The old fisherman's hut near the shore was the last place Katara expected to find him. The same fisherman's hut she'd discovered a moon's time ago and recently made the headquarters for her mission. Where she snuck away to practice in secret the combat water-bending katas she observed while watching Master Pakku's lessons -the pompous old hog-monkey wouldn't let her participate in them- and prepare to face him when the moment came.  
Since the storm three days earlier, no one had been able to speak about anything other than the wrecked Fire Nation ship. In the healing huts with Master Yugoda, at Chief Arnook's feasts, or by the fire doing embroidery with Princess Yue, Katara couldn't escape hearing about bits of wreckage that had washed up on the beach or rumors about how one of the sailors had survived and made it to shore.
"If you come across this man," Chief Arnook had ordered when the news reached his ears. "See that he's apprehended immediately."
This news lit the spark of an idea in Katara's mind that had been blazing out of control ever since. She would be a heroine if she caught the sailor. Master Pakku would see once and for all that a mere girl was just as capable of defending the tribe as any of his male students and beg to be allowed to train her.
And gracious as Katara was, she would let him.
Sneaking away to comb the beaches for any trace of the sailor was the tricky part. Since Katara lived in Chief Arnook's halls as his foster child, she was as closely guarded as his daughter, Princess Yue, especially since there was now a dangerous enemy loose in their midst. Generations of raids had proven that Fire Nation men couldn't be trusted with women, and Katara and Yue were no longer too young to be safe from their lust. A moon ago, Yue, who was two years older than Katara, had reached the marriageable age of sixteen. Her marriage to Katara's older brother, Sokka, was a condition of the treaty bringing Katara to the North Pole. The daughter of the Northern Chief would marry the Southern Chief's son, and the Southern Chief's water-bender daughter would come north to train under Northern masters. Katara was supposed to learn healing from Master Yagoda and combat from Master Pakku, but Master Pakku, the pompous old hog-monkey, refused to teach her. Girls belonged in the healing huts and not in the training fields.

But Master Yugoda's constant need for more medicinal plants gave Katara an excuse to go off alone. And Yue, like the sister Katara never had, was always willing to cover for her.
The old fisherman's hut overlooked the beach about a mile from Chief Arnook's halls. Today, the tide was so high that it nearly covered the beach. Katara looked out on the horizon. Tonight, there would be a full moon.
Master Yugoda told legends about how water-bending was connected to the lunar and tidal cycles, which meant that a water bender's abilities were most potent when the moon was full, and the tide was high. This explained why Katara's chi surged through her body like a river, and she longed to use her bending the way someone traveling through the desert longed for something to drink.

The hem of Katara's dark blue dress became soaked as she danced along the shoreline. Then, copying the graceful and intricate bending forms she'd seen the performers at Chief Arnook's feasts execute, Katara made a ribbon of seawater arch and swirl around her. The salty water made a wound on her left pointer finger sting. Katara had pricked it while sewing that morning. As a drop of blood trickled down her finger to her palm, she had a feeling that something would happen that day which was why she didn't waste the contents of her water skin. She needed it in case she ran into her Fire Nation sailor.

A plume of smoke left the fisherman's hut's chimney. Katara picked up her sodden skirts from the water and ran to investigate. Where there was smoke, there was a fire. So, someone had to be in there.
Katara had her water skin in readiness when she walked into the hut. Inside, the first things that stood out were the clothes hung out to dry above a fire crackling in the center of the hut's single room. Red and black with the flame-shaped insignia of the Fire Nation.

A chill ran down Katara's spine though it was snug and toasty inside the cottage. In her daydreams, she'd battled and vanquished the Fire Nation soldier countless times. But would she be victorious the one time it actually mattered?
Her until then faceless nemesis had huddled up in a pile of straw and old blankets that the hut's previous owner left behind. The man... boy, really... was hardly the intimidating foe of Katara's imagination. Gangly and baby-faced, he barely looked older than Katara's brother, Sokka, who was sixteen. Damp hair clung to his forehead and temples, and his blotchy pink skin was covered in a sheen of sweat.
Katara's gaze flitted from his bare chest to the clothes hanging over the fire, and she flushed.
Tui and La, he's naked under those blankets.
In her heart, the otter-cat of curiosity wrestled with the weasel-hare of cowardice. The weasel-hare didn't stand a chance.
Katara tip-toed closer to the boy to get a better look at him. She knelt down and turned him over. When she put a hand on his forehead, it was hot to the touch.
He must have a fever, or else all Fire Nation people had body temperatures that ran higher than normal.
Sweat-drenched black hair plastered over one eye. Katara moved it out of the way. She gasped. A burn mark roughly shaped like a handprint covered half his face.
"Ugh..." The boy's eyes flickered open. They were the color of a smoldering ember, the complete opposite of the Water Tribe blue eyes Katara was used to seeing. Nevertheless, Katara couldn't stop staring into them like an open flame.
Foolish Katara, she scolded herself. You're supposed to stop a dangerous enemy, not gawk over some boy.
His gaze met hers. "What...?  He tried to prop himself up on his elbows but was too weak to do so.
Katara shrieked and pulled back. Then, she uncapped her waterskin and used some of its contents to enclose him in octopus-like tentacles. "Who are you?" she said. The boy's mouth formed an "o" of surprise, but all that came out was another feverish groan. "What are you doing here?"  Again, no answer. Katara used one of her water tentacles to slap the boy in the face.
The cold splash seemed to shake him out of his delirium. "Please, Miss..." he said.
"Are you here to spy for the Fire Nation?" Katara smacked him with another water tentacle. He was helpless at her feet. How easy it would be to drag him back to Chief Arnook. "Are there more of you creeping around somewhere?"
The boy used his arms as a shield against her blows.  "Please let me explain."
"Save your breath." Then, with a flick of her wrist, Katara made the water tentacles twist around the boy's throat.
"There's only me," he croaked out between gasps. "Honestly...Do I look like much of a threat?" 
Katara lowered her eyes. He was just a sick boy who was too weak even to sit up. Right now, she was more dangerous than he was to her. But, Fire Nation people were shifty and couldn't be trusted. So he must be trying to make her feel sorry for him and let her guard down.
She wouldn't let some Fire Nation bastard get the better of her. "Quiet. You're my prisoner now." The other water tentacles restrained his arms and legs.
The boy tried to fight against these bonds before he collapsed like a rag doll.

Katara wrestled with whether or not to turn the unconscious boy in. On the one hand, he was a wanted fugitive, and her duty was to bring him to Chief Arnook. But on the other, the boy was at death's door and likely wouldn't live long enough to face justice if thrown into a dungeon. So the only right thing would be to wait until he was recovered before turning him in.
Even an enemy deserves compassion.
So, Katara visited her prisoner every day and tried to heal him. She'd helped her Gran-Gran treat fevers before, so she knew what needed to be done.
Keep his head cool and his body warm.
On each visit, Katara brought clean water and fresh blankets. In addition, she brewed a medicinal tea from willow bark, meadowsweet, and yarrow.

"This tastes like wood pulp," the boy said. He was now strong enough to drink without Katara holding the cup.
Katara changed the damp cloth on his forehead. "Just shut up and drink it."
The boy could be snippy, but Katara let it slide because he was ill.
When he was finished, he gave the cup back to Katara. "Thank you," he said.
Katara smiled. At least he had enough manners to apologize for his rudeness. "Don't be too grateful." She dried her hands on her apron. "You're still my prisoner."

He rolled over onto his side. "Can I ask who I have the honor of being held prisoner by?"
"Princess Katara, daughter of Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe." Her father's name was respected even in the Fire Nation, but why rely solely on his reflected glory? "... and the last surviving Southern water bender."
The boy closed his eyes and sighed. "They're never going to believe me."
"Who's never going to believe you?"
"My uncle and our crew. What would they say if I came back and started telling them stories about how I was held captive by a beautiful, Water-Bender princess. They'd ask me if I'd swallowed too much sea water."
Katara blushed. Older relatives had told her that she was beautiful but never an unrelated boy her age.  She bit her lip to stop herself from getting carried away by the compliment. "Don't get ahead of yourself," she said. "Who says you'll be going back?"
The boy cocked an eyebrow. "I said if, didn't I?"  His mouth creased into a severe frown, and he turned away from her.
Katara lowered her eyes. Perhaps her jibe had been uncalled for. "It sounds like you miss your uncle," she said. "You can tell me about him if you'd like. Who is he?"
"General Iroh of the Royal Fire Nation Fleet."
General Iroh, the fabled Dragon of the West, was Fire Lord Ozai's brother. Katara gasped. "So that means you're..."
"Prince Zuko, at your service." A goofy grin crossed his face.

 
Zuko told Katara more of his story over the next few days.
First, he explained the circumstances which brought him to her shores.
"One of our crew predicted there would be a storm," he said. "He insisted we turn south and find a safe harbor to wait out the storm, but I refused to listen. I was hell-bent on continuing north."
Katara poured him a cup of the medicinal tea she'd been brewing over the fire. "And what was north?"
"My destiny, I guess." Zuko accepted the cup that Katara handed him, then took a sip.
The pot of stew hanging over the fire started to simmer. Katara went to fill a bowl for Zuko. He continued with his story.
"The sky was clear, and the sea was calm, so I thought we had nothing to fear. But, I was proved wrong... thank you." Katara placed the bowl beside him. Zuko met her gaze with his smoldering eyes.
She turned away to hide her blushes. Did the stew pot feel these warm as it simmered over the fire?
Zuko wiped stew broth from his mouth with his sleeve and continued his story, stressing how he'd tried to regain his lost honor by helping the crew get to safety. He squared his shoulders and tossed his chin the same way the young warriors in Chief Arnook's hall did when they bragged about their exploits.
Katara smiled. He was trying to impress her.
By the time Zuko finished his stew, his sleeve was stained brown. He raised his arm to wipe the last bit of broth from his lips.
Katara pulled an embroidered handkerchief from her pocket. "Don't they teach you any manners in the Fire Nation?" she said.
Zuko sat up and snatched the handkerchief from her hand. "So what's a high and mighty water-bender princess wasting her time on a lowly prisoner with no manners?" He gave Katara a smirk that made her blood boil. "Shouldn't she have more important things to do?"
"I'm a princess." Katara brushed the dust from the floor off her skirt. "I have a duty to protect my people. There's nothing more important than that?" As a prince himself, surely Zuko would understand.
"Surely Chief Hakoda wouldn't want his daughter's life traded for an insignificant captive?" Zuko moved closer to her.
Katara's heart fluttered like a caged bird. Why was she always like this around him? "You're hardly insignificant, Prince Zuko," she said. "And my life would be in more danger around a newborn penguin seal."
Zuko rolled his eyes and used the handkerchief Katara gave him to wipe the sweat from his brow.

"You forgot this," Zuko said the next time Katara came to see him. He was holding her embroidered handkerchief.
By this point, Zuko felt well enough to get out of his makeshift bed. Katara suggested that swimming in the sea would help him build back his strength. Of course, she would sit on the beach and watch him so he wouldn't escape.

Zuko's head bobbed above the choppy, blue waves. "Are you going to join me, Water-Bender?"
"Of course not," Katara said, looking down at him from her perch atop a small, rocky cliff that jutted out into the ocean. Underneath the waves, Zuko was only wearing his underpants. "That would be improper."

Her protestations were met with laughter from Zuko. "Is the water bender afraid to get wet?" He splashed Katara, soaking her dress.
"I'll show you who's afraid." Pouting, Katara stripped down to her camisole and bloomers.

Zuko grinned from ear to ear. The knave. This must have been what he wanted, for her to take her clothes off.  Well, if he was gawking at her, she might as well put on a show.
Katara stretched out her arms and executed a swan dive off the cliff. When she popped back up above the waves, Zuko was staring at her in amazement.
Zuko built a fire on the beach so they could dry off and warm up. Katara knelt close to the fire and rubbed her hands together. Over her shoulder, Zuko was gathering driftwood and dried seaweed to use as fuel. Thankfully, he wasn't looking at the thin fabric of her wet underwear clinging to her body.
Katara turned away from him. He shouldn't see her like this, not because it was improper but because he might not be impressed with what he saw.  She still had the body of a child. Her body hadn't yet fulfilled its promise of voluptuous curves. Though two years older, Yue hardly had more in the way of womanly assets, but at least Yue had the advantage of being tall and graceful.
Burying her face in her hands, Katara sighed. She hadn't had these insecurities until Zuko showed up.
"Something bothering you?" Zuko said. He put more fuel on the fire, then sat down next to Katara.
She avoided his gaze. "You'll have to leave soon," she said. Chief Arnook had increased the number of men scouring the countryside. It was a miracle that they hadn't yet found Zuko.
"So, does that mean I'm no longer a prisoner?" Zuko cupped Katara's chin in his hand and turned her face to look him in the eyes.
She smiled at him. He'd never been a prisoner.
"There's a ship leaving tomorrow for Ember Island." Katara sighed with pleasure as Zuko's finger traced the outline of Katara's mouth. "Say you're a stranded cabin boy from the Earth Kingdom." His finger moved up her cheekbone, down her chin, and past her neck to her collarbone. "Offer to work to pay your passage."  He would leave the next day, and she will never see him again. This could be her last chance.
So, Katara sat up and placed a shy kiss on his lips. Zuko blinked at her. "You're the first person I every wanted to do that with," she said. Her cheeks were burning. 
Zuko put his hands on Katara's waist and pulled her close. Though Katara was still ice cold from their swim, Zuko's body felt warm. She curled into his arms.
"I'm honored," Zuko said. "Will you honor me again?"
As Katara kissed him, Zuko unbuttoned her camisole and let it fall down her shoulders. His finger trailed between her breasts. Zuko cupped one breast and circled the nipple with his thumb, stiffening them into peaks.
Katara placed a hand on his bare chest. "Zuko," she said. "That feels good." She moaned as if she'd reached Nirvana as he moved on to the other breast.
Zuko's tongue traced Katara's mouth. Finally, she parted her lips to allow him entrance. He laid her down in the sand. A strange, wet heat that Katara had never felt before pooled between her legs.

That afternoon, Zuko taught Katara all sorts of beautiful things, ways she could give and receive pleasure and still remain "untouched" for her future husband.  Katara swore that she would never have a man other than Zuko.