A.N. I DO NOT OWN the Legend of Aang or the characters.
Summary: After the War was over, the Fire Nation has to make reforms. To secure bonds, most of the members of Team Avatar have to go through arranged marriages in order to satisfy the lord. The story is better than the summary. Main pairing: ZukoXKatara, SokkaXAzula, Toph X Aang.
Enjoy!
Chapter One: Securing Bonds
The people of the Fire Nation are known for their pride, patriotism, and most of all, their HONOUR.
But they were also known for another thing, that is, DESTRUCTION.
It was ironic how these two completely different qualities resided parallel in all of the people of the Fire Nation, which would obviously mean that, to some extent, they were all suffering from conflicting personalities. Then again, which person in the fire nation did not have a complicated past? Not a single child of the Fire had escaped without a scar in their lives, be it physical or emotional. They had fought for what they thought was honor and patriotism, but in the end, made up their minds differently. What had they done?
They had destroyed a peaceful relationship between all the four elements. They had ravaged the world, destroying everything. They had made the Air Nomads extinct. They had destroyed the South Pole. They had made the mighty Earth Kingdom crumble to its knees. They had simply followed what they had been taught. They were taught to hold on to their pride and honor. But they had never got the correct path, the rational cause for what they were doing. As a result, they thought they were in the correct path, while others thought differently, and the whole of the Fire Nation was looked down upon with hatred and naked fear by the entire world.
Fire was an element of destruction. It was dangerous and burned down everything relentlessly. That's why the people of its element were like that too. But not if the people could control it. Not if they knew how to bend it. Fire was also the key factor of life. Fire gave food and protection. It was also nurturing. Without the Sun, the world would have stopped in one day. The Fire Nation was filled with glory, and was known worldwide for its beautiful architecture and exquisite cuisine. But the entire nation was doomed, because of one man. Sozin. One man who couldn't control his irrational thirst for bloodlust and dominance in the name of giving the world the glory of the Fire Nation.
And that is why his son, Azulon, became like him. And a nation is always shaped into what its leader is like. Azulon turned his sons Iroh and Ozai into tyrants too. Except that Iroh could overcome his darkness. But even he had dark secrets in his past. He had slain the last dragons. He had lost his son in battle. Ozai could not overcome evil, and in the end, lost to the Avatar. Ozai's children, Zuko and Azula, were turned into the wrong path too. Ozai had lost in both ways, both darkness and family. He had lost his wife, Ursa. He had literally lost her, for he knew not whether she was alive or dead and neither did his children. Zuko had finally turned to the good path, thanks to Avatar Aang. But he could not escape the scar inflicted by him by his own father. Azula had been completely overcome by evil. She had always craved her mother's affection, fought against the severe feeling of inferiority that she felt towards Zuko, and in the end, had got stuck in a mental asylum.
Such was the fate of the royal family of the Fire Nation. Some had escaped with temporary damage, some had escaped with permanent ones, and others could not escape it at all. It was like the curse of the entire world was against them. And why wouldn't it? Nobody had the strength to endure a century long period of killing, looting, and destruction.
Destruction. That word was permanently engraved along with the blue-blood of the Fire Nation.
The Water Tribes and The Earth Kingdom along with the Fire Nation had stood in the Fire Nation palace, united, after a century, with the newly crowned Fire Lord Zuko, and the Avatar Aang, standing in front of them together, meaning there was peace once again. The Avatar and Fire Lord became what would be defined in the simplest terms, best friends, which also signified the world was slowly rolling back to its previous state of amity.
But the world accepting peace again could not pacify the hungry corrupt lords and nobles of the royalty of the different states. The Earth Kingdom nobles had their eyes and ears open for another war, and no one knew what the elder, seemingly more "wise" nobility were plotting underneath that mask of goodness. The Water Tribe Chiefs, The Avatar, The Earth Kings and The Fire Lord and the entire nobility of the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation had united once again in the Fire Nation, and were residing in the Royal Palace itself, entertained by the generous services of what remained of the Fire Nation royalty.
The goal of the meeting of the royalty and leaders was simple and a predictable outcome of the war: how to officially establish peace and make reforms. The Fire Nation had to pay for the damages it had caused. The nobles could not be satisfied with anything.
The fire nation had finished paying for everything, and both the Water Tribes had been pacified. Currently, the quarrel was being aroused by a particularly stubborn Earth lord, Lord Fuwang.
"All the people present in this meeting know what the true intention of the Fire Nation is! They are pretending to be all nice and competent by paying for all the damages! How do we know they will not turn into savages again? What proof do we have? NOTHING!"
Katara, now known as a master of Water bending, sat with her palms closed on her lap. She had now lagged back into a slumped position in her seat, all traces of dignity gone. How long could one maintain his or her manners if they had been stuck in a room filled with people focused on nothing but making life difficult for everyone? Toph was snoring softly with her head on the table. Aang was, with much difficulty, staying awake, with dark circles around his eyes. Sokka was still sitting uptight, Katara noted with a hint of guilt. He was looked upon as the Chief's son, so he did have to be serious. She did not need to be that serious. She was the second child, after all, which thankfully protected her from much unwanted scrutiny.
Her eyes immediately shot at Azula, as if to contradict her thoughts. Azula was also second born, and there she was sitting perfectly, not one inch off her perfect posture. Azula was there, just out of the mental asylum, already helping her brother to rule. That girl had after much suffering, found the right path. Her attempt at being good was almost funny. Sokka would laugh when she screamed as to why being good was so hard. She was so much alike Zuko. The group had surprisingly accepted her in, after much drama and mistrust. Suki however, could not even tolerate Azula.
"How can we trust that Azula will not turn into her former self again?'
She felt bad for Zuko, as he sat there trying to get the world to forgive his nation. The poor guy could not even pinch his eyebrows, because the previous time he did it, the lords had broken off, angrily claiming that the Fire Nation had no interest in making peace, and if Iroh had not managed them, the last straw would have been blown away. She thought enviously of Mai, Ty Lee, Haru, Teo and Suki, how they did not have to go through any of this. They were in the palace gardens, both treated like heroes and fed like ones. Her stomach growled impetuously. She was now part of the oh-newly-considered Water Tribe Royalty. Technically, she mused, if Yue was a princess, so was she. She and Sokka were after all, the Chief's children. She caught snippets of the screaming here and there.
"How can we take the bond that the Fire Lord has established for real? He is too young to be in this room even? What audacity is this? Are we to be taken as fools?"
Katara sighed again. We ARE too young for this, she thought wryly. They did not get to experience their childhood at all. No plays, no decent homes, always flying from one place to another, saving the world. Sometimes it felt too tempting to hand the responsibility to others and for once, be the one to be saved instead.
"There is a way," she recognized the voice to be King Kuwei's. "We can establish bonds between the nations by establishing bonds between the royal families."
Katara straightened up. She heard shuffling. The others had stirred up too. She thought admiringly about the King. One word and he got the entire room stirred up. No wonder he was the King. The nobles just did not have it in them.
"Bonds between the royal families?! What bonds? The Fire Nation does not even have a royal family anymore! The Fire Lord does not even have an heir!" a lord cried.
"All the more important it is for a bond. The Earth Kingdoms do not have any heirs to succeed us. The Air Nomads have gone extinct, and we need to start rebuilding if we ever want peace to be established."
"Are you suggesting a marriage?"
Iroh raised his eyebrows. Bumi started cackling. Hakoda and Arnook Chief looked at the King with surprise.
"The Avatar, may the spirits bless him, has has his race made extinct. The Avatar will wed Lady Beifong"- The King was cut off with an outrageous roar from everyone. Katara saw red. She could hear Toph screaming at the top of her lungs at Kuwei. Kuwei Screamed, "HEAR ME AT FIRST AND THEN SPEAK!" The hall quieted down. "What I say, is the best for everyone. The young heroes have sacrificed much for peace, but the world still calls for them to sacrifice more. It is time to put aside personal feelings and focus on completing their task. As I said, the Air Nomads have gone extinct, but that cannot be encouraged any further. The Avatar simply lives in an Air temple all alone. That would seem inappropriate and would be unsafe. Instead, the Earth Kingdoms are more than willing to take him in and this bond shall be assured by a marriage to Lady Beifong, who I have assigned my throne to. The Beifongs are royalty. The Earth Kingdom will be too happy to have the Avatar as their ruler. As for the Fire Nation, Fire Lord Zuko will wed Lady Katara, as she is the closest to Water Tribe Royalty. Princess Yue is, as you know, departed. About the issue with Azula, she will marry lord Sokka. The Air temples will be taken care of by joint charities of the nations. In this way, the royalties and the air nomads will be born again, the Fire Lord will have an heir, and none of the bonds can ever be broken."
Katara still could not say anything. She was half hoping that her friends would stand up for it and protest against this injustice. Come on you old hags, she kept on thinking. Throw all your objections at the King now…
But instead, everyone burst into applause. Everyone aside from Katara and her friends. Katara couldn't stop herself from bursting into anger. The room suddenly grew too cold. The hall quieted down. Toph began shivering beside her. The bubbling of the fountain outside crackled into a stop. The chair squealed against the marble floor as she stood up. "I will say this once and for all." The nobles laughed shakily. "I object to this marriage. We all have sacrificed too much. Too much for all your ridiculous notions. I will not marry whoever you choose for me. We are young. And according to my belief, WE choose whoever WE WILL SPEND OUR LIVES WITH!" This time, the hall burst into even a louder fit of laughter. That's it, Katara thought angrily. With a severe roar that tore out of her throat, she motioned her hand towards the nearest laughing noble she could find. She blood bended. Oh yes, she DID blood bend. And the sadistic thing was, she started liking it.
She noted with a sickening pleasure, the noble as he stood suspended in mid air, eyes wide with horror, a vein rising on his throat, feet and hands twitching. 'Sugar queen stop! You'll kill the guy!" Toph screamed. "Katara, stop. You're not like this." Aang's voice pulled Katara back on planet Earth. Katara slumped down on her street, her eyes downcast with shame. The noble fell on the floor with a loud thud, and burst into a violent fit of coughing. Hakoda rushed forward to the noble, along with Pakkun and Iroh. Sokka angrily pulled Katara's arm and hissed, "What the hell do you think you were doing?!"
"I was standing up for myself which you, oh mighty Sokka, are too weak to even consider!" she hissed back.
Zuko, who had been quiet throughout the entire scenario, cleared his throat. "I suggest you take in my opinion before jumping into conclusions. I am, as you know, the Fire Lord." The nobles seemed to be quieted down by this, and all of the faces turned to the Fire Lord. "Since my domain is only limited within the Fire Nation, I will only be able to impose my nobles. I WILL decide who I am to marry. And I am not willing to marry Lady Katara against her wish and as for my sister, Azula, I will not allow anyone to force her into any kind of marriage. I hope by now, all the nobles are satisfied-" Only a fool would fail to notice the hidden threat- " I now leave the decision to the Avatar."
Katara looked hopefully towards Aang. His eyebrows were burrowed deep in thought. There were impatient throat clearings. "Well Aang, say something," Sokka said.
Aang cleared his throat nervously. "I am the Avatar. My duty is to look after the world and protect it. But I have a duty towards my people too. I have already failed them once. I cannot fail them again. So now, I have decided to put aside my feelings, and am ready to marry Toph. And I hereby order the royalties of the Fire Nation and Water Tribes to do so too."
There was a round of applause as the weight of Aang' s words slowly sunk in on Zuko, Katara, Azula, Sokka and Toph.
Please read and review. This is my first fanfiction, so cut me some slack! I know Sokka and Aang sound too somber, but it is a meeting, so they cannot just joke around. And Azula is good now, you'll know more as the story goes on. All of the characters will return to their original forms once the meeting is over. I'll update as soon as I can. Let me know whether you like it or not!:D -pichuyamanaka