Chapter Eleven

They were running through a field of flowers holding hands. Katara was smiling and laughing as the wind blew through her hair. It was a beautiful day with no clouds in the sky and the sun shining down on her. Suddenly Zuko stopped. He turned to her and tried to speak but every time he did black thunder clouds rolled in and drowned out his words. 'What?' Katara shouted but her own voice was lost in the sudden wind that had picked up. Then suddenly he was gone. Katara screamed but her voice was lost on the wind. The sky darkened then lightning flashed and the rain began to pour. 'Help!' Katara cried. But then she was falling, falling, and Aang was crying 'Katara! Katara!'

"Katara!"

"Aahh!" Katara screamed and jumped up a someone grabbed her arm.

"It's ok! It's just me!" Prince Zuko was standing beside her, looking at her with concern. They were back on the ship. After the bad weather had passed they had boarded the ship and set sail for the fire nation again. Prince Zuko still had to lock her door but when the crew was busy elsewhere he would sneak down to talk to her. At first it had been awkward but they had been doing this for a week now and they were getting more comfortable around each other.

"Zuko?" Katara asked, looking around. "What time is it?"

"It's the middle of the night. Well actually it's almost dawn but it's as black as midnight. I heard you screaming and came down to see what was wrong."

Katara rubbed her head. "I was having a bad dream. Sorry if I woke you."

Zuko shook his head, "That's ok. I couldn't sleep anyway." Hey glanced at the door then back at her, "Hey, no one else will be up for hours, do you want to go above deck?"

Katara grinned. "Sure."

He smiled and went over to the door. He looked out to make sure no one was coming then motioned for her to follow him. They crept down the hall, up the stairs, and onto the deck. The night was clear and they could see the moon shining brightly down on them. It gave everything a magical glow. They walked over to the rail and looked over into the black waters below. Katara leaned against the rail and looked at Prince Zuko.

"You know," she said slowly, "You've changed a lot this last week."

He crossed his arms and leaned against the rail, staring into the water below. "Yeah. I don't know, it's so weird. I never imagined I would say this to you, or any other girl, but I really like you. I think it's because of you that I've changed so much. I don't know; I've always been so different since….I was exiled."

Katara gazed quietly at him, watching him deep in his own thoughts. Then she put a hand gently on his arm. "What happened?" she asked softly.

For a while he was silent, almost as though he hadn't heard her. Then he began to speak, "It was a long time ago. I was only twelve. I lived with my father in the fire nation. He was training me in the ways of fire bending. I was so happy. But then, everything changed. One day Commander Zhao came and told us that we were being attacked and that we were needed to fight at the fire nation borders. And we went." He laughed bitterly, "We went. When we got there, there were a bunch of them, practically still kids, no one there was older than 18. They weren't even benders. It seemed like it would be such an easy fight. But then…..We were attacking and they were losing. Badly. But suddenly, out of nowhere, came a little boy. He was only about 10 years old. I beat him at a fight but then Commander Zhao was yelling at me to strike him down, to kill him. And I couldn't do it. He just seemed so helpless. It seemed so wrong! So I let him escape. Turns out he was a spy sent by a town of earth benders. He had stolen all our attack plans and maps of our secret bases. He went back and told them and we were forced to move and regroup. And everyone blamed me. Commander Zhao decided that I should fight him. If I won I could stay there. But if I lost I was sent into exile. As you can tell, I lost. Even after I was down he kept coming at me. That's how I got this." He motioned towards the scar on his face. "Now, capturing the Avatar is the only way I can get back my honor." He trailed off and continued to stare into the black waters.

"Wow." Katara said softly. "I had no idea. That is so sad." She took his hand and squeezed it. "You did the right thing though."

"I'm not so sure of that anymore." They stood in silence, listening to the waves lap against the ship. Then Prince Zuko looked at Katara. "You know, I don't see why you hang out with the Avatar anyway. What has he every done for you?"

Katara stiffened. "What do you mean? Aang is my friend!"

"Hmph. Some friend. If it wasn't for him there wouldn't be a war. The fire nation are not mindless killers you know. Why do you think we attacked? We wanted control, yes, but only because the Avatar was not doing his job. Who gave him the right to run everything any way? And why did he disappear when the fire nation attacked? Seems more like a coward to me."

Katara opened her mouth to protest but then stopped. She wouldn't admit it but she had wondered the same thing herself. Why had the Avatar disappeared when he was most needed? Didn't he care about his people? What if…….what if Zuko was right?

No! Katara scolded herself, Don't be stupid! Yet she couldn't keep her mind from wondering to Aang, and she was beginning to see him in a different light.