1. Chapter 1

**Desert Dreamer**

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_"Oh that the desert were my dwelling place,_

_With only one fair spirit for my minister._

_I might forget the human race,_

_And hating no one, love her only."_

_-Lord Byron_

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**Chapter One**

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**SULTAN'S CHAMBERS**

**EDESSA, ARABIA**

**1605 A.D.**

"Tell me…do you know what it feels like to be betrayed?"

Those bitter words, each syllable slashing against her heart, were breathed so softly into her ear that she barely heard them.

She licked her lips. "Betrayal?" she whispered back, her voice unsteady, her heart slamming against her body with each ragged breath she took.

The man who spoke before pulled back just enough that she could see that sadistic glimmer in his amber eyes. "Yes. The way it feels to wake up one day and realize that your entire life was a lie. The way it feels to realize that you can trust no one. The way it feels to have your soul shredded to pieces by people you thought you could trust… people you thought you could…. Love." The last word was dropped as carelessly as a young boy dropping a penny. It was as if the man who spoke of the emotion held no happy feelings for it. "The way that I've felt not once, but twice. You think I'd get smarter, wouldn't you? I trusted again, and again I had it _thrown _in my face…" He choked on something that could have been a sob.

A silence stretched between them. The only thing that permeated it was their shared breaths. An inhale here…and exhale there. In. Out. In. Out.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

She lowered her eyes, and looked back into his. Sadness shone in hers, making her cobalt eyes sparkle in the candlelight.

The man sneered, and the arms that pinned her to the bed grew tense. "Your tears mean nothing to me… _Katara_." Disgust dripped from his voice. "_Answer the question. "_

Katara closed her eyes and took a jagged breath. _Do I feel betrayed? _she wondered, her body aching from the harsh way that he held her. "No," she said, her voice uneven.

The man swore sharply, and began to drag her up from the bed. She grabbed his shirt and stopped him, forcing him to look into her eyes. "That answer is for the monster who found me tonight and tore apart my world in a childish fit of anger. The one who tried to make me bleed because he doesn't know how to fix his own pain. He hasn't betrayed me. He's a stranger."

His eyes flared, and his lip curled. "You don't have the right--" he began, only to be cut off as the hands that curled into his shirt roughly jerked him.

"No," she began, her voice stronger. "I'm not done. My next answer is for the man I knew yesterday. The man I met six months ago when I first came here with nothing but the clothes on my back. The man who woke me up early in the mornings to show me the sunrise, the man who laughed with me, for the man who proudly walked me through his city, for the man who took me on horse rides through the desert, the man who held my hand though the night, for the man who protected me, cherished me… _loved_ me." When she spoke the word, there was no sardonic twist. Her love was real. Her knowledge of the emotion…real.

"Do I feel betrayed by him?" she mused, letting go of his clothes and sinking back to the bed. "I thought that when I was sold into slavery I felt betrayed. But now I know what it feels like in every sense of the word. Like you said… my soul shredded to pieces my a person I thought I could trust. A man I thought I loved. And it _disgusts _me," she spat, "to think that the man who held me so tenderly last night is the same one who won't believe my word over that of his council!"

He grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her up, twisting her hands behind her back and tying them roughly. "Don't try to turn this around," he growled as he dragged her off the bed.

She held her ground, and looked at him with heavy-lidded eyes. "What, Zuko," she asked. "Isn't this what you wanted? Didn't you want to hear me say exactly that?"

He pulled her sharply, and shouldered open the huge, double metal doors that led to his antechamber. His entire council stood before her, their voices hushed as they waited for him to speak.

"Councilmen," he started, his voice booming, his hand digging into her arm. "I have brought you the traitor!"

* * *

**SIX MONTHS EARLIER**

**ARABIAN DESERT**

As the sun burst over the horizon, it decanted out all of its light in a fiery display of deep crimsons and golden yellows that poured over the arid land. Smoldering shadows cast glances towards the cerulean sky as they were born in the dim autumn dawn. A desperate wind would blow across the arid desert land, briefly cooling the patrons that called its empty graces home. The dry land cried out for water, but the shimmering mirages already appearing in the distance offered no hope for the relief of the drought that gripped the desert land.

Those feelings echoed in the young woman who stood in the midst of the caravan, her neck and hands chained together, sweat glistening on her skin. Her long mahogany hair was tied neatly into a long plait down her back, and her blue eyes narrowed against the already harsh desert sun.

The stifling heat made her long for the cooling sea breezes of Samos, her… _Home? _she thought, somewhat bitterly. A home was where you felt safe, wanted, protected. Katara's failed on all three qualifications. Every time she closed her eyes, she could still see the past.

Memories flashed through her mind.

_Her brother, dead, blood seeping out of a gash on his side. _

_Flames burning around her. _

_Her screams as she tried to save her family. _

_The people of her village…. Dead. Bandits lounging around the carnage, laughing and joking at the poor fishermen who couldn't put up a fight. _

_The smell of smoke and the sounds of her coughing as she dragged her way out of family's burning tent._

_The feel of hands roughly grabbing her. _

"_What have we here? A girlie? I bet you'd fetch a pretty price on the market!"_

"_Please! Somebody help!"_

"_No one can here you, girl! They're all dead! And its by our mercy that you're left alive! Should we try her now? Or leave her for the market?"_

"_No! Kill me, please!"_

_Their laughter. Her screams. _

She woke from her reverie by a sharp tug on the chains at her collar. She looked up at the old man on the white Arabian beside her, and saw his frown. "Thinking about the past again?"

Before she could answer, he continued "You don't have time for that now. I don't know what made me buy you. But better me than some of those other men who were drooling over you. The prince has all the women he could possibly need. You just looked so lost there, so…out of place. But now you don't have a past. You don't even have the much of a future. You only have a present."

The insight from his words astounded Katara. In the short time that she had known the man who introduced himself only as Iroh, he had given her so much wisdom she wondered if he was a magi. "Ready?" he called out to the rest of the caravan. Affirmative answers wafted over the still desert air, and the caravan started its trek across the desert, towards a great walled city in the distance.

"You'll like Edessa," Iroh mused as his camel plodded over the sand. "It's an oasis city, with lots of fountains and foliage. I've lived there my whole life, and I've never seen a better city," he cackled. Katara had grown used to the old man's dribbles on the long trip back from Constantinople. It seemed like he never shut up. But, he had been kind to her since he bought her off of the bandits.

"_You looking, old man? Or are you going to buy?"_

"_Where did you find her?" _

"_Some pathetic fishing village. She's pure. Never been touched. You want her?" _

So far he hadn't touched her, but only talked about his city, his favorite tea, a game he called Pai Sho, and his prince. Over time Katara learned that it was he who would be her ultimate master. _Funny, _she thought. _When father and I used to sit and wonder who I would be when I grew up all those years ago, the words "harem whore" hadn't even crossed our minds. _

And here she was. On her way to be a slave for a man she had never met. On her way to live in his harem, and hope that he would never ever notice her, and she could live her life in solitude.

"You'll like the girls in the harem too," he continued. "They're nice enough women. Ever since the prince took the throne a year ago though there's been a bit of a fight amongst them to become the new kadin, but its settled down some."

Katara had no desire to become the favorite, the kadin. She merely wanted to melt into the background.

"I know what you're thinking," Iroh said, the words wheezing out of his frail body. "You just want to be left alone." Katara felt like he had just taken a look into her soul for what seemed like the fiftieth time since she met him. He chuckled. "I'm pretty sharp for an old man, miss. Pretty sharp indeed…. Well, hopefully you'll be left alone, but I never know for sure. Usually the admittance of a new girl into the harem is made fairly public among the court."

Great. So much for that idea.

"But don't you worry," he repeated. "You'll be taken care of. Your eyes… so old for one so young. Life must have been hard for you so far. It's about to get easier. I promise."

* * *

**EDESSA**

**THE PALACE**

From his perch in the shaded courtyard of the palace, the last thing Zuko expected to see was his frail uncle leading a young woman towards his harem. His golden eyes squinted against the sunlight that streamed through the marble archways. The sight was comical almost in its contradictions: Iroh stooped over and standing a good foot below her, and the girl's head bowed, her hands clasped in front of her as she put one foot in front of the other, blindly walking to her destination and obviously not caring where it was.

_Curious_, he thought. _So very curious. _Intrigued, he pushed his way up from the cushions that lined his seat, only to have a delicate hand wrap around his wrist. "You're leaving, my prince?" a voice cooed. He looked down into a pair of simpering brown eyes. "Why so soon? We've barely just begun to relax…"

"I'll be right back Ty Lee," he said sternly, untangling himself. "I need to talk to my uncle."

Ty Lee's disappointment was clear on her face. In the short time that he rose to the throne, the battles going on in the harem were the least of his worries. He was half-sick of all of their conniving games, and in truth he had yet to pursue relationships with any of them. He liked Ty Lee for her simplicity. She played no complicated games, and seemed genuinely to only care about spending time with him. She reminded him of a child or younger sister more than a consort.

He crossed the courtyard, closing the distance to his uncle and the girl with long, purposeful strides. Before he reached her; however, one of his uncle's cronies called out, "Hey Iroh! You go to Constantinople to go get supplies and come back with a woman?"

Iroh guffawed, and turned around to face the man who had spoken them. The girl turned around too, and for the first time Zuko saw her face. He stopped.

And stared.

Her azure eyes locked with his. They seemed to shift and change, multifaceted like a rare stone, thickly fringed with sooty black eyelashes. Her high cheekbones and darkly tanned skin only seemed to make those magnificent eyes more exotic, make her look more beautiful.

His golden eyes burned with desire, and his hands clenched into fists. _Exquisite,_ he thought, his heart pounding heavily.

A long, silken lock of chocolate hair caressed her cheek, making him want to touch her as the wind did. Brushing, lightly intimate… _What is wrong with me? _He suddenly thought savagely, trying to tear his gaze away.

Frowning he looked at the girl again, and felt his heart clench with sudden longing. She was… ravishing. Delicate. Ethereal in her beauty. So lovely, and yet so forlorn looking. The sad, down-turned line of her mouth made him want to kiss her until it turned into a smile. Her lovely, sapphire-radiant eyes that shimmered with emotions too numerous to name made him want to wrap his arms around her and stare into those deep pools of blue. Her divine, fragile hands made him want to wrap them around his neck in a lover's caress. Her small, perfect nose made him want to—

"Ah, Prince Zuko, would you like to meet the newest addition to the harem?" His uncles voice shattered his thoughts.

Those azure eyes stared at him again, a quizzical expression playing across her brow.

He stood there, looking back into hers. _This woman is dangerous, Zuko. _

"Prince Zuko?" Iroh called again.

Zuko slowly backed away. And, like a coward, he turned around and fled.

* * *

**Mina34**: I know what you're thinking. And don't worry, dear reader, you haven't gone insane! Yes, I did post this earlier, but I looked back over what I posted on the site and was a little embarrassed by a lot of the errors, and also realized that there was no need for the story to be rated M. Whoopsies! So, i tweaked a few things here and there... _et voila! _Edited chapter I am happy with. I promise I won't do something like this again, sorry for the confuzzleness!

But anyway, please please PLEASE review my story, any criticism or questions or anything are TOTALLY welcome, and it inspires me to here from people who like what I'm writing! I'm done with school, so the next chapter should be out of by the end of the week, if not sooner.

(--pokes reader-chan--) Shouldn't you be reviewing? Hmm?

Ta!


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

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"_J'ai toujours aimé le désert. On s'assoit sur une dune de sable. On ne voit rien. On n'entend rien. Et cependant quelque chose rayonne en silence…"_

"_I always liked the desert. You sit on a sand dune, seeing nothing and hearing nothing. And somehow somethings radiate in the silence…"_

_-Antoine de Saint-Exupery_

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**COURTYARD**

**EDESSA PALACE**

"That was different," Iroh mused, crossing his gnarled arms over his chest.

Katara turned to look back in the direction that the prince had fled, her own brow puckering in confusion. When Iroh had described the prince to her, she never imagined that he would be so close to her own age. In truth, he looked no older than her own nineteen years. He was… _unexpected? _She thought back to that moment when his eyes had held hers. He towered a head over her, and had a warrior's body: all hard muscles and sinew. His simple tunic hadn't been enough to cover that.

But that wasn't what had held her attention.

It was his golden eyes, sparkling in the desert sun. Something that looked like a burn scar surrounded his left eye, but instead of diminishing their amber beauty, it only enhanced it. The scar added character, and told Katara that whatever his present might be, his past had been full of trials. As her eyes had met his, she had felt something… strange uncurl from the pit of her stomach. Some emotion she couldn't name.

"Maybe he just remembered something he needed to do?" Iroh's gravely voice queried. "Well, the harem is just down--"

"General Iroh, sir! Excuse Me! "

_A General? _Katara thought, shocked. She had mistaken the old man's dribblings about that game of Pai Sho and this cup of tea as the daily leisure activities of a scholar, or advisor. But a general?

The man in question paused, and looked around to see who had called his name. Katara turned, and saw a slim woman, who looked to be Katara's age, walking towards the two of them and waving happily. "Glad to see you're home again, sir!" She was dressed in a gauzy, nearly see-through pair of light green cropped paints that were gathered by a silver ribbon at the ankles. Her shirt was made of the same material, and Katara blushed when she how much bare skin the piece of clothing revealed. Her light brown hair was left unbound, and cascaded down her waist. Silver bracelets sparkled against her arms and wrists. If Katara had walked around dressed like this in her own village, her father would most certainly have disowned her.

"Ah, good afternoon Ty Lee," Iroh said warmly. "What are you doing out of the harem?"

Katara's hear sank. She was a consort? Those clothes were to become Katara's new uniform?

"I was with the honorable prince before he um…. Had something to attend to. Is this a new consort?" Ty Lee looked towards Katara, taking in her chained hands and dirty, ragged tunic.

Iroh nodded. "She was unexpected purchase. She hasn't spoken since I bought her, and I'm beginning to wonder if she can at all," he chuckled. "But I can tell by her eyes that she's kind. She'll be a good addition to you and your sisters."

Ty Lee smiled, and walked over and gently took the chain from Iroh that was attached to Katara's neck. "I can take her back to the harem, General Iroh. I think that the honorable prince abandoned me, so it's best I go back anyway before I get into trouble."

"Thank you," Iroh responded, and turned to look at Katara. "You're safe now. This is your new life. Stick close to Ty Lee, you can trust her." The way he spoke to her was the way Katara had seen her brother calm down skittish foals. He turned his attention to Ty Lee. "Take care of her, and I'll see you later at the reception."

_Reception? _Katara's heart sped up a little as she remembered what Iroh had said about her inception into the harem.

"_They're usually fairly public…"_

Katara swallowed. _Please please don't be for me…_

"Certainly! Have a good day, General, sir!" Ty Lee sang as she waved goodbye and began walking out of the courtyard and down a long, marble hallway.

Katara had no choice but to follow. As she did, she couldn't help but notice the sheer splendor of the palace. Mosaics laid with semi-precious stones, gold framing the marble archways, finely woven expensive silks draped over bare walls, fountains flowing not only in the courtyard, but inside the hallways as well. The men who traveled to Constantinople to trade came back with marvelous stories about the sheer wealth held within the city's walls, but Katara had never imagined them to be true. She had thought them fairytales, something to remembered alongside the many voyages of Sinbad.

"So… where are you from?" Ty Lee asked, her bare feet padding along on the mosaic floor.

Katara frowned. To be from a place meant that you held some attachment to it. All of her attachments had been destroyed.

"You don't feel like talking yet?"

Silence.

"That's okay, I understand! I was really nervous when I first came here, too. But then I met the other girls and everything turned out to be fine! Don't worry, you'll fit right in!" Ty Lee threw a glance over her shoulder towards Katara. "Er, well, once we get you out of those clothes and everything."

Katara looked down at her worn sandals and stained, shabby tunic. She must look like death.

As Ty Lee and Katara twisted through the palace, Katara realized that she liked the girl. Her simplicity and bubbly spirit were refreshing after the long trek through the desert.

Suddenly, Ty Lee stopped, and Katara looked up and saw that they stood in front of two huge, intricately carven wood doors.

"Here we are! The women's domain!" Ty Lee pushed open the doors, and Katara stood in shock at the view of her new home.

The harem was enormous. It was like an adjoining wing to the palace. An enormous atrium acted as its center, with hallways and rooms to the sides. The atrium itself was several times the size of the modest home Katara had lived in in Somas, and the ceiling soared nearly twenty feet in the air. Delicate ivory framework allowed light to stream through, and gauzy white fabric draped from the ceiling rippled slightly with the incoming breezes. At the center of the room was a huge, finely woven Persian rug that glisten with rich purples and metallic golds, and colorful pillows were scattered all over the floor. The northern wall of the atrium opened up onto a smaller courtyard, with shady date palms and whispering fountains.

It was… beautiful. Katara had never seen anything half as a magnificent.

Ty Lee giggled and clapped her hands happily at Katara's bewilderment. "Pretty nice, right? Aren't we lucky to get to live here?"

"Ty Lee," a sardonic voice asked, "Who the hell is that?"

Katara looked towards the noise, and saw a woman standing near the edge of the atrium with her arms crossed defensively over her chest. Her brown hair was piled high on top of her head, and her dark eyes narrowed as she took in Katara's dirty complexion, torn dress, and heavy chains. She was dressed in an outfit exactly like Ty Lee's, except hers was a deep crimson.

"Mai," Ty Lee began, "This is… oh, shoot. What's your name?"

Silence.

"Well, Iroh got her from his last trip to Constantinople, and he wants to put her in the harem with us. Isn't that great?"

Mai shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Just. Fantastic." Mai's dark eyes met with Katara's.

"You don't have a name?" she dryly asked.

Ty Lee nudged Katara when she didn't respond. "Mai's the kadin," she hissed towards her. "She's our leader and the prince's favorite! For your own sake, show her respect and answer her question."

"If you don't have a name," Mai continued from her place across the room, "I'll make one up for you."

Katara's chin lifted at her sardonic tone. There was something about Mai that Katara disliked on the spot. For the first time in days, she opened her mouth to speak. "My name's not important," she began, her voice steady. "Neither is where I'm from or why I'm here. I was treated like an animal, and sold to the highest bidder. My family is dead. My home is destroyed. I was bought, brought here. I have no past. No future."

Mai just stared at her. "That's nice. What's your name." It wasn't a question, but a demand.

"Mai," Ty Lee began but Mai cut her off.

"You want those chains off? You tell me your name."

Katara's eyes narrowed. "My name is Katara."

"Well, _Katara_," Mai said, crossing the room to stand dangerously close to her. "There are several rules here. One. I'm in charge. Two. You bathe regularly. Three. You never leave the harem unless you accompanied by an advisor or the honorable prince Zuko himself. Four. You get along with the other women. We're sisters here. Five. Zuko," she hissed, pulling on the chain at Katara's neck until her face was just inches from hers, "is _mine_. Understand? _Mine. _You look at him, you touch him, you tempt him, and I will know. I don't like sharing." She released the chain and looked at Katara through narrowed eyes. "Is that clear?"

Katara raised an eyebrow. "As crystal."

Mai scoffed and turned around. "Ty Lee," she said as she walked back towards the room of the atrium that she had left, "she's you're responsibility. Take the chains off, give her some clothes and for god's sake bathe her. She's starting to stink up the harem. And make sure you're not late for the reception!"

"You bet!" Ty Lee called after her. The door to Mai's room slammed shut.

"Well," she began. "That went as well as expected!"

Something akin to laughter bubbled out of Katara.

Ty Lee giggled. "Yeah, I can see where you're coming from but you have to understand that Mai's a bit… um, well, she can be a _little_ overbearing to the girls. She's just protecting us. Ever since the honorable prince took power six months ago, there's been a bit of a power struggle as the old consorts fought to maintain control of the harem. But, Mai's the undisputed favorite! She spends more time with the honorable prince than anyone else. Well, now that I think about it, he doesn't really spend that much time with any of us, but she definitely sees the most of him."

"Where are the rest of the girls?" Katara asked, deliberately changing the subject.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're talking to me!" Ty Lee squealed happily. "I was worried that you were mute! The other girls are probably in their rooms, but you'll get to meet some of them later tonight. There's um… there's not that many of us, though."

Katara frowned. The stories she had heard of harems depicted women hanging off the walls, hundreds and hundreds of them living in close quarters.

"Yeah well, because the honorable prince took power rather forcefully, a lot of the women from the last sultan were traded off into other harems. We all were brought in from different cities. I heard that before the honorable prince took the throne, the old sultan kept over three hundred consorts! Could you imagine? My old harem only had forty women in it. But now… well, there's only six of us. Seven including you!"

Seven women in a harem? Seven? Even for a young prince, the number was simply unheard of.

So much for hiding.

"The sultan from Riyadh will be here later tonight for dinner," Ty Lee continued, "and there's going to be a big party in his honor! All of us are supposed to be there, and we get to dance and flirt with the soldiers and eat a lot of really good food!" Katara couldn't help but smile at her transparent glee. "But, beg your pardon and everything, you're um, not _quite _ready to go to the party."

"If I had a piece of gold for every time some tells me that," Katara answered wryly, "I could be my own sultan."

Ty Lee giggled and lifted one of the chains attached to Katara quizzically. "I think one of the servants can take these off for us. Then we can see about a bath and some new clothes!"

**

* * *

**

**SULTAN'S CHAMBERS**

**EDESSA PALACE**

Like a caged animal, Zuko paced.

Though his bedroom. His antechambers. His courtyard.

Bedroom. Antechambers. Courtyard.

Back and forth. Back and forth.

His mind whirled.

_Why did I run? Why did I act like some adolescent idiot? I'm a sultan, not a pre-pubescent child. I never run. Not from my past, and from the duties I hold now. I didn't get where I am today by childish actions. _

Zuko thought back to his bloody ascent to the throne, and how he and his uncle had reclaimed the birth right that was stolen from him by men his father thought he could trust.

Men who his father died trusting.

Even though he was only eleven when the betrayal had happened, the screams of his family and the members of the palace still haunted him at night. Iroh had found him in the harem as the rebels stormed the palace, and together they fled to the desert for safety. They had hid in a Kurdish camp, pretending to be tribesmen. It was only after all of his tears had been shed, after he had nothing left to mourn, as he lay on the floor of a small tent next to his sleeping uncle, that Zuko swore on the lives of everyone who had died that their deaths would not be in vain.

He _would _take back what was rightfully his.

And he had.

And after everything he had been through, after all of the deals, bloodshed, and the throne he had taken back by brute force, no one in his kingdom would have ever dreamed of calling him a coward. No one had ever seen him show any signs of weakness. Ever. He was the betrayed prince, the one who picked up the shattered pieces of his past and had put them together, piece by aching piece until he had found his place in the palace once again.

His hands clenched into fists at his sides. _What is wrong with me? I've seen beautiful women before. My own harem is full of them. _

But the woman his uncle had brought back from Constantinople was… achingly lovely. The same kind of beauty Zuko felt when he woke up early to watch the sunrise burst across the desert. Liquid light turning the vast emptiness into molten gold, and making the sand sparkle like special gemstones.

It was… strange. The woman held some sort of elemental pull over his body. He was inexplicably drawn to her.

_She's a stranger, _Zuko thought_. I can't trust her. _

_But I can't stop thinking about her. _

This woman, had managed to do what murder and ten years of life in exile had not: get under his skin.

_She's trouble, Zuko. Stay away from her. Stay far, far away. _

Somebody cleared their throat, and Zuko's head jerked up from his racing thoughts. Clearly outlined by the mid-day sun, he saw his uncle standing in the entrance to his chambers.

"How long have you been here?" Zuko snapped.

"Long enough to know, nephew, that something is bothering you. Do you wish to impart some of your misery upon me?"

Zuko crossed his arms defensively. "I'm fine. Don't worry about it. Has Ala-abin's presence been announced yet?" Zuko asked, referring to the sultan from Riyadh who was coming to discuss politics over the next few days.

Iroh smiled at his nephew's deft change of subject. Something was bothering him for certain, but, it was not Iroh's lot in life to worry. "His messenger just arrived," Iroh responded. "Ala-abin and his caravan will be here before sunset."

"Good. Has everything been finalized?"

Iroh nodded. "I made certain that everything is prepared for the sultan's arrival: the guest rooms, the battle drawings, and the reception. There is nothing you need to worry about."

Zuko scoffed. "This meeting is crucial to the future of my kingdom, uncle. Without support from Ala-abin, I can't continue my fight against Zhao."

At the mention of desert sheik who had orchestrated the bloody coup that led to the death of Zuko's family all those years ago, Iroh frowned. "Zuko, you have your throne. Isn't that enough?"

"Is it enough that I listened to my sister and mother scream for help as they were slaughtered by his men? Is it enough that the people of my father's kingdom were subjected to torture at his hands? Is it enough that we lived in exile for ten years, scheming and devising plans to regain the throne that is mine by divine right?" Zuko's words rang out angrily against the marble walls. In that moment, his eyes glittering with barely concealed rage, his body tense with the ghostly memories of his past, he was every bit the man his people whispered he was behind his back.

_Prince Zuko. _

_The Betrayed. _

"The man deserves to die for what he has done," Zuko gritted through clenched teeth.

Iroh heaved a heavy sigh. His nephew had fought desperately for everything he had ever achieved in his life. Zhao was Zuko's final step on his path of revenge. Zhao lived among the nomads, moving the with seas of sand, and surrounded himself with his army of trained rebel killers. He was feared in the desert, and his word was law amongst his people. Killing him would be no easy feat, which was why it was critical that Zuko gathered the support of other sultans in his campaign against him. Hopefully, if all went well tonight, Zuko would have an ally in Ala-abin.

"Revenge quenches bitterness the way salt water quenches thirst," Iroh muttered. Before Zuko could respond to his uncle's enigmatic words, Iroh inclined his head toward him in a slight bow. "I will see you at the reception, my prince."

With that, he left the chambers, and left Zuko alone to brood.

**

* * *

**

**RECEPTION HALL**

**EDESSA PALACE**

In the glow of the candles that were scattered by the thousands around the great hall of the palace, Katara studied the scene that was before her. The room was a swirl of colors and laughter. The entirety of the prince's court was there, along with several guests from the visiting sultan's. His soldiers lounged around low-slung tables, and eager courtesans tried to impress them. At the far end of the room, music wafted from fistulas and kettle drums, and a woman writhed eerily along with the music, small symbols at her fingers accompanying her movements. Servants carried platters piled high with honeyed dates, meats covered in couscous, and every imaginable food that Katara could think of. Near the front of the room, at a long, low table flanked by guards and council members, sat the prince and the visiting sultan.

The sultan was a big, boisterous man, with a voice that carried throughout the entire room. His clothes were richly made, and enormous rubies and emeralds glittered around his neck and fingers. He laughed at something one of his councilmen had said, and turned to tell the prince. The prince, sitting beside him, frowned.

For some reason, that frown made Katara feel uneasy. She wanted to make him smile. _This is ridiculous_, she thought. _I don't even know him._ And yet… she couldn't help but be intrigued. His dark hair gleamed in the candle light, and every single move he made was careful, and artfully fulfilled. His grace was a surprising foil to all the raw power that his warrior's body possessed.

She caught a flash of red, and saw Mai place a platter of couscous and meat in front of him. She leaned down and whispered something in his ear, causing the prince to look up at her and say something. From the hurt look on Mai's face, it looked as if she had been reprimanded. She sank back to stand behind him. Katara remembered Mai's strong directions to her: _Zuko is mine. Mine. Do you understand? I don't like sharing._

Amidst the dark clothes that the councilmen and advisors who sat with the prince and sultan favored, the rest of the harem consorts looked like birds of paradise. Ty Lee sat on the far side of the sultan, next to a younger looking advisor who seemed to hang of her every word. A girl Ty Lee had introduced as Suki was dressed in purple, and she stood near the end of the table, talking with an older man. Then there was Song, dressed in bright yellow, Yue who wore robes of pale blue, and Jin who was dressed in deep green. In the short time that Katara had to bathe and change, Ty Lee had made rushed introductions of all the girls. They seemed welcoming, and from the way they interacted with each other Katara could tell they treated the other girls as sisters. Now, they were scattered among the prince's and visiting sultan's advisors, doing everything possible to make the reception run as smoothly as possible.

From her hiding place in the shadows at the back of the room behind an alabaster column, Katara couldn't hide her small smile as she remembered Ty Lee's hurried instructions about how to act. _Be nice to everyone, even if they're old and smell weird. And always smile, and do whatever any man tells you to do. Well, within reason. Stay close to the councilmen and advisors for both sultans. You're supposed to entertain them, so laugh at whatever they say and pretend they are the smartest, funniest, most attractive man you've ever met in your entire life. Look happy. You're supposed to be a reflection of the prince's court, and we don't want the sultan from Riyadh to think we're all miserable here, right? Right!_

Katara inhaled deeply, and looked nervously down at the clothes that Ty Lee had carefully chosen for her. They were the same style as the bubbly consort's, but in a deep shade of cerulean. Gold bangles sparkled at her wrists and ankles, and Ty Lee had pulled her hair into a high horse's tail, securing it with thread upon thread of gossamer gold.

_You look beautiful,_ Ty Lee had sighed after she surveyed her work. _Every man there's going to want to talk to you! _

Katara didn't feel beautiful. Even though she was clean and dressed in new clothes, she felt even dirtier than before. She'd never worn anything this revealing before, and would have been chastised for leading men on by her father if she had. Suddenly, she felt a sharp wave of sadness as she remembered her old life in Samos. _My father and brother laughing as they carried home the fish they caught. The sound of waves braking acting as music for their dinner. Her mother's soft voice alongside the crackling of the fire in the hearth. The seagulls, the tinkering noise of village life. _She'd been so happy there. In that moment, Katara would have given anything to be wearing her old clothes alongside her family and friends.

"Hiding from the party?"

She jumped at the unexpected voice, and turned to see one of visiting sultan's soldiers. He was tall, dark-haired, and the corner of his mouth was hooked up into a small smile.

"I'm not one for receptions either," he continued, surveying the hall. "Too noisy. Too many people trying to impress each other."

He turned back towards her, and placed an arm above her head, gently imprisoning her. She should have felt smothered, but there was something comforting about this young man. She found herself liking him in spite of herself. "I've been watching you for awhile. Even though you've been trying to hide, you stand out. You're one of the prince's, aren't you?"

She didn't answer. The thought of being another person's property, no matter how intriguing he may be, still made her feel slightly queasy. "That's all right," he said. "I won't ask you who you are and you won't ask about me. It's easier that way, right? And that way I won't feel guilty if you really are Zuko's," he muttered.

"That," Katara began, "sounds like a brilliant idea."

He laughed, and fingered one of the bangles at her wrist. "It's hot in here," he said, smiling down at her. "Do you want to go get some air?"

"Yes," she said instantly, jumping at the opportunity to leave the reception. He laughed again, and took her by the arm to lead her outside in the courtyards. Instantly, Katara felt herself relax a little. It was cooler outside, and quieter. The moon blazed above them, bathing the gardens in its celestial light. Delicate scents of jasmine and gardenia wafted out onto the night breeze. The sounds of the fountains whispered invitingly, and Katara moved over towards one.

Like a shadow, the young man soundlessly followed her.

"They're so strange," she said, running her fingers in the silky waters of the fountain. "I've never seen anything like them until a couple of days ago."

"What? The sultan's councilmen?"

She laughed softly, the delicate sound mixing with the soft whisper of the water. Drawn to the sound, the young man moved closer, like a chilled man looking for fire on a cold desert night.

"No," she continued. "These fountains. They're like rivers, but captured and imprisoned by mankind."

"Like you," the man continued.

Katara turned towards him and gave him a puzzled look. "You're like that river you're talking about, running wild and free. But now you're here. From your clothes, you look like you're part of Zuko's harem. Which mean's you're trapped in some sort of cage, too."

His hand moved and covered the one that she kept within the cool serenity of the fountain's waters. Suddenly, Katara began to feel uneasy. She liked the young man immensely, but the way he touched was far too intimate.

He leaned down and Katara felt his breath stir her ear. "You're the most beautiful thing I've seen out here in this desert wasteland. Every single guy at that reception noticed you, no matter how hard you tried to hide from them."

She took swallowed nervously, and tried to pull away from the young man as kindly as she could.

He ignored her attempts. "I know we agreed on no questions or answers, but please tell me you're not Zuko's. Please tell me its okay that I touch you. I'm dreaming right? This has to be a dream. You can't be real…you just can't belong to Zuko."

"She does," a low voice growled.

Startled, Katara's head snapped up. There, underneath the portico that led to the gardens, stood the honorable prince himself. Every time Katara saw him, she felt her heart beat quicken. He stood with his back to the reception, and the candle light from the hall lit him up from behind like some sort of fallen angel. His golden eyes glittered as he surveyed the scene in front of him.

The young man slowly backed away from Katara. "I should've known it was all too good to be true," he chuckled. He swept into a deep bow. "So pleasant to see you, Zuko. This time on the throne as the honorable prince instead of the last time I saw you, when you were known as the betrayed."

Katara saw Zuko's hands clench into fists. _How is this man getting away talking to the prince like that? _

"What are you doing outside?" The young man said, taking a step towards him. "I thought you were too busy discussing revenge with father to come say hello to me."

_Father? Could this man be the son of the visiting sultan? _

"Well, Jet," Zuko said carefully. "We were about to retire to my antechambers to discuss politics further. When no one knew where you had gone, I volunteered myself to go look for you. Who knew you were out here, trying to seduce one of my consorts." Katara heard the barely concealed displeasure that dripped from his voice.

"Tell father I'll be there in a couple of minutes," Jet said, turning back to look at Katara who had shrank against the fountain in an effort to hide.

"No." Zuko's voice was firm. Unyielding. "You leave now. My palace. My rules."

Jet laughed uneasily. "Jesus, Zuko. What's gotten into you?" He looked over at Katara and gave her a smile that could have melted a block of ice. "I guess I'll leave now. See you around, huh?"

Katara swept into a bow. _Two princes in one room. Where am I?_ She wondered incredulously.

As soon as Jet had turned the corner, Zuko pinned her with a heavy golden glare. He glowered at her for several moments, before saying "Here not even a day and you're causing me embarrassment. What do you think would have happened if I hadn't have found you? That he would have just let you go?"

Katara's hands started shaking.

"Well?" he continued angrily.

"I-I didn't know that he was the sultan's prince, I just wanted--"

"You wanted? Little girl," he sneered, "don't you know that you don't have any wants anymore? Unwanted or not, you're my consort now. You follow my wants and needs. Do you understand?"

Katara's chin lifted defiantly at the onslaught from the prince. "I understand perfectly, honorable prince."

Zuko scowled. "Good. Then get out of my sight, and go back to the harem. Where you belong."

It took every fiber of Katara's being to not lash out at Zuko. What gave him the right to treat her like this? Like he…_Owned Me? I lost all of my own rights the moment those rebels stole into my home and murdered my family._ That thought alone more than anything sobered her actions. She straightened her spine, and swept past Zuko and back into the reception.

Zuko watched her go, his teeth grinding in frustration. He had been harsh with the girl. Too harsh. But when he had stepped out into the cool desert night and saw his childhood friend Jet wrapped around the girl like an exotic vine, something inside him had snapped.

He sighed, and a ran a shaking hand through his black hair. The woman had a disastrous effect on his control. Dressed in the clothes of his harem, with gold bangles glittering at her wrists an ankles and dirt scrubbed off her face, she was every bit the beauty he remembered from the courtyard this morning. He had seen her in the shadows at the back of the room, and watched as the men at the reception had looked at her with hungry eyes. Even as there, reprimanding her and feeling annoyance course through his veins, it had taken him nearly all of his barely leashed restraint not to grab the girl and gentle her nerves with a kiss.

"What am I going to with her," he wondered aloud to himself. She was a distraction he didn't need. Now, at this time in his life, there was only one thing that mattered.

_Zhao. _

_No matter what the cost,_ he thought, _I will have my revenge. And no blue-eyed girl will stand in my way. _

* * *

**Mina34: Hey everyone, HAPPY FRIDAY! **

**Just a few things:**

**gretlcascade: Aww thanks, I'm glad you liked it so much! This story's AU, so essentially I kept all the characters (because I love them so much!) but unfortunately, they won't have any of their bending abilities. **

**Juliet: We'll have to wait and see!**

**Xia Cheyenne: Ancient arabia fascinates me too, and don't worry, this story will definitely be completed.**

**AnnaAza: thanks, that's one of the best compliments I've had!**

**Everyone else thanks SO much for all of your reviews, I really appreciate them! Anyway, tell me what you think with questions/comments/constructive criticism because (sighs) I can't read minds... **

**TA!**


	3. Chapter 3

_**CHAPTER 3**_

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_"I can see the stars on a desert night, and I can feel them. And I while I love the sunlight for it shows me the way, I cherish this desert darkness because it shows me the stars."_

_-David Nicholas_

* * *

**HAREM**

**EDESSA PALACE**

**TWO WEEKS LATER**

_The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees; the thunder was crackling in the distance while the lightning tore a thin ribbon of blue across the sky. The waves of the ocean crashed angrily against the rocky shore, seething and churning underneath the storming sky. The air was heavy with the promise of rain, but so far the promise hadn't been fulfilled. The moon was a brilliant yellow coin tossed upon the cloudy sea of night, flickering in and out of its lambent rays as the storm clouds raced upon the winds. _

_Amidst the wild battle between fire, water, and air… was a village. It was a cluster of tents woven from thick wool, and light softly glowed from them in the darkness. _

_And in one of those tents, was a family. A boy who was trying desperately to be man, a girl who had seen too little of the world to be considered a woman, and their mother. Their hushed voices and gentle laughter mingled with the heady promises of the storm, adding golden warmth to dark night. _

_Screams pierce the night to mingle with the rolling thunder. Startled, the boy jumps up and rushes out of the tent, only to reach the opening and be stuck with an arrow in his chest. Shock and pain float across his face as he slides to the floor. _

_The girl screams. Crying and choking on her own sobs and tears, she rushes to his side and holds his face in her hands. He whispers something and tries to breathe around the gapping hole in his body. Her mother stands up and cries out for her husband who was down by the water, only to hear no response. She tries to leave the tent but is grabbed by her long mahogany hand by some stranger's hand. The stranger roughly drags her out of the tent and the woman's screams pierce the night as she pleads with the stranger for the life of her only daughter. _

_In response to her tears and fear, the man laughs. _

_The girl curls up around her brother, screaming and crying and trying to save him. _

_There was too much blood, her hands and clothes were covered in it. _

_Rough hands grab her. _

"_What have we here? A girlie? I bet you'd fetch a pretty price on the market!"_

"_Please! Somebody help!"_

"_No one can here you, girl! They're all dead! And its by our mercy that you're left alive! Should we try her now? Or leave her for the market?"_

"_No! Kill me, please!"_

_She sobs as he drags her out of the tent and she sees her friends and neighbors, her father and father and mother… dead. _

_Lighting flashes and thunder booms. The men laugh at her distress, as she cries out for the lives of her family that had been so abruptly stolen from them. _

_The smell of the burning tents and flesh makes her gag. _

_And all around her, like a sickly, ghostly reminder was blood. _

_Blood on their hands and clothes and feet and weapons and faces as they sneered and glared at her. _

_Blood on her hands, her brother's blood. _

_Blood on the ground, her father's and mother's blood. _

_Blood. _

_Crimson, staining blood that spurted and seeped and pooled onto the cold earth. _

Katara jerked awake with a strangled sob. Her breathing harsh and labored, she gasped for air and fought for a fragile grip on reality. She tasted salt on her lips and realized that tears were streaming down her face. Digging her hands into her bedding, her azure eyes danced around the small bedroom she had been given, searching every nook and cranny as if she was expecting to find some sinister evil lurking there. Sweat glistened on her body, and she frantically checked herself for blood. She had to be covered in it. Her mother's blood. Her brother's blood. Her own… There had been so much blood, crimson and thick as it surged and pooled and thickened around her as she screamed and screamed…

"Stop it," Katara hissed at herself. She was miles away from the ocean and from Samos. The graves of her family and friends were across a sea of sand and what felt like a lifetime ago. Trying to impose some sort of calm on herself, she looked down at her hands and struggled to stop them from trembling.

Her eyes may have been focused on her hands, it was the past that she was seeing, voices and scenes that would never come again, times and people that were as surely gone as yesterday's sunlight.

Yet the nightmare would not go into the past where it belonged. The nightmare not only endured, but it grew stronger and stronger with each passing day that she spent in the harem. It always came in those dark hours after midnight, making Katara twist and turn and cry out in her sleep.

With a groan, Katara threw her legs over the edge of her bed and stood up too quickly, causing blood to rush to her head. She braced an arm against the wall, and took several deep, quieting breaths. But with every breath she took, she felt the four walls of her small room at the harem creeping closer and closer.

_I have to get out of here_, she thought wildly. She roughly shoved her feet into her sandals. Very cautiously, she cracked open her door and peered around the edge. Seeing no one in the harem's atrium, she quickly stepped out of the doorframe and into the open space, softly shutting the door behind her.

Her sandals clicked against the marble floor as she moved across the great room and towards the gentle rushing of the garden fountains. Every night after the nightmare had closed in on her and she jolted awake in a cold sweat, she had always quietly snuck outside to find some sort of solace in the blazing brilliance of the desert's stars.

When she reached the portico that led to the gardens, she paused. In the two weeks that she had spent in the harem, she had been under strict orders from not only Mai, but General Iroh as well that she was not to leave under any circumstances, unless accompanied by the "honorable prince" himself. And considering that she hadn't even been in the same room as Prince Zuko since their last disastrous encounter at the sultan's reception, she had been confined to the walls of the harem. The other girls always seemed so busy, and rarely had time to talk to her. The visiting sultan was still at the palace, and they were always gone entertaining. Even Ty Lee, whom she now considered a friend, only had time for a few words here and there. For Katara, these past two weeks had been some of the most lonely of her life.

With nothing to do and no one to talk to, she spent her time wandering the courtyard that had been given to the women of the harem. She its knew every square inch; every rock, flower, and fountain. The only company Katara had was her thoughts. She thought about her past, and those times back in Samos when life had seemed so simple. She thought about what the other girls in the harem were doing, and what life was like outside the palace. She thought about fishing, or riding one of her brother's mares, or picking Jasmine to put into her room.

But more than anything, she thought that night two weeks ago.

Every time she thought about the prince, some inexplicable warmth pooled in the pit of her belly. Even as he had reprimanded her for leaving the reception without his permission, she still was inexplicably attracted to him. When he had stood on the steps of the portico, frustration displayed in every hard line of body, she should have been afraid. But instead she was intrigued.

He had looked at her with distaste written clearly across his face, and Katara couldn't help but wonder what had made him hate her so much. He had ran away from her the first time she saw him in the courtyard, and had severely chastised her that night for her own foolishness. His harsh words floated back to her.

_Here not even a day and you're causing me embarrassment. What do you think would have happened if I hadn't have found you? That he would have just let you go?_

_Don't you know that you don't have any wants anymore? Unwanted or not, you're my consort now. You follow my wants and needs. Do you understand?"_

And then, after she had made her way back to the harem, Mai had found her and calmly informed her that because of her embarrassment at the reception, she was not allowed to leave the harem.

_What am I, a small child? Since when did the rules of a woman slightly older than me dictate my life? _

Suddenly, a seditious thought crept into her head. _It's before dawn… no one who can get me into trouble is awake right now. _

_What if I just left? _

_I wouldn't be seen… and no one would follow. _

_There's nothing keeping me here, and no reason why I would ever want to stay. _

_I'm treated like an animal, one that was caged and forgotten by its masters. _

Feeling slightly rebellious, Katara turned on her heel and started for the heavy wooden doors that led to the other side of the palace. She heaved one slightly open, and quickly slipped through, softly shutting the door behind her.

As the door closed with a thud, Katara leaned against it and looked around. Sights that she hadn't seen since her impromptu imprisonment greeted her: marbled hallways and careful ivory framework. She felt a rush of adrenaline course through her veins as she greedily took in the new scenery.

For the first time in weeks, Katara began to smile.

Pushing herself away from the door, she quickly walked down and navigated the twists and turns of the hallways that led to the front of the palace. When she heard voices near the grand courtyard, she quietly slipped behind an alabaster column.

"When do you think Ala-abin will finalize all of the battle plans that they're drawing up?" she heard a deep voice ask.

She cautiously peered around the column and saw a pair of guards crossing the yard to get to the reception hall.

"Hopefully within the next couple of days," the other one answered. "I'm getting sick of taking care of his councilmen."

"Which ones? Prince Zuko's or the sultan's?" the first guard jokingly responded.

As their chuckles and footsteps gently faded away as they moved deeper into the palace, Katara let out a breath that she hadn't been aware she was holding. She moved from her hiding place, and carefully snuck around the column and into the grand courtyard.

As the smell of fresh jasmine greeted her, she lifted her head to look up at the desert night. In an ink-black sky, thousands of stars blazed above her in a timeless celestial dance. There was no moon to bathe the earth in bone-white light. This night was just for the stars. Beautiful and lovely, they shone above and decanted their silvery light into the grand courtyard. Katara turned her face upward, and let the clandestine brilliance wash over her. For some inexplicable reason, she always felt more calm and comfortable by the light of the stars than by any other force.

Tonight was no different.

As she stood in the garden, enjoying her moments of peace away from the harem, something akin to happiness bubbled up inside her.

"What are you doing?"

At the unmistakably male voice, Katara froze. She knew that voice. It had haunted her thoughts for the past two weeks. Gradually, she turned and faced Prince Zuko.

Even in the early morning hours, his clothes were no less as fine as the ones she had seen him wearing at the reception. He was a few feet away from her, casually lounging on the circular rim of one of the many fountains that littered the grand courtyard. His hair looked disheveled, and his eyes shone in the darkness.

Katara ignored the sudden pounding of her heart, and lifted her chin defiantly. "I should be asking you that same question."

Zuko rubbed a hand over his face. "Your courage is commendable. But I'm not the one who's supposed to be in the harem."

At that moment in time, the only thing Katara wanted to do was run away. But she was trapped. Even if she had managed to leave the palace, where would she go? She had no money, no friends, and no family. She'd end up on the streets, or worse-back at that horrid market in Constantinople. Dejected, she told Zuko the truth. "I couldn't sleep."

His eyes gleamed in the darkness. "I know."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

He pushed himself up from the fountain, and turned and looked at her. Those eyes, those mesmerizing golden eyes, took in the dark mahogany hair that cascaded down her back, the rumpled tunic that she slept in, the graceful planes of her face. "I've seen you out, before the sun rises. Every morning you're there, out in the gardens. You wander around like you're lost in some nightmare. Tell me… what do you dream about that makes you afraid to go to sleep at night?"

"How do you know?" she whispered.

He looked down, as if he was mentally sorting through memories. "I've lived through more than enough nightmares."

"No, how do you know that I walk the gardens at night?"

His eyes widened slightly in surprise before he answered wryly, "I'm the sultan. My chambers overlook the harem."

It should have made Katara feel angry that he saw her in her moments of vulnerability. She should have felt offended. Instead, it made her heart beat quicker.

"I can't stay locked up the harem all day," Katara blurted out suddenly. "I feel… I feel so trapped, like I'm this animal that you locked away."

Zuko's jaw stiffened. "I'm sorry."

_I'm sorry? _She thought incredulously. _He's sorry that he took away my freedom, and reprimanded me like some little child? _Fueled by her feelings, she continued. "How can be you be sorry, when you're the one who told me I embarrassed you? I want to go back," she said unexpectedly. "I want to go home, to the sea and to Samos. Where I belong."

"I'm sorry," he said again. "I can't let you."

Anger bubbled hotly and coursed through her veins. "Why? You hate me. I see it in your eyes. Every time I'm near you treat me like a child. You run away from me, and make every effort to make sure I am nowhere near you. I can see your disgust written across your face. I repulse you!"

Startled and gentled by her cold retribution in ways he couldn't explain, he moved towards her. Suddenly, the only thing he wanted in life was to take all of that anger seething through her body and melt it away. "I don't hate you."

"No?" she snapped, glaring at him with azure eyes.

"The last thing you do is repulse me." He stepped even closer, so close their bodies almost touched each other. He stood there for a few heavy seconds, his golden eyes boring into her. Katara couldn't look away. "You…unsettle me," he continued, his voice a husky baritone. "You tie me in knots that I've never known existed. Ever since I first saw you standing in my courtyard, I knew I had to have you. You had to be mine. I don't even know you and you make me ache in ways I never thought possible." His fingers brushed across her forehead, her cheek.

Her lips.

Her heart raced, and she felt her breathing hitch. She looked up into those amber eyes, and felt energy crackle between the two of them.

Silence stretched like and eternity between them. In that moment, there was only each other. Their ragged breaths, their shared desire.

"Now do you see why I stay away from you?" he said harshly, breaking away from her.

Katara felt like somebody had abruptly thrown a bucket of water on a softly rolling fire. "I don't understand," she began, before he cut her off.

"You are the last thing that I need right now," he whispered, searching her eyes for a sliver of accord.

Slowly, as if the very movement caused him pain, he reached over and stroked a lock of her hair. "I don't even know your name," he murmured.

"Katara," she breathed. "My name is Katara."

He closed his eyes for a second, and his grip tightened on the hair that he had so sweetly imprisoned. "I have to go," he said tersely. His hand dropped returned to his side, and backed away from Katara as if she were suddenly poisonous.

Then he turned on his heel, and disappeared into the night.

* * *

**SULTAN'S CHAMBERS**

**EDESSA PALACE**

When Zuko thundered back into his room, his breathing was harsh and labored. He shut the heavy wooden door with something less than finesse, and slithered down the cool surface until he sat with his back to the wall. He pulled up a leg, rested his arm on his knee, and let his head fall back against the door.

His chest heaved as he fought for air. In the two weeks since the last time he had had contact with his new consort, he had gone out of his way to ensure that their paths would never cross again. When he walked out onto his balcony to watch the early morning sunrise, he always saw her below. She wandered slowly around, her chestnut hair rippling gently in the breeze. Strangely, he began to cherish these sightings. He derived an odd source of comfort from seeing her, and soon she became as much a part of his morning routine as gazing at the sunrise.

It was dangerous for him to think of her like that.

Even more dangerous of him to allow her to slip into his thoughts during his daily tasks, but yet he found himself thinking of the graceful curve of her legs without meaning to during the multiple war meetings he held.

And certainly, it was completely inappropriate for him to seek her out the way he had tonight. He had laid awake, sleep eluding him. When he had heard the door to the harem open and close, he knew instantly that it was the girl who plagued his thoughts. Without meaning, without thinking, he had gotten out of bed and followed her to the courtyard.

"How can I be so stupid," he growled to himself, his hand fisting in his clothes. The negotiations with Ala-Abin were taking longer than he had planned, and he needed to focus every ounce of his mental capacity on those proceedings. Every battle plan that Zuko had drawn up had been rejected, and both councils were getting restless. After the meetings, Zuko and his uncle had sat and racked their brains for new strategies that might appeal to sultan. This was one used too many of his soldiers, that one was too ambitious, this one took too long… _there has to be something that the sultan will take to_. He just hadn't figured it out yet.

What had made the negotiations slightly more difficult was the fact that in the few times that Zuko and Jet had been alone, Jet pestered him about the woman Iroh had brought back from Constantinople. He wanted to know her name, if he could go see her in the harem, if he could take her out to ride one of his prized Arabians, if he could do this or that… and it took every fiber of Zuko's being to politely evade the questions. In reality, he wanted to take his fist and shove it down Jet's throat as a response.

Zuko and Jet had shared women in the past. Why was this one any different?

Someone draped their arms over his chest.

Startled, he stiffened and was reaching for his knife when he heard a voice ask softly, "is everything all right, darling?"

_What a question. _Zuko closed his eyes briefly before untangling himself from the feminine arms. "What are you doing here, Mai?" he asked, standing up and pushing himself away from the door.

From her place on the floor, Mai's eyes widened slightly before narrowing. "You've never had a problem with me in here before," she said.

Zuko pinched bridge of his nose in a demonstration of frustration. "That's because I'm usually the one who brings you here. You came here unannounced and on your own. You're lucky I didn't accidentally kill you when you surprised me like that."

Mai stood up and placed her hand on his chest. "You haven't asked for me in a while," she said, her lids lowered over her dark brown eyes. She looked up at him through her lashed. "I wanted to see if you needed anything," she simpered, before standing up on tiptoe and pressing her lips against his.

Zuko tensed as though he had been slapped and harshly broke away from her. "What the hell's gotten into you, Mai?" he demanded. "What do you think you're doing?"

Shocked by his reaction, she stood there. She had seen him frustrated before, but never like this. And he had never, ever jerked away from her touch as though repulsed by it. "You've been acting so different since the sultan came," she said, crossing her arms defensively over her chest. "You don't see me, you don't talk to me, you don't visit any of us in the harem, and when I come to see if you're okay, you act like I'm carrying leprosy."

"I want you to leave, Mai," he said, turning his back to her. "You're not welcome here. I have too much to think about than being worried about the feelings of one of my concubines."

"But Zuko, what is-"

"Leave," he said, cutting her off in a low voice low.

"Why are you treating me like-"

"Dammit, can't you hear me?" he yelled, spinning around back to look at her with barely concealed rage. "Leave!"

Mai ducked her head quickly, and bit her lip in an effort to control her tears. She swept into a bow. "Of course, honorable prince. I'm sorry I displeased you."

Suddenly, Zuko regretted his sudden burst of emotion and realized how deeply he had hurt his kadin. "Mai, I didn't mean-"

It was her turn to cut him off. "I understand, my prince. I won't bother you again. If you'll forgive me, I also came to make his highness aware that the new consort was not in the harem this morning. I do not know where she is. Would the prince like a punishment to be enacted once she is retrieved?"

The memories of the night rushed back to Zuko. The way she had smelled, the silken touch of her hair, her cheek, her lips. The pounding of his heart as he fought for control. Their heavy breathing, the energy crackling between them. And now, he knew the name of his malediction.

_Katara. _

"No," Zuko murmured. "No, I don't want her to be punished. Mai, I want you to tell Katara that she has free reign of the palace now. She's not confined to the harem anymore."

Shock glimmered across Mai's face before she quickly concealed it. "Of course," Mai bowed. "I will make the prince's wishes known. Good day, Prince Zuko."

Zuko didn't respond as he watched her leave. "I'm sorry," he said softly, but his kadin didn't acknowledge his apology. The door clicked shut behind her.

**

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**HAREM**

**EDESSA PALACE**

It was early morning when Katara had found her way back to the harem. After Zuko had left her, she had sat in the gardens as thoughts and memories raced through her mind.

_You make me ache in ways I never thought possible. _

As she thought back to the way her heart had slammed inside her body as his fingers had brushed across her face, she realized that the feeling was apparently mutual. She should have hated him for imprisoning her, for making her stay in Edessa, but she couldn't.

Trying to shake off her thoughts, she wearily opened the door to see a strange sight greeting her. Mai was sitting in the atrium, lounging against the enormous pillows that lined the floor. _That's strange, _she thought. _Mai's never here during the day. She's usually busy. _It was then that Katara remembered her deliberate breach of the orders Mai had given her. She had not only left the harem, but she had done so without permission. _Uh oh. _

When Mai's dark eyes took in Katara, she visibly stiffened. "Nice to see you've found your way back to the harem," she said, her voice cold and emotionless.

"I had a nightmare," Katara said, her voice low.

"You had a nightmare?" Mai responded. "How quaint. So that meant that you could break the rules that were handed down to you not only from me, but from General Iroh as well?"

Katara sighed. "I'm sorry," she said. "I just wanted to get some fresh air."

Mai's eyes narrowed. "Well then, you're in luck," she said in that same empty voice. "The prince has informed me you're not confined to the harem anymore."

Her hear stopped, then began to beat slightly faster as adrenaline raced through her. "Really?" she asked, unable to hide the hope that had burst through her.

"Yes. Really."

She let out a slow breath, and a small smile appeared on her face. _He listened to me. He set me free. He actually heard what as I was saying and is letting me free from this awful prison!_

"And as your first duty as a member of this harem," Mai continued, _"_You are to attend to the visiting Prince Jet's bath."

All of Katara's burgeoning happiness rushed out of her body and her face fell. Attending to a bath was one of the most intimate duties of the harem. Normally the girls could only attend to the sultan, and she had never heard of the girls attending to foreigners. It was unheard of. In fact, since she'd been here, none of the girls had done it. It was usually reserved to the female servants, not for one of the prince's own women that he protected. To be asked to do so was almost a slap in the face. She thought back to that night of the reception, and how angry Zuko had looked when he saw her in the prince's arms. His body vibrated with it. And when he talked to her, it was as if she was a stupid little girl.

"These orders come from Prince Zuko?" she asked, trying to keep the disbelief out of her voice.

"Yes, Katara," Mai said nonchalantly, "he told me himself."

Katara's hands curled into fists at her sides as her disbelief evaporated into anger. _After everything he said, the way he touched me… he's trying to pawn me off on his friend. He's trying to get rid of me. _She told herself she wasn't hurt. She didn't know the prince well enough to be hurt by him. But nonetheless, the Prince's shocking order stung some small corner of her heart.

"Well then, his wish is my command," Katara said. She turned around to go the bath house, but Mai stopped her.

"Before you leave, could you put on some real clothes?" she asked, referring to the gnarled tunic that Katara was wearing. "You look just as disgusting now as when you came here two weeks ago covered in mud. If Prince Jet sees you like that he'll take one look and run away. He's not only an honored guest of Prince Zuko's, but one of his dear friends. The honorable prince would not happy if you displeased Prince Jet."

Katara closed her eyes and counted to ten. "Of course, Kadin."

"Thank you," Mai said from her place on the floor. "I'm so happy we've reached…an _understanding_."

**

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**THE BATH HOUSE**

**EDESSA PALACE**

The steam curled up sinisterly from the surface of the water, filling the vaulted tiled ceilings of the room with an eerie fog. Sweat dropped visibly from the bath servants as they wandered around, adding various salts and other amenities to the water.

Katara saw Jet in a bathing tunic, standing near the head of the pool and rubbing his neck as if it pained him. Setting her jaw, she walked towards him, and stopped just in front of him. It took him a moment to notice her, but when he did his surprise became quickly evident. His jaw dropped.

"_You _are to assist me?"

_Even he's surprised_, Katara thought angrily. She lowered her head and gritted out, "I am ordered here by Prince Zuko."

"I wouldn't have thought, that is, women from a sultan's harem never attend to strangers unless-" he stopped and flushed slightly. "I am grateful."

That single word suddenly gave Katara a new attitude about her duties. As intimate as her task might be, a visiting sultan would never dream of touching a woman from another prince's harem. To be allowed in the same room as one was an honor, and a sign of great friendship. It still stung a little, because as Katara was leaving Mai informed her that she would be the only one in the short history of Zuko's harem to attend to another man's bath. For some reason, Katara felt like Mai was trying her hardest to hurt her.

"Please, what is your name?" he asked.

She smiled. "Katara," she answered.

"Katara." he said the word as if it were something to savor. "It suits you. I've asked about you ever since I last saw you," Jet said as he stepped into the water. "Zuko always changed the subject. I thought that he wanted to keep you to himself. But apparently I was mistaken."

Katara knelt down by the edge of the pool and thought wryly, _apparently. Apparently he is disgusted by his reaction to me that he can't wait to get rid of me. _

As she reached over to grab a bowl from where they were stacked, his hand shot out and he grasped her wrist gently. "You're exactly how I remembered you. No, you're even more beautiful than before."

The words unsettled Katara. When Zuko had told her about his surprising desire for her, she felt her heart race. But when Jet did… it made her feel uneasy. Slowly, she eased her wrist free and grabbed the bowl. She reached down and filled it with hot water, before pouring it over Jet's head. He sputtered, and Katara immediately apologized. Instead of getting angry, he turned and smiled at her. "You haven't done this before have you?"

Katara shook her head. "No. I just came here two weeks ago… this is the first real thing I've had to do as a member of the harem."

He chuckled. "It's okay. I'll teach you." He leaned over and grabbed a small pot filled with a substance that Katara recognized as soap. He then put some in the palm of her hand, and placed her hand onto his shoulder. He turned his head and looked up at her, his brown eyes burning into hers. Her own eyes widened slightly. "Do you feel that?" he whispered. "Do you feel that heat sliding through your body?"

She didn't know what to say. _No? _

"You have to come back to Riyadh with me. Zuko doesn't want you, and I'd treat you like a queen."

She felt nervous. Anxious. The thought of leaving Edessa should have made her feel happy. She could be free of overbearing Mai… treacherous Zuko.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Katara gasped softly at the sound of that voice, that deep recognizable voice that had plagued her since last night. Jet's grip on her hand tightened at the displeasure that had dripped from it, and they both looked over to see where it had come from. Zuko filled the doorway, anger making his body quiver. His hands were clenched into fists, and his golden eyes shot daggers at Katara. He looked terrifying in his present state, but Katara couldn't begin to guess what had made him so furious.

Her chin lifted in defiance and she took her hand back from Jet. _What does he think I'm doing here? _She thought angrily.

"_You _ordered me here, Prince Zuko," she dared to remind to him.

His eyes flared. "Liar! The hell I did!"

_

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**Mina34: That's right. A cliffhanger! Mwuahaha!**

**Actually, when I was writing this chapter it was getting a little too long, so I had to cut if off some place in the middle, instead of making everyone have to sit through a ridiculously long chapter. I'll post the second half pretty soon. Thank you SO MUCH for all of your lovely reviews, I get so happy and excited when I see them! **

**A few things: **

**Juliet: eee! I LUFF your review! If everyone else hated this story, I would keep writing it just for you! I actually really like Mai's character, and I didn't mean to make her sound so mean. I forget that she's really just emotionless. Ty Lee's my favorite, and I'm sad I didn't have time to put her in this chapter! And as for your other questions, we'll just have to wait and see!**

**Lady Flick: that's so nice, thank you for the compliments! This chapter was more character than plot driven, but the next half will have some nice little tid bits about Zhao and revenge! **

**gretlcascade: OMG your review made me so happy! thank you for liking my little ficcy! I agree, Mai did seem a little off last chapter, is she better here? I just can't seem to get a good grip on her character. And i actually really like her, and hate it when shes portrayed as evil... I think she's just misunderstood. And is a wee bit jealous. Hmm... hopefully I'll figure it out! happy summer to you too!**

**Shrilaraune: thanks! I owe my middle eastern knowledge to the internet. I haven't really figured the length out, but definitely no more than fifteen chapters. I wrote fanfiction in highschool, but then I got to college and became really busy. This is my first time that I've had enough free time to write in a while, and now fanfiction has all this fancy stuff!What's a beta? **

**Everyone else, if you made it this far, just click that little blue button to tell me what is going on in the reader-chan head of yours! **

**Remember, reviews=love. Love my story. Love Me. **

**Haha, I hope everyone has a happy memorial day weekend! **

**TA!**


	4. Chapter 4

_**CHATPER 4**_

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_"La beauté du désert est que quelque part, il cache une oasis."_

_"The beauty of the desert is that somewhere, it hides an oasis."_

_-Antoine de Saint-Exupery_

**

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**

**THE BATH HOUSES**

**EDESSA PALACE**

Blood thundered through Zuko's veins. Breath surged in and out of his chest as he stared at Katara standing so close to his childhood friend.

"Get out," he yelled, his voice thick with rage, "get out and go to the harem and _stay _there until I come back!"

Indifference crossed over Katara's face and clouded her sapphire eyes. "Don't order me-"

"GET OUT!" he roared.

She frowned at the sudden outburst of rage, and indifference changed to worry. Slowly, so slowly that Zuko could count each beat of his heart, she backed away and left the baths, slamming the door shut behind her.

Once she had left, Zuko tried to still the wild beating of his heart. His golden eyes smoldered as they flew around the room. Steam curled around Jet as he sat in the bath, frozen, wearing an expression of shock. Zuko pinned several of the servants with a heavy gaze. "Leave," he snarled.

They wasted no time getting out. Platters clattered to the floor as they dropped whatever they were carrying in their haste.

"Jesus, Zuko," Jet breathed from his place in the bath.

Zuko prowled over to where he was. "I want you to listen to what I have to say. Get out of there so I can talk to you face to face and eye to eye."

Jet lifted himself out of the bath and stood up. His brown eyes were a mixture of confusion and concern. "Zuko, what the hell has gotten into you? She's just a member of your harem."

_Just a member of my harem? _Zuko thought incredulously. When he had seen the girl who haunted his dreams intimately touching the son of the visiting sultan, he had wanted blood. Jet's blood.

And then Jet said something that made his own blood boil.

"She's beautiful, I know, but such a delicacy is meant to be shared."

Zuko curled his hand into a fist, drew it back, and punched Jet so hard across his jaw that his head turned with its full force. He grabbed the front of Jet's bathing tunic and pulled him so close that his breath made the hair on Jet's head dance.

"Look at me," he growled.

Brown eyes met amber.

"That _delicacy," _he said slowly, and deliberately, "will be _sampled _by no one but me. Her hands are mine. Her hair is mine. Her legs are mine. Her eyes are mine. Her body… _is mine. _And if you _ever _touch her again, I will find you. Son of a sultan or not, I will find you and kill you myself, ripping your body limb from limb! Do you understand me?"

Jet's eyes widened, then narrowed. "Zuko," he said, his voice carrying along marble walls, "you need to be rational-"

Zuko angrily jerked the front of Jet's robe. "_Do you understand me." _It wasn't a question. It was a blunt demand.

Jet sighed, and closed his eyes for the space of two breaths, then three. "I understand you."

Zuko's fist uncurled, and he stepped back. He looked down at his hands as if they were foreign to him. _My God, _he thought. _I'm shaking. _His fingers flexed as he watched them before shoving them deeply into his thick mane of black hair. _Pull it together, _he told himself furiously. If he had learned anything over the years that culminated into his short existence, it was that anger was the least useful of all emotions. It clouded the mind, and made the body tense and heavy with strain. As reality came crashing down to him, he realized how ridiculous his reaction had been.

A reaction over a woman.

How foolish.

_I can't keep letting this happen to me. She has to go. She has to leave. _

Even as Zuko thought those words, he knew they were an empty threat. The thought of letting Katara leave was inconceivable. Preposterous, even. But… for his own sake, for the sake of Edessa, for the sake of his dead family and his thirst for revenge… maybe…. Maybe it would be for the best.

Wisely, Jet stood where he was, several feet away from his friend as he watched the conflict raging within him. "Zuko," he said, calling the prince away from his ruminative thoughts. "Have you had her?"

Just hearing Jet say that made his anger spike again. "Excuse me?" he asked incredulously.

"Zuko, don't be daft," Jet scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Has she shared your bed?"

"What I do or do not do within the privacy of my own chambers is for me to know."

Jet frowned at the steel that clanged from Zuko's voice. "If I may, I'd like to give you some advice. Friend," he said, "to friend."

It was Zuko's turn to scowl. "Proceed."

"We've been friends for the majority of our lives. I know you, and I have never seen you act like this. Ever. Not even during your campaign for your throne, and certainly not because of a woman. You're short tempered, rude, and always seem to have your mind in another place. For your own sake, and for the sake of both of our futures as rulers in securing this deal with my father, please, seek her out."

"Jet, I-"

"Find her," Jet said, powering over his friend's protests. "Kiss Her. Touch her. Get her the hell out of your system. No woman, no matter how beautiful she is, should ever hold that kind of power over a man."

Zuko ground his jaw in frustration, but said nothing in response. _He's right,_ he thought. _I have to get her out of my mind and focus. I can't keep ignoring her. Something has to be done. _

"And," Jet continued, "if all else fails, send her away. You've worked too hard to let some hang up over a silly woman get in the way. The last war meeting is tonight, Zuko. My father's leaving on the morrow, with or without supporting your revenge." He turned, but before leaving, he threw a glance over his shoulder towards his friend. "Whatever you do, whatever you decide about the girl, I suggest you do it now."

And with that, he left.

**

* * *

**

**COURTYARDS**

**EDESSA PALACE**

As Katara burst into the clean sunlight of the palace gardens, she was aware of two things: first, her own frustration with herself, and second, her own confusion at what had happened in the bath house.

_He acted as if he wasn't the one who had sent me there. He acted… jealous. _

_No. _

_That's preposterous. _

_How could he be jealous? _

_And Mai! She sent me there! _

_But why?_

_Why was she deliberately trying to get me into trouble?_

More importantly, Katara was becoming more and more unsettled with her own reactions to the betrayed prince. After everything that had transpired between them in the garden last night, she had been upset by his demand for her to attend Jet. Hurt.

_I don't even know him. Damnit, I just lost my entire family, my home, my life! Why do I feel this way about him? I should be mourning them, not upset by some pompous, ignorant prince! _

She paused, and kicked the ground in an almost childish fit of irritation. The feelings she felt for Zuko… the heady rush of blood she felt sliding through her veins whenever he touched were totally misplaced in her present situation. She was little more than a slave to him.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her arm and jerked her roughly back into the marbled walls of the palace. Katara let out a yelp, and turned to glare angrily at whoever had attacked her. _"_Excuse me, but what are you…."

Just then, as she looked into the face of her assailer, words failed her. She was staring into the ocher eyes of Zuko. Remembering everything that had transpired, Katara scowled and tried to yank her arm back. "I don't appreciate," she began, but was cut off as Zuko roughly shoved her up against the far wall of the hallway they were in. His broad shoulders were blocking out the sun, so she couldn't clearly see how angry he was. His voice, however, told her.

"Explain to me why I should not punish you for being where you do not belong!"

"You're telling me I'm to be punished for doing something that _you_ told me to do? If you _dare…"_

He shook her once. "You were _not _told to go there! And if you lie to me like that again, so help me, I will not only have you punished, but I will take you outside and punish you myself!"

Katara swallowed the retort she would have made. The man was simply too angry to reason with right now. She looked down, and tried to calm the feral beating of her heart. When she looked up at Zuko again, she made her voice soft, gentle. "I don't know what to tell you but the truth. What can I gain from lying to you? I was told to come to the baths, on your orders, and to attend to Jet."

"_Who _told you?"

"Mai."

"She wouldn't dare!"

"She's your kadin, Zuko, she can do whatever she wants! And _I _have to follow her order and assume that they come directly from you! How was I supposed to know that she made it up? She has this personal vendetta against me, and I can't…" Katara made an exasperated sound. "I thought it was your way of making me stay away from you! You were… passing me off to Jet, and hoping that I'd leave you alone! You were sounding like such a coward, and it made me so angry and upset and-"

"Did he kiss you?"

Katara blinked at the change of subject, which only prodded her own bitterness. She frowned. "No, but why would it matter if he did? A harem whore has little say in these things. Isn't it supposed to be an honor for be to be in the presence of another prince? A sign of friendship?"

"No else but me is to touch you. From now on."

As if to prove it, his hand went to her thick braid to hold her still, and he pressed her body to his. His other one floated up towards her face, and his thumb tested the resilience of her lower lip, before he crushed is mouth to hers. His mouth descended on hers like an avenging fury, assaulting and punishing as it forced her lips apart. Katara felt her lower lips spilt as he drove it back against her teeth, and tasted her own blood in her mouth, felt the harsh rape of his invading tongue. Stunned, she hung in his arms like a sack of flour, too shocked to fight. His fist gripping her hair hurt. His arms that had slid around her shoulders to crush her to him hurt. And yet... she didn't want him to stop.

He tasted the breath that shuddered through them as he teased the tip of her tongue into movement with his own. Her lips softened when they merged with his, then parted with the gentleset of pressures. In this age-old rhythm, her body moved shamelessly beneath his. She hadn't know there was so much to feel, not just wind and cold and heat, not simply hunger for food and fatigue. There were hundreds, thousands of sensations to be discovered by the merging of lips, the locking of bodies. There was the scent of a man's skin and, she discovered as she traced her tongue along the column of his throat, the taste of it. There was the sound of her own name being murmured thickly against her mouth. There was the feel of strong fingers on her face, tensing, stoking, the frantic beat of him against her heart. Her hands were still trapped by his. Though she pressed for freedom, she was unsure whether, if she gained it, she would use her hands to drag him closer or to thurst him aside.

It hurt. This grinding, overwelming need clawed through her, pounding in her center, raging through her head until she feared she would be burned alive. At her muffled whimper, he lifted his head. It was there in her eyes, the fear, the confusion, and the desire. The combination nearly undid him. And his hand tightened in her hair as he demanded, "Would have _pleased _him if he asked?"

She was still shocked from passion, her breathing heavy and labored. She didn't even have the mental capacity to goad him. "No… I… I would have said no. And if that didn't work, I would have fought him."

She felt the tension leave his body, and his grip on her hair loosened. Slowly, he released her, and stepped back. For several moments, they stood there. Azure eyes met gold. Finally, Zuko took a deep breath, and spoke.

"I have no excuses for what I just did. Except that I want you. You're under my skin in more ways than I like to admit. I'm angry all the time, and irritable. I can't concentrate when you're not around, and can't even breathe or think when you are. Jet told me something today. He told me to send you away, to forget about you and concentrate in gaining Ala-abin's support."

He paused, and Katara held her breath.

"I'm not sending you away. I can't."

She exhaled.

"That kiss…" he touched his lips. "I've been with women, Katara. But I've never felt a tenth of the passion with them as I did with you."

Katara felt heat slide through her body. _Why does he do this to me? Why does he make me feel this way? _She wondered helplessly.

"I've been a fool to ignore this for so long," he said harshly. "You're in _my _harem. You belong to me. And I want you in my chambers within the next hour. It's time I did something about this."

She looked away, her breathing ragged. _I don't want to see him again. He makes me feel so strange… No boy back in Samos made me feel like this. Like I'll die if he doesn't touch me. _Even when Jet had touched her, she hadn't felt what she felt when Zuko simply looked at her. _Maybe… maybe he has a point. Maybe, if we stop ignoring each other, all of this… energy between us will go away. _

When she looked up to face Zuko, she realized he was gone.

_One hour. _

_God, what is happening to me? _

"Hey Katara!"

Katara looked over in the direction of the voice, and smiled when she saw who it was. "Good morning, Ty Lee."

Ty Lee walked over, a huge smile on her face and the bracelets at her ankles chiming sweetly. "How are you today?" she piped.

Katara thought back to everything that had happened in the last twelve hours. The gardens. The harem. The baths, and Zuko's blunt demand.

_I want you in my chambers within the next hour. _

"Fine," she lied. "I'm doing fine."

"Good!" Ty Lee chirped. "Mai told me that you don't have to stay in the harem anymore. I'm so happy for you! I was on my way to go entertain some soldiers of Ala-abin's for lunch. Do you want to come with me?"

When Katara didn't say anything, Ty Lee grabbed her hand and looked pleadingly into her eyes. "Please? I haven't gotten to be with you since you got here, and the soldiers are all really funny! I'm sure they'll like you!"

Katara lowered her eyes for a second, and remembered all of the restrictions that had been placed on her in the last couple of minutes.

_No one touches you but me. _

She shivered as she remembered the kiss. He had been so demanding… so…

_Passionate. _

_Listen to me_, she thought._ Fifteen minutes ago I was furious with the man, and now all I can think about is how strong his arms felt around me. I'm acting like one of the fountains, hot and cold by turns. How can a man do this to me? _On the heels of that thought came another. _I haven't been able to talk to Ty Lee in days. And since when did I follow the orders of some sniveling little prince? He might own my body, but he'll never own spirit._

Katara smiled. "I would love to go entertain soldiers with you."

"Yay!" Ty Lee squealed and clapped her hands together. She started walking, and dragged Katara along with her. "They're in the barracks, on the other side of the palace. Some servants are already there serving food. There's supposed to be a lot of men there. Yue already entertained them at breakfast, and when I left the harem she was sitting in her room with a headache. Apparently they were too much for her! Normally, she entertains all of the councilmen. She's so quiet and poised, they seem to like her the best. But, then again, they also really like Mai. But she's usually busy. But lately she hasn't had that much to do besides entertain Ala-abin's councilmen. She's always complaining about how old and grumpy they are, but I think it's just because she's grumpy! Right? Don't you agree?"

"Uh…"

Ty Lee thundered on_, _not even waiting for an answer. "She's been so mean lately! I asked where you were this morning, because I had the morning off and I remembered that you were confined to the harem, by the way, I felt so bad for you! Spending all that time there? You must have been so bored! At least I get to flirt sometimes during the day, which is fun, but you're…"

Katara laughed to herself as Ty Lee pulled her along through the palace. She had forgotten just how refreshing Ty Lee was. She was truly the only uncomplicated person she knew. After Mai's conniving tactics, Jet's empty caresses, and Zuko's inflaming touch... it was so nice to be around someone who simply enjoyed life the way Ty Lee did.

"Oh! Here we are!"

Ty Lee stopped in front of a building that was slightly separate from the rest of the palace. She pulled the gauzy white fabric that acted as a door to side, and stepped in, dragging Katara along with her. Behind the curtains was a huge hall, similar to the grand reception hall in the main palace. It was filled with four, low slung tables, and about twenty of Ala-abin's soldiers were sitting around them, laughing and joking with each other.

Ty Lee turned to Katara, and smiled brightly. "Where do you want to start?" she asked.

"Um…" Katara blushed.

"Oh, oopsies, that's right, you've never done this before! Sorry! Well, normally, I usually start with whoever yells at me first-"

"Hey! Hey, Ty Lee!"

Ty Lee turned at the voice. A tall, strapping young man was waving his arms wildly, frantically calling her. "Over here!" The space around him was crowded with his friends, who had all stopped talking to look over to her.

"Farid!" she squealed. "Hey, I haven't seen you since yesterday!"

"Come over! And bring your friend!" He yelled back.

"What are you doing?" one of his friends asked.

"I'm trying to get those two pretty ladies to come eat with us, what do you think I'm doing, idiot?"

"But the table's full, half-wit!"

Looking around at the full space beside him, the handsome warrior thought for a moment. "You're right." He pushed two of his friends off his bench, who landed on the cold floor with a grunt. "Right here's an empty spot!"

Katara couldn't help but smile as she watched his friends swat him on the back as they hooted with laughter. Ty Lee giggled. "C'mon!" she said, pulling Katara over to the table. "Excuse me gentlemen," she asked the soldier sweetly. "Would it be okay if we sat here?"

"Why, it would be my honor," He said, sweeping into a deep bow from his seat and making room for Ty Lee and Katara as they sat delicately down on the long wooden bench. "Do you want anything to eat?" He asked earnestly, grabbing an empty plate from a rack behind him, and placing it in front of her. He leaned towards Ty Lee and whispered, "Zuko must be the luckiest prince in Arabia. _Two _beautiful girls in his harem?" he shook his head. "Ala-abin's is filled with a bunch of old goats!"

Katara choked, then laughed. The soldier who sat next to her grinned. He was long-limbed and broad shouldered, and had closely cropped brown hair. "He's not kidding, you know. One of them has a beard."

She turned towards him, still smiling, making her azure eyes sparkle. The soldier's mouth opened slightly, when he realized just how beautiful she was. He bowed his head. "It's been so long since I've been around a pretty girl that I've forgotten my manners. My name's Aang."

She smiled. The soldier was… charming. His brown eyes were deep and velvety, and she could tell there was such intelligence behind them. He reminded her of someone… but she couldn't quite put her finger on who. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Aang. My name's Katara."

"Katara," he said, testing out the sound of her name. "Pretty name for a pretty girl. Are you hungry?" he asked, brown eyes glinting.

Her stomach growled. "Starving," she responded.

Aang laughed. "Well, you've come to the right place!" He started piling food on her plate. "I've never seen you here before. Are you new?"

She nodded. "I just came here two weeks ago. I've been confined to the harem since then, so I haven't really gotten around to meeting anyone."

"I can see why Zuko'd want you holed up. You're making all these boys sweat just sitting there," he said, motioning around the table.

"Speak for yourself, Aang!" The man who sat across from him retorted. "I'm not the only one who can't take their eyes of eyes of her!"

"At least I'm brave enough to talk to her, Jalal!" he shot back. They glared at each other a moment before breaking into grins and slapping each other on the back. Katara rolled her eyes. _Men, _she thought. "Katara, this is Jalal."

Jalal waved. "Hopefully he's not causing too much trouble. He's supposed to be on his _best_ behavior."

"Whose saying that I'm not?" he asked. He took a bite of some lamb. "Actually," he said around a mouthful of food, "I thought I was doing pretty well this morning. You see," he said to Katara, "I'm actually an officer in Zuko's army, but I'm hear with Ala-abin's men to discuss politics."

Jalal guffawed. "That went well!"

Aang winked at her. "I've never been much for politics. Especially Zuko's politics…" he muttered under his breath.

"Is there something about the prince you don't like?" Katara asked, suddenly curious. There were certainly plenty of things that _she _didn't like about him.

"Let's just say revenge isn't exactly my cup of tea. Especially the cold, calculating kind that Zuko wants. But don't worry," he said, taking a swig of water from a cup that was next to him. "I've been doing my damnedest working Ala-abin's men to make sure that they don't agree to any of his stupid demands."

Katara's brow furrowed. "But aren't you an officer in his army?"

"I am," he answered.

"But then… isn't it treasonous for you to try and sabotage his plans like that?"

Aang frowned. "Revenge, pretty lady, is something that should never be condoned. I support his campaign for his thrown. But trying to murder Zhao and his people is taking it too far. And, if on the slim chance that Ala-abin does give his support," he lowered his voice suddenly, "then I'll resort to espionage for Zhao."

Katara put her fork down, and sat there stunned for a second. Had the man just admitted that to her? Even as the thought appalled her, it almost appealed to her. After the way Zuko treated her, the harsh kiss, the way he reprimanded her in front of Jet… maybe sabotaging him was the right idea. _What am I thinking, _Katara thought. _I'd be biting the hand that fed me. _

He laughed suddenly, and swatted her on the back. "I'm just kidding!"

"You were?" she asked uneasily.

"You bet! Even if I was serious, why would I admit that to a member of the harem?" He looked almost nervous in his response. _But he's right, _she thought. _He'd be an idiot to confess that to me. _Mentally, Katara shrugged and went back to her meal.

As the meal continued on for a while, Katara found herself enjoying Aang's company. He seemed so genuine. Whenever she laughed and joked with him, he would smile back at her and get that twinkle in his sable eyes. Even though he made it clear he thought her beautiful, he didn't demand anything of her the way Jet had. He was…refreshing. And it felt so good to be out of the harem, and to enjoy a meal with someone other than herself.

Suddenly, Jalal gasped. "Boys, look sharp!" He called, causing all his friends to turn around and look. When they saw what Jalal had seen, they all let out surprised noises, the forks clattering to the table as they bowed their heads. The soldiers next to them followed their lead, and sounds of shock rippled across the men as the men all stopped eating and lowered their heads quickly.

"What's going on?" Katara asked worriedly.

"Get down!" Aang hissed out, grabbing the back of Katara's hastily made braid and jerking her head down.

Footsteps clicked along the floor, getting louder and louder as they walked towards their table. "What does he want with us?" Farid asked fearfully, glancing around to his other friends.

"I don't know," Aang whispered back.

The footsteps stopped right behind Katara. "Gentlemen, Ladies," a low, gravely voice said, acknowledging their presence.

"I didn't do anything wrong!" Jalal blurted out.

The voice chuckled. "Of course you didn't. It was Katara I came for."

Katara sat frozen in her seat. She would've recognized that voice anywhere. Slowly, she turned around and looked into the face of the voice. "Hello, General Iroh," she said gradually.

"Good afternoon, Katara," he said, bowing. "I was informed from Prince Zuko that I am to take you to his chambers."

Reality came crashing down.

_I want you within my chambers in the hour_.

She felt suddenly nervous. After the piece of normality she had endured among Ty Lee, Aang, and the soldiers at the table, she didn't want to return to Zuko. She didn't want to be plagued by confusion, desire…passion. For the last hour, she had felt… normal. Happy, even. And now, in one swift swoop, Zuko had robbed her of that.

There were gasps from her newly found friends. They looked at her worriedly, and a frown crossed Aang's brow. "It'll be all right," Katara whispered as she got up from the table.

Aang gave her an encouraging smile. "It was nice to meet you… Katara. Come find me after you see him and let me know you're okay."

She nodded. "I'll be fine," she said, reassuring not only Aaang but herself as well. She waved at everyone. Ty Lee, who was completely oblivious to the whole situation, smiled happily at Katara at chirped, "See you back in the harem!"

Iroh coughed. "This way." He walked out of the room, assuming Katara was following him. Giving an absent wave to Aang, she moved out of the barrack behind Iroh.

As she left, she heard Ty Lee call out, "Hey, can I have some of that lamb, Jalal?"

**

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**Mina34: Helllloooooooooo reader-chans! THANK YOU for all of your amazing reviews, (-snif-) you make me feel so happy inside!**

**badonyx: Don't worry! Katara will NEVER be taken advantage of in my story, I promise! I can't quite stomach that either... bleh...**

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**Shrilaraune: ummm...yes? **

**gretlcascade: I look forward to your reviews SO MUCH, even when you're tired, it means you for went going to sleep just to review my little ficcy! I also love your help with the characters. Does Katara seem better in this chapter? **

**AnnaAza: i love how quickly you always seem to review the chapter! I looked at your fic, crossroads of challenges, and its so charming! I'm leaving you a detailed review as sonn as I post this. **

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**Have a good week! !**


	5. Chapter 5

**_CHAPTER 5_**

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* * *

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_"In the inaccessible mountain range by way of desert untrod by human foot, the breath of the everlasting creative spirit is felt, rejoicing over every speck of dust that hearkens to it and lives."  
_

_-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe_

* * *

**CORRIDORS**

**EDESSA PALACE**

"I am not a young man, Katara," Iroh said as they twisted through the palace. His papery voice carried in the marble hallways. "I have seen the face of evil…I have seen death… happiness, truth, light… and I know what is right and what is wrong. As for my nephew," he continued, "he is young. And still learning the paths to justice and good."

_Where is he going with this?_ Katara wondered.

"He has lived a hard life. I was there for the majority of it. I saw him try to hide his tears over his parents death, and helped him conspire to regain his throne. He's conflicted." He chuckled. "I can imagine that you are wondering, 'why is this man rambling to me?' And that is because while he may be able to force a young woman to compromise herself for his own sake, I cannot."

He stopped suddenly, and turned around to look at her. "I can see inside you that you are good. You know the path to benevolence. I saw that in you when you were standing in that market, waiting to be sold to the highest bidder. You can teach him what I have failed to do."

Shell-shocked and stunned, Katara stood in front of the old general, confusion wrinkling her brow.

"And that is why I am giving you a choice," he said. He reached into his tunic and pulled out a small package, and placed it in the ground in front of her.

She looked down towards it, then back up at him. "A choice?" she asked, still slightly bewildered.

He nodded, a small smile on his face. "Yes. I cannot in good conscience take you somewhere you do not want to go. It is not who I am. Zuko knows this, but he asked me anyway to come get you. Which is a mystery in itself," he mused. "Which goes to show that destiny doesn't care about thoughts or feelings. Like a sandstorm thundering across the desert, it cannot be stopped."

There was a pause as she digested everything. Then: "You're letting me decide if I go to his chambers?"

"I am letting you decide where you wish to be, and letting destiny take care of the rest."

The response, although enigmatic, was something that she had wanted since she arrived in Edessa all those weeks ago. Tears suddenly welled up in her eyes, and she blinked to try and contain them.

Before she could speak, he said, "In this pouch you will find enough money to last you several days. It was all I could manage last minute. If you decide to leave, I want you to be able to find your own happiness. And if you stay…" he paused, then shrugged. "My fondest wish is your happiness. Someone or something must clear the sadness from your eyes. In life, we often find that the future is far more clear than the past."

And then he was gone.

She stood there, unsure of herself and her present situation. _Just like that?_ She thought. _I'm free?_ She looked around. Iroh had left her near the Reception Hall, which was close to the servants entrance to the palace. All she had to do was walk over there, slip a cloak over her clothes, and leave. It was then that she realized that the choice Iroh had given her was not something spontaneous, but something he had carefully and cleverly thought out. He prepared money, and gave her the easiest way out of the palace, the one that had the least guards, and the one that should we be able to slip out of unnoticed.

The revelation made her want to cry all over again. A man who she barely knew, a blood relation to the man who was the cause and end of all of her current problems, had shown her kindness. Suddenly, she thought back to a phrase that her grandmother would always whisper in her ear after she had made some sort of benevolence.

_So shines a good deed in a weary world._

_All of the faces of her family swam in her mind. _

_Grandma. _

_Mother. _

_Sokka. _

_….Father._

She could go home, back to Samos, and try to piece together her life again. She could rummage through the ragged remains of her tattered world, and maybe, just maybe, find happiness once again. There wasn't a day that went by since her family and village's brutal deaths that she didn't think of them, didn't pray for them, and didn't relive every single bloody memory in her mind.

And here, in Edessa, when she woke up screaming in the middle of the night, there was no one to comfort her and tell her that she was safe. No mother to stroke her cheek, no father to hug her, and no brother to joke with.

Here, in this palace surrounded by people, she more alone than she had ever been in her entire life.

She thought back to the ultimatum Zuko had so unceremoniously bestowed upon her.

_I want you in my chambers within the next hour._

He made her feel… everything. Not just cold, but warmth. Not just passion, but confusion. Heat. Anger. Hurt. Nerves.

After the abyss of devastation she felt in wake of her family's murder, all of those emotions were unwanted. Unneeded. They smothered her. And when she was with him, her family couldn't have been farther from her mind. The thought shamed her, and filled her with guilt. So when faced with her freedom or the swallowing passion she felt with Zuko that gripped at her heart and threatened to never let go… the answer wasn't as easy as she wanted it to be.

In the back of her mind she knew that her old life in Samos was obliterated. But something still pulled her back there. She felt like there was something waiting for her. Like the sea surging up over the beach and dragging sand back into its watery depths, the ocean called to her. It was the one place she had ever felt normal.

So that was where she would go.

Lifting her face to the wind, she closed her eyes and let it lightly tousle her clothes and hair.

_Free_.

Slowly, carefully, as if she was afraid this sudden moment of peace and clarity would be shattered, she stepped forward, picked up the small pouch that Iroh had left on the ground for her and walked towards the servants entrance.

* * *

**SULTAN'S CHAMBERS**

**EDESSA PALACE**

At the large mahogany desk in his office, Zuko's fingers tensed and curled into fists. He flexed them again before cursing under his breath. Maps were cascaded over his desk like the water thundering over of his fountains. Notes and letters and calculations rippled slightly in the breeze that floated in through the window. As much as he wanted to concentrate on his battle plans before his meeting with the visiting sultan and his council, it was futile. All he could think about was her lips moving softly under his.

He cursed again, louder this time, before abruptly pushing himself up from his desk to prowl over towards his balcony. He placed his arms on either side, and gripped them together as he stood and scoured the courtyard of the harem.

_She should be here by now._

Her tardiness made his already boiling emotions hiss and surge within his body. In the pit of his stomach, there was undeniable heat at the prospect of seeing the woman who so enraptured him. But also… there was some sort of uneasiness. In any other situation, Zuko would have defined the emotion as nerves. But at preset, _What do I have to be nervous about? This just proves that Jet was right, I have to get her out of my system!_

The sound of footsteps wafted over towards his perch on his balcony. Scowling, he turned around, saying "It's about time that you got here. Do you have any idea how late you are?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he frowned in confusion. "Uncle?" he asked.

And it was his uncle, not the maiden of the moment, that stood before him. Iroh had a small smile on his face, and looked almost pleased with himself.

Zuko didn't have the patience to find out why.

"Well?" he demanded. "Where is she?"

Iroh's fingered the tip of his beard. "Prince Zuko," he began, "I find it strange that you ask a question that you already know the answer to."

_What is he talking about?_ Zuko wondered incredulously.

"Now is not the time for one of your riddles, uncle. I sent you out an hour ago to go and find the girl. Where is she?"

Shaking his head, Iroh moved over toward the small tea service that was located behind Zuko's desk. "Demands and impatience are a small, bitter part of a man, nephew."

Trying to keep his temper in check, Zuko closed his eyes and counted to ten. When that didn't work, he counted to twenty. Thirty. Forty. Fifty. Finally, he looked over toward the old man calmly sipping tea in the corner. He watched him, studying his every movement before crossing his arms over his chest, waiting for an answer.

"You of all people, my own flesh and blood, should know how I feel about making another do what they do not wish to. I cannot force people, Zuko. It isn't in my nature. You asked me to fetch her, knowing this. And now you seem surprised by the outcome?"

"Where is she?" Zuko gritted.

"She is where she wants to be."

"Damnit old man, why can't you just give me an answer!" he exploded, pushing over a clay pitcher of water and shattering it into pieces.

Iroh heaved a deep sigh before daintily setting down his teacup upon its saucer. "Since I could not force her to come to your chambers, I gave her a choice. It was her decision. And as she has not yet come here, it seems she chose to leave."

"You let her leave?" he roared. "Are you crazy?" He put his face in his hands and Iroh watched his shoulders visibly tense with the anger that bubbled hotly within him. "I don't have time for this," he said suddenly. "I have to meet with Ala-abin in an hour!"

"I can meet with him," Iroh suggested.

"But you're not me! This is _my _plan and _my_ fight! And because of you, now I have to worry about finding her and bringing her back!" The last word was punctuated by the heavy thud of Zuko's fist as he shoved it into a wall.

Iroh raised a brow. "You have never cared about a runaway slave before, Zuko."

"That's because-" He stopped, and let out a strangled sound, not wanting to finish the rest.

….Afraid to finish the rest. In his head, he answered bitterly,_ that's because when I touch her, she comes apart in my hands. She's beautiful. Spirited. Strong. And God help me, but I can't stop thinking about her._

Iroh smiled to himself. His nephew had finally found a woman. He walked over to Zuko, and placed a gnarled hand on his shoulder. "You are in no shape to plan a war, Zuko. She is probably still in the city. Why don't you try to find her? I can handle the meeting."

Zuko threw off his uncle's hand somewhat unceremoniously. "Why would I allow you to be in charge when you yourself have told me more than once that you hate this campaign against Zhao?

Iroh idly stroked his beard. "The way to a win a woman's hand is not through demands and harsh words, Zuko. If you want her, and you truly want her to come back to you, you need to whisper sweet words in her ear. Handle her tenderly, and let her go and do as she pleases. She will never be tamed by force." He chuckled. "It seems now that you, nephew, must make a choice. Do you want her enough to trust me at the meeting? Or would you give her up for revenge?"

Thoughts flew through Zuko's mind while Iroh waited for an answer. _This war is all I have ever wanted. What I promised myself from the day my parents were murdered at the hands of that monster. It's what I've dreamed off. _

_….But no matter what I do, I can't convince Ala-abin to join me. I need his men. They're critical to my plans. As trained as my men are, they are no match for Zhao's mercenaries. Maybe… maybe uncle will succeed where I have failed. Maybe he's right. I trust him with my life. _

_….but what if he fails? What if he sabotages me and ends this campaign solely because he disagrees with it? _

_He wouldn't. He wouldn't betray me. _

_And… Katara. _

_….Katara._

The thought of her not in his life made him feel empty. It was sickening realization.

Finally, Zuko broke away from his ruminative thoughts. "I'm going after her. You're in charge."

This time Iroh didn't try to hide his smile. He nodded his head. "Each day you grow and discover more of yourself and find your own path in this world, I become more proud. Your decision is most honorable. I will not let you down, nephew."

Zuko narrowed his eyes. "You better not," he growled. "Or you will end up like the last man who betrayed me."

Iroh laughed to himself as his nephew prowled out of the room. To be honest, he was immensely proud of himself. Like a game of chess, he had played consort and prince, carefully placing them each where they needed to be. Iroh was no fool. Katara could teach Zuko things that as his uncle, Iroh would never be able to. Before she came, Zuko would never have dreamed of missing this final war meeting. And the fact that he was was testament to how much he wanted her. It was a step towards the right thing to do. To forget about his revenge, and focus on what his life in Edessa entailed. After all those years of exile and scheming, he had his throne. And now he was about to have his woman beside him. Maybe when Iroh looked into the haunted cerulean eyes of the girl when he first saw her in Constantinople he knew this. Maybe bringing her to Edessa was part of a grander scheme to teach his nephew how beautiful life could be.

"And that is why they call me General," he cackled.

* * *

**BAZAAR **

**EDESSSA**

The crowded, bustling streets of the bazaar were a revelation after weeks of confinement in the palace. Women haggled over prices, street vendors called out to her to come and try one of their items before she bought it, men laughed and joked as they wandered the market. She passed canopy after canopy, under which there was everything from piles of spices to carefully woven baskets. The street was a blur of color, textures, sounds, and smells. Katara drank them in greedily, her eyes dancing from spot to spot as her mind whirred along with the activity.

"Ah, you look like a woman who wants to try the best lamb in all of Edessa!"

Katara looked in the direction of the voice, and saw a plump old man standing next to a stall. In it sat two immense platters, one piled high with steaming couscous, the other with a newly roasted lamb.

"Even pretty girls the size of my pinkie need to eat!" he called.

Katara blushed and pulled the cloak she had taken from the palace tighter over herself. "Thank you for offering, but I'm a little bus-"

The rest of her sentence didn't matter as she was cut off by a sudden commotion farther down the street. There was loud crashing noises as vendors and shoppers alike dropped whatever they were holding. Curious, she squinted and tried to see down to the other end of the bazaar, and noticed people crumpling to the ground in order to bow. It was then that she saw who was stalking down the street. Her eyes widened in sudden awareness, and she took a step back in defense.

The old man who had sold her the lamb gasped and fell to the floor with surprising agility. When he noticed Katara made no move to bow, he hissed up at her, "What do you think you're doing? Bow and show your respect for our honorable sultan and protector of the city! Bow for Prince Zuko!"

_Oh no. No… no no no! He's not taking me back to that hell! _She turned around and broke into a flat out run.

"Katara! Wait! Don't run from me!"

Her feet flew over the dirt road, her carefully placed cloak flying open to reveal the clothes that she had been so desperately trying to hide. There were collective gasps as the people in the bazaar recognized her attire for a member of the harem. Trying desperately to ignore them, she kept running, her legs and arms pumping as she furiously tried to outrun her present. As people noticed her clothes, especially the guards that littered the city, many tried to get up and stop her, and stand in her way. She weaved and dogged through them, and had made it as far as the grand square in the heart of the bazaar before someone suddenly caught her wrist, and twisted her arm painfully behind her back. Katara cried out at the sharp pain, and her head shot around to see who had imprisoned her.

A guard was looking down at her, a smirk across his face. "Thought you could run?" he asked.

"Let me go!" Katara screamed.

"Oh no, we can't do that. What would the prince think of me, letting you run away on my watch?"

Katara wanted to cry in frustration. She had only had freedom for a scant hour, and now… now she was back to square one.

"You! Guard, let her go!" Zuko's deep voice rang out in the square.

She looked up, and saw him running towards her. In his royal clothes, sweat dripping down his face and matting his dark hair, he looked absolutely ridiculous. And in that moment, she hated him. She hated him for destroying this one chance that had been given to her, for taking away her freedom not once, but twice.

"But my prince…"

"Do as I say!" He yelled, barreling over the guard's rebuttal and coming to a halt directly in front of Katara.

The guard bowed, reluctance in every hard line of his body. "As you wish."

He released her, and Katara jerked her arm back, rubbing her wrist in the spot that the guard had roughly gripped it. She glared at him angrily, and he laughed and gestured crudely at her behind Zuko's back.

"Are you hurt?" Zuko asked, amber eyes searching her body for marks.

"Only my pride," she muttered in response.

"Good. I want to talk to you," he said.

"Well then, you go right ahead." she responded bitterly.

He glanced around the square, and saw every eye on him and Katara. They were giving them quite the show. "Alone. There is place, a restaurant not far from here with private rooms. Will you follow me? Please?"

She gave a ragged sigh. _At least he's asking me and not demanding_. "Do I have a choice, honorable prince?" she asked wryly.

It was then that he did something that shocked her.

He extended his arm towards her, his palm face up. "I'm giving you one right now."

Katara looked from his hand up into his golden eyes. The glinted in the desert light, shifting and seething as though alive. Was this the same man who demanded and took and plundered from her? Mesmerized, not knowing what else to do, she placed her hand in his. He smiled encouragingly, and closed his hand around hers. He squeezed it lightly, and his thumb brushed lightly over her skin.

"Come," he said, and pulled her along. They weaved and meandered past men and women and children who had swept into deep bows for the honorable prince and sultan of Edessa. After what seemed like mere seconds, Zuko took her into a small alley and pushed open a large wooden door. He stepped through and Katara followed. They were standing in a small courtyard, sunlight beaming through a large square hole in the ceiling of the building. Surprisingly, she and Zuko seemed to be the only customers there.

"Welcome, friends, to my humble-My prince!" There was another loud noise as the man greeting them clattered to the floor in a hasty bow.

"Could we please have a room?" Zuko asked.

"Yes, of course, anything my prince desires," the man responded hurriedly. Still bended at the waist, he got up and led Katara and Zuko to a small room off of the main courtyard. In the room was a low slung table, and surrounding it were cushions upholstered in fine silk. Zuko waited for Katara to sit down before seating himself.

"Would you like anything to drink? To eat? Tea? Perhaps a platter of-"

"We're fine thank you," Zuko cut in impatiently, and waved the man away.

When he left, Zuko turned to Katara. "Why did you leave?" he asked bluntly.

Katara eyes lowered, and a for a while she didn't say anything. Finally, she answered quietly. "You lock me up in the harem for weeks, belittle me in front of servants and councilmen, treat me like I'm some disease… why wouldn't I want to leave?"

His fingers lightly cupped her chin, and gently moved her head up so she was looking at him. They looked at each other before he said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for any pain I've caused you."

It was her time to be blunt. "If you're sorry then why do you do it?"

His hand left her chin to bury itself in his thick mane of black hair. "I have no excuse…. You're in my blood like some fever and…. And I know that when I found out you had left, I had to come get you back. I don't want you to leave, Katara. I don't know why… I don't know why I can't just forget about you and keep living my life the way I have for the past ten years. And even though I only met you a couple of weeks ago, I feel like I know you."

"You don't know anything about me."

"I know that I don't want you to leave."

In her lap Katara's hands twisted together. His words were so unexpected, so different from the man she had seen in the past couple of days. Maybe she had misjudged him. Maybe he wasn't the pompous ass he made himself out to be. Maybe…. Underneath all of the roughage and seemingly tough exterior, this man that he was showing her now was what lied beneath.

…Maybe.

Samos could wait a little longer. The sea will always be there, waiting her return.

"Will you grant me a boon?" she asked.

He paused, before responding, "Name it."

"I'll go with you and stay in the palace, but under several conditions. I can't stay in the harem. I can't be a member of it anymore. I wasn't born into slavery, Zuko, I was sold into it. I hate being restricted. I feel uncomfortable in these clothes and even more uncomfortable entertaining strangers-"

"Perfect. I don't want those men touching you."

"-and I want to be given my freedom in two months time."

Zuko paused, and seemed to mull over her demands in his mind. His jaw worked as he ground his teeth together, and she tensed as she waited for him to explode all over again. But then, to her surprise, he answered, "Done. But in two months, you won't want to leave."

In response, she simply smiled.

* * *

**THE NEXT DAY**

**SEA OF SAND**

**GREATER ARABIA **

In the heart of Arabia, in a desert that streched endlessly in all directions and where great dunes moved across the desert like waves dancing across the ocean, he was there.

He had been there for years.

He and his men had conquered the desert, tamed it and made it their home. They were like the bedouin of the Sahara, wandering and moving with the shifting sands and caravans. With the army he had behind him, his rightful place as a palace.

But the desert was and will always be his home.

Underneath the blazing sun, a camp had been set up that took shelter in the troughs of the dunes. Canvas flapped and ruffled and strained in the harsh desert winds, but still held despite their flimsy appearance.

A man on a graceful white Arabian thundered over the desert sand towards the camp. His horse strained and heaved against the reins, and its great body was damp with sweat and foam. The man atop it ruthlessly kicked the animal and urged him on, denying the horse the rest it so desperately needed. Finally, in front of an unassuming looking tent located in the middle of the camp, he reigned in his horse, and slid off its back in a single smooth motion. He led the horse to a large trough full of precious water located under a canopy outside the tent, and the exhausted animal greedily drank. Tying the reins to the post of the canopy, he left the Arabian and moved towards the entrance of the tent he had stopped at. He paused to straighten his clothing and to try and knock the dust out of his hair.

Then carefully, he rapped on the canvas door of the tent.

"Enter," came a voice from within.

The man pushed through the door and swept into a deep bow. Behind a fine hand-carved wooden desk that were the spoils of the ransack of a palace a long time ago, sat his master.

His master looked up from the papers that were scattered across his desk, and said, "Ah. We've been expecting you, Farid. How was Edessa this time of year? I've heard its quite lovely."

Farid laughed nervously before standing up straight.

"What news do you bing?"

"Master Zhao," he responded, bowing his head, "I'm afraid to say that I have nothing good to report. Ala-abin gave his support at the final war meeting last night."

Zhao steeped his fingers underneath his chin. "Most interesting."

"He offered Zuko fifty men, and is sending them to him within the month."

"I trust that you will be part of those men that will reside in Edessa?"

Farid scoffed. "Of course. I've already put in a request. I'll be granted, I'm good friends with one of his lieutenants."

"And how is the resistance? Are there any against our dear betrayed prince?"

"The people of Edessa are loyal to him to a fault. He took the city last year with so few men because all the civilians wanted him to take back his throne. His soldiers are the same... many of them have been with him since he started his campaign almost five years ago. But..."

"Yes?"

"There is one soldier in his army, an officer. He's not one for revenge."

"Oh?"

"He talks constantly about how he abhors Zuko's incessant need to annihilate you, and he plots and schemes and tries to find ways to thwart him. He proved a worthy accomplice as we worked together to try to ruin Zuko's campaign for Ala-abin's support."

"Excellent," Zhao said, leaning back in his chair. "He will be our vessel. We'll bring down Edessa from the outside in, and an officer in Zuko's army could not be more perfect as a mole. When you return to his city, I want you to reveal who you really are to him, and I want you to work with him. I'm sending another man with you. He'll ferry messages back and forth so you won't have to leave the city. "

Farid bowed again. "Yes, master."

"You have done me proud, Farid. Tonight you may have your pick of the harem women. Eat a good meal and rest. Tomorrow you ride out at dawn."

"Thank you for your generosity, master." Farid bowed again, and walked out of Zhao's tent.

As Zhao watched him leave, something slightly akin to a smile curled across his face. _What I started ten years ago will soon be finished. And... in exactly the same way it was started. From within, by betrayal. _

The irony of the situation warmed his heart.

* * *

**Mina34: I don't think i have the energy to write a long note... I'm about to fall asleep on my computer...**

**gretlcascade: any criticism is good criticism! and you're totally right about Katara's character, I agree with you 100%. was she better this chapter? thanks again for all your reviews, they're so helpful!**

**Juliet: not a problem! did you like this chapter? **

**Shrilaraune: another person I love getting reviews from. Could you elaborate on your last suggestion though? And sorry the bedroom scene didn't happen... it just wasn't in the cards for this chapter! **

**everyone else: **

**I LOVE your reviews! As much as I love nutella. Wait no... More. More than that. **

**That's a shit load of love. **

**Reader-chans, it would make my life if this love fest was continued and the little blue button below was clicked! Tell me what you thought of the chapter, kay? KAY! **


	6. Chapter 6

_**CHAPTER 6**_

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"_The phoenix known as hope, can wing her way through the dusty desert skies, and still defying fortune's spite; revive from its own ashes and rise once more."_

_-Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra_

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**STREET**

**EDESSA **

**THREE DAYS LATER**

At first glance, there was nothing suspicious about the young man who lounged casually against the stone wall of a low-slung building. He was dressed in what seemed the uniform of every male in the desert cities of Arabia: long pants matched with a white tunic. His arms were crossed over his broad chest, and his brown eyes watched every movement of the crowded street around him; the hawking villagers, the two men laughing next to the spice vendor, children playing senet around the hustle and bustle of the street. Every once in a while he would glance up at the sky and check the position of the sun, or he would cast a side-ways glance to the door that lay to the right of him, as if expecting someone to come out.

It was only upon closer inspection that one noticed the abnormalities of this man. Every few minutes he would take his hand and rub it slowly over hairless head, or he would shift uncomfortably and kick up small amounts of dirt in the process. He was slightly taller than the villagers, and every movement he made would press his tunic to his body and clearly outline the hard lines of his body. Such musculature would normally only belong to a soldier in the prince's army, but no soldier worth his salt would ever leave the palace dressed in anything less than militant uniform. He had to be a carpenter or maybe even a builder.

Suddenly, but only to very astute observers, his great body visibly tensed. His eyes were focused on a man further down the street, who easily navigated the crowded street. The man was also slightly out of place, as he was taller and stronger than the villagers who milled about him. He also carried himself with a sort of dignity that was misplaced in a commoner. The man leaning against the wall chuckled softly to himself as he watched the other disappear into the door that was next to him. "I'll be damned," he muttered to himself.

Once the man was gone, the other went back to his casual surveillance of the crowd. After the space of several minutes, he too got up, and vanished into the doorway.

The building inside was decrepit and vacant; sunlight streamed in through gaping holes in the rafters, and pigeons softly cooed above. Dust particles danced and churned in the shafts of light, and rats could be heard scampering beneath the cracked tiled floor. The man carefully crept up a set of stone steps that lay to the left of the door, and stepped out into the shade of an overgrown rooftop garden. In the far corner, standing beneath the shade of a trellis covered in dying vines, stood the stranger from the streets.

He bowed ever so slightly. "Glad to see you could come, Aang."

Aang inclined his head towards the man concealed in the gardens. "It took a little ingenuity to find a way out of the palace in street clothes, but I managed. Now can you tell me what's with the cloak and dagger routine?"

Farid crossed his arms over his chest. "You're a smart man. You probably already know."

Aang gave a short bark of laughter. "You're right," he said, reaching into his tunic and pulling out a crumpled sheet of paper. Carefully, he unfolded it, and to Farid's dismay, read it out load. "I have heard of your distaste for the current benefactor of the city's strategies. Manage to leave unnoticed and wait ignored by others outside the children playing senet, and you will find something you like." Aang smiled, but it was a smile completely devoid of warmth or true amusement. "Cryptic and vague. You must want me to act as a spy for Zhao."

Farid's mouth hung open slightly before he managed to cover up his bewilderment. He had known the officer was good, but not that good. "Who told you that I work for the desert sheik?"

This time Aang's smile was real. "You did. Just now."

Farid muttered a curse under his breath and rubbed his neck as if it pained him. "Guess I should be more careful," he said.

"Don't take it personally. I was merely acting on a hunch as soon as I saw you ghosting across the market. I knew you were trying to bring down Zuko because Ala-abin wanted it. The only other man in Arabia that I can think of who would willing side against the poor betrayed prince would be Zhao himself."

"I've heard you talk about Zuko's revenge. You'll do anything to stop him."

Aang shifted his weight and shrugged. "I grew up in a different world than he did. But that doesn't mean that just because someone snatches out your eye that you should snatch out yours."

"You don't believe in taking the hand of a thief after he steals from you?"

Aang frowned. "No. And neither should you."

It was Farid's turn to laugh as he walked over and clapped Aang on the shoulder. "You're a strange one, my friend."

"It is said that living well is the greatest revenge. I don't want the world to think that what Zuko is doing is just simply because it was done to him."

"So you'll help me?"

Aang sighed. "You want me to betray the man that gave me everything I have in this life?"

Farid's eyes narrowed. "I want you to betray the man that you yourself have denounced as wrong to my face."

"Know that I do what I am about to for my own reasons, including the ones I have directly stated. And know that I'll be praying for forgiveness every single night. But I'll do it. Tell me what must be done."

Farid's answering smile was baleful. "Nothing, for now. I have to return to Riyadh and wait with Ala-abin's army before anyone important notices I'm gone. I want you to attend Zuko's battle meetings with his council, and I want you to record everything. I also want you to turn your eyes and ears to the palace, and look for anyone else who could be of use to us. It should be several weeks before Ala-abin's reinforcements are sent, and after that it should be several more before any plans are initiated. I'll be back here in a week. Same place. Same time. Meet me with information."

Aang nodded curtly. "I'll do what I can."

"You'll do what you can for the greatest man whoever walked the sands of Arabia," Farid answered in a low and biting tone. "Never forget who you work for."

Aang's eyelids flinched, almost as if in pain. "I won't," he swore.

"Good. Once I leave this building I want you to wait several minutes before leaving. Slip back into the palace as silent as you left it."

"That goes without saying," Aang muttered.

"We'll meet again in a week." Farid extended his hand, and Aang took it. Farid placed his other hand over Aang's, and said, "Welcome to the army, brother."

* * *

**HAREM **

**EDESSA PALACE**

**BEFORE DAWN**

Almost as if on some sort of divine signal, Katara's body jolted her awake. Her breathing labored, she pushed the sweat off her brow. "It was a just a dream," she whispered to herself. "It was just a dream….just a dream…just a dream…" she said it over and over, until it became a strange, sadistic prayer. Sitting up on the small bed that had been given to her, she drew her knees up to her chin and rocked herself back and forth, trying not only to calm down but to quell the images that flashed wildly through her mind.

The nightmares had gotten worse. Not only did they come in the middle of the night, but they came now just before the sun crept over the horizon.

And those dreams were the worst.

In those dreams, it wasn't the rebels who killed her family and friends, but her. She slashed and hacked and listened to the screams of the people she loved most in this world, and listened to them beg for mercy from not the hand of an assailant, but from her. Blood would pour over her hands and stain her skin and hair and clothing, and she would welcome it.

In the dream, it wasn't a stranger who was the monster, but her. She was the murderer. Her family died by her hand.

It always took longer for her to find some sort of fragile serenity after those dreams.

After what felt like days, she no longer gasped for air, and her body no longer shuddered with fear. Taking several deep breaths, she swung her legs over the edge of her bed and stood up. Almost without realizing it, she, as if her body knew where it was going before her mind did, she slipped through her door and into the atrium of the harem. Her bare feet padded against the marble floor and towards the harem courtyard. It was only after she stepped onto the cool stone of the courtyard paths that her body began to relax.

In a routine that had become engraved into her soul since her time at the palace, she closed her eyes, and lifted her face towards the stars. Their welcoming light washed over her skin, and bathed her with their incandescent brilliance. When she was little, before bed, her mother would take her outside to watch the stars dance across the sky.

"_Before you or I were born, Katara, there were stars. And when you and I die, they will still be there, shining above us. Never forget that. Never forget that they are a gift, poured from the heavens to us for us to enjoy forever."_

At the sudden memory, Katara felt a pang deep within her heart. "Mother," she whispered softly, so softly her own ears doubted that she had even said it.

But her mother was dead.

Dead like her father and brother.

Dead like her friends.

Dead like her village.

"I've been waiting for you," someone breathed in her ear.

Startled, she turned and faced the only thing that kept her in Edessa. "Zuko," she said, caught unaware by his sudden appearance. "What are you doing here?"

Strong arms encircled her, and held her lightly captive as his breath ruffled her hair, and his mouth trailed over her temple. "For the past three days I've been scheming about how to get you alone since I got you back to the palace," he murmured. His hands found the mahogany hair that cascaded down her waist, and he tangled his fingers in it. "Every minute of the day, wherever I turn, I see councilmen, asking me my opinions about the new battle plans they draw up every day. And at night," his lips brushed over the rim of her ear and she shivered with sudden desire, "At night I lay awake and think about how badly I want you."

Katara felt her breathing hitch, the struggle as every breath she took shuddered with the effort it took for her to force it into her lungs. A blush crept across her face. No one had ever talked to her like this before, and until now, she never thought that she had wanted to hear that.

Needed to hear that.

Zuko was as wild as the sand that was thrown around the desert by dusty storms. Except for rare moments, she never knew what he was thinking or what he wanted from her. When they had returned to the palace after her minor stint with freedom, he had immediately been pulled aside by councilmen demanding his attention. It wasn't until later that Katara found out, from Ty Lee no less, that that was because Ala-abin had agreed to send men to support Zuko's campaign.

She didn't know whether to be happy for the man who had held her hand so tenderly as they walked back to the palace, or angry for the one who humiliated her in front of Prince Jet. It was like he was two different men. But gentle or fierce, she couldn't deny that she craved his presence, hungered for his touch, and desired the feel of his heart keeping time with hers.

And here he was, his arms wrapped around her, her body surging with newly found need.

His deep voice rasped in her ear.

"Finally I realized that if I wanted you alone, I had to find you when you walked the gardens after your nightmares. And I found you, and you looked so resplendent there in the night, exactly as radiant and elegant as I see you in my dreams." The arms that held her tightened, and she was pressed against him, body to body and breath to breath. She closed her eyes, and felt the desert wind dance and play across her face.

The combined sensations of heat and cold and strength and the soft rustle of the tunic Zuko wore were almost too much. As if her body had a mind of its own, she arched her body into his and with hands that trembled, whether in desire or excitement or a strange combination of the two, she gripped his shoulders.

Zuko's eyes closed briefly as he felt her hands tangled in his tunic. Gently, he tugged on her hair until her face looked up into his. "Do you dream about me, Katara? Do you want me the way I want you?"

Her eyes opened, but only enough that she could see the man who intoxicated her so. What she saw only made her blood thicken and her heart heavy as it surged within her chest. Zuko's tawny eyes smoldered and seethed and shimmered in the moonlight. Like a fire that had blazed itself down to the merest glowing embers, they shone and burned as the searched her cobalt eyes.

"What are you thinking?" he whispered, his voice low.

Like a delicate jasmine blossom blowing in the wind, she swayed. When she answered, her voice was husky and not her own. "That I'll die if you don't kiss me."

His breath came in with a hiss, and the hand that was wrapped in her hair tightened to the point of pain. Slowly, like a man enthralled, he bent and fitted his mouth over hers with exquisite care, leaving no sensitive surfaces untouched. For a few moments he moved his head slowly, parting her lips by fractions, feeling the subtle changes in her body tension as she accepted what he was doing to her, what he made her feel. Then, he could wait no longer to taste her, and his head twisted hungrily.

Katara's mouth opened in surprise in response to Zuko's kiss, leaving her vulnerable to the velvet penetration of his tongue. She could neither speak nor move, so tightly was she held in his arms. She had no physical defenses against the slow, hot glide of his mouth against hers. Nor did she have any mental defenses, because she had never been kissed with a tenth as much heat.

It was… consuming.

Mesmerizing.

For that small moment in time, she forgot about her nightmares and the blood that stained and covered her past. Nothing else mattered except for his body against hers, his heartbeat pulsing against hers.

A moan pierced the silence, and neither knew who it came from. With each racing second, they tasted each other more deeply until they were locked in a searching kiss that turned Katara's bones to honey.

Abruptly, he tore his mouth away from hers, and they both surfaced gasping for air. He rested his forehead against hers, and together they fought for footing in the world once more.

Finally, when the world no longer spun, he stepped back enough for them to look at each other. Blue met gold, and for a while, they were simply content to stand there.

After their shared inferno, this moment of peace they now had was sacred.

Strange and precious, neither wanted to break it.

Then, after what seemed like an eternity, Zuko said, "I want to show you something. Will you follow me?" he held out his hand in front of him.

Helplessly, still reeling from the enormous assault that had just plagued her senses, she nodded and placed her hand in his.

He smiled, a small, secret smile, and it was then that Katara realized that she had never seen him truly, genuinely smile.

She cherished it.

"C'mon," he said, tugging on her hand and pulling her out of the harem and into the palace.

"Where are we going?" she asked, finding her voice at last.

"You'll see," he said, his voice light. If Katara had known him better, she would have thought that he was teasing her. And he seemed… happy. She hadn't thought that he was capable of the emotion until now. And even stranger, the thought that she was the source of it didn't make her feel uncomfortable, but warmed her.

Twisting through the empty palace with her hand in Zuko's, she felt right.

It felt _right _to be with him like this.

He led her to the Eastern gate of the palace, which was on the other side of the harem. The guards who were stationed there clattered to attention, and bowed respectably as they passed. But instead of leaving, he turned suddenly and pulled her up one of the cramped staircases to the battlements above.

Together, they walked out into the still, early morning air. "Leave us," he said, waving away the two guards who were pacing the small section of the battlements that they were on. They nodded, and quickly fled.

Once he and Katara were alone, he let go of her hand, and Katara wanted to cry out in protest. Her own hand felt suddenly strange and foreign without his to encase it. He pressed his hand into the small of her back, and pushed her towards the wall that faced outwards, to open desert.

Confused, she looked up at him, and he bent down and breathed a kiss into the nape of her neck as if to reassure her. They both shuddered at the contact. "Shh," he said, and the hand that was resting in the small curve of her back rubbed slowly back and forth. "Watch the horizon, and see what I see every morning."

A small frown of confusion crossed her brow, but, she followed his orders and looked out towards the vast expanse of the desert.

In the ink black of the pre-dawn morning, a small sliver of the lightest cerulean blue appeared on the horizon. It rested there for the space of several minutes, and it was then that Katara realized the bottom half of sky had shifted, and changed from black to the beautiful, eerie blue. The blue reminded her of the cool waters of the Mediterranean as it crashed up against the rocky beach that lay just beyond the reach of her sea home. Like the small smile Zuko had offered her earlier, Katara avariciously drank in the sight, and filed it away to some smaller part of her mind, where it could be pulled out when her thoughts turned dark again and stank of blood once more.

Then, as if called to appear by the torrent of azure, a small sliver of golden light appeared on the horizon. The light glowed as if lit by some celestial force, and burned across the sky. Like the dusky blue that had appeared before, this light grew as well, changing the blue of the sky from ultramarine to something lighter, something paler and beautiful. As the golden light crept across the horizon, like fire, it shifted and changed from golden to ocher to vermillion, and then to the lightest of pinks.

Emerging from the coral horizon, like a clandestine orb, was the tiniest pin point of white light. So small was it that for a moment, Katara doubted its existence. But then, it too grew and grew, before bursting over the horizon like a bird that had been suddenly set free. And like a bird, it rose and rose in the sky, slowly and carefully, growing and changing the colors of the sky from gold to pink to cerulean once again.

It was one of the singularly most beautiful things Katara had ever seen.

When the sun had finally risen and began decanting its golden light across the desert plain, sand dunes casting shadows that shimmered and smoldered in the new heat of the day, the man who had stood so stilly behind her, amber eyes riveted to the horizon, began to talk.

"From the day that my mother gave birth to me until the day her life was ripped away from her by Zhao, she would take me up to the battlements to watch the sunrise. To her, watching the sun be born again in the dawn sky was more beautiful than any desert flower or oasis. She would wake me up, and lead me through the palace and up the stairs, and should would hold me. It's one of my earliest childhood memories. And after she was murdered, every damn day that I spent in that accursed desert scheming and plotting, I would always wake up in the early dawn hours. I would sit on a sand dune and just stare, and promise myself that no matter what it would take, no matter what the cost, I would find Zhao and kill him the way he had killed my mother."

Without realizing it, by giving Katara this small piece of information about his past, he had given her a piece of his soul. And it broke her heart to imagine what he had described, a younger Zuko, angry and alone, watching what his mother had held so dear and knowing that she would never come back. His routine had turned into a litany, a litany that he had created to never forget his mother and the promises that he had made to himself and his dead family.

It was then that she realized his desire to blaze a bloody path of revenge wasn't just because he wanted to get even. It wasn't some childish game to him. To him, it was the only way that he could sleep at night, that he could rectify the world. At that moment in time, Katara would have done anything for the weeping boy that he had been, even if it meant taking on the desert sheik herself.

She turned in his arms, and looked up at him. In her eyes, she offered him not sympathy, as so many had before, but empathy.

It was one of the greatest gifts he had ever received.

Katara laid her head on his chest, and wrapped her own arms around him. Surprised, his own tightened in response. Then he gave a shuddering breath and said, "I feel like I've always known you."

"I feel the same," she whispered into his tunic.

"That's the first time I've ever told anybody about why I watch the sunrise."

Her lashed swept down, then flittered back up as she tilted her head to look at him. She waited several moments before letting a smile crawl across her face. "Thank you," she said, her voice thick not with gratitude, but recognition as to what he had just offered her.

"I've been waiting a long time for you," he said, his eyes burning into hers.

"How long?" she murmured.

"Forever. I've been waiting for you for forever and I never realized it until this moment."

That last word was breathed against her lips as he leaned down and brushed his slightly against hers. Closing her eyes, she sighed, giving him the chance to deepen the kiss.

Something strange, magical even in its inability to be defined had just passed between them. As their lips moved softly against each others, they both knew that something had changed. Something wasn't the same. And this change would last them the rest of their lives.

"My prince," a strange voice said. "Pardon me, my prince?" The voice called them out of the fog they both dwelled in, and as reality drifted softly back to Zuko, his arms tightened painfully around Katara.

"If we ignore him, he'll leave, right?" he whispered against her lips.

"Honorable prince, I'm desperately sorry to interrupt, but these new battle plans need your approval."

"He's not there. Tell me he isn't there, Katara."

She laughed softly before pulling away. "You're princely duties await you," she said as she stepped out of his embrace.

Visibly aggravated, he raked a hand through his hair.

"My prince?"

"I'll be in the meeting room in a minute!" He barked, turning to shoot a glare that spewed annoyance at the older councilman who stood at the top of the stairs to the battlements. "Wait for me there, all right?"

"As you wish," the councilman said, bowing as he backed down the stairway.

Zuko turned back to look at Katara. Her blue eyes glinted in the sunlight, and its golden rays made her mahogany hair sparkle and glimmer like the finest marble. _God help me, _he thought to himself. He took her hand, and breathed a kiss into her palm. "Tonight. Tonight I'll take my dinner in my chamber, and you'll join me there. And we will be alone, I'll make sure of it. Say yes, Katara. Tell me that you'll be there. Tell me that that's where you want to be."

The thought of spending more time with him made her body quicken all over again. In the space of several hours, he had managed to take all of the sadness and loneliness that had built up inside her these past three days and throw it to the wind. Like water in the arid desert, it had evaporated. But…

"Zuko, what am I going to do for the next two months? I can't sit in the harem all day. I'm not even a member of it anymore. Mai told me last night that if I didn't work I couldn't sleep there anymore," she said, a small frown creasing her brow.

"You listen to me," Zuko said, grabbing her chin and tilting it so she looked up at him. "Mai has no control over you. You obey nobody's orders but your own. As of now, you're a guest in my palace. And if she ever speaks to you like that again, you will come and find me. For the next two months, you go where you please and do what you want. All right?"

She nodded. "All right."

"Does that mean that I'll see you tonight?"

His question was so hopeful, his tone almost worried that she would say no. Without thinking of any of the repercussions , she nodded her head. And then, "I'll be there."

The relief that she saw wash across his face was like another small gift. It warmed her to know that her own desires had such a profound effect on him.

He dropped a quick kiss onto his brow. "Tonight."

"Tonight," she agreed.

And then he was gone.

**

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**SULTAN'S CHAMBERS**

**EDESSA PALACE**

"With the help of Ala-abin's men, will take to desert. Six companies of men will sit here," a councilman said, pointing at a map that was sprawled across Zuko's enormous desk, "and another six will be stationed here and here."

From his position at the back of the room, Aang watched the betrayed prince steep his fingers underneath his chin. Even though his eyes were looking at the maps, they seemed focus on someplace else. It was as if his body was present, but his mind wasn't. And every once in a while, when he was talking or responding to some question that either an officer or councilman had posed, he would trail off, and his eyes would get distant again. He would return several seconds later, dazed and only slightly confused.

If Aang didn't know any better, he would have thought that the bloodthirsty prince was in love.

_Love, _Aang scoffed. _That man isn't capable of love. There is no way that's why he's acting so strange. _

But Aang prided himself on his intuition. It was rarely, if ever, wrong.

Maybe it was gas.

"Are you planning the attack to happen at dawn, or after the sun…" and then it happened again. The prince couldn't finish his last thought before he looked to the side.

Befuddlement and astonishment written clearly across his face, Aang leaned forward in his seat, craning his head to try to see around the men crowded in the room and get a better look at Zuko's face. _Is that… is he blushing right now? _

And then, as if nothing had happened, Zuko snapped back to attention and finished his sentence.

_That was… weird, _Aang thought. He must have imagined the flush that crept across the prince's face. After all, in the three odd years or so that he had known Zuko, he had made it a point to never, ever express any emotion unless it was closely related to anger.

Still slightly stunned, Aang sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. _What if… what if by some celestial mess up, he is in love? _

_I couldn't have asked for a better weakness if it hit me across the face. _

_So, for my sake, let's assume the bastard is in love. Who'd be the unfortunate girl? _

Aang thought back to all of the women in the palace. He mentally erased anyone who looked over the age of thirty, and then erased all of the cooks, servants, maids… which left the harem women. In his stint in Edessa, he'd had the luck to be entertained by all the members of Zuko's young and beautiful harem. There weren't many, but they all had personalities.

_Is it Yue? _He thought, thinking of the tall, darkly tanned girl with the soft voice and even softer eyes. _No, too quiet. She'd come apart if Zuko ever raised his voice at her, which would be bound to happen once or twice. _

_Jin? No, that's not right. Everyone knows she has a thing for Prince Jet. She's been the only one that's entertained him since he arrived at the palace. And after he left… you would have thought someone died. _

Aang dismissed Ty Lee even before she had crossed his mind. Beautiful though she may be, she was a little too eccentric for the moody prince. Zuko was fond of her, no doubt about that, but the way he acted toward her suggested the fondness of a brother, and not that of a lover.

_Mai? She is his Kadin after all. _But, then again, out of all the girls who were at the harem, Mai had been there the longest. After Zuko had reclaimed his throne from the rebel sultan, she had calmly walked up to him, dripping in chains, and denounced any attachments she had for the old man. And thus she became the first member of his harem. But Mai had been there for years, and Zuko had never acted like this before. This behavior was certainly a recent development.

Which meant only one thing.

_Katara. She's the one whose tying him in knots. _But when he had seen her several days ago, she hadn't seemed like she was in love with him. Far from it, in fact. When Iroh came and summoned her to Zuko's chambers, she looked as if the only thing she wanted to do was run away and hope that Zuko never found her again.

There's no way that she could return his feelings. After all, she was sold into slavery and brought here against her will. There was certainly no love lost between her and the prince.

At least, he thought.

If that was the case, she would prove invaluable to him. _If she still possesses a tenth of the animosity she felt towards him a couple of days ago, then no doubt she would be willing to help me stop his revenge. _

_She could do what I can't. She could get under his skin, and get him to divulge everything to her. Not just what he reveals to us in war council, but what he thinks and feels. What lies beneath the rough exterior. _

The notion was beyond tempting. A woman who held a man's rapt attention was a dangerous thing.

It couldn't be more perfect.

Aang made a mental note to seek Katara out as soon as this meeting was over. Of course, until he was certain of her feelings, he wouldn't be able to tell her much.

But it was worth a shot.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, in some far corner of his soul, Aang was disgusted with himself. By betraying Zuko to stop trying to avenge Zhao, he was in essence right a wrong with another wrong. Something that he always vowed to himself he would never do.

But when faced with his honor over the integrity of his people, of Arabia, he knew that he had made the right decision. Zhao was a monster, evil to his core and unable to be trusted, but he had never seen a sliver of good from Zuko. When they had stormed the palace a few years ago, he been merciless. Every guard, every councilman, every member of the old sultan's entourage and been brutally murdered.

Aang couldn't let that happen again. He couldn't let more people die just so a selfish little boy could sleep at night.

_Zuko has to be stopped._

_No matter what it takes._

_

* * *

_**Mina34: blehhh... so tired...**

AnnaAza: first one as always to review! You are amazing!

Sailormars15: Your wish is my command!

gretlcascade: what did I do to earn such a FANTASTIC reviewer? I love hearing you're suggestions. They're always spot on a help me tweak the characters just so. "So shines a good deed in a weary world" belongs to Shakespeare, not to me, but is one of my absolute favorite quotes ever. Gene Wilder references it in Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory too! How was this chapter? The fangirl in me demanded copious amounts of fluff... whoopsies...

Hamelia Le Claire: that's so nice! I am honored that I was your first introduction into Zutara! and no worries, this story will definitely be finished.

Nadikara: thanks SO much for your suggestions! I'm glad you like my little ficcy!

Shrilaraune: quite insightful, and great points... I honestly have no idea where this story would be without your reviews and food for thought! Were the scenes better in this chapter? And I secretly LOVE Iroh. If I could just write about him, I could die a happy author.

**Everyone else: **

**THANK YOU for your AWESOME reviews! The feedback that I get from this story is amazing, and I love getting it! I'm an enormous review whore at heart. But, I have some slightly bad news... I'm leaving Saturday to go study abroad in South Korea for a month, so I honestly have no idea how often I'll be able to update... it might be as frequent as once a week, and I might not be able to update until I get back. Sorry dudes! Don't worry though, this story is constantly writing itself in my head, and will definitely be continued! AND i'll bring back Korean e-goodies for all of my happy little readers! **

**But only if you review. **

**Just kidding! **

**But seriously. **

**Happy Wednesday!**


	7. Chapter 7

_**CHAPTER 7**_

* * *

"_Sunshine all the time makes a desert." _

_-Arab Proverb_

_

* * *

_

**MORNING**

**HAREM**

**EDESSA PALACE**

As the arid desert wind from the garden wafted into Mai's room to gently tease her long, raven hair, her mind and heart were a tangle of thoughts and emotions. She sat on the grand, four poster bed that was hers by right of her status as Kadin, one hand resting on the silken bedding, the other tangling in the gauzy fabric of her uniform. A frown furrowed her brow.

_Almost three weeks. _

_It's been almost three weeks since he's come to me or asked me to visit him. _

_And even longer than that since I've shared his bed. _

She was his favorite. The honored concubine. The Kadin. Her title granted her power, and she had a whole legion of servants and guards that would perform her every command. She was most certainly a long way away from the little desert girl she was before she was kidnapped and sold in the last sultan's harem. She should be happy. Now, she had everything that she could possibly want and more.

But then… she didn't have Zuko.

For years, he had been hers. Hers to touch. Hers to admire.

Hers.

He had laughed with her, shared his thoughts, his spirit, and until now… his love.

…Or so she thought. The man that had so captured her heart and mind had tossed her to the side as carelessly as a little boy would throw away a broken toy.

_Does he realize that I have feelings? That I have needs? That I can't sleep at night because all I want is for his body to be beside mine again? _

Zuko had been kind and gentle with her; he always catered to her needs. And as far as she knew, he hadn't so much as touched the other women in the harem. She was the one he chose, the only one who had laid with him. It was unheard of for a sultan to devote his primitive desires to solely one member of the harem. The knowledge used to make her feel special. Wanted.

Then, three weeks ago, _she_ had arrived. No other woman had ever made him act the way he was now. But as she saw more and more of Katara, she realized to her dismay that she actually liked spending time with her. But for what she did to Zuko, how she captivated him, how he gave up a crucial war meeting just to bring her back to palace… Mai hated her. She wanted her to be punished, to leave…anything to get her away from Zuko.

The handsome prince was the man _Mai _loved.

The man that was supposed to love only her.

To her dismay, she thought back to that disastrous night that she had sought Zuko out.

_I want you to leave, Mai. _

_You're not welcome here. _

_I have too much to think about than being worried about the feelings of one of my concubines. _

_Leave. _

_Dammit, can't you hear me? _

_Leave!_

Her hand clenched on top of the bed as she fought back tears. Never, ever, in the short time that she had known the prince had he ever treated her like that. Like some common whore to be disposed of. It made her feel dirty…used. And now, now that he avoided her and refused to see her, look at her, touch her… she felt alone. More alone than she ever had in her entire life.

There was a knock on her door.

Startled, she furiously wiped at her tears before getting up and straightening her hair and clothes. "Yes?" she called.

"My lady Kadin," came the answer. "The honorable prince wishes to see you in his chambers at once."

Mai's heart, already distraught with her freshly fallen tears, began to beat even faster inside her chest. _He wants to see me? Has he finally realized that he's been acting like an idiot? _"Yes," she responded, her deceptively level voice contrasting with her rising emotions. "I'll be there in a moment."

She pushed herself off her bed to stand in front of the large watch glass positioned across a low chest in her room that also served as storage for her clothes. Carefully, she checked to make sure her hair was in place, that her clothes were arranged just so. Satisfied, she walked over to door, and as she reached out to pull the handle, she realized that her hand was shaking ever so slightly.

_Stop it,_ she scoffed. _It's Zuko. Your friend…lover. You know him._ _Why are you nervous? _

That question was repeated in her mind several times over as she walked out of the harem and climbed the stairs to the sultan's chambers. The guards came to attention as she stepped out of the stairwell and into the wide, open space that was Zuko's apartments. She paused, closed her eyes, and told herself to breathe. Told herself that she was here because he wanted her, because he wanted to be with her. It was only after she could take a breath without having it rattle within her chest that she went deeper in the sultan's chambers.

She found him sitting at his desk in his private office. He had pushed back the gauzy curtains that concealed the verandah to let the gentle breeze waft in to rustle the papers that were scattered across large table. His head was bent over the table, his dark hair obscuring his face. Sitting there, he looked less like the powerful sultan and more like the young man he was. He looked vulnerable…and defenseless. In another time, Mai would have walked over ran her fingers through his thick hair.

Now, she knew better.

Now she knew that that sort of behavior would elicit not desire, but anger.

Feeling her presence, Zuko looked up at her, and Mai was slightly shocked to see the dark circles that lay beneath his eyes. The man looked like he had been up for the past 24 hours. He looked down at his papers, then pushed them to the side before he cleared his throat. "Mai," he said in greeting, nodding curtly.

Mai swept into a deep bow. "My prince."

Zuko inhaled deeply, and she got the feeling that he was almost nervous. "Would you please sit?" he asked, gesturing to a set of chairs in the corner.

Mai's chin tilted up, and it was then that she realized that she wasn't called here for company. He had something on his mind. "I'd rather stand, if this does not offend the great sultan."

He frowned. "Very well." He paused again, and took another deep breath before continuing. "I've called you here because I want to discuss your recent behavior."

It was her turn to frown. "My behavior? Have I done something to displease you?"

"Mai, please don't play coy with me."

She simply arched a brow in question.

His frown deepened into a scowl. "You've been taking a lot of liberties lately that I don't agree with," he said, his voice vibrating with sudden irritability.

"Could my honored prince please elaborate?" she interrupted.

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Does my lady Kadin remember her order for Katara to attend to Jet's bath?"

"That was nearly a week ago," she protested..

"And that doesn't matter," Zuko snapped, standing up so fast his chair almost toppled over. "You don't even order the girls of the harem to attend to my bath, let alone the bath of a stranger. Not to mention you told Katara that those orders had come from me. You deliberately belittled my character and my authority within my own palace, and that is unacceptable!"

"She embarrassed you in front of a visiting prince!" Mai shot back, equally as angry. "Why wouldn't she need to attend to his bath as punishment? And why do you suddenly care all of the sudden? If it had made you so angry then you should have come and told me a week ago!"

"Do _not _raise your voice with me!" he roared, and Mai stepped back slightly in surprise. At the hurt look in her eyes, he sighed and swept an angry hand roughly through his hair.

"Zuko," Mai said, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears, "what happened to us?"

He looked down, his fingers gripping the edge of the desk. "I know that things are different now, but-"

"Different?" Mai asked, her voice bitter. "You won't even come near me anymore. Two months ago I saw you nearly everyday, ate dinner with you, gave you battle advice, sat with you in the gardens, and now you say things are _different? _How dare you!"

"I know that you're hurt," Zuko said, all of the anger drained from his body. "But you have to understand that I've been busy these past few weeks with the war-"

"Busy? Zuko, if you had been busy then I wouldn't have cared that you couldn't see me! I wouldn't have minded at all. But the fact that I know that you're spending your time with _her," _she choked, "that it's _her _you choose to pursue that makes me act the way I do! How could you? How could you do this to us, Zuko? I _love _you. I cherished the time we had together, and together we could have ruled this desert! That girl, Katara, I've seen what she's done and who she is. She's a weak, spineless little girl who knows nothing about how to please a man! I can't stand to think of her ugly, tanned body lying next to you at night!"

"That's enough," Zuko said, his voice quiet but ringing with authority. "You and I both know that the situation of this harem is unheard of. I know tens of sultan who change Kadins as often as they change clothes. Your jealousy is completely misplaced. I spend time with who I want to spend time with. And nobody tells me otherwise. Do you understand?"

In response, the tears that had previously shrouded Mai's dark eyes suddenly spilled over. But nonetheless, she bit her lip and nodded her head curtly.

"I'm sorry things had to end like this," he muttered, sinking back into his chair.

"I can't live here knowing that she's sleeping in your bed," Mai said, almost so softly that he didn't hear.

Zuko put his face in his heads. "Maybe," he began, looking up at her, "Maybe its best for everyone if you revoke your duties as Kadin and return to being merely a member of the harem."

"No," she protested quickly, her voice shaking with the weight of her tears.

"Then maybe I should find another place for you in a different harem."

Mai's jaw dropped. "You can't be serious."

"I wish I wasn't."

"Zuko," Mai said, choking on a sob, "you're breaking my heart."

He shook his head helplessly. "I'm sorry," he said, not knowing what else to say. "But you said it yourself. And its clear to me that you'll never be happy here as long as Katara is in the palace. And I can assure you she's not leaving anytime soon."

Mai sobbed harder. "I've lived in Edessa since I was ten," she managed. "It's the only home I know. My family thinks I'm a fallen woman…please," she pleaded, "please don't make me leave."

Zuko closed his eyes, and put a hand to his temple. The only sound for several moments was Mai's soft weeping. Even though she had acted inconsiderate, rude, and had committed unspeakable acts in the past month, it hurt to hear her cry. "All right," he said finally. "But your duties as Kadin have hereby been revoked. Your recent behavior and treatment of Katara has been unacceptable. You are now merely a member of the harem and hold the same rights and duties that they do. And if I ever catch word of you abusing any of your rights, you can consider yourself placed in another harem."

Mai nodded, her tears falling freely.

"I'm sorry," Zuko repeated, not knowing what else to say.

Mai merely looked at him, her dark eyes burning with pain, before turning and leaving the office.

_I'm sorry, Mai. I wish I didn't have to hurt you. I didn't want it to end this way. _

Even though the battle plans were spread out in front of him, it took Zuko along time before he was able to look at them again.

* * *

**EVENING **

**SULTAN'S CHAMBERS**

**EDESSA PALACE**

Standing in front of the staircase that led to the sultan's chambers, Katara began to regret her rash decision to have dinner with Zuko.

_Is really what I want? _

_A relationship?_

Their stolen moments in the garden last night had been… so much more than she expected. There was the burning passion that she had come to expect, yes, but also… tenderness. He had been tender. Charming. Irresistible. He had opened up to her in a way that no other person had before. He had given her a piece of himself by letting her watch the sunrise with him. But…

_It's all moving too fast. A month ago I was helping Sokka train the Arabians before he took them to Constantinople. We were so happy. And now… _

_Now I'm alone. _

Maybe, because of loneliness, Katara had created the passion that she felt for Zuko, and had fabricated the way his every word and movement had tugged upon her heart. And maybe it was a mistake for her to foster those feelings,

Her thoughts had been such a tangle that she wasn't able to rest after being up all night with Zuko. She had sought out her only friend, Ty Lee, for advice.

"_Katara, you have the most eligible bachelor for miles drooling over your every word. I know Zuko like I know my own brother, which now that I think about it isn't that well… never mind I guess… but I know, I know that I've never seen him act the way he acts around you before. What other chance are you going to get for love? Life is so boring in the harem without drama! Take this chance now and live your life!" _

"_But… when I'm around him, he makes me forget about my family. I haven't even properly mourned them yet." _

"_Believe me, they want you to move on. They don't want you upset about them! They want you to live, and to live your life the way they wanted you to live it!" _

"_As little more than a prostitute?" _

"_Whoa, that was harsh." _

"_Well, that's the circumstance I find myself in." _

"_Katara, you're not even a member of the harem anymore. You're… you're a prisoner of Zuko's desires!" _

"_That's supposed to make me feel better?" _

In retrospect, the advice that Ty Lee had given her hadn't really helped at all. If anything, she had left their conversation feeling more confused and upset than before. The only thing Ty Lee had managed to do was offer her company. Nobody had seen Mai all day, so there was no one to give orders or tell the girls what to do. She and Ty Lee had taken several walks in the garden, sat by the fountain while Ty Lee shamelessly baited the soldiers, and had spent a relaxing hour in the bath houses. After that, a guard had sent for her and told her that the prince was about to take his dinner. For some reason, that annoyed her.

_Am I a dog to be summoned when his master snaps his fingers? _she thought irritably as she stood at the threshold to his chambers.

But, nonetheless, she was here. She had turned down Ty Lee's offer to fix her hair and clothes the same way she had for Ala-abin's reception all those days ago. Her hair hung down her back in a simple plait, and she was wearing the tattered tunic that she had come to Edessa with. _We really should buy you some new clothes, _Ty Lee had sighed as she looked over it.

Katara took a deep breath before squaring her shoulders. _Here goes, _she thought as she mounted the staircase. As she arrived at the top and stepped past the guards and into the sultan's chambers, her mouth fell open. If she had though the harem opulent, these vast apartments greatly overshadowed it. They were enormous, room upon room sprawling over the upper half of the eastern palace. The room she found herself in now was some sort of meeting hall, a table sat in its center that looked like a giant map of Greater Arabia. The walls were paneled with red and gold tiles in intricate geometric designs, and the ceiling rose into an impressive dome with a small hole at its center that let in a shaft of light. Beyond the room, she could see a smaller room with a small desk, and to the right was another room that led out onto a patio that overlooked the southern gate.

It was almost bewildering. Who knew that so close to the harem she had haunted for the past few weeks was this sprawling, lavish place?

"Miss," a guard interrupted, tentative to break her daze.

"Yes?" she responded, her eyes still roaming his apartments.

"The honorable prince has asked me to lead you to the private section of his chambers."

She shot a bewildered look to the guard. "This isn't the private section?"

The guard smiled at her innocence. "Not all miss. Allow me to show you the way," he said, leaving his post to lead her through several rooms to a large oak door, similar to the one in the harem. The guard knocked several times.

"Enter," came Zuko's deep voice.

The guard pushed open the door and gently ushered Katara in, softly shutting the door behind her. This section of the apartments was smaller, and vastly more intimate. From the entranceway, Katara could only see three rooms, all of which were laid out along an enormous verandah. However, the entrance to each room was obscured by a mass of gauzy, white fabric. Already she knew that this was his most private place, where he came to be away from everyone else.

"Zuko?" she called, her voice slightly hesitant. "Where are you?"

He stepped out of the first room on the left, and as always, her heart beat faster at the sight of him. He was wearing his dark, golden embroidered dress tunic, the material stretched across his broad shoulders. The gold in the tunic brought out the firelight in his eyes, and a brilliant chunk of emerald glittered on his ring finger. _He dressed up for me, _she thought, a small smile curling across her face.

"What?" he asked, shifting his weight nervously.

She let her smile broaden. "Nothing."

From the candlelight in the entranceway, Katara could see his amber eyes soften and dance with amusement. "I hope you're hungry," he said, and reached down for her hand. It was unnerving at how natural it felt for her to lace fingers with his. When they touched each other like this, their thoughts unbefudled by passion and desire, it felt so _right. _

He led her to the room he had just exited, and Katara saw it was a small sitting room. Cushions were scattered across the floor like brightly colored birds of paradise, and all along the corners of the room where candelabras, which emitted a soft, glowing light. At the center of the room was a low slung table, piled high with plates of honeyed dates, couscous, lamb, and fruits.

After she had taken her fill of the room, he turned to look at her, a questioning look in his eyes. "Is this okay?"

She nodded, and again came that small smile of satisfaction as he led to her to the table. _He's trying to impress me,_ she thought warmly. He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it briefly before pushing her down to the floor. Katara sat, while he walked around to the other side and did likewise.

Even though this was the first time they had sat together like this, it felt familiar, as if they'd done it before. Sometime, someplace before…just like this. At first, they picked from the food and talked about trivial matters, like the weather, what his Uncle Iroh had said to one of the servants, what they each did during the day. It was relaxing and comforting to talk about marginal matters such as these. Soothing, almost.

Finally, somewhere during the end of the meal, Zuko said quietly, "After I left you this morning, I realized something that's been bothering me all day. You know so much about me, and I know almost nothing about you."

Her blue eyes softened. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything," he breathed. "Your home, your family, your past, how you were sold into slavery… is that all right?"

She looked down at her food for a second. And at her hesitance, Zuko quickly said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No," she said, cutting him off. "No, it's fair."

"I don't want you to tell me because it's fair, I want you to tell me because you want to."

That made her smile gently. "I want to."

He reached over the table and took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers once again, signaling that he was there if the memories were too much for her. It was the concern the floated in his golden eyes that sparkled so brilliantly in the candlelight that made her begin her story.

"Whenever I think about home," she started, "I always remember the ocean. Waves breaking against the pebbled beaches. The seawater sparkling and catching light like the most beautiful jewel. The roaring sound it made that served as a lullaby for me and my brother." Her eyes glazed over, and Zuko knew that she was in a different time and place.

"In the summer," she continued, still living in her memories, "we lived in the ocean's warm, gentle embrace. Laughing and playing games while my mother yelled at us not to go too far. It didn't matter. We were best swimmers in the village. I could have swam all the way to Cyprus without any difficulties. In the evenings, my father would return with the other fishermen. They would drag their boats up onto shore and turn them over to empty out the seawater. The fish would be divided among the tribe, and in a couple of minutes the village would be filled with the smell of dinner cooking. At night, father would sit in his chair and tell us stories about sea creatures, and we would fall asleep in my mother's arms."

"What is your brother's name?" Zuko asked, curiosity in his ocher eyes.

She looked down, and Zuko squeezed her hand again. "Sokka," she murmured. Then, louder, "His name was Sokka. He and the other boys kept a small herd of Arabian horses. He was so proud of them… and he had such a way with animals. They flocked to him like a seagull flocks to fish…" she trailed off, and tears glittered in her eyes.

He let go of her hand suddenly, and she let out a small sound of protest before he got up and walked around the table. He sat behind her, and gathered her into his lap, wrapping his strong arms around her until she was surrounded. "What happened?" he asked, his voice a soft whisper in her ear.

"My village was never known for our ability to defend ourselves. There was no need to. We were isolated, and there had been no invaders for as long as anyone could remember. That was our first mistake. One night, while were preparing to go to sleep, a group of bandits came. There was nothing we could do. My father got up to fight, but it was useless. Fishermen going against warriors with hunting spears."

His hand started stroking her hair, and Katara closed her eyes, savoring the contact.

"It was storming that night. I remember the sound of thunder mixing with the screams as they killed our neighbors. My mother held us so tightly we lost feeling in our arms. Then, Sokka heard my father yell, and got up to try and fight. My mother dragged him back, but he fought and walked out of the tent, only to be shot in the chest with an arrow. There was so much blood, Zuko," she said, her voice thick and shaking. She turned in his arms, curling up against his chest, and he breathed a kiss into her hair.

"They came in a grabbed my mother. They dragged her out of the tent and I can hear them… I can hear them calling her names. And she cried and pleaded, and wanted them to kill her and save me. The next thing I know, I couldn't hear her anymore. And I'm lying in the pool of blood that's dripping from my brother, and crying and screaming for help but no one's coming. No one's answering me. No one's there but me. And I can see the shadows from the fire they used to burn down our tents, and I smell the stench of burning flesh. And I know that no one's coming because they're all dead, they're all dead and I'm covered in my brother's blood, trying to save his life, trying to heal him before its too late..."

"Ssh," Zuko whispered, murmuring soothing noises into her hair.

"So much blood," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. "So much blood…"

He started rocking her back and forth, gently trying to soothe her. "Ssh, Katara. You're here, safe with me. Your home is thousands of miles away. You're here, in Edessa, safe in my arms."

Her hands gripped at his tunic and she buried her face in his chest. "They're all dead," she cried. "Why? Why did they have to die and not me? Why couldn't it have been me who took the arrow? I can't believe they're gone…I can't believe they're not here anymore…"

Zuko's jaw tightened as he thought of how frightened she must have been. He had seen death. He knew how altogether terrifying it was to watch someone you love die. It made him want to take up his sword and personally dismember those bandits that had attacked her family piece by agonizing piece. "It's all right," he soothed, his gentle tone betraying the harsh look in his eyes. He felt her body shake as it was racked with sobs. "Don't cry, please," he whispered, stroking her hair with long, gentle sweeps of her hand.

At his rare display of kindness, she only cried harder. "Please," he murmured, "Katara, you're tearing me apart."

After several heavy minutes, Katara's sobbing quieted into gentle weeping, and then there was only the sound of her breathing hitching as she fought for control of her lungs. Then, she looked up at him, tears magnifying her azure eyes and making them seem enormous in her small face. He smiled gently down at her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her eyelashes sweeping down as she was unable to meet the warmth that glowed from his amber eyes. "I didn't mean to cry like that..."

"You have _nothing _to be sorry about," Zuko said. "I saw Zhao's soldiers rampage and kill, and heard my mother's screams as she died. I know what its like to lose someone you love, and I know what its like to try and find some sort of peace after it. Right now, their voices and memories run through your mind and its all you can think about. But I promise it gets easier. I promise it won't be this way for forever."

"But it hurts," she said, hiding her face in his chest once again. "Zuko, it hurts so much…"

He gently grabbed her chin and tilted her face up towards his. "I'm here," he said. His head bent down and his lips breathed over her eyelashes, softly stealing her tears. "Even your tears are sweet," he whispered.

He put his chin on top of her head, and wrapped his arms around her, so tight that it almost hurt to breath. They stayed like that for awhile, their bodies entwined, Zuko's lips pressing a kiss into her hair every once in a while.

Finally, she twisted in his arms so she could look up at him. "After… after everything that happened, they took me, and tied me up. They said that they were going to… to do things to me," Zuko's arms tightened again and she saw his eyes harden. "Don't worry, they didn't touch me. One of them said…" she swallowed, "One of them said that I'd give them more money at the market if I was pure. They didn't even let me say goodbye, let me burry the dead. It all happened so fast… I remember standing there on the street, tied up and feeling so cold and empty. People, men mostly, came by to ask how much I was, but couldn't pay the price. Then, Iroh came and… and now I'm here."

At hearing her story, it physically hurt Zuko that she had been put through so much. It made him want to lock her a room somewhere, and keep her safe, forever.

"Zuko, I have to back. I have to go home, to Samos, and say goodbye."

His eyes squeezed shut as if in pain, but finally, he said, "I understand. Just give me the time you promised me and then you're free. I can't let you go right now. I can't."

She settled against his chest and sighed. "I'm not ready to leave you," she whispered, but so soft that he didn't hear. Then, "Thank you."

His golden eyes searched into hers. "For what?"

"For understanding. For your kindness. For listening to me. For holding me. For comforting me. For… For so much."

"Anytime," he said softly, rocking her back and forth again. "Anytime you need any of those things, come find me and I'll drop whatever I'm doing for you. But only for you, Katara. Only for you."

They were quiet for a while, content to be in each other's arms. The only sound that permeated their comfortable silence was the wind rustling the ivory curtains.

Suddenly, she looked up at him. "You astound me," she said. "One moment you're so tender and kind to me, and the next… the next you're tense and angry. You have the stability of wildfire," she said, turning back and settling into his chest once again.

There was a pause, and his arms tightened, and his body shaking. Startled, afraid that she had offended him, she twisted in his arms and saw his face contorted like a man in pain. "Zuko?" she asked, her voice tense with worry. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Be…quiet," he managed, and then, he titled his head back and laughed. His laughter was loud boisterous, and maybe one of the most beautiful noises he had ever heard. While he guffawed, she could only look at him in wonder. Finally, he looked down at her after his laughter had quieted, a rare smile curving across his lips. If he had been handsome before, his masculine beauty was almost ethereal when he smiled. The smile took away the harshness from his eyes, and made his skin glow. Then, he looked like the young man he was.

"And you astound me," he said, smiling down into her blue eyes. "You have the beauty of the ocean, the brilliance of the sun sparkling against its tourmaline waves. You're strong, yet gentle, beautiful but kind. You're a fire in my blood, your little body is capable of so much passion…and I've yet to meet a more fascinating woman.."

She looked back at him, and a slowly, she smiled too, and it was then that both of them realized the shared wonder they had for each other. Between them, some strange energy passed, some new bond had been forged, and they each knew that they had been brought a step closer to each other.

Then, Katara yawned, but quickly tried to stifle it.

"You're tired," he said quickly. "I've kept you up too late."

"No, no, I'm fine."

"Neither of us slept for very long last night."

"And if I go to bed now, I won't sleep very much tonight either."

He paused. "The nightmares. Your nightmares are getting worse, aren't they?"

Wisely, she said nothing.

"I know what its like to wake up screaming in the middle of the night and have no one there to comfort you. Tonight I'll be there. Tonight you'll sleep in my arms."

He got up roughly, and grabbed her hand, pulling her up beside him.

"But Zuko-" she protested.

He pressed a finger to her lips. "No, I don't want to hear it. We won't do anything but sleep. Something that you haven't done properly in weeks."

_Do I really want to complicate this any further? _On the heels of that thought came another. _Maybe he's right. Having someone beside me will help me sleep better. _

_But its Zuko. When you're around him the last thought on your mind is sleep. _

_But… _she _wanted _to be with him.

She didn't want to leave him… Didn't want him to leave her.

So, when he picked her up and carried her to his bedroom, she didn't protest. He pulled back the gauzy, luxurious fabric that served as his bedding, and laid her down on his enormous, four poster bed. The mattress gave with her weight, and she sank down into the comfy embrace of the bed. She laid there, watching him move around his bedroom to blow out candles one by one until the only light in the room came from the moon glowing gently outside his balcony. His footsteps rang out in the silence of the night, and she felt his weight as he climbed into the bed with her. Strong arms gathered her across his chest, and cradled her in their warm embrace.

Laying there, in his bed, with his arms wrapped around her, the sound of his breathing rasping gently in her ear… she felt at peace.

It was then that Katara realized how genuinely tired she was. Her eyelids grew heavy, and slowly, gently, they flittered down and she slid into a deep, restoring sleep.

**

* * *

**

**SULTAN'S CHAMBERS**

**RIYADH**

Jet stepped into his father's large and opulent solar, trying his hardest to conceal the confusion that danced across his face. _It's almost midnight,_ he thought. _Father is never up this late. And he's never asked to talk to me this late either. _

The midnight summons was unnerving. And it certainly meant bad news of some sort. He had been roused from his bed, much to his dismay, by one of his father's advisors, and told that he was to meet the sultan as soon as possible. So, several minutes later, here he was. His feet hastily shoved into sandals, his clothing askew, his dark hair rumpled and unkempt.

He found his father with his back to him, looking at a vast map of Arabia that his advisors had pinned against the wall. The map was covered in markings and drawings, and was a mirror image of another, much larger map that covered a mahogany table in the center of the room. Suddenly, the sultan turned around.

Jet bowed respectfully. "Many greetings father," he said, angling his head down with the proper measure of respect.

His father smiled, warmth radiating from his eyes. "Jet. My beloved firstborn. I'm sorry to disturb you like this, but there's been something on my mind and it can't wait any longer."

Jet's eyes widened ever so slightly before he could conceal it. "Yes?" he asked.

His father took a breath before sighing deeply. "Since our return to Riyadh, I've met a lot of resistance from not only my advisors, but from the people in the city for supporting Zuko's plan."

"Well, that's to be expected, father. It's not our fight. It's more of a favor that were doing."

"Yes... but I'm worried my willingness to help the poor boy is creating more problems for me."

There was a pause as neither one talked. Finally, Jet asked, "What do you propose?"

"That's what I seek your advice on," the sultan responded.

A frown creased Jet's brow. "Please, father, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking about pulling the support that I had planned to give Zuko."

"No," Jet said immediately.

"No?" the sultan asked, raising his eyebrow in question.

"Father, how could you even think about suggesting that? We used to visit his family every summer and winter before they were overthrown. And while he schemed in the desert, you were his greatest ally. Why now? Why would we desert him now?"

"I am old, Jet. Many of the things I used to champion so hard... just don't seem worth the high price I have to pay anymore."

"So you're going to betray him? You're going to betray the "Betrayed Prince" because you're tired?" Jet's voice was thick with barely controlled anger.

"Jet, I haven't decided anything-"

"The throne that I will inherit has been built upon honor and justice! I refuse to let you do this father!"

Sultan Ala-abin sighed again and walked over to a large, comfortable chair that was in front of the mahogany table. "But I must," he said, sinking down into the chair. "I can't risk my kingdom solely for the destruction of the desert sheik. It's been thirty years, Jet. Thirty years and he hasn't so much as come near Riyadh. If we join this war, we make ourselves targets. We make ourselves vulnerable to the very thing that almost destroyed Edessa."

"Since when was that reason enough to just run away from our problems and hope they disappear? Father, you yourself have told me over and over that there are no cowards in this family!"

"That's why I need you, my son. I need you to help me think of an alternative."

Jet shook his head in annoyance. "How many soldiers are you sending? One hundred? Two hundred?"

"Twenty," Ala-abin muttered. "At this point I'm thinking of sending twenty or less."

"Twenty?" Jet asked in shock. "You can't be serious. We need at least a hundred, if not more."

"Zuko should count his blessings that I'm sending any at all."

Jet's jaw worked as he thought over what his father had said. "Fine. But I need at least thirty," Jet countered. "And they have to be the best," he said. "They have to be the best horsemen, the best trackers, the best warriors... the best soldiers we have in our army."

"So they can die in a pointless war?"

"It's the only way we can even remotely appease Zuko, father. It must be done."

Ala-abin walked over to his son, and placed a heavy hand on his shoulders. "All right. But, I am turning over responsibility of this project solely to you. You handpick the soldiers, and then give me a list so that I can approve it. And then you are to accompany them to Edessa, and help Zuko win his revenge."

Jet covered the hand on his shoulder with his own. "You won't be disappointed, father."

Ala-abin smiled again. "I know you'll make me proud."

Jet bowed in thanks, as was appropriate.

"So, my son, who do you have in mind?" Ala-abin asked.

Jet thought. "There's a captain in my company that I know. His marksmanship with an arrow is unparalled, and he was in Edessa with us several weeks ago. His name is Farid, I believe."

"Ah, yes, I've heard about him," Ala-abin nodded. "A wise choice. Anyone else that comes to mind?"

Jet's dark eyes shifted downward as he slid into his thoughts. Finally, his head snapped up. "We've just got a new recruit," he said. "His horsemanship is unparalled. He can do tricks with them that I've never seen before, and they listen to him like he has sugared dates hidden in his pockets. He's a little young, but I've seen him in the practice fields. He has a warrior's spirit."

"Oh? And what's his name?"

"Sokka, I think. His name's Sokka."

* * *

**Mina34: From my heart to yours, a chapter all the way from Seoul, courtesy of a little free time I have. Dudes, sorry it took me so long! I hope I haven't lost any readers... right? you're all still here RIGHT?**

**badonyx: yay you were the first to review! This was the first time I addressed Mai's little stunt with Jet and Katara. Did it answer your questions?**

**gretlcascade: best. review. ever. There is no such thing as a review that's too long. I take what you say so seriously, and it helps make this story move along quite nicely! I tried to address everything you mentioned, which were all super points that I hadn't realized! How was this chapter? And I don't know about Toph... we'll have to wait and see!**

**shrilaraune: awww! (wipes tear) It does my little heart good to know that I made one of favorite reviewers happy!**

**Leahfaithful: yay i love Ty Lee too! She's so perky. But I can see what you're saying about Aang. Although, this story is AU, and with that comes subtle changes in his character. Also, he's several years older than what he was in the show. Plus he's a soldier, so I wanted to still keep a little of his optimistic spirit but make it believable. The Desert Dreamer Aang's been around the block a few more times than the ATLA Aang. And Sokka was mentioned, yay! Although in cliffhanger... mwuahaha! **

**Poison Ivy: I love new reviewers! hmm... interesting idea. But no hints! **

**Everyone else: your reviews inspire me to write! I LOVE getting them. More than kimchi. Definitely more than bibimbap. More that papingzu? Yes. And... all right fine. More than soju. That's a lot of Korean love. **

**I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

* * *

"_Am I willing to give up what I have in order to be what I am not yet? Am I able to follow the spirit of love into the desert? It is a frightening and sacred moment. There is no return. One's life is charged forever. It is the fire that gives us our shape."_

_-Mary Richards_

* * *

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.

.

That night, Katara dreamt of fire.

Beautiful, consuming, raw…

Fire.

The ocher flames roared and hissed and flickered around her. The fire grew and spread, growing stronger and stronger until it reached a crescendo and softly seethed around her. It strange, to be enveloped by such fire, for instead of feeling fear, she felt…

Comforted.

Cherished.

The fire swaddled her, surrounded her, and protected her.

So when the fire seemed to coalesce around her, and she felt as if the flames lifted her up into a gentle embrace, and she heard a thousand arid tongues whisper to her, _"Stay… Be here when I come back… Let me be the one to kiss you awake…" _

She obeyed.

Because when the fire that raged around her seemed to be the only being capable of battling the night terrors that had gripped her since the death of everyone she loved… Who was she to leave when she had never felt so sheltered and treasured before?

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**SULTAN'S CHAMBERS**

**EDESSA PALACE**

**THREE WEEKS LATER**

**.**

**.**

**.**

The wind rustled the gauzy ivory curtains and made them dance like the Mediterranean waves that used to gently lap across the Samoan shore. The tender gust lifted a few strands of Katara's hair, and it brushed across her face much like Zuko's trailing fingers had when he had gently kissed her goodbye in the pre-dawn morning. The breeze carried with it the smells and sounds of the arid desert, as well as a new, unfamiliar aroma. The new scent was layered, complex, and as it wafted around Katara's sleeping form, her nose twitched at the sudden shift in fragrance.

Katara's eyes blinked open, and she winced at the sunlight that streamed into the large, grand room. There, on the bed lying next to her, in the spot normally reserved for the Prince, was a single desert flower. The flower was a deep cerulean, and its petals drifted out of a center so inky black that it looked just like the desert night sky. Knowing unconsciously that the flower had been a gift from the sultan, Katara leaned over and picked gently picked it up by the stem, burying her nose in the flower's sweet scent. Just as she knew that the flower had come from Zuko, she also knew that it was a product of his dawn raids across the desert. In the brief amount of time that she had spent in his rooms, she knew that he always woke before her to watch the sun burst across the horizon. Some mornings, he took her along, but others, he let her continue to float adrift in a deep, dreamless sleep.

_Morning, _she thought to herself as she watched the sunlight cast shadows around the sultan's private chambers. Ever since the death of her family, morning was a time she used to savor, for it meant the end of a long, torturous night and a grateful waiver from her nightmares. But these days… these days it meant something quite different.

Katara smiled as she thought back to how much her life had changed since she and Zuko had shared so much more than a meal over a plates of honeyed dates and lamb. After that first night she had slept in Zuko's arms, she had awoken to him gently kissing her awake.

_Good Morning, Katara. Did you dream? _He had whispered to her.

_No… not in the way I used to. No nightmares at all. _

And since then, they had spent their nights together, one body curled around another, locked in a deep, dreamless sleep.

In the days that followed, Zuko had been busy preparing for the return of Ala-abin's soldiers, and spent the majority of his time attending war cabinet meetings and training soldiers for the inevitable battle that would ensue between him and the desert sheik. Katara spent her days atop a horse, thundering across the desert, leaving her nightmares and her anguish far, far behind. And, sometimes, if Zuko had managed to steal away from his meetings for a brief moment, they would wander the city of Edessa together. Katara blushed at what the citizenry, soldiers, and other members of the palace might think of their relationship, but for some reason… it didn't matter anymore. She knew that their relationship, while beautiful in its innocence, had yet to take a turn towards the seedy. Zuko had tried to be sure, but Katara had never felt comfortable. And the one time she had agreed, they had stopped half-way because Katara had broken down into a pool of tears.

_What's wrong? Did I hurt you? _He had demanded.

_No… it's just… I can't help but think how far I have already let my family down since they have died… Please Zuko, please don't take this from me until I'm ready. _

And since then, there had been no more talk of the consummation of their mutual desire.

So although the palace as well as the city assumed her to be his paramour, she knew the truth, and had taken comfort in the fact that Zuko had respected her wishes. They both knew the verity, and that was all that mattered.

And when word had come across the desert sands from Ala-abin himself that he had drastically reduced the size of his forces, from three hundred to a mere thirty, she had been there to hold off the storm that had gripped Zuko at being betrayed by friends of his own father.

As the days wore on, it became undeniable that a bond had formed between the two, and as more time passed whilst they cradled each other in their arms at night, the more and more Katara could not deny that she had begun to deeply care for the Betrayed Prince.

Yesterday, they had wandered the streets of the bazaar together, hand in hand, and had laughed at the antics of some of the more aggressive vendors, while letting the busy market blur into a kaleidoscope of colors and noises. Zuko had stopped at one in particular, dropped a quick kiss against her lips, and whispered for her to wait outside.

_What are you scheming? _She had teased.

_Just wait. Be patient, for once in your life. _

And with that, he disappeared inside. He returned some time later, holding something behind his back.

_Close your eyes, _he had commanded.

She had obeyed, a smile dancing across her face.

_Now, hold out your hand. _

She did, and she felt something heavy drop into her outstretched palm. She opened her eyes and saw a brightly wrapped package.

_Open it. _

Carefully, wondering what was inside, she unwrapped the package and gasped.

Inside was a circlet. It was beautifully braided, with three thin bands of gold locked around the other. And, in the middle, a small chunk of lapis lazuli was impossibly suspended, cradled around the pieces of gold like a lover in the arms of their paramour.

_Zuko, I can't take this. _

_Yes. Yes You can. I had it commissioned just for you. And, if you don't take it, I'm going to go tell the jeweler that you hated it. _

_You wouldn't dare! _

_Would I? _

At the hooded look Zuko had given her, Katara laughed.

_Please Katara, _he had whispered, gathering her hands un in his, and placing the circlet upon her head. _Please, I want you to wear this tomorrow, when we welcome Ala-Abin's soldiers into the palace. I want everyone to know that you belong with me. _

_Please. _

Katara frowned at the thought of enduring another welcoming banquet. But this time, the terms would be so much different than what had happened the first time she had taken part in such an affair.

Distantly, across the desert she heard the sound of drums drift through the gauzy curtains that served as window coverings. _Ala-abin's men must have been spotted on the horizon, _she though.

She steeled herself, and pushed up from Zuko's bed, brushing her hair away from her face. Tonight, she would dress herself in her finery and wear the circlet Zuko had given her. She would stand by his side, and be there for him because she knew how much it mattered to him. Given how Zuko had rescued her from the depths of her sorrow, and helped her pull herself from the soul crushing depression that had ensued after she had watched her family be murdered in front of her eyes… it was the least she could do.

So, she rose out of bed, stretched, and set off to go find Ty Lee.

.

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**HAREM **

**NIGHT FALL**

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Oh, Katara," Ty Lee sighed, "You look absolutely beautiful!"

Katara looked at herself in the small watch glass Ty Lee had been afforded as a member of the harem. Who she saw reflected back at her was a stranger. The woman that stared back at her through the mirror looked so much older than the girl that had looked up at her in the tidal pools of Samos. She was dressed in a fine, gossamer gown of the softest white silk which had been gathered at her waist by a braided belt of glowing golden thread. Her dark mahogany hair been left to hang in waves down her back, and had been pushed away from her face by the beautiful circlet Zuko had given her. The clothes and the finery were a shocking departure from the threadbare tunic she had preferred to wear, the clothes were not what had made her feel like she was looking at a stranger. It was her face. Her cobalt eyes sparkled as if they were lit from within, her cheeks were flushed, and in the weeks she had spent with Zuko she had regained the weight she had lost in her grief and no longer looked gaunt and pale.

She looked… happy.

Healthy.

Whole.

She looked…

_Oh God. I look like Mother. _

At the sudden thought, Katara's eyes filled up with tears.

_Mother… Father… Sokka… I wish you weren't taken from me… _

"Hey! Hey," Ty Lee shouted, running over to Katara and throwing her arms around her neck. "Don't cry! You're too pretty to start crying again!"

Katara smiled weakly, and brushed away a few of her tears with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry, Ty Lee. It's just… standing here, like this… I… I need a minute."

Ty Lee nodded. "Okay! I have to go get ready anyway. Why don't you go get some fresh air in the garden? We still have some time before were supposed to be in the banquet hall."

Katara gently hugged Ty Lee. "I will," she promised, and turned around and left Ty Lee's room, gently closing the door behind her. She paused as she looked out into the Harem atrium. It looked exactly the same as when she had left it some three weeks ago to move into Zuko's chambers, yet she felt different there.

Like she wasn't welcome.

Shaking off the feeling, Katara wandered over towards the fountain that lay at the center of the harem courtyard. For some reason, the noise of the silky water cascading over and over again into the tranquil basin was always a source of great comfort to Katara. Distantly, she realized that it must be because the noise of the fountain was somewhat similar to the waves crashing on the beach in Samos. Katara smiled to herself, taking comfort in knowing that here in Edessa, miles away from the sea, she still had something to remind her of her ancestral home.

She sat at the edge of the fountain, and gently dipped her fingers into the welcoming water. The golden bangles at her wrists clinked and chimed together in a tiny symphony as she swirled her hand around in fountain's reviving waters. As she felt the cool water slip through her fingers, she smiled to herself. It was a far cry from the ocean, but still, the presence of water offered her a strange source of comfort.

She stiffened suddenly when she heard the heavy doors to the harem open and close, and swung her head around to see who had entered. When she saw who it was, she felt her heart skip a beat and couldn't help but smile.

"Zuko," she breathed.

He was dressed in a tunic made of silk the color of bitter chocolate, and the robe that swirled around his ankles had been died to the deepest crimson. As he strode towards her, the slanting afternoon sunlight of the courtyard made the jewels at his neck and wrists sparkle as though they were alive.

He stopped mere inches from where she sat at the fountain, and an answering smile played across the corners of his lips. He reached around her and pulled her hand from the fountain, gathering them at his chest and drawing her onto her feet. His amber eyes glowed as he surveyed her in the clothes he had commissioned for her.

He bent suddenly, and kissed her circlet where the chunk lapis lazuli rested against her forehead. "This," he murmured against her skin, "is almost the exact shade of your eyes."

"That's what Ty Lee said," Katara breathed as Zuko's lips trailed down her face and towards her lips.

"I knew I liked her for some reason," Zuko teased, before dropping a chaste kiss to her lips.

When he lifted his mouth, he pressed his forward against hers, and ocher eyes met azure. "You look beautiful," he whispered.

"You don't look so bad yourself," she answered, sliding her hands into his robe and kneading the corded muscle that lay beneath.

"Katara," he said, his tone gently warning.

"What?" she asked, admiring his barely leashed strength.

"Don't start something that we don't have the time to finish."

She looked up at him, her sapphire eyes shimmering. At the look in them, Zuko muttered a curse, and leaned down to his mouth against hers. Katara started to protest, but the words died on her lips as his tongue traced her lips and all she could think about was getting closer to him. Whispering his name, she stood on tiptoe, wrapped her arms around his neck, and buried her mouth in his.

The two stood, wrapped in each other, their breaths becoming one for a long, secret moment. Then, alarmingly, Zuko broke off the kiss, his breathing heavy. "Katara," he murmured, breathing kisses along her neck.

He lifted his head, looking her in the eye. "Will you still stand by me tonight?"

Katara reached up and rested her hand along the side of her face, her bangles chiming together. "Of course. Always."

He smiled the rare smile that she had come to realize was only for her. He took her hand by the wrist, gently lifted it down, and linked his hands through hers. "C'mon. I can't promise this will be the best four hours of your life, but at least will be together."

Katara squeezed his hand in answer, and together, the two set off for the banquet hall.

From her perch behind one of the alabaster columns that lined the courtyard, Mai quickly ducked around the back of the pillar so as not to be noticed by the prince and his consort. Her heart was beating wildly and almost out of control as she helpless sank down to the floor.

_Three weeks she's slept in his bed. _

_Three weeks I've had to sleep in mine and know that she's been lying next to him! _

Her fists clutched angrily at her sides as she tried to still the wild beating of her heart.

_And that crown she was wearing… _Zuko had never given anything like that to her. In fact, the gifts Zuko had given her had run more towards the mundane. A new bridle for her horse, new chairs for the harem… never jewelry or fine silks. Certainly nothing like the dress that Katara had worn or the circlet that had graced her head.

Her hands cradled her head as she tried to maintain her fragile grip on reality and processed what she had just seen.

_After all I've done for him… after all the work that I've put in as his Kadin… and after how he treated me when he stripped me of my station…_

_Zuko... _

Sitting on the outskirts of the garden, her knees laced tightly against her, her hands fisting in her hair, Mai suddenly knew what she must do.

_He needs to bleed like me. He needs to feel what I'm feeling, what I feel when I think of that bitch wrapped around his body! _

_I must be the one to betray the Betrayed Prince._

_And then, revenge and justice alike will be mine. _

And Mai knew exactly where to start. She stood up, brushed the dirt from her gown, and went to prepare for tonight's dinner. After that, she would return to the barracks, and find a willing accomplice to her plan. If she could get Zuko's battle plans out to Zhao, then he would be finished.

Betrayed, once again, for the last and final time.

Mai smiled to herself, and suddenly, the chaos that she had found after watching her prince and Katara in each other's arms didn't seem so chaotic anymore.

.

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**RECEPTION HALL**

**EDESSA PALACE**

**.**

**.**

**.**

In the glow of candles that were scattered around by the thousands in the great hall of the palace, Katara was eerily reminded of the first time she had come here. She had hidden in the back, determined to go unnoticed, and had watched the goings-on with discomfort rippling up her spine. Now, standing here beside Zuko, she felt millions of miles away from the scared girl who had come to Edessa all those weeks ago. Here, with his hand in hers, she felt almost as if she was home.

Katara, who had been late to the last grand reception, had missed the tradition that had been started by Zuko's parents long ago. Whenever any visiting royalty arrived, it was custom for the inhabitants of the palace to all line up and greet the guests at the first welcoming reception.

According to station, the Royal Council had all lined up on either side of Katara and Zuko in front of the long banquet table at the front of the hall, and the group was flanked by Royal Guards. Zuko's army, along with members of his harem, all stood at attention on the east and west sides of the banquet hall. The air was heavy with tension, and Katara noticed a small beat of sweat drip off of Zuko's forehead and onto the floor. She squeezed his hand reassuringly, and he shot a glance down towards her.

"Don't worry," she whispered. "It's Jet. You know him, and you know he'll be here with the thirty he promised."

"I know," he answered. "I just wished that they would get here already."

Indeed, as the entire inhabitants of the palace awaited the arrival of the visiting Prince and his prized soldiers, the walk from the guest quarters of the palace towards the main reception hall had never seemed longer. But suddenly, the heavy door to the reception hall swung open, and the advisor who had been given to Jet as a guide during his time at the palace stood in the doorway.

"My Lord and honored members of the Palace," he called in a booming voice, "I am pleased to welcome his esteemed grace Prince Jet, and his company of soldiers!"

Applause rippled through amongst the soldiers, council men, and harem members as Jet entered, fringed by his soldiers. Katara quickly recognized his easy languid movements and easy grace as he waved and shook the hands of the peoples he passed. She watched as he ambled up towards the front of the room, surrounded my young men in their battle regalia who all looked as if they were in peak fighting condition.

Smiling slightly, she looked over at Zuko, who seemed pleased with the men Jet had chosen. She too, began to look over the soldiers in earnest. They were all somewhat close in age to Zuko and the visiting Prince, and Katara instinctively knew that most of these men were probably Jet's closest friends and confidants in his own palace. As she scanned the visiting soldiers, Katara knew that they would make welcomed members of Zuko's army in his fight against Zhao.

For some reason, Katara's eye was drawn towards one soldier in particular. It was hard to see him across the hall at first, but as he got closer, the way that he moved and his quick smile reminded her of her own dear brother. Smiling in earnest, Katara watched as he too moved towards the front of the room.

_Sokka… If you had lived today I'm sure you would have been one of the finest soldiers to ever grace Arabia. _

But then… then she felt her heart rise in throat.

_No. It couldn't be. _

But there he was. The same azure eyes, the same lithe build, the same laughing smile. And when he laughed and joked with Yue who stood gracefully next to a few other members of the harem, who had offered him a kind welcome, she was reminded of the string of broken hearts that Sokka had left in Edessa.

Katara's breathing hitched, and she felt her heart race. Curious, Zuko glanced over towards her, but quickly looked back when Jet and his party stopped in front of him and offered a warm greeting.

The world blurred around Katara as the man who looked like Sokka locked eyes with hers, and his own blue eyes grew large in astonishment.

_No._

_Stop, it Katara! _

_Stop hallucinating! _

_It's not Sokka, you saw him die!_

_It can't be him! _

_It can't!_

But then, impossibly, amongst the words exchanged between the two Princes, she saw him mouth the word, "Katara?"

And then she feinted.

And the world around her succumbed to chaos.

"Katara!" Sokka cried as he shoved aside the soldiers that had been standing next to him, and vaulted over the steps, desperately trying to reach his sister.

Zuko sank to the ground, his breath stuck in his throat as he gathered her up in his arms. "Katara," He said, his voice frantic, pushing her hair back and gently shaking her.

It was then that Sokka had managed to succeed in getting to the Prince and his consort, and reached out to touch his sister.

"Leave her alone!" Zuko snarled, angrily kicking Sokka in the shins from his position on the floor.

Sokka grunted as he was knocked to the ground, but he quickly scrambled up to his feet.

"GUARDS!" Zuko roared.

Jet, who had been stunned by the events sprang into action. "Hey, you can't take—"

"RESTRAIN HIM!"

The soldiers standing around the Prince grabbed Sokka, and twisted his hands behind his back. "NO!" Sokka sobbed, his voice frantic. "You don't understand! SHE'S MY SISTER, GODDAMNIT!"

Sokka twisted against the men that restrained him, sobbing angrily. "SHE'S MY SISTER!" He cried again, and again, but in the chaos that had taken place after Katara's feinting, the one person that mattered had eyes only for the unconscious girl in his arms. Sokka, loath that no one had understood why he needed to be released, why he needed to touch his sister to ensure her reality, why he needed to protect her from the man he only knew as the Betrayed Prince, angrily sank against the guards and wept bitterly. "She's my sister…" he repeated, his sobs making sense to only those who restrained him. "She's my sister…."

Zuko, who had been desperately tried to wake Katara, was suddenly met with a wave of relief as she stirred and blinked her eyes open. "Are you all right?" he demanded.

Confused, and still reeling from her sudden realization, Katara took in her surroundings and saw her dear brother being restrained like an animal by Zuko's men. Suddenly, she twisted viciously in his arms.

"Katara?" Zuko asked, startled by her abrupt movement.

She pushed him out the way, stood up so fast she stumbled, and screamed, "Sokka!"

Hearing her cry, Sokka looked up, and begun to struggle against the guards in earnest.

"Zuko, tell them to move!" She screeched, tryingly to angrily shove away the men who were hurting her brother.

A bewildered look on his face, Zuko called of the guards with a wave of his arm.

It was then that brother and sister embraced, and collapsing upon one another, then sank to a heap in the floor.

"Sokka," Katara sobbed, squeezing him tightly. "_Sokka." _

The two stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity, Katara loudly weeping, and Sokka gently stroking her hair. Each seemed afraid to move, afraid to leave the others arms, thinking for some reason that if they lost contact with another the beautiful dream that they had shared would be shattered.

The hall was deadly quiet. Jet edged towards Zuko, who still sat on his position on the floor, and muttered out the side of his mouth, "What the hell is going on?"

For the first time, Zuko began to process the situation. He saw the two heads bent together, and saw the striking similarities the the rich mahogany color of their hair. He saw the similarities in the same slight build, the same lithe frame, and when he saw the man look up to the sky and mutter a _thank you_ as his eyes shone with tears, realization dawned upon Zuko. He had stared into those same azure eyes, he had drowned in their swirling depths, and he had watch them shift and change with each passing emotion.

"That's her brother," he said, astonished. "That's her brother that she had watched die almost three months ago!"

"Well, I'll be," Jet drawled, chuckling as he turned back towards the scene.

The reception hall was deathly quiet as everyone watched the heart-wrenching reunion between sister and brother.

"You're alive…." Katara whispered. "You're alive, you're alive, you're _alive…" _And her words became a litany against Sokka's chest. She leaned back and grabbed his face in her hands, desperately seeking the cobalt eyes of her childhood.

They were her mother's eyes.

Her eyes searched his face, her hands scoured his body, and she rapidly checked and rechecked to make sure there no open wounds, that his body was not leaking blood, and that his flesh was whole.

This was not the Sokka of her nightmares.

This was the Sokka was alive.

"Dear Gods, please don't let this be a dream…" She whispered. "Please don't tell me that I'm dreaming…"

"I'm here," Sokka answered, smiling through his tears. "I'm here, 'Tara…"

He threw his arms around her again, and leaned back to get a good look at her. He took in the circlet atop her head, her gauzy dress, the bangles at her wrists and ankles, and suddenly made same nasty conclusions.

"'Tara," he said, frowning and looking at her in admonishment. "What the hell have they done to you?"

"Well," Katara looked downwards, avoiding her brother's gaze.

"Did they make you a member of that _prat's_ harem?" He asked, his voice low and dripping with spite.

"Well, yes, but—"

Her answer was all the reasoning Sokka needed. He jumped up, and pointed directly at Zuko. "Hey! YOU!" He roared. "What the HELL have you done to my baby sister?" He suddenly launched himself at Zuko, but the guards surrounding the Prince easily held him off.

"Sokka, stop it!" Katara cried, scrambling to her feet and hanging off her brother's arm. "Calm down!"

"Calm _down?_" Sokka yelled. "How can I be calm when I know that that _prick_ turned you into a harem whore?"

There were audible gasps that echoed through the hall. Katara's hand flew to her mouth, and she spun around to look at Zuko. His eyes were empty; his mouth unsmiling. She ran towards him, gripping his arm. "Please don't hurt him," she begged. "He's my brother, he doesn't know any better, he's just trying to protect me!"

Zuko looked down at Katara, and quietly disengaged her hands from his body. He started to walk towards Sokka.

"Zuko, _please," _Katara implored, her voice frantic.

He stopped in front of her disgruntled brother, who was shooting him a look that would have cut steel.

"I will forgive your brash derogatory statements toward not only me but my consort as well if you apologize," he said, his voice quiet.

Sokka's eyes narrowed. "Oh yeah?" He responded, his voice dripping acid. "And why would I do that, pretty boy?"

Zuko glanced back at Katara, and held out his hand. She rushed towards his side and quickly laced his fingers deeply through hers.

"Sokka," Katara began. "Zuko is my…" her voice faltered. She looked up at Zuko, who had quizzically arched a brow. Gathering her courage, Katara turned to look her brother in the eye, and then said the words that shattered any older brother's world.

"Zuko is my lover."

She didn't so much hear but felt the sudden stiffening of Zuko's body, and the sharp intake of his breath. She met his eyes, which seemed to ask, _Are you sure? You can tell him the truth. He doesn't need to assume along with the rest of the city. _She reassured him with a nod, and whispered, "If he doesn't hear it from me, it will be worse when it comes from others."

Zuko smiled, and turned back to address Sokka.

And Sokka took it upon himself to spit in Zuko's face.

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**Mina34: Well, dear readers… I have no excuse. But! I promised I would finish the story, and here I am! **

**Ta da? **

**Thank you all so SO much for never giving up on this story! I realized you might have moved on to bigger and better things, but if you see a little story alert from me, I do so hope that you took it upon yourself to finish this chapter. **

**And if you're confused about how Sokka is alive, don't worry! That part of the plot will advance nicely in the next chapter. In fact, many aspects of the plot will advance nicely. This chapter was all about me feeling around the characters and steeping myself in the story once more. **

**And rest assured! You will know what happens in the next chapter, for I have set a goal for myself to finish this story by the end of summer. And so I shall! If not, I will post an outline sometime in August of how the story will unfold. But, where's the fun in that? So I'm going to do my damndest to keep updating steadily. **

**M-useless100: …Your wish is my command. **

**Masayume85: Aww! Thanks! I hope you liked this chapter! **

**Whisperlove: Here I am! With more updates soon to come!**

**Warden in the North: What a great compliment! Thank you!**

**Leelee333: Haha! You're so sweet, thank you! And don't worry, updates are on the way!**

**Snowangel786: That's all part of my evil plan… I trick you into reading my story and then you can't stop! Muaha!**

**Kayko15: Thanks for the suggestion! I loved the fan art!**

**Lealfaithful: Thank you for your great compliments! Toph and Azula might not make it in, because there's already enough characters as it is, but what the hell! I am the writer, right? Haha!**

**Gretlcascade: Once again, I ALWAYS cherish your reviews, and can only hope that you're still around to review this chapter! Pwease? Pwease and carrots? I love getting your suggestions and comments on the story, they're so helpful! **

**Badonyx: Whoops…. Sorry about that! That's what happens when my slightly dyslexic self writes AND edits the story!**

**EVERYONE ELSE…. **

**Thank you. **

**Thank you. **

_**Thank you. **_

**Your reviews inspire me to write, and I hope to hear more from you in the weeks to come!**

**Ta!**

**-Mina34**


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE**

"_And all around is the desert; a corner of the mournful kingdom of sand."_

_-Pierre Loti_

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**RECEPTION HALL**

**EDESSA PALACE**

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In the aftermath of Sokka's act of insolence against the betrayed prince, silence hung heavy in the air. Every eye in the palace seemed to watch the prince, and all held their breath in anticipation of his legendary wrath against those that dared accost him.

Beside him, her hand still grasped in his, Katara stood frozen in shock of what her brother had done. Numbly, she watched her Zuko reach up with his other hand and slowly wipe the remnants of Sokka's expectorate of his face.

"Jet," he began, his voice easily etching steel. "Give me permission to punish your soldier.

Jet opened his mouth to respond, but before his words could become reality, Katara leapt into action.

"No!" She screamed, ripping away from Zuko and throwing herself on top of her brother, not even noticing the arms of the soldiers that gripped him in the wake of her terror. "DON'T HURT HIM!"

Sokka thrashed about, trying desperately to break not only his sister's hold, but the arms of the guards wrapped around him. "Don't hurt ME?" he yelled. "That freak should be afraid of what I'm going to do to HIM!"

The hall was filled with the harsh grate of metal against metal as hundreds of soldiers unsheathed their swords and pointed them at Sokka, ready to protect Zuko from the strange dark skinned man that threatened him.

"Sokka, SHUT UP!" Katara screeched, spinning wildly about to face the recipient of Sokka's threats.

"Zuko, I—" she started, but he held up his hand to stop her flow of words.

Katara, arms outstretched and gripped by sudden fear, waited desperately to see how her paramour would react.

"Step aside." The words, albeit quiet, dripped with steal.

Acting on sheer protective instinct, Katara violently shook her head.

Zuko's eyes flared.

"Move." The sword vibrated with barely leashed anger.

"Zuko, you don't understand—"

"Katara—"

"I lost him once, I _won't _lose him again—"

"DAMNIT, KATARA, GET OUT THE WAY!" He roared.

Katara panicked. The two men in her life, both who she cared deeply for, wanted desperately to hurt each other.

Then, from behind her, she felt something nudged her back. Her head spun around, and she looked up into the familiar cobalt eyes of her brother.

"That guy," he whispered, "is ten seconds away from exploding. You better move."

"Sokka, I'm not leaving you," Katara responded, her words sounding choked from the effort it took to keep from sobbing in desperation.

"Hey," he smiled. "Don't worry about me. I came back from the dead once before, and it's not that bad."

At the tears that threatened to spill over in his sister's eyes, Sokka sighed, "Not funny, huh."

In response, Katara glared.

"Listen," he began, his tone reassuring. "You should get out of the way. I can handle myself. I'm the one who spit on the jerk, it's my fight. Do you know how embarrassing it is for me as a guy is to have his baby sister try to protect him? The man club will revoke my privileges soon. Now, be a good girl and step aside so I can fight your boyfriend."

The tears that had threatened before now ran freely down her face. But, nonetheless, she reached up, kissed her brother on the check, and moved out of the way.

Zuko, who had watched the scene before him unfold, was hotly furious. He had never seen Katara ever be that protective of anyone, let alone himself. And watching her reach up to bestow a kiss upon her brother's cheek had made him want to walk over and rip his throat out in jealousy.

"Patience, Zuko." At the papery whisper from beside him, the prince shot a glance down towards his uncle.

"Uncle," he gritted, each word that the crushed out vibrating with barely leased anger. "Two people today have made the mistake of belittling my power in my own palace. Don't make yourself become the third."

At his nephew's turgid response, Iroh sighed helplessly But, Zuko was right. Other sultan's had killed for such acts of insolence that had been displayed here tonight. The fact that the young solider was still alive was in reality a mark that the Prince had been overtly patient.

The heavy silence that hung in the air was thick with the tension that the spectators felt as they continued to watch the scene unfold.

Zuko, sick of being made a fool in front of his own subjects, stalked towards Sokka. He stopped in front of Katara's sneering older brother, pulled his hand back, and punched Sokka in the face.

"No!" Katara screamed.

But just as she was about to launch herself forward, she felt someone grab her hand and jerk her back.

Eyes flashing, she turned around to find the culprit. The visiting Prince Jet held he hand in a furious grip, and his normally sly smile was nowhere to be found.

"Keep cool, Princess," He murmured. "Right now I wouldn't go near Zuko with anything less than a ten foot pole."

Katara made a helpless noise and turned her attention back towards Zuko and her brother.

Sokka's head had reeled from the force of the punch. Zuko, anger still careening through his body, reached back and punched him once more.

"That," he spat, "was for calling your sister a whore. And this," he pulled back once more, this time punching Sokka in his stomach, "is for belittling my authority in my own home. And this—"

"No Zuko!"

Mid punch, Zuko paused. He looked over his shoulder and the desperate look on Katara's face gave him pause.

"Please, stop hurting him!" The anguish in her voice was plain as her tears ran down her cheeks as sudden as a desert storm.

Suddenly, the furry that had pulsed through his body ever since Sokka had insulted him dissipated. He blinked slowly, and turned back towards his prey.

Sokka was hanging limply in the arms of the guards that were restraining him. Blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth, and the areas of his face that had been subject to Zuko's anger were already swollen and crimson, heavy with the promise of the profound bruising that would surely follow. And his eyes, those azure eyes that were as familiar to Zuko as the sun bursting across the horizon, glared at him with thinly veiled contempt.

Clarity came to the Betrayed Prince.

_What am I doing? _He thought to himself. Katara had already watched her brother die in her arms. He couldn't imagine what it must have felt like to see someone she knew, cared for, and cherished attempt to do the same.

And so, it was then that for the first time in his life, Zuko saw the need to shed mercy. He leaned forward, grabbed a fistful of Sokka's tunic, and pulled him up so that he was at eye level. "Look at me," he snapped.

Clearly disgruntled, Sokka obeyed.

"Everyone in this room expects me to tear you limb from limb. Greater men have died for what you have done here, in my palace, under the eyes of my men."

Sokka's eyes flared.

"But, hurting you is hurting her. So, I will let you live this _once_. But, I swear before my people and Allah, if you attempt to belittle my authority in my own home again, I will kill you myself and to hell with the consequences!"

Katara's eyes widened in fright as all around her, the people that were party to the incident roared with applause.

With a sound of disgust, Zuko threw Sokka back into the arms of the guards. At an invisible signal from Zuko, the guards let go of Katara's brother, and he collapsed in a heap on the floor.

"Get out of my sight," he growled.

Shooting one last look of loathing towards the Betrayed Prince, Sokka picked himself up, and slowly began to limp out of the reception hall.

Katara struggled in Jet's arms once again. "Please," she cried, only to be cut off by Zuko.

"Let her go, Jet," he said, his voice weary.

Jet lifted his arms, and Katara shot out, running across the hall. She put her arm around her brother, and helped him from the hall. When they vanished out of the huge double doors, Jet lifted an eyebrow towards Zuko.

"I don't want to hear it," He answered, pushing a hand through his hair.

Jet guffawed. "I wasn't going to say anything." He reached out and put an arm around his shoulders, still chuckling as his led his friend towards his seat at the table. "Now how about that party?"

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**HAREM**

**EDESSA PALACE**

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Sokka groaned as Katara dabbed a wet cloth onto his split lip. "Do you really have to do that?" he griped.

"Shhh," Katara answered. "You're hurt." She dabbed again at his lip, gently wiping the blood away from his face. Once they had left the hall, he had led Sokka back towards her old room in the harem. Neither had spoken as she pointed him to a chair in the corner of her room by the garden, and calmly began to work on his wounds.

"Oh, Sokka…" she whispered, looking at his face that had grown mottled and purple with bruising. "You _knew _he was the sultan. Why couldn't you just keep quiet and wait until after the party to try to fight him?"

"The ways of men are mysterious, baby sister," He muttered, looking away. When he looked back up at his sister, they both smiled. He threw his arms around her again, and they shared a quiet moment, silently saying how happy they were to be reunited.

"I can't believe that you're alive," Katara admonished.

"I never thought I'd see you again," Sokka admitted, pulling back to look in her eyes once again.

"Sokka, I held you in my arms and watched you die," Katara said, her voice quiet. "How… how are you…?" Her voice drifted off, resolute to relive the memories of that terrible night.

Sokka sighed, and leaned back in the chair. "The last thing I remember was your voice," he said, his eyes unfocused as he looked back on his unhappy past. "After I was hit with that arrow, it was like I was… like I was floating. I knew I was there, in the tent, and I felt your hands as you pulled the arrow out and tried to stop the blood." Unconsciously, his has fluttered up to the point on his chest where he was forever scarred. "But I knew, I _felt _that I was dying. I heard you crying and screaming, and… and that's haunted me. Every night I wake up in a fever, and hear you screaming, and I hear mom begging, and…" he stopped, tears threatening his speech.

Katara's own tears slipped down her cheeks as she reached down for her brother's hand to squeeze it. "I know… I had the dreams too.

"I don't know how long I laid there. But when I woke up, I was far from Samos. Far from home. I woke up in Constantinople, in this strange house. There was a woman, sitting at my bedside. She said that her husband had been out fishing near Samos, and saw the smoke coming off our village and knew there had been a raid. He went to see if there had been any survivors, and… and only found me. Apparently I was mad with blood fever, babbling and talking to people that weren't there, screaming for help or death. He carried me back to his home and he and his wife took care of me." Sokka smiled, remembering one happy thought in the midst of an ocean of sadness. "Their children did, too. One of the children, a little boy, had a pony that his dad had brought back from Samos. I wasn't the one who trained him, but… but it was like having an anchor when I felt like I would drown. Whenever the nightmares would get too terrible or I felt like I was going to die from the weight of it all, I'd always go out to work with the pony more. By the time I left, he was doing tricks that no one else had ever seen."

Katara laughed softly, leaning back in her own chair with her memories of Sokka and the other men in the village training the Arabians that Samos had become famous for. Sokka always did have a gift with them.

"I owe my life to that family. They took me in, cared for me, and treated me like I was one of their own. And when I couldn't stay there anymore, that I had to get out and get as far away from home as I could, they gave me enough money to buy my own horse and enough food to last me a month. And those kids… that pony… they gave me life again after I felt like I had lost everything.

"Once I set out from Constantinople, I wandered. God, how I wandered. I moved across the sea of sand, I went from village, to city to desert again, and then I came to Riyadh. I saw a man working with Arabians near the market one day, and asked if he needed help. Once he found out that I was from Samos, he gave me a job on the spot. The Arabians happened to be the sultans. I was training them in the palace grounds one morning, and a captain in the army asked if I would be interested in working with the horses in Riyadh's guard. I said yes…. And made my way here. "

Katara smiled, and hugged her brother again. "I'm so glad you did," she whispered.

Sokka leaned back and stood up, untangling his sister's arms from him. "But," he began, "the question is, baby sister, what the hell are _you_ doing here?"

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**BARRACKS**

**EDESSA PALACE**

**FIVE HOURS LATER**

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As Mai stood outside the soldier's barracks and let the desert wind lift tendrils of her dark hair, she brooded about what she was about to do. As the honored _Kadin_ she had heard whisperings here and there, seeds of dark inclinations being sowed amongst different members in the palace. Because, the thing was, in any Arabian palace… no one was safe. Not even the sultan. Everyone had enemies, and more often than naught, enemies always came to surface in disturbing ways.

Candlelight from the soldier's chambers flickered across the courtyard and made the gold at her neck and wrists wink and sparkle. She had dressed with extra care for tonight, knowing that she was going to need some sensual prowess to get exactly what she desired. For her excursion tonight, she had chosen clothes left over from the sultan that ruled before Zuko. They were sheerer and shorter than what she was allowed to wear among the Betrayed Prince's men, and the whisper of silk that grazed across her body was draped in such a way to invoke light and shadow, to move and shift with her body, and to keep men always watching, anxious to see what lay beneath the fey silk.

In any other Sultan's harem, it would never be questioned if a harem member were to come to the soldier's barracks at night. In fact, it was often seen as a token of good will among ruling members of several houses. But Zuko always held things to a higher standard. His strange sense of morals was often a source of ribaldry among many sultan and soldiers alike.

So this was why she came under the cloak of the night. She knew exactly who she must speak to, and knew that it had to happen here, among the other soldiers, so they knew that not everyone was pleased with how the betrayed prince was ruling.

Before Mai stepped into the rooms, she gave slight pause. She felt a kernel of remorse for what she was about to do, but held the image of Katara wrapped around Zuko close in her mind. Anger bubbled hotly, and it was all she needed to throw her head back and march into the barracks of Jet's visiting men.

Mai wrinkled her nose in disgust at the acrid smell of sweaty men, and watched in disdain as three men wrestled each other in the corner. Others were lounging around on the small cots afforded them as soldiers, laughing and joking with each other about the night's events.

"Did you see how Sokka stuck it to the Prince?" she heard someone laugh.

"Yeah, I thought I was going to have to plan that moron's funeral myself!"

The men laughed and pushed each other as boys did, until suddenly one of them noticed Mai in front of the door.

"Whoa… Hey, pretty lady, what are you up to?" A taller soldier that she recognized as Jalal slid up to her and put an arm around her soldiers.

Mai swallowed her disgust and looked up at him through lowered eyelashes. "Wouldn't you like to know?" she murmured.

Slowly, all the other men began to realize there was a female amongst them. One came up to Jalal and pushed him aside, shoving her unceremoniously into a wall. "I knew Zuko was happy to have us but I never thought he'd send _you _to us," the soldier said as he sidled up to Mai.

Mai pushed gently against him, smiling up at the solider and licking her lips slightly before speaking. "I wish that I could spend more time with you… but I'm here for someone else. Where is Captain Farid?"

The soldiers whooped. The man that had his arm around Mai guffawed and slapped her on the back. "Right through that door," he said, deliberately leaning across Mai so that his body pressed invitingly against hers as he pointed to a door at the back of the barracks.

"Oh, Farid!" Someone sang as Mai started towards the door. "Someone wants to see you!"

Mai looked back at the man and gave the barest hint of a smile before she opened the door, slinked in, and closed it softly behind her, carefully shutting out the shouts and jeers of the men on the other side.

She looked up, and saw the man she sought looking up at her from a small desk, a piece of parchment unfurled in front of him. Farid frowned. "Mai?" he asked, a candle on his desk casting shadows across the planes of his face. "What are you doing here?"

The object in question moved over toward Farid, and carefully perched on his desk. "We have an understanding, I believe," she murmured, leaning forward so that the drapes in tunic shift just short of being indecent.

Farid looked down, and back up again into Mai's glowing sable eyes. "Meaning?"

"Simple. You want the prince dead. I want him betrayed."

Farid barely managed to conceal his shock in time. "I… I don't know what you're talking about."

Mai laughed softly, crossing her legs before picking up the piece of parchment Farid had been musing over. Farid's hand shot out across the desk and covered hers, preventing her from reading what was scribbled on the paper.

"There are whisperings in the palace, Captain. As _Kadin_ I heard them all. Some are confused…. Some are wrong… and some," she then slid off the desk and carefully sank down into Farid's lap, "have the barest kernel of truth in them. All I have to do is follow that kernel," her hands trailed across Farid's chest before resting on his shoulders, "and then watch it grown into a seed and flourish in the garden of deceit."

Farid swallowed. "You know?"

"I know what you want Zuko dead or banished, but I don't know why or how you'll manage to accomplish that feat."

"Even if I believed you, how I know I trust you, of all people?" Farid scoffed, shifting to move Mai off his lap.

Mai's fingers flexed, and her nails bit into the exposed skin at his shoulders. Farid gasped, and locked eyes with the scorned _Kadin. _

"Zuko gave me a choice after that _whore_ cast a spell on him… leave and never return, or give up position of Kadin gracefully and be free to the life of a harem girl forever. I chose the latter. And I promised myself as I watched _her_ sink her teeth into his flesh and hold a grip over him that I never had, that I would hurt Zuko the same way he hurt me. And I would do anything to make that happen."

Though quiet and controlled, Mai's voice vibrated with an emotion Farid couldn't name. And as he took in the gentle shaking of her body, the anger coursing through her veins, the shame casting shadows in her eyes…. He saw her truth.

"You're right," he admitted, reaching up and around to clasp Mai's hands in his own. "I do want the prince dead. But you're seducing the wrong man, sweet."

Mai's eyes flared.

"As a humble captain if a visiting sultan's army, I don't have access to any of the prince's battle plans. There is also another in Zuko's army who has access to the lesser plans and who has been giving me help, but it isn't what I need. Zuko is careful after witnessing his father's betrayal. Only his most trust councilmen know the exact details, the when and where of how he plans to defeat the desert sheik. But you… you as a harem member have options I thought extinct."

Mai looked at him, her eyes boring into his and he stroked her fingers with gentle sweeps of his own. "You must cast your sights higher up. Wheedle your way into the heart of a general… and then we can talk again. Because once you have your hooks in him, you can then have access to things I couldn't dream of seeing. And then bring them to me, and I will ensure that the right eyes see the information you so carefully sought."

Mai gasped as Farid's hands slid beneath the wisps of fabric at her shoulders. The adrenaline she felt coursing through her own veins was giving rise to passion in her body that she had though long dead after Zuko's scorn. But here, whispering of betrayal in the quiet of the night with Farid, she felt alive once again. "Zhao?" she whispered.

Farid smiled gently, bending his head down to Mai's, putting his lips together, and pushing air out so he blew of the candle with the barest whisper of breath. In the darkness that enveloped, wrapping them both with deceit and lies, Mai felt him lean back up again, and his lips barely brushed against hers. "Zhao," he answered, and then his lips pressed against hers in earnest and they were lost in the tangle of betrayal that enraptured them both.

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**HAREM **

**EDESSA PALACE**

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Zuko leaned against one of the Alabaster columns that lined the harem courtyard, and watched sister and brother laugh and joke with each other near the fountain's warm embrace. As he saw Katara reach out and shove her brother gently, a small smile curled up his lips at the gentle horseplay between the two siblings. He had sought out Katara after the party had ended, seeking her laughter and comfort after the rioting events of the evening. But when he found her out in the courtyard, sitting on the lip of the fountain with her brother, she looked so happy and whole that he was hesitant to disturb them. Even though Sokka had much to prove to him… he was happy for her. Happy that she had some of her old life amongst her once again. As a victim of tragedy himself, he knew how precious moments of contentment were when they occurred.

Suddenly, their laughter quieted, and Zuko saw Sokka lean in and quietly saying something to Katara. Whatever it was gave her pause, because she leaned away and frowned. When she turned back, she gently whispered something to Sokka.

Curious, Zuko moved forward, not wanting to disturb the two siblings yet needing to know what was being said. He stopped just short of a large sycamore by the fountain, and let its large branches disguise him from sister and brother. He couldn't see what was happening, yet was close enough the catch every word.

"—you have to, 'Tara, I know you want to just as must I do—"

"Sokka, you don't understand, I made a promise that I wouldn't leave for a few more weeks."

"To who?" Sokka scoffed. "The Prince of Darkness that you're mooning over?"

"Yes," Katara murmured. "To Zuko."

"But, I _know _how much you need to go back. The ocean and Samos are in our blood, Katara. And if we go home, we can put so many of our demons to rest. We could build graves for the dead, we could clear away the village, and—"

"And what, Sokka? Start a new life amongst all the ashes?"

"No, no… I think we both know that can't happen again. I… I just need closure. I need to see it for myself before I can start living again."

There was a long pause, and then, the words were so quiet that Zuko thought he imagined them. "Me too. I need to see the sun and the sand again too, Sokka. I need to know too."

"I knew you'd feel the same! We can be in Samos in a few days on my Arabian, and be back before the invasion, I promise. It would only be for a week or two at most, because you and I both have obligations. I can check with Farid, my commanding officer, I'm sure he'll let me go—"

"Sokka, slow down, I haven't even… I'm want to, but I made a promise!"

"Well, could you at least ask? Or are you so far up his—"

"Sokka!"

"…Fine. Just ask him, okay?"

"I… I…. okay."

"So you'll come?"

No words were said, but at the answering whoop of joy Sokka gave, Zuko knew the answer. Fury slowly building over the hurt that he felt at life without Katara. He moved out from behind the sycamore, and saw the two embracing as Sokka laughed a said something he couldn't quiet catch to his sister. He walked closer and stopped in front of the two.

"Zuko!" Katara cried, standing up quickly from her brother's hug.

Zuko crossed his arms and waited.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked, moving to his side.

"Long enough," he answered, his calm tone belying the feelings churning underneath his skin.

Wordlessly, Katara turned to Sokka. Sokka sighed and stood, knowing a lost fight when he saw one. "I'll be in the barracks if you need me," he called over his shoulder as he walked towards the exit.

Zuko waited until he heard the heavy doors open and close before he turned to Katara, the look in his eyes saying all that he couldn't voice.

Finally, he spoke.

"That day in the market last month, when you said that you'd stay for two months… you didn't mean it, did you." It wasn't a question. It was an admonition.

"No, Zuko, I meant it," Katara urged, reaching up and putting her hands on either side of his face, desperately searching his eyes. "I never expected Sokka to come back, I never thought that he'd even be _alive… _don't you see?"

"No," Zuko said. "I don't see."

"Now that Sokka's alive, I have to go back with him. I have to see Samos for myself… I have to know what happened to my home."

"And so you're just leaving? You're going back on your word that easily?"

"No, I'm not, I—"

"Yes, you are!" Zuko roared, wrenching away from Katara's hold and turning his back to her.

It was awhile before either spoke.

Silence hung heavy between them.

Then, "I was going to ask for your permission. It won't be long, two weeks, at the most, that's all I ask. I'll come back, I promise."

Zuko spun back around, and grabbed Katara so forcefully that she let out a gasp. "What did I do?" He demanded. "Why are you trying to leave me Katara? Is it because of what I did to Sokka? Because I had no choice, I had to—"

"No, Zuko, it's not that!" Katara cried. "I've already forgiven you, you should have killed him and you didn't—"

"Then why?" He commanded. "Why do you want to leave me?"

"Zuko," Katara whispered, azure eyes searching amber. "You of all people should know why I have to go back."

"I've never felt anything like these past few weeks Katara," he rushed, his grip on her gentling, his hands stroking. "Please don't take that away from me."

"I'm not, Zuko."

His hot breath seared her skin. "Then don't. Don't leave."

Katara pulled back and looked up at him. She'd always known Zuko had an obsessive streak… but this was differed. His consuming fear at losing her made her calmer, and made him angrier and more frantic.

"You have to understand, Katara. You have to."

He rubbed his left cheek against hers, the smooth ridges of the remaining scars sending sparks deep into her belly, making her tremble slightly.

"I do. I do understand, but…" she gasped as she felt his teeth lightly nip at her earlobe. "I have to leave and go with Sokka. It'll just be a few days, Zuko. I'll be back."

His mouth left her ear and moved down her neck. She shuddered, suddenly glad he held her up, because her knees started to buckle.

Her eyes slipped shut as his breath fluttered over the skin of her shoulder. With his teeth, he pulled the rough material of her dark tunic out of the way, exposing more skin to his assault.

"Then tell me that," he said. "Tell me how much you want to leave this."

His heated caresses suddenly stopped, but before she could feel relief at having been spared further testing of her resolve, his mouth came down hard on hers. Her knees gave out completely under the intensity of the kiss.

If he could do that to her with just a kiss, wasn't she right to stay away from him, to cling to what little sanity and good sense she had left?

And that was what made her whisper, "I have to leave, Zuko. I must."

"Do you mean that?" he asked harshly.

Unleashed need glowed in his eyes, dark and deep. Losing herself in that abyss, as tempting as it seemed right now, could not end well.

"I do," she whispered.

Another bruising kiss battered against her resolve, melting her insides with its heat, tearing at her heart with the emotions emanating from every pore of his body.

"And now, do you still mean it now?"

"I do," she said on an exhale.

His hands trailed over her body, his kisses rained over her face, and Katara moaned at the onslaught.

"Yes," he whispered. "Tell me how much you don't need me while you come apart in my arms…"

She gasped as he nibbled at the pulse at the base of her throat.

"Tell me again," he demanded.

"I… I want to go. I have to." The words were so quiet that even amongst the two that heard them they seemed imagined.

But then Zuko let go of her arms so suddenly, she stumbled for a moment, trying to regain her balance.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "Oh, Zuko… I'm so sorry."

And with that, she turned and ran, leaving Zuko alone with his demons and without the woman who cared most enough to help him fight them.

In the morning, both brother and sister were gone.

And nothing was left in Zuko except the burning desire for revenge against Zhao.

.

.

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* * *

**Mina34: Well… sometimes you write things and don't know where they lead you. You could say that whole chapter was product of that. Before you throw things at me, Zuko's mood swing was pretty in character, and I felt that was exactly how he'd react given the circumstances. And e-nutella for anyone who can guess where that last bit of chapter was inspired from! It's a reworded version of one of my favorite books EVER! So, That was a lot of plot to get out in a short amount of space, so I'm sure some people have much to say about the last chapter, so I'll leave you to it!**

**Grandiose6: I know… I failed to answer any Aang questions. But with Zuko and Katara apart, it is on the docket for next chapter, I promise!**

**Blahhx49: Yay! I'm so happy you reviewed, and thank you for all of your beautiful compliments! **

**Lealfaithful: Thanks! Hopefully this chapter lived up to your expectations! **

**AvatardDuo: Aww, that's so sweet! I appreciate it! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**Aquainted-with-the-night: Have you outwalked the furthest city light? Haha, I couldn't resist, Frost is one of my favorite poets!**

**AnnaAza: I LOVE THAT YOU STILL READ MY STORY! You were my first reviewer, and it warms my heart that you've stuck around to see what's going in my little ficcy! **

**Everyone else, **

**THANK YOU FOR YOUR REVIEWS! YOU ALL GET E-COOKIES! **

**Stay tuned, stay reviewing, and all will be revealed soon!**

**Ta!**

**-Mina34**


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