Chapter 1
Three years later
She dreamed of fire.
Every night it was always the same.
Burning on her shoulder. A terrible familiar burning. Her dreams were becoming reality! She sat up with a loud yelp. She scrambled backward, clutching her shoulder as she did.
Wide eyed and frightened, she stared at Zhao, as he kneeled beside her pallet.
"I don't recall ever giving you permission to sleep in Water Tribe slave." He stood up from his kneeling position and towered over her. "Perhaps I've been too polite to you. The sun has been up for over an hour now and I haven't been served my breakfast."
Katara swallowed and slowly stood up. "I'll-I'll-" she trailed off as he smirked.
"I'll be waiting." He said and turned to go, leaving her alone.
As soon as he was gone, Katara touched her painful shoulder, silent tears of pain rolling down her cheeks. He had burned her. She stared resolutely at her burn. She shook her head and wiped her tears. Now was not the time to cry.
She took a deep breath and reached underneath her pallet. She pulled out the jar of cooling salve and opened it up. She dipped two fingers inside before reaching for her shoulder. She sighed as soon as the salve touched her shoulder. She quickly dressed and made her way out of her very tiny room and toward the galley.
*****
"Well look who decided to show."
Katara smiled at the Ship's cook. "Ryu." She greeted quietly. She indicated the breakfast. "Is this the Commander's?"
Ryu nodded and he raised an eyebrow at the slow movements the child was making. "Are you hurt?" He asked.
Katara sighed as she reached for Zhao's tray. "It's nothing." She said. "My punishment for not rising with the sun."
Ryu frowned down at her. "Little one-" He trailed off when she looked at him, her face a blank mask.
"It doesn't matter." She said quietly.
Ryu's frown deepened. He nodded once, not wanting to upset her more. "Have you had your breakfast?"
She shook her head. "I wasn't allowed."
"Here." He handed her two large pieces of bread dipped in honey along with a small piece of cheese. "Eat this. Quickly."
Katara nodded gratefully and did as instructed. She quickly finished off her meal and smiled gratefully at the cup of tea he handed her. She sighed happily as the jasmine tea hit her belly. Food for her was sometimes few and in between. If it wasn't for Ryu sneaking her food so often, she would starve to death.
She placed the empty cup down. "I have to go." she said as she reached for Zhao's tray of breakfast.
Ryu stopped her before she could go. "I'll hide some melon and apples under the stairs before the hall."
She smiled and turned to go.
Ryu watched his young friend slowly make her way out of the galley. "Spirits protect her." He whispered before turning to clean up the mess he made.
**********
Katara quietly made her way into Zhao's large common room. She paused as she spotted him, standing in front of a large map, his hands behind his back.
"The Fire Nation shall have complete control of the Western Territory by the month's end."
His booming commanding voice made her flinch. It always made her flinch. She lowered her head and made her way toward his dinning table. "Your food Commander."
Zhao turned, an evil smirk on his face. He made his way across the room and sat down. "Those Earth Kingdom Savages can't hide in their pathetic holes for too long. My fleet will ground and smoke them out. It'll be an easy victory."
She didn't respond. She never did. He always spoke about his war tactics to her and she never understood why. She lifted the top off of his food and reached over to pour him a cup of tea.
"By Summer's end, the Fire Nation will have won the war. Everyone will bow to us once they realize that the Fire Nation is the greatest nation."
She held in a sigh as she removed the plates from the tray and onto the table.
"Come Now," Zhao said with a smirk. "Surely you must think the same. Especially after the way I destroyed your Tribe so easily."
Katara felt the familiar pain from the constant reminder of the destruction of her Tribe. She quickly swallowed down the lump she felt forming inside of her throat. She kept her head lowered.
He chuckled and shook his head. He reached for his napkin and placed it into his lap.
She moved to take the tray away and froze as her wrist was suddenly in his grip. She winced as his grip tightened.
"Look at me." He commanded. She lifted her head to stare into his cold gaze. She stared back, just as coldly. Zhao suddenly smiled and released his painful grip on her wrist.
"You are to scrub my bathing tub today. As well as my second armor and boots."
"Yes Commander." She said blandly.
He bit into his breakfast. "I'm sure you know what the rest of your duties are and I don't have to explain them."
"Of course Commander." She moved into her corner and waited. It was always the same everyday. He would silently eat his meal and she would wait until he was finished.
Once he was finished, she reached for his armor and held it out for him to put it on. She slid his armor onto his shoulders and deftly tied the string and buckled the belts with quick work. She slid his outer armor on next, pulling the cloth around his right shoulder tightly. She clasped the belt around his waist snugly. She stepped back and looked up, surprised to see Zhao watching her, a strange look on his face.
She stepped back and clasped her hands behind her back. "I'm finished."
Zhao stared at her for a moment longer, before clearing his throat. "Get to work." He said before leaving.
*********
Katara was finished with her chores late into the afternoon. She had already finished off the food Ryu had finished for her, and now she found herself walking about on the deck of the ship, working at keeping herself invisible.
She usually succeeded. Most of the soldiers ignored her. Pretended as if she didn't exist. She was completely fine with that. Then there were the others. The ones who muttered dirty things about her, whenever she walked by. Those who called her a peasant, a savage. Those who looked at her with a strange look. The same way Zhao had been looking at her.
She shuttered and shook the disturbing thoughts from her mind and she found herself at the Stern of the ship. She turned to stare out at the endless sea. Today marked her third year on Zhao's ship. As Zhao's slave. She tried not to think of her family, but she couldn't help it. Everyone she knew was gone. No one will come for her. Ever. She closed her eyes as she felt the tears start to fall. She knew she had to be strong. She knew she had to have hope.
But she was not strong and she had lost hope long ago. Her hands tightened on the railing as she prayed to Tui and La to give her strength.
"Draw strength from the sea my sister." A voice whispered.
"Feel the push and pull of the ocean." Another voice whispered.
Katara's eyes slid open and she glanced around with a small frown. She glanced back out at the water. She watched as the water passed from under the ship's slow movements. The water was graceful clear, flowing. "Push and Pull." She whispered.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could smell the saltwater. She had to be strong. She came from a long line of strong women, she should be no different.
"I hope you aren't thinking of jumping little one."
Concentration broken, she sighed and opened her eyes. "It's not as thought anyone would be missing me."
Ryu scoffed. "Not true." He said with a frown. "You know I'd miss you quite a bit. Who else would I get to be my taste tester for my not so famous recipes?" He laughed at his own joke. He trailed off when he noticed she didn't laugh with him. "Hey," He said. "My joke wasn't hat bad." He tilted his head. "Katara,-I understand how you-" He trailed off when she let out a hollow laugh.
"You understand?" She asked, feeling sudden anger. She turned to face him. "I am Water Tribe. You are Fire Nation. My whole Tribe was taken away from me. You still have family to go to!"
Ryu's eyes slid over Katara's shoulder toward the ocean. The water's waves, he noted were growing larger and slamming violently against the stern of the ship. He looked back at Katara as she glared angrily at him.
"I'm here against my will! You're not. How could you possibly understand!" The last statement ended on a screech and the water expelled high into the sky, soaking both them and the ship.
She stalked angrily away from him.
Ryu looked out at the sea, then back at Katara's retreating form. He stared wide eyed at the implication.
Katara was a WaterBender.
"Well I'll be a jumping Rabbaroo."
*********
They had anchored the ship many miles away from the shoreline and Katara found herself confined to her room. This was fine with her. She'd much rather be left alone. Zhao rarely ever let her out of her room at night, and only on nights when she was to serve him and his generals' dinner.
She didn't enjoy those times.
But tonight, she was locked in her room which meant that most of the soldiers, Zhao including, were off of the ship. She knew what that meant. She knew Zhao's fleet was probably in a village right now. Destroying all who oppose them and claiming the land as Fire Nation Territory. She sighed to herself and shivered from the thoughts of what destruction will be left behind for that particular village.
She brought her knees up to her chest. She hated this feeling of hopelessness. She hated this feeling of not being able to know whether or not she will survive this. The fire Nation was strong. Vicious. Their destruction was overwhelming. She knew it was only a matter of time before they ruled supreme. She tensed and looked up as she heard the locks suddenly turn.
The door creaked open and she braced herself for her visitor. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw who it was.
"Ryu?" She questioned with surprise. "What are you doing?"
He quietly closed the heavy metal door and turned to face her with a smile. "Well I came to keep you company." He gave her a mock frown. "What is it little one? Not happy to see me?"
She smiled softly. "No. It's not that. It's just…How?"
He grinned as she held his hands up. "Well the wonderful gentleman outside your door has gotten a huge dose of my Turkeyduck."
She laughed. "The same Turkey duck that makes you sleepy?"
He nodded. "The same. He'll be out for the next few hours or so." He hefted the sack he held onto his shoulder.
"What's in the sack?" She asked.
He bowed. "Some wonderful treats for my Lady." He sat next to her and handed her the sack.
She quickly opened it and peeked inside. Inside were a few apples, some carefully wrapped bread and pre-packaged meals that she has seen some of the soldiers use. She smiled. "Thank you."
He shrugged. "I wish I could give you more food." He said. Sometimes the head cook watched him a little too closely.
She shook her head. "No. It's enough." She took out an apple and bit into it. She placed her bag of treats to the side. She looked up at her friend. "I'm sorry I yelled at you yesterday."
Ryu shook his head. "No. It's fine. You should have yelled at me. You were right."
She shrugged. "Still you're my only friend." She bit into her apple again.
Ryu nodded. "I'm proud to be your friend Katara." He tilted his head. "Do you remember the first time we met?"
She nodded. "I had gotten a black eye and you had put a piece of chicken cow over my eye claiming that it'd make the swelling go down."
Ryu nodded. "Hey, it worked."
"Yeah," She said. "But it was much better when you cooked it for me." She looked at him. "You remind me of my brother you know; except you're much older than he was."
She looked away from him when she felt the tears began.
Ryu placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Katara," he said. "I'm sorry."
She shook her head. "It- It's been three years since I've been here. You'd have thought I'd be numb to it all now, but I'm-I still feel it Ryu. I'll never be free of this. I'll probably die here."
Ryu squeezed her shoulder. "You're stronger than this little one. I can see it in you."
She shrugged his hand off of her shoulder. "I tell myself to be strong everyday. But I don't feel it. I can't feel it anymore. I'm so tired."
They were both silent for a long moment and Ryu sighed to himself. He was losing his friend to despair. He knew he couldn't let this happen. "Katara, did I ever tell you why I decided to become a cook?"
She looked at him, confused from the sudden change of subject. "No."
He paused for a moment. "Well, I can't rightly remember why, but the point is…" He trailed off and snapped his fingers.
Katara's eyes widened in shock from the flames that emanated from his two finger tips.
"You're a-"
"Firebender." He finished for her. He held his hand palm side up and a small flame grew in his palm. "Many years ago, according to my parents, I was born marked with a great gift. I was to be a fire sage when I reached the age of great maturity. I attended the Fire nation Academy, like all good fire nation citizens. I studied and worshiped our leader. I read all propagandistic material. I mastered fire bending. I had faith in my Nation. I believed hat this was a great nation and all others were nothing. While I was in my last year , we heard rumors that a Fire nation regimen had advanced into a western earth kingdom territory and made it Fire Nation. Of course we all wanted to see the great victory." He trailed off with a sigh.
Katara sat, mesmerized by his story.
"When we arrived, there was nothing, but a burnt village." He swallowed. "Bodies. There were children."
Katara closed her eyes and shook her head.
"Everyone was cheering, but I just became sick. I didn't understand how they could hurt a child. What can a child do wrong?" He sighed. "Instead of becoming a student of the Fire Temple like I was supposed to be, I ran away. Traveled the world. Then for some strange reason, four years ago I ended up on this ship." He passed a ball of fire back and forth between his hands. "They say fire sages are the most powerful Fire Benders in the fire nation. But to me fire is just destruction." he closed his fist and the flame went out.
Katara stared at him for a long moment. "But, you're a bender. Denying it is almost like denying yourself. I mean, don't you feel lost without your bending?"
Ryu tilted his head. "Do you?"
Katara eyed him strangely. "What are you talking about?"
"Nothing." Ryu smiled, changing the subject. "Have you ever tried an apple after it's been heated?"
*******
"Katara," a familiar voice whispered. "Katara, my moon beam. Wake up."
Katara groaned and her eyes blinked open. Her eyes widened and she quickly sat up as she realized she was no longer on Zhao's ship. She was lying beside a pond on a small grassy island. The strange island was a lush, warm tropical oasis with a strange gate on the other side. She crawled over toward the pond, surprised to see two Koi fish swimming, circling each other. She stared, suddenly entranced by the graceful way they swam. For the first time in three years, she felt safe.
"Katara?"
She turned at the sound of that familiar voice. Her eyes widened and tears gathered in her eyes. "Mom?" She stood up. Her mother stood there, just as she remembered. She ran into her arms with a cry. She sobbed heavily into her mother's shoulder, breathing into her scent deeply.
"My Katara." Kya breathed softly. "My Moon beam."
"Mom." Katara breathed, her voice hoarse.
Kya pulled away from the hug with a small smile. She ran her hands against her daughters cheeks. "Look at how you've grown." she whispered. "I feel as though I'm looking in a mirror. You're so beautiful."
Katara sniffed and pulled her mother into her arms again. "Mom." Was all she could say.
"Katara," Kya breathed. She pulled away and placed her hands on Katara's cheeks. "My daughter, listen to me. We don't have much time."
Katara blinked up at her mother. "Mom. I-"
Kya placed her hands on Katara's shoulders. "Katara, you must listen." she repeated. "You cannot lose hope. You're a strong, brave, special young woman. Hope is a powerful weapon. As long as you have hope, you will be fine."
Katara nodded solemnly at her mother, drawing strength from her words.
Kya smiled and continued. "Things will change for you very soon my love. You will be great."
"I don't understand." Katara whispered.
Kya kissed her cheek. "You will soon." She leaned over and whispered into my ear. "Heal him Katara."
Katara looked at her mother confused. She could feel herself being pulled away. She knew the dream was ending. "Mom?"
Kya stared at her sadly. "We have to part now Katara."
Katara shook her head. "No. I-I don't want to go!"
Kya, tears now forming in her eyes, reached behind her hair and unclasped her necklace. "Here." She placed the betrothal necklace into Katara's hands. "Don't lose hope." She repeated. "Never lose hope."
Katara's eyes opened and she quickly sat up. She glanced about he small room. She was back on the ship. She looked down, realizing something was in her hand. Her eyes widened and tears sprung to her eyes. Her dream wasn't a dream at all because in her hand, was her mother's necklace.
TBC *please Review!*