Arctic Flower

The Phoenix Pendant

No sooner did Katara develop her plan to escape, Prince Zuko opened the door and strode in. Katara sat up, still and straight, against the headboard. Her chest rose and fell as he noticed her sitting on the bed.
Prince Zuko's expression was flinty and unreadable. He walked over to a table with a pitcher and basin for washing and removed his armor. Katara's pounding heart sent blood straight to her temples. The room around her grew blurry and unstable. Was Prince Zuko going to punish her for what she did earlier? Would this be how she died? Trapped like a mouse-bird without even the strength to bend enough water to splash Prince Zuko in the face.
He untucked his shirt and pulled it over his head. "What's your name?" he said. Katara blushed to see him shirtless and turned away. How dare he take off his shirt in front of her as if she were a servant.
"Did you not hear me?" Prince Zuko washed his neck with a wet cloth. He stood close enough for Katara to be able to smell the sandalwood soap. He reached over and grabbed her chin. "Or are you too afraid to speak?"
He didn't look much older than Katara himself, probably about Sokka's age. The two-thirds of his face that weren't scared were smooth and boyish.
Katara jerked away from him. "I'm being held captive by the people who attacked my village and killed my mother... no shit, I'm scared."
"So you've found your voice again?" Prince Zuko grabbed a towel from the wash table and dried off. "I don't recall any Water Tribe women being killed during this raid. If any were, it must not have come to my attention. We're in the middle of a war. People die all the time."
"She was killed during a different raid." Katara glared at him. "One that happened when I was a child."
Prince Zuko laughed. "Then it mustn't have been that long ago, Little Girl. You look to be about my younger sister's age, though I doubt anyone's ever thought of Azula as a little girl."
Princess Azula of the Fire Nation's reputation had reached even as far as the South Pole. At the tender age of fourteen, she was known for being as cunning and ruthless as she was beautiful.
"My brother will come and rescue me." Katara turned towards the porthole, hoping to see Water Tribe boats storming the ship.
Prince Zuko pulled a clean shirt off of a changing screen and put it on. "That bumbling oaf with the boomerang? He's welcome to try."
"I doubt a monster like you would lift a finger to save his sister."
"Agni help anyone dumb to try to capture Azula." He sat down on the bed. The mattress shifted under his weight. How close he was made Katara blush. At least he had a shirt on now.
The tip of her braid found itself caught between the prince's fingers. He brought it to his nose. "Jasmine oil, so you're not a total peasant."
The jasmine oil that Katara liked to work through her hair when she combed it, a gift her father sent her from the Earth Kingdom, was one of the few luxuries she owned.
"That old woman you were defending, she's your grandmother?" Again, he grabbed her chin and forced her to look into his eyes. Katara blinked as if she were staring into a flame. "My men told me she's the village matriarch, Chief Hakota's mother. So that makes you his daughter?"
"What's it to you?"
"I just discussing what to do with you. My uncle pointed out who you were and said that a chief's daughter would make a valuable hostage, so precious that we wouldn't need to keep the other prisoners. He suggested that you stay here as our guest to ensure that your tribe cooperates and let the rest go as a sign of goodwill."
As much as Katara hated being stuck on this ship, she would stay if it bought her village some time.
"If I play the grateful guest, how do I know you'll keep your word and release them?"
"You don't have many other options, do you?" Prince Zuko put a hand on her shoulder. "It's not a bad deal. You'll get decent food and accommodations, and all those Water Tribe peasants get to go home safely. Uncle is nothing if not magnanimous."
"Why would your uncle stick up for Water Tribe peasants?"
Katara's father had told her stories about the Fire Lord's brother, General Iroh, the Great Dragon of the West. General Iroh gave up his warlike ways after his defeat at Ba Sing Se and the death of his beloved son, Prince Lu Ten.
Prince Zuko shrugged. "He always has a few pai sho tiles up his sleeve. The other generals never catch on that he's two steps ahead of them because they've written him off as an old man who's past his prime and has gone crazy."
"Crazy like a fox sounds more like it."
"What's your name?" He grabbed the cord tied around her wrists and untied it. "Even Water Tribe peasants have names."
"Katara." She rubbed the raw welts on her wrists left by the cord. How good it felt to have her hands free again.
Prince Zuko rose from the bed and went to answer a knock at the door.
"My prince," the guard standing in the doorway said. "Commander Zhao wants to see you in the war room."
"Tell him I'll be there in a few minutes," Prince Zuko grumbled. The guard bowed and closed the door.
Prince Zuko walked over to the dressing table and pulled a trinket out of a drawer. "Katara, I should be back in a couple of hours to discuss the terms of your stay here. In the meantime, I'll have some food, fresh clothes, and water for washing sent up to you." He tossed the item he'd pulled out of the drawer to her. "Put this on."
Katara caught a brown jade pendant carved to resemble a phoenix.

"What is this?" she said, sliding the black silk cord over her head and down her neck until the pendant rested on her breastbone.
"Something that'll keep you safe. The crew will understand what it means. They'll talk about you behind your back but you won't be harmed."
Her fingers caressed the jade phoenix. How would it protect her?
The prince's eyes smoldered at her as he stood in the doorway. "You don't have to be afraid, peasant. At least, for now."