Chapter 4:
Guest of Honor
Katara had been put in what looked like a spare room. Why they hadn't just taken her to the prisoner cells was beyond her, but she wasn't complaining. She didn't know what Zuko would do to Aang and her brother but she hoped he had enough heart to not kill them. She walked around nervously, running the options she had left through her mind. Aang has refused to give himself up, and Zuko was not going to let her go so easily. She could try to escape, but if she was caught the punishment would probably be worse than her current situation. She could waterbend her way out of Zuko's reach, but her waterbending abilities weren't always reliable. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she failed to notice the click of the door as it opened.
Zuko entered as quietly as possible. Apparently he had been too quiet since Katara didn't even hear the door opening. He smiled to himself noticing how distracted Katara could get, he would definitely use this as an advantage if need be. He slammed the door shut causing Katara to finally snap her attention towards him. She was shocked to see him in the room but didn't show it. She put on a neutral expression, determined not to let show just how much this whole fiasco was affecting her. She decided to get straight to the point so she looked him straight in the eye and asked, "What have you done with Aang and my brother?"
Zuko looked her in the eye with as much resolution. He made himself comfortable by leaning against the door, just to make sure she wouldn't try anything. He checked his nails the way only a prince would do it, completely ignoring Katara and the fact that she had just asked a question. Katara was getting agitated with his cool act, "I asked you a question!"
"Don't worry, they're alive. Unfortunately for you, they are no longer on the ship. See, I decided they would take up too much space so I threw them overboard." His cool act never faltered, not even after Katara made an attempt to punch him, "You jerk! How could you!"
Zuko took hold of her wrist before she could land a blow. He was quickly losing his cool exterior and it showed when his fist began to get warmer. Katara tried to escape his grasp but that only made him tighten his hold, "I could've burned them right on the stop. Would you have preferred to have a pile of ashes for a brother?"
Katara whimpered as his grip only got tighter and hotter. She closed her eyes in agony, refusing to let the tears that threatened to spill fall. She wouldn't give Zuko the pleasure of knowing that he had broken her. "You're hurting me," she said softly not sure if he had heard her. His eyes widen as he realized that he was indeed hurting her and that it wasn't a trick. He let her go immediately and muttered an apology. He turned away from her, not being able to look into her teary eyes. He let out a soft sigh unaware of Katara following his every move. "What are you going to do with me?" The question caught him off guard and he found himself turning to face her. She looked so vulnerable and small. Unconsciously, he extended his hand. She looked at it with caution. He chuckled at how suspicious she was of him, "What's your name?" She met his gaze once more and saw that he wasn't planning anything against her, "Its Katara."
"That's a nice name. Listen Katara, I won't hurt you. You're my guest of honor for as long as you're here."
"And exactly just how long is that?"
"However long the avatar takes to come and rescue you." He turned to leave but was stopped when he felt a small hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Katara give him a weird look. Then she smiled and said, "You're not as evil and you make yourself seem." He smirked at her comment and removed her hand off his shoulder, "You'd be surprised. I'll have someone bring you something to eat later on. In the meantime, don't try anything. I would hate to have to hurt you." With that he walked out of the room. She heard the clicking as he locked it from the outside. He was making sure that his guest of honor stayed put. She sighed and went to lay on the bed. There was no point in trying to escape only to be turned to ashes later on. She hated to admit it, but Zuko was right. All she could do was wait until Aang and Sokka came to rescue her. Or until Zuko finally got tired of her and let her go, which was highly unlikely. With that thought in mind, she drifted off to sleep. She would think more later... When she wasn't so tired.
Up in the sky! It's a bird, its a plane, no, its chapter 4! Sorry I didn't update sooner, but I had stuff to do, like my final speech for speech class. Speaking of finals, next week is finals! NO! The horror! My first two horrific finals are IPC and English 1. Sounds like fun... NOT! But the teachers better think again if they think I'm gonna spend all weekend studying. I'm gonna go see Star Wars Episode III tomorrow so ha! No stupid finals can stop me from enjoying myself. Well, the geometry final can. That thing is EVIL, capital letters and all. Anyway, while I continue to ramble on and on, you click that little purple button down there and review and chapter 5 will be up soon enough.
