Hello everyone! Here is the next chapter. Enjoy!

Some of the dialogue in this chapter comes from the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast. Can you spot it? :P

Much thanks to PurseMonger for going over this chapter for me!

Disclaimer: AtLA and Disney's Beauty and the Beast are not mine.

Chapter Eleven

In Which the Dragon Makes a Sacrifice

It was another surprisingly nice day outside. There were gray clouds covering the morning sky, but the sun could be seen from time to time. Katara was once again scavenging for any surviving herbs, but was not having much luck. She wished she could eat some fish or other seafood, but the lake was frozen solid and she did not want a repeat of what happened the last time she went near the lake. She would just have make do with the meat Zuko brought them.

A few weeks had passed since the black dragon had appeared in the hidden valley. Fortunately, the dragoness was no longer chasing after Zuko now that she found herself a mate. Unfortunately, Katara and Zuko could occasionally hear the dragons mating. Talk about awkward. She could only imagine how much more awkward it was for Zuko since his senses were more heightened than hers were.

The next time they had seen the pair after the fight, the black dragon had growled warningly at Zuko, but Zuko had ignored them as he stayed close to Katara. Once he realized the red dragon was not going to fight him for his female, the larger dragon was less hostile, but far from friendly. The female dragon, however, was more amicable toward them, crooning at them in greeting whenever they crossed paths.

The waterbender's thoughts returned to Zuko as they always seemed to do nowadays. Earlier that day, Zuko had taken them on another flight, taking advantage of the good weather, before he had to go hunt for his food. Being up in the sky was both exhilarating and relaxing, almost freeing. It was if they left their worries far below them. She no longer felt any trepidation being so close to his draconic body. Instead, being close to him brought a strange sense of warmth to her chest that she could not identify. Just being close to him made her happy…

She frowned at the confusing thought before she shook her head.

If only there was a way to break his curse, but unfortunately, she did not know how, which only aggravated her. Soon, she would need to find her brother and friends and return home. However, she refused to leave Zuko behind. She had to convince him to come with her. How they would make things work, she had no clue, but she was sure she would figure something out…maybe.

The sounds of loud yips and barks distracted the blue-eyed princess from her thoughts and she turned in the direction of the commotion with a small frown. The source of the sounds seemed to be coming from the mountain. Curious, she stuffed the few herbs she found into the front pocket of her parka as she cautiously made her way to the noise.

A few minutes later, she paused and stared in bewilderment at what seemed like the entrance to a cave. The entrance was large enough for a dragon to go through and the yips were definitely coming from inside. She didn't know there were other caves in the mountain. She hesitated as she frowned at the darkness. What if a dangerous animal was living inside? Perhaps it was for the best that she leave before whatever was inside attacked her.

Turning away, she began to make her way back to where she had been previously looking for herbs when she heard the squeaks echoing more loudly from within the darkness. She paused and turned around in both curiosity and apprehensiveness to see three winter weasel-foxes emerge from within the cave. The small creatures did not seem to notice her because they were busy pushing what looked like an egg.

A rather large egg.

Definitely bigger than any egg she had seen before, almost the size of a polar bear-puppy, if not a little bigger. Katara's eyes widened when she realized that it must be the mated dragons' egg. What else could produce such a big egg?

Wow, their gestation period must be very short, she mused mentally as she watched the animals try to roll the egg away from the cave.

Without thinking about it, she used some waterbending to shoot a couple of snowballs at their feet to scare them away in order to save the egg. The weasel-foxes yipped loudly in surprise as they jumped away, startled at the sudden onslaught. One of them noticed her and growled, prompting the other ones to do the same as they stood a few feet away from the egg. Katara again pelted a few more snowballs at them. She did not want to hurt them, just scare them away. Again, they yelped as they jumped further away, prompting Katara to move close to the egg and stand behind it protectively.

They growled at her as they shifted uncertainly, but she could see them glance at the egg hungrily, which was why they were not running away from her. However, they kept their distance as they stared at her warily, perhaps waiting for her to leave so they could get to the egg again.

Making sure to keep an eye on the animals, the princess glanced down at the egg at her feet. She frowned. She was pretty sure it was probably not a good idea for the egg to be in the snow for too long. Biting her lip uncertainly, she looked around her to see if she could spot the dragons anywhere nearby. They were probably out hunting if the weasel-foxes were able to get it out of the cave. Hesitantly, she bent down and carefully picked up the egg with both hands, causing the weasel-foxes to bark and yip angrily. She raised one arm and shot a few more snowballs in their direction, causing them to take several frightened steps back. She returned her attention to the egg, holding it as she would a baby.

It was slightly heavy and warm, which was surprising since she could feel the heat through her mittens. It was a pearly white with small specs of gray and black smattered along the smooth surface. Was there really a baby dragon inside? She needed to get it back inside the cave before its parents returned. She gulped. She was sure that they would be furious if they saw her with their egg.

She took a few steps toward the cave, but had to pause when the weasel-foxes bounded forward to block her path. They barked and growled at her, but made no move to attack. Katara frowned, wondering how she could finally chase them away so the egg could be safe.

Suddenly, something heavy dropped down behind her with a loud growl, causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand up in fear and her hands to tremble around the egg. She turned around slowly to see the mated dragons' angry snarls as they stood behind her. Eyes wide, Katara found herself frozen in place as the dragoness took a step forward with a roar, causing the weasel-foxes to let out frightened yelps as they turned tail and ran away.

"Katara!" she heard Zuko shout in her mind just as she heard him burst through the trees on the opposite side of the dragons.

Katara shut her eyes tightly when she saw the silver dragoness bent her head down, bracing herself from the pain of having those sharp fangs bite her flesh, absentmindedly hearing Zuko's furious roar somewhere in her mind.

However, the pain did not come and instead she felt the dragoness rub her snout against her head before pulling away. The waterbender opened her eyes slowly, disoriented, to see the dragoness staring down at her, emitting a soft crooning sound before she reached down to gingerly pick up the egg with her teeth.

Katara could only stare at her in confusion.

"I believe she just thank you for protecting her young," Zuko said as he observed the scene, folding his wings back against his sides and relaxing his tensed muscles, as he felt his previous fear of losing Katara subside at the dragoness' actions. He had raced toward Katara when he had scented the dragons nearing her location. His fear and anxiety increasing at the sound of their roars.

Before Katara could respond, she felt the dark dragon move closer to her, mimicking his mate's gesture of rubbing his muzzle against her head. Loud, puffs of his breath ruffled her hair and the scent of smoke tickled her nose.

"Uh, y-you're welcome," the waterbender stammered out, shocked at their almost gentle actions and surprised that they had somehow realized she had been protecting their egg.

The silver dragoness proceeded to carry their egg back to the cave and her mate followed immediately after her. Zuko and Katara watched in silent wonder as the pair disappeared within the cave before they looked at each other.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he moved swiftly toward her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she responded almost distractedly as she looked back at the cave before she looked up at Zuko. "You know, I don't think dragons are the murdering monsters everybody believes they are," she stated thoughtfully.

"I agree," the cursed prince responded before he slowly shook his head, "It is sad that they're close to extinction."

Katara frowned at his words. It was sad to think that such magnificent creatures would one day ceased to exist.

"I wish there was something I could do to help them," she added softly.

"Me too," Zuko responded before he growled out, "If only Azula's cruelty could be stopped."

Cold wind ruffled Zuko's dark hair as he flew through the darkening sky, his large wings beating steadily against his sides as his golden, reptilian eyes scanned the snowy ground below him. He had not been able to find any game for the past two days and he was becoming slightly worried. It was normal for animals to be scarcer during the winter season, but this was the first time he had been forced to venture further away from the mountain valley in search of meat.

He had a feeling it was probably because there were two more dragons feeding in the area. At first, he was concerned and slightly irritated at their invasion, but soon realized that he could not begrudge them. They had been forced away from their home, from the Fire Nation, just as he had, and they were just trying to survive. Therefore, he had decided to extend his hunting grounds in the hopes of finding more food.

Fortunately, Katara had enough food to last her for a couple of weeks once she dried the meat he had previously hunted. However, he needed larger amounts of food to feed his hunger, having a dragon's stomach and all.

Thinking of Katara always brought a pang to his chest, one of both rapture and trepidation. The time would soon come when they would have to part ways and there was nothing he could do to stop it. The woman he loved, his True Mate, would be out of his life and he would remain behind with nothing but memories and an intense longing for what could have been if his situation had been different…

If only there was some way he could break his curse. If only she could love him in return…He mentally frowned. Yet, that was impossible. How could she love someone like him? A broken, scarred man, a cursed and banished prince with nothing to offer her, a freak trapped in the body of a terrifying beast…

The sudden appetizing scent of cooked meat reached his senses, making him return his focus to his surroundings and bringing him out of his dark thoughts. His nostrils flared as he took another deep whiff of the amazing aroma, his eyes rapidly scanning below him for the possible source. Where was it coming from?

Increasing his speed as his curiosity rose, he flew forward toward two small mountains he had never seen before. He had been flying for a few hours. He was not sure how far he had flown from his cave and from Katara in his distraction.

The scent of meat increased, but other smells began to bombard his senses as he drew closer to the mountains. It took him a moment to realize the scents were associated to that of a human settlement. The sudden realization had him abruptly stopping, his wings beating rapidly and his body jerking forward, just as soon as he entered the valley between the two mountains. He held his breath, bracing himself for an attack, but relaxed when he realized the village was still miles away.

He hovered in the air as his keen eyesight caught sight of the human village nestled in the middle of a vale. There were several houses neatly arranged together, snow covering most of the wooden roofs and what seemed to be farmland on one side. Even from his distance, he could see people moving about as the sun lowered further in the horizon as night drew closer.

He mentally frowned at his discovery. He had not realized there was a village not too far from where he lived. If he was not careful, he could come across some of the village people whom he was sure would not hesitant to hunt him down and kill him, and inadvertently, the two mated dragons now living in his mountain along with their egg.

He narrowed his eyes before he flapped his wings and turned back around, wanting to leave the village before anyone spotted him. Memories flashed before his eyes of angry shouts, taunting laughter, and sharp weapons. He moved the muscles of his wings faster in order to put more distance between himself and the village, the strong wind slightly stinging his eyes.

When he knew he was at a safe distance, he began to slow down as his dark memories receded. He shook his head as he again focused on his hunt only to pause when a thought entered his mind.

A human village.

Perhaps they would be able to help Katara find refuge. She would have a roof over her head and a fire to warm her from the biting cold of his cave. And she would also have more food for her to eat. But most importantly, she would be able to finally find a way to her home…

A pang appeared in his chest at the thought of her leaving.

A part of him wanted to pretend he had never discovered the village, so Katara would continue to remain with him, so he would not lose her forever…

However, the reasonable part of him knew that was a selfish wish and it was not honorable for him to keep her with him when there was a possibility she could return to the comfort of her family and home.

If there was a way that he could help her, a way for him to make her happy, he would do it.

Even if it would hurt him in the end…

Mentally chuckling at Sokka's obvious and awkward attempts at flirting with Suki, Aang continued his task of grooming Appa's fur. The large sky-bison let out a pleased, rumbling groan, causing the airbender to smile. As if not wanting to be left out, Momo landed on Aang's bald head and chattered loudly. Laughing, the Air Nomad reached up to grab the flying-lemur and brought him down to eye-level.

"I'll get to you soon next, buddy," he said as he stared at Momo's large green eyes.

"You pamper them too much."

Toph's voice made Aang's gray eyes move in her direction. The small earthbender was lying lazily on the porch surrounding the small house they were staying in, while Sokka and Suki sat together a couple of feet away. Aang's heart skipped a beat as he stared at his new girlfriend. He still could not believe she had agreed to be his.

It had not been easy, especially considering that he had had a crush on Katara for many years and Toph felt she was not ready for a committed relationship. Eventually, it all worked out and they were very happy together. Despite being born blind, Toph did not let it impede her and her strength, both in her character and her earthbending, always made him strive to be a better person. However, he had agreed with Toph that they should keep their relationship a secret until everything worked out with Katara's plan. He did not know exactly why Katara hated the Ba Sing Se prince, but he knew there had to be a good reason, enough for her to decide to leave her home.

He frowned as he thought of the blue-eyed princess, wondering once again where she could be. Although he no longer had any romantic feelings for her, he still cared for Katara and he worried for her safety. Once Sokka was well enough (well, well enough with a still broken leg), a group of them had gone searching in the neighboring area for her, but to no avail.

He hoped she was all right, wherever she was, and he hoped they would be reunited with her soon.

He blinked when Momo began to squirm in his hold, making him realize he had still been holding the lemur as he lost himself in his thoughts. With a muttered apology, he let Momo go as he returned his attention to Toph. Before he could respond, he heard Sokka chuckle almost evilly.

"Why? You're jealous your boyfriend's not pampering you?" the water tribe warrior asked innocently, although the humor in his voice could not be mistaken.

Aang gaped at him while Toph sat up straight and sputtered a denial.

"Oh, come on!" Sokka laughed at their shocked expressions while Suki raised a hand to her mouth to hide her smile. "Did you guys actually think you were being subtle? I can barely sleep at night with the noises you—"

"Shut up!" Toph snapped as she jumped to her feet while at the same time she flicked her fingers forward.

A small pebble flew from the ground and smacked the laughing warrior on his forehead.

"Ack!" Sokka yelped at the painful impact. His hand flew to his forehead to rub the stinging spot as he glared at the now grinning earthbender. "Ow, what the hell, Toph?!"

"Why don't you mind your own damn business?" Toph retorted as she crossed her arms, a smirk curling her lips. "Or better yet, why don't you stop being an idiot and ask Warrior Princess to go out with you already? Your attempts at flirting are embarrassing."

"I…w-what…uh…?" Sokka sputtered this time as he turned wide eyes to the Kyoshi Warrior who was biting her lip to keep herself from laughing before he turned back to glare at the earthbender. "Shut up, Toph!"

Shaking his head as Toph and Sokka continued to taunt each other, Aang gave Suki an apologetic smile, which the Kyoshi Warrior returned with a good-natured shrug of her shoulders and a grin. Smiling, Aang returned his attention to the patiently waiting Appa. He was glad to see Sokka in better spirits. The warrior had been depressed the previous night when their search for Katara had yielded nothing. Again, the thought of the missing princess made the airbender frown as he looked up to the darkening sky.

He paused what he was doing and frowned more deeply as his eyes caught something in the distance. He could not make out what it was exactly, but he could definitely see something flying in the air.

"Hey guys," he interrupted the bickering pair, "Do you also see that in the sky over there?"

Sokka and Toph stopped mid-sentence at the airbender's question. Since she could not see, Toph could only cock her head to the side and scowl while Sokka and Suki squinted their eyes in the direction Aang was pointing.

"What? Do you mean that dark blob in the sky?" Sokka asked as he rubbed his chin. "Maybe it's a bird?"

"It's too big to be a bird from that distance," Suki replied as she stood up to stand next to Aang and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Before she could think about calling some of her warriors to help her investigate, she realized whatever was in the sky seemed to be getting smaller.

"I think it's flying away," Aang observed with a frown. Could it be another sky-bison? However, sky-bison herds rarely traveled away from the Air Temples.

A moment later, the mysterious object disappeared.

"Well, that was weird," Sokka spoke up as he again scratched his chin. "Whatever it was…it must have been huge."

Humming softly, Katara bent down and picked up another stick to add to her small pile. They would be perfect in skewering meat over the fire. That is if Zuko was able to have a good hunt today. It was getting harder to find game, especially now that there were two additional dragons within the vicinity.

A small smile curled her lips as she recalled how grateful the dragons had been when she had protected their egg a week ago. The female dragon now followed her occasionally, eating the berries Katara would collect when she wasn't looking, which the waterbender would playfully scold her for. The black dragon was more reserved than his mate was, but he would sometimes eat the berries she would offer him. They even let her near their egg a couple of times while Zuko watched from the sidelines. Who would have known that she would befriend three dragons? Well, technically, two dragons and a cursed prince.

Life was so peaceful right now that she sometimes forgot she had to return to her family. A little over a month had passed since the embarrassing incident with her monthly bleeding. She had gotten it again a few days ago, which had caused Zuko to keep his distance from her. At first, it had upset her, but he had later explained that the scent of too much blood was a bit disconcerting. So, she had let the matter drop and decided to sleep in her sleeping bag. Not only to spare his strong nose, but also because it was a bit awkward. However, her monthly bleeding had stopped last night and she had been looking forward to sleeping next to Zuko again.

She missed it.

However, she had not been expecting what he had told her that morning.

She paused in what she was doing to stare out into the woods, feeling a cold breeze blow her hair around her, causing her to shiver slightly. Zuko had told her that in a couple of days he would help her leave the valley so she could finally look for her brother and her friends. Apparently, he had spotted a village nestled between some mountains when he had gone on a longer hunt a few days ago. He was sure that she would be able to find help in the village before the worst of the winter season hit.

She had been so shocked at the realization that the thought of looking for Sokka and the others had not crossed her mind recently, but even more so that she found herself not wanting to leave. She wanted to stay. With Zuko.

Again, she wondered how that could be. They had really only known each other for a few months…but then again, in those months they had learned so much about each other and they had experienced some exciting and terrifying things. She had come to care so much for him. She still had not found a way to break his curse and if she left, he would live all alone again for who knew how long. The thought of leaving him pained her and she brought her hand up to rub her chest.

Shaking her head with a sigh, Katara bent down to pick up another stick. But maybe Zuko was tired of her and that was why he was willing to help her get back home by taking her to the village. That thought caused her eyes to prick with tears and she hastily rubbed at them, mentally berating herself for becoming emotional. She paused as she looked down at her booted feet with a frown.

Why did the thought hurt her so much, though?

Could it be that she liked him, even…loved him? She bit her lip and frowned. Could that even be possible when she did not even know how he looked like as a human? When they had not known each other that long? She was so confused…

The sudden sound of a twig snapping loudly to her left had her spinning in that direction. She held her breath as she listened more carefully, her eyes quickly scanning her surroundings. She felt the hair at the back of her neck stand on end at the feeling of being watched. She slowly moved into a defensive stance as she looked suspiciously into the silent trees. Maybe it was nothing. When she did not hear anything else, she began to relax slightly only to immediately tense up when the sound of footsteps reached her ears at the same time she saw shadows moving away from the cover of the trees.

To her horror, she watched incredulously as the man she never wanted to see ever again stepped into the clearing with six other men following behind him. His Dai Li agents.

No, this could not be…

How? How had he found her?!

She felt her breathing accelerate in sudden fear as memories flashed through her mind, her arms tightening almost painfully around the pile of sticks she had collected as if to protect herself. She mentally shook her head and forced herself to calm down. She was not weak. She would not give him the satisfaction of believing that she would cower from him. Squaring her shoulders and standing straight, she stared into his dark eyes with a cold expression on her face.

"What are you doing here…Jet?" she asked icily as she glared at him with all the hatred she felt for the arrogant man.

Jet let a smirk appear on his face as his eyes raked the beautiful princess' body before he looked back into her blue eyes. He did not let the fact that she was glaring at him deter him. Finally, he had found her.

"I've been looking everywhere for you, gorgeous," he rasped smoothly as he took a step forward. He paused when she took a step back. "Your father asked for my help, after all, I'll soon be his son-in-law."

"Not if I can help it," Katara hissed angrily.

Jet let out a short laugh at her words.

"You have no choice, dearie," he responded with a condescending smirk.

Katara gritted her teeth in mounting rage at his arrogance even as her eyes scanned for any possible escape routes.

"How did you find me?" she asked, trying to stall so she could figure a way out of this situation without putting herself and Zuko in danger.

Jet shrugged and waved his hand nonchalantly in front of him.

"We came across some idiotic hunter saying something about a dragon and a waterbending woman in the mountains. I had to come check it out since your trail had run cold." He narrowed his eyes at his last sentence before he smiled. "Seems my instincts were correct. Now come along, Katara. Your father is worried sick about you."

At his words, Katara felt her chest tightened in guilt and concern for worrying her father. She had not wanted to hurt him. She just wanted to protect herself.

"Where's Sokka?"

The sudden question startled Katara out of her thoughts.

"We…became separated during a storm," she reluctantly admitted as her worry for her brother and friends rose.

Jet frowned at her words before he mentally shrugged. He really did not care what happened to that idiot brother of hers. He reached out a hand to her and smiled charmingly.

"Well, it's time for you to come with me, so I can take you home," he purred almost sensually.

Katara narrowed her eyes at him.

"I have a feeling you don't mean the Southern Water Tribe, so my answer is no," she replied coldly.

She did not trust Jet. He had proven himself to be a dishonorable man and she would be a fool to go with him. Besides, she did not want to leave Zuko.

Another smirk appeared on Jet's lips.

"Not only are you beautiful, but smart too," he remarked.

He grinned when his comment only earned him another glare.

"Now come with me," he repeated in a smooth voice although there was a commanding tint to his tone that made Katara's hackles rise.

"I won't," she responded firmly before she bit out angrily, "I don't feel safe traveling alone with you as an escort after what you tried to do last time."

Jet could feel his eye twitch at her words, feeling his good mood at finding her turning into annoyance at her stubbornness.

"It really doesn't matter since we're getting married and all," he replied with another wave of his hand.

"I am not marrying you!" she hissed, her azure eyes narrowed. "I never want you to touch me."

Ignoring her words, Jet quickly moved toward her, intent on grabbing her arm and dragging her with him if necessary. He watched as she dropped the pile of sticks to the snowy ground. His first thought was that she was going to run away, but instead she lifted one of her arms. His eyes widened when a stream of snow rose toward him and he barely managed to jump back to avoid being hit on the chest. He looked back at the woman in shock before he clenched his jaw. How dare she attack her future husband?

"Stop it," he growled out.

"No," she replied steadfastly.

The Earth Prince narrowed his eyes. He did not have time for this. They had been warned that the mountains would become too dangerous to navigate through soon. They needed to leave and make their way back to Ba Sing Se. He was tired of traveling and he wanted to enjoy his luxurious life with Katara in his bed.

"Get her," he ordered his men.

At his command, the Dai Li agents rushed forward to grab her.

Katara's eyes widened at the advancing men, but she braced herself and summoned what knowledge she had about defending herself with her element. She managed to get them to back off by swirling snow at them, aiming at their feet to make them lose their balance, batting them away with waterwhips when they got too close. They circled her slowly, eyeing her with expressionless faces. She knew they were hesitant to attack her because of her royal status, but she also knew that they were loyal to Jet and they would do what he wanted.

"You know I'm making it easy for you now because I don't want you to get hurt," Jet called out tauntingly, "You know you can't win against them."

Katara gritted her teeth at his words, knowing he was right. The Dai Li were trained fighters while she only had minimal knowledge of how to use waterbending to attack. Yet, she refused to back down. She refused to surrender to Jet and let him hurt her. But most of all, she refused to leave Zuko behind.

"You can't force me to go with you," she said vehemently before she returned his taunt with one of her own, "Are you using your men to help you because you don't have any bending abilities?"

Jet let out a growl at her words and his hands clenched at his sides at the jab. Although he was the prince of the greatest city in the Earth Kingdom, he had been born without any earthbending abilities, which had been a great shame to his parents. Therefore, they had insisted he become proficient in swordplay. He was especially skilled with the hook swords, which he currently had strapped to his back. His patience was wearing thin. It was time Katara realized that she belonged to him and that there was no escape for her.

"Restrain her," he ordered one of his men.

One of the Dai Li agents pulled something from within his sleeve and flicked his arm forward. Before Katara could react, stone manacles shackled her wrists. Gasping, she looked down at them in bewilderment as she felt the pull of her element suddenly vanish. Panicking, she threw her hands forward, willing the snow around her to ram into the men. But to her shock, nothing happened.

"What have you done?" she asked desperately, her eyes wide in horror.

"Don't worry, my dear," Jet purred as he slowly moved forward. "Your chi was just temporarily blocked. Your bending is suppressed for now."

Katara stared at him wide-eyed before she looked back down at her wrists. She didn't know they could that! No, she could not let him win…she had to escape! Without another word, she turned on her heel and raced toward the cover of the trees, away from the clearing. To her dismay, she could hear Jet running close behind her, and a moment later, he tackled her to the ground. She cried out at the hard impact, but immediately began to struggle to get back on her feet.

"Let me go!" she screamed as she kicked and bucked under him.

Chuckling, Jet turned her roughly around and straddled her middle, grabbing her wrists and pinning them down on the cold ground. He smirked down at her angry face, amused at her attempts to break free from his hold. It was no use. He was physically stronger and heavier than her.

"You'll get used to lying beneath me," he whispered huskily.

Instead of feeling fear, Katara felt her ire flare up at his words and at her inability to fight him off her. How dare he treat her this way?! She hated him. He was a chauvinistic, arrogant bastard, who only wanted her for her body. He did not care for her and he certainly did not care about her happiness.

"Once we marry, I will have to keep your waterbending suppressed," he mused as he watched her renew her efforts to escape, coming quite close to hitting his groin, "I can't have a wife stronger than me."

"Coward," she hissed as she struggled to free herself from his almost painful grip. If only she could free her hands so she could scratch his eyes out!

He ignored her insult as he turned his head to address his awaiting men.

"Bring me some rope to tie her with for now," he ordered before he returned his attention to the angrily thrashing princess, "Can't have you escaping, now can we?"

She froze at his words and her eyes quickly shifted to the side when she saw one of the men walk away to do Jet's bidding. No, she had to do something to escape! Panic set within her at what Jet would do to her if they managed to take her away.

"Zuko!" she mentally screamed in terror, hoping he had not gone too far in his hunt. She had not wanted to get him involved, but he was the only one who could help her.

"Tonight I will have you," Jet's throatily whispered words made her shiver in disgust. "I can't wait any longer. And once I make you mine, you will have no choice but to marry me if you don't want to bring shame upon your family."

Tears of frustration and powerlessness stung Katara's eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She refused to let him see her cry.

"I would rather die," she replied coldly as she glared up at him before she added with a deadly whisper of her own, "Or better yet, I will kill you first."

Jet frowned at her words, but before he could respond to her threat, a terrifying loud roar disrupted the silence. The deafening rumble made everybody freeze before a moment later something huge dropped down on the clearing, causing the ground to tremble. Jet and the men gaped up at the large red dragon looming over them, a vicious snarl on its face, flaming sparks coming out from between its sharp, white fangs.

To Katara, Zuko's draconic body was a welcome sight and it sent a rush of relief and warmth throughout her body.

The sight that greeted Zuko, however, made him see red.

He had been making his way back to the mountain after a successful hunting trip when Katara's sudden fearful scream of his name echoing in his head made him drop his kill. Worried for her safety, he had zipped through the air in search of her. He had caught her scent mixed with other humans and his anxiety had only increased, causing him to beat his wings even faster, until he found her.

An unfamiliar man was holding Katara down beneath him and he could see the panic in her expression as she stared up at him. Such a sight made an intense rage tighten his chest. With a thunderous roar, he lifted his head and shot fire into the air to get the man to back away from Katara. Then he took a menacing step forward, growling low in his throat as he glared murderously at the men, smelling their fear rolling off them in waves.

Jet jumped to his feet and dragged Katara up with him as he did so, holding her upper arm tightly as he moved them back. He did not notice her struggles to break free of his hold as he stared up nervously at the growling dragon. He had never seen a dragon before, but he had heard the terrible stories of the vicious animals.

"So the hunter had been right," he muttered with a slow curse before he turned to his frozen men. "Kill the beast!" he shouted.

"No!" Katara screamed as she watched the Dai Li rush forward after a brief hesitation. "Zuko!"

"I'm coming for you!" Zuko yelled mentally as he countered the boulders being hurled his way with fireballs or swipes of his clawed hands.

As the Dai Li agents continued to attack Zuko, Katara turned to glare at Jet, who was shrewdly observing the fight.

"Tell them to stop!" she ordered fiercely as she clawed at his hand so he could release her, "Don't hurt him!"

"Shut up and stay still!" Jet growled as he tightened his hold on her arm almost brutally.

Suppressing a pained wince, the princess glared angrily up at him, but he was not looking at her. Taking advantage of his distraction, she threw her free arm up and punched him square in the jaw, causing him to stumble back with a pained shout, then she brought her knee sharply up between his legs. She watched in satisfaction as he cried out and doubled over in pain, effectively making him release her. Without a background glance, she raced toward Zuko, ignoring the slight pain in her hand from punching Jet.

"Stop!" she heard Jet scream in panic after her.

One of the men tried to grab her as she raced past him, but she easily sidestepped him and continued on her path. The other men stopped attacking when they realized the Southern Water Tribe princess had entered the fray, not wanting to accidentally hurt her. They watched in horror as she ran closer to the fearsome dragon only to be amazed when the dragon stopped his flames and crouched protectively around the princess while she hugged one of his large forelegs.

"What are you doing?!" Jet yelled incredulously as he slowly staggered to his feet, wincing at the pain still throbbing in his groin. "Come back here before you get killed!"

The red dragon snarled wrathfully at him, causing Jet to stumble back a step in fear.

Katara reached forward to touch the side of Zuko's face, trying to calm him down, before she turned to glare at Jet.

"I'm not going with you," she responded in a firm and icy tone, "You should leave while you still have a chance."

Jet took an angry step forward while his men moved slowly back to form a protective circle around him. What was she doing? How could she stand being near such an ugly beast? The dragon must be mind-controlling her or something because he couldn't believe she would rather stay in this wasteland than go with him.

"No stupid dragon is going to take what's mine!" the Earth Prince shouted with a raised fist as he scowled at the dragon.

Something snapped in Zuko's mind at the man's words and an almost animalistic instinct made him want to rip the stranger to shreds.

"Not yours! Katara is mine! Mine!" Zuko roared angrily, sparks flying out from his fanged mouth as he glared murderously at the man, his lips pulled back in a ferocious snarl.

Katara gaped up at Zuko, not sure how to react to those words—almost possessive in nature—or even sure what he meant by them. She shivered at his fierceness. Why did Zuko calling her his make her heart race while it had only angered her when Jet had uttered the same words?

"Zuko," she breathed out softly.

She felt her heart pounding as something as hope appeared in her chest. Could he…have feelings for her…? The thought made her body thrum in elation before she quickly dismissed her reaction. What was wrong with her? Now was not the time for such things. She returned her attention to Jet to see he was still scowling and she remembered that they would not have heard Zuko's words. To them, he was just a mindless dragon.

From his spot, Jet 'tsked' in annoyance as his mind raced with ways to get rid of the pest and capture Katara. He still did not understand how the dragon had not killed her yet, but he was not willing to risk it changing its mind and harming his future bride.

"Attack the dragon," he ordered his men in a low voice.

When he felt them hesitate, he added impatiently, "Attack it, but make sure no harm comes to Princess Katara."

Without a word, the Dai Li agents sprang forward simultaneously, their long braids whipping behind them, as their hands made several earthbending motions. Boulders shot up from the ground toward the crimson dragon.

Zuko braced himself as he watched the men move toward them, his eyes narrowed calculatingly, watching their every move.

"Run!" he mentally told Katara as he spat fireballs to destroys the boulders. "Head back to the cave!"

"I won't run away and hide!" was her fervent reply, "I won't leave you to face them alone!"

The cursed prince felt his heart constrict at her firm words, but inwardly frowned at her stubbornness. He did not have time to argue with her.

"Then stand back," he ordered before he added more gently, "I don't want to accidentally hurt you."

Katara bit her lip to hold back a retort. She wanted to help, but she knew she would only be in the way. She looked down to glare at the stone manacles around her wrists. If only she could use her waterbending. If only she knew how to fight. Then she would have been able to take care of Jet and his men by herself and Zuko would not be caught in the middle.

"Okay," she responded reluctantly. "Be careful."

Moving away from under the protection of his draconic body, the princess raced toward the edge of the trees, covering her head with her arms from the heat of Zuko's fire and raining pieces of rock. Once there, she turned back to anxiously watch Zuko fighting off the Dai Li agents. She breathed a sigh of relief when Zuko easily destroy the men's attacks with his fire breath or his tail. She held her breath when one of the men planted his hands on the ground and the earth around Zuko's feet surge upward. Fortunately, Zuko quickly leapt up in the air before the ground could encase his legs. With a roar, he shot a fireball at the man.

The Dai Li agent tried to raise a rock wall to protect himself, but the powerful blast had him flying several feet back to where Jet was standing, fuming silently. He ran towards the man, who was slowly getting back to his feet. Jet placed a firm hand on his shoulder and the agent stared at him wide-eyed.

"Aim a boulder at Princess Katara and then at the last second change it to a spike," he ordered under his breath.

"M-my prince?" the man stammered incredulously.

"I know what I'm doing," Jet growled as he roughly pulled the man to his feet.

The agent only hesitated slightly before he rejoined the fight, knowing he could not disobey orders.

Jet looked back to where Katara was standing on the opposite side of the clearing. He narrowed his eyes at her anxious expression as she watched the dragon. Was she really worried for the monster? He recalled the hunter's words about how the dragon seemed to protect the woman like a treasure. If this was true, then the dragon would do anything to protect her.

Zuko had just broken through an earth wave with a sharp swipe of his tail when he saw the man he had blasted away before punch a boulder toward Katara. With a horrified roar, he lunged himself toward her frozen frame, thinking he would be able to take the hit easily. His eyes widened in shock when the boulder suddenly changed into a spike. Unable to twist away in time, he bellowed as the sharp point imbedded itself on the soft scales of his chest, just a few inches away from his heart, and sent him flying back. With a pained roar, he crashed down against some trees, sending wood fragments and snow in every direction.

"Zuko!" Katara shrieked in panic as she ran toward him.

No, no, no! she mentally chanted.

She was just a few feet away from where Zuko had landed when she felt an arm grab her around the middle and pull her back. The sudden momentum had her jerking forward with a surprised cry. She looked up with a glare to see one of the agents looking warily in Zuko's direction.

"How dare you! Let me go!" she demanded as she struggled against his hold.

Before she could escape, however, another of the agents came forward and grasped her other arm, the two holding her captive. Her eyes widened when she felt herself being dragged away.

"Let me go!" she screamed angrily as she struggled against their grip, digging her heels into the snow to no avail. Her eyes darted forward in panic to see Zuko struggling to his feet, the spike protruding grotesquely from his chest. "I need to go to him! I need to save him! Please!"

But they ignored her as they continued to drag her toward Jet and away from the injured, cursed prince.

"Zuko!"

At Katara's scream of his name, Zuko forced himself to his feet, ignoring the excruciating pain in his chest at his concern for her safety. He panted as dark spots floated before his eyes and his legs threatened to give under him from the pain radiating from his chest. His eyes narrowed into dangerous slits at the way they were treating Katara and his rising rage overpowered his pain. With a loud growl, he grasped the stone spike within his clawed-hand and pulled hard. He groaned in pain as blood spurted down his chest and onto the white snow beneath him from the gaping hole before he threw the spike away from him.

"Let her go!" he demanded, even though they would not understand him. How dare they lay their hands on Katara!

With a furious roar that shook the very air around them, he charged forward with a strong flap of his large wings, intent on punishing the men and saving the woman he loved.

At the frightening sound, the men holding the princess instinctively let her go and they scattered at the sight of the enraged dragon bearing down on them.

Jet stood frozen in shock. How was the damn animal still alive?! Instead of chasing after the men, the dragon stopped as he neared the waterbender, crouching protectively over her while a menacing snarl furrowed his face, golden eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, sparks flying from his mouth, even though blood continued to pour out of his wound.

"What are you doing?!" Jet screamed at his men, who stood at a safe distance away from the angry dragon. "Kill it!"

The words had barely left his mouth when two more roars echoed in the clearing. The men froze in terror when two more dragons, a black and a silver one, flew over them, causing their braids and clothes to whip around them. They watched as the dragons turned back around to hover in the air behind the red dragon and the princess. The silver dragon let out a roar while the black dragon spat fire at the men, who barely manage to scramble out of the way.

Zuko and Katara looked up in relief at the sight of the two dragons coming to their aide.

Jet growled when he realized they were losing. There was no way they would be able to defeat three dragons. As much as he hated to admit it, they needed to retreat for now and regroup.

"Retreat!" he ordered as he began to back away while his men once again moved to form a protective circle around him. When he caught Katara's gaze, he growled under his breath.

"This isn't over, Katara!" he warned.

Katara, Zuko, and the dragons watched the group disappear among the dense trees. The waterbender scowled deeply at Jet's parting words before she quickly turned around when she heard Zuko let out a pained groan before he collapsed on the snowy ground beside her.

"Zuko!" she screamed as she scrambled to his side.

The mated dragons landed next to them and crooned worriedly as they crowded closer.

Katara let out a loud gasp as she took in the full extent of his injury. The wound was large and blood was pouring rapidly out of it, coating the golden scales of his smooth, scaly chest and seeping into the snow beneath, immediately turning it red. Tears began to flow from Katara's eyes as her hands hovered over his bloody wound.

"Zuko," she called to him in a trembling tone, feeling her chest constrict at the amount of blood pouring out of the wound. "Oh, this is all my fault. If I hadn't run away from home, this wouldn't have happened…"

"Shh, don't say that," he said as he weakly lifted his head to brush his snout against her head. "I couldn't let you get hurt."

Katara bit back a sob at his words. His voice was too soft, too low, like he was too far away.

"Don't worry," she said rapidly as she desperately stared into his eyes, "I'll save you! I…I just need…"

She looked down at her shackled wrists with a furious glare as they impeded her from calling forth her healing powers. She clenched her fists tightly, willing her waterbending to respond so she could heal him, but all she felt was an emptiness. Nothing. She could feel her eyes water with more tears, and it took all she had not to break down in despair.

"I've lost too much blood," Zuko stated calmly, although inwardly he was cursing his fate. It seemed that happiness was something that was not meant for him. "Maybe it's better this way."

"Don't talk like that," she shushed him as she placed her hands on either side of his maw and held his gaze. She sniffed and her voice trembled. "You'll be all right. Everything's going to be fine. You'll see."

She could still save him, she though stubbornly, frantically.

"Can you break the stone manacles?" she asked softly.

Lying on his side, Zuko could feel his body weakening and he knew that it was too late for him. He was not going to make it. However, seeing Katara's determined expression as she stared at him almost pleadingly made him want to hold on and keep fighting for his life. Slowly, he lifted one of his claws, mentally groaning in pain at the movement. He watched as Katara quickly lifted her hands up to him. Carefully, he managed to slice through the stone cuffs with his sharp claw and they watched as they dropped down onto the snow.

Without a moment to spare, Katara immediately summoned some of the melting snow beneath them to her hands, feeling a rush of relief and determination at being able to waterbend again. The water gloves enveloping her hands began to glow and she pressed them to the large hole in his chest, summoning more water to cover the entire wound, even as blood continued to flow.

"Please, please, please," she whispered as she moved her hands over the wound, her eyes scrutinizing her work as she willed the healing water to close it. She looked up at Zuko's face to see that his eyes were drooping close.

"Fight it, Zuko!" she pleaded, even as the large, gaping wound began to slowly close. Too slow for her comfort. "Please! Stay with me!"

Zuko could hear her words, but they sounded muffled, as if he were underwater. His body felt lethargic and he was so, so sleepy, but he refused to give in so easily. A spark of anger ignited in his chest as his misfortune. It seemed the curse not only affected his body, but the curse also robbed him of any chance of happiness. He needed to tell her how he felt, however. It was his only chance and, even though she didn't feel the same way, she needed to know that she had made him happy, however briefly that happiness had lasted.

"I am grateful that I got to know you," he mentally told her, "I am sorry that I will have to leave you…"

"You won't!" the waterbender cried out as she willed her healing water to work faster before she whispered, "You can't…"

Zuko closed his eyes at her desperate plea before he opened them again to lock eyes with her. Even as he felt his consciousness fading, he could still feel that intense pull towards her.

"Katara, I…" he began before he paused. Taking a deep breath, he softly confessed, "I love you."

Katara inhaled sharply at his words, her eyes widening as she held his golden gaze, feeling her heart hammering in her chest.

"Zuko…" she breathed his name, at a loss for words even as she felt elation war with her distress.

"You're the only woman I've ever loved," he confessed even as he felt his heart begin to slow down and his vision begin to darkened, "And the only thing I regret is that I won't be able to show it to you…"

"No, stay with me!" Katara shouted desperately as she scrambled forward so she could grasped onto the sides of his jaw, the glowing water splashing down his chest. "Zuko! Please!"

Through a haze, Zuko could just make out her lovely face and the brilliant, azure of her eyes before everything went black.

Katara watched in horror as his eyes closed and his head slipped from her hands to land with a heavy thump on the ground.

"Zuko!" she screamed as she threw herself at him, desperately wrapping her arms around his head while the mated dragons made some whining noises. Tears flowed freely down Katara's cheeks as she buried her face against the scaly skin of his cheek.

"Don't leave me, please!" she sobbed loudly, "I don't want to live without you!"

She pulled back slightly to see that his eyes were still closed and his body was lifeless. A wave of grief hit her and she let out a pained moan. No, this could not be! She could not lose him. Especially because…because…

Tears blurred her vision once again and a broken sob escaped her as she finally admitted to herself what she had felt for him all along.

She lowered her head to place a trembling kiss to the side of his mouth as she whispered, "I love you."

A/N: Evil cliffhanger!

~alwaysZutarian