-=4=-

The vast ocean stretched out before them, calm and motionless, until it reached out past the horizon. A dark blue, it severely contrasted the bleached white landscape of the Arctic. Zuko stared out at the massive water body, unfazed by its seemingly infinite size. Somewhere out there, was the Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom, and even the remote Air Temples, scattered around the globe. But without a vessel, they were unreachable. They'd made it, all that was left to do now was wait. But unfortunately, there was another problem...

"We're out of food."

"We?"

The instant witty reply caught Zuko off guard. He tensed. "Yeah. We. We don't have anything to eat, unless of course you're hiding something on your body, which you're not; I've checked. So we need to get our own food. And around here the only food available is fish.

Katara smirked. "So you want me to catch some for you. Well to do that, I'll need to waterbend. And to waterbend, I need my hands untied."

"Which is exactly the reason why we're out of food." He shot back with dry humour. But she had, after all, isolated the crux of the problem. She was the only way to get food in this arctic landscape. But she had full reason to simply use her waterbending to detain him and drag him straight back to the rest of the water tribe. But if he didn't untie her, they would both starve. Basically, he had two options. Stay on the shore, and wait until either a ship came past or both and he and the girl died of starvation. Or untie her, and let her do as she willed.

He hesitated, on the brink of letting the girl go and facing the repercussions later. Zuko had no intention of killing the Princess, or dying himself. Certainly, they could last a few more days without food, and they could boil all the water they needed through firebending. But the harsh, icy cold, and severe wind were taxing on their energy; they would become exhausted almost immediately.

o-o-o

Katara watched carefully, as Zuko ran through the options in his head. Their food depleted, there were only a couple of things that could happen. Eventually, either a Fire Nation ship would find them, or a search party from the Water Tribe. But the question was after how long. The real choice for Zuko, would be whether or not to let her waterbend. Effectively, it could be the choice between them staying alive, and them dying to the climate. Now wasn't the time to mess with his head. No, she could do plenty of that later on.

Besides even if he did untie her, there was no way she could navigate back to the pole. Such a feat was unheard of, there was no reliable means of judging direction this far south. In all honesty, there wasn't much she could do except wait, just like Zuko. But she wasn't about to tell him that. As long as...

"So?" She questioned? "What'll it be? It's your choice, Prince Zuko." She stressed the word prince, filling it with every ounce of sarcasm and irony she could muster. Hopefully, he hadn't noticed the rapidly approaching boat off to the East. Katara stood up, trying to draw both the attention of the boat, and of Zuko. If he turned around now, this opportunity could all go to waste.

Zuko frowned at her, a somewhat confused look crossing his features, but otherwise remained impassive. Katara tilted her head down a little, her hair covering her eyes from Zuko so she could take a closer glance at the approaching vessel. It was definitely from the water tribe. The sleek, narrow style, was used by no other nation. It was relatively small, which was good. That increased the likelihood of it being powered by waterbenders. It had angled itself towards Katara and Zuko, cutting effortlessly through the icy water. In maybe another thirty seconds, it'd be-

"What are you looking at?", questioned Zuko his eyes narrowed as he turned to face the ocean. Startled into action, Katara hooked her right leg around Zuko as forcefully as she could, grounding him. Senses heightened, Zuko used the momentum to roll to his feet and look up go see the girl's shoulder rushing towards him in a charge. Instincts telling him to flinch or run, he instead relied upon years of training, drilled into him by various martial art masters. Zuko fell into a crouch , ducking his head to protect his neck, and made an improvised feint, shuffling his feet a few steps to the right then planting his feet firmly and pushing off, rolling smoothly past the Princess and regaining his footing instantly. Katara, off balance due to the feint and having her hands behind her back fell over backwards, her momentum rolling her body sideways, her stomach to the ground.

Growing more alarmed by the second, Zuko turned and swore quietly as he noticed the approaching waterbenders. He briefly wondered why they weren't attacking him, then realised that without the traditional Fire Nation getup, he was indistinguishable from just another man from the Water Tribe. It wasn't much, but it was all he had. Racing over to where Katara lay, he drew one of his Dao Broadswords, using his free hand to haul Katara to her feet, facing away from him. Then he looped his left arm around her waist, forcing her body against his, And pressed his sword lightly against her throat, contrary to the alarmed cries of the Water Tribesmen and a startled gasp from Katara. The boat - more of a canoe, Zuko realised - had reached the icy shoreline, and the crew began jumping off; eight in total, six men and two women, of various ages. All of them capable waterbenders.

o-o-o

The cries of the crew dropped into an eerie silence as they took stock of the situation, the ever present wind the only sound to be heard. One by one, their paces slowed from a panicked run to a complete standstill, their forerunner, presumably the leader, stopping around twenty paces from Zuko and Katara. They showed no signs of moving forward, but Zuko couldn't permit any mistakes in a situation like this.

"No further." He called over Katara's shoulder.

The leader, a man, maybe a year or two older than Zuko took a measured step forwards, holding up his hands as if in surrender. "We won't. How about you release her, and then we can talk properly?"

Zuko was undeterred. "My name is Zuko, Prince of the Fire Nation and first heir to the throne. To my front is Katara, the Princess of the Southern Water Tribe. Should you try anything deceitful, you know what will happen."

All of their jaws dropped, even the leader's. To his credit, he covered it up quickly enough, but it was there. Zuko could almost hear the cogs turning. Then he smirked arrogantly.

"That's no way to speak to your betters, boy."

"I doubt you've-" Zuko's reply was cut short as the bender sent the ice whistling through the air towards Zuko. Shoving Katara to the side, Zuko released a burst of flame from his fist, burning through the deadly shard. He growled, preparing assuming a fighting stance.. And found himself immobilised on the spot. Completely and utterly helpless, unable to do so much as blink.

The man chuckled, and Katara rose elegantly again. Zuko swore internally. The rope which had bound her hands behind her back; it had been severed, with a strand of ice. The man, and they attack, had only been a distraction; their true intent had been to free the princess, and let her bend. A master firebender Zuko may be, but he'd have no chance against a waterbender like Katara.

Katara's eyes gleamed as she saw Zuko's look of understanding, as she lessened her hold on his body. So what, he'd figured it out. He had nowhere to go. And finally, she was free!

She took a long look at Zuko, his unwavering, black eyes, and knew he was beaten. Still cold and calculating as ever, but the expression of defeat was undeniable. It was the face of the man who would wait patiently, until they had an opening. Then they would strike and crush any who opposed them. Because that, in Katara's eyes, was just the type of man he was.

o-o-o

Zuko could do nothing but wait as Katara moved over to him, staring intently into his eyes a mere metre away. Her eyes held no pity for him, no traces of mercy. And they shouldn't. He had done something unforgivable, and he had to take responsibility.

She stared blankly for a second longer, then averted her eyes to the side and sighed. "Sleep well," she muttered, making a minute hand movement. Blood rushed from into Zuko's head, making him feel sick and effectively cutting off his oxygen. And then Katara, the waterbenders, all the ice; it all turned black, as Zuko's head slammed into the ice, his eyes closed.

o-o-o

"Come on Aang! Its only your sixth move, and already I'm onto my third cup!" The two cups were side by side, Aang's still mostly full after a careful temperature test, and Iroh's basically empty on his third serving.

Aang hesitated. Pai Sho was one thing, but chess was an entirely different game, one relatively new to him, though the same could not be said for the General. Moving a knight into offense, Aang said "I don't want to lose this one as easily as the others."

"Well then try a different opening! How can you expect a different result if the method remains the same?" Iroh took a quick glance at the board, and made his move.

Aang frowned, confused by the move. "You're starting an attack with the King?" He questioned doubtfully. Almost everything he had learnt so far had told him this type of move was far too risky.

Iroh refilled his cup, and took another drink before answering.

"If the King does not lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow?"