:) Don't own. ~paperbackwriter9

The mirror was long and elegant with a gold frame. I stared into it looking for something… anything. Was there an answer to why I had become tangled in this mess and stuck here in the worst place for a water bender?

My face showed disgust as I looked up and down at myself in the mirror. Though I was only dressed in a simple red robe, there was no sign of life. My lips were curved down, my eyes slightly red from fatigue, and my skin had lost its glow that the cold air had given me.

"Katara?" Zuko walked up behind me. "I'm sorry," he whispered. Sorry did not matter to me anymore. Though I believed I felt love for him, I was perfectly capable of hating him at the same time. My heart sunk as he stood there behind me with his face twisted in anger. "I'm going to find a solution..."

"No, you won't. You want to keep me here. How can I ever return to my home if you refuse to let me escape now?" I turned and faced him. "My heart belongs there." And I turned releasing my pent up anger, and he just stood there. "Answer me!" I yelled and I slapped him right across the face.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the doors. "You listen to me," he yelled and opened the door and dragged me with him. "You ungrateful peasant, I'm trying to figure out a way out of this!"

"Let me go!" I said and tried to get out of his grasp. Instead he yanked my arm and pulled me closer.

"You slap me again…" But he did not finish as a servant walked through the hall looking at us with curiosity. "Move along!" He yelled and the girl ran away.

He reached for my arm and dragged me to the dinner. I kept my gaze on the floor rather than the hallway and noticed there were even elaborate patterns on the tiling. In fact, I remembered some of the designs from hours ago when Iroh brought me up here. Which way was that trap door…

Then we reached brighter hallways with commotion and people walking around holding platters of food, papers, paintings, and discussing something rather important. I clenched my fists together and tried to hold back tears. Because then he motioned for me to stop and look into the grand room. The ceiling was so tall that I'm sure it reached the sky. There was the long dining table that was filled with food piled high and had steam rising off floating up to the endless ceiling.

Elegant looking women were sitting around the table next to men. They wore their armor and a smirk on their face. No one seemed to notice me at first as everyone stood to greet the prince. When we started walking down to the other side of the table, I heard them. Tiny whispers that I knew were all about me.

"Look!"

"A girl from the water tribe?"

"What is she doing here?"

"Disgusting."

I felt almost weak and my feet refused to walk forward. A huge weight was placed on my shoulders and it kept my head down to avoid any of the faces. As I sat next to Zuko near the head of the table I could not bare to look up. There were so many voices. It only felt like they were getting louder and louder and-

"FIRE LORD OZAI."

Everyone suddenly stood and bowed as a dark figure entered the room. My heart nearly stopped as the man walked closer and closer. This was the enemy of my tribe! The man that belonged to a nation that destroyed my life, and took away my mother's. My body flinched and I felt my fist ball up under the sleeve.

This was nowhere near okay.

"MY SON!" The man said in a loud deep voice. He was extremely tall and had broad shoulders. His armor was a dark red and black with a fire symbol on the chest. It made him appear taller and scarier. His hair was up in the traditional topknot and was long down his back. His grin made me shudder and I tried to be as invisible as possible. "I'm happy you made it through the storm! That is a sign of bravery, a sign that I was afraid I would never see. Your sister is very brave and talented, and is sailing off to conquer an Earth Kingdom village. Now she makes me very pleased."

Zuko shifted next to me and I believed that he was very uncomfortable. "Thank you father," he said quietly.

"Let us feast!" The Fire Lord roared and the people bowed and noisily sat down and started to be served. "My son, who is this at our table?" His yellow eyes looked me up and down and I felt disgusted. My body was covered in tiny beads of nervous sweat.

"We captured her during the battle with the water tribe people. For the time being I have made her my concubine," he said with confidence and I felt like running out the door.

"She is an attractive girl I suppose," Ozai said and I could feel everyone staring at me. "Look at me girl," the Fire Lord said and very slowly I raised my gaze. "Tell me your name," he smirked. His gold eyes pierced me making me feel small and insignificant.

"Katara," I mumbled.

"Her name is Katara," Zuko said so that his father could hear. From under the table he tugged on my robe trying to get me to look up at his father.

Ozai chuckled and grabbed his glass of wine. "Not as pretty as the women we have here Zuko. You must take more women to understand what a truly beautiful girl is. I shall give you a new girl we have here."

"Father-" Zuko started to say but he did not listen. I felt my fist clench tighter and did my best to stay still in the chair. Ozai clapped and out came a girl that was shackled around her wrists.

"Now this is what I call beauty." The royals at the table ate and chattered away as this sad looking girl was dragged out. She had long black hair and pale skin, and then the most shocking thing… she had blue eyes. It took me awhile to process that this girl might also have Water Nation blood in her.

"You," Zuko murmured and I turned to look at him. I watched him look at the girl with an expression of realization. I was mad enough to slap him, and jealously ran through my blood.

This Fire Lord had the girl chained to the table next to him. "What do you think?" He said to his son and I kicked Zuko's leg as hard as I could.

"FINE," he shouted and looked at me with anger.

"That's one answer," Ozai said and laughed. "My advisors, royals, and Fire Nation brethren, my son has made me proud for the evening. He survived the massive storm and has taken a concubine!" The people laughed and looked at me with their unfriendly over made up faces. "Hopefully he will be able to capture the Avatar in the near future and make me proud for more than a night!"

Zuko shifted and looked so frustrated that I decided not to look in his direction for the rest of the evening. This was the most embarrassing thing that I had been through in my short life. For the rest of the meal I stared down at my food and blocked out the rude comments pointed in my direction.

Finally we were dismissed and headed back to the prince's chamber. When we walked inside I stood there and folded my arms in anger. "That was horrible." Zuko looked up and then down as he walked to the desk. Obviously he was not listening and did not care to listen either. I had to try a… different approach. "Zuko?... Zuko?"

"What," he hissed and turned to face me.

"I hate you! You pig. Like every other man that I've met."

"What is it now," he said and walked into the bathroom to change out of his armor.

"You were staring at that poor girl with your drool pooling on the floor. You keep me here saying you need me but you don't actually need me, do you?" I was so angry that I walked into the bathroom with him and stood right in front of his face.

It looked almost as if his scar was starting to turn redder with anger. "Don't start with me. I've seen that girl before. On the ship… she warned me about the man that had poisoned you back at our camp. I don't know how she ended up here…" He stopped and threw his formal robe down, only wearing his shirt and pants.

"You're keeping me here for no reason! You are the most ignorant male that I have ever met, " I said, ignoring anything he just told me. He grabbed my wrist and turned me around to face him within a second of me leaving the bathroom.

"I HAVE MY HONOR. YOU ARE JUST A PEASANT." He stood so close and spoke with so much such force I felt heat radiating from his body. "My father treats me like a nobody. My sister tries to destroy my plans in order to regain my honor. And now you're thrown into my life. You want the truth? That girl was beautiful and I would be happy to have her as my concubine. SHE SEEMED QUIETER THAN YOU!" I stepped back and he slammed the bathroom door right in my face.

I stood there stunned by his outburst and felt the hurt from his words slowly seep into my skin.

THAT WAS IT.

I made sure that the bathroom door was still shut and I changed quickly into my old clothes. I looked around the room as fast as I could and found a gold coin. I also took a fancy looking hand held mirror. I shoved the things into my bag and walked to the door. I could hear water and saw steam rolling out from under the bathroom door.

Very quietly I walked to the door and placed my hand on the handle. Was this the right thing to do…? Would Zuko ever let me leave? I doubted it. This is what I must do. What I wanted was to see my family as soon as I could. I just had to remember what the floor designs looked like and find that trap door. As I turned the handle the bathroom door swung open.

There was Zuko wrapped in a towel with steam pouring out behind him. I felt more attracted to him at once but did my best to push that idea away. "What are you doing?" He shouted and I threw open the door and ran out. I didn't hear him behind me so I stopped and looked down.

Left… Right… Another right?

I prayed I was headed the right way. There was no one in the hallway excepted for a few servants further down. I could feel Zuko chasing after me and I was scared. Suddenly I tripped over my own feet sending my bag flying. It hurt landing on my hands but I picked myself up. As I stood I saw a small handle leading to the door!

GO!

I opened it and heard someone shout my name. Zuko was so close that I blindly entered and started to run using the light from the few torches. I ran and ran without looking back. Fear poured threw me at the thought of being shackled like the girl at dinner. The Fire Lord obviously did not approve of Zuko's choice in women and I would be discarded soon after he used me.

My adrenaline was rushing through me at full speed.

There was finally another door and I swung it open and then slammed it shut. Light from the moon was making a path for the way out. Freedom was so close I could feel myself grin for the first time. There was no sign of Zuko yet and I ran as hard as I could. Once I was above ground in the fresh air I took a deep breath and smiled.

How I wished there was water to bend!

Quickly I ran back into the shadows of the palace and watched out for any guards. There was a road that looked like it was leading back to the ocean and I stayed low and ran in the shadows. It must have been the middle of the night, because there was no one besides the occasional guard.

There was a small town outside the palace that I did not see due to my ride in the carriage. I knew I couldn't use my gold coin because I needed those things for the boat. I walked back further into the shadows and saw what looked like a small forest. I did not want to sleep but I had no choice. Going into the town would be too obvious, and sleeping here would not be a good idea.

My adrenaline was racing so quickly that I was not afraid. I moved back into the town and made my way down to the water. I felt like it was calling out to me, and goose bumps raised on my arms with excitement.

Even if I did get sleep it would only be for a few hours. I walked quickly and stayed alert to all of the movements. Finally I saw a small boat tied to a dock. There were no signs around it and it looked like it had been there for a while.

No one noticed me probably because they were too tired or had just got up to get ready to fish. I climbed in and used my bag as a pillow. This would have to do for tonight. I could not believe that I had just done that…

My heart was still pounding as I closed my eyes. A wave of guilt washed over me suddenly and I pictured Zuko's face when he saw me grab the doors handle.

NO. You just won back your freedom. Can't you sense the ocean around you? The feeling of being connected to your element? Zuko will just forget and take that other girl like he said.

Though I thought this, secretly I hoped he was looking for me...

My thoughts finally turned to mush as I fell sound asleep.

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