Judgement
Chapter Six- Anger
No man can think clearly when his fists are clenched.
-George Jean Nathan
Katara, to no surprise, woke up to find Zuko already gone. She found herself a little disappointed though and she didn't really know why. She did begin to wonder what it might be like to wake up with him still lying beside her.
She stretched out in the bed and rolled over to his side. It was no longer warm but his scent was still there. She rolled back over to her side and groaned. She shouldn't even notice things like that. She shook her head before she slowly got up out of the bed.
Just as she stood up, Zuko walked in with her clothes. He didn't say anything, didn't even look at her as he threw her clothes on the bed. She could already tell there was something wrong with him today.
"Your breakfast will be here soon." He said sounding grumpy and frustrated. She just stared at him as he stomped out the door, slamming and locking it before stomping away.
"Wonder what got into him." She mused aloud. She went to pick up her clothes and put them on.
Zuko stomped away frustrated with himself more than anything. Last night it had hit him that he might have actually started to like his prisoner. He couldn't let that happen. He had to push her away. He was going to make her angry at him so he became angry at her.
He continued his way into the dining area where he would eat his own breakfast. Unfortunately for him, his uncle was there. Someone he didn't want to see at the moment. His uncle always seemed to see right through him no matter how good of a stone mask he put on.
"Oh Prince Zuko!" Iroh called happily. He immediately noticed the change is Zuko's attitude. "Why are you so upset this morning?"
"Leave it be Uncle." He said through clenched teeth.
"Why don't you sit down and tell me about your troubles." He suggested. Zuko just shook his head and sat down hoping to eat in silence now. His wish was not granted. "Zuko, you seem even more troubled than normal."
"I said leave it be Uncle." He growled again.
"Might this have to do with Miss Katara?" Iroh pushed. He watched as Zuko clenched his fists on the table and his eyes burned with anger. "So it does." Iroh smiled. "Could it be you realize she's more to you than she was before?" Zuko slammed his fists down on the table making everything but his uncle jump.
"This has nothing to do with Katara!" He shouted at his uncle. "She means nothing to me! She is a prisoner and I don't understand why you would think otherwise!" His uncle just smiled at him slyly. Zuko sighed angrily when he realized that he had used her name again. "I'm no longer hungry." He said standing to leave.
"Ah, young love." His uncle sighed then heard Zuko yell from outside the dining area. He had to hold back a laugh.
Zuko on the other hand was even madder if it was possible. Young love? That's impossible! He thought to himself. He was not going to let that even cross his mind. He was not going to let her cross his mind anymore.
Katara felt extremely bored. Iroh had brought her breakfast and taken her to the bathroom but he had not said much, only smiled. She wondered what was with them both today. Iroh kept smiling at her like he knew something she didn't and Zuko was angry with her for some reason.
She sighed as she heard a knock on the door.
"Come in." She called.
"Hello Miss Katara," Iroh said opening the door. "Would you like to take a walk with me?" He asked opening the door to motion her out.
"Thank would be really nice." She told him smiling as she stood and walked to the door. "Do you know what has been bothering Zuko today? Have I don't something wrong?" She asked. She wasn't even sure why she was asking.
"Oh no, it's not you." He assured. "He's just confused and that makes him frustrated. I believe he's actually grown to like you." He smiled again.
"I think he's grown to stand me, not like me." She laughed a little.
"Don't be so sure." Just then the ship swayed and Katara was knocked off balance into a wall. It took her a second to get her footing back. "I'm afraid that we're in a bit of rough waters. It's not too bad though." He told her. He held out his hand to help her get her footing back completely.
"Oh it's okay. At least I don't get sea sick." She smiled. "It is still nice out from what I can see outside the window. Can we go up on deck?" She asked. "I like it up there."
"Of course." Iroh said leading her around a corner up to the deck of the ship. "Zuko has always liked it up here as well." He told her as she stopped at the railing. "You two have a lot more in common than you may think."
"Why do you always talk about Zuko?" She asked. "It almost sounds like you're trying to get me to like him." She laughed nervously.
"Now why would I try to do that?" He asked with that sly smile on his face. Katara shook her head and looked back at the sea.
"General Iroh!" A man called from the other side of the ship. "We are in need of your help!" Iroh nodded to him then turned back to Katara.
"I'm sorry this has to be cut short but these men can't seem to do anything without assistance." He laughed. "All the men are meeting currently. Will you be able to find your way back to the room yourself or would you like me to go with you?"
"Oh I'll be fine. Don't worry." She nodded. "But won't someone need to lock the door behind me?" She asked not really meaning to. She hated having that door locked.
"Do you promise to stay in the room? All the men will think it's locked so you won't have to worry about unwanted intruders." He reassured her.
"Yes, I promise to stay in there." She told him, happy that she was aloud some trust and respect. "It was nice walking with you Iroh." She told him before walking back to the room.
She had to laugh at the thought of Zuko's uncle trying to get them together. It was cute if you forgot the fact that it was her and Zuko he was trying to get together. She started walking down the small flight of stairs when the ship swayed again. She lost her footing again, falling down the stairs, twisting her ankle.
She cried out in a small fit of pain when she landed at the bottom of the stairs. She grabbed her ankle and rubbed it to trying to soothe the pain but it didn't help. She grabbed the railing and tried to pull herself up but the second she put pressure on her ankle, pain shot through her and she collapsed. If only I had some water. She thought to herself.
Just then Zuko came walking down the corridor and saw her there. He groaned before he walked up to her and looked down at her. He had to laugh at her situation.
"Uncle Iroh leaves you alone for two minutes and you're already stuck." He laughed again.
"Oh shut up." She snapped at him. "The ship rocked and I tripped down the stairs."
"Maybe it would be better if I didn't allow you outside the room at all." He shook his head. Katara just glared at him. "Can you walk?"
"Oh yes." She replied sarcastically. "I just thought it would be nice to sit here and wait for someone to come and find me."
"Hey don't get snappy with me! Do you want help or not?" He crossed his arms.
"Just give me some water and I'll be fine." She continued to glare at him.
"What the hell good would water do?" He didn't make a move to help her yet.
"I can heal myself, you moron." She said now getting frustrated herself. He just rolled his eyes at her.
"Whatever." He mumbled before leaning down to her. Before she knew what was going on, Zuko was picking her up bridal style. On reflex, she wrapped one arm around his neck to hold herself steady. "Hold still." He told her starting to walk.
"What are you doing?" She asked nervously.
"You said you couldn't walk, and I'm not leaving you out in the hall." He told her sternly.
"I'm not helpless." She defended although the situation seemed to prove otherwise. He just chuckled and kept walking.
Katara was uncomfortable with their position. She didn't want to let go of him because with his mood, he was more likely to drop her and not care. She also wasn't sure how she would feel about this in general. She was literally in the hands and arms of her enemy but she didn't feel threatened, minus the being dropped.
It was now that she realized just how strong his hold was. He was carrying her like she weighed nothing. He was also really warm. His body head radiated off hi like he was a human heater. It was kind of nice.
Zuko on the other hand was trying to ignore the fact that her finger gently touching his neck made him shiver in delight. He was also ignoring that he didn't mind holding her.
He kicked open the door to his room and blocked out the image of a wedding night in his head. The fact that the thought even entered his head made him mad. To make up for it, he didn't set her down on the bed but dropped her there instead.
"I'll be right back." His voice was deep and heavy. Katara fell back on the bed and groaned half in pain, half in frustration. It had hurt her ankle when he dropped her on the bed. "Here." He said placing her lunch tray in front of her along with a bowl of water.
Katara didn't say anything as she bent the water out of the bowl and around her hand. She saw Zuko watch her as she healed herself. His eyes seemed to hold an interest in what she was doing. When he saw her watching him watching her, he turned away.
"Be more careful from now on." He said in a snappy tone.
"Hey!" She shouted at him. "It wasn't my fault!"
"So it's not your fault your helpless without your bending?" He asked.
"I told you I'm not helpless!" She shot back at him. She flared up when he let a small smile pass on his lips. "This is all your fault!" She shouted again. "You're the one who captured me on your stupid ship! You don't get it! Aang won't turn himself in to you!" She kept yelling but stayed seated on the bed.
"He'll do anything to save you, though I don't get why." He stepped closer to the bed. "You're just a sorry, helpless, useless, ugly, water bending peasant." He told her watching flames of hate light up in her eyes. Without warning, she spit in his face.
He backed away surprised and disgusted. He wiped his face and glared at her. Then he turned around, stomped out the door then once again slammed it and locked it.
Katara let out a frustrated scream before crossing her arms over her chest and fell back onto the bed.
Sorry about it being a little later than I though but my study hall is normally when I write the chapters but lately the girl next to me won't shut up and it's so hard to concentrate. Also this and the next chapter are short. BUT I make up for it in the chapter after the next. You'll all like that one. That's when things really start happening. Well Happy Late Valentine's Day! I won't be updating this weekend, I'll be in the Dells on a short vacation so... I'll update next week sometime.