1. Sapphire Skies of Mine

**foggyfallacy**: Hello everyone! I thought I would take a stab at writing an Avatar fic. I've written fan fiction before, but that was a few years ago. I'm trying to get back into the habit of writing more often. I do hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please review after you're done, there are more chapters coming!

**Summary**: A small village is taken under attack. Sweeping in and out, the bandits take only travellers. Among those travellers are Katara, Sokka, and Aang. But who else will join them? Many troubles await, dormat in the hollow of the mind. When thought disturbs those sleeping troubles, nothing good can become of it.

**Disclaimer**: I do not know _Avatar: The Last Airbender _and I'm notmaking any money for writing this story. Juuust felt like clearing that up for ya : )

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Chapter One: Sapphire Skies of Mine

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_A clap of thunder shook the skies, sending vibrations rippling. The air hung heavy and thick like milk, and rain beat the world into submission. He looked over his shoulder as he ran for the shelter of another tree. The abandoned barn stood in the distance, looming in a haze of old damp wood. He could not help but worry._

_The green canopy of leaves offered little protection from the shifting winds. Sokka shivered in the blanket wrapped around his shoulders. _

_"How much farther is the village?" he asked._

_"Not very far," Katara replied, "The path is close." Turning to him she smiled softly. "He'll be fine, Aang," She said, "He can fend for himself." He nodded absently, looking once again at the fading structure. He would not be fine…_

_They ran out into the pouring rain. Bolting down a beaten path they fled, safety steps away. A grip around his neck, choking on his own breath. A scream. A thud of something metal. Nothing seemed real…_

Aang sat up straight, eyes wide with fear. His throat burned and for a moment he wondered if he had been screaming in his sleep, until his memory graced him once again. He brought his hands up to rub his face but found them bound with rope. A sudden wave of nausea washed over his stomach as he became painfully aware of the see-sawing ground. Except it wasn't the ground, it was a wooden floor. And the sickening motion was what he assumed to be wagon wheels on a rocky path. Not. Good.

Every inch of him hurt. His eyes were blurry and the skin on his face felt as if it were peeling like sunburn. The taste of blood filled his mouth. He leaned forward and spit it out onto the floor, more puzzled then frightened. Curious, in fact. He had never really seen blood before. Small scrapes had been quickly bandaged and healed—war was always far away, almost mythical. _Wow,_ he thought, examining the puddle through shaky vision.

There was a cough somewhere close, startling him. Spikes shot through his nerves and he sat perfectly still. His lungs deflated and his ears strained to hear inaudible noises. A soft whine, like a dog, and then, "Sokka?" He relaxed. It was Katara. Pushing himself onto his knees he felt his way in the direction of her voice. He could see her outline among the shadows, in the corner up against the wall.

"Katara?" he whispered, "That you?"

"Mmhum." Aang scooted a few more feet and sat beside her, resting his head on her shoulder. They sat there for quite some time. She closed her eyes and brought her knees up to her chest, rocking slightly from side to side. He almost fell asleep right there. "You okay?" she asked after a while. Taking count of his injuries he guessed his legs couldn't support his weight.

"Yeah, I'm fine," He lied optimistically. There was no need to say anything else.

She hummed in response, a little coo, and for the first time in his life he wondered what it would be like to have a mother. The monks that raised him had never spoken of such a thing as a mother for him. He had seen them, though, in the temples and walking around. They always comforted their children whenever anything happened, big or small. A hug turned loud tears into sniffles, a frown into a smile. A mother's powers seemed to be greater than anything in the world.

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The wheels of the cart came to a screeching halt, causing its occupants to be jostled unpleasantly. On the outside a lock was fumbled with. The hinges of the door screamed as it was opened. It was nearly as dark in the night as it was in the windowless pen. The prisoners were all unexplainably exhausted, and drooped like dolls as they were shoved along. Most of them couldn't find the strength to lift their heads and take in their surroundings, but the ones who did could not comprehend what they saw. The large men escorting them wore emotionless faces and gigantic muscles. Turning endless corners and down endless halls, one could never keep track. After what seems like hours of walking around, four or five were put into a single room, locked in, and left. Not even the strongest could utter a word. Every living soul was knocked out cold.

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When Zuko awoke, he imagined his quarters back on the ship. From the assortment of weapons on the walls down to the dragon carpet. But when he came to full consciousness this was far from what he saw. He was tied by his wrists to a metal pole, his ankles in shackles out before him. His mouth was dry as a desert and his limbs were too stiff to move. He was drained of all worldly things, and not even a puff of smoke was left in him.

He was so caught up in himself that he didn't notice he wasn't alone until there was movement across the room. A shiver ran down his spine and he glared around the heaps of bodies. His search stopped and the scowl on his face melted away in an instant. He had seen this one before. Her thin legs were folded underneath her small frame and she huddled against the pole as if for warmth. And then, to his surprise, her lids slid back and she blinked a few times. Her eyes were like stars in an sapphire sky. The stars hecould hold his in hands. The sky he could watch forever.

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**foggyfallacy**: (_squee)_ That was fun. Please tell me what you think! And if you have any suggestions i would be greatful to receive them. There isn't apairing planned out yet, but I'm leaning more towards Zuko/Katara. Good? Bad? I know things may be a bit confusing, but everything will get better—I promise!


	2. All Apologies

**foggyfallacy:** Another chapter. I haven't gotten a flame yet! There was a unanimous Zuko/Katara vote, so I'll go with that. It's my favorite anyway : ) I had trouble naming this chapter, anyone get the Nirvana reference? Ha, I'm officially a loser.

_refer to first chapter for disclaimer._ Onto the fic!

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All Apologies

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Katara blinked her eyes open. Gray light shot across her face from holes in the wall, casting pools onto the floor. There was an odd feeling creeping up her skin and her feet were falling asleep, so to speak. There was something wrong. She shivered—half cold and half scared. Her clothes were still damp from earlier and they clung to her like leaches. The walls shook as if from the wind and she lifted her head to look.

She froze. A pair of eyes shone like those of a nocturnal animal. They glistened gold as they peered at her and for what seemed like forever they held her gaze hostage. She didn't realize she was holding her breath until her lungs nearly burst. She hiccuped in a gulp of air but dared not look away.

It was strange how she knew this uneven stare. She tilted her head thoughtfully to the side. Her brain was searching every room, every file, every _thought_ she ever had. Through the many dead-end trails of childhood memories and faces she hardly remembered, there it was. The blank, angry eyes. It played out like the sequence of a dream: Sokka driving Appa higher into the sky, Aang serious for once, and herself taking one last glimpse at the ship slicing the sea below. Standing on the deck at soldiers ready was the prince of the firebenders, among others. She recognized him for his armor and distinctive scar blazing a fiery red. A painful red. The red of a thousand hates channeling themselves in her direction. It wasn't a hate for her, most likely, but a hate for hate. He hated to hate, hated to like it. It was in those eyes she saw the being in the shell, the boy in the man, the living in the dead. _If he wanted the Avatar for his own ambitions, _she remembered thinking,_ he would have given up by now_. There had to be something of greater power driving him. Something so important to him he would sail around the world to get it…

"You're quite an opponent," A voice spoke, weighed as it pierced through her coma of a daydream. There was more light in the room than the last time she had been aware of her environment. The eyes had narrowed some, and were now attached to a slimly built body. A smirk etched itself onto the pale face and she wondered how long she had been looking at him. Her cheeks burned but she was too enthralled to look away. They were a mere three feet apart and it would take nothing for him to emit an orb of fire and be done with her, she told herself, and it appeared on her face.

He drew in a breath, about to say something else, but faltered. She was afraid. Afraid, just like everyone else. Afraid of what he could do, what he would say, who he was. He, need not forget, was the worse of the firebenders. Royalty. Ex, actually, but the title and wealth were still there. A shark among minnows—the impostor that could not be ignored. He closed his eyes and centered himself. It wasn't her fault. Her tribe probably _believed_ the slander they spouted.

"You are…cautious when you shouldn't be." he said calmly, almost at a whisper. He didn't need to see her reaction to know what it was. She was scared he knew too much. Only a true monster could tell her her own emotions. He knew what cards she held. He had seen them all too often.

"I'm sorry." Katara breathed, biting her lip.

His eyes opened instantly, wild with anger. "No your _not!_" She shuddered as he rose his voice and at once he knew he had done the wrong thing. He had only convinced her the stories were right. She was not used to being yelled at, that was for sure, and doing so would make everything harder.

She sat straighter, though her back pained. "My apologies for not being as sincere as you wished, but it is hard not to be wary of those who strike children out of pure spite." Her words dug holes into his soul and he had the sudden urge to slap her. If he had been closer he might have.

"I have never killed a child!" The direction of this simple conversation was turning down a path he didn't like but felt helpless to stop. 'Helpless' was not something he was much of the time, he liked to think, and this made him feel even more apprehensive. She raised an eyebrow.

"So you don't deny killing a man?" Her fists clenched and she remembered hearing of her mother's brutal murder.

"In all honesty no. I can't say I haven't." _Now, now, Prince Zuko, _he heard his uncle preach,_ bravado is not an act to play in the company of a young lady_. Young lady. He almost laughed. She was a defiant little peasant-girl who hardly deserved his presence or thought. But her fearlessness intrigued him in a way he could not quite say, and, not wanting to loose at this game of verbal interrogation, he would proceed.

But he didn't get the chance to, as it turned out. A loud yawn rang from across the room, followed by a small yelp. "Katara! Don't move!" Sokka screeched, "Zuko!" Zuko sneered at his stupidity. He was the purest idiot he had ever encountered.

Katara observed Zuko blankly. "Yes, I am aware."

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"It could've been the Fire Nation," Sokka scowled. It had been a few hours since he had awoke and his mood was anything but cheerful. There were a few more people in the room, all still asleep. There was no sign of Aang, which was strange. Prince Zuko sat staring at the ground, silently listening to the discussion.

Katara thought on the last thing Sokka had said for a moment, choosing her words carefully. "But why would Fire Nation Guard go against their own prince?" she questioned, looking first at Sokka and then to Zuko, who slightlyshook his head.

"It wasn't the Fire Nation." he said.

"Then who **was** it?" Sokka asked haughtily. Katara mentally scolded her brother for being so rude.

"I don't care." Zuko sighed. Katara threw him an inquiring sideways glance.

"What do you mean? Don't you desire to know?" she asked timidly. To her surprise he met her gaze, holding it once again.

"I _desire_ many things." His golden eyes flickered down her form and then back up again. "Why fools do the things they do is not one of them." He almost smiled then, maybe he did. The peculiar look on her face was entertaining enough, like she had never been hit on before and wasn't quite sure what to do, but saying it in front of her brother would prove to be quite comical.

"Hey!" Sokka protested, picking up on the implication. "Lay off!" He of course couldn't stop him. He could sit there and say anything he wanted. He had dropped his boomerang while getting "captured" or "ambushed", however you'd like to put it, so he had no way of shutting him up. He couldn't reach his foot to pull off his shoe to chuck it at him, so what was the use?

"Oh, I'm sorry," Zuko said sarcastically, "is that _your_ job?"

"What? I'm…your…your…what!" Sokka was too bewildered to think of a good comeback and stumbled over his own words.

"I mean, I knew you guys were close an' all, but jeez, talk about inbred."

"What are you **saying!**" Sokka was a country boy in a foreign city. Words didn't fit right. Inbred? What the hell did that mean anyway?

"Oh come on, you mean to tell me you two don't ge—"

"ENOUGH!" Katara cried, "Stop it." She felt violated in an odd way. He hadn't _done_ anything, but it still made her cringe. Maybe he was just trying to get them riled up, she couldn't tell. But at any rate, it was uncomfortable. She didn't know what he was doing. He had been almost polite before. It seemed he had a mask he wore in different company. Or many the person she had seen before was the mask. The one she had only seen for an instant. This man was very confusing and complicated. Or many he wasn't.

Call it insane, but Zuko couldn't stop thinking about what he had done (for the first time in his life). Why had he said that? He had no inclination towards her. No, he did not. He could get any girl he wanted. ANY girl. Any one. He was the prince and the prince got whatever he wanted. Whoever, whatever, whenever. Not that he had exercised this divine right, but he could at any time.

It was silent. A silence both welcomed and dread. Everyone was caught up in their own thoughts and questions arose in their minds that no one could answer, no one in the room anyway. Sokka was already planing Zuko's murder, in vain of course. Even _he_ knew it was impossible. But fantasies don't have to comply with reality, do they?

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**foggyfallacy:** Okay, got a little carried away there. Sorry for the crappy ending, I tried! It usually takes a week or so for a new chapter, which is pretty crazy, but I'm too much a perfectionist for my own good. Oh well, in exactly_…(counts)…_eight days I'll be free of school and it won't be nearly as long.Again if you have any suggestions please let me know! I love reviews!


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