Disclaimer: I dont own Avatar mmk! Jeez..if i did dont u think i wouldve like...screamed it out already?

A/N: Thanks everyone for ther reviews so far, if you have any ideas for the story or anything just message me or someting!

-Serenity

Katara walked with her head down toward the ramp.

"Nice work, soldier." A voice said from behind her.

She looked behind her and saw Zuko with the rest of the soldiers, holding armfuls of the villager's valuables.

He eyed her neck and told the soldier, "I'll take her from here."

The soldier held his hands out while keeping a tight grip, he bowed his head and awaited for his commander's action. Zuko grabbed the rope fiercely and tugged it slightly. Katara narrowed her eyes and walked away from the ramp. The commander scowled at her repititve impudence and pulled the rope towards him. She winced at the tugging of her wrists and felt more jolts of pain throughout her body.

Zuko frowned at the peasent, "This disrespect will land her in the dungeons fast." He thought with disgust.

As she stumbled along the docks with his constant pulling, Zuko looked to the soldiers and commanded, "Put the valuables in storage, maybe we can scrape up a few pennies for them in a market."

The men snickered at the remark and walked past Katara with hateful glances. Once again Zuko pulled at the ropes, waiting as Katara came closer. She looked at him with so much anger and pain, his amber eyes came closer to her as her body was helpless to the pain and the pulling. After moments of petty tugging, Zuko yanked the rope abruptly and watched as Katara almost fell to his feet. She looked up, bracing herself with a hated glare.

Zuko's amber eyes danced with anger as he said in a firm low voice, "Do what you're told wench, or you'll find yourself in much more trouble then with Lord Ozai himself."

When Katara made no action, he got closer to her and said in a even lower voice, "Now get on the ship." She didn't even flinch, but instead narrowed her eyes.

Zuko's expression turned to that of extreme fury. He grabbed her waist roughly and hoisted her over his broad armor clad shoulder. A gasp shot out of her lips as she felt her wounded ribs with metal armor.

"Put me down! You horrible man! No! Not even a man, a boy! Put me down!" She screamed while kicking with her feeble might.

"How dare this man do this to me! He murders my family, chases me down, and then captures me!" Katara thought angrily.

Zuko walked swiftly onto the ramp, his anger and irritation building up inside of him slowly with each step. The crew ran around the deck carrying crates, pulling ropes, and scrubbing the deck. Katara shot hated looks at anyone who so much as glanced at her.

Then, something hit Katara with sadness. She was being taken away from her home, once she was taken to where ever on this godforsaken ship, she would never see her home. Her legs pounded on his armor sharply, tears threaten to spill through her delicate eyelashes, but she would never cry in front of this murderer.

Katara hit harder, creating loud sounds and commotion from her collisions and her yelling. Her captor opened a steel door and Katara watched as the last view of her home had been snatched away. Unexpectingly, Zuko gripped her waist painfully and dropped her off his shoulder. She landed on her wrists harshly and felt the cold metal beneath her. Katara watched his eyes, wide but at the same time narrow and tense from his anger, the amber color lumniscent from his emotions..

He took a piece of cloth from his waist and shoved her against the wall. She felt the walls, just like everything else on this ship, cold.

"I've warned you many times you filthy peasent. Your impudence shall make you pay." He murmured with venom dripping.

She fought down a heightening feeling in her throat and turned her face to the side with her eyes closed. She braced herself for more pain by this cruel man. Zuko grasped the back of Katara's hair and pulled her hair downward. She yelled as her neck was exposed and her face tilted upwards.

He gagged her mouth with the cloth and tied it tightly behind her head, "You vile wench." He spat at her again.

This time all Katara could do was scream muffled screams and curse unheard curses. Zuko had never been angered so quickly in his life, his movements became swift and sharp, his face still and determined. He fiercly grabbed the rope and wrapped it around his wrists so he'd have a tight grip. Katara bit her lips in a frenzy, her wrists dragged on the hard steel floor and moved slowly under her body, putting more weight and force onto her pain.

Blood seeped through the cloth and slowly dripped onto her chin. Her lips stung and throbbed, but it kept her distracted from the excruciating pain in her wrists and the fading pain in her ribs. The blood came down in many paths on her face, but Katara wouldn't make any motion to stop inflicting pain.

Zuko heard no sounds from the wench except for her squirming against the floor.

"How dare she embarrass me in front of my men, yelling and screaming like a spoiled child like that, she deserved to be gagged the moment she opened her mouth." He thought to himself.

He stopped walking at a flight of stairs and still felt the girl squirming about her ropes. Zuko tugged the rope and a moment of complete silence fell between them. He looked over his shoulder curiously and saw the peasent's back to him, moving up and down slowly with deep breaths.

The flight of stairs wasn't long, about ten steps, but there were more flights to climb before reaching the intended destination. Katara felt like she was going to lash out all her anger. She couldn't take it anymore, being tied up like a animal, being talked to with disrespect, and being dragged out for all these Fire Nation criminals to see. But Kana's words rose in her mind whenever the doubt of living crossed her mind. She stopped squirming instantly when Zuko tugged at her rope indicating that he had stopped moving.

"Get up." He said sharply, the tones of anger still clear in his voice.

Moments of silence passed before Zuko shouted in the still hallway, "I said, get up before I-" He quickly fell silent as the girl slowly rose to her feet, keeping her back turned to him.

Her breathing was silent as she slowly shuffled her feet to turn her body around. The eyes that usually glared at him hatefully were closed lightly, the red cloth in her mouth was dyed a deeper red and damp with fresh blood, Zuko pulled on the rope again to get her attention. Katara felt his eyes boring into her, her mind felt dizzy with many thoughts darting through her mind.

"Why should I live to be a prisoner of the Fire Nation? Mother would want me to live my life with freedom, I have to free myself. But just, not now." She thought with finality.

Her eyes flew open suddenly and her gaze was directly into Zuko's. The aura the silence created made Zuko heavily suspicious as her glare continued to reveal an intent.

Katara scowled and narrowed her eyes, Zuko harshly commanded, "Walk in front of me and head down those stairs."

He then moved to the side to allow entrance to the stairway, pinning his suspicious stare onto every movement. When she made no movement at all and kept her unusual glare, Zuko felt his body become tense.

He felt hot and his voice surged with angered adrenaline as he shouted, "Move!".

The torches flickered loudly as the two glared at each other, thinking violent thoughts. Katara furrowed her brow and raised her chin in confidence. She stared at him for one last moment and turned her gaze forward. Zuko didn't blink as Katara walked closer to the stairway a few feet away from him. Her footsteps padded gently through the hallway until they abruptly stopped.

She came face to face with the commander.

The blue intensity of her eyes locked onto the amber determined eyes of Zuko, she glanced at the stairwell and noticed it was fairly lit and it was wide enough for two people to walk beside each other. She slowly started walking down the steel steps and felt Zuko following her from his end of the rope. Katara smirked and was thankful that he couldn't see her, or else her plan would've been ruined.

The commander stared at the girl with concentration, lest she try and escape. Her breathing patterns had changed since she turned to face him with the blood soaked cloth, they went from quick and restless, to slow and deep. The wench's steps had also slowed down too, Zuko looked around her suspiciously.

Katara took a deep quiet breath and jumped off the stair she was on, about 6 steps from the top. As she was in the air, she heard a crash at the foot of the stairs and the release of her ropes was soon followed.

For the first time that day, Katara actually smiled and felt free as she swiftly ran down the long corridor. Tears from the corners of her eyes flew from her cheeks as she ran quickly and happily. Although she was still bound and gagged, she had never felt so free in her life.

When she opened her eyes, she saw a dead end, there was only one way, and it led straight to a heavily enforced door. Katara knew what was behind that door to, and the feeling of freedom scampered out of her as quickly as it came. Anger and sadness replaced that feeling, her hands curled into tense fists as her body fell into small convulsions. The black door loomed over her and seemed to stare at her as she kicked the walls with her feet, tears slowly streaming down her face. Sounds of fast movement raced through the corridor as she pounded the wall forcibly.

A very strong pull came from behind her as she fell backwards onto the metal floor, her wrist shot throbbing pain throughout her body. Katara cried out loudly and felt blood drip down from her fingers, it felt warm and deadly upon her skin as it made a small puddle around her hands. She opened her eyes and saw Zuko glaring at her as if he was ready to kill her on the spot.

He grasped the rope even tighter and pulled it upwards, causing Katara's wrists to follow it. But she didn't want to cry and beg for mercy from this man, instead she turned her face to the side and bit her lips again. He smirked coldly and dragged her feeble body to the front of the enforced door, all the while ignoring her attempts to squirm out of his grip. As he unlocked the complicated security locks, loud sounds of metal on metal echoed through the whole hallway, and probably most of the hallway above it. Finally a loud clank sounded and the door opened a few inches, Zuko grabbed the door and pulled it open enough for Katara's small frame to fit through it.

He bent down to her level on the floor and stoked her neck solemnly, Katara turned her head again and felt a snap on her neck. Zuko had pulled the necklace off and studied the incriptions on the front, he couldn't tell what it meant but by the looks of it, it was important and would sell for a lot. The commander pocketed the jewelry and grabbed Katara by the waist. He threw her form into the cell and slammed the door fiercly.

After the sounds of the locks being secured and the faint echo of the man's steps faded away, Katara huddled into a heap onto the damp floor and sobbed. Her tears were big and clear, they streamed down her face unceasingly. The loud calls of desperation filled the cell as the ocean outside began hitting against the boat roughly.

Her body was sore as more waves of pain pounded at her weak form. Blood continued to drip off her fingertips as Katara's breathing slowed again. The dark walls of the cell quickly became blurry as Katara became dizzy, closing her eyes in a painful feeling.

Silence once again proclaimed the cell as Kataralie sprawled outon the floor, motionless.