Time and Time Again

Chapter 9: Bang, Bang, Bang, On the Door, Baby

A few days passed, and Katara felt as if she would die of ennui. The prince had not summoned her, Iroh had not visited her, and her only interaction was with the guard who brought her food (Usually Po). The only time she ever left her prison was to go to the bathroom twice a day. As nice as her room was, she couldn't stand one more hour in it. She had absolutely nothing to do and she felt as though she would soon go insane. She was tired of pacing, tired of playing with her filthy hair, tired of lying around, and tired of her stupid, small room. For the past few hours, anger at her constant boredom had brewed in her until she felt she would explode if she didn't do something. With a deep breath, she stomped over to the door and banged as hard as she could three times. She waited for someone to reply. Nothing. Katara could feel her face turn red with anger. She banged on the door again, as loud as she could. She refused to stop until she got some sort of response.

"HEY! SOMEONE OPEN THIS DOOR!" She yelled, continuing to hit the metal door. She knew that she would regret it later, when the bruises formed. Katara continued to yell and scream until finally, when she was just about ready to give up, someone on the other side slammed his or her hand onto the door in reply. Katara jumped back a foot, surprised at the sound. Two seconds later, the door whipped open, revealing an incredibly annoyed looking guard.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" He yelled, his face bright red. Katara crossed her arms and huffed.

"Something to do!" She yelled,"A game or a book to read! Something to keep me from going as crazy as your prince! Oh! And you know what would be fabulous? A bath! Seriously, are you guys trying to make me smell like rotten meat? I feel gross! I may be a prisoner, but come on! I'm still a girl, doesn't that count for anything?"She fumed. Happy to rant everything out.

"You are a prisoner! Be happy that you are in a room instead of the cell! Now stop making so much noise!" The guard replied, promptly slamming the door shut.

"W-What? Did you just slam the door in my face? How dare you!" Katara yelled, going back to the door so she could hit it some more, "Hey! Open up, again! I'm not done talking! Do you hear me? I swear, you better open this door or else...or else...or else I'll keep making noise! Do you hear me? I'll annoy you to death! Trust me, I'm good at talking, a lot!" Katara ranted, continuing to bang on the door.

"Shut up!" The guard on the other side yelled.

"Not until you open this door again, buster!" Katara replied. Her hands were starting to really hurt. Why do they have to make these stupid doors out of metal? Ugh. She thought to herself as her skin began to split, leaving small blood splatters wherever she hit the door. Katara didn't care; she could deal with a little pain if it helped to keep insanity at bay.

Katara was caught completely off guard when the door opened, sending her flying on her back onto the floor. She groaned as she pushed herself into a sitting position, smearing blood on the dark floor.

"What do you think you're doing?" A new voice demanded. Katara whipped her head toward the door where the voiced came from and silently groaned. The one and only Prince Zuko stared down at her, nostrils flared in anger. His eyes burned with annoyance and Katara could swear she saw steam coming from his nose. As much as she wanted to shrink away from him, Katara took a deep breath and stood up, staring Zuko in the eyes the entire time. She wiped her bloody hands on the back of her water tribe clothing.

"I want a bath. I want something to do. I'm going insane." She stated, trying her best to sound demanding. The temperature in the room seemed to rise a fraction as Zuko took in her woods.

"You. Are. My. Prisoner, peasant. You have no right to ask for anything. Be grateful my uncle has provided this lavish room for you." He hissed. Katara's eyes sparked in fury, looking every bit like a stormy ocean.

"You had no right to KIDNAP me!" Katara screamed at him, letting out all of her anger. Anger for chasing the Gaang around the world, for all the worry he had caused her, for all the fighting, for rough-handling her grandmother, for being a firebender, and for kidnapping her just so he could get Aang for the sake of his stupid honor. Zuko's eyes widened at her fury. His face quickly changed from one of shock to one of pure rage. He stomped towards the water tribe girl and grabbed the collar of her dress. Katara's hands quickly grabbed his, trying to pry them off.

"You. Are. My. Prisoner." Zuko hissed, softly. A chill went down Katara's spine. She would have preferred it if he screamed at her as she had at him. She pushed at his hands with her own injured ones.

"Let me go!" She demanded in a high pitch.

"You will not tell me what to do." Zuko replied, continuing to hold onto the girl just to spite her. He felt her push at his hands with what he assumed to be her own sweaty hands.

Katara squirmed, trying to get away from the angered prince. In her desperation, she began to claw at his hands with her nails. Zuko gave a grunt of pain and pushed her away. Katara fell onto the floor again. Zuko looked down at his hands and his eyes widened as he took in all the blood. He knew the girl had not scratched him nearly enough to produce that much blood in such a short time. He looked over to Katara, who was rubbing the back of her head with a bloody hand.

Katara saw the prince look at her hands and quickly rubbed off as much blood as she could onto her dress. She refused to look at him as she slowly stood up. She then berated herself. She should not be ashamed; she had not kept anyone prisoner. She raised her blue eyes to look directly into Zuko's face with defiance. An idea struck her.

"You still need me, you know.," She began, "I told you that Aang was going to a city in the Earth Kingdom, but I did not, however, tell you which city." Katara watched as Zuko looked away from her hands and into her eyes. She had it a point.

"Look, all I want is a bath, and maybe some books or games or something to keep me from going completely crazy. You give me that, and as soon as we hit the shore of the Earth Kingdom, I'll tell you which city exactly. You don't have a chance of finding it if I don't tell you, you and I both know the Earth Kingdom is huge." She stated. Zuko sputtered.

"Do you honestly thi-"

"I think that is a fair deal, nephew." Iroh interrupted. Zuko spun around to find him at the doorway.

"Uncle! She is a prisoner! She can't demand for anything!"

"So you would rather scour the entire Earth Kingdom to find the Avatar? Or is it that you would rather torture a defenseless girl in order to get what you want? Do not turn into your father!" Iroh scolded. Much to Katara's amazement, Zuko looked down in shame. Iroh continued, "This is easier for everyone, dear nephew. Remember, a tree who fights the wind, will surely fall where as a blade of grass that bends to the wind, will never break." Zuko sighed and looked back to Katara.

"Fine. You may have your bath, under surveillance-"

"But-" Katara tried to object, but Zuko continued.

"No buts, do you think I am stupid enough to leave you in a tub of water by yourself? Even if you are a poor excuse of a waterbender, it's still too risky. I will let Uncle figure out what to do about your boredom." Zuko finished, exhausted. He took a step toward Katara and before she could even register his movement, he had her wrists in her hands. Katara was reminded of the night where she had run into him on the beach, the night of her capture. She tried to shake Zuko off, but he only tightened his grip.

"What did you do?" He demanded.

"Why do you care?" Katara asked, shocked at what appeared to be a display of concern.

"Tell me why they are bleeding." Zuko said, giving Katara's hands a little shake for emphasis. Katara winced, the movement had caused her pain.

"It was from banging on the door." She mumbled. Satisfied that he had received an answer, he threw her hands down and away from him.

"See to it that her wounds are tended to." Zuko ordered one of his guards, earning a smile from Iroh, "And get a team of female guards to give her a bath. And Uncle, see to her boredom."

"With pleasure." Iroh responded, he needed a new Pai sho partner. With a loud sigh, Zuko left the cell. His guards scrambled to complete their assigned orders.