To be fair, Sokka had not been as angry with her as Katara had anticipated. He had actually turned out to be about twice as cross as she had expected when she told him about his upcoming nuptials. After having ranted at her for five minutes straight about how she needed to grow a backbone and tell Zuko to go boil his head, he had stormed out of the room they shared, slamming the door so hard the windows had shook. Katara had been left behind in tears. That had never happened before; Sokka had always, for as long as either of them could remember, comforted her when she cried.

Sokka had slowed down considerably since then, and even though he was still fuming he was walking at a slow pace along the water, throwing stones and trying to make them skip. He really, really wanted to kill something but the only available target were a couple of sheep bleating on a small patch of grass, and he had a feeling it would not be appreciated if he went for them. Sheep tending monks tend to be protective of their flocks. And they are usually highly skilled with their quarter staffs.

Married! They expected him to marry Zuko, of all people! In fact, just this morning Katara had agreed to the condition and apparently Zuko's name was now on the peace treaty next to hers. And all this without as much as informing him until it was done! He glared at the sheep, peacefully grazing just a few feet away. It simply wasn't fair that there were creatures so calm and content when his world had just been turned on it's axis. He picked up another small stone, weighed it in his hand, and then threw it with all his might. It landed smack dab in the middle of the grass, and it was with grim satisfaction Sokka watched the sheep flee in terror.

After the sheep had vanished beyond the horizon, Sokka sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose. Could he truly fault Katara for her acquiescence? If the roles had been reversed, he would have handed her over to Zuko without hesitation. So how could he blame her for making that decision? If Zuko decided that her refusal was a slight and declared war, he could wipe out the entire water nation. It wasn't as if Katara had had much of a choice in the matter. All that was left now, was for him to fulfill Katara's end of the bargain. He really wanted to be angry with her.

Zuko was currently causing Ty Lee, his shield woman, a headache merely from being in his presence. She squinted her eyes as she emptied another bucket of ice over his head, doing her best to ignore how the pieces almost immediately melted and the cool water ran over his back and torso. Ty Lee really liked her king, but sometimes he grated on her nerves. Like right now, when the Ner Tamid - the fire in the blood - rode his body so intensely that water immediately evaporated when coming into contact with his scorching hot skin. Not even ice seemed to help the way it usually did.

As if he had sensed her frustration, Zuko turned his head just enough to be able to look at her out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm lucky to have you as my shield woman, Ty Lee" he said tiredly and she forgot why she was upset.

She had been loyal to Zuko since she was a little girl, following him around as soon as she was out of diapers. He had tolerated her adoration with reluctance, even when Azula mocked him incessantly. His patience had later been repaid in spades.

It was Ty Lee who had discovered the conspiracy to trick Zuko into marrying Mai and father a child with her, after which the woman would murder Zuko in his sleep and take Azula for her consort. That way, Azula would be the ruler of the fire nation, have an heir and still be able to have Mai. The two women had thought it the perfect plan, but they had made a mistake when they chose to confide in Ty Lee. The moment she was clear on what they planned to do to her King, she had gone straight to Zuko and turned them in. As her reward, Zuko had not only allowed her to be the one to execute the two women (she still felt a fierce satisfaction when remembering the feeling of her sword severing the necks of ones she had once called friends), but Zuko had named her his shield woman. It was the finest title a woman in the fire nation could receive. It meant that she was known and revered as the finest warrior in all of fire nation, second only to Zuko himself. Unfortunately, it also meant that she served as his bodyguard and general dogsbody. Normally she didn't mind - Zuko had servants galore and would never dream of demeaning her by making her do something they could do - but right now she did.

The bathing chamber was so full of hot steam that had she not been a fire bender herself her skin would have been blistering. Zuko lay slouched down and half unconscious in the tub, his body shuddering as wave after wave of blistering heat came off it. She had already dumped six buckets of ice over him, but she was going to need more. A lot more.

"Aaand I win again" Toph said smugly as the dice clattered onto the square Katara had drawn in the sand to serve as their gaming area. "What's got you so distracted?"

Katara groaned.

"I had to agree to let Zuko take Sokka for his consort to make him agree to the peace treaty. That was yesterday and he still isn't talking to me." She said morosely.

"He'll get over it" was Toph's sardonic reply and Katara fervently hoped the earth bender was right.

"Is it going to be a traditional fire nation wedding?" Toph asked as she picked up the dice and rolled them in her hands.

"Traditional?" Katara repeated, confused. Once more she cursed the fact that she had only been queen for a little under a year; there was so much she still did not know.

"Yes, traditional. With a coupling."

"I don't know" Katara admitted, "but if I know Zuko, he is going to take every chance to rub his victory in my face. So it is highly likely." She blinked in confusion at the other woman as Toph broke into peals of laughter.

"Oh Katara!" she chortled once she finally got a hold of herself, "you are in for a treat!" then she was once again laughing so hard she couldn't speak for it. Katara waited with rapidly shrinking patience for Toph to get a grip of herself and explain what the devil she meant. Unfortunately, Toph didn't seem to be done laughing even when Katara had waited for what had seemed like an eternity.

"Oh, you are of no use!" She muttered crossly, stood up and stomped off to find someone who would be of use.

Notes: Ner Tamid: hebrew for "eternal flame" (Exodus 27:20)