A/N: I'm so sorry I couldn't get this done and up for you sooner! My dad sorta grounded me cuz I spent too much time on the computer! How unreasonable is that? Lol Well… this chapter turned out to be a very very long one, so I'll leave you to it!

Chapter 4

Lunch had gone well, surprisingly well actually. There was such a difference though in her father. Nasu had seemed so happy and normal. Even Yue seemed to be a bit nicer to Katara. Occasionally, Pakku had given Katara some glances. She was so excited; she would actually be able to have some fun for a change. First though, before she could go do that, she remembered her promise. Cleverly, she took some food with her, and made her way down to the prisons like before. This time, the guards didn't seem to care, and they just let Katara through without even bothering to say she couldn't.

"Zuko?"

His eyes shined when he heard her voice. She saw his gold eyes again, and smiled. She handed him the food through the little window, and he took it hungrily.

"Thank you Katara."

"No problem. Listen, I'm still really sorry that you're stuck in here. I'll try to see what I can do. Maybe my father will listen to reason and let you out for a while."

Zuko chuckled in between bites. The food wasn't half bad.

"That would be a miracle. So far, the guards haven't even come to look in on me."

"Well, I'll try my best. I promise."

He smiled at her, even though se couldn't see it, she felt it.

"I have to go Zuko."

"Come back soon?"

Katara smiled with joy.

"I sure will."

She hurried down the hall again, and ran up the stairs. Time for training.

..:-:..

"So remember, every time you feel the rage of the water, use it, and no one will be able to defeat you."

"Okay," she breathed in deeply, "how's this?"

Katara whipped her hands around in a circular motion and then surged her arms back, and then forwards toward her grandfather. The ground beneath them shook as Katara's bending turned it in a massive wave that turned in circles. Pakku held out his hands, and spun it away into the air. He smirked, and so did Katara.

"Very good. Katara, you have come such a long way, I'm happy to see the magnificent progress that you've made."

She walked up to him and smiled as the sun began to set in the horizon.

They were in one of the back yards of the palace, training. It was a secret room for them, only Katara and Pakku knew of it. Otherwise, someone was bound to see them training, and Katara would get the worst punishment of all.

"Grandfather, it means so much to me that you are willing to risk punishment if we are ever found out about."

The old man ginned and chuckled.

"Katara, by now, it really doesn't matter what they do to me. Remember, I'm a master water bender. I could take them all out with a twist of my fingers."

They both laughed, but then Katara became sullen. Pakku noticed the change.

"What's wrong dear?"

"Well, it's just… I don't think that Zuko should be kept in the prisons all the time! It's not humane!"

"Zuko? Who on earth is that?"

"Oh, I didn't tell you the prisoners name?"

Pakku shot a hot look at his granddaughter.

"Katara, after what he did, he only deserves it."

"But grandfather! How would you like it, if let's say, I was caught in the fire nation. What would they do to me?"

Pakku curled his fists angrily.

"They wouldn't give you a second glance. You would be dead."

"See! If you don't want that to happen to me, why should we be any different to Zuko? He hasn't even done anything!"

Pakku's look softened and he realized that Katara was right.

"I believe young granddaughter, that you have a point. "

She smiled brightly, but then she frowned again.

"Well, it doesn't matter if we think it's wrong, because Father won't have it any other way."

Pakku took Katara by the hand, and led her to the waterfall that was flowing near their training site. He pointed towards it and she looked, concentrating on its beauty.

"Do you see that? It's a waterfall. It keeps flowing and flowing, always in the same direction. No one thing ever happens to change that direction. But look. "

Katara gazed and somewhat jumped when she saw a fish escape the pattern of where it was flowing. She watched as it jumped into the air, and into the pool of water near by.

"See? The fish decided to do something. It didn't want to go in that direction, so it jumped up as much as it could, and it succeeded in its goal. The never changing flow was changed after all. You too can do that if you try hard enough. You can change the way things are. Go talk to your father, and I'm sure he will jump out of the waterfall, and into the a new pool of water just like the fish did."

She bowed to her grandfather, and thanked him for the training. He did the same, and watched as his granddaughter, so full of hope and promise, ran away to go have a talk with her father.

..:-:..

Yue closed the door behind her slowly, and stepped up towards the tall man.

"Father, I've come to ask of you a favor."

Nasu cocked his brows and put his fingers together. He smiled.

"What do you wish to ask of me Yue?"

She tried her best to look strong and mature; something that was needed to win her fathers consent.

"I know of the prisoner in our possession. I was thinking, maybe it was possible that I take him out for a walk. Of course, there would be guards, but hear me out father. I think that I could get information out of him for us. I heard you didn't get much during the meeting."

His daughters approach seemed reasonable. And he had wanted to find a way to get the information he needed all along anyway. Nasu smiled.

"I agree. Why don't you go take a crack at it right now?"

Yue flashed him a winning smile.

"I won't disappoint you father."

..:-:..

Katara breathed in deeply, and stepped inside. He was sitting behind his desk, just like last time.

"Father, I have a favor to ask of you."

Nasu looked amused. This sounded familiar. Katara only held her breath, and hoped that what her grandfather had said would hold true.

"Yes Katara. What is it?"

"Father, now I know you must think that by bringing this up again, I am going against my duties, but I believe I'm not. It's about the prisoner."

Nasu didn't look surprised. He listened without saying a word, only nodding.

"I've been down to the prisons, and I was shocked to see that there was no light down there!"

"Well, if we had windows, there would be a chance for the prisoners to escape."

"Yes, but think of how awful it must feel to be down there, day after day, no light, no one to talk to. My duties are to do what's right and help any person that needs help, like a good princess would, correct?"

Her approach shocked Nasu. She was indeed right. How clever to tie in her question or favor she called it, into her duties. She had won him over.

"So, to go along with my duties, I see it only is right if I can maybe have a walk with the prisoner each day. Guards would come with us of course, so that he couldn't escape. I just think that he needs some light and fresh air, and maybe he could help us in the end."

They sat there in silence, Nasu only did this so he could tease his daughter, make her wait for his approval every second that he could hold it in. Finally he stood up.

"I'm proud of you Katara. I will grant you this because I feel you are right. It is your duty to help others, and I'm glad you finally realize that."

..:-:..

Yue slid down the steps and followed the path she had previously gone down. When she came to Zuko's cell, she didn't say anything, but he had seen her eyes, and thought it was Katara.

"Wow, that was fast. I didn't think you'd be back so soon!"

"Oh Zuko, don't flatter me! Of course I would come back as soon as I could! I told you I would!"

Zuko sat down grumpily on his bed. He really wished he had some sort of way to know whether or not it was Yue or Katara he was speaking with.

"Oh, it's only you."

Yue's smile vanished at his careless tone.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Thought you were someone else."

She let the remark slide and then she perked up again.

"Well Zuko, you will be very pleased to know it's me because I have done what I promised I would do. My father is allowing you to take a walk with me outside."

Zuko looked up and sighed. He really did want to go outside, even if it was with her. Slowly, he stood up and made his way to the door. He winced as the door creaked open. Yue really wasn't that visible in the light, and neither was Zuko. They made their way down the hall in silence. Finally when they reached the staircase, the two guards closed the door and flowed them.

Outside, the sun would be setting soon. Perfect for Yue, she would have just enough time before dinner to have the walk. When Zuko got out into the sunlight, he winced and covered his eyes. Never in his life did he think he would hate the sun, but at that moment, it felt like his eyes were burning with torture. It took a few minutes for them to adjust, but when he finally got settled, he stepped back as he saw Yue smiling at him.

In the light, she was actually quite attractive looking. Her white hair was groomed to perfection, and her skin was slightly dark. Of course her eyes reminded him of Katara, but at that moment her beauty astounded him. A princess had to be beautiful right? And as Zuko looked her over, Yue got the feeling of what he was thinking. She too now saw him in a different light, and although he had that hideous scar, he looked decent enough. So Yue smiled coyly, and got closer to him.

"So Zuko, what are you thinking? Wait, I know, you just can't believe how beautiful I am! That's it, isn't it?"

Immediately her beauty disappeared, as Zuko was reminded how hideous she was on the inside. For a girl, she really was bigheaded.

"You read my mind!" Zuko replied sarcastically.

Yue shot him a mean glance, but let it slide again. She would have to let each of his remarks slide otherwise, she would never accomplish what she had in mind. They kept on walking around the front of the palace, and Zuko would usually just stop and stare out at the ocean. It was so beautiful, how the sun created so much intensity in the sky. Yue began talking, but realized he was a few feet behind her.

"Zuko! Do you know your manners? It's rude to just stand there when someone is talking to you!"

He turned around and sighed.

"Oh sorry your highness. Must have slipped my mind!"

She turned back around and waited for him to catch up to her.

"You know, being royalty has its perks. For one, I get anything I ask for."

"So you can ask if they can shut you up for me?"

Yue couldn't hold it in anymore, she was flaming furious.

"I can't believe you! I thought you would be grateful for the time of day I'm giving you! And here you are, telling me to be quiet?"

She was all up in his face, and Zuko finally decided that he was in fact being too harsh.

"I'm sorry Princess Yue," he bowed, "I am honored to have you as my escort and for arranging this lovely walk."

Yue smiled and returned the bow.

"You are very welcome, and thank you."

The gong resounded throughout the palace, and it was heard outside as well. Dinner would be starting soon. The walk was over. Suddenly, the guards grabbed Zuko, and started to walk back towards his cell. Yue sighed; she hadn't had enough time, but no worries. Tomorrow was always another day.

She hurried towards the dining room and smiled greatly as she saw the rest of her family walking in. Katara saw Yue actually running to dinner, which was quite shocking because Yue never ran if it wasn't an emergency. This intrigued Katara a lot, but during dinner all she could think about was getting Zuko out of that dark cell, and into the light of the night. She had been too late in asking her father, so she had to wait until after dinner to go.

"Father, may I be excused?"

Nasu sipped his cup of tea, and nodded. Time for a walk.

..:-:..

"Zuko! Zuko! Guess what?"

He opened his eyes, and thought he had dreamt her voice, but no, it really was Katara's eyes staring at him. Her eyes smiled at him.

"Katara, what is it?"

"I really can't believe it, but my father agreed to let you out! You can take a walk with me! Isn't that great?"

Zuko chuckled. Hearing this, she thought he was laughing at the fact that it was with her.

"Well I'm sorry you think a walk with me is so funny! Maybe I should just leave you in here!"

He stopped laughing, and turned dead serious.

"No! Don't go! I'm only laughing because just an hour ago, Yue came here and told me the same exact thing."

Katara's mouth dropped and her eyes popped out wide, her heart beginning to sink.

"So you went on a walk with Yue?"

By now the two of them were outside, the moon high in the sky, and shining down on them. It illuminated Katara's face, and her hair shined brightly. Her eyes sparkled and Zuko thought she was breathtaking.

"Yeah, I did."

There was a pause in which Katara looked at the ground sadly. Maybe what Yue said was right. She wasn't lying; they were becoming great friends, or maybe even more.

"But she almost ripped my head off because I was," he became stern, "being rude to her highness."

Katara looked up into his eyes, and they both laughed. He was just like she saw him in her room. Tall, and fierce looking, but she could tell he was somewhat soft inside, even though he didn't make it out to be like that. For some reason she just thought about why she was doing this really. It wasn't at all about duties; that was a lie to her father. She just wanted to be with him. Did that mean she had feelings for him? Even though she didn't even know him?

"The moon is so powerful in the sky."

Katara shook her head to distract her from her thoughts when Zuko said this.

"The sun is just as powerful."

He looked at her with admiration. She knew what she was talking about.

"Every day it's like a cycle. They take turns, showing us humans that not one single thing has power over another. There's always a balance."

Zuko looked at her with even more admiration than before. She was so different than Yue, and he was glad that it was so. He was about to take her hand, when in the distance he saw the two guards lurking and watching them. Katara however, was thinking the same thing, but she didn't care about the guards. Besides, if she were the one to do it, then it would be considered fine. So she put her hand in his, and began to drag him along a bridge.

"Katara, where are we going?"

"Shh… let's lose those two guards!"

He shook his head violently.

"They will kill me if it looks like I'm trying to escape!"

Her sapphire eyes shimmered at him and she smiled heavenly.

"Trust me Zuko. Nothing will happen to you. It will be their fault they didn't keep an eye on us! Quickly, in here!"

They turned a corner, and stood closely to each other, trying to hold their breaths. The guards ran by, and it seemed as if they had no clue that Katara and Zuko were in the tunnel to their right. Zuko sighed and smiled at Katara. Their hands let go of each other, and then they started to move out again across the same bridge. Soon, they were in front of the palace. No one was guarding it strangely. Most likely some kind of meeting was going on, but it didn't matter because Zuko was with her, not inside the cell where who knew what could happen to him. They sat down near a pond of water.

"Katara?"

She looked up at him expectantly.

"Yes Zuko?"

"How on earth are you even related to that sister of yours?"

Katara laughed, and Zuko just smiled at the sound of it. She looked so beautiful in the moonlight, but knowing could happen, he kept his distance.

"Well she's not my sister, she's my half sister. Her mother died right after her birth. My mom married Nasu soon afterwards. My father can be so cruel towards me. As if he blames me for something, but I don't know what."

"Oh…"

He fell silent and gazed across the pond. Something was wrong, she knew it, but she didn't know what it was. Katara stood up and sat right next to him, and put a hand on his arm. Zuko turned his head and looked into those innocent eyes of hers. She was smiling sweetly, and Zuko just couldn't take it anymore.

"Zuko… what is it? You can tell me…"

He stood up abruptly, and so she followed suit. Zuko looked away angrily. It couldn't have been something she said.

"Zuko…"

"Katara, I don't deserve this."

"Don't deserve what? Can you please just tell me what's wrong?"

She seemed slightly agitated, but he turned around to face her, and he seemed like he was going to explode any minute.

"You shouldn't be treating me like I'm the one that's been wronged! You shouldn't think of me as a good person! I don't deserve your kindness!"

Katara's eyes widened. This new change in attitude somewhat frightened her.

"What do you mean?"

He turned his head away, and closed his eyes. His tone softened and was full of guilt.

"I lied Katara. I'm not from the Earth Kingdom. I'm a fire bender from the Fire Nation."

She took a few steps back and in horror she gasped. He was a fire bender. He could attack her right then, and flee. Katara would have helped the prisoner escape. But just as she was going to say something, he looked up at her, his golden eyes bearing into her soul. Suddenly, she had that image of the raging fire, and those eyes staring out from it at her. 'The fire is beautiful mommy! I like the fire!' Quickly, she shook her head and sighed. He hadn't done anything to hurt her. Surely he would have killed her the moment he stepped into her room if he had wanted to. She bit her lip; maybe she should give him a chance to explain. After all, he was gorgeous when he looked so guilty. Wait, what was she saying? He was a fire bender for crying out loud! She couldn't like him now that she knew who he really was! Fire nation and water tribe just did not mix.

"Did you lie about your name? And your parents too?"

She really hoped he hadn't. She wanted to believe him, put all her trust into him. Zuko was shocked. Shouldn't she have screamed her lungs off like the last time? Maybe he was lucky today.

"Katara, I'm so sorry I lied to you. But you have to understand my position. I couldn't just barge out in that big room and say that I was a fire bender from the fire nation. I would have been killed on the spot."

His words sunk into her, and she nodded realizing that he was completely right.

"But I didn't lie about my name. My name is Zuko; I would never lie about my name. But…"

"But what?"

"I did lie about my parents. My father is alive. He's…"

Katara just prepared herself.

"He's who?"

"He's the fire lord's brother."

"WHAT?"

"Shhh!"

Katara and Zuko looked around to make sure no one had heard them. After a minute her shock subsided and she found her voice.

"So… you're technically like royalty too? You are the fire lord's nephew?"

Zuko chuckled and smiled.

"More like half royalty. My cousin Zula is, I guess a lot like Yue, but ten times worse."

She almost chocked on the air she was breathing when he said that.

"Me too! I always feel like I'm half royalty! But I don't see how Zula could be ten times worse than Yue!"

Zuko closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. When he opened his eyes, and she looked at them, it was like he was opening a memory for her. His voice was only quiet whispers, but it shook her core.

"Zula, my cousin, is the worst person alive, after my uncle. You see this scar?"

She slowly reached out towards the scar around his left eyes, but withdrew quickly as if the skin burned her.

"One day I decided I would take her doll and put it back in her room. When she found it in her bed, she began to fight me. She hated me, just because I took her doll and put it back in its rightful place. Suddenly she pinned me to the ground, and put her hand to my eye."

Katara gasped and he nodded sullenly.

"No, it wasn't her. But when she did that, I sent up a flame, and lucky for me, it caught onto her doll. She was furious, and ran to her father, the fire lord. I was to be sent to him immediately. There she was with him, and when I entered, all he did was come to me, and put his hand on my eye. My uncle did this to me, and then he said I was banished."

She just couldn't believe it. Katara stood there stunned and motionless. Her eyes were full of pity, but he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Katara, you don't have to pity me. Since then, I've left the fire nation, and began meeting all kinds of new people. Then I thought, well maybe I should meet some water benders. So I came up here. That morning I saw you, and I knew I had to meet you."

She smiled and he smiled back. For some reason, it just came out of her mouth.

"Well, you did get to meet a water bender!"

"Really? Who?"

"Me! … oh no! I shouldn't have said anything!"

"Why? It's great to know that you're a water bender."

She grabbed him by his collar and put her finger to her mouth.

"Shhh! You want me to be in the prison cell with you?"

"Well actually…"

He smirked but it vanished as she gave him a stern look.

"Zuko! Here, it is forbidden for a girl to learn how to water bend! My grandfather teaches me secretly!"

"Oh… I didn't know that."

"Well now you do!"

She saw someone in the distance, so she took Zuko by the hand again, and dragged him inside of the palace.

"Where are we going now?"

"Just follow me!"

They turned here and there, and finally they were inside of her room. She closed the doors and locked them. Zuko looked around and chuckled. He had only been here a few days ago, but it was what he said that made him laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing… just reminded myself of my opening line."

Her mind traveled back to when she first saw him. She smiled.

"Yeah, that did startle me, I must admit. No one's ever called me 'hot' before."

He grinned, but when he turned around, he saw that she wasn't wearing her parka anymore. Instead she was wearing a beautiful light blue kimono. His grin turned into a soft smile. Zuko watched as she walked around her room searching for something. When she finally found the right closet, she took it out and smiled broadly.

"This Zuko is for you!"

He took the blue feathery parka and looked at her questionably.

"For me?"

"Of course! You must be freezing down in that cell! Come on! Try it on!"

She took the parka from him, and tried to lift it up over his head, but she was too short. He grabbed the ends, and with her help he pulled it on over his head. Katara stepped up to him, and took off his hood.

"There. You look just like a natural!"

Her smile spread across her face, but then the two of them realized how close they were to one another. His eyes bore into her soul again, and she was reminded of her words again. 'Fire is beautiful.' Both of their eyes slowly began to close, and their heads leaned towards each other, but right then there was a thundering noise from the hall. Each had a bright pink hue on their cheeks, as they quickly separated from each other.

"The prisoner is nowhere to be found! He was last seen with Princess Katara!"

Her eyes widened.

"We've been gone too long! I have to get you back!"

"But the guards! They will kill me!"

"Not if I have anything to do with it! Come on!"

She grabbed his hand but he didn't budge.

"I can't go out there!"

"We aren't!"

He looked at her with confusion.

"Just watch."

She smiled wickedly and opened up the glass doors. He smiled as well, how could he have not thought of it? It was the same way he got in. Zuko ran up to her, and they stepped outside. Katara turned to her right and gazed up at the moon. Please give me strength. Her hands turned like clockwork, and the wall of ice melted. They stepped into a dark corridor and quickly ran to its end. There, she did another motion with her arms and to their luck; it was the staircase leading to the prison cells. In no time Zuko was back in his cage, wrapped up warmly in his new parka.

"Katara, I can't thank you enough."

"Don't worry Zuko. I'll make sure to tell them you were here the entire time."

She smiled and was about to turn to go, when a hand grabbed her hair again. Katara turned and gave Zuko a look.

"Yes?"

"You won't tell anyone about my secret, will you?"

She looked at Zuko through the window and smiled.

"Only if you don't tell anyone about mine."

"Deal. Oh and Katara, next time you come, could you say 'Fish in the hole' to me?"

She laughed when she heard this.

"Why?"

"So I know it's not Yue. The two of you have the same eyes, and I always get my hopes up, only to find out it's not you."

Her cheeks flushed, as she listened to his soft voice. Her heart thudded madly.

"Okay. I will. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay."

He sat down in the pitch black and closed his eyes as he listened to her footsteps disappearing into the silence. The creaky door shut close and he was all alone again. In his eyes, all he could see was her face, her smile, and those unbelievably striking blue eyes. For some reason, he felt that she was his only reason to live on in the cell. For some reason, he just couldn't stop thinking about her, and whenever he did, his heart beat loudly in his ears. Zuko smiled, and soon drifted off to sleep.

..:-:..

"Father! What is all this commotion about?"

Guards were running everywhere, and Katara had just come back into her room, putting up all the walls she had torn down. Just as she was about to walk out of her room, the doors opened, and there stood her father. She had gotten back right in time.

"I would like to ask you the same question! Where is the prisoner?"

He looked so serious, that it almost scared her. But Katara kept her cool.

"What on earth do you mean? Last time I saw him, he was back in his cell!"

"The guards told me you went on a walk with him, and that the two of you disappeared!"

"Oh yes, we did go on a walk. But it was short. He said he wanted to go back to his cell. So I took him back and locked him in."

Nasu raised an eyebrow questioning what his daughter was telling him.

"I think it went quite successfully. He seems like a nice person. I believe in time he will be able to help us father…"

She was cut off by his hand. A guard had come to them and bowed. Nasu turned towards him anxiously.

"Any news of the prisoner?"

"Yes Chief, a couple of us went back to the cell and found him sleeping in it."

"Thank you. Tell the others to cease their search."

Nasu turned to Katara and beamed down at her. He placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled proudly.

"Katara, I am very proud of you. You have done your duty, and I want you know to walk around with the young man every day. The more accustomed to our culture he gets, the better."

"Father? I hope you don't mind, but I gave him a parka. I thought he would freeze to his death down there! Is it all right?"

"Katara, I think that was an excellent idea of you to do that. Once again, you have shown how much a person can mature in such little time. Good night."

"Good night!"

She called after him and watched him leave her room. She closed the doors and fell down onto her bed with a feeling of such warmth, that it wasn't describable. Her life had taken a complete turn around and she finally felt like she meant something- to everyone.

A/N: Wowzerz… O.O lol I spent like the whole day on this! I hope it turned out nicely! What do you think? The next chapter will be a good one I hope! Until then! Cyaz!