I ran to Zuko and threw my arms around him. I buried my face in his neck and breathed in his scent. He always smelled bittersweet, a bit like burning wood.
Firebender. That would make sense.
"Katara!" Sokka yelled jarring me from my thoughts. I didn't lift my head.
"Katara?" I heard QuaMae say from the cabin. I lifted my head a few centimeters. Aang was watching us with an open mouth.
Zuko was alone on our ship but Fire Nation soldiers were lined up on his ship floating a few meters away.
Zuko looked startled, but he put his arms around me and squeezed me gently.
"Katara, what are you doing here?" he asked sounding happy.
"Get your hands off my sister!" Sokka yelled and threw his boomerang at Zuko.
Zuko shoved me to his side and quickly sliced the boomerang in half with some Fire Bending. Ge stopped it from hitting him a few cemtinmeters away from his face nose.
Unfortunately, that must've been the cue for Zuko's soldiers. They boared our ship and in seconds we were swamped by soldiers.
Sokka ran yelling up to Zuko and used the handle of his sword to hit him on his head, rendering him unconscious.
"Zuko!" I screamed as he collasped to the ground. I cradled him as the battle raged around me.
In seconds, our men, QuaMae, Aang, and Sokka were being held back by the soldiers. Since Zuko was unconscious, Zuko's uncle, Iroh, was in charge. Everyone was being led onto the Fire Nation ship. As prisoners.
"I can't belive you, Katara!" QuaMae shrieked as she was dragged away. "You're a spy for the Fire Nation! I knew we shouldn't have trusted you!"
I couldn't take it. Colored dots swam before my eyes. All of the sounds I was hearing grew fainter and a buzzing in my ears escalated as I sank into the darkness.
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I woke up slowly.
I was in a room.
No, a cell.
I sat up. Sokka, Aang, and QuaMae were in my cell.
"What happened?" I asked.
Silence.
"You sold us out!" QuaMae finally spat out
"What?" I gasped.
"Katara. How did you know that man?" Sokka asked, his voice shaking. He was dead serious. He was never serious.
"Sokka, I—"
"HOW DID YOU KNOW HIM?" Sokka screamed at me. Aang shrank back from all of us while QuaMae kept up her glare.
I dropped my head.
"I…was his slave…in the Fire Court."
"She was in the Fire Court," QuaMae said skeptically. She laughed harshly. "She was in the FIRE COURT! See? I was right, Sokka."
"Right? Right about what?" I asked in terror.
"You are a spy. He planted you here to sell us all out!"
It hit me like a sack of bricks.
They thought I had led the Fire Nation right to them. They thought I had betrayed them. But I hadn't! I wanted to scream.
I could barely breathe. I managed to get out one word.
"Sokka," I choked out, looking at him. His eyes were hard and his face was set.
And then the worst thing that could have happened right then happened.
"Let me pass! I am the prince! This is my ship!"
They looked away from me for a second.
Zuko came in through the door. Their eyes snapped back to me.
"Katara!" His eyes widened when he saw me. "What are you doing here? There must've been some mistake. Guards! Release her immidiately!"
The door to the cell was opened and I was let out. Zuko took my elbow and started to lead me out. I could feel the burning glare of the others.
"Wait…" I said before running back to Sokka.
"Sokka, I didn't do it!" I whispered urgently to him.
He glared at me.
"Screw you, Katara. But he's already got it covered, doesn't he?"
I backed away from him in horror. Zuko mistook my misery for coming back to him. He took my elbow again and he led me away.
I knew they were glaring at me. My throat ached and my eyes felt like someone had poured sand in them. It took all of my strength to not burst into tears.
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(A/N Yeah, I hate Sokka right now, too.)
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Zuko took me to a room that was meant for passengers.
"This room is for you," Zuko told me. I sat down on the bed and he sat next to me, sensing something wasn't quite right.
"Zuko, what's going on?"
"Well, er, do you remember that Father said for me to come home, I had to capture the Avatar?"
I nodded.
"Well, you were traveling with the Avatar. I didn't know you were on that ship," he said looking pained. "I wouldn't have boarded it if I'd known."
He took a deep breath and continued.
"I wanted the Avatar in peace, so I boarded your ship alone. My soldiers were on the side, waiting to protect me if I was attacked. I didn't want anyone hurt. But when your brother threw that boomerang at me, they took the cue and attacked."
"What happened to everyone? I only saw Sokka, Aang, and QuaMae in there?" I had to ask.
"No lasting harm was done. Katara… I'm so sorry."
I closed my eyes in pain.
"She thinks I'm a spy," I whispered.
"Who thinks you're a spy?" he asked.
"QuaMae. The girl with us, the one in makeup. She thinks I'm a spy." The tears I had tried so hard to hold back started to squeeze out through my eyes.
"Katara," he said. He took my hand in his.
"She was going to be my sister," I said softly.
"Katara, it wasn't your fault. If I had known you were there, I wouldn't have gone near the ship."
His eyes pleaded with me. I snatched my hand out of his.
"I don't believe you."
He left me.
I crawled under the covers and buried my face into the pillow. The trickle of wetness coming from my eyes turned into an ocean of tears and soaked my pillow.
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