A/N:

Two chapters in a day! Enjoy!

Chapter 23:

Rolling her hips in his lap as they were in each other's embrace, sitting upright in the middle of the bed, Katara passionately kissed her husband as she felt him throbbing inside of her. She ran her nails lightly across his shoulders and to his back and then his neck as she pulled on his hair. He bit her lip and then her jaw as he growled.

"I'm going to cum." He hissed as pulled her down on his length and thrusted upward into her.

Katara felt him coat the inside of her as he did the last several nights and moaned as she hated how good it felt inside of her. La, she wished he'd just let her take the contraceptive.

Kissing her jaw where he bit her and then her lips, Ozai brushed her bed hair away. "It's too early to be giving me that look, what's wrong?"

"You're not even trying to prevent me from getting pregnant." Katara was practically glaring at him as she still held her arms around his neck.

Smirking down at her, "I can't help it." He said pushing her down out of his lap and onto her back, climbing over her. "Your fault for being this damn appetizing."

Katara rolled her eyes as he had her again and once again, filled her up. She shoved him off of her and quickly made her way to the bathroom to do what she could to prevent getting pregnant. Waterbenders had their own ways of taking care of these sorts of things. If Ozai was going to use her as a literal cum dump, she would have to look out for herself as far as her reproductive health.

Ignoring him as she cleaned herself out and decided to bathe alone, Katara grinned to herself as it seemed he was having a hard time unjamming the door she froze. When she was done, the waterbender grabbed a towel and unjammed the door to leave, walking passed her husband as he stood there staring at her coldly.

"You said you'd be a good wife."

"And I asked you what you wanted more." Katara replied as she tossed her towel aside and went to her dresser of clothes to dress in something light weight. She wanted to lounge about since there was nothing for her to specifically do at the moment.

Watching his wife dress herself in a simple peach colored gown, Ozai narrowed his eyes. "I don't know what you expect me to do. You're my wife now. A man should only worry about spilling his seed if it is with a whore not his wife."

"I told you I didn't want any more children right now." Katara eyed him over her shoulder as she pulled over her white fur mantle for her shoulders.

Ozai approached his young wife and stood over her. "Why not?"

"Is there not more to me than just being in your bed and having your children?" Katara kneaded her brows as she looked up at him. "I don't know what all is expected of a Fire Lady and I might have a poor reputation amongst certain circles and I may have come from a low birth but I'm no less capable than anyone else. If you're going to use my body, why not use the rest of me too? I can be of use in politics. Specifically when it comes to foreign affairs."

Ozai stroked his beard as he eyed her. It wasn't like he thought she was only to be in his bed all day like he had thought before. He just didn't really know what to do with her. The Fire Lady's position was always determined by the sitting Fire Lord. It varied between Fire Lords. His father didn't put his mother in charge of much. Just let her handle small affairs around court and manage his large harem. His grandfather obscured his wife completely from the public eye. No one ever really saw her. But there had been Fire Lords that made their wives their equals to share the burden of the throne. Ozai had been Fire Lord before and by himself. He didn't exactly know what he could do with Katara just yet.

"Your limits and expectations are for me to decide." Ozai informed her. "I'll decide that once I have a better understanding of your skill set. Until then-"

"You get to fuck me whenever and however." Katara folded her arms.

Rolling his eyes, "Please, don't do this with me, Katara. We were getting along."

Walking around him to leave their bedroom, "Fine. I'm going to go see my sons."

…..

Ursa was surprised to see Katara was back and returned with the boys. She and her servants hurried over to the new Fire Lady to bow to her. Katara told them to stand as she wasn't used to people doing that to her. The two women made their way to the courtyard benches to sit as the Fire Lady's servants set the table with snacks and a tea kettle. Kai sat himself beside his mother as she held his baby brother, taking a cookie from one of the trays on the table.

Chuckling as she was tickled by the little boy, "How are you liking things in your new rooms, Kai?"

Kai kicked his feet back and forth as he ate his cookie, "I like it alot. It's huge and I get to see grandpa more."

"And what about you? Do you like your new chambers?" Ursa grinned at Katara.

Not bothering to make eye contact with the woman, "I like them." She said simply.

Ursa poured them both some tea while Katara nursed her youngest, "I saw you and Ozai left early the other night. Rumors going around about you having plotted with him against my son during your kidnapping. Of course, I know the truth but I am curious. When exactly did you and Ozai get so chummy? The two of you have been locked up in your chambers together for six days."

Katara really didn't know how to answer that because it wasn't very easy trying to pinpoint exactly when they stopped hating each other's guts because it was at different times for them. Ozai stopped hating her first when he acknowledged he was attracted to her and Katara guessed he fell for her when he was in prison. As for her, she didn't exactly feel the same way about him. Sure, she liked him. Definitely liked him when he wasn't getting on her nerves and they weren't at odds. He could be likeable at times. However; she felt maybe she was just sort of broken inside and couldn't bring herself to love anyone right at this moment.

Sighing as she stared down at Soji, who was nursing on her breast, "Ozai says he's in love with me and I figured that started sometime while he was in prison the second time."

"And when did you fall for him?"

"I haven't." Katara told her as she looked at the older woman. "Ozai is not what I expected in both a good and bad way. I know he means what he says because of how he treats me now, so I don't wonder too much but I'm not ready to have those feelings right now."

"And why not?"

"Because he still killed my father, kidnapped me and Kai, and then killed Shinji, who was helping me when I didn't have many options. Not to mention his history in the parenting department." Katara said sadly. "If it weren't for those things, I could look past a lot of things and maybe be in love with him too but I need more time getting over those things."

Ursa completely understood that. Ozai was a different man when she met him. They were friends for many years and he had the reputation of a whoremonger but he never once touched her when they were only just friends. However; when they married he was cruel to her and blamed her for everything. He didn't love her and he made it his business to remind her everyday. Ursa knew the kind of monster he could be and was relieved to know that the young mother had no delusions when it came to Ozai. He could always turn. For any given reason.

As Katara decided to take the boys back to the inner sanctum, she managed to see a group of noblewomen walking on the other side of the hall. They all bowed to her before carrying on. The servants and guards would all take time to acknowledge her. It made her feel a bit uncomfortable but she figured that eventually, she would get used to it.

"Your majesty." Zhao said as he ran into the new Fire Lady and her sons.

Katara didn't exactly know how to respond. Especially seeing as she didn't really like Zhao and would have liked it better if he didn't speak to her.

Seeing this, Zhao chuckled. "You are much too cold, your majesty."

"Just because I'm Fire Lady doesn't mean you have to pretend to like me. It'll be easier for us both if we cut the pleasantries."

Zhiar smirked, "That statement alone is enough to make me like you. However, there's something about an ill-bred woman walking around with a crown on her head that makes it very hard for me to tolerate you."

"I'm glad to know I'm not alone in my ill feelings here."

"No, you are not, your majesty." Zhao bowed once again. "I do hope you will attend my upcoming wedding. Lady Mai was sure to invite you specifically."

Furrowing her brows at him, "Lady Mai?"

Zhao had gone on without answering her and only grinned as walked by her.

Katara hurried along with her children and took them to their shared chambers before going back to hers. There she saw her husband talking with what looked like a wealthy merchant with a box of jewels in the sitting area.

Noticing her as soon as she was in the room, Ozai gestured for her to come over and returned his attention to a specific item he was interested in. Once Katara was at his side, he got her sit beside him and look over the item.

"Will this work?" He asked her.

Katara studied the item and saw it was a ring with tiny encrusted blue gemstone circling around it while an even bigger blue stone dangled.

"They look like nice earrings." She told him, not knowing exactly what he was asking her.

"Not for your ears."

"Oh." She suddenly caught on and gave the 'earring' another look. "Umm, it looks heavy. Anything lighter weight?"

Ozai's eyes went to the merchant.

"Ah, yes. We do, your majesty. Plenty."

As he showed off the rest of his collection, Ozai picked out a few he liked and made the merchant turn around as he wanted to see if they would suit his wife. He pulled down the already low collar of her dress to get an accurate measurement of them. Holding them over her nipples, he tried to see which he liked most and found he liked all of them.

"Which do you like?" He asked her curiously.

"Whichever pleases my husband." Katara replied, not really caring either way. She really didn't care if she wore piercings on her nipples anymore. This was more of his thing at this point. He wanted to see her wear them and it didn't really matter to her.

Katara fixed her dress as Ozai paid the merchant for the jewelry he decided to purchase. When he was done, she followed him to their bedroom and watched him stow the rings away in a box on top of their dresser.

"You kept Mai around?"

"Is that a problem?" Ozai looked over his shoulder.

"Yes, actually. She tried to have me killed."

"And I tried to kill you. So what's your point?"

Katara didn't even feel like saying anything else as it felt like she was talking to a brick wall. Again.

"Nothing." She sighed as she walked off.

….

For a few days, Ozai noticed his wife wasn't talking much to him anymore. She was quiet day in and day out. The only time she spoke a word was if he spoke first and even then, she only ever agreed with him as if she couldn't be bothered to give her own opinion. He eventually got fed up when they were having sex and he tried to see how she'd respond to him telling her he was going to impregnate her and she told him to do whatever he wanted. It killed the mood and he rolled over with his back to her while she simply sighed and told him Goodnight.

The next morning he tried to confront her but she barely responded back. They were only three weeks into their marriage and she was already going cold on him again. Ozai really didn't know how to deal with it and decided to leave her alone for the time being.

While wrapping up a meeting with his advisors and ministers, Ozai saw Zhao approaching him with his usual smug expression.

"Your majesty, you don't seem to be in a good mood." Zhao looked over the Fire Lord as he came down from his throne.

Ozai scoffed, "Is it that obvious?"

"Yes, I assume it has something to do with that young new wife of yours. I hope she's not as much of a problem as she was before."

Actually, she wasn't. Katara wasn't yelling at him or being disobedient. She didn't challenge him or try to start a fight. The waterbender was just disinterested or maybe she was bothered by something and instead of talking to him, she was quiet.

Rubbing his neck as he couldn't really figure that girl out, "No, Katara's been behaved. My problem is that she's not very responsive."

"Responsive?" Zhao raised a brow. "Why would any man want their wives to be responsive? That's when they become a problem. I think the issue is you're looking for her to argue with you."

Ozai's brow went up. Why would he want to argue with her? Katara would argue someone's head off and even if he threatened her she would just tell him to do it and then continue on her rant. There was no winning with her. He did not want to argue with her. He was just used to her talking to him. Whether it was something he wanted to hear or not. She was expressive and had her own views on things. He didn't want her to agree with him all the time because at this point it just felt dismissive. He also didn't want her to be so quiet that he couldn't even speak to her but she had nothing to say.

Zhao could see the Fire Lord was bothered by his wife for whatever reason it was. It baffled him why the man wanted that bratty waterbender to be more vocal. The girl needed a beating and he would gladly oblige if he was called to beat her again. But he didn't think that was necessarily what the Fire Lord wanted.

"How about we have dinner together, your majesty?" Zhao figured that being around someone other than her husband, maybe someone she hated, would encourage her to talk more.

"Fine. You and Mai will come over tomorrow night."

…..

Katara was brushing her husband's hair before bed as he seemed to want her to do. He had been acting very funny towards her lately and she didn't know what his problem was. She was only doing what he wanted her to do. What every man around here wanted their women to do. And that was to shut up and not question him. But even though she was doing what he wanted, he was treating her like she was doing something wrong.

As she brushed one lock of hair at a time, Katara hummed to herself as she knelt in bed behind her husband.

"Tomorrow night, Zhao and Lady Mai are having dinner with us." Ozai told her.

Not knowing what else to say, Katara simply nodded her head in acknowledgement and asked him what the occasion was.

"They're getting married soon and Zhao has been my right hand since I was just a prince. I'd like to be supportive of his decision in picking a wife." Ozai explained.

While she hated Zhao and Mai, Katara didn't mind that Ozai wanted to pay tribute to their union. It was actually nice of him. She didn' think he was the kind of person to really care about that sort of thing but he proved her wrong again.

As there wasn't much for her to say, the waterbender resumed humming as she finished up her husband's hair, tying it up for bed. When she was done, Katara climbed out of bed and went to her vanity to do her own hair for bed.

Ozai simply watched her from their bed and tried to understand why she was being a bitch. He didn't do anything to her. Why did she act like he was the enemy again? They were married now and he hadn't as much as raised his voice at her or said anything bad to her. What was her problem?

Katara climbed back into bed and settled herself comfortably under the covers, laying herself facing her husband. He eyed her funny before rolling over to face away from her. She really didn't know what to do about him if there was anything she could do at all.

The following night came and Katara was fixed up by the servants in her casual robes. Her hair was fixed into the standard topknot as her crown was placed on top of it. She glanced over to where her husband stood waiting for them to finish. He looked annoyed and she didn't know what she did to offend him.

Once she was done, the servants were dismissed so that Ozai could have a word with his wife before they entertained their guests.

"Don't start any fights with Mai."

"Of course."

"You'd make us both look bad if you did."

"Agreed."

Ozai narrowed his eyes at her and scoffed before marching out of their bedroom.

Katara sighed and followed quietly behind him.

…

Dinner was fairly quiet outside of Ozai and Zhao discussing matters that didn't concern either of their wives. Katara kept her eyes on her food and only occasionally glanced up to Mai. Everytime she did, she noticed the noblewoman was doing the same as her. Seems as though the both of them had had the fight smothered out of them. It bothered Katara a little bit. Even though she hated Mai, Mai wasn't as docile as she pretended to be and she wouldn't simply sit in her presence without giving her a dirty look. She had been dealing with Mai long enough to know the woman always made a move to make her look bad. However; Mai didn't even lift her head once.

Katara had been lost in her own thoughts for a moment that she didn't hear the question directed at her. It took Ozai squeezing her thigh under the table for her to snap out of it.

"Huh?"

"I asked if you were being kind to his majesty, here." Zhao eyed the Fire Lady as if he was prepared to read through whatever answer she gave him.

Looking at the man and then to her plate again, "I believe I have though I think it would be best answered by my husband."

This was the shit he was talking about. She couldn't even answer the question. She would rather he answered. Ozai sucked his teeth and grabbed his glass of wine.

"But I insist that you answer."

Katara glanced over to Ozai and saw he was wearing a scowl on his face, "I only do what I believe is expected of a wife. Try not to overstep or say too much. Be seen and not heard."

"How could I even know you're there if you don't speak? You're always so damn quiet. Like a mouse."

The Fire Lady apologized to her husband and told him she would announce when she entered the room from now on.

Zhao seemed a bit confused as her statement only seemed to anger the Fire Lord more. Honestly, he didn't see how the Fire Lady was doing anything wrong. If what she said was true, then she was behaving the total opposite of how he thought she would. She was so unruly before but now, she seemed like an entirely different person.

"If I wanted a mouse for a wife, I would have married a mouse." Ozai retorted.

Dinner continued and Ozai asked Zhao when the sages had set the date for his wedding. While the men talked, both women didn't really feel like eating much or drinking. They just hung their heads the rest of dinner.

When dinner ended and they said their farewells for the evening, Ozai glared at his wife as she stood silently at his side.

"You're a disappointment." He scoffed before brushing against her as he walked by.

Katara waited till he was far enough before she let her tears fall. What did she do wrong? She thought she was doing everything that was expected of her. What did he want?

…..

The waterbender stayed up that night, sitting on a cushion in the sitting room reading a book she took from the bookshelf. The one thing she did appreciate about living here was Fire Nation script was the only script she could read outside of the common script. She could escape into the content of this book and pretend that she didn't feel like her life wasn't as miserable as it felt.

It never dawned on her that Ozai's opinion of her would get to her like that. Sure, she felt some feelings of affection towards him. She did care about him. But him telling her that she was a disappointment really messed her up. What did he expect her to say or do tonight? Was he testing her or something? He told her not to pick any fights and she didn't. What else did he want from her?

Sighing as she shook her head Katara turned the next page and let herself forget about tonight's dinner. Maybe Ozai would eventually tell her what his problem was.

Katara woke up to a bunch of commotion and heard Ozai going off about something. She didn't know what it was but she hadn't heard him that upset in a long time. The servants were all scattering around trying to stay out his way as he raged on about something. Sitting up as she realized she fell asleep on the sofa, the waterbender was startled as Ozai entered the sitting room and his eyes were glaring at her.

"I'm sick of this shit!" He yelled as he walked up to her and then grabbed the low table tossing it at the wall as it was in his way.

Curling up as he was starting to frighten her, "What's wrong?" She stared up at him as if he were going to attack her.

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU LAST NIGHT?!" Ozai shouted at her as he grabbed her by the front of her robes, pulling her to him.

The servants all watched fearfully.

"I was trying to give you your space." Katara told him. "So, I read a book out here and accidentally fell asleep."

Ozai let go of her as he saw the book on the sofa.

Katara backed away from him as she tried fixing her robes a little bit. She didn't know what the hell was wrong with him. She did nothing wrong and she was fed up.

"If you have a problem with me, Ozai, you should tell me. I've done nothing wrong."

"And you've done nothing right either." He spat before skulking off.

…

A month went by and nothing had gotten better. Ozai and Katara were still at odds. Some much so that people were beginning to talk. Rumor had it that a few servants witnessed the Fire Lord picking fights with his wife when she had done nothing wrong. None attested to him hitting her but many said it was escalating to that point. Many nobles even witnessed at Admiral Zhao's wedding that the Fire Lord seemed annoyed by his wife, who only stood at his side quietly and spoke only when something was directed at her. Things had gotten so bad that the physicians had to be brought in after he had ignored her telling him he was hurting her while they were intimate. She had to wear a bandage around her neck from him choking her too hard. It was soon advised that the Fire Lady stay elsewhere until the Fire Lord's anger could simmer down.

Katara was unable to see her sons for the time being as Ozai didn't want her near his sanctum of the palace. She sulked in her previous chambers in the domain where Ursa still resided. It was truly lost on her what she had done to make him so angry with her. The only consolation she had was that everyone around her was just as confused as she was. Rumors were going around that Ozai had lost his mind and she really believed that might be the case. She did absolutely nothing to him for him to treat her the way he had.

"Katara, it looks like you have guests." Ursa said as the two of them had been sitting in the courtyard in the grass to take in the fresh air.

Being helped up to her feet, Katara turned to see both Zhao and Lady Mai. She eyed them cautiously as they approached her and bowed their heads.

"Your majesty,"

"Admiral Zhao." Her posture was guarded as she eyed them both.

Seeing this, Zhao tried to show himself friendly and signaled for the servants to bring forth the box he had brought with him.

"We come with a gift." Zhao had the servant open the box and show her what was inside.

Katara saw beautiful material of many shades of blues and purple. It made her smile. None of her clothes she currently had were blue. Maybe she could now get some made for her.

Accepting the gift, "Thank you both. I'll have the seamstress make good use of this material."

Zhao nodded, "I also came to perhaps talk with you about a personal matter."

"And that would be?" Katara felt a little uncomfortable. If this was related to Ozai, she really didn't want to talk about it. He was mad at her and returned to being cruel towards her in such a short time after marrying her. She felt even more trapped than before when he chained her to his bed. Now, it didn't matter where she went, he was always going to find her and no one was going to be able to stop him. She was his wife now.

"I believe there might be a misunderstanding between you and his majesty. I believe he is upset due to his belief that you distanced yourself from him and he's been trying to get a response from you. However; I think you've only been doing what you believe will make you a good wife and in many cases, your behavior is ideal. But his majesty is a different kind of man. Maybe he requires something more than what the average man expects from his wife." Zhao told her.

Katara wasn't too sure about that. But even if it were the case, she wasn't exactly allowed to be seen by her own husband. He practically condemned her to a section of the palace that would keep her out of sight. She wasn't even allowed to leave unless he said so. Not to mention, her fear of him was renewed. She didn't think she could help but be timid with him. If something this small could set him off, then nothing she did would ensure he wouldn't break his promise of hitting her. He was damn near close to doing so the other night when he banished her from their bedroom.

She swallowed hard and averted her eyes from Zhao as she rubbed her neck that still had a light bruise on it. Ozai had been threatening her every time they had sex he was going to impregnate her. Not that it was much of a threat as he had clearly been trying to do so since their wedding night. She tried being affectionate and a willing participant as they were in bed. She didn't want to make things worse by lying there and not returning his affection. However, he just glared at her the entire time and soon his hand was already her neck as his thrusts became brutal. Her mouth opened to tell him he was hurting her but before she could finish her sentence, he squeezed her neck so hard she thought he was going to kill her. She cried as he finished.

As she laid in their bed crying, he threw her robes at her and told her to get out of his bed. Telling her she wasn't worthy to even be fucked on his floor. She didn't say anything and hurried to get out, wrapping the robe around herself as she started limping away. But as she did, she passed out and woke to physicians looking over. Seemed Ozai had indeed gotten her pregnant but his hostility in bed caused a miscarriage. She was then sent here and told to not leave. Punished her for letting her husband be too rough with her while pregnant with their child but even she hadn't known.

The shame she's felt in the last few days really got to her and honestly, Katara didn't think she could even look at him. He publicly humiliated her and treated as if she had been deserving of his cruelty. Despite not wanting more children, she didn't feel any happiness in knowing she miscarried, even worse, she was being blamed for it though it was her husband that did this.

Zhao knew about the incident with the Fire Lady miscarrying after a night with her husband. Ozai had told him. It was his reason for listening to his advisors when they suggested the two be apart. Now it would be looked at as if he were punishing his wife for losing their child so the blame would lie on her. No one actually thought it was fair or right but no one ever questioned a Fire Lord and how he dealt with his wife. It was unheard of to question even a normal man in how he handled his wife. All one could do was try to offer comfort to the wife that was shamed. Hard enough the girl was low-born and had a poor reputation. It was easy to look at her with disdain but despite having ill feelings towards her, Zhao did pity her. She was still just a girl. An idiot girl but a girl no less.

"I will try to speak on your behalf. Regardless of the feud here, husband and wife should not be apart."

But Katara would much rather they did. There was no way she would lay in bed beside him without fear or spread her legs for him without believing he would hurt her again. Sure, she couldn't really refuse him but she would never trust him again.

When Zhao and Mai left, Ursa walked up beside Katara to see if she was alright.

"I need to be alone. Can you go check on the boys for me?"

"Of course."

….

Ozai was in the middle of coming up with new plans for Fire Nation's future. War wasn't much of an option anymore no he could tell his people were well passed it. At this point, building and growing was the new goal. However, the war as well as his re-ascension to the throne had caused a lot of mistrust between the Fire Nation and the rest of the world. He had to somehow make himself look friendly but he didn't yet know how to make that happen.

Most of his advisors were all telling him the same thing. Have Kai and/or Soji promised to the daughters of royal/noble households of other countries. It was a good idea but what would insure the other parties ever agreed to such a thing? He needed something more. A way to appeal to the other nations.

"Your wife, Fire Lady Katara, was once the ambassador and handled these sorts of affairs. She had made a lot of progress on behalf of your son. Perhaps, she could figure out how to appeal to the other nations." An advisor suggested.

Before Ozai could say anything to that, Zhao entered and made a comment that suggested he agreed.

"Your wife would know better than anyone else how to get the other nations to see us as less of a threat. She was sided with them in the war and has a rather good reputation amongst them. Also, she's in a position to make even you, yourself, less threatening to our former adversaries. She's quite useful if you take a moment to think about it." Zhao grinned at the Fire lord, who was eyeing him.

The Fire Lord ordered everyone except Zhao out. He waited till everyone was gone before he addressed his right hand.

"You are well aware, as is everyone else, that Katara and I are not speaking. Why are you vouching for her?" Ozai narrowed his eyes.

Zhao knew the Fire Lord was a jealous man. Even when he was upset and separated from his wife, he still didn't like the idea of another man mentioning her.

"I think I speak for everyone when I say it would be nice to finally have another acting Fire Lady. History shows the Fire Nation thrives best when there is both a Fire Lord and Lady that work together. It is time we get back to our people's original greatness. Besides, a man shouldn't be away from his wife."

Ozai tilted his head, "And how exactly am I supposed to appeal to a woman that doesn't even want to be my wife?"

"It is rare for a woman to be loving towards her husband in the very beginning. Women have to grow to love us. This is why men chase. If we want a woman to be fond of us, we have to woo them." Zhiar smirked as decided to give his take on how exactly to woo the water woman.

….

Ursa was putting the boys to bed on behalf of Katara while she rested when she noticed Ozai was standing right outside the door. She gasped a little and tried to move away from him, needing there to be space between them. He terrified her. Had since they were married and now he wasn't much different towards Katara. She really hoped he'd leave them alone. They were doing no wrong and staying out of his way.

"I told you I wouldn't hurt you. Stop acting so jumpy." Ozai gave her a dirty look.

Bowing her head, "Forgive me. I was caught off guard."

"Anyway, where is Katara? I need to speak to her."

Ursa told him that she was resting in her chambers as she did not feel well. She watched him as he immediately turned in the direction of the private sanctum and left. When he was gone, she felt relief and hurried onto her own chambers.

Ozai entered Katara's chambers without prompt as he figured he'd find her sleeping. However, when he got there he saw she was very much awake. In her sitting room, he found she was on her knees in front of what looked like a makeshift shrine. There were two names written on two separate talisman that laid flat on the low table in front of her. She had candles lit and incense burning. He decided not to disturb her as she seemed to be paying tribute.

Clapping her hands together, Katara shut her eyes and quietly prayed. She hadn't got to pay tribute to her parents since the last time that she was home in the South Pole. The waterbender spent a few minutes honoring her deceased parents and bowed a few times before blowing out the candles to the altar. When she got up to head to bed, Katara practically jumped out of her skin when she saw Ozai standing in the doorway with his arms folded. Her breath caught in her throat as she stumbled backwards and fell on the floor cushion.

"What do you want?" She quickly asked him as she stared at him uneasily from her position on the floor.

Trying not to take offense to her looking at him like he came here to kill her, "I want you to return to our chambers tonight."

Katara swallowed hard and looked away from him, "I'm tired. I can't perform-"

"I'm not asking you to perform anything. I just want you back in our chambers."

Honestly, she didn't want to return. There was no telling what he would do to her. All she could think about was how things were when they were in Xiao Lu.

"Don't look at me like that." Ozai was becoming frustrated.

So Katara decided not to look at him at all.

"I'm sorry." He told her as he crouched down to where she sat on the floor. "I should have handled things differently."

Shaking her head, "Your apology doesn't make me fear you any less. You've been callous to me as your prisoner and now as your wife. And as my prisoner and then as my husband, I've tried to be kind even when you did not deserve that. You can't help your nature. You burn everything you touch. I can't begin to understand why and a part of me doesn't want to. You say you love me and if this is what it is like to be loved by the likes of you, I'd rather you hate me."

Ozai furrowed his brows somberly as he saw the waterbender shed a tear and wipe it away.

"I will return with you but understand I'm afraid of you and can only see you as someone that means to hurt me."

….

That night in their chambers, Katara waited till Ozai was in bed before she climbed in and set up pillows between them. She didn't want him moving over to her in the middle of the night. Though this was a massive bad and they could sleep without ultimately disturbing the other, she wasn't taking chances. When she settled down, Katara faced him as she kept her eyes on him, watching him as he was watching her back. It looked like it offended him that she had the pillows as a barrier but he should know with their past, she was well accustomed to him attempting to have her while she slept.

"We are still husband and wife, Katara. The pillows are unnecessary."

"Says the man that is anything but kind to his wife. Understand I can do very little to protect myself from you. This is necessary." Katara explained and received a disappointed look from him.

Ozai rolled over on his back as he couldn't stand how she was looking at him. She hadn't done that since they met. He didn't like it. Not one bit. But he knew he did this to himself. Not like the girl was an idiot on who he was. Hell, she made it very clear she knew him before he knew her. And in pure honesty with himself, Ozai knew he messed up the other night. He went too far. It was one thing to poke fun of her or argue but he caused her physical harm and he knew women were less forgiving towards those kinds of actions. He shut his eyes hoping maybe in the morning he could talk to her more.

However; morning came and his wife was no more receptive than before. Only now, she gave him a look that told him she didn't care. Obviously, she wasn't going to forgive him any time soon. While he was in the middle of shaving, he noticed her eyeing him the entire time she bathed. Before, it would mean she wanted him to come join her but now, he could see she was watching him with caution. Making sure he did not approach her.

When they were getting dressed, she hid herself behind the divider in order to slip on her undergarments and dress. The servants then came in to help her into her robes as they did with him. Ozai just watched her watching him.

In the dining room, Katara was the closest she allowed herself to be in proximity to him the entire day, sitting directly to his left. He figured the only reason why she did so was because there were utensils she could use to stab him with. She didn't eat much and then excused herself from the table.

Ozai later found her lounging in a lounge chair in the sitting room with a book. He sort of just stood there trying to think of what to say to maybe get past this.

"I found something you can do as your official duty as Fire Lady." He took a seat across from her.

Looking up from her book, "Finally, you see I'm useful outside of your bed.

Ignoring the comment, "I'm told you were an excellent ambassador and managed to make the Fire Nation appear less… 'threatening' in the eyes of other nations. I need you to-"

"Make you look less 'threatening'?" Katara raised a brow. "How am I to do that when I find you threatening as my husband?"

"I said I was sorry."

"And I told you that makes me no less afraid of you."

Sighing as he placed his head in his hands, "If I gave you permission to hit me, would that ease your fear?"

Katara pulled her book back up in her face, "Hit you how?"

"Whatever. I don't care. You can even tie my hands."

Interested in this, Katara glanced over her book and thought for a moment. If he was really going to let her get even, then she could feel a little more relaxed. Not that she wanted to physically harm him but she did find it somewhat comforting to know he was wanting to put things past them. She would compromise.

"Say you were stripped naked, tied up, on your side while I held a leather whip. You're saying you'd allow it?" Katara pulled the book down on her nose and mouth, her blue eyes narrowed on him.

Ozai didn't exactly know why she was being so specific but if that made her less fearful of him, he'd allow it.

"I'll allow it."

Katara was focused back on her book and flipped the page, "Then I'll try to make you less scary. Shouldn't be too hard. Just need to plan a few meetings with officials from the other nations. I recommend a banquet. The fat jerks from Bei Seng Sei love to eat and have a few Fire Nation dishes that they always request. I'll introduce you to them because if you want the others to trust you, you'll need to appease the officials from Bei Seng Sei."

A banquet? Ozai never really hosted a banquet or party. That wasn't exactly his thing. But if she could put things together and plan out all the details, he would attend.

"I can start writing personalized invitations to everyone if you could get me ink and paper."

…..

While Ozai had been carrying out his duties, Katara remained in their chambers in the studies writing each individual letter of invitation. Honestly, she didn't know what to say or if it was now public knowledge that she had married Fire Lord Ozai. What would they think of her? Sighing as she finished up her invitations, the waterbender called in the servants to take her letters to be sent out.

"Your majesty, would you like us to run your water?" A servant asked in a bowed position.

Nodding her head, Katara needed to ease the tension she suddenly felt. As much as she looked forward to getting to do something more productive than laying in bed waiting for her husband to have her perform her wifely duties, she felt uneasy about it being discovered she was Ozai's wife. People that respected her would soon feel the opposite once they knew, if they didn't already know.

Later that night when Ozai was finally done for the day, Katara was at her vanity tying her hair up for the night, she spared her husband a glance as he greeted her and pulled the crown from his topknot. She watched him in the mirror as he undressed for bed and plopped down at the foot of the bed, groaning into the sheets.

"The servants just prepared your bath. When you're done, I can brush your hair for the night." Katara informed him.

Ozai sat up and looked over at his wife, raising a brow.

"If you'd rather I didn't, I'll understand."

"No," He stood and started making his way to wash up for the night. "I'd rather you did."

When Ozai had finished bathing, Katara sat behind him at the foot of the bed to brush his hair and tie it. She noticed he was completely silent and said nothing as she hummed to herself. It was quiet. Peaceful. She could see his shoulders slumping in exhaustion. Once she was done, Katara patted his back to let him know he could go to bed and crawled to her place in bed.

The waterbender decided that tonight she would leave the pillows where they were. She wouldn't bother using them as a barrier. No, they'd get in the way. An hour passed and Katara heard Ozai snoring, a clear indication that he was fast asleep. She grinned to herself as she sat up and crawled over to him. Her blue eyes looked over him as he lied on his back, mouth slightly open from his snoring. Throwing her leg over one side of him as she carefully settled herself on top of him, Katara reached for the pillow beside him that was not in use and held it just above his face.

"I'm a disappointment?! You're a disappointment!" Katara growled as she forced the pillow down over his face and held it there as he suddenly woke from his oxygen being cut off, struggling against her. "You promised me! You promised you'd be good to me if I were good back! And you weren't! So just lay here until I'm finished! I won't kill you. You don't get to die so easily."

Seemed he believed her and stopped struggling. As soon as he did, Katara pounded her fists into the pillow over his face and yelled obscenities at him. She pretty much vented her anger and frustration and expressed that she was stuck with him but he was stuck with her too. So the next time he wanted to get crazy with her, she was getting crazy back.

"Next time, I will stab you! You hear me?!" Katara said as she finally lifted the pillow from his face and tossed it aside. She didn't even bother to look at him as she climbed off of him and crawled back to her side of the bed.

Holding his nose that was bleeding, Ozai sat up and looked at his wife that turned her back to him. "I didn't think you'd actually hit me."

"I dream about killing you on most days. Hitting you was nothing." Katara shut her eyes for bed.

….

A/N:

Hoped you guys enjoyed the chapter. There will be more soon!