Katara felt proud she hadn't passed out this time. True, collapsing and not being able to find the strength to stand for an hour hadn't been much of a step up, but Katara would take what she could get. Her dad had been the one to sit beside her when she couldn't stand, holding her around her shoulders as he rocked her gently. It made her feel like a little girl again, small and scared, but at that moment she didn't mind the feeling.
"You want to talk about it yet?" Hakoda asked her gently after she'd given a soft sigh.
"I don't even know where I'd start," Katara choked out with a laugh.
"Is your brother alright?" he asked.
Katara looked up at him, unable to hide her worry.
"I don't know," she whispered, resting her forehead against her dad's arm, turning in his embrace. "He should be. He wasn't with me when I was captured."
"What happened?"
"A lot," she laughed.
"I have time."
It took her a long time to go through everything, from when she'd first seen Zuko after Sokka and her had met Aang, to all their random scuffles with Zuko as their group traveled around on adventures together, to the North Pole, to when Zuko captured her. She didn't give him many details about her capture, only enough to assure her dad she'd been taken care of pretty well for a captive.
Hakoda listened to everything she said carefully, expressing his relief that their village was safe with a gentle squeeze of Katara's shoulder. Katara's throat felt dry by the time she finished, nodding that she'd told him everything.
Hakoda wrapped her up tightly into a hug when she was done, nearly bringing Katara to tears.
"My brave little girl. You've been through a lot. I wish I could've been there for it," he said.
"You could've," she mumbled quietly.
Hakoda's arms tensed around her slightly for a moment before they relaxed again.
She wasn't sure what made her say it. She'd always known what her dad was doing was the right thing. She hadn't cried when he'd left, only made him promise to stay safe and come home soon. It hadn't been easy, but Katara had always been proud of her dad and what he'd done.
"I need to go check on some things around the ship," Hakoda told her, pulling her away so that he could see her face. "Will you be alright?"
"Yeah," she answered. "I'm good, dad."
"That's my girl."
Giving her a final smile, her dad helped Katara to her feet and said if she asked anyone around, they'd be able to show her a place she could sleep in. She made her way to one of Hakoda's warriors, the kind man quickly taking her below the deck to their sleeping quarters, hanging up a sheet to separate her hammock from the rest of the crews'. There were a few people sleeping but most of the crew was up on deck, helping her dad with the ship. As Katara laid down, the creaking from the wood and the shouts from above lulled her into a light sleep, reminding her slightly of the nights she'd spent aboard Zuko's ship.
With the thought of Zuko, Katara's eyes flew open. Zuko was a fire bender onboard a wooden ship. How stupid was she? Any second he could burn this entire ship down, taking his chances in the ocean. It annoyed her to realize that Zuko was the type of person who'd do exactly that without realizing just how stupid it would be to burn down a ship in the middle of the ocean. Katara was up and running the next second, asking the first warrior she came across where the prisoner was being kept. They directed her to the other side of the hull, letting her in through a wooden door that opened to the brig. The moment the door opened, her eyes fell on Zuko, where he was surrounded by a group of heavily armored warriors.
Zuko was still unconscious when she arrived, making Katara breathe a sigh in relief.
"Um, miss? I'm not sure if your dad really wants you here."
Choosing to ignore the warrior, Katara came closer, eyes focused on Zuko and the strange contraption he was in.
He rested in a wooden crate so that only his head was visible. Katara could sense the water inside the crate, almost entirely full to keep Zuko completely submerged in water. Coming up to the edge, Katara could see a chain beneath the water, linking cuffs around Zuko's legs and ankles, then wrapping around his shoulders and over his arms that were crossed on top of his chest, forcing him to be almost fully immobile.
"This will keep him from fire bending?" Katara asked, turning to the group around her.
"No prison's foolproof but this is the most effective way we've ever found to keep firebenders from burning down our ships while we sleep," one of the guards said with a grin.
"Katara?"
Turning in surprise, Katara caught sight of two people she never thought she'd see again, both of them staring at her with wide brown eyes.
Aika and Rizen looked like they couldn't decide whether to be ecstatic or enraged. Rizen settled on a beaming smile banging on the bars of his cell and pointing at a crate like Zuko's that Aika was in to keep her from fire bending. Aika watched Katara make her way towards Aika with a wariness in her gaze as if she wasn't sure if she could fully trust Katara.
"Aika! I told you she was alive," Rizen exclaimed. "I told you there was no way that fall could kill her!"
"Rizen saw you get hit and the prince and General Iroh go after you," Aika explained cautiously, still eyeing Katara who had stopped in front of her crate. "We couldn't get to any of you in time to see what happened."
"So did Prince Zuko rescue you?" Rizen asked. "Where have the two of you been all this time?"
"On an island," Katara answered.
With another brief look at Zuko that made her heart clench painfully hard, Katara gritted her teeth and made her way over to the cell that housed about a dozen of Zuko's soldiers and crew and Rizen. Another look around the room showed Katara about six other crates like Zuko's with other soldiers that must be fire benders like Aika.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"Shouldn't we be asking you that?" he said. "You fell pretty hard. And being with the prince for this long all on your own must've been terrible. It's amazing you both made it here in one piece!"
Katara felt a spray of water hit her arm, jumping slightly with alarm to see Aika snorting.
"Sorry, Katara," she apologized. "Usually, my aim is better. Do you think you could move a bit, so I have an easier target?"
Moving over, Katara felt a smile break across her face as she watched Aika suck water from her crate into her mouth before spraying it in a stream directly at Rizen who yelped and dove to the side.
"Would you stop it?" he shouted from where he was crouched in his cell.
"You insulted the prince, who happens to actually be here," Aika retorted. "And how else am I supposed to get entertainment here?"
"You're a terrible person and I hope you drown," Rizen told her in response as he straightened.
The laugh Katara let out brought the attention back to her, the other warriors watching her in confusion as the fire nation soldiers smiled at the sound.
"So did Prince Zuko really manage to save you?" Rizen asked, his smile growing as he watched Katara.
"He rescued me, yeah," Katara affirmed.
"Good. It was bad enough he hit you. If you'd gone over and he hadn't done anything, especially after all the times you've saved him, I don't know if I could continue working for him," Rizen sighed dramatically.
"Hey genius," Aika snapped. "The prince you work for us sitting right there. You really want to keep this up?"
"It's alright, Aika."
Heads snapped around at the soft voice that signaled Zuko had regained consciousness. Katara's heart pounded as she turned to look at him.
Zuko still seemed a little out of it, but he was at least lucid enough to shift around to tug at his restraints. The moment he began tugging against the chains, five of the Southern warriors formed a half circle around his crate, spears up and aimed directly at Zuko's neck.
"That's enough," one of the warriors barked in command.
The look Zuko gave the man made Katara's legs tremble, but she forced herself to keep her face neutral even as the banished prince of the Fire Nation looked at her dad's warriors in contempt. The warriors didn't budge, keeping their weapons up threateningly until Zuko finally relaxed himself, gritting his teeth as he did so. The warriors took a half step back, all the guards in the room seeming slightly relieved he hadn't tried anything.
"Your highness."
"Keep quiet," another warrior said sternly to Aika's soft call.
Aika bowed her head in acknowledgment to Zuko, who nodded back grimly before he looked around the cell, trying to see who was there.
Katara watched his eyes flicker over her. She hadn't taken her eyes off him once, meaning she saw the reaction that didn't occur as he looked at her, moving past her as if she was just another Southern Warrior down there to guard him.
"Did we lose anyone?" he asked.
A warrior stepped forward; spear raised threateningly.
"You are not to speak," he commanded. "Our Captain's orders. If anyone responds to him, he'll be the one punished."
Zuko looked ready to shout at the man, but eventually he dropped his head, shaking it so that his crew would know not to say anything. The defeated stance made Katara's heart ache even more and she finally pulled her gaze away, turning to see Aika, Rizen, and the rest of his crew watching him with fire in their gazes.
Rizen gripped the bars of his cell, seeming like he was willing for Zuko to fight back as he pressed himself against the cold metal, concern written across his face. Aika fidgeted in her bonds, bringing the guards attention onto her for a moment until she was forced to settle down.
"Did you lose anyone?"
Zuko's head snapped up at Katara's question, staring at her as she stepped closer to Aika.
"Don't answer her," Zuko thundered.
At this, the water tribe warriors had finally had enough, a guard stepping forward to jab the back of his spear against Zuko's head, knocking his chin down into the water with a groan of pain.
"Your highness!"
Several people cried out in anger, but Katara could only look at him in shock.
"Don't you answer a single question of hers," Zuko spat out, raising his head for a moment, only for it to be rammed forward, a groan of pain escaping his lips this time.
"Stop! Stop it," Katara cried out, rushing towards the guard. "What are you doing?"
"Hakoda's orders, miss Katara," the guard murmured softly. "The prince isn't to be speaking to his crew."
"Maybe we should just gag him," someone suggested.
Katara whirled on him, her heart rate spiking. Memories of the terror she'd felt when Zuko had gagged her raced through her mind and she found herself holding back a shudder as she stepped towards Zuko instinctively.
"No," she insisted. "You can't. Please don't gag him."
The guards looked at her, surprise on all their faces, distrust flickering over a few, but they nodded, accepting her request.
"Thank you, Katara."
Turning to Aika, Katara saw gratitude in her eyes, as well as a warriness as her friend looked her over.
It made sense. It was probably the exact same look Katara had had any time someone had done anything kind for her aboard Zuko's ship.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
Aika nodded to her slowly. From his cell, Rizen gave her a cheery wave, looking every bit as happy as always, already moved on from his concern over Zuko. Katara's fingers twitched back, and then she turned to leave, walking as slowly as she could bear until the door to the brig was shut behind her and she could dash away.
Her foot took her up to the deck, startling a few other people as she burst outside, racing to the edge of the ship, and leaning over so that she could vomit whatever acid and water was in her stomach.
Her mind didn't know how to handle it. It felt like being trapped in a dream where you're nearly awake but still not fully conscious, leaving you unsure of where you really are. Katara felt frightened as she thought back to Zuko's sudden change, the distrust in Aika's eyes as she recognized Katara as an enemy when she'd been the first to befriend Katara on Zuko's ship. She was torn about leaving Iroh, knowing he must be frantic with worry over his nephew, and she wasn't sure how she would ever find Sokka and Aang now. Her feelings for Zuko felt like they were being twisted with every new interaction she'd had with him, their perfect moment on the beach seeming like it had been years ago instead of just that morning.
"What do I do?" she wondered, spitting out as much of the aftertaste from her vomit as she could. "What on earth am I supposed to do now?"
The sea didn't respond as she looked out across it, the waves rocking the ship that usually brought her peace only making her feel unsturdy as her tribe kept people she'd considered as her friends trapped below, taking them across an ocean only leading them further away from their nation.