Ok, so I know the last chapter was pretty boring, but we haven't heard from Aang or Zukko in a while and I thought you might want an update on them and what was going on in their minds. Also, they obviously needed to find the bottle, so I couldn't skip out of that chapter. I have some nice thoughts going on right now, though, so things should be moving along in the story a little faster now. Anyway, enough of my rambling on…you want the story!

Chapter Eleven

Katara was lying on her bed, not really sleeping, but still totally out of it when she felt the ship start to slow down. Was it possible they were getting ready to land? She threw herself off the bed and took the steps to the deck three at a time. When she reached the open air, she saw that they were getting to be very near a mass of land, but she didn't see anything other than a jungle. Where was the prince's massive fortress? Was there going to be no one to greet them?

Katara felt vaguely disappointed. She had expected some sort of event to take place. I mean, certainly the welcoming of a prince is celebrated in most places? But then she remembered what he told her on that day that he was acting so strangely. He had said something about being banished and that was why he wanted Aang. Still, some greeting would have been nice. It wasn't everyday you were in the company of royalty…

"Miss Katara?" an aged voice asked.

Katara turned away from the sight of land to look at the familiar face of Iroh. "Yes?" she asked.

"As you have noticed, we're coming up on land. You may want to go gather what you have quickly. No," he said, noticing the look on her face, "there won't be anyone to get them for you. Prince Zuko's home is deep within the forest, to prevent people finding him of course."

"Oh," Katara responded lamely. "But then, how are my brother and Aang supposed to get to it if they can't find it?"

Iroh just smiled and gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. Katara couldn't tell if he really didn't know or what was going on behind that kind face of his. Sometimes Katara just couldn't figure out that old man. He seemed to be on her side as much as Zuko's, but then, he often seemed to withhold information from his nephew too. He was a complete mystery to her.

Katara squinted her eyes at the man for a moment or two longer before turning with a note of exasperation and heading to retrieve what little possessions she had. She was already wearing her blue traveling clothes that she always wore, as well as her mother's necklace. The only things she needed to get were the set of spare clothes she was given, comb, and spare shoes.

She noticed as she was gathering her things and making her bed (out of habit and restlessness more than anything) that although she was very happy to be getting off the huge boat and onto solid land, she was even more nervous of entering that enormous jungle with only her so-called enemies to guide her. But then again, she didn't exactly consider many of her "enemies" as such. Some were even almost her friends. Ling, for example, and his friends, and Iroh, and maybe…just maybe…the prince himself. But just like always, when that thought surfaced in her mind, she pushed it away quickly and focused on something else. This time it was the state of her hair. It was to her butt before she was kidnapped, but over the last couple of weeks it seemed to have grown quite a bit more. She could sit on it now.

Katara jumped at a knock on her door and rushed over to open it, slightly unsteady on her feet for some reason.

"Miss Katara, I've been sent to escort you to the deck," a boy of maybe twelve told her bashfully. He was looking at her in that strange way that many young men had been lately. It seemed to her that her seventeenth birthday had marked the point where the male sex thought it was ok to stare at her like she was livestock on show.

"Ok," she said, not sure how she was supposed to respond to such formality. "But I don't see why I can't walk up the stairs myself," she added just as she stumbled onto her bed when she tried to grab her stuff.

"Because you've been on the boat for so long a time and aren't used to it, you're going to be very clumsy for a while without the constant motion," the boy said.

"Oh. In that case," she said, pulling her hair on top of her head and taking his arm.

She let him lead her up to the deck. She marveled at how well everyone else was handling the whole "without constant motion" thing. It made her feel terribly inept, something she had always hated to feel. Obviously, she was suddenly in a worse mood.

Zuko watched as Katara came nearer. He now had to watch her very inconspicuously, though, as Iroh seemed to be reading right through his act. He couldn't stop thinking about how adorable she looked right then. She had lost some confidence, being unable to steadily walk, and it was amazing the effect it had on her. It seemed like since she had less confidence in one area, she had more in others. She kept her head sky high as she walked, and let off an air of self assurance, even though she was nearly tripping on her face. It was reassuring to Zuko to see that the powerfully strong young women did indeed have faults and flaws. It made him feel a little less unworthy.

Suddenly Katara was almost next to him and Zuko quickly averted his eyes. Not that it would do much good pretending anymore. Not after what he did in her room. He still was angry at himself for losing his self control that day.

"So what now?" Katara asked his uncle when she reached where they stood. "I'm not going to have to be blindfolded when I'm lead into the jungle am I?" she said, trying to make light of it, but Zuko noticed a hint of fear in her voice.

His uncle looked at him. "No," he said, "But you'll have to swear not to send off anymore unauthorized notes to your companions."

She looked at him silently for a moment, as if weighing her options. He knew that it was a difficult choice to make. But he also knew that she wasn't naïve enough to think that he would let her right anyway. He was right in his thinking, for she soon nodded and swore that she wouldn't write a word without approval from him or Iroh.

"Then I say we get a start, how about you, Nephew?"

"Yes. We have a long journey ahead of us."

"Exactly how long?" Katara asked him, speaking to him directly for the first time since their discussion.

"About two days."

"Ok."

"Why? Would a longer trip wear out your weak legs?" Zuko asked, smirking in a way he hoped was not exactly playful, but wasn't offensive either.

"No! I just wanted to know. Excuse me if I like to be informed about how I'm going to be spending my next couple of days," she said scornfully, and he realized the smirk must not have come off the way he'd hoped.

The three descended the long set of stairs that had extended from the side of the ship in a row, followed by the crew and a few boys that must have been servants. Zuko noticed that Iroh had a look of one lost in thought and a furrowed brow. That was never good. His uncle thought a good deal, but whenever that expression struck him, he was usually scheming, and normally against Zuko. It wasn't that his uncle ever tried to hurt him, but the old man had a strange sense of humor and was constantly trying to make Zuko realize himself and learn some lesson or another. Who knew what the old kook was planning now.

Well, there you all go. That should hold you over for a little bit. I have a bunch of tests this week because it's the end of term, but I'll update in a few days, I promise! I hope you all are still enjoying the story. I can't read your minds, though, you know! If you have anything to say, anything that you think I did wrong, right, or something you think should or shouldn't happen, let me know. I love to read your reviews and they really help me, believe it or not! J Everyone one of them is read and considered, even if I haven't responded to them (I'm going to try and start doing that more). Ok, well I think that's it. Peace.