EDIT DEUX: I changed the content of this chapter – Not much technical stuff, just the plot a bit. Read it so you can get caught up, if you want.

Summary:

Katara is captured by Admiral Zhao, and he plans to use her to ensnare the Avatar. Luckily, Prince Zuko comes to her rescue at the price of his own well-being, and Katara needs to nurse him back to health. Will their time spent together arouse new feelings within, or will the feelings of hatred be stronger than ever? Can either of them really afford to feel something more?

Ch. 1

A Blue Spirited Rescue

Katara woke up sweat-soaked and panting. She looked up at the starry night sky and at the enormous full moon overhead. She wiggled out of her sleeping bag and stood up.

Katara glanced over to see her brother twisting and turning in his dream, "Please, just one more chicken leg, one more…"

And then she turned to see Aang in a peaceful slumber. He looked so tranquil and sedate lying there. It had only been a few months since the fateful day that she and Sokka first found him in the ice burg, and now he had already mastered water and earthbending – along with his airbending – and become quite good at firebending, although he still had a long way to go before he could receive the recognition as a master.

Katara smiled at him weakly then quietly walked off into the dark shadows of the forest.

………

She had had a nightmare about the fire nation raid on her village and needed a way to escape from those terrible thoughts that had lately been haunting her dreams. It brought back horrible memories of death and destruction and she shuddered. The thought of Katara's mother danced in her head and she sighed. She missed her mother so terribly much. "Mom, I miss you, I need you. I love you…" she whispered into the chill of the night.

Katara walked through the trees. They hid her view from the large glowing orb overhead and she longed to feel its presence again. Katara changed her direction towards the sandy shore that led to the vast ocean. Whenever she saw the full moon over the serenity of the ocean, she felt as if her mother were holding her in her arms again. They made her feel safe and strong and loved.

As she made her way through the forest, Katara could hear the calls of the nocturnal owls and bats. But then she heard another noise, the snap of a twig; it came from behind her. She turned around and saw nothing but darkness. She dismissed it as nothing and continued to walk. Then she felt a powerful, agonizing blow to the head and her world went completely black.

………

"Ughhhhh…" Katara moaned. There was a throbbing pain running through her spine and pounding in her head. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she looked around to see an opulent, commodious bedroom. Fire nation insignias were draped from the walls, and there were candles all around. The bedding on which she was lying was blood red, along with many other aspects of the room. She slowly stood up, trying to figure out where she was. But then she heard deep footsteps outside and the door flung open.

Standing in front of Katara was a tall, broad man with dark hair and full sideburns. He was wearing sturdy, metallic armor, and a mischievous smirk was upon his face. Katara instantly recognized the man. Her eyes widened and she almost inaudibly gasped, "Zhao!"

He walked in and shut the door. His hands were behind his back and he had a look of pure evil on his face. "Well, well, well. Look what we have here. The Avatar's filthy waterbending whore." Had this been any other situation, Katara would have been furious and demanded the insulter to take it back. But the malicious glimmer in his eye made Katara apprehensive and nervous. She didn't know what to say. She just stared at him in shock.

Zhao recognized the look of panic on the girl's face. He knew that she was scared and confused. He also knew that he could use this fear to his advantage. "Don't fret, my dear girl. The Avatar will surely come to rescue you soon. There is no doubt of that. It is obvious that he cares very much for you. But when he does come, I will be ready. All I have to do is sit back and wait for him. When he gets here, he will have no choice but to surrender himself to me to ensure your safety." Zhao spoke with surprising calm.

Katara's eyes grew wide as he spoke, each word's meaning sinking into her still throbbing head. She shook her head slightly and whispered a small "no." And then with greater force, her voice rising in anger, "No! Aang won't fall for your tricks. He is-"

Katara was cut off. "He won't have to fall for my tricks. The Avatar is naïve. He is weak. He will do anything to make sure that his precious friends are out of harms way, especially you, my dear."

Katara didn't like the way the Zhao kept calling her "my dear," but before she had a chance to retort, he continued.

"The Avatar will consciously give himself up to me in return for your freedom. His concern for you is his biggest weakness, and I plan to exploit it."

Katara glared at him with stark hatred, but couldn't manage to find the words to express it. She just clenched her fists tightly.

"You…you bastard!"

"My, you are a feisty one. But you would be smart to hold your tongue."

"Or you'll what?" The words were out of Katara's mouth before she had a moment to think about it, but she was so furious with the bastard, she just had to say something. However, she realized too late that she had made a mistake with her comeback.

"Or I'll have to teach you a lesson," he said in a low, gruffy tone.

Katara's eyes widened and her throat went dry when she realized just how big of a mistake she had made.

He took a step forward, and then another, advancing on the girl. She stepped backward and backward with her eyes full of fear until she backed into the bed. He came closer with and evil glint in his eyes and even nastier smirk on his face.

The blood rushed from Katara's face out of terror. She prayed to the God's that she would not be harmed or dishonored here, not at the mercy of this man.

He stopped so that he was toe to toe with her, but Katara was nearly a foot shorter. He glared down at her and began to raise his hand. Afraid of what he was going to do, Katara lifted her own hand and slapped him across the face.

Enraged, Zhao backhanded her so hard that she stumbled and fell onto the bed. Absently, in the back of her mind somewhere, Katara noted how that would probably leave a nasty bruise.

Just as he moved to strike again, there was a loud crash outside and the shouts of guards reached their ears. Zhao stopped and turned away from the poor girl cowering in front of him.

"What the hell was that?" He looked back at her, gave an exasperated growl and left.

Katara began to sob as she quickly recollected herself. She was so scared and so hurt; she just had to get out of this place before Zhao came back. She mustered up all of her courage and went to the door. Surprisingly, she found it unlocked. She supposed that Zhao had left in such a hurry to find out what the commotion was that he had forgotten to lock her in.

Katara peeked her head out, looked both ways to make sure that the coast was clear, then quickly ran down the hall, the opposite way from which the shouts were coming. She ran down the corridor, turned right, then left. She looked back to make sure no one saw her, but as her head was turned she ran right into something and stumbled backwards. A bit shaken, she looked up and into the face of a mask. It was blue and white with wide eyes and menacingly large fangs. Katara was frightened, but the man in the mask signaled for her to be silent and that he was going to help her escape.

He took her hand and led her hastily through the halls, knocking out guards as they passed. As they moved, Katara paid special attention to his deft skill with the two Long Dao Broadswords. She noticed that he was dressed in all black, and she could see the muscles flex and contract in his back and arms.

Finally they made it to the deck of the boat, to the stern. There were four guards on duty, and the man in the mask fought valiantly with them in a violent, frenzied skirmish of blades and fire and fists until all of the guards were on the ground, unconscious. He grasped his side and limped over to her. When she tried to tend to him, he just waved her off and stepped up onto the railing getting ready to jump. He signaled for her to do the same. Katara was hesitant. Could she trust this blue spirit? Was it safe? But there was something about him that felt so secure, so warm, so right. She took his hand, swallowed hard, and then took a leap of faith.

EDIT: Ok, I thought that this chapter needed some more depth, so I came back and added some stuff to characterize Katara a bit more. If you thought that this chapter was a bit short, or not up your alley, my writing style has changed and matured a lot since this first chapter. It gets better as you read on. And there is lots of yummy Zutaraness ahead!

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