Chapter Six
Four days passed without anything significant happening. Katara followed the same routine of training everyday and lay awake thinking of Sokka and Aang at night. Her dreams were filled with nightmares of them hurt or captured by Fire Nation soldiers.
That night Katara lay in her bed staring at the ceiling. If I don't get some sleep I'll be exhausted at training tomorrow. She told herself but she still tossed and turned.
Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door. Katara sat upright with a start. She realized suddenly that she didn't have her armor on. She scrambled for it, it was the only way to hider her not so subtle curves.
She didn't have a chance to find it, however. Suddenly the door flew open to reveal to Zuko but Aang standing there. Katara gaped at him, too stunned to move.
"Aang!" she gasped finally. "Wh-what are you doing here?"
"Katara…" Aang croaked, his voice weak and feeble. He fell to his knees on the floor.
"Aang! What happened! Are you alright!" Katara leaped out of her bed and raced to where he was. The color seemed to be draining from his face as she watched,
Suddenly a dark shape appeared behind them.
"So." Hissed a cold voice. Prince Zuko stepped into the light. "I should have known it was you. But it's to late now. I have captured your precious Avatar and now you will watch him die!"
"No!" Katara screamed, throwing herself at Zuko, but invisible hands seemed to catch her from behind. She couldn't breath, couldn't think. Zuko was laughing, his laughter was so horrible. She closed her eyes but the laughter seemed to fill her head, ringing in her ears. "Aang! No! Aang!"
With an earsplitting scream Katara sat bolt upright in bed. The covers were tangled around her and she was drenched in sweat. She looked around, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The room was empty.
"A dream!" she almost sobbed in relief, a tear sliding down her face, "It was only a dream." Her breath slowly became even again as her racing heart slowed.
At that moment Prince Zuko was walking along the corridor of the ship, headed for the deck. He couldn't sleep. The same nightmares about the day he had been banished from the Fire Nation were haunting his dreams. He guessed it was because he was so close to capturing the Avatar. Suddenly he heard a strangled scream from inside one of soldier's rooms. He froze, listening intently.
"Aang!" a voice cried. "Aang!"
Prince Zuko felt his stomach turn over. Aang! At first he was too shocked for this information to register. "The Avatar!" he whispered in complete amazement.
"Aang! No!" the voice cried again. A voice that sounded familiar. Very familiar. Suddenly his eyes widened as he realized just where he had heard that voice before. It couldn't be! Could it?
THUMP THUMP THUMP! Katara jumped as a loud pounding came suddenly from outside her door. She froze, her mind flashing back to Aang's pale face but then she heard Prince Zuko's voice and realized that she was truly awake.
"What happened? What's going on in there?" he called sharply through the door. "Open up!"
Katara realized that she wasn't wearing her armor and this was no dream. She had to get it on. "Hold on!" she called frantically, forgetting to make her voice deeper. She threw herself out of bed and reached for the armor that lay on her dresser. But she never reached it.
The door flew open, banging into the wall with a loud crack. Prince Zuko stood framed in the doorway staring at her. As soon as he saw her he knew that he had not been mistaken. This was not a soldier but the water bending girl!
For a second both stared at each other, to shocked to do anything. Suddenly with a cry Zuko kicked out, aiming a fire ball at Katara. She gasped and dropped to the ground to avoid it, her training kicking in. She sprang to her feet but his rage made him an almost unbeatable enemy. Before she could get her balance he had her pinned to the wall, his hand circling painfully around her throat.
"I should have known it!" he hissed. "I thought there was something strange about you the day I saw you at the docks!" His eyes flashed. "Why did you come here!" He was shouting now. He tightened his hold and Katara began to cough and gasp for air. "Did you have fun humiliating me in front of my men? Did you have a good laugh when I congratulated you on your fighting skills!"
Katara's eyes were watering. She pulled desperately at his hands but it was useless. "Please," she choked out, "I can't breathe!"
"Why should I care? As far as I'm concerned you're a spy on this ship and that is a crime punishable by death!" His face was red from anger.
Katara tried to answer but she couldn't. The world seemed to spin around her and darkness began to blur the corners of her vision. Her hands slipped off of his, she didn't have the strength to fight him anymore. I'm going to die like this. A far off voice in her head said. Aang…I'm so sorry.
Then to her surprise Zuko let her go. She slid down the wall into a crumpled heap on the floor, coughing and gasping for breath. She wasn't even sure where he was now; all she could concentrate on was filling her lungs with precious breaths of air. His hand grabbed her forearm suddenly and hauled her to her feet. She winced and raised her free air to shield her face but he merely looked at her.
"Why?" he said finally, some of the anger gone from his voice.
She didn't have to ask what he was talking about. "I…I" What can I say? I can't tell him the truth!
"You're not going to tell me the truth are you?" he asked, causing Katara to look at him in surprise. They're eyes met and Katara felt a strange sensation fill her, she wasn't sure what it was but it didn't feel bad. In fact, in a strange way, it felt good.
"However under the present circumstances I don't think you have a choice." His grip tightened slightly on her arm. "Why are you here? What do you gain by pretending to be a boy training to be a Fire Nation soldier?"
"You were going to take Aang's powers!" she cried. Her hand flew to her mouth as she realized that she had just given everything away. His eyes widened in understanding and he let go of her arm.
"Of course." He whispered, more to himself than her, "Of course. That day in the town. You heard us talking didn't you? So you thought you could save your little friend by hiding out on this boat." He laughed. "You should have known you'd be caught. Tell me, do your friends know you're here?"
Katara dropped her gaze.
"They don't do they? And do you miss them? You must. Seeing how you were crying for the Avatar in your sleep. It seems that is your weakness. You care too much. It gave you away in the end."
Katara stared at the floor, willing herself not to cry. This was definitely the worst day of her life. "Wh-what are you going to do with me?" she whispered, afraid to hear the answer yet even more afraid not to.
He chuckled slightly. "That is a good question. What should I do with you? I should kill you for spying like this. After all, that is the Fire Nation way. Or better yet I could torture you until you tell me where the Avatar is." He began to pace in front of her. "But that would not be proper since you're a girl. I may be banished but I still have enough honor not to hurt a lady. Even if she is a wretched spy."
"What would you know about honor?" Katara spat. She realized instantly that it was a mistake. His face went rigid and he stood there, frozen for a moment. Slowly his eyes slid up to meet hers. She gulped, wishing she had not said that. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't-"
"You're right. What would I know about honor? It got me banished, has sent me on this cursed, never ending hunt for the Avatar, stripped me of my people, everyone I loved or cared about. But what would I know about honor."
Katara hesitated, not sure whether she should say what was on her mind. "What happened?" she asked softly.
He looked at her again. Katara thought she saw something in his look. Like he was looking at her as a person instead of an enemy. Then he began to speak.
"It was two years ago. I wanted to go into the Fire Nation's war room but the guard's wouldn't let me." He continued on, telling Katara about how he had spoken up, how he had challenged the guard. "But it was not the guard I was to fight." He said with a bitter laugh. "It was my father." Finally he told how he had refused to fight and been punished severally for his actions. When he stopped Katara saw him in a completely different light. No wonder he's so obsessed. She thought. No matter how hard she to hate him, she couldn't help but feel compassion towards him. She wanted him to know she felt his pain but how could she?
"Why am I telling you this?" he asked, looking up at her as if in a daze. "You're nothing but a water bender, a friend of the Avatar. What am I doing?"
"Not everyone has to be classified as good and bad you know." Katara said quietly, taking a step towards him.
What happened next Katara was never quite sure. It all happened so fast. Maybe it was the brief glimmer of a connection between them when he had told her of his terrible or past or simply the fact that they both felt so alone in the world. All she knew was that one minute they were eyeing each other and the next minute his lips were on hers.
At first Katara was too shocked to do anything. She stood there as if frozen. Then, almost unconsciously, she relaxed slightly and gently ran her hands along the back of his neck. His arms wrapped around hesitantly. Slowly he pulled her closer to him. For a few blissful moments Katara was completely lost in her own world. She had never kissed anyone except her parents before and it felt so good. She was unaware of anything else except him.
But all good things must come to an end and slowly he pulled away from her. His eyes were wide in shock. They stared at each other in utter confusion.
What have I done? Her head was spinning.
"What is it," Zuko whispered finally, "about you that makes me do crazy things whenever I'm around you?"
Katara shook her head, at a loss for words. Prince Zuko sat down heavily on her bed, holding his head. As Katara watched him she realized with a jolt what the strange feeling she had whenever she saw him was. I like him! She thought in amazement. She sat down gingerly beside him. He glanced at her.
"What do we do now?" Katara murmured.
He was silent then suddenly he stood, straightening his shoulders. "We forget this ever happened." He said decisively. "We're both tired, we're not thinking straight. Yes that's it. We go back to the way things were and forget this ever happened."
"What?" Katara gasped in surprise. This was not what she had in mind at all. And she realized she didn't want to forget about this night. "But-"
"That's what we'll do." He said firmly. "Except you won't continue this soldier charade any longer. I'll report tomorrow to the others that you turned out, in fact, to be a spy and then you'll have to stay locked in your room."
Katara felt as if her heart was being ripped out. "How can you do that?" she whispered, he voice cracking. "I thought…."
"Well you thought wrong." He snapped. "I care for nothing and no one. My only concern is in capturing the Avatar." He marched to the door and wretched it open.
"Zuko.." Katara called after him. She didn't know why. She just didn't want him to leave.
For a second he hesitated. Then he slammed the door behind him and she could hear his footsteps as he walked down the corridor.
She fell back against her pillow, half-heartedly pulling the covers around her. What's going to happen now? She thought as she cried herself to sleep.