Zuko woke up with a pounding headache. Groaning, he attempted to turn over, but found himself tied to something. Furious, he thrashed about, determined to get free.
His movement alerted the guards. "Fei," one called out, "go get the boss!"
"What if I can't find 'im?" the one called Fei asked.
"Then bring the second in command, you dimwit."
"What if I can't find 'er?"
"You'll find one of 'em! Just go!" Fei scrambled to obey.
Fei was gone for two minutes when Katara began to wake up. Also tied, she, too, thrashed about.
"It's no good tryin' to break free, missy," the guard called. "Them ropes are tied tight. You and yer boyfriend can fergit about escape."
Zuko and Katara would have protested that last comment if their mouths had not been covered. Even still, you could hear the muffled protests.
The two captives were silenced by the arrival of someone else. A man, not much older than Zuko, walked in with an "I own this place, so shut up" air. He had the look of one not used to being ignored.
"Well, well, well. Two Benders, both from opposite elements. What a lucky day." The man smirked. "Oh, forgive my manners. I am Ji Li, the one in charge of this underground village. And you two were lucky enough to land right in my territory."
What territory? Zuko thought.
Ji Li paid no heed to Zuko's furious look. "And now, you two are my prisoners. Hin here will show you to another, more comfortable cell. Hin!" The man snapped his fingers and the guard, who resembled a sausage with hair, hoisted Katara over his shoulder.
"Git up," he growled to Zuko, untying his body from the pole. Zuko stumbled up, but found his legs had fallen asleep. Hin sighed and motioned to Fei, who had returned, to help him.
Fei's idea of helping was kicking Zuko. When that failed, the skinny guard pushed Zuko to the cell, shoving him onto the ground once there. Hin set Katara down with a whump! He untied the bonds on Katara but ignore Zuko completely, walking out and shutting the heavy earthen door.
Zuko's whole body was in pain from Fei's kicking and pushing. If I don't move, then the pain will lessen, Zuko thought, remembering what his uncle had taught him. Unable to see the girl very well from his position, or much of anything in the dark, Zuko relied on his other senses to gather what the girl was doing.
By the sounds she was making, the girl was trying to move but was failing. Zuko assumed that she was also in a great deal of pain.
Suddenly, light poured into the cell. A cheerful voice rang out, "I'm sorry. Ji Li never thinks before he does things. I told him to put you two into a brighter cell, but he never listens to me. Here, let me untie you."
A female's hand reached over to Zuko and untied him. The Fire Prince sat upright, but winced as he did so.
"Yuk, looks like that arm of yours is broken," a small, plump young lady said. "Good thing I brought those splints. Oh, and I'm assuming your Waterbender friend can heal?"
"We're not friends," both Zuko and Katara said instantly.
"Whatever. Anyway, can you?" she asked, turning to Katara.
"Yes, but not broken bones or anything," the girl said.
The lady shrugged. "That's fine, though you might want to heal those bruises and cuts that you and this young man have. I told my husband to be careful, but did he listen? Noooo."
"Husband?" the girl asked. Zuko was too sore to say much.
"Yes. Ji Li is my husband. I'm Ming Su Li, but call me Su." The lady, Su, looked at the still open door and continued. "Anyway, I figured the Waterbender could heal, so I brought two buckets of water, one for healing and washing up, the other for drinking. And get any ideas of water whipping me," Su said with a look at Katara, whose face seemed to say that she had fully intended on it. "There are three guards, all of whom are armed and very dangerous. Not to mention I could knock both of you out with one blow."
Zuko scoffed. "You?"
"Me. I may not look it, but I'm actually a good fighter. Back at the refugee center, none of the Earth Kingdom refugees could beat me."
"You're from the Water Tribe!" the girl exclaimed.
Su shook her long black hair. "Mom was the Water Tribe healer of the center. Dad was a refugee." She looked a bit sad for a moment, but quickly let it pass. "As I was saying, the water is by the door, as is two weeks worth of food and firewood."
"Why would we need wood?" Zuko asked, daring to get up, his right arm in a ton of pain.
"Do you really think you could keep a fire going all night with a broken arm?" Su asked amused. "No one is that good. Now, I'll leave the splints here with you two. I suggest you eat and then rest, both of you. My husband's troops aren't careful when it comes to treating wounded captives." Before the prince could object to being called a captive, Su left and the door was shut behind her.
Zuko was left in a state of shock. This young woman had just entered, left some supplies, and then left herself. It was the oddest thing that had ever happened.
The Water Tribe girl thought so too, but didn't dwell on it for very long. She limped over to the door, found the water, wood, food, and splints, then asked, "Could you start a fire in here? I need light to see." Zuko shot her a hate-filled glance, though he knew she would not be able to see it. Sighing, the prince sent a small blast of fire at the pile of wood Katara had laid aside. Instantly, the whole cell lit up. Zuko could see that the Water peasant was bloody, bruised, and battered.
Bastards. She wasn't in that condition when I had her. Zuko thought vehemently of the big, burly man that had tossed the girl over his shoulder, knowing she was hurt. He caught himself. Why on Earth was he angry for the injuries the girl had sustained?
Honor.
It was against Zuko's honor to treat a female, no matter what element they bended or were aligned to, in the way that guard had treated the Water Tribe girl. That was why, he assumed, he felt fury towards the guards. That and the fact he was rather bloodied up.
The Water girl healed her own bruise first. With a hint of annoyance, she said, "I guess I'll have to put your arm in a splint and heal you next, huh? Why did they put me in a cell with a Firebender?"
Zuko didn't reply. The pain in his arm had increased significantly, and he knew that angering the Waterbender would not help it. Zuko sat silently as the girl gently put his broken arm into the splint, then healed some of the worse cuts and bruises. (He would have protested, but even he could tell that those were some really nasty cuts and instant healing would be wiser than letting them heal on their own.) She also did something to help the fiery pain in his arm cease.
"There. That should help," the girl said, though she didn't sound happy about it. Zuko shrugged and began to meditate, the flames flickering with each breath.
"You're amazing."
"What?" The comment had caught Zuko off guard.
"Here you are, bloodied up worse than if you had gone through a forest of knives, and you are meditating." The girl seemed genuinely surprised.
"I can keep a calm head in times of crisis," Zuko whispered. "Firebenders have to." He ignored the girl and returned to trying to focus on the fire.
A few hours were spent that way, with nothing changing. Suddenly, the girl yawned, break Zuko's concentration. "Was that necessary?" Zuko growled.
"Well, I, unlike some people, am extremely tired. Being stunned by a Fire Prince, then being drugged and beaten up by a bunch of brutes does that to a person. And I think that one of them was drunk."
"Hmph." Zuko realized that, though he would never admit it, he too, was tired. "If you're so tired, why don't you go to sleep?"
"Not while you're still up," the girl muttered, just loud enough for Zuko to hear. Obviously, she didn't trust him.
What is with Waterbenders? Always so mistrusting of other people.
Can you blame them? Zuko's conscience nagged. They've survived the last 100 years of war because they don't let most outsiders into their villages.
I have never been, and will never be, like other Firebender soldiers! Zuko countered, and then inwardly shook himself. Arguing with his conscience was like arguing with a tree. Absolutely no good would come of it.
Zuko woke up the next morning stiff, his arm on fire. Swearing, he gently sat up, relighting the embers of last night's fire. The prince assumed that this cell was made from stone or something, otherwise he was sure his, here he shuddered, captors would not allow fire. Zuko sighed and took a good look around.
It was clearly sunrise, or he would not have been up. Without windows, he couldn't be sure, but it was a good guess. The door Su had entered by yesterday was made from a very hard rock and looked heavy. It alone took up on wall of the cell, which was a bit bigger than the Avatar's flying bison.
Then there was the girl, whom her brother and the Avatar called Katara. She was still asleep. Zuko's gaze landed on her for a minute, seeing her, for the first time, as everyone else saw her. Not as a Water peasant, but as a human being. A very pretty human being.
The thought startled Zuko. Where on Earth had that come from? Yes, it was true that she wasn't ugly like many of the Fire Nation girls (monkeys, all of them), but she was his enemy. Pure bad luck had gotten him stuck with her in this cell.
It was just bad luck.
