Oathkeeper: Here's a new drabble before I leave for Italy tomorrow (July 15th) and I hope you guys enjoy! Please Review so I have some lovely things to read when I get back!

Disclaimer: So, who's excited about the new movie tonight? And where the heck are Zuko and Iroh? They better be in the movie! Uh, yeah, I'm obviously ignoring the totally pointless disclaimer. I mean really, do they think that a 17 year old can own Avatar? Really.

Twisted Logic
Prompt #72 – Forgiveness

My grandmother used to tell me about the old days; when there was peace in this world. She also told me stories of the ruthless Fire Nation, and how they were the reason we were trapped in this ominous war. I thought I'd never rid these beliefs, but…I did. For some reason, both Aang and I saw some Fire Nation natives as humans rather than barbarians, while Sokka was a whole other story. I'm not sure if he ever forgave them, even now.

Anyway, the whole reason this happened is because of me. It was my idea to bring him along when we were reunited one dreadful afternoon. What I saw was horrific and sickened me. No one deserved to be treated that way, even if they were from the Fire Nation. Maybe it was fate.

So now I begin the collection of my memories and the memories of my companions, as to when this all started. As each day proceeded, our relationship grew.

---

A week after our relentless chase and some much needed rest, we were off to the next town to shop for more supplies. At first, we thought that week was going to be easy considering we hadn't run into Azula and her so called 'friends' or Zuko for that matter.

I relaxed happily on the saddle of Appa while watching Toph looking more bored than ever, with the accompaniment of my brother complaining how hungry he was. Toph's eyes narrowed and a hint of annoyance grew across her face. Before I knew it, she was blowing up at Sokka and Sokka was doing the same. We were becoming restless after flying for more than half a day and the fighting didn't make matters any better.

"Sokka, do you always have to say how hungry you are? Seriously, it gets annoying after awhile," complained the blind earthbender.

"Hey, it's not my fault that we've been flying for hours without any food to eat! Besides, a warrior needs his food, or more specifically, his meat," defended my brother.

"Well, if you're such a 'warrior' then why didn't you get us some fish or hunt for meat? You know, it's sort of your fault that we haven't eaten all day!" yelled Toph.

"Guys, this isn't worth fighting about," I calmly started to say, "There wasn't much food to begin with at the last campsite, so its nobodies fault!"

"Oh, so now the Sugar Queen decides to butt in on this conversation? You know, you could have easily captured some fish with your water splashing, or bending, or whatever you call it," spat Toph annoyingly.

"Oh, and I suppose throwing around rocks all the time is bending?" I angrily questioned, becoming face to face with the small girl before me.

"Guys, fighting isn't going to solve anything! We're almost to the next town, so can you at least hold your fighting until we land?" reasoned Aang.

"Fine," we all responded in unison.

For the next few minutes, things fell eerily silent between us. Toph continued to put over the side of Appa's saddle, while Sokka proceeded in carving at a stick he had picked up earlier. I crossed my arms in front of me, my frustration level slowly decreasing as we set further into the horizon.

Before long, Aang had happily jumped into the air, shouting that the next town was just below us. Regardless of our previous fight, we all screamed happily in unison. Appa slowly landed on the soft grass below us and we all quickly hopped off the large bison, eager to not only eat some real food, but gather some new supplies as well.

Aang gathered up some fresh grass with his airbending and gave it to Appa, telling him to stay where he was until they returned. I smiled as Appa yet out a loud yawn whilst Momo happily flew over next to him, scratching his rather large ears.

"What's that noise?" questioned Toph as she irritatingly tapped Aang on the head.

"What noise? I don't hear anything," responded my brother while pointing out the obvious. There really was no noise to be heard. Then again, Toph could hear things that we would never be able to hear.

"It's coming from the heart of this town," she stated matter-of-factly, placing her hand atop of the ground. "There are people yelling and cheering…but I feel a sense of embarrassment and tragedy as well," she observed, closing her eyes.

"Tragedy…we better go take a look. This doesn't sound right to me," insisted Aang.

"Good idea," I responded while placing a hand on his shoulder.

The further we ventured into the village the noise of the large crowd became more apparent. Looking around me, the town was rather developed. It consisted of well put together wooden buildings and a cobblestone road.

Sokka pointed his finger out in front of us, showing the people that were located in all one congested area. I watched as a local man ran past us, not even noticing our presence. Aang gave a look of confusion and quickly stopped the man dead in his tracks, asking what was going on.

"The man said there's a fight between some of their local Earthbenders and the ones who they keep as prisoners," explained Aang. "Apparently they do this twice a week for a source of entertainment."

"So these people are fighting against their will?" I questioned, sounding worried.

"Well, the Earthbenders volunteer, while the prisoners have no say."

No matter who these people were, I felt this was wrong. People were cheering for a fight that was practically considered a source of torture. I overheard a man, and how the previous week, three prisoners died in their duels. With those words, my fear for those who were fighting became even more evident.

Leaving my companions aside, I quickly ran through the mob of people, ignoring their grunts of annoyance. Not too long after, I was right at the rope where they cut off the crowd…I was in the front where I could see and hear everything. I turned around when I felt a hand on my shoulder to see Sokka, Aang and Toph, standing behind me. Giving a fake smile, I turned back around to watch a more elderly man face off against rather strong earthbender.

"Now it's time for the fight you've all been waiting for!" announced the arbitrator as he raised his hands, calling the match to an end. I watched helplessly as the elderly man was brutally taken away and the young earthbender was declared victorious.

"So who will face off against this round's winner?" questioned the man, riling up the crowd even more. "Our favorite prisoner of course; the man with a past that's too dark for us to understand, the one who was banished from his own country…"

"Wait, did he just say banished?" questioned my brother, cutting off the man.

"I think he did…" I responded softly, not wanting to interrupt. "But it can't be."

Turning back around, I saw a teenager get thrown into the fighting area. His hair was short and his clothing resembled an olive green color, which was common in the Earth Kingdom, and a scar with a past that I didn't even want to know. It's Zuko, I thought.

Getting up from the ground, he was thrown a pair of broad swords since he was not allowed to use his firebending. Before he even managed to grasp the swords within his hand, the young earthbender had already taken a strike on him. A large boulder was thrown into his abdomen and he flung a few feet back.

I can't even explain what I was feeling. I was feeling…sad for the prince. The price that had been chasing us endlessly to the other side of the world, I was feeling sorry for him. It wasn't fighting, it was agony. My brother and the others were still standing behind me, and even they were speechless. If there was anyone who could feel Zuko's pain more, it was Toph. She started to explain and it became unbearable.

"The boy who chased you…he's feeling shameful and embarrassed. His heart is racing faster than time itself and his breathing is becoming more scattered. The blow to his abdomen really did a lot. But he's not giving up…I don't feel a sense of him quitting anytime soon. He wants to keep fighting. He wants…to protect something. But this isn't going to last long; pretty soon, he won't be able to hold on."

"What should we do? We can't just leave him to be tortured like this!" I pleaded, not understanding where that came from.

"Katara, he's our enemy, we can't help him!" insisted my brother.

"Even I have to go with Sokka on this one…we can't interfere with something this dangerous. We could get hurt in the process! We already know that these people find fights such as this, entertaining. So who knows what they'd do to us."

"Katara, where are you going?" shouted my brother as I made my way under the rope.

"I have to do something," I exclaimed.

I saw Aang come after me, but to my surprise, Sokka had stopped him. Even Toph was willing to come after me, but he stopped her as well. Listening to the crowd gasp at my actions, I still continued. They were not going to stop me.

"Stop!" I demanded, raising both my arms into the air. "The Northern Water Tribe has sent me to capture the prince of the Fire Nation!"

"How dare you interrupt this young girl!" yelled the referee as he approached, his body closer than I wanted him to be.

"No! I have been sent to capture him and his uncle!" I explained once again, looking down at the battered prince before me. "I will not leave, unless you hand over this teenager and his uncle!"

"Or what? You'll splash little water on me?" he chuckled, my anger level increasing.

"No, you'll have to face me!" shouted a familiar voice.

"And who are you?"

"I'm the Avatar and I was sent as well to capture these fugitives."

That's when the whole crowd grew silent as they gazed in amazement at the twelve year old boy that was next to me. He turned around to face me, giving surety that everything was alright and that it was time to go. I smiled back at him as he turned back to face my brother, while pointing at the prison cell that was not too far from us. The prince's uncle was inside, but was soon rescued by my brother and Toph.

Placing the prince's arm over my shoulder, I slowly brought him up to his feet, while Aang grabbed his broadswords.

"You know, this would be much more interesting if these guys were pirates," I jokingly said.

"I never asked for your help peasant," he spat harshly.

"I know. But I could just leave you and your uncle here to be tortured if you want," I suggested, adjusting his body weight on top of me. "Besides, your injuries are pretty serious…"

"Whether you help me or not, you're still a peasant."

"Yeah, well, you're still a spoiled prince."

Oathkeeper: Hope you enjoyed, and I'm sorry to say that you'll have a wait a whole week for another update. In the meantime, check out my other stories, for I'm sure you'll enjoy them! Review as always!