Chapter Two
A faint beam of moonlight streaming through the shabby drapes was the only light in the cramped room. Kora lay on a small mat in the corner: the only thing in the room besides a small table. Sitting up slowly, Kora rubbed her temples and groaned. Whatever knocked her out was just wearing off now. A sudden clicking noise from the door brought her attention back into focus. The soldier she recognized as her captor stepped inside the small room.
"So, I see our little mistress is awake..." said the soldier with a sly grin.
Kora sat up a little straighter with resent, tugging slightly at the chains that bound her to the wall. She hated the feeling of being contained.
"Don't call me that..." she grumbled
The soldier simply ignored her and began to pace around the room. Without warning, he reached forward and yanked Kora's chain off of her neck. She winced slightly as he held it up to the moonlight.
"This little trinket should sell for a good sum..." said the soldier, pocketing the necklace.
"Give that back! It's not yours!" yelled Kora, tears welling up in her purple eyes. He couldn't take that away from her, she wouldn't let him. The soldier just smirked at her frustration.
"I guess I should tell you why you're here, even though I'm sure you know why. You're under arrest for associating with the Avatar and not reporting him to the officials. Do you understand the magnitude of your crime against this Nation?"
Kora just nodded, glaring up at him from the floor.
"No whining? Begging? Pleading to be set free?"
Kora shook her head. She was determined not to break.
"Fine, skip the good part... You'll be transported to the Fire Lord tomorrow. He'll decide your fate." he said with an evil grin. After a few moments of silence from Kora, he left and locked the door again.
Kora sighed loudly and leaned up against the wall. She had done what she thought was right, and this was her punishment. She closed her eyes, wondering what her father would have said.
The noise and smell of fire broke her train of thought. She stood up and looked out of her small window: a jumble of fire benders were battling outside. Kora cocked her head in confusion, not knowing who the people were because of the darkness. A startling bang on the door caused her to jump back just as it fell in. As the dust cleared, Kora gasped: there stood the banished Prince Zuko, coughing slightly, along with Iroh, the brother of the Fire Lord. What were they doing here?
Zuko blinked slightly at Kora: he hadn't known the prisoner was a girl, and a striking one at that. She just stared back, still a bit confused at the entire situation. Finally, Iroh broke the awkward silence.
"Well, are you going to save the damsel in distress or not?" said Iroh, with a slight smirk.
"What the heck do you mean by that, Uncle?" said Zuko, fuming.
"I mean hurry up!" he said, pointing towards some advancing soldiers, almost outnumbering Zuko's crew. Grabbing Kora's chains, Zuko melted them almost instantly and freed her, then grabbed her hand and half-dragged her outside. She stumbled behind him, trying vainly to keep up. A sharp pain shot through her arm as they weaved in and out of crew members and soldiers, but she didn't have time to see what had happened. Suddenly, she found herself thrown into one of the crew members as Zuko knocked down another soldier.
"Take her back to the ship!" yelled Zuko over the commotion, panting slightly.
"Where should I put her, sir?"
"Just lock her in my chambers for now!" said Zuko, sending a scorching blast of fire in one of the soldier's direction. The crew member nodded and took Kora out of the commotion towards the ship, but not without being stopped by Iroh.
"When you get back, make sure you set up a room for her, and make sure it's decent." said Iroh, eyeing Kora. The crew member nodded and took her on board the Fire Nation ship. Soon afterwards, she was tossed into what she assumed was Zuko's room. Two crossed swords hung on the wall across from her, above a desk. To her right, a large dragon mask hung on the wall above what looked like a place to meditate: a table with four candles on it. To her left was Zuko's bed with a large fire nation emblem tapestry above it. Kora sat down on the cold metal floor, wondering what she was supposed to do now.
The soft sound of liquid on metal brought her attention towards her arm: she had been cut, probably by one of the soldiers. It wasn't very deep or long, but Kora feared losing too much blood. Wincing, she ripped off a piece of her kimono and wrapped it around her arm as a temporary bandage.
The confusion of the entire situation spun through her head as she tried to make sense of things: she had just been captured by the banished prince of the Fire Nation, but why? Not daring to touch anything, Kora leaned up against the wall and closed her eyes. For one thing, she was almost glad to be here instead of with that infuriating soldier.
-----------------
The last soldier had finally been felled back on the isle. Zuko stood above their captain, the soldier that had questioned Kora. As his swords of fire disappeared, he noticed something glistening on the ground next to the unconscious soldier. Zuko picked up the thin chain and held it up to the faint moonlight: a small rose hung at the end of it. Puzzled as to why one of these soldiers would have such a thing, he pocketed it.
"Prince Zuko, sir!" said one of the crew members, approaching Zuko.
"What is it?"
"No casualties, sir. Just a few injured. We're taking them back to the ship now."
Zuko nodded his consent and turned to his uncle, who watched the operation casually as if nothing had happened.
"Let's go, Uncle. We need to question the girl." said Zuko. Iroh looked shocked and shook his head.
"Not now Zuko! I'm sure the young lady is quite shaken up. You don't want to make her situation even more miserable, now do you?" said Iroh with a questioning look. Zuko opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but stopped, thinking over his uncle's words.
"Fine, we'll question her tomorrow then." grumbled Zuko, surrendering to his uncle. Iroh grinned, patting his nephew on the back.
"And you should at least ask what her name is. We need to make her feel at home." said Iroh, still grinning. Zuko rolled his eyes.
"You make it sound as if she's staying at an inn..."
-----------------
Kora looked up from her arm as the door opened and Zuko and Iroh entered. Zuko eyed the small pool of blood on the floor curiously.
"She's injured... Uncle, could you get some bandages?" said Zuko, approaching Kora. She just stared at him as he held out his hand.
"Well, are you going to stand up or not?" said Zuko. She reluctantly grabbed his hand and stood up, but not without wincing from the cut on her arm. Iroh returned with the bandages and began to wrap up her wound. Zuko turned his back on them and ruffled through some maps on his desk.
"Take her to her holding room please, Uncle." said Zuko, turning around again and with his hand in his pocket. Kora sighed and reached up to her neck out of habit, only to remember that her pendant was gone. Zuko watched her quietly.
"Alright, let's go, Miss...?" said Iroh politely with a questioning glance towards her.
"Kora." she said, not quite sure why she was being treated so well. That is, so far.
"Miss Kora! What a pretty name. If you'll just come with me..." said Iroh, leading her out of the room. Zuko pulled the chain out of his pocket and inspected it again, then placed it on his desk and put out the candles as the door shut behind them.
-----------------
"Please don't mind my nephew; he can be so rude sometimes..." said Iroh as he straightened a few things in the small room. Kora stood quietly in the corner looking around. A small yet comfortable looking bed had been set up on one side of the room, and a small desk stood in another corner. Iroh looked around the room approvingly as she sank down onto the bed.
"I'm sorry sir, but exactly why am I here...?" she said cautiously. Iroh sighed and looked at her.
"Really, you must believe me; I hate to put you in such a situation. But Zuko thinks you have information about the Avatar that he could use."
"But I don't! I only ran into him on accident!" said Kora frantically. Iroh nodded.
"I thought so... you see, my nephew is so desperate to catch the Avatar that I'm starting to believe he'll do anything. But I'm going to try to make this as tolerable as I can for you. Sometimes Zuko's decisions need balancing..." said Iroh with a half serious smile.
"I guess I really should be thanking him, this is much better than being punished by the Fire Lord. And thank you for your kindness, sir." said Kora quietly. Iroh laughed.
"Don't call me sir! Iroh will be fine." he said, laughing and shaking her hand. Kora smiled gently.
"Now, get some sleep, I'm sure you're tired. Goodnight." he said, getting up and opening the door. Kora lay down as the door shut: suddenly drowsiness hit her like a ton of bricks. She fell asleep almost immediately, contemplating all that had happened in one day.