Hi! I've noticed in the Avatar fanfiction I've read (which is mostly smutty Zutara *shrugs*) that there are some stories that have great concepts but seem to lose their charm when it comes to character development and dialogue... and just plain bad writing. So I figured that if I couldn't find the fanfic that I wanted, might as well write it! Hold onto your butts and please enjoy. Feel free to lend suggestions, tell me what you like, what you don't like and I will do my best to take everyone's comments and apply them to my story. So without further ado, get on with the reading!
Intro: The Hundred Year's War has suddenly come to an end without the help of the Avatar. In order to keep peace between the nations treaties and marriages have been arranged including that of Katara and the heir to the Fire Nation Kingdom. Will Katara go through with the marriage of her enemy for the sake of peace?
Chapter One: What's Best for the Village
Katara's POV
Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony, then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished. Since then, a hundred years have passed and the war continues to rage on, harming friends and families of all nations trying to survive. My father, Hakoda, chief of the Southern Water Tribe, lead the other men of my tribe to take up arms and sail against the Fire Nation's navy.
My older brother, Sokka, and I took up the responsibilities of keeping our tribe running with the help of our grandmother, Gran-Gran. Every morning Sokka and I would hunt for food, be it otter penguins, sea cucumbers, or (if we were lucky) tiger seals. I would practice my bending while Sokka stalked our prey. Only in the quiet of the passing glaciers and occasionally inside my own home was it safe for me to train. I was the last waterbender of my tribe as the Fire Nation in the past sent raiders to my village to imprison any waterbender they found. The last raid on my village was over 10 years ago, I remember it distinctly. My mother sacrificed herself for my safety and secrecy. Because of her sacrifice, both Gran-Gran and my father frowned upon me practicing my bending.
Sokka didn't like it when I practiced, either. Unfortunately, without any proper training, I would always end up hitting him, somehow. The only time he was happy with my abilities was when I accidentally caught a whole walrus tuna with one of my water bubbles, before it broke free and landed on him. He came up with new colorful obscenities that day but didn't say a word about it to Gran-Gran.
I miss hearing him yell at me, it's been over a year since Sokka became of age and joined the fight with my father's tribesmen. Now I train and hunt on my own, in addition to assisting with tribal women duties like caring for the young by telling them tribal stories, and teaching them survival skills. Only a couple of months ago, I had taken the oldest children on a hunting trip with me, they were 7-8 years old and couldn't handle the sight of blood very well. I was scolded by most of their mothers for it. The older women seem to have understood better what I was trying to do, and the children themselves were apologetic about it. Maybe next month I'll try again, it won't be as stressful then. In a few weeks it will be the Winter Solstice; at least one of the ships from her father's fleet should be returning with food, medicine and other supplies to help my village. Like many winters past, hunting and gathering food has been difficult. And without Sokka, it has been especially painful.
End of POV
Katara waited in her boat with her net and icebox. Today she was hoping for some form of fish to bring back. She tracked a trail of otter penguins and knew they were having a feeding frenzy a few yards west, near the abandoned Fire Nation Vessel. Katara knew she, along with everyone else from her village, were forbidden to go near it but the animals knew that too. So here she was with good intentions trying to feed her village by bending a rule or two. What Gran-gran didn't know won't hurt her or put the rest of the village in jeopardy. Katara placed her fingers in the ice-cold water, closed her eyes, inhaled and flexed her fingers outward bending a ripple of water, hoping to feel something push back. She opened her eyes and exhaled
Gotcha-
A group of Polar Prawns were heading her way. She readied her net and icebox, placed her fingers back into the freezing water, and added another pulse.
Almost… NOW
She threw her net into the water, its weights driving it down towards the prawns and catching the majority of them. The few that escaped were caught in her bubbles and were pulled up and dropped into the ice box with the rest of the catch.
This would make Sokka proud, she thought, sadly.
She missed her brother. She would give anything for this war to end, just so she could see the rest of her family again.
'Do what is best for the village'
That was Katara's mantra. Her father told it to her and Sokka before he left. Gran-Gran would tell her that when she would be caught waterbending by another tribes-member. Sokka said it before he joined their father in the war. She sighed.
Getting depressed is of no help to them now is it? Katara scolded herself.
She pondered what else she could do to help around her village and wound up docking near the frozen Fire Nation's vessel. Her village was pretty desperate to find a way to stay warm this harsh winter. Winter Solstice or not, they really needed supplies like coal or wood to feed the fires in their huts.
How ironic, she thought bitterly. The element that the village so desperately needed to survive is being wielded by the enemy they are desperately fighting against.
Katara hated the war, hated the Fire Nation. How could a war last for a hundred years and never yield? What will happen when it ends? How could they possibly win? Katara's thought just grew darker and darker and she found herself spiraling down towards depression again.
No. She assured herself. We will survive through any means necessary.
Katara looked at the trapped enemy ship. It was the remnants of a fierce battle between the Southern Water Tribe and the Fire Nation from her grandmother's days. It must have been trapped by the waterbenders of her tribe. There was no way glaciers could naturally form beneath the cruiser like that.
The ship may have given Gran-Gran nightmares, but it gave Katara hope. And right now, she hoped she could find something worth burning in her and everyone else's huts.
Do what's best for the village she thought rather cheerfully as she started to easily climb the ice wall up the ship. She was able to open the window of a port hole and slid through, carefully placing herself on the ground. It was much darker in there, wherever she was. She stood still allowing her eyes to adjust and they did a bit, but it was still pretty dark. Katara could see snow on the ground and that she was in a hallway of some sorts. She knew at least what side of the ship she was on and figured if there were going to be any supplies still on the ship, she should start making her way towards the ship's center and down.
Katara gulped. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all. But Katara knew one thing; whatever was left on this ship wasn't needed any more by the Fire Nation. She only wished she brought a bigger bag to stuff the coal in. She started to walk forward, treading the cold hallway carefully with her right hand on the wall. When it made a break, she turned right and walked slowly and just as carefully. Katara noticed, that few of the ship's crewmen never actually left. Their remains… well… remained pretty well intact actually. Granted it was the South Pole and from what Katara saw, the crewmen didn't have very warm looking armor. Just fabrics with padded metal armor. They must have been counting on their "inner fire" to keep them warm.
Arrogant filth, Katara thought of the corpses disdainfully before reprimanding her thoughts. No, they're dead, no sense in hating dead people. Besides, there was no way in telling if these crewmen even were benders. Just focus on the supplies. Help those that need it.
Katara made her way down and to what she was sure was the center of the ship. Giant hollow metal tubes weaved their way around and towards the ceiling of the room she entered. It was really big and dark towards the bottom in there and it was the bottom of the room Katara felt she needed to be. She stopped in her tracks and rummaged through her pack for her personal torch and flints. With the help of some tiger seal oil her torch lit up without any issues. She was right. The room was absolutely massive! She could fit her entire village in there! And at the bottom she saw glints of piles of coals! It was a treasure trove of heat supplies, today was a great day.
Katara walked on the metal platforms, wincing as they moaned with her shifting weight.
I don't weigh THAT much. Katara thought for the first time in a long time, self-consciously. She continued to slowly make her way down when she heard an awful sound of something… unhinging. Then, the platform beneath her fell. She slid along its length all the way down to the bottom, a fifteen foot drop she was sure. Her torch had since fell out of her hand and toward said piles of coal she was once so excited about. Katara couldn't figure out what was a better outcome. The coal lighting on fire with her at the bottom scrambling to get out before she suffocated, or her torch going out plunging her into darkness inhibiting her to try getting out before she froze to death. Unluckily or luckily for her, she didn't get to choose as the coal seemed to welcome the warmth of her torch and started to glow a mild red helping to illuminate the room even more.
Well that's not SO bad, Katara thought.
At least she was warm. Thankfully for her she still had her pack and found herself some rope. The platform was still technically attached to the exit but just at a significantly steep slant and Katara didn't want to waste any more time then she had to. Katara scooped cold coals into her pack, tied her rope securely around the top of it and flung her pack to catch the top side of the platform. It took a few attempts before she got it but when she did, Katara used all of her strength to climb back up. The room was starting to fill with smoke while Katara was halfway up the platform. It was getting warm, REALLY warm. Katara covered her nose and mouth with her parka, doing her best to slow her breaths. Her and throat burned with the lack of oxygen but she finally made it to the top. Katara unwound he pack and started to walk back to where she was. Katara then heard a bang and soon realized, there weren't just piles of coals in that room, and then she started to run. Another bang, louder, closer, then another, even louder. She reached the port hole, flung her pack out not caring where it landed, climbed through and started sliding her way down the ice walls of the cruiser.
Almost there- Katara thought.
BOOM.
Katara's body went flying from the force of that last explosion. She landed near her pack, on her shoulder with a nice POP. Her ears were ringing, her head was aching and her shoulder was in agony. The ship from her Gran-Gran's nightmares was on fire from what Katara could see. Her vision was wavering. She was so tired. She just wanted to lay there until her shoulder didn't hurt anymore.
Katara felt like she was hovering above the ground. But since the world was already spinning she paid the sensation no mind. Sleep was claiming her. It's calming and inviting promises of escaped lulled her. She almost missed the tranquil deep voice of an old man.
"Oh no, my dear, we can't have you falling asleep on us now."
Almost.
A/N:
So that's chapter 1! It's not terribly long but I needed to input Katara's situation before she gets thrown into another one. Hope it's a good introduction and that you liked it!