I am a die-hard, unapologetic Zutara shipper. If you don't agree with this ship, you don't have to read my story. But I would appreciate it if you did. ;)
Rated T for some language and possibly some other things in the futureā¦
Characters are three years older than they were in the cartoon.
The Fire Nation is a democracy, so Ozai is not Fire Lord. However, he is still one of the most powerful men in the country because of his financial standing, which is a result of the mining company he owns.
This is my first ever fanfic period. So please rate and review and let me down gently if I have any mistakes. :)
Chapter 1
It wasn't supposed to be this way. Azula was the smart one. I'm just the failure of a son who couldn't do anything better than be a warrior. Ex-warrior. No one had any more use for me, not with my injury. At least, until now. Now, I'm stuck on a ship with a band of other highly trained so-called warriors (actually more like hired muscle for my father's company) sent to explore the Southern Water Tribe in search of some rare stone everyone back home in the Fire Nation has been raving about. A single pebble is worth more than a thousand fire rubies back there. Why am I needed? Diplomacy, supposedly. That's what Azula was working for. She was supposed to be the bridge between the Fire Nation and the Water Tribe Natives. They were rumored to be tough, hardened people. They had to be, considering they lived in one of the most hellish environments known to man. Miles of ice, surrounded by freezing ocean. And in the middle of it all, the precious stone they make their home above. Azula, who was meant to create friendly relations with them, was murdered in cold blood for the money in her pocket on one of her rare trips home. What a waste. She was a genius. My younger sister became a prodigy at almost anything she tried. She was a natural at fire-bending, having learned to bend lightning at the age of 8. It was a no-brainer that my father would choose her to represent his company in the Southern Water Tribe. Me, I could never do anything right, not even bending. He had encouraged me to become a warrior in the Fire Nation military to make up for my lack of skill in bending. But after I was hurt, he refused to acknowledge me, even went so far as to publicly humiliate me, burning the left side of my face so badly I had to wear a bandage for a month. The scar it left, which spanned from my eye all the way into my hairline, was now my most defining feature. Then he told me to leave. I was 16. It's been three years since I packed my things and became some kind of purposeless wanderer. Now, things are changing. With Azula gone, his only choice for the face of diplomacy is mine. Ironic, since my face is marred forever with resentment and disappointment. Regardless, I am the only person who could fill Azula's shoes. My father told me, if I do this right, and I can retrieve the expected amount of the stone, I can restore my honor, my respect in his eyes.
I woke up this morning feeling extremely cold. One of the crew for the ship came in to let us know we were about a day out from the Water Tribe. No wonder the air was freezing. I could see my breath and I couldn't seem to wrap my blankets tight enough around myself to keep warm. I finally had to resort to using my inner flame. Calling forth my chi, I forced my body temperature to increase, though in this amount of cold, it was difficult. Looking back, I realized that it had slowly been getting cooler and dryer, but this was crazy. I have no idea how I'm going to last this way, not if I'd have to maintain my chi at this level to keep myself warm.
The next day, I could see land from the deck of the huge metal ship. Or ice, I suppose. From where I stood, it was just a white sliver on the horizon of the never-ending ocean. But as we got closer, it started to split into tiny white peaks. Soon, though, I realized those peaks weren't tiny at all. They were rather formidable actually. We approached one of the mountains of ice and it towered over the ship, as if warning us against the environment we were entering. I forgot about the cold as I marveled at the natural architecture seemingly floating in the water. We would have to navigate through this forest of icebergs to get to our destination, which, as I squinted ahead, appeared to be basically a mammoth version of the icy mountains we were passing. I took a deep breath and braced myself for what was to come. I had no idea what I was getting myself into... Oo-rah.
