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The Price of Peace	By : Looneyluna Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > Het - Male/Female > Katara/Zuko Views: 19166 -:- 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.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
Review response --

Thanks for reviewing, Spleef! I'm glad you are enjoying the story. It's quite a compliment when an author you admire reviews your story. I'm flattered. Thanks a million! Now, when are you going to update Kiss of Fire? He he! I love that story!

Summary: Iroh relaxes in the bath, contemplating the events of the day and is interrupted.

Interlude Four –

Sinking into the tub, Iroh tried to soak his troubles away. If only it were that easy. Zuko’s stubbornness had not only postponed the summit, but the plan as well. He had not foreseen this complication. Zuko would never yield. The scars of his life ran deeper than the one on his face. Katara was their only hope.

He closed his eyes and sighed. The young woman of the Southern Water Tribe could withstand the bluest fire and walk away unscathed. She was strong, intelligent, and passionate – qualities greatly needed in the future queen.

Holding his breath, Iroh slipped under the water and continued pondering recent events. Qiang would never stop. The Earth Kingdom had had designs on the Fire Nation’s throne since before Sozin’s War started. It was the way of things, the natural political landscape of favors and debts. It was an old rhythm, one that mimicked the inherent way the elements shaped one another.

Qiang was a descendant from one of his father’s concubines. He was the bastard son of a bastard son. For him to make claim on the Fire Nation’s most honorable title… His claim was like a death knell for his nation. It was up to Zuko to carry the noble blood of his family forward.

He came up for air, somewhat bemused by his thoughts. Nobility had been lost on his family for some time now. Sozin’s beliefs had corrupted so many generations. He would never know how the misshapen philosophies of his father and grandfather had skipped him, but he was thankful that they had.

Climbing out of the tub, Iroh grabbed a nearby towel. A soft gasp caught his attention and he dropped the towel and crouched into a fighting stance. “Show yourself!” he growled, his inflection promising swift retribution.

Steam from the bath clouded his vision and a shadow moved behind a screen.

Inhaling sharply, Iroh swept his arm toward the paper-like material and grinned as it caught fire. He didn’t know who was more surprised, him or his supposed assailant.

As she jumped away from the burning screen, the woman tripped and fell at Iroh’s feet. Stepping away, he grabbed his robe and put it on, quickly extinguishing the fire with practiced ease.

The woman cowered, poised to receive punishment or death. Her raven hair was tied into a loose braid, which was touching the floor. Her clothes, borrowed from a servant, looked threadbare and loose on her slight frame. In the weeks since he had plucked her from the street the “Earth Kingdom whore” had not uttered a word. It had been difficult to take her home when he had not known where to take her.

Fearing reprisal from the soldiers who had attempted to harm her, Iroh had handed the woman to his head servant with instructions that the woman was not to leave the compound. The soldiers would be looking for her. They would be looking for revenge against the woman who was responsible for their comrade’s severe punishment.

Busy with matters of state, he had seen little of her, forgetting that she was even here.

“Please,” she whispered to the ground.

She was mumbling something, whimpering and begging.

Iroh took a step toward her and she scampered toward the nearest wall. Her face was caked with dirt and tears. He could see the fear in her eyes. That was an expression he was familiar with. He had witnessed it too many times in his life. Walking to a table, he took a towel and approached her with it.

“So,” he said in a non-threatening voice, “You are able to speak.”

She regarded the offering before accepting it. “Yes,” the woman murmured, every line of her body poised to run.

“What is your name?” he asked, readjusting his robe. He stepped behind another screen and gathered his clothing.

“Jia Li.” Her reply was muffled as she wiped the dirt from her face.

Iroh smiled as he got dressed. “Where are you from?”

“Ba-Sing-Se,” she replied, watching him as he came out from behind the screen.

“Then you know who I am,” Iroh stated as he walked out of the room and into his bedchamber.

She hesitated and followed him. “Yes, Dragon of the West.”

He smirked. “And how did you come to live in the Fire Nation capital?”

“I was captured during the cave-in near the north wall,” answered Jai Li. “Captain Tan took me as his concubine.”

Iroh’s smirk turned into a smile. “Ah, yes! The famous supply tunnels that were running underneath my feet during the entire siege. I had not considered the possibility of Earthbenders digging secret tunnels to run supplies. Very ingenious! And where is Captain Tan, now?”

She lowered her head and mumbled her answer. “Dead. He died from the fever several years ago.”

“I am sorry to hear that,” Iroh stated solemnly. “The war has been over for some time now. Why haven’t you gone home?”

“I bore Captain Tan a son.” Her voice quivered with tears. “After he died, his family took Hui from me. They tossed me aside, telling my son I was in the spirit world. I went to my family for help. They said they had no daughter. They said I should have killed myself rather than lie with a Fire Nation soldier.”

Iroh watched her tears fall and listened to her sorrow. She was too young to know this much sorrow. She was only half his age.

“Hui… knows who I am,” she stammered. “They keep him from me, trying to poison him against me. But he knows me. They keep him in the family compound, never letting me in. They raise him to be his father.

“Every year…at the Summer Festival, we meet in secret,” cried Jai Li. “My son says he will know when I enter the spirit world. I will not be there. That is how he will know. I beg you…

“Please release me!” she kneeled at his feet, clutching his robe. “Please let me go! You have plenty of servants here! I am worthless! I am nothing to you!”

As he listened to her pleas, Iroh stiffened. She had lost her son…just as he had. A child who knew his mother one day out of the year, due to the cruelty of those who supposedly loved him. Iroh embraced memories of Lu Ten, his beloved son. In time, they would be reunited. For now, he would help this woman.

Touching her hair, he moved the thick braid off her shoulder and cupped her chin in his hand. He hated seeing the fear and desperation in her eyes. “You are not worthless,” he murmured, his inflection low.

“You may not leave my home,” he declared softly. “You are under my protection.”

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TBC
- 7
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- 9
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The Price of Peace