Chapter 4.
Katara found herself sitting across from the 'Dragon of the West' sipping ginseng tea. They were pretty much alone in the galley as the rest of the crew tended to securing their provisions after their hasty departure.
"I must say Sienna, I'm glad you could join us on this voyage." Iroh was saying.
Katara just smiled and sipped at her tea and tried to calm her nerves.
"I have never seen Zuko so relaxed. I can tell he really enjoyed last night." Iroh said smiling.
"I'm glad." Katara said as sweetly as she could manage.
"That is why I would like to speak to you about something." Iroh said quietly. "Since you will be with us for a few days, I would like your help with Zuko."
"My help?" Katara said in confusion.
"Zuko has had a difficult life. Banishment has not been easy for him. You are the only person who has ever brought him any comfort." Iroh said sadly. "I try to be a father to him, but he needs someone his own age to talk to. What he needs is you."
Katara stared dumbly at the old man. It was obvious he cared deeply for Zuko. Katara just didn't know what was expected of her. "What do you want me to do?"
"Just what you did last night. Talk to him." Iroh said urgently. "Zuko has no one to confide in. He won't even talk to me, but he will talk to you. He told me some of the things he wrote in that letter he gave you. He trusts you, otherwise he wouldn't have trusted you with something that could have gotten us arrested."
"Why does he trust me so much?" Katara asked.
"I don't know. I think it may be because you look like this girl Katara. Did he mention her to you?" Iroh asked.
Katara had to know. She knew she shouldn't ask, but she just had to know. "Yes, he mentioned her. What is it about this Katara?"
"We have run across her many times during our search for the Avatar. She is quite lovely, as are you. She is kind and full of life. Still, I think it is her spirit that draws Zuko to her. The way she cares for her friends, perhaps. It is something that Zuko is unaccustomed to. No one has ever really cared for Zuko and when he sees the way she cares for others, I think it stirs a need within him." Iroh said looking into the distance. "If you could be Katara for him. If you could care for him, I think it would do much to soothe his hurting spirit. You have not seen him up until now like I have. He is… better… somehow after having met you."
Katara felt butterflies in her stomach. She was supposed to care for Zuko? Sienna might have been able to swing it, that was her job, but smiling into the face of her enemy was something Katara didn't think she could do. She was going to have to try, however, if she expected to get off this ship.
Katara noticed Iroh watching her and she nodded. "I'll try."
Iroh smiled at her and she had to smile back. She liked Iroh. He was a kind old man who looked wise, despite his often silly demeanor. The two were just finishing their tea when a sailor came in.
"General Iroh. The sun has set and everything is stowed away." He reported.
"Yes! Come my dear. Tonight is Music Night!" Iroh announced happily.
Iroh guided Katara out to the deck of the ship. She was happy to see that Zuko wasn't there. All of the rest of the crew were gathered around and started breaking out instruments. Iroh picked up some sort of funny looking horn. "Come Sienna, sit here by me."
Katara noticed it wasn't an entirely polite suggestion as she saw some of the crew watching her closely. She was suddenly very unhappy that Zuko wasn't there, and all the more grateful for Iroh.
"Usually, we go around the circle taking turns singing." Iroh explained. Katara noticed that he looked up toward the bridge as he was talking. "However, as a special treat, Sienna would you agree to favor us with a song?"
Katara looked at Iroh and felt like a slow fish in front of a fast net. She was a little uneasy, but the man had a pleading look in his eyes.
"I only know a few water tribe songs." Katara admitted.
"Excellent. We've heard all the ones from the fire nation." Iroh said happily. "Please, sing. We'll try to improvise as we listen."
Katara felt VERY uneasy. Slowly, she began to sing the lullaby that Gran-Gran had always sung to her. It wasn't really a lullaby, but it was slow and soft and had usually put her to sleep rather quickly. She had learned it once she had been expected to help take care of the children. Something in the back of her mind registered that she was singing some sort of soft love song. She hoped it didn't give any of the men ideas.
Iroh and the other musicians began to play their music softly as she began the second verse. She had to admit, they weren't bad at all. She sang through the song as Gran-Gran had taught her. When she was done, she looked around. The rest of the men were either staring out to sea, or were eyeing her hungrily.
"That was absolutely beautiful, Sienna." Iroh complimented. There was a general rumble of consent from the rest of the men. One guy was openly crying.
"Wouldn't you agree Prince Zuko?" Iroh said turning to look at the stairs leading to the bridge.
"I was just coming down to make sure you weren't harassing Sienna." Zuko said hotly as he appeared coming down the stairs. The grin on Iroh's face told Katara otherwise. Zuko came and sat down next to Katara in the circle. Somehow, she was glad to have Zuko and Iroh on either side of her.
Meanwhile one of the men was whispering to Iroh. Zuko looked over and glared at the man. Iroh nodded hesitantly. "I'll ask her."
Katara turned to look at Iroh who looked at Zuko uncomfortably. "Zuko, weren't you telling me that Sienna had a reputation as an excellent dancer."
Zuko's glare seemed to intensify. "What of it?"
Iroh looked even more uncomfortable. "Some of the men were wondering if we might impose on Lady Sienna further and ask her, respectfully, if she might dance for us tonight?"
Zuko looked at Katara. Katara tried to keep her eyes down. I don't know how to dance! Dancing wasn't exactly something the water tribes got into. According to Gran-Gran, her mother had been an elegant dancer mostly because of her skills as a waterbender.
Zuko looked ready to spit fire, but backed down suddenly. "I cannot speak for Sienna. If you wish it you will have to ask her."
Katara had been really hoping for an explosively violent reaction to that one. Instead, what she got was the imploring faces of several men. Katara was stuck she couldn't dance, and apparently Sienna could.
Katara thought furiously for a way to refuse without sounding too silly when an idea struck her. If that was what her mother had done…
"I'll try. I'm a little rusty though." Katara said with an uneasy chuckle.
A cheer came up from the men as Katara got up. They opened up the circle so Katara would have room to move. Iroh took two long silk scarves and brought them to her and Katara took an end in each hand.
Once again, the men began to play the same slow rhythm they had used for her song. She waited for a moment, took a deep breath and began to bend. Waterbending required all kinds of arm and even leg movements. Katara might not know dance moves, but she knew the moves of a waterbender. All she had to do was not concentrate on moving the water.
Katara flowed across the deck of the ship. The deep red scarves offset her blue gown quite nicely, and she began to move her arms. She noticed as she moved that the scarves looked like the sea and the waves the way they moved. Katara moved from form to form and improvised in a few places to make it look like a dance rather than a form of martial arts. She began to swirl like a whirlpool and the scarves obeyed flowing around her as if they, too, could be bent by her power.
Katara had no idea how long she danced, but finally the song ended and she settled into a bow before Iroh and Zuko. Katara looked up and around to see if she had managed to pull it off. All around men were giving her very appreciative stares. She realized that as revealing as this dress was, she could have probably just skipped around and they would have been happy.
She looked up to find Zuko openly staring. He blinked a couple of times. Iroh was staring with his eyes about to pop out of their sockets, and his jaw was hanging open in stunned shock.
"Was it any good?" Katara asked hopefully.
The cheer that went up from the men was deafening. When they finally fell silent, Zuko was nodding. "I see that your reputation as an excellent dancer did not do you justice."
Iroh still hadn't said a word, and as far as Katara could tell he hadn't moved. She honestly couldn't tell if he was breathing. Zuko looked over and rolled his eyes. "Please uncle, you're starting to drool."
The rest of the crew laughed and Katara blushed. She handed the scarves back to Iroh who was STILL staring at her. He looked down at the scarves and then looked up at her. His mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out.
Zuko stood and held his arm out to Katara politely. "Come, I'll escort you to your cabin."
The men were rather obviously disappointed, but wisely said nothing as Zuko led Katara away. Katara mentally congratulated herself. She had managed to pull it off so far. Her mental high was cut terribly short when it finally dawned on her where she was heading. Zuko's room…
Katara stepped into Zuko's chambers. She stood there looking at how terribly small his bed looked. Visions of sleeping next to him kept running through her mind making her feel cold.
"I'm sorry the conditions onboard the ship aren't as luxurious as you're used to." Zuko said as he started removing his armor.
Katara tried to remain calm and figure out how she was going to get through this one. Zuko finished removing his armor and peeled out of his shirt before reaching for a new one.
Katara looked at the muscular chest and arms of the fire prince. Suddenly, visions of sleeping next to him kept running through her mind making her feel hot. She sincerely hoped she wasn't blushing.
"Why are you blushing?" Aw, crap…
"I was just feeling a bit warm is all." Katara said as she looked away at the large fire nation banner. She never thought she would find one of them so interesting.
"I'm sorry I haven't anything for you to sleep in." Zuko said shyly.
Oh man… Katara thought desperately.
"Here." Zuko said from behind her. Katara looked down to see Zuko's shirt being held out in front of her. She turned to look at the young prince. "I'll turn around so you can change."
Zuko politely turned his back. Katara decided not to push her luck and quickly changed into the silk shirt Zuko had given her. It was even softer than the gown she had been wearing. She had never worn anything so smooth. Katara looked down to find it barely covered her. It left a very generous portion of her thighs showing.
"When you're done, I'll have your dress taken and cleaned. Believe it or not, we actually have a decent laundry on board the ship. They can take care of silk pretty well." Zuko was saying. He sounded nearly as uncomfortable as Katara felt.
Katara handed her dress to Zuko over his shoulder. He stepped over to the door and stepped into the hall for a moment. Katara could hear him conversing out in the hall. Deciding not to let him get a look at anything more than necessary, Katara quickly slipped into the bed. Silk sheets. Greeeeaaaat…
Zuko came back in while Katara was sitting up in bed. She looked at the shirtless prince and dropped her eyes. Zuko came and sat down on the bed beside her. "You were amazing tonight."
"Thank you." Katara said shyly. She couldn't really think of anything else to say.
"I wish I had taken you up on your offer to teach me to dance." Zuko said, and then he smiled. It wasn't the smile that Katara was used to. This smile held no malice, but only warmth that she found totally out of place on the prince's face.
Zuko looked up at her shyly. "Sienna, I was wondering… could I sleep next to you again tonight? I really enjoyed our time together last night. I promise I won't try anything."
Katara tried to get the school of fish that was swimming rings around her stomach to stop. She wanted to run. That would have been normal. She didn't want to sound suspicious though, and she couldn't run from him here. Besides, he did promise.
"Sure." Katara said. Her own voice amazed her. She didn't even sound like her skin was getting ready to crawl.
Zuko climbed into the bed with her. It wasn't a very large bed, but two people could sleep on it if they were close. Katara rolled away from the prince and then she felt his arm encircle her waist as he guided her down against him. She felt a little cold in the thin shirt he had given her, but his body blazed like a furnace.
"You smell differently tonight." Zuko said suddenly.
Katara fought down the impulse to jump up and run out of the room at breakneck speed. She hoped he didn't feel her tense up. "What do you mean?"
"I didn't mean anything bad." Zuko said defensively. "It's just that you smelled like jasmine last night. Now you smell like the wind blowing in off the ocean." Katara actually blushed. Why couldn't all men notice and say such nice things?
Katara could hardly believe she was lying there in the arms of her mortal enemy, the man who had endangered her and her brother, threatened her village, and wanted to capture her friend. This same man whose breath she could feel on her neck, who was now protecting her from his own crew, and who was keeping her quite warm.
"Sienna?" Zuko said behind her.
"Yes?" Katara answered.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about being the fire prince last night. My uncle and I could have been arrested since we were in an earth kingdom city." Zuko said quietly.
"It's alright. So what's it like to be a prince?" Katara asked lightly.
"I wish I could remember." Zuko said sadly. "It seems like an eternity since I was banished. Uncle tries to keep my spirits up, but I miss my home."
"Yeah, I miss mine too." Katara said truthfully.
"As soon as I capture the Avatar, I'll be able to go home. Then I will be restored to my place on the throne. I wish you could see the palace. It is the grandest place that I have ever seen. I used to run through it all day when I was little." Zuko said quietly.
"What do you think they'll do to the Avatar, once you bring him to them?" Katara asked softly.
"I don't know." Zuko said finally. "If my father tries to kill him it would be useless. The Avatar would simply be reborn. I imagine father will keep him prisoner until the war is over."
"I wish we weren't at war." Katara said. It wasn't the first time she'd felt that way.
"I do to." Zuko told her.
Katara was quiet for a long time. She really didn't know what to say. She could feel Zuko breathing. It felt nice. "Zuko, why do you like Katara?" Katara tried to remain calm as she felt Zuko tighten his grip.
"I thought I told you all that last night." Zuko said quietly.
"I mean, do you ever see yourself with anyone else?" Katara asked hastily.
Zuko seemed to relax substantially. "I don't know. I don't just care about her because she's beautiful. She fascinates me. For what it's worth Sienna, I hope she acts a lot like you. I think the two of you are more alike than just in appearance."
Brother, if you only knew. Katara thought dryly. She then stopped to consider Zuko. He was fascinated with her, and she had to admit that she was fascinated with him. At least, now that she wasn't being chased, she could open up to the idea of being pursued. It wasn't just physical attraction, or else he would have slept with Sienna and she probably wouldn't be in such pleasant circumstances right now. Katara thought about it some more. She had one question she was dying to ask. Zuko thought she was Sienna, so Katara could probably get away with asking the question. After all, Zuko had said they were so much alike. "Zuko, do you think you could ever love me?"
Katara was glad to see she had managed to startle the prince. She could feel him squirm against her. Katara turned in his embrace until she was looking up at him. He was looking down at her and she could tell he was seriously considering the question.
"It seems like you're in love with Katara. If we're so much alike, do you think you could love me?" She continued. Katara caught herself holding her breath for the answer.
"I'm supposed to be your enemy. I know you don't blame me for what my father is doing, but why would you want a banished and dishonored prince?" Zuko asked her.
Katara reached up and brushed her hand against Zuko's temple. "Honor cannot be taken or given. It comes from how a man lives his life. Some might choose to ignore his honor," at this she gently brushed his scar, "but that honor is still there. And as long as a man is free to call wherever he wishes home, he can never be banished."
"That sounds like water tribe wisdom." Zuko said smiling at her.
"Wisdom is wisdom, no matter who thinks of it." Katara answered. "So?"
"Yes Sienna, I think I could definitely fall in love with you." Zuko said finally. "What about you?"
"I think I could probably fall in love with someone like you too." Katara said. She actually rolled the thought around in her mind. If he really cared for her that much…
"I wonder what Katara would say if she were to see you on the ship with me." Zuko said interrupting her thoughts.
"She'd probably faint." Katara said thinking back to the morning.
"I always imagined she'd be more stoic than that. She's a strong, young woman after all." Zuko chuckled.
"You're probably right." Katara said pleased. If he ever finds out about this, I'll just keep that little secret to myself.
Katara laid her head down on Zuko's chest and listened to his heartbeat. If he could fall in love with her then she wondered… Katara had never thought of Zuko as anything but someone to be afraid of. Now she was getting to know a man who was quite complex, and she hated to admit it, but she was starting to like him.
Something still bothered her though. She wouldn't betray Aang, and Zuko would never rest until he had captured him. "Zuko what will you do if you have to fight Katara?"
Zuko lay silent for a long time. "I would not want to, but I would have to fight her. The last thing I want to do is hurt Katara, and I'll probably go out of my way to keep from it, but I will still have to fight her eventually."
"Why?" Katara said looking up into his eyes.
"Sometimes we have to do what we must, even though we don't want to. You probably know more about that than I do. Sometimes things are just expected of us. I understand that she's doing what she thinks is right, just as I'm doing what I have to do to regain my honor. We're just doing what we must, so I can't bring myself to be angry with her." Zuko said looking down at her.
Katara tried to push everything else aside, and simply listen to the prince's heart. He wasn't going to do anything to her, at least nothing she didn't ask for, and oddly she felt safer with him than she had in a long time. With these things floating through her mind she drifted off to sleep.