DISCLAIMER: I do not own ATLA - They blong to Nickelodeon and Mike and Bryan!

R&R but mostly ENJOY!

M Warning!

Chapter 10 – Windows to the Soul

Zuko:

Zuko stood back and looked at Katara; she looked like one of Azula's female warriors. The only thing that would give her away were her eyes; but as long as she kept the hat on, no one should notice. He prayed that he was doing the right thing by taking her with him; he could not stand to loose another woman that he loved to Azula. Flashes of his mother and Mai flickered in his mind's eye; the shocked look on Mai's face when Azula pushed the sharp dagger through her heart. He shook his head trying to clear the memory. He must have been silent for too long.

"Zuko?" Katara said evenly, reaching her hand toward him. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes," he lied. "The sun will be setting soon, we must get going." He took Katara by the hand. "If any one asks you are on my elite team of skilled assassins. Keep your head down, do not make eye contact."

"Why?" she asked puzzled at his instructions.

"Your eyes they will be a dead give away, seeing as Water Tribe are scarce and if they are seen, well please just keep your head down."

She nodded her head seeming to understand his request. Good, he had hoped she would be reasonable about his plan.

"You must walk just a step behind me; do you think you can do that? I will have one end of this near invisible silk thread and you will hold the other."

Again she nodded her head.

Zuko felt the nerves fray in his stomach and spread through his body like a disease. All they had to do was make it through town and to the post where there escape was waiting.

"One last thing, you will need to carry these," he said as he strapped his broadswords to her back. "Be very careful with them, you could hurt your self if you don't know how to use them."

To his surprise, Katara removed the swords from their sheath and moved around with them, twisting and turning slicing the air.

"I think I can manage." She placed them back in the cover on her back.

"I thought you said you didn't know anything about that kind of combat."

"No, what I said was I wasn't trained in the kind of combat that Mai was trained in, I never said I couldn't use a blade or in this case a pair of them. Are you forgetting that my brother has a thing for weaponry made from cold hard steel?"

She had a point; Sokka could use any weapon that was handed him, though he was partial to his boomerang. Zuko never got the hang of it, and stuck with his broadswords instead.

"Just be careful okay?" he said. "Are you ready?" He placed the conical bamboo hat on her head and tied the black ribbon under her chin.

She nodded her head, anxious. He took a deep breath and kissed her gently on the lips before leading her out the door. Once outside, Zuko turned and shot several fire blasts into his apartment, filling the rooms with red hot flames.

He placed the silk thread in Katara's hand and she folded them in front of her, he placed his hands behind his back and they began to walk at a brisk pace towards the busy streets of Ba Sing Se. He could hear her cadence keeping in perfect time with his; he could smell the smoke of his burning house filling the air. It didn't take long for the people that were idly walking past to start screaming and calling for help.

"FIRE! FIRE!" He heard the sound of voices yelling.

He continued walking, never looking back, he hoped that when he returned to Ba Sing Se, it would be under different pretenses. Quickening his pace as the sun was setting over the outer wall; Zuko pulled Katara along with him. He could see the soldiers' post just ahead, the carriages and soldiers waiting for him to arrive. He could see his uncle approaching from the side, his head completely shaved along with all but one long braided part of his beard. Zuko would not have known who it was if his uncle hadn't told him the plan. He was dressed in Fire Nation colors and sported a few bags that looked like medicine bags.

"Good you're here," he said sharply as he approached. "Men, get the good doctor's bags and load them in the carriage," Zuko ordered the soldiers. "Doctor Kahn will be accompanying us on our journey."

Zuko led Katara to the carriage in which they would ride; she stepped in, followed by Iroh. Zuko gave his soldiers a few last orders while he was attempting to inconspicuously search the area for Dai Li. He didn't see any, but he was sure they were watching. Giving his final set of orders and checking the rhinos and supplies one last time Zuko climbed on top of one of the saddled rhinos taking the lead, heading the caravan of soldiers and carriages south.

Zuko and his uncle had devised to stay close to the well traveled paths, in order to keep down suspicions of the soldiers and any Dai Li that may have followed. Not only would they be able to obtain additional supplies they would be able to find a more private place for his uncle to do his treatment on Katara.

They had been traveling long enough for the moon to be high in the red colored skies before Zuko had them stop on the east side of Full Moon Bay for a rest. The animals needed fresh water and resting, for a while before moving on. He was getting hungry and he was certain that his uncle would be feeling the same.

"Be sure to tie up the ostrich horses," Zuko said in an authoritative manner to one of the soldiers. "We will rest here for a while, feed and water the horses."

Turning to another soldier he ordered him to gather wood for a camp fire and get some food ready. After giving all his commands and orders for setting up a temporary camp he made his way to the carriage that held Iroh and Katara.

"We are stopping for a while," he said as he slid open the door to the carriage. He stopped and looked at Katara oddly who had some grayish paste covering her eyes. Climbing in, he closed the door behind him.

Noticing his concern his uncle obliged the answer to the question on his face.

"It is an ointment that I made, it may help her to regain some of her sight, and it is also excellent for the skin."

"Why are we stopping," Katara asked turning her head in the direction of his voice.

"The animals need to rest, and the men are getting hungry. It will be several more hours before we make it to Full Moon Bay, and then we will take a Fire Navy ship across. I shouldn't have any trouble acquiring one."

She looked rather amusing sitting there with her eyes slathered in the gray ointment. Zuko was glad that she could not see the smirk on his face as she spoke.

"It should take us about a day to cross the bay; there we will set back out on foot."

Iroh took Katara's hand and placed a damp cloth in it.

"Here wipe the ointment from your eyes."

She did as his uncle requested.

"Are either of you hungry?" Zuko asked.

"Yes, I'm starving," Katara said as she finished wiping the ointment from her eyes.

"Roast duck sounds wonderful," Iroh said patting his large tummy.

"We won't be having roast duck uncle," Zuko said in the most serious tone. "It will most likely be fish that the soldiers catch."

The soldiers returned with some fish and some wild vegetation that they had found growing nearby. Zuko insisted that Katara be the first to eat, followed by himself. He watched her eat the fish soup that the soldiers had made over the open campfire. His uncle had put in several drops of some liquid herb before she ate. She never looked up from her bowl, not even to acknowledge one of the soldiers asking her if she would like more. She placed her bowl beside her and said nothing before asking to return to the carriage.

Weeks had past since they had set out on their search for the Avatar and Katara's brother. He had not seen any Dai Li, but he still kept a watchful eye for them. It seemed that every where they had traveled Zuko gathered news of refugee's presence in different places. When they reached Omashu, the prison camp was in the strong hold of the prisoners there. The center of the city still had some Fire Nation soldiers attempting to keep what they perceived as order.

Katara was getting restless in their search; he could tell her patience was wearing thin. She barely had spoken two words to him in the last week; she was distancing her self from him. His uncle continued to do his treatments on her. It was hard for her to practice her water bending with the constant watch of the soldiers. She would not look in the direction of his voice when he talked to her; she avoided his touch at all costs. Zuko couldn't understand why she was so distant all of a sudden.

He had asked her where she thought they should head next; he was running out of leads and resources. His soldiers were as restless as Katara was. So before leaving Omashu he had dismissed his soldiers to stay there in the city. He was sitting in his room; going over the information he had gathered trying to figure out their next move when a soft knock came at the door.

"Sorry for interrupting you Prince Zuko," his uncle said.

"It's okay uncle." He did not look up from his papers and scrolls. "Did you get any where with her?"

"Not really," said Iroh walking towards the low table Zuko was sitting at.

Zuko sighed out in frustration.

"She did say that she thinks her brother and the Avatar will be heading back to where they were separated."

"She thinks we should head back to Ba Sing Se?" Zuko asked in an unbelievable tone. "I can't go back to Ba Sing Se, not yet." Zuko stood and began to pace. "She didn't say why all of a sudden she won't talk to me and avoids me like the plague?"

Iroh held up his hands. "She is frustrated and tired."

"I know uncle," Zuko said and stopped his pacing. "Thank you, you should ready your things we are leaving. Take only what is necessary, we will be traveling lighter, only one carriage."

It had been almost four days since they had left Omashu traveling along the coast as much as possible; food and water were more readily available. The weather had turned cooler still and they were sleeping in caves and hollowed out coves where they could find them. The sun was setting behind the mountains and Zuko began looking for a place to camp for the night. He had found a cave near a water source and decided they should stay there for the night.

His uncle had gone fishing while he readied the fire for cooking. Before long his uncle was back with a nice catch of fish. After they had eaten and Iroh did some acupuncture on Katara his uncle decided it was time for him to turn in.

The moon was shining in the edge of the cave it was nearly full. The sky still held its reddish hue, and fire and ash were evident as always in the air. He sat and watched Katara while she meditated at the edge of the cave for a long time. Finally when she turned in for the night he fell asleep listening to the crackling of the fire.

Zuko shivered a bit in his sleeping bag and woke up with clouded eyes and the sounds of Uncle Iroh's snores. The fire had died down and he got up to put some more wood on. At first he did not notice the empty sleeping bag lying between him and his uncle.

She was gone. His eyes widened searching the immediate area for her. He felt almost panic stricken as he moved forward holding out a ball of flame in his hands to light the dark woods ahead of him. A few minutes passed and he still did not see her; but he heard the sound of falling water ahead. He continued moving forward to the sound of the water. Zuko came out of the thicket of bamboo into a small lagoon; water was rushing over an undersized water fall, mo more than ten or twelve feet high. At the water's edge stood Katara.

Remaining at a distance he watched her in silence. She knelt down and placed her hands in the water bringing them to her face letting it run over her cheeks. Slowly she removed her clothing dropping them to the bank. Leaving the wooden hair pins that he had given her in her hair and the dagger strapped to her leg, she stepped into the water.

The light of the moon was dancing across her back, the silver reflecting off her hair. He cursed him self when he stepped on a pile of bamboo twigs and she turned her head. He felt as if every movement she made was in slow motion, the blinking of her eyes, her simple breathing. The innocent look that she still somehow managed to posses plagued his soul. Every time he looked at her he felt as if he had invaded something secret. She moved little by little into the pool until the water was waist high.

She cupped her hands and filled them with water and brought them to her face again and again. Zuko studied her in her element, she was relaxed and at peace. Gently she brought the water to her with out cupping her hands. Her arms moved fluidly just like back in the pavilion; the water imbibed her. She was bending.

He wanted to touch her; feel her as she dominated her facet. He heard the sound of his boots hit the soft earth beside him; his clothes landing in that silent thud beside hers. She had not spared him a touch, a kiss, nothing since they left Ba Sing Se. He could feel his element running rampant through his body, heating his blood as the icy water engulfed his feet and legs. The sound of the water rushing off the rocks filled his ears as the bitter cold liquid now surrounded his lower abdomen. He could feel the water around him warm from his body heat.

Pulling Katara's back to him, he felt his heat radiated even more. She did not falter with his sudden command of her body, her concentration was deep. Sliding his hands down her shoulders moving his arms with hers, he felt her allow him to bend the water with her. His muscled arms seemed to be no match for her slender ones as they moved in circles. The water was the only barrier between them. Zuko felt his manhood swell to an excruciating existence as her backside pressed against him; the steam rose from the water beside them.

Moving his arms back up hers and then down her shoulders to her hips pulling her flush against him, making her more aware of his desire. He wanted to feel the soft touch of her lips on his, the intoxicating taste. A little rougher than he meant to, his hand forced her chin up and around exposing her mouth to him. Damn his impulsiveness, he thought as he kissed her, pressing his tongue deeper past her lips. He heard her water fall, soaking them both in a wave of freezing cold.

She kissed him, her mouth as hungry as his. An open mouth moan escaped his lips as his throbbing sex pressed into her pubis. Once again he took Katara by the chin, lifting her face up so that he could look into her eyes. Dark lashes curled up, a casing of deep blue stared at him; moving back and forth. A forced and shocked breath escaped his lungs. A scared curve formed her mouth. She could see him.

Zuko tried to say something to her, but he couldn't. He embraced her, and then gently forced his tongue between her lips, kissed her violently. Suddenly she stopped him, her hand between their mouths.

"Zuko," she said in a whisper, her hand protecting her lips lowered slowly and he devoured her mouth again.

What ever it was she had wanted to say to him never made it into words. She never told him that she could see him; she didn't have too. He lifted her, and she whispered her assent, then he moved her up and down on his throbbing organ. She had thrown her head back, teeth clenched. Instantly his hand brought her head back to where he could see her eyes, watch her as she trembled in his arms in a frenzied release. At last he felt his release spill into her. His one hand grasping hard around her waist, while the other kept her head in place, his eyes locked with hers. He could see the fear in her eyes, the fear of the pleasure that she had sought – the pleasure with him.

She was once again silent, lying beside him in her sleeping bag. No words were spoken except the brief sound of his name she had said in the lagoon. Zuko tried to go to sleep, but it was not coming to him. The echo of his name in her voice played over and over in his head. The look in her eyes staring back into his, the battle she was fighting silently with herself. He could see there was something she needed to say to him, but she didn't, he had wandered why. Never before had she held her tongue especially not to him.

He rolled over and saw her motionless form, her back to him. Her dark hair fell off her shoulders and to the cave floor, he was fairly certain she was not asleep. Respecting her silence, Zuko closed his eyes and attempted sleep once again.

AN: I struggled a bit with this chapter, I have re-written it three times. I know it is a bit sketchy and vague as to Katara's actions but I promise in due time you will understand.

Thank you for all the great reviews and views of this story. I am having fun writing it. - Oh and since I am trying to stck to a bit of canon - I decided that Mei is dead. Yeah so there.