Author's Note: This is where the real fun begins! Lucky for me, my school is closed because of snow. And it's only November 10…gotta love Minnesota weather. On the upside, all this free time means another chapter! Woot. I appreciate those of you who reviewed on the last update, I've addressed your comments at the end of this chapter. As always, your ideas and opinions are appreciated. Thank you for reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters.
Zuko was positive that every spirit, of every nation, hated him. Why else would he be on his knees before the very girl that he had chased across the earth? Humiliation and anger spread across his face in a fierce blush as Katara stared down at him. He refused to be intimidated, though, and he stared back defiantly. In all honesty, the only thing he wanted was to curl up in a dark corner, away from the scrutinizing gaze of his former enemy.
He was a prince, for Agni's sake! She should be the one bowing to me, Zuko thought dangerously. His pale fists clenched behind him. Royal blood ran through his veins, whether his nation was destroyed or standing tall.
Damn those herbs, Zuko cursed inwardly. The strange leaves fed to him in the prison had yet to wear off, but he knew without a doubt if his firebending had been present, he could have melted the skin off each and every person who stared down at him.
The men and women in blue made their way down the staircase, Katara following a short distance behind. The footsteps on the red-carpeted stone echoed throughout the massive space, though it did not drown out the sound of Zuko's rapidly beating heart in his ears.
Unnoticed by her waterbending companions, unease was rolling off Katara in waves; each step grew increasingly more hesitant as she drew closer to the boy who had been, and would always be, her greatest enemy. Zuko drew a small amount of satisfaction from her wariness. He may be at the disadvantage in this situation, but he knew that despite her brave appearance, she was afraid of him. That was his advantage. And he fully intended to use it against her.
The group halted and Katara stared down at him. Beneath the frosty glare he could see uncertainty fighting for control of her features.
A man standing beside Katara spoke.
"Master Katara, we present our gift to you - Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation."
Zuko heard the low rumble of laughter from the man behind him, and his black hair was yanked yet again with sharp, painful force. A soft gasp elicited itself from his lips before he abruptly clamped his jaw shut. Katara's eyes glowed dangerously bright, watching his every move with thinly-veiled hatred.
She must love this, Zuko thought bitterly.
"Show your respect, boy," the man next to Katara spoke again with authority.
Anger coursed through Zuko; he would not take orders from Water Tribe filth. He grit his teeth and kept silent, shifting his gaze from Katara's blue eyes to the polished floor beneath him.
"Did you not hear the man?" the brute behind Zuko demanded, leaning in to mutter into Zuko's ear. "Show you respect to your new master."
Zuko's golden eyes widened. Master?! With a snarl, Zuko turned and spat in the man's face. The brute grunted in disgust and wiped a quick hand over his face, curling his lip.
"He has some fight left in him," one of the waterbender women sniffed with disapproval. "But I have no qualms that he will be of the utmost service."
Katara visibly swallowed. "Service?" she asked weakly, turning to the woman.
The woman nodded and flashed a slightly disturbing smile. "Yes, he will make a fine personal servant to you, don't you agree?"
Zuko locked gazes with Katara, and his face heated against his will. Damn her. Hadn't his scarring and banishment been humiliating enough? Apparently, the universe had other ideas.
As he looked at Katara, it seemed as if she were having an internal struggle of some sort. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and her hands were tangled together at the front of her dress. But before long, a look slowly crept over Katara's face that seemed suspiciously close to satisfaction. Zuko could practically see the gears turning as she planned out every way to further humiliate and belittle the prince.
"Yes, I'm sure he will," Katara agreed with a slight narrowing of her eyes.
Zuko's throat tightened and he swallowed. He had made this girl's life hell; he had no doubts that she would do the same to him.
A bad feeling settled in the pit of Zuko's stomach, and he thrashed against his restraints, chains clinking loudly. No no no, his mantra repeated itself over and over again in his mind.
"Don't bother, prince," the man holding his chain told him. "Or should I say servant?" He gave a low chuckle.
"I'll kill you!" Zuko shouted at the man, eyes molten with hate. He stood up, struggling a bit with his weak legs. Zuko turned his gaze to Katara, who stared at him in what Zuko could only describe as disgust. "And you," he muttered, narrowing his eyes at her, "will never be my master, water tribe peasant." He spat the last word at her as if it were poison.
Katara's jaw jumped as she clenched her teeth, but she said nothing. After a beat, she turned to the right and called out, "Lina!"
Zuko turned to look at a large doorway, where an older woman with graying hair emerged a few moments later. She hurried over to the group, bowing respectfully at Katara and the waterbenders. Her eyes flickered briefly to Zuko, and widened noticeably when they landed on his scar. The woman quickly looked away.
Much to Zuko's annoyance, a small twinge of hurt tugged at him, as it did every time a gaze lingered over the disfigured side of his face. He pushed it down without a second thought.
"Lina, please prepare a place for the new servant." She gestured toward Zuko.
Lina nodded, and Zuko noticed that she kept her gaze on Katara. "What room, my lady?"
"Next to Torin's room will be fine, thank you," Katara told her politely. "Let me know when the room is ready."
The woman nodded, and hurried up the center staircase to prepare Zuko's quarters.
Turning back to the waterbenders, Katara smiled. "Come with me please, I'll show you where you'll be staying." Completely ignoring Zuko, she looked at the man who held Zuko's chain. "Wait here, and I'll send Lina to fetch you when the servant's room is ready."
Anger bubbled up in Zuko's chest. So he was simply 'the servant' now.
Zuko glared at Katara's back as she walked toward the center staircase. Stupid girl.
A tense silence hung over the room; the other man chose to ignore Zuko's presence, and Zuko chose to do the same. If I could firebend, he thought savagely, you'd be dead by now.
He spared a glance at the massive room, and he grudgingly admitted to himself that it was impressive. Better than that damned prison cell, at least.
After what felt like hours to Zuko, the old woman returned. She glanced somewhat sheepishly at Zuko and trained her eyes on the other man.
"The room is prepared," she informed him with a small bow. "This way."
She led them up the stairs, and much to Zuko's annoyance, he was panting heavily by the time he climbed the final step. He resisted the urge to shove the other man over the railing, opting to instead throw him a frosty glare over his shoulder.
The trio turned left at the top of the stairs, and walked down a wide hallway with many doors lined along the sides. When they reached the second to last door on the right, Lina stopped and opened it.
"This will be your room," she explained to Zuko, finally looking him in the eye. She tucked a loose strand of graying hair behind her ear. "Master Katara has ordered me to brief you on your duties first thing tomorrow."
Zuko hesitated to step inside. For some inexplicable reason, it felt as if this was the final stage of his defeat. It seemed as if walking through that door would be giving in. Giving up.
He closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath. This is temporary, he promised himself. Steeling his nerves, he stepped inside and looked about the room. It was nicer than he'd expected for a servant's quarters. The walls were a dark blue color, and the floors were a semi-polished wood. There was no window, but the room had a bookshelf, small table and chair, and a few empty shelves and chests. A decent-sized bed with gray sheets was along the far wall, and there was a door in the right wall, which Zuko assumed led to a bathroom.
Zuko flinched slightly as rough hands grabbed the shackles on his wrists. A few metallic clinks were heard, then he felt cool air on the skin of his wrists.
He brought his wrists to his chest and rubbed them, wincing as the tender skin protested.
"Listen here, boy," the man behind him demanded. Lina had vanished, leaving the two of them.
Zuko turned to glare at the man.
"You can't escape this palace. I know you've got that idea in your head, I can see it in your eyes," the man looked at him with a curl of his lip. "You try and escape this place, and you'll be dead before you can make it two steps out the gate."
Zuko said nothing, just simply looked away as he absent-mindedly rubbed his wrists. He's seen the guards lined along the outer walls of this place. This man didn't need to tell him that his chances of escape were slim.
With one final glare, the man walked out the door and slammed it shut behind him, and Zuko felt more alone than he ever had in his life.
:: Review Responding ::
crash and burnn: Your questions and reasoning are completely valid, but hopefully I'm able to give you some answers. In Chapter 2, it was stated that it has been two years since the end of the war. During that time, the Southern Water Tribe (with help from the Northern Tribe) worked to build a home that would stand up to the elements and provide homes for many future generations. I agree that the last chapter was too short, so I've made this one a bit longer. As for your final question about Zuko's purpose in the South Pole, hopefully this chapter answered that. Thank you for your review!
RumorHasIt: Thank you! I wanted to switch up the roles a bit and see where it took me. I couldn't resist the cliffhanger…sorry! XD Thanks for your review!