The fact that Lee brings her breakfast isn't surprising. She did cause quite the little scene the night before and she isn't quite sure if she'll even be allowed back inside the kitchen again. It's a shame, really, and she almost regrets defending herself against the soldier. Her room is still a prison despite the fact that it resembles a bedroom and she wouldn't mind getting out.
After she thinks that is the exact moment that Lee does get her out of the room.
This time, he cuffs her hands with the metal brackets. "If you hadn't acted like that last night…" He's sighing and she can hear the disappointment in his voice.
"Sorry for defending myself." She doesn't sound the least bit sorry. Katara tugs at the cuffs to test their strength and Lee looks at her almost as if he's asking for her approval. Katara quirks an eyebrow. "If you're wondering, yes, they're a bit tight. Perhaps we can ditch them altogether if I promise to be on my best behavior?"
Lee rolls his eyes. He turns away but she doesn't miss the small smile on his lips. He doesn't have to grab her arm to lead her out of the room; she follows dutifully enough down the familiar path. They're heading towards the bathroom in one of the spare, empty rooms that looks like it should be a place where someone serves tea.
He takes off the cuffs but grabs her arm before she can slide into the bathroom to go about her business.
"No funny business, Katara. I mean it. Zuko's being nice by letting you have privacy but I'm sure he won't hesitate to take that away if you act out against him again." Katara stares at him until he finally lets go. She doesn't speak or do anything until the door is closed behind her and she's alone in the bathroom.
The nerve. Of course it's all another part of their little game they're playing. Zuko's going to be the nice guy so that he can ease her into giving up more information about the Avatar. Well she isn't. It's going to take more than private baths to change her mind and if the Prince can't see that then he's downright idiotic.
Katara scoffs as she sheds the tunic. Her eyes and hands pause for a moment when she sees the knife strapped to the inside of her leg where she had managed to put it when Lee had left to refill her water pitcher.
Checking over her shoulder to make sure the door is closed, Katara slips it out of the elastic fabric she had tied around her thigh to keep it there and folds the weapon inside her tunic. She quickly sheds her leggings and toss them on top just to make sure.
She takes a bath as quickly as possible, her eyes constantly flickering between the door and the pile of her clothes next to the tub.
When she's done, she quickly dresses and slides the knife back around the inside of her thigh. It's unfamiliar there but she figures that she'll get used to it. She doesn't really have a choice. Katara works her fingers through her hair but doesn't braid it like she normally does. It'll dry faster and she doesn't want to spend all day with wet, heavy hair again.
Lee is waiting for her when she gets out. He stands from the chair he was reclining in and quickly puts the metal cuffs around her wrists were she had them placed behind her expectantly. Like the knife in between her thighs, the cuffs around her hands are going to have to be something that she adapts to.
"Prince Zuko wishes to speak with you again today," Lee explains when thy make a different turn. She glances at him curiously but doesn't say anything as he takes her towards the front of the ship. The Prince will probably try to get more information out of her – but he's going to be sorely disappointed today. She's more than prepared.
Lee knocks on the metal door before he opens it to prod her inside. The cuffs are still around her wrists but she holds her head high because the Prince of Fire is looking at her from behind his desk. The larger, older man that had offered her the tea and bath is not here today.
Pity. She might have taken the offer this time.
Katara takes note of the red cushions on the floor and raises an eyebrow. "So it starts today?"
Confusion flickers across his face but he quickly morphs back to his blank stare. "What starts today?"
"I'm a prisoner. A female prisoner," she nods to the cushions on the floor. "I know what happens to women like me on these ships."
But he won't touch her. She has the knife and she can feel the pull of water in a pitcher that sits on top of his desk. Katara wouldn't let Zhao near her – and she certainly isn't going to let his boy overpower her.
When she looks back at Zuko he looks rather uncomfortable. Strange. He's a Fire Prince, is he not? Surely he's used to cushions and female prisoners and helplessness and inflicting pain. But when he starts to shift in his seat before he stands, Katara wonders if she misjudged the situation.
For some reason, that doesn't make her feel any better. In fact, it makes her a bit wary because if he and the new cushions are not there for that then…
"I was hoping to offer you tea." Zuko explains as he walks with the water-filled pitcher and pulls a tiny table with cups on top over next to the seats. He sits and begins to pour, looking at her expectantly when she doesn't automatically step towards him.
Behind her back, she clenches her fists but takes a step closer anyway. He's spiked her interest.
"Why?"
He shrugs his shoulders and fills the other cup with the heated water. Zuko sets the pitcher down and opens a tiny tin box. "Why not?"
She watches as he puts a few leaves in the tiny cups. "What if I don't drink tea?"
"Don't tell my uncle that." The corner of his lip rises in a small smile and her eyes instantly narrow. He's being nice. Too nice. She's a prisoner and he's a Prince – she's water and he's fire and he shouldn't be making her tea when he should be interrogating her about the Avatar.
Katara studies him as he lifts a cup to his lips. He stares back at her. She doesn't waver as he takes a sip – eyes never leaving hers – and she waits… There. His eyes narrow for an instant and she knows instantly that this is an act. This nice exterior will break away into something temperamental in a few moments.
"Do you not drink tea?" He asks and breaks her gaze to set his cup on the table.
"It's kind of hard to do that when your hands are cuffed behind your back." She tugs at her wrists pointedly. "Would you like to try it out? I'm sure it'd be interesting to see if you can drink as easily when you can't use your hands."
Zuko doesn't speak. He stands and crosses the room to where she's still standing close to the door. His hands make quick work of the cuffs around her wrists and she wonders if he has a key or if there's something in the way they're made to make it so easy for him to slide them off.
She rubs at her wrists to get some feeling back in them and walks towards the table.
"Wait," Zuko commands behind her and she pauses. Katara turns to face him as she crosses her arms across her chest and waits for him to continue. "Lift up your tunic."
Her blood freezes. "Why?"
"Do it."
"And if I don't?" She challenges. Her blood is still cold and surely Zuko doesn't know. He can't know – but his eyes flash down to her thighs and she shivers a little. He knows. She hasn't even had the knife for more than a day and Zuko has already figured it out.
Zuko steps forward and she steps back. "Then I will do it for you."
Katara jerks her chin up and glowers at him.
"Sorry, Prince but I'm not that type of girl." She feigns ignorance, playing on the cushion comment earlier. Maybe if she acts like it isn't there, he will believe it.
"Waterbender. Lift your tunic."
Or maybe not.
Katara reaches down and curls her fingers under the fabric that stops at her knees. Slowly, she slides it up the length of her leggings until she's at mid-thigh. Any further and he will see the knife. So she stops, extending her leg out so that he can get a good look.
"Keep going."
"You're sick," she keeps faking it but she doesn't move the tunic up any higher.
His eyes tell her that he knows exactly what she's trying to do and that he doesn't believe her for one second. Hesitantly, Katara slides the tunic up a bit more. Her fingers grab the handle and she yanks it out. The weapon is in her hands and she's holding it out in warning towards him.
He looks nothing but amused. "And what exactly do you plan on doing with –"
Katara cuts him off by bending the water out of the pitcher and the cups and sending a sharp whip towards his chest. His eyes widen and he ducks to the side. She snaps the stream so that it's around her waist, ready to attack him again and she drops into a defensive position, the knife still poised in her hand.
Zuko recovers quickly. He throws a fire ball towards her but she blocks it with the water. A few ice daggers are flying towards him but he deflects those easily. Katara bends more water from the pitcher – her eyes quickly go to the potted plants in the far corner and she could use that water but –
He's blasting fire balls and fire whips her way and she has no choice but to dodge by dropping to the floor and rolling. She's pretty sure a bit of her hair is singed but she has no time to think as she compresses the water into a flat disc and sends it hurling towards his neck.
Zuko ducks and the ice shatters on the wall behind him. Katara flicks her wrists and hurriedly tries to make a shield in front of her as he sends a few more fire blasts her way. He's not trying to kill her – she can easily tell that – but he is trying to hurt her.
A fire ball dances too closely to her waist when she stands and she instantly shies away from the heat. Fire has only brought her pain and she refuses for that to happen again.
She's trying to bend the water from the plants in pure desperation when she realizes Zuko is close – too close – and she backs away.
The wall behind her stops her retreat and she scowls at the Prince. He smiles and now all of his movements are focused on deflecting hers as he comes closer. Katara flicks her wrist the way Hama taught her and all of the water is drained from the plants.
He's clearly surprised when she sends a full stream into the center of his chest – barreling him back a few paces and giving her enough room to move away from the wall. But now he's on the offensive again. Kicking, punching, and arcing flames towards her with narrowed eyes and grit teeth. He's losing control; his temper is about to show and Katara smirks in victory even though she has to lunge onto the floor to avoid a fire ball.
Her water whips move faster and hit harder now that she has more to work with. She slides along the floor as he tries to get closer – her pushing him back each time. The fight would be more spectacular if they were in a larger, more open space. He's holding back because he doesn't want to destroy the furniture or the ship – Katara is trying not to use up the scarce water she has. She also hasn't seen the moon in days and that shows as her muscles start burning and her blood slows.
She's using too much energy on this simple fight. She'll never be able to get out if she can't –
– A whip of fire makes slices at her abdomen and Katara sucks in a breath, her eyes wide. She starts to panic, water becoming sloppy but her hits focused on places that might kill him. Zuko isn't wearing any armor, and she sees that he's bleeding after her hands flick and his arm is cut by her whips.
Those little droplets of blood makes her smile in satisfaction. She's hurting him just as much as he is her.
Katara sends a flurry of compact ice spheres at him. Zuko sends a flaming kick at them and the water evaporates into instant steam. More panic sets in and she quickly works to suck the liquid out of the air where he evaporated it when suddenly he's so close that he's grabbing her arm.
She stabs at him with the knife – suddenly remembering that it's there in her hand. He dodges but is forced to let her go as she grips it tightly and slices at his chest. Now he's retreating and she's advancing, the dull knife in her hand her only weapon and she wonders why he isn't firebending at her.
Katara gets her answer when he easily evades one of her stabs and grips her wrists. He hauls her around and sends her careening towards a wall. She turns so her back bears the brunt of the blow and she groans when her head smacks against the metal, sending the wall vibrating against her back when the bulk of her weight hits it.
He's on her in an instant; one of his arms is across her chest and the other is gripping the wrist with the knife. Katara's instincts kick in and she starts trying to stab him with it but she's only meeting air and she grits her teeth in frustration –
– Zuko twists her wrist at an awkward angle and Katara screams. Her palm opens and the knife clatters on the floor. Pain shoots up her arm in sharp spikes and Zuko slams it against the wall beside her head. Her eyes are squeezed closed and she's panting – Zuko's heartbeat is erratic but he's already gained control of his breathing. She can feel his hair touch her forehead and she tries to jerk away from him ineffectively.
"Let go of me," she hisses and tries to wriggle in desperation. Her other palm is open and she's trying to get water from anywhere when he notices. Zuko grabs at it and smashes it against the other side of her head so that she's caged and useless against him and the wall.
Katara is twisting and turning her torso, yanking at her arms and her wrists. Zuko is struggling to keep her against the wall, pressing as much of his weight into her as possible to keep her still but it's not working.
There's heat on her wrists and she stills instantly. It leaves as quickly as it had flared, and Katara glares up at Zuko with the scowl still on her lips.
"Are you calm now?" He asks as if he hadn't just had to start to burn her wrists in order to keep her still. His eyes are wide, filled with anxiousness, annoyance and excitement and Katara is sure that hers reflect his… with an added amount of hate thrown in just because he tried to burn her wrists to keep her sedated.
"I'll be calm when you get off of me." Katara bucks her hips as she talks, trying to get enough room in between them so that she can work her knee up to shove him away from her. The Prince leans in closer, his breath in her hair and she turns away, staring at the door.
"I don't want to hurt you –"
"Don't lie to me. You can torture me, burn me, touch me and anything else but don't lie to me."
He blinks. "I don't want to hurt you, waterbender. I'm not Zhao. I don't hurt prisoners just for the fun of it."
"Oh really?" She scoffs and shakes her head as much as she can in the limited amount of space. "That's why you attacked me, tried to burn me repeatedly, and almost killed me? That also explains why I'm, you know, stuck in between you and the wall."
"You attacked me first. And I wasn't trying to kill you. You were trying to kill me and I was just waiting until you tired out."
Katara glares at him. He's close – too close for her liking and she wishes that she could get him away so that she can breathe. His heart has slowed down considerably even though she's still gasping a little.
Zuko's hands tighten around her wrists when she tries to test his grip. She caged even further against the wall. Every time she breathes, she touches his chest and she doesn't like that. She doesn't like it at all.
"I'm calm now." She says flatly. The Prince looks down at her for a beat or two longer before he finally pushes away and releases her wrists. Katara is careful not to make any sudden movements as she rubs at the tenderness and stands upright, no longer having to lean against the wall.
He bends down to pick up the knife and stands before she can kick at his head. Backing away from her a bit, he looks at the puny weapon.
"Out of all the things you could have taken from the kitchen, you take this? What were you planning on doing, exactly? Butter some bread?" He says, laughing as he places the knife on his desk.
Katara narrows her eyes. "I'm sorry, does the fact that I am trying to defend myself on a ship full of firebending men humor you? I'm sure you heard about what happened yesterday in the kitchen. These men hate me. I need to take any precaution necessary."
Zuko frowns. "You… You don't have to worry about that sort of thing. The Fire Lord has to give permission for sailors to keep pleasure slaves on the ship and you're a high priority prisoner so –"
"Oh, so it's not the fact that rape is wrong. The reason I haven't been touched is because Mister Fire Lord likes to have first picks, right? I'm being saved just for him, I see now. If I was some random Water Tribe peasant though it wouldn't matter. But because I'm important your dad gets to have me first. Wow, that's rather comforting, thank you."
"That's not what I meant." He's the one scowling now as if she wounded him somehow.
"Are you telling me I'm wrong?"
A beat. "No."
"Okay then." Katara crosses her arms across her chest. The firebender and the waterbender glare at each other. The room still smells like smoke from their little fight and the table that the tea was on is turned over somehow.
They've made a mess.
"I'd like to go back to my cell now, if you would be so kind to excuse me. Your little trick with the tea didn't work and I'm definitely not telling you anything about the Avatar so you might as well give up."
Zuko sighs and turns around. Katara thinks he's going to get her cuffs from the table when he spots the now-dead potted plant. She sees his shoulders stiffen and he looks back at her, then at the plant, then back at her. Katara doesn't flinch away.
She sees there's confusion in his eyes but he doesn't ask her about the plant. He probably figures it out for himself. Zuko picks the cuffs off of the desk and tosses them up and down in his hand.
"You can leave. Your guard will be waiting for you outside the door." Zuko throws the cuffs onto the desk where they clatter and she's so surprised that she doesn't move for a few moments. There's something tense in his body and she can't help but stare and try to figure out what's wrong with him.
He looks over his shoulder at her and that's when she moves towards the door. Katara tries not to look back at him when she opens the door but fails. He's looking at her too. His eyes, though, they're not their normal blank or studious glare… They're curious.
Katara jerks her head away and slams the door shut behind her.
"Well that was longer than – why are you burned?" Lee's hands inch out to touch her stomach and Katara looks down. She had forgotten about Zuko's fire whip that managed to graze her abdomen.
"Long story," Katara murmurs and steps away from Lee's grasp. The scar is healing but if he touches it, it will still hurt a little. "Don't worry. He bled, too."
Lee looks like he's going to ask her what they were doing but he shuts his mouth and starts walking with her back to the room.
Katara thinks back to Zuko's kindness – him fixing her a cup of tea – and then to him burning her wrists in warning when he had her up against the wall. Then there was the curious expression on his face and the silent reaction to the dead plant. He's so back-and-forth that she's having a hard time gauging what he's really thinking and what he's going to do.
She can't build a defensive plan around this. He's too fickle, too changing.
There's something… something about all of this that makes her wonder. Suddenly, Katara isn't so sure if she'd rather be in Zhao's or Zuko's cell.
-/-
It's been five days since she was first captured by Zhao. Three days since Zuko took her and Zhao into his ship.
Five days since she's seen the moon and felt its' power go through her body.
She'll never get all of her energy and ability back until she can soak in the moon. She won't be able to bloodbend, either. As much as she doesn't like to resort to using the methods that Hama taught her, it's her only way to get out of this ship.
Zuko and his men will expect her waterbending. What they won't expect is her ability to bend them.
Katara is more than eager to see the surprise on the Prince's face when she finally gets her power back. All of her power.
Her hands haven't itched since her fight with Zuko. The excitement and adrenaline of the small – and honestly, quite pathetic because they were both holding back – fight seem to have sated her violent urges for the time. The bending she does when she takes baths hasn't quite cut it.
That night, Katara dreams of fighting Zuko. Really fighting Zuko. It would be a close match with her at her full power and him not concerned with wanting her and the surroundings unharmed. It would be violent but beautiful: Fire and water. Steam and smoke. Ice and lava.
She wakes before she finds out who wins. She wants to say that she will, but even she's not for sure. She has yet to see Zuko in all of his firebending glory. He's talented, though. She could tell that by watching and fighting against him yesterday.
Hopefully, she will be able to see him unleash all of his bending ability before she freezes him in a coffin of ice.
When Lee comes to get her, she expects for him to take her back to Zuko. They walk right by the door though. She pauses at it, sure that Lee's made a mistake but he motions for her to follow so she does. Soon, they're in front of a smaller door and she's confused when Lee knocks and opens it for her.
Inside is the gray-haired man from Zuko's office from two days ago.
He makes her even more nervous than Zuko does. Maybe it's because when she walks in he smiles and actually bows to her. Her eyebrows shoot up to her hairline and she takes a step back as Lee closes the door, shutting her inside the room with the man with the kind wrinkles on his face.
"W-Why did you that?" For some reason, the bow of respect shakes her more than anything recently. It was so… out of nowhere. She was a prisoner – he shouldn't be bowing to her. She stands, her hands by her sides awkwardly, eyes wide and mouth open as he waves her towards one of the many cushions around a tea table like the one Zuko has in his office.
"A beautiful lady like yourself deserves to be bowed to," he says simply. "Please, have a seat."
Katara blushes, of all things. The man's eyes are sparkling and the smile hasn't left his face since she came in. She soothes down the front of her tunic that is still torn at the stomach from her fight yesterday. She wishes that she had changed out of it into a fresh one and then admonishes herself – this man, no matter how nice is still the enemy.
Katara lowers herself onto a cushion across from him and he finally sits. His hands go through the tea-making process and soon there's a steaming cup being thrust into her hands. Katara takes it with a small, but weak and faltering, smile as she watches his face carefully.
At least it's tea. She can always bend it just in case anything strange – no, in case anything stranger happens. "Thank you," she cups it in her hands, liking the feel of warm porcelain in her hands. They didn't have finery like this in the South. It's so…pretty and delicate that she feels the need to be as gentle as possible with it like it's a child instead of a cup.
She waits until he takes a sip before she takes her own.
It's delicious. Warm, soothe and light on her tongue but with more flavor than she expected. Katara is positive that she moans a little, much to the delight of the man. He beams even though she's trying to duck her head to hide the embarrassed blush that warms her cheeks.
"This... This is amazing," she can't help but compliment. "What sort of tea is it?"
"A little flavor of my own. Jasmine leaves with a bit of rosemary and pepper. I had to experiment for weeks to get it just right."
Katara keeps drinking until she's finished with her cup. Then he pours her another.
It's very hard to imagine this tea-pouring man with a lazy smile as a firebending killer but she remembers that Zuko had said that he was a Master. She forces the image in her mind so that she doesn't get too comfortable. It's hard when he keeps pouring her cup after cup of tea.
"My nephew can be a little rough around the edges," the man takes notice of the ripped fabric and the very light burn on her stomach. Katara re-arranges the tunic so that it's covered. "He is a young man though, and young men are often rather hot-headed. He is good. He wouldn't cause you pain just to see you suffer."
"Your nephew? That would make you General Iroh – right? Or does Zuko have any other uncles that the world doesn't know of?" She pointedly ignores what he says about the Prince.
He nods. "Iroh will suffice. I'm no longer the General that I once was. Some fates are abandoned in favor of others." Well at least she knows who he is now.
Katara acts like she knows what he means. She looks away awkwardly and takes a sip of her second cup of tea. She shifts on the cushion.
"He has good intentions… even if those intentions and the way he goes about fulfilling him are directed the wrong way." Iroh frowns at his tea – the smile disappearing for the first time since she's seen him – and Katara quirks an eyebrow. What was he talking about? None of this made any sense.
He blinks and looks back up at her as if he's just realizing that she's sitting across from him. The smile returns. "If Prince Zuko does anything to harm you intentionally, please don't hesitate to come tell me."
"I normally don't run to strange men with my problems." Katara sets her empty cup on the table. Iroh moves to pour her another but she holds her hand up to stop him. "No thank you. It was delicious, though."
"I'm glad that you enjoyed it. As for the running to strange men, we've shared tea and a conversation, are we still strangers? Acquaintances, perhaps, but strangers?" He shakes his head teasingly.
Iroh is strange. Katara can't decide if she likes the strangeness or if it bothers her.
"A wise man once told me that oftentimes, strangers are the best people to tell about your problems. That way, they can offer true advice free of any prejudices or concerns about keeping a friendship."
"Somehow I have the feeling that he wise man is you and that you just made that up to convince me to come talking to you about your nephew."
"Then your feeling would be correct." His smile grows broader and he takes a long sip from his tea. Katara can't even stifle her giggle.
When Iroh offers to pour her another cup, she doesn't refuse.