Author's Note: Last chapter and ending of the three books: A New Beginning, Icefire Chronicles, and the Savage
Shortly after Marina was killed, Zuko and Katara began to work on restoring the world to what it was before the darkbendress attacked. It took a year, but the Fire, Water, and Earth Nations were rebuilt and were greater than ever before.
That was not it though, Zuko was crowned fire lord and Katara was crowned water queen. They wanted to stay together but they both had countries to run and people who needed them. It was Katara who changed that.
Against Zuko's knowledge, she appointed a figure head for the Water Nation so she could live with him in the Fire Nation and every summer, they would take a break and travel to Ba Sing Se where Sokka ruled as Earth King. Then they would alternate every two years so that Zuko would live with Katara in the Water Nation.
Just after the final battle with Marina, Sokka and Suki married and gave birth to a little girl, Ilianna. They were the happy family, Suki and Sokka loved each other more than anything and they now lived in the royal palace in Ba Sing Se. Because there wasn't anybody eligible to accept the throne, Sokka volunteered and after the entire Earth Kingdom voted, they crowned him their king.
The sun shone brightly over the waters of Atlantis as Zuko nervously waited in the middle of the courtyard. He had never been so nervous or excited in his life and he couldn't believe he was finally here. He nervously looked into the huge crowd and took a deep breath to calm his nerves.
"Chill out." said Sokka with a smile as he nudged him in the ribs.
"I'm trying!" whispered Zuko harshly.
"Well try harder, everybody's watching you." whispered Sokka before winking at Suki a few feet away from him.
Zuko took another deep breath before staring out at the large expanse of water before him.
"Ladies and Gentlemen please stand." said a voice from behind Zuko.
All at once, the hundreds of people rose and faced the archway behind them.
Zuko gulped and stared into the archway, waiting…this was it.
"Wow." whispered Sokka as Katara emerged through the archway on the arm of her father.
Zuko was speechless as he watched Katara walk down the aisle towards him. She was wearing a long, flowing white dress with crystals embedded in the fabric. Her diamond and pearl tiara caught the sunlight and shined over the floor and her beautiful blue eyes sparkled as she caught sight of Zuko.
"Zuko you haven't breathed in over thirty seconds, you don't want to die on your wedding day." said Sokka jokingly as Katara approached them and handed her bouquet of orchids to Suki.
"Hi." whispered Katara, taking Zuko's hand in hers.
"You look beautiful." he whispered back to her.
The ceremony continued on but Katara and Zuko didn't care. For all they knew, a volcano could be erupting and they wouldn't know, they were too captivated with each other.
"You may recite your vows Katara." said a voice that turned out to be Chief Arnook.
Katara gazed deeply into Zuko's eyes and she spoke, "Zuko, of all people in the world, I had no idea that it would be you standing here today. We hated each other but miraculously, that hate turned into love. Through times of war and peril, we found each other and love was born. We need each other, we complete each other. We survived death and hatred and we will continue to endure. Love is not judgmental and it needs no reason to be, it just is. We survived the hard times and rejoiced in the good, and I know I can get through the hard times ahead if I know you're here with me. Through anger, we found comfort, through sadness, we found happiness, through dread, we found solace, and through hate, we found love. And I know, that our love…is immortal. It'll survive more war, turmoil, and depression, but it'll endure. Not even time can erode our feelings for each other, it's stronger than that."
"Zuko, would you like to recite your vows?" asked Chief Arnook.
Zuko nodded and took a deep breath before speaking, "I had this whole speech prepared for this moment, but now that I'm here…I don't know anything. But all I do know…is you're beautiful. All my life I've been neglected and abused. For a period of my life, I thought that nobody cared if I lived or died except my uncle…until I found you. Our interaction in the cave underneath Ba Sing Se haunted my dreams and lurked in my nightmares. For the longest time I couldn't get that moment out of my head…I couldn't get you out of my head. Even though half of that conversation was an argument, I couldn't believe you actually listened to me. You understood me Katara when no one else could. We bonded through a similar pain and we found comfort in each other. You were there for me in my darkest days and you were there to light the way. And I know…that you'll continue to be there for me. Be there to comfort me, listen to me, understand me…love me. And I'll be there for you too, every step of the way. You deserve that Katara, you saved my life."
"You're pathetic!" whispered Suki as Sokka cried into her shoulder.
"But it's so beautiful!" sobbed Sokka.
"I now declare you husband and wife, bound together in love, you may kiss the bride." declared Chief Arnook.
Zuko stepped forward and removed the veil from Katara's face and looked deeply into her eyes. He knew he found his only one, she was his life.
"I love you." he whispered and with that, he leaned in and kissed her soundly on the lips.
"Zuko come on! I want to be over there before the moon goes down!" yelled Katara as she changed Caleb's diaper.
"I'm coming," said Zuko grumpily as he held little Cristiana's hand, "I still can't believe you're doing this."
"I want to," said Katara as she held Caleb in her arms, "I want my kids to know that forgiveness is important."
Zuko shook his head as he scooped up his giggling daughter in his arms.
"Are you serious? She's only two and he was born three months ago." he said irritably.
"Yes I'm serious. Besides, we need closure as well." said Katara.
Reluctantly, Zuko followed his wife through the palace until they reached a hidden chamber. They walked in, and a marble tomb greeted Zuko's eyes, and inscribed on the tomb was, 'Here lies Marina, princess of the Water Nation'. Katara approached the casket and she removed a pearl necklace from her robes.
"Where did you get that?" breathed Zuko but he didn't need her to answer, he knew whose it was.
"I went back and took it from her body, I can't believe she kept it even after he died." said Katara.
"I don't want that near my son!" said Zuko harshly. "And why would you even have her buried?"
"Because this was her home once, and it still is." said Katara firmly.
Katara ignored him and turned to the casket. Taking a deep breath, she began to speak, "Marina, I'm not going to pretend to understand you, or to make excuses for everything you've done. But deep down, you and I both know that there was some good in you. When you entered my dreams, I saw a little girl crying in your eyes and I knew that she was you, the real you…crying from not being heard, crying from what you've done. Maybe that's why you hated me so much, maybe I saw good in you and you didn't want me to. Did I see good in you that day Marina? If I did, you shouldn't have been ashamed of it, having those emotions does not make you weak Marina, it strengthens who you are inside. Or maybe you saw a little of yourself in me. Maybe you wanted to kill me in order to prevent me from making the same mistakes you did, or maybe you were jealous that I was living out the life you couldn't have." Katara paused for a moment before continuing on.
"I'm holding the engagement necklace that Kalik made for you. This little piece of jewelry proves to me that you loved once, and maybe you could've been capable of loving again given the chance. I'm not going to talk about what could've been because I think you already know that, and I'm not going to mention what is because you know that too. But I will talk about this, you kept that necklace for those years after he died. For three years you carried this with you wherever you went and it shows me what a caring person you really were. So wherever you are now, I want you to now that I forgive you. Goodbye Marina and rest in peace." With that said, Katara placed the necklace on the tomb.
"Come on Katara," said Zuko softly, not wanting to wake his sleeping angel in his arms, "Let's go."
Katara nodded and they made their way back to the palace. After placing Caleb in his crib and Cristiana on her bed, the couple walked to their balcony overlooking the ocean.
"I think watching you do that made me fall in love with you all over again." said Zuko softly as he brushed a strand of hair away from Katara's face.
"She needed to be forgiven." said Katara. "I couldn't just let her die without me acknowledging it."
"I didn't think you would ever be able to forgive something like that." said Zuko.
"I forgave you." said Katara with a smile on her face as she rested her head on Zuko's shoulder.
"I know…and I don't know where I would've been if you hadn't." he said softly.
"I would've anyway, this was meant to happen, it was our destiny." said Katara sleepily.
"Yeah, destiny is a funny thing." said Zuko, remembering the words of his uncle. "This is a perfect ending." he said again, closing his eyes.
"No," said Katara, "It's a perfect beginning.
Katara and Zuko fell asleep that night and they woke to a new day. They lived happily for eighty more years with their children. Cristiana became the most powerful firebender the world had ever seen and Caleb of course became the avatar.
And so ends a tale of war, hate, redemption, forgiveness, and love. A tale of a woman born into happiness and turned to the greatest evil, only to be forgiven in the end. A tale of two young benders born in darkness and hatred, and through forgiveness, fell in love.
Love has the power to reunite worlds and bring happiness. It can survive lifetimes and can even surpass death. It is the light in all dark places when all other lights go out. Love can ignite the stars and raise the sun. And it is always important to know…that love is brightest in the dark.
HERE IS THE LAST CHAPTER!!!!!!!!!!!!! i just want to say thank you too all the readers out there who have stuck by this story to the end. i will be writing more come the summer but this is the only avatar story i will write. thank you so much once again!!!