Act 2
The Fisherman
Scene 7
It was evening, just after nightfall, and the two teenagers and the fisherman sat around a small table in the cabin. On the table was the first true "meal" Zuko had had in two weeks. He was trying not to stare longingly at the dishes.
From across the table Katara watched the prince's eyes flicker back and forth, noticing the way he tried to keep his face still and his posture upright.
So you are human, she thought with snide satisfaction. You do get hungry and you do sit down for a meal with your companions. And somewhere deep in your childhood someone ordered you to keep your elbows off the table like every other kid.
Without bothering to make conversation the fisherman picked up a dish, scraped something brown and bean-like onto his plate, and passed it to Zuko.
"Thank you, Cerlo."
"What?" Katara said, looking at the two other diners.
"Your friend thinks he is being clever," the fisherman replied.
"Did you guess his name?" Katara demanded. "How did you figure it out?"
"He didn't," the fisherman said, mouth around a forkful of boiled carrot. Katara looked around to Zuko again, eyebrows raised. Zuko smirked.
"Cerlo is the name of character in Fire Nation legend. He was a man who tried to murder his own queen, and as punishment the gods cursed him to wander the seas forever, burdened with a map that never showed the truth and a compass that never pointed North."
He added, "He went completely mad, of course."
Cerlo munched evenly on his food, matching Zuko's stare.
Katara wondered if this queen would have been Zuko's ancestor. Even if she wasn't, the irony was heavy enough to make Katara's head hurt. And worse, it was interrupting her dinner.
"Was this Cerlo a prince?" she asked.
Zuko's head snapped around to give Katara one of the most ferocious glares she'd ever seen in her life.
"No."
"Pity," she replied, and took another helping of beans.