Review. Faster updates for this and other stories if this and other stories get more reviews. Would love to see art work of this or any of my other work. Faster reviews for my other less popular stories means that more updates at a faster pace. Or just more stories like this one.
Also any requests in reviews will probably be ignored.
Also just to be clear. I do not do pedophilia, all characters are aged up in this stuff or aged down depending on the character, no loli, no yaoi, no shota, I don't do watersports (Shit/Piss/fart fetish shit)I don't do stuff like vore or entire bodies getting shoved into places (Shrink play) I don't do blood play or torture (Ball/cock crushing etc) or certain old people, (Yes I am a fucking hypocrite) . Also if you ask for something in reviews that normally means I won't do it. So anyone who asks for that will be disappointed. If you have questions/requests/suggestions PM me instead.
Also have an ao3 account under the same name. and same titles.
The children hugged the side of the hallway. They glanced down one way and then the other. Azula peeked around the corner. She scanned the way for enemy troops. Then she waved her companions forward.
Ty Lee hung close to the young woman. Her overly long braid bouncing with each step. Her pink robe was starting to get undone in key places. Zuko came next, as the tallest out of the five of them he had been pushed into the center. Mai walked with a air of bored detachment. Sometimes she would stop to fiddle with a tapestry. Taking her time as she followed the rest. Katara took up the rear. Her arms heavy with blankets, pillows, bottles, and some snacks.
The party continued to roar behind the five children. Someone had broken out another barrel of the most exspensive wine and was passing it around. Azula had been the one to suggest that they all leave post haste.
"This way. Quickly." Azula ordered. They had come to a tapestry. She ducked behind the overly large hanging banner. Her figure squirmed and shimmied until the tapestry flattened out once again.
"How did you do that?" Ty Lee said in delight. She quickly followed after wards. The remaining three ducked underneath with no prompting. Behind the tapestry was a stone archway. Barely wide enough for someone to stand in it. Zuko actually had to walk sideways up the steep staircase. Katara waddled up the stairs in the very back. Her arms straining with all of the things that had been piled on.
She stumbled and slammed her shoulder into the wall. She suppressed a shiver. They were just playing a game. She had played plenty of games before. And now she just had to play a little bit longer. So she followed after them.
"How did you even find this place Azula?" Zuko asked in confusion. The tunnel was long and steep, the staircase leading upwards. Ever upwards. Azula snorted in the dim light above. She had summoned some flames and permitted them to dance around her fingertips. The callouses there were illuminated in a fine light.
"I studied old maps of the palace. This place must have been used as a servants stair. It probably is still used by the peasents. But that isn't why I brought you here."
"Who studies old maps for fun?" Katara grumbled. The four royals paused at this and then all let out varying degrees of laughs. Mai was the only one silent. The young girl just rolled her eyes.
"Leave it to a water tribe savage to not even know how to read." Mai said dismissively. Katara bit her tongue, she wanted to snap at the mean standoffish girl. But knew that would just land her in deep trouble. So instead she followed. At a respectful quiet distance she followed.
The fire light that Azula carried gradually began to shimer and shake. The flames dancing in a light breeze. She finally kicked open a door and they all walked out onto a gravel covered roof.
"Oh my gosh! Azula! It's so beautiful up here!" Ty Lee shouted. She ran into the middle of the roof and spun around. The lights of the city stretched off to the horizon. The twinkling of lantern lights like stars caught in a giant sticky fly trap. The smells of the kitchens surrounded them all. The sounds of the party continued to dash across their ear drums.
"Are we right over the hall?" Zuko asked curiously. He stomped on the roof a little and then walked forwards. He stumbled back suddenly letting out a yelp of surprise.
Katara walked forward. She knelt and softly deposited the four pillows and plates onto the ground. A glass window looked down onto the festivities. It was perfectly level and slightly to the side. So you would never know it was actually there. Zuko had nearly stepped on it.
Katara placed the four pillows along the edge of the window and kneeled respectfully to one side. The gravel bit into her knees. She took out a small corked jug of juice and poured some for the four royals.
"Hmmm. I've had enough of these age appropriate drinks. You brought the wine bottle did you not pet?" Azula asked critically. Katara nodded and pulled out the next bottle. She struggled with the cork for a few seconds. It popped out with an especially harsh tug. Some wine splashing onto her thighs.
"Be more careful with that!" Azula snapped. She sighed and shook her head. "Now I'm going to have to get you a brand new wardrobe. Something a little more breathable. It is a shame. You look good in that. I will talk with mother about bringing you on our next shopping excursion. I am certain there is something that will fit you."
"I…Thank you Princess Azula." Katara said. Even when she was being 'nice' Azula still had to be mean. Or dismissive. Or just plain weird. Katara wouldn't mind getting more clothes. But the way that Azula had phrased it….
"Good luck finding something that will fit her." Mai said scornfully. "I thought that the rumors about Water Tribe women being fat as the otter seals they rode was just a story. But seeing you in person, I might just reconsider that."
"I'm not fat." Katara said with narrowed eyes. "And even if I was so what? Lord Iroh is fat."
"Katara." Zuko said warningly. She dropped her eyes respectfully and handed out the wine.
"Make sure that your pet doesn't snap at me again." Mai said warningly. Azula snorted into her wine. The little girl had drank too fast. Ty Lee made a disgusted face but tried a sip of her own.
"This stuff tastes terrible." Ty Lee stated.
"You just enjoy too many sweets." Azula responded.
"It tastes like sadness."
"You just don't have a refined palate." Azula snapped back. She drank the rest of her glass and then coughed.
"Sure went down smoothly huh?" Zuko responded. He sipped at his own drink then spat it back into the glass. He took a smaller sip and actually got it down.
"Well Katara? What do you think?" Azula said with a smirk. Katara looked at the bottle she was holding. There was about a fifth left. She took her own sip and coughed loudly. The others laughed and held their glasses up.
"A toast! To Lu Ten!" Zuko said with a ridiculous smile on his face.
"To Fire Lord Azulon." Azula added.
"To the friends we make!" Ty Lee said generously.
"To victory." Mai said rolling her eyes.
"To the Fire Nation." Katara said clinking her glass to theirs. They all took sips and then frowned and gagged.
Hours passed quickly. They sat on the roof and watched the party below. Laughing and poking each other. Tossing rocks and making crass jokes. A band began to play in the courtyard. A glorious quick marching music began. Azula smirked and turned to Katara.
"Dance for us. The night is young, and I want some entertainment." Katara stood and wiped off her knees. Little marks were left from the stones. She walked slowly to a comfortable spot far away from the others. She held her hands up at shoulder level. Her knees bent and she squared off her hips.
"This is a dance for glorifying the moon. She gives us light and gives us our bending." Katara said with dignity and grace. She began to move slowly, carefully. With calculated footfalls. Her hands raised above her head. Her movement went from her toe tips all the way up to her fingertips. Her spine straightened and then snapped. Moving like a rolling wave. She imitated the tides. She imitated the very movement of the waves.
She got halfway and then gulped in nervousness. She had chosen a bad dance. This was a two partner dance. And she was up here all alone. The others had stopped their talking and were gazing at her in rapt amazement. Katara had trouble telling if any of them were even breathing. They all seemed utterly enraptured by her movements. She turned the pause into another movement of the dance as she tried to figure out what to do.
No one would know the difference. But she would….She would know. She would know that she wasn't doing this right. She worried at her lower lip. Her teeth clicking at it.
A crunch came from behind her. She turned, trying to keep the dance as natural as possible. Lu Ten stepped out from the doorway. He had a pillow under one arm and a glass in the other. He paused in surprise at the sight before him.
"Oh. I didn't know that anyone else was up here." He said in surprise. Zuko and Azula instantly perked up. Their cousin grinned and walked forward. He drained his glass of hard spirits and set it down respectfully at a good distance from the others.
"Well I will leave you all to—"
"Actually my prince I need your help." Katara ran up to Lu Ten and grabbed his arm. She knew she was being too forward. She knew that she was being too familiar. She knew that this was probably borderline treasonous. But she also liked Lu Ten. She trusted Lu Ten. She thought out of anyone here he was the safest choice.
Lu Ten raised a surprised eyebrow as she dragged him to where she had been dancing. The gravel had been kicked and moved. Flattened by her moving feet. So that there was a little circle that did not have as many points. Katara grabbed Lu Ten's hands and began to move carefully with him.
Lu Ten raised a fascinated eyebrow. His feet began to move alongside hers as well.
"Is this a Water Tribe dance?" He asked excitedly. He began to move faster with her. The music of the Fire Nation did not match with their movements perfectly. But the beat was oddly similar in some places. And they could find new movements and beats to follow instead. Katara grinned happily upwards at the older man.
"Yes!" She said as she spun around him. He paused and very formally dipped her. Dipper her so far that her hair brushed the ground. Katara let out a surprised gasp when he then lifted her up. She spread her arms and he held her airborne for a moment. The stars were outlining her form. She felt like she was flying. The wind burst around her like a living song. She smiled in delight.
"No fair! I want a dance as well!" Azula shouted. She stood up and stomped over. Lu Ten chuckled and placed Katara down carefully. He bowed low to the servant.
"Until next time my lady." He said with as much dignity as he could muster. He then grinned and offered his hand to Azula. She took his offered fingers with a proud smirk. And then turned beet red when he pulled her close. He placed one hand on her hip and leaned down so that he could grasp her other.
Zuko ran up and grabbed Katara's hands in his own. He spun her around much to her shock. The four began to move in a tight little circle. The Fire Nation heirs and the Water Tribe servant.
Zuko was blushing a dark red as he moved with Katara. Her hands were resting on his shoulders. His were holding her trim hips. The night was soon alive with horns and flutes. Their feet stumbled over each other. The two were trying to keep up with their own rhythm. And attempting to not look in the other's eyes. But it was difficult. They were surprisingly close.
Katara could smell him. The faint aroma of soot and sweat, the vaguest hint of cologne, the dim smell of leather and sword polish. He smelt very much like a boy. With a hint of a royal tossed in.
Katara and Azula bumped backs and spun around. They found themselves hand in hand and moving in a surprised little rotation now. Lu Ten and Ty Lee were dancing together. Their energetic movements causing the roof to shiver. Mai had grabbed Zuko and pulled his hands close. Her eyes were set and her lips were pulled down. It was the most intense frown that had crossed her features ever.
Zuko looked like a confused, ashamed, and frightened statue. He shifted his weight from foot to foot. Still keeping up her pace. But it was a slow and deliberate one.
Katara and Azula found themselves blushing at the current moment. They swayed and couldn't keep their eyes off of each other. Azula's hair was standing on end and her blush was starting to flake off. Showing off a new bright blush, all natural, not a hint of make up to make her that pink and red. Katara felt her heart beating in her chest. Fast, restless, alive with something.
The two little girls spun at the same time, hands extended over their heads. The music still continued. And Katara did not want that dizzying spin to ever end.
Then she found herself hand in hand with Mai. The two girls stared at each other in shock. Katara glanced around. Ty Lee was still stubbornly hanging onto Lu Ten. Who just seemed happy to be involved with the childlike festivities.
Zuko and Azula were dancing arm in arm. Their faces pressed cheek to cheek and they exchanged whispered words. Too quick and low for Katara to hear. And also seemed vaguely threatening. As if they were trying to out do the other.
"Zuko is my betrothed." Mai spoke to Katara in a low voice. Katara caught the taller girl's eye in surprise. Mai gripped Katara's wrist and squeezed. Katara suppressed a yelp. Mai's fingernails were long and sharp. And they were digging right into her skin. They broke a little bit and a dribble danced down Katara's arm. She suppressed the urge to yank away. Mai moved with her. Her feet kicking at Katara's toes.
"Zuko and I will get married when we are old enough. Zuko and I will have a pleasant life together. We have been promised to each other for years now. And you will not change that. No heir to the Fire Nation has ever married a member of the serving class. And especially not some booty of war that was captured from the bottom of the world. So don't ever expect to be anything more then a fun little bauble of his. Or Azula's. Probably Azula's. You will serve them, you will serve me. And you shall never, ever be anything more then that." Mai snarled the last bit. Her eyes close to Katara's.
Katara bit her lip and nodded. Mai was like a seal wolf. Staking her claim on a chunk of meat. Making it clear to all others that this was hers. No one elses. And Katara was far too terrified to protest. Katara was no fool. She knew that she served the Fire Nation at their leisure. She had no illusions of escape. No hopes for anything beyond her station. No expectations that she would ever be anything more then a toy or a tool.
But to have it stated to her so bluntly. So cruelly. So impersonally….It stung. She felt her stomach churn and her eyes water. She was not going to cry. And she was certainly not going to cry in front of this spoiled little princess. She nodded instead.
And with that Mai pulled away to dance with Lu Ten. And Ty Lee launched herself into Katara's arms. And the little water tribe girl found herself dancing too fast and breathlessly to even pay attention to what was happening anymore. She just moved quickly. She moved dangerously. She moved fast enough that she could forget. Just for one minute, she wanted to forget who she was. Where she was. And who owned her. She ground her teeth together and she gripped Ty Lee's wrists and the two were spinning, wildly, breathlessly, powerfully. Feet dancing and bouncing and kicking and scrapping.
Katara didn't know who fell over first. But soon they were all in a pile. Their heads resting on pillows or stomachs. Katara was panting. Her eyes were unfocused. Her mind was spinning, spinning as fast as the stars in the sky. She grinned and reached upwards. She cupped nothing, but she felt like a spirit was alive in her fist.
"You are so weird." Azula grumbled to her. Azula's head was against Katara's stomach. Katara chuckled in response.
"Thank you mistress." She said cheekily. A brown braid whacked Katara in the nose. She blew Ty Lee's hair off of her face and stared at the grinning little girl. The very flexible fire nation royal tickled Katara under the chin with the tip of her braid.
"Forgive me for being so forward….but I love your hair Mistress Ty Lee." Katara said with a grin. Ty Lee chuckled and pulled at it.
"Same. It's an old braid that my grandmother taught me. Her grandfather taught her how to do it. Apparently he was from a weird part of the Fire Nation. That knew how to make hair look like loops and swirls."
"She says." Azula snarked back. Ty Lee stuck her tongue out playfully before sitting up.
"If you want I can braid your hair." Katara blinked in surprise. Her hair hadn't been braided since…well since she had been taken from home. The South had a few different braiding styles…But….nothing like this…
"Master? Mistress?" Katara turned to Zuko and Azula. The siblings exchanged a look then shrugged. With their heads tilted slightly to the side and in the soft light of full evening they looked even more similar then ever. Truly they could have been twins instead of siblings.
"It's fine with me." Zuko responded.
"Well then in that case—" Azula stopped herself, she snorted. She was a contrarian by nature. But even she couldn't come up with a good excuse as to why Katara couldn't have a braid. "It's fine."
Ty Lee let out an excited squeal and grabbed Katara's hair. Katara winced. The girl was a little rough. And touching hair…It was rather intimate. Only her mother and Gran Gran ever really tied her hair tightly. Sokka could braid it in a jam. And sometimes other members in the village. But they would take a while, they would give it time, energy and ceremony. They wouldn't just start yanking at her hair in every direction.
Ty Lee paused and tightened the braid. Making Katara wince in pain. Then went right back to it. Katara tried not to cry out. But the girl was insistent.
"Hey. Beauty is pain. And pain is beauty. So stop squirming." Ty Lee said and flicked the back of Katara's head. The little serving girl sat up straight and squared her shoulders. Her eyes clenched shut.
After around twenty minutes it was finally done. Ty Lee removed her hands with an excited flourish and clapped them quickly. Her energy infectious. Katara leaned over the edge and peered at her reflection in the glass.
Katara did not recognize the little Fire Nation girl gazing back at her. She looked so different, the make up made her eyes pop, the red made her lips look thinner, her hair was in a long thick braid down to her lower back. The outfit was of the finest silks. The collar the finishing flourish. She touched her hair, her cheek, her collar. This was her. This had always been her.
For a moment she felt like a doll. Then that moment past and she was back in herself again.
"Thank you Mistress Ty Lee." Katara said formally. Ty Lee clapped in delight and grinned right back.
"You are welcome little miss Katara."
A loud rhythmic clapping came from down in the main hall. The children poked their heads over the edge. It appeared that there were dancers performing on the stage. Moving their bodies in a strange demonstration. Shaking with the music. Katara frowned, it was sort of like a South Pole spirit dance…But she was too far up to be sure. She couldn't even recognize anyone's faces from all the way up here. Also the movements were obscured in incense smoke and steam from the cooking.
"Is that your mother at the front?" Zuko said as he glared at the glass. His own reflection blocking most of his view. Katara frowned and leaned forward. Hanging on exclusively by her fingertips. She honestly couldn't tell.
"I can't even tell what sort of dance that is can you?" Ty Lee asked Azula who merely sniffed in response.
"Some dull demonstration I suppose. I pity Lu Ten. Having to go back down there. He is probably bored out of his mind. Katara? You brough a bowl of pitted cherries up did you not?" Azula said with a snap of her fingers.
Katara jumped up and scurried to fetch the bowl. The four royal brats commenced to eat. Katara received one or two of the small red globes at the end. Since she had been so obedient all evening. The clapping from the party continued to rise up through the palace walls. And echo out into the star filled night.
Review. Faster updates for this and other stories if this and other stories get more reviews. Would love to see art work of this or any of my other work. Faster reviews for my other less popular stories means that more updates at a faster pace. Or just more stories like this one.
Also any requests in reviews will probably be ignored.
Also just to be clear. I do not do pedophilia, all characters are aged up in this stuff or aged down depending on the character, no loli, no yaoi, no shota, I don't do watersports (Shit/Piss/fart fetish shit)I don't do stuff like vore or entire bodies getting shoved into places (Shrink play) I don't do blood play or torture (Ball/cock crushing etc) or certain old people, (Yes I am a fucking hypocrite) . Also if you ask for something in reviews that normally means I won't do it. So anyone who asks for that will be disappointed. If you have questions/requests/suggestions PM me instead.
Also have an ao3 account under the same name. and same titles.