This is my first Avatar story so I think you should all be really nice to me and review and tell me what you think! No flames please, but constructive criticism is welcome. Praise would be even more cherished. Before you review please consider I wrote and edited most of this while being harassed by four blond haired blue eyed hyperactive eight year old girls, namely my neighbors. I love them like my little sisters, but them and writing does not always mix. Actually it never should mix. Somewhere in the middle I also skipped out of the room to answer the phone and ran into a wall which probably caused severe mental damage.

I made some minor revisions to this. Just some stuff that didn't fit in with where I wanted the story to go.

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. It's as simple as that.

Chapter One: The Forced Marriage and Unwilling Bride

Prince Zuko stood at the deck of the small tub-err ship-he had been forced to occupy since his banishment from the Fire Kingdom. Despite his banishment, he was of age to be married, and was on his way to the occasion at this moment. He would look forward to this event with lustful impatience otherwise, but it forced him to put a hold on his search for the Avatar.

"Uncle!" he snapped, knowing the old man was somewhere nearby, "When are we going to dock?"

"Patience Zuko. We will arrive at Lord Aki's island around nightfall." The old man informed him, his nature as cheerful and jovial as always. Zuko suppressed a growl, the divine flame within him flickering at his fingertips. He had not wanted to lose any time in his search for the Avatar but this event could not be avoided.

"I am going to my room. Inform me when we have landed." He spat out at his uncle, then

stalked to his room.

Lord Aki stood at the port to greet the Fire Nation ship that pulled into his port. His eyes widened to see Iroh and Prince Zuko step off, and he bowed to his guests.

"Welcome my friends! It is wonderful to see you have finally arrived."

Zuko fought the urge to snort as his uncle greeted the man before them. He was old, slightly older than his own father, and as fat as his uncle. He wore a smile that hinted at his cheerful nature. Zuko looked around to see the people on the island acting as though there were a celebration. Aside from the people greeting them at the port, everyone was dancing, singing, and getting very drunk.

"Is there some sort of celebration going on?" he demanded of the stout man before him, who merely continued smiling.

"Prince Zuko, this is the normal state of things on our island. We found life is much more pleasant if you enjoy it to the fullest. And there is a marriage tomorrow after all." The prince snorted in disdain at the concept. He did not believe what he was hearing. How disgraceful! Iroh must have noticed this, and jumped into the conversation.

"Aki, will your daughter join us for dinner tonight?" Zuko's eyes gleamed in sudden interest. Despite his reluctance to be married he had heard the tales of Aki's daughter. She was told to be a legendary beauty. He could tolerate the two imbecilic old men who stood before him if the stories were true.

"No, my dearest daughter took a ship and some supplies and disappeared in the middle of the night about a week ago with her twin brother."

"You did not attempt to stop her?" Iroh questioned him. "Surely the girl could not have gotten away so easily."

"I did not know she was gone until the next morning. I suspect she convinced her brother to hide her. I think she wanted to see her favorite island one last time. My daughter has more will than wisdom, and I am ashamed to say I gave her a very loose rein as a child." He shrugged, as though to say he truly did not mind his choice.

"Do you have no control over your own child?" Zuko was shocked at the old man's attitude towards his daughter's disappearance. If it was his child that was gone he would have every ship in the ocean searching for them.

"If it was her alone there is the possibility I could've stopped her, but together she and her brother are impossible to control."

Zuko's jaws dropped at this statement. Even with the help of her brother, no mere woman should be able to pull off something like this.

"You look startled. If I recall they only had about enough supplies with them for four or five days. And if they still have food they most likely saw your ship come in and are curious. They should be back today or tomorrow. Come now, let's go eat."

They arrived at Lord Aki's castle within fifteen minutes. They arrived inside to find a veritable feast set out for them. Lord Aki motioned for them to sit down, and joined them. Zuko almost started drooling at scent of the wonderful food set out before them, but for pride's sake he didn't. Servants served them small appetizers and wine to go along with their food. They finished and continued to sit around the table, Iroh drinking his ginseng tea. Zuko suspected that the drinks had been spiked, as he was feeling slightly dizzy and far more irritable than normal. Zuko continued to drink and must have passed out, because he remembered nothing more of the night.

The next morning he was awoken by a hand shaking his shoulder. He swatted the hand away, but it returned to poke at him a moment later. He whipped over and shot a blast of flame from his hand, his head pounding. He heard a yelp and a sizzle then that accursed hand was shaking him once more.

"Will you leave me the fuck alone!" he jolted out of bed and screamed at the intruder. His reaction was immediately regretted as the pounding in his head doubled.

"I came with something for your head and to tell you it's time for supper. Both you and your crew slept the entire day. Our liquor was rather strong for you I suppose." He looked up at the servant and accepted the glass she gave him. He took a sip and spat it out all over the poor woman.

"I know it doesn't taste very good, but it will help you fell better. Plug your nose and drink it fast." He followed her advice and managed to swallow the horrendous liquid all the while secretly wondering if they were trying to kill him.

"I am also supposed to tell you that your betrothed, Lady Amaria arrived early this morning with her brother Lord Talon. She will greet you at supper. Zuko nodded very carefully, the pounding in his head already beginning to subside.

Zuko arrived at supper to see his uncle along with Lord Aki and who he could only assume was his son Talon standing around the table. Talon was slightly taller then Zuko, with tousled curly black hair and dark amber eyes, almost red.

"You must be the unlucky bastard who gets to marry my sister." Zuko stiffened at the course language as Talon approached him and bowed slightly, "I'm sorry for you I really am, but thanks for taking her."

"Jerk."

"Ahh, there she is. If I may present my daughter, Amaria." Aki rushed forward to lead his daughter into the room. Zuko retained a gasp, as all the blood in his body rushed straight to his err, you know what I mean. Amaria had the same tousled black hair as her brother, with faint red highlights that fell to her shoulders. Her eyes were the same peculiar amber red shade. She was slightly paler than the typical Fire Nation resident, and slender, filling out her clothes in all the right places. Something about the way she moved, and carried herself, reminded him of a smoldering fire. She seemed as though she was ready to leap into flame at any moment.

"Your Majesty. It is wonderful to finally have the divine pleasure of meeting you. I offer my most profound apologies for not being here to greet you last night." She had walked over to him and bowed from the waist, her arms hidden in her black kimono. He had to fight the temptation to reach forward and caress the curls tumbling across the back of her neck. He realized with a start that he had every eye in the room upon him, and bowed as well.

"There is no need to apologize. I can only regret that we were not blessed by your beautiful presence earlier." Iroh's jaw dropped. That was the most diplomatic thing he had heard Zuko say in…well ever. Although the girl was very beautiful, he saw immediately that she was not the typical obedient Fire Nation flower. He sensed his nephew would have a good deal more to deal with than he thought with this one. He watched the two converse, awkwardly at first, but as Lord Aki left them alone, the conversation became more fluent. He even thought he saw Zuko smile slightly once or twice. Who was this girl?

The Next Day

Talon watched his sister pace back and forth across her room. She was raving at him about being forced to marry Zuko. He doubted she truly minded. He just thought she was scared out of her mind.

"Amaria, is Zuko really that bad of a guy?"

"Well, noooo, but-"

"Then stop complaining. I've heard numerous stories about his supposed cruelness. For some reason however, he seems to like you. Maybe he's just fooled by your outer appearance, and doesn't yet realize what a bitch you are." He continued on oblivious to the glare he was receiving, "No matter what happens, you are getting married in less than three hours, and you need to make the best of it. Now get ready. You're expected to look no less than gorgeous tonight." He stalked out leaving his sister to stare after him.

"Fine. I'll get ready dammit. Not like I have a choice anyway."

Zuko stood with his uncle. The marriage ceremony would be fairly simple actually. There were a plethora of people who would watch, he and Amaria would make some vows and drink some sacred wine then they and several witnesses would sign a piece of paper. It would take place in about half an hour. He looked at the people around him, realizing he knew almost none of them. He saw Talon approach them, his face serious.

"Your Majesty." The bow Talon offered Zuko was just barely polite, "I thought I should warn you ahead of time to be careful with my sister."

"What do you mean?" Iroh asked before Zuko had the chance to retort.

"When I talked to her earlier she was already scared. She pretends she's mad to cover it up, but I'll imagine that at this point she's most likely terrified out of her mind." Zuko could tell he was serious from the look on the young man's face.

"Why should she be scared? She and I have both known about this our whole lives." He pointed out his curiosity overcoming his desire to not speak. He did not believe he had given the girl reason to be frightened of him the previous day when they had spoken. She had surprised him in truth. She clearly had opinions, and was not afraid to speak them. She had remained within the boundaries of politeness of course, but had been dangerously close to crossing the line a great deal of the time.

"I'll let you in on a secret. Amaria pulls the strings around here. I don't know how she does it, but she's sneaky. She has control over everything that's ever happened to her, except this. I don't even think it's that so much that scares her even. I think it's the wedding night that freaks her out. Fear of the unknown type thing." He nodded to himself, more thinking out loud than anything, "Anyways I'd be careful. I don't know what she'll do if you push her to hard." He bowed to them once more before walking away to converse with some unknown man. Zuko was stopped from following him by Lord Aki motioning him over.

"I guess Amaria is ready right now. If you are prepared as well we can proceed immediately." Zuko considered and nodded. He saw no real reason to prolong the wait. Aki nodded, pleased, the motioned to his guests, "Ladies and Gentlemen! There has been a minor change of plan. We will be proceeding with the marriage now instead of later. I hope that is not and inconvenience." The group of people muttered and moved away from the door as Zuko walked over to the priest. He became distracted halfway as Amaria entered the room and walked to join him.

She was wearing a strapless bronze dress, with a layer of gold underneath. The dress was tight around the upper body and flowed downwards from her hips to form a puddle of material at her feet. Her hair had been pulled into a complicated knot at the base of her neck. She looked absolutely stunning, but he was distracted by her eyes. Although she smiled at the guests, her eyes bespoke of the immense fear Talon had warned him about. She looked to him as thought she was barely able to walk to him now. He had not even realized she had made it that far until she slipped one arm through his.

"Well, are we going to get married or not?" She questioned with the slightest of smiles. He nodded at her unable to speak, and led her to the priest. He could hear the muttering from people around them.

"What a lovely couple."

"They look so perfect together."

He fought the urge to turn around and scream at the people to shut up once he reached the priest. He was too busy watching Amaria however. She had undoubtedly heard the whispers and there was the faintest flicker of an amused smirk gracing her face. For solemnity's sake however she fought to keep a straight face. He didn't even hear the priests speaking until he paused and Zuko realized he was supposed to make his vows.

"I do so solemnly swear by the powers of the Fire Spirits to take this woman as my wife, to stay by her side in sickness as well as health, in poverty as well as wealth, to protect her life with my own, until the day death parts us."

Amaria followed suit with her own vows, slightly different than Zuko's, "I do so solemnly swear by the powers of the Fire Spirits to take this man as my husband, to stand behind him in sickness as well as health, in poverty as well as wealth, to seek only his honor, until the day death parts us."

He were handed the huge goblet filled with sacred wine and he took a swallow. He handed it off to Amaria, who held it with both hands, her eyes widening at the weight. Without thinking he placed his hands over hers to help her hold onto it, earning a collective sigh from the guests. He was too absorbed in Amaria's smile of gratitude as she took a small sip of the wine to notice.

How the hell does she do this to me? He thought to himself. Why do I act so soft when she's around? Amaria chose this moment to disturb his thoughts once more by sliding both her hands into his, staring at him apparently confused at his absent mindedness. The priest finished his rambling, and Zuko pulled Amaria close to his body, brushing his lips against hers for a moment, ignoring the delighted sighs, cheers and applause from the audience.

Amaria trembled slightly at the kiss. Married, despite her wishes. She was scared of anything beyond her control and this was certainly that. Until the day death parts us, huh? This could be interesting. He has a surprise coming if he thinks he's getting anything tonight. We'll see who's the boss in this relationship.