A/N: The characters of the Avatar Universe are in no way owned by me. But, I still love writing them.

Special shout out to the reviewers, and those who liked this story even though I haven't updated in a while. I'm in my last year of undergrad, it's a hectic time!

I've been struggling getting back into Aang's head, and I hope that doesn't impact how you enjoy this chapter. Please, feel free to leave reviews. I love reading them!

I regretted the few drinks of wine I'd allowed myself as soon as I entered the throne room. Ozai and Ursa sat on their knees while the Northern emissary—Sangok—stood before them, looking rather put out to be there. As soon as he turned to greet me, his eyes narrowed and his slight—barely noticeable—bow said exactly what he thought of me. Granted, I didn't think much of him either.

"I see the Water Tribe princess is, in fact, in your care, Avatar," he snarled, looking behind me. I should have known Katara wouldn't stay behind like I'd asked.

"Daughter of a chieftain does not a princess make," she hissed back with her arms crossed over her chest defiantly.

Spirits, please let this go well.

"Firelord Ozai, Firelady Ursa," I said, completely ignoring Sangok and paying Ozai and Ursa the respect they deserved. "You summoned me?" I refused to play into the childish tactics of the water tribe. Katara and Sangok could bicker all they wanted, but I was here to resolve conflict, not entice it.

Though, the idea of Katara kicking his butt was amusing.

Ozai's eyes flicked to Katara, studying her as she stood firmly next to me. Her cheeks were flushed and her stance swayed slightly. She was tired, she was tipsy, her mind wasn't going to be sharp enough if a confrontation occurred. I didn't think I would be either. "Yes," the Firelord mused. "The Northern tribesman weaves an interesting tale about the two of you. How you kidnapped her in the dead of night and brought her here to hide." There was an amused glint in his eye. He knew our story already and found Sangok's rendition of it amusing.

"This isn't new information to you," Katara replied. "We told you what happened and what we thought they would tell you instead." She glowered at Sangok who merely looked…pleased. Extremely pleased. "Is there a reason you brought us in here? There is a party going on."

Sangok stepped forward, bowing deeply at Ozai, and then again to Ursa. Beside me, Katara scoffed and mumbled to herself, but it didn't faze him. "Firelord Ozai, if I may speak?" Sangok continued without hesitation. "Arnook, Chieftan of the Water Tribes, looks upon Hahn as a son, a very dear son and he very much viewed the joining of Hahn and Katara as the joining of the tribes—which is not a matter to be taken lightly. As such, soon after their betrothal he had a treaty of sorts signed, ensuring that Katara, daughter of Kya and Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe, and Hahn would be joined in marriage."

I whirled to Katara, eyebrows raised in question.

"I never signed such an agreement!" She protested, looking just as surprised as I felt.

"You didn't have to. Your chieftain or someone approved by your chieftain had to sign it. Such as your brother. He was in the North serving as an ambassador for your father, giving him the authority to sign it."

"Sokka would sign no such thing without asking me."

And now, Sangok looked positively thrilled. "Firelord, if I may approach?" Ozai nodded and Sangok held out a parchment, sliding it into Ozai's hands and watched him peruse the document with glee. "Would you tell us what it is you see at the bottom?"

He cleared his throat, and Ursa looked at Katara with eyes filled with sorrow. I didn't need to be told, I knew what was on the bottom of the parchment. "It's the Southern tribe's insignia," he said. "Followed by Sokka's signature."

"Would you look at that!" Sangok smiled. "Katara's betrothal to Hahn is legally binding, therefore, Firelord, in providing protection to her and the Avatar, you are inviting war to your doorstep. I do hope you reconsider, sir. The North has no issues with the Fire Nation."

Katara's hand found mine, squeezing rather painfully as she took in this information. The Northern tribe's backward ways regarding women had always bothered me, but now that it applied to someone I cared about, it infuriated me.

Ursa's eyes narrowed. "That may be the case for you," she replied. "But Lu Ten should be back soon with the others and we will get more information then," her voice was a gentle reminder that we wouldn't have to wait long to have this confirmed by Sokka himself, but that wasn't information we were about to let Sangok know. "I'm sure, Sangok, that you can wait a few days before making any rash decisions?"

"Of course, Firelady," he replied, a gentle smile on his face. "I expected you to need a few days to consider your options. I'll be staying on my boat in the harbor. Please, fetch me when you have reached a decision." He left the room swiftly, not even casting a glance in our direction.

Silence filled the room, and Katara looked infuriated beside me. "I can't believe this," she finally whispered.

Ursa gave her a sympathetic look. "We'll figure it out, Katara," she promised. "But, for now I think we need to rest and think about our options."

I didn't disagree.

Katara's silence over the last few days was deafening. What was worse was that she didn't know who to be angrier at: Sokka or Sangok? Sokka had signed the agreement, but neither of us knew if he had a choice in signing it. It didn't help that we both lacked a physical way of expressing out frustrations other than bending. Katara would have loved to yell at Sangok or throw him in the ocean, but he wisely kept to his boat. Instead, she occupied her time with water bending, be it in the garden beside the turtle ducks, or in the bath tub making small waves. Ty Lee, Azula, and Mai served as sparring partners as soon as Azula found out Katara was training. She was a storm, defending herself in a way I didn't think she'd be able to do for at least a few more months of practice.

"Her determination is admirable," Iroh said one day as he grinned at me from across the hall. I was perched on a window sill, watching Katara and Azula fight each other in the grass. "She would make a great leader of her people, if given the opportunity."

I smiled, not disagreeing.

"Or," he continued, "perhaps, a woman to help lead the world into a time of peace." His eyes slid to mine, a hit of mischief in his grin.

"I don't know what you're talking about, old man," I laughed, swinging my dangling foot as he made himself comfortable next to me.

"Ah, Aang," Iroh eased himself onto the seat below me. "Love is a hard beast to tame. Yours will be the hardest of all. Falling in love while the world is falling apart is no easy task. Her heart is set on freeing her people. Your heart is set on freeing her. Your goals take similar paths, but you should be prepared for whatever ending."

Historically, Iroh's advice had always been welcome to me. This, however, struck something. Something deep within my chest that cried out in protest. What was he insinuating?

"I'll not lose her, Iroh."

"That might not be your choice, Avatar. It'll be hers." He nodded toward the garden, bringing my attention back to the waterbender that stood knee deep in the pond, laughing as Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai sat in the grass. Such a contrast from when we first arrived. At first, she was too scared to interact with them, and now she was enjoying herself.

"I'll honor her wishes, then."

"See that you do, my boy." Iroh heaved a sigh, staring at his empty hands like he wished he brought along some tea. "But, know when to fight for her." He patted my knee as he left, whistling a merry tune as if we'd never been discussing something so depressing.

And confusing.

Honor her wishes, Aang. But fight for her, too? What was that even supposed to mean?!

"Where were you the other night?"

Despite my better judgement, Zuko and Azula had convinced me (more like threatened me) into a trip in an air balloon around the city today, claiming I was stressed and needed some time to relax. When I tried to protest, Azula pinched me into compliance and threatened to burn my staff if I took it with us. So now I, an air bender, am relatively trapped with no painless way down to the ground unless the balloon were to drop several hundred feet. Sure, I could manipulate a stable glide to the ground, but without my glider it was significantly more difficult. And I wasn't entirely sure if Azula would stay in the air balloon if I did jump. Getting myself to the ground unharmed would be fairly simple, but adding Azula made it more complicated.

Besides, from here we could catch sight of Sokka's ship on the horizon.

I hesitated before answering. Katara was furious after we left the throne room. Her silence filled the halls as she'd stomped toward our room and her rage exploded as soon as the doors shut. Many "how dare he" and "who does he think he is" phrases were said as she paced the room. My silence didn't help. What could I say? A contracted marriage invited war to the fire nation's doorstep, a country with a depleted military due to the conditions of the treaty. If we wanted to avoid conflict, we'd have to leave soon. It'd been a few days since the meeting with Sangok, and while I've known we need to leave, I've yet to bring it up to her.

"With your father and mother," I said with a sigh. "And Sangok of the Northern Water Tribe."

"Oh, no." Azula's jaw dropped while her brother's eyes widened. "What did he want?"

I filled them in on the details of the night, lamenting over the complications a contract would bring to the Fire Nation if they continued to harbor fugitives. Both the prince and the princess knew of the current military issues in their nation, and they knew what war would do to their people—what it could do to them.

"War between the Fire and Northern Water tribe would be unfortunate," Zuko mused. "But that is our choice, Aang. My father will support the Avatar in whatever you decide, I'm sure of it."

Azula snorted, shaking her head. "No, he won't. We don't have the resources to go to war again, Zuko. Sure, it's been ten years of relative peace, but Father hasn't bothered bolstering the navy or army to avoid retaliation. Aang, you're practically family, but we can't afford to go to war for you. We'd lose."

"I'm not asking you to," I shot back. "Believe me, war is the last thing I want, but Katara and I can't go running around the world trying to escape the North. We're going to have to face Arnook and Hahn eventually if peace is to ever return."

"Then why don't you go confront him? You've mastered the elements already, why don't you go knock on his door and tell him to stop? Use your Avatar powers to shut him down." Azula practically shouted. "It's really not a difficult solution, you know. You've made this about keeping Katara away from a man when you should really be going after the source." She huffed a sigh. "It's not like you to be avoiding issues, Aang."

I frowned in her direction, tempted to snap at her for not understanding the situation, but when it came to a reply, I had none. There was no excuse to hiding out in the Fire Nation when we could simply fly up north and get things dealt with. Though, we had no way of gauging what the situation in the north was like without Sokka here to tell us.

"I'd like to solve this as peacefully as possible, Azula, but you're right," I finally said. "I've been avoiding it. We'll decide what to do as soon as Sokka arrives and gives us more information. It might not be safe for us to travel there just yet."

"You might not have to wait long." Zuko nudged my shoulder and I followed his gaze out onto the ocean, where a Fire Nation ship sped across the water.

Sokka's return required quite a bit of explaining to Ozai and Ursa, especially when we realized he brought the Northern Water Tribe Princess along with him. If the Fire Lord and Lady were nervous about Katara claiming refuge here, Princess Yue's presence made it a lot worse. It practically invited war to their doorstep. There was no way we'd be able to stay here much longer if she was intent on remaining with her betrothed.

According to Lu Ten, Yue was never meant to join them, but she'd convinced them that the only way they would make it through the walls was with her on the boat. Arnook would never attack his daughter, and since Sangok had already left, none of his warriors would ignore his orders and attack anyway. Initially, she was meant to split with Master Pakku and head to the south to avoid more issues for the Fire Nation. In Lu Ten's words, some idiot with a boomerang (Sokka pointed to himself at this point) whacked nearly everyone for even daring to separate the two.

"They completely disregarded the threat Princess Yue poses to the Fire Nation, Uncle Ozai. It is one thing to harbor the betrothed of Arnook's favorite soldier, and another to have his daughter. We are inviting the Northerners to attack us if we continue sheltering them."

"What?!" Sokka shouted, jolting to his feet. "You can't do that, we have nowhere else to go!"

Lu Ten was always putting his nation first. Every situation he thought of how it would benefit the Fire Nation, and while that was his duty as a member of the royal family, it did make him come off as a bit of a jerk.

"We are aware of the danger we put ourselves in, nephew. Your father and I have discussed this to a great extent and we believe supporting the southern tribe resist the northern aggression will improve the worlds view of us. We haven't the ground forces, but we can spare some supplies. Our air ships will easily maneauver over any sea blockade."

"However," Azula interceded, "the princess does pose a risk, Father. We can't keep here here with Sangok staying at our shores. He'll send for their armada immediately."

"Azula," Ozai snapped with a glare. Azula shrank back into her kneeling position, scolded for having spoken out of turn. "I am aware of all the risks currently po-"

I wish I could say nothing bad happened. I really wish I could. But the palace servants have big mouths and word reached the docks of who was here quickly. Which meant Sangok heard.

The doors to the throne room were thrown open with shouts of protest as water sprayed everywhere. Sangok's footsteps rang out through the room as he approached the row of us kneeling before the Firelord. His eyes found Yue, who didn't even flinch when he burst in and kept her gaze unwaveringly forward.

"Firelord Ozai," he ground out. "I have been lenient with your protection of Katara because she is not, officially, a princess of the Water Nation. However, I cannot sit idly by while you hold Princess Yue here. If she stays, you will be forcing my hand, and it will not end well for the Fire Nation."

"I am not being held against my will, Sangok," Yue spoke calmly. "An attack made against the Fire Nation will violate the treaty signed years ago; you will only bring war to the North if you attack."

"You know our laws, Princess. You did not leave the north with your father's permission and you do not have a husband that would give you permission in his stead." His eyes flicked to Sokka, who met his stare with a menacing grimace. I was certain that had Sokka not left his boomerang outside the hall it would have been colliding with Sangok's face.

"Sangok, please," I intervened before Sokka could throw a punch instead. "War is not the answer to these problems. After over a century of hostility and barely a decade of peace, the world doesn't need another reason to hold its breath." I took a deep breath and looked around the room, my eyes settling on Fire Lord Ozai. "I believe this can be solved if the world leaders meet and discuss our options. The North's aggression against the South is no longer an issue confined to the Water Nation, and as people of this world, it needs to be addressed."

"What do you propose, Avatar?" Sangok said the word like it was a swear. Katara's fists tightened in her lap, but my voice didn't waver.

"Firelord Ozai, I propose a meeting hosted in the Fire Nation. Leaders of the two tribes can come and work out their problems in neutral territory. King Kuei would also attend, and together we can figure out how to avoid another war."

Iroh rubbed his chin in his seat beside his brother. "This does seem like an agreeable option, brother," he mused. "I think it is a fine idea. After all, the last meeting of the four nations led to a peaceful end, save for the North believing they deserve more. What do you think?"

After several moments pause, Ozai nodded. "Sangok, if you find the idea agreeable—though I hardly think you have a choice—please send word to your leader that we expect him here within six weeks."

"Very well, Firelord," he replied, his voice cold and frigid. He glared at me before finally leaving and an unsettled feeling sank into my stomach. This should have been a victory.

Why did it feel like it wasn't?

Sleep never came that night. It was my first time alone in my room in what felt like ages. Sokka, upon discovering the sleeping arrangement between Katara and me insisted that he take care of his sister, citing that it was inappropriate to begin with. That didn't stop Katara from pointing out that Yue was sharing a bed with Sokka as well.

"That's different," he said. "We're betrothed. You two are…" he hesitated, and for a moment I hoped he would put a label on it for us. "…whatever you are."

We'd both rolled our eyes, but I didn't argue. It'd been months since Katara had seen her brother, I wasn't going to stand in the way. So, Sokka had another bed brought into his room and that was that.

I tried to blame my sleeplessness on being alone, I wanted to believe that. But my gut knew better. Sangok folded too easily in the throne room today and this unsettled me. We already knew Northern sympathizers lived in the Fire Nation Capital. Zhao was most likely one of them, seeing it as a chance to strengthen the Fire Nation once again. How many people agreed with him? How do we know they aren't gathering forces to attack right now? We didn't know enough, and I didn't feel like we ever would, not without doing our own investigating. Azula assured Ozai had everything under control, he'd sent out men to patrol the seas and they were gathering intel and sending it back to her father as we sat comfortably in our cushions. I wanted to help, but I couldn't help feeling placated. Like someone wanted to make sure I was sitting back, relaxing, and not sticking my nose where it didn't belong. I trusted Azula, but I wasn't sure I trusted the people reporting to her father.

On sleepless nights like these, Appa and I often went for rides. It'd been a few days since I'd spent more than ten minutes with him—life was crazy right now. He knew that, though. Appa always understood. We'd been in the air for a while now, and I was telling myself that it was to clear my head, knowing I was really watching the waters, looking for the reason my gut wouldn't settle. There wasn't a point to it, however. The moonless sky meant it was impossible to see anything on the water. There weren't any lights indicating there might be boats or ships. Just the silence of the night kept me company.

"C'mon, boy," I sighed, guiding him back toward the palace. "We're not going to find anything out here. I'm probably being paranoid."

Appa angled himself toward the palace, probably a ten-minute flight away considering how far we'd flown out over the water. I leaned back against him, sighing to myself as I tried to clear my head. I could practically hear Roku lecturing me and scolding me, saying I was too involved in the situation, and it was beginning to affect my judgement. He might not be wrong, but that wouldn't change anything.

Listen, Aang. His voice whispered.

My eyebrows drew together. To what?

Listen.

The night was silent. What was there to listen to?

Wait…what was that noise?

Appa cried out, veering to the left and dropping several feet as something sailed by us. I jumped up, careening myself after it, trying to figure out what it was. I reached out, letting my fingers brush against it.

Ice?

I landed on his back, looking over to the coast. With a deep inhale, I sent a blast of fire shooting over the beach, aiming it to land in the ocean. It illuminated the water as it passed, revealing dozens of ships, some carrying the symbol of the Northern Tribe. Others were, unmistakably, Fire Nation ships.

Flying under the symbol of General Zhao.

And they were attacking the city.

And there's Chapter 10 for you! I promise, Chapter 11 is well underway. It shouldn't take anywhere near as long to update as this chapter did!

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