Chapter Twelve
The familiar silver shape of Zuko's ship loomed up in front of Katara as they hurried down the dock to where it was waiting for their departure. As the clunk of their feet hitting the wooden planks reached her ears her mind was filled with a flashback of the day she had first seen this ship, waiting on the dock to see if she would be picked for training or sent home.
They boarded quickly, the silver ramp rising up behind them, closing Katara off from the land where her friends were currently being held prisoner. She hesitated, turning to stare back at the dock they had just crossed. It's not to late, maybe I should jump off now and go back.
She felt Zuko's hand suddenly as he gripped her upper arm. "We have a deal, remember?" he said quietly, his grip tightening none the less. Katara tore her gaze away from the land and turned her back to it. If she looked again then the urge to help her friends would become to over powering and she would never be able to leave with Zuko.
He led her across the bridge of the ship and below deck. A few of the Fire Nation soldiers, boys that Katara had trained with no doubt, stared as they past but most simply ignored her and kept to their work.
They walked down the dimly lit hallway that was all too familiar in Katara's memory. Her hand went too automatically to her short hair, her hands twisting it around her fingers. She realized that it was starting to grow. Not much, but it wasn't quite as short as it had been that night when she had first cut it in the woods.
"Wait here." Zuko said suddenly, stopping outside a door marked with a Fire Nation Emblem and red paint across it in strange symbols. "I'll be back. Do not go anywhere." He knocked once on the door then pushed it open and went inside. Katara got the briefest glance of a table with two high backed chairs, one of which was occupied by Zuko's Uncle Iroh, when the door was pulled quickly shut behind him.
Katara stared at the door, itching to know what was being said inside. Hmm… she thought to herself, to spy or not to spy………to spy! She slipped quietly up to the door and pressed her ear against the crack where the door did not quite meet the frame. She listened and could soon make out voices talking inside the room.
"So she will be staying on the ship until we reach land." Zuko was saying.
"And what do you plan to do then?" Uncle Iroh asked, taking a sip of what Katara assumed was tea.
"Find out what she knows of the Avatar's current where-abouts and then keep her out of the way while I collect the last artifact. Apparently the artifact we got from the earth kingdom peasant was a phony but I believe I know where the real one is this time. After that we will be ready to go to the temple." He paused. "I also need to find out what she knows about the Fire Nation's plans. I'm not sure what she meant but she said something about my safety and I believe she may have overheard something."
"I see." His Uncle said pleasantly. "What about the water tribe artifact? Remember you have to have something from each tribe for the plan to work."
"I know that Uncle, I was the one who thought of it! I do have something from the water tribe though for your information. This." There was a rustling sound.
"Ah yes. I had quite forgotten about it. Well it seems that your plan is going smoothly then."
Something from the water tribe? Katara thought in surprise. What could he have? I have to find out! He has no right to take something that belongs to my people, or any of the other tribes for that matter. She made a mental note to do some investigating of the ship later when she was sure the guards weren't around.
"By the way, I have one more question for you nephew."
"What is it Uncle?" Zuko asked in a wary voice.
"What are you going to tell your young water bending friend?"
"What do you mean? I don't have to tell her much of anything. She doesn't need to know the truth and there's no way she'll find out."
"That is good reasoning but I'm not sure that it will go as you plan, seeing as she's been listening in on us the entire time." Uncle Iroh's voice was filled with amusement.
Katara jerked back from the door but she could still hear Zuko's shout as plain as if she had still be listening in.
"What!" There was the pounding of footsteps and the door was jerked open. Katara didn't even bother to pretend she hadn't heard, she knew she had been caught and she would only look dumb by pretending she hadn't.
"Why you little!" Zuko fumed as he stared out of the open doorway at her. She stared back at him, trying to keep her face as blank of any emotions as she could.
"I take you on my ship, I offer you protection and you still sneak around like a wretched spy! Didn't you learn anything from the last time you were here!" He practically screamed.
"Yes." Katara said calmly. "Never let your guard down and never trust the enemy."
Iroh chuckled softly behind them. "Prince Zuko I'm afraid she's got you there."
"Uncle could you please stay out of this!"
"Fine, but I must ask you to take your argument somewhere else. I'm afraid that I am behind on fixing my evening cup of tea and I would like to get right on it."
Zuko sighed and pulled the door shut with a bank. "Come on." He muttered angrily and continued down the hallway.
"What do you have of the water nation's?" Katara asked point-blank. No point in beating around the bush when he knew that she had heard him.
"That's none of your business." He snapped, not bothering to glance back at her.
"I believe it is since I'm from the water nation." Katara replied angrily. "What have you got of ours?"
"I said, it's none of your business!"
"What are you planning on doing with it?" Katara asked, changing tactics.
"Well that I can tell you. I'm going to destroy it." Zuko snapped.
"What! You can't destroy something of ours. Or the other nations. You have no right! That is so- AH!" Katara gasped in surprise as a pain jolted through her hand. She had completely forgotten about her wrist. She instinctively pulled it close against her chest, pressing her other hand gently against it to try and stop the throbbing. Zuko glanced over his shoulder to see what had happened.
"I'll bring you a cloth to wrap your wrist in later." He said simply. Turning back around. "Here, you can stay in this room." He opened a door onto a room that was not unlike her old room. Her room this time, however, was on the opposite side of the ship from the crew's quarters, a fact that Katara was glad for. She didn't fancy running in to any of her old "buddies" seeing as they probably would not be that happy to see her.
She followed him inside as he stepped through the door way. "Don't even try to tell me your going to lock the door." She said crossly, her wrist still bothering her.
"And why not?" he asked coolly. "I believe I can do whatever I want on my ship."
"That's what you think." She said, glaring back.
Zuko's face turned red in anger. Katara was beginning to see that he had a very short temper. "For your information I was not going to lock the door." He turned and marched out of the room but stopped just inside the doorframe. "By the way, just so you know, this is what I plan to destroy for my water nation artifact." And pulled Katara's missing necklace from his pocket, smirking at her shocked face before turning and walking away.