this chapter shall decide all fate..............

"Katara" Zuko looked across the table to the waterbender.

She looked up at him, "You said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Oh, right…" she said, "I was wondering, if maybe…"

She shook her head. "What is it Katara?"

"It was a stupid question."

"I'm still listening."

"I was wondering if I was allowed to bend. Tonight's the full moon, and I'm at my strongest then. I would also like to get some done before we reach the capital."

Zuko thought about this. She could runaway, can she be trusted, he thought.

Katara moved around the table, to sit at the Fire Lord's side.

"If I let you, would you run away?"

"No" she whispered.

"Of course you can," she squealed and tackled him, "on one condition."

She looked at him, "anything."

"I get to watch." She smiled a placed a small kiss on his cheek.

Katara spent most of the day in the room. Reading some scrolls placed out for her. She took a short nap, and ate a little food. She was reading, when someone knocked on the door.

"Come in" she called thinking it was a servant. When she looked up, there was a guard.

"Is the Fire Lord here?" he asked.

She shook her head, "he's training right now."

"Good." She looked at him. Before she could react, a fireball was sent strait at her. She ducked, but the fireball hit her arm.

She screamed and fell to the floor. Zuko heard the scream and started to walk to his room. If it's another bug, he thought to himself, I'm going to kill her.

Katara got up, and threw a water whip at him. Steam came up, when he hit it with a fireball.

Katara tried to run around him, but he grabbed her hair and pulled her down to floor. He was on top her, and his hand, now on fire, came down, inches away from her face.

She screamed again, but not from pain this time. Someone had thrown a fireball at the guard and he fell on top of her. Zuko helped her up, and noticed her arm.

She quickly used bloodbending to move the man out of the door. Zuko had the others arrest him, and he was thrown in the dungeon.

"You didn't faint this time!" Zuko said as he pulled Katara into a tight hug.

"Oww…my arm….ZUKO, you're hurting my arm!"

He pulled away from her, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay; I just need to heal it first." While she healed herself Zuko asked why she didn't faint this time.

"It's the full moon. I told you I'm at my strongest then."

"Oh…" Zuko sighed.

"What?"

"I'm sorry I didn't get here in time. I broke your promise."

She looked at him, and then recalled last night.

"So this is what it's like to be the Fire Lord?" she joked, sitting back in the chair.

"That's what it's like to be Fire Lady" he walked up to her and knelt in front of her.

"I could get used to it, but you have to promise me something."

"Anything" he said, taking her small hand into his larger one.

"Can I go see my family again?"

"…anything but that, they would just take you from me."

"Can I have a different promise?"

"Of course…"

"Don't let any assassins come after me."

He chuckled then pulled her into a kiss. She melted into it right away, letting him wrap his arms around her waist. He pulled her to her feet, and broke the kiss for breath.

"It's okay. You couldn't have known."

"But I should have."

She tugged at his hand when she was done, "come I want to show you something."

He tugged her arm so she would be pulled against his chest, "Let's just stay here."

"No, Zuko, you promised I could waterbend!" She tugged at his hand some more.

"I let you do it all day tomorrow."

She sighed. "Please Zuko?"

"I'll let you spar with me tomorrow."

She sighed again.

"I'll let you roam freely around the ship everyday."

Finally she sighed in defeat, "we'll stay here."

He smirked and began to kiss her neck. She moaned and he smirked into her hair.

"Isn't this better?" he purred into her ear. She nodded slowly, as Zuko began to kiss his way from her neck to her jaw line. She tried to push him away playfully but he just grabbed her waist, and pushed her against him even more.

He kissed her left cheek, than her right. He kissed her forehead, than her nose. Finally his lips came onto hers, with a force that surprised her. His hand moved from her lower back, to behind her head so she couldn't pull away.

When he broke the kiss, they were both panting for breath. She rested her head on his heaving chest.

"Mine…" he hissed seductively into her ear, before pulling her towards the bed and closing the doors.

"Sokka!" the airbender yelled, when he hopped off the flying bison.

"Aang, how are you?" Sokka went over, to rustle the fur on Appa.

"Great. I got some people to help us get Katara." There was a noise from the saddle, and a man jumped down, landing gracefully on the ground.

"Nice to see you Sokka." The teen said, walking out of the shadows.

"Jet?" Sokka gaped at the rebel. He was definitely taller and muscular, but that's not what bothered him.

"What, aren't you happy to see me?" he smirked.

"I thought-we thought- you were a goner."

"Nope," he brushed some dirt off his shoulder, "Longshot and Smellerbee got me out in time to see a healer."

At the call of their names, two more people hoped down from the bison.

"So what is going on exactly?" Jet asked, chewing on a piece of grass. Aang looked at Sokka he was interested in this too. Sokka's letter didn't explain everything.

"Well, some Fire Nation ships showed up. They said they weren't going to hurt anyone, but they were merely checking on things. When they left, we counted everyone, but Katara was missing. I found out that Zuko was on the ship. He took her, and I don't know why."

Jet smirked, "even a better reason to get your sister. I can beat the shit out of Zuko in the process."

Sokka and Aang got the stuff off of Appa while Jet leaned against a nearby tree. Longshot was fixing his bow and Smellerbee was twirling a dagger in her hands.

Sokka walked up to Jet after they were done setting up camp and had a fire going.

"Name your price."

"What?"

Sokka sighed, "What's it going to cost me to get you to help me."

Jet smirked and continued chewing on his piece of grass, "you'll have to see."

Sokka raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing else. If he knew Jet it would have something to do with Katara, he was sure of it.

Aang was staring into the fire. "What if we don't get her back," he sighed.

"Aang, we'll get her back. Don't worry." The last sentence wasn't directed to Aang, but more to himself. In fact, he was scared for his sister.

"Yeah Aang; I'm not giving up until we get Katara, and Zuko is nothing but a bloody pulp," Jet strolled in, a smug look on his face. He had already decided his cost.

hmmmmmm wonder what his cost is........