Author's note : Hey guys! I definitely didn't actually expect anyone to read that first chapter, let alone review it. Thank you all so much! I hope that this next chapter is an improvement from that little intro chapter! Enjoy!

25Carin : thank you so much for reviewing this! I too feel bad that Katara is always kidnapped from her home, and while I never intended for my fic to even involve it, I had a dream about it a while back and ended up diving into this story!

I don't own atla

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Four years had passed since Katara first found herself on the ship that took her from her home in the Southern Water Tribe to the Fire Nation. She just turned 10, not that it really mattered, anyways. Since she'd been in the Fire Nation nothing really did.

They still didn't know her name, not even Former General Iroh. He had been the general when she first met him, but since then he'd launched a siege on Ba Sing Se. He and his troops had failed to break through the walls and capture the city. In the process, the prince, Lu Ten, was killed. Iroh came back a mess, but he hid it well. However, with the loss of his heir, his younger brother was placed ahead of him in line for the throne.

Just a few nights ago she'd heard a lot of urgent whispering. Something about the fire lord and some woman named Ursa. Now, there was to be a new Fire Lord, and his wife had disappeared suddenly. She didn't much care, because all the rumors that she'd heard were whispers from outside her cell.

She had been kept in the same cell since the day they landed in the Fire Nation, and she'd yet to leave it. It was cold and damp, surprisingly enough, with the weather in the nation being quite the opposite.

All of her thoughts came to a halt, however, when she heard footsteps and voices approaching. She could tell there were a few people, some sounding a lot younger. From where she sat in the corner of her cell, it was easy to see the four figures that approached. One, the key holder of the cells, looked as gloomy as he always did. Katara didn't recognize the others, though. One was a tall man, his ebony hair flowing around his shoulders, other than the top knot that rested perfectly on the top of his head. Beside him two young children gazed at her curiously, one male, one female.

The male, clearly a little older than the other child, stepped forward and pointed to Katara. "That one," he said, tipping his head to look at the man that loomed behind him.

"Are you sure, Prince Zuko? That's just a water tribe peasant. Wouldn't you want a strong fire nation servant instead?" Came the familiar voice of the key holder. However, he silenced himself when the taller man stepped forward.

"As you wish," Were his simple words, and he swiftly left as an exasperated "yes, Fire Lord," followed him through the darkness.

The keys clattered against the door as her cell was unlocked and she was ushered towards the exit of the prison. She didn't say a word, keeping her eyes on her feet as she passed the Prince and who she assumed was the Princess. Katara could see the sun filtering through the door, and she braced herself to face it for the first time in four years.

It was blinding, and she nearly gasped as it instantly warmed her bronze skin. Blue eyes narrowed as she tried to adjust, but she didn't get much time before she was thrown into a cart like an animal and wheeled away.

—

When they reached the destination, she was herded into an elegant looking building. Eyes watching for every detail, she tried to memorize the way to wherever they were bringing her. There were a few turns, and she eventually lost track, much to her frustration. A wide door appeared before her, and Katara was shoved unceremoniously inside.

There, an elderly woman stood before her in simple garb, her hands folded neatly in front of her. With a strained smile, she motioned for Katara to come inside the room. She couldn't necessarily refuse, so she walked carefully into the space. It was a large room with the most luxurious bed she'd ever seen. It was framed with wood, and hanging all around it was fine materials in gold and red.

Her eyes snapped to the woman, who shook her head slightly. "That's the prince's bed," she spoke, and then turned towards the corner of the room that was separated with a large divider. Behind it was a small cot with blankets and pillows. "That is where you, the prince's personal servant, will sleep."

Glaring, Katara spoke for the first time in what seemed like ages "Why?" She demanded, her aura as icy as it could get for her young age.

With a shrug, the woman made to leave. "I don't know why he choose you, but you must obey all of his demands or you'll surely be killed by his father," she threw over her shoulder, closing the door as she finished speaking, leaving Katara alone in the room.

Curiosity won over almost instantly, and she began snooping around the room. She opened drawers, glanced under the bed, and looked out the window that was at the opposite side of the room from her cot. The water tribe child found nothing of interest, and sighed of boredom as she made her way towards her small corner of the room. Plopping down on her cot, she felt the fabric that had been given to her. It was nicer than anything she'd ever had in the prison, seeing as she slept with a dirty sheet and a straw pillow.

The silence that surrounded her caused her to fall back into her thoughts, one particular memory was on her mind as of late. It had been the full moon, she could only tell because the guards had been talking about it. When one of them passed her cell, he made jabs at her, speaking words that she never wanted to hear again. In her anger, she'd barely noticed that the small trickle of water in her cell had come to a halt, leaving her in complete silence. Once he left her alone, she began to realize the absence of the only noise she often heard.

As she investigated, she found that it had frozen over, somehow. One finger touched the ice, and she nearly gasped when it immediately came back to life, dripping into the small pool on the floor once more. She looked to her hands like they'd done something awful. Suddenly, it all made sense. She was there for a reason, and she'd figured it out all on her own. The words echoed in her mind, waterbender, waterbender, waterbender..

The chanting in her mind came to a halt and she was thrown back into reality when the sound of the door slamming open startled her. Blue eyes met golden, and the breath left her as she immediately curled into herself as she looked into the eyes of the prince. He didn't say anything, however, and before she even had the chance to move he'd changed into his night clothes, thrown himself onto the bed, and his breaths evened out with sleep.

Katara sighed with relief, as she watched him sleep for what seemed like all night. Her eyes began to droop, and she eventually settled into the small cot, and fell asleep warm for the first time in four years.