My idea is to take my favorite characters (Zutara) and create a more traditional old school Japanese environment. I think the way women and men interacted was fascinating and want so see my lovelies in this setting.

I own nothing. Including Avatar the Last Airbender, google, and information/names from sites brought to my attention by google.

Zuko couldn't believe that he was here right now. Sitting on the other side of the screen was this new lady of the castle. His father was adamant about visiting her himself, maybe he just wanted to welcome her to the palace. After all, she was brought here as an offering of peace between the Tribes of the South and the Fire Nation.

Zuko had heard of this young woman from peace talks months ago, when tensions were tough and trade was slow. In order to keep getting goods at a decent price, the Fire Nation made a pact with the Tribes of the South. Father would not be satisfied that the pact wouldn't go belly up, unless he had the Chief's daughter or son as a "guest" until the trade agreement had ended.

From his understanding, the daughter volunteered to "visit." She refused to let the next chief of the Tribe leave his home. She could be a diplomat, a liaison between both countries. Zuko didn't think she knew what she was getting herself into. She had been here for only a month and as far as he knew, no visitors were allowed yet.

So here he sat, hoping he had gotten to talk to her before his father, nervously playing with the pattern on his long silk sleeves. The rice paper screen was thin and he could see her outline on the other side, a soft candle lighting her soft features.

As per tradition, no man was allowed to see a woman of noble birth. She was often built her own house connected to her families until she was married, then she had her own rooms attached to her husband's house. Her maidservants were often not allowed to see her as well. They would bring her anything she desired. Being seen was a measure of her beauty. The less she was seen or heard, the more attractive she was. She could have any interest that she wanted, she could study anything. She could be as different, diverse, and complicated as any man. But the qualities of a woman who was as quiet as a whisper and a rare gem to behold was the ultimate woman.

Zuko wondered what this new woman would be like, hell he didn't even know her name. She sat there quietly waiting for him to make the first move. He heard whispering from behind the screen and another person moved before making their way around toward him, "The Lady of Water and Ice wishes to know who her guest is." The servant said. She kowtowed and went on her way.

"What a clever way to start a conversation Lady of the Water and Ice. People call me Zuko, Prince of Fire. Is there a name that proceeds your title?"

"Katara." She said clearly. Her voice sounded strong and full of life.

"Your name is lovely. Does it have a meaning?" He asked all the more curious.

"Spiritual strength."

"Did you have interests in the Tribes of the South?"

"Some."

This was odd. She didn't want to talk it seemed. "I came to wish you welcome and see that you had everything that you need. I understand if solitude is more pleasant than company."

"No!" She said quite loudly. Startling him before she continued more quietly, "Stay. Apologies. My Japanese is not the best and I cannot speak well. My young lord's company is pleasant."

"I understand." He paused for a moment, thinking. "Is there another language that is better understood?" It was highly frowned upon for men and women to converse outside of Japanese, it is the language of beauty and refinement.

"Chinese." She replied. The language of business, it is more brash and not as elegant. Women were looked down upon if they understood this let alone speak it.

Carefully he swapped over to the new form of communication, "How do you know such language?"

"As a princess of the Water Tribe, I am expected to help conduct business transactions and as this is the language of business, I am supposed to know it." She explained. Happiness for being able to express herself evident in her voice which grew a little stronger in her confidence.

Zuko furrowed his brow, there was obviously a gap in culture as to how people act and the roles of each of their people. To say the least, he was confused. "That is interesting. Please, do not take offence, but here in the Fire Nation, if people were to know you spoke Chinese then you might be scorned."

"Why?"

"The roles of women and men are very different. Men conduct business, while women keep themselves delicate and away from the world. It is a way for men to protect their women as well as find solitude from the world, finding peace and spirituality."

"That sounds silly." She scoffed shuffling in her seat and brushed something out of her face. "Will you come around so we can talk face to face? I feel as though I haven't seen another person's face in a week."

"I cannot." Zuko stiffened yet was oddly sorry that he didn't take her up on her offer. He desperately wanted to see the face that belonged to this strange woman's sparkling voice. "How much do you know about Fire Nation ways?"

"Why? And not much." She sounded frustrated.

"It is improper unless a man and woman wish to lay with one another.

"You should have one of the servants talk to you about traditions and common practices here for women. Especially courtship, I expect you will have many suitors now that the Fire Lord has announced he is going to visit you. I think it would be wise to practice Japanese more too."

"Oh…" She sounded shocked to hear that she had just invited him to lay with her. Or maybe she was nervous about the future and suitors. After all, just because she was here to seal a contract she might also be eligible to marry.

"I shall take my leave. It was nice to meet you and I hope you find your time here in the Fire Nation pleasant." Zuko stood, his sword on his hip clanging against the floor.

She gave a partial bow as he stood, "Will you visit again? It would be nice to have someone to talk to in these unknown times ahead."

Was she asking him to be one of the suitors he told her about? "Of course. If that is what you wish." He gave a slight bow before heading out of her wing of the palace to talk to Uncle about this strange woman.


Katara sat there in stunned silence. Never before has she been told in the month that she had been here that people would be coming to court her, there were such gender differences, and she couldn't speak Chinese. None of these people spoke Water Tribe. When Prince Zuko came to visit he automatically spoke Japanese so she followed suit, but she only knew as much as a two-year-old. There was no way she was going to be able to hold a decent conversation.

She looked down at her hands that were bunched tightly around her long deep pink sleeves. Her clothes were ornate and much too nice for her tastes, but she had nothing else to wear.

She spotted one of her maids slipping food into her room from around the corner. She called to her in Japanese, "Please. Enter. Help."

The maid froze before slowly doing as she was told. Katara saw that it was Shippo. "Yes, Lady of Water and Ice?"

"Teach me what Lord Zuko said." She ordered standing and making her way over to the woman. "Teach me be good woman here."

"Yes, my lady. One of the important duties of a noble woman is to decorate your rooms, clothes, and bed. When your Koibito comes around the screen-"

"Koibito?" Katara interrupted.

The servant pondered for a moment trying to think of the right words to describe what she meant. "Person who shares your bed."

"Oh." Katara blushed. It seemed most of the duties she had was to be sexually attractive. She didn't find that flattering at all.

"-They are supposed to see what you have decorated as an extension of your desires, aura, and soul." She finished.

"Thank you, Shippo. Return tomorrow and help me learn?" Katara asked anxiously. She sure as hell didn't want to make some of the mistakes she made today and have someone take advantage of her naivety.

"Yes ma'am." She bowed and left the room.

Katara brooded the rest of the evening and well into the night about what had happened that day. She missed home. She missed the ice. And she missed understanding what the hell was going on.

Just as she was starting to drift off, Shippo slid something around the corner for her. It was a small scroll tied with a delicate black ribbon. Curious, Katara went to retrieve it and upon closer inspection, there was a white flower attached as well.

Inside the letter read:

Winter day can be

But bright is the words of friends

Kindness is the key

The letters were strong and confident, but it was unmarked. She had no idea who had sent her this letter. The only person, other than Shippo, that she had met here was Prince Zuko. Maybe it was him. It was too late to figure it out now. She would talk to Shippo about it in the morning.


Katara stood in her family's hut. It was small, but hazy as if she was looking at it though smoke, but she could tell everything was where it belonged. Her grandmother was at her usual place by the fire. Sokka was sitting at the table with Mother and Father laughing.

Smiling Katara tried to make her way over to their side. Although, before she could walk to them, someone entered the hut. He was tall with mocha skin, darker than most of her people, a strong build. She could see his muscles through his coat. He had a club on his hip and knives strapped to his arm and leg. Instantly she recognized him as Koga, Sokka's best friend.

Sokka and Koga greeted each other as they normally do, by instantly tackling each other and tussling for a few moments before Father stopped them. Koga had been a part of their house hold for as long as Katara could remember and just before she had received her orders to come to the Fire Nation, Koga had proposed.

Before that day, Katara had mostly thought of him as a friend. Sure when she was a few years younger and just starting to notice boys she had thought of him as maybe something more and even went so far as to flirt with him. Sokka, of course, got angry and wouldn't let them hang around the house after that. But when Sokka went of fishing trips Koga sometimes would hang around the house and wait or do some odd chores for the women. Katara didn't think much of it, she wouldn't always stick around either, preferring to practice healing or even have her own chores to do. She didn't realize that Koga was trying to court her.

The funniest part was when Sokka found out.

"Sorry Chief." Sokka and Koga apologized to Father.

"If you've come for Sokka then take him and leave before you wreck the house." Gran Gran said gruffly, but not unkindly.

"Actually, I've come to talk to Katara." Koga replied.

Oh, this was that memory. The day he proposed. Katara gulped and made her way over to his outstretched hand. She looked toward her parents, reliving all the anxiety and uncertainty all over again. Although, she could also feel the hilarity at the look of confusion then lividness on Sokka's face.

Koga led her outside into the chilly air, it was dusk. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt dinner. You are eating earlier than normal."

Katara nodded knowing what he was going to say next, she looked out into the setting sun. She could hear Sokka exclaiming loudly from inside, then Gran Gran hit him over the head with her wooden spoon. Sokka poked his head outside swinging it side to side until he spotted them narrowing his eyes, before Father's hand pulled him back inside by his wolf-tail. There were many profanities.

Koga rubbed the back of his head bashfully, "I didn't think he was so oblivious. Can we walk this way?"

Katara felt her heart skip a beat, "Sure." She knew what was going to happen yet she couldn't believe it. She was already two years past marrying age and she had started to think that no one wanted her, but she was already unspoken-ly claimed.

"What do you think of me, Katara?" He finally asked when they had put a few snow drifts between them and the hut.

"I think you are loyal, dependable, and a great friend." She replied not really sure what to say in a situation like this.

"Friend? Could I ever be more than a friend in your eyes?"

"Koga-"

"Wait. Suppose that Sokka is out of the equation. His opinion does not matter right now. As a man of this village, one that you have known for years, shared meals with, rejoiced in hunts with, and often danced long into the evening with. Am I wrong for feeling as though we are more than friends?"

She thought for a long minute, studying his face. It was lined with worry, yet longing and assuredness. "No. We are not just friends. Are you asking to court me?" Here she tried to say anything but what she had said before. To break the cycle.

"Not exactly." He pulled out a betrothal necklace. "Katara, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know your hopes, dreams, and passions. Please let me have the honor of joining you on your Life-Journey."

"I don't know what to say." Katara felt her cheeks heating up and her heart started to beat extremely fast. She knew that her, Sokka, and Koga had spent may a night out around the fire talking about life and dreams and fantasies. Sokka of course dominated most conversations, but he must have been listening intently. If she was honest with herself, she knew those things about him too. Koga was just brave enough to take the first step.

He placed the necklace in her hands and held them in his own. "For years now, you have treated me like a part of your family. Part of your house. You have served me all of my meals at your families house, shown me affection in many public settings, and treated me in every way you would treat a future husband. Including honoring me with the winter solstice dance. I know that I cannot move out of my family hut to build us a new one so we can start a Life-Journey together, because my mother cannot survive on her own after my father had passed. But I promise to put in an addition so that we may have privacy." He looked into her eyes earnestly.

He was right. She had already been treating him like a husband, all but sleeping in the same hut as him. She had for years. She hadn't done it on purpose, it just sort of happened one day. And she wasn't complaining. "You're right."

She looked down to the stone she held in her hands. It was bright white, the moonlight shone against the stone giving it an almost luminescent light. In the stone was carved a wave swirling around his family name. The ribbon was dark blue silk, something she had never felt before. "I have treated you like a husband for sometime now. I did not realize what I was doing at the time." She felt his hands start to drop, so she reached out and grabbed them tightly and looking into his face finished, "But that is because I did not know how to recognize these feelings we share. Yes, Koga. I will be your wife."

Koga smiled brightly, his teeth flashing in the moonlight. "Katara, you have made me happiest man in the tribe." He reached down and grabbed her waist hugging her tightly and spinning her around. Her hair flew in the wind and their feet threw up snow. Spinning until they were both dizzy, they collapsed into the snow bank breathless and laughing.

Katara looked up into his smiling face and he into hers. Before they knew it, they were sharing their first kiss. In the distance there was a loud warrior cry from Sokka as he came bounding their way.

Katara woke with a start, tears were in her eyes. She had been having the same dream for the entire month that she had been in the Fire Nation and on the ship as well. Why couldn't she forget him? Why couldn't she forget her past?

Posted 2/26/15