In this chapter Katara and Zuko finally begin to show their true colors. I think I'm keeping them in character, but let me know if you disagree.

XXXX

Zuko stepped out of his quarters just as the door to Iroh's cabin opened. He opened his mouth to greet his uncle, but stopped as he saw Katara slip into the corridor. She didn't notice him, head down, and turned down the hallway. Zuko watched her as she walked away, eyes narrowed.

What had that been about?

He stood there for a few moments more, then realized it was foolish to question what his uncle was doing. If he had seen her slipping out of one of the crew member's cabin, then he would have a problem. But no, the idea was laughable with Katara and his uncle. Knowing Iroh, they were probably just having tea.

He walked by just as Iroh was opening the door. He glanced in and, yes, there was his uncle's tea tray on the table.

Zuko greeted him, "Uncle."

"Hello, Zuko. Are you looking forward to our port stop in Yi Chang?"

Instead of answering, Zuko said, "I saw the Water Princess leaving your cabin. What were you talking about?"

"The Fire Nation. I fear she will have a hard time adjusting," Iroh admitted, looking down the corridor that Katara had left by. "I was merely offering her my advice." He looked back at Zuko. "I believe that we should both do our best to make her as comfortable as possible."

"Comfortable?" Zuko snorted. "I'm not here to babysit and wipe her nose. She had better get used to hardship if she wants to join our family."

Iroh watched unhappily as Zuko stalked off. He had been worried about his nephew and the bride-to-be. Zuko didn't have much experience around women. The only ones he met were Fire Nation Soldiers—who he didn't socialize with—or Fire Nation Noblewomen—who he didn't socialize with. There was Azula…Iroh sighed. She was the strongest female figure in Zuko's life, and as much as Iroh hated to admit about his own family, she wasn't a good influence on him. If only Ursa was still…Iroh closed his eyes. That gentle woman was never suited for a marriage to his brother.

He could only hope that Katara would fare better.

xxxx

Katara stood on the deck, doing her best to stay out of the way while the crew members dashed around securing the ship at the port they had docked at. Yi Chang, one of the crew had told her. Katara had never been there—it was controlled by the Fire Nation. From what she understood, they were trying to turn it into a stable colony, but the only presence she could see from the Fire Nation were the soldiers. All the other people she could see from her perch were dressed like Earth Nation.

Katara clenched the railing as she watched the people on the dock scuttle about. She could tell by the buildings that this had once been a prosperous place, perhaps even happy. The warehouses and storefronts that she could see were large and had ornate architecture—but the walls were now crumbling in some places, paint peeling off others. The fisherman and work people walking below were wearing clothes that had been well-made, but were now dirty and fraying, patched and torn in places, hanging off their thin frames. The children in the streets were filthy and barefoot and scrawny.

That was enough to anger Katara, but what set her off was when she examined the soldiers. Their uniforms were immaculate, even shining. They certainly didn't look like they had missed a single meal in months. And look, right over there were soldiers eating a basket of fruit right in front of a group of children. The kids' expressions reminded Katara of an animal waiting desperately for some food to be dropped so they could snatch it off the ground.

Katara wanted to march right up to the two men and rip the basket from them—but she couldn't. No. She was to be the willing, demure bride of the Fire Lord. Any problems she caused would be an excuse for the Fire Lord to break his word about creating peace between their people. She watched the soldiers for a few moments more, then turned away, feeling sick.

She started when she found Zuko right in front of her. He registered her expression and frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"Prince Zuko, look at Yi Chang. What do you see?"

He narrowed his eyes at her for a second, then stepped up to the railing to cast his gaze over the village. Katara watched him closely as he examined the scene below them. Finally he turned and looked back at her. "I see people from my nation doing their duty of sharing our supreme culture with the ignorant. The barbarians in this village are being taught of the proper way to live and are being saved from themselves."

Katara stared at him, then realized he believed every bit of what he said. Revulsion rose up in her throat. She had to get off this boat filled with these brainwashed people. Without saying another word, Katara pushed past him practically ran onto the docks.

Iroh had watched their exchange, and was alarmed when Katara ran off. He hurried up to Zuko, who was standing by the rail in bewilderment. "What did you say to her that was so upsetting?" he demanded.

Zuko scowled at his uncle. "Nothing. She's just crazy and ran off."

"Now is not the time, but when you get back I'm going to have to give you a long talk about women. Right now, the fiancée of the Fire Lord just ran off into a strange village she's unaccustomed with. I suggest you go after her and bring her back—and apologize for whatever you did."

xxxxx

Once Katara was out of sight of the ship, she slowed down. She didn't know the layout of the city, so she stayed on the docks, near the water, where she felt safe.

Walking in the away-from-Zuko direction, Katara sighed. Running away had been stupid. That wasn't how a bride should be acting. No doubt that damn prince thought she was insane—though she could argue the same about him. He had meant what he said sincerely!

Were all Fire Nation like that? Iroh didn't seem to believe that his people were warring with the rest of the world to share their superior culture, but Zuko did. How many other people in the Fire Nation were so blindly obedient to that mission? The thought frightened Katara.

She walked past several soldiers, each and every one making her skin crawl. Brainwashed, the whole lot of them. Couldn't they see the pain in front of them? And they thought these people were barbarians? Ignorant? The Earth Kingdom held so much wisdom, had produced so many great scholars over the centuries! Their culture was beautiful and sophisticated, not barbaric!

Katara stopped her determined march through the docks when she spotted a clearly pregnant woman with a baby strapped to her back, happily gurgling and mouthing on a toy. She was struggling to lift a basket of fish. Katara went to assist her, and as she hurried to the woman's side she noticed a circle of five soldiers sitting on the docks, playing with dice. They were all ignoring the woman's struggle. A flame of anger spat up within her, but she pushed it aside and placed a smile on her face as she lifted the basket, murmuring to the woman, "Here, let me help you."

The woman gave Katara a relieved smile. "Thank you, young lady. It's not so easy to get around anymore," she said, motioning to her stomach.

Katara laughed. "Here, let me carry this for you."

"Oh no, that won't be necessary. I can carry it myself—it's just the bending that causes a problem." The woman held out her arms for the basket.

"You're sure?" Katara asked uncertainly as she handed it over. "It won't be a problem…"

"Thank you, but no." The baby on the woman's back started to whimper, then cry loudly. The soldiers sitting nearby glanced up from their games to glare in their direction. The woman noticed and cleared her throat. "If you'll excuse me. I need to get him home." Katara winced as the baby's cries hit another pitch. She watched as the woman started off, then saw the toy the baby had been chewing on sitting on the wooden planks of the dock.

"Ma'am!" Katara called after her, crouching down to pick up the saliva covered toy. "You're boy dropped his pacifier!"

The woman turned around as the baby started to scream even louder. "Oh, thank you—"

"Hey, lady, shut the kid up!"

Katara and the woman turned to look at the circle of soldiers. One of them had gotten to his face and was scowling at the baby. The woman paled and hurried to Katara, grabbing the pacifier awkwardly with her already full hands. "I'm sorry, sir, my boy is teething," she apologized, moving to bow.

As she bent, fish from the basket spilled out. The woman stared in horror as the fish flopped over and landed on the soldier's feet. "Sir—Please, I apologize—" she started, then winced as the baby began to howl.

"You stupid woman—" the soldier seethed, kicking the fish away from him. His companions rose to their feet. "I'm going to give you a lesson in manners!" He rose a hand. Just as he moved to strike the woman, Katara took action. She jumped in front of the woman, swinging out an arm to knock aside the soldier's strike.

It certainly wasn't an impressive feat—Katara hadn't even used her water bending—but everyone around her froze. People that had been passing by the street, keeping their heads down and pretending not to see the woman get abused, were now standing stock still with their mouths wide open. The soldiers behind their companion looked amazed. The soldier that had Katara had engaged stared at her with wide eyes.

He quickly dropped his shock, his eyes glinting over with ice. "You dare touch a Fire Nation soldier? You little bitch!"

Katara stared right into his eyes, a vicious smile appearing on her face. Her body was thrumming with hardly controlled fury. There wasn't a thought in her head about her promise to the Fire Lord. This man had just tried to hurt a pregnant woman and her baby—she was going to destroy him. "Ma'am, I suggest you go home now. I have business to handle."

xxxxx

Zuko scowled when he saw a crowd of people gathered on the dock. Damn it, what the hell had that stupid girl done now? He pushed through the people, then stopped when he saw what was happening. Katara was standing between a woman and five Fire Nation soldiers, and she was obviously engaging the lead soldier in a fight!

Swearing, Zuko shoved more people aside. He had to stop the soldiers before they killed her. He opened his mouth to shout out an order just as the soldier swung at Katara with a flaming hand, but the words were drowned out by the gasps of the spectators as they watched what happened.

xxxxx

Katara ducked under the soldiers arm, feeling the heat pass over her neck, and quickly took a spinning step back so she would have room. As the man charged at her, hand cocked back, Katara called upon the water beneath her feet.

She propelled the water with so much force it smashed aside the wood planking as it surged up to the soldier, punching him high into the air. He gave a strangled scream as he flew over the heads of his fellow soldiers, then splashed into the water past the dock.

People in the crowd gasped, hands to their mouths. The soldiers stared at the ripples left by their friend, then turned back to Katara. As one, they attacked.

Zuko finally got a hold of himself and moved to stop this. While taking out that one soldier was impressive, surely it was just a fluke, there was no way she could take on four at—

Katara threw up a wall of water to shield herself for the balls of flame, then let it drop as she rushed forward, jumping through the steam between her and the soldiers. She slammed both her feet into the chest of one while simultaneously punching jets of water at the two on either side of him, sending all three splashing off the dock. She landed and turned to face the final soldier. "Think you're brave enough to take me on your own? I wonder how tough you are without your friends backing you up."

He snarled and shot fireball after fireball at her. Katara made a show of deflecting every single one, smirking at how easy it was. Most of the people watching scattered, afraid of getting hit by a stray shot. Katara gathered water around her, around and around, then flung it at the final soldier.

A flare of fire intercepted it just before it struck him. Katara spun around, already gathering water by her side, looking around for her next opponent. She hesitated when she saw Zuko standing on the dock in front of her, hand still raised and smoking.

Katara drew herself up, unsure of what would happen next. Before all this, she wasn't even sure if Zuko could be considered as an ally. Now, after she had attacked his people, what would he do?

The soldier on the dock looked at Zuko and immediately recognized him. "Majesty!" he stuttered, then dropped to one knee. Katara glanced at him, watching as the rest of the soldiers she had made bath toys of drag themselves onto the dock. They all spotted Zuko and took a pose mirroring their companion, heads bowed, dripping onto the dock.

"Explain yourselves!" Zuko barked, stalking forward. Katara thought he was talking to her, but he strode right by her to loom over the men.

"Prince Zuko, this girl attacked us—"

"A single girl attack five men? You're lying."

"She intervened while we were disciplining a citizen—"

"You were about to strike a defenseless, pregnant woman!" Katara cried.

Zuko glanced sharply over his shoulder at her. "My lady," he said through gritted teeth. "It is my duty to reprimand my men—"

"Men!" Katara cried. "Hardly! Filthy beasts, just like—" she stopped, realizing she was about to insult the Fire Lord in front of his son and people. Demure, she remembered. She was supposed to be acting polite, playing nice.

Her face screwed up as she struggled to hold her tongue. Her people. Insult the Fire Lord and she would put her people in danger.

Zuko watched her, and Katara knew he had a clear idea of what she had almost said. He gave her a look that said we'll settled this later and turned his attention to the men kneeling in front of him. "I'll be reporting this to your superior officer. He'll hear of you bullying the people you were sent here to teach—and that all five of you couldn't control a single water bender." Again his eyes flicked over to Katara, and she straightened at the idea that she should have been subdued by these buffoons.

The head soldier shot up, fists clenched. "Sir, all due respect—but this is a water bender! Our enemy! Why are you protecting her when she attacked your men?"

Zuko slid a cool gaze over him. "This water bender that you just assaulted is engaged to the Fire Lord. You just tried to kill the future bride of Ozai himself."

Zuko took Katara's arm and strode away, ignoring the horrified looks of the uniformed men behind him and the astounded stares of the villagers.

xxxxx

"Please let go of me," Katara said through clenched teeth once they were around the corner.

Zuko released her arm, only to turn and step right up to her. Alarmed by sudden invasion of personal space, Katara stepped back, but Zuko followed up, making sure they were nose to nose. "I could have you thrown in prison for what you just pulled back there," he seethed.

She glared right back at him. "But you won't. I'm the 'future bride of Ozai himself,' remember?" Her voice dripped disgust and self-mockery.

"You attacked Fire Nation soldiers."

"That soldier," Katara used the word mockingly, "was about to slap a pregnant woman across the face because her baby was crying. If stopping that is enough to go to prison for, then I would rather be behind bars than out with your civilized people."

Zuko swelled with fury, wanting to slap her across the face himself. Never had he had anyone insulted his country so blatantly to his face. Only her position kept him from laying a hand on her.

Katara's skin crawled at the close quarters with this monster. She wanted to choke him. Only his position kept her from acting on her desire.

The charged stare between them lasted a few moments longer, and seemingly they acknowledged at the same time that glaring at each other would get them nowhere. Zuko took a step back and cleared his throat. You're a prince, he thought. Act like it. Be courteous.

"I was surprised when I saw you fighting. You managed to take out five full grown men without any problems."

"What, shocked I can handle myself?" Katara said, somewhat childishly, and immediately the fury that had just cooled between them threatened to come back full force.

Zuko glared at her a moment, then forced out, "I was under the impression that women did not learn combative skills in the Water Tribes."

You're supposed to be a polite guest, remember? He's making an effort to change the subject. Katara looked down for a moment, letting out a calming breath and gathering her façade. "You're thinking of the Northern Tribe. Where I come from, we don't have such rules. If you can defend your home, you defend it, never mind gender."

Zuko nodded, turning away from her. "Good philosophy."

They began to walk together back to the ship, the tense and awkward mood following them. Katara and Zuko attempted to keep the forced conversation going, acting as if they hadn't just been a moment away from throttling each other. "In my country, women train alongside the men as well," Zuko offered.

"Do they?" Katara asked. She had never thought about it. "I must never have noticed. Under that armor you can't tell. Actually, now that I think about it, your soldiers are the only ones that use such heavy armor."

"Well, think about it—earth and water benders can manipulate their elements to create solid shields. Fire is difficult to maintain and can't take a constant shape."

Having found a topic they could both converse on, the words started coming easier and less forced as they continued to walk on. By the time they had returned to the ship, they were arguing over how Katara could've handled the five men earlier. "You keep forgetting I can't turn their fire against them, Zuko! And I admit that I used a lot of energy deflecting their shots, but it wasn't as if I was going to be in combat for an extended period of time, so my stamina didn't matter."

"You didn't know that. What if reinforcements had come? Then you'd wish you hadn't wasted so much time."

"If reinforcements came, I would probably retreat into the water, to be honest," Katara admitted. She saw Zuko smirk, and snarled, "But not because I couldn't handle them. Us fighting would destroy the dock and possibly hurt the villagers, maybe set the buildings on fire."

Zuko paused in their argument, looking at her oddly. "You actually take time to consider the bystanders' safety?"

"Of course! See, you're used to fighting in true battles where there's only your allies and your enemies on the field. When I defend my home, I have my patients and family to consider. You would probably be the same in a similar situation, I'm sure. I think everyone would be."

Another voice broke into their conversation. "Look at you two, arguing like age old veterans!"

Zuko and Katara turned from each other to see Iroh grinning at them. "Uncle?"

Iroh laughed and patted his nephew's shoulder. "It looks like you apologized and made up with her. Very good."

"Apologized?" Katara asked, glancing back at Zuko. "What for?"

If she had forgotten about why she had stormed off the ship this morning, Zuko wasn't going to remind her. "Nothing," he assured her. "Now, say you were in this situation, what would you do…?"

Iroh continued to smile as he watched the two young people argue over strategy and theory. Both of them were waving their hands in the air, jabbing their hands to make their point and shaking their heads. Quietly he chuckled to himself. Different sides of the same coin, they were.

Watching them for a little bit longer, his smile faltered. Something about the mood between them wasn't just that of two warriors comparing plans. An undercurrent ran in it, probably unnoticed by the two of them, but Iroh's experienced eye caught it. Surely not, he thought, as he saw Zuko's mouth quirk just a fraction of a smile as he watched Katara make her point.

"Something wrong, sir?" one of the crewmembers asked, breaking Iroh's concentration.

The old man shook his head. "No, simply glad my nephew has made a friend." The other man glanced at Katara and Zuko and agreed, then moved on. Iroh returned to watching them.

Whatever he thought he had seen was gone. It was probably never there to begin with, he assured himself.

XXXXX

Building the chemistry between the two. They still hate each other, but slowly they're beginning to respect each other…sort of. It's my opinion that Katara and Zuko are very similar in personality, and it's only because they were brought up so differently that they keep clashing.

And yes, Iroh knows all. He's going to be giving Zuko 'The Talk' very soon.