Warning this is a very angsty and dark chapter! Some things will be said that aren't meant and some feelings will be hurt but stay strong! Also remember, I am for Zutara and Zutara only! Just because last chapter had a hint of Aang and Katara, not even Katang, doesn't mean this fic isn't a Zutara any more. It just means Katara is going to pick Zuko over Aang now!
Chapter 10 A Week of Pain
"How could she go and do that to me, Uncle?" Zuko yelled as he paced back and forth in the galley. His uncle had a concerned face on and barely touched his tea. "I'm willing to give her everything I have to offer and she goes off and tells the Avatar that she loves him! Why did she go and do that to me? What am I suppose to do about that?"
Iroh gestured for Zuko to sit down beside him and Zuko did. "Prince Zuko, you are just letting your jealousy getting to the best of you. Of course Katara isn't going to just ignore her feelings for the Avatar and live happily with you, she's still young and she has many feelings that she's uncertain of. She just said what she feels, that doesn't mean she doesn't love you anymore." Iroh explained to his nephew as Zuko gulped down a cup of calming tea, it seemed to have no effect on him for it had been his third cup.
"I'm sure she hates me now after everything I did," Zuko complained as he got up and started to pace around the room again. "It's all that damn Avatar's fault!" Zuko yelled as he curled his fists. Flames shot out through the cracks in his hands.
"Prince Zuko, please calm yourself. Have another glass of calming tea, it will make you feel better and help clear your mind." Iroh suggested.
"I don't want another cup of tea! That tea does nothing for me! I need...I need to go meditate." Zuko left the room and ran to his meditation room, it had been a while sense he had last been in that room. Katara had kept him so calm that his need to meditate to control his anger had ceased for a while.
Iroh sighed and poured himself a glass of tea. "This is going to be very, very bad." Iroh thought out loud.
Zuko walked into Katara's chamber holding a plate of food and a glass of water. Katara stared at him from her corner and he offered her a small smile. She glared and turned her head. "I brought you your dinner," Zuko offered. Katara glared at him again and he sighed. "What now? You're not going to talk to me?"
"No, I'm going to talk. Knowing you you'll be the only one coming into this room just so I have to talk to you." Katara answered bitterly.
"Yes, I will be the only entering this room so I guess you do have to talk to me." Zuko agreed.
"Or else I'd go insane by the quiet for however long I'll be in this room." Katara sighed.
"How long are you planning on being in this room?" Zuko inquired.
"Aren't you the boss of me now? Then you should make all my decisions." She glowered.
Zuko pondered this idea for a while then smiled. "You're right so you can come out of this room, as soon as you give me a...kiss and an apology." Zuko frowned as Katara was overcome by a look of disgust.
"I will not be apologizing for I did nothing wrong." Katara argued.
"You disobeyed my commands, you ran off and talked to the Avatar and your brother, and when I finally found you, you were in the Avatar's arms!" Zuko shouted, he took a deep breath and remembered that he had to stay calm.
"Only because you were being ridiculous! How can I not see my brother and my best friend?" Katara shouted back as she stood up from her kneed down position.
"Is that all the Avatar really is to you? Just a best friend? You two seemed a lot closer than that when I saw you." Zuko seethed.
"You idiot," Katara whispered as she shook her head. Zuko could keep his temper no longer, he had to get out of that room now before he did something he knew he would regret.
"Here's your dinner Katara, I'm going to unlock one of your hands so you can feed yourself." Zuko placed the dinner in front of Katara and took a ring of keys out from his pocket.
"Don't bother, I'm not hungry." Katara mumbled just as her stomach rumbled lightly.
Zuko stared at Katara in disbelief. "You skipped lunch and now you don't want dinner? What are you trying to do? Starve yourself to death?" Zuko seethed.
Katara looked away and Zuko realized that she was in deed planning to starve herself to death. "What are you thinking, Katara?" Zuko shouted.
"I'm thinking of not eating any food until you apologize!" Katara smirked. "Too bad we're both so stubborn, I wonder which one of us will cave in first."
Zuko could feel his wrath coming as the room's temperature began to rise. "Go ahead and starve yourself then, I don't care!" Zuko shouted as he picked up the food and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
Katara went back to the only slightly, comfortable position she could manage to sit with being chained to a wall. She sat on her knees and sighed in the darkness, the moon wasn't shining tonight and the stars' light couldn't compare to the moon.
"I can give her so much more than he ever could! I just want to make her happy why can't she understand that?" Zuko complained.
"Then prove it to her, Prince Zuko, show her how much you want to make her happy and how much you're willing to give her." Iroh suggested.
"She won't let me, she wouldn't even eat anything I brought her, she wants to die. So, I told her she could and that I wouldn't care." Zuko hit himself in the head. "I'm such an idiot! What was I thinking? Now she'll think I hate her for sure, but I have to stay strong, right Uncle? She wouldn't really starve herself to death, right?" Zuko asked with a slight bit of fear in his voice.
"No, no, of course not! Katara is such a happy girl, she wouldn't starve herself." Iroh soothed.
"Then I'll just wait until she gives up this stupid fight. Then we can go back to being happy." Zuko smiled.
"Prince Zuko, Katara can be as stubborn as you. Are you sure you want to--" Iroh began but Zuko was quick to cut him off.
"Yes, the longer Katara attempts to starve herself the sooner she'll give up. I'll just have to make sure she will give up." Zuko smirked as a plan came to his mind. "I'll be as cruel to her as she is to me. She needs me as much as I need her and we both know it."
Katara awoke the next morning to a sweet smell of fruit and pastries. She opened her eyes slowly to the morning light and groaned when she remembered where she was and why she was in this uncomfortable sleeping position. She had slept sitting up the entire night and her neck was swore from leaning to the side.
When her eyes finally became cleared of the morning the figure in the middle of the room came into view. Zuko was sitting on a stool holding a glass of apple juice in one hand and a plate that was filled with different fruits and pastries.
"Good morning, Katara." Zuko chirped happily. Katara glared and stood up, she wasn't about to show Zuko how tired she was, or how thirsty she was. She gathered the saliva in her mouth and tried to wash away that awful morning taste, but it wouldn't leave her.
With Aang and Sokka she had gone without much food so she could stand her empty stomach, but she had always have had water and this thirst was killing her. "Morning." She grumbled.
"Are you ready to suck up your pride and apologize?" Zuko asked as he smiled sweetly at her. Katara looked at Zuko skeptically, he was in a good mood when she was irritable and angry. Wasn't he suppose to be miserable without her? He had said so, guess he lied, big surprise there.
"Funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing." Katara smirked. Zuko chuckled quietly and stood up.
"I guess it's too soon for you to admit that you were wrong. Well, just know this Katara, when you do apologize, I will take you back because I do love you." Zuko smiled.
"Really? I feel so lucky and to think this is how you tell me you love me, I wonder how our romantic our honeymoon will be!" Katara exclaimed sarcastically. Zuko frowned then took a deep gulp of the apple juice and licked his lips.
Katara's mouth dropped at Zuko's cruelty, he was acting like such a spoiled, selfish, Prince! Zuko had won today's battle, but he wouldn't win this war. Katara closed her mouth as Zuko smiled and left the room.
"Until tomorrow then."Zuko smiled as he closed the door.
Katara was bored the entire day and now she was starving and so thirsty! She tried to keep her mind off of her growling stomach but it was no use, there was nothing else to do. Zuko didn't come back the rest of the day and she didn't allow herself to sleep, but now as the sky grew dark, her room grew dark also. So she allowed herself to fall into sleep's comfort, where she was in a peaceful, happyworld with a giant waterfall of apple juice flowed.
She was awoken in the middle of the night when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Katara, wake up." Came the soothing voice of Iroh.
"Gen...General Uncle?" Katara whispered. What's he doing here? I thought only Zuko would be seeing me.
"Yes my dear, how are you holding up?" Iroh asked, his voice dripping with worry.
"I'm fine." She smiled, even though it was too dark for Iroh to see.
"I brought you a glass of water, it was the only thing I was able to sneak." Iroh whispered as he found Katara's lips and pressed the glass against them. Katara gulped down the cold refreshing liquid, it had been the best water she had ever tasted! "I'm glad you're doing alright but I fear Prince Zuko is doing terrible." Iroh whispered as he took the empty glass away from her.
"Really? He looked happy enough this morning." Katara grumbled, annoyed.
"It's just an act." Iroh reassured. "He can't stand this fight that you two are having. He really cares about you Katara, his concern for you is causing him to start to act like his old angry self."
"Well he has a bad way of showing his concern and until he apologizes he'll just have to continue being concern as I continue to starve." Katara retorted.
Iroh sighed and nodded his head, until he remembered she couldn't see. "Yes, yes." He whispered. "I must leave you now but Katara, pride is worth nothing if you lose everything."
"I know, but isn't having everything without having pride not worth having?" Katara asked.
Iroh smiled in the darkness. "Your wisdom surpasses your age." Iroh lilted as he started to walk out of the room. "Ow!" He yelled quietly.
"What happened?" Katara asked.
"Nothing, nothing. I just ran into this stupid stool." Iroh rubbed his swore knee then continued across the room. He opened the door and light from the hallway illuminated the look of concern on Iroh's face as he closed the door tight behind him.
"Good morning, Katara." Came the calm voice of Zuko as Katara stirred from her stiff sleep. She opened her eyes slowly then shut them again as she stood. She yawned as she saw that Zuko once again held a plate of food and a glass of water. She smirked at Zuko and he frowned. "What?" He questioned.
"I know something you don't know." Katara sang happily as she stretched to the best of her ability. Zuko placed the breakfast on the floor and rose from his stool. He walked over toward Katara and stopped a few inches away from her.
"What is it?" He inquired. Katara only shook her head no in response. Zuko pondered why she was so happy this morning. "Are you ready to give up?" He smiled. "I knew you wouldn't be able to last it here. You talk big Katara, but you can only do so much."
Katara clenched her teeth together. "I'm not giving up!" She yelled, he had completely ruined her good mood. "In fact, I think I might even last longer then I had planned."
"Is that a good thing? I thought you wanted to die because you hated me so much. So why would lasting longer be a good thing?" Zuko asked as he walked back to the stool and crosse his legs at his heals.
Katara pondered this, he had a point, but she hadn't really wanted to die, no one does. "How about we make a deal?" She asked.
Zuko raised his eyebrow and placed a hand under his chin. "I'm listening." He whispered softly.
"You don't think I can last it in here like this." Katara announced as Zuko nodded his head. "Well, then I say if I can last more then a week like this, you have to let me and my brother go free, I know how you aren't willing to let Aang go." Zuko thought about this as Katara continued. "But if I give in before the week is over, then I will do whatever you tell me to do."
Zuko nodded his head and smiled. "Agreed. That way you at least won't be killing yourself over a stupid fight, you'd just be giving up your freedom." Zuko smiled as he grabbed the plate and glass. "Now I have to tell Uncle that he's not allowed to help you out anymore at night."
All traces of Katara's smile disappeared. "What? You...you knew about that?" Katara couldn't believe it, she had thought that she had an ace up her sleeve when it seemed that Zuko had replaced it with a three without her knowledge.
"You thought I didn't know?" Zuko smiled as he understood that that was why she was so happy. "Of course I knew, in fact, I was in the room while it was happening." Katara couldn't believe it, he had spied on her! "When Uncle ran into that stool, I had merely lost my patients with him and kicked him." Zuko frowned. "He didn't stick to what I had told him to say, but that doesn't matter anymore." Zuko walked to the door and opened it, he stepped out of the room and as he turned around he smiled. "I hope you enjoyed that bit of water Katara, it's all you'll be getting for the rest of the week." Zuko slid the door shut as he left Katara gaping at him with her mouth wide open.
The next morning, Katara woke up with her throat parched and burning as her stomach moaned and ached. "Good morning, Katara." Zuko smiled. Katara gave him a nasty glare while she stood up, she was not about to show him that she was weak. She then tried to rid her mouth of the awful aftertaste of sleep but was unsuccessful. "Not as happy as you were yesterday?" Zuko asked as he smirked upon her.
She shook her head no. "Do you know how boring it is being chained up like this all day? The only company I get is you in the morning. I don't even hear guards in the hallway!" Katara sighed. "You could at least come back and taunt me with dinner and lunch."
"I could, but being lonely and bored will make you give up faster." Zuko smiled as Katara rolled her eyes. "Don't believe me?"
"No, because I'm not going to give up at all." Katara smirked. Zuko took a sip of the water he brought in and smirked right back. "Oh, I hate you." Katara glared. Zuko chuckled and continued with his known smirk on his face.
"Reminds me of how you acted when you first became my prisoner. Only now, you've gone even farther behind that, now you have chains." Zuko made a 'tsk tsk' noise and rose from the stool shaking his head. He opened and left as Katara fell to her knees.
On her fourth day, Katara awoke to the same sight as always, Zuko and his teasing grin. She rather have Iroh's grin over Zuko's. "Good morning, Katara." Zuko mused yet again. By the end of the week, she would hate that sentence. She stood up from her position slowly and leaned against the wall.
She was hungry, thirsty, weak, and tired even though she had been doing nothing but sleeping. She was trying to gather energy but she only became stiffer and stiffer each time she slept. She would rather not sleep, but the boredom was driving her insane, so she dreamed of wonderful things.
"Ready to give up? You look like you need a plate of delicious food, a glass of cold juice, a nice hot shower, and big, comfy bed." Zuko smirked as he talked about the items Katara's dreams had been filled with. "I have everything you need right on this ship Katara. And once I return home, I can only offer you more."
"Just leave, please." Katara whispered, desperation drowning her usually calm and peaceful voice. Her throat burned and she was in no mood to talk to him, no matter how desperate she was for company. Right now she just wanted to go back to her wonderful dream.
"Fine." Zuko sighed as he reluctantly left the room, glancing behind him as Katara landed her knees hard on the ground.
"Good morning, Katara." Katara blinked her eyes open. She saw Zuko and immediately closed her eyes shut again. "Katara?" Zuko questioned as he rose from his stool. He placed the tray of food and glass of juice on the ground and walked toward the quiet, unmoving figure in the corner that use to be known as Katara. "Katara?" Zuko asked again as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
Katara opened her eyes again and uttered a 'Huh?' as she stood up. She moaned as she stood. It hurts, she thought as she began to stretch her legs out, slowly.
"Katara, why don't you just apologize already?" Zuko asked. She gave him a glare but didn't respond. Obviously she doesn't want to waste whatever strength she does have on talking. Zuko thought as a frown appeared on his scarred face. Then I'll just do all the talking today.
"I hope you realized what you did and how much you betrayed me and my trust." Zuko walked back over to his stool and sat down. He was going to say everything he had wanted to say and he was going to say it now. "I never did anything that horrible to you, did I? So I chased you around in a desperate hunt for your friend, so what? I never actually hurt any of you, I think as your 'enemy' I've been rather lenient." Zuko rose from his stool and started to pace around the room. He had found out from experience that he thought better and talked better when he paced, also it was a habit he couldn't break when he wasn't sure about what he was saying.
"How long did you plan to betray me? What did you think would happen afterwards? Did you think I wasn't going to catch you? Or even if I did catch you we could just get over it and go back to the way things were before?" Zuko asked as he paced in a line in front of Katara. Katara watched him walk back and forth as she stood there, silent.
Zuko sighed as he didn't get any reply at all from Katara. Her eyes didn't even change by his words, she had changed so much by being treated like a true prisoner, it was as though she wasn't even there. "In the Fire Nation, if someone betrays you, their penalty is suppose to be banishment. Those in the Fire Nation don't care if you had good interests in mind, if you speak out against someone else when you shouldn't have, you pay for it. It doesn't even matter if you're their your friend or relative or even your spouse. If you betray someone you get the punishment, by my father. He is law in the Fire Nation, what he says, goes." Zuko stopped pacing and looked up at Katara as a tear slid down both of her cheeks.
"Then," Katara smiled weakly as her hoarse voice cracked. "I'm even more glad that you're not like your father." Zuko smiled at Katara's compassion. How could someone be so uncaring? No wonder he's like this way, he has never had a loving family. The only person who has ever loved him has been Iroh and myself and I betrayed his love by loving another. Katara opened her mouth to speak but no words came out and she knew it was hopeless anyway.
"I'm glad too," Zuko walked up to Katara and placed his hand against her cheek. She gazed up at him as he kissed her forehead. "I wouldn't be able to banish my feelings." He removed his hand from her and placed it on his knee as he leaned toward her. "Will you apologize now?"
Katara gathered up all of the salvia she had left in her mouth as she attempted to speak again. "I did nothing wrong." She spoke sternly. She turned her head to the side as she avoided his gaze.
Zuko's eyes widened with anger as he grinded his teeth. He felt his anger coming from his hands as steam started to shoot from his fingertips. He quickly picked up the plate of food and water, opened the door, and lunged them at the wall. The shattered glass flew everywhere as he slammed the door.
Katara fell to the floor as she lost all of her energy. She had been so frighten right then, she had felt the heat coming from Zuko and had feared he was going to 'mark' her with her 'penalty'. She took a deep breath to stop her shaking body but it didn't help too much, nor did it matter. She was in so much pain and discomfort anyway.
"Good morning, Katara." Zuko repeated as Katara finally responded. He had said that sentence five times before she opened her eyes. "Katara, are you ready to give up yet?" Zuko frowned. Tomorrow it will be a week from when Katara had been locked up in the chains.
It hurts, it hurts so much. Katara closed her eyes as she stood up. Her legs shook and her stomach had gone numb from growling so much. The pain! It hurts so much, make it go away! She opened her eyes and looked at Zuko as he sat on his stool. His lips moved and he smirked at her but she couldn't hear anything he said, the world had gone quiet. The pain is taking over me, I can't take this much longer, but I can't be weak, to give up now when I'm so close. I have to try to be strong, but the pain.
"Katara, are you okay? You look really bad, just nod your head if you're okay." Zuko asked as he placed the food on the floor next to him. "Katara?" She hadn't moved her head, she just kept staring into space. "Katara?"
Why is everything so quiet? Katara thought as she opened her mouth to scream as pain jolted up her legs. No sound came out of her mouth as her legs caved in and she fell hard on her knees, her head jerked and hit the wall. Black dots started to overtake Katara's view. It hurts so much. Katara closed her eyes as she succumbed to the pain and the temptation of the darkness.
"Katara!" Zuko shot up from his stool and knelt by Katara's side. "Katara!" He screamed again as he took out his keys from his pocket. He unlocked Katara's chains and her frail body fell into his arms. Zuko picked her up and felt so much guilt overcome him. She's so light, it's as if I'm holding a pillow. Zuko grimaced as he ran out of the room, screaming for the ship's doctor, his uncle, and anyone who could possibly help Katara.
I'm sorry but next chapter will get better! Lots of lovely Zutara business in it, some light after storm is needer!