AN: Thank you so much, readers! Thank you, reviewers, for taking the time to write me a few words (or a lot of words, thank you!) And extra super thanks to my Patrons! You folks are amazing!

.

Beyond the bars on the window, the sky was a pastel splash of pinks and greens that soon faded to a flat blue. The night's humidity burned away until, far off to the north, the mountains became clear where they jagged against the horizon. Katara could only just pick them out as the rising sun caught against their eastern faces, but she refused to tear her eyes from them, refused even to sit down, and stood stubbornly at the window with her arms folded snug over her chest as the soft morning hardened into day.

She had not slept well. Too much rested on her shoulders now, too much was uncertain. She had tossed and turned for hours and finally got up to watch the waxing moonlight glint on the waves. The guards stationed in the room had been on edge, especially the officer who had come to take Lieutenant Roshu's place, but Katara kept her back to them and pretended not to hear their murmured conversation or strained silences.

It didn't matter anyway, what they said. Tonight, she would wipe the floor with the lot of them, and if they didn't know it yet, that didn't matter either. The full moon was coming, and its light would clear away all the uncertainty, all the complications, and the only thing that remained would be the simplicity of the fight.

Katara watched the sea, and waited.

Not long after sunrise, one of the doors behind her opened and Katara heard the guards straighten to attention. She did not bother turning, not even when Zuko sent Yotsu for tea and dismissed the rest. His voice, rough and quiet from sleep, tingled up her spine strangely and reminded her of a stone room grown stuffy at dawn. She dug her fingers into her arms and let the thoughts flow away. An effect of her own sleepless night, that's all.

"It's… a beautiful morning," Zuko said, abruptly standing beside her.

Katara shot him a dirty look from the corner of her eye but did not speak. For a long time, they were both silent.

"So," Zuko said at length. "Tonight you attempt your escape."

His tone was difficult to read. He sounded almost bitter, almost threatening, almost sad.

Katara tilted her head back to peer down her nose at him. "You knew I would. I don't see why it should come as a shock now."

"It's not," he bit out. He shut his eyes to cut off his glare and, when he opened them, seemed calmer. "I just wish there was some other way."

Katara took his measure with her eyes, long and slow. He had not slept well, either, she decided, and she was glad. "I offered you another way, once. Before you betrayed me."

"I didn't-"

"Fine. Imprisoned me. It's the same thing."

"It isn't the same. It-" He tore his eyes away again, but he looked as much pained as angry. "I wish you could see that."

"Wishing things weren't the way they are doesn't change anything, Zuko." Katara gritted her teeth and turned back to stare out the glass. "I gave you the chance to do the right thing and join the Avatar. Tonight I'm leaving, and this time you had better stay out of my way."

"You know that's not possible."

"Then we have nothing to talk about." Katara felt her face twist and tried to clear her expression, but the scowl endured as their silence lengthened.

Yotsu returned with the tea and Zuko went to sit at the table, dismissing the valet shortly. Tea splashed into its cup, and then the room was quiet once more.

At length, Zuko spoke again, his voice tight with the effort of restraining some powerful emotion. "If things had gone differently that day on the beach, and Azula and the rest were defeated but I ended up your prisoner, what would you do?"

Katara scrunched up her nose and turned her scowl on him. Undaunted, Zuko met her dark look with one of his own, cupping his tea between both hands on the tabletop.

"If you let me go," he went on, "I could report on your location to the Fire Nation. You could kill me, or you could keep me locked up. Or you could make me swear on my honor not to attempt an escape." He worked his jaw and added bitterly, "Unless I refused out of spite."

Katara recognized the jab, but only rolled her eyes away from him and shook her head. Zuko just pressed harder.

"Well? What would you do? Tell me, what's the right thing to do when you're keeping your lover captive, because I-"

"I am not-!" she squawked as she spun back, then dropped her voice to a hiss. "I am not your lover!"

"You were."

Her face burned and her mind was a jumble of denials, of how inappropriate that word was. His tone was inappropriate, too, soft - almost a plea. She threw her arms out to either side. "Well now I'm your prisoner! I'm the ransom you'll use to buy back your status! I mean nothing to you!"

Zuko stared at her as if she had lied to him about the color of the wall. "How can you say that?"

"How can you think anything else? You want to play this stupid game with me to justify the way you've treated me? Well thanks, but I'd rather keep a clear view of this- this abuse you've subjected me to!"

She took three steps toward the door to her room, but Zuko shot to his feet to intercept her, eyes wide with alarm. "I didn't mean-"

"I would have let you go," Katara snapped. "I would have dropped you on some island somewhere long before I tore you apart trying to force you to bend to my way!" Her voice wobbled, but she only shook her head and backed toward the door. "I would have let you go."

Zuko stared at her, and a deeper hurt flashed in his eyes before she turned away and darted through the door into her bedroom. There, in the darkness with Sokka's even breathing, she sank to the floor with her arms around her knees and shut her eyes.

Tonight, it would end. Tonight. She repeated the word in her mind, letting it break on her like white light, cold and clean and certain.

.

.

Zuko wrapped his fingers around the taut chain and pulled with all of his weight. The steel loop welded to the wall held and the chain itself hardly moved. On the other end, the beast restrained to the center of the loading bay did not so much as stir. The sky bison's breaths came out in steamy gusts that smelt of hot hay, so Zuko was sure it wasn't dead, but that seemed to be the only sign. No amount of noise or motion had roused the beast so far. Cautiously, he settled one hand onto the fur of its trunk-like leg.

"Why Prince Zuko," came a voice from behind him, and he startled despite the amusement under the chastening words, "whatever are you doing down here?"

Zuko turned to watch sourly as Azula stepped down the steel stairs from the doorway. Her smirk was knowing, her teeth gleaming in the lantern light. "Come to pet the exotic beasts?"

"This animal has to be secure," he snapped as he turned away. "It could cause a lot of damage if it gets loose."

"Oh, I hardly think it would be much worse than the usual disaster you insist on courting." Azula strode to the bison's head and ran a finger down one curved horn, then checked her fingertip as if for dust. "You can rest easy, Zuzu. The sedative I've been using to keep the bison docile has been most effective." She raised her eyes to him. "If only I could spare a little for you."

Zuko bristled. "You want to drug me, now? I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

Azula rolled her eyes. "It would be for your own good. Perhaps if you slept through this voyage, you would stop sabotaging yourself long enough to win the victory you're so close to achieving."

"What are you talking about? I haven't been sabotaging myself!"

She fixed him with a wry look and folded her arms over her chest. "No? Then I suppose you've restrained yourself from telling the waterbender that piece of sensitive information we discussed?"

A drop of sweat sped down Zuko's spine, but he held his glare carefully. "I didn't say anything."

Azula's expression did not change, but there was cold amusement in her eyes. "Of course you didn't."

The silence was stiff in the hold, broken only by the bison's breathing and the distant stomps of the Komodo rhinos. Zuko hardly breathed.

Finally, Azula let out an airy sigh. "What are you doing down here, Zuko? It's hardly past dawn."

"I told you. I'm making sure the sky bison is contained. What are you doing down here?"

In answer, Azula withdrew a glass vial from her silk tunic and snapped her fingers. A groom came scurrying from the rhino enclosures, took the vial from her waiting hand, and went about reaching into the bison's mouth to administer the sedative. Azula watched him from the corner of her eye, but she kept her focus on Zuko. He tried to keep his expression blank, but he could not help the flick of his eyes toward the vial as it vanished into the bison's mouth and emerged empty.

"The sky bison is contained," Azula said. Her tone was not exactly reassuring. Nor was the smile that began to creep across her face. "Now, won't you join me for breakfast, brother?"

"I'm not hungry," Zuko said as he began to turn away, but Azula's fingers latched onto his arm through the sleeve of his tunic and she joined him on the stairs.

"Oh," she said, "but I insist."

.

.

Katara became slowly aware of two arms cradling her and the feeling of being lifted. At first she felt safe. Then a creeping thought, the sort that had plagued her all through the night, slithered in.

She had slept through the full moon. She had slept all the way to the Fire Nation. Zuko was carrying her off the ship now to present her to the Fire Lord.

"Nnno!" she cried, swinging her sleep-weakened arm up at her assailant.

whop!

"Ow! Katara!" Sokka put that special emphasis on her name that he only used when she was being completely unreasonable. "I should drop you, y'know. It'd serve you right. Ungrateful..."

Katara blinked up at him as he went on grumbling and then settled her a little more roughly than was necessary on her pallet. "Sokka? What's going on?"

"I woke up hungry," Sokka started, rubbing his face where she'd hit him, "but I couldn't leave the room because somebody was taking a nap up against the door. I thought, gee, I hate to wake her up, so I'll do the nice thing and move her to bed. And you can see where being nice got me!" He pointed at his reddened cheek, glowering.

Katara sat up, still a little too rattled to laugh at her brother's antics. "I thought you were Zuko. I thought I'd-" She shook her head and was about to apologize, but Sokka crouched down beside her.

"Nerves, huh? I thought I heard you tossing and turning a little extra last night. And then that shouting match this morning..."

"Ugh. You heard that?" Katara fell back against her pillow with a sigh, suddenly feeling all her exhaustion anew. "He's so delusional. He still thinks he's doing the right thing."

Sokka settled down with his back against the wall and shrugged. His focus took on a distant quality as if he was running a lot of information through his head. "I don't think that's exactly right. I think Zuko knows what he's doing is wrong, but he sees every alternative as one kind of wrong or another. He's basically trapped in a whirlpool of moral indecision, and everybody who throws him a line is on the wrong side."

Katara raised an eyebrow and smiled faintly. "A whirlpool of moral indecision. Nice one, Sokka."

"I do what I can," he said with a humble grin. It faded quickly. "I thought he'd changed his mind about wanting the baby, but with what Azula's apparently been saying, maybe he just doesn't know what to believe."

Nodding slightly, Katara let out a sigh. She wished she knew what to believe. She wished she had the healer training that would allow her to know the truth right away. This pregnancy could change everything, and it exhausted her that whether she was having a baby or not, neither way was any kind of clean-cut victory for her.

"Do you?"

Katara blinked rapidly. "What?"

"Do you know what to believe?" Sokka asked gently. "I know you said you knew last night, but what we tell Zuko isn't necessarily accurate information... Do you think it's possible Azula could be telling the truth?"

Katara pinched her eyes shut tight. "We can't do anything about that, Sokka. We can't know until… until we know. The only thing we can do now is focus on getting Aang and the others off this ship."

"I agree," Sokka said with a resolute nod. Then he ruined it with a grin. "After all, what if it was Azula's plan all along to let Zuko tell us her supposed plan and then use that uncertainty to throw us off our game tonight?"

"That's a pretty convoluted plan, Sokka," Katara said with a doubtful frown.

"Well, I'm a convoluted guy."

"No argument there."

They chuckled for a moment, then Sokka's stomach rumbled loudly. "That's my signal to get going." He stood up, stretched his shoulders, and ran a few strides in place. "How about it, Katara? Brunch?"

Katara pulled her blanket up to her chin and sank deeper into her pillow. "Maybe later. Save me some fruit or something."

"Alright, but I'm eating all the mangoes. Late risers get papaya."

"Ugh," Katara sighed into her pillow as Sokka blew out the lamp and shut the door behind him. "I hate papaya."

.

.

Zuko picked at his sweet dumplings and tried not to let his thoughts show on his face. Azula was watching him from across the table like a hawk, and any fleeting sign of uncertainty would spell trouble. He popped a dumpling in his mouth and chewed it up even though it tasted like sugary sand.

"You aren't enjoying your breakfast?" It was a quiet question, and Zuko had a feeling that it meant something else, but he tried to shake that off.

"I told you I'm not hungry."

"Perhaps you'd like some tea, then?"

Azula gestured off-handedly and a maid darted in to fill Zuko's cup. Maybe it was his imagination, but the tea looked the same amber color as the sedative he'd seen vanish into the bison's mouth. He wanted to ask what kind of tea it was, but the question seemed overly suspicious, and Zuko didn't want to seem suspicious. He wasn't, actually. He had no reason to be suspicious, since he was doing nothing wrong. He and Azula were on the same side in this.

Still, sweat pricked his brow.

"I'm curious," Azula said idly. "How do you envision this escape attempt going tonight? What will you do to stop them?"

Zuko mashed one of the dumplings on his plate until the pleated edge broke apart and the red bean paste squeezed out. "I'll keep guards in the room and when she tries to leave, I'll stop her."

"That easily."

Zuko glowered at her. "I didn't say it would be easy. You're the one who's underestimating her if you still think you can keep her contained in a cell."

"And yet I'm taking the threat of her escape more seriously than you are."

"What's that supposed to mean? I'm taking this very seriously!"

Azula arched one perfect eyebrow. "So seriously that you insist on keeping her out of the cells? You truly believe that she is dangerous, that her bending will be nearly unstoppable with the full moon, and yet you think that you and a handful of guards will be all it takes to keep her from tearing the ship apart in an effort to free the Avatar. I simply fail to see how you can deny the sense of keeping her in the brig."

Zuko glared at her, then tore his eyes away. "I've told you - she would find a way out of the brig."

"How?"

"I don't know! That's why she's so dangerous! If we just assume that we know the extent of her power, she'll create some new way of bending that we can't predict and she'll use it unexpectedly! At least in a direct fight, she won't have time to think of new techniques to use against us - she'll have to rely on what she knows. And I can fight what she knows."

A memory came to him of a tower of water a hundred feet high, of Katara limned in moonlight as the ocean rushed up at her command. Zuko swallowed and stared fixedly at the shredded dumplings and red pulp on his plate.

"We have Lieutenant Roshu as well," he added, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice. "His experience will prove invaluable in keeping her under control."

"I imagine that would be true," Azula sighed, "as long as he's allowed to do his job."

"Meaning what, exactly?"

"While it's possible that you aren't being a complete fool about your strategy, I still harbor some doubts that you'll stand by and watch another man take control of your prize."

Zuko sputtered, red-faced and suddenly even more desperate to be out of the room. "That's not how it's going to be."

"No?" Azula sat forward, eyes intent as a cat's on a bird. "Picture it, Zuko. Fix it in your mind, because there's no better way to prepare yourself for this. The fight will begin, and just as swiftly, the lieutenant will grab hold of the chain and end it by yanking the waterbender off her feet. She'll lie there on the floor, winded but not yet beaten - and then what?"

"I- What?"

Azula sipped her tea and tilted her head to one side. "The fight won't be over the first time she falls down, Zuko. She will try to get up, and your lieutenant will put her down - again and again until she gives up or knocks her head against something." She set her cup down and leaned forward on her elbows, watching him ever more closely. "So tell me, Zuko. What will you do? Just stand there and watch it happen? Or will you feel compelled to be more involved? Will you feel like it's your personal responsibility to contain her gently, or will you stand back and do what it takes to keep your pet under control?"

Zuko froze, his head gummed up with the memory of Katara's furious words this morning. He already held her against her will. Could he really stand by and watch her get beaten down in an unfair fight as well?

"I- I could reason with her. I'll fight her if I have to."

"But when she's helpless? Because that's what it will come down to, Zuko. Tonight your facade as the benevolent keeper comes to an end. You will either master her, or she will take everything from you."

Zuko looked again to the carnage on his plate and he felt the blood drain from his face. Abruptly, he stood.

"Leaving so soon?"

He turned back only once he had reached the door. Azula watched him over the tiny bit of fruit she still pinched between her chopsticks, a faint furrow creasing her brow. Whether it was annoyance or concern, he could not tell.

"I really am only trying to help you, you know."

"Thank you. For breakfast," Zuko managed. He could not quite thank her for her help. It made him feel like he was falling for a very old trick.

.

.

Katara finally roused a while past noon, gritty-eyed but rested enough to face whatever was waiting on the other side of her door. She dressed quickly in the dark and emerged to find Sokka sitting at the low table across from Zuko. Both were reading, or pretending to, but the furrow in Zuko's brow and the speed with which he looked up at the sound of the opening door told Katara he wasn't enjoying it.

He didn't exactly look happy to see her, either. Katara shared the sentiment.

Sokka turned and grinned at her. "You're just in time for lunch!"

Zuko fixed a dour look on the back of his head but then transferred it to Katara. "Are you hungry?"

She was, very much, but she shrugged anyway as she came to sit beside Sokka. "I could eat, I guess."

Zuko sent Yotsu off to the galley and, while he was diverted, Katara stole a glance at what he was reading. She pulled a face and turned back to share a look with Sokka and mouth the title.

Rice farm taxation?

He shrugged and tapped a finger on his own scroll, which turned out to be an illustrated story. "It has a dragon in it," he whispered happily.

"Uh huh…" Katara glanced at the rows of text and fixed a more penetrating look on Sokka. "When is Toph coming?"

She startled when Zuko answered her. "She'll be joining us for lunch."

"Us."

"Yes," Zuko said, his tone hardening. "The two of you, and me. Us."

Katara swallowed back her anxiety and folded her arms coolly. "Keeping an eye on us? Are you scared of what we might get up to unsupervised?"

"I'm not scared," Zuko sneered, "but I'm not stupid either. I've already been way too lenient with you so far."

Katara worked her jaw for a seething second, then sweetly asked, "Why not just deny us the visit in the first place, Zuko?"

"You know I wouldn't do that," he said slowly, frowning back at her. "I gave my word."

He held her stare and an uncomfortable heat spread through Katara's belly until she tore her eyes away. Inwardly, she cursed him and his stupid, selective honor.

They waited in silence for a time and Katara stared at Sokka's story over his shoulder, attempting to pretend to read convincingly. In reality, she was racking her brain trying to figure out a way for Toph to maintain her helpless little blind girl act without rousing Zuko's suspicions. If he realized what she was up to, flooding the brig with guards would be one more obstacle he could place in their way tonight.

Yet try as she might, Katara could think of nothing - short of making a scene to distract everyone from Toph's uncharacteristic behavior.

She was sweating when Toph finally arrived. Kaiji escorted the earthbender carefully through the door and to her seat at the table, even helping her to sit down on the cushion between Zuko and Katara. Katara remained frozen in place, forcing her mouth into a smile.

"Welcome back, Toph!" she said too brightly. "I'm so glad to see you, and I'm sure Sokka and Zuko are, too!"

"Prince Zuko," Zuko corrected through his teeth. His eyes flicked from Katara to Toph and only narrowed more.

"Yes," Sokka said with a sage nod. "And Prince Sokka, too, bids you welcome, Toph."

Toph smirked and opened her mouth to speak.

But before she could, Zuko dismissed the guards. He looked sourly at Toph as he did it, and in a flash, Katara understood - he expected Toph to be as bad about disrespect in front of the guards as Katara. She sagged in relief and tried not to look too happy.

"Wow," Toph finally said when the door had shut, "a royal audience. I didn't expect this, Fanboy. I would've worn my fancy prisoner rags if I'd known."

"Toph," Sokka squawked, "don't call him by nicknames! He's the enemy!"

She shrugged. "Enemy or ally, he's still just a noodle-headed fanboy, Snoozles. Good to see you, by the way."

"Ha! That joke just never gets old…"

Zuko frowned, but it didn't have the heat Katara had come to expect. "Watch yourself, you little mud-grubber or I'll have you sent back to your cell. My uncle isn't here to protect you anymore."

"Yeah, and I'll bet he's just a weight off your shoulders, huh?"

Zuko jerked back as if she had slapped him. Katara hesitated, sensing this was dangerous ground, but finally couldn't help asking. "Where... is Iroh, anyway?"

"Probably still with your dad," Toph answered blithely, oblivious to Zuko's now-very-genuine scowl. "He wasn't too happy about the way things turned out on the beach. I'll bet he's-"

"Shut up," Zuko finally snapped. "I don't want to hear another word about my uncle or I will make you sorry."

Toph's eyebrows inched up and Katara and Sokka both avoided meeting Zuko's eyes. A knock on the door announced Yotsu had returned with their meal and, for a while, they all ate in silence. At length, Sokka started chatting with Toph about cookies and sea travel. Katara began stewing again, trying to think of a way to tell Toph their plan for tonight without letting on to Zuko.

Sokka slapped his knee, chortling around a mouthful of rice. "…and I thought that was going to be the longest voyage of my life! Who was I kidding, am I right?"

"Yeah," Toph answered, "but you shouldn't be too hard on yourself. Nobody expects to be imprisoned and taken away to the Fire Nation. It's just one of those things that happens to other people."

Zuko watched them as if he expected them to make a break for it right there at the table, but he said nothing. He ate his food intermittently, turning the pieces over and rearranging them on his plate more than was necessary. Katara wondered if he was still thinking about his uncle and a cold lump started forming in her belly. She shook the thought off. He didn't deserve sympathy, not after what he'd done. In fact, if he was suffering, he had every bit of it coming to him.

"What's wrong, Zuko?" she asked before even realizing she was going to speak. "Aren't you enjoying your duck?"

Zuko glared at her and matched her arch tone. "You're one to talk. Have you eaten anything at all or are you too busy scheming?"

Katara yanked her hands apart from where they had been folded carefully in her lap and began shoveling food into her mouth. "Look, Zuko! I can do both at the same time!"

Toph snickered. "That's right, Splatto. Show off those table manners."

Zuko's eyes shot to her at once. "How do you know what she's doing?"

Katara's heart plummeted into her guts and her stomach churned. The food in her mouth suddenly tasted like steel. Zuko knew. He would figure out Toph's secret and the jig would be up.

"Uh, I have ears?" Toph scoffed. "She's rolling enough food around in her mouth to feed a badgermole."

Zuko's suspicious glare didn't falter. He reached across the table and removed the teacup from Toph's reach.

She frowned in confusion. "Hey! What are you-?"

"Porcelain," he growled.

"Hmph. Are you gonna take my plate, too?"

"As soon as you're done eating, yes."

"What's the big idea?" Sokka demanded, outraged on behalf of a fellow eater.

Toph spoke through a sardonic smile. "Fanboy here is scared I'll wreck his nice dishes."

"It's ceramic, Sokka," Katara put in with a dark look for Zuko. He glared back at her, unrepentant.

"Basically just fancy baked dirt," Toph added, deftly plucking a bit of rice off her plate. "Well, ya got me, Fanboy. Feel good now?"

"Actually, it feels a lot like you're hiding something." Zuko scanned the others with hot sweeps of his eyes. "You may as well give it up, all of you. You aren't escaping tonight, or ever."

"You don't think so, huh?" Katara asked, smirking. "We'll revisit that when the moon rises."

"Yeah," Zuko said, threatening despite the casual words, "I guess we'll see."

Katara held his eye contact and it was like holding a flame - burning, fluttering, painful.

Toph chuckled and pointed her chopsticks in Zuko's general direction. "Really, Splatto? You've still got the hots for this guy, even after he turned out to be a total jerk?"

Sokka sprayed tea on the table. "What?"

"I- ugh! I do not!" Heat flooded Katara's face and she couldn't bring herself to look at Zuko, focusing all the force of her glare on Toph.

Zuko, however, seemed thoroughly diverted. "How can you know that?" he demanded, and if he was surprised, it was lost in his suspicion.

"You two still threaten each other like it's foreplay," Toph snickered. "It's too bad we aren't having noodles - Katara could wallop you with them just like last time."

"You're avoiding the question. How are you able to read her heart rate?"

"She was touching her plate."

"No, she wasn't!" His eyes flicked to Katara's hand where it rested on the table, then to her eyes. "Were you? That's not even how it works!"

"Sure it is," Sokka said with a shrug. "Toph is sensitive to vibrations in earth, so Katara touched her plate, her heart beat faster, and Toph was able to sense the change. What she wasn't able to sense," he went on, grinning forcefully, "was that Katara's heart rate sped up because she's excited about the prospect of the humiliating butt-kicking she's gonna give you tonight."

"Yeah," Katara interjected. "That, exactly."

Zuko glared at the lot of them and snatched up his mostly-empty tea cup, sloshing the remainder on the table as he shook it. "But to feel those vibrations, Toph would have had to touch Katara's plate at the same time."

"Isolation from my element has made me more sensitive," Toph said easily. "So tell us, Fanboy, because I think we all want to know; are you that scared of the afore-mentioned butt-kicking or is it the thought of losing Katara - who, frankly, was always too good for you - that makes your heart beat like a rabbaroo's?"

Zuko dropped the cup with a snap. "Don't push your luck, kid."

She grinned, her frosted eyes halfway closed. "Alright, Splatto. Nevermind. I totally get it."

"There's no 'it' to get," Sokka snapped. "I think we've all learned our lesson about fraternizing with the enemy, here."

He didn't look at Katara, but she could feel his scrutiny anyway. It wasn't meant to be cruel - just an assessment she was now expected to agree with. Across the table, Zuko held Sokka's stare with an irate tilt of his head. His eyes flicked to Katara abruptly, and she could not read the look of them - anger, always anger, but something more as well now. Resentment? Regret? Whatever it was, it sent a pang through her chest.

She looked down at her plate. What was wrong with her? She had to focus on telling Toph their plan, and here she was getting wrapped up in the conversation that was meant to distract Zuko. Katara swallowed down a piece of vegetable and tried to banish the strange feelings. Focus. She had to focus.

"So how's Appa?" she asked abruptly.

Zuko blinked. "Who?"

"The sky bison? You know, last of his kind, about two tons and covered in fur?"

"Oh. Yes. The bison. He's fine." He tipped his face down to his plate, turning and turning a piece of duck. Abruptly, he went on. "Azula keeps him drugged, so if you're hoping to escape on him, you're gonna be disappointed."

Katara's heart sank a little, but Sokka immediately narrowed his eyes, "Why would you tell us that, unless you mean to misdirect us from a viable means of escape?"

"You aren't escaping, Sokka. With or without the bison. You're not going anywhere."

"We don't need Appa," Katara said. She placed her chopsticks beside her plate in a cool, precise gesture. "We're within sight of the coast."

A wisp of smoke trailed up from the chopsticks Zuko clutched in one hand. "That's a lot more open water than it looks like."

Katara leaned forward over the table, her mouth quirking up at one corner to show her teeth. "Yeah. All that open water. Whatever will we do, Zuko?"

His eyes flicked down to her smile and widened fractionally. In his hand, the chopsticks cracked. Off to one side, Toph grinned, one hand splayed out on the floor behind her as she savored the last bites of her duck. She did not speak, but abruptly Zuko snapped his eyes to her.

"Time to go. Say your goodbyes."

"But I'm not done eating!"

"Then you'd better finish quick." Zuko stood in a rush and strode for the door.

Sokka leaned in hurriedly and whispered, "We meet on deck. Toph, you'll be able to tell when we make our move, right?"

"No problem, Snoozles."

"Wait," Katara said. "We need Appa. Toph, can you get the loading bay doors open?"

Toph was nodding but Sokka shook his head, glancing up at where Zuko was already returning with the guards. "We don't have time now, Katara. We can't ride Appa if he's unconscious."

"No, but if we can get him away from Azula's sedative, he'll wake up. We need him."

Sokka did not look convinced, but it was too late to argue. The guards came to escort Toph away and she accepted Kaiji's help with soft-spoken thanks. Zuko, standing over his place at the table, watched the earthbender with narrowed eyes. Katara leaned forward on the table.

"Prince Zuko," she said sweetly, "would you, uh, like to play a game of stones?"

His narrow focus switched to her, then back to Toph as she shuffled from the room. At last, he looked back to Katara. "It seems to me we're already playing a game. Princess."

The door shut quietly and they were alone again. Katara did not look away and did her best to appear innocent. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Zuko folded his arms and raised his chin. "Don't."

The quiet of his voice was strange, choked, and it made Katara sit back and reassess him. Before she could speak, he turned on his heel and marched from the room.

"Huh," Sokka said as more guards filed into the room. "I guess he's not a big fan of stones."

Katara went on frowning at the door as a maid cleared away the dishes. "He just doesn't like any game that he might lose."

Despite all of the watchful eyes in the room, no one could see the flick of her hand under the table. The maid cried out as the tray on her arm overbalanced, dumping all the dishes to the floor in a thunderous crash.

Sokka squawked and leapt halfway to his feet, but Katara just spun around to where the maid had dropped to her hands and knees in the shards of porcelain. Without thinking, she laid her hand on the other woman's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

It took her a second to realize the thin-faced woman was stammering desperate apologies. In the same second, her control chain drew taut in warning.

"Keep your hands to yourself, waterbender."

"Hey," Sokka snapped at Roshu from his sitting cushion. "She's just trying to help."

Katara spared a snide glare for the lieutenant. "She could cut herself on the pieces."

"I-I'm alright," the maid managed, and began gathering the mess onto her tray. "My sincerest apologies, Princess, I- I have not dropped a tray in- in months!"

"Don't feel bad," Katara said, helping to gather up some of the pieces. She could feel Roshu watching, the choke chain still held tense against her, but she ignored him. "Really, it's not a big deal. Sometimes things just break. Besides, I think they can afford a new one."

The maid did not look convinced. She shook her head and hurriedly gathered up the shattered plates and teapot. Katara was sure she saw at least one cut on her darting fingers, but she did not point it out. Moments later, the maid was scurrying from the room, the tray of broken porcelain rattling in her hands. Katara watched her hunched shoulders as she left, but her eyes were quickly drawn to where Lieutenant Roshu stood, watching her. His expression was inscrutable.

Katara lifted one eyebrow. "Getting a little jumpy, aren't you?"

Roshu only narrowed his eyes. Other guards around the room shuffled their weight from foot to foot. Sokka chuckled and began setting out the stones board. Katara just smirked at the officer holding the far end of her chain.

"Don't worry, Roshu," she said as she covertly froze the spilled tea into the sitting cushion nearest hers. "We won't start early."