A/N:

Chapter 15:

"You're alive?" Iroh couldn't believe his eyes.

Katara backer away from him and dropped the broom. She apologized before hurrying back into the brothel. As the old tea shop owner stood there baffled, a large man exited where Katara had ran into and gave him a stern look.

"You messing with our girls at this time of day, grandpa?" The large man glared. "They got work to do and if you want an audience with Sapphire right there, it'll cost you more than normal price. She's expensive, poor little exotic thing. You'll need to come load if you want her."

Iroh has absolutely no words. Not only was Katara alive, she was working in a- his eyes looked up at the place- brothel. Oh heavens no.

...

"What's it gonna take for a man like me to take home a girl like you?" A customer was lounging back with his cup of sake as he watched the blue eyed woman dance for him.

Swaying her hips, Katara's wrists twisted to the music, her eyes focused with allure to them with her dark eye makeup. She moved her body like water and rolled to the beat of the song being played by her co-worker. As she stood in front of her guest, his hand went to her thigh and she playfully slapped it away.

"That'll cost you." Katara told him with a wink and her purses lips.

The customer smirked and dug in his coin bag and tossed her five gold coins in her money vase on the table. He then proceeded to feel her up, pulling her into his lap and begin running his hands all over her body. She tried not to show her disgust but it became painfully obvious when she felt him shove his hands into her underwear and rub her pearl.

Pushing herself away, Katara hissed and slapped the man. "That's not for sell!"

"Sure it is, doll face. You work in a spirit damn whore house. The hair on your head to the nails on your toes are all for grabs and I paid my five coins, so I want what I came here for or you can forget about your chump change, girly." The man said with his sickly guck mouth.

Katara swore he was missing several teeth and his breath reeked of more than just booze. She looked from him to her money vase. No way I'm fucking him or any customer. Not what I signed up for.

The waterbender moved quickly for her money vase grabbing it quickly as her co-work fled. The customer jumped for her, grabbing her leg, and drug her back to him. She kicked him away causing him to tumble back in his seat. When she climbed to her feet, Katara took off running with her money. The customer cane run after her. She made it to where many of her fellow women were clustered and greeting their new customers when her hair was yanked back and she collapsed on her knees, still hugging the money vase to her.

Having her hair yanked up as a knee pressed into her back, Katara heard all her co-workers gasp. A blade came up to her neck as she was held in this strained position.

"Give me my money back, Whore, or give me what I want." He told her.

Hissing as she refused both, "Go fuck yourself, you cock sucking moron!"

The customer raised his blade up and intended to lay waste to her, however; his arm was caught.

"You can have your money back so long as you let go of mines." Zhao chimed in.

Yanking the foul customer away from his blue eyed profit, Zhao tossed him out of the brothel.

"Don't let me catch your filth in my business again. And here, take your five coins back you damn bastard." Zhao tossed the coins at the man groveling on the ground.

When the headmaster redirected his attention to his blue eyed profit, he narrowed his gold ones.

"Sapphire, come with me."

Ty Lee and Ming were in shock with the others girls as sapphire was taken of to be spoken with by the headmaster. They hoped she didn't get into too much trouble but it was hard seeing as the scene they all witnessed.

In the inner sanctum, Katara was bent over and struck several times with a leather whip. As much as it hurt, she had got rather use to being punished like this with Ozai. He seemed to have a thing for making her suffer, typical. While she had her ass spanked, the devil himself walked in and observed. His gold eyes sparked at the sight of her in a compromising position. She wouldn't be surprised if he ended up sporting a hard one with how thrilled he seemed to be at her being paddled for whatever reason, thought obviously for being her usual self and getting into trouble.

"What is this?" He asked as he looked up from the waterbender to his right hand.

Zhao stopped halfway into his next strike when he told his master how the girl had refused to refund a customer after denying him special services. Of course, this didn't seem to be a problem for the former tyrant as the girl was his pet and he didn't give a damn about hospitality. He told the admiral that he would finish the remainder of her punishment and dismissed him.

When Zhao left and Katara was told to stand up from being bent over, Ozai snatched her up by her wrist and yanked her to him.

"Are you trying to embarrass me?" He hissed.

Shaking her head, "No."

"No, what?!"

"No, master."

Ozai flung her aside and watched her stumble to the floor. He towered over her, glaring callously at her. It was like he wanted to read her and couldn't. Like he was frustrated and wanted answers.

"Why do you need money that you wouldn't give it back?"

Sighing as she picked herself up from the floor. Now this was embarrassing. Couldn't just say what she wanted to say. So she lied. Better than telling him the truth.

"I saw a dress in town that I wanted." Katara lied. "I don't get to wear anything but the uniforms here. I wanted to wear something different."

Seriously? Ozai's brow raised. That was it? He really didn't know if he should buy it or not but the shame and red hue of her face said it all. Maybe she really did want some dress in town. He wouldn't put it passed this moronic girl to go out of her way for something so small. The life of a peasant must be tiring.

Scoffing as he stepped around her, "If you wanted something you should ask."

"Ask?"

"Yes," he looked at her from over his shoulder to see her standing to her feet. "Ask. I would have it bought for you."

"And why's that?" Suddenly curious.

"Isn't it obvious, waterbender?" He grinned. "You're mine and anything of mines, I take care of. Understood?"

Katara was now regretting lying. She should have just told the truth because at least the conversation wouldn't lead to him telling her this. La, what does he even mean. She told herself not to ask that sort of question aloud, that she would not like the answer. So instead, Katara just stood there without a response and tried her damndest to avoid eye contact with Ozai.

"I'll have Shinji go with you to buy you the dress." Ozai told her. "Though I expect you to show your gratitude later when you return."

Taking from the huskiness of his voice, he must mean for something specific and she didn't have to wonder what he had in mind. She would tell him to go to hell but then it would seem she didn't want the dress all that badly and he'd demand for her to be honest about why she seem to need to money so badly. And she could not, I mean, could not let him know a single reason of the truth for why she needed the money. It might very well get her killed. So she hushed up and played her part. Keeping the truth closer to heart.

Shinji knew his master wanted to find out why and how his bending began returning by getting close to the waterbender, but it didn't seem like much progress lately. However; today, his genius plan seemed to take root as the waterbender seemed flustered that their master would toss a bag of coins to him and tell him to go with her to buy the dress she wanted. Seemed they were getting closer to the answer.

Katara tried looking for place that sold dresses as she hadn't actually wanted to buy a dress. She debated telling Shinji but then again, was that wise? Shinji did give away that she worked at the brothel.

"So I guess you're not here to actually buy a dress." Shinji figured it out.

Shaking her head, "No."

"Then what is with needing money so badly? Are you trying to save up to escape?" Shinji furrowed his brows as he stopped and made her stop.

Swallowing hard, Katara looked up at him with teary eyes. She wanted to say something. She really did but she lied again.

"I want to move out of the brothel. I don't want to work there much longer." Katara told him. "It's degrading."

Somehow falling for it, Shinji sighed and pulled her into his arms to embrace her. He held her around her waist with arm as he laid his hand on the back of her head. Katara was stiff for a moment until she relaxed from the initial shock, and returned the embrace.

"I'll see what I can do about that, alright? But I still have to get you a dress. Ozai won't like that you lied even over something so small." Shinji told her.

Resting her head against his chest, Katara nodded. "Okay."

As the two of them hugged they heard the clearing of someone's throat. The looked over while still in each other's arms to see and old man wearing rather expensive clothes. Katara's eyes widened.

"I see you have reason to disappear, Ms. Katara. I doubt Zuko would be happy to discover you've moved on." Iroh chuckled.

Pulling a part, Shinji was also surprised to see the old man. Ozai was going to lose his mind if he found out Katara had been discovered alive by her former ally.

Swallowing hard, "Oh we're not together." She stated.

"If you say so. You ran the yesterday morning when I spotted you. Is everything alright?" Iroh asked with deep concern. She wasn't only supposed be dead but Aang said he suspected she had been captured by Ozai.

Placing his hand behind Katara's back, "How about we grab lunch and talk?"

Katara looked up at Shinji with confusion as he held his hand to her lower back.

"What?" She whispered to him.

"Just follow my lead." He whispered back.

"That explains a lot." Iroh said as he listened to the waterbender explain what happened to her and why everyone thought she was dead.

Sighing as she held a warm cup of tea in her hands, "I knew someone was after me. I knew they had seen Kia and I couldn't risk them trying to take him. At first, I thought it just rebels but it turned out to be Ozai. I had a few run ins while being on the run but I've finally gotten away. So I'm in hiding."

"At a brothel?"

"I make good money." Katara stated.

Iroh raised his brow.

"Not like that. I just host and serve our guests beverages. Sometimes I dance but I can handle touchy customers." Katara told him, hoping to reassure his doubts.

However; Iroh wasn't very fond of the waterbender and his grandson living in an establishment like that. It wasn't safe nor was it the kind of place for them to be. The old former General turned teashop owner offered them to come back with him and hide in the upper ring of Bei Seng Sei. It was safer. No one without proper papers could get to them.

Looking to Shinji before back to Iroh, "Sorry, Iroh, But I can't. I've taken a liking to being on my own. Even if it's not ideal. I like it here."

"Think of your son-"

"I do. I always do." Katara said in a somber voice. "Not a moment goes by that I haven't. He's my everything. I want what's best but I believe staying here is for the best. Isn't that right, Shinji?"

Shinji nodded his head.

Smiling, Katara placed her hands on Shinji, "He's been the best role model for Kai. He really looks up to him. I can't take him from someone he finally sees a father like figure in. It would be detrimental to Kai. I can't and I won't."

Seeing now that there was more to it, Iroh accepted the waterbender's willingness to stay. However; he still didn't see why she had to stay at a brothel. To which she said she just needed the money and planned to get her own place. This also became acceptable as she did have a plan to get her own home to properly raise her son.

As they finished their meal and got ready to leave the noodle house, Shinji told Katara that he'd meet her at the shop, they still had a dress to buy. Left with Iroh for a moment alone, the waterbender's joyful expression turned into a fearful one in seconds.

"Iroh." She said his name with unease. "I'm-"

"My brother caught you, didn't he?" Iroh seemed to have known all along. From the moment he saw her and she frantically went running back into the brothel. He knew.

"I was kidnapped the night my home back in the South Pole burned to the ground. I've been with him ever since. He had Kai hidden from me. I don't even know if he's alright!" Katara cried.

Iroh pulled the young girl to him and embraced her. As she hugged him back, Katara whispered something to him and the old man gasped. She didn't allow him to pull from her. Continuing to whispering in his ear and the look on his face became more and more mortified.

"What has my brother done to you?"

Finally, letting go, Katara looked to him and shook her head.

"Then you must leave with me! Find Kai and we'll leave now!"

"Iroh, I don't know where he is. Ozai has him hidden away."

Iroh sighed, "Then you must get him to tell you. By any means necessary."

Swallowing hard, "I know." As she gazed at the ground.

Iroh embraced the waterbender before telling her where he was staying in wait of her. She gave him a sober smile before pulling away.

"I should go before-"

"It's fine. Go." Iroh prayed the girl found her son without further ruining herself but he knew better. His brother was deplorable and had defiled the girl as it were. He saw the marks on the poor girl's neck and wrists. She was chained like a caged animal. As soon as she found her son, he was taking her away from here.

"Twirl for me." Ozai said as he sat in his chair, staring at the waterbender in her new dress. He actually thought she looked lovely in it. Though he figured it would be even better in the floor.

...

"This is it. This is where I found that guy that told me he saw Katara here with your father and some other guy, probably a goon." Aang said as he and his friends stood in disguises looking around the large crowd for a man with a scar on his left eye.

Zuko was terribly anxious about all of this. After believing Katara had been dead for a month now, he didn't know if he could quite accept she wasn't. It felt unreal to be out here looking for her. Suki patted his back and rubbed it.

"We'll find them." Suki said.

Moving from her as he hissed under his breath, "Yeah, but will they be in one piece."

"Sure, she will. This is Katara we're talking about. We can't lose hope. She's the toughest one out of all of us." Suki said with a hopeful smile.

Zuko refused to look at her. He was too busy looking for the man Aang described to him. He would force the information out of that punk and find out where Katara was.

"Hey! That's him!" Anag pointed to a man posted against a wall with a pipe in hand a mean mug on his face.

The Fire Lord didn't take time jumping to the scene and dashing towards to man. Zuko grabbed him by his collar and pushed him up against the wall and punched his fist into it just next to his head.

"Where's the girl with the blue eyes?!" Zuko growled. "She had a little boy with her!"

The man was caught off guard and flailed his arms about, not too much of a tough guy. "Girl with blue eyes?! I ain't seen no blue eyed girl with a kid! I seen one with two men! One linky one and another that requested a private audience with her at the brothel. He was a bit scary looking. Should have known he'd take her and run. "

So Aang was right. Katara was alive. But his son wasn't with her. Zuko furrowed his brows and lit his fist on fire and held it in front of the man's face.

"Where'd they go?! I know you know!"

"North! There's an estate north that recaptured her and her friend. I heard she was last there before she fled again."

Now that's how you get information. Zuko backed off and turned to see Suki and Aang staring at him as if he did something wrong.

Rubbing his chest, the man cracked his neck and looked at Zuko. "Be careful finding her, I hear there's plenty of trouble circulated around her. The men at the estate that captured her and the scary man with her said it was chaos trying to stop him. He's not a man I ever want to run into again."

Zuko figured that must be his father. So he really didn't kill Katara. He wondered why. Maybe to use her as ransom. No doubt he must have discovered she meant something to him when he discovered their son.

"Come on, we're going north." Zuko says.

Arriving at the place Aang and the man in Gaoseng mentioned. This was where Katara was last seen. Where Aang lost track of her. Zuko felt there had to be some clue as to where she was.

"So you're looking for that Water lily. Good luck. I had my mean search high and low for her and we've found nothing."

"Nothing? Are you sure?" Suki asked. There had to be some clue.

"Look, girly. That darling girl wasn't with just any man. She was with that former tyrant. Said he stole her son and dragged her along after she begged him to so she could see her son again. I tried to help her, save her from him but when he escaped, he took her with him. If you ask me, she's not the kind of lady you all need to get up with. She's with a dangerous man and he seems hellbent on keeping her in his custody."

Nothing this man said did Zuko like. Not only was it confirmed his father took Katara alive but his father had split her up from their son from the sound of it. Zuko clenched his fists.

"Did she have any marks or bruises on her." He asked.

Toshiro shook his head, "I don't believe so. He did threaten to snap her neck when I tried to take her from him but she managed to get him to do otherwise. but that was weeks ago, there's no telling what condition she's in now."

Zuko didn't assume another but the worst. Knowing his father, he feared what might have become of her now that he had taken her out of public view.

"But I'll tell you all this. If I had a rare beauty that stood out like her, I'd go somewhere with more of them. The closest place his kind could hide with someone that stands out like her would be Xiao Lu."

"Xiao Lu? That's where Iroh went!" Aang said.

Scratching his chin, "And its a former Fire Nation colony. Plenty of rebels forces occupy that place."

"Then we might have a lead on where they are."

"Let head out, the longer we wait the worse Katara could be when we find her." Zuko took off. He wasn't wasting time. Katara needed him.

...

Katara twirled as asked and tried not to be stiff about it. Somehow Ozai didn't get the memo that she didn't like him and hated when she acted uneasy around him, especially when it was just them. She wondered if he was really going to let her go after he got what he truly wanted, the throne. Something told her not to hold her breath.

Wanting to touch her, Ozai signaled for her to come sit in his lap. She reluctantly did and allowed him to run his hands over the skin of her shoulders while kissing her in her neck. He wanted her. And she could tell by his member pressing up against her. La, she wanted to kill him. But she remembered what Iroh told her. She had to find her son by buttering Ozai up.

Her eyes rolled in disgust as her breast was taken into his hand and squeezed. I can't believe I'm doing this but I need to learn where my son is. Katara scorned herself as she turned around in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, all straddling him. She took her tongue and ran it up the side of his cheek before nibbling on his ear. This used to get Zuko in the mood for anything. She wondered if it would work on Ozai. She then dropped her head to his neck and bit into him as her hand fumbled to grab his wrists and force them above his head.

Katara heard him hiss through his teeth as she bruised his neck. She actually couldn't believe he was letting her have the upper hand like this. Maybe he liked it. Anyways, she was on a mission. This wasn't something she wanted to do but had to. What other choice did she have when it came to the former tyrant that undeniably had a thing for her.

Letting go of his wrists as she pulled back from his neck, Katara reached for his top and started unbuttoning it. Her lips pressed to his as she did this. Kissing him rather passionately, pretending in her head that he was Zuko, which helped her get over what she was doing. When his shirt was laying on the floor. Katara's lips went back to his neck as she traveled down to his chest, kissing him as she slithered out of the chair.

When Katara grabbed his belt buckle, she flashed her eyes up at him and grinned slyly as she undid it. Her eyes never fell from his as she then pulled his member from his pants.

Ozai's hand went into her hair as she took him in her mouth. He couldn't help but hiss at the way her tongue served as a bed for his cock as she took him to back of her throat and slurped her way back to the tip.

Katara tried thinking of anyone but Ozai at the moment as she gave him oral sex. However; it was rather hard to do while having such a girthy and long member in her mouth. She nearly choked when she felt him thrust into her mouth and hold her head there.

Not happy with this, Katara removed him from her mouth with a wet pop and eyed him. She shook her head as she placed her hand around him and stroked him a little before putting him back in her mouth.

Finishing him, she swallowed every last drop of his essence, sucking it right out of him. Katara wipes her mouth as she looked up to see a rather pleased and sexually satisfied man. She couldn't help but feel a small sense of pride in her technique. She knew from Zuko that she was pretty much a pro at this.

And for the final touch, Katara slithered back into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck laying her head against his chest.

"Thank you for the dress." Katara said in the sweetest tone she had ever used with him.

Later that evening Katara was laying in bed with a chain around her ankle to keep her from leaving the room, it was long enough for her to walk to the bathroom but that was it. As she wiggled herself out of Ozai's arms as he slept, she hurried off to the bathroom.

Yes! Finally! Never in her life had she been so happy to see her cycle. She didn't know what she would do if she had gone any longer without it.

"Thank La!" She cried. "Thank you."

Now she didn't have to save up money to have that bastard's child removed from her. Katara was so happy that she fell to the floor and laid there in a curled position.

Eventually, she went back to bed and pulled Ozai's arm back over her. She was squeezed immediately and heard the groaning sounds of him stirring awake. Her body instinctively went stiff.

Rubbing his face against her hair, "I like you, waterbender. A lot."

Katara's widened.

"I think I'll keep you." Ozai pressed himself closer to her. "And make you my woman."

No. No. NO!

"No more going to the brothel. You stay here. I don't want other men touching what's mine." He told her.

Shit!

In the morning, Ozai made her but on her new dress and told Zhao that she was no longer working at the brothel, to Zhao's disappointment. She was his most profitable girl and it was sad to see her be made the woman of his master. It was then made clear to all his men that she was his woman and was not to be touched by anyone but him. He made this especially clear to Shinji and Lao. The two he felt needed to hear this the most.

Katara sat in the bathroom on the floor with her knees pulled to her. She sat with her back pressed to the door. La, she hated this. Who would have thought of all people she'd end up being the 'girlfriend' of, it would be Ozai. Seriously. This had to be a joke. A sick twisted joke.

"You've been in there all day." Ozai knocked on the door.

"I'm on my cycle." She said as she pulled her knees tighter to herself.

That came as a relief to Ozai. Last thing he needed was another kid to deal with. Especially one of his own. That would not be good. Plus, he couldn't imagine a pregnant waterbender walking about. She was so small to begin with. Anyways, this was good news to him.

"Then at least come out to eat." He told her.

Not wanting to get on his bed side again as it was counterproductive to her plans, Katara reluctantly pulled herself off the floor and opened the door to leave out.

"I've barely seen you since this morning." Ozai remarked as he followed behind the girl.

Headed for the dining room, Katara apologetically told him she had been feeling sick and needed to alone for a few hours. She promised him she would not repeat this again tomorrow. And as she sat down she wait until he sat before eating anything off her plate.

The waterbender ate slowly as Ozai asked her about her abilities as a waterbender. He wanted to know how she was able to turn back on his ability to bend, restoring his chi. But he couldn't outright ask her. It would make her withhold that sort of information. So, he would dance around the question and hope that she'd eventually give him insight.

Of course, Katara told him everything, wanting to get on his good side and stay there.

"So you can't heal old scars, deep burns, fatal injuries?" Ozai found this particular interesting as it related to his quest for his power back. "Can you heal someone spiritually?"

Shrugging her shoulders, "I guess I can but I've never tried."

"Could you try?"

"Sure. Who do you want me to try on?"

Grinning sinisterly, "Why, Of course, me."

A/N: