AN: Review Response Time!
Unanimous: Thank's for reviewing, here's the next chapter! Enjoy.
Zuko huffed and ordered that she was to be taken aboard the ship for further questioning. In hind sight it probably wasn't her brightest idea, but she had to admit as she boarded that the ship was pretty nice. Zuko had since marched ahead expecting her to follow, not pausing to notice her turn around.
"Who am I going to see?" She asked cooly to the guard next to her. Dumbfounded, the soldier shook his head.
"To talk to the prince of course." Katara looked down at her attire, and sighed. There was little time and she had to be sure that the ship was out of the way of the South Pole before revealing that she wasn't who she claimed.
"I have one last question."
F&W
"Where is the Avatar!" The captain demanded from the guard in the hall.
"She's in the restroom." The younger guard responded.
"For twenty minutes!" He shouted, "You idiot she's probably escaped by now."
"Actually, the bathroom has no windows, I can't see how-" The guard was cut off as his superior pushed past, he banging on the door.
"What are you doing in there?"
"Taking a bath," Katara called through the door, "it's not every day I get to use hot water."
"We don't have time for your nonsense!"
"I don't want to appear before the crown prince as a smelly peasant."
"He has more important matters to attend to then you."
"Then he can go do them. First impressions are shallow, but the most important. I refuse to be judged by the state I was in after an explosion. I would do the same for him."
"But he-"
"HUSH! I don't want to hear another word about him from you. Your biases won't rub off on me." The captain sighed, and turned not looking forward to what the prince would have to say about this.
F&W
Steam billowed out of the pipes that lined the ship's interior. Thick creaks and groans echoed from the engine room throughout the ship as the fading sunlight fell through the small windows. Several soldiers rushed back and forth, carrying out their daily duties as Katara was escorted down the hall. She had to admit, the metal work on the ship was extraordinary. None, however, was as grand as the main control room where the prince sat in one of the rarely used chairs.
"Where is the avatar, it's been two hours!" Zuko shouted above the scuffling feet of the ship mates.
"Right here." Katara stated at the end of the hall, "Sorry for the wait, I had a hard time drying my hair. So you wanted to question me?"
"You… haven't tried to escape." Zuko said suspiciously.
"Would you rather I had?" Katara smirked, something wasn't falling into place.
"No." Zuko stated blandly.
"Good, then we can settle this civilly."
"Since you've wasted so much of our time I'll have to keep this brief. How many elements have you mastered?"
"One."
"That would be water I assume."
"Yes."
"How well can you bend the other elements?"
"What do you mean?" Katara asked feigning confusion. "Aren't people only supposed to be able to bend one?"
"Most people yes, but the Avatar can bend all four," He paused, "Why didn't you know that?"
"The Avatar… so there's only one." Katara mused.
"Of course there's only one," Zuko said growing frustrated, "how could you not know that?" Katara stared at him blankly. "How could you not know that?" Zuko insisted.
"What exactly is an Avatar?" Katara asked, Zuko remained frozen on the spot. "I always assumed it was-"
"You've got to be kidding me!" Zuko shouted to no one. "I can't believe we captured a stupid girl instead of the Avatar. Now we'll have to send her back and start searching all over!"
"You won't have time for both." Katara said smugly, dropping her façade.
"What did you say?" Zuko said slowly, fighting to contain his anger.
"I overheard the captain, they have no idea where the flare originated from. It's not on the map. You'd be wasting months trying to find my village again." Katara smiled again, judging by the prince's reaction she was close to hitting home with her little speech. "Of course I don't mind, it's not like I have a dead line for finding the Avatar, I just wanted to get out of the house. As far as my family's concerned, you kidnapped me. So either you try and find my village again and waste months, or add another passenger to your ship and continue your search. Either way you lose."
"Listen you, you… peasant!" Zuko snarled, "I may have taken aboard a false Avatar, but I don't have to-"
"I wonder what your uncle would think if you killed an innocent little girl?" Katara sneered. Zuko glare lost its heat and became a cold force against her.
"You will stay aboard this ship, but you will remain a prisoner. GUARDS!" Zuko snapped his fingers. "Take this imposter to one of the cells below deck, make sure she is as uncomfortable as possible." The soldiers dragged Katara away, confused by the sudden change in the prince's attitude. She was thrown into a cramped cell, without windows. The darkness fell over her as the barred door closed, leaving her to bask in the night's shadow. A playful grinned danced across her face as the guards left the room for the night.
"Don't think I'll be in her for long." She smirked.
AN: Chapter Two is done! I know these have been short, but they'll get longer once we get back to Sokka and all. Hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you in the next chapter.