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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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Summary – Iroh tries to explain the state of things to his concubine.

Chapter Twenty-One –

Her body was stiff against his, her erratic, uneven breathing giving away that she wasn’t actually asleep. Iroh pulled Jia Li against him selfishly. He needed to reassure himself that she was safe and well.

A week had passed since Zuko’s departure. The last report of his nephew’s whereabouts had been received this evening. He was nearing Gaoling without incident. Inhaling his concubine’s scent, Iroh prayed to Agni that Zuko remained safe.

He had spent the last few days observing the Earth Kingdom general who now sat in the Fire Nation’s dungeons. His capture was a quagmire, for the Earth Kingdom wanted him to stand trial for crimes against their people and the Fire Nation demanded the same. Even more vexing was the former general’s relationship with his niece.

Guilt niggled his wandering thoughts. It wasn’t an emotion he readily associated when he thought about Azula. He hadn’t been there the day she had “died.” He had been off securing safe passage across the ocean and into Fire Nation territory.

Azula’s existence complicated things greatly.

She alone had the power to destroy the fragile peace. Even as a criminal, she had the right to challenge Zuko for the throne. She was Ozai’s rightful heir. It is what her father intended. Actually, Ozai had intended to live forever, but even his brother could not slip the reality of a mortal wound.

Jia Li sighed, relaxing against him. Unable to resist, he cupped the protruding swell of flesh that protected his child and kissed the creamy flesh of her shoulder.

She shuddered and turned to face him, the candlelight illuminating her sad beauty. “Will I be allowed to hold it before it is taken away?”

Iroh’s gaze lingered upon her plump open lips and he quelled the rampant lust that consumed him whenever he drew near her. “Is that the fear that keeps you awake at night?”

She turned her head and he saw the telltale signs of tears upon her cheeks.

Sighing, he rolled onto his back and pulled Jia Li next to him. He closed his eyes and considered his words carefully. His earlier conversation with Zuko taunted him. Although he had much knowledge in carnal pleasure, intimacy was a different matter. He had only ever loved one woman before…

Iroh tensed. His involvement with recent matters had blinded him to a difficult truth. He loved Jia Li. His fears had pushed her away. Everybody he had loved had either died or suffered. Lu Ten was dead, while Zuko suffered.

He had buried his heart and his pain, covering it with indifference and humor. Indifference was worse than hate. Humor was harsh and bitter. As each day passed, he watched the light in Jia Li’s eyes grow dull with resolution. He had given her few choices, had made promises he hadn’t kept.

Pulling away from her, he sat up and made to leave, but he couldn’t move. He couldn’t leave her to wallow in sorrow.

“You must realize…” Iroh paused, thinking of how much things had changed since he had first met her. He had saved her from the soldiers, confident in his decision to “keep” her hidden and safe. But that was like depriving the lotus flower of sunlight. He should have rejected her when she came to him willingly. That moment of weakness was damning at best.

Qiang’s knowledge of his personal dealings with Jia Li was eerily accurate. Iroh had spent hours with the former general, studying him and playing Pai Sho with him. Qiang’s knowledge of Iroh’s concubine’s “delicate condition” was astoundingly accurate. With each detail given, Iroh had been able to pinpoint who the spy was, but the damage had already been done.

The threat to Jia Li and their child was very real. She carried the future of his nation in her womb – the next heir to the throne of Agni. She knew that and he didn’t blame her for fearing for their child. If he could, he would gladly take her away from this madness.

If only Zuko would carry out his duties and continue the bloodline. Unfortunately, his nephew had made his position on such an event well known. He would die the last of his line, based on relationships that had been defunct during the best of times. He had hoped that Katara would soothe Zuko’s simmering rage and change his perspective. He would never play matchmaker again.

Moving off the bed and gathering her robe, Jai Li pulled it on and walked past him. He captured her wrist. “Where are you going?”

She tried to pull away from him, the dark fire in her eyes reflecting a calm, resigned anger. “I must relieve myself, my lord.”

Iroh’s lips twitched as he listened to the rebellious tone in her voice. He stood, trying to intimidate her with his height, which was futile, seeing as they were both short in stature.

“Must I ask permission to pee now, my lord?” she hissed softly.

He would have laughed, but he did not want to encourage her disobedience, for he knew it would only encourage her desire to escape him. Running the callused tips of his fingers along her jaw, Iroh coaxed her gaze to meet his. “No, Jia Li. You do not need to ask permission.”

His lover tried to pull away from him, but he held tight. “I only ask that you be careful.”

“For your heir,” she hissed, snatching her wrist from his grasp and storming into the next room.

Sighing, Iroh scratched his beard. This was not going to be easy. She had no reason to trust him. The betrayals of her past were shaping their future. One thing was for sure. He wasn’t about to let that happen. He slid the door open and confronted his lover.

Jia Li jumped away from the water basin she had been using to wash her tear-stained cheeks. Her gaze met his for a fleeting moment before she looked to the floor. She wanted to soothe the tormented look in his eyes, but she couldn’t bring herself to comfort her captor. That is what he was to her now. There was a time when she thought of him as more, but that time was over now. She had already lost one child to the power and ambitions of the Fire Nation. She was not about to lose another one.

Wiping her hands on a towel, she folded it and set it on the table. “Am I to be afforded no privacy, my lord?”

Iroh closed the distance between them and reached for her. She flinched.

Dropping his hand to his side, Iroh sighed. “True beauty to gaze upon, but never to touch. It is what Agni has planned for me.”

She met his gaze, but quickly looked away. She was unmoved by his declaration, cleaving to the betrayal and bitterness.

“Jia Li…” His voice was barely a whisper and she wondered if he had actually spoken.

He cleared his throat, as if it were clogged with great emotion. “What would you have me do?”

She looked away, unable to see the flash of pain in his eyes.

“Even my dreams taunt me. In them, I am a simple peasant, leading a simple life. I am surrounded by my children and adored by my wife.”

She remained frozen like a statue, trying to resist the enchantment of his words.

“I am Prince Iroh, son of Azulon and Ila, brother to Fire Lord Ozai, husband to Mia, father to Lu…Ten, uncle to Fire Lord Zuko, descendant of Agni, and heir to a throne I do not want. My parents, brother, and son are gone. My nephew…needs me more now than ever. Would you have me walk away from him?”

Iroh paused, as if waiting for her to answer. A warm finger tilted her face upwards and he looked into her eyes. “You are a temptation that even Agni could not resist. I have made promises…promises I have not been able to keep. I dare not bring your son here. At this point, he is the only person safe from Azula’s wrath.”

“Azula?” she asked.

“The rightful successor of Ozai, heir to the throne of Agni,” he replied, his gray eyes somber.

Covering the slight bulge of her stomach with his hand, Iroh exhaled slowly. “Our child…our child’s right to the throne would supercede Azula’s claim. After Lu Ten died, I abandoned the Siege of Ba Sing Se. Ozai took advantage of my absence and the death of my son.”

She made no move to rebuff his touch, somehow knowing that the words he uttered were of great importance and not words of flattery or lust.

“What most of my people do not realize is that Agni was chosen to lead our nation by a council of elders. History says he was given the divine right to rule over all, but no one ever questions who gave him that right. Tired of the wars among the chieftains, Agni took brides from all the villages. He fathered the generations that were to come, raising the children of the blessed unions together so that brother would love brother as equally as all.

“The eldest son inherited the throne, but died with no heirs. The remaining children of Agni warred over the line of succession. Realizing that the years of peace were slowly being ripped asunder, the council chose Agni’s daughter, the only one of Agni’s children who had heirs. And the law was written, that only those with a continuing line could inherit the throne.

“My line died with Lu Ten…” Iroh took a shuddering breath. “Until now.”

Just when she thought the betrayal couldn’t cut her any deeper it did. Pushing his hand away, she stepped back. “So you mean to use a defenseless babe for your ambition.”

Iroh felt the chill of her words to the marrow of his bones. “Of course not.”

She wanted to run from this nightmare, but there was no place for her to go.

Before she could flee, Iroh grabbed her wrists and forced her to look at him. Angry flames danced in his eyes. “I would never wish this fate on a child. Lu Ten…” His voice caught.

“Lu Ten was blessed,” he rasped. “I never wanted him to live the life he was born to. Born to constantly look over his shoulder. Mistrustful. Burdened with responsibility. I held shameful joy close to my heart as I mourned my son. In death, he had escaped Ozai’s jealousy.”

Her almond-shaped eyes opened wide as realization dawned upon her. Standing before her was not a man blinded by ambition, but a man who aspired to protect the ones he loved. “That’s why you sent me away, isn’t it? You sent me away so that no one would know I was with child.”

Relaxing his hold on her, Iroh nodded. “Once Zuko was safe, I was to join you.”

Her tentative touch upon his hair startled him. Her kiss upon his forehead gave him hope.

Calling upon a reserve of inner strength she had never realized, Jia Li stared into Iroh’s eyes, not as a servant or a concubine, but as an equal. “I have misjudged you. Can you ever forgive me?”

“There is nothing to forgive,” he whispered before capturing her lips with his.

--

TBC

A/N – Many thanks to Moncapitan and Nick for the swift kick in the pants and inspiration.

Tons of apologies to all who have waited for an updated. Between the holidays, birthdays, and allergy season, I have no other excuses. Thanks to all who have reviewed in the past. Reviews are what keep the muse happy.
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The Price of Peace