The kingdom of ice was enormous. Tall walls of solid water rose up on either side of Katara as she walked across the battlements.

Aang and Sokka were a few yards ahead of her, Aang excitedly riding on an air scooter, a trick he d taught himself.

She smiled as she watched him. He was technically 112 years old, but at heart, he was still only twelve. There was a freezing wind sweeping over her, causing her dress to sway. Her hair moved behind her. She stood there, looking over the beautiful ocean.

The water was still, unmoving. The gentle push and pull nearly lulled Katara into slumber. But then, a horrible shuddering moved the ground beneath her boots. She leaned over the ice wall to see underwater ships rising to the surface, bearing the Fire Nation insignia. Horror shook Katara, and she raised her voice and called out, "Fire Nation!" at the top of her lungs.

Aang was so shocked that his ball of air dissipated, causing him to fall and slide into Sokka, and they both went down in a tangle of limbs. Katara seethed in mild annoyance. He was the Avatar for God s sakes! And he was laying on his butt, looking genuinely confused.

Luckily the Waterbender guards heard her and moved into action, assembling their troops and gathering their weapons. Sensing she would be of no help there, Katara ran down some steps and into the streets of the city.

"Fire Nation attacking!" she screamed. "Get your family to safety!" The people of the Water Nation seemed panicked at first, before moving as one to get their children and elders to safety. A loud explosion shook the air, and the wall of ice next to Katara shattered in a mass of fire and smoke. She threw herself to the ground, covering her head as shards of ice fell to the ground. She turned her head to see Mongoose Dragons crawling through the new entrance, Fire Nation soldiers atop their backs. At the head of the procession was Zuko, a hard, determined look on his face, his golden eyes seeming alive with fire. His dark brown hair fell into his eyes and he angrily brushed it away. Those eyes grazed over Katara s small, defenseless form, and she thought she saw something flicker in his eyes, but a second later, they were emotionless again.

"Bring me the Avatar!" he barked at his soldiers. "Alive," he emphasized, waving them to go on. But he remained, dis mounting his creature and striding towards her, squatting beside her weak body.

"Where is the Avatar?" he hissed in her ear, grabbing her arm and roughly yanking her into a standing position.

Her blue eyes wideded, before hardening into distaste. "I'll never tell you!" she spat.

She could see his body clench with anger, and she feared he might strike her.

Katara began to concentrate, preparing to bend her way out of there. But his eyes so gold and entrancing But he wasn t looking at her, his eyes were locked on something beside her, and he narrowed them in fury.

Very suddenly he grabbed her and threw her to the ground, dropping down and covering her body with his.

Katara tried to squirm away, but was shocked into submission when the house beside them exploded, causing debris to fall over them. When the smoke cleared, Katara jerked violently and shoved him off of her. She stood and was going to flee, when she saw it. To her left, the southern part of the city, water was violently rushing toward them.

The mountain that bordered the south side of the city had begun to melt, probably the result of some idiot firebenders.

Katara barely had time to react, bending the water around her, so it didn t crash into her. She held on, though bending that much water was exhausting. She glanced behind her just in time to see the waves crashing into Zuko, and shoving him away.
Cursing under her breath, she moved the water until she was on top of it, surfing amongst the moving channel of ice cold water, moving towards Zuko, whose head was pushed under the surface.

She bended faster, trying with all her might to reach him before the waves and the helpless prince were slammed into the fast approaching wall of ice. She froze in horror for a fraction of a second as Zuko was struck in the stomach by a piece of heavy lumber. She sped up and was then beside him, grabbing his arm and using a last burst of energy as she propelled them onto the roof of a nearby home. She collapsed, soaking wet, shivering and exhausted. She tried to catch her breath and move her sore arms. She heard a deep groan and turned her head, her right cheek pressed against the damp stone of the houses roof. Zuko was laying curled up in a ball, his hands pressed into his stomach. Katara felt a burst of energy and managed to crawl over to him and turn him on his back. His face contorted in pain as he groaned again. Hold still, she murmured to him, pressing a hand to his abdomen. She quickly tore his shirt from that area. She realized she wouldn t do anything. A black bruise had spread across the left half of his stomach. "You re going to be fine," she told him, more to herself than anything. His gold eyes gazed up at her, and he winced in agony again.

"You," he murmured, "saved me."

"Shh, don't tire yourself," Katara whispered.

"Why did you?" he asked softly, closing his eyes and furrowing his brow. Why had she? Zuko was her enemy. His goal was to capture Aang! Yet she had saved his life, when in truth, him being dead would have solved a large problem. But she shook those thoughts from her head. She would not think about that. She would not be like Zuko or any of the Fire Nation.

"You re going to be fine," she repeated, trying to gather the strength she needed to stand upright. When she did, she felt woozy. Water flooded the streets and began to lap at the roof, sliding towards Katara s already water-logged boots.
She focused her chi and froze the water, creating a barrier so the water wouldn t overflow. When she turned, Zuko was standing, wobbling on his feet. He tripped and staggered, and Katara rushed forward to catch him. He leaned into her; he smelled like charcoal and pine. He placed his hands on her shoulders to steady himself. His golden eyes burned into her and he was breathing against her cheek.

She was paralyzed for a second before he pulled away and stood on his own. His gaze seemed curious, puzzled even. He looked at the water, whose levels were lowering, thanks to some other waterbenders, and then at Katara, who watched him carefully. She heard loud shouts and turned to see Fire Nation soldiers headed toward them, calling out the prince s name. Katara tensed, preparing to fight, but Zuko placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Go," he said, "I will make sure no one follows and," he added, eyes serious. "I won t forget this."

The Water Nation won the battle that day, and Aang was kept safe. Katara remained confused, her emotions running wild. She had saved Zuko, and she didn t regret it. There had been something in his eyes not hatred, almost compassion. She told no one of these events, and kept it a secret. The others might not understand

Three weeks later, the group traveled aboard Appa to Ba-Sing-Se to visit King Bumi, who had invited them for tea. Katara was in their room, dressing back in her usual blue attire, straightening the fur line and trying to make herself presentable. But the door was blown down in a torrent of fire and Fire Nation soldiers poured into the room. The last thing she saw was General Zhao entering the room, his smile cold and satisfied, before a guard struck her in the head, and she crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

The first thing Katara felt when she awoke was the cold stone beneath her. Her head hurt like hell, and she couldn t see anything. Pulling herself up into a sitting position, she felt around until her darting fingers struck hard earth, like a wall. She leaned against it, trying to calm he breathing. She pulled moisture from the wall with her bending, but it wasn t enough to attack anyone with.

Instead, she brought it to her lips and swallowed the mouthful.

She briefly thought of Huma, the girl who had taught her bloodbending. But Katara hated bloodbending. It was a horrible act, to move people in the unpermitted ways. She wouldn t even use it against the Fire Nation; she wouldn t sink to something that seemed to be their level. Because then they would have lost, and this war would have no point. After a few moments, her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she could see clearer.
She was in a cell; the bars separated her from what appeared to be an underground cavern. She crawled to the bars and furiously tried to move them, but they were solid and unmoving. She leaned her head against the bars and cursed herself for even trying.

She pricked her ears when she heard footsteps and a cold and empty voice she knew to be Zhao s echoing.

"Oh yes, Zuko, I have a very special prize for you," he was drawling. When he reached her cell, he lit a lantern, allowing Zuko to see Katara.

A flash of panic coursed through his eyes. Zhao noticed, and his yellow grin spread wide.

"Ah, you are familiar with the young waterbender. As I suspected. My spies noticed your closeness with her all those days ago at the northern part of the Water Nation territory," he continued.

Zuko s eyes hardened and he glared at Zhao.

"It was nothing, merely repaying a debt. You honor your debts don't you?" he spat, and Katara could see him struggling to seem indifferent. Zhao smiled.

"Very well then," he clapped his hands twice. "Guards! Fetch her!" Two guards seemingly came out of nowhere and opened the cell, roughly grabbing Katara and throwing her at Zuko s feet. One of them kicked her in the stomach, and Katara cried out in pain, clutching her abdomen and gasping for breath. She saw another guard place his hands on Zuko s shoulders as he took a step back.

Zuko gazed Katara, forcing her to stand, and the other moved his arms in a martial art form, suddenly bending a rope of fire straight at her. Katara closed her eyes, wincing, waiting for the impact, when she heard someone yell No! and a bright light flared mere inches from her face, heat overtaking her, before it stopped.

She was not burned.

She opened her eyes to see Zuko standing beside her, muscled arm thrown protectively in front of her, little flames dancing on his fingertips.

The guard stood there, stunned. Zhao laughed.

Katara had eyes only for Zuko, whose shaggy black hair into his burning gold eyes. He was glaring at Zhao, with utter hatred in his eyes.

"So you do care?" Zhao smiled. "How sweet. The banished Fire Nation prince and the Water Nation peasant. They say opposites attract after all." Zuko said nothing, although the muscles in his arms twitched. He remained in his defensive formation, and the little flames grew stronger. "So, are you ready to become my slave? I really could use your help in finding the Avatar," Zhao mocked. "After all, I have the power to set her free," he added.

Zuko s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "What are you saying?"

"Its really quite simple. You become my slave and I let the peasant go," Zhao sneered.

"I will never work for you," Zuko hissed.

"Very well then, she dies," Zhao countered simply.

"Over my dead body," Zuko growled, moving himself in front of Katara. She looked at his back and grabbed his shirt with her small fingers. She felt safer with the Fire Nation prince in front of her.

"That can be easily arranged," Zhao smiled, moving his arms quite suddenly, shooting fire at Zuko.

Zuko pushed Katara back, causing her to fall, while he deflected with a great wall of flames.

Katara tried to run, but was tackled to the ground by the guards, who mercilessly kicked her in the stomach and back. Eventually they stopped, and Katara was left in a world of pain. She opened her eyes to see Zhao and Zuko battling. Waves of fire danced around them Katara realized then that even if the guards hadn t stopped her, she wouldn t have left him. She wished so desperately that she could waterbend and help Zuko. But she couldn t; she could only watch as he fought into what she surely thought was his death. Zuko was thrown into the cave wall, and he slid down, groaning in pain.

Katara saw Zhao moving towards him, and she couldn t take it anymore. She hurt all over, but still she fled to Zuko s body leaning against the wall and threw herself into his arms. She couldn t fight Zhao without bending, but if she was going to die, she wanted it to be with Zuko, her ally. He wrapped his weak arms around her and buried his face in her neck, his hand grabbing a fistful of her hair as he clung to her, pulling her closer.

He was shaking and she could hear him whisper I"'m sorry," over and over again. She held him tightly, hiding her face in his shoulder, feeling his warmth and preparing for death.

"Aw how touching," Zhao laughed. They re going to die together. Katara clung to Zuko tighter as she prepared for the killing strike. Zuko flipped them around in one smooth motion so it was Katara against the wall, with his back to Zhao.

She opened her eyes and turned to meet his gold ones, and he gently leaned forward to kiss her forehead when Zhao let out a battle cry.

She closed her eyes again, waiting for death, but it never came. For his battle cry was cut off abruptly Zuko and Katara turned to see Aang, gliding away from Zhao, who lay on the ground, writhing in pain. Aang dropped down to continue fighting him.

Katara felt relief wash over her. They were saved!

Toph and Sokka appeared, taking out the other guards.

Katara grabbed Zuko s hand and went to run to them, but he wouldn t budge.

She turned to see him watching her with tear-filled eyes.

"Go," he whispered. "You ll be safe with them."

"What about you?" Katara demanded. She couldn t just leave him. Not after all he had done for her.

"I can t. It is not my place. You belong with them," he murmured, and before Katara could react, he leaned down and kissed her deeply, cupping her face with his hand, before he pulled back, running out of the cave.

Katara stood there, stunned. Zuko had kissed her, and she had liked it. The feel of his warm lips pressed against hers.

"Katara! Let s go! This place is going to collapse!" Toph yelled, and Katara ran with them out of the cave. Appa was waiting for them outside the cave, and they climbed atop him quickly, guiding him away.

Back near the cave, Katara saw an enormous jet of fire shoot into the sky, through the clouds, and an accompanying roar, and she knew in her heart that it was Zuko, her prince.