Zuko stood near the gazebo; I stood opposite of him, closer to the water collected at the bottom of the hill. With a mock bow, he said to me, "Ladies first."
With all the force I could muster, I sent a double water whip at Zuko, encircling both his feet in ice. Zuko melted his way out and sent a blast of fire at me. I laughed as I dodged it.
"Is that the best you can do?" I called tauntingly. "My brother has better aim with a boomerang!" I sent a large orb of water into the air, focusing partly on that. I focused primarily on kicking Zuko's butt.
Blast after hot, fiery blast was sent in my direction. I was nearly hit a couple of times, but each time I managed to dodge Zuko's attempts. Gradually, he started aiming for my feet, trying to throw me off balance. It worked every so often, but I was always able to get back up before he took more than three steps. All this time, I was focusing on the orb above me.
The fight lasted what seemed like hours. At one point, I had my back turned from Zuko, who took advantage and pinned my arms behind me.
"Give up?" he asked, whispering into my ear. In response, I elbowed him in the stomach, temporarily winding him and giving me a chance to break loose.
Soon after, Zuko aimed a kick at my head, causing me to slip and fall. I was too tired to get up with the speed I had been previously, and Zuko had me straddled faster than I could blink.
"You lose," He said, pinning my wrists and smirking. I looked up.
"Not yet." I broke my concentration and the sphere of water splashed down on Zuko and me, drenching us. Zuko's expression changed from one of triumph, to confusion, to shock, and to utter disbelief. I smirked. "Gotcha," I said, laughing slightly.
"You little peasant," Zuko said, trying to be furious and failing. His shock was too evident to hide. "You tricked me."
"Better fighter and more clever than you," I said. "Not bad for a peasant's brat, huh? Now, would you please get off me?" Prince Zuko was heavier than he looked and my stomach was getting sore.
"Not until you admit I defeated and that last blow was a cheap shot," Zuko said.
"Never! Just because I'm down doesn't mean I'm out."
"In the Fire Nation it does." A look of pain flashed across Zuko's face but it quickly dissipated. What was that about?
"Well, your highness, this isn't the Fire Nation." Zuko's hands heated up slightly, making my wrists heat up as well.
"At this moment, I'm your captor, so admit I won and I'll let you go."
"Let's not start with that. For about six days, you were my prisoner," I pointed out. "And if I hadn't found you, you'd be dead right now."
"Well, I've helped you multiple times, so we're even." I shook my head and attempted to get loose. Zuko held my wrists tighter.
"We're not even until you-get-off-me!" I said, grunting as I attempted to push Zuko off to no avail. I realized that I fighting a losing battle and sighed. "Fine! You won."
Zuko smirked. "And?"
"And I took a cheap shot," I admitted through gritted teeth. "There. You happy?"
Zuko got off me and loosed my wrists. "Yes. Maybe next time you won't challenge me."
I got up and dusted myself off. "Excuse me? You were the one that challenged me, remember?" I rubbed my wrists. I could still feel the warmth from Zuko's hands around my wrists.
"You started it yesterday by asking about something that was none of your business," Zuko retorted. I snorted as I headed back to the gazebo. The sun was at its zenith, which I knew had helped Zuko beat me.
"I just wanted to know why you have that scar." What he said next surprised me.
"I'll tell you how I got my scar if you tell me about that necklace." I turned to face the Fire Prince.
"I told you. It belonged to my mother, who got it from my grandmother," I said. "It was a betrothal necklace my Waterbending Master had carved for Gran-Gran. They were supposed to be married, but Gran-Gran ran off to the South Pole before any final arrangements could be made."
Zuko nodded and went back to the gazebo. I paused, then chased after him.
"Hey, I told you about my necklace," I reminded him. Zuko sighed as he sat down on a bench. I studied him. Was this the same Fire Prince who had just beaten me a few minutes ago? He seemed like a different person, sadder and more remote. I sat down next to him.
"About three years ago, I was allowed into my father's war room. My uncle, General Iroh, warned me not to speak out of turn. When another general spoke up with a plan to sacrifice an entire division of new recruits, I…" Zuko trailed off.
"You spoke out," I finished. Zuko nodded and continued.
"My father was outraged. He said, because I spoke out, I would be expected in the Agni Kai arena the next day at noon. I thought he was talking about having me fight the old general I had disrespected, so I said I wasn't afraid.
"It wasn't the general; it was my father, a Firebending Master of nearly twenty years. I had barely gotten past basic Firebending. I refused to fight my father, apologizing over and over again." Zuko turned away.
"My father would have none of it. He said I was going to learn a lesson and pain would be my teacher." His hand went up to his scar. "Then he banished me, saying I could only return if I brought him the Avatar, alive. 'A fool's quest' my sister Azula called it."
I sat there, unable to move. I had known that Ozai was a cruel, heartless man, but to ruin his only son's face over a mistake? I couldn't believe it. "I'm sorry you were born into such a family, Prince Zuko," I whispered. "I can't understand how someone would do that to their own family."
"Yeah, well, Father always favored Azula anyway. It doesn't matter." I put my hand on his shoulder.
"If Ozai favors anyone, then they can't be good," I pointed out. Zuko paused and thought about what I just said. He nodded, then stood up. I stayed seated and watched as Zuko headed out of the gazebo. Blushing, I noticed his tunic had been torn in our fight. Underneath the tunic were bruises and cuts, some from me, some not. They looked painful.
"Zuko, wait." The prince stopped and turned to me. "Those cuts and bruises on your back look painful; I need to heal them. And don't give me anything about not needing my healing," I said, noticing the look on his face. "Anyone with common sense, even stubborn, driven Fire Princes, would not deny that they're in pain." Zuko was about to protest, but I held up my hand. He sighed and came back. I turned away as he removed his tunic and sat down.
I took water from my flask and began to heal the nasty marks that covered Zuko's skin. Each time my hand touched his skin, he would tense, but then relax as the healing waters took effect. By the time I was done, my flask was empty and Zuko had no scars, save the one that marred his face.
"There," I said, corking my flask. "I'm done." Zuko moved his shoulders, probably expecting the pain he was so used to by now. Feeling nothing, he nodded and put his tunic back on.
"Thank you, Katara." Okay, concern, anguish, pain, sadness, now gratitude? Will wonders never cease? And the fact he remembered my name kept surprising me as well.
"It's nothing; some of those bruises were my fault," I said, blushing. Absently, I rubbed a small burn on my arm I had received from Zuko. It itched and I was out of water to heal.
Zuko noticed my arm and winced. "Here." He pulled a small vial of some type ointment.
"Where did that come from?" I asked.
"A Firebender should always have a small amount of burn ointment in case of minor burns," Zuko explained, uncorking the vial. Getting some of the ointment out, he put it on the burn he had given me. Instantly it felt better.
"That stuff works faster than me!" I muttered. I rubbed the ointment in, making the burn vanish completely. "Why didn't this stuff work when you…" I trailed off, realizing what I had been about to say. Zuko turned away.
"Father forbade it; it wasn't until I was on the ship that a doctor treated my face. By then, most of the damage had been done." I stood beside Zuko. Without thinking, I took his hand in mine, and, with my free hand, I gently traced the scar.
"I am so sorry that happened to you," I whispered. Zuko shook his head.
"Who cares? It's in the past." With that, Zuko pulled away and lay down on the bench. I followed suit, exhausted from our day long fight. As the moon rose, I felt unable to sleep. I ended up weeping silently about what Zuko told me until I dozed off.
Don't worry, Aang and Sokka haven't given up hope on Katara yet...