Woohoo, another update for you! I present chapter 21 of "Torn" and I hope it's to your liking. This is sort of a filler, a transition chapter if you may, but it does create some more tension (WHICH I LOVE) so read and review! And let me know what you think of our newest character introduction and what this could mean for the story? Can't wait to hear your thoughts, and thank you for your feedback thus far!

Enjoy!

I woke in a dim room, to burning pain and frantic voices.

"Hold her down, and someone get a cool compress! Her temperature is shooting through the roof."

"Can't you knock her out? You're making it worse!"

"The others haven't returned from the village with the supplies we need to do that. You have to keep her still or else I won't be able to dress the wounds and the infection will kill her within days!"

For a moment I wondered who they were talking about, but when I felt liquid poured over my back, I screamed and writhed in pain, and realized: Oh, they're talking about me.

"Katara, I'm sorry, we have to disinfect your injuries. Please, try and stay as still as possible," a tense voice said as a hand brushed a cool compress across my face and neck. The relief of the cool water against my skin should have been instantaneous, but it was overshadowed by the pain caused by the disinfectant.

"It hurts," I whimpered pathetically.

"I know, but if we don't clean your wounds they'll become infected," the voice said again, laced with concern and pain. I cracked my eyes open, to see Zuko's face, creases between his eyebrows, sweat coating his brow. It was disturbing, how absurdly safe I felt in that moment.

Kill the Fire Lord, or I kill your family and obliterate anything left of the Northern and Southern Water Tribes.

And any trace of relief or safety I had felt was gone. Guilt and pain had taken their place, and I could feel my chest constricting, my breath quickening, until I could barely breathe at all.

Voices began yelling at each other above me. I could hear them say I was going into shock, that the infection was spreading.

I heard Zuko saying my name, like it was a prayer.

And I think that's what sent me spiraling into oblivion.

The second time I woke, things seemed to be a bit calmer. In fact, things felt great.

And things felt great because I couldn't feel anything.

"Do you think it's working?" Zuko asked tensely, I could recognize that voice anywhere.

"Woah," I slurred into what I believed was a pillow, a dopey smile on my face. "Dis' is wha I'm talkin' 'bout."

"Yeah, I think it's working," a humored voice said from somewhere above me, Lieutenant Jin. I tried to get up, but hands immediately halted my movements. "Maybe a little too well."

"Katara, stay in bed. You need to heal," Zuko ordered.

I turned my face to see the Fire Lord and Lieutenant Jin standing beside my bed, both looking a little concerned, but also a little amused. And colorful, very colorful.

"Yes, sir," I garbled, and I was asleep again before my head even hit the pillow.

When I woke the third time, things were quiet again, but a bit more coherent. I could feel the lull of the swaying ship, a soft light coming through the window from outside, telling me it was either dusk or dawn.

I tried to move, and as expected, the pain was immense, but not nearly as bad as it should have been. There must've been a heavy dose of herbs circulating through my system; I could barely concentrate through the sluggishness I felt. I fell back into the mattress of a bed I didn't recognize, face-first into a an abundance of soft pillows and blankets, but tried again, this time with a better outcome. I peered down, taking in the soft nightshift that I knew didn't belong to me. It looked and felt far too expensive to be anything I owned. In fact, as I observed the room around me, everything looked far too expensive; the furniture, the ornaments adorning the walls, all wreaked of royalty, and I knew that the room I was in was Zuko's private quarters.

I grabbed the bed post and hoisted myself up to a standing position, eager to take advantage of momentarily being alone and escape before Zuko came back. To where, I couldn't be sure, but that was a confrontation I was not looking forward to.

But the task was easier said than done. I was still feverish and high on medication; standing didn't help. I felt a wave of dizziness sweep over me as I stepped away from the bed post, swayed with the movement of the ship and was sent crashing into the armoire.

You could only imagine: that felt amazing. A string of curses I didn't even know I was capable of producing came from my mouth, loudly, and no sooner than the first word had left my mouth, someone had come crashing through the door. I'll give you one guess as to who it was. Let's say it all together, shall we?

Zuko.

"What the hell are you doing!" he roared. And then he began to stride toward me, anger radiating off his every word. I stepped away from him, toward the wall, but I could barely focus through the haze. I stumbled again through another wave of dizziness, clutching at something to keep myself upright, while tripping over my own feet and sending me back toward the wall next to the bed.

Where my back should have made solid contact with the cool metal.

But it didn't, because Zuko's hand had shot out so fast, my eyes couldn't even trace his movements. He'd grabbed my wrist and pulled me forward so powerfully that we were sent crashing to the floor in a pile of armor and awkward limbs.

His hand came up to cup my cheek, then my forehead as he asked how I felt, but didn't wait for a response. "You still have a fever. And you should still be resting."

I didn't meet his eyes, fearing that I would lose control of myself if I did. Every word he'd said, every touch, just reminded me of what I would have to do.

"I'm fine," I mumbled as I pushed away from him, trying to use the bed as leverage to hoist myself into a standing position. Warm hands grabbed me under the arms, like a child, and cautiously positioned me on the edge of the bed. I didn't fight him; I could feel the room spinning, and sitting still suddenly seemed like a very good idea.

I felt the mattress dip beside me, but didn't look at Zuko. My feet were becoming a form of fascination to me, and I found that I couldn't quite take my eyes off them just yet.

"You've been whipped to shreds, bruised beyond compare, battered, burned-"

"I'm fine," I repeated quietly. But it wasn't enough to convince him.

"You're not fine!" he bellowed as he stood ubruptly. I couldn't help but flinch, surprised by his sudden movement and ferocity. It wasn't the first time he'd caught me by surprise, but it was the first time I was genuinely afraid.

And the second Zuko registered my reaction, my face a mask of fear and confusion, my body tensed in a manor of caution, he was kneeling down in front of me, my hands cradled in his. His head bowed over my knees as he spoke, hair covering his brow, shoulders tense.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-I would never hurt you."

I couldn't tell who was shaking more: my body shook with the effort to hold in sobs, and his regret was tangible. I could see the harsh set of his jaw, the way his eyes shut tightly, but opened only to glare at out hands entwined on my lap.

He was blaming himself.

"Zuko," I choked out between whimpers, feeling pathetic, but I couldn't control it anymore. I had held them in for so long, that once I opened the floodgates, the tears couldn't stop. I pulled my hands from his and moved them to his cheeks, gently pulling his face up to look at me. The raw agony in his golden eyes rivaled the physical pain I felt.

"It-It's not your f-fault."

He was watching me with the same expression, only this time there was a tint of disbelief playing at the edges of his lips, pulling them into a frown.

"It's not your fault!" I yelled more forcibly, the tears rolling freely now. It felt like a wad of cotton had been shoved in my mouth, but I couldn't tell if it was the tears or the medication making me choke on my words. "I-It's not your fault, Zuko! It's n-not!"

I swiped my thumbs across his cheekbones, over his scar, trying to coax him into believing me, but he stayed silent, unwavering in his belief. So, I repeated my statement, over and over again, sounding like an annoying, blubbering parrot, until he crawled up onto the bed and pulled me into his lap with his back against the head board, where he let me cry myself out as he dropped kisses atop my eyelids and cheeks where the tears left trails.

We stayed like that, my face buried in his neck, arms twined tightly around his shoulders, until no more tears came, and sleep beckoned.

The fourth time I woke, I woke to pain of being jostled around on a makeshift stretcher. Shadows loomed above and around me, voices murmured directions softly as I was led down what seemed to be a series of long hallways. We must have been off the ship by then, possibly in the palace in Caldera, but I couldn't be sure. I wasn't exactly able to keep track of our trip over the last few days; they must have heavily sedated me as I healed through the worst of my injuries, and for that I was eternally grateful. The pain was becoming more and more unbearable as the seconds passed through my transition back into consciousness. The medication they doped me up on while we were on the ship must've been wearing off, and I had the urge to beg for more of it.

"Second door on the left," a controlled voice ordered above me, and I felt the stretcher turn as we moved toward our intended destination. Which I hoped would be providing more of that numbing medication.

"Agni," a familiar voice whispered harshly. "What happened to her?"

Hesitation followed that question, and though I couldn't see their faces, I knew the expression they'd all be wearing: pity, sadness, and anger wrapped up in a little bit of self-reproach.

"Bring her over here, I need to see her back right now."

More jostling followed the order, until arms began to pull me off the stretcher and onto a cot. That's when I screamed, the pain becoming too much to bear in silence.

"Katara! Katara, hold still, my dear. I need a proper look at your injuries, and if you move more than necessary, it will be more painful that it has to be. You'll be alright, just stay still," the old nurse, Hama, assured me as she swept a hand across my brow, brushing a piece of hair away from my face. I'd come to learn her name after numerous trips to the palace infirmary due to training injuries.

"Okay," I felt myself whisper through the haze of pain. "I want the numbness back."

"What numbness, Katara?"

"The medicine," I hissed in annoyance. Why couldn't anyone see that I needed it. I opened my eyes to see Hama staring at me with a mixture of concern and disbelief.

"What did you give her?" she asked as her hand rested on my forehead, then on my neck. Testing my temperature, I guessed, but I couldn't seem to focus on her, or anything really. It felt as though the room was shaking, like we were in the middle of an earthquake, and I wanted to warn everyone, but I couldn't form the words. I just hoped that they would notice too, so we could move to safety and the god-awful earth would stop moving. It was beginning to make me feel nauseous.

Silence followed her question for a few moments, then a voice above me said, "we had to give her a local analgesic from an island we passed on our trip back. She wouldn't allow us to dress her wounds and she was in a lot of pain! The only thing they had strong enough was Opium so-"

"She's addicted to it," I heard Hama say, but I didn't care. This whole conversation seemed pointless to me. I needed that drug. "She's going through withdrawals. When was the last time you gave her a dosage?" I heard their conversation continue, but I could barely focus on their words anymore.

"...few hours..w-we thought...last longer..."

"...fever burned it off faster than anticipated...gave her more?"

"Please, Hama," I begged as the room continued to shake. I felt a hand on the back of my neck, as if it was meant to hold me down. That didn't seem right, until I processed that the earthquake had ceased, and realized that it was probably my body shaking, wracked with spasms.

"...can't give her more...overdose..."

"Hama," I whined as the pain got worse, "please."

"Katara, dear, look at me," she said slowly, moving her body so she was at eye level with me where I lay on the cot. I tried to focus on her gray eyes, the attempt taking more concentration than it normally would. "I can't give you more Opium, you may overdose and we can't risk that. You're going to have to fight through it with something a little less powerful, alright?"

I didn't like the sound of that, but I listened to her, nodding my head as best I could to let her know I understood.

"Okay, boys, you can leave now. I'll take it from here." I heard the shuffle of footsteps leaving the infirmary as Hama called another nurse over and gave her instructions to sterilize the equipment they would need.

"Your Highness, that means you too."

"I'm staying."

"She's not going to want you to see her go through this. It isn't going to be pretty," Hama warned, but I could only hear the scrape of a chair being pulled closer to my cot. A cool hand enveloped my own, lips pressing against the center of my palm.

"Alright, sir. Let us know if you need anything."

A moment of silence passed between them, and then Zuko spoke again.

"All I need, is for you to make sure she lives."

I knew these next few days would be hell, physically and psychologically.

But at least I had him there to hold my hand.

A/N: HAMA IS BACK WHAAAAAAT, but yay! another chapter is up, things are really going to start moving in these next few chapters. There's going to be a lot of tension between characters, nations, and within Katara herself so stay tuned! Coming to you soon with another update! Thanks for all your feedback so far, you're all wonderful!