Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or any of its character.

Author's Note: First Avatar, also first oc, story and I wonder how well I do! The chapter is short, but it's just a small introduction. R&R

Chapter One:

Tian of the Fire Nation

Shi Yue ( Month 8th ) 96 AG

"Again!"

Choking back the frustration of the imperfect performance, a palm was thrust forward; a short stream of fire came bending out of it while her left hand was at her side, balled up in a tight fist. Dripping down her brow were beads of sweat, that felt like they would never end due to the heat of her fire and the heat of the sun beating down on her. It felt completely unbearable to be doing this repeatedly hour after hour yet she kept going, not resting at all.

"It's like you forgot all of what Master Jeong Jeong has taught you. Instead of lollygagging with your friends, you should've been out here practicing."

It took everything in her to not roll her eyes, to show obvious disrespect to her parent. Instead she kept a neutral expression, no smile or frown; nothing at all. It wasn't like arguing with her father was going to do her any good. He'll just threaten her as he usually did, and so what was the use? It was better to do as he said instead of starting an argument she wouldn't win.

"Tian," He spoke once more, "are you even listening to me?"

Golden eyes slowly glanced up at the man, the disdain that were clouding her judgement was pushed back. "Yes father, I am listening to you. I can listen and practice; chew and walk is what I've always been taught." Her voice was slightly haughty but she tried to keep her pride and anger tamed.

He wasn't amused by her behavior either. His lips were pursed and an eyebrow was raised skeptically, "Your temper…" He seemed to had warned, "it needs to be tamed."

"Where did I get it from?" A smirk appeared on her face, still in position. Zhao, although entertained by his daughter's spunk, frowned deeply upon her slight insult towards him. She as always not listening to him, always challenging him. His daughter was too stubborn for her own good. He would have to fix that.

"I suggest you shut your mouth and worry about the competition. The youth division of the annual Capital Tournament, and you know who will shine to the occasion. Do you want to be bested?"

"No." She mumbled.

Zhao leaned closer, "I can't hear you."

"No! I don't want to be bested." Tian answered with a clearer voice, her eyes staring back at her father's with a fierce determination. That's what he wanted to see and hear. "I will win."

Standing up straight, he clenched his palms behind his back as he observed his daughter continuing the steps. Her hand thrusts were stronger, her fists tighter and shooting straight ahead in perfect form. It took him nagging at her for her to finally step up to plate.

"I won't be around much to make sure you're doing what you're supposed to be doing." He announced, "I'll be away at sea."

'Finally, some time by myself!' She mused, nearly sighing at the idea of lounging around home without him being there. Having the place all to herself. Sitting back eating fireflakes with her feet up—

He noticed the slight lack of concentration in her movement, making him go as far as push his fist out so that it was inches away from her face. Her eyes slowly widened at the sudden movement, making her whole body free. "What if I was your enemy? I could've killed you right then and there. You keep making moronic mistakes."

Tightening her jaw, she stood up straight and exited her fighting stance. "I… I was thinking about something."

"Thinking about what? What's more important than the tournament?" Tian slightly cringed as she could hear his voice rising in anger and the heat of his anger emanating off his body.

Her head slightly tilted back to look look at him, she feared making eye contact with him but it was the only way, in his eyes, to prove that she wasn't lying. "I… I still keep having the weird dreams."

Zhao stiffened slightly before his features hardened in a scowl. Zhao wasn't sure wasn't to make of the strange dreams that plagued his daughter since he was a child and he also did not know how to go about figuring out what they meant. "Is it the same one as before?"

Her head slowly moved in a nod, "That red dragon…" Her voice was low, nearly above a whisper as her mind briefly flashed the image of the red, large dragon that would always stare so intently in her eyes as if setting her on fire from the inside just from it's gaze alone. Just remembering it made her heart quicken, her chest tightening as the organ beat rapidly. Her hand pressed over her chest, her breathing labored as she fell to her knees.

For a second, despite how split it was, Zhao's face shifted to concern as he realized she was having an attack from the memory. Hyperventilating, dilated eyes, and sweating. Her body would grow rigid and extremely hard to touch, to the point that he found it difficult to touch her whenever she was in these episodes. "Tian!"

Her sight was fading, a huge blur filming over her eyes as she image of the dragon continued to burn itself in her mind. It was as if it was making sure that she did not forget him, that she kept remembering. "Tian, listen to me, breathe!"

Slump on the ground, she pulled at her top as she felt it difficult to breathe. Zhao immediately stood, looking around for one of the doctors he always told to stay put in the training grounds whenever he and his daughter were out here. It happened frequently during training, but she had been fine for the last few months of the year.

White, hot flashes kept appearing before her eyes as she tried to find something to concentrate on. If she had focused on her mind on something, she could steady her heart and she could regulate her breathing. The image of the dragon that lingered was slowly fading, it's piercing gaze slowly leaving her mind and clouding her memory; to make her temporary forget of having such visions.

"Tian!"

Didn't he know…? Didn't he know that the more he yelled, the more panicked she became? Sometimes, if not all the time, Tian always wondered if her father ever really loved her. She took the times of him worrying like now as a sign that he did. That he wanted her to live. But was it out of love or because he still had things planned for her?

The pain had dimmed and soon fully went away and she was able to breath normally. Her hands balled up into tight fists as she let out a few coughs, her throat dry and itchy. Managing to get herself on her feet, Zhao's eyes briefly inspected her before letting out what sounded like an annoyed, tired sigh. "The competition is in a week and you're already having these episodes again."

And just like that, the thoughts of whether he loved her or not quickly came to mind and she chose what she felt was the most obvious; that he did not love her as she had hoped. "Sorry, father."

"Go to your room and don't come out until you're ready, we'll be seeing Fire Lord Ozai today. So be presentable." With a weak nod, she turned away from him and headed back home.

. . .

There were times that the halls of the Fire Nation palace were so unbearably quiet that it was unsettling. The Crown Prince, with his head held high, marched down the hall with his eyes staring in no other direction but forward. These were one of the days where the halls were empty that he could practice on his walk, wanting to match the long yet undoubtedly commanding steps of his father. Zuko did not want to fall short in any aspects of what it took be the heir to the throne.

His walking then came to a slow stop, his head looking to his left to stare at the window to his left. August's heat was relentless and despite enjoying just warm weather, he too find it unbearable some days. He even wondered how it was for people who were training for the upcoming tournament. He couldn't imagine the torture of training under such hot weather.

"Zuzu, I see you're not particularly busy today."

The boy rolled his eyes upon the nickname and his face showed his frustration as he turned to glance at her. "I thought I said stop calling me that?"

"As if I take orders from you, big brother." The nonchalance in her voice as she dismissed him as if he were below her always riled him up, but today, today was the day that Zuko would fight to not give her the satisfaction. "I heard dad's having some sort of war meeting this week and Captain Zhao is bringing his daughter."

"Why does that interest you?" Zuko questioned, not seeing why Azula bothered to make light of Captain Zhao or his daughter. He barely remembered the girl in the first place and so his interest upon the matter was extremely low to none.

Not many girls piqued her brother's interest, which always made her suspect to what really captured her brother's attention. Although he seemed more close to Mai, one of her best friends, than she had seen him with any other female. "What a loser. These things should interest you because you need to know everyone dad knows, and you call yourself a crown prince?"

"But I know who Captain Zhao is!" argued Zuko.

"But do you know his daughter? She is highly looked upon." Azula made to prove her point, "Did you know she is going to be in the youth division of the Fire Tournament and people are already making bets on her? That she is highly respected by many of the Fire Nation Royal Academy for Girls' teachers and staff. She has high grades and is a worthy opponent. Do you know Zhao is shaping her to be the future of the Fire Nation's army?"

No, he didn't know any of that. As much as he couldn't remember her face, how was he supposed to know all of that? "And why do you know all of this?"

"Strength should be remembered, Zuzu." Azula answered him with a mischievous smile. "Who knows, Captain Zhao might even arranged for you two to marry. You know how badly he wants fame."

The thought never crossed his mind despite knowing Zhao well for himself. As he thought it about it, he thought of it as less likely. "I doubt that. Captain Zhao doesn't particularly like me."

"Who does?" His sister quipped, "Except Uncle."

Her words stung, like they always did, and he found himself taking a step back. "People do like me! The Fire Nation people like me… Dad likes me."

"Riiight." Azula drawled before turning her attention down the hall, watching as her uncle greeted them both with a smile as he walked towards them. "I'll be taking my leave. You can go cry to uncle about how I hurt your little feelings."

Growling as she spun on her heels and went towards the other direction, Zuko looked up to see the his uncle's smile slowly take a look of concern. "Prince Zuko, are you alright? Did you and your sister get into an argument?"

"She's so frustrating!" His voice made it clear as he tried to control the volume of it, "She always makes me feel… makes me feel like I'm some, some small bug in a huge garden!"

Iroh sighed upon hearing his nephew's words and knew better than to coddle him. He decided to change the subject, to make the atmosphere just a little lighter. "How about some tea and snacks? We can have your favorite snacks, I know how much you live sizzle-crisps."

"Not right now Uncle, I'm just not in the mood." Zuko sighed, "But can you tell me everything there is to know about Captain Zhao? Azula said he's coming to one of father's war meetings today and I want to know more about him. She said something about strength should be remembered."

The man hummed unsure why Azula was worried about someone as low as captain. "I'm not sure what you want to know about Zhao. All I really know about him is that he's a man who works hard for what he wants."

The information surely wasn't enough and it made Zuko feel like asking about Captain Zhao was entirely fruitless. Still, if Azula knew so much then there was something to be gained and he did not want to be bested by her.

"Does it have something to with his daughter?" Iroh then questioned.

Zuko's gaze slowly went up to look at his uncle, who arched a brow. "Azula said something about how she's popular and people are making bets on her for the Fire Tournament."

"Ah, I see." Iroh hummed, "I've heard the same but I have not seen her fight for myself. I supposed she told you think because a bonus round has been added."

"A bonus round?" Zuko repeated, confused.

Iroh nodded, "Yes… Whoever wins the youth division gets to fight one of the Royal Children."

"W-When was this decided?!" The prince's eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets in shock, "Why wasn't I notified?"

Iroh was sure that Zuko had known, but now that he realized tried to set Zuko up to fail Iroh was glad he stepped in on time. "It was decided a week ago, which is why everyone is training hard. You should train harder too, Prince Zuko."

"I will. Maybe this is a good thing." The boy bawled his hands up in a tight fist, "Maybe now I can show father just how strong I've become."

Seeing how hopeful he was, Iroh gave him a small smile. Everything Zuko did, it was to prove himself to his father and to the world. it was a shame that Zuko did not know how great he was because he always felt inferior to his sister. No matter how many compliments could be given, it was never enough and so maybe this tournament could help Zuko's insecurities lessen. "Now, shouldn't you be heading off to train now? It's never too early to train."

With an eager nod, he watched the teen hurry down the hall with hurried steps. "I'll see you later, uncle."

"Later, let's have some snacks." Iroh said, walking towards the war meeting since he was invited. Outside, in the hall, he had seen Captain Zhao with his daughter standing beside him. She was small, a petite girl with wavy, inky hair that reached the middle of her back. Her eyes were a bright gold, almost shimmering on their own.

"General Iroh." Zhao bowed upon seeing him, his daughter doing the same as she kept the solemn expression.

"Captain Zhao." Iroh gave him a nod of acknowledgement before setting his gaze towards the teenage girl. "And this is your daughter? I've heard many good things about her."

Tian looked up at the general with curious eyes as Zhao smirked upon the compliment, "Yes. Many people believe she'll win the youth division of the Fire Tournament. She's been training hard day and night."

"Quite the ambitious one." Iroh nodded, believing that Zhao did push his daughter to train that hard.

Tian then parted her lips to speak, "It is a great honor to be in your presence, Dragon of the West."

"Please, just call me Iroh. It's been a long time and I have since retired." He tried to dismiss the title, not wanting to be declare something he hadn't been in many years. "I'll look forward to seeing you in the Fire Tournament."

"Thank you, Gener- I mean, Iroh." With a bow, she watched as her father entered the war room behind the former General. Now she was left to wait, to stay in the halls while the men probably talked for hours. She could always look around the palace but she was always afraid to wander since she knew very well she could end up lost in such a place.

Deciding to take the risk, she left the war room and area and went down the long, narrow hallway of the palace. Her eyes scanned over everything; the large windows, the red carpet that on top of the cream colored marble floor, and the large windows to her right that let so much sunlight light up the hall. It was beautiful, in every sense of the word and it was much, much, much large than her small home in Fire Fountain City.

The only great thing about Fire Fountain city was being next to the ocean, which seemed to ease her and let the smell of the ocean fill her nostrils instead of the polluted air of the city. So many factories were built that smelling clean air seemed like a thing of a past if you never left it.

Aimlessly, she continued to move forward as she stared at the beautiful view of Capital city from the windows. It almost made her wish she lived here but she was not a person of wealth. Her father was a measly captain, raking no money that could afford them a home here. He was working hard to become Commander, but who knew how long would that take? A year or two? Maybe even more. Then one day she could dress in the clothes made of finest materials and be able to paint her lips like the girls in the academy.

"Taking a tour of the palace?"

The voice took her by surprised, but immediately she turned her head to it's owner. Her eyes widened slightly before an immediate bow was given, "Princess Azula."

"For someone much talked about, I'm surprised you have manners." The princess' gaze never left the female, who stood upright in neat, near perfect posture.

"Manners were instilled in me since youth." Tian wasn't sure what to make of Azula, especially after hearing all the rumors about her cruelty.

Seeing as there was no need to speak on the subject of manners anymore, Azula placed her arms behind her as her eyes held curiosity. "If you were to win this tournament, do you know you might fight my brother? It might be me though and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't like that too much."

Not sure what the princess was getting at, Tian tried to hold her ground by summing up what she believed the princess would've liked to hear. "It's the greatest honor to battle the Crown Prince or the Princess. No matter if I win or lose, that's something I could take with me for the rest of my life-'

"Cut the perfect answers and tell me how you really feel. I know you're not some sort of machine, and I'm pretty sure these are rehearsed answers or answers your father would've spoon fed. Do not take me for some sort of idiot."

With surprise sprawled across her face, the teenage girl tried to find a way to cure the situation. "I-I'm not too sure what you want me to say Princess Azula. I did not mean to disrespect your or for you to feel that I am taking you for an idiot."

"I usually like hearing people telling me what I like to hear, but it doesn't work in my best interest here. Not when I know your so blatantly lying." Azula then took a step forward, her head tilted back some as she kept her eyes locked on the female before her. "But I guess brawn doesn't mean intelligence, does it? You may be a good fighter but you're very weak minded. You should be sure that I am not your opponent."

And just like that, the princess took her leave.

'If she's like that then I can't imagine how the Crown Prince must be…' She thought bitterly as she looked down at her feet. She wasn't sure what the princess was trying to say or do, but Tian could feel herself growing nervous at the possibility of facing the princess. Maybe there was something she knew that Tian didn't or maybe… Maybe she was trying to freak her out so that she wouldn't do well in the tournament. 'I have to win that tournament. I can't disappoint dad, not again.'