My first shot at an Avatar fic. Yeah, I know, overdone plot, but bear with me, I promise there's a nice twist.

I don't own Avatar, Nickelodeon does. But if I did, Zuko and Katara would already have started dating!

Kurlong: game played by the Water Tribe, otherwise known as hockey!

The Avatar Stones

Chap 1: Gratitude

Pitch-black skies hurled out bolts of lightning while twenty foot waves pounded the iron-hulled ship. The deck pitched and rolled like a drunken sailor as the storm raged, drenching the world in rain. Zuko scowled from where he clung for dear life to one of the side bars near the main cabin. "Can't you do anything about this!" He shouted to the girl on the opposite side of the deck. "Aren't you a master waterbender!"

Katara glared back at him from her perch on the fire spouts ladder. "I don't have that kind of power!"

"Well do something!" He snarled over the crash of the waves. "At this rate we'll all drown!"

"I've been trying!" She shouted back. "But there's not much I can do right about now"---her voice simply died away as she gaped up at the air behind him. Blues eyes went huge in terror. "Zuko, whatever you do, don't let go!"

"What!" He looked over his shoulder and felt his jaw go slack. A huge forty foot wave was about to come slamming down on his side of the ship---"Oh no." He clutched the rail with all his strength, waiting for the punishing wave to fall. But it didn't.

He yanked his head around to face the girl. She was standing free on the deck, legs braced by some loose debris that had washed up on the deck. Both hands were up, her arms making a pushing motion. It seemed to almost be building the wave up higher, but then she began to motion off to the side of the ship. He could see the strain pulling at her arms, the wave fighting to be set loose as it wished. The ship pitched sharply to the left, nearly taking her over the side before she found her footing once more. With one last effort, she forced the wave off towards the bow of the ship.

Katara fell to her hands and knees, too exhausted to stand. The deck rolled again, and she tried to brace herself once more before warm hands reached for her. The prince shook his head to clear the water out of his eyes. "Come on, we need to get back to the hold," he said, not unkindly. He helped her stand and together they stumbled back to the shelter of the inner ship.

Lieutenant Jee held open the door for them, pushing it shut with some effort against the fierce wind once they were safely inside. He blew out a breath in relief, the urge to scold the two teens overwhelming him. "(Phew.) What were you two thinking! You could have been killed out there!"

Katara looked at the soldier, and then just glared at Zuko.

He saw her look and frowned intensely. "This was not my fault."

"Right," she drawled sarcastically. "I was trying so hard to escape, with no raft or anything to swim away from this ship with, in the middle of a storm, at midnight! And you just know I was trying to signal my friends to come rescue me in the pitch black dark with absolutely nothing in my hands to do it with. You were right to go and tackle me like some kurlong player."

If looks could kill, Katara would have died in a very imaginative way. "Then what were you doing out there?" he bit out.

"What you suggested I do," she snapped. "I was trying to lessen the waves hitting the ship. I can't do that from the inside. I can't bend what I can't see. But then someone had to go and break my concentration."

The firebending prince fumed silently, scowling at her.

Quiet chuckling filled the charged silence. Both teens whirled.

Iroh was standing in the hallway, one hand over his mouth, a smile on his face. "Well, I can see that this trip will most definitely not be boring. Welcome back in, Lady Katara."

It had been less than two days ago that they had caught the waterbender shopping in one of the many port markets off the coast of the Earth Kingdom. After the battle of the North Pole, the Avatar and his group had begun heading south, presumably to find an earthbending master to teach Aang. But they had run low on supplies and stopped to buy some with the money the chieftain had given them. Aang and Sokka had been in a different part of the market, but had come running when they heard that a girl had been kidnapped by firebenders.

They were shocked to find Zuko and Iroh back together with their old crew. Zhao's fleet had scattered in the battle's aftermath, and the crew had scoured the icy waters until they had found their former commander and his nephew. The firebenders had managed to get Katara on the ship, but of course, a fierce battle had ensued between the two groups.

They had bound Katara hand and foot, rendering her useless to the fight. And while Aang was using his waterbending, he couldn't match the girl's skill and resorted to his airbending once more. But the storm they were still currently facing had been created in the chaos of battle, driving Appa away from the ship before they could regain their friend. Until the weather cleared, the flying bison was grounded. Sokka had reluctantly pulled back, Aang having to fight to convince him that Zuko would need Katara as bait for a trap for them and wouldn't harm her.

The storm had gained in speed and intensity, becoming a small hurricane. It would be some days before the ship could make land, if they could even figure out where they were. With the skies so overcast, they had no stars to navigate by, and the multiple hits of lightning to the ship's smoke stacks had magnetized every compass on board.

Katara had not been looking forward to her stay with the fire soldiers. To the girl's surprise, Iroh had taken her under his wing, untying her and treating her with the courtesy of an honored guest. He had set up a room for her, scoffing when Zuko had asked why she wasn't being sent to the ship's dungeon.

"Oh come now, Prince Zuko, what is the harm? Until her friends come for her, she has nowhere to go. And besides, I for one could use the company of a young lady to break the monotony of the trip." He glanced over his shoulder at the crew, some of whom had been crowding the doorway to see the waterbender. "I think we all could use some new faces around here. Men, be sure to treat her like a lady. I will not tolerate any disrespect to our guest."

The crew had eagerly accepted her, making introductions and asking her all kinds of questions. She had been shocked by how friendly everyone was being to her, but had smiled and accepted it as part of her stay. Zuko, of course, had been grumbling the entire time about how dangerous it was to have a waterbender loose on a ship in the open ocean, but had done as his uncle asked.

Katara hastily stood, shaking out her dress and trying to discreetly bend some of the water out of it. She blushed faintly at the title he had used for her. "Oh, sir, you really don't have to call me that."

"On the contrary. I saw how you kept my nephew from harm out there. That alone would earn my respect, my lady." The lieutenant nodded in agreement.

Zuko looked off to the side at his uncle's words, taking off his boots and dumping the water out of them. She had quite possibly saved his life out there. That wave could have swept him out into the open ocean and he would have been lost.

"But the fact that royalty graces us should grant you the title."

Zuko jerked his head up at that. "What?"

Katara started to frantically shake her head, "No, no, I"—

Iroh looked at his nephew in surprise. "You didn't know? This young lady is the princess of the southern Water Tribe."

Zuko couldn't help his staring at the girl. "You? You're a princess?"

She blushed at their scrutiny. "Well, sort of, I—I mean"—

He looked at her with disbelief. "Well? You either are or you aren't. There is no 'sort of' with royalty."

"I—it's more unofficial than anything! Gran-gran, I mean, my grandmother, is the leader of the Southern Water Tribe, but that doesn't really"—

The elder firebender smiled at her. "On the contrary, my dear. You and your brother are both heir to the leadership of the Tribe, and therefore are its acting prince and princess." He held out his hand to lead the girl to the doorway. As she took it, he said, "We must be sure that you are treated with the respect that you deserve while you journey with us, right, Prince Zuko?"

Zuko stood, looking everywhere but at the waterbender. Damn all manners, he thought to himself. Basic courtly etiquette demanded that he show her courtesy. Walking past the lieutenant and former general, he motioned to the girl. His voice sounded with reluctant courtesy, "This way, my lady."

He looked over at her mostly dry clothing and couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "Sure, bend your own clothes dry."

He didn't go unheard. With a small start, she caught his meaning. "Oh yeah, sorry." She held out her hand, palm facing a startled Zuko. "Hold still." She lifted her hand towards his head, then brought it slowly down. He shivered slightly as he felt all the water in his hair, clothing, and armor obey her command and flow to the floor.

Katara blushed at his nod of thanks and walked right to the prince's side. She bowed politely to the two men, "Thank you, good sirs, for your hospitality and protection on this night."

Jee found himself smiling at the young girl as Iroh replied. "You honor us with your presence, Princess Katara. I hope you enjoy your stay with us."

She waited till they had walked out of earshot before muttering, "Interesting way to call me being a prisoner here."

"No," Zuko said, looking straight ahead as they walked. "My uncle called you a princess. Enemy or not, he won't treat you like a prisoner. The southern tribe can't afford to ransom you, and you're of no use to us if your friends don't know where you are. So he'll probably let you go some place."

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Then trail me to find Aang once he and my brother pick me up?"

The boy snorted. "Think you're so clever, don't you?"

Katara felt her spine stiffen at his tone, but then sighed. "This doesn't have to be open warfare"—he gave her a look—"okay, bad choice of words. Look, I don't want to cause any trouble, and I definitely want off this ship as fast as possible. But I don't want to fight with you if I can help it."

He smirked. "Scared of me? Or are you still upset about our duel at the North Pole?" He noted her saddened look. "What's your problem? Your tribe won in the end, didn't they?"

Her sad gaze turned to an angry scowl. "I lost a good friend because of Zhao and dozens of my people died defending their home from invading firebenders. What part of that is a real victory?

"And as for our duel? I'll admit you won, fair and square, but I am not afraid of you. You ever want a rematch; you know where to find me." With that said, she marched into her waiting room, slamming the door in his face with a loud clang.

She paused, and then whirled back around, opening the door and knocking him onto the floor with the force of it. "Oh, and you're welcome for saving your life." The door slammed shut again.

He glared from his position. "This ought to be a great trip," he muttered.

(&(

Hope you all like it. Please review!