Chapter Three
When I had captured Katara, it was early in the evening. When I visited her in my room, it was just past sunset. The night was now too late for me to continue wondering around. I had already wasted three hours I could have been sleeping.
Katara. That was her name, and it was strangely beautiful even though I had never heard it before. Yet, it seemed foreign to my head, and my thoughts. I could now refer to her differently than peasant.
I was talking with my captain on deck when it happened, just about to leave to head down to my room. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of long wavy brown hair and quickly turned when I realized I only had one person on this ship with that kind of hair.
My body was overwhelmed with rage as I saw her escape the guard's grip that had led her up the stairs and run to the railing. I quickly strode over to where she was, thinking that she would try and overtake my ship using her water bending. As I reached her the guard had grabbed hold of her arm and was roughly turning her around. I realized a stream of water was just reaching a deck of the ship before it dropped back down. Before he did anything further, I grabbed the collar of his shirt and Katara's arm. One in each hand, I threw him across the deck so he slammed against the railing on the other side.
Katara's eyes seemed to shine with shock drawing my attention, her eyes were a bright contrast to the dark waves moving behind her. But, my rage continued me further. I put my free hand around her neck and pulled her up to me. Letting go of her arm, I raise my right hand above my head. She stared at my eyes, and then shut them tight, turning her head the most she could in my grip. She was waiting for impact.
I moved my hand down and changed it into a fist with a pointing finger, "That was a warning. I don't want to have to hit a woman, even one of your low standards." I stated. She opened her eyes, now glazed with water. "I don't know how you got him to bring you up here, but do not try escaping again." I was utterly confused because I remember locking the door behind me.
Her hands clamped onto mine and I realized how hard I was holding her neck. Those soft hands pointed down their nails and dug into my skin. I released her and she fell to the ground.
She coughed but didn't look at me or say anything. I was still extremely upset. With a glance, I realized the other man had him his head on the metal surface and was now slumped over, unconscious.
She sat up now and from under her breath she said, "Your guards are fools."
I took a deep breath realizing the fear I had caused in her. I didn't feel like she would try anything now and that thought calmed me down. I kind of felt sorry for her, even though I was still mad at her actions.
"Come on," I ordered smoothly, holding out a hand. She continued to look down so I wrapped my hand around her bicep and pulled her up, trying to be a little bit gentler. But, soon after we started to walk, she pulled out of my grasp.
"I can walk on my own," she started firmly. I noticed she was rubbing her neck.
Then I realized something that I suppose hadn't caught my eye before. "Why are you wearing my clothes?"
She looked down at herself as if she almost forgot. She had a pair of my black pants tied around her with a red, long-sleeved, plain shirt on, and no shoes. "I was washing my clothes." I looked back up at her face and her left foot; they were still covered with dirt.
"Didn't you take a bath?" I asked.
"What's that suppose to mean?" she shot back staring me in the eyes.
I didn't say anything to that last comment and continued to follow her lead to my room. When we got there I opened the now unlocked door and let her go in first. I continued to stand in the doorway as she walked back to the bed. It was odd seeing a woman in my clothing. Even though they didn't fit her, for some reason, they seemed to compliment her body.
"I'll be back soon; I need to go talk to that guard. Then we'll need to go to sleep." I told her and then quickly shut the door and locked it. The last thing I saw was her turning her head with her mouth open to protest.
After seeing to the guard and realizing he wouldn't be waking up soon, I left my other men to deal with him. I made it back to my room with a tray of food I had picked up. I hadn't really brought her a meal before, just some bread and I figured she'd be hungry since when I returned her before all the food was gone. Since Katara had be busy all day, I hadn't really thought of eating anything for dinner, but I'd rather feed her than take the risk of hearing her complaints and having a full stomach. Now, I was tired. Although most nights I stayed up this late it, I had to deal with a lot today.
When I opened the door I was almost confused by the sight I saw. Katara was on the ground pushing sheets across the metal floor.
I made sure to lock the door and place the key in my pants. "What is that?" I asked as I walked over to a table and placed the tray on it next to the one I hadn't removed. My room had a large bed, a side table, a dresser and another table where I would work on things at night.
"It's a bed," she stated, like I was asking her what color the sky was. "It's what you sleep on," she added looking back down at her work.
"That is not a bed," I told her, striding to the place where she kneeled on the ground, "And I am not sleeping on it."
"Well I'm not sleeping on the floor," she said gesturing with her hands now. "And aren't you supposed to accommodate women first?"
"You're first off a prisoner," I said. I think I was explaining this so I understood though. "Then a woman… barely. Besides," I crouched down to look at her in the eyes, "Aren't you used to sleeping on the floor?"
"You're an awful person," she retorted with a straight face and then stood up. "I am sleeping on the bed and that's final."
"Well good, me too." She gave me a look of disbelief and then headed over to her food.
I picked up the sheets and pillows and started to remake the bed, pulling the blanket with blood on it off. I was afraid that perhaps it'd get cold tonight though, but I'd rather be chilly than sleep with blood at my feet. I could keep my own body temperature up.
"Is there honestly no other place for me to sleep?" I heard come from behind me.
I now turned around and headed to the table. I moved some scrolls over and sat in the chair opposite of her. It looked like she must have gone through them to keep herself entertained, but they were mostly just maps, so I wasn't worried.
"Yes, you can sleep with the crew. I'm sure they'd be glad to welcome you." She simply stared at me and took another bite of her bread. "Look, I have no interest in being in the same bed as you, don't flatter yourself. Besides, it's huge; you won't even have to touch me. It's much better this way."
"Men are sick," she concluded. It upset me that she thought I had her in my room for my own personal use. I wished she would be more thankful for what I was doing for her. Then she changed the subject. A part of me wished she would stop opening her mouth, yet it was kind of nice to have someone different to talk to. "You're Uncle came to talk to me."
"Oh," was all I said. Even though I knew it was going to happen, I was still a bit surprised.
"Yeah, he's really nice, nothing like you actually," she told me taking another mouthful. After she finished swallowing she continued, "He says we have a lot in common, but I don't really see how that could be true." I was trying to think when she meant he came since I hadn't seen him all night. I was also wondering why she seemed too quick to talk to me after the fear she showed me on the deck earlier. Although, I wasn't about to conclude that she forgave me.
"It's hard to understand anything that old man says," I responded. Trying to think of some way that Katara and I are similar, all I could think of was our connections to the Avatar.
Katara continued to ponder and looked like she was thinking over something. As I stared at her, I didn't something without thinking. I reached over the table and grabbed the rest of her bread. But, as I didn't this, my hand grazed over hers and her incredible blue eyes locked with mine. I swallowed and retreated my hand, thinking over why I just did that.
"I thought this was my food," she said, perfectly still, just gazing into my eyes. Maybe she actually thought she had made that mistake.
"I didn't get to eat dinner," I told her and stood up. I couldn't stand that stare anymore.
I ate the bread slowly while I walked over to the bed and sat down. I started taking off my boots with one hand. After I had both shoes off she strode over to lay into the bed, her tray cleared of food.
"Why won't you go take a bath?" I asked becoming aware of how dirty she was again. I honestly didn't want that in my bed.
"You're very rude," she answered. She got under the covers and turned away from me. I took my shirt off, tossing it to the side.
"What are you doing?" She asked me. I now realized she was sitting up as I turned around to face her.
"This is how I sleep." I answered shortly not wanting to hear her retort.
"Not next to me you aren't," She stated clearly giving me wide eyes. I stood up and I noticed her gaze drop below my neck. But, only for a second.
"Katara, please. I need to go to bed," and with that, I got under the covers next to her. I gave a flick of my wrist and put out the lamps around the room.
As soon as I shut my eyes I heard rustling. I tried to ignore it but it didn't stop and I rolled over to face her. From the moonlight, I could tell Katara was up and moving on my bed. Then I realized she was grabbing pillows and placing them between us as if making a wall.
I lit a flame in my hand and her eyes quickly shot to me as she stopped moving.
"What are you doing?" I asked in disbelief. She was a little annoying in how dramatic she was.
"I don't want you to touch me," she told me as she went back to her job and finished laying the three pillows between us.
"Katara," I started. It was strange saying that name, like it was a word that shouldn't be spoken. "This bed is huge and like I told you before, I'm not going to lay a hand on you."
She looked up at me with a sad expression, as if she didn't trust me. It hurt to see that. I was a man of my word.
I broke our eye connection and put out the light. We both laid down and she seemed to have fallen asleep quickly. As for me, it took me a while, like it did every night, but this time I had someone to stare at.
