Life Behind the Curtain

By: ChiaraBrie

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Avatar: The Last Airbender. This story is purely fiction, from a fan.

Summary: What if there was no Avatar, and the Fire Nation took over the world?

Katara of the Southern Water Tribe's life takes a turn for the worst when, in desperation, she is sold as an apprentice concubine in the Fire Nation. She is then given as a present to a returning Prince Zuko, whose long banishment was finally at an end. Can this pair of tortured souls find comfort in each other? Can true love really change everything?

"In pious times 'ere priest craft did begin, Before polygamy was made a sin; When man, on many, multiply'd his kind Ere one to one was, cursedly confined; When Nature prompted, and no law deny'd Promiscuous use of concubine and bride" - John Dryden

Chapter One: The Future Between the Sheets

She has been training for this day as long as she could remember.

Since the days when her hair grew long past her shoulders and her baby skin began melting off, Katara had been put to work. It was not the back breaking conventional work of her fellow tribesmen—she was not training to be a fisherman, a warrior, or a healer—she has been groomed for a different life.

In a lot of ways she considered herself lucky; things could be a lot worse. The reality of the world she lived in was as cold and unfeeling as her frozen homeland, and she had been given the opportunity to become something more. Well, not given, but rather forced into the opportunity. She had no choice.

She remembered the tearful winter day all those years ago when her Gran Gran held her close and let her cry. She told her that she was leaving the only home she knew to help earn money for the family. She told her that she was special, and that special people could not stay in monotony; they were meant to bloom in other places. She told her not to cry, that everything would be alright in the end.

She told her a blatant lie.

Katara could not understand how things could be ok if she was not with her family. She would miss her brother and father and Gran Gran and her mother…well, she missed her mother everyday but that was a different matter. But they all told her this lie to make her feel better, as if the truth of her situation was a simple fact of life she would have to learn to deal with. But oh Agni, she was only seven years old at the time.

How was she supposed to understand the way men were looking at her? She was too concerned with playing and laughing with her friends. How was she supposed to realize that the Fire Nation soldiers made frequent visits that year not for war related reasons, but under direct orders from another world of trade she didn't know existed? How was a little water bending girl supposed to protect herself, when her own father was powerless to do so?

They had no choice. The Fire Nation ruled them all, and there was no point in trying to fight an angry dragon. Their whole civilization, as well as the rest of the world, was plummeted in poverty. There were nights that the small family went hungry. There really was nothing left but pieces of a once great puzzle.

And so, with a heavy heart, Chief Hakoda of the Water Tribe signed away his little girl in the hope she would have a future—good or bad. It was the best he could do.

Katara was taken away from the only land she knew to a strange new place across the ocean. The weather was warm, the beaches were made of sand, and there were flowers blooming everywhere. It was as horrifying to her as a nightmare. She would get used to it, they told her. She would learn to love it here, and love her new life.

Why was everyone always so sure what she would feel? There were times she didn't even know herself.

Yet, in all fairness, she didn't have much time to feel sorry. The second she landed on a tiny island off the Capital shore she was pushed into her new world. The island was smaller than she thought at first. There was only one house in the center of the land. It was large and elegantly decorated in colors and designs she had never seen before. Where was all the soothing blues? It seemed like everything from the homes to the people of this nation were constantly alight like flames.

Time for a bath, they told her, and took her to the tiny hot springs behind the house.

The old woman who washed her was cruel, the exact opposite from the comforting hands of her Gran Gran. She scrubbed her scalp till it bled, while explaining how dirty water tribe peasants like her always carried disease.

Disease? But I'm not sick, Katara thought at the time. She was too naïve to understand the bitter hatred between the different nations. She would learn it soon enough.

When she looked back on her life here in the "school" (that's what they called it), she should have known how it would have played out after that first bath. Akane, the nasty old woman with the claw fingers in her scalp, would make the next years of her life just as painful.

Katara would learn skills she never thought were important, such as learning to arrange flowers or how to get stains out of satin. Akane woke her each morning with the sun, giving her tedious lessons any young girl would suffer through. Who needed to learn how to set a table properly? Back home, they were just happy to have food on the table—with or without an intricately folded napkin.

But this was her life now. This is what she would have to do, whether or not she liked it. And those moments at night right before she went to bed and that notion of hopelessness entered her heart, Katara would cry herself to sleep.

Some days were better than others. Over time, she began to excel in her lessons. She could play any instrument with ease and grace. She could sing a lovely tune that would make a nightingale stop and listen. She learned how to serve and cook food for all occasions. But that's not all.

When she turned ten years old, her lessons began to change.

Akane woke her up around midnight, and ordered Katara to come with her. Still rubbing the sleep from her eyes, the dutiful water bender followed her teacher to a part of the house she never was allowed to see before. The lavish "school" was in the front, but in the back hallways lined with red velvet and golden curtains there was an entirely different world she never knew of.

Be quiet, or it will be hell for you tomorrow, whispered the crooked old woman as she led her along to a large intricate door at the end. Slowly, Akane opened the door without letting a creak escape the hinges. She dug her claws into Katara's hand, and shoved her inside. Before her was a heavy velvet curtain which contained all the light from the other room besides one tiny sliver down the middle.

Akane kneeled Katara in front of the part in the curtains, and turned her eyes forward.

In the center of the room was a giant bed, covered in silk sheets and satin pillows which were strewn all over the floor. There were empty bottles of wine, fruit, and a thick smoke which billowed out of the incense hanging on the wall. But it wasn't the room that captured her attention.

It was the woman who was crying out in – was it pain? She wasn't sure—as she was bent over on all fours. Her face was contorted in a strange mask, and her breathing (like that of the man behind her) was labored and coming out in heavy gasps. Then she began to scream as the man continued to pound into her, his pace quickening and becoming stronger with each second.

Frightened, Katara hid her face in her hands.

The moment she did so, Akane grabbed her fingers and tore them away. However, her sharp nails caught her sensitive skin beside her left eye, and it tore deep into the flesh leaving a thin cut. It began to bleed, and Katara knew she would have a scar there for the rest of her life.

Watch and learn, the old madam told her. This is what you are for. This is what you will become.

And so Katara watched until the end, when the man cried out and fell on top of the woman, both of them panting from exhaustion. She watched as the man got up and walked away, leaving her on the bed to clean the mess herself.

She saw her future in the sheets.

When Akane finally felt she had seen enough, she led her back to her bedroom on the other side of the school. Katara went into the tiny bathroom she had access to, and wiped off the blood that caked around her left eye. When she was finally clean, she got sick and threw up her evening meal. She cleaned herself again (even this simple act reminded her of the woman wiping up the mess in the sheets,) and tried to fall asleep.

From then on, her lessons were entirely different.

She learned the intimate ways a woman could please a man. She learned that what attracted men in the streets needed to be a subtle version of what attracts them to a bed. She learned how to say things in a clever manner as to entice a man both mentally and physically. And years passed in this fashion as Katara grew.

And now, years and a million lessons later, she was finally ready.

Akane had seen the value in Katara, although she spent half her time telling her how worthless she was. Katara was an exquisite beauty, and Akane had to admit that with or without training men would pay a handsome fee to be with her. Despite her tiny frame, she filled out her clothing with plump breasts. Her long ebony hair was rich, and cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall. And her eyes—that was the money maker—her eyes were a deep ocean of secrets which enticed anyone who cross them into her stare.

She would make Akane a fortune.

As expected, Katara did not fail her. Last week the "school" was visited by none other than Fire Lord Ozai himself. He was a patron, but he came during the day on a completely different mission. His son Zuko was returning home after a three year banishment, and his wished to throw him a proper party.

He is a man now, the Fire Lord told the madam, and he needs to experience every aspect of that manhood before he can be groomed to take my place.

The sparkle in Akane's eyes told Ozai she understood, and took him to see some of her most prized and experienced students. But Ozai rejected each one. She needs to be pure, he told her. She needs to be as fresh as the plumberry on the Summer Solstice.

Again, Akane's face lit up. Selling virginity always came at an amazingly high price, and who better to buy it than the wealthiest man in the world? Do not worry my Lord, I have the diamond from the Southern Tundra. Exotic, well taught, and breath taking. And most of all…completely untouched.

She would be shipped to the Capital Island the next evening.

The entire day was devoted to her preparation, painting her face and weaving her hair into intricate patterns. Akane packed a few of her things she would need, like the next morning formula she concocted to prevent children, and sent her with the palace escort around sun down. Akane would spend the rest of the night counting her earnings.

But for Katara, the night was just beginning.

She was first brought to the Fire Lord's massive throne room, whose heavy velvet curtains reminded her of other times and made the scar prickle near her eye. Ozai was seated behind a wall of fire, and said nothing as he observed her.

"Most honored Fire Lord," said Katara in her practiced speech as she knelt down in a respectful bow, "I have come at your bidding. I am yours to command."

Ozai's laughter sent a chill up her spine. "Yes, yes you are. But for tonight, it is my son who shall do the commanding." He waved his hand and a servant appeared beside her. "Lead her to Prince Zuko's bed chambers. He is almost finished with his dinner."

The silent servant nodded and motioned for Katara to follow. She kept her eyes down as she went through the halls, trying not to betray the nerves she felt. Finally, after what seemed like a maze of twists and turns, she was let into a grand bedroom.

It was different than she expected. It wasn't dark or gloomy like the rest of the palace. Prince Zuko had all his windows open, giving easy access to the large balconies that lined his room. Katara took a moment to revel in the moonlight, trying to draw strength from its glow.

Sighing, she turned away from the window and began her work. She closed all the curtains, and lit the candles around the room. She then went to the bathroom and undid a day's worth of beauty. She let her hair cascade down her back. She took off the makeup and jewelry and washed her face. She undressed from the rigid clothing she had on, and wrapped a thin, silk robe over her form. After splashing scented oils on her neck and wrists, she made her way to the bed to await Zuko's arrival.

Thankfully for her nerves, she did not have to wait long.

The door to the bedroom slowly opened, and heavy footsteps echoed throughout the room as Zuko came in.

"Prince Zuko," whispered Katara in a sultry tone. She had let her robe slide off her shoulder, revealing the brown soft flesh hidden underneath.

"I have been waiting for you."

Author's Note: To be honest, I have no idea how or why I am writing a new story. I was in the middle of writing a chapter for my epic, and then bam! The inspiration train hit me. I have never written anything like this before. I usually stick to the ATLA story line, but I like using the characters in a different dimension. I am not entirely sure where I am headed with this. It could be just this one chapter, or maybe ten, depending on how I feel.

But I would love to hear some feedback, so please leave me a review.

ChiaraBrie