours of running and jumping through roofs and walls before they lost their crazy pursuers. Now they needed to find a way back to the inn without being spotted. So began their gradual and cautious way back, taking great care to avoid big streets. It was already sunset by the time they found a discreet little alley where they could descend and then walk a conveniently a short distance back to their inn.

"That was fun!" Ty Lee blurted out, unable to hide her happiness at losing her father's men in the commotion.

"What?"

Ty Lee could only chuckle at Zuko's bewildered face; he was completely flustered and even had some leaves stuck in his hair from when they had to climb a three to gain high ground in the park. She began to giggle like she hadn't in weeks, then her belly made a loud growl, and it was Zuko's turn to chuckle.

"Hey!" exclaimed Ty Lee as she threw a pillow at his face, "Don't laugh and get me food!"

She saw Zuko take a breath and exit the room, he was probably going to ask the errand boy to bring them something. She hoped it was sweet. Ty Lee didn't have to wait long, she immediately gulped down the food that Zuko brought, which consisted of boneless chicken pieces with beans and apple juice.

"Can I ask you something?" her prince voiced.

"What is it?"

"Have you ever heard of a technique -or illness perhaps- that causes the skin to become immune to fire?" asked the prince. Ty Lee noticed his aura immediately turn purple; he was reluctant of saying something.

"You mean like in the story of 'Wu the Dragon and the Snow Princess'?"

"What?"

"It's a love story dummy! I can't believe you never heard it. It's about a dragon that fell in love with a princess. One day the princess received a prophecy that she would be trapped in a fire, and when the dragon found out about it, he decided to save her. Since he could do nothing to prevent fire from surging near the princess he impaled himself in the steeple of the tower where the princess slept and his blood drenched her in her sleep. It made her immune to fire and when the fire actually came and trapped her, she came out unscathed," spoke Ty Lee in an animated manner.

"And that's a love story?" questioned the prince.

"Hey! It's about sacrificing yourself for the woman you love," protested the girl with one of her half angry half sweet pouts. Then an idea came to her and a sardonic grin covered her face. "Though you should know better love stories, seeing that you do nothing all day but read love poetry and think of me..."

"I...," was the only sound that came from a stunned Zuko.

Ty Lee had to sit on the bed to stop herself from falling down from all her giggling. She couldn't believe how red Zuko had gotten.

"Spirits! That was fun!"

"It wasn't that funny," grumbled Zuko.

"Don't be such a sourpuss, Zuko! I can't picture anything funnier than you reading love poetry," spoke Ty Lee as she continued laughing, "What where you doing at the library anyway?"

"I was looking for information on certain symptoms like the fire thing," spoke the prince.

"That's just a legend, Zuko. I don't think there's any chance of something like that really happening"

"What about enhanced senses?"

"Do you mean like super strength?" asked Ty Lee, curiosity finally picking her interest.

"I mean like temporary improvement of smell under specific circumstances," elaborated the prince.

"How much improvement, exactly?" asked the younger girl making a quizzical face.

She saw with interest how Zuko took a moment to reflect on what he was about to say, that was very unlike Zuko.

"Imagine that you can suddenly smell this juice but from a distance between thirty to forty metres but only when you're thirsty and desperately want juice"

"Well, there are some acupuncture and chi channelling techniques that can temporarily help you focus your senses in something specific. There are even some experiments that show that it is possible for you to make your body forget that it's tired or in pain and thus allows you to perform tasks impossible for a normal human, but they're very risky and they do not raise a human's natural capacity at all. It's like a dehydrated man forgetting he's thirsty, he may be able to appear healthier and act normal but when his body reaches its limits he'll simply drop dead. These techniques are actually forbidden in medical practice," said the young lady, "Why are you suddenly interested in this?"

Ty Lee had never known Zuko to be interested in anything other than firebending and close combat. Even Azula chastised him often for his ignorance of complex military disciplines like logistics and accounting.

After a long pause, the prince answered, "Just a whim"

The prince's response made Ty Lee even more suspicious, Zuko was not someone that watched what he said. He usually blurted out whatever was on his mind.

"Do these techniques have secondary effects? Like vivid dreams or uncontrollable desires to perform certain actions?"

There was definitely something fishy about the prince's questions, but Ty Lee did not want to risk ruining the good mood and their beautiful auras with an unwanted interrogation.

"Well all chi techniques can cause spasms or unconscious movements in the body if not applied with precision. Each body is different and the nervous system is quite complex so you never really know what effect might cause when you push certain buttons"

Once more Ty Lee looked in surprise as Zuko went into deep thought, it actually made her a little uncomfortable, Zuko wasn't a talkative person but these long pauses in a conversation were not common with him.

"About the dragon story, why blood?"

"Well dragon bodies have enormous amounts of spiritual energy, many experts considered that their bodies could be used for medical purposes, but this was forbidden during the Po Zhel dynasty. It was a very inefficient practice anyway, it can take years to cut open a dragon's skin, assuming you can kill one in the first place, and harvesting and preparing the organs was a dangerous task in itself. The reactions that even a small contact with a dragon's body could cause were unpredictable and there were lots of secondary effects that seemed almost random so the practice was abandoned"

"Are there any other substances that might cause such an effect in the skin?" he asked.

"Not that I know of," Ty Lee replied.

They chatted about some unimportant anecdotes for the next hour and agreed to talk on the morrow about Ty Lee's situation. It seemed wise to both of them to avoid going out for the next few days. Zuko had suggested her moving from the humble inn where they stayed to a bigger one, but the idea of becoming conspicuous by going to one of the luxurious inns at the centre of the city put them off. For now they would have to keep sharing their small dim lit room with the small chimney and ridiculously small bathroom. It didn't seem right to her that her prince should sleep on the floor but Zuko had been very serene about it.

He must have lived through much, she thought and her mind went back to the many subtle changes she had observed in him. Even after they bid each other good night she couldn't stop herself from being curious, there was something fishy about the whole thing. A few hours passed and Ty Lee still couldn't fall asleep, her eyes kept going back to the figure in front of the chimney, his aura was weird. It had been grey-blue during the day, with the exception of his moments of anger when it turned carmine red, it had gotten yellowish while they were running away from the mob and yet all of this had been normal. Right now it was changing rapidly between yellow, orange and a sapphire red that Ty Lee had only seen in starving animals. At times it would even turn bright purple as if he was desperate.

Is he having a nightmare? She thought as she saw him toss about in his sleep. She could have sworn she heard him sniffing, like a wolf-bat looking for something. Ty Lee tried to close her eyes, she'd talk to him about it in the morning, there was definitely something wrong with him and she was worried.

The sound of Zuko moving made her open her eyes once more. She saw him sit in front of the chimney and extend his hand towards the fire. Is he cold? She wondered. It was already winter and even in a place so south as Pohuai it could become chilly very fast. A firebender getting cold near a chimney? There was definitely something weird going on.

She considered calling him when the heat wave reached her, she saw the way the flames changed consistency and acquired a more yellowish colour. He's heating the fire, she assumed. At that moment Ty Lee looked at his aura and her eyes widened in confusion, she had never seen anything like it. Two colours swirling simultaneously, one brilliant and vivid red and the other a deep ocean blue almost purple-like, were fighting each other like two colours of paint being mixed and separated. They look like dragons, she thought. Suddenly, she saw a third colour appear out of nowhere and devour the other two. It was a greenish light orange.

Pain?

A hissing sound and the smell of burned flesh made her look down to Zuko. She screamed in panic, "Zuko!"

Ty Lee launched herself at him and with a hit made Zuko let go of the burning log.

"Agni! We need to get you cold water and ointments!" she said as she carefully took his hand and tried to get him up. Hopefully they would find a drugstore or a medic nearby, if worse came to worse she could put his hand to sleep to spare him the pain until they could treat the burn.

"Ty Lee?" asked Zuko, his voice sounded distant, confused, as if he were in a drunken slumber. It was weird enough to make her turn around and look at his face; he had a sleepy face which confused Ty Lee even more. How can someone who had just burned his hand be sleepy? Instinctively she looked at his burned hand to see how bad it was, she gasped. It was completely intact.

At that instant Zuko's eyes opened wide and became clear, he pulled his hand away from hers and reached for the chimney again.

"What are you doing?" asked Ty Lee as she tackled him to the ground. She held firmly to his hands and got on top of him, pinning him to the ground.

"Ty Lee, let go!" Zuko demanded desperately while he looked at the chimney and kept trying to reach it.

Slap.

Ty Lee couldn't believe she had even moved her hand, and yet the pain in her palm was clear confirmation that she had just slapped her prince.

"Zuko I'm sorry...," she began but the sight of Zuko's aura stopped her words. It was completely red this time. Ty Lee looked down at him and saw him staring right at her. His eyes paralysed her in fear. She knew those eyes, she had seen them once, many years ago when a hungry goat-dog had attacked her and her sisters. There was an unquenchable merciless hunger in those eyes.

"Zuko?" she asked, and the warmth breath of the prince in her face made her aware for the first time of how close they were, their noses almost touching. For a brief moment they kept staring at each other, until Ty Lee felt something hard rub against her thigh, she immediately blushed in realisation.

Before she could utter a word Zuko pressed his lips against hers and pulled her into a deep kiss. A kiss Ty Lee returned, but what really surprised her was when she felt his tongue enter her mouth.

"Zuko," she whispered as he began to kiss her neck. The prince had freed his hands at some point and was now holding her firmly against him, caressing her back. While Zuko nibbled at her ear he got into a sitting position and placed her arms around his neck.

Ty Lee squealed as she felt herself lifted and almost thrown into the bed. It was now the prince who was on top of her. Ty Le could only gasp in surprise as she felt him undo her sleeping robe, a light breeze of freshness impacted in her neck and navel as prince Zuko exposed her undergarments, a pink breast-cloth and a loincloth. He stared at her like an armadillo-lion at its prey. Ty Lee had never felt so observed; it was as if Zuko was trying to engrave every detail of the her into his memory eating her with his eyes. She gasped again as he felt his hands undo her breast-cloth, Zuko threw the item to the floor and immediately began to kiss her chest and down to her breasts, like a devoted Earth pilgrim kissed the earth as he approached a holy sanctuary.

Ty Lee put her hands over her mouth to stop her moans, a squeal or gasp would escape her whenever Zuko changed breasts and began to fondle the other one. She felt his right hand play with her nipple while he nibbled the other one and couldn't help but scream in pleasure when he sucked. Ty Lee felt as his right hand began to caress under her breast, her chest and down into her navel, downwards towards her leg and tights.

"Zuko!" screamed in indignation and excitement as she felt him grope her buttocks, he kissed her again. Ty Lee closed her eyes and kissed him back, her tongue began a dance of positions with his while her hands gripped the blanket and held on for dear life. Her right hand instinctively went to his neck when she felt him search for the knot of her loincloth. He began to kiss her neck again but her finger remained firmly between his first and the third vertebrae, all she needed to do was press and Zuko would be completely paralysed. A loud moan filled the room when Zuko's tongue licked behind her ear. He had finally found the knot, her finger on his neck trembled but it remained unmoved as the knot came loose and Zuko pulled the loincloth from under her.

There was nothing between them anymore. Zuko's kisses trailed down her neck into her breasts again, he kept on kissing and fondling and caressing until he was satisfied with their hardness and Ty Lee's reactions. She was breathing heavily in confusion and pleasure. Zuko continued downwards kissing her chest and navel and downwards again. Her hand still held firmly into his neck, ready to stop him at any moment. Ty Lee's entire body trembled as she felt Zuko's fingers gently ease her petals apart and she squealed when she felt his nose take a deep sniff. Ty Lee would always believe that she would have paralysed him right then if she had not felt his tongue touch her pearl. A half grunt half moan was the only sound she could make as her hands went back to the blanket. She didn't want to resist, she wanted Zuko to keep going and never stop.

Sokka waited until the guard behind him got distracted before he dared to stop and take a look at his surroundings. A storm had destroyed most of their crops last week and the slaves were tasked with salvaging everything they could. This allowed Sokka an excellent opportunity to gather more information regarding the village, he was going to need it when he executed his escape plan, well, as soon as he had a plan. Anyway, the young boy was sure at any rate that getting to know the landscape and geography of the place was of advantage.

He usually worked indoors or ploughing the field while chained to the plough, more often than not with a short tempered guard at his back ready to whip him the moment she sensed him slack off. Now there were far more slaves than guards out in the fields, which meant he got a bit of freedom for the first time since he was captured.

He noted with interest that the whole village was perfectly surrounded by a fence, except the part where the last houses met the fields, a zone which evidently was heavily guarded but there was a small path that lead to the forest and the mountains behind it, which could possibly serve as an escape route if he ever managed to get away from the guards long enough to make it to the path undetected. It was about three hundred meters away from the nearest field, which meant Sokka had to find a way to distract the guards long enough for him to run through the field, some four hundred meters wide plus the distance to the path.

"What are you looking at?" screamed the guard as she whipped him at the back.

"Nothing I just got tired!" he protested loudly as a second whip found his legs and forced him to the ground. A kick in the ribs followed by a boot positioning on top of his neck rendered him completely defeated and defenceless.

"If I see you slaking again slave I'll have you crucified!" screamed the guard, a Kyoshi Warrior evidently.

"Is that clear?" she asked, applying enough pressure to Sokka's neck to the point where he could barely breathe.

"Yes," he somehow managed.

"Now get on collecting those potatoes!" ordered the girl as she left.

It took Sokka a few minutes to regain his footing, the fear of getting beat up again motivating him to quickly return to work.

Somehow Sokka made it back to his smelly quarter-cell alive, although his body hurt as much as his pride, but it was worth it. He now had the sketch of a plan. He needed to be patient and soon enough he'd be free.

Lady Ty Lee woke that morning feeling exhausted but with a remarkable feeling of satisfaction, as if she had just scratched away an itchy spot at her back that she had never been able to reach. Loath to leave the warmth of her bed, she had nuzzled her face against her pillow only for it to gently rise from under her. With her eyes opening wide, Lady Ty Lee realised that her head was not resting on a pillow; it was resting on a chest, a naked male chest, Zuko's chest.

At once her cheeks reddened in heat as the memories of the previous night assaulted her in force; her heart sped up in full gallop.

What have we done?

Ty Lee did not have long to ponder about this unexpected development. Zuko began to turn, he was stirring.

"Good morning," she said without even realising it. He looked down at her and turned beat red. Only then did Ty Lee realise that they were still very much naked and still cuddling together, in fact their feet were kind of intertwined and her beasts were pressing and rubbing against his chest.

Twice she gulped down and tried to say something but not a word came out. She had begun to believe that they would be trapped like that in awkward silence forever when she heard Zuko speak up.

"Marry me".

Lady Ty Lee had never expected to hear those words from Prince Zuko. Despite the many years of being groomed to become her wife, the many years she lived with him in the palace, the unending routine of spending her days trying to win his attention, her father's expectations and Azula's relentless teasing, she had never really believed that she'd ever hear those words. Somewhere deep down she had always believed that it would be Mai the one to marry Zuko, she was after all the one that truly felt attracted to him.

Now she didn't know how to react to these words. Azula would have laughed. How had she not contemplated the very real possibility -however remote she thought it- of this happening? Even Mai was sure to have at least prepared in advance.

"What?" she uttered, astonishment and bewilderment evident in her voice. She looked up and saw him hesitate for just a moment and then she saw the resolve invade his whole expression.

"I want you to become my wife," he said firmly. Ty Lee had never heard him speak with more determination and boldness in her life. A quick look at his aura told her he was being sincere and even more than that he was afraid, very afraid.

He's worried about me! The realisation streamed down her chest and made her heart beat even faster. Zuko had many defects, but he was ridiculously loyal and had a very strict sense of responsibility and valued honour and respect like no one else did. After last night there was no possible way for her to leave his bed with her honour intact if it wasn't as his wife.

Ty Lee couldn't help but find herself disarmed and endeared by Zuko's response to last night. It wasn't really necessary for him to go to such lengths. They were not in the Earth Kingdom. She wasn't going to be whipped and stoned to death or buried alive for having sex outside of marriage, or whatever it was that those people had instead of marriages. Yes, her reputation among the nobility would be beyond repair if it wasn't already, she'd be subject of slander and slights for the rest of her life and might even be cast out of noble society. But they were a civilised nation; it was nobody's business what private citizens did with their lives. Only her noble peers would care if she slept around with Zuko or not, or with any other man. She'd still be able to live her life to the fullest. She might find a loving husband later on; it was only for honour's sake that nobles were bound to a much stricter view of sexuality.

Ty Lee smiled as she caressed his cheek, poor Zuko, poor dummy Zuko. What he proposed was reckless and impulsive, totally unmeditated and it was exactly what Zuko, poor honest Zuko would do.

"Zuko, our parents would never consent...," she began to explain but Zuko immediately stood up and went to the table at the corner where she saw him open up a chest and desperately rummage its contents. He pulled out some documents and after a quick inspection he selected two and returned to her side. Ty Lee couldn't help but concentrate in the fact that he was still very much naked, just like she was. She prudishly covered her breasts with the blanket before reaching out for the documents Zuko was handing her, this of course made Zuko quickly apologise and go after his underwear.

"Our parents have already approved," she heard him explain as she inspected the papers. It was the written consent from her father and Fire Lord Azulon to their marriage, the gold and silver embroidered high quality paper, the royal seal and her father's emblem, the sign of acknowledgment of prince Ozai, everything was there. Ty Lee couldn't believe her eyes, she had always assumed that their courtship had been called off the day that Zuko was exiled, she had never known that everything had already been prepared for their marriage to take place.

"Ty Lee".

She felt his hands gently cup her face as he looked at her.

"I want you to become my wife"

Ty Lee felt like melting. She knew what that he was doing all of this for her sake only, he wanted to protect her and in a way take responsibility for her. He wasn't worried about prestige or politics or alliances, he wasn't thinking about the political consequences that this marriage could bring, he also wasn't thinking about her beauty. And yet his logic was totally inconsistent, simply sleeping in the same room already put her honour in question, and yet it was only now that they had had sex that he considered himself bound to her. It was typical of Zuko, he held himself to extreme standards of honour and responsibility. Ty Lee could see it in his eyes; he was a loyal friend trying to protect her. And that was exactly what a marriage was, an alliance between friends, the strongest of friendships, two persons willing to share life's burdens together.

I want to watch your back, will you watch mine? Was what he was asking.

Lady Ty Lee took the blanket in her hand and with a sudden yank she ripped a thin but large line of cloth. Grabbing his hand, she guided him to the chimney, not caring for a moment that she was showing him her dazzling body in all its bewitching nakedness. They sat in front of the small chimney facing each other. She tightened her grip on Zuko's hand with one hand while she made a knot with the other it tying their hands firmly.

"I, Ty Lee, commit myself to you, Zuko, as wife to learn and grow with, to explore and adventure with, to respect you in everything as an equal partner, in the foreknowledge of joy and pain, strength and weariness, direction and doubt, for all the risings and settings of the sun. We tie this knot to symbolise our connection to one another. They represent our trust in each other and our combined strength together"

Ty Lee didn't realise she was crying until a sob escaped her lips. She tried her best to stop the flow of tears as she heard Zuko repeat the vow. Ty Lee couldn't believe this was happening; here they were, thousands of miles away from the palace three years after they had last seen each other declaring themselves husband and wife. Zuko had to clear his breath to pull her out of her thoughts; with a nod he signalled that he was ready to say the second part of the traditional vow with her.

"Now we will feel no rain, for each of us will be shelter for the other. Now we will feel no cold, for each of us will be warmth to the other. Now there will be no loneliness, for each of us will be companion to the other. Now we are two persons, but there is only one life before us. May beauty surround us both in the journey ahead and through all the years. May happiness be our companion and our days together good and long upon the earth"

When they were done they rose slowly and stood facing each other. They were married now and frankly speaking Ty Lee had no idea how it went from here. Zuko left her no chance to think, he was in one of his rush moods. Ty Lee knew that once he got an idea into his head he'd stop at nothing until he achieved it.

Ty Lee let herself be guided towards the bathroom, she was about to ask what Zuko had in mind when she saw him begin to fill the bathtub.

The alignment ritual!

She couldn't believe she had forgotten it. Ty Lee was sure that not even Zuko had had in mind the ritual when they were saying their vows, it was a clear proof that they were adapting to circumstances as they went along. She waited patiently as the tub filled and Zuko heated the water. When it was ready he undressed himself again and turned to look at her. With a deep breath she entered the tub, brushing against Zuko as she passed him, for the room was barely big enough for two persons.

Ty Lee remembered how Azula had mocked the ritual as silly. She couldn't make sense of two people bathing together while one of their hands was tied to one of their partner. As Ty Lee felt Zuko enter the tub she finally understood it. It was a remainder to the newlyweds of how life had changed for them. Now that they had one hand tied to one another, the only way they could successfully bathe each other was through cooperation. Talking was forbidden during the ritual, so they needed to pay attention to their partner and react to their actions, all the while they were to reflect on what their new life together implied.

Ty Lee blushed as a very clear idea of what Zuko was thinking of became evident, they slowly lowered themselves in the small tub facing each other their legs intertwined, and she couldn't help grazing his erect manhood whenever she moved but tried her best to remain calm about it. This was also part of the ritual; they were supposed to acknowledge each other's bodies and their attraction as a natural and essential part of their relationship.

Ty Lee reached for the shampoo and was a bit disappointed to find that Zuko had no such item, just a normal soap, she saw Zuko's worried look and calmed him with an understanding nod and a smile. This was part of the adaptation both had to go through, now he needed to take her into account regarding the household. She took the soap and clumsily began to wash his hair. It was indeed the weirdest experience she had ever had. All the time she felt a hole suck up the air in her chest, the indescribable feeling of the otherness, of Zuko's otherness, the world pausing around them until only the two of them were there, bare before one another, completely exposed and unveiled.

Ty Lee hesitated when her now husband tensed as she touched his scar, after all this years it was understandably a sensible issue to him, and she saw his aura darken in shame. They were going to have to deal with it together. For the first time Ty Lee realised that she had never said to him how sorry she was about it. She did the only thing she knew what to do, she loving caressed his cheeks and guided his face towards hers and heard him gasp as she gently kissed his left eye right at the centre of his scar and then pulled him into a hug.

It will be okay, I'm here now, at your side. She hoped that Zuko could guess what she wanted to say.

It was her turn now. It took much effort from their part but after standing up and turning around, Ty Lee positioned her back towards him, her right arm, now going all the way up her left shoulder where it was joined with Zuko's hand, would be an obstacle when they tried to untangle her braid, but Ty Lee was determined to go through this until the end. As they lowered themselves again Ty Lee could feel Zuko's erection right in her back. She was glad that Zuko couldn't see her blushing face.

It took a while for her husband to actually undo her braid and Ty Lee had to spend all of it in silent meditation while her husband's manhood rubbed against her. Sex was to be a part of their life now and the ritual presented an opportunity to come to terms with it. Embarrassing as it was Ty Lee had to accept that her husband was attracted to her, desired her, and one day she would get pregnant and give him children. It was the most natural thing in the world.

I wonder if he's thinking about children too, she thought as she began to get used to the warmth sensation of Zuko's member against her back. Her husband's hands caressing her hair with soap made her think about the previous night, about his aura, his burned hand and his sudden seduction of her.

I was seduced! Somehow she found the thought disturbingly pleasant. There's so much I want to talk to him about, so much I want to hear. As the silence of the ritual began to take effect, Ty Lee wondered what Zuko's was thinking about, what where his expectations of the marriage, his plans, his hopes, how did she fit in his life, how did they fit in each other's lives.

As Ty Lee laid herself on Zuko's chest to submerge in the warm water and clean away the bubbly foam off her hair, she noticed that Zuko was doing his best to keep their joined hands up her left shoulder avoiding her breast. Summoning a courage she never imagined to have in such a situation, she pulled their hands down to her breast. Before her husband could react, Ty Lee grabbed his other hand with her free left hand and guided him to her other breast while she moved her hips and rubbed her buttocks against his erection, to show him that she was clearly aware of it and she didn't mind. It was all part of their lives now and there was no reason to be ashamed.

By the time they were done it was already past midday but they still lay bit more in each other's arms in the tub. Enjoying each other's presence and thinking about each other, thinking about what they were going to say, taking pleasure of each other's warmth.

Leaving the bathroom and getting dressed was surprisingly natural for them, even if her blush and her husband's erection were still there, the terrifying awkwardness was gone.

This is me, this is your wife, and this is us.

As soon as they undid the knot her husband spoke up.

"We should notify the palace immediately"

She nodded in agreement as they were about to leave the room Ty Lee made mental preparations to avoid her father's men, but she noticed for the very first time that she no longer had a reason to run from them. She was married now. Her father could no longer summon her at will, only her husband and the Fire Lord had any sort of authority over her.

"Wait"

She turned at her husband's voice as she opened the door; Zuko took her hand in his again and tied them once more with the still wet cloth. It was her turn to blush in surprise. It had long stopped being traditional to publicly announce that a couple had undergone the alignment ritual and yet her husband wished the world to know. Ty Lee nodded in agreement and pulled her husband for one last kiss before they went out.

Ty Lee was delighted to no end as she saw the disapproving indignant faces her father's men made when they saw them walk into the street hand in hand, tied together by a ripped piece of cloth.

Even if they had not been so conspicuous, a young handsome man with a scar in the face dressed in military uniform and a beautiful girl dressed in an unusual two piece pink attire that revealed her navel and her slim legs from knee downwards followed by a group of armed men with the banners and sigil of House Lee, the fact that they were openly proclaiming that they had just performed the most intimate ritual a couple could perform would have been enough to attract the attention of every passerby.

A large crowd began to follow them as they walked towards the Fire Temple, but for Ty Lee none of it mattered anymore, she was with her husband and everything would be okay.

She would never forget the scandalised face of the Fire sage as he saw them enter the temple, he was about to reprimand them when her husband stunned the poor man into silence.

"I wish to notify the Royal Temple that Prince Zuko has taken Lady Ty Lee as his wife," he said as he showed the sage the documents of consent. The poor man had no idea how to react; he probably had never expected to be the first authority to be notified of such an important event.

Ty Lee waited impatiently as the sages confirmed the validity of the documents. They offered to hold a ceremony for them to be united in the flames of Agni as soon as they could prepare and invite all important persons in the city. Zuko adamantly refused, he wanted to be united now.

In what was probably the shortest and most ill-prepared religious ceremony in the history of the Fire Nation, Lady Ty Lee became united to Prince Zuko in the flames of Agni. A superfluous ritual without any legal consequence but symbolically important, for it was the first public ceremony any newlywed couple would hold and it was the task of the Fire Sages to announce every new marriage to the community.

Ty Lee would never forget the intense and maddening screaming outside the temple as the Fire Sage proclaimed from the balcony that Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation had married Lady Ty Lee. As they left the temple they were met by a multitude of congratulations and a shower of flowers and rice and wheat to wish them happiness, prosperity and good fortune. How in Agni's name had so many people gathered so quickly and gotten prepared to congratulate them in the few hours that it took the Fire Sages to confirm the validity of their consent of marriage and perform the religious union was something Ty Lee would never comprehend.

They took advantage of the fact that royal protocol dictated that commoners had to kowtow their heads to the ground when in the presence of royalty in all festive occasions to quickly walk into the Town Hall, were they were again surrounded by an ever growing mob of exited supporters and curious passersby.

Word had already reached the local mayor who had to run all the way from his house to the Town Hall to be there to personally congratulate his prince and send the official notification to the royal palace. He was not going to let a low ranking bureaucrat perform a task as prestigious and important as the official notification. Just like it was the exclusive task of the sages to announce any new marriage to the community, it was the task of a mayor, or his subordinates to notify all civil authorities of it, including the Royal Palace itself.

Ty Lee had actually gotten quite nervous when the mayor asked for the written consent to compare it to the public registry. Every time such an important document was issued by a lord or by the Royal Palace a copy was sent to all corresponding civil officials in the nation, and a tight and meticulous bureaucratic system assured at any moment the possibility to confirm if such a document had been nullified or countermanded. They hadn't, but it was another painful reminder of just how improvised, rash and unplanned their marriage had been. Ty Lee was sure that Zuko had never even thought about verifying the validity of the permissions, supposing that he knew that such a step was necessary, and her husband's scared face was proof enough of her suspicions. They would need to talk about this too, now it would be in her direct detriment if her husband made any stupidity for not thinking things through, he needed to think of her now. Ty Lee didn't want to think about how humiliating it would have been if they had made such a scandalous display of intimacy and even a public announcement of marriage for it to be declared invalid on account of a legal technicality.

But it could all wait; right now she was a happy newlywed bride. They both had endured much, their lives had been a succession of accidents and misfortunes as of late, but they had found each other again. They had each other now and they would face whatever challenges the spirits had in store for them together.

After receiving invitations to private celebrations from all important people of the city and the well wishes and congratulations from all the magistrates, they exited the Town Hall to find the entire city waiting for them. All fifty thousand souls of inhabitants plus whatever soldiers from the stronghold that happened to be in town that particular day were crowding the streets, wishing to view their famous prince and his new beautiful bride. Ty Lee saw people filling the balconies, roofs and windows of adjacent buildings, some even climbing trees and statues in the hopes of getting a better view.

Ty Lee was the first one to take a step towards the open and wave at the common folk, dragging her husband with her, making the crowd erupt in a sea of cheers.

"Long live Prince Zuko and Princess Ty Lee!"

For the first time in many years Ty Lee saw her husband smile. She pulled him in a deep kiss while the congregation flared up in rapturous excitement but she paid no mind to them, she had a husband now and this was the happiest moment of her life.