Hi everyone!

So sorry it's taken so long to update, I've been really busy recently. I hope you're all having a great holiday.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (it's very belated, but whatever :D)

As a present to you all (well, it depends on whether you like my writing or not), I've made this an extra-long chapter. I really hope you don't find it boring.

Love you all.

-Ellie

….

Footsteps echoed down the metal hallway, alerting the sleeping waterbender to the guard's presence. She brushed the brown ringlets invading her vision away from her eyes and sat up, groaning.

Slowly, Katara's foggy mind registered the cold seeping through the folds of her blue chiffon dress. She looked down and realised she'd spent the entire night on the freezing iron floor of her cell. The patterned metal of the ship had imprinted on her cheek, and Katara couldn't help but chuckle at the peculiar welts it had left.

But her good mood faded as suddenly as it had come as the realisation that she was still stuck in the same dismal situation settled on her. Katara prided herself in the fact that she was strong-minded enough to think her way out of difficult circumstances, but still. Shouldn't she have heard something from Aang and Sokka? Or didn't they care?

The waterbender shook her head violently, trying to clear her head of poisonous thoughts.

No, she told herself. They will be doing everything they can, and you know it.

Meanwhile, Katara had to help herself. Her eyes zeroed in on the irregular dent in the top left-hand corner of the cell where she'd used her hair pin to scratch at the weakened metal. The Dragon of the West's hint had been spot on with its implication, and Katara couldn't help wondering why Zuko's uncle would want to help her. After all, he was Fire Nation and very close to the Fire Prince. Surely his loyalty should lie with his nephew?

Evidently not. Katara had spent hours puzzling over Iroh's motives, but hadn't got very far.

She wasn't going to complain though. Without her bending, Katara was useless. It had never occurred to her that her abilities could be stopped. Stupid, really. She should've thought further ahead. But it was too late now.

Even if she wouldn't admit it, Iroh had done her a huge favour by helping her out. Katara didn't want to think about what would've happened (or not happened, as the case would've been) if she'd been left without aid. Who knew where the boys were; it had been four days since she'd last seen them and Katara was actually beginning to think they weren't coming. She hoped nothing had happened to them.

But she trusted them both to look after themselves. Especially Aang. Not that her brother couldn't look after himself, but she knew from experience that his impulsive tendencies could cause more problems than they solved. Even if Aang was three years younger, he seemed more mature somehow.

Sometimes, anyway.

She stood up, groaning as her cramped muscles stretched into more natural positions. Attempting to roll the crick out her neck, Katara made her way over to the wall. She dragged her light-weight bed into the corner and climbed up. The springs creaked as Katara adjusted her weight and she glanced nervously at the door, expecting a fire-wielding guard to burst through any minute. Luckily, the two guards assigned to watch her were too busy bickering over who had won their card game, so the waterbender turned her back on the door and faced the wall.

The sharpened hair-pin glinted in the dim light as she took it from her hair, revealing a point sharp enough to pierce body armour. Katara was immensely proud of her make-shift weapon, as it had taken her hours of painful blisters and pin pricks to eventually file it down. The pin was still really awkward to hold, but Katara reckoned it wouldn't take long before the needle finally made a hole in the boat's hull.

Iroh's tip had indicated to a small spot of rust in the top corner of her cell, barely visible to anyone who didn't already know it was there. As she'd worked at it, Katara had managed to flake bits of the weakened metal away, gradually getting closer and closer to the outside world.

Once a hole appeared, Katara planned to somehow bend the water from inside the ship and use it to escape. She hadn't quite figured out how yet, but the waterbender was sure she'd think of something when the time came. At least, that's what she hoped.

For the next few hours, Katara worked steadily away at the metal until her fingers were sore. She was so close - she could practically feel the cool breeze dancing across her fingertips.

There!

A spot of blue, peeking out amongst the orange rust. Katara scratched away at the jagged edges of the hole, slowly but surely making it bigger.

He burst through the door with no warning. There was nothing Katara could do but slip the needle back into her plait and grin sheepishly.

Furious brown eyes glared at her from across the room, their owner a huge firebender with oily black hair obscuring his twisted features. There was something off about this guy, Katara decided. She'd encountered tons of creepy Fire Nation soldiers before, but this was different. His eyes held something that went further than pure hatred.

The man stalked towards her, making Katara shrink back further against the wall. He kept coming closer until he stopped right in front of the waterbender, his face inches from hers. A grotesque grimace flashed across his features as he raised a hand and struck her across the face.

Katara gasped and fell back on the bed just as he reached down to pick her up by the neck. The yell in her throat was strangled before she could release it, but her hands were still free. She tugged desperately at the hand enclosed around her neck, sinking her nails into the flesh.

The man swore and threw her at the wall, clenching his now bleeding hand to his body. Katara slid to the floor, pain exploding in her head. She whimpered and struggled to pull herself up. This was like nothing she'd ever experienced before. Usually, they got out of situations before anything like this ever happened. Katara didn't know what to do.

"You stupid little waterbender," he spat, making the insult seem so much worse in his vile voice. "What were you doing, huh?" He glanced at the cell corner. From where she was, Katara couldn't see the hole, and she hoped he couldn't too. Whatever this was about, showing that she'd succeeded in her aim would not help.

"Thought you'd escape, did you?" He snarled. "Well, princess, you're here now, and you're little friends aren't coming to save you."

Katara's eyes widened as she realised what the man had said. "What- what do you mean?"

He chuckled evilly, his towering body vibrating with the movement. Katara shrank back against the cold iron, wishing there was time for her to waterbend.

She watched with horror as he brought his foot back, ready to strike again. Time slowed down as the kick drew nearer. Katara held her breath, mentally prepared herself for the pain.

But it never came.

"STOP!" Zuko roared, shooting the man off his feet with a powerful blast of fire. "What is going on?"

The prince's glowering eyes found Katara trembling on the ground and the breath left his lungs. "Katara," he whispered.

Zuko turned his furious gaze to the man crumpled in a heap on the other side of the cell. "What is the meaning of this, Lien?"

"Sire," Lien whimpered. "She was trying to escape! I caught her in the act. I was just teaching her a lesson."

Zuko shook his head in disgust. "Get out of my sight. You no longer deserve the title of a Fire Nation soldier."

Katara watched uncomfortably as Lien was led away in handcuffs, a guard on each side. If she hadn't been in so much pain, Katara was sure she would have felt satisfaction at Lien's dismissal and gratitude for Zuko's timely arrival. But all she could feel was terror at her attacker's last comment. What had he meant, they weren't coming? Katara had enough sense to guess. Something had happened to the boys – something terrible.

Fog seeped into her mind, clogging any rational thought. As she slipped into a welcome unconsciousness, Katara saw the Fire Prince kneel beside her with a concerned expression on his chiselled features.

"Katara," she heard him murmur; this new gentle Zuko so different from the intense prince he'd just been. "Katara, come back…"

Slowly, Katara came round.

Zuko waited for the waterbender to regain consciousness properly from his seat on the freezing metal floor. Katara cringed when her bruised neck complained at the uncomfortable position she'd been resting in. The prince cringed along with her, resenting himself for getting her into this mess. If he'd just thought before placing Lien as Katara's guard, she wouldn't be hurting right now. Zuko had known Lien's backstory – he should have realised the kind of situation he'd be put in. Lien had even told Zuko of his vow to avenge his family after seeing them die at the hands of Northern Water Tribe soldiers. And Zuko had given that monster the perfect opportunity to carry out his promise.

He cursed himself for his stupidity.

Then Katara groaned from her bed and buried her head in her arms. Zuko had had his personal doctors look at her, but it didn't seem to have made any difference. The prince wished there was something else he could do to help. He stood up to hover around her bed.

Katara looked up to find Zuko standing over her, and her breath hitched. Despite somehow knowing he wouldn't hurt her, everything from his proximity to the colours on his tunic reminded her of her attacker.

Terror entered Katara's blue eyes, darkening them in a way Zuko had never seen before. Sadness entered his heart as he realised she would never trust him; not after Lien. The intensity of his feelings surprised Zuko and scared him. He'd never felt this way before - well, outside of his feelings for his mother, but that was different. The young waterbender had changed him in the few days she'd been here, and Zuko didn't want to look too far into what that meant.

For now, he had to keep sight of what his main purpose was for having her here: the Avatar. She was his bait.

The familiar ice entered his heart as he called his guards over.

"Handcuff her," he commanded them. "We don't want her escaping like Lien"- Katara flinched at the sound of his name – "suspected she would."

In the back of her mind, Katara acknowledged the cold metal that now enclosed her wrists, but she was still exhausted from the assault. Oblivion welcomed the waterbender again just as the heavy cell door clanged shut; Katara's pain-riddled mind vaguely commenting, 'What an appropriate ending to such an awful day'.