Time: 11:03 AM

Oopsee... I slept in a tad much didn't I? Oh well. Well, guess what! I'm back writing some ATLA stuff! :D If you haven't heard of me before, check out my other Avatarish stories, and I hope you like them!

Actually I hope you guys like this one. I am giving you a fair warning right here and now! This is a tragedy! Being Titanic themed, there is not going to be a happy ending!... I think. The story of Titanic is nothing but sad and I am going to stick to that fact, because well... facts are... the Titanic sank! Augh! But oh well, I hope you guys stay with me, despite how awful it might be in the end. (I sure hope I can write a good ending). Oh and the ending will be a surprise to all... hee hee... because technically, we are also still in the Avatar world. So... there is a twist.

On that note... please review and let me know whether I should give this piece of crap up or continue it.

Disclaimer: I never again shall own Avatar: the last Airbender...only in my dreams.

I heard his arrogant footsteps before I heard his voice.

"Katara, aren't you going to go on deck and have one final look?"

I pulled my eyes away from my expensive jewelry case, sighing heavily and using my hand to flip my long hair over my shoulder. "Why should I bother? There's nothing left out there for me anyways? I mean, if I'm leaving somewhere for good, why should I pity myself and look at it longingly for one last unmemorable time?" I listened as the sarcasm dripped off my words and lingered in the air between us.

His footsteps brought him closer to me, and soon his warms, large hands were on my shoulders. I felt myself shiver in fear and tried to tell my body not to make any sort of move that could make him angry. His lips were close to my ear now, "Now you know perfectly well that's not what you want. In reality, I know you want to stay here more than anything and you desperately want to go on deck and see your former homeland, but we have to face reality dearest. You agreed to marry me, and in that, it is the wife's duty to follow her husband anywhere he may go. Even if it means travelling to America across the Atlantic." The hardness in his voice suddenly softened, and his hands rubbed up and down on my arms.

"I know America isn't exactly the most fit place for a lady such as yourself, but Katara, I'm doing this for us. By going over to America I will become the co-owner of the most currently populous bank in the entire world. Just think. I will be even richer than I am now." He turned me around to face him. I looked up into his fiery auburn eyes, straining my neck since he was so much taller than me. That deep ugly scar that I loathed so much stared directly at me. I forced myself not to look away. If I did, he might burn me again.

He grinned, a hideous snake-like grin inching across his face. "Does that make the trip sound a little more bearable? Before you know it, we will be in our new home, we will finally get married and all traces of England will leave your mind, I promise." He touched my face, making my skin grow cold and clammy. I was afraid of how he would make me forget.

"Yes Zuko," I whispered meekly. Smiling, he leaned his face down towards mine. Panicking, I tilted it slightly to the side, afraid that he was going to kiss me again. So far I hadn't given him that delight, nor did I want to. I would always tilt my head at the last moment so that his rough lips would brush against my cheek instead. Trust me, I have my reasons. First, it's not proper manners to allow people to see you in a …ahem…steamy passionate kiss… or as some of the older ladies tend to call it… public intercourse. Heaven forbid. Second, I really really do not even want him to kiss me. I have no desire. I didn't even agree to this engagement; my father did. My father was going in the hole, losing all his money in gambling, and came to me to rescue him. Having lost my mother just last year, he decided it was time to get me married and settled in as a wife to a filthy rich husband so that he could continue to stay rich as well. Like a ton of my friends, I had no say in the matter of my marriage. And when I let Zuko know that, he used his firebending on me. The power he wields is beyond my little training in bending. But then again…. It isn't proper for a young woman to bend anyways. That's men's work.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I heard a knock at the door, calling Zuko's name. His lips never made contact with my face, and for that I was thankful for whomever was outside our door. The door opened to reveal my father, beaming down at me, happy to find that we were in a "lover's embrace". I grimaced.

Zuko didn't seem troubled at all, thank goodness. He would never allow his father-in-law to see his true nature. That was only reserved for me. Goody.

My father nodded his head towards my fiancé. "Zuko, may I have a word with you?"

"Of course Hakoda," Zuko said confidently, and after giving my shoulder a quick squeeze of playfulness, left the room, closing the door behind him.

I breathed a heavy sigh of relief and went back to putting all my jewelry back in the order I pulled them out. What else was there to do on this boat that was leading me to a horrible future and life as the wife to that man.

Minutes later, satisfied with my work in putting things together orderly, I stole a glance at the door.

It would be nice to go out and see English soil for the last time in my life. I bit my lip, feeling my heart drop at the thought. Grabbing my shawl off the back of my chair, I quickly stepped outside the door and peered both ways, in case I would come in encounter with my father or Zuko. Finding the hall bustling with social life, I quietly slipped in between people, finding that most people were now either heading to the dining lounge or other rooms of entertainment. Most people it seemed had left the deck now and went below deck in search for something else.

Climbing the large staircase that led from our hallway to the upper deck, I felt the instant cold breeze hit my face. Blinking back surprise, I realized how cold it actually was out on the water. Never having been this far out on a boat before, I found myself running to the rail, my body leaning far over. A heartfelt smile spread across my face and a laugh escaped from my lips as I watched the water fly by far down below. Looking to my left, I looked up to the front of the boat and watched the front end crash into the large waves that had no chance against the giant ocean liner.

The Titanic.

That's what they called it. Earlier I had heard someone call it the Unsinkable. I believed them. The entire ship was the size of a city for crying out loud!

"This is amazing," I whispered to myself. My eager eyes looked over the crisp ocean water, and a small feeling of hope and wonder filled my heart. It was the same feeling I got whenever I snuck in a practice or two to practice my waterbending. Breathing in the fresh ocean air, I felt giddy and happy to be surrounded by so much water. I wasn't looking forward to going to America, but the trip over might not be so bad after all.

Turning my head to the right now, I strained my eyes to try and see the land that we had left. But my hope left me as I realized I had missed my chance and stayed in my cabin pouting too long. Depression filling my heart, I looked down at the water again, wanting to cry. That's what the ocean was; a giant pool of tears. Maybe it was my duty to add a few to the pot, to keep life going for everyone else.

I leaned over the edge a little farther, willing myself to cry. I felt the wind catch my shawl, pulling it fiercely from where it barely hung to my arms, and lifted into the wind. I let out a cry and reached for it, watching in slow motion as if fell from my arm and got caught roughly in a blast of wind. It swirled upwards and out.

My favorite shawl! I whimpered sadly to myself, my hand still outreached to its floating figure that was quite out of reach now.

But, in an instant, a figure appeared at my side and I saw their arm rise out in front of them. The shawl stopped fighting in midair, and stood still, even though the wind whipped past it. The stranger next to me flicked his wrist and brought his arm towards his chest. Instantly, my shawl danced through the air, directly towards me! My body frozen in fear, I could only widen my eyes in horror, watching the piece of expensive cloth fly directly at me.

Right before it hit my face, the stranger's arm reached out in front of my vision and grabbed the shawl. The wind settled back into the pattern it had before he had arrived and I turned my gaze to look at him.

"How?" I asked, not thinking before speaking. But when my eyes found his, I instantly felt my grip on the railing loosen. His short, heavily styled black hair rustled slightly in the wind, and his warm grey eyes shone with happiness and mischievousness.

My heart making a happy fuzzy beat, I felt my weight fall backwards a little. His eyes widened for a moment and he flicked his wrist. I instantly felt pressure on my back as it pushed me up back on my own two feet.

I stared at him in horror as he held out my shawl for me.

He smiled softly, "You shouldn't be leaning over the edge Miss. You could very easily fall overboard, and," he paused to look over the railing at the fast moving water below, "Judging by the speed we are moving, there is a very small possibility of you living. It would be a pity to see such a beautiful lady as yourself fall to her death."

What was this? For some reason, it sounded almost as if he were teasing me. I narrowed my eyes at him, lifted my chin and grabbed my shawl all in one swift motion.

"How did you do that?" I asked him accusingly.

He shoved his hands in his expensive looking traveling suit pockets. He shrugged his shoulders. "Magic," he stated a matter of fact-ly.

I breathed hot air out of my nose. "I'm serious. Here I am thinking I was going to lose my favorite shawl in the world, the one my mother gave me before she died, and suddenly you come up and order it to come back to me. You can't just shrug your shoulders and say 'magic'." I was about to mimic him the way a younger sibling would, but caught myself before I made a fool out of myself. You are supposed to be a dignified lady Katara.

He just smiled and rested his elbows on the railing, leaning his extremely tall frame towards the water, looking completely relaxed. "I didn't command your shawl to come back," he said hush-ly.

I looked at him incredulously. Was he for real? "If you didn't tell it to come back, then what did you do? Command the win…d?" I stopped and looked at him with wide eyes.

He raised an eyebrow.

"You're an airbender," I whispered, like it was a secret, which it wasn't by the way.

He smirked and shook his head. "No offense," he said, chuckling to himself, "But you're crazy."

I pulled at his sleeve, completely serious. "No, I'm sure of it. You're an airbender, admit it. No one can control the winds like that and not be one."

He stopped laughing. "There are no airbenders left in the world remember? It's impossible, you understand?"

I gripped his coat sleeve tighter. "Yet here you are."

He stared at me, as he were trying to seep into my mind and figure out what I was thinking. Finally he shifted his gaze back out over the sea, his face grim.

"You can tell no one," he whispered, "My life was at stake back in England. I need to get to America and stay low for a while. This ship is crawling with fire nation if you haven't noticed."

"Yeah, I know," I mumbled angrily, "I'm about to marry one in a few weeks."

His eyebrows rose and his eyes met mine. "Congratulations," he said sarcastically.

"Shut it air-boy," I hissed through my teeth.

He laughed quietly to himself, still leaning on the rail and enjoying the view of the ocean. I looked at him carefully. He looked good in those expensive clothes, and his hair was definitely in the most fashionable style for men at least. But there was something…rugged… looking about him. Something that told me he wasn't comfortable in his clothes…like he didn't belong. Not like Zuko. Zuko had had a silver spoon in his mouth since birth and he always looked comfortable in his own clothes, no matter how frippery and elegant they may seem to the normal eye.

He looked young. Probably a year or two older than me perhaps. But I could see sadness in his eyes and the small lines on his face indicated that he had seen many a tough and dangerous situations in life. I wanted to reach out and smooth out those problems.

Just as I was about to lift my hand, he turned and looked at me. Opening his mouth to say something, he was interrupted by a shout down the deck. Turning to find a man and woman, arms linked together, he smiled and raised his hand in a wave.

"Aang! Come, there is the most delightful game of Parcheesi going on in the lounge. You must come and show them how they need a few lessons from the likes of you."

The man before me, Aang as he seems to be named, raised his hand and smiled, yelling back to him. "One moment Sokka, I'll be right there and give them a run for their money!"

Turning back to me, he grinned sheepishly. "That's an excellent friend of mine, Sokka and his wife Toph. They are the one's I'm staying with on this trip. They are protecting me until I get to America."

I smiled warmly up at him. "I'm glad, they seem like nice people."

He chuckled, "Oh they are. But that Toph sure can start a fire and put a bunch of gossiping women in their places. You should hear some of the stories she has."

"I can imagine," I laughed, and glanced at her short stature compared to her husband.

Aang grinned down at me. Our eyes locking, I felt my heart start to patter. What is this feeling? It felt so warm and wonderful.

After a good handful of seconds that passed in bliss, he blinked suddenly and pulled his eyes away, reaching up to rub the back of his neck nervously.

"Err… I should probably get going and not make Sokka and Toph wait any longer," He said, his deep voice lowering even more, making my insides tingle with excitement.

I didn't want him to go just yet. Will I see him again? It was such a big boat. "Yeah," I agreed reluctantly, "You should probably join them." I looked down at my shawl and then quickly added, "Oh and thank you for getting this precious shawl back for me. You don't know how much it means to me."

His face lighting up, he smiled and backed up, falling into a deep formal bow. "It was a pleasure Miss…" He glanced back up at me.

"Oh," I said, realizing what he was asking, "Katara."

He straightened up, "Well Miss Katara, I look forward to seeing you again some time before this ship docks."

I smiled happily up at him. "Likewise," I said, feeling myself blushing like a young school girl.

"Don't go leaning over anymore railings now," he murmured huskily to me and turned away in a swift motion.

My heartbeat stopped and continued to stall as I watched his tall, regal form walk over to his two companions and enter the door to the main entry.

Realizing I wasn't breathing, I inhaled an enormous breath and fanned my face.

Grinning to myself, and hugging my shawl tight to my chest, I looked back out over the ocean water. Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad trip after all.

Oh.. one quick side note... hee hee. My original thought was to have Aang be in the iceberg... the one that actually sinks the boat! *snicker* But that's waaaayyyy to mean. harrharr... if someone else wants to do that, they are welcome to make that funny one. :)

FutureAirbender18 out!