Hello all! Sorry it took so long to finish ;; Oh well.. Sorry about the confusion with chapter one, I fixed it now. Anywho, thanks to all who reviewed and all who read the story but didn't review. --Glares-- Meanies. Oh! Do you like the new name?


Get in;
Get away.

It had been three days since what Katara had come to refer to as 'The morning in which Zuko temporarily lost his mind'. She honestly didn't understand why he didn't just talk to her like she wanted to. On the second night since the incident she just gave up trying to figure the prince out.

They hadn't even had a decent conversation since then. Maybe five words exchanged. Maybe.

Katara sighed and shivered, pulling the heavy cloak up to her chin. It was nighttime on board Zuko's ship, and her cell was not exactly the warmest of places. She gritted her teeth and sat up straight, still clutching the cloth tightly about her shoulders.

She shivered again and got to her feet. The girl slowly walked over and pushed open the door of her cell. Sticking her head out into the corridor, she looked around, trying to see if any guards were on duty patrolling the hallway that held her cell. Satisfied that she wouldn't be caught, Katara stepped out of the room, closing the metal door softly behind her.

The girl raised a hand and pushed back her bangs, she had let her braid down and her hair was now held back by a loose ponytail at the base of her neck. She slowly shuffled along the corridor, looking into the rooms, hoping she wouldn't wake anyone up.

Katara was lost. The walkways of the ship where long and riddled with other corridors and rooms. She had so far opened up the kitchens, officers' mess, armory, and soldiers' quarters. The girl looked at the door in front of her. It was a little more decorated than the other metal frames, a fire nation symbol painted brightly on the door.

She took a deep breath and pushed open the door, hoping to find who she was looking for. Katara stepped inside the room, looking around slowly around the space, lit only by a few candles.

"What do you want?" Zuko groaned from his bed. He was tired and his narrowed eyes glared daggers full of annoyance at the girl who had disturbed him.

"I wa-was cold and I was won-wondering if-"

"If what?" Zuko snapped.

"If I could get a fire down in my cell."

Zuko frowned and turned over on his bed, pulling the covers up. "No. Now go back to your hold and get to sleep."

"But it's freezing!" Katara exclaimed, her fists clenched. "Why can't I just get a brazier or a lamp or something like that?"

"Because I don't feel like getting out of bed." Zuko mumbled, getting even more annoyed at the girl.

The girl exhaled loudly. "You are such a selfish little brat." she said, glaring.

Zuko looked at Katara without really turning over. "Won't you just go back down and try to go to sleep?" he asked, his voice sharp, penetrating the gloom.

"No." Katara said, folding her arms across her chest.

After about five minutes of feeling Katara's defiant stare at the back of his head Zuko sighed and threw back the blanket on the side of the bed closest to the girl, keeping himself covered and facing the wall. "Get in." he said simply.

Katara stood up straight from her position leaning against the frame of the door, surprised.

"What?" she asked, disbelief etched onto her face.

Zuko sighed and wiggled farther under the covers. "I don't feel like getting up and you don't feel like leaving me alone. Just get into the bed and go to sleep, you'll be warm and I won't have to listen to your complaining."

Katara blinked and looked out into the hallway, hoping she could remember the way back to her cell. She shook her head and shut the door, walking over to the side of Zuko's bed. The girl unbuckled the cloak and let it drop to the floor as she began to crawl into the bed. She glanced at Zuko and blushed, immediately turning over so her back was to his.

"Could you at least put a shirt on?" she hissed.

"No." Zuko replied. "Go to sleep."

Katara glared at a candle a few meters away from her. She didn't reply and stayed silent until her eyelashes became heavy. Still stubborn, she wouldn't let Zuko have the last word about the situation.

"I'm still cold." she muttered, almost asleep.

Zuko gritted his teeth and growled through his clenched jaw. Katara then heard him move around and gasped as a pair of strong arms began pulling her softly backwards by her waist.

"What are you doing?" she hissed as she felt her back being pressed against a hard body. Her eyes were wide and her face held a dark flush.

"Be quiet." came the curt reply. "You said you were cold so I'm doing something about it. Just don't move around very much and go to sleep quickly." Zuko whispered into her ear.

Katara stiffened up but after a few minutes relaxed, letting her self drift into sleep. One of her last thoughts as she was almost gone was that she really couldn't let Zuko have the last word. "You're really warm," she muttered, pressing closer to the blushing prince.

Zuko hesitated, his cheeks burning, before holding the girl tighter to himself. "You're warm too. . .he mumbled, falling asleep himself.

The next morning Zuko was woken up by not-so-silent-laughter. He sat up straight, removing his arms from around the girl's body. The prince glared at the soldier who immediately stopped laughing and stood at attention, saluting the younger man.

Zuko got out of bed, careful not to disturb the girl sleeping in his quarters. He grabbed a tunic and his cloak before heading out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

"What is it?" he asked the soldier, slipping the shirt over his head and tightening the cloak around his shoulders.

"Sir," the soldier said, saluting again. "Another Fire Nation ship has been spotted, the general wishes to see you on deck."

The prince nodded and began walking up toward the deck of the ship, he paused when he heard the soldier behind him cough meaningfully. He turned, slightly annoyed.

"Yes?" he asked tersely.

"Well sir." The soldier began, looking both nervous and exited. "You know that the soldiers have this bet going on about you and the girl so-"

"Bet! What are you talking about?" Zuko yelled, cutting off the man, pinning him to the wall with an arm, a fireball forming in his free hand.

"Easy sir," the enlisted man said, his hands up and an easy smile on his face, "What I meant is that some of the men have a pool going on and we want to know how it was, you know. . ." The man let his voice trail off as he saw the look on the prince's face.

"What. . . In the name of. ." Zuko's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open as he realized what the soldier was implying.

"You are all insane." The younger firebender spat, letting the man drop to the floor. He turned his back on the soldier and made his way to the deck, ignoring the flush that graced his cheeks.

The soldier sat on the ground, staring after the boy. He glanced up the ceiling and calculated quickly in his head. "So then it's been nine days. . ." He muttered. The man thought a little harder, trying to remember the man who had bet on that length of time.

"Damn that Yurit. . ." he snarled, getting up to go count his money.

Iroh was watching the horizon as the black ship got steadily bigger. He had been standing outside for only thirty minutes but he already knew all the consequences and repercussions the ship could have on his nephew's mission. He didn't turn around as the boy arrived on deck and walked by him to lean over the ships railing, scanning the sea.

The prince's eyes widened as he thought of the only other officer that would be sailing a ship this late in the year. A burst of fire issued from his mouth as he uttered one word like a curse.

"Zhou."

The general nodded solemnly. "That is how it seems Prince Zuko." he muttered, viewing the scene through lidded eyes. "I would suggest that you instruct a soldier to-"

"It's already taken care of." Zuko said, just loud enough to interrupt the old firebender.

"Oh?" Iroh raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I see. Do you know that there is a betting pool going on about that?"

"Yes." The prince growled, steam beginning to pour from his mouth, his knuckles turning white.

Iroh looked thoughtful. "Nine days. . . That means Yurit won. Oh dear, that man does seem to beat me at everything."

"Nothing happened!" Zuko yelled, fire coming out of his hands and mouth.

"Really?" Iroh asked, looking happily surprised. "Good, that means I still have a chance."

"Uncle!" The prince shouted again, although on a less dignified person it might have been called a shriek. "You were in this little gamble too?"

Iroh closed his eyes and turned from his nephew, the epitome of a dignified aristocrat. "Yes, I happened to organize it."

"Uncle!" Another would-be shriek from Zuko.

"But now is not the time to dwell on such things." Iroh coughed, looking slightly uncomfortable, "Look, Zhou is coming." He said, instantly serious again.

Zuko controlled his anger and turned to see the dark ship looming silently above them. A complex contraption of pulleys and axles descended slowly onto the deck of the prince's ship. On the platform held between the ropes stood a tall man, flanked on either side by two well-dressed soldiers, both intimidating and with a hard look on their faces.

Zuko backed up from the dais and narrowed his eyes, glaring at the commander. Iroh however bowed slightly and brought his head up, smiling faintly. "Commander Zhou." he said, ever the host that his nephew failed to be. "What brings you here? And in this season, it's not safe to be sailing at this time of year."

The man stepped off the platform and walked out onto the ship as if he owned it. He smirked a little at the younger boy.

"You know Prince Zuko. Same as you. Searching for the avatar." He smiled imperiously and ignored the boy's angry face.

"I've given up." the prince said, acting out his part well, lowering his head and adding just the right amount of indifference. "I'm returning home to beg forgiveness from my father."

Zhou smirked and clasped the younger man on his shoulder. "Good, good. I'm glad to see that you've come around." he said, ignoring, or maybe not noticing, the way Zuko's fists clenched tighter.

He glanced around the deck. "If that's all then you won't mind if I look around would you? Maybe ask a few questions." The commander said, smirking, passing by the prince to make his way below decks.

"As you wish." Zuko said through gritted teeth. Iroh, however sidled over to Zhou's side as the man began to descend, making small talk about the various rooms in ships.

The prince surveyed the burly bodyguards from beneath narrowed eyes, then swiftly turned and made his way over to the other side of the deck, staring out at the sea. He stood there for about ten minutes when his eyes snapped open from a lazy grimace.

That girl. That stupid, silly, annoyingly enticing girl. She was in his room. Asleep. Without her water skin.

He shook his head. She could take care of herself, and besides Zhou wouldn't dare touch her.

. . . Would he?

The commander was annoyed. With good reason too, for a change. He had searched this ship stern to hull but no sign of the avatar had appeared. The cells where empty, the soldiers had said that the avatar wasn't on the ship and even his spies had nothing interesting to report on the goings-on in Zuko's ship.

Well, maybe the scouts would have said a few interesting things if the commander had cared to listen past their refusal that the avatar was indeed not on the ship.

So as it turned out Zhou was extremely surprised to see a girl in Zuko's room. A very pretty girl, nonetheless. Iroh had left the commander when he was interviewing the officers and hadn't been back since. Even so, Zhou looked both directions down the corridor before stepping into Zuko's room, closing the door softly behind him.

Katara blinked, and then woke up. Her eyes instantly widened as she saw the menacing form of the commander standing at the entrance to the room. She scooted against the wall, letting the blanket fall halfway off the bed.

"What do you want?" she asked, replacing her fear with what she hoped was menace.

Zhou smirked. "Nothing much," he muttered stepping farther into the young prince's room. "Except to know why you are here, besides the obvious."

Katara blushed again as she remembered the swift explanation provided to her by Zuko. "That's all really." she muttered, her face burning with shame and indignation. Zuko would pay in blood for this humiliation.

The commander raised an eyebrow at the girl and sat down on the edge of the bed. "You know," he said, his eyes half closed. "I could treat you better than this boy does. I would dress you in silks and velvet and you would have servants to tend to your every whim. What do you say? Come without a struggle and I'll see that I leave this silly exiled brat alone."

He looked at his Katara, his eyes piercing. "How old are you anyway? Fifteen, sixteen?"

"Fourteen." The waterbender growled. "Too young for you by far."

Zhou smirked and moved closer to Katara. "Tact is obviously not your forte. Listen. I'm going to tell you once, nicely, then you will come with me. Whether or not you are conscious when you do will be decided by the next few minutes." Zhou leaned forward and Katara stiffened, not wanting to hear what the commander had to say. "All I really want to hurt is Zuko's pride. You don't have to go to bed with me, just come onto my ship and stay for a few days. I'll drop you off on an inhabited island and you'll never have to see my face again, or Zuko's for that matter."

Katara's face relaxed slightly even though Zhou's face was still to close to hers for comfort. If he held true to his word if he really did just drop her off in an island. . . Aang and Sokka would probably have a better chance of finding her. She could send them a message using the Earth Nation sentinels. Could she really do that? Do something akin to betrayal to the fire prince that had taken her first kiss?

The waterbender stared off into the distance. She could, Zuko did kidnap her, after all. What was a kiss anyway? It wouldn't be that hard to agree to go with Zhou then hold him to his word. Not to mention that she was a decent bender, given half a chance.

Katara bit her lip. It was a tempting offer, but if she did go with the commander could she really just act as if nothing ever happened between her and Zuko? She could, she could, she could!

"I-"

"Get away from her!"

Zhou turned from Katara and looked at the angry prince, a small smirk plastered on his face.

"Why? This girl doesn't mean anything to you, does she? Isn't she supposed to do everything you say? That makes her no better than a slave."

The commander stood up, not noticing Katara's struggle to control her rage. Slave? She was nobodies slave, and she would teach anyone who thought so otherwise. Painfully.

Zuko too, was having trouble reigning in his temper. His normally pale face was slightly red and his fists where clenched.

"That is none of your business Zhou." he said, his eyes narrowing. "You've done your inspection, now leave."

Zhou shook his head. "You want me gone so bad, I'll go." The commander smirked, then snakelike reached toward Katara and pulled her up beside him. "But I'm taking your little slave with me."

If looks could kill Zhou would have been shark bait in less than a second. The glares sent at him by both Katara and Zuko where filled with an equal combination of rage and hate. The elder man cocked his head to one side and sneered, pushing past Zuko to leave the room, pulling Katara behind him.

The prince turned on his heel and followed them, wanting to get up to the deck before starting a fight with the firebender. He had beaten Zhou once before, he could do it again.

Once on deck, Zhou threw the girl at his two bodyguards who caught her and held her fast by her arms. She struggled but soon stopped, realizing she was no match for the strength of these men.

"Don't let her go, that's a water tribe outfit, she could be a bender."

The commander turned and faced Zuko, his gruesome sneer plastered onto his face.

"You want her back so badly, come and take her. I'm all that separates you from her. My men will let her go if you defeat me."

Zuko trembled with rage, his whole body was quivering, his fists were clenched and the scar that transformed his face creased in anger.

"Agni Kai! Right now, winner gets to keep Katara."

Zhou smirked. "Of course, I'll go and get ready. I'll even leave my men here, just to show I mean to come back."

"When the sun reaches his Zenith. Zhou!"

The commander turned, looking at Zuko plaintively. "Yes?"

"This time. I won't hold back. I will kill you." Zuko said, echoing the words he had said at the last fight between him and the commander. Zhou considered a retort but stopped himself at the expression on Zuko's face. The commander merely nodded and went back onto his ship to prepare for the fight.

Katara narrowed her eyes dangerously, glaring at the deck beneath her feet. "Crap."


DonE! Next chapter will hopefully be up sooner than this one was. I have about six free days coming up so guess what kind of board I'll be addicted to!

Again, read and review.

((Sorry: Zhou's a little fundy-dunky in this chapter. . .And Zuko was a little too sexy-intence in the last chapter . .I toned him down . . . . .A little.))

Longest chapter yet! Yay for Word Bender!