Chapter 2

Ellen took a deep breath. It felt wonderful to be outside. As she stood and enjoyed the breeze she overheard one of the guards, "….We're running out of food and supplies…"

She turned and looked over her shoulder. She walked over to the rail and leaned over. She held out her hand and slowly raised it. A ball over water slowly came up.

"She's waterbending again!" yelled a guard as he rushed over.

Ellen was startled and her concentration was broken. "You know I was trying to catch you guys dinner." Ellen said trying again.

She brought the water onto the deck and released it. It feel to the ground with a splash and a fish was flopping around. Prince Zuko stepped out onto the deck. He raised an eyebrow when he saw all the guards gathered around Ellen, who was leaning over the side.

He walk over to one of his guards, "What is going on over here?"

"Your prisoner is catching us fish." the guard replied.

He pushed his way thru the mass of guards. When he got to the front he saw a huge bin with at least 50 fish in it. He turned and pushed back through the crowd. He walked into is room and sat at his desk. A few minutes later his uncle came in, holding a piece of paper.

"Prince Zuko, I have a letter here from your father." said his uncle, Iroh.

"And?" the Prince said impatiently.

"Well, he thinks about time that you…" Iroh trailed off.

"That I what?" Zuko asked tapping a finger on the desk.

"He says you have to get married." Iroh covered his ears and waited for Zuko to explode. Zuko froze, "I have to what!" "Get married." his uncle said.

"And who does he think I'm going to marry?" Zuko stood up and paced angrily around the room.

"Well, there's always your prisoner." Iroh informed him. Prince Zuko stood and rubbed his temples. 'I guess I really don't have much of a choice.' he thought.

"Bring me the girl." he ordered. 'I don't see why I need to get married. Like it really matters to father anyway.' He sat down at the desk again. A moment later Iroh came through the door with Ellen.

Zuko stood, placing his hands flat on the desk. "For some incredibly strange reason or another," he said, staring at Ellen, "my father is making me get married. And since you're the only female around at the moment, you're going to be my bride."

Ellen's eyes grew big from shock, "I have to marry you?"

"Yeah, you do." Zuko answered, not sounding happy at all.

"But…" Ellen couldn't think of anything else to say. She didn't want to get married. Especially not to Prince Zuko.

There was silence. "Uncle, tell father I have chosen a bride." Prince Zuko said as he walked out of the room. Iroh walked over and stood by Ellen, "You know, he's not really as bad as he seems….Sometimes."

Ellen ran her hands threw her hair and sighed. "Look on the bright side, uh…." Iroh couldn't think of a bright side, "You'll get to sleep in a bed now."

Ellen jerked her head up, "I have to share a bed with him now?"

"Well, you'll have to eventually," said Iroh, "So why not start now? Besides, I'm sure you hate being cooped up in that small room below deck right?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"Sharing a bed with him shouldn't be too bad." said Iroh picking up a cup of tea and handing it to her. She muttered something under her breath.

She took a sip of her tea and asked, "So, when is the forceful wedding going to be?"

"Soon, I'm sure." replied Iroh. "Hooray," said Ellen sarcastically, "I can't wait."

There was silence. "So," Iroh took a sip of tea, "Tell me about yourself."

"Well, I'm 15. I lived with my mom and my brother. My father left us when I was very young. I haven't seen him since." Ellen looked down at the floor.

"Any hobbies?" Iroh asked.

"I like to paint. And write. I read when I have spare time. I also practice my waterbending a lot." Ellen ran her finger around the rim of the cup.

The North Pole

"Well, here we are, the North Pole." Aang said as he slid off the flying bison.

"Let's go find the waterbender." said Katara following close behind him. Sokka shuffled along behind them. Aang stopped and looked around.

"Let's ask her where we can find the waterbender." he said pointing to a middle aged woman, who was carrying a large basket. He ran up to her, "Excuse me, do you know where we can find the waterbender?"

The woman dropped the basket as she began to cry, "She's gone…The…Fire Nation took her away…They thought she knew something about the Avatar and they took her…"

"That's horrible." said Katara.

"When did that happen?" asked Aang. "About two weeks ago." the woman said.

"Aang, we flew over their warship on the way here." said Katara.

Aang looked at the ground for a moment. Then he looked up at the woman, "Don't worry, we'll rescue her. We'll bring her back safe and sound, I promise."

"Oh, thank you. Thank you so much." the woman said with a smile.

"Come on, there's no time to lose." said Katara running back to the bison.

The Fire Nation Warship

Ellen laid on her back on the deck and stared into the nigh sky.

"What are you doing?" she heard someone ask. She tilted her head back to see Zuko staring down at her with a scowl on his face.

"I'm looking at the stars, and I'm thinking." She said turning her attention to the sky once again. Zuko glanced up, then looked back down at Ellen.

"What is so great about the sky?" Zuko asked, folding his arms across his chest. Ellen shrugged.

"And exactly what are you thinking about?" Zuko began to tap his foot.

"I'm thinking about what it will be like to be married to someone like you." she answered looking back up at him.

"Someone like me? What is that supposed to mean?" he sounded angry.

"Well," Ellen said standing up and straightening her dress, "you're mean, bossy, and you only care about yourself. Maybe that's just an act to push everyone away from you," she watched the scowl on his face slide away, "but that's not really the kind of person I want to marry."

Zuko said nothing. He just stood there with a blank look on his face. "I'm going to bed." Ellen said pushing past him.

Zuko stood glued to the spot. He looked up at the stars, 'Just an act…' He thought. He then looked down at the ground. A breeze came and blew his hair into his face. He shut his eyes for a moment and inhaled deeply.

"You know, she may be on to something." Zuko whirled around to see his uncle. "Actually, I think she's right. You are putting on an act to keep people away." Iroh walked forward an patted his nephew on the shoulder.

He walked to the side of the ship and put his hands on the rail, "The question is, why? Why put on an act? Fear, perhaps?" Iroh turned and smile at Zuko. He left the rail and headed inside, stopping in the door way and glancing back at him. Zuko stood where he was for a second, then headed toward his room.

He quietly closed the door behind him and looked around. He found Ellen sound asleep. She was on top of the covers and was on the very edge of the bed. He approached her and pulled her hair back from her face. She looked so peaceful when she slept. He slid one arm under her legs and the other under her back and pulled her toward the center of the bed a little, so she wouldn't fall off.

He then laid on top of the covers next to her and stared at the ceiling, Ellen's and his uncles words repeating over and over in his head, "Maybe that's just an act…Why put on an act? Fear, perhaps?…Maybe that's just and act…Fear, perhaps? Just an act…Why put on an act?…Fear…"