So! This chapter is specifically dedicated to a reader! She knows who she is : ) Her message made my day though! I wasn't planning on writing tonight, but after getting that message, I'm inspired!! See? You guys should comment more, cause then I write more : ) Hehe! Anyway, like every time, off I go! (Sorry if it's in italics….my word thing messes up sometimes…)

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Chapter 8 : Prisoner

Kaori sat in her cell, eyes furious. There was a gag in her mouth and her hands and feet were bound, leaving her simply propped up against the wall, unable to move. She stared at the bars in front of her, fuming. She was so stupid, so very stupid- how could she have trusted him? She had gone with her gut, with her heart Aliruko would tell her, only because it had felt like the right thing to do. The right thing. Obviously it wasn't; she had been imprisoned by the man that had murdered her parents because she had set off in a boat alone with the Prince of the Fire Nation. Who she had kissed. Twice.

Rage boiled in her and for a moment she struggled against her binds, groaning a bit, but the rope didn't budge. Closing her eyes, Kaori pushed her head back against the wall, frustrated beyond belief. There was nothing she could do. She would meet her fate and then her life…that would be that. She would die in this cell, this dirty and grimy cell.

Her eyes snapped open as she heard the door creak open. A young woman approached her slowly, eyes cautious. She was dressed very plainly, her hair tied back into a bun on the top of her head. In her calloused hands she carried a small bowl with a spoon sticking out of it.

Kaori's eyes narrowed as the woman stepped closer to her, but the woman held out her hands. "Please, stay quiet, I am simply here to take care of you,"

She got to her knees, looking at Kaori sternly before reaching forward and pulling the gag down. Kaori let out a breath, glaring at the woman, although thankful for the rag to be gone. "Who are you?"

The young woman smiled a little and shook her head. "Nobody important. Just a servant."

"Why are you here?" Kaori growled, glancing at the bowl. Poison?

The young woman shrugged her thin shoulders. "I don't like to see suffering. I've fed and helped ease the time of all the prisoners who have come through this room," She motioned to the bowl. "I've brought you some water. I know that you're tied up, so if you would just let me give you some…"

Kaori turned her head sharply away from the woman. "I do not accept help from anyone in the Fire Nation."

The woman sighed softly, staring at the bowl of water. "You won't get very much…" she whispered. "Please…let me help,"

She lifted up the bowl, holding the spoon out to Kaori. Kaori bit her lip, knowing that she would need any strength she could get. Throwing her pride away, she turned her head towards the young woman, closing her eyes tightly. The young woman put the spoon up to Kaori's lips and she drank quickly.

"There," The young woman said with a smile, letting Kaori take three more spoonfuls, "That wasn't so hard, and I'm sure you feel a lot better," She picked up the bowl and the spoon, getting to her feet and heading towards the door, not waiting for Kaori to thank her- perhaps she already knew that there would be no thanks here.

"Wait," Kaori called out suddenly, her eyes intense. The young woman turned around, looking surprised.

"Yes?" She asked, blinking once.

"P…Prince Zuko…" Kaori managed to say the name off her tongue- she didn't like it, not at all. It sounded foreign and wrong. "What can you tell me about him?" After all, she knew nothing about him. She knew about Teken and what he was like, but not this Zuko.

The young woman raised an eyebrow, shrugging her shoulders again. "I do not know very much about the prince," she answered. "I work on his ship and I rarely see him. I've heard from the other workers that he has a quick temper and is as stubborn as an ox." She smiled a little. "We've been taken everywhere on this ship…all because of the avatar,"

Kaori frowned slightly. "Why the avatar?"

The young woman's eyes opened a little. "You mean you do not know? Prince Zuko was banished from his home! The only way he can return and regain his honor is by capturing the avatar! He'll stop at nothing to capture him, I think that is why his temper is so…short,"

Kaori stared at the woman, then broke eye contact, looking away, which was a signal for the woman to leave, which she did silently. Teken…was he really the same person as Prince Zuko? Teken had never gotten angry- well, except when Tonu had hit her. He had been reserved and quiet, cautious and thoughtful, almost sorrowful in a way. Resigned. Stubborn. How could they be the same person? How could someone from the Fire Nation have made her feel like…

Like perhaps it didn't matter who she was.

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"I just don't understand, Uncle," Zuko said, pacing back and forth in his room. Uncle Iroh sat at a small table, sipping a cup of tea slowly. "How could she be an air bender? They're all dead!"

Uncle Iroh took a sip of tea and shook his head. "I do not know, perhaps that is something we will never learn, except from Kaori herself,"

Zuko stopped for a moment, clenching his fists, then continued pacing. "And Zhao…he's been searching for her all this time but couldn't find her because she was on that island…"

"Quite a stroke of luck, if you ask me," Uncle Iroh said pointedly.

Zuko stopped, reaching forward and putting a hand against the metal wall, putting his weight against it. "And now she's been captured," he muttered. "It's all my fault,"

"You didn't know, Prince Zuko, you couldn't have,"

Zuko turned around, facing his uncle. "But I should have been able to do something! If I had my honor, Zhao would have had to listen to me!"

"Well," Uncle Iroh said slowly. "You do not have your honor. So what are you going to do?"

Zuko frowned, looking downwards. "I don't know…" he muttered.

"I think first," Uncle Iroh said, taking another sip of tea. "-you should talk to the girl. You cannot help a prisoner escape if they are not willing to accept your help,"

Zuko nodded, but inside he was filled with dread. Kaori wouldn't want to talk to him, he had seen the way she had looked at him. She wanted him gone, away from her and he completely understood. He was everything she hated in the world, he represented her nightmares.

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An hour or two later, Zuko wandered the halls, glancing each way to make sure no one was approaching. The last thing he wanted was for someone to see him and report him back to Zhao. All he needed was ten minutes alone with Kaori to talk to her and at least convince her to let him help her escape- she didn't need to stay with him or even enjoy the help, he just wanted her out of here.

Zuko turned a corner and stopped. Footsteps, he heard footsteps. Quickly he hid around the corner, breathing softly. When the footsteps were close enough, he reached out, grabbing the figure that was passing by, and holding an enflamed hand to their neck. It was a young woman, trembling in his grasp, her eyes wide.

"You never saw me here," Zuko whispered, and the woman nodded quickly. Zuko released her, watching her scramble down the hall, then turned and headed towards the cell. The closer he got to them, the more dread he felt. She hated him, he knew that, he just didn't know why it hurt to know. He didn't know why he didn't want her to hate him.

Zuko opened the door slowly, aware that the room was dim and dirty. He flinched at the thought of Kaori in here, yet she was. She was sitting in the corner of her cell- from where he stood, he could see red marks on her wrists and ankles from where she was bound. The gag that had been in her mouth was on the floor though, and for that he was glad.

"Kaori-" he whispered.

"How do you know that's my name?" she snapped at him, staring daggers into his eyes.

Zuko swallowed hard. "I'm going to get you out of here,"

She looked away, scowling. "I don't need your help," she muttered. "I don't want your help,"

Zuko leaned forward, grabbing onto the bars. "Yes, you do, you'll never get out of here without me,"

She looked at him for a moment before staring at the wall again. "Why should I trust you? You're the one that led me here anyway,"

He paused, letting that sink in, and then quietly exclaimed, "You think I did this on purpose? I didn't know that we'd run into my ship!"

"Speaking of!" she exclaimed, cutting him off, "How could you lie about who you really were? You're the Prince of the Fire Nation, you didn't think that was a little important?"

"Well, you didn't say you were an air bender!"

"All the air benders are dead, it's a secret that has good reason to be kept!"

"And some people aren't supportive of the Fire Nation, especially you, so I had to keep who I was a secret!"

They stared at each other, both furious looking and both stubborn, until Kaori finally relented, easing her tension and rolling her eyes. "I guess we both have secrets,"

Zuko nodded, "I guess we do," he agreed.

She looked at him hard. "So, you'll help me…and then what? I'm supposed to walk back to my island?"

Zuko shook his head. "I'll find you a ship that goes near there, or a boat even, and get you supplies. We'll find a way, my Uncle and I,"

Kaori stared at Zuko for a long moment and then closed her eyes. "If I don't get back to the island…I don't know what will happen… They need me there…"

"I'll get you there," Zuko said fiercely, and Kaori opened her eyes, startled at his intensity. He sounded so sincere, for a moment she almost believed him.

"Teke-….." she paused for a moment, tasting the new name on her tongue before speaking it. "Zuko," she said at least, refusing to call him "prince". "I have to get back to the island, it is of dire importance,"

"So you can marry Tonu?" Zuko asked bitterly, scowling, and Kaori shook her head.

"No, I mean, well, I don't want to, and I'm hoping to change that. It's just-" She shook her head again. "My name isn't just Kaori, Zuko, it's Princess Kaori Nyghai of The Island of Misfits."

Zuko blinked. "You're…royalty?"

Kaori nodded. "It was my family that started the island. We used to have thousands of villagers, but in the last couple of decades, our numbers have dwindled down because of the war,"

It made sense now, Zuko realized as he looked at her. This was why the council had told her news of the outside world. This was why she had to be married. This was why no one interrupted the fight she had with Tonu. Not because it wasn't their business, but because it wasn't their place. She was their leader, their ruler. It seemed odd, and yet, at the same time, it made complete sense.

"But, how are you an air bender, I don't understand…" Zuko said slowly, shaking his head.

Kaori rolled her eyes, looking frustrated. "I can't believe I'm talking to a Fire Nation Prince…" she muttered beneath her breath, glaring at him, then said louder, "It's a story I would have to tell you,"

Zuko nodded, sitting down and leaning against the bars. "Then tell me,"

Kaori nodded, then opened her mouth and spoke.

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Awwww you get the story next time. Much more detail than the other version. Also, in the other version, Aang, Katara, and Sokka are all in it, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to take them out. Maybe. I might try and work them in, but I dunno. We'll see. Laters though people!