A/N: Hey! I'm back aha. Hope this chapter is okay- it's kind of short.

It had barely been a day and Jet's pirate posse had already taken over the ship. They claimed their old one was worse for the wear and that the Fire Nation ship was a lot nicer and faster. They were setting a course to the Earth Kingdom, to trade at a port and refuel.

Katara couldn't figure it out, but it felt like they were hiding something.

That very night, she woke up with a start. She wasn't sure why. She just did, feeling like someone had shouted very abruptly in her ear. For a few moments she lay in bed, listening to the hum of the engines and staring up at the metal ceiling of the new cabin Jet had given her.

It was nice of him to let her sleep somewhere other than the hold. Any longer down there, and Katara was sure the rats would have eaten her.

When sleep wouldn't come, the blue-eyed girl gave a frustrated sigh and ripped off the scratchy sheets. Smacking her parched lips together, she walked out of her cabin onto the deck. The cool sea air brushed across her face as she went outside. Maybe she could go down to the kitchen and grab a glass of water to get rid of the dryness in her mouth.

Shuffling barefoot down there, she passed by the captain's cabin. Strangely enough, it was still alight and there were voices coming from inside.

Curious, the mermaid crept closer. She knew Jet had moved in there. But there was no reason for him to be up at this hour. So what was he doing?

"...what are we supposed to do with the girl?" an unfamiliar female voice queried.

"We could just kill her. She doesn't really serve much of a purpose."

There was a muffled thwack and a small hiss of pain. "Shut up Gonzo. Don't be cruel- it's not like she's done anything."

"You're right Smellerbee," Jet's low voice said. "She definitely isn't Fire Nation, but it would be easy to just kill her. However, it would be more profitable to sell her at the port."

"Like as a slave?"

"Yeah, I don't care. Just as long as we…"

An sour taste in her mouth, Katara forced herself to walk away. There was no way she would let that happen. She didn't want to shrivel away under some rich lord's power in the Earth kingdom. She would go crazy. No, she needed a way to stop Jet.

After chugging a glass of water in the large ship kitchen, Katara made her way into the hold she had been kept in as a mermaid. Balancing a plate of lychee nuts in one hand and a lantern in another, she somehow managed to make her way down the steps.

"Zuko?" she whispered into the darkness. There was a grunt and then her light illuminated the scarred prince's face.

"What do you want peasant?" he asked gruffly.

She held up the plate, noticing his handcuffs and ragged state. "I got food."

He turned away in the dim light. "I don't need your pity."

Katara felt a twinge of annoyance. This guy literally kidnapped her, almost destroyed an heirloom, had his ship taken over by pirates, and still refused something she offered as an act of kindness? "It's not pity. I just thought you might want something better than what they've been feeding you. Besides, I want to talk."

Zuko stared up at her a second, looking slightly incredulous. "A bit more chatty now, are we?" Katara rolled her eyes, refusing to rise to his bait and argue. After a pause he said, "Fine." He took the food with his chained hands and twisted slightly to set it to the side. "What did you want to talk about?"

Katara sat in front of him and set down the lantern and other items. "First of all, I think these are yours." Something sparked in his eyes as he saw the worn leather diary and compass. He gave her an unreadable glance.

"Did you read it?"

For the first time, she noticed the bruise-like circles under his good eye and his sunken expression. Everything looked more pronounced in the flickering lamplight, and for a brief second, she wondered if this was the effect of what his father had done to him. Katara slowly nodded in response to his question and he slouched in disappointment. "I guess I should've expected that."

What was that supposed to mean? She chose to ignore the slight. "I want to bargain."

The prince sighed moodily. "For what? Your freedom? I can't do that, sorry."

"I want to take this ship back," Katara plowed on, acting as though he hadn't spoken.

He raised his eyebrow at her. "Why?"

"Because I don't want to become an Earth Kingdom slave, Zuko," she shot at him.

He stared at her wide-eyed for a second before shrugging. "Sounds legit to me. What else do you want?"

"My necklace back."

"I told you, I can't give you your-'"

Katara held up a smooth, tanned hand, motioning for him to stop talking. "Just give it to me after a month. I promise I won't try to escape."

His expression was unreadable, golden eyes glowing. "Your promise isn't good enough. It'll have to be a blood oath. And what about three months?"

She frowned at him slightly. "You're not really in much of a position to bargain."

The exiled prince's lip quirked. Was he… smiling? "Neither are you."

Katara scowled at him before standing back up. "Fine. It's a deal."

"Bring something sharp the next time you visit," he called out as she made her way back up the stairs. "We need to make the oath!"