DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything! OK! I don't own AVATAR!

Ok, I'm sorry it's taken so long, but I'm a busy girl, and I stopped working on chapter 16 of one of my other stories just so that ML7 would stop bugging me! (happy now?)

4, The Lust

Zuko paced back and forth in the forest, his golden eyes fixed on the ground, as his mind traveled back to what had just happened a few minutes ago.

She was beautiful, possibly the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life! Not even the pampered concubines his father stole could compare to this young lady!

She had been different. Yes, the way she looked compared to the Fire Nation women, or Earth Kingdom women was different, but there was something more. When he had seen her eyes, he had seen something more than what was in those other women's eyes.

She seemed to have a fiery heart, full of fierce determination and a will to never stop trying. It reminded him of, well, himself.

He knew little of her, but he suspected she traveled with the Avatar. Zuko's lips curled into a cruel smile, yet another reason to hunt the Avatar down.

Zuko realized he had never felt a lust this powerful before, but it didn't matter. He found a new prey, and once something was in his sights, it never escaped.

"There you are, Prince Zuko! You've been gone so long, I thought you decided to face the dawn!" Iroh laughed as his nephew walked up the gangplank. Said nephew blanched and scowled at his uncle.

"No, uncle. I would never choose to face the dawn of my own will." Zuko spat viciously. Iroh sighed.

"Prince Zuko, have you ever wondered what dawn looks like?" Iroh sighed, looking east, towards where the sun would be soon. The vampire Prince raised an eyebrow.

"No, I have never wondered." Iroh felt his eyes water, his nephew wouldn't understand, until it was too late.

Iroh heard his nephew close the hatch behind him, as he walked below deck. The aged vampire stared towards the horizon, until it gained a pinkish hue, before he followed his nephew's example, and disappeared below deck, as the sun rose and bathed the world in its warmth.

"Katara, are you sure you're alright?" Sokka asked for the hundredth time. Katara rolled her eyes.

"Yes Sokka, just a little shaken up, that's all." Sokka gave his sister a questioning glance over his shoulder, before he resumed packing.

Truth be told, Katara was absolutely terrified by what had happened. She had been this close to becoming who knows what for a vampire! She did not wanna be a plaything, nor did she want to be a meal!

It was a little after dawn, and the, stuff, that had been painted on Katara's room hadn't been washed away, it would remain there, until time corroded the wood, and it returned to the earth.

The trio had decided to leave as soon as possible, hoping to throw the Prince off their trail. At first, it had been for Aang's safety, but now, it was for Katara's too.

"Here, you'll need these supplies." The kind man who had given them rooms said, handing up a bundle of supplies to Aang, who sat on Appa's head, while Katara and Sokka boarded.

"Thank you, sir." Aang said kindly, nodding to the man, before giving Appa his command, and flying away.

"Hey, uh, Katara?" The waterbender turned her head to her brother. Sokka rubbed the back of his neck nervously, then looked up at his little sister.

"Um, this isn't easy for me, but, I, I guess you were right after all, about, you know, vampires ruling the Fire Nation."

"Thanks, Sokka." Katara smiled at her brother, then peered over the edge of Appa's saddle, taking a glimpse of the ship following them in hot pursuit, far below, before returning her gaze to her brother.

"And if our lives weren't in danger, I would do a victory dance."

Aang rubbed his hand over Appa's furry coat, sighing as the giant bison groaned and fell to lie on one side.

"Sorry boy, I shouldn't have pushed you so hard." Aang said sadly. In 12 hours, they had pushed Appa to his limits, flying so fast, continuously, and not stopping until around sun set.

To say that this landing time put Katara at unease, would be an understatement. Quite frankly, she was a nervous wreck.

"Aang, are you sure that Appa can't fly until dawn?" Aang looked over his shoulder at Katara, who stood fidgeting at the edge of the clearing, glancing every this way and that, and rubbing her hands together, before her eyes returned to Aang for a second, before the process started again.

"Yes Katara, I don't think that Appa could even get off the ground at this point. At the least, Appa's gonna need two day's rest." Katara's face paled in horror.

"Two days?" She squeaked.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Katara, I'm sure." Katara sighed, and leaned against a tree, and slid to the ground. Aang felt worried, Katara didn't seem to be taking this as well as he and Sokka had expected. From across the campsite, Sokka was eyeing his sister worriedly as well.

"Katara, you ok?" Sokka asked, kneeling by his sister and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Katara looked up at him with a weak smile.

"Yah, I think. I'm just gonna go see if I can find a stream to bend. Being around water always calms me down." Sokka nodded, and he and Aang watched his sister leave camp.

"Don't wander too far from camp, Katara!" Sokka called after her.

"I won't!"

Truth be told, Katara had wandered for a mile in that forest until she found a stream. So, she had disobeyed her brother, and it meant she was alone no one could help her.

Katara fell onto the streambed with happiness in her heart. She dipped her fingers into the cool water, and felt herself be revived with her element's presence.

The waterbender rose to her feet, and began to practice different bending moves, taught to her by Master Pakku.

Zuko inhaled the night air, and smirked. He could smell his singer's blood, and he would follow the scent to his little siren.

His feet touched the ground as he stepped off the gangplank, but made no sound as he entered the forest.

Zuko's thought traveled to both the Avatar and his singer. Did they know each other? How long? Were they friends? Were they something more?

The Prince growled threateningly at the thought of those two being lovers. If the Avatar had dared to touch his singer like that, after he returned the Avatar to his father, he would kill him.

Zuko shook his head. That would be treason, and he would be banished. Again. But, there would be a bright side… His lips curled.

He would bring his singer with him. Yes, that would be nice, he would never even try to do what his father told him to do, he would just stay with his little siren, and live happy.

But when Zuko had been in the girl's room, he had felt two presences in the next. One had been the Avatar's, the other, it belonged to someone of her heritage. What-

Zuko threw a fireball into the night at that thought. No. It wasn't true. If it was, Zuko would kill that bastard too.

Zuko paused suddenly he felt her presence. Zuko turned toward the stream, and through the trees, he saw his little singer.

She stood at the far edge of the stream, bending the water around her as if she were dancing. Zuko suddenly felt pressure down there, as he watched his singer dance with her element. Her movements looked… suggestive.

Suddenly, his little singer stopped. Zuko raised his eyebrow, why had she stopped? He watched his singer look around the clearing surrounding the forest, and he felt her begin to worry. Zuko scoffed, she should not be worrying, she should be fearing. Fearing him.

But either way, Zuko began to walk away downstream.

Katara stopped her dance when she suddenly felt a terrible presence pressing down on her. It had chilled her blood, and frozen her to the spot, and yet… it somehow ignited her.

She shook her head. She was being silly. Katara sighed as she felt that horrible presence leaving, and pulled up another whip of water, out of the stream, and began her dance again.

Katara waved her arms about her, and the whips of water followed, curling around her middle, arms, and her face.

Zuko had crossed the stream a ways down, began to come back on the side where his little singer was, so he could get a closer look.

When he saw his singer dancing with, not one, but two water whips, he grinned hungrily. Then, one water whip began to curl around his singer's leg, and Zuko growled low, and deep in his throat.

Katara dropped her water whips and whirled around when she heard a growl behind her. There, in the trees, were those familiar golden eyes, but with them, came an ivory white face, save for the bloody scar on the left eye, and a body dressed in Fire Nation armor.

The vampire Fire Prince.

Bwahaha, I love those cliffies that drive everyone insane and cause you all to scream!

Inner Devil: coughcoughpsychocoughcough

ME: me no – aaa… forget it. Ppl, you might be wondering why Katara didn't feel Zuko's presence in the first place, and well, I don't know how to explain it, so don't ask me why, cuz I don't know either. Just roll with it.

I tried to put a little more Zutara fluffy in this chapter. did I do a good job?

yay, long chappie!

INSANITY AT ITS FINEST
LONG LIVE THE HIPPIES!

Zukoscute2