Happy It's-Been-More-Than-One Year Anniversary Of No Chapters!! Well.. I guess that's not very happy, now is it? I'm so so so sorry that! I'm just... Well... I really don't know where this is going. I usually like more of the stories where Zuko and Katara aren't on very good terms when she's captured, but I'd say that it's a little too late to turn back now. Any who, I'll try to post more than one time a year again! I feel a bit bad leaving you guys.
Shin threw one of the sacks onto the ground, and opened up the top to allow Zuko to step inside. He glanced at Katara, giving her a nervous look before Shin raised the rim of the bag and he disappeared. Lee dropped his bag to the floor as well. The girl mimicked Zuko, and stepped into the bag. Lee gave her a reassuring grin, and then he was gone.
The inside of the sack smelled like some sort of rice, and Katara wrinkled her nose. It was strong, and it was sure to give her a head ache if she didn't get out soon. The material was thin enough to allow light in, but durable enough to make sure she didn't rip it. Her eyes traveled up to the five or so inches that remained over her head. Her eyes had adjusted to the darker atmosphere, and she watched at Lee tired something around the opening of the bag, most likely to prevent her from somehow falling out, or revealing herself.
Suddenly, her body jerked up from the ground, and over the man's shoulder. She bit her lip to prevent herself from crying out in pain, her stomach had landed right on his shoulder bone. Soon, however, her pain was forgotten, and a harsh shade of red rippled over her cheeks. Lee was holding onto her tightly, to keep her from falling off, and one hand was on the back of her knees, while the other rested tightly on her bum. She wiggled a little to adjust herself, but then remained completely still, as to not give herself away.
Her thoughts drifted to the man in the matching bag that was somewhere outside of her burlap confinements. She prayed that they would safely make it off the boat. It was all she wanted. Voices called around from all points outside of the sack. Katara was waiting for one of the voices to call out to the three men that were trying to help them, and then it would all be over. It was a miracle when they came to a stop without a single remark from anyone.
"Please state the contents of your bags," droned a dull, monotone voice from somewhere to her left.
"We're disposing of waste," replied Lee. Shifting a little bit uncomfortably. It was obvious that he didn't know there was going to be someone checking them off when the left the ship.
"I'm going to have to take a look," the boring voice responded as his feet shuffled closer to the sack that was tossed over Lee's shoulder. Katara was panicking. Beads of sweat were forming on her forehead, and she pinched her eyes shut. Suddenly, the body under her shuffled to the side, away from the man.
"No! You don't have to do that. It's just the old, rotting potato peelings. Trust me. The smell would leave you seeing stars for weeks." Lee sounded so convincing that Katara felt as if she could actually smell herself turning into the potato peelings, although maybe that was just the smell of the cell that had rubbed off on her. She remained motionless, waiting for the man to insist that he check the bags, but it never came.
"Oh. Umm, very well," suddenly sounding as if he was thankful that he wouldn't have to be inspecting what he thought was decomposing vegetable skin. Lee moved underneath her, giving the back of her knees a reassuring squeeze. Katara had the urge to let out a sigh, but knew that it wasn't the wisest thing to do. She wondered how Zuko was holding up.
Judging by the relieved, rocking walk that Lee set off in, they would be off the boat in no time. Soon she would be safe on the ground off of Zhao's ship, and out of the filthy sack. However, as soon as the thought had formed, an ear splitting siren sliced through the air, and that was Katara's cue to panic. She was nearly positive that the siren was sent out for her. Lee's grip tightened on her, and she knew that her notions were correct. As if she didn't need to be reassured enough, a loud voice boomed over the intercom.
"Warning: The prisoners have escaped. They must not be allowed off the boat at all costs. Search everywhere," it announced, repeating it's statement two more times. What the waterbender didn't know was that the man who had just let them slide by wasn't as dumb as they had expected. Lee jerked around just in time to see the old man pointing a dirty, wrinkled finger at them, signaling to two heavily armored guards with the other. There was no way that they were going to get them off the boat. The plank leading down to the dock had been lifted to prevent escape, and it was doing a damn good job. There was only one thing left to do.
Lee skillfully extracted a knife and cut the string keeping the bag closed off, as Shin did the same with Zuko. He had no time to explain, and hoped it was obvious that it was their last resort. The top of the sack slipped down off Katara's head as he set her on the ground for a moment. His eyes said sorry, but Katara could barely capture their emotion before he lugged her back over his shoulder, and charged at the deck railing. He hoisted her as high as he could over the bar so that she wouldn't get hit, and for a split it looked like the sack was just going to keep going until it hit the atmosphere, and then keep on going across the moon, but it didn't last for long. As soon as the bag containing the young girl cleared the railing, it plummeted down into the icy ocean below. The dock was a good twenty feet up, and twenty feet away. Why must the boat be so big?
The water seeped into the sack as Katara struggled to free herself of it's increasingly heavy weight. It took her a few seconds before she was free, and that was when she noticed a second bag. Zuko! She swam as fast as she could towards the bag. Shin hadn't completely cut the yarn off, and Zuko was beginning to sink under all the weight. Katara panicked, before forming an ice blade out of the water. In one swift cut, she sliced the top of the bag open, and her prince struggled out. It wasn't until that moment that either of them remembered that there was a mad Fire Nation General after them.
A fire ball came down and sizzled in the water right between the two, sending up a large cloud of steam. Katara took that as a cue to get out of there. She grabbed Zuko by the arm, and pulled him under the surface. Her arms reached out of the water and pulled down a huge bubble of air that surrounded there heads. They had to get out of there fast.
Katara had Zuko hold on to her waist as she used her feet to propel them forward. Her hands were both in front of her, pointing out straight like she was a bullet. The water seemed to jump out of their way, as if they knew their danger, but it seemed that they couldn't swim fast enough, because blasts of fire continued to land above them. Katara became frustrated. They needed to get out of the water and on land. Removing her hands from out in front of her, she rolled over with Zuko still clinging to her waist. She crossed her arms for a moment, then quickly shot them open, sending shards of ice out of the water at the ship. Immediately, she spun back over, and continued going. There had to be a shore somewhere that they could get to. The ship wouldn't be able to get close to it without beaching itself, which was a perfect get away.
Suddenly, her wish was granted. It was the one thing that had gone right. Up ahead, the ocean floor clearly began to rise, and that was were they could get out. Katara twisted her head around to try to get a look at the boat. They were no longer parallel with it, but she could see that they were preparing to undock the ship to chase them down, since she could still hear the wild screaming even while she was submerged.
The land could not have come faster. Zuko released his ride, as the both crawled out of the water. Katara collapsed on the sand, and Zuko dropped down onto his stomach right beside her. It wasn't safe to stay there though. They needed to find a place to hide. The waterbender opened her eyes slowly, and stared at the water. Frantically, Katara grabbed the front of Zuko's robes, and rolled over him, flipping him as well. Right where his chest had been mere seconds before, a fireball collided with the sand. What was with all the close calls? The two scrambled to their feet, running towards the forest that was a few yards away inland.
The fire balls continued to fly, but once the shadow of the tall trees hid them, they ceased. Katara and Zuko ran as far as the could, just to be safe, but fell to their knees in the first clearing that they came to. The soft grass was like silk to the girl. Her breathes were heavy. She was too tired to move. Zuko wrapped his arms around her waist and framed her body with his, placing his chin on her shoulder. Katara weaved her hands between his, allowing his fingers trace the skin around her belly button through her dripping wet, tattered dress. She turned her head, and looked him in the eyes. A soft smile crept onto her lips, and she placed them against his salty mouth. It was just a quick kiss, and when she pulled away, she just looked at him for a moment before speaking.
"Let's never do that ever again."
Sorry that it's a bit rushed, and not my best work. I just need to get back into writing, since I've been away for so long. I promise the next chapter will be more detailed. I've actually been writing the last half of this story in the car ride back to my home. I was visiting my cousins a few states over, and I though I might as well make use of my time. I hope to see you all soon!