One Week since arrival on the Island

"This island is a death trap," I sighed as I patched up Aang's sleeve. He ran into a thorn tree while he was practicing. "I've had a sprained ankle, Sokka ran into that huge rock that looks like Dad's head, and you've been cut up by thorns. What would we do if I could heal?"

"Sit and suffer in extreme pain," Sokka said. I frowned. I was still mad about what he had said the day before. Aang noticed and motioned for Sokka to be silent when he thought I wasn't looking. I ignored them.

"I'll be back. I'm going to go get lunch and dinner, so I might not back for a while." I grabbed a pack and my flask, filled to the brim.

"Um, is my shirt done?" Aang called. I nodded.

"Be careful; the patch might come undone," I added as I left.

The island was riveted with small fresh water creeks that filled when it rained. I crossed the one near the cave and headed in the direction of the gardens and the potholes. As I went farther away, I noticed signs of human habitation: a broken pot, pieces of clothing, spear and arrowheads. "What happened here?" I muttered. I reached the remains of a village. The whole place seemed to have been flooded at one point. "Guess that's what happened to the people here."

I journeyed through the ruins of the town. Children's toys, elderly people's walking sticks, a mother's apron, all were still there, like they were waiting for their owners to return. I bent down to brush the dirt off a pot still intact. "Property of the Earth Kingdom" was written around the edges. So Earthbenders had lived here before. That would explain why they had died in a flood, if indeed they had.

Something moved, catching my eye. I ran after what ever it was, stopping when I realized it had flown off. "Stupid bird," I muttered. Suddenly, I realized there was a gate just ahead of me. "That's odd." I stepped closer and reached out to open the gate. It was unlocked, so I entered.

It was garden, and not just any garden. It had flowers from all the nations growing in it. "Amazing," I whispered, walking through it and touching each flower as I passed by. Suddenly, I tripped on a root and fell against something. Something alive.

"Katara?" I looked up. I had fallen against Zuko.

"You remembered my name," I replied. "Sorry. I-I tripped on a root or something." Why was I blushing? Why was I pleased he remembered my name? What was going on!

"What are you doing here?" Zuko asked, helping me stand up straight.

"I came out to get more food for the guys and me when I saw that village down there," I said, pointing down the hill I had just climbed. "Something moved and I followed it. It vanished and I found the gate." I looked at him suspiciously. "Why are you here?"

"None of your business," he replied. Suddenly, thunder rolled. I looked up and three large raindrops hit me in the head.

"I better go back. Sokka and Aang will be looking for me," I muttered. The heavens then poured out everything they held. Zuko dashed for a gazebo in the garden. "I'll wait," I said, following him. I shook the water from my hair and bended the water out from my clothing. I watched as Zuko heated his body up and evaporated the water from his tunic. (I noticed his armor was long gone.)

I turned around and let my hair out of its braid, shaking it as I did so. There was one good thing about Yue's sacrifice; her mother gave me all her hair things, like a brush and the mirror. I took the brush from my pack's front pocket and began to brush out the remaining water and the twigs I got from chasing that bird. Glancing behind me, I noticed that Zuko was watching me. I twisted around to face him. "How long do you think the rain will last?"

"Who knows," Zuko muttered, still watching me intently. His gaze made me blush a bit. I finished brushing and redid the braid, trying to avoid Zuko's gaze. I looked out over the garden and gasped.

The village below was flooding! Zuko came over to see what I had gasped for. "I guess we know what happened to the villagers," he said, standing right behind me.

"Poor people. They were Earthbenders, so they couldn't stop the floodwaters," I replied. "The funny thing is this garden isn't flooding."

"It's on a hill," Zuko said, his tone clearly full of contempt. So I stated something anyone could have figured out, so what? "Besides, why didn't they make a wall around the village?"

It was my turn to point something out to the prince. "Look at how fast the water rose. They didn't have time, your highness, or did you not notice?" Zuko glared at me. I smirked. I made to walk off, but I tripped on something and landed on my face.

"Ow!" I lifted my head gingerly rubbed my nose. I twisted to look at Zuko, who was smirking. He had tripped me! I attempted to bend some rainwater, but Zuko saw. He was on my back faster than then you could say "Bonzu Pipinpadelopsocopolis III". Zuko pinned my wrists down.

"I don't think so," he whispered in my ear. I squirmed under him.

"Get off, you great omadorm," I demanded. "You're heavy even without the armor." Zuko released me. I got up, brushed myself off, then brought a huge ball of water down over his head. "That's what you get for tripping me," I said, laughing as he shook the water from his hair and evaporated the rest.

"You're lucky it's raining. If it wasn't, you'd be crispy Water Peasant by now," he grumbled. Before I could react, he sent a small burst of flame at me, forcing me to fall flat for the second in as many minutes, this time on my back. I shot some water at him, but not before he was on top of me again. My wrists were pinned under me, so I couldn't use them.

"I warned you," Zuko said, his golden eyes staring into mine. For some reason, I was drawn to his eyes, like someone is drawn to fire. Suddenly, a loud rumble of thunder startled us both. Zuko got up and shook his head. He helped me up, looking outside the whole time.

The rain went on for what seemed like days, the darkening skies eventually rendering our sight useless. Zuko broke off a piece of wood from a bench in the gazebo and lit it, making a makeshift torch. The prince's scar stood out in the flickering light. My stomach growled softly and I remembered I hadn't eaten since breakfast. "Are you hungry?" Zuko nodded and I handed him one of the apples I had gathered before getting distracted. I sighed. "Looks like we're stuck here until the water recedes. I'm a Master Waterbender, but I can't part the sea!" I exclaimed, seeing that Zuko was about make a remark about Waterbending. "That's impossible."

Zuko nodded. "I'm going to bed." He doused the torch, leaving me in darkness. I sighed and followed suit.

Day Eight

I woke up to rain drizzling outside the gazebo. I turned and saw Zuko across from me. I blushed and turned my head, as his tunic was on the ground next to him. I remembered feeling safe when he carried me back to the cave when fell. I knew why now. Zuko's chest was muscular, as were his arms.

I didn't realize he was awake until he got up. I feigned sleep as he walked past. He went about three steps past me and stopped. Why did he stop? There's not a wall here, this is a gazebo. I yawned and stretched a bit, causing Zuko to move. "Do you know what time it is?" I yawned, sitting up.

"Sometime near dawn. I don't sleep past dawn," Zuko stated. "This rain might last forever."

"Seems like it. Gran-Gran told me that, when she was a girl, it snowed so much the Zebra Seals needed coats." I looked outside. "I might need a boat to get across that stretch of water that was once a village." I got up, but slipped on a wet patch of wood. Zuko caught me. Actually, I fell into him.

"Clumsy Water Tribe peasant. Who taught you to walk; a penguin?" Zuko remarked.

"Hey, you tripped me yesterday."

"But that's the second time you've fallen into me."

"You just keep on being in my general direction. You don't have to keep catching me."

"Fine." Zuko let go and I fell to the floor with a crash.

"I was being sarcastic, you know," I muttered, too sore to move from the ground. Zuko loomed over me.

"I know." I made as if to get up, but I couldn't. Feeling the ankle I had sprained, I realized that, even though I had healed it, it was still a bit weak. In my fall, I had slightly torn the ligament again.

"Great," I muttered, bending some water over to my ankle.

"What happened?"

"I tore that ligament again, the one I sprained a few days ago," I explained, healing my ankle. "There." I attempted to stand up again, and fell once more. "What is going on?" I muttered.

Zuko bent down to inspect my ankle. "I think it may be broken."

"Can't be. I was walking yesterday just fine," I pointed out.

"You may have put too much stress on your ankle," Zuko said. "I may be wrong, but it wouldn't be a good idea to walk for awhile."

I nodded. He was right. "How do you know all this?" I asked.

"A Prince of the Fire Nation is trained in battleground first aid," Zuko said simply, lifting me into his arms. He carried me to a bench in the gazebo and set me down.

"Thanks," I whispered, trying to hide the small blush that had crept up into my cheeks. "Hey, the rain's stopped."

Sure enough, the rain clouds were gone and the sun shining. "Good. Now all we need is for the flooding to reside," Zuko muttered. "That cave, it's on higher ground than the village, right?"

"I hope so."