Dangerous Ground
Chapter Four.
"Mr. Sunshine is awake." I said in greeting to Sokka and Aang as they returned to the camp.
"Good. Now he can run along home." Sokka said as he threw down a net of fish.
"Wow! Good job. Did you catch all those?" I said, admiring the catch.
"Well, sorta. Mr. Big Ideas over there did most of the work." Sokka admitted. Aang beamed at me.
"I blew them out of the water." He said, holding up two fish of his own. I smiled and patted him on the head.
I made fish stew and it was delicious. Aang and Sokka would have finished it off if I hadn't snagged an extra bowl.
"We have a guest with us tonight." I reminded them, scooping out the meager portion left in the pot.
"Speaking of guests... What are we going to do about him?" Aang said, staring into the fire.
"Well, we can't bring him back to his country, they don't even want him." Sokka laughed.
"We've established the fact that we can't let him go until his ribs are healed and he can fend for himself. So, let's just cross that bridge when we get to it." I said with finality as I turned from the fire and began to walk to the place where Zuko lay, still making half-hearted attempts to undo his bonds.
"Here, I've brought you some food." I said as I knelt down beside him. He tensed and turned to me.
"I refuse to eat your filthy Water Tribe food. You probably put bugs in it." He glared at me.
"Fine, your highness, you can just starve tonight for all I care!" I slammed the bowl down, spilling a little on the ground. I heard Sokka yelp in protest. I stormed past Aang and Sokka, who were sitting by the fire, trying to suppress their laughter and failing miserably.
"Just admit it, Katara." Sokka called after me as I thundered to the edge of the camp. "Even you don't have the patience for Zuko."
I stopped. Sokka was right. The past couple days I had been preaching love and mercy and the ways of the Water Tribe and here I was, storming around, not being able to think of anything else but throttling that contentious Prince.
Had I become the very thing I was telling Sokka not to be? My cheeks flushed with shame. I was such a hypocrite. Gran-Gran would be very disappointed in me.
She doesn't have to be. I gathered myself and walked softly back to Zuko.
"You need to eat. It's been at least two days, you must be starving." I said as I stirred the soup and carefully brought a spoonful to his mouth.
He pursed his lips and turned his head, almost spilling the food in the violent quickness of his refusal. I sighed, took a deep breath and tried again.
"If you don't eat I'll call Appa over here and have him sit on your head." Zuko remained as unyielding as ever. Flames of anger crept back into my mind. I'd never had to deal with such stubbornness, even in Sokka!
Wait... yes I had... When I'd had to babysit Aunt Komata's little boy. He'd had to take medicine but he'd refused to open his mouth. What had Aunt Komata done?
I reached forward and pinched Zuko's nose. In reflex, his mouth opened to breathe, and I put the spoon in. A look of shock crossed his face as he swallowed.
That's right Prince Zuko. You've been outsmarted by a Water Peasant. I grinned at the thought.
"That's not-" When he opened his mouth again to protest I simply spooned another bit in.
I outsmarted him through the entire bowl of soup. "Look at that, you've finished the whole thing! What a good boy!" I patted him on the head and walked back to the fire, ignoring his frustrated growls and insults.
A cold wind blew that night. I pulled my sleeping bag up to my ears and relished the warmth. I was half-way into a good dream when my eyes flew open in sudden realization. Zuko was still in nothing more than the tunic and pants. He must be freezing!
Why should that bother you? A voice in the back of my head that sounded a lot like Sokka spoke up.
"Because even an enemy should not freeze if it is in your power to bring him warmth." I said to the darkness. I crawled reluctantly from my warm cocoon and threw my parka over Zuko's sleeping frame. The cold stung me immediately and I almost ran to my sleeping bag when something occurred to me.
Zuko wasn't even shivering. He didn't even look cold. A faint blush of red tinged his cheeks, almost as if he were...
"Warm" I said in amazement as I brushed a finger over his jawline. The touch sent prickles of electricity up my arm. I gasped, jumped back, tripped over a rock, and fell very ungracefully on my bottom.
"It was just the heat. You weren't expecting the warmth." I said to myself as I buried myself back in the safety of my bedroll. "It was just the warmth."