Author's note: Hi everyone! Happy Friday!

Thanks again to all my reviewers: Densharr, secretsofadarkangel, InItToWinIT, AnnaAza, TigerStorm, Lightdark-raveness, Jumpingbeans480, hg-always, Katey123, ArrayePL, beastlySmalless, temariXshikamaruluva, BlackMagicWhiteMagic, meggie-moo s, gh0stwriter, Natsuki-chan2912, Calchexxis, and The Summer Breeze.

Holy cow, I'm flattered by so many reviewers! I think I replied to everyone, but if I missed you, I'm really sorry! You guys are great!

And now what you've been waiting for. I hope you all continue to enjoy it!

Chapter 4: Decisions

Lightning strikes
Inside, my chest to keep me up at night
Dream of ways
To make you understand my pain

Clouds of sulfur in the air
Bombs are falling everywhere
It's heartbreak warfare
Once you want it to begin,
No one really ever wins
In heartbreak warfare

-John Mayer, Heartbreak Warfare

Katara had spent the next few hours huddled under the furs in Zuko's tent. She had entertained thoughts of escaping, but she was at a complete loss as to where to go. The arctic tundra was a brutal environment, and she would be taking a great risk if she set out to find a nomadic remnant of her tribe. Due to the war, many of the nomadic people were extremely wary of newcomers. There was no guarantee that they would accept her. She would also mean one more mouth to feed, and times were difficult. This had been the worst year for hunting that even the elders could remember. It was not likely that the nomads would welcome her.

Truthfully, she had neither the energy nor the will to venture outside the tent. Zuko had posted guards outside, and she would be forced to deal with them first. The sight that had greeted her in the morning was frozen in her mind's eye. It was over. Her people's hopes and dreams for freedom had been effectively crushed. She didn't know if she could stand to watch the members of her tribe being herded onto prison ships.

She had fully expected to be dead in the event of the Fire Nation's victory. She had expected Zuko to be the one to deliver the killing blow. He had sworn she would not stand in his way.

She sighed.

Apparently she hadn't had any effect on the final outcome of the battle. In addition, she was once again in the Fire Nation's custody. She had not stood in his way. Once again, she felt disgust at herself. He had been vulnerable in the moment he had decided not to kill her, and she had spared him as he had spared her. Now her people were dead and imprisoned.

Why?

Why can't I kill him when given the chance?

The same reason he could not kill you, her mind whispered.

She loved him. Spirits, she loved him. Bato's words on the ship flooded her mind.

I cannot imagine what could make you care for such a man!

She had seen another side to Zuko though. A side that the rest of the world had never seen. He was capable of tenderness and compassion. She had seen him smile and laugh. He had offered her kindness. He had kissed her with passion.

She put her face in her hands. Her warm, moist breath filled her palms and reflected against her face. When she removed her hands, the cold, dry air assaulted her skin once more.

She had seen him kill without mercy. He had attacked her. He was cruel. He had imprisoned the entire world, for La's sake!

The sound of footsteps crunching in the snow grew in volume as someone approached the tent. A figure ducked through the tent flap. Katara looked up, although she was certain it was Zuko. He had a certain presence; it seemed she could always sense when he entered the room, even if she didn't see him.

She had expected to see a smug and triumphant expression covering his face, but instead she was greeted with one of sadness and…regret? He glanced at her almost hesitantly, and looked away quickly. He spoke to her as he began rolling up some maps that had lain on a low table.

"We are moving out. The cleanup from the battle is nearly complete. You will be joining me on my flagship," he said stiffly. He paused as he awaited her reaction. She continued to stare blankly ahead.

He opened his mouth to speak when she interrupted him.

"I wish to join the other Water Tribe prisoners. Place me on one of the prison ships," she demanded suddenly.

He gave a long-suffering sigh, as if he had expected this argument. "No," he said simply.

"No? Why not? I am an enemy Water Tribe warrior. I belong with them," she stated.

He continued gathering his scrolls. "I will not have you joining the common prisoners," he said flatly.

"I am a common prisoner!" she retorted.

Zuko paused in the midst of rolling up a scroll, giving her an exasperated glance. He merely shook his head.

"What if-" she began.

"No! Now come, it's time to go," he said. He turned to face her. "Do I need to restrain you?" he asked bluntly.

Katara hung her head, her thick hair falling over her face. "No. I gave my word that I would willingly go as your prisoner," she said in defeat.

Zuko gave her a curt nod, and guided her to his komodo rhino. It was a short ride to his waiting ship. Katara averted her eyes from the destruction, although a pungent smell hit her nostrils. Unfortunately it was a scent she was intimately familiar with – the smell of burning flesh. The Fire Nation soldiers were cremating the dead. Most had been dealt with by now. Gruesome piles of ash lay scattered across the landscape; small bits of cloth and armor had escaped the flames and tumbled over the frozen land, propelled by the biting wind.

She was surprised that Zuko's men had taken care of the Water Tribe dead as well as their own. She had been convinced they would be left in the snow, the bodies left to freeze until various wild animals came to…scavenge the corpses.

She looked at the former Water Tribe fortress. The cavern system appeared to have collapsed on itself; ash and blood still littered the snow.

They approached the open ramp of the vessel, and Katara looked at it warily. She had been aboard many ships in her life, but never one made of metal. It felt wrong.

She hesitated, and Zuko grasped her forearm in an attempt to lead her up the ramp. She sent him a glare colder than any arctic blizzard and ripped her arm from his grasp. Holding her chin high, she stomped up the ramp, the metal clanging unnaturally beneath her boots.

Once she arrived inside the ship, she realized she had no idea where she was to go. Surely to some locked room in the bowels of the ship. Memories of her previous incarceration rushed through her mind; she shuddered as she thought of the confining darkness that awaited her.

Zuko instructed her to follow him, and she wordlessly trailed behind him, trying to memorize the winding corridors he led her through. The exercise was almost hopeless. The entire ship looked the same. She was surprised as they climbed a set of stairs. She had assumed she would be confined in the bottom of the ship.

Her eyes widened as she took in her surroundings. Everything was still utilitarian, but slightly more luxurious on this level. They passed what appeared to be the command center of the ship, and finally came to a stop in front of a door emblazoned with the Fire Nation symbol.

He couldn't possibly be thinking…

"You will be staying in my stateroom until we arrive back in the Fire Nation," he informed her.

Yes. He was.

She shook her head. "No, Zuko. I don't – I can't – just lock me in a storage room or something!" her voice becoming shrill with desperation.

"Katara, you will stay in here. I cannot trust my men to leave you unharmed. I want you to be where I know you'll be safe," he said. Comprehension graced his features as a sudden thought occurred to him. "I will sleep on the couch. You may have the bed to yourself."

He opened the door and practically shoved her into the room. The room was warmed by a fire that was crackling in a small stove. After the sub-zero air of the North Pole, the heat felt stifling. His stateroom reminded her of his study back in the Fire Palace. It was richly decorated with Fire Nation symbols, and yet it was understated.

"Make yourself comfortable. I have duties to attend to," he informed her as he reached for the door. There was a quiet click as the door latched, and once again, Katara was left alone with her thoughts. To keep her dark musings at bay, she decided to explore the room. To her disappointment, the room was devoid of anything particularly interesting.

There was a chest that contained his clothes. A large, comfortable bed was placed in the middle of the room. A writing desk was positioned under a porthole. Katara was thankful for the natural light that streamed through the porthole. She feared she would go mad if fire was the only light source on the voyage.

As she passed the writing desk, a low cupboard caught her attention. Curious, she looked inside, and was greeted with the sight of a few neatly arranged scrolls. She ignored the vaguely guilty feeling as she explored his personal effects. The scrolls could very well contain sensitive Fire Nation secrets, and she glanced over her shoulder, nervous that he would find her here.

She doubted that he would leave anything sensitive out in the open, but it was worth a look. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she imagined the useful secrets that were potentially hidden on the rolls of parchment. Perhaps if she found information that would be useful in bringing the Fire Nation down, her tribe would once more welcome her back – if she could escape and return to them. What was left of them, anyway.

She pulled the first one out and her eyebrow quirked as she read the subject line of the scroll. A pang of disappointment shot through her. No state secrets here – just Fire Nation mythology – this particular scroll contained the legend of the Painted Lady. She was familiar with the legend thanks to the time she had spent in the northern provinces raiding the supply trains. At one point, she had even overheard some villagers theorizing that she was the Painted Lady. Their furtive whispers had suggested that the Painted Lady was exacting revenge – the Fire Nation had ruined much of the landscape with factories that churned out war machines. Katara had been intrigued with the idea of a spirit tied to the water in the Fire Nation.

Feeling a bit more confident, she pulled out the rest of the scrolls. They contained similar stories. To her shock, she discovered some Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom legends mixed in with the predominantly Fire Nation collection. Her mouth opened in disbelief as she perused the titles. She would not have guessed Zuko to be the type to enjoy mythological stories. Carefully, she replaced the scrolls into their proper places.

Well, at the very least, I have something to read.

A sharp rap at the door brought her back to the reality of her situation. Before she granted entry, several servants came pouring through the door. One set a tray of food at the desk; another set a pile of clothing on the bed. Yet another set up a privacy screen in the corner of the room. Before she could make sense of the whole thing, the servants disappeared.

Katara glanced at the steaming tray of food on the desk, and reflected that she was certainly being treated better this time around. She still hadn't regained the weight she had lost during the periods of near starvation. This was quite a change from her previous imprisonment.

As soon as she tasted the food, she had discovered that she was ravenously hungry. It struck her that she must not have eaten for nearly two days now. That was probably part of the reason she had collapsed last night. When she was finished, she examined the clothes on the bed. Red. She wrinkled her nose in distaste. A sigh left her lips. At least they're clean. Her own clothing was ripped and burned in several places, and spots of blood marred the blue fabric. She held the crimson clothing up to herself, and found that they were much too big. She would have to roll the shirt sleeves and leggings up.

She felt an unfamiliar motion beneath her as the ship shuddered to life. The movement was much different from the wind-powered wooden vessels she was accustomed to. The ship lurched as its engines struggled to force the metal ship into motion. Once underway, however, the ride was surprisingly smooth. Katara was used to feeling the swells of the ocean much more acutely; Water Tribe vessels were at the mercy of the wind. The massive engines of the Fire Nation ship powered it smoothly through the water.

The noise of the ship was notably different as well. Water Tribe ships creaked and groaned as they made their way up and down the waves; the wind was loud snapping in the sails. In this great metal vessel, all she could hear was the low rumble of the engine echoing through the hull.

She changed, and made her way over to the porthole. The window was made of glass, whereas the windows of Water Tribe vessels were covered with paper-thin animal hides. She placed her hand on the smooth surface and felt the cold polar chill through the glass. She sighed as she watched the hostile ice she had called home grow smaller with the distance.

It was home no longer. She had no home.

After his flagship was once again underway, Zuko made his way back to his stateroom. As much as he hated to admit it to himself, he was nervous. What would he find when he returned? Would she be lying in wait, ready to kill him the moment he walked in? Would he find her collapsed on the floor in tears? Perhaps she had tried to escape already.

He didn't expect to find her calmly looking out the window. She had placed her palm on the glass, as if trying to reach out once more to her world. Her parka was neatly folded on the bed, and she had changed into the clothes he had sent for her. They were much too large, which made her look even smaller. She had unbound her hair; the wavy dark tresses fell in tangles down her back.

She continued to stare out the window after he entered the room. Zuko tried to ignore how forlorn and defeated she looked. It didn't suit her. There had always been a spark in her. Even back in the Fire Nation, when she claimed she had been ready to die, there was still some fight in her – the part of her that would never give up.

The words he had spoken to Azula a few months ago haunted him now.

She is…feisty, to say the least. I intend to break her of it.

How things had changed in the course of a few months. He wanted nothing more than to see the spark come back to her eyes; he wanted to hear her sharp words cut at his ego.

Now, as she turned around, her face looked drawn and haunted. She resembled an abandoned orphan. The one thing she had always possessed the entire time she was in the Fire Nation was her land and her people. After everything she had been through, they had cast her out and banished her from the land she loved.

Zuko felt his heart shatter for her, and the anger overtook him. Words began to spill out of his lips.

"What I don't understand is why they abandoned you! By Agni, they invaded my city for you! They mounted an entire rescue mission to retrieve you. Then I find you here, and they are about to leave you for dead in the cold," he said, his eyes filled with confusion.

Katara shot a cold glare at him. "To be honest, Zuko, they thought they were recovering six other warriors as well as myself," she said through gritted teeth.

She continued on. "You want to know why I was banished from my own tribe?" she questioned.

Zuko blinked. "I suppose I do. I want to understand," he said.

"Now you want to understand? You want to understand after you've won?" she paused as she ran her hand over her face. "Oh La, if only you had wanted to understand before continuing this Spirits-forsaken war," she said dejectedly.

She grew more frustrated when he merely sat quietly, awaiting her answer. When she spoke, Zuko was relieved to see some fight come back into her eyes, although it was directed at him.

"Once again, it comes back to you! After I was rescued, I inadvertently showed feelings for you. Bato – the man who essentially adopted me after the Fire Nation raided my homeland and killed my family – realized that my feelings about you had changed. Before I left the Water Tribe, I wanted nothing more than to see you dead, and he knew it. After my rescue, I made the mistake of showing concern over your fate," she said, taking a step toward him.

"As vengeance for your treatment of me, he swore he would kill you and leave your body to rot. I objected," she said as a hysterical laugh left her lips. "He knew something had changed."

"This planted the seeds of distrust. I tried to explain things, but this did more harm than good. Bato feared I had essentially been brainwashed and was leading you to us. He warned the Ruling Council. The warriors were told to watch me. Then you invaded. They think I led you to us. I know you must have had us followed, and your team must have been very good, because we never saw them," she said bitterly.

"The final severing of any cords of trust they may still have had for me occurred when a warrior that witnessed our battle revealed to the Ruling Council and other warriors that he had overheard me declare my love for you. They assumed our duel was a ruse, and that once we escaped I would lead you to us. Even Pakku…" she trailed off.

Zuko looked at her in askance. "He was your waterbending master, wasn't he?"

Hot tears filled Katara's eyes. She ignored his question, although her response was answer enough. "He banished me," she choked out, her voice cracking with sorrow.

Zuko reached for her, seemingly at a complete loss. Katara shoved his hand away.

He was surprised when her voice cut through the silence.

"Zuko?" she asked. There was a note of pleading in her voice. He disliked it.

"Yes?"

"Was the group Pakku was with captured? Is he a prisoner? Is Bato?" she asked, worry evident in her voice.

He was quiet for a moment as he mulled over the decision to answer her question or not.

"Yes, the master waterbender was captured. I don't know about Bato – I presume he was captured if he was with the waterbender," he answered.

Katara looked down at her hands, and a feeling of complete and utter defeat filled her. That meant the entire Ruling Council was either captured or dead. They had been her people's last hope. Now, they were prisoners of the Fire Nation. As was she.

The strange twilight darkness of the north was settling over the ocean, and Zuko called for dinner. Katara wearily walked to the bed and sat down on the soft surface.

Zuko was still wearing his armor, and he reached up to unfasten the clasps that secured it to him. He lifted the shoulder guard over his head, and winced at the pain his battle wounds caused as he moved. He had not had time to inspect the damage that had been inflicted during the battle. Most of the wounds were gifts from Katara. It was the first time he had seen her bend with full access to her element, and the display had been impressive. There had been moments when he had been certain she would best him.

He slid his shirt over his head, and looked at the various slashes and bruises covering his torso. It was no wonder he was sore today; he had taken a beating. He heard a sudden intake of breath, and glanced up at the waterbender. She had been watching him, and she was staring in horror at his wounds. There were various bloody slashes where there were weak points in his armor; mottled bruises marred the pale skin of his torso.

Both benders were relieved when a knock at the door distracted them from their respective thoughts. Zuko realized he was ravenous, and sat down to eat. He motioned Katara to do the same. She did not join him.

Katara had watched him from her perch on the bed, wondering what would happen next. She had found that she could not predict him.

She looked on in horror as he removed first his armor, then his tunic. Every particle of her being cried for release from this room. She did not want to be in close proximity to him, much less be forced to look upon his well-muscled torso. She shuddered at the thoughts that would bring.

Finding herself unable to look away, she was further horrified to see the various wounds all over him. She suspected she had been the cause of most of them. A grim satisfaction passed through her, and was immediately replaced with guilt when she saw the pained look on his face as he moved.

Her emotions couldn't take much more.

I love you. I hate you.

A thought floated up in her mind.

You can heal him. You can take away the pain you caused.

She immediately shoved the thought back down into nothingness.

He deserves those wounds!

For what was possibly the first time in her life, she ignored her compassionate side. She decided he could live with the pain; it would remind him that she could hurt him too. Exhausted in every way possible, she lay down on the soft bed.

Sleep eluded her for a long while. Zuko extinguished all but one of the lanterns, and she was aware of his quiet sounds as he moved about the room. She heard him finally settle onto the couch across the room. It seemed she lay in the darkness for an eternity before the blissful unawareness of sleep finally took her.

Zuko lay on the couch, unable to sleep. It was not as if the couch was uncomfortable. He had fallen asleep on it before. No, he would not have been able to sleep tonight even if he reclined on the softest bed in the world. His thoughts were preoccupied with the sleeping waterbender across the room from him.

He had listened to her toss and turn for hours until her movements had slackened and her breaths became even. He felt some relief that she had finally relaxed enough to fall asleep.

His eyes drifted closed, and he finally entered the state between wakefulness and sleep.

Zuko's heart nearly pounded out of his bruised chest when an anguished scream cut across the room. It was the most awful noise that had ever passed through his ears, and he had heard the screams of a thousand dying men. He quickly lit a sconce on the wall, and he realized that she was still asleep. Another scream ripped through the night, and he made the decision to wake her.

He quickly made his way over to the bed and pulled her into his arms. Her eyes flew open, but she still hadn't come back to full consciousness. She viciously fought him, writhing desperately to get out of his arms. Even though she was not fully aware, she must have sensed the water in the small vessel near her bed. With a quick motion, she whipped it at him, the liquid freezing mid-air. Zuko gestured, and a small flame evaporated the ice in an instant.

Katara suddenly went limp in his arms, and he looked down in concern. She blinked, and the Fire Lord was disturbed to see tears trailing down her face. She was shaking. He held her firmly.

"Katara, listen to me. It was just a dream! You're awake now! You're safe," he assured her.

Full consciousness had finally returned to her eyes, and she looked at him sadly. He slackened his grip on her shoulders when he realized his fingers were digging into her shoulders.

"No, Zuko," she whispered. She seemed to stare right through him, as if she were watching a scene from long ago unfold before her. "It wasn't just a dream. I just relived the deaths of my family. It happened. It was a memory, not a dream," she said, her voice shaking.

He pulled her shaking body fully into his arms. He had expected her to fight him, but she remained limp in his grip. He felt her small form jerk, and she was suddenly overcome with wracking sobs. The movements were violent – it was as if she had been holding these emotions prisoner within herself for years, and it was finally too much for her to contain.

All he could do was hold her as she grieved. Finally, the spasms that shook her body came with less frequency. She seemed to come back to herself, and he felt her muscles tense just before she wrenched herself from his arms.

Her eyes were red and swollen; dried tears formed paths down her cheeks. A hiccupping sob escaped her lips every few seconds. Abruptly, she turned away from him. She seemed ashamed of her outburst. Her eyes had difficulty meeting his.

"Zuko?" she whispered.

He looked up sharply at the sound of his name.

"Yes?" he responded.

"What do you intend to do with me?" she asked, uncertainty creeping into her voice.

He had difficulty forming a response. When they had met in battle, he fully expected one of them to be dead at the conclusion. When he had spared her life, he had forced her to run back to her tribesmen, hoping that she would survive the battle and that he would never see her again. When he had witnessed her people about to leave her for dead, pure instinct had taken over. He certainly hadn't planned this far ahead.

Her own people were either dead or imprisoned, and would not accept her back regardless. They had decided she had betrayed them all, and as such, had been banished.

He would not drop her off in the Earth Kingdom. War was brewing within its borders with his sister on the loose. A long and bloody fight was ahead.

He could bring her back to the Fire Nation, but he could not trust her there. She would be a prisoner. At this point, he feared she would wither and die like a flower kept from sunlight.

So what would he do with her?

"I don't know, Katara. I don't know."

Author's note: There you go! Hope you all enjoyed it. Oh, and if you haven't already done so, might I recommend my little one-shot called Made in Earth Kingdom? It's Zuko-centric, as he begins to right the wrongs of the past. I hope you all will check it out :)