This is a mature chapter with blood and violence. Also, I want to thank everyone that's been reading this so far! I was actually not to sure if I would continue about halfway through chapter 2 but all of the views really pushed me to keep doing this. I doubt I'll be able to pump chapters out as quickly for at least two weeks because of weekend plans, but there should AT LEAST be a chapter a week if not more.
. . .
Sokka and Aang don't speak on Appa. Sokka and Aang hardly speak as they gather firewood. Sokka starts the fire and Aang gathers nuts and leafy greens. Sokka pointedly ignores them and catches a small pig deer. He skins it in front of a blanching Aang and rips into it eagerly once it's cooked. The haunch is burnt on the outside but almost raw inside. Katara always does the cooking, Sokka's just happy that he managed to do this decent of a job.
"You know Sokka that really isn't good for you."
"Shut up Aang. I don't want to hear it." The tendons rip wetly as Sokka pulls. "We're getting Katara back and we need a plan. We lost her here." He pulls out a map he got who knows when and points. "It looks like Zuko's on a direct path towards the Fire Nation and we'll need to catch him before he gets too far away. If we can damage the ship then they'll have to stop for repairs and we can get her off then."
"Why don't we just get her while they're sailing? We can go in the middle of the night and fly away on Appa, problem solved."
"Yeah except that we don't know where she's being kept, how many guards there are, anything! We need to get on when we can move around the most and that will be when they're docked and the soldiers are off!"
"Sokka, if we damage the ship a lot of people could get hurt."
Sokka growls, "They're Fire Nation, not real people."
. . .
Katara picks up the bending faster than Zuko had picked up his first katas. Uncle stands inside the room with her, critiquing her forms gently. Zuko is off doing who knows what. She's warmed up considerably to the old man since finding the pictures of who she can only assume is his dead son and the statue. It was hand carved and no Water Tribe member would do that unless General Iroh had done something good to deserve it. She accepted his smiles and even returned a few of her own last night at tea and this morning.
"The basis of all good bending is form and balance. Don't overextend yourself." She breathes deeply and feels for the water around her. "Don't try to move it just yet, just focus on the way it feels." Focus on the way it feels? How is that any different than her usual bending? It won't hurt to try. She doesn't move but concentrates on the barrels of water. Nothing happens. She sighs but keeps trying. It's hard, the water slips away from her awareness. Again she chases after it, the liquid skirting the edge of her mind. This dance continues, her pushing and the water running. She huffs. She focuses again, not on moving it, just on it being there.
Then her brain mind explodes. It's like her senses are being expanded! She becomes more aware of the humidity and the droplets clinging to the sides of the barrels. Her entire body is charged with her element, connected to it in a way she hasn't been before. In a moment it's gone, slipping out of reach once again. "I've never experienced what the waterbenders feel when connecting to their element, but I've been told that it's truly amazing. For firebenders it's different but I'm sure close to the same."
"Wow! How did you know to have me do that?"
Iroh chuckles. "I've seen a great many things and learned along the way. The best water benders have practiced so that they can always feel their element around them."
She smiles back at him and focuses on her element once again. It sloshes with the movement of the ship and she draws it up a thin line. All of her practice over the last few days comes in handy and she can pull the water against herself and up. To Iroh it looks like a dance, waterbending always has. "Now, you should work on feeling the water several times a day, you'll become a better bender for it. Right now though let's work on the moves in that scroll." For an hour and a half he drills her much the same as he would Zuko. The biggest difference is that when Zuko messes up he takes it out on his opponent, Katara takes it out by yelling at the water. Zuko hears the yelling and pauses, about to open the door. When it continues he thinks better of it and backs off, leaving the Water Tribe girl alone. She scares the hell out of him even if he does believe he's better than she is at everything. The traps are all set for the Avatar and instead of sparing the prince goes to check on them.
. . .
Chang's neck aches where the bitch bit him. The doctor had to cut off large chunks of skin to get to the actual bite and the salve had burned like Agni himself. There's no way he's going to let her get away with that. His pride is at stake. He sees the way the other men look at him, hurt by a girl.
. . .
"I was surprised that you didn't join us today Prince Zuko."
"Uuh, I was busy. The uh, I needed to check on some supply lists." He's a terribly liar but Iroh lets it slide.
Katara's hardly eating her food though after her training session she should be wolfing it down. It's been five days and they still haven't come for her. She didn't believe they'd really leave her but maybe they did. She misses them terribly. Being a captive is a lot easier than she had expected. She expected chains and little food and being stored away somewhere. Instead she's been allowed to train, given good food and sunlight. She's not sure what to make of it, perhaps it's only because it's her and not the Avatar himself. She glances up and Iroh is looking at her expectantly. "Sorry, I was thinking of something else. What did you say?"
"I was just telling Prince Zuko about your lesson today and I was wondering how you're feeling."
"I'm fine." Her muscles are on fire but she's learned so much. She's actually had time to practice and work instead of being up on Appa or taking care of someone else, not that she'd take this over that any day she reminds herself hastily. She misses her brother terribly. Iroh tries to start up the conversation several times again but neither of his companions say more than a few words, each lost in their own thoughts. Zuko wonders at the Avatar and if he'll actually be able to catch him this time. Katara just misses her brother and the little boy who's now family. Someone comes in to take away the plates of food and Iroh brings out his trusty tea pot.
"If Aang doesn't come what are you going to do with me?"
Zuko hasn't thought that far ahead. "The Avatar will come." It's been days and he's starting to question the boy.
"I'm sure that even if he doesn't you are more than welcome to stay with us," Iroh says. It's his gentle way of saying that the prince will most likely not let her go so long as there's a chance that she'll be useful.
"When the Avatar comes to get you we'll be ready. The traps are all in place and we'll capture him. Then I can go home and regain my honor."
"So catching a little boy is honorable?" Katara scoffs, "It seems like that's the exact opposite really."
"What would you know about honor? Your people are barbarians that run around in fur and dresses that need to be washed. You smell like the back end of a Komodo rhino."
"At least I don't look like the back end of one!"
Zuko slams his fists down. "You're insufferable!"
"And you're a jerk!"
"I am not!"
"Are too!"
"At least I can bend without some stupid scroll."
"Try me tomorrow and I'll kick your ass into next week!"
"Fine!" The Fire Prince jumps up.
"Fine!" Katara jumps up too, glaring daggers at him.
"Fine!" He stomps out of the room and up the stairs to his quarters, making sure to slam his door hard enough that she's sure to hear it. She crosses her arms over her chest and flounces to her bed roll. With a flop she lands and begins to curl up under the blankets.
"Miss Katara, I'm sorry but the guards have to put the manacles back on you." She's still a prisoner and regardless of how comfortable she is around Iroh, that fact remains. A guard fastens the irons and walks out to stand as a sentry at the door. She lays back down and turns toward the window. The manacles will be a problem if she hopes so escape. She's not yet good enough to bend much with them on and she can easily be over powered in hand-to-hand combat. Perhaps she can bend a little bit of water into them and freeze it. It would expand and hopefully brake the lock. If they dock anytime soon she can try to escape but it's unlikely that the jerk would let her be guarded lightly so close to land especially since she's gone without manacles during the day. Thoughts of escape and maybe occasionally of freezing the prince in a block of ice dance through her head as the ship rocks her to sleep.
The entire ship shakes!
Fire spreads everywhere from a large hole on the deck!
The benders act quickly but no one prepared for this!
The deck is collapsing!
The ship lists precariously!
"What happened!"
"Something dropped out of the sky!"
Iroh has already run out of the room.
The guards are running towards the blaze to put it out.
Katara is up and in battle position.
Zuko is roaring and pushing the flames down.
A man scrambles into view of her. Sokka must be here to get her!
A sailor catches a glimpse of a man with a large bandage on his neck with the water bender thrown over his shoulder but is distracted. It must be a guard.
The fire is going out.
Mangled arms stick out of the wreckage.
Zuko gasps as the last of the flames burns out.
He searches the sky but nothing is outlined against the stars.
Katara tries to scream.
. . .
Fabric is wedged in her mouth and tied there so her screams are muffled. "I made sure you can't bite me this time." Her bending is stopped by the manacles and she can't reach anything except his back with her hands which she is pounding away with. Her legs bang against his chest plate but that only bruises her knees.
. . .
"We're still pulling people out Prince Zuko. Three dead and two injured so far."
Zuko sighs, this isn't what he expected from the Avatar or the Water Tribe boy. His men are dead and he's no closer to capturing the Avatar. "Do we know what happened yet?"
"No. It looks like a barrel of pitch and rocks was dropped and the impact made the deck collapse. As best as we can tell someone thought they were getting attacked so they reacted with their bending. That set off the fire." Lieutenant Jee is obviously shaken as he reports.
. . .
"This was built for the Avatar." Katara is strung up, it's impossible to bend or even fight back. She can't scream, she can't move, and no one knows that she's down here in the corner of the brig with a psycho. "Now little water bender, you put me in quite a bit of pain and I'm going to put you in a bit too." He smacks her solidly. "What you did is unacceptable and I won't let you go around thinking it's okay to do that." Smack. "There's a reason the Fire Nation wants to wipe you cretins out. This isn't personal, I'm just doing my duty." The large man pulls a knife from his waistband, bringing it to her cheek. "Hmm, no not that one." He grabs a different knife. There are no serrations, but the blade is thick. That one presses against her shoulder, right in the crease. Katara's eyes go wide with shock then pinch closed in pain.
The temperature drops drastically but the maniac ignores it, too engrossed in her pain.
. . .
"Did you see that! We wrecked them! They'll have to stop for repairs after that! I'm just happy that one of the fire benders lit the stuff like we had hoped!" The boys had dropped the make shift bomb and flown off to watch from a distance.
"It looked pretty scary…"
"It doesn't matter Aang, we just need to get Katara back."
. . .
"Nephew! Katara is gone!" Iroh runs up out of breath. They are nowhere near shore and from the bending he saw earlier he doubts she'd survive trying to swim that distance.
"What! Where were her guards?"
"They came to help put out the fire."
"They should have been watching her, that's what they're there for!" He can't believe this! That girl is his only chance and if she's gone then so is his honor.
A tired man looks up from where he is trying to clear rubble. "Sir," he approaches the banished angry prince. "She didn't escape, one of the guards took her down further into the ship."
Zuko pauses his pacing. Iroh replies, "No, all of the guards went to the fire." Something isn't right here, fear shoots through the old man. "Did you see who it was and do you know where he was headed?"
"No, sorry but I don't know where. I couldn't quite see who it was – big guy with a bandage on his," The sailor stops, his eyes wide, "with a bandage on his neck," he whispers. Blood drains from both of the royal benders' faces as they realize who took her.
. . .
Originally he had just planned on smacking her around a bit but when the fire had started at the end of his shift, he saw it as a sign from Agni himself. The water bender deserves to hurt. Tears streak her face but there's nothing she can do. The water outside of the ship calls to her and try as she might it doesn't come to her. He puts the small knife against her previously untouched face, the same as he did at the beginning. Instead of switching knives he brings it underneath her wide blue eyes. He pushes it into her cheek and draws a line down to her jaw. The blood mixes with tears as it pours down her face.
The door slams open. An angry fire bender charges in with fists blazing. It takes mere seconds for Zuko to survey the scene, Chang shocked and covered in blood, a knife in his meaty hands, Katara shaking behind him. His blood boils. She is his prisoner! He will not stand for this, no one hurts his prisoner!
"P-Prince Zuko, I-" The words barely leave Chang's mouth before Zuko's fiery fist had connected with it, the butcher crumbling beneath the prince's fury.
"You sick son of a bitch!" Chang tries to protect himself but his hands are burning and the blood splatter on his face is boiling. His screams rip the air. The prince doesn't hear or see the man at his feet clearly but looks through a red haze and hears bones crunch underneath his foot. Proper fire bending etiquette is forgotten as he kicks over and over and over again. The room heats up, the blood melting and running in little rivets before boiling.
Zuko keeps kicking.
"Zuko! Zuko!" Arms wrap around him and someone pulls the boy away from Chang. "Get him out of here!" Iroh orders. Soldiers drag the prince out, shouts echoing down the corridor. Iroh grabs Chang's knife and quickly cuts the straps holding Katara up before dropping the tool in disgust. He helps her down, her eyes not focused on him, not focused on anything and he quickly drapes his outer robe over her slender frame. "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry," Iroh mutters and leans forward to touch the cut on her face as if he can wipe it away. She flinches back, hardly registering the person in front of her.
. . .
Miles away Sokka grins ear to ear happy that his plan went so well. "We'll get you back safe and sound soon sis. I promise."
. . .
2019 edit: This chapter has bothered me since I wrote it. It's at least partially manageable now