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The Price of Peace	By : Looneyluna Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > Het - Male/Female > Katara/Zuko Views: 19165 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Summary – Zuko meditates and recalls events from the previous night. A decision is made.

Chapter Seven –

Sitting in one of the antechambers near the main council chamber, Zuko closed his eyes and centered himself. At least he tried to center himself. Every time he tried to meditate he thought of Katara.

Last night had been an ordeal. He’d had to play host to all the delegates and honored guests, people he’d never met before.

Standing at the entrance of the grand room, Zuko welcomed an Earth Kingdom delegate halfheartedly as he watched Katara’s movements around the room.

She did not cling to the ornate trappings of his culture or that of the Earth Kingdom. Instead of flowing silks, she wore the traditional understated blue robe of the Water Tribe. She flowed between people, easily conversing with total strangers. Smiling, she touched her choker and fingered it out of habit – a habit he was all too familiar with.

He grinned, mumbling something he hoped was the correct response to the person standing in front of him. Katara used that choker to keep people at bay. Yes, she wore it as a reminder of her mother, but it served another purpose. It discouraged the men of her tribe from approaching her.

“And just where is your uncle, Fire Lord Zuko?” Princess Wan asked, approaching him, the feathers on her headdress reminding him of a deranged bird.

“I wish I knew,” Zuko replied with a respectful bow, wincing as his uniform shifted uncomfortably on his body.

“Please point him in my direction when you see him,” the old peacock requested.

“Of course,” he stated with another bow, hoping the woman moved on quickly. His gaze settled on Katara again, observing the subtle scowl of disapproval to the conversation she was taking part in. He was all too familiar with that scowl.

That was another reason he shouldn’t marry her. They did not get along. They came from totally different worlds. She had no place in his life, other than in his bed. His reverie was cut short as another Earth Kingdom delegate stepped before him.

“Hey, Z,” an annoyingly common voice greeted him. “Sorry I’m late, but I had to show my bodyguard slash Bei Fong family rep what a helpless little girl I am. He and his buddies are currently digging him out of the hole I put him in.”

“Toph?” He couldn’t believe his eyes or ears. It sounded like her, but it looked nothing like her. “Is that you?”

“And here I thought I was the one that’s blind,” she retorted jokingly. “Of course it’s me.”

“You’re wearing a dress!” Zuko scratched his chin as though he were trying to solve some complex puzzle. He sniffed the air around her. “And you don’t smell…bad.”

“Wow!” Toph quirked an expressive eyebrow. “It’s amazing Katara ever agreed to marry you! So when’s the big day?”

With a reaction time that would have surpassed Azula in her heyday, Zuko grabbed Toph’s wrist and pulled her into a nearby alcove, heedless of the curious stares and the sudden lull of noise in the room.

“What are you talking about?” hissed Zuko, turning his back on the curious onlookers.

Scowling, Toph yanked her wrist from his grasp. “Unless my household servants are dipping into my father’s liquor cabinets again, you and Katara are getting married. And easy with the whole touchy-feely stuff! I’ll bury you the next time you do that.”

Zuko shook his head in disgust and frustration. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “Who else knows? Have you told anyone else?”

Toph squared her shoulders and knocked his hands away. “If the servants know, everyone knows.”

Staring at the flame before him, Zuko sighed in resignation. Toph was right. Knowing the gossipmongers, Katara and he were not only married, but also planning the arrival of their firstborn child. Either way, his uncle’s plan had put her danger.

The only door to the antechamber inched open slowly, putting an end to his attempts of meditation. With a huff, Zuko extinguished the flame as the shadow of a feminine figure crept into the room.

Stepping into a shadow, Zuko grinned as he watched Katara fumble around in the ill-illuminated room.

She cursed as she stubbed her toe on something. “Times like this. It would be nice to be a Firebender.”

With a concentrated effort, he lit the candles that were closest to him. “Like this?”

Katara jumped, catching her balance on a nearby table. “You startled me! What are you doing here?”

Approaching her, he shrugged. “I live here. What are you doing here?”

She edged along the table, trying to put distance between them. “I-I was looking for the kitchens. Your uncle gave me directions, but I must have remembered them incorrectly.”

“Go home, Katara,” Zuko commanded softly, giving her a last chance to run away from this madness between them. Iroh was scheming. He didn’t need an advanced education to see that. The old man had sent her down here as a sacrifice. “It isn’t safe here. Go back to your simple life.”

“I’d like to see you live in the Arctic!” she spat. “If it weren’t for Aang, you’d be dead! He’s the one who saved you at the North Pole. If it were up to Sokka and me, we would have left you! Our lives are not simple!”

Smirking, Zuko circled the table. She was not meek. She would fight him every step of the way. “My apologies, Noble Water Tribe Maiden,” he offered. “I meant no offense.”

Scoffing at his apology, Katara countered his move around the table. As he moved left she moved left, an eternal circle of pride and fortitude. She could read the intent in his amber eyes. If he caught her, she knew she would be lost.

“Why were you looking for the kitchens?” He pursued her, running his hand along the tops of the chairs that lined the edge of the table.

“Because I’m hungry,” she retorted irritably.

He laughed. He’d never been to his own kitchens. The servants would probably panic if he went there. He wondered how they would receive Katara. “Why didn’t you just send for food?”

Hands on her hips, Katara scowled. “Because I can get my own food.”

“You would upset the servants if you went to the kitchens,” he warned, stopping the dance around the table. “They aren’t used to their superiors in common areas.”

“Well then,” she sighed, leaning over the table. Her blue robe gapped open, giving Zuko an enticing glimpse of her collarbone. “Isn’t it fortunate I am not their superior.”

Zuko moved slowly, unthreateningly. “You’ll grow used to it.”

“There is nothing to get used to.” She straightened, like a wary animal poised to flee at the first sign of danger. “I’ll be leaving as soon as the summit is over.”

He stalked her, biding his time and edging his way to the end of the long table. “That may prove more problematic than you think.”

“No it isn’t,” Katara replied slowly, dragging each syllable out. “I’ll be leaving with my father.”

He was within striking distance. All he had to do was reach out and touch her. “Not if you become my wife.”

As if realizing his proximity, Katara tried to move away from him. But it was too late.

With the speed of a tiger pouncing on its prey, Zuko grabbed her wrist. She looked stunned and tried to twist away, but he turned her movements against her, pressing his body flush to hers.

“I w-won’t marry you,” she stammered, shadows of doubt playing across her face. “Please let me go.”

Her earlier words came back to haunt him. “Friend to no one and loved one to all.”

She did not struggle.

“What did you mean?” asked Zuko as he nuzzled the delicate shell of her ear and lost himself in her fragrance. “If I am loved one to all, then that would mean that you love me. Why not marry the man you love?”

Raining gentle kisses along her jaw, he was pleased when she titled her head back and permitted him greater liberties. He exploited her decision, pressing his lips against her pulse and feeling her heartbeat race.

“I don’t love you,” she denied breathlessly, wiggling against him in an effort to gain her freedom.

Her struggle only heightened his desire. Opening his mouth against the skin at the column of her throat, he tasted her. Her taste, forever engraved in his memories, was refreshing. Zuko shifted, trying to get closer to her and only tormenting himself more.

Their legs were intertwined and he had her bent backward onto the table. Her hands were trapped between their bodies, her fingers splayed against his chest. He would not make that mistake again. Knowing Katara, she would freeze his blood -- assuming the rumors were true about Waterbending capabilities.

“Then why allow my affections?” he whispered against her lips before claiming her answer.

There was nothing tender about the kiss. He was taking her, staking his claim. It was for her own good. She would be safer in the palace than anywhere else. By now his enemies knew of their “marriage.” So why not make it real? Why shouldn’t he reap the advantages of having her close by, warming his bed…and life?

“You dare deny my daughter and dishonor her in such a manner!” a low growl was heard from the doorway.

Katara pushed against his chest with a startled gasp. Reluctantly, Zuko released her, straightening and holding his fists at his sides. “She has accepted me, and I have accepted her. There is no dishonor here, Father of My Intended.”

--

TBC

A/N – Thank you Spleef and Luthien_Wildglen, Tabitha, and Coolblue for the lovely comments. They are greatly appreciated.
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The Price of Peace