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Chapter 10:
Azula felt terrible. Fever and pain raged within her body. She lay there in a heap of discomfort with her hands awkwardly tied back. Azula was about ready to beg someone to untie her, to make her more comfortable, but she commanded herself not to ask for help from the enemy; the avatar, her traitor of a brother, and all of those filthy peasants.
It was about mid afternoon before Zuko came to her with some water. It was then that Azula realized just how parched she was.
"You haven't had anything to eat or drink," he said casually. He held the water to her mouth, but Azula turned away.
I'm not going to be put in such a humbling position. "Untie me, so I can drink it myself," she stated.
Zuko sighed. "Sorry, Azula, but I'm afraid I can't do that. None of us can trust you, so you're just going to have to deal with it."
Azula sent him a venomous stare.
"Do you want water or not?"
Azula nodded slowly, and Zuko held the flask to her mouth. She swallowed every gulp, not stopping until the flask was drained. Zuko looked mildly surprised.
"...Tell me if there's anything you need..." Zuko hesitated.
Azula scoffed. "Like I really would," she said sarcastically.
Zuko felt slightly better, knowing that his sister could still be snide to him. He left her alone, aware that she would not want to be in his presence any longer.
At dinner that night, Azula rejected the food that was offered to her. The Gaang rolled their eyes, thinking that it was because of her pride. But in truth, Azula did not feel like eating. The thought of food made her stomach turn over.
In an hour or so, everyone had fallen asleep. Azula could feel the darkness beginning to overtake her, but then someone roughly shook her shoulders. She squinted her eyes in the dark, seeing a shadow loom over her.
"What do you want?" Azula asked, annoyed. All she wanted was just to get some rest.
"Tell me why you're here!" Katara whispered.
"I don't think it's any of your business," Azula hissed.
"Of course it's my business!" Katara exclaimed. "You practically crash landed into our group, and I want to know what you're doing here!"
Azula hesitated. There was no way she could tell this darned girl the truth. In fact, Azula wasn't sure if she knew the truth herself. But she had to make up a quick answer, somehow. "Are you really that stupid?" Azula purred. "What do you think the Fire Nation princess would be doing here? Surely, it's not so that I can spend time with you."
Seeing Katara's instant enraged expression made Azula feel a bit better. "Why you...!"
"And if you hate me so much, why don't you just do yourself a favor and kill me now?"
"Because I'm not as despicable as you are!" Katara spat. "I don't take advantage of other people's weaknesses, and I don't kill just for the fun of it!"
"I don't kill for fun," Azula muttered. "I kill whoever my father commands me to."
"In other words, you're just a puppet on strings," Katara sneered. A strange look crossed over Azula's face. The princess looked mildly horrified, and Katara felt a spark of triumph for irking the princess.
Azula felt a deluge of emotions that would fill her every time she thought about her father. It angered her that the water tribe girl brought up such an outrageous notion. In a fit of rage, Azula snarled, "Don't try to tell me what I am, you filthy vermin!"
A bolt of fury struck Katara. She roughly grabbed a fistful of Azula's hair and yanked it back. Azula gasped with surprise and stared into Katara's face, which was visibly reddening, even in the dark.
"Let me get this straight," Katara spoke in a low voice. "You are powerless at the moment. Angering me is the last thing you want to do!" Katara glared into the eyes of her enemy, the person who had done her so much wrong.
"Oh please. You're mistaken if you think I am afraid of you," Azula glowered. Katara's grip on her hair tightened, and Azula bit her lip.
"I know why you're here," Katara said through clenched teeth. "You're here to kill Aang."
"Well, what do you know? It seems like the dirty peasant girl knows something after all."
Katara instantly pulled her hand back and struck Azula across the face. Azula's eyes widened with shock and pain. A thin stream of blood rolled down the side of her mouth, and she glowered at Katara with hatred-filled eyes. Katara looked at her hand, which had a small bit of Azula's blood on it. She hastily wiped it off and stormed away from the princess, feeling shocked and appalled at herself.
That night, Katara could not fall asleep. She quietly slipped out of their camp and strolled into the trees, trying to gather all of her thoughts and sort them out.
Katara felt guilt and regret bubbling up inside of her. She had hurt someone who was terribly wounded, tied up, and defenseless. What kind of person did that make her? Katara stalked around in the dark forest, sulking. This is Azula we're talking about, she told herself. What has she done that would be deserving of gentleness and mercy?
As much as she tried to defend herself, Katara could not justify her actions. She was the type of person who helped others in need. She did not turn her back on people, regardless of their nationality, race, or anything like that.
However...Katara grimaced, thinking about all of the times that she had wished Azula dead. Now the princess of the Fire Nation was vulnerable, in their hands, and they had complete control over her. It was difficult not to end her life right then and there, but Katara knew that she would never muster up the courage or cruelty required to do that.
Katara inwardly battled herself. Morally, she knew that she wanted to nurse Azula back to health. But her common sense screamed at her. When Azula was healthy, who's to say she wouldn't attack them? What would stop her from trying to take Aang's life again, and all of their lives, for that matter.
But maybe...just maybe...Katara wanted to shrug off the thought, thinking it was ridiculous. Maybe we can get Azula to come onto our side. By showing her mercy, she might do the same to us, regardless of whether she returns to the Fire Nation or not. Katara did not want to get her hopes up. But letting Azula die was not an option. The bottom line was that she would never be able to live with letting someone lose their life, even if it was the terrible, terrible Azula.
At last, Katara relented. She hastily made her way back to camp and walked over to where Azula was lying. Grabbing her arm, she yanked the princess to a sitting position.
Azula gasped with pain and surprise. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.
Katara had a scowl on her face. "Something I can't believe I'm doing..." she muttered.
"What?" Azula growled. "Unhand me at once, peasant!"
"Keep up with the attitude, and you'll regret it," Katara threatened. She fumbled with Azula's (Zuko's) robes and opened them up.
"Put it back on!" Azula felt disgraced. Katara ignored her, pushed the clothing down the sides of her arms, and began working on unwrapping the bandages. Azula felt a snarl bubbling up in her throat as she was stripped by a filthy peasant girl.
"What are you going to do?" she asked in a low, dangerous tone.
"Something that I'm going to wish I never did," Katara snapped back.
Azula felt her sensitive wounds being exposed to the air, and the stinging sensation began to grow. She grimaced. The water tribe girl had just changed her bandages, why was she taking them off so soon? Azula was worried the peasant had something nasty in store for her.
Katara smoothly engulfed her hands in water and pressed the liquid to Azula's body.
"W-What's this...?" Azula sputtered, confused.
"Just shut up."
Azula was about to become annoyed, but then a tingling feeling began to spread wherever Katara's water went. She felt her hot wounds being soothed, cooled and relieved. The pain ebbed away, very slightly. Katara slid her hands around, her eyebrows pinched together in concentration. The healing water went from Azula's stomach, to her chest, shoulders, and back.
Azula found herself involuntarily sighing in gratification. Her red, blistered skin began to close up.
Suddenly, Katara sucked the water away from her skin and returned it to the river nearby. Azula couldn't help but feel disappointed.
"I think that's enough for now," Katara began wrapping Azula up in fresh bandages. "No matter what I do, however, you'll have scars for the rest of your life. You know that."
"I didn't ask for your help..." Azula swallowed.
"You're welcome," Katara said flatly. She closed up Azula's robes, and left the tied-up princess to her own thoughts.
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Let me make something clear...there will be no Zucest in this story...sorry, but that concept sort of weirds me out! Azula and Zuko will have a brother/sister relationship...no further! =) Oh, and my story is mainly friendship/family themes, not necessarily romance.