You Don't Hate Me

By

Lucibell

Chapter Three

Today I feel more irascible, which makes me feel somewhat better. I'm not going crazy, yesterday had just been out of the ordinary for me.

Yesterday…

Sighing, I get out of bed and dress. Re-tying the silk cloth that holds my hair, I step out the door, searching breakfast and someone to yell at.

The latter comes faster than I had expected. Walking down the hallway, an unsuspecting soldier brushes past me, barely knocking my arm out of the way. I wheel on him.

"You! Have respect for your Prince! Watch where you're going!" I shout.

He turns quickly, shrinking back a step, his eyes widening. "I'm s-sorry, Your Highness. Truly! I didn't see you there!"

I let out a 'hmph' and stalk off. I can just sense him shaking his head behind me in confusion. I smile a sardonic smile. Today is going normally. That's good.

Normal… Yesterday hadn't been normal. My smile fades into a deep scowl, and it stays that way all the way to the Captain's galley. I enter quietly, finding my uncle noisily sipping his usual cup of ginseng tea. I grimace. He loves his tea. Personally, I don't understand his infatuation with the stuff. I mean, sure it's okay, but it's nothing to develop a fetish over.

I gag. Not thinking about Uncle having a fetish…

Angrily, I sling back my chair and sit down, glaring at the food in front of me as if it were Admiral Zhao himself.

I snarl at the thought. If Admiral Zhao knew what I had on my ship at this moment, he'd be dead set on killing me and my crew just to get to it. That's something I can't let him do. Something I won't let him do.

My uncle clears his throat and I look up and glare at him instead. He smiles. My eyes narrow even further. "Is something wrong, Prince Zuko?"

I consider him for a moment before I speak. "Where are we headed?" I completely ignore his question, knowing good and well what he wants to talk about. I suppose getting to the point is much simpler than beating around the bush.

He hesitates a moment, his smile faltering slightly. "To the Fire Nation."

I shake my head. "No. Change course."

He looks stunned. "To where, Prince Zuko?"

My scowl deepens. "Just change course! I'll let you know where in due time!" With this, I stand and storm out of the galley, forgetting breakfast altogether. I stop in the hallway, not knowing where to go. I need to speak with the Avatar, to find out where he needs to go. I wince. I'm not used to this whole, saving the world thing.

I've always been so caught up in the 'getting my own honor back' thing to really even think about it.

For some reason I get even angrier and let out a roar, emitting a long trail of fire from my throat.

I hate having human emotions sometimes.

A Brief Interlude

He sat by her prone form, chin resting on his hand, thinking. He didn't understand it. Any of it. Why was Zuko taking care of them? Why had Zuko saved her?

Or more importantly, why hadn't he saved her?

He sighed loudly, covering his face with both hands. He felt so worthless. He was a trained warrior, a soldier, and he hadn't been able to save his own sister.

What had made him think in the beginning that he could single-handedly save his own tribe?

Sokka looked up at his sister, noting the bruises and cuts on her face. He didn't know what had happened to her. It seemed nobody did, except Zuko, but he hadn't had a decent chance to talk with—or yell at, whichever better suited them both—the Fire Nation Prince since last night, and even then nobody seemed in the mood to discuss much of her condition, save that she was okay.

He scanned her sleeping form. Bruises and scratches. A broken arm, a deep slash wound in her right side and the stab wound in her left shoulder.

He took a shaky breath… Any lower and it would've—

He shook his head. There was no use in that. She was okay, that's all that mattered. There had been no sign of rape, the doctors had assured him of that this morning, so he knew she'd be fine. She'd live. She was strong, he knew that.

He sighed. How strong would she be after this? How much could she handle? How would she take the fact that Zuko had saved her and that they were now on his ship, awaiting his next move?

He felt like a pawn in some elaborate game. He was nothing to them, just a chess piece. He desperately wanted Katara to wake up, but didn't all the same. Because he knew that once she did, they'd be done for. Once she was healed, that was it. They wouldn't get any more sympathy. Once she was okay, they'd never see Aang again.

It was likely that they'd never see home or Gran-Gran again.

They'd never see Dad again, either.

He took her uninjured hand in his, feeling the hot tears prickle at the back of his eyes. He tried hard to keep them from falling, but even being the soldier he was, he couldn't stop it. Slowly he lowered his head and laid it on the bed beside her, letting himself sob quietly. He felt so weak, and he knew it wouldn't make anything better, but he also knew that once he'd cried himself out, he'd be ready for whatever Zuko could throw at them.

So he cried…

Chapter Three (Continued)

I pass the sick bay on my way to the deck. I try my hardest to just walk on by and forget about what lies in there, with a broken arm and wounds in her flesh. But I can't. Irritated, I stop and take the few steps back to the door, stopping a doctor as he exits.

"How is she?" I ask, seemingly uninterested.

I think the doctor knows better, though, and that makes me frown.

"She's healing nicely," It's only been a day, how can they tell? "Her brother was here earlier, but he left a few minutes ago."

I honestly didn't ask about her brother, but he obviously found it relevant enough to let me know that he'd been by, so I let it slide. "Is she awake yet?"

He shakes his head. "It's unlikely that she'll wake so soon. It'll take a couple of days."

I nod, letting him go about his business and step through the door. Slowly I walk to the chair sitting by her bed. I sit down and lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees.

I stare at her, wondering how she got herself into this mess. Why had she chosen to join the Avatar? Why was she with him? How had she come across an earthbender? Why had that earthbender been so hostile as to pin her?

How could he do something like that to someone so innocent?

Before I know what I'm doing, I reach over and brush a stray hair behind her ear. She stirs and I freeze, praying she won't wake. She doesn't and I let out a breath. I draw back, and realizing what I've done, become angry with myself. As quietly as possible I exit, making my way hastily to the deck.

The Avatar had better be here…

And he is. I open the hatch and notice him sitting cross-legged on the railing, the lemur perched on his shoulder. He's watching something in the water. I stride over to him, leaning over the railing. His bison is swimming alongside the ship, and he's just staring at it. I clear my throat.

His head snaps in my direction. "Where are you headed?" I ask. He gives me a puzzling look. I sigh. "Before I started chasing you, before all this happened. Where were you headed?" Realization dawns on his face.

"The North Pole…" he says quietly. I nod, then scowl.

Turning to a nameless soldier behind me I bark, "Tell the captain to head for the North Pole! If he asks, we're joining the Avatar. Anyone who disagrees will answer to me!" I raise my voice on the last sentence to make sure that everyone hears, even though they may not understand why. They will in due time.

I turn back to the Avatar. "Why?" he asks.

I snarl, "I don't have to explain myself to you."

With that, I storm off to the bridge, to make sure my message has been sent properly.

Author's Note: I made sure to note that Katara had never been raped. I just wanted to clear that up.

Thanks for all the reviews! It makes me feel so great!

I know that you all don't want Zuko to seem so out of character that it's unrealistic, and neither do I. I've just always had problems with being angry for no reason. I think I did well on portraying it though. Props for me.

And Props for these people:

Dracori: Cliche, but awesome, the majority of them are. Thank you ever so much!

Monito: More applause! Thank you! -Bows suavely-

Arwey: No, you did not hurt my feelings. You hurt me physically! Man, you should play football. -Wink- Joking. Anyway, thanks for your review.

Chinesechic: I checked out your fic, but it was like one in the morning so I don't really remember it. After you read so many stories and watch so many shows everything just starts to slur together. I'll be sure to go back and read it again and review. Thanks!

Katuko: Your review reminded me of my favorit quote from the show. Let me demonstrate. -Clears throat- Katara: Sokka! You're a genius! Aang: Since when is Sokka a genius, his plan didn't even work! Sokka: Let her dream, Aang. Katara: No, you're right, Sokka's plan didn't work. But it looks like it did. Aang: Did the definition of 'genius' change in the last hundred years?

-Laughs- Oh, I love it. Anyway thank you so, so much.

NovMists: Thank you. I was going for the different side of Zuko thing. I don't think people portray that enough and I wanted to. Plus, it's a fun thing to write. -Smile-

Starlightz1112: Thank you. I didn't know that my insight was so good... I thought I may have to work on it a bit. In other words, I thought it was bad...

T.: Thank you. Nice name, by the way.

Saucy Noodles: -Laughs- That is ironic. Thank you for your review. But I wonder, how did your brother feel about discussing romance?

Tsuonae: I totally agree. Thank you for your criticism. I know that Zuko's cruel and I'm going to bring that out. But like I said, I have a thing about getting mad for no reason. I don't understand it. So I have to try and think of how to portray that while making it seem real. Let me know how this chapter suits you.

Thank you all!

God Bless you,

Luci