Katara woke up warm. She rubbed her eyes and took in her surroundings. She was on a ship sporting a plain black flag. Pirates. They were all over the deck, most looking at her like they hadn't seen a girl in ten thousand years.
She was warm because someone was holding her: a pirate with a greasy beard and part of his nose missing. He smelled like fish and body odor. It was like the navy ship all over again. She thrashed in the pirates arms. He held on tighter, grunting.
"Cap'n!" he called, trying to hold Katara. She kicked her legs out but found nothing.
"Cap'n!" he called again, louder this time. A short, fat man with a gray beard came forward.
Katara kicked out again and her foot collided with her captors shin. He swore and dropped her, hopping on one leg and glaring down at her. Katara hit the ground hard, then rolled onto her feet, and took a fighting stance that Sokka had taught her. She held her stance and shifted her gaze from the pirates, waiting for someone to attack.
The man with the gray beard, who was, truthfully, the cleanest and best looking man on the deck, gave her a wide smile.
"The captain is in his quarters," he said to the pirate Katara had kicked, and then he turned back to Katara, the slightly mischievous but friendly smile still on his face. Katara loosened her muscles a little.
"Is your name as pretty as you are?" he asked. She didn't answer.
"Miss, I would like to help you-"
"That won't be necessary, Uncle," a rough voice said. The Uncles smile faltered. He turned around to face the newcomer and backed away. The other pirates followed suit, leaving Katara with the rough voiced man.
The first thing she noticed about the Captain was his face. There was a nasty, pink scar that covered his left eye and spanned across to his left ear. It got darker in color as it neared his eye, which didn't seem to open all the way. He had no eyebrow on the mutilated side of his face. He sneered when she looked at him. He leaned in and the scar got bigger.
"What are you looking at?" he growled, his face too close for comfort. Katara dropped her eyes, as well as her defensive stance.
"Nothing," she whispered.
"Good." He straitened up.
"You have a name?"
"K-Katara," she stuttered.
"And?" The Captain glared at her.
"And I'm from the Southern Water Tribe," she added hastily. This was not a man to keep waiting.
"Oh?" the Captain said. His eyebrow rose.
"How did she get on the ship?" he asked in a raised voice. The crew shuffled, and murmured, but no one answered.
"Well?" the Captain asked angrily. Katara flinched slightly. She looked up as the man she had kicked limped forward.
"Well, um, Cap'n, I- I mean we-" he gestured at the pirates surrounding them-"found her. She was floatin' on this, uh, metal thing…and yer Uncle said we can't leave her there, else the fishies would get her…" he trailed off and glanced up at the Captain. The Captain rounded on his uncle.
"You did this?" he practically shouted. Uncle didn't look fazed.
"Of course, my nephew. As Pinto said, we could not leave her there. Imagine how you would feel if something happened to her." The Uncle dramatically clutched his heart. The Captain gave his uncle a look that said he didn't care what happened to her.
"I give the orders, not you!" He really was shouting this time. To prove his previous statement, he began calling out orders.
"Get back to work! All hands on deck! Don't just stand there!" Katara watched as, in less than five seconds, the crew jumped up and threw themselves into work. The deck became loud and buzzing, like an angry bees nest. The only people remained standing were Katara, Uncle, and the Captain. She looked up at the Captain, he was several inches taller than her, and waited for his next move. Sensing her eyes, he looked down at her. His frown turned into a smirk.
"You can stay for now, filthy peasant. But don't worry. I won't keep you long." With a wicked grin, he walked off. Uncle, with a gesture from the Captain, gave Katara a pitying smile, then followed his nephew to the head of the ship.
The second thing Katara noticed about the Captain was his ponytail.
She stood at the head of the ship, next to Uncle Iroh. That's what he introduced himself as.
Freezing, salt water sprayed Katara's face and the wind blew her long brown hair back. She normally had it in a braid, but, seeing as she didn't have any physical labor to do, she let it down. The view from the ship was spectacular. The sun made the waves sparkle, and sea birds flew above her, singing to each other. The air smelled so good. It had been a long time since Katara had enjoyed the outdoors. Even though the captain hadn't revealed her fate yet, she could still take a little breath of fresh air.
She looked towards the Captain when her thoughts returned to him. He was steering the ship, one hand on the wheel, the other shading his eyes. His black hair was flowing in the wind and his posture was bone straight. His yellow eyes were staring ahead at the ocean. His face was calm. He looked…less harsh. Perhaps it was because his scar was on the side of his face she couldn't see.
"More tea, Miss Katara?" Iroh asked, bringing Katara back to her body. He held out the steaming kettle, which never seemed to cool down. Oh. He was a firebender.
Katara held out her tea cup and let her mind and eyes wander back toward the Captain. What's your story? She thought. Where did that scar come from?
"My nephew is a fine young man, wouldn't you agree?" Katara snapped her head to look at Iroh, a sour expression forming on her face.
"I hardly think that fine is the word to use," she said. "Demanding, cruel. That's more like it." Iroh chuckled.
"Well, Prince Zuko can be temperamental," Iroh said. Wait. Prince?
The Captain-Zuko-turned towards them, hearing his name. He looked harsh again.
"What?" he snapped.
"Nothing, Prince Zuko, nothing," Iroh said, waving a hand in Captain Zuko's direction and taking a sip of his tea. He let out a contented sigh and steam blew from his mouth.
"I'm not a Prince," Captain Zuko grumbled and turned his attention back to the ocean.
"Were you?" Katara asked tentatively. Captain Zuko's face contorted, he looked like he was choking on a sea prune, but otherwise he acted like he hadn't heard her. Katara looked at Iroh, hoping he would shed some light on this new discovery, but he had his eyes closed and was breathing in the scent of ginseng tea.
Katara turned her gaze back to the sea and let herself become mesmerized by the water. Swirling and churning around the large pirate ship, the water seemed to call to her. The sea greens and deep blues of the ocean were not like the colors of her homeland, which was all ice and snow, but she still felt at home with the sea. The sea and the moon were her true home. She felt most like herself when she was waterbending. She missed bending the water and feeling totally powerful with the water working in her hands. She glanced at Captain Zuko. He was concentrating on reading a map of the Earth Kingdom, one hand still clutching the wheel. She turned back to the water, leaning over the railing and peering down at the water. If she just moved it around a bit he wouldn't notice… Katara stretched her hand out, her fingers extending out to the waves. She pulled the water up in a string; it was almost in her hand…
"Cap'n!" Katara and Captain Zuko both jumped, she dropped the water and he dropped the map. Captain Zuko cursed and snatched the map up from the ground. He rolled it up, and then stuck it in his belt.
"What is it?" he snapped. The pirate that had called him flinched.
"Plank's ready," he said, glancing at Katara. She looked at the Captain. He grinned.
"Good. Prepare the crew. It's time for some entertainment." The pirate smiled evilly at Katara, then jumped down the stairs to follow Captain Zuko's orders.
"You. Come with me," he said. He strode forward and grasped her upper arm rather roughly. He pulled Katara along until they reached the deck, where the crew was gathered. They all looked creepily excited.
"Take this off," Captain Zuko commanded. He tugged at her long brown tunic, which was what all slaves on the navy ship were required to wear. The pirates cheered. Katara tried to back away, but the Captain gripped the front of her tunic. He pulled her forward and yanked the tunic up and over her head. Katara immediately wrapped her arms around her body, shivering. She had her wrapping covering her chest, and a little silk skirt. She felt horribly exposed. She glared up at Captain Zuko. He had his back to her. He held up her tunic and tossed it to his crew, laughing. The pirates dived for it, and one with an eye patch and nine fingers held it above his head victoriously moments later. He brought it to his face and smelled it, then smiled at Katara. He was also missing teeth.
Captain Zuko shoved her forward onto a wooden board jutting out from the side of the ship. He pushed her until she was at the very edge of the plank. He tied a rope tightly around her wrists. She stared down into the rough water. She had wanted to be close to the water, but this was not what she meant. She looked back at Captain Zuko. His face was a mask; no emotion.
"Walk the plank!" someone called from the crowd. Cheers and wolf whistles came from the crew. Katara met Captain Zuko's eyes, pleading with him. His scarred eye twitched. Katara turned her gaze to Iroh, but he just gave her an I'm-sorry look.
"Dead men tell no tales," Captain Zuko murmured.
"I don't speak pirate," Katara said quietly. The Captains mouth curved slightly on one side. It took Katara a second to realize he was smiling.
"It means 'leave no survivors.'" He nudged her with his elbow. Katara stumbled back and her toes left the plank. She threw her arms out and tried to grab Zuko, but she was already falling down to the churning water. She hit the water with a painful smack and plunged down into the depths.
She opened her eyes and the salt water burned them, making her shut her eyes again, but not before she saw a dark shadow below her. Katara had never been afraid of sharks, but now she was terrified. Her heart was in her throat as she imagined leopard sharks tearing her apart, feasting on her body. She wasn't too meaty, two years of back breaking work and lack of good food had done that to her, maybe the sharks would leave her alone.
Bubbles escaped her mouth and her lungs felt like they were shrinking. She was dying. She would never see Dad or Sokka or Gran Gran again. That thought made her come back to reality.
They wouldn't want you to give up! she told herself. You're a waterbender. Do some waterbending. With her last bit of strength, she kicked her legs out and streamed up through the water at lighting speed. She broke the surface but kept pushing the water at her feet, and she soared up over the ship. She let out a breath and felt herself draining. She let her legs muscles relax, and then she was falling again, onto the ship this time. She thought she was going to die of internal bleeding, when she made a crash landing onto a bewildered looking Captain Zuko.
AN: aww poor Zuko :( Thank you to Snoopygirl123 and Medusa' for reviewing! And thanks to everyone for favorites and alerts! This chapter a little short. Hope you liked it! Chapter two is on it's way. Review button is hungry for cursors
