"Aang run" Katara yelled, while using her water whip on 3 soldiers of the fire nation.
"But Katara" Aang tried to talk some sense into her head but she was determined.
"No just run, Sokka and I'll be okay, Toph also got away so just take Appa and go as far as you can, you're still exhausted from the day of black sun , you're not strong enough to defeat a whole army of fire benders." After saying that Katara focused on Zuko who was now nearing her.
"You better do what your girlfriend says" Zuko said with a sneaky smile: "you don't want the mean fire benders to defeat you."
Aang run away from the fight and jumped on Appa, quikly yelling Jip Jip and taking of.
"So now its between you and me, sweetie" Zuko's hands were flickering of the hot fire within.
Katara didn't want to fight Zuko, ever since they were trapped in the crystal cave she had felt a kind of connection with him. But, he was from the fire nation, he was for god sake the next Fire Lord, she couldn't feel anything for him. Right when they were going to fight she heard a lout blast. When she spun around she saw the forest were Sokka was fighting lightning up in flames. The Sky turned black , from the ashes that were now circling around. Sokka was trapped, he was going to burn alive if she didn't save him.
She turned around to run into the forest but she was stopped by Zuko, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her against him, " what are you doing, I have to get to Sokka." Katara yelled , " let me go, Zuko please." The pressure was to much, she couldn't handle it, she already lost her mother and she was not going to lose her brother to, but Zuko was right, she was going to die, if she was crazy enough to go to the forest. She pulled her wrist lose, to be stopped again by Zuko.
He held her in his arms . Katara screamed out of greave and was slamming on his chest so he would led her go , but he didn't let go, he even held her closers. Katara knew when she lost and let her body fell to his, still crying. For a moment she thought their was a tear glincering from Zuko's eye, but it was portably the reflection of the moon in his eyes.
Because she was so weak the soldiers didn't have any trouble with tying her up. They took her to their ship and threw her in a cell. Later that day all generals and colonels of the fire nation were deciding what to do with the girl they had caught. Most of them chaired the same opinion : death penalty, only Zuko wasn't comfortable with this decision, she just lost her brother it wasn't fair to her.
"I disagree," Zuko said, causing a lot of commotion between the generals, if only Uncle was here, he would have supported me. Zuko bravely went on : "she the person the Avatar most trusts, if we kill her we can never get in contact with the avatar, we can use her as bate." I hope this works Everyone nodded as saying they agreed but one of the generals , who had his ego injured by Katara , stood up and said : " I think she deserves a punishment, she has causes us a lot of trouble, I think she deserves 20 slashes of the whip…" Zuko knew he wasn't finished and looked him in the eyes , " and I think Zuko must give them." He couldn't do anything other then agree. "Sure" he answered.
By sunset Katara was led to the deck of the ship, she was thrown to the floor by one of the soldiers, her blue shirt was ripped so her back was naked. Katara was still crying for the lose of her brother. In the corner of her eye she could se Zuko was also getting ready.
"Any words before we start?" Zuko asked looking at the trembling body lying on his feet.
"Hope this hurts more than the pain in my heart for the lose of my brother ," and to make sure he would hit her hard she added : "cause I've heard you hit like a girl" . She know this would make him angry, maybe if he hits hard enough, she would die so she soon could be with her brother. Zuko knew she was saying this so he would kill her, but still got annoyed by her.
"Here we go" Zuko said while hit her back with the whip. Katara taught it wouldn't be this hard but unwillingly she led out a scream. Zuko hesitated for a second, but he couldn't show weakness so he just hit her again and again. After the first 6 whips Katara couldn't feel anything more, slowly she came in some kind of trance, after it was over the last thing she saw was Zuko bending over her before she lost consciousness . Zuko took of his coat and put it around the little body, it wasn't normal a human could bleed this much , he thought. The general pushed him out of the way and dragged her on her cuffs to the cellar.
The next morning the man were again in a meeting, now the girl was punished they had give her u suiting job within the fire nation, many proposals were suggested but because no one could agree with each other they just laid the topic a side and started on the second issue.
After 2 weeks they reached the fire nation, in the mean time they had decided what to do with Katara, Zuko would use her as a personal slave. After arriving at the harbor, the soldiers had lead Katara to the Palace of the fire Lord . "So were are we going next" Katara asked.
"Just be quiet" Zuko said grabbing her upper arm and carrying her to his room. Zuko went out for a few minutes but when he returned he had clothes and water with him. He walked to Katara who was now sitting on his bed, offering her the bowl and the clothes. "Put of you clothes" he ordered but Katara didn't move an inch. "Do you realy think I'll take of my clothes with you near?" she looked at him only to see that he was coming closer to her. He tried to pull of her shirt but she jumped away. "Take your paws of off me." "I just want to clean out your wounds on your back, I you don't let me they'll get worse, so push your stubbornness aside and let me help you." After a few angrily looks Katara sat on the bed again and took of her shirt, only as for so he wouldn't see her breasts.
Zuko sat behind her and started to clean out the wounds, her skin tinseled under his touch , it was stinging but at the same time it felt as a relief that the wounds finally are getting cleaned. After cleaning her wounds Zuko sat the bowl next to her "I know you can heal your own wounds, so use it but try to attack me and I'll throw you in the cellar." Zuko watched how Katara carefully bended the water out of the bowl and used it to heal the burns on her arms and legs.
"Turn around" Katara said, "please, I want to put on my clothes." Zuko turned his back and heard her taking of her clothes and shoving the new ones on. He had to repress , to his own astonishment, the urge to turn around. After what has seem liked hours she said he could look again. "Do you really think I'm going to wear this? It doesn't even covers the half of my body.
Katara was wearing a red/pink top that started just under her breasts and ended behind her neck in a bow , her bottom was nothing more then a short, covered with another pink cloth. From her shoulders to her wrist was a small cord. She looked like a belly dancer, only the cloth to cover her mouth wasn't present.
"I'm sorry but that's the appropriate clothing for a slave." Zuko said, trying to repress a smile, there she was, the one so proud water bender now in slave clothing, feeling very uncomfortable. "My father has ordered me to be with him during a couple of meetings so I want you to clean my room and when I come back I want a warm dinner waiting for me, can you do that?" "Sure" Katara said and started dusting with a cloth. Zuko walked to the door and before turning the lock he looked back at her and said " next time you bow if you talk to me." He shut the door with a loud slam , just in time to avoid the cloth that was meant for him, but was now hanging to the door.
Katara did as he said, she didn't want to come in more trouble and after all he had cleaned her wounds, so she made the best of it: his room was al tidied up and everything was in his place. Zuko's dinner was waiting on his desk. When the food arrived she had to repress the urge to take some food of his plait, during her arrival and now she didn't had anything in her stomach.
Late at night, during sunset Zuko came in, while massaging his temples. He had a terrible head ache of all the new problems they were within the fire nation. When he came in he saw Katara lying on his bed looking at the sunset. "Hmm" he coughs. "Something in your throat Zuko?" Zuko became a little annoyed and walked to her . "Enjoying the view, I hope?" "Certainly " she answered. "There are a few things we have to get settled, first you address me as PRINCE Zuko" he said, emphasizing the prince "and second" he continued " I want you to bow when I say something to you, is that understood?"
"Yes, Prince Zuko" Katara came of the bed and guided him to his dinner. Zuko sat down, his own stomach was growling a lot to and started eating, when he saw Katara looking hopefully at the food her gave her a piece of bread. "Thank you , prince Zuko" she had answered. After his dinner Zuko tried to test the loyalty of Katara: "Slave, my feet are hurting , massage them" Katara thought he was joking but when she saw that he lifted one feet in her direction she just exploded.
"Who do you think you are? Your nothing more than a fire nation pig, I had to clean your room, I had to make your dinner and now you are saying I have to massage, no to even touch your feet, only the idea makes me sick. I maybe be a slave but I still have some sort of pride left in me" Katara yelled, still shaking of the anger that was now coming out in huge waves. Zuko expected some kind of reaction, but now she was overdoing it. "Who do you think you are ? Talking to me like that." He walked to her, she backed to until she felt the wood of the door against her back. He grabbed both her arms and lifted her a little in the air, Katara was so light that didn't cause any problems.
"If I clean, you clean if I say cook, you cook, even when is say kiss me , you have to kiss me." "Are you crazy" she yelled at him "I would never kiss such a , a thing." "No?" Zuko said " we'll see about that". Something had snapped inside Zuko, he held her left wrist tighter , only to let go the other and take her face between his hands. "You are going to obey me, one way or another." He let go and threw her to the ground, Katara was shocked by this sudden reaction of him. First she thought he was kidding but she had the bruises as prove that he wasn't. A single tear glided down her cheek, but she didn't allow herself to cry anymore. When Zuko spotted this he mumbled a sort of excuse and threw her a blanket. Katara wrapped the blanked around her and lied in a corner.