"I found you, Zuzu! I've been looking fo-" The raven-haired teen stopped mid sentence at the sight of Katara. Fear flickered in the water girl's deep blue eyes as the identity of the girl in the doorway dawned on her. The princess's enraged glare remained for what felt like minutes, until it was replaced with her usual twisted grin. "See you've found a friend, Zu."
The fire prince opened his mouth to object, though Katara took the opportunity to dash past Princess Azula - shoving her to the side in doing so - and bolted down the hall.
And once again, the young waterbender was running down the palace halls, frantic with fear. Guards were shouting and running after her, and the sound of footsteps and heavy breathing grew nearer and nearer until-
A jerk to the side - pulled down to the ground - a door slammed shut… Katara found herself cloaked in darkness. A sound of shock escaped her before a rough hand clasped over her mouth. "I don't know who you are, but you're a fool. You really…" The voice was cold and full of rage, though whom it belonged to Katara had no idea. She couldn't see a damn thing, nor could she turn around to face her… Opponent? Well, whoever he was, he had saved her from being caught by the guards. But who would do that without motive? Surely he couldn't be on her side. No one was.
"Mmph-" The girl struggled; his hand was still clamped tightly over her mouth.
"Sorry, sorry-" the voice spoke with an annoyed tone, "just hold on, would you?"
Sure enough, seconds later the sound of armor clanking and low shouts grew louder as guards passed. Once the commotion had slowly ceased, the boy released her- or rather, she jabbed her foot in his chin and pushed herself from him and back up against a wall.
"What the HELL," she shouted, pointing an angry finger at the boy drowned in shadows before her, "are you doing?"
"Me? What am I doing? What the hell are YOU doing?"
"Who are you?"
"Who are YOU?"
Katara sighed and clenched her fists. "Can we at least turn on the lights or something?"
A sigh emitted from somewhere in front of her. "Fine." The sound of footsteps tapped towards her. She felt cloth brush up against her cheek. A quiet 'click' filled the silence of the room and suddenly light flooded around the two.
Yellow-gold eyes, pale face, and… a scar?
The golden colored eyes narrowed at the sight of the water tribe girl. Even though her superiors had dressed her in red clothing and prevented her from wearing her hair in her usual fashion, there was no mistaking those ocean blue eyes.
It took a moment for Katara to realize that their faces were inches from each other, and Zuko's arm was resting on her shoulders, still outstretched towards the light switch.
The two stood there in an awkward silence for a moment, studying each other's expressions. Friend or foe? Neither could quite tell.
Katara's gaze wandered through the cracks of her ceiling, her mind traveling to the events from earlier. Burns flared on her arms and legs, and she winced as she remembered the sight of the flames coming down on her like a terrifying flash of sun. What had she done? Where had she gone so wrong…? Not even Zuko could have helped her run; once they were discovered hiding in the empty room, his highness had been carried off by a very angry mother and a band of guards, and Katara had been dragged downstairs to be 'punished' for 'stealing the Fire Lady's necklace'.
As she lay there, raging about her unfair treatment, quiet, steady breathing (and the occasional snore) echoed in the small room reserved for the lowly servants of the palace. For hours sleep had evaded her, no matter how long she lay she could simply not distract herself from her burning limbs.