Kya

"So… Mom and Dad… there's this party," I say.

"Let me guess. Lakota invited you to a party hosted by one of his friends, and you're gonna beg us until we let you go," my mother says, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah," I say.

"Well, I see no problem with it as long as you're careful. And as long as you don't drink," my mom says. "What about you, Zuko?"

"I don't know," he says.

"Please, Dad! I'll stay with Lakota the whole time!" I say.

"Fine. You can go. But only because your mother, who is one of the wisest people I know, agreed to it. Be back tomorrow morning. I'm assuming you'll want to spend the night with Lakota," my dad says.

"Yes! Thank you!" I exclaim, hugging my dad.

"Is the party tonight?" my mom asks.

"Yeah," I say. "Lakota will be here after sundown to get me."

"Good. You have time for dinner," she says.

I pack for the night while my mom makes dinner, and shortly after we eat it, Lakota shows up. I bid my parents and brother adieu before heading to the party with my boyfriend.

"I'm assuming you want to spend the night with me," he says. "I planned for that, so you're all good when it comes to a place to stay after the party."

"Good," I say. "I'm glad. So the party is on the beach?"

"Yeah," Lakota says. "It's near a cliff. Beautiful, really. When we get to the party, put your stuff in some bushes. Hide it well. We wouldn't want it to get stolen."

"Good idea," I tell him.

We walk the rest of the way to the party in comfortable silence. When we get there, I see raised platforms where musicians are playing, and a bonfire is in the middle of all the people. I hide my stuff in the bushes and follow Lakota to where people are talking and drinking from stone cups.

"Good to see you here, Ling and Lakota!" Feng says. "I see the presence of your brother wasn't needed."

"Nope," I tell him. "I talked my parents out of it."

"Good, good. I bet you're wondering about all the stone platforms and cups. We brought a couple of earthbenders to the party, and they offered to do that," Feng says.

"Nice!" Lakota says. "Come on. Let's go dance."

We begin a mantra of classic Fire Nation dances, and are laughing and moving with the music as the night progresses. A short time later, though, Feng sweeps me away from Lakota and we begin dancing.

"I'm just gonna steal her for a minute, Lakota. I hope you don't mind," Feng says.

"Go on, Lakota. Have fun. I'll be back in a few," I say.

Feng and I begin dancing, until the light of the bonfire gets dimmer.

"Uh… Feng… what's happening?" I ask.

He presses a searing kiss to my lips and I pull back, giving him a deadly glare. "What are you doing, Feng? You know I'm in a relationship with Lakota."

"Yup. But Lakota isn't around, is he?" Feng says with a grin speaking of anything but good intentions.

He kisses me again, and I quickly retaliate. I throw a few punches and he falls to the ground.

"Spirits! Where'd you learn to do that?" he asks.

"My father," I say. "I'm an expert in martial arts and firebending. I wouldn't try to kiss me again."

"Well too damn bad," he says, going in for the kill again.

I fight back. Hard. He keeps on coming, though, and I bring him down again and again in a series of complex moves.

"Holy shit!" he exclaims. "Who are you?"

"I am Kya; crowned princess of the Fire Nation. Daughter of Fire Lord Zuko and Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe."

"I don't care what your title is," Feng spits. "I'm going to beat the shit out of you."

I bring him down again, and Lakota walks up to us.

"What's going on here?" Lakota asks. "Feng are you alright?"

"Yeah. But the princess sure won't be!" he says angrily as he comes towards me again.

"I don't want to have to do this," I say. "But your romantic advances have proven to be too futile."

"Wait… What?" Lakota asks.

I do the system of moves Aunt Ty Lee taught me to block his chi paths, and he falls to the ground once more. He spits blood into the sand as he tries to get up again, but fails and collapses.

"Leave my party. Now," Feng says into the sand.

What he says is barely audible, but we manage to hear him. I get my stuff out of the nearby bushes and Lakota and I leave the party.

"So what happened?" Lakota asks me as we make our way up the hills surrounding the party.

"Feng tried to kiss me, so I beat the living daylights out of him," I say with a shrug.

"Good for you. I knew you were a badass from the start," Lakota says. "Now come on. Let's go home. I can't wait for you to meet my father, Kahn."

"I can't wait to meet him, too," I say.

He smiles as we walk, and I tell him more about my lessons with Ty Lee and the other Kyoshi Warriors. The mighty warriors are somewhat frequent visitors to the Fire Nation, as they are the escorts my parents use whenever making trips for diplomacy. Though Ty Lee and Aunt Suki, who has long since retired from the close-knit group of warriors to be a stay-at-home mom, would often stay with Junior, Uncle, and I so we would have some company, and also to teach us valuable martial arts lessons that our dear old uncle can't manage anymore. I mixed the fighting styles of my father and aunts with that of my own. I use my father's brute strength as a companion to using what knowledge I know about my opponent; a skill taught to my brother and me by the Kyoshi Warriors.

Lakota, on the other hand, enthuses about his father. He tells me about growing up as the son of an esteemed nobleman and causing trouble at banquets and other events like it. I laugh as he tells me about a time when he and his father played a trick on his mother.

"You would've liked her. She seemed cold and distant, but she was an amazing mom from what I've been told and what I remember," he says. "My parents really loved each other. Even though it was an arranged marriage, they still cared deeply about one another. According to my father, had it not been an arranged marriage, he probably still would have married my mom."

"That's sweet," I tell him. "From what my parents told me, Mai was cold and distant as a teen. But they didn't know what she ended up being like in adulthood. She must've gotten warmer."

"Yeah. I remember my dad telling me the exact same thing. He told me that he met my mom the day after their parents arranged their marriage. Even though they were adults, my grandparents still thought they had a say in who their children married. They fell in love over the course of their engagement, and had me shortly after. But I'll let him tell you that story. Seeing as I haven't heard it since I was a kid, I doubt I'll get much right about the tale," Lakota says. "We're just about there. It's just a little further."

We walk the hundred yards or so to the isolated house on the beach where Lakota told me he is staying.

"Dad! I'm home!" he calls into the house.

"There you are! I've been so worried about you!"

A tall man with a few grey streaks in his long hair comes into the foyer where we are standing, and smiles at us.

"So this must be Princess Kya. It's an honor to meet you," he says, bowing before placing a kiss upon my knuckles. "My name is Kahn. And in case you haven't guessed, I'm Lakota's father. Come. There is much to discuss."

"Father," Lakota says as he walks with him and me to their living room. "I was just telling Kya about Mom and how you two fell in love. But I can't remember all the details. Can you tell us? The Fire Lord and Lady knew Mom well, but the Fire Lord especially, is that correct?"

"Yes, my boy. Of course I'll tell you two the story. It was many years ago, the summer sun beat down on our backs as if it hated us…"

Flashback

Kahn

"Dad, I'm a grown man. Isn't it a little silly to be arranging me with someone? Can't I find the girl on my own?" I whine as my mother adjusts my formal tunic.

"No. Because knowing you, you'll probably find some woman on the street from a peasant family and call her your soul mate. And then we'd have a problem," he says. "Now come on. Go to the party. Mai will be there."

"Fine. But no promises that I'll like her."

"We don't care. We agreed, and her parents agreed that you two would be a wonderful couple full of noble lineage. Think of the children you'll have! It doesn't matter if you like her or not. She's who you're gonna be with forever," my mother says.

I groan as I start for the door. "Wait… aren't you coming with me?"

"No. We decided to at least let you have the freedom of introducing yourselves on your own," my dad says as he ushers me out the door. "Now go."

"But…"

The door shuts and locks before I can get back in. I sigh and walk next door. The house is a flurry of dancing, music, and the laughter and conversation of noblemen and women. I go to get a drink, and stand by the table, but that's when I see her.

Jet black hair, golden eyes, tall frame, and ivory skin catch my attention and keep it for quite some time. I cross the room rather quickly; all my inhibition disappearing. We strike up a conversation.

"Hi," I say. "Care to dance."

"I don't dance," she says.

"Well you do now," I say with a laugh.

I took her hand and led her to where people were doing traditional Fire Nation folk dances, and we begin to dance. I realize then that I can't marry this mystery girl my parents have set me up with. Because the girl I'm dancing with right now is the one I want to be with. I barely know her, yet I know this is real. It's not until a bit later, when I've finally gotten her to smile and laugh that I learn her name.

"So I can't just call you stranger. What's your name?" she asks me.

"My name is Kahn," I tell her with a bow. "And yours?"

"Wait… you're Kahn?" she asks.

"Yeah. Wait… are you Mai?"

"Yes! So we're getting married…" she trails off.

"But listen, I don't mind having to marry you. Because from what I've seen so far, you are an amazing woman. I'm lucky to be yours," I say. "Mai, I want you to marry me. Not just for our parents, but so I can get to know the amazing person there is underneath the stoic attitude. And I want to love you, and for you to love me, too."

"I guess I do, too. I mean, you really are something special. I was afraid I'd have to tell my parents I wouldn't do it. But now that it's you that I'm marrying… Well… Maybe it won't be so bad. Hey, maybe I'll like it, too," she says.

Mai smiles at me, and we dance the night away. Later, out on the balcony, I drop to one knee, and present Mai the ring my mother gave me to give her. She accepts it, and we are married about six months later.

End Flashback

Kya

"Then, about seven months later, you were born, Lakota," Kahn says. "Spirits, I miss her."

"I miss her, too, Dad," Lakota says.

The father and son get up and hug one another, and Lakota sits back down beside me.

"It surprises me that Fire Lord Zuko let you stay the night here at our home," Kahn says. "Given how protective he is over his family, I'm surprised he let you go to the party, too."

"Well, my mom convinced him," I tell him with a small laugh.

"From what I've heard about Lady Katara, it doesn't shock me."

"No kidding," I say. "She's his voice of reason."

"So, Kya, I'm just curious; who will take the throne when your father no longer wants it?" Kahn says.

"Dad!" Lakota exclaims, shocked at the bluntness of the question.

"No, Lakota. It's a perfectly acceptable, normal question. I get where he's coming from. Either I or my chosen partner will take the throne. It all depends on what he decides. I'm guessing I probably will, though. Seeing as I'm his and my mom's firstborn, and I doubt he would let anyone but me do it, now that I think about it," I say.

"That's great, Kya. I'm happy for you," Kahn says. "Not only does our future queen sound smart, but she's pretty, too."

I blush. "Thanks, sir."

"Please. Call me Kahn," he says with a laugh. "Now, I suggest that you two make wise decisions tonight. I don't want you or me getting burnt to a crisp by an angry Fire Lord, or frozen alive by an angry Fire Lady. So I'm going to leave you two to your own devices, and go to bed. Goodnight."

"Okay. Goodnight, Dad," Lakota says. "See you in the morning."

"See you in the morning, son. Have a goodnight, princess."

"Thanks, Kahn. You, too."

He goes down the hall, and once I hear a door close, I turn to Lakota. "So what do we do now?"

"Is it okay if we just watch the moon?" he asks.

"Of course," I say.

He gathers blankets, and I follow him outside to his yard. He sets out the blankets, and we lay down on them, staring at the full moon in awe.

"You know, I secretly sometimes wish I was a waterbender, just so I could feel the full moon's power. I heard waterbenders get totally entranced when they bend under the full moon," Lakota says.

"Yeah. Sometimes I'll watch my mom and brother practice under the moon, and their movements are so hypnotic it's crazy," I say. "You know, my uncle Sokka knew Yue well. Before he fell in love with my aunt Suki, he fell in love with her human form. Yue started out as a human, but she was born very sick, so her parents dipped her in the spirit oasis at the North Pole, and some of the moon spirit's life lived in her. That is until a man, you probably know him as the infamous Admiral Zhao, killed the moon spirit. But Yue made the greatest sacrifice to save the world; her life. My uncle was devastated, but now, he still looks up and talks to her."

"Wow. I knew Zhao was bad, but he not only took the life of the moon spirit itself, but the life of a young girl. That's insane," Lakota says. "I heard her hair was white. Was it?"

"I never met her, but from the stories Uncle Sokka has told me, it was as white as snow," I tell him. "I heard she was beautiful, too."

"But I have to say, I doubt she holds a candle to you," Lakota says.

I look at him, and find he's staring at me. I lean in, and so does he, and soon, our lips are locked in a passionate kiss. We pull away quickly, though, and I find him panting and smiling at me.

"Let's make these two weeks the best of our lives."

And that we did.