A/N

This is a continuation of PearLynn's story, so thanks to her for allowing me to adopt her amazing work. And she has been reading over this and giving her stamp of approval, so I hope no one is disappointed by my work on this. And don't assume you know all of the plot either. I have a bit of a plot twist planned that might surprise you. This site won't let me leave it as an actual link so I'll do my best to make it easy. Just erase the spaces and extra lines.

www .fanfiction.

net

/s/9362890/1/A-Prisoner-of-Your-Own-Mind

Much to my dismay, I don't own any characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender! I wish I did, but I don't. Also, PearLynn has the rights to the original story/idea/whatever I should put here. The storyline from this chapter onwards is mine, with input and ideas from PearLynn. Butmostly it's mine and the people who created Avatar.

Feel free to R&R!

Pain. That was all Zuko could feel. Azula's torture forcing him back to consciousness again. The burning of the fire searing his skin, the sharp pain of her nails digging into his body. He sat up gasping. He looked around, trying to understand where he was. How was he not in his cell? How was he not chained up?

As he glanced down, he saw the dark brown hair sprawled out, leading to a sleeping girl, tan arms folded under her head. Katara. She saved him. Her and that Toph chick. And…Uncle? The memory was blurred by weakness and cactus juice.

That explained why he wasn't in his cell anymore. They had come for him, taken him away. Rescued him. From his sister. And his father. His father, who knew what his sister had done. Had seen him there. And hadn't done a single thing about it. Ordered that he be kept alive in fact. After so many years of doing everything he could to please his father, Zuko didn't know how to handle that. Really any of this. How was he to know who to trust anymore? He and Azula were never exactly close, but this was a new one. And his father just let it happen.

Uncle. He could trust Uncle. He could always trust Uncle. Katara. He could trust her. Maybe even Toph. Everybody else? Well…they were an unknown variable. Katara, obviously, has forgiven him for his past. She spent so much time and energy caring for him, the son of the very man she wanted to overthrow, the person who chased her and stole her necklace, Zuko doubted she would hurt him at this point. And as for Toph, she had the opportunity to hurt him while he was barely awake, but she didn't.

Zuko pushed himself up and forced himself to walk to the window. Three hours until sunrise. He suddenly felt the over whelming urge to feel the sun. As a firebender, the sun gave him strength and energy. He needed that. Needed the reassurance the sun would give him.

"Zuko?" He turned to see Katara looking at him with those blue eyes. He cracked a smile at her, then wobbled back over to the bed and sat down. He wanted her to trust him, to relax with him.

"Are you feeling better? Just missing the sun?"

He nodded. She somehow could guess what he was thinking, what he wanted to tell her. He wasn't sure if he liked that or not, but he wanted to get to know her in the same way.

"Oh, do you want some water?" He nodded and she handed him a cup and he gratefully drank some.

When he finished, she pulled out her bending water and made a water glove again. "May I?" she questioned, gesturing to his neck. He lifted his head to give her room to work. As her hand lightly touched his throat, he couldn't quite understand why he was so ok with it. Normally no one would get anywhere near his throat. She concentrated for a few minutes, then pulled her hand away, looking disappointed.

He tried to say thank you, but the words wouldn't form. Instead, Zuko took her hand and squeezed it, smiling crookedly when she looked at him. She smiled back and momentarily took his breath away. He had never seen her smile before, and enjoyed the sight.

"I should go so you can get back to sleep." She stood up, but Zuko grabbed her hand again. He didn't want her to go. He felt safe with her there. As much as he hated the thought (which was considerably less than he would have thought), he almost needed her there. The very thought of her leaving him alone caused his heart to beat faster.

She looked at him, then sat back down. "Alright, I'll stay."

Before long, Katara was talking, telling Zuko about their lives and travels. Telling him about growing up in the Southern Water Tribe. About Kyoshi Island. About tricking Fire Nation soldiers into thinking she could earthbend. If Zuko had a question, Katara somehow seemed to know and was able to answer it. Neither of them even noticed the sun rising until the comforting warmth and light fell across Zuko's bed. When they finally noticed, Katara laughed and Zuko gave his crooked smile.

"We should go get you another bath. Then I can help you heal more." Zuko nodded and swung his legs over the bed. Knowing he wanted to do it himself, Katara stood to the side. After he straightened, he stretched, unintentionally showcasing what remained of his musculature, leaving it clear that before his imprisonment he was very well defined. Such an action, however, proved to be too much for the runaway prince, and he fell back onto the bed, accidentally grabbing Katara's shoulder and dragging her with him.

For a moment it was just the two of them, alone, frozen in time, and all he could feel was the warmth of her laying on top of him with her hands resting on his chest and her legs tangled in his, her breath mingling with his. It was the closest he had ever been to another person, and oddly enough he didn't mind the contact for once. It felt nice, her soft skin against his. Her hair fell around them in a curtain, blocking the rest of the world. He could smell her scent so clearly. It was like a river during a flood, where the earth is mixing with the water, and it swirls around you with increasing power.

She didn't seem mind to either, at least, he hoped she didn't. Her hand reached up to touch the left side of his face, the side baring his father's mark. Before she touched it, though she hesitated. "May I?"

After a second's indecision, he slowly nodded. She gently lowered her fingertips to lightly rest on the rough, seared flesh. As she traced the raised uneven mark, she whispered, "Maybe someday you will feel like you tell me about this. I'm not going to hurt you. I think you've suffered through enough at the hands of your sister for any kind of payback from us. I want us to be friends. I want you to know you can trust me."

Zuko's hand raised to brush her face in return, as he tried to tell her that he did trust her. After she had done for him, how could he not? She was the one who held him when he collapsed in that cell, even as gross as he had been. She sat with him every day watching him heal. Waiting for him to wake up. If she wanted to hurt him she would have by now. He would be foolish not to trust her.