Obligatory I don't own Avatar
Part 1 - First Stitch - Chapter 2/3
Zuko trudged toward the edge of camp feeling like an ostrich horse under the weight of his burden.
He was only supposed to bring her a meal, so how did he end up with willow bark chamomile tea, orchid peony tea cakes, rope, a coverlet 'with matching cushions!' and a pot of ointment?
He didn't expect to be hosting a tea party for this peasant girl. As he approached the tree he could feel her staring boring into him, not that she had much else to look at. When he finally reached the farthest edge of camp he was met with a scowl.
"Did you come to bribe me again or just to gloat." she spat angrily.
"Actually, I came to bring you dinner you ungrateful peasant" he growled
"I don't want your stupid food."
Her stomach chose that moment to give a betraying growl of disagreement. Dropping her gaze, she hid her burning cheeks beneath some loose strands of dark hair, not wanting to face the triumphant smirk that now graced Zuko's face.
As much as Katara hated to admit it, the new forms ate up a fair amount of her energy and was what left her vulnerable to capture in the first place. She wanted to kick herself but it wouldn't do her any good in her current situation.
Refusing to look up, Katara listened as Zuko placed a lantern out of reach and began to drop several items to the ground, shuffling them around to and from, it was only when she felt tugging at the ropes that her head snapped up.
"What are you doing?" she asked loudly.
"Untying you, or did you plan to eat bound to that tree?" Zuko asked in a deadpan.
"You trust me to not waterbend?" her voice hopeful.
"Of course not." he says flatly holding up another coil of rope.
Once he felt he had enough slack to maneuver the ropes behind her while keeping his captive, well, captive, he put his hours of knot tying aboard the ship to work. Zuko sat at Katara's feet taking note of the tough animal skin boots, the exact material was unknown to him but the craftsmanship surprisingly spoke of skilled hands. He expertly went about binding her ankles in a very short hobble, the knotwork would allow her to walk but restricted her to small steps. Getting away would prove extremely difficult and make any kind of bending stance downright impossible. The completed hobble left Zuko with a strangely elegant set of knots and two long lines. He let the soft smooth fiber of the rope run through his calloused hands as brought the two lengths along Katara's sides up to each of her arms. He created another set of bindings just above each of her elbows before connecting them in another complex knot.
Zuko loomed over her focused on the rope in his hands, unconcerned with the angry waterbender below him. With him this close Katara could feel the heat emanating from him, it chased the goosebumps from her skin as he worked diligently at the bindings he attached to her arms. Were fire benders always this warm?
After a few minutes, Zuko tucked off the loose ends and leaned back, with her elbows pinned to her sides she would have full use of her hands but very limited use of her arms. He figured the most she would be able to do was bend his tea back at him, he'd take that over whatever those drunken pirates had in mind.
Katara watched on silently, ordinarily she'd have something to say, but right now her aching body needed off this stupid tree, even if it meant being put into another set of ropes.
Zuko double-checked his knots slipping a finger into each of the bindings, he wanted to ensure they were tight enough to hold her but loose enough to not cut off the waterbender's circulation.
"I'm going to untie the ropes holding you, when they drop, stay leaned against the tree, and don't move." Zuko warned.
'Of course prince smoke for brains, I'm just going to let you keep me captive' she thought to herself as she nodded.
Zuko began untying the pirate's thick rope, the coarse fibers caught on his callouses as it slid through his hands. After making several circles around the tree, he began to wrap the rope in a neat, tight, coil.
With his back to her, Katara took the opening. She pressed her palms against the tree and pushed off taking her first step in making a break for it. She was a distance from their camp but with the cover of night and a head start she might make it. Either Zuko would pursue her alone and it would be 3 vs 1 or he would go get reinforcements, it would give her a head start and enough time to wake Sokka and Aang to leave. As her momentum pushed her forward something strange pulled her from her thoughts and Katara quickly realized there was one problem with her plan. As her back pulled away from the sharp bark, she felt her knees buckle and a tug at her ankles. Instinctively her hands shot out to brace her fall but they didn't make it past her waist. The line of tensioned rope at her back reminded her of her new restraints and quickly taught her of their limits, all she could do was look on in horror as the ground rushed up to meet her face.
Zuko added the final length of rope to the coil, neatly tucking and fastening the ends, he mentally cursed whoever decided to use what was practically an iron chain wrapped in sandpaper. He caught a glimpse of movement over his left shoulder, in that moment the irritatingly dull drills Iroh had him practice day in and day out paid off as his body reacted before his mind. The rope fell from his hands and he instinctively turned to face the tree dropping into right hanmi. As his hands rose to defend, he took the full force of a falling waterbender to the solar plexus knocking the wind out of him. As they fell Zuko wrapped one arm around Katara pulling her tight against him and angled their bodies so that he took the brunt of the landing on his side, protecting her and his spine while dispersing some of the impact with his other arm.
Without missing a beat Katara rolled out of his hold and pushed herself up to her feet, backing up as much as her bonds would let her. Zuko was up and stalking toward her before she made it to the tree.
"I told you to stay against the tree peasant, you could have hurt us both." Zuko snarled.
Katara reversed to square one with her back once again, against the tree.
"Well maybe you shouldn't have left me tied to that stupid tree for hours." she bit back fixing a defiant glare on him.
Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and a futile attempt to calm himself. Agni, grant me patience, how could one person be so infuriating?
"Your weight has been supported by those ropes for hours, I told you to stay because after being immobile for so long your body wasn't ready to take your weight. Moving would have caused your knees to give out which is exactly what happened." he lectured her.
Katara's cheeks heated at the accusation, she didn't expect the hot-headed prince to be knowledgeable let alone capable of forethought.
"Now sit, you need to eat." he directed "It's not like you're going to get very far anyway."
Another gurgling protest from Katara's stomach convinced her go along with things, for now at least. She awkwardly maneuvered herself to a seated position on the ground and watched Zuko pulled covered dishes from a woven container he'd hauled up from camp. She watched him curiously as he studied the ribbed burgundy porcelain for a few moments before handing it to her. She accepted the bowl of stew feeling the warmth of the porcelain bleed into her fingertips. Next, he uncovered a second dish to reveal a steaming roast fish, her mouth watered as she placed the fish dish on her lap. Zuko continued to unpack the container as she ate. She didn't mind the silence, silence was a rare commodity with Sokka and Aang around.
Aang.
She felt a small twang of guilt for enjoying the quiet she shared with the Ozai's son, she shouldn't just be sitting here, Aang and Sokka were in danger. Katara shook off the feeling as best she could, there wasn't much she could do while restrained, cold, and hungry. She continued to tuck into her food, the warm broth helped chase some of the chill that had settled into her bones.
Katara placed the bowl aside and picked at the crisped skin of her fish as she watched Zuko assemble a small tea set made of more of the red ribbed porcelain.
When he procured cups from the basket she spied an unmistakable blue that peaked from his sleeve and almost choked.
"Is that my mother's necklace?!" she asked incredulously.
Zuko paused to pull up his sleeve revealing the cerulean necklace wrapped securely around his wrist, "Yes, what of it?"
"Take it off. Now!", Katara demanded somewhat alarmed.
Zuko gave her a wry smile, "My offer still stands." he teased in another bid to glean some information on the Avatar.
"I'm not telling you anything about Aang" she replied her alarm giving into defiance.
"Then it stays where it is." he shrugged and continued to unpack.
"It can stay with you just take it off." she said through gritted teeth.
He watched Katara clench her jaw in agitation, confused at her sudden distress.
"Why?" he asked with a perplexed look.
"Because I said so."
Her petulance rubbed him the wrong way.
"I don't take orders from peasants." he snarled.
"You're such an idiot." she said not entirely to herself.
Zuko's head shot up "What did you just say to me?" he asked, anger creeping into his tone.
"You heard me, you're an idiot. For a nation that wishes to 'bring prosperity' to the rest of the world, you know nothing about it." she spat matching the rise in his temper.
"Why should I care?"
"The women of my tribe tie their betrothal necklace on the wrist of their intended before they leave for war. Wearing it like that signals that you are my betrothed which is beyond laughable. If you took the time to learn about the people you conquered, you'd know that", Katara spat condescendingly as if Zuko had missed the obvious.
Zuko felt the heat rise in his face as he turned red, "I'd never be betrothed to a peasant like you", he thundered not caring if he woke those at camp.
"You think I'd willingly let myself be betrothed to a fire nation bully? Let alone the prince of bullies? I'd rather jump off a cliff." she shouted.
"Of course, any woman who had to marry this face would want to jump off a cliff." Zuko hissed turning away from her finding whatever task he could occupy himself with.
Katara froze, this was not a wound she had intended to inflict, "That's not what I meant." the words came out at a near whisper.
Zuko had no illusions about what he looked like, he had already come to terms with the fact that his marriage would be solely for someone's political gain. It didn't make the blue-eyed girl's disdain sting any less.
He wouldn't look up at her, "I don't need your pity, you can -"
For the second time that night Zuko's retort died on his tongue as a peal of drunken laughter drifted from the camp. Katara stiffened at the sound giving him a sickening reminder of why he was there. With the heat of their argument extinguished a few quiet moments passed before Katara spoke.
"Why are you here? Why not leave me tied up all night? I already told you I'm not telling you anything so what do you ... want?" she asked her suspicion stitched with fear.
Zuko clenched and unclenched his jaw, he didn't want to tell her but to lie seemed worse. Whatever fragile threads of trust he'd begun to weave would shatter and bring him no closer to the Avatar
"The pirates, while an alliance of convenience, do not share the same honor as the Fire Nation" he said shortly.
"No one shares the same honor as the Fire Nation, you all think you're superior, why else would you still call me peasant?" her voice carried an edge of contempt he did not expect.
"That's not what I meant." he said gritting his teeth and echoing her words as he stood.
"Then what did you mean, your highness?" Katara mocked.
The reminders of his banishment hurt, it was a wound that festered and bled. It was too much and the walls broke.
"That no man who wishes to force himself on a woman is capable of honor." Zuko roared as the dilapidated patchwork of calm he'd managed to cobble together gave way to the shame and anger that burned through him.
Katara went pale as the blood drained from her face, she involuntarily backed up the few inches allowed by her restraints the forgotten dish falling from her lap. As he watched the fear seep into her eyes, bitter regret filled the space his anger had just occupied.
"No", she rasped as she pushed further back toward the tree and began fighting against the ropes, "Let me out, let me go now!" she demanded.
She pushed herself up to stand pulling and flexing against the ropes binding her elbows almost as if she could just muster enough strength she would break her bonds. She was ok to play along waiting for her chance to escape but now? She needed to get out.
She moved to put more distance between her and the camp and felt another tug at her ankles. It was a wonder that something so small tilted her entire world. For the second time that night she found herself falling as gravity took over, and for the second time that night, a pair of unnaturally warm and calloused hands plucked her from its insistent pull.
Zuko hauled Katara upright with a force so swift it gave her momentary vertigo. Despite the near fall she refused to give up her struggle, she continued to writhe and fight against the ropes.
"Let me go!" she demanded.
She thrashed so violently against his grip that Zuko barely held on. Having enough he grabbed and held Katara by the shoulders with an authority only a born and bred royal could ever muster. The astonishing force that this unknown facet of his presence wielded stilled her.
"I can't -" he started but Katara cut him off.
"You can, and you will. I'm not giving up Aang, even for my mother's necklace, so let me go!" her angry words trembled in the dark night.
"Even if I did let you go and I tracked you back to where the Avatar laid his head tonight, giving me exactly what I want, you still stole from pirates. They will still come after you and I can't guarantee I will make it to you first."
He paused letting what he said sink in but it did nothing to calm her, if she kept fighting they'd be up all night. Zuko let out a sigh and ran a hand over his bare scalp, the slight stubble grazed roughly along his palm. He hated to admit it but he needed her and treating her as a means to end wasn't exactly working. If this plan was going to work, he needed to give her something, a guarantee
As a prince of the Fire Nation the words he spoke in taking an oath were iron clad and were to be followed to the letter. It was believed that those who went against their oaths faced the wrath of Agni and had their own fire turned against them, something he did not take lightly, he could not say the same of his sister. Making his decision, he let his hands rest heavy on her shoulders in hopes that they would convey the weight of what he was about to say. Taking a breath he hoped he wasn't making a mistake.
"What I can promise you, is that as long as you're my pris-, as long as you are under my care, I will ensure no harm will come to you. I will swear that to you on my honor as prince of the fire nation. Will you trust that?"
Katara's blue eyes pinned him with an assessing look, his taunting sneer at the water's edge echoed in her mind.
'I'll protect you from the pirates'
This was different, it was heavy and solemn like a vow bound and weighted in iron chain. As much as she felt that he was sincere, she didn't trust him as far as she could throw him, unfortunately, she didn't have much in the way of options right now, something would have to give. There was only one choice, she was going to have to place this sliver of trust in him if she was going to make it to dawn. A few silent moments passed, the darkness waiting for her to make her decision, she finally gave him a guarded nod.
Unknown to the water and firebender staring each other down in the dim light, their small but tense interaction set off an intangible shift, one that sent ripples into the depths of the night. Somewhere at camp, Iroh gave a sad smile, heavy with knowing and laced with hope. Another knot tied, another step down what was to be a painful path but ultimately the right one.
He placed his tile and waited for the next move.
A/N Hope you liked chapter 2! I'll be finishing out part 1 and posting another fic in three - four parts before returning to this giving me some time to work on the bridge part and and part 3. See you next week!