Slow Heat | By : Spleef Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > General Views: 77367 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- 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. |
Slow Heat
Chapter 27 – Startling Confessions
o0o0o0o
Zuko
Chan's family's house was one of the bigger and finer residences on Ember Island, and it also gave me and Katara ample spaces to hide or climb. From our preliminary exploration, we had already found a few prime spots; under the balcony, just outside the kitchen, and on the eaves under the roof. By the time we had gotten there, the party had just started and people were still arriving. Chan hadn't been lying when he said the party would be decent. The spread of food on the tables looked good, and I was glad that we had already eaten dinner, or I'd become hungry. Ruon-Jian sat by the door, collecting the money into a bag, and I noticed that he flipped his hair a few times, or would touch it and straighten it in a however minute way.
When I became Fire Lord, doubtless these rich and spoiled kids would be in for a rude awakening if they thought they could use their wealth to curry my favor. Katara and I were absolutely quiet, communicating with hand gestures when one of us wanted something. For a while we lay on the thick rafters, our bodies perfectly hidden behind the width of these rafters. No one could see us, and if anyone did look up, the only thing they saw was darkness.
Much of the talk was unimportant. Gossip, clothes, complaining about family or the War. Many of the kids had relatives in the war, including a non-military capacity, but that wasn't talked about much, and what little was said wasn't any information that could help us. As the evening went on, we explored other spots, moving to eavesdrop here and there as we split off to cover more ground.
I hit paydirt when I moved to the kitchens, crouching just outside at the door that led to the small garden. Rich smells wafted up from the kitchen as the servants prepared more food for the banquet table above. Above and to my left, I heard kids out on the wide balcony, drinking and chattering. Someone had brought fireworks and was lighting them off the side of the platform, and I heard loud cheers.
“That snotty kid thinks he's being so clever, collecting that money to pay for things that no one can fix. There's no way to replace these antique vases. The scrolls might be fixed, but not even the best seamstress can disguise the damage.”
“What do you think Chan will do once he comes back and see what his kid did?” a voice asked in a dry tone.
“Go ballistic, I suppose. Too bad he's not more like his old man.” a third servant put in.
“That's right! Hey Ling, isn't Chan part of the takeover of Ba Sing Se?” I heard a fourth servant ask. The second voice I had heard answered.
“Indeed. I received the letter from him last week. He will take his fleet and sail up the Serpent's Pass. The War's almost over. Once Ba Sing Se is taken...”
“Even the mighty Dragon of the West couldn't conquer Ba Sing Se!”
“The master didn't tell me any details. But he said he would come home victorious, with the Fire Lord. Just a few more weeks...”
So Ozai was going with his men to take over Ba Sing Se in the final assault against the Earth Kingdoms? That was something I could work with. If the Avatar and the rest of us faced the Fire Lord outside the safety of his palace... well, there was something I'd talk about with the group.
“We'd all like them to come home victorious. All of my older brothers went into the War.” the third voice I had heard was undeniably female.
“I'd say that all of us have someone we know or love who's part of the war effort.” another voice added. Murmurs of agreement.
“Agni, send our soldiers home safely.” the woman prayed out loud. The kitchen was silent for a moment before I heard quiet murmurs. The conversation returned to trivial matters, interspersed with the clattering of cookware and the steady but soft chop-chop as someone near the door sliced vegetables. The snippets of information I had just learned rolled around in my head as I hung around for a while, hoping to catch more. Sometimes one could learn a lot from servants – they were after all, privy to the secrets of their masters and mistresses.
o0o0o0o
Katara
I hid under the roof that gave the balcony partial cover. No one even looked up, and I relaxed, listening to the kids. One of the firecrackers was accidentally aimed at the roof, but fortunately it exploded at the other side, where it actually started a small fire. Chan's reaction was priceless. He actually started screaming before servants rushed in to throw water at the small fire before it could spread. I almost felt sorry for Chan, he did look as if he would have a nervous breakdown due to the blackened shingles at the corner of the roof. Why hadn't he learned his lesson from the first disastrous party?
“Damnit.” Chan was standing with Ruon-Jian under where I was laying across a eave, and my ears perked up as he started lamenting his current situation.
“You can fix the roof, easy. It's just shingles, you can get them in the marketplace, I'm sure.” Ruon-Jian was right. There was indeed a carpenter in the marketplace, along with his supply store. One could buy shingles or tools along with a few other simple construction supplies. But from what I had seen, it was servants who usually went inside. Rich kids had no reason to visit a 'lowly' carpenter.
“The money's nowhere near enough to repair what that bitch princess and her little buddies did! How am I supposed to replace vases that were made before Fire Lord Sozin's time? The money's enough to fix the house itself, but Nana's treasures... I just wish Dad had left me more fucking money.” Chan moaned. Ruon-Jian looked like he was biting back a laugh.
“I guess we shouldn't have spent our vacation money at the Palace of Fire-lilies.” Ruon said with a flip of his hair. I blushed a little. Zuko and I had passed it once while exploring the island. It was a beautiful little mansion surrounded by whitewashed walls, with a guard at the gate. The name of the place hung above the gate on a shingle, characters in raised gold or brass against a white-washed piece of wood framed in the same metal. I had thought it was just a fancy name for someone's summer house, but Zuko kindly explained to me that it was the establishment where men went to have... certain needs taken care of. According to what he knew, the Palace of Fire-lilies was one of the best places to go for that kind of thing in the entire Nation, which was befitting of Ember Island's luxurious comforts.
“It's not my fault that these women practically charge an arm and leg or that they're so good you want to keep going back!” Chan replied acidly. Of course it wasn't his fault, I thought to myself, wishing I could blurt it out with all the sarcasm I could muster. I doubted that Admiral Chan would be too pleased if he ever learned of his son's foolishness.
“Hey, you could always say a servant stole the good stuff.”
“Then Dad would just yell at me about how I should be keeping a better eye on the servants.” Chan crossed his arms and huffed softly. “He's so anal about everything. Hopefully when he comes home victorious he'll be in too much of a good mood to care. The comet's supposed to guarantee the Fire Nation's victory. Let's hope these priests are right. It's about time the Earth Nation and Water Tribes came under our heel. Such barbarians...” His distaste for the other races was all too apparent.
“I'm bored with all the servants at home.” one boy said as he sauntered over to Chan. He wasn't so much of a boy though, since his body rippled with muscle and he was half a head taller than the party host. “It'd be nice to have a pretty Water Tribe slave to do my bidding.”
With a flick of my wrist, the wine in the boy's goblet sloshed out, splashing himself and his host and Ruon-Jian, causing Chan to yelp and jump back.
“Idiot! Watch what you're doing!”
“... Sorry, man. I don't know what happened.” The larger boy stared into his goblet, as if he would find an answer in there.
Much of the conversation was banal. I couldn't stand listening to the girls gossip about clothes and cute boys. I didn't hear anything relevant from anybody, even though I moved around to several different places to listen. Some of the gossip was a bit spicy, but nothing that I was looking for. I slid down an eave, ready to call it a night – the party was winding down and people were sitting around, full of food and getting drunk off the wine – when I heard a little bit that doubtless Zuko would like to hear. It came from a girl who had apparently just come to Ember Island with her younger siblings and mother.
“Did you know that the Princess got rid of her friends?” she asked. The girls around her stared at her curiously and she continued.
“We were in Sozun till last week, and apparently the two girls who hang with the Princess have been sent to the Boiling Rock for betraying her.”
Shocked murmurs passed through the group, and I felt the same. Mai and Ty Lee? Betraying Azula? Why?
“Why?” Another girl echoed my thoughts, and the first girl shrugged.
“The Princess did not say.” Disappointed murmurs rippled through the gang.
“I guess Azula's becoming just as harsh as her father. I wouldn't want to be Zuko. I bet if Azula ever saw him again...”
“How could he betray the Fire Nation so?” another girl asked. Only if they knew...
o0o0o0o
Zuko
It wasn't until most of the guests were gone that I went after Katara. Finding her was no hard task, and I whispered her name so she wouldn't become startled and try to attack me when I came up behind her. She looked over her shoulder before I wrapped my arms around her middle. She sighed softly and leaned back, both of us standing under the balcony and listening to the remaining guests who were outside and lighting what was left of the fireworks, scattered reflections of these luminous displays visible on the waves.
“Zu.” she murmured, resting her head against my shoulder. I smiled under my face wrapping and rested my chin on top of her head, the two of us leaning against a rock as the waves crashed several feet away. The balcony was mostly silent, nobody seeming to be much in a mood to talk anymore.
“Okay, party's over, folks. Thank you for your contributions, and I hope you enjoyed yourself. I'll see you around.” Chan's voice made it through the wooden slats, and we heard murmurs of farewell.
We stayed around for a bit more, hoping Chan might reveal something else, but after the long night, he went to bed quickly.
“Hear anything good?” I asked. She nodded.
“Good, me too. Let's head back.”
o0o0o0o
The night had been so balmy that removing the black silk that clung to our bodies was a relief. I was all too happy to help Katara out of her outfit, though she did look damned good in it. I slowly slid the silk from her torso, it was like unwrapping a gift, and I laughed softly when she wiggled her chest at me. I stripped her down all the way, and she returned the favor.
“How about a cool bath?” I asked. She nodded, and I pumped the bathtub full of it, heating it only just slightly so it wouldn't be ice-cold. We sat in there a long while and just relaxed. Spending a hot night covered head to toe gets rather uncomfortable, even if the silk was light.
I lovingly rubbed her hair and back dry with a towel when we were done, and she returned the favor, teasing me by rumpling my hair with the towel. It was almost morning and we were tired, so there'd be no loveplay. I did not mind because I was happy to share this night with her, and relax like this. Who said love had to always be on the physical level? I was content to just be with her.
We sprawled across the mat naked, no need to worry since the door was locked. Our positions were roughly perpendicular to one another, our heads close together. I inhaled her scent and let out a soft sigh of contentment as I lay there, feeling a stray cool breeze on my body as I heard her soft breathing and the crashing of the waves.
o0o0o0o
Katara
It was so quiet and peaceful. Everything felt so right, just the two of us laying there, au naturel and enjoying the silence. I felt him nuzzle the side of my face gently, and smiled to myself before I nuzzled him back.
“Katara?”
“Mmm?”
“Look at me.”
I did so, turning my head to find his golden eyes staring at me intently. I felt my heart skip a beat as I waited for him to speak. His voice was soft and warm, like velvet when he finally spoke.
“I love you.”
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