Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor do I own Tangled.
"Okay," Katara said quickly to herself. "Okay, there's a man here. In my tower. There's no need to panic."
Panicking was exactly what was needed. However, she managed to keep herself calm.
She cautiously stepped toward the man, making the floorboards squeak. Closer to the man than before, she was able to get a better look at him. He was clad in red, a simple tunic and black vest, pants and black boots. The fabric was trimmed with gold. It looked... expensive? Katara knew it wasn't like her own blue dress, but a lighter, softer material.
Katara lowered herself onto her knees, staring at him curiously. Her heart palpitated wildly, reminding her that she had never seen a man before, let alone be in the same room as one.
She marveled at how pale his skin was. She could only see his neck and chin, for his ebony bangs covered his cheek and eye. He didn't look to be very old.
Impulsively, she reached her hand out to his face, brushing his soft hair from his face. With his profile uncovered, Katara gasped loudly, the shock knocking her backwards onto her forearms.
The young man's left eye was marked with an awful scar, the wrinkled and red skin reaching from the middle of his cheek to his left ear. The rest of his porcelain skin was flawless and unblemished.
The young bender openly stared at his scar. She couldn't help it; it was too large and such a contrast to the rest of his face. She wondered just who this man was and what terrible thing had happened to him.
Leaning closer once more, she placed her finger against his scarred cheek lightly. She moved her hand, feeling the rough skin. Katara traced around his eye, his cheek, before traveling along the line of his nose. She felt above his eye where he was missing an eyebrow, then skimmed his forehead.
Her brow furrowed in puzzlement. His forehead was very warm. She felt it once more with the back of her palm. After holding it there for a few moments, she deduced he had a fever. Katara lifted his eyelids, taken aback by his bright golden eyes. He was unresponsive.
Sitting up, Katara frowned, knowing his condition was serious from several healing sessions with her grandmother. He was severely dehydrated, and without help he could die.
She was now faced with a choice. She could either heal him and restore his health, or dump him out the window.
The waterbender sighed. She knew that the first choice was the only option. She couldn't send this man to his death, regardless of the fact that she didn't even know him. Besides, could he really be as bad as her grandmother thought the people of the world were?
Katara reached out to feel his head again, her hand traveling down his warm neck. Her cheeks heated. She prayed to Tui and La that this man wouldn't remember her practically groping him when he woke up.
She knew she needed to get him off of the floor. Looking around, she didn't find any soft surface. She certainly couldn't put him on the table, considering that was where she and Hama ate.
She made a face. Like it or not, she was going to have to get him upstairs and onto her bed.
Standing up, she bent over, hooking her arms underneath his and pulling him across the floor. She didn't get very far. Katara made an aggravated noise. He was heavier than she anticipated.
However, she persevered. One thing that Hama always said was that she was strong enough t do anything. She just needed to focus.
Mouth set in determination, she tightened her hold on him. Pulling hard, she was able to get him across the floor and up the stairs. It wasn't a quick process. When she dragged him past her door, she had to pause for a moment to catch her breath. She then proceeded to get him to her bed. Next, she had to get him onto the soft blue covers. Katara tried lifting him multiples times with no luck. She then attempted to push his torso up first and legs second, but his body slipped and he hit the floor with a loud thud.
Katara winced when he hit the ground, muttering an "Oops."
Arms, legs, and back aching, she had one last idea. She leaned his back against the side of her bed frame, the crawled onto the mattress and grabbed his arms again. She pulled him up, the man's back on her bed with his long legs dangling over the side. She got off of the bed and went to the opposite side to haul his legs onto the covers.
He wasn't conscious but she still set pillows behind him for comfort. She noticed some sort of sheath strapped to his back, long, brown and slightly curved. She had no clue what his was, but she slid it from his shoulders and placed it beside him on the mattress.
Hands on her hips and letting out a long breath, she congratulated herself on a job well done. It was short lived, for she then remembered that the man laying on her bed was well near death.
She left the room, coming back a moment later with a glass of cold water, a small basin of warm water and a small cloth. She set the basin and cloth on the table on the bedside table, then propped the scarred man's head up and held the glass of water to his lips. She knew it would have been better if he was conscious, but she needed to get some liquid into his body.
Next, Katara bent the sweat of of his head and neck with a wave of her hand. She then dipped the cloth in the warm water, squeezed out the excess liquid, folded it and laid it on the man's forehead.
Now, she would wait. She grabbed a chair from the corner of her room, pulled a random book from her shelf and sat down a few feet away from the foot of the bed. She began reading, glancing up every so often to look at the man. After a few minutes, Katara sighed and stood up, setting the book on the chair. She couldn't read at a time like this.
She walked over to the side of the bed and stared at him. His scar was fascinating, and she found that it did not make him unattractive. She thought it gave him character. Cocking her head, the waterbender wondered what this man was like. When he woke up-
Katara's blue eyes widened. Just what would she do when he woke up? She was nervous being around him now. What would happen when he was up and awake?
She shook her head. She didn't want to make herself more worried than she already was. Katara stepped away from the bed, deciding to leave the room. Some time away from the man might help her think of what to do when he gained consciousness.
Katara made her way down the steps, planning on making some soup. No doubt he would be hungry when he woke up. She was walking toward the kitchen area when something bright shined in her eyes. Holding her hand up to shield her face from the glare, she noticed on object on the ground near the window. She made her way to it, realizing as she got close that it was a satchel. There was something gold peeking out from it.
Curious, she bent down and picked up the golden item. She held it in her palm, mesmerized. She weighed it in her hand, knowing it had t be solid gold. It was circular, probably and inch and a half in diameter, with two sharp prongs sticking up.
With her other hand she picked up the strap of the brown leather bag. It was light, and she reached her hand in to search for any more contents. She felt small circular items on the bottom, cooling her finger tips as she touched them. When she pulled them out, her eyes widened when she saw copper, silver, and gold pieces. There was a lot of money in her hand, with the majority of the coins being gold.
So, the man was rich? Traveling the world and spending as much money as he could?
In on the of the small pockets sewn onto the inside, she felt a piece of paper. She pulled it out, carefully, so she wouldn't crease it.
Painted it on it was a portrait of a man. He was older, having many laugh lines around his eyes and mouth and forehead. He wasn't smiling, but his eyes seemed to be giggling with mirth.
Who was this? And why did the young man carry around his picture?
Katara tried to make up the man's history and personality in her head, but nothing seemed to fit. She knew why, though. His scar was throwing her off. She had no clue how to tie it in.
She then put the items back into the bag, sliding it over her shoulders. The pouch came to rest at her hip. She then forget about the satchel and what was inside as she busied herself with cooking.
As the waterbender stirred the contents of the pot, a thought came to mind. A frightening thought, one that she hoped wasn't true.
What if the man was a criminal?
It would make sense. He probably stole the golden object along with the money and fled. Some how, he managed to find her tower. Certainly if he found out her capabilities he would exploit them. Her skin prickled as she thought of what he might make her do with her bending.
Oh, how she wished her grandmother was here now. She would know what to do, know how to handle this man if he did turn out to be a criminal.
Katara knew, however that the man was her problem now. Hama wouldn't be back for a long time.
Besides, she shouldn't judge. There was probably a plausible explanation to all of this. He might not be a criminal, just someone with money who somehow found her tower.
As she ladled the steaming food into a bowl, Katara felt rather proud of herself for not panicking. There was a man in her tower, one that was possibly very dangerous, and yet she had it all under control.
Her lips turned into a smug smirk. "Still think I can't handle myself out there, Grandmother?" she said quietly.
An idea formed in her mind just then. Maybe, if Hama knew that she had taken in this man and helped him, she would let Katara leave the tower. Katara grinned. Her Grandmother would have to let her go outside once she heard how level-headed and calm she had been in this situation.
The bender stuck a spoon in the hot bowl and happily made her way up the steps, the satchel swinging with her movement. Inside her room, she set the bowl next to the glass and basin on the nightstand.
She took the folded cloth from the man's head, she dabbed around his face and neck before setting it back in the bowl. Katara's lips twitched; something wasn't right. She had decided not to use her healing on him, going on the traditional route. So why did he look like she had used her bending on him? His pale skin had some color to it now, his forehead almost normal in temperature when she touched it.
When had his fever broken? She didn't remember. It was all too odd how much better he looked after such a short time. And since he was better, there was a chance that he might wake up. Soon.
She instantly became nervous. What would he do? How would he act? What would she say? She'd only ever talked to Hama before.
Katara didn't have to worry for long, because a minute later, the man stirred.
And she, never being in the company of the opposite sex before, did the most rational thing a woman in her position would do.
She ran.
...
He woke up to a dry mouth, a throbbing head, and the color blue.
Everywhere around him, there was blue. Blue wall, blue rug, blue covers on the bed he was in...
Wait.
Where was he? And why was he in someone's bed?
He sat up quickly, only to regret it a second later. He put a hand to his pounding head, rubbing his temple. He looked to his right, where a basin, a glass of water and a bowl of something that smelled delicious sat. His golden eyes widened; there was someone else here.
Hurriedly, he swung his legs over the side of the bed, wobbling a little as he tried to stand. He thought hard, searching his brain for memories of what happened.
He had been running from Azula, found this tower, and climbed it. Then, he blacked out. He didn't remember seeing another person. He had thought the place was empty.
Clearly, he thought wrong.
He searched the room, looking for another being. It was hard to see the half of the room opposite of him. The drapes on the window (blue, he noticed unsurprisingly) were drawn, one single ray of light peeking out onto the bed he had been laying on.
The light hit something long and curved. It took the man a moment to remember that this item was his, and he quickly scooped it up, gripping it with white knuckles.
With one hand holding the sheath, he used the other to grip the bed as he moved. His body was sore, his muscles complaining at his movement.
At the foot of the bed he noticed a chair with a black book sitting on it. He moved toward it, and was about to pick it up when he heard a noise. It was faint, coming from the other side of the room. It kind of sounded like a gasp, something that would come from a person...
There was someone else in the room with him. There had to be. The young man pulled at the hilt sticking out of the sheath in his other hand, a long silver item that gleamed began to come out.
He had almost pulled the swords completely from their scabbard when something wet hit him in the back of the head.
It stung his already throbbing head. He quickly turned to see a rope of water sticking out of the small basin of water. It wiggled, threatening him. Then the water rose from the basin, shot past him and disappeared into the darkness of the room's other side.
His lips thinned. He was dealing with a waterbender. He squinted, trying to see the other person but had no luck. Annoyed, he made a show of separating his dao swords and throwing the scabbard to the side. If this coward wanted a fight, the man would give him one.
Water in the form of a whip shot out of the shadows not a second later. The man easily deflected it. There was a pause, then more ropes of water came at him. The numbers grew, two, four, six whips coming at him at the same time.
His body was quickly becoming exhausted. At one point while deflecting the water, the young man thought he saw something move in the shadows. The distraction gave his opponent leverage, and the man then felt the sword in his left hand get knocked to the ground. Startled, it took him a moment to understand what happened. In his shock, he felt the other sword in his right hand get knocked away.
He flexed his now empty hands. The man knew he was too weak to use his bending. He was completely defenseless.
He didn't have time to raise his hands in a reluctant surrender, for he saw the huge gush of water coming at him not even a second before he felt it. It sent him flying backwards. He winced as his body his the wall. And then, he was encased in ice.
Every one of his limbs was covered in the ice save his head. The man wiggled and thrashed, attempting to somehow break it. He was about to raise his body temperature when he heard the voice.
"Struggling is pointless."
The voice was much to high to be a man's. He then watched, dumbfounded, as a woman came out of the shadows.
…
This was not going as planned.
Katara didn't want to fight him, but when he pulled out his swords, she panicked. Well, first she slapped her palm to her forehead, cursing her stupidity for not checking him for weapons. Then she panicked.
She had been glad the man was weak. Otherwise, she didn't think she would have been able to beat him. She knew that freezing his body to the wall might have been a little too much, but she needed to prove a point.
Now, she stood about five feet away from him. Katara had enjoyed the surprised look on his face when she had first shown herself, but was now irked by his scowl and venomous eyes. Nevertheless, she kept an aloof appearance as she studied him.
He seemed to be sizing her up, just as she was doing with him. His expression never showed any interest or disinterest, keeping only that angry look.
She broke the silence after a moment. "Who are you, and how did you find me?"
He didn't respond, which she found annoying. He kept staring at her, until finally his eyes widened a fraction, holding an emotion akin to horror.
"Where's my satchel?"
He said it quietly, yet forcefully. Katara wondered if his voice was naturally raspy, or if it was just because he hadn't used it in a while.
She frowned. Why was he being so difficult? Didn't he realize she had been the one taking care of him?
Katara didn't have much experience with talking to people, but she did know one thing:
Everyone responded to fear.
Idly, she unfroze a small portion of water from the wall. She let it slide around her hand and wrist before freezing it into an icy dagger.
"Let me ask you again," she said, meeting his eyes. "Who are you, and how did you find me?"
She stepped closer, watching as his eyes flicked from her person to the dagger, then back to her.
His face, much to her chagrin, didn't break. His eyes, though, seemed to light up. She thought his lips might have twitched, too.
Was he... laughing at her?
Great job, Katara, she told herself sarcastically. She'd tried to seem scary. From his reaction, all she had succeeded in was humiliating herself. Vexed, she took another step closer to the man.
"My satchel?" he questioned again, his voice lighter this time, much like a laugh.
He sure was persistent. "I've hidden it, somewhere you won't find it," she relented.
Before, when he had begun to wake up, she ran across her room and hid behind her bookshelf. Thanking Tui and La for the opportune shadows, she'd slipped the satchel off of her person and squeezed it into the small crack between the shelf and the wall. It wasn't the best hiding place, just one where no one would think to look first.
"We'll see." She shivered at his response, then quickly shook her head. She wasn't getting anywhere with him. He refused to answer her questions. Glaring at the man on her wall, she quickly thought up a way to test him.
"So," Katara started conversationally, putting one hand on her hip. "What exactly do you want with my bending?"
She prided herself at getting some sort of reaction from his, even if it was just a blank look.
"What?"
"You probably want to sell me for a large sum. Or, maybe you want to keep me for yourself and use me for your own evil deeds!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said with a bored look.
She narrowed her eyes. "You don't want to use my bending?"
"Why would I want that?" he said, appearing confused. "Your abilities are adequate, but nothing exceptional," he then sneered.
Katara was taken aback at his insult, anger quickly coursing through her. Adequate? He had no clue just what she was capable of.
Her anger quickly dissipated when she remembered her task at hand of testing him. He seemed genuinely confused, and insulting he bending made it clear to her that he didn't want to use her.
She found herself in a small cloud of bewilderment. Her grandmother had been telling her for years that everyone would want kidnap and use her for her bending. But this man didn't...
"I'd appreciate it if you would unfreeze me," his voice broke her thoughts.
She snorted. "Not happening. At least, not until you tell me who you are." She crossed her arms.
A flicker a surprise ran across his face before his lips twisted in an angry scowl. "My name is... Lee."
"All right, Lee. How did you find my tower?" She then asked.
"I was... traveling. I just so happened to stumble across this place and climbed up it," he responded.
"Uh huh." She stared at him, trying to see if he was telling the truth.
It seemed rational. He did have a large amount of money in his satchel, certainly enough to travel the world. Even enough for another person to come along...
…
It was all so strange. Why was this girl here, all alone in this tower?
Clearly, she was native to the Water Tribe. Her skin was that same tan color, her eyes a startling shade of cerulean. Why was she in the Earth Kingdom, and not in one of the Tribes? None of it made sense.
Even more confusing, she had no idea who he was. Multiple times, she had questioned his identity, genuinely not knowing. Any other person would have know right away that he was Zuko, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation.
He'd just given her a fake name and somewhat fake story to go along with it, and now he watched as her eyes brightened. Like something had just clicked in her brain.
Instead of accusing him of lying and saying his real identity like he thought she would, the girl strolled over to the bookshelf across the room.
He stared as she ran her fingers over the bindings of the many books, her lips quickly moving as she read the titles. She then smiled and pulled one out, hurrying back over to him.
She opened to a certain page, stared at something on it for a second, then turned the book around for him to see.
"Do you know what this is?" she asked, finger tapping on a picture. Zuko squinted to read the caption.
"The southern lights?"
She nodded and closed the book. "I'm prepared to offer you a deal, Lee," she said.
"A deal?"
She pointed at him. "You will take me to the south pole to see the lights, then return me safely back home. And only then will I return your satchel to you."
"No," he said, as soon as her words ended. Zuko watched as her expression morphed into one of agitation, her eyes glazing over with anger.
…
"No?" Katara repeated his refusal.
"You're asking me to take you across an ocean just so you can see some stupid lights? The answer's no," he told her.
She became angry again. "Trust me when I tell you this, you jerk," she marched right up to his face until they were nose to nose. Her knuckles turned white from clutching onto her book. "You can tear apart this tower and burn it to the ground, but without my help, you'll never get your precious satchel back."
They glared at each other, blue and gold clashing angrily, stubbornly.
"I could do just that, and take you down in the process," he whispered threateningly.
"But you won't," she whispered back. It was hard to keep her eyes locked on his. Those golden orbs seemed to pierce right through her skin.
"Oh? And why not?"
"Because you would have done it already. Instead, you listened to what I had to say. That tells me you're reasonable." She said, taking a step away from him.
Lee laughed drily. "You think that just because I refuse to hurt a woman, it means I'm an all around reasonable person?"
"I think it means you're honorable."
His eyes flashed with an emotion she couldn't place. The word must mean something to him. He was silent for a long, long time. Then:
"Fine."
"What?"
"I'll take you to see the lights," he acquiesced with a sigh.
"Really?!" she practically squealed, ecstatic.
He rolled his eyes. "Yes. But first, get me out of this damn ice."
She quickly bent him free, set her book onto her bed, then turned to prance around her room gleefully as he wobbled on his feet.
Could this be real? Was he really going to take her to see the lights? She felt utterly and incredibly happy. She clapped her hands together, overflowing with joy.
...
Zuko used her distracted state to pick up his swords and put them safely in their sheath, slipping it over his shoulders. He rolled his eyes as she danced around. She then noticed him watching after a minute, and, with a slight blush on her cheeks said, "I'll need to pack. So just... stay here."
Not about to be bossed around by a peasant, he turned away from her and moved to the door. He stuck his head out, seeing another door across from him and a set of wooden stairs leading to a lower level.
With a glance back at the girl, he left the room and descended the steps. The room was modest in size, having a kitchen, dining area and chairs near a fire-place. All around him were more hues of blue, sometimes purple and white.
Feeling a slight breeze, he turned to window where he assumed he had come in from. Zuko stole a quick look at the open door to the girl's bedroom. He could climb out that window and be gone in seconds without her knowing. And when night came, he could sneak in and find his satchel.
No matter how badly he wanted to, he wouldn't do it. He couldn't. Honorable, she had called him. She didn't even know the half of it.
So, he didn't climb out the window. Instead, he searched for his two hunting knives, the ones he remembered scaling the tower wall with.
…
She packed lightly, only taking a black cloak, a water skin that rested on her hip and her most beloved book, the one about the thief named Kai. Katara didn't have any sort of traveling pack, so she put these things in Lee's satchel.
It wasn't the wisest decision, but if he questioned it she would tell him that she had taken his possessions out of it. Which she hadn't. To Katara it just didn't feel right to leave such valuable things in the tower. She felt much better having them at her side.
She was a little annoyed to find Lee wandering about her tower as she walked down the steps. He turned when he heard her footsteps.
She blanched when she saw what was in his hands. He held two knives, one in the right and the other in the left. They looked dull, but they could hurt nonetheless. She raised her eyebrows at him.
He didn't notice her look. His eyes zeroed in on the satchel that rested on the hip opposite her water skin.
"Don't get any ideas," she snarled. "None of your things are in it."
He frowned, but didn't press the subject, seeming to believe her. Lee made his way to the window sill. With a glance back at her, he lowered himself out the window.
Katara jogged over to the window. She stuck her head out, looking down to watch Lee use his knives to get down. He seemed to sense her watching him, for he paused and looked up.
"You coming, Waterbender?" he said impatiently.
She would have jumped out the window right then if fear had not frozen her feet to the ground. She began to doubt herself. The world was so big, so menacing, full of the dangers Hama described often. Did she dare leave the safety of the tower for the unknown?
Katara set her mouth in determination. She was so close to her dream. There's was no way she could stop now.
This was when her life would be begin.
Stepping onto the window sill, she raised her arms, calling out to the stream below. The water rose as her command. Up, up, up it went until it formed a large wave. With a flick of her wrist, Katara froze it into an icy slope against the tower. Then, taking a deep breath, she jumped.
She hit the ice hard. Her body raced down the icy slide, gaining speed as she quickly passed Lee. In an instant it was over, and she tumbled into the grass.
On her back, Katara looked up at the endless sky. The clouds seemed to wave at her. She smiled and giggled. Rolling over, she felt the soft green grass, running her fingers through it. She couldn't believe she was outside, away from the confines of the tower.
She was watching an insect run up a blade of grass when a pair of black boots with a golden stripe on each of them were suddenly in front of her. She turned her head up until she caught Lee's gaze.
"Let's go," he commanded tersely.
Reluctantly, Katara hauled herself up off the ground. She took a moment to dust her dress off then scowled at Lee.
He only frowned back in response, keeping his arms crossed as he turned around. Hesitantly, she followed.
"Just don't slow us down, Waterbender," he said, back turned from her as he walked away from the tower.
"Katara," she replied.
He turned his face slightly, giving her a small view of his scar. She thought he might have nodded, for he didn't say anything in acknowledgment.
She followed him for a few more steps, then looked behind her. Her tower sat peacefully, undisturbed as it had always been. For the first time, it would be empty.
Katara stared at it for another heartbeat, then turned and didn't look back.
A/N: Sorry for the wait, everyone. School is kicking my butt.
Anyway, this is the first story where I've switched POV's, so I admit that I'm a little nervous about this chapter. But, I think the switches went pretty well, so I hope you guys do, too.
A reviewer asked if Azula was still Zuko's sister, to which I say, she is. All familial relationships in this story are the same as in canon, whether a character (e.g. Katara) is aware of them or not.
Thanks for reading!
