Chapter 1

Katara was confused; very confused. Two weeks ago, she had been captured by the notorious Prince Zuko, heir to the Fire Nation throne, to be held as bait to coerce Aang to come looking for her, and instead find Zuko and a small legion of Fire Nation soldiers. While Katara was sure that Aang would not overlook this obvious agenda, she nevertheless knew he would appear anyway, in hopes of evading the prince and rescuing her without any worry. Afterall, he had done it before.

But Katara knew this time was different. Zuko was thoroughly prepared for Aang and was taking every precaution, every precaution, to ensure that he would successfully ensnare "the Avatar" this time around.

When she had first been brought aboard his ship she was startled by his lack of cruelty and reluctantly respected him for his courtesy. Of course, she was his prisoner, so courtesy was a relative term, but he was being relatively polite. What surprised her the most, however, is that she was not led to a prison cell, but led to a small passenger's room. The room was guarded at all times, but it was a small consolation to Katara that she would not be sleeping on a flat straw pallet. She was also required to attend a private dinner with Zuko himself.

Katara had proceeded to this dinner with caution, wary of his alarming generosity. "Why are you doing this?" she had asked.

"Doing what?" he replied, feigned innocence glowing behind his eyes.

"Treating me like I'm your…your royal guest or something," Katara spit out.

"I should have thought that would be obvious," he drawled.

"What? That you've finally developed a soft side? Forgive me if I find that a little hard to believe."

He laughed. "No. I am treating you well, because I thought, in return you would help me out by talking to me about the Avatar. I'm afraid I must know everything about all of your little schemes should I have any hope of anticipating his battle techniques."

"You want to divulge information about Aang that will help you hurt him?" Katara asked unbelievingly.

"When you put it that way, it does sound less convincing. Think of it more as you are graciously giving me knowledge to avoid bringing harm upon yourself. And I must say, I am surprised that you are so shocked. What did you think was going to happen on this ship after you were captured? You were going to be having tea and crackers?"

A door opened behind Katara and two men entered one carrying a tray of scones (A/N I have no idea if scones actually exist in the AvatarVerse, but oh, well), the other carrying a tray with a teapot and two cups.

Zuko missed a beat. "Anyway," he said, nodding to the men as they placed the food and drink in front of them in thanks, "regardless. You will tell me what I want to know."

Though Katara was starving, she had no intention of showing him that she was in any way going to participate in his subtle ways of coercion. "What makes you so sure?"

He casually sipped some tea. "Because if you don't, I think you will suddenly find your stay here considerably less comfortable."

"Boo hoo," Katara said. "So I get thrown in a prison cell with nothing but a chamber pot."

"Keep this up, you won't even get one of those," Zuko said absently.

"It's not like that's the worst thing that's ever happened to me."

"Maybe not. I was, however, not talking about your rooming arrangements. I meant, that there's sure to be a number of guards on this ship who might enjoy taking advantage of a young woman like yourself."

This shocked Katara into silence.

"And take my word for it, that the only thing restraining them now, is my order. Of course, if I were to revoke…"

"Stop it!" Katara could not take any more of this.

Zuko smiled. "So you agree?"

"Yes," she said grudgingly. "What do you want to know?"

He waved his hand dismissing the subject. "There's no need for that now. Tonight is a night for pleasant conversation over a light supper."

"I'm not hungry," Katara lied, wanting to be excused back to her room to wallow in guilt for the information she was going to betray to Zuko, her enemy.

"That's ridiculous. I see the way you're eyeing that scone. Help yourself." He lifted his own up to his mouth, and took a bite out of it, as if in example.

Katara studied it, thinking. Then, without warning, her hand shot down to it and she bit a huge chunk out of it and chewed relentlessly. She hadn't eaten in about fifteen hours. And she was not the kind of girl that made it their wont to not eat much food. She loved food, and she was not ashamed of it.

She ignored the smirk that radiated from his end of the table as she scarfed down the scone, taking periodic breaks to take a few sips of tea in between. When she was done she asked, in the most mockingly polite voice she could muster up, "Make I take my leave now…your highness?"

His face broke out into a smile. "I suppose so. But you will join me here for lunch to discuss The Avatar. I will take you back to your room." He stood up after taking one last swig of tea. He walked around to her end of the table and pulled her chair out formally. "After you," he said.

She gave him a face that clearly stated, "not amusing," before standing up, opening the door, and walking down the ship's corridor as fast as her legs could take her. She heard him behind her, walking at the same pace, his long legs making it effortless for him. When she finally arrived at her door, the guards opened it for her. She was about to walk in but Zuko grabbed her shoulders and spun her around to face him.

"Until tomorrow, my little water tribal prisoner."

She had never been this close to him before. She noticed the harsh lines of his face, hardened after years of brooding and glaring. She studied the roughness of the skin surrounding his eye, how it eternally swelled making the eyelid to be half-closed around it. She wondered for the first time, without any righteous pleasure that he had it, where he had gotten it? A training accident when he was younger?

She guessed he had noticed where she had been looking because his face closed off from her and he shoved her into her room before turning and leaving. The door closed promptly behind her and she heard a soft click signifying the door had been locked. Well, she thought, she was in a prison cell after all. She looked at her generously sized bed and amended, a very nice, tastefully decorated prison cell.

And without another thought, she had laid down on the bed and drifted into a deep sleep.

That following afternoon, Katara had been glad for a change in scenery. She realized, as she had spent the last few hours, staring spacely around her room, that being locked in a small room by oneself was not the most fun thing ever. In fact, when the guard opened the door and bid her to return to the dining room, she muttered a swift "thank God" under her breath before pausing. Since when had she ever been the least bit excited about seeing Zuko? She didn't have the answer, but put the thought far out of her mind.

She also tried to shun the guilt that had been plaguing her mind since the moment she had agreed to tell Zuko everything about Aang. But it wasn't her fault. She knew that Sokka and Aang would support her decision whole-heartedly if or when they found out Zuko's alternative use for her, but she couldn't stop thinking that she had a right and duty to protect her friends, by whatever means necessary. She couldn't help but think she should be raped and violated in order to ensure her friend's safety. But she just couldn't do it. And she hated part of herself for it.

"Good afternoon," Zuko said as she entered the room they had dined in the previous night.

"Hi," she said lazily, sitting down in the same chair.

"So, the Avatar…"

"Yes," she said, signaling him to proceed and ask his question.

"How many elements has the Avatar mastered."

"Aang," she said forcefully, "has fully mastered air, and is partway mastering water. You intercepted us on our journey to the North Pole where we had been planning to find him a formal teacher." Katara stopped, ashamed that she had just told him all of that when she could have just answered his question shortly with a mere "1 1/2."

"I see. And explain to me…"

That afternoon, Zuko had asked her a lot of questions, and she had answered them all, truthfully and more willingly than she would have preferred. When he had finished his interrogation he thanked her. "I appreciate your unhindered cooperation, Katara."

"Considering the alternative, I would have to say that you pretty much gave me no choice," Katara retorted.

He nodded understandingly. "I suppose. However, you did have a choice. And I must say, I was not quite sure which way you would go. You are very proud. I would only have been mildly surprised had you chosen the alternative."

"Well," she said sarcastically. "I'm glad you have such high opinions of me."

"I do, actually," he replied. "I admire your unwavering loyalty to the Avatar. But I also dislike you for evading my plots thus far. You and your friends have put me through a great deal of trouble."

"I hope you're not waiting for me to say 'I'm sorry,'" she said matter-of-factly. "Because it's never going to happen."

"Nor to I expect it to."

"Good," she said with finality.

"Now that this is all settled…"

"Where are we going?" Katara asked suddenly, finally relaying the question she had been pondering since she felt the ship start moving only a fraction of an hour after her arrival.

"Going?"

"Where is this ship heading to?"

"Where do you think?"

Katara gulped, "The Fire Nation capital?"

"Bingo," he said, as Katara's worst fear was confirmed. Zuko was luring Aang to the middle of the Fire Nation where he was to launch a hopeless rescue mission and was going to get caught in the midst of it.

Unbidden tears came to Katara's eyes. She saw Zuko's head rise sharply as he saw her crying. He looked awkward, unsure of what to do. He stood up and walked over to her, and started patting her on the back, not knowing why.

Katara's sobbing was quelled somewhat, not from the comfort of his gentle pats, but because of the contradiction from them. The man who had caused her to cry was now attempting to make her feel better. And what was more, she wasn't protesting. In fact, she was unwillingly relaxing a little more with every pat. When he felt as though she had stopped for good he said, "There's no need for that. No harm will come to you, should you cooperate fully."

"It's not me I'm worried about," Katara sniffed, not knowing why she was telling him this.

"Ah," he said reaching conclusion. "It's the Avatar."

She looked up at him hopefully, wiping tears from her wet face. "Aren't you going to say no harm will come to him should he cooperate?"

Zuko stayed silence, making Katara want to cry more. She was acting so vulnerable in front of her worst enemy. The old Katara would have shamelessly chastised herself for acting this way. But the new Katara, the new Katara who would not hesitate to divulge secrets at the slightest threat. Katara deserved to be punished for the betrayal she'd committed. She no longer deserved to have the love of Aang or her brother. She was utterly and completely unworthy. And she felt even more guilty because the two of them were going to come and attempt to rescue her, and fail because of her. She alone, had brought the world to defeat.

The full weight sunk into her. Because she had been a little frightened, the Fire Nation was going to capture the Avatar and conquer the rest of the world. And Katara couldn't have made one little insignificant sacrifice to prevent that. She was so ashamed of herself. In fact, she had half a mind to go back to her room and impale herself on a bedpost, if she wasn't so determined on finding a way to get out of this mess. I will find a way, she thought to herself with a confidence she knew was completely fake.