Yeah, I'm back home so I'm supposed to have as much time to write as I used to have lol. Now, I just have to deal with the author's block. Damn!

Anyways, here's a new chapter. I hope you like it. I'll deeply appreciate any constructive review about how's the story flowing and everything. and if any of you feel like being my official Beta reader, please contact me ASAP. I really need one!

Remember I don't own A:TLA, or any of the Characters used for this fanfiction

R&R!

VI

She saw black snowflakes when they got to the village and her heart sank. In a second, everybody was running in fear, trying to protect the kids first and taking them into their houses.

She looked for Gran Gran and found her looking at her disapprovingly and mad. Katara flinched when her grandmother came closer to them. Aang was confused and terrified at the same time, when he looked into Gran Gran eyes.

"You, kid, have made us visible to the fire nation now!" Sokka screamed. "And you, Katara, you knew you couldn't go to that ship!"

They both looked into each other for a moment, apologetically, and then suddenly the snowy floor was interesting, and they didn't respond immediately.

"It was just an accident" Katara defended a couple of minutes after. "There was a trap and we fell on it"

"Well," Sokka spoke harshly, and Katara new there was going to be bad news "now the whole village is probably in danger because of him. The airbender is banished from the tribe!"

Katara's eyes where wide open in surprise. She never thought Sokka could be so harsh with a foreigner and she suddenly felt angry with him.

"That's not fair! If he is going to leave this village, then I'm leaving too!" Katara took Aang's hand and started walking towards the air nomad's flying bison, completely sure that she was making a good choice. She heard Sokka's voice call for her, trying to snap some reason in her head and she felt bad. She couldn't leave her tribe, her only family. She couldn't, but Aang's banishment was not fair.

She heard Aang's voice beside her. "I'm not going to intervene between you and your family, Katara." And then she saw him walk away.

Sokka was in the front, ready for any attack that may surprise the village. Katara warned him, but he refused to stay back, saying that dad had left him on charge of the village, and so, he will protect it with his life.

And before she could respond angrily, she saw a shadow in the mist. A huge shadow the size of a war ship. Her heart skipped a beat.

The fire nation ship destroyed the fragile walls of the tribe with just a push, and when it fell Sokka apparently got trapped in the small avalanche. He was confused for a moment and then he was getting ready for another attack when he saw the ship doors opening, and he ran away before the doors could squish him to the icy ground.

There was a pause, and then fire nation soldiers marched their way out of the ship, their presence intimidating for the small, restless village.

And then two men stepped out of the shadow the ship produced, and she recognized Uncle Iroh immediately, but either he didn't or he chose to ignore that fact. She felt something she couldn't put her finger on. Was it anger? Was it fear? Was it concern?

The second man had a helmet on, and all that could have been seen from his features where golden eyes and a notorious scar. She didn't really paid attention to him, because she thought he was just another monster from the fire nation. That's what they all were.

The responsible of her mother's death.

They stared to the tribeswomen, searching. And then the one with the helmet spoke.

"I am Prince Zuko" Katara was shocked beyond belief. She was suddenly shaking and she saw him looking at her knowingly. He knew her. He had recognized her.

This couldn't be her Zuko. The friendly boy she used to know. This boy had a horrible scar on the left side of his face. This was not Zuko at all.

His gaze focused again in the women and kids of the tribe.

"I am the heir to the throne to the Fire Nation" his gaze studied the faces of each person in the tribe, whom kept quiet and still, watching at the banished prince walk back and forth.

Katara's gaze found the floor, her shoulders relaxed in anything but calm. She was sad. The boy she knew before was nowhere to be found when she saw this young man's demeanor. He was cold, scary, a true heartless warrior. Zuko was not like that. The Zuko she used to know may have been proud and arrogant; but he would always have a pure and kind soul.

"Where is him?" he demanded. The people in the tribe looked at each other in true confusion. Zuko lost his –inexistent– patience and suddenly a whip of fire was aimed at the tribe, trying to intimidate the people, who screamed in pure terror.

Katara frowned. She couldn't scream. And even with her head down, she saw with the corner of her eyes, the concerned and annoyed frown in the prince expression. His eyes were on her again. She felt disgusted.

Zuko didn't know how to describe the feelings in his heart. He tried to justify his anger and anxiousness with his closeness to achieve his goal, but he knew that it was not that. At least, not completely.

He knew he was going to see her again, that was impossible to avoid. And he thought that he could ignore the fact that he had actually missed her. He may have grown and changed but their memories will always be a treasure to him. She had made his childhood more bearable, you could say.

But he was not here for a friendly, 'long-time-no-see,-how-have-you-been?!' type of reunion. This was the Avatar who was involved. That was his goal, as much as it hurt to admit. He had to fight for his honor.

He saw her blue, blue eyes –he had missed them so much– look at him with pity, fear, and confusion. He felt angry. Why was she looking at him like that? He knew that it was a stupid question, but couldn't help but feel insulted by her.

He ignored her and his gaze was in the old tribesmen and women in front of him, searching.

"Where is the Avatar?" he said, his voice angry and demanding. He saw the eyes of the people look at him with fear and he felt disgusted.

I fucking know I have a scar! I don't have to be reminded with all of you staring at me like that, stupid peasants! He thought.

He grabbed the closest old woman he had seen, not noticing it was Gran Gran he had violently shaken, all the while saying "Is this you, Avatar?" and then pushing her back to the arms of the only person he didn't want to see that moment.

Katara was horrified by his actions.

And he was ashamed and furious with himself, so to let out some steam and to intimidate the tribe, he kicked the air again and a fire whip made its way to the people, who took a couple of steps back, trying to save themselves from the fire.

"Bring me the Avatar, peasants!"

"Leave them alone!" he heard, and suddenly he was on the floor, not understanding what kicked him down.

He opened his eyes and saw a tattooed bald kid with a glider staff on his hands. Zuko frowned and all he did was attack again towards him –therefore, towards the whole tribe.

Aang dissipated the fire with his air bending and the glider staff, and he pushed Zuko away with the glider staff and an airbending technique.

There were giggles from the few kids that celebrated Aang's attacks. Zuko was furious, and before he could attack with more determination this time, Aang spoke, after looking back at Katara's and the tribe's frightened faces.

"If I follow you, will you promise you'll leave this tribe alone?"

Katara's eyes widened. No way. This can't be true!

"You are the avatar?" answered the prince shocked voice. "But you're just a kid!"

"And you're just a teenager!" Aang retorted, and Zuko was about to protest and attack again, when he saw Katara's eyes on his, pleading him to stop, and so he did.

"I promise." He abandoned his attacking posture and Aang did too. "Soldiers, take the prisoner to the ship. All the way to the Fire nation, we are going home."

"Aang!" Zuko turned and saw Katara's pleading eyes on the avatar's, he felt betrayed and furious, and he was not going to admit he was jealous suddenly –because those same eyes used to look at him as lovingly as they were looking at this kid now. "Aang, wait!"

Aang looked at her, sadly.

"Is it true? Why didn't you tell us, Aang?" She looked at him like he had hurt her and Zuko suddenly felt better.

Aang looked away. "I'm sorry, Katara"

"Are you going to be ok?" she asked her eyes full of hope and concern. Zuko studied her face with curiosity. Why did she care?

But all he did was giving her an insecure nod.

And while the doors of the ship closed. Katara fell to the floor and cried.

So yeah, that's it for now. I hope you liked it!

Review!