I'm so excited to be starting this story. Truthfully, I didn't come up with the idea on my own. Originally, I read it off of totally-shady-bookexpert's story Guardian Angel, so if you want to read that you should check it out. I changed the characters, obviously, to my pairing Zutara in a fun little twist. I AM planning on going deeper into the story, I just thought I'd give a preview before my summer vacation starts (aka writing vacation). I'll have a schedule for my story the day that school gets out, so don't you worry.

All I ask of you is your feedback- and maybe some suggestions! I'd love to hear them and make the story better for everyone.

Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.

-Marcus Aurelius

Zuko stared into the eyes of his father, wide with hatred and scorn, and brought his slick forehead to the floor in an act of desperate apology.

"I mean you no disrespect," Zuko looked up pleading, tears stinging his eyes as the remorseless Ozai's face broke into an even deeper scowl. "I am your loyal son."

"Rise and fight Prince Zuko," came his father's voice, harsh and demanding over everyone's questionable chatter in the steaming stadium. The thick air coaxed around Zuko's lungs, applying a pressure to a chest that already felt like bursting, sweat mixing with tears that would not give. Disobeying a direct order in order to obey. Ozai fumed as his son replied raspily against the fight his throat was giving, "I won't fight you!"

"You will learn respect...," Ozai started. His son pushing himself helplessly onto his knees, ignoring the sharp gravel piercing into his skin. The disheveled hair from Zuko's ponytail making him look even more defenseless and cowardly. Zuko was everything his son should not be, everything a future Firelord could not be. It was utterly humiliating to Ozai.

With a calculated decision that had crossed his mind many a time, Ozai smirked and raised his blazing fists, "...And suffering will be your teacher." Zuko's tears stained the ground and gave a hisss as his own father brought down a scorching force upon his face, shoving his son into the burning gravel and into unconsciousness. But not before the young boy could let out a wail that would give the audience a chill for the rest of their lifetimes.

The air was fresh and cool when Zuko awoke. A smoke settling along his breath made him believe that he was still in the arena. Flinching, Zuko brought his hands to his face, a late reaction to his father's fist.

Laying on a cold substance and peeking out from his red and gold adorned sleeves, Zuko observed the clearness of a sky with no sign of clouds nor smog. There was no fist and no arena, but there was… what was this? Snow?

Zuko raised wobbily from the cold and wet ice, stumbling through the thickness of the snow. Where was he? Zuko thought, this was definitely not the fire nation. In the distance, outlines of magnificent ice mountains― glaciers his tutors called them ―carved the landscape down into an ocean about as rough and unforgiving as his father. The thought made Zuko cringe and stumble backward to avoid the water.

There in view stood a small village, if it could even be considered that, along the ice beds. A group of blueskin tents were arranged in a half circle around a lousy fire. Its red and orange life wielding a contrast, nonetheless, to the blue land it was among.

"Sokka! If I have to tell you one more time to quit playing around and get back to the chores, I swear I wi― AHH!"

Zuko nearly jumped out of his skin, dropping back to the floor on all fours. He quickly scanned his surroundings again before his eyes landed on a pair of fur covered water tribe peasants, from what he assumed. The female among the two looked at Zuko as though he was a monster, hands over her mouth and eyes as frightful as his own.

"What, what is it?" The girl's companion, Sokka, asked. Staring at Zuko as well, but not registering that he was there. "What are you looking at?"

The girl fell backwards in shock and raised a shaking hand out, pointing straight at Zuko's left eye, "Fire Nation!"

Although the statement perked Sokka up, it didn't seem to have the desired effect that the girl had hoped for. Sokka didn't even look in the direction she was gesturing at, her cries just made him sorry. The girl's face looked incredulously at her male companion, "Sokka! There is a FIRE NATION boy right across from us! Don't play with me!" The girl wasted no time in gathering herself up from the ice and dragging Sokka away from Zuko.

Zuko didn't dare move from his spot, he felt the way he had when he faced his father, fingers crawling into the crunchy snow with anger and fear and all the other emotions one would feel if they were deserted in a place like this. No food, no shelter, with people that hated him mutually. The thought that dawned across Zuko's mind hopelessly, the one that he tried to push from his brain, was his Uncle leaving him here without so much as a goodbye.

He deserved it anyway.

"Katara slow down. Look there's no one here, there's no dirty snow, I think all that cleaning has gotten to your head." Sokka tried to reason, resting a hand over her back and making an effort to soothingly shush her thoughts. Katara's eyebrows furrowed and forehead creased dramatically, "There is someone there." She cried, grabbing a lethal section of Sokka's coat and panting mercilessly in what looked like to Zuko an escalating panic attack. "I― I― I can't― breathe."

Zuko took pride in his ability to handle tough situations, but watching a poor girl suffer because of him was not one. So carefully he got back up, shaking less than before, and slowly, with hands in front of him, started towards a screaming Katara

It was at this point Sokka realized the urgency of the situation. That of which proved his reasoning from long ago of his sister being crazy. "Hold on Katara," Sokka panicked, noticing the increasing shock in his sister's actions, "I'm going to get help." Was it things like this where you weren't supposed to move the patient? Sokka didn't know and he wasn't going to test his accuracy of retaining vital information. So Sokka let his grasp of his sister slacken and roughly ripped her anchoring hold on him as he got up and shot towards the half circle of tents

"No― help― Fire Nation," Katara gasped between breaths still scooting away from an advancing Zuko.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Zuko said calmly, coughing from the constricting ache in his throat. "Don't worry, did you see Soowka? He wasn't." It was true that the Water Boy did not see Zuko as a threat, but in all honesty, Zuko wondered why it was that Sokka didn't mention his presence at all. It was frivolous to get riled up just because he had not been introduced as a Prince, Zuko knew as much, but it still upset him. "I'm a Prince, I would not stoop so low as to injure anyone who doesn't invoke a fight." It might've been just Zuko, but it looked like this statement did nothing to alleviate the girl, Katara's, fright. Why was she so afraid of him?

Zuko faltered in the slippery terrain again, abruptly swinging his arms outward to keep an adequate enough balance. The unexpected turn of Zuko's limbs sent Katara into a paralyzed state of shock, wheezing an improper amount of air. Less than the desired amount her lung capacity should take. Shit, Zuko thought. Trying to be less intimidating, Zuko quickly hid his hands behind his back in an attempt to calm the girl.

Still trudging forward, but with more caution in his advance, Zuko restated, "I said I'm not going to hurt you!" He was growing impatient. Many factors contributed to Zuko's frustration, from his struggle to walk, to the freezing temperatures, to his father dumping him on some isolate chunk of frozen water where the girls were scared of him for no earthly reason. Take your pick.

When Zuko finally reached the cowering girl he collapsed in the spot Sokka left vacant. "Hey," he whispered, "I don't know why you're so afraid, but I promise I won't hurt you. Here, take a few breaths with me." Zuko positioned himself more in front of Katara's view, noticing the flinch that her whole body gave when seeing his face. He pretended not to care.

Zuko took hold of both of the girl's hands, heating his body a bit as he ran his thumbs over the smooth skin on the back. Katara began to pull away but gave in with the pleasurable warmth of his skin, she hadn't felt anyone this warm besides her mother. Her mother.

Before Katara could think to tear herself from the scarred Fire Nation boy again, he started speaking softly. As if he was trying to be helpful.

"Take a long, slow breath in through your nose, first filling your lower lungs, then your upper lungs." He started, releasing one of her hands to give a demonstration of the direction her breath should go. He smiled a bit when she nodded and continued his explanation. "Hold your breath to the count of three, and then exhale slowly through pursed lips while you relax your whole body."

Katara did as instructed, following the lead of the boy in front of her. She hadn't entirely titled the boy as trustworthy, still weary of his tyrannical heritage, but he certainly had cracked her door of curiosity.

They maintained this process until it was clear that Katara's breath was close to normal. "That's good," the boy commended, crossing his arms around his torso. "You feel better?"

Katara nodded again quietly, vigilant over the boy's bending, and yet missing the warmth of his skin.

"I'm sorry I surprised you, I'm not exactly sure how I got here." Zuko, awestruck, took a double take at the beauty around them, Katara's home, and then back into her large eyes. Zuko grew nervous now that she wasn't freaking out about his proximity. "How did you get here?" He waited, and no sooner than the awkward moment that passed, Katara gave him a knowing look. Zuko muttered, "OH! No, no, I guess we all know how you got here," He looked back up sheepishly. "I was just saying that I didn't know how I got here. I'm not from the… North Pole, obviously."

"South." Katara corrected, a certain fire in her voice that rivaled Zuko's bending.

"South what?"

"South Pole."

"South… Pole?" Zuko had heard tons of stories about the North Pole and its savage residents, but no one in the palace ever mentioned the villages in the South. If not for his accurate knowledge of geography, he might not have even known about the South Pole; except for maybe that it was cold. And South.

"Yeah, South Pole," Katara said harshly. "When are you going back home to the volcano?"

"The volcano?" Zuko snorted.

Katara crossed her legs defensively, she did not like this boy's tone. "Your "palace" majesty "Prince" Boy." She replied sarcastically, putting quotations around the boy's fake home and title.

The boy looked outraged for a second, but his face was quickly wiped of the irritation and formed into displeasure. More specifically, a somber sort of displeasure. Katara immediately softened, paying close attention to the way the boy's expression contrasted with the piercing red scar that blistered across the left side of his face. He must've been ignoring the penetrating burn because it looked fresh. Disturbingly fresh.

So fresh that she wondered if he had injured himself. It was true what her brother had said, that there was no reason to worry. Their village hadn't been warned of Fire Nation presence; there was no ashen snow. So then how had this boy gotten here, and was he the only one? He might've just washed up on shore, but surely, he should've been dead from the glacial temperature of the sea and its relentless current.

"I'm not sure that I'm going back home." The boy said solemnly, fidgeting his fingers. "I made a mistake and was dumped here. I'm not exactly sure what happened, I just woke up in the ice."

Katara was puzzled to say the least. She had so many questions and didn't know where to start, so she started with the most obvious. "Does it have something to do with..." Katara waved her hand frantically, motioning around the side of her face.

Zuko seemed to get the gist and instantly raised his fingers to his eye. It had been feeling numb but he didn't exactly have time to examine this feeling further, considering the circumstances. In fact, his whole body had been feeling numb, but the only words he could put together to describe the sensation on his face other than numb was 'blurred' and 'fuzzy'. Kind of like his vision. When the pads of Zuko's fingers reached to the skin around his eye, his normally velvet coat felt as if it were peeling.

With a deep sink in her heart, Katara watched as the dismayed boy in front of her rushed and skidded to the edge of the ocean. It was clear he was searching for his reflection, like he hadn't known about the burn previous to her mention of it. "Careful!" Katara shouted, struggling to collect herself from the floor and running up behind the boy, who bent over the thick sleet.

The meeting took an unexpected turn as Katara began to calm the Fire Nation boy. She perceived this reversal as a one way consolation. Compared to her loss of control being restored, the boy's severe injury wasn't going to be cured with a few fancy breaths. I am useless, Katara thought, idle to the boy's fat, ugly tears. He hadn't done this to himself, Katara resolved. The Fire Nation was a brutal competitor; she saw firsthand how they treated people outside their Nation, and was now aware of how they treated the people of their Nation.

This boy wasn't a threat.

He was a victim.

"You can stay with my people." Katara decided, chest tightening as the boy looked up from the water the first time, sniffling. Katara took her hand from his back, reuniting it with its mirrored pair and set them between her crossed legs. "You can stay as long as you keep us warm and bring back food with Sokka, my brother. Hopefully, you thrive at hunting, unlike him. Maybe with you here he'll get competitive enough to actually catch something." Katara chuckled, making the boy smile softly.

The boy sniffled again and wiped the tears from his good side, fully turning his body away from the black water now. "Are you sure they will take me? Your brother, Soowka― Skoka― Sokka, neglected me before. You didn't even want to look at me." Katara could almost hear the unsaid sentence that hung sorrowfully in the air after; I don't even want to look at me. The boy was desperate, you could see it in his eyes. Katara would rather be eaten by a lionturtle than leave her new friend to the elements, even if his element was the essence of destruction.

"I really don't mind, I just have a thing about the Fire Nation, everyone does... and Sokka's just going to have to get used to it. You have a home here as long as my Gran Gran is village elder. And she's going to be for a very, very, VERY long time." Katara assured, admiring her home with a faraway look of anguish.

Katara held out her hand and the boy immediately raised his own to lift her up. "But first, I need to know the name I'm going to introduce you as to my family." She looked up at him, admiring the exotic lightness of his unblemished skin. The smooth, fine hair, as black as the roaring water, that fell in his face along with the rosiness of his cheeks.

"Zuko," he said confidently. "My name is Zuko."

The boy, Zuko, was handsome. Despite the marred flesh, his features displayed the face of an elegant, Fire Nation citizen. So elegant that Katara truly wondered, just for a second, if Zuko was truthful in his claim of being royalty. She quickly dismissed the idea; no royal would punish their heir like this.

"Well, Zuko, I look forward to ge―"

"KATARA!" Sokka interrupted.

The pair watched as Katara's protective older brother, originally a speck in the distance, become normal height as he reached them. "You're up!" Sokka observed. "Does this mean you're feeling better? You're not seeing things, are you?" He squinted his eyes, analyzing his sister for hints of integrity. "You really were freaking me out there, I have Gran Gran hiking up her knees in snow to come take a look at you!"

"Wait Sokka, what do you mean seeing things?"

Now it was Sokka's turn to look incredulously at his sister. Yep, definitely crazy. "Katara, I thought we established that no one was there." He reached into the sky, "No black snow." He circled his head with more exaggerated force than needed, "No crazy, fire wielding, villains. Maybe you should sit back down again."

Katara slapped the back of her brother's head, "Stop being foolish, Zuko is right her―" Katara stopped mid-sentence, appalled at the sight before her. The empty sight before her. "I swear on Gran Gran's life he was right behind me."

Sokka grumbled, rubbing the spot right next to where Katara hit, "Can we just go back now Kooky, before you make me start seeing things too." He turned and started trudging through the snow, waving at their Gran Gran to head back; Katara was fine now. All back to normal.

Yes, back to normal indeed.