Katara
The second Zuko walks out I throw all my weight against the door to try and get it to open but it won't budge.
"Spirits Damn It." I mutter, then sit with my back to the wall and hug my knees to my chest, and try not to think about what just happened. Zuko saved me.
I sigh and look around the room. I don't know what I would have expected a Prince's room to look like, but it's not as luxurious as I would have thought. It has a bed with a table next to it, a dresser, wardrobe, and a desk with a chair. The only decoration at all is a fire emblem on the wall and the only light comes from some candles and a small window letting in sunlight. I go and open the porthole, then sit down in front of it with the sunlight on my face and take a deep breath. It's the first sunlight I've seen in a week. The Ocean air fills me with energy and strength.
"Thank you, Moon and Ocean spirits, for this pleasure." I pray. I close my eyes and bask in the light, I'm not sure for how long, until the door creaks on its hinges and Zuko walks in the Pai Sho board and a teapot is under his arm, he tosses it on his bed and sits across from me. I lower my eyes, shame filling me, although I don't know why. He stays silent for a long time. When he does speak, it's not what I was expecting him to say.
"Are you okay, Katara? Really?" He asks softly.
"What? Why do you care?" I ask, genuinely wondering. "I'm an enemy of your nation, why are you protecting me?"
"Honestly? I'm not sure." He says and lays on his back with his legs still crossed. "I probably shouldn't. A strong leader would crush his enemies in any way he can. I should be torturing you for information, making sure you're not holding anything back instead of just trusting you're being honest, tossing you around to the men of my I'm not going to."
"That doesn't make you weak, Zuko. It makes you kind, and merciful. Those are the marks of a good leader." I tell him. He scoffs.
"Maybe in the Water Tribe. Not in the Fire Nation."
"Well, maybe your Uncle is right, and we should learn from each other."
"Maybe we should, but it's not going to happen. This war has lasted a hundred years, at this point the nations all just want to obliterate each other, not learn from each other."
"Aren't you next in line to be Fire Lord?"
"Only sort of. My banishment puts my sister ahead of me. And even if I do get to go home one day, once my Father dies she can challenge me in an Agni Kai for the throne, which she probably will. And she's always been a better bender."
"What's an Agni Kai?"
"A Firebender's duel." He says, and turns his face away, touching his scar.
"Is that how-" I start, but he cuts me off.
"I'll have to repair your cell myself to keep people from asking questions about what happened. Those three sailors have been dealt with and won't bother you again. You'll be off this ship soon enough. I'm sure we'll either capture the Avatar soon, or he'll trade himself for you, and you'll be free to go." He says. The mention of capturing Aang shoots a flare of anger through me.
"If he hasn't by now, he won't." I glare. "And good. I'm not worth the war."
"Y-You're infuriating is what you are!" He growls loudly.
"Oh really? If I'm so infuriating, why do you spend an hour every morning with me?" I ask, standing up.
"So I can keep up my firebending lessons with Uncle." He fumes. The corners of my mouth twitch. That really got under his skin.
"Really, Fire Prince? I think you're just starting to enjoy my company." I say. His face flushes and he gives me an angry look, replacing the anger in me with humor. I put my hands on my hips. "And now I know you are." Zuko stands up, and faster than I can dodge pins me to the wall with one hand holding both of my wrists above my head and his other forearm pressed against my neck. Fear washes through me.
"Don't forget the position you're in, Water Princess." He growls. "You're a prisoner aboard an enemy vessel, who thus far has not been rescued or released. Any protection you have at all is only because I have deemed it so. So don't push your luck. Do you understand?" He whispers angrily. I swallow and nod.
"I understand." He purses his lips but doesn't move, making me realize exactly how close our bodies are. He's out of his armor, so I can feel his body heat through his clothes and mine. Firebenders have a higher resting body temperature than everyone else. His tan eyes search mine, and after a second he lets go, and goes to sit on his bed and puts his face in his hands.
The fear from the physical position he's put me in has passed, although my heart is still pounding. His threat should infuriate me, maybe even scare me. But at this point, I know Zuko well enough to know he's actually not going to let me get hurt. So I just take a breath.
"I'm still not a princess, Zuko. So are you going to fix my door or are we going to play Pai Sho?"
"If you can keep your mouth shut, we'll play Pai Sho and then I'll go fix your door." He says without getting up.
"Good. I don't want to be in here any longer than I have to be." I say quietly.
"What? You'd rather be in the brig without sunlight or fresh air, where you can get attacked if my men decide not to listen to me? Is being in my room so bad?"
"Why do you think being in a teenage boy's room would make me uncomfortable, especially after a man just tried to rape me?" I yell without thinking first. I feel tears welling up in my eyes, despite my efforts to not cry in front of him. But the memory of that man climbing on top of me not an hour ago is fresh in my head. "Spirits, Zuko! I'm sorry it's so insulting to you!" I say, then sit down against the wall and put my head against my knees, refusing to look at him. I let my tears fall silently. I don't know how long I sit there crying before I hear him sit in front of me.
"Katara." He says. I don't look up. "Katara, please."
"Please go away." I whisper, then look up. He looks gentle and compassionate, something I've seen from time to time over the last week but never like this.
"I gave you my word the first day here. You're not going to be hurt. I'm not going to hurt you."
"Let's just play the stupid game so you can get your hour over with then go fix my door." I tell him as I wipe my eyes. He nods and goes to get the board and tea set.
He fills the Teapot and we play, me swirling water in the air as usual. It calms me, and I'm able to relax. After a while a thought occurs to me.
"Do you think that two benders could bend the same thing at once?" I ask.
"What do you mean?" He asks distractedly as he studies the board.
"Like I'm swirling water in the air right now, while I'm controlling it could you possibly boil it? Firebenders control heat, right? Or does the fact that I'm controlling it mean you can't?"
"Why would you need me to boil it? Waterbenders can freeze, melt, boil, and steam their own water."
"Just out of curiosity. Can you try?" I ask.
"Fine." He sighs, looking up at the water, away from the board. He glares at the water, clenching his hands into fists. Is all firebending powered by anger? A moment later the water boils. I smile.
"That's so cool!" I say, watching it. I'm about to try and freeze it to see if I can while he's boiling it, when the ship hits a rough wave. It's not uncommon, is unpleasant, but doesn't do anything other than knock me and Zuko off balance. Unfortunately, this means the water falls with me and lands on Zuko's hands that are stretched out in front of him to brace. He cries out in pain, and when I sit up I see the skin is red and raw and blistering. He holds them close to his chest and breathes through clenched teeth, clearly in pain.
"Zuko!" I say, scooting over closer to him.
"Stay away!" He shouts. "Don't touch it!"
"Zuko, I can help!" I say, not giving him an option. I bend the water and cool it to just above freezing, then bend it around his hands without waiting for permission.
"Katara! I said-Wait, nevermind. That-that feels good." He tells me.
"I told you I can help and I will. Just hold still" I say, then grab his hands. I think of when Aang accidentally burned me and how I learned to use water healing. The water glows, and a second later his breathing normalizes. I let go of his hands and send the water into the teapot. "Are you okay?" I ask gently. Eyeballing it, his hands look fine now but he's still clutching them to his chest.
"Waterbenders have healing abilities?"
"Yes. I discovered it by accident when Aang burned- I mean, when I accidentally got burned."
"He burned you?"
"Not on purpose. He was trying to learn to firebend. But anyways, when I put my hands in water, instinct took over and I healed myself. I've practiced as much as I could since then. It's a skill that can come in handy during a war."
"I wonder if my father knows about this." He mutters, touching his scar.
"He probably does. I mean Jeong Jeong knew, and he was a Fire Nation general before deserting. It's not like it's a secret guarded by the Water Tribe."
"I see." He looks away, his hand still on his scar.
"Does it hurt?" I ask, not knowing why I care or want to help him. But I do. "Maybe I could heal it."
"It's a scar, Katara. It can't be healed."
"I know, but maybe I could still help somehow…" I trail off, then scoot closer. I take a breath, then gently grab his chin and make him look at me. He doesn't stop me. I put my fingers on the scarred side of his face. I once again wonder how he got this scar, but he's made it clear to me not to ask. I'm about to call the water back when I hear the door swing open and a crash. I gasp and jerk back, though I don't know why, it's not like I was doing anything wrong. I look over and see Iroh standing in the doorway, with a dropped tea tray on the floor. Zuko gathers his feet under him and gets up.
"I'm going to go fix your door." He says and walks out. Iroh looks at him as he walks away and then back to me and smiles.
"Katara, he has never, not even once, let someone touch his scar."