Katara was dragged into her lonely cell. It was larger than she had expected, but still wasn't the size of a normal room. There was a bed in the corner, but it had no sheets.
Her escort, a Dai lee agent of course, pushed her into the cell and locked the heavy door. She watched him walk away through the small square opening about one foot by one foot and barred with four stone poles.
She crawled onto the sheetless bed and lay on her back looking up. Her thoughts lingered on the past few hours.
"I pray that the others are safe," she whispered. Their safety was all that mattered. The Dai lee's ambush had caught the whole group off guard earlier that day. She had little water to defend with and was unable to escape the countless bruises she had now. On the verge of escape, she had been grabbed from Appa as he took off in flight.
She remembered ordering Aang, her brother, and Toph to escape, promising that she would be okay, though now she wasn't sure if she would be able to hold that promise. The thought of her brother trying to fight off Toph sent a tear from her eye.
The young water bender shifted the position of her body to lie on her side. Pain shot through her as she turned on her left side facing the wall. It was then that it was brought to realization that she wasn't in her top condition. Dried blood covered her ripped gown. No water, let alone food, had been brought to her room. Healing with her bending skills, unfortunately, was not an option.
Katara stared at the wall as if asking it for an option. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes. No longer resisting sleep, she slowly drifted into unconsciousness.
"I will not lose tomorrow."
Zuko had left for sleep earlier than normal. Azula was as annoying as usual with her torture speeches of how great she had become and all her accomplishments. She was at her personal best during dinner, in which Zuko skipped.
Throwing off his shirt, Zuko climbed into bed. He extinguished the candle that lit his plain room. The moon showed its own share of light.
With the moon in sight through his small window, his thoughts drifted to the water bender. He winced when he thought of all the pain she must be going through-physically and mentally. Regret overtook him once again. He knew he betrayed what little trust she gave him those few days ago. Time had passed by slowly since then. He missed talking to his uncle. He was the only one who truly put up with Zuko and still cared for him. The times he had spent with his uncle had become nothing but precious memories. Betraying him hurt him more than any pain he had ever had to face before. Luckily, Iroh was no longer under Azula's "care". Amazingly he managed to escape from Azula and the Dai lee by means unknown. Zuko couldn't help but smile to himself. He always knew how to get out of tight situations. Thinking about him only made him hurt more.
Thoughts of tomorrow crossed his mind. Azula wasn't going to go easy on the injured girl. If anything, she probably wanted her dead.
Zuko punched his fist against his bed and dug his face into the pillow trying to cast out the thought.
"Why do these things always happen to me!" He growled in frustration. He knew his choices always led to harm of others. Why that misfortune always befalls on him he will never understand.
Something had to be done.
