Chapter Seven: Side Trip

Worn faces timidly stole glances at the distraught Water Tribe girl and the unconscious Fire Nation boy. Katara was sitting with her back against a wall in one of the corners, and Zuko's body slouched on her lap. No one had made a move to say anything to them since they were tossed into the large cell. Most of the temporary inhabitants had also received similar treatment when they were forced inside the ship. There were over forty Earth Kingdom citizens chained in the room, and there were woven steel bars preventing escape. Most of the people were malnourished and caked in soot and dirt.

Katara resentfully recalled what had happened hours before, when she and Zuko were taken captive.

"Zuko!" Katara cried out when the boy remained on the sandy ground. "Get up!" But it was of no use, the firebender was out cold.

The noise of a boat hitting water drew Katara's attention. She saw four men row towards the shore, towards her. The three men that were already on the shore started to circle around her. With an incisive flip of her hands, Katara slapped a water-whip against the face of one of the men that got too close to her and Zuko.

"Stay back!" She said in the most commanding voice she could summon.

A man with a black face tattoo dodged a stream of water she sent his way, "Looks like we have a waterbender, how lucky. Don't see too many of 'em come our way."

"Enough messing around," one of the men jeered out. "Hurry up and catch this girlie, I want to get moving."

Katara defended against the oncoming attacks, but even she knew she was massively outnumbered. Within minutes, she was brought to her knees, and her arms were tied behind her back with a rope. They picked her and Zuko up, she struggled and wiggled in defiance. She only stopped fighting back when one of the men threatened to bludgeon Zuko's "pretty little face" in with a hammer. Having been underfed and riddled with stress for days, Katara knew that she did not have the energy to spare to pointlessly struggle.

"Don't worry, darlin'," the man that was carrying said. "We're going to take good care of you and your husband. Just be a good girl, and none of us will have to hurt you."

She and Zuko were placed onto one of the boats, then they were rowed to the pirate ship. Once they were pulled onto the deck, they both had their hands shackled in the front, and they were thrown into a dim-lit cell. Katara could not believe her eyes when she saw the cell was over-crowded with other captives from various places across the Earth Kingdom. There had been some curious stares when they first entered, but most of the captives had been accustomed to new arrivals. The biggest surprise about the new comers, although they wore Earth Kingdom garb, was that they looked like foreigners. Mentally and physically drained, Katara had no desire to talk to anyone. She pulled Zuko into a corner with her, and attempted to rest her mind—which proved to be hard, she had just been captured after all.

A baby's wail brought Katara back into the present, the present was no better than the immediate past. She watched a young woman, she could not have been older than sixteen, rock the baby while making shushing noises. Observing the room with a clear head for the first time, Katara noted that there were people of all ages shackled just like her. The majority, however, were made up of young adults between the ages of fifteen and thirty. The overall hygiene of the cell was repulsive, and the smell was just short of unbearable. With his hands covering his mouth, a small boy limped over to a bucket, and then he threw up into it. Hardly anything emptied out from his mouth, Katara suspected he hadn't had a real meal for far too long. Katara had an inkling of what she and the others were being held for, but she did not want to acknowledge it.

She turned her head towards an older woman that was next to her, "What's going to happen to us? Why are we here?"

The woman was startled when Katara spoke to her; the girl had been there for hours without uttering a single word. The piercing blue eyes of the new comer caught her off guard, most of the other confined men and women had dwindling light in their eyes.

"You, you don't know what we are being used for?" The woman thought it was apparent.

"No," Katara replied truthfully.

"Oh," the woman played with the hem of her dress. "They are going to sell us. We are slaves."

If Zuko was not currently resting on her lap, she would have stood up in disbelief, "What? No. There is no way."

"I'm afraid it is the truth," the woman erased Katara's doubt. "Were you sold, captured, or traded? I was sold by my previous mistress."

"I was never a slave," Katara said. "We," she squeezed Zuko's shoulder, "were just captured earlier today."

Realization dawned on the middle-aged woman's face, "Was that what the screaming was about?"

"Probably," a very small smile tugged at Katara's mouth. "I came kicking and screaming."

"Good for you," she complimented. "There are few of us that would have the tenacity to do that, I wish I still had fight like that left in me."

"Thanks," a bitter feeling came over Katara. "It didn't do any good for us, though."

Having built a quick rapport with the girl, the woman asked, "What is your name?"

"I'm Katara and this is Zuko," Katara tugged him closer to her abdomen.

"My name is Jiao," the woman introduced. "I used to nanny the children of my mistress, but she sold me because she could no longer afford to house and feed me."

"I'm sorry," Katara said sadly. "How... How were you treated?"

"Better than most, I've been a slave for close to my whole life," Jiao admitted. "I have gotten used to being treated well, I'm scared of who my new master will be."

Katara now knew that she was in the same situation, "I would hate to be sold to someone cruel."

"True, but it would be worse not to get bought at the slave market."

"Why is that?" Katara couldn't imagine how that could be a bad thing.

The woman shook her head, "If the slavers cannot sell you to private owners, they will sell the left overs at a cheap price to the government or businesses. Some slaves end up in mines, some in farm plots, and others in construction. Those slaves are treated worse than animals, horribly underfed, and they usually die after three or four years. You do not want to be one of those slaves."

"That's awful," the possibility of being worked to death scared her. "I never knew slavery was this present in the world. Actually, less than a week ago, I didn't even know slavery still happened."

"What was this boy's name again?" Jiao asked, eyes diverting to look at the pale-skinned boy.

"Zuko," Katara reminded her.

His skin was an anomaly to her, "He's not from the Earth Kingdom, his features are far too delicate."

"Zuko's from the Fire Nation, he—"

"The Fire Nation?" Jiao interrupted her. "That's rare, I have seen only one other slave that was of Fire Nation descent, and I don't think she was pure blooded either. He looks like he comes from a long line of good breeding. I know a high born when I see one."

"I'm unsure about his lineage, but he is a navy sailor," Katara informed her. "He is also training to be a physician."

Jiao was impressed, "A physician? You have a nice catch, I like smart men."

Katara's body jumped faintly when Zuko groaned. His eyebrows scrunched together, and his right hand carefully pressed onto the surface of his head that was clubbed. Zuko made another light groan.

"Zuko!" Katara helped him into a sitting position against the wall. "How are you feeling? Are you hurt? In pain?"

Her companion blinked open his stunning, gold eyes. Jiao found herself drawn into them, she had never seen gold eyes like his before.

"There's a throbbing pain in my head, but I think I'm alright," Katara watched Zuko take in the room for the first time. "Where are we?"

Katara began to explain, "We're on that ship from earlier." The previous events came back to Zuko. "We're slaves now, on a journey to be sold to slave masters."

"I was afraid of this," he thought of the ship's flags. "If only I had remembered earlier, I had seen the flags' designs in a book."

"Even if you had recalled them," Katara comforted him, "we were outnumbered." The waterbender caught a glimpse of the woman in the corner of her eyes. "Oh, this is Jiao. She has been telling me about where the ship is heading."

Zuko wanted to hold a hand out to her, but they were chained together, "Zuko. If we were under different circumstances, I would say it's nice to meet you."

"I agree," Jiao continued to enthrall herself with his eyes. "Where in the Fire Nation are you from?"

Zuko was caught off guard by the question, and Katara could not understand why Jiao was so fixated on Zuko being from the Fire Nation.

"I was born on the mainland," Zuko did not feel comfortable talking about himself with this strange woman.

"Wow, what is it like there?" She continued with her questioning. "I've heard stories, and I have always wanted to go there."

"Um, it's much hotter there than it is here... Or anywhere," Zuko replied, Jiao hung onto every word he said. "The beaches are nice, I guess."

"I was told that the streets are paved in gold, buildings are made out of ivory, and every lady is covered in fine crystals. I, and many other slaves, have been jealous of the slaves that were bought by Fire Nation nobles. I hope a family from there buy me."

That was when Zuko realized that Jiao had an unrealistic view of his homeland. He fought in his head over if he should ruin her image of the Fire Nation, or if he should tell her the truth.

"The area around the palace is similar to that, but it's not that extravagant," Zuko told her. "You may not know this, but there is still poverty and suffering in my nation. We have our own share of problems."

Jiao's mood dampened a bit, but she still was curious about the Fire Nation.

"You say that, but one of my dreams is to see the Fire Nation before I die," Jiao confessed. "You have beautiful eyes."

Katara enjoyed watching a flustered Zuko, it was his turn to blush.

"Thank you," her sincerity made him feel shy. "I can't take credit for them, can I? They're all from my parents."

Jiao prodded him again, "What are your parents like? You must have an esteemed mom and dad."

"I'm sorry," Zuko distracted himself by looking at the ceiling, "I don't like talking about them. Mother and especially father are sore topics for me."

"I didn't mean to offend you, young one," Jiao's face wrinkled into a frown. "Please, if it causes you pain, forget that I asked."

The young man repositioned himself, "Don't worry about it."

Zuko never talked much about his family, only a sentence or two in passing. Katara was beyond curious, but she never had the courage to ask. Now, after watching Zuko's face warp with regret and sadness, she was glad she never brought it up. She was going to say something else, but then their attention was called to a pregnant woman. The cell had a scarce moment of happiness when the pregnant woman and her partner laughed when the baby kicked. Some of the young girls walked over to feel the woman's stomach.

"It's hard to comprehend that they are willing to sell pregnant women," Katara mentioned, still watching the display.

The woman looked on and spoke in a wise voice, "There is evil in this word." Her voice then fell back into a softer tone, "But there are also moments like this," she pointed at the smiling woman, holding her stomach. "When you find yourself in a happy moment, savor it. You will never know when it will end."

Katara and Zuko dutifully nodded their heads to show their understanding.

"Excuse me," Jiao stood up from her spot at the wall. "I'm going to join in on the moment."

Jiao left the newcomers, and she made her way over to chat with the woman and her partner.

"How are you feeling?" Now that they were alone, Katara asked Zuko again.

Zuko rubbed his head, "I'm fine, really. How are you holding up?"

"If I'm going to be honest," Katara spoke quietly, "I don't know. It hasn't sunk in yet, being a slave. I keep wondering if I'm having a bad dream."

"Hey," Zuko rubbed her arm, "no matter what happens, we're in this together. We made it out of that swamp, we can make it out of here too."

"Yeah," Katara leaned her shoulder against his. "We make a good team." She gave him a mischievous smile, "I smacked one of them square in the face. Fucker went down."

Zuko laughed, it was a real laugh. It was such an inappropriate time to laugh, they got some stares from those near by.

"You are too cute," he bopped her nose with a finger, "but you're becoming more and more dangerous. I don't know if that makes you less cute, or if it makes you even more cute." Katara's eyes slanted into a glare. "Never mind, definitely more cute."

She pushed him with their already connecting shoulders, "I don't think he found me to be so cute."

"Then whoever it was, he's wrong. I hope you find me cute as well." He gave her a pair of puppy polar bear dog eyes, "Don't break my heart, Ka-ta-ra."

She put on a stern expression, she hoped to keep it up as she gazed at him; however, the face he was making poked holes into her facade. With her hands, she clutched at him, pulling him into an embrace.

"Of course, I think you're cute," she cooed while rocking him rhythmically. "You're the cutest boy in all the lands."

"That's all I ask," Zuko said when she released him.

"Am I cute?" A small, childish voice questioned.

Katara and Zuko twisted their bodies to see a little girl kneeling close by. She had light brown hair clipped close to her scalp, huge green eyes, and gaps in her mouth where she once had baby teeth.

"Yes!" Katara almost swooned at the young girl. "You are very cute, cuter than the two of us combined."

"Really?" She asked in a high-pitched voice.

"Yes," Zuko affirmed what Katara said. "You are adorable," he poked her nose similar to how he did to Katara minutes ago.

"Thanks!" She smiled a toothy grin. "I like you guys."

"My name is Katara, and this is Zuko," the waterbender shook the little girl's little hand. "What is your name?"

"I'm Tana," she answered.

Zuko shook her hand, "How old are you, Tana?"

"Five!" She held out five fingers proudly.

"Which of them are your parents?" Katara asked, scouring through the other slaves.

Tana's smile faded, "Don't have none. Don't need none."

Katara and Zuko shared a worried glance. This girl was far too young to be without a guardian.

"How long have you been on the ship?" Zuko inquired.

She made a humming noise as she thought, "Bout two weeks."

"Do you remember how you got here?" Katara was curious.

"Yeah," she peeped up. "Miss Rorar said to get on the ship. Can you keep a secret?" They both nodded. "I don't think she liked me much... I didn't like her much too."

More than likely, Tana grew up in an orphanage. Sometimes, orphanages became overcrowded, and some of them would sell children to slavers when necessary. Tana was one of many unlucky children.

"I'm sorry," Katara ruffled the child's messy hair.

The girl leaned into her touch, "S'ok, you and you are nicer than Miss Rorar. Nicer than them." She pouted when she looked at some of the other slaves.

Zuko felt a prickling sensation hit the edges of his eyes, he wanted to find any and all of the monsters that hurt the child. Katara's heart went out to the girl, she made a silent promise that she would help Tana. Tana walked closer to them, then she plopped herself in-between them and on top of their legs.

"Can I sit here?" She asked after she made herself comfortable, grabbing at their hands.

"Sure," Zuko let her wave his hand around. "Right Katara?"

Katara poked the girl on the tummy, "As far as I'm concerned, you can do whatever you want."

The three of them chatted about anything that the little girl could think of. During their conversation about whether or not a platypus bear was a bug, Katara spied a bruise on the inside of Tana's arm.

She gently held Tana's arm in her hand, "How did you get this bruise?"

The girl poked the bruise, Zuko had to keep himself from stopping her.

"A scary man squeezed me too hard," she recounted. "I have a bigger one on my tummy."

Tana lifted her shirt part way to show Zuko and Katara her bruise. She felt a surge of pride when she saw them gasp, her battle scars apparently impressed her two new friends.

"What happened there?" Katara wanted to know how someone could bruise a small child.

Tana pulled her shirt back down, "I didn't get out of the way fast 'nough, somebody kicked me."

"Can you remember who did that to you?" Zuko asked.

The little girl put her fist against her chin in thought, "No... There were a lot of people around. Could've been anybody."

For the rest of the day, Zuko and Katara became better aquatinted with Tana and some of the other slaves. Unsurprisingly, they were the only slaves from a different region than the Earth Kingdom. A thirty-three year old man called Baro told them that the ship's final destination was Ba Sing Se, the slave capital of the world. The ship was going up along-side the east coast of the Earth Kingdom, then they would be transferred to a ferryboat, and shipped into Ba Sing Se. More slaves will be added and sold along the way to the city. It was outlawed in the Fire Nation to sell slaves, so Fire Nation citizens had to travel to Ba Sing Se if they wanted quality slaves. Zuko was far from pleased when he heard the news, they would be taken far away from Kyoshi Island.

Evening swooped in, and Zuko found himself placidly rocking Tana asleep in his arms. It was awkward at first, holding her, with his shackles, but they found a suitable position in time. Tana's grip around his neck loosened until her chains around his neck kept her arms up, she had successfully gone to sleep. Katara found the pair to be nothing short of adorable. If Katara were to ever see a momma platypus bear in real life, she imagined the bear would be similar to the current momma Zuko. Satisfaction settled itself in Katara's mind when she observed some of the slaves watching Zuko. She could hear footsteps approaching the room, and seconds later, Tana was startled awake when a door slammed open. Katara and Zuko's faces dropped into a scowl, they silently watched a group of men approach the cell's bars. In their hands they carried large buckets and stacked bowls.

"Dinner," one of them said in a brusque voice.

Automatically, the slaves formed three orderly lines in front of each bucket of food. From the looks of things, the slaves that possessed more seniority were given the first spots in the lines. It appeared that the slaves had their own caste system. Unsure of where they belonged, Katara and Zuko joined in at the end of one line. They were amongst the most haggard looking slaves, the oldest slaves, and the youngest slaves that did not have parents. They received their bowl of food, and they realized the benefit of getting a better place in the lines. Those that were in the front half of the lines had more food than those that were in the second half.

The three of them sat back down at their claimed corner. The new slaves skeptically picked at the rice mixture, Tana bravely dug in.

"I understand that Water Tribe food is bland in comparison to Fire Nation military food and Earth Kingdom food, but this is pitiful," Katara complained, forcing another scoop of slop into her mouth.

Zuko's nose twitched as he gulped down a bolus, "I bet they have personnel here that deal with complaints. I am positive that our satisfaction as slaves is their number one priority."

"You are such a punk," Katara giggled. "Contrary to what you may think, I bet they would listen, breath bated, to my grievances."

"Eat your food, princess," Zuko coerced another horrid mouthful down.

Seeing that Tana was almost done, Katara started to eat again, "You joke about that, me being a princess and all." She wore a smug look, "My dad is the chief of the Southern Water tribe, and that makes me kind of the equivalent of a princess."

"Seriously?"

Katara nodded, swallowing more food.

"Wow, I should have known," Zuko finished his food. "I cannot believe how many times I've made a fool out of myself in front of you, a princess. My lady, will you ever forgive me? I'm nothing more than a poor boy, I do not know how to behave myself before the likes of royalty such as yourself."

"I'm being serious!" Katara wanted to flick rice at him, but she felt that would be disrespectful to the underfed slaves. She also knew that she would soon be an underfed slave in the near future as well.

Zuko feigned terror, "So was I. Please, my lady, do not punish me. I meant no harm or disrespect."

They continued their banter while laughing; Tana was clueless about what they were talking about, but that did not stop her from joining in with the laughter. Her new friends were weird, no one else in the room ever laughed.

"Is this all a joke to you two?" A stern voice figuratively poured cold water on their mirth.

The tone of the voice faded Katara's smile, "Excuse me?"

"I don't think either of you have grasped your situation," the woman spoke. "I can tell that neither of you were slaves, and I bet hard work is an unknown concept. You two laugh and kid around, but this isn't a joke. This is our lives, now it's your life. You are slaves, you will be sold like animals, and you will be worked like animals. As far as your new masters are concerned, you are nothing more than an animal."

Zuko and Katara stared at their empty bowls like scolded children, "Sorry," they both muttered.

"Read the atmosphere the next time you want to tell jokes," the woman berated them, then she walked away.

The feeling of shame silenced the two teens. Talk of royalty was forgotten. Katara knew that she should have been having a meltdown over being placed into slavery. She knew that if she was a slave in any other situation, she would be huddled in the corner with tears in her eyes. Yet here she was, a slave, but the acceptable reaction had not come to her. She had something that she did not have a month ago, faith. Whether it was blind faith or not, deep within her heart, she trusted that Zuko would prevent her from coming into danger. It was crazy, it was irrational. It was faith.

Katara may not have been freaking out, but that did not mean that she enjoyed being held captive in the hull of a pirate ship. She was angry at the pirates, and she was angry that slavery was still a booming market.

"Oooh," Tana said in a teasing voice. "Somebody got scolded."

Katara and Zuko cracked a smile.

"That woman's right," Katara said sadly. "I hope we didn't offend anyone."

Zuko sighed, "It's probably my fault. Sometimes I joke and make light of things as a way to cope with my problems. Sorry."

"It's mine too," Katara stifled a yawn. "Let's just leave it alone for now."

Tana crawled onto Zuko's lap, she let out a long yawn. She placed her head on his shoulder, and he knew that she would be out soon.

"I'll be right back," Zuko told Katara.

Katara watched him pick up their dishes while carrying the girl. Zuko walked to the metal bars, and placed the bowls onto a collection tray. Zuko was put on edge when the majority of those around him wore tired faces. Seeing all the yawning around him, he noticed that his own mind felt slightly hazy. On his short journey back, he heard Tana's deep breathing that signaled she was snoozing. He slowly sat back down, and instantly Katara's head slumped on his shoulder.

"Sleepy?" Zuko let himself yawn.

Katara hugged herself to his side, "Yeah... I don't... I don't know what's... What's come over me."

The pressure on Zuko's right shoulder became heavier. He looked down at the head of brown hair, and he confirmed that she was no longer awake. There were only a handful of people that were not passed out on the floor, but they would be following them shortly. Since every person was going to be asleep, Zuko rationalized that it would be alright if he let himself give into his drowsiness.

The following dawn, Zuko awoke to a room filled with sleeping bodies. The sight before and around him felt unnatural. Katara and Tana were still in a deep sleep, neither appeared to make any indication that they would be awake anytime soon. There was not much for Zuko to do, sometimes he cursed his inner fire for rising with the sun. He then heard voices beyond the door. Some days he was happy he rose with the sun. Today was one of those days. The door to the room creaked open, Zuko took the noise as his cue to feign sleep.

Three pirates walked into the room. Through cracked eyes, Zuko observed that one of the men was carrying a glass bottle and a rag.

"We need one matronly woman, three farm hands, and a child," One of the pirates recounted to the others, he was wearing a gold chain.

The pirate holding the glass bottle said, "These'll go to a plantation, right?"

"Aye," the gold chain clad pirate confirmed. "Hear it's a sugar plantation. Now come on, we've no time to waste. Get to a choosing."

One of the slavers unlocked the cell door, and they entered. Zuko momentarily entertained the idea of picking up Katara in one arm and Tana in the other, and rushing out of the cell. It was just a silly thought, nothing more than a quick fantasy. The pirates sifted through the slaves, picking out those that would be appropriate. Stealthily, Zuko snuck glances at them. When they found someone that would make a good farm worker, he watched them cover the man's mouth with the rag. After ten seconds of the man breathing into the rag, one of the pirates picked him up and carried him into the other side of the room. The man's hands were bound behind his back and closer together. Zuko assumed the rag was coated in some sort of anesthetic that came from the glass bottle. A couple more Earth Kingdom slaves were plucked out. The firebender kept himself still when he heard one of the pirates walk over to him.

"What about him?" Zuko could feel heat emanating off of the grubby finger pointing at his face. "He's a sturdy looking fella."

Having features of substantial difference from the average Earth Kingdom native and a scarred face, Zuko easily stood out. Zuko made a mental note to rub dirt and soot on his face if he was not chosen.

A pirate with a braided beard shook his head, "No, not him. This one's from the Fire Nation, we'll get more gold for him at Ba Sing Se. Besides, a pretty boy like 'im would be wasted harvesting crop. A rich old lady or man we'll swoop 'im up."

"Are they a family?" The third pirate asked, gesturing to the young woman and girl sleeping on him. "They're an odd looking family."

"S'pose so," the bearded man replied. "The kid's skin color is somewhere between the parents."

The man that had pointed at Zuko leaned in closer to look at the girl, "What 'bout her? We need a child for our client."

"No, she's too skinny for th' silver we're getting. The kid'll need t' last at least a couple o' years."

Zuko felt the men walk away from him, and he wanted to release I sigh he was holding—he refrained from doing so, though. After some more thumping and dragging noises, the slavers collected the five slaves they needed. They finished tying the selected slaves, then they attached the shackles together on a line of chain. Zuko had to hand it to them, the pirates were definitely seasoned. He was now positive that the dinner he ate was drugged with a sleeping agent. With all of the slaves sleeping, it made it a simple process relocated them.

With a struggle, the pirates pulled and carried the five slaves out of the room. One of the pirates walked back in to lock all of the doors, then he walked out. The morning's excitement came to an end, that left Zuko very awake around those that were very much asleep. The impatient boy wanted to groan from boredom. Little did Zuko know that it would be over four hours before the next slave woke up.

Her back ached from sleeping against the wall, she would need to find a new position the next time she went to sleep. Katara felt an unfamiliar weight on her lap. Her eyelids fluttered open, Tana's upper body was sprawled over her lap. A short glance of the room, she noticed that about nine other people were awake. She heard a light panting noise not too far from where she sat. Turning her head, she saw Zuko go up and down as he performed push ups.

"What are you doing?" Katara's voice was hoarse. She cleared it with a cough.

On Zuko's decent he said, "Push ups."

"Thank you, captain obvious," they both rolled their eyes. "Why are you doing push ups?"

"I need to keep my physique, there are so many women here I gotta impress," Zuko said before he switched to planks.

Katara would have laughed if she wasn't worried about waking Tana, "Hilarious."

"I'm offended that you have such little faith in me," Zuko lifted his right hand to hold over his heart in faux-pain. "I bet Jiao finds me attractive."

"Jiao is also somewhere around fifty," Katara reminded him, ruining his fun.

"Maybe I like older women."

Katara successfully placed Tana on the ground without stirring her. She joined Zuko with her back on the floor.

Zuko stopped mid-sit up when Katara started, "What are you doing?"

"Same thing you are, keeping up my physique."

They exercised in silence, it felt nice to move around. They got a few confused stares from some of the slaves, but they ignored them.

Zuko considered telling Katara about his theory of the food being drugged, but he ended up keeping it to himself. As far as he could tell, no one made an indication that they knew the dinner was drugged. Zuko could use that to his advantage, so he would tell Katara if she needed to know.

Their impromptu workout came to an end when breakfast was brought to the cell. The pirates clanged their swords against the metal pots in order to wake the slaves. Not all of the slaves got up, Zuko noticed, and they remained passed out on the floor. Those that were awake, formed themselves into orderly lines. Katara woke and grabbed Tana before she followed Zuko to their line. For breakfast, they were served a lovely portion of grayish-brown goop that had a dubiously salty taste to it. Tana ate the food without hesitation, but Zuko and Katara needed a push.

"We need to eat it," Katara said, trying to convince herself and Zuko to eat the food. "We need food to keep our strength up."

Zuko disbelievingly watched Tana happily scoop the sludge into her mouth, "Sure, but the food my kill us first. You can do this, Zuko. You've eaten plenty of nasty, vile foods."

"Are you two done complaining?" Tana said with a mouth full of food. "I'll eat it if you don't want it."

"Sorry, Tana," Katara apologized to the girl. Tana simply raised her shoulders in response.

Out of Tana's earshot, Zuko asked Katara, "When did we become such spoiled brats? Most of these people have lived their entire lives eating food like this."

"Who are we to mock it?" Katara started to feel self-loathing for herself.

The two benders ate a slice of humble pie (and their breakfast). They silently accepted that any luxuries and privileges that they once had were now gone. Neither were they better nor worse than any of the other slaves in the ship. Freedom was something they no longer had, their lives currently no longer belonged to themselves.

They spoke the married couple with the baby on the way once their breakfast had been finished. Ying and than were a friendly pair, and they talked about the complications they came by as a family of slaves. Ying was close to eight months pregnant, she looked like the baby could make its way out at any moment. They spoke of their homelands, Ying came from an impoverished farming village and Tahn grew up in a small fishing port. Tahn explained how they first met at a slave auction. Luck saw to it that the pair would be bought by the same owner, and the rest was history. The mood between the four adults and Tana was melancholy and calm. Their exchange was broken up by a hysterical shout.

"Where's my baby?!" A woman who recently roused from sleep wailed. "Where is my son?!"

Slaves that were near by to her rushed over to comfort her and to calm her. This was a new sight for Katara and Zuko; on the other hand, this scene was nothing new for experienced slaves. Families were constantly separated, and that was Tahn's and Ying's main fear for the future.

The woman's movements turned violent, "They took my husband, they took my daughter, they can not take my son from me as well! Where is he?!"

The woman crumpled into a sobbing heap on the wooden floor. Sympathetic and empathetic looks were sent her way, many of the slaves if not all, had been separated from their families. She thrashed and shouted incoherent words through tears for a long five minutes.

A loud bang echoed throughout the room, the door made a dent in the opposing wall. Eyes snapped to attention as they saw a well built man with a dark purple hat strut into the room. He was clad in a white shirt, and he wore a long, tailored coat on the outside. Gaudy jewelry decorated his neck and arms, a thick leather belt was buckled snugly above his hip bones, and his hat adorned a bright green feather. Glinting in the man's hand was a valuable looking steel cane, there was a lion turtle's head carved into the top. This man could be no other than the captain of the pirate ship. Zuko and Katara already hated him.

"I've been receiving nose complaints," the suspected captain's voice filled the room. "It hurts me to know that you are hurting. Why are there so many tears? This voyage is just one step towards a better life."

A learned silence settled amongst the slaves, Zuko and Katara did as they observed. Eye contact with the captain was avoided, heads hung low in either respect or fear. The captain opened the cage's door and slinked inside. His eyes reminded Katara of a spider snake.

"We do so much for you all," his voice picked back up. "We feed you, we clothe you, we provide a place to sleep. WE CARE FOR YOU!" He kicked the closest slave to the ground.

The captain zoomed in on the red nosed, puffy lipped woman who had just lost her son. He smirked, and waltzed closer to her. Squatting down to her level, he cupped her chin in his hand. The woman, desperately trying to calm herself, choked out a pathetic whimper.

In a soft, delicate voice, the captain asked, "Why have you been crying?"

Against her efforts, tears escaped her eyelids and mucous drained from her nostrils. Her head twitched on her neck, and the captain jerked her head further upward.

"Why have you been crying?" He repeated his question.

"My son," she was able to say.

The captain cocked his head to the right, "Your son?"

The woman's body had subtle tremors, "My baby is gone."

"Ah," the captain sounded as if he knew what the problem was all along. "We took away your son. I took away your son, didn't I?" It was a trick question, everyone that heard it knew it was.

The woman was trapped, not knowing how to respond, she settled for nodding her head. The woman was pulled sharply to her feet by the collar of her shirt.

"Let me tell you something about your son," the captain's mouth was centimeters from her face. The plantation that he was sold to? It belongs to a lovely family." A fraction of the woman's face looked relieved. "They are so lovely, in fact, that the last child I sold to them died of natural causes within a year. The definition varies from person to person, but being pushed off a cliff counts as a natural cause to me." The mother's pupils dilated. "Your son is going to die wondering why his mommy didn't try harder to save him. Now, I want you to cry, bitch." He released the woman, her limp body smacked into the floor.

Slaves around her scattered away, being associated with her could spell trouble. The broken woman arched her back, and a soul-piercing howl came from her throat.

"I change my mind," the captain walked back over to her. "You're crying is incredibly annoying."

He pulled a small knife out of his coat. she shrieked when the knife carved into her, The shining metal made an "X" on the woman's right hand.

The captain held the injured hand in his, "This is just a reminder for me to make sure I keep you behind to sell you to a salt mine." He stood to his full height, "Let this be a warning to all you other slaves." He surveyed the terrified faces. In a contrasting friendly voice he said, "Keep the noise down, that's all I ask."

Just as he slinked in, he slinked back out of the cell. Locking the cell door, he tapped his lips twice, signaling to keep the volume low. The captain was then gone.

"He's absolutely rotten," Katara whispered to Zuko, not wanting to risk using her regular voice.

Zuko full-heartedly agreed with her, "I wondered what type of man willingly makes a livelihood out of selling humans. I thing just got my answer."

"He scares me," Tana quietly peeped. She was currently holding onto Katara's leg.

Katara picked the girl up. She bounced her in hopes of calming her. Ying put her hands over her swollen belly subconsciously while she stared on with sad eyes at the freshly marked slave.

"My child has yet to be born, but I would be devastated if someone took him or her from me," Ying spoke of a frighteningly possible future.

Zuko, Katara, Ying, and Tahn, thought about what their fate might be at Ba Sing Se. They were well over a week away from the city, but a week was too soon for what might happen. Having been slaves for years, Tahn and Ying had given up control of their lives a long time ago. They were just going to have to cross their fingers at the auctions, and they would have to hope someone will pity them enough to purchase them both. Contrastingly, Katara and Zuko had no desire to ever see the auction platforms. It was too early for their spirits to be crushed. They wanted out, and they wanted to ensure Tana's safety as well. Secretly, an escape plan would need to be created. Both thought about it, but with their lack or knowledge about the ship and its crew, neither knew where to start. They would have to devise a plan soon. Time was running out.

The slave ship chapter was only supposed to be one chapter, but I hit 7k words before I knew it. This is more of a set up chapter for the next one. As always, please R&R! They make my day :)