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The Price of Peace	By : Looneyluna Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > Het - Male/Female > Katara/Zuko Views: 19137 -:- 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.

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Interlude Sixteen –

“Wake up.” Kana nudged the Fire Lord unceremoniously with her booted foot. It had been a day since her granddaughter had knocked her husband on his royal ass. Now the royal pain in the ass was going home. “They will be here soon. Get up.”

Groaning in protest, Zuko rolled over and cracked his eyes open. “Five more minutes,” he groused groggily.

Grasping the edge of his heavy blanket, Kana yanked it off the slumbering man who had broken Katara’s heart. “Get up!” she barked. “And get dressed. Your ship is near. It will be here within the hour.”

Pulling his parka on, Zuko glared at the old woman. “What time is it?”

“Nighttime,” she answered sharply, stoking the embers of the fire in the pit.

Shivering, Zuko wiped the sleep from his eyes. “H-how can you tell my ship is near?”

“I can feel it.” Kana held her hands up to the fire as her grandson-in-law eyed her skeptically. “I’ve always known when the warriors were coming home,” she explained further.

Zuko huddled closer to the fire and stared at her. “Where’s Katara?”

Kana quirked an eyebrow. “Asleep, I imagine.”

Inhaling and exhaling sharply, Zuko cupped his hands over his mouth and used his Firebending to warm them.

“And she should stay that way,” the old woman added pointedly.

Bowing his head, he shuddered. “I never meant to hurt her,” he stated softly.

“Yet you continue to do so.” Kana was unforgiving in her condemnation of his actions.

“What would you have me do? Paint a target on her and let my enemies take their best shot?” His temper flared and he stood to leave, but Kana moved to block his path.

“You have my pity, Fire Lord Zuko,” she stated solemnly. “You live in fear. You’re afraid to take risks. You place my granddaughter on a pedestal when she does not even like heights. You steal her decisions from her. Yet, she can have no other. You –”

“Is there a point to all this?” growled Zuko in warning.

“Katara is stronger than you think.” Gran Gran stepped to the side. “Let her decide for herself. At least give her the choice.”

“I have made my decision,” Zuko rasped. “She’s better off here…without me.”

--

Huddling into the blankets of her pallet, Katara shivered. She hated waking up cold. If she were to change anything about the way her people lived, it would be this. When young, she was taught how to survive in the cold, but her journey around the world with Aang and Sokka had spoiled her. She liked being able to kick her blankets off. She liked feeling the breeze over her skin. She did not like having to get up to empty her bladder first thing in the morning.

With a resigned sigh, she tugged her clothing on and slipped into her boots. She would go about her daily routine and forget about how angry with Zuko she was. Storming out of the igloo, she paid no attention to the crowd in the middle of the village and walked past them to take care of her morning ablutions. Once finished, Katara stepped outside and stretched, wondering why everyone in the village was standing around.

She rolled her eyes. What had her husband done now? Making her way through the crowd, Katara stopped in her tracks, elation and dread stirring in her gut. “Dad!”

Hakoda embraced his daughter, swinging her around in a circle filled with warm laughter.

“I’m so glad you’re back,” murmured Katara against her father’s fur-lined parka.

“So am I,” he replied.

Pulling away, Katara moved to give her former Waterbending master a hug, but thought better of it. She bowed in respect. “Welcome back, Master Pakku.”

His cold eyes warmed as he acknowledged her greeting. “Thank you, Katara of the Fire Nation,” he said, glancing at the necklace Zuko had given her.

Katara’s smile fell and she looked around for her husband. It was then that she realized that there was no Water Tribe ship nearby…no way for her father and Pakku to have gotten there. Looking toward the horizon, she could see the black smoke in the distance. Her gaze fell to her father’s.

Hakoda looked away, unable to meet his daughter’s wounded expression.

Katara ran into the igloo, already knowing Zuko was not there. When she came out, she ran to the shore and created an ice bridge several yards out, ignoring the flow of the water and the delicate balance she needed to maintain. She repeated the process several times, determined to catch Zuko’s ship.

It was only when the ice bridge started to break apart as it gave way to the tide that she realized the futility of her pursuit. She fell to her knees and would have wiped the tears away, but there weren’t any. “That’s it, coward! Run away!” she shouted into the wind.

No one heard the declaration.

Several yards away, the crowd began to dissipate. Hakoda watched as his daughter floated on a block of ice and prayed she would forgive him.

“Her bending has improved greatly,” Pakku observed softly.

Kana growled, muttering something under her breath, and walked off.

--

“Are you sure, Aang?” Sokka questioned softly, mindful of the sleeping man across the room. “Are you sure he was talking about Azula?”

“I’m coming too,” Toph said softly, standing next to her father’s bedside.

“No!” Aang protested. “You need to stay here with your dad. He’s been through enough. Besides, if they come back here…”

Toph crossed her arms over her chest in quiet conciliation.

“I don’t get it,” Sokka sighed. “I saw her! She fell over the waterfall. No one could have survived that fall!”

“She did,” Aang affirmed, recalling the name of the fallen Fire Princess that Lao Bei Fong had muttered as he writhed in the agony of his nightmares. “By now, she knows of Zuko and Katara. She won’t pass up the opportunity to take her place on the throne.”

“How can you be so sure of that?” Sokka’s expression rested on Toph as she sat silently by her father’s bedside.

“Azula is focused.” Aang ran his hand over his head and sighed. “That’s what makes her dangerous. I don’t think General Iroh or Zuko know that she is alive.”

“You don’t even know that she is alive!” Sokka stressed.

“She is,” a soft voice announced from the doorway.

Aang stood up and crossed the room in one fluid movement, gathering Meng in his arms and inhaling her flowery scent.

“The soldiers chanted that name as the blue flames merged with the volcanic flow,” her voice was flat and emotionless as she recalled the disastrous night that had started it all.

The Airbender tried to comfort the Earth Kingdom girl, knowing that what he was about to suggest would not be received well by her. “I have to go, Meng. I have to go and help them put an end to it once and for all.”

Unshed tears shone in her eyes, but she blinked them away. “I know,” she mumbled her response against his shoulder.

Aang sighed, unable to find any more words that would offer comfort to her. “When this is over, I promise –”

She silenced him with a gentle kiss.

--

“My Lord! A message has arrived for you,” the soldier bowed as he handed Iroh the sealed scroll.

“Leave me,” he commanded, waiting for his rooms to clear before he opened the correspondence. Out of habit, he looked toward the door that separated him from his concubine. Normally it was open, but he closed it when he had affairs of state to contend with. He couldn’t very well walk around the palace and throne room in his nightclothes.

Unrolling the parchment, Iroh prayed for good news. Once open, his eyes fell upon Zuko’s familiar scrawl.

It is done. My wife is safe. I am a few days away.

Iroh sighed, half dread and half hope. Even with so few written words, he could see Zuko slipping into the familiar role of Fire Lord. It was a lonely position. He had hoped that his nephew would have seen the flaw of his plan. He had hoped that he would not deny himself the love of his wife. But his sense of duty was so engrained that he would never put happiness before that.

A soft knock on the door signaled the arrival of Jia Li.

“Enter!” Iroh called out, setting the letter on fire.

Her eyes never missed the details. She could see the lines around his mouth. “Bad news?” she asked, standing in front of him.

Her long ebony hair concealed the ivory skin of her shoulder. Feeling the familiar tug of desire for the woman before him, Iroh stood and held his hand out to her. “If it was bad news, I have forgotten it already. Your beauty chases the unpleasantness away every time. It is a miracle that I am able to get anything done with such a wondrous temptation waiting for me at the end of the day.”

Her answering smile and love stirred long-forgotten feelings that he had kept locked away. Sitting on the bed, he made no move to unwrap the beautiful gift before him. Once Jia Li had offered more than her gratitude, Iroh had accepted her.

He’d had her every night since then, even the nights that had gone so long that exhaustion should have claimed him. He found himself unable to sate this newfound hunger. Jia Li had made this time bearable for him.

Standing before him, she reached for the sash of her robe. But he stilled her movements as his hand closed over hers. Iroh removed the silk sash with an efficient flick of his wrist and opened the material that covered her flawless skin.

He admired her full breasts as he suckled one and fondled the other, stoking the embers of her desire. Her quick intake of breath encouraged him, for her passionate nature allowed him great privileges.

Having gone so long without companionship, Iroh had almost shamed himself before Jia Li the first time they had made love. Placing a gentle kiss beneath her navel, Iroh closed his eyes and reveled in his lover’s exploration of his long gray hair.

As his feelings for his concubine grew, Iroh new why Zuko had sent Katara away. The ironic twist of fate would have him do the same thing soon if what he suspected was true.

Although Jia Li was not showing, he was certain that she was with child. He had been selfish and had not afforded his lover the courtesy she had deserved. He had not protected her, assuming that she would take care of such an issue. She could not hide the evidence from her attendant. She had lost her appetite and she had lost her morning meal the last few days.

Iroh sighed, knowing he would do anything to protect the precious gift that had been given to him. Pulling away, he opened his own robe and pulled her onto his lap, allowing her to control their union.

Sure fingers grasped him and guided him to her feminine orifice. Growling, Iroh committed the sight of her riding him to memory for he would have to send her away soon. The danger was too real. He could not risk losing her or their child. He would pray for a quick end to the threat that lingered over his ancestral line. Once Zuko assumed his rightful role, he would retire from this life and make one with Jia Li.

--

TBC

A/N – Thanks to all who have reviewed. Each review is greatly appreciated. I apologize for the sporadic nature of my updates, but the carpal tunnel issues with my wrists have worsened. I’m still waiting for my insurance to approve the referral for the hand specialist. Ah! HMO’s! Aren’t they great? (Please note sarcasm in the previous sentence.)Any mistakes are my own.
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The Price of Peace