Chapter 7
Zuko crashed into the clearing where the Avatar and his friends had erected their rock shelter. He spied Katara alert and unharmed and relaxed slightly. The Gaang jumped to their feet in alarm at the sudden intrusion. Aang glared at the prince before rushing out to face him in battle. Toph and the Dai Lee soldier earthbended themselves into each other. Ty Lee cart-wheeled towards Sokka and Mai flung shurikens at Katara.
The monk sent a figure-shaped blast of air careening at Zuko, but the prince dodged before it could hit home. He gave Aang a considering look while maintaining his fighting stance.
"Why was she screaming?" he asked, hurtling fire blasts at the monk.
The Avatar beat the flames away with his staff. He then paused, as if hesitating whether or not to share information with the enemy. The prince watched surprise, suspicion, and finally anger float across the other boy's face.
"She was having a nightmare—not that it's any concern of yours! I protect Katara. Not you."
Zuko gritted his teeth in anger at the monk's icy warning. I protect her more than you know.
"I'll have to remedy that by taking her off of your hands."
Aang launched himself at the Firebender in absolute fury.
Katara was at a standstill with Mai. She had enough water to defend herself against the other girl's attacks, but not enough to exert the full force of her bending abilities. A few yards away from her, Sokka was frantically dodging Ty Lee's jabs while simultaneously ordering Pathik and Kuei to get on Appa. The acrobat suddenly got in a jab and Sokka thudded to the ground.
Katara gasped and readied herself against the two girls who were now rounding on her. She heard a horrible thumping sound and looked over her shoulder to see that the Dai Lee soldier had sprung a sneak attack on Aang and knocked him out. Toph ran to his rescue and kept the other Earthbender at bay.
"We'll never be able to hold him. Take those two instead." Zuko pointed at her and Sokka. Katara's eyes widened in alarm.
Mai sent a whirl of shurikins at the girl so that she was unable to avoid Ty Lee's jabs into both her legs and one of her arms. As she crumpled to the ground, Katara grabbed a hold of the acrobat's braid with her one working arm. Ty Lee yelped in pain and pulled her hair away to safety. Katara glared up at the two girls.
A shadow fell over her that abruptly ended her scowling session. She looked back in dismay to see Zuko advancing steadily towards her, his face grimly determined. Her mind flashed back to the nightmare she'd had only moments before. Katara felt herself going pale with fear. There was nothing that she could do when the prince scooped her up into his arms except feebly push against his chest with her un-paralyzed arm.
She felt weak and delicate held securely against the hard muscles of his chiseled body. It angered Katara that he had this effect on her. Why do I have to be helpless in his arms yet again? Her fear began to be replaced by anger towards Zuko for being physically stronger than her. The girl curled her hand into a fist, prepared to strike out at him should he try to place his hands anywhere else on her body. The prince looked down at her fist quizzically but did not say anything.
Katara let out a soft protest as Zuko lifted her onto an ostrich horse. He mounted behind her, snaking his strong arm around her waist, keeping her firmly pressed against him. The physical closeness so soon after her nightmare caused the girl to start trembling softly. Mistaking her tremors for chill, the prince pulled off his tunic and slipped it over her head, gently guiding her hands through the armholes, then rolling up the sleeves to her wrists. Katara's mouth parted in an "o" shape in surprise. Did he just give me his shirt? She hadn't been cold, but now she felt comfortably warm in his clothes.
It was very…chivalrous of him. Her mind inexplicably began replaying romantic fairy tales of knights in shining armor riding off with rescued damsels. This isn't romantic! I'm being kidnapped! Her mental scolding chased away the ridiculous fantasies.
Katara felt safe enough for now to release the fist she was making. The girl wished she could sit up so that she wouldn't be leaning against Zuko, but her body was still numb from Ty Lee's attack. Her neck had become strained from trying to keep her head from falling back against his chest. She finally gave up and surrendered against the man that held her.
Zuko was glad to feel Katara relax into his hold. She was either too exhausted to continue resisting or she trusted him to safely hold her. The prince hoped it was the latter of the two. Either way, he was very much enjoying having the girl's nubile body resting compliantly against him.
At Ty Lee's insistence, the Dai Lee soldier tied Sokka to the back of her mongoose dragon, causing her to have uncontrollable giggling fits every five to ten seconds. The group set off with their prisoners and began riding to the east. The plan was to draw the Avatar into the desert, thereby slowing his progress towards General Fong's base and also put him at a disadvantage earth element wise. The sands were not strong enough to protect the monk defensively and there were few rocks which could be used for offensive attacks. And while the soldier's bending would be weakened, the agent was trained in hand-to-hand combat.
"Aang you cannot go after them. This is just like what happened the night I was teaching you to open your last chakra. Take Kuei and fly to Fong with all haste. I will go with Toph to rescue Sokka and Katara."
"But Guru, I thought you had taken an oath of nonviolence?"
Pathik laughed kookily. "I did. But my Sandbending friends to the East did not!"
Katara felt like they had been riding forever. She had gradually retained the use of her limbs. She was now able to sit upright on her own. The prince momentarily tensed when she moved away from him, and for a second she thought he was going to pull her back against him but then he relaxed. Katara supposed he was satisfied that he was in control as she was still in between his arms, which were holding the mount's reigns.
The girl spotted a small lake far off in the distance. It would be way too obvious if she suggested taking the animals to drink from it. She only hoped that one of them would suggest it.
"I'll watch Katara out here. You guys lead the animals to water."
Dammit! Why does he have to be so careful?
Katara felt nervous being alone with Zuko again. She turned away from him and said nothing, crossing her arms and frowning out at the plains.
"You aren't going to yell at me?" the prince asked. When she didn't respond he continued "Eventually you're going to have to talk to me you know."
She turned around furiously to face him. "How dare you even talk to me after everything you've done! I'm finished yelling at you! I'm not going to waste the time or the effort since I already know that it's useless!"
"You know, you are yelling right now."
Katara let out an angry argh in frustration. She stomped a short distance away from him to get some breathing room. A dangerous hissing noise suddenly broke the silence. The girl gasped as she locked eyes with a wild tigerdillo. As she slowly backed away from the creature, Zuko scared the beast off with a small blast of fire.
"You don't have to be afraid, Katara. I'll protect you," he said seriously.
She looked at him measuringly. His eyes seemed sincere but she wasn't about to believe anything Zuko said. Katara tried to turn away from him again but he quickly grasped her wrist, not allowing her to put any more distance between them.
"I'm not going to listen to your lies! You'll have to be satisfied with duping me once, but not twice!" She felt bitter tears forming in her eyes.
"I've never lied to you Katara. I told you I changed and I meant it. My decision that night doesn't erase what we shared together in the cave."
Katara couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her face. Why is he bringing this up? If our conversation meant that much to him, why did he turn on me? She shook her head in denial. "I don't know why you're doing this or what you think you have to gain from it, but you can stop it right now!"
Zuko gently pulled her closer but she pressed her arms against him, struggling to prevent further closeness. He can't be trying to seduce me, can he?
"I don't have anything to gain from saying these things. I'm not foolish enough to think I can win you over to my side."
She relaxed slightly in his grip, thinking that he meant he wasn't pursuing a relationship between them. Thank goodness, I don't think I could take him trying to woo me after what he's done.
She was snapped out of her thoughts by Zuko bringing her hands up to his mouth. He paused before they reached his lips. The prince solemnly gazed into her startled blue eyes before stating softly "I'm not going to give you a choice." And then he kissed both her hands.
Katara began trembling and forgot how to breathe. Her body started to feel very light as she took in what he had said. He wasn't going to give her a choice. What did that mean? What was he going to do? She felt her body sinking and then Zuko was holding her up against him, supporting her body, their lips only inches away. She searched his eyes, trying to find some evidence of reluctance to carry out what he had said. There was none.
"My friends are coming for me," she managed. It came out as a soft plea that he relent, rather than as the threat she intended it to be. But Zuko did not look a bit concerned.
"I'm keeping you," he replied.
And then his mouth was on hers.
