Zuko had taken one look at the woman his father had indicated, and she took his breath away. She was so sensual, and the spark in her gorgeous blue eyes thrilled him. She was even willing to stand up to his monster of a father and not back down, knowing he would abuse her. He didn't know anyone that had the same fight in them.

He knew he couldn't let his father have her. He believed Ozai would break her. It would take a long time, but he would. His father always won, and he would stop at nothing to achieve his goals. She was obviously strong, but his father was depraved.

He was relieved when his father gave her over to him, yet he was surprised by how easy it had been. The problem was that he would have to actually have sex with her. And he realized his father knew he couldn't force a woman, and Ozai believed she would absolutely have to be forced. The plan to just nic his leg with a dagger and put blood on his sheets wouldn't fool a doctor's internal exam. He just hoped she wouldn't hate him for what he needed to do. He hoped she saw him as a better alternative to his father.

He followed her out and watched the guards half carry and half drag her down the hall. He made a decision. "Let her go! She will walk nicely with me."

He then walked over to her as she glared at him, and he saw the same spark in her eyes. He leaned in and whispered, "please walk with me. I can't watch them drag you down the hall. Surely you don't like it either. Think of it as you getting to choose and not being forced." He then stepped back and waited for her response.

"I will walk Prince Zuko," she said, and he thought she sounded like she had the dignity of a Lady.

"Then follow me, please. What's your name?" He asked and started walking away, not looking back to see if she followed him. He wanted her to see him take her at her word. When he heard the light tapping of feet behind him, he smiled since she couldn't see him.

From behind him, he heard her say, "Katara."

Once they were alone in his room, he held up his hands in surrender. "Please tell me I'm better than him. I couldn't let him have you. Not knowing my father and how brutally he will rape you. I couldn't…."

Katara shifted back and cocked her hip. "Isn't that what you said you'd do? I mean, you do have to prove you had sex with me. It's that, or I could rip your throat open with my teeth first."

"As vivid and disturbing as that mental image is… get the other one out of your head. I won't rape you."

She scoffed, "you have to bed me or-"

He cut her off, "I wasn't kidding. I want a willing woman. Can we come to some sort of compromise?"

"What?!" She snapped. "You get sex, and I lay there like a good girl and take it!? What do I get?"

"Protection! Protection from my father and the other men. I can keep you safe. I might not be a respected prince of the Fire Nation, but my father won't tolerate insubordination. If another man touches a woman deemed mine, he will have them killed. They wouldn't be that foolish."

She looked at him in shock. "What?"

"I'm saying I make you my willing mistress, and I'll keep you safe. Or do you want one of the other men to take you to their bed? They are all like my father. The more you fight, the more often they will rape you."

She looked at him thoughtfully. "You'd expect me to act submissive to you around your father. It would help prove you're a man. That you fucked the sharp-tongued whore into obedience."

He chuckled at her characterization of what would happen, "I will be honest and admit that yes, that will be a huge plus. Especially when everyone watched you dare to spit in the Fire Lord's face."

She smirked. "That was so much fun and utterly worth being struck for."

He chuckled. "I have to say I enjoyed seeing you bite him and spit on him. Watching him hit you, though, that made me sick."

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and considered her options. She felt the sting on her cheeks, and her answer became obvious. She opened her eyes, looked at him, and nodded. "Yes, I will do what I need to. I need your protection, and you need my help."

He breathed out a sigh of relief. "I'm really glad I didn't screw this up by asking for you. I could never force a woman."

Katara slid the straps of her dress off her, and it pooled on the ground, revealing she was naked underneath the dress. She walked forward and placed a hand seductively on his chest –she was well trained.

Zuko swallowed hard, and his knees almost buckled at the strength of his desire and what was to come. He placed a hand on her sexy butt and pulled her body flush to his. "Suddenly, this doesn't seem like an obligation. In fact, I'm really looking forward to what comes next." His eyes then traveled down her naked body.

She smiled at him. "From what I was taught, it's whatever you desire, Fire Nation Prince."

"That will definitely be part of this, but I want it to feel good for you too –your desires matter to me. I know you don't want this to have been with anyone from the Fire Nation, but it's what it is. You might as well let go and try to enjoy yourself."

He spun her around in his arms and grabbed her breasts, and rubbed his thumbs over her pert nipples, coaxing them into stiff peaks as he breathed hot and heavy in her ear. His straining erection was pressed against her firm ass. He kissed her neck where it joined with her shoulder and whispered. "You're beautiful. This will be a total pleasure for me."

His right hand then moved, rested heavily on her stomach and then moved down, cupping her bare pussy. He dipped one finger between her folds and found her clit, and slowly circled it. He then kissed her neck while he continued playing with her sensitive bundle of nerves. While he did, he kept pinching her nipple.

He whispered, "are you with me on this?" He knew she was with how wet she was. He still wanted to hear her consent, though.

She moaned and leaned her head back on his shoulder. "I can let go and enjoy myself." She then let out a low lusty moan as he plunged one finger into her tight virgin pussy. The new sensation of being touched there was a thrilling one.

"I like the fact that I'm the first one here between your legs –touching you like this. How did you wait? Surely men were begging and pleading to get you on your back and find bliss."

She chuckled and said, "the only man there around my age was my brother. I love him, but yuck."

He added another finger inside of her and started a pumping motion. "You can't believe how badly I burn for you. You are willingly giving me your virginity, and I know that matters. And damn, do I want you to be mine. I want to look into your sexy eyes as I have you fuck they are the first thing I noticed about you. I will do anything to protect you, Katara."

"As long as Fire Lord Ozai is alive, I will never be safe."

He nipped at her shoulder as he began thumbing her clit as he finger her. "Then you will be delighted to know I have plans to put an end to him. I just need his trust first." He felt her body tense up, and her walls started to clench. He finger fucked her with one hand and moved the other down to start frantically flicking her clit. When she was close to an orgasm, he whispered, "what to help me kill the Fire Lord?"

"Yes!" Katara yelled out in ecstasy. She orgasmed and was trembling. She felt as weak as a kitten-cub but managed to turn to look at him. "I will help you kill him."

"Then be my lover, and we'll work side by side to destroy him. During the day, we'll work to kill him, and at night, we'll find pleasure in each other's bodies. You turn me on so much; my cock is so hard for you."

As an answer Katara crawled onto his large bed and laid down, and spread her legs for him. She then beckoned him over with her finger. "Come and play with me."

He crawled on the bed toward her after stripping off his clothes, his cock bobbing. He held his cock then, lined himself up, and thrust in, breaking her barrier and growling out in conquering pride. It was the first time he ever felt like the prince he was.

He locked eyes with her while he was seated deep inside of her. "I have nothing here that's really mine. Everything and everyone belongs to my father. I need you to be mine and only mine." he breathed through his nose once and pumped his cock in her, then stilled again. "Your virginity, your body, your help, and those fucking beautiful eyes of yours. I need this. Finally, something special that's mine." He began taking her with slow, steady strokes. He maintained eye contact. "I need this –you. I've never seen a more beautiful woman, and to have you willing… Thank you."

She reached up and touched his scarred cheek. He tried to turn his face away from her gaze then, but she wouldn't let him. She said, "I like your scar."

"It's my shame," he said, blushing and pausing his hips.

She rocked up against him hard. "Go back to fucking me." She then said, "and I like the proof that you aren't your father's puppet. The scar is the main reason I'm here willingly. It's why I believe you when you say you want to kill him."

"This is the weirdest sex talk ever," he said, shaking his head.

She moaned as he thrust into her hard. She arched her back and raked her fingers through his long hair. "It's getting me hot."

"Katara, can I…" he was trembling with the desire to take her more. "Can I go harder?"

She moved her head, looked him in the eyes, and said, "fuck me hard, Zuko, I want it."

Her words drove him wild. "Let's see how much I can wreck this tight wet cunt of yours." He then fucked her with all his strength, and his long thick cock bottomed out inside of her and started scooting her up the bed. She braced her hands on the headboard, and he felt their bodies slap together. She was screaming out loudly in pleasure, and it gave him the need to take her with even more intensity. The enormous bed frame banged into the wall as she screamed herself hoarse, and eventually, her voice cracked.

When they both orgasmed, she screamed his name in her raspy voice. He thought it was the best sound in the world. He pulsed out inside of her, and he liked the idea of his seed in her belly. He wondered if that made him a sick bastard like his father. "Sorry, I should have pulled out," he whispered as he did just that with his softening cock. He was inexperienced and didn't realize precum had a higher sperm count than cum.

She shrugged, "I can't get pregnant right now anyway. Why?" she said in a teasing voice. "You don't want me pregnant with your child?"

He chuckled and laid down next to her. "Actually, I like the idea –a lot. I simply don't want to force that on you."

She smirked at him and said, "could your bastard be legitimized? I like the idea of my child as your heir."

"Why?!" He asked, shocked.

"I'm not some water peasant. My father is Chief of the Southern Water Tribe. I like the idea of his grandson sitting on the throne someday. It delights me."

"What if we make a new deal? You help make me the Fire Lord, and in turn, I make you the Fire Lady."

She turned her head to him and asked, "with lots of sex like we just had?"

"Yes."

"Deal!"

He looked at her in confusion. "Why would you agree to that?"

"My first orgasm."

"It was that good?" He asked, not bragging but confused.

She caressed his scar and said, "it was amazing. But that's not it. We made a deal, and I belong to you. But still, you worried about my pleasure first. I'm sure you enjoyed it, but you could have had me on my knees or my back. You took care of me and ensured I was ready for sex." She cocked her head, "and I believe you did it without even thinking about it. It's just who you are. And I am in the middle of the Fire Nation, you must admit. This is by far my best option."

"I'm not used to the idea of being this… Something someone would want."

He then looked at the ceiling. "Wait, you're Chief Hakoda's daughter! That's finally now sinking in."

"Please don't tell your father."

Zuko gave her a smirk and said, "I absolutely am! He will invite your father to shock him and rub it in his face, who I took to my bed. He brings him right to us. I can't leave. He doesn't trust me. But we could meet with him here and tell him any help we would need to overthrow my father."

Katara rolled over and laid her head on his chest, and sighed. As she did, he caressed her hair. "Don't you think it would make him want to take me to his bed? That he'd like to rape his enemy's daughter?"

Zuko's hand stilled, and he brushed her hair off her face. "I don't know. I won't say anything until we're sure he won't try to do that."

"Thank you." She then wiggled and snuggled up her body to his. "If he tries, it would be kinder to kill me."

He looked at her and said, "I will do everything in my power to protect you, Katara." He then shifted and flipped her to her back and looked her in the eyes as he leaned over her. "I'm tired of being the weak prince, and now I have someone to fight for, someone to protect. I won't fail. I can't let myself fail."

She gently placed her hand on his scarred cheek. "I really do prefer the scar. It makes you look dangerous and shows that you will fight."

"I lost! Badly!" He said, flushing in deep mortification.

She laughed. "No, you weren't ready then. Not to kill him and not to fight him. But, you will be. You stood and faced him. Know how I know?"

"How!?"

She fingered the ridges of his scar. "This isn't on your back." He looked at her in wonderment. She then added, "Southern Water Tribe warriors all have scars on them; it brings honor. It's the few on their backs that bring them shame. It means they turned and fled, or they let the enemy sneak up behind them. You did neither with a man that the whole world fears."

He brought his hand to her bare hip and held her looking down at her and shaking his head. "You're the only one who sees it that way."

She smirked, "how many water tribe people do you know?"

"One," he admitted.

"It's our way. I was raised to find scars, a mark of distinction and valor. Without it, you'd look like a spoiled prince to me."

"I didn't even fight!"

"Yet you faced him. It's a mark of bravery."

"I still think you're crazy," he teased.

She rolled her eyes with good humor, "I think it's sexy. So, since I'm the one who is spreading her legs for you, take it as a win."

"Whatever gets me between your thighs is a win."

She caressed his chest, "what about Mai? You said you'd make me the Fire Lady, but isn't she your betrothed? And why me? You'd have my body either way. You could have me and a Fire Nation-born wife."

"You'd stay my mistress if I married someone else?"

"She would have to know about me before you married her, but yes. I don't want to belong to any of those other men."

"It all goes back to the conversation about what's mine here. And a bit of the reason why the others have mistresses. When a powerful family marries a powerful family, you never lose those ties. The men are more themselves with a mistress, even the non-brutal ones. A wife can't be fully trusted since she is trying to raise up and promote her own family's agenda. You don't have to second or third guess a mistress's motives for things –they are safer. They don't have ties when they are from the harem."

That helped Katara see it a bit clearer, and she said, "And I don't have family ties, but I don't have connections to help you either."

He shrugged, "except you do. I didn't realize it at the time, but your father is Chief. Also, at the time, I did know that the other nations will take me more seriously if I someone from the Southern Water Tribe when I tell them I'm ending the war. It will piss off the Fire Nation, but I'm okay with that. It will be an act of asserting my own will, and they will at least respect me when I demand to be obeyed."

He rolled her to her back, leaned over her, and looked into her eyes. "As for Mai. I. Don't. Want. Her. She's my father's pick for me and one of my sister's best friends. I used to have a crush on her, yes, and people still talk about how obvious it was that I liked her all the time. But my sister is horrible, and there came a time when I couldn't reconcile an attraction to her and her devotion to someone who's exactly like my father. I couldn't let go of my desire for his acceptance and rationalize my sister's closeness with her. I let my father consider us still betrothed because, one, he wouldn't rescind the betrothal, and two, I plan to kill him before a marriage could happen and then explain the betrothal died with him."

He grabbed her breast and said, "you are the only one in the Fire Nation that's entirely mine. I need you to be my Fire Lady because you're the only one I can trust. I know what you're getting out of this; you were honest with me. Also, I like the idea of marrying someone from the water tribe. It will be too bad my father will be dead and won't be able to witness me marry you. It would make him incandescent in his rage."

He then carded his fingers through her hair and brought himself face to face with her. "I want to marry you for so many reasons. I have to marry you for your eyes. Every time I look at your beautiful eyes, I want fuck you." He slid over and covered her body with his, keeping eye contact. "I never knew eyes could be so erotic until I saw yours." Her steady, unwavering gaze gave him confidence. "If I don't marry you, I'll never be able to look into my wife's eyes as I try to get her with child. Not when I will be comparing them to yours." He then thrust his cock deep inside of her and groaned in pleasure.

Katara moaned and scratched her nails down his back. "I can't believe how much I love sex." She then gave herself entirely over to the pleasure he could bring her, and she was screaming wildly in ecstasy again.