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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.

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Chapter Twenty –

Walking into the war chamber, Zuko paused. The Fire Nation was not at war and he hoped to keep it that way, but the political and personal landscape of his life had changed drastically over the last few weeks. Princess Wan had taken great offense over the Fire Nation’s refusal to release General Qiang into her custody. She would not leave the palace without him. Her passion to heal the rift between their nations was as great as his, and for that he was grateful. The war chamber was being used as a staging area. Azula needed to be found and dealt with.

“You should not be out of bed, Fire Lord Zuko.” Iroh looked up and stroked his beard thoughtfully.

Zuko shook his head. To say the least, the people of his nation were confused, yet overjoyed that he was alive. They were restless and fearful, for the future of their nation teetered on a crumbling ledge. Even as a criminal, Azula had rights. She had rights to the Fire Nation throne. Their father’s will had made the line of succession perfectly clear. Azula was the rightful heir to the throne.

Iroh’s role complicated matters as well. Zuko had been astonished to find that his uncle did indeed have a concubine. Not only did Iroh have a concubine, but she was with child. Jia Li was similar to Katara in many ways – not easily put under lock and key for her own protection. He could see the strain of worry crease his uncle’s normally carefree brow. He was worried for his concubine’s health.

How had things become so muddy? The future was mired in the trappings of a complex riddle. His sister was too much like their father. Her ambition and bloodlust would lead the Fire Nation into a war they would never recover from. If it weren’t for that, he would gladly relinquish the throne and seek Katara out. As it is, it seemed as though he would keep his throne and his wife. It was not a reunion he was looking forward to.

Katara would not forgive him easily. In truth, he doubted he deserved her forgiveness.

“Is there any news, Uncle?” Zuko approached Iroh slowly, resisting the urge to press his hand to his tender ribs.

Iroh sighed. “There have been no sightings of your sister. I am sure she is no longer on any of the main islands.”

Making his way to the nearest chair, Zuko slumped into it with a painful wince.

“I received a letter from the Avatar,” Iroh stated, contemplating the map of their world, which was decoratively carved into the long table. “He has arrived at Gaoling. The Bei Fong family and the Mt. Mahaku witness are protected should Azula try to cover her tracks. From what Aang told me, Lao Bei Fong suffered cruelly at your sister’s hands.”

Bowing his head, Zuko sighed. Two weeks ago, they had received word that Katara was on her way to the palace. He would feel much better once she was behind the palace walls. “How is your concubine’s health?”

Iroh’s worried expression turned into a scowl. “She is displeased with me. She does not like to stay inside.”

Zuko smirked. “Perhaps you should take her on a date.”

The scowl turned into a faint smile. “I am much too old to court her.”

Zuko’s smirk curled into a smile. His uncle had seen fit to meddle in his personal affairs. The irony was bittersweet, but he could not help the teasing quality of his voice. “I see. You certainly aren’t too old to father a child. I don’t see how you could have aged so drastically in such a short time.”

When Iroh laughed, he laughed loudly, throwing his head back and roaring with a rare moment of humor. “I am afraid we did not inherit an easy way with the women. Jia Li is a complicated woman. Her life is sewn with bitter disappointments. She… does not trust me.”

Zuko folded his hands in his lap and listened.

“I have made promises to her that I have been unable to keep,” his uncles sighed, sounding defeated.

“What kind of promises?”

Iroh sat next to him. “She has a son who has been kept from her. I promised to bring him to her, but with everything that has happened I thought it unwise to involve the boy.”

“Does she realize this? Does she know the truth?” The Fire Lord asked questions he should have been asking himself and the realization made him catch his breath.

A smile graced his uncle’s face. “She knows who I am. She knows of our elaborate deception. Do you know what she was doing when I went to collect her from the monastery?”

Zuko shook his head and waited for his uncle to continue.

“She had tied her bedclothes together and was attempting to climb out the window.”

Zuko chuckled and winced. Iroh’s concubine would definitely give him a run for his money.

“But in answer to your question…” Iroh sighed heavily. “I have not told her everything. I have not told her how I fear for her safety and that of our child. I have not told her how aggrieved I am over not keeping my promises to her.”

“You should tell her, Uncle.” He put a comforting hand on the older man’s sleeve.

“You can leave.” Zuko tempered the note of longing in his voice. “You can leave this place.”

Iroh’s eyebrows arched high on his forehead. “Yes, I could, but I never will.”

Distant footsteps echoed down the hall, attracting the attention of both men. A soldier approached with a solid stride. His armor was covered in dust and dirt as though he had been traveling non-stop. As he approached Zuko and Iroh he bowed.

“My Lords,” he greeted breathlessly, holding a scroll above his head. “I bring urgent news.”

Springing from his chair, Zuko ignored the slice of pain in his side and grabbed the scroll. He paid little attention to who it was addressed to, unrolled the letter, and started to read. Another sheet of parchment fell to the floor.

His eyes widened as he tried to make sense of the captain’s nervous scrawl. “I don’t believe this.”

“News of Azula?” Iroh asked hopefully.

Zuko scooped up the sheet of folded paper on the floor and tore it open. “No. It’s news of Katara.”

The flames in the war chamber grew in intensity, sparks of blue dancing with red and orange as the Fire Lord’s temper grew. “When they were docked for refueling, Katara left the ship and a note.”

Zuko cleared his throat as he read the note that his wife had left for her father.

“Dear Father,

I have gone to Gaoling. Please don’t worry. I’ll be fine.

Love,

Katara.”

Somehow Zuko resisted the urge to crumple the letter in his hand. Instead, he folded it neatly and tucked it between the layers of his tunic. His rage simmered below the surface of his calm exterior, but he couldn’t hide his displeasure from his uncle as the fire in the pit crackled and sparked.

“It sure is getting warm in here,” Iroh stated mirthlessly.

Standing, Zuko clenched his fists at his side. “Summon the servants. Tell them to saddle a mongoose dragon. Send a messenger hawk ahead to the eastern port. I want a ship fueled and ready for departure.”

“But Fire Lord Zuko,” Iroh protested. “It will take you at least two weeks to reach Gaoling.”

“Not the way I am traveling,” Zuko snapped.

“Surely, you are not going alone,” his uncle replied harshly.

He met Iroh’s gaze, daring the older man to challenge his decision. “Yes. The journey across the water will allow the mongoose dragon to rest. I’ll have to change mounts after a day or two in Earth Kingdom territory, but I should be able to find an ostrich horse with little trouble.”

“Are you crazy?” Iroh’s booming voice echoed down the hall and the flames in the pit and along the walls raised as both Firebenders tried to control their tempers. “You cannot go alone! You need guards! Azula –”

“Will find me no matter where I go.”

“But we are safe here in the palace.”

“Are we? Azula grew up here. If anyone knows the palace inside and out, it’s her.”

“But –” Iroh continued to voice his displeasure.

Zuko turned to walk away, but stopped. “I am going to Gaoling to collect my wife and that is final.”

--

TBC

A/N – I must express my deepest gratitude to Moncapitan for putting up with me. Thanks man!
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The Price of Peace