I would like to thank WildCitrusSunflower for being the beta for this story and fixing all of those mistakes I tend to make . The story will be written in British English . Also I do not own Avatar the last Airbender .


"I am willing to take your daughter Katara as my wife as a symbol for peace."

For a long time neither of the men said anything, both staring into nothingness. While Zuko could not believe that he had finally done it, finally said what he had been waiting to say for days, Hakoda was too shocked at the moment to make any sound at all. For a ruler of a nation as powerful, as this one was, to take a girl from an almost extinct tribe as his wife, to give an enemy's daughter the chance to raise the thrones heir, was unheard of. When he had been told that the Firelord himself wanted to speak with him, he had been certain that his last days were upon him. Certain that he would die a horrible death, either to serve as an example or under torture, but instead he was offered a chance to not only protect his tribe but to end the war that had been raging for over a hundred years. He would be able to finally return home and stop worrying so much. He could sleep in peace again! He would see his children….

It was this thought that brought him back to reality. He might be reunited with Sokka again, but Katara would be lost forever. Moreover, she would be forced to live in the country that took her mother from her with no protection from her husband or assassins. A woman, no matter how capable a bender, alone on foreign soil, in the hands of a man known for his cruelty, would stand little chance of surviving much less being happy. It would be easy to slip something in her food and claim that she died of illness. How could he say that he loved his child and still agree to something to this? How could he send his daughter into a living hell?

On the other hand how much of a guaranty for peace was this offer anyways? Even if Katara was treated acceptably if not well, who was to say that the Firelord would not still attack the Water Tribes? Who would insure that the treaty was kept? What if the moment they relaxed their guard they were destroyed? Certainly the Firelord had said that the war cost the Fire Nation too, but was this truly enough of a reason for a man from a family that had always loved war to end the largest in history just before a win?

Sitting down on his chair once more Hakoda spoke quietly. "Even a marriage to my daughter would not ensure that the treaty is kept. Nothing would hinder you from breaking it at any moment."

The Firelord too took his seat once more suddenly returning to his quiet, emotionless state. "Allow me to speak plainly: You are right of course, there is no force at the moment that could insure that the treaty is being kept, but how much of a choice do you truly have, Chief Hakoda? How many of your men are left? Even if my people do not attack yours again, would they make through the winter? The North Pole too does not stand much better. Now that Ba Sing Se has fallen they have lost their last supplier of wheat, fruit and vegetable. How long can they live of the few things that grow on the ice and the meat they hunt? How long until they have nothing left to heat their homes with?"

"You bastard! You talk about peace and trade, but you really only want to imprison us all! What will you demand in return for the things we need to survive? To think that I had for just a moment thought that you might want peace."

For just a moment a flicker of anger could be seen in his eyes of the Firelord. "I am merely stating the fact Chief Hakoda. I do not want your people to die any more than I wish death upon my own. I am a man of honour, I keep my word. I do want peace." Closing his eyes for just a moment, the Firelord took a deep breath before snapping them open again and continuing, "Tell me what do you have to lose? If I break the treaty what will you have lost? And what would I gain from a treaty that I have no intention to keep? Why waste my time talking to a prisoner? The Avatar is not fully trained and no threat to a whole army, neither are the children he supposedly travels with. The Water Tribes will die on their own soon and though the resistance in the Earth Kingdom is a nuisance, it is little more. So why bother if I do not want both of our people to survive? Why would I go to such lengths?"

Hakoda was not a foolish man blinded by his pride. He knew that the young man spoke the truth, but it did not made the situation any easier. "Even if I were to agree I could not promise you my daughters hand in marriage without her consent."

Once more the man in red and black returned to the window. "I see. As I am sure you will refuse to give me a way to communicate with your daughter, I suppose there is little left I can do."

Suspicion raising the older warrior asked, "Why do you want Katara of all people as your wife? She has little to offer to a man like you."

Surprised by the question Zuko turned around. "I need a wife of noble birth that cannot only bear me children, but is from another country as well to serve as a symbol of peace. The Earth King has fallen and as such would not be seen as an acceptable partner for an arrangement such as this. Your daughter might not be of as high a birth as would be preferred, but in return she is a known friend of the Avatar, whose help I will need for any peace to succeed. Finally she can protect herself, which will certainly come in handy and bring her respect amongst my people."

"So you do admit that it is her connection to the Avatar that makes her interesting?" Hakoda asked slowly.

Without hesitation Zuko answered, "Of course it is. If I want peace I will need the assistance of the most prominent figure of balance in this world."

"Will you allow me some time to consider your offer?"

Turning back to the older warrior Zuko nodded and rang a small bell, which was answered with a servant entering the room and bowing low. "He will take you to a room where you can stay until you have reached a decision. If there is anything you need, the servants will be happy to provide it for you. Once you have reached a decision tell the servants and a meeting will be arranged, though I would not advise taking too long, Chief Hakoda. Goodbye." Without another word or bow the Water Tribe man was gone.

Hours later the servants of the palace could be heard whispering about their lord's terrifying mood. "Did you hear what the others said?" Iu, the maid, asked her best friend while they were washing a bed sheet. "Supposedly the Firelord destroyed one of the training arenas today! Kumon was absolutely terrified when he returned."

The other maid stopped scrubbing for a short moment, looking at her neighbour. "You shouldn't talk about Kumon like that. He has every reason to be afraid after what Firelord Ozai did to him and besides, as long as Firelord Zuko is busy destroying his training arena he can't harm any of us. You have to admit that while Firelord Zuko has destroyed the training arenas several times since he took over the throne, he hasn't been overly cruel to any of us yet."

Iu stared at her friend, "You are probably the only one that thinks that, Cara! Have you forgotten about Ada? First he forces himself on her and then he throws her out when she becomes pregnant!"

Sighing Cara returned to her washing. "You know as well as I do that Ada was doing it with half the palace and I really don't think that there would have been any forcing involved if the Firelord wanted her. But I doubt that he ever even touched her. He never looks at us the way the nobles do and I don't think I have ever seen him with a concubine; in fact he closed the harem!"

"You are not really defending that monster, are you?"

"I am just saying that Ada isn't the best source if you want trustworthy information and although there is a lot of talk about him scaring people but outside of the arena he has not hurt anyone yet. But we should really get back to work or someone will end up hurt!" Cara replied quietly, looking over to the overseer worriedly.

It would be another two days of waiting for Zuko before one of his secretaries finally informed him that Chief Hakoda was asking to speak to him. He had been in the middle of a meeting about the next harvest that had dragged on seemingly forever and there had been no way he could leave early, so it took quite a while before he was finally able to meet with the warrior once more. When the man entered his study, the same room that they had met in before, the Water Tribe chief looked a lot better than he had before, the last days clearly having done him some good. "Chief Hakoda, please come in and take a seat." Zuko greeted the other.

"Firelord Zuko", Hakoda said and, without so much as an inclination of his head, sat down on the same chair as before.

"I assume that you were treated well during your residence here?"

"Yes", Hakoda answered, "but I did not come here to talk about my treatment or to hold small talk with you, Firelord Zuko."

Although it seemed impossible to do, the Firelord straightened in his seat even more. "Of course not; if you are willing to come straight to the point than so am I. What is your decision?"

"I would like to accept your offer however I cannot speak for Chief Arnook or my daughter, though I believe that she will agree. If you are willing to send two of my men to the Northern Water Tribe, they could bring your proposal to Chief Arnook, who will also be able to send a message to my daughter that you will be unable to follow. This way I will be insured that the Avatar position is not revealed to you and still be able to ask my daughter whether or not she agrees."

The Firelord considered the offer for a long time before quietly answering. "I am unwilling to release two of your men to send this message." Hakoda's face twisted in anger and he was about to speak when the younger man raised his hand and continued. "I am however willing to allow you and one of your men to travel to the North Pole. I will be expecting your return within two months' time. If you do not return by then, I will punish your remaining men for your absence."

Hakoda stared deeply in the other man's eyes before finally nodding ever so slightly. "Agreed, under the condition that if I die during my travels my body is returned to you. My men will remain unharmed."

"Of course, will you agree to a ceasefire between the Southern Water Tribe and the Fire Nation until your return?" Hakoda's answer was a short and clear yes.

Three days later the small Fire Nation ship Dove departed from the port of the capital city under the watchful eyes of an unseen ruler.


Greetings, I hope that this chapter wasn't too boring. I had a hard time writing it because on the one hand I didn't want Hakoda just accepting the offer, but I realise that these talks aren't the most exciting. I hope you will bear with me :). I want to thank everyone who reviewed/ favourited/ followed this story, it means the world to me.

A few notes to the names:

The following are Japanese words:

苦悶 (くもん) Kumon: means pain, fear

言う いう Iu: means to talk

仇 あだ Ada: means enemy, revenge

Cara is Latin and means expensive or beloved