A/N: Hello wonderful readers. This is my first attempt at a Zutara fic, so be patient with me for updates. This is an AU fic set within the storyline of the A:TLA series, so let me know if you want me to continue.
Long ago, in a time of great sorrow and war, a prince and a chief fought for dominance. Their clans supported them in all they could, however the two men warred as though the fight was only between the two of them. In many ways, these two men were very similar, both having a beloved wife with a son to inherit their vast lands. They took great pride in their victories and suffered deeply at the defeats. One day, during a battle, word came from the prince's home that his wife had given birth to a baby girl, and in the moments that followed, his army was defeated. The chief looked upon the prince with a kindness that only comes with empathy,, sending him away with a warning that he should not return to the lands of the water and ice people.
A few months passed and the chief was blessed with the birth of a daughter of his own, and he cherished his two children. Noticing that from a very early age, the princess was skilled in bending the waters of their lands, the chief decided that she would be placed under the tutelage of her grandmother. The princess learned much from her grandmother; from the skills required in keeping a house, as well as the art of bending water. While the princess grew, tensions between the prince and the chief rose again, which drew the chief away from his family for many a month. The princess was often left behind in the company of her brother and mother to fend for the village, should any raiders or stray army folk come by, however unlikely the occasion was.
One day however, everything changed. Having drawn the chief away from his family and lands, the prince launched a counter attack, where the benders and fighters of the chief's clan were taken prisoner. The prince stood on the deck and watched as his army ransacked the little village, taking into custody any person who had the mark of a bender upon them. Just as one of the soldiers was about to take a young girl prisoner, the chief's wife stood up. She told the fire prince that she was the last of the benders in the tribe and that they had captured all the rest.
The girl was afraid, restrained by a guard as she watched her mother make a sacrifice unlike any she had ever seen before. The prince seemed to consider the option put before him, then motioned to take the woman prisoner. The young girl cried out, and was silenced instantly by the cuff of a soldiers hand into her face. She looked into the prince's eyes, a burning hatred showing in her face. The prince's ship left the village soon after that, taking the perilous trip through the ice fields.
When the chief heard the news of his wife's capture and the demise of the waterbenders in his tribe, he broke down. Rushing to the offices of the prince, he pleaded for mercy for his wife. The prince's heart was closed and he coolly told the chief that the woman had been killed on the way to his nation. The chief fell to his knees, sobbing, and thinking desperately to the tribe that have given him their service gladly, he had one last idea in his mind. Looking to the prince beside him, the chief pledged the hand of his young daughter to the prince's son, in exchange for the tribe being left alone by the prince's army. He also offered up his own freedom, thinking only of protecting his son and daughter left behind.
The fire prince contemplated this development and eventually decided to take the chief up on the offer. Accepting the betrothal, the terms for the marriage were set and the chief was clapped in iron chains. The prince sent a message to the daughter of the chief by an owlhawk, instructing her to correspond with his son and demanding the grandmother to prevent the two from meeting by all means until the princess the age of sixteen. He also outlined the terms of the contract to the grandmother, adding that the army would not protect the tribe if attacked and that the tribe would be left alone until it was time to collect the princess. The grandmother wrote back to the prince, agreeing to the terms and with her message to the newly crowned Fire Lord, sending the first of many letters to the young prince Zuko from her granddaughter.