Katara: The World's Lost Hope

Captured

Katara's arm is bound to her torso, and she follows a soldier down the dark halls of the ship in silence. Once they reach a door, Katara is shoved into the room behind it. The door shuts and locks behind her as she tumbles in, and she's alone in the darkness. Everything is cold. Nothing can be heard except for distant creaks either from the waves of the ocean or the engine in the ship.

Why did I bend? Why couldn't I have let them take our food? Katara tries to think of how she can escape, but it's no use. There's no water in the room, and the ocean feels too distant to be able to bend. Even if a guard were to come in and check on her, Katara couldn't fight them. She's never learned any hand to hand combat, not like Sokka would want to practice with a girl anyways. Sokka... Katara's eyes fill with tears as she remembers her brother's body lying on the ground. She never wanted him to get hurt, and now it's too late.

The door to Katara's cell opens, and in comes the boy from before and an old man.

"Here she is," the boy spits out, "the waterbender of the South Pole." Katara glares at the boy, wanting nothing but to punch his stupid face. The old man crouches down to where Katara sits, looking into her eyes. His eyes are a gentle amber, unlike the fierce fire of the boy's.

"That does not mean she is the Avatar, Zuko," the man tells the boy. "The Fire Nation took all the water benders from the Southern Water Tribe, and none of them were the Avatar either."

"But she could be!" The prince says with both anger and excitement.

"Go get us some tea, Zuko," the man says.

"But-"

"Go." The boy groans, but leaves anyways. Katara is relieved when he leaves, feeling the anger boiling up in her just because of his presence.

"I am sorry for my nephew," the man says to Katara. "He told me of how you were trying to protect your tribe. It is an honorable thing for you to surrender yourself as prisoner so that they may live." Katara's eyes fill with tears as she remembers her family, everyone she left behind. The man begins to untie the rope around Katara and smiles at her, seeming to understand her tears. Zuko returns with a tea tray and sets it down before his uncle.

"What are you doing?" Zuko says harshly. "She is a waterbender and our prisoner!" Katara's jaw clenches, the anger she has for Zuko growing by the second. How can he speak to one of his elders like this? Has he no respect?

"She is on a Fire Nation ship, surrounded by Fire Nation soldiers, and she seems to be no older than 15," the man says, seemingly reminding Katara of her odds of escaping.

"She could be the Avatar."

"If she were the Avatar, I doubt she would have come so easily."

Zuko huffs, obviously frustrated. He sits in the corner, staring at an empty wall, trying to ignore the other two people in the room. His face is fixed into what seems to be a permanent scowl. Katara studies Zuko, wondering what they're going to do with her. They didn't know she was the Avatar, which relieved some of Katara's worry, but were they going to kill her like they did her mother? Katara looks around nervously, trying to detect any weapons they might try to use against her.

"Ignore my nephew," the man chuckles at Katara. He picks up the teapot and begins to pour out three cups. "Zuko can be a little hot headed at times." He hands Katara a cup, and she thanks him, wondering why this man is showing her so much kindness when he's from the Fire Nation.

"I've noticed," Katara grumbles. The man chuckles, but Zuko stiffens even more, if that was even possible. He turns his head, and his eyes meet hers. Nothing but hate burns inside his eyes, but Katara refuses to look away. She may be their prisoner, but she has not given up.