Chapter 5:

Freedom to an Extend

She had slept for and hour and was still asleep. Her thoughts were tormented by the idea of Zuko harming Aang, Sokka, or herself. Would Zuko really kill them just for the fun of it? She refused to believe that seeing as he was a prince that had honor, or was trying to gain it back. Her mind went back to the time when he stopped her from being captured by the pirates. In the end she had ended up being captured by him. She remembered him saying that he was trying to regain his honor. She also remembered that he had her mother's necklace. She suddenly sat up in bed as she clearly remembered him teasing her with the one thing she held most dear. And now she was mad. Zuko might be able to use her as bait, but he would give back her necklace.


Up on the deck, Zuko looked out towards the sea. His plan would work out, if he came up with a plan. He hated to admit it, but he never actually thought Katara would still be with him. If he let her go, the avatar would take a while to find her, especially since they were in the middle of no where. But if he kept her with him, the avatar would still take forever to find her. Who knows how long it would take for him to finally find the ship. This was not what he had in mind.

Iroh came up behind him with quiet steps. He roughly patted the prince on the back causing him to jump, "Uncle! Are you trying to scare me to death!" Iroh burst out laughing enjoying the sight before his eyes. Zuko had his hand placed over his heart and was breathing heavily. Iroh continued laughing until Zuko shot him a glare. "That was quite interesting. I didn't know you could jump that high Prince Zuko." Zuko turned away in order to hide the tint of red that had appeared on his cheeks. He would get his revenge on his uncle later. He turned to face Iroh and saw that his face was now serious, "What do you intend to do with the girl Zuko?" The question was simple, but he had a hard time finding an answer. He looked away for a while trying to get his thoughts together. What would he do with her? She obviously didn't like him so letting her roam free was out of the choice, but keeping her in that stuffy room all time would just make her even more aggressive towards him. As if reading his mind, Iroh spoke up, "You know Prince Zuko, perhaps you should let the poor girl out. She probably not dumb enough to try anything in the presence of the fire nation prince." Zuko said nothing to do but as soon as Iroh walked away, he headed straight toward the room Katara was being held in.


Katara heard the door click open and looked at the person who was there to visit her... Zuko. Katara was known for doing the first thing that came to her mind, and right now the first thing that came to her mind was to bombard Zuko with questions, so that's exactly what she did.

"You thief! You stole my necklace! How did you get your filthy hands on something like that? What do you plan to do with me? Do you know that if could take days for Aang to come and get me seeing as your ship isn't going to stay in one place? How long do you plan to keep me here? And when exactly do you plan on letting me out of this pathetic excuse for a room!"

Zuko stared at her in amazement. For someone that wasn't nearly as strong as him, she had more courage to stand up to him than the man on his ship. He smiled at the slip of a girl before taking her hand and leading her to the bed, "What are you doing?" she asked as she put up no resistance. She figured he wouldn't do anything to his bait. Zuko sat on the bed and motioned for her to do the same. Once she sat down he began to answer her questions, "First of all, I'm no thief. I didn't steal your necklace, I found it, as I told you a while back. And I beg to differ, my hands are not filthy. Now, truth be told, I have no idea what I'm going to do with you. Yes, I know it could take the avatar days to find us and I intend to keep you here for as long as necessary. As for letting you out of this room, that wouldn't be very wise."

"And why not?"

"You might try to run away."

Katara laughed at this. She knew better than to try anything in the presence of Zuko and his fire army soldiers. She gave him the most innocent look she could muster, "Why would I try to run away? I wouldn't get far anyway." Zuko nodded in agreement causing Katara to give him a scolding look. He suddenly got up and walked toward the door. At the last minute he turned to Katara, "Come." She looked at him in confusion. What was he up to? He noticed that she was weary of him so he held his hands up in a "I surrender" motion, "I won't do anything. You asked when I would let you out of this room. Unless you prefer to stay in here." Katara smiled as she practically ran over to Zuko. He let her pass first following close behind. Once they reached the top deck, Katara ran to the railings. She looked out into the vast sea and sighed in happiness. Zuko gave a small smile before stepping beside her, "You'll get tired of it after a while, trust me."

"I could never get tired of the sea."

"Of course, how could I forget, you're a waterbender."

"And water puts out fire."

He looked at her with a cold expression. It was amazing to her how fast his mood changed. One minute he was as happy as ever and the next he looked ready to kill someone. With the same cold expression he spoke, "Don't push your luck Katara." With that said, he walked away leaving a fairly surprised Katara. Once she got over it, she continued to enjoy the beautiful ocean and the welcomed breeze.

Chapter 5! I'm on a role! I've got nothing much to say so I'll give it a rest for now. Review you must! Sorry, I went to see Star Wars yesterday. Talk like Yoda I am. Much fun it is. Try it you should. Cry because of finals we all must.