Disclaimer: Okay, everyone!!! How about a cheer to raise our spirits!!!

Two, four, six, eight!
Who has avatar on their plate?!
Not me! Not me!!
Yay not me!!!

I came up with that right off the top of my head! Yay me! Sorry it sucks.

Chapter 5- Unexpected Generosity

Sokka groaned as his eyelids started to flutter and he tried to sit up. His head throbbed, and although the room was dark, he slowly opened his eyes to take in his new environment. He was surrounded on all sides by metal, obviously Fire Nation. There was a gentle rocking sensation and small portholes in the wall behind him. The wall before him was made of bars, a door to one side to admit his captor, torturers, whoever would be coming to visit. At first he didn't see Aang, but a groaning from the area to the right told him the Avatar was in a cell of his own. The brig was dank, and smelled faintly of some sort of fungus. At least, Sokka hoped it was fungus.

"Hey, Aang? You ok?" Sokka whispered quietly. A muffled, but relatively affirmative answer was all he got. "Did they gag you?" The grumbling was the same as the last. Sokka was about to continue when he heard a door being opened and closed somewhere down the hallway that led to the brig.

Footsteps preceded the entrance of the woman who led their capture.

"I see you have awakened." She came to a stop before their cells and began pacing menacingly across the floor, stalking back and forth like a lioness approaching its kill. Now that Sokka could get a good look at her, he saw that despite the fact that she had a voice that commanded authority like that of a seasoned war general, she couldn't be much older than he. Fourteen, fifteen at the oldest. The girl clad in a firebender's uniform stood before him and the young Avatar. Her eyes were cold, and she stood with a natural air of superiority.

"Who are you?" Sokka demanded after a moment of contemplative silence. He wasn't completely sure how to handle this woman. His head still pounded from being knocked out. The lioness stopped pacing and stood between the two captives.

"I am Princess Azula of the Fire Nation!" Her voice was frighteningly calm, and she smiled smugly at her own title. "You might want to be a little more polite to me. I could order my men to throw you overboard," she threatened in an even voice. "Or I could have them give you forty lashes, or have you keelhauled, or maybe they'll just cut out your tongue to keep you from bothering me with you blather."

"Couldn't you just drop us off at the next port?" Sokka was never without his sarcastic optimism. It's worth a try, he hoped, knowing it could never be that easy.

"Of course!" she exclaimed as her face brightened, and Sokka's did the same. "When we reach the Fire Nation, I will gladly let you off my ship." Sokka's grin dropped, disappointed. The woman continued, her voice mocking the Water Tribe fellow. "And then you will be taken before the great Fire Lord Ozai and then thrown in the dungeon." This woman was pure evil. "I suppose you could pretend you're free between the ship and the Fire Lord," she mentioned, a sneer creeping across her face.

"Are you related to Prince Zuko? You two act a lot alike," Sokka commented after a moment of inspection. He could hear Aang mumbling his agreement next door.

The princess's eyes, already cold, grew steely as well. A colder sight had never been seen even by the Water Tribe boy in the South Pole. The royal teen had emotions less stable than a toddler on a patch of ice. "I am nothing like that traitorous hog monkey!" How so much rage could be focused into such an even voice will never be known. "He betrayed his nation while I loved and honored it. "Why do you think Father likes me best?"

The sunlight streaming through the window shone on Katara's face and forced her awake. She felt a presence behind her and rolled over very carefully, as her side was still tender.

"Get up. Follow me," Zuko ordered simply.

"Follow you wearing what? A bed sheet?" Katara was in no mood to be trifled with. She had been stabbed, she almost drowned, and now she was being ordered around by a spoiled brat. She knew that although she was a prisoner, he wouldn't hurt her, because that boy with the one-track mind needed her to use as bait for the Avatar. Zuko stalked off, fuming a bit, and brought her back a black silk robe, obviously too big for her, but the sash would keep it sufficiently closed, and tossed it roughly into her lap. "Could I have a little privacy?" she asked, snippily.

"Fine," he grumbled under his breath, turning to face the door. She slipped out of the bed and wrapped the robe around her, securely tying the sash to keep the front closed.

"And my-" Katara started, but turning to her ankle, she saw the shackle was already removed.

"What? Your binding? I did that as soon as I came in here. I was hoping it would wake you, but you just kept snoring. I feel like I've been standing here for ages. I have more important things to be doing," he mumbled, stepping forward to grab her arm and lead her out of the room. Katara humphed and followed him out of the sick bay, trying not to stumble. The stitches in her side were re-sewn and re-wrapped, and caused her only minor discomfort. She was still a little weak, although she had regained some of her strength over the few days she spent in bed.

Katara was thinking while she was dragged behind Zuko. "You watched me sleep?"

How does she do that? How does she come up with the one thing that would disturb me, he thought irritably. He composed himself and answered, "I wasn't watching you sleep. I was waiting for you to wake up."

"What's the difference?"

"I don't have to explain myself to a lowly water peasant!" he snapped as he spun to face her, his hand becoming uncomfortably tight on her forearm. She was trying his nerves. He got enough of that from his uncle. He slowed their pace, noticing her increasingly shallow breathing, and hoped they would walk down the long hallway in silence after that. Hoped.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked innocently as he turned down another corridor.

"My uncle, apparently your new best friend," he said, almost viciously, "thinks that you need a room all to yourself. I insisted upon a cell in the brig and he compromised. You get a room with bars on the windows and a guard in front of your locked room at all times." God, I hate my uncle sometimes. Approaching the door with a guard to one side of the entryway, he stopped. "My room is next door and if you need anything, don't ask," he said coldly, pushed her into the room, and left.

The plain square room was furnished with basic bedroom furniture. There was a small bed in the far corner with a warm blanket at its foot, and a little table with an oil lamp atop it beside the bed. On the wall to the left, she found a dresser with five drawers, three that stretched the entire width of the dresser and two half sized ones at the top, which would have been useful if only she had any other clothing. Above the dresser was a small plain mirror with a thin wooden frame. The only other piece of furniture in the room was a small wooden chair under the only window. Katara walked over to the chair and looked out at the sea through the bars.

It had been a week since she tried to escape. She had strengthened quickly after that day, a great desire to escape driving her to overcome the pain. I will escape.

Uncle Iroh had pulled a few strings with his nephew, besides pushing a few buttons, and had made it possible for Katara to wander around the ship, but of course that stubborn boy made sure the guard was always with her. She was allowed onto the deck to play Pai Cho with Iroh and she would go down into the animal hold to visit Appa and Momo. The kimodo rhinos were still too intimidating to approach, but she didn't really mind. They weren't as soft or as fun as the big hairy beast and the little fuzzy one.

The day after she was "freed" from her room by Iroh, she had gotten bored and decided to explore the ship. As she walked around, with guard in tow, she began memorizing the many hallways in preparation of her escape. Opening a door, she heard voice inside.

"That's the helm, " he explained. She peeked inside when the guard didn't stop her.

"We will reach the fire nation capital in about a month, Prince Zuko," the helmsman told him.

"Good. Just in time for the celebration," Zuko answered thoughtfully.

"What celebration?" Katara asked as she barged into the room, the robe Zuko had given her flowing behind her.

"Why, a masquerade held in honor of my capture of the Avatar, of course." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. So that isn't actually the reason the masquerade is held, but his father will surely see the convenience of the two fortunate events and dedicate the ball to his only son.

"What do you mean, your capture of the Avatar? You don't even know where he is!" Katara stated proudly. It was only a minor setback. It wasn't that he had no idea exactly…

"Actually I do. The knife I found is my sister's. The knife with your blood all over it. She stabbed you. She will bring the Avatar to my father. I will go in, steal him back and-"

"Steal him?! You mean save him!" Katara interrupted, fury rising through her petite frame.

"No, I mean steal. As I was saying-"

"No! You won't steal Aang. You can't! I-I-I won't let you!" she sputtered, clenching her fists.

"What do you mean you won't let me? You have no control over me! If anything, you should be taking orders from me! Now I order you to get out!" His voice was full of rage, and fought to control it. How dare such an insolent little peasant try to order him about! His knuckles sizzled as her escort reached in and carefully dragged her out, all the while she gave him a look shaper than Azula's dagger in her side. The door closed behind them and Zuko turned to Iroh. "Uncle, she is so… infuriating!" he managed to articulate.

"Yes… I guess so," he stated absently. "Although you could have been nicer. The Avatar is her friend. She wouldn't just let trouble befall him. They have traveled long enough together for you to know that, Prince Zuko."

"What do I care? That stupid water peasant is getting on my nerves. As soon as we reach the next town, tell me so I can get finally meditate in peace with her off my ship."

"Very well, nephew."

"Will you please tell Iroh I want to speak with him if he walks by?" Katara asked the guard as she put a hand on the doorknob to her room.

"Yes, of course." The man gave her a curt nod and took his position beside her door.

"Thank you." And she stepped into her small, but not uncomfortably so, bedroom. The bed wasn't as rough as the beds in the sick bay, and this bed had softer sheets. The window, with its bars to keep her in, could still be opened to allow for a pleasant breeze, although Katara chose to leave the window closed for now so as not to be overheard. She lay down across her bed, with nothing else to occupy her time, and waited for the old man to come.

"General Iroh, the girl would like to talk with you," came the muffled voice of the guard outside.

"Alright. Thank you." He replied before knocking. Katara unlocked the door and invited the old man in.

"I didn't know you were a general."

"Well, retired general, but the men can never seem to remember that. They think the old Dragon of the West will always be," Iroh said humbly, with a good-natured grin.

"You were the Dragon of the West?" Katara asked incredulously. She had heard stories of the man that led the Fire Nation in the siege against Ba Sing Se, but never thought she might be traveling with him. But I'm not traveling with him, she reminded herself. I'm a prisoner.

"Yes. But that time is past," he replied with a slight scowl, maybe of regret? "Now I am just an old man on a ship with his obsessed nephew on an impossible mission to bring the Avatar back to his ruthless father," he sighed, shaking his head a little. "But I don't think that my military status is the reason I was asked to come here."

"No. I wondering…" she hesitated. Why would this man, a man who assisted in part of her capture, tell a mere captive anything? But he came when I asked, I guess it's worth a shot. The man gave an encouraging nod, prompting her to continue. "I was wondering if you would tell me about Zuko's sister." The retired general motioned for her to sit on the bed while he took the small wooden chair. The chair protested slightly under the added weight of the old man, but did not budge. Katara sat cross-legged, and waited for Iroh to begin.

"Very well. How should I begin? Fire Lord Ozai has two children, Zuko and his younger sister, Azula. My brother had always liked Azula more, probably because he sees a kindred, albeit twisted and evil, spirit within her. She was always vile and manipulative. She would torment the servants and Zuko for absolutely no reason, other than the sheer joy it brought her to see others in pain. Zuko always had a kind soul-"

"Zuko? Kind?!" Katara couldn't contain herself as she interrupted for the second time that day. " I doubt that! How could someone so kind be so heartless and chase a twelve year old around the world for his own selfish reasons?!"

"Do you know what his selfish reasons are?"

"Yes! He wants to rule to world and by capturing Aang there wouldn't be anybody to stand in his way," Katara stated matter-of-factly.

Iroh sighed. If only they could get along. She could show him his father does not love him. They must first learn to talk without yelling at each other, he thought and continued. "This is not the time or place to be discussing his reasons, so on with my story. Zuko always had a kind soul, and that may well be why the Fire Lord loves Azula more. She's heartless, just as he is. My brother sent Prince Zuko on this mission because he knew he wouldn't be able to come back. He thought the Avatar was gone forever. But now that he is back, he needs the Avatar even more. And since Zuko is still trying to find him, he sent Azula after your friend to get the job done. Now, more than ever, he thinks Zuko is a failure." He sighed again as he finished.

"So, we're headed for the Fire Nation? So that Zuko can steal Aang back from his sister?" Katara asked quietly after a moment.

"Yes. But we will be stopping for supplies in a few days and you can buy some new clothing," he said, instantly brightening after the somber conversation about his niece and nephew.

Katara's face alighted, and the elderly man looked almost as excited as he was to be getting off the boat and going shopping. "Thank you." As comfortable as the robe was, she wanted to be wearing something more than that on a ship full of men.

"You're welcome. I thought that you might like to wear something more appropriate around the ship than Zuko's robe," he chuckled.

"Yes, that would be- Zuko's? This is Zuko's?"

"Well, yes. None of the other men have the privilege of wearing silks," Iroh explained as he rose to leave.

"Oh." Zuko had confused her again. First he saved her, then he saved her life again, and carried her back to the sick bay, and now he gives her his robe. Why did he do that? How else will he surprise me?

WOULDN'T YOU LIKE TO KNOW!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Ahem… sorry… got a little hyper… I'm okay now. How did you like it? Just so you know, Zuko was just being arrogant when he said that when they arrived there would be a celebration for his capture of the Avatar. Really it will be the masquerade ball. I'm working on them fighting first. Then they can make with the kissin'!!! This chapter was pretty long! Yay me!!!