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Borealis: A Zutara Story	By : jaded_priceless Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > AU/AR - Alternate Universe/Alternate Reality Views: 34026 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, Avatar: The Legend of Korra, any historical figures or events, or easily recognizable persons, places or things. I make no profit from this work of fanfiction

Chapter List
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Chapter 106
Zuko was ecstatic that his relationship with Katara was finally making progress. She no longer bristled like a wet pygmy puma when he looked her. At night she no longer curled against the wall like a frightened tigerdillo the moment he got into bed or wake up frightened if their bodies happened to touch. He still feared she would kill him as he slept but he no longer felt it was necessary to use the handcuffs or a sash to bind her wrist.
It had taken almost two months but Katara had become comfortable enough in his presence that she was able to fall asleep in his arms. He could not describe the peace that came from holding her as she slept. Watching the strain leave her face as she settled next to him; knowing that he was between her and whatever threat came through the door; and that he was strong enough to protect her she slumbered brought him a feeling that could only be described as a man’s true satisfaction.
It was both powerful and humbling to know that Katara trusted him enough to sleep soundly in his presence.
He now understood what drove Lu Ten to ask his father how did he stand up to Iroh and Azulon to make Ursa his only woman. He was tempted to do the same thing for Katara but breaking his engagement would be a stain on his and his grandfather’s honor. He wished he knew how Lu Ten had been able to escape a marriage arrangement. He was the crown prince. He should have had an arrangement before he was ever conceived.
Zuko huffed unhappily, his father had also escaped having a wife forced on him. According to his parents stories, Ozai refused any female Iroh and Azulon introduced him to in such a spectacular manner most were afraid to set foot on the main island after meeting him. His devotion to Ursa earned him the dubious honor of being considered a bad influence on Lu Ten.
Ozai was closer in age and many aspects of their relationship were more like brothers than uncle and nephew; something that Zuko still had trouble understanding. Lu Ten spoke freely to his own father regarding sex but it was Ozai whom Lu Ten sought out when he needed advice about relationships. Like all princes the doors of the harem had been opened to Lu Ten at the age of his first nocturnal emission. He had his own women but before he left to go to Ba Sing Se he was starting to feel that something special was missing – the thing his Uncle Ozai had with his wife Ursa.
Zuko's father had opened the harem to him at age twelve. His father hated Mai but he had warned him of the dangers of spreading himself too thin. He suggested Zuko find a girl that he felt comfortable with and could trust implicitly as a second wife rather rather than several pretty ones to fuck. It was a fool who destroyed his own home by filling it with backstabbing gold-diggers. No true man could take comfort in being with woman who wished to use his title and wealth. He could soften his dragon and empty its eggs but would only be left empty after wasting his strength on a woman who gave nothing back.
Zuko was certain his father had said the same thing to Lu Ten. His cousin had begun the difficult process to dismiss the concubines offered nothing more than a pretty face and physical satisfaction; even the ones with whom he have an actual conversation were slightly nervous. The first one to go was his first woman. The sages ordered that she be executed after he had lain with her one final time. Agni would witness the coupling and her immolation then return the strength she had stolen to Lu Ten.
As much as Zuko regretted that his first time was an act of rape he was starting to appreciate the fact it had been Katara. He knew he would eventually have to sleep with Mai but knowing his first time and the woman he was truly bonded to understood and appreciated him as a person was comforting. He could not imagine how dirty and used Lu Ten must have felt to know he had given his first and the largest portion of his spirit to a woman willing to lay with his father, grandfather and Uncle to remain in the palace. He could not imagine what Lu Ten must have felt the last time he entered her body knowing that only his uncle had refused her offer.
Ozai was pleased to learn his nephew sought true happiness but it disturbed Iroh greatly to learn Lu Ten wished to be fettered by a single. He always felt that Ozai was shaming himself and their family by submitting himself to Ursa. He was afraid his own son was setting himself up to become a “slave to one cavern” like his younger brother.
Ozai and Iroh fought frequently on the subject.
His father would often argue the true strength of the dragon buried within their line did not emerge by sleeping with several women but by sleeping next to one. Uncle Iroh would argue a man’s true power was lost the moment he allowed a woman to overrule him. It was better to spread himself among several women so his mind didn’t fall prey to the owner of his dragon’s favorite cavern.
They had come to blows when Ozai said it was Iroh’s weakness which caused his sister-in-law to die. The strength he should have been building with her and giving only to her and the child she carried had been wasted between the legs of whores. When she needed it most he had none to give her.
As their relationship devolved Zuko thought the statement was just another example of his father’s cruelty. After having lived with his uncle for three years and learning his views on women he no longer had that opinion. Iroh had taught him women were not to be raped. They were to be respected according to their station. Each and every woman had a functional duties and purpose. Their duty and purpose determined their level of regard and consideration: a whore was not to be treated like his cook, maidservant or the local grocer. There was an appropriate level for his sister, mother, wife, mistress as well as some random trollop with whom he had a dalliance.
Iroh had also taught him that any and every woman with the exception of a sister, mother or daughter could be replaced far more easily than one could a good pair of boots.
Even the woman worthy of receiving his first and becoming his wife had a duty and a purpose: maintain the home and provide heirs. If she could not fulfill her duties she could easily be replaced by others who could. So long as the duties were performed and the purpose was met, if was of no great importance who fulfilled them. Or as Iroh had put it “as long as long as his dragon was rested it didn’t matter who sucked it; as long as his belly was full it didn’t matter who cooked and as long as he had a nice bath and clean clothes who cared who drew the water and washed them?”
Zuko now knew that was not the truth. Katara could not be replaced by any woman. He could not have the conversations he had with Katara with another woman. He could not laugh with another woman like he laughed with Katara. After using Katara’s unconscious body to slake his baser urges had brought far less satisfaction than simply holding her as they talked he knew he could have no other woman than Katara. She could be replaced by no one.
It had to be Katara at his side.

The way he felt when they kissed and touched was so very different than the way he felt with some random whore Iroh had purchased for him, Song or even Mai. He cared for Mai but never had the overwhelming urge to completely surrender himself to her. He knew that would not escape their wedding but he wanted Katara to remain by his side as his true queen while Mai held the ceremonial title of Fire Lady.
He needed Katara to spend her life with him.
If she were not by his side he would go mad with worry. Even now with her lying safely in his arms he feared for her safety and her future. He had taken her virginity from her and robbed her of the ability to have children. If the Avatar got loose, struck down his father, ended the war, and Uncle Iroh became Fire Lord the world still would be a difficult place for Katara.
Even in the shallow, convoluted world of Fire Nation nobility it was important for a man to believe he was the one to open his wife’s phoenix. It was a source of pride to be the first as most men knew they would not be the only. It was common for families with deep pockets and daughters of questionable virtue to buy a sworn oath of purity from the sages. Wives were a means to gain heirs, status and property. Her sexual dalliances could be overlooked so long as they remained discrete and did not affect the family’s status or holdings.
Some parents even chose their son’s wives for that purpose. The largest dowries and financial benefits most often belonged to those with the impeachable morals. But even among the most beneficial of marriage arrangements there were ways in which a woman’s dowry was not enough to compensate for the lack of purity. He knew of several men whose pride would not allow them to fully commit to a woman that had been with another man. Their true happiness and devotion lie with the concubines and mistresses who had come to them as virgins and remained untouched by none but them.
War Minister Qin had been with his mistress fifty years. Their love was so great there were twin and triplets sons among their eleven children. It was rumored to have begun after he caught his wife with another man.
Zuko pulled Katara closer so his hand could rest on her flat stomach. Tsubaki was in her fifties with a child under ten and another in her teens. Each week he was at home there rumors circulating that she was pregnant again. Most men he knew had children outside of their marriages; even if they did not acknowledge them they existed. Lord Asami had thirty that Zuko knew of and he cared for each one. Each child was proof of his virility and that he had lain with their mothers.
Zuko sighed; it was more than that. He had seen Lord Asami with several of them and they like his true heirs called him father. He could not say providing support for so many was only a way to show his wealth. He valued them because they had come from him. No matter where the seed was planted, it was his child which grew from it. Even among the common where the lack of virginity had little importance and egos were far less inflated, men wanted wives who could provide children. Part of his duties when he returned home was to review domestic matters. He had seen and granted several divorce petitions on the basis a spouse was barren.
Katara rolled on her back. Zuko smiled and wiped a bit of drool from her the side of her face. He had given her enough money to support herself financially but knew she was not the type of person who would be happy living alone. Mai would be perfectly content to have a life of material wealth and social solitude but Katara who befriended the spa maids, stewards, Mu, the Zhao twins, Fan, the kitchen helpers, a few more members of the Ursa’s crew, servants at the palace, and nearly everyone she had come in contact with as he chased them would be miserable.
He knew there were men who would be happy to marry her for her money but he did not like the idea of Katara being used for her wealth. Katara was not the type of person who would pay for companionship. She only wanted people around her who genuinely wanted to be there. It would devastate her to know the person she cared for only wanted her riches.
Katara would be miserable without him. Even if she did not see yet or wish to admit it, Zuko knew it would be impossible for Katara to find true happiness with another man. Any other man would undoubtedly love her just as he was starting to but any other man would wish for her to have his children. Any other man would grow frustrated if she were unable to. Any other man would not cherish her all the more if his efforts to get her pregnant resulted in nothing to show for it. Any other man would not treasure Katara as he did.
She had to spend her life with him; safe, loved, and cherished. All he had to do was convince her of it.
Zuko leaned forward and placed his lips on her forehead. She was sleeping so peacefully he hated to wake her up, but he must. He could feel the star getting closer and he would never be able to forgive himself if he did not introduce the woman he loved to Lu Ten.

Mimi Feye: Thank you for your feedback. I was hoping that way showed the passage of time but apparently it didn’t work as well as I’d hoped. I was working on Zuko’s perspective since I’ve really been focusing on Katara lately. She’s a bit of a tougher nut to crack since he did do all those things to her. the upcoming chapters have more details and I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

Author’s Note: Everyone, thank you for your patience. Everything is slowly but surely coming together. I had two deaths in the family week before last and my department at work is down to 1 person- me. I promise to update and work on bridging the gap as much as possible but please bear with me.

Mime Feye: Thank you for your feedback on the original 106 and the encouragement. I though I had caught everything. Please let me know if you see other errors.
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- 109
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Borealis: A Zutara Story