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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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- 184
Chapter 180
“I think the doors locked,” Ty Lee grumbled unhappily as she struggled to pull on the door that Katara had frozen.
“It’s not like you have to walk far to get back to the hotel room,” Mai said blandly.
“I know, but I don’t like going there. It feels like someone’s watching me,” she huffed one final time before slamming her fist against the door.
Their voices grew fainter as Mai laughed, “I would hope that even people as backwards as these have keys to a door if they’ve locked it.”

Katara slid down the wall when Zuko let go of her. Her heart was racing; there were people waiting to get in the restroom. Katara inhaled deeply but still couldn’t get enough air. She opened her mouth but it still did not compensate for the lack of the lack oxygen. She couldn’t even call herself a whore. Whores had standards. Even a back-alley streetwalker demanded two coppers but she’d given herself to him in a public bathroom. She’d kissed him and held him of her own volition. She’d moved when he asked her to. She came when he began to move faster and deeper inside her. Her hands were in his hair, her tongue was in his mouth and she was shuddering a second time when his seed flooded her insides. She was something worse now; everyone would know. She curled in on herself, closing her legs after opening them so easily then laid her head on her knees and sobbed.
“Katara? Katara wasn’t wrong? Are you hurting?” Zuko asked panicking as he lifted her head and arms searching for signs of a missed injury.
Katara lurched forward against Zuko blubbering, “I have to get out of here. Don’t let them see me. I don’t want anyone to know.”
Zuko nodded. He still didn’t understand why she was so upset but he slowly opened the door she’d unfrozen and checked to make sure there were no onlookers before stepping into the small hallway. He remained between her and the rest of the room as they slunk back to their table. More people were in the restaurant and their section was no longer empty so he guessed it was closer to the standard lunch hour. Zuko pulled Katara into the booth side next to him when she tried to sit in of one the chairs facing the back wall of the building. She lowered her head wishing she could disappear into the table as the Fire Nation soldiers began to cheer when they realized the prince sponsoring their gluttony was present.
“Katara what’s wrong why are you crying? Are you injured? Do you want to go back to the hotel room after we’ve eaten?” Zuko frowned in confusion, “Where’s our food? It was here but now it’s missing. It doesn’t matter. We can reorder. I know you have to be hungry.”
Katara ignored what he said and continued to shed silent tears.
“Katara, what’s wrong. Say something, please tell me,” Zuko said before yelling that Amayu, Bingwen and someone else from the medical staff be sent to their table.
Katara slapped his leg and shook her head, “Send them away. I don’t want them to see me. I don’t want anyone to see me.”
“Katara what’s wrong? Why don’t you want anyone to see you? Is it because of your bruises?”
Katara shook her head in the negative.
Ty Lee flashed a finger sign towards him he didn’t think she knew and Zuko grew somber as he came to a realization. Her oldest sister was always ashamed when she announced her pregnancies as it announced to the world she was having sex with her abuser. “Is it because of what we just did?”
Katara nodded and he bit his lips as the guilt washed over him. He gently pulled her upwards, “You have no reason to be ashamed. You didn’t do anything wrong, Katara.”
“The bathroom,” Katara blubbered “Anyone could have walked in on us. It’s not a bar but I know what kind of slut …”
Zuko covered her mouth his hand, “Don’t say that about yourself. It’s not true” as it dawned on him what she must be thinking. He knew what the worldwide consensus was on girls who did such things. But he was from the upper strata of the Fire Nation. Like most things they also had a different perception on taking their woman in the bathroom. He kicked the table away so he’d had room to pull her into his lap. “Katara listen…”
Katara tucked her head on his shoulder and finger combed her hair forward to hide her face as she interrupted him, “I know people are watching. It’s time for me to play good little Waterbender for my brother’s sake. I won’t do anything to embarrass you or make it seem like I’m questioning your authority just please don’t make me face them. I don’t want anyone to know.”
Zuko remembered the walk to the showers the first night he raped her and decipher her near panic about being seen, “No Katara this isn’t like that. You should be proud of what just happened”.
He slapped himself on the forehead when she inhaled sharply and shook more as she cried harder, “I mean what I said just not how you think.”
“Do you remember the banquet when we were at the palace?” He wasn’t really expecting a response so her tiny nod caught him off guard. “That was a short banquet. They’re normally longer. Only the highest members of society are invited to dinner at the palace. Family fortunes are often spent on gowns and hairdos hoping a daughter will find a husband who is richer or more influential than they are or at least become the concubine or mistress of one. It’s no secret that if you are pretty enough or rich enough you can do favors for the guards to gain entrance if you weren’t invited.”
“Do you remember the game we played where we guessed which servant would spill wine on which dress?” Katara nodded but Zuko didn’t see her slight smile. “There’s a second part to it. Mu and I used to try and guess which family considered the girl the rival and bribed the servant to take her out of the running. There’s another game we played but I didn’t tell you. Do you remember the girls whose faces were red for most of the evening and they looked constipated?
“That was the farthest from the truth. People also bribe servants to poison the girls with a laxative or emetic so they’ll either be embarrassed or spend a great deal of the evening out of the room. I was engaged to Mai but even her so called friends were attempting to charm their way into my bedroom. That is the real reason why so many people were angry when I announced you were my concubine and why those girls were crowding around her. They were only pretending to offer their condolences. Their real motive was to learn what she did wrong.”
“The music, food, decorations, wine and lighting make it all look like we’re living in a fairy tale but it’s a cruel illusion dreamt up by the masses. Marriages in our society are based on solidifying wealth and status by making the right familial connections. Love is a rarity among us. You’ve seen how closely virility is tied to power, wealth and authority. In that environment with the alcohol and so many young and beautiful women making themselves available, not to mention the unwilling servants it is an honor to be chosen by the man to whom you are bonded. That is especially true in new unions as it means there is hope for a happy marriage.”
Zuko linked his fingers with hers and placed fingers which bore his signet where she could see them. He used the finger of his opposite hand to twist the ring on her finger, “We are bonded, Katara. My mother designed the ring you are wearing. If I only wanted bragging rights and to humiliate you I would have never made you my concubine. I could have used you all I wanted and never claimed you as mine. I would have never given you something so personal”
“Even then I respected you too much to do that. Uncle Iroh taught me you could learn much about your enemy’s character as you fight them. Each time you engage in battle shows you more of the person they truly are. The dagger I carry was given to him by an Earth Kingdom general that surrendered to him. Uncle told me his greatest honor and biggest regret was executing the man. It was an honor as the man was in the same bedraggled condition as his troops. His only condition of surrender was that they be allowed medical treatment and fair prison conditions. He asked nothing for himself. It was his regret as he knew if they weren’t on different sides of the war they would have been friends.”
“You could have killed me several times at the North Pole. You could have delayed me while the other girl went for help but you choose to fight me by yourself. You could have slit my throat after knocking me unconscious. When you found me unconscious you could have left me in that cave to freeze instead of taking me with you.”
“That wasn’t me. That was Aang’s doing,” Katara sniffled.
Zuko snorted, “We’ve been together four months Katara. If you really wanted me gone I have no doubt I would have accidently fallen off the bison. Besides the Avatar listens to you, I would have been left behind if you really put your foot down. After all that you offered to remove my scar in Ba Sing Se so I could have a fresh start. I have so many wishes and regrets about the day of the invasion. Giving you the title of concubine is not one of them. I never told you this but there are two levels of concubine. The first affords a protected status but allows a woman to be used by anyone with royal blood. My father would have never touched you but I have cousins. Some are worse than Lord Asami. When I gave you this ring that’s what I was thinking - you were too noble of an enemy to allow that to happen. I never imagined that I would develop this level of feelings. I know that in most circles what we did is shamefully admitting we are no better than animals unable to control their baser urges but in the world I grew up in it is a display of pride, love and devotion.”
Katara frowned at him and Zuko smiled softly before speaking, “The pictures of my mother don’t do her justice. She was so much brighter, warmer, and more beautiful in person. Whenever we had a ball I would stay with her as long as possible before she sent me away so she could dress. I would return and watch as they did her hair and makeup. She was the only woman alive married to a true member of the royal family so as acting Fire Lady it was her duty to be the most beautiful woman in the room. I was too young to understand the way my father looked at her and what her promises of later meant.”
“There is a protocol to follow during those events. The guests are allowed to enter and casually mingle, the procession of the royal family, the actual meal, the musical performance, dessert and drinks, more music and business negotiations disguised as socializing. My father couldn’t always remain with her. When they were separated nobles would offer him their virgin daughters and women would throw themselves at him. My mother was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen but there were times she felt insecure. I heard her telling the maids that all of her friends’ husbands including Chu-Hua’s had younger mistresses whose bodies hadn’t been changed by bearing children. She knew it was only a matter of time before Father lost interest in her and she wasn’t sure she would be able to bear it when that day came.”
“I would often see my father taking my mother’s hand in his and leaving the room. When they returned she would be smiling and his mark would be freshly applied to her neck. His arm would be around her waist and he’d strut like a dragon-peacock displaying his feathers. I tried to follow them one night. My nurse caught me before I could see them but I heard…noises,” Zuko shuddered, “and him telling her that he was the luckiest man in the world to have her and he wanted everyone to know it. I can count the number of other men that who always chose to disappear with their wives on a single hand. It’s not done to embarrass them just as my father didn’t do it to embarrass my mother. It was his way of showing his love for her and that he was proud to be with her. My father was a prince; he could literally have had any woman in the room but he wanted everyone to know that he still chose her.”
“What I did wasn’t to humiliate or debase you. Ever since that woman attacked you in the bathroom I have had nightmares we’d be out and you’d excuse yourself to go to the restroom. You’d be inside fighting for your life, screaming for help but I wouldn’t hear you. By the time I realized you were taking too long it would be too late to save you. I’d rush in the bathroom in time to hear you calling for your brother while you died in my arms. The dream changes Katara. Sometimes it’s that same woman. Sometimes it’s my father. Sometimes it’s Azula. Sometimes it’s your brother. Sometimes it’s Uncle. Sometimes it’s the person I used to be. Sometimes it’s Mai. Last night it was Chu-Hua. I heard what you told Sokka that she did to you,” Zuko pushed aside his collar to show her there was a small cut on his neck as well. “She did the same thing to me.”
“She’s one of the few people I can’t protect you from. When you were gone so long I thought…I thought she had broken her promise,” Zuko kissed her lips when Katara turned to ask him about the promise. “I just wanted make sure you were real and that you were safe. I wasn’t thinking about anything else only trying to make sure I wasn’t living my nightmare. I don’t think about the negativity associated with having sex where everyone will know what we did. I don’t want us to be seen. I’m ashamed of my actions and the way I’ve treated you and how our relationship came about but I’m not ashamed of you or our bond. I’m proud that you are the woman wearing this ring. I think my mother would happy to see the ring she designed on your finger even if she would spank me for the way it was put there.”
An unwanted giggle escaped Katara’s lips as she imagined Zuko, at his current height and size over his mother’s knee.
“What? It’s not funny. I got spankings.” Zuko protested making her giggle more. “I’m serious.”
“I don’t doubt that,” Katara said remembering some of the uglier things Zuko had told her about his childhood. “I imagined you, as you are now over her knee. I’ve seen pictures of your mother standing beside your father. She was tall but slender. You’re most likely the same height but you’re bigger. Putting you across her lap would probably be more of a punishment for her.”
She giggled as she added, “It was for Gran-Gran;. The last time she spanked Sokka was a few months before we left. She complained of how bad her legs hurt for weeks. I didn’t even get my traditional ‘you’re way too old and too big for it’ spanking because of him. Now when she gets mad she just uses her boomerang.”
“That explains some things,” Zuko muttered.
“What’s that supposed -” Katara began angrily before sighing, “Yeah it does. Sokka’s one of a kind.”
“I’ll continue to do what I can for him Katara.”
“Prince Zuko, what are you doing here? I thought you had left so I cleared your table!” Jin’s cousin, Ming exclaimed frantically before rushing out of the room. “I’m sorry but the table I was going to give you is still occupied. Would you like to sit elsewhere?”
Chu-hua stepped around her to see who was at the rearmost table. She preferred to sit at the back of the room so she could see who was entering. “I wasn’t expecting to see the two of you this afternoon. That was some fight you two had last night. I’m glad to see you made up so soon.”
“I supposed I shouldn’t have expected less from such a loving couple,” She added fingering the fresh love bites the prince had left on the Waterbender’s neck when they were in the bathroom. Katara flinched. Zuko brought his hand up to knock away Chu-Hua’s and caress Katara’s skin protectively.
Chu-hua smiled cruelly when she saw Katara shrinking back behind Zuko without protest, “I see you’re learning little girl.”
“Waitress, seat us at another table. That one will do. The people seated there will soon be leaving,” She barked pointing to a table along the eastern wall that was filled with soldiers. As she predicted they moved elsewhere when they saw their superior officer looking in their direction.
Jin’s cousin took her order then returned to the back table. “Prince Zuko, I apologize. I’ll ask the cook to remake your order and have it out to you shortly.”
They had ordered broth and rice cakes; food that could be eaten quickly without upsetting the stomach. The hotel was only a short distance away but Zuko was certain Katara needed the nourishment. He’d smelled vomit in the bathroom and her mouth tasted faintly of it when he kissed her. “Wait, I would like to add one of those special deluxe meals we ordered the other day.”
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Borealis: A Zutara Story