Chapter 1: A New Reign

Hey guys! I'm back with another story! This one is going to be a little different than the ones I've done so far. In this story, it takes place essentially in the Avatar World, but it's definitely an AU. Basically, instead of there originally being four nations that led to Republic City, the four nations were founded by the first Avatar, Wan, who instead of being reincarnated, simply passed the Avatar Spirit down to his heir upon his death, which would be the next Avatar in what would be the Cycle. And when Wan set up the four nations, he set up Republic City as the supreme ruler and peacekeeper of the four nations. They were all allowed to do whatever they wanted, but he had power over them all and they all revered him like they did to each Avatar in the show. So in this story, the mantle of power has been passed to Aang, and that's where this story begins. Oh, and also, since he wasn't technically raised by the Air Nomads in this story, he has hair, but he still wears Air Nomad Robes. Anyway, thank you guys for reading this long introduction and I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

A long sigh escaped Aang's lips as he listened to his generals' tell him news about each of the nations. They had been at it for an hour already, and he was sure if they kept it going for much longer, he would fall asleep.

Not that he meant any disrespect. After all, he loved all of his people equally, but these meetings were just so boring. He would much rather be hanging out with his friends than be listening about how well the world was doing. He mentally chided himself. It didn't matter how bored he was. He should be ecstatic that all was well with the world.

As the Avatar's heir, he had been groomed for the position his entire life, and knew what came with it. He was still rather sad about his father, Avatar Roku's passing, but he knew that he was back with his love and Aang's mother, Ta Min. And that would just have to be enough.

Finally, after what felt like forever, the last of his Generals concluded their report on the Water Tribes. "And so, all is well within the Northern and Southern Tribes. In fact, we have a fair amount of people coming from the Southern Tribe today."

"Really?" Aang asked curiously. "I thought we already had a good amount of people from there in our city."

"Your city, your highness," the man humbly corrected him, reminding Aang of the enormous responsibility he had on his shoulders. "And yes, sir. Many people from both of the tribes have been here for quite some time, but due to the over-hunting of their local wildlife, more are coming to start over while those who stay will enjoy more balanced resources because of the many that have chosen to leave their home."

Aang pondered this for a moment. He hated hearing about any animals getting hurt, but he understood that there were certain things each of the nations had to do to survive. Not to mention different cultural differences and such. He understood well that this was what made Republic City so great, as when they all came together, they made something that only the Spirits could dream of doing.

The Spirits had once been unified, but that had all changed around the time the Avatar lineage had begun. Now, the Spirits more or less kept to themselves in the Spirit World, but for the most part, Aang had yet to meet one who he thought unkindly of.

Shaking these thoughts from his head, he returned his attention to his general. "Very well. Make sure to receive them with open arms, so that they know they are more than welcome here. All who choose to live here, no matter where they've come from, will be treated with fairness and equality."

"Yes, Sire," the man bowed.

Aang turned to the rest of his generals. "Thank you all for your reports. I am pleased to hear that the world is doing well." He looked them all in the eyes, feeling his leadership instincts come out. "It's because of you four that we have managed to keep everyone at peace. You four prove that even with our differences, we can only be stronger if we work together. Thank you all for your service," he told them with a genuine smile, happy to have such loyal people in his life to help him shoulder his responsibilities.

"Thank you, Sire," they all spoke in unison with a respectful bow.

He smiled and nodded to them. "You may all go back to your rooms. And enjoy your week off! You all earned it!" They smiled and nodded respectfully before they took their leave and left the room, leaving him once again alone. He had been alone a lot, recently.

Once he was sure he was alone, he decided to go to the back of his throne and got into a meditative stance. It helped him to think sometimes, and his throne room was hardly ever used, making it the perfect place to hide from his advisors and assistants. Had it not been for how these positions provided jobs for his people, he would insist on doing everything himself. After all, he loved his people and wanted them to do what they pleased. But he knew his assistants and advisors earned good money from working for him, and he wouldn't deny them that just because he felt silly having a bunch of aides to call on.

He sighed and allowed himself to stop thinking, feeling himself slip further and further into a trance before he felt a hand on his shoulder. Peeking one eye open irritably, he glanced over to see none other than his top advisor, Gyatso. Gyatso had always been like a second father to him, though Roku had been a great father to him as well.

"What now, Gyatso?" he sighed in annoyance as he attempted to go back to meditating.

Gyatso shook him again and Aang finally gave in. "Come now, Aang. You will have plenty of time for meditation later. You know as well as I do that I wouldn't be interrupting your meditation time if it wasn't important." Aang didn't want to admit it, but he knew he was right. Gyatso only spoke to him about his royal duties when it was over something important, so he knew that this needed to be talked about. Nodding, he airbent himself up and followed Gyatso out of his throne room, wondering just what Gyatso wanted to talk to him about.

After a few minutes of walking, Gyatso opened the door to his private study and motioned for Aang to step in, which he did. Shutting it behind him, Aang lit a few candles with his firebending and opened up a window to get some more light in. Once everything had been settled so that there was enough light for them to see, Gyatso sat down at a table, with Aang sitting across from him.

"So…" Aang began awkwardly, wondering just what was so important that Gyatso had to interrupt one of the few times he had the chance to meditate. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Well, as you know, you are not a full-fledged Avatar yet," Gyatso began while pulling out some papers from underneath the table. Aang took a closer look at the papers and his eyes widened in recognition. It was the Avatar Accords. "And although you have mastered all of the elements and have just recently mastered the Avatar State, there is still much we need to do before your coronation."

"Like what?" Aang asked curiously as he peered through the old papers, blowing some of the dust off of the one on the bottom.

Gyatso took the papers from him and shuffled them around until he found what he was looking for, a worn out section that was barely visible to the untrained eye, but Gyatso had read these bylines for as long as he had been working at the palace.

"You have completed most of the requirements that are needed for you to officially ascend the throne, but there are a few that you haven't."

"Which ones haven't I done?" Aang asked in confusion, thinking that he had completed them all.

Gyatso couldn't help but let out a small chuckle, knowing what his young pupil's reaction would be when he heard one in particular. "The first one is that you must announce yourself to the kingdom, but that will come after the other two."

"And what are the other two?" Aang asked warily, getting more and more scared by the amusement written all over Gyatso's face.

"The second one is that you must choose a second in command to carry out your orders throughout the city, someone who would take over for you if you had died before creating an heir to the throne."

Aang thought about it for a moment. Although he loved his friends, he knew that they wouldn't be up to the task. Although he supposed Zuko would be a fine leader, he knew him enough to know that he would struggle with ruling over one nation, let alone four and a large city in the center of the world.

And as for Sokka… well, though he was smart and had the qualities of leadership, the thought of him possibly having the ability to rule the world… It just didn't sit well with him. He could already see him declaring a "Worldwide Meat Day". The thought made him shiver.

So who would he choose? Toph was too headstrong, and if he was being frank, too much like a drill sergeant for his liking. She had been a great Earthbending teacher to him, but he knew that allowing her to rule would essentially be a dictatorship.

Then it came to him. Of course. Why hadn't he thought of it before? Who had been his best friend since he was little? Who had grown up with him and showed him to think outside the box? Who had always had his back and, although being a little… eccentric, would make a great leader?

"Bumi," he finally decided aloud, becoming more and more sure of his decision the more he thought of it. Bumi had always been his closest friend and knew of all of the nations, having spent much time in each. He would do well if Aang ever died too early.

Gyatso smiled and nodded. "Excellent choice, young one. He will serve well as your second in command."

"But he'll still have to answer to you," Aang smiled. "Even if he'll be my official second, you'll always be my actual second."

Chuckling a little, Gyatso nodded. "If you say so, my pupil. Now, for the last matter." He put the papers down and looked Aang in the eye. "For you to officially become the ruler of our nations, you must find a queen to rule at your side."

"Katara!"

Katara snapped out of her thoughts as she leaned against the wall. They had been waiting hours for their grandmother to arrive. Although Katara, Sokka, Hakoda, and Kya had moved to Republic City, her gran-gran had decided to stay at her home, feeling it was where she belonged. She had later changed her mind, however, when resources had grown scarce. Knowing that she wasn't of much help to anyone in the tribe anyway and was just taking precious resources, she had decided to leave her home and move to Republic City to live with her family.

Is she here? Katara wondered as she started searching for her brother through the crowd that had gathered at the docks. She dearly hoped so. It had felt like forever since she last saw her. After all, it was a four month journey from Republic City to the South Pole by boat. They had tried to enlist the help of a friendly Air Nomad in their neighborhood, but her gran-gran had declined, saying she didn't want to disturb anyone for her sake. Katara laughed a little. It was apparent where her family got their stubborness from.

"Katara!" Sokka waved at her from the end of the port. Katara finally saw him and hastily made her way towards him, hoping to finally see her gran-gran. She was disappointed, however, when she saw that it was just Sokka who was there.

Letting out a sigh of frustration, she glared at him in annoyance with her arms crossed. "What do you want, Sokka?" she questioned him icily.

He didn't seem to notice the coldness in her tone and continued on as if nothing happened. "Do you have some money I could borrow? There's this vendor here," he gestured to a stand that appeared to be selling shish kabobs. "It's different kinds of meat on a stick! I can't believe I never thought about that!"

"Fine," she rolled her eyes and handed him some money, knowing he would just be pouty if he didn't get the food he wanted. "So," she continued as she looked around. "No gran-gran yet?"

There was silence as she continued looking around before she realized that he had left to get some food. Letting out an annoyed huff, she looked around and frowned as she saw a familiar face. Although originally thinking he was cute, after getting to know Jet more, she saw exactly what kind of guy he was and had decided to ignore him altogether. He wasn't a horrible person, but she just didn't have any interest in him.

"Hey Katara," he flashed a smile at her as he walked up and leaned against a railing. "What brings you here?"

She rolled her eyes and looked away. "I'm waiting for my gran-gran to get here, so if you don't mind, I'm going to go anywhere but here." She attempted to walk away, but he caught her arm, holding her in place.

"Oh come on, Katara. Don't be like that. Let me just take you out on a date. I promise, you won't regret it," he said in a sing-song tone.

"Sorry, not interested," she replied tonelessly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere else to be." Without another word, she walked away into the crowd, praying that he would just leave her alone. The spirits seemed to hear her, as he didn't follow her as she made her way to the dock. Letting out a sigh of relief, she looked sharply as she noticed a ship coming up to the dock. "Sokka! She's here!" she yelled over the excited noises of the people around her.

Sokka, however, was too busy flirting with a girl in their neighborhood, Suki. They had been flirting with each other for a while, but he had yet to ask her on a date. Not that she really cared at the moment, as it was preventing him from greeting his grandmother that he hadn't seen in quite some time. Walking over quickly, she grabbed him by the ear lobe and gave Suki an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Suki! He'll talk to you later!" she yelled over the cheers.

"No problem, Kat! I'll see you later!" Suki yelled back before walking away, knowing that this was her and Sokka's time to be with their grandmother.

"Hey!" Sokka complained, clearly unhappy from being dragged out of what he had hoped would be the time he would ask her out. "I was kind of in the middle of something!"

Katara rolled her eyes at her brother. "You can talk to her later, Sokka. Right now gran-gran's here." As she spoke, the gang plank of the ship lowered, allowing the passengers to come down.

"Old women first!" their gran-gran chuckled as she walked down the plank.

"Gran-gran!" Katara smiled widely and ran up to hug her, with Sokka not far behind.

"Why hello, my dears," she smiled as she motioned for them to get out of the way of the other passengers who still needed to get out. "It's good to see you again."

Sokka grinned. "It's good to see you too, gran-gran. How was your trip?"

Kanna laughed and started walking, making them attempt to catch up to her. "Oh, you know. About as good as being stuck on a boat for four months can be." She looked at Katara as she continued to walk. "So, this is the great Republic City, huh?"

Katara nodded with a smile. "It's not better than home, but it's still a great place to live. There are so many things here from each of the nations. I'm sure you'll love it," she assured her.

"Well, I would hope so. I did come all this way," Kanna replied jokingly, making Katara and Sokka laugh a little as they made their way back home.

Aang just sat there in silence for a moment, left in utter surprise. His mind couldn't quite process what he had just been told. Though he supposed a part of him knew it would happen, he didn't think it would have to happen this way. He was hoping that he would just find the girl of his dreams one day and made her his queen, but that wasn't going to happen.

"So… I have to… What do I have to do, exactly?" He finally spoke the first words in several minutes, still trying desperately to wrap his mind around this idea.

Gyatso chuckled a little and reached to clasp him on the shoulder. "If you mean how this is going to happen, allow me to explain it to you, young one." Gyatso took the paper and showed it to him, which Aang could just barely read. "According to this, there will be an announcement that you are in need of a queen. The best of each of the nations will be sent to you, and you will get to know them. You will weed out the ones you do not like and by the end of it, you will have your queen."

"But what if I don't like, let alone love any of the girls?" Aang objected, not being very pleased with the situation he found himself in.

Gyatso patted him on the back. "I'm sorry, Aang, but this is how it has always been. This is how we ensure that the ruler has everything he needs to be successful." Aang let out a long sigh as his head slumped forward. "Everything will be alright, Aang. You'll see."

Aang got up, feeling like he needed some time alone to think about all this. "I'm going to go for a walk. I'll be back in a little bit." Gyatso tried to object, but Aang had already left the room. Shaking his head, he started walking out of his palace and decided that he wanted to go through the city. One of the things he loved most about the city was that it was so diverse. So beautiful. You could truly see how all the nations blended together in the beautiful tapestry that was Republic City.

As he walked, he smiled, seeing a group of kids playing not too far away. But then his smile dropped, for he had been recognized.

"Avatar Aang! How are you?"

"Avatar Aang! What are your plans for your new reign and how will you work to improve the world?" a person who appeared to be a reporter came up and asked him. A dozen other people came up as well, all wanting to talk to him. And though he was annoyed by this, he was respectful and polite and answered all of their questions truthfully before making his way out of the crowd.

It was a relief to be out of there. Not that he didn't love his people, but… he knew that the rest of his life would be filled with moments like that. If anything good happened, he would be praised. If anything bad happened, he would be scorned. No matter what he did, people would always be wanting to talk to him. He would never again have a normal life.

Sighing a little, he continued his previous thoughts. He was supposed to be forced into a marriage with a person he barely knew? What was his ancestor thinking? That wasn't how real love worked. Although he wasn't very happy about the arrangement, he decided to put his selfish thoughts aside. He didn't rule for himself, but for his people so that they would have better lives. And if that meant he had to marry someone he didn't truly love, then he would deal with it if it meant that he could continue his work on helping the world.

Just as he finished with these thoughts, he tripped over an unseen rock and was sent crashing forward into a person who let out a shriek of surprise. Once Aang had regained his bearings, he looked down apologetically at the person he had accidentally knocked over.

"I'm so sorry, I-" his breath caught in his throat as he looked down at the beautiful woman before him. She appeared to be from the water tribes, if her tanned skin was any indication. Her face was framed by chocolate-colored hair, and the best part: her cerulean blue eyes. He felt like he could drown in her depths as he stared at her, just barely managing to hold back some drool from escaping his mouth.

Once the girl had regained her bearings, her heart sped up as well as she looked at him. Katara was never one to let a guy leave her speechless, but… she just couldn't help herself. He was gorgeous. His short, jet-black hair complimented his light features. But what really entranced her was his eyes. She had seen many gray eyes from air nomads in her neighborhood, but his were different. They were pure silver, shining so brightly her eyes squinted a little, but she felt that she couldn't look away for anything.

They both remained there in silence, frozen in each other's gaze before Sokka finally decided he had seen enough. "Get off of her!" he commanded, moving to yank Aang off of her.

Katara was somewhat disappointed at this, but she shook it off before standing up. When Sokka finally saw him, he gasped and bowed to him. "Your highness, I'm so sorry. I didn't know it was you."

"Sokka, you know you don't have to keep calling me 'your highness.' We're friends," Aang laughed a little.

"You're still the Avatar," Sokka pointed out. "You could have me hanged just for touching you."

Aang actually laughed. A loud, joyful laugh that made Katara smile. She hadn't heard such a laugh before in her life. She liked it.

"Just because I can doesn't mean I will," Aang assured him with a pat on the back before he turned back to Katara. "Well, I should apologize. I tripped over a rock and stumbled into you. I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely.

Katara smiled and shook her head. "It's okay, your highness. It was an accident." He returned her smile and they stared into each others' eyes for a few moments while Sokka and Kanna watched them curiously. Sokka was contemplating whether to do anything and Kanna was smiling knowingly, having gone through essentially the same thing.

Finally, Sokka had had enough of their staring and decided to step in. "Okay! Well, it was nice seeing you Aang, but we should get going. We've got to get back home. Right, Katara?" he looked pointedly at her.

She was still staring at Aang before she finally snapped out of her daze. "Uh, yeah. We probably should," she agreed, albeit a bit reluctantly. Sokka started dragging her away, but Aang couldn't let it end like that. He needed to do something.

"Um, miss?" he called to her.

Turning around instantly, she looked at him curiously. "Yes?" she replied with a soft smile.

"Uh…" he trailed off with a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. "This is sort of awkward for me to ask, but... " He took a long, slow, deep breath. "I… apparently have to find a queen to rule at my side, and I was wondering if you might be interested in trying out for it?" he asked quickly before shutting his eyes and awaiting the rejection he was sure would be given to him.

Katara was taken by surprise by this. Sokka even more so, and he was about to tell Aang that she couldn't when she spoke up. She had taken this the wrong way, however, making a wrongful assumption. "Why? So you can sleep with me just like you'll be sleeping with everyone else that's 'trying out'?" she shot back with her arms crossed over her chest.

Aang's eyes widened in surprise, unbelieving that she would believe such a thing. "What? No!" He let out an exasperated sigh and rubbed his eyes. "Look Miss, I'm not going to be sleeping with anyone."

She raised a brow at him, not believing him. "Oh please, this is all just an excuse so you can be with other girls before you have to settle down into marriage. I'll have no part of it," she refused adamantly as she turned around again.

Quicker than she had thought possible, he was at her side, trying to stop her. When she saw that he wasn't going to give up, she finally stopped with a frustrated sigh, allowing him to speak.

"Miss…"

"Katara," she told him quickly before motioning for him to continue.

"Katara," he repeated, liking the sound of her name. It was as beautiful as she was. "I don't know what I did to make you think that I only want to sleep with you, but that's not the case. I don't even want to do this 'dating' thing, but I don't have any choice. If I want to ascend the throne, I have to have a queen at my side." He took a deep breath before he trusted himself to speak again. "Look, I'll understand if you really don't want to, but… if you could just come to the palace tomorrow and allow me to have a chance, I'd like to get to know you more."

Meanwhile, Sokka's jaw had dropped during this whole conversation. Kanna was surprised, too, but only at the fact that her granddaughter had made a bad assumption. She knew Katara was independent, but this was not a wise thing to accuse him of.

After a few moments of searching through his captivating eyes, she saw only the deepest sincerity in them, making her realize that he was absolutely serious. He truly did just want to get to know her. This came as a surprise, as regular guys had tried that trick on her before, but with saying they needed help instead of looking for a queen.

Feeling bad for wrongly accusing him, she smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have accused you of being one of those guys."

"It's okay," Aang laughed a little. "I understand where that came from. I might have to find a queen, but I'm not going to use it to get girls to sleep with me," he assured her.

After thinking about it for a few moments, she shrugged and decided to answer his question. "I'll think about coming. I can't promise anything, but I'll think about it." After all, even if she did think he was sweet and rather handsome, it was no easy thing to enter in a competition to be the Avatar's Queen. Assuming she had made it through all the drama that would definitely be a part of the competition, then she would be Queen. She would never again have a normal life. Though she supposed her life had never truly been normal. Still, she needed to think about it before she decided if she would go or not.

Aang sighed disappointedly. He had hoped that she would at least say that she was coming, but he supposed he should have known better. "Okay. Well if you do come, just know that I would love to get to know you more. And though I don't know you very well, I think you would be a great queen." Smiling a little, he bowed to her and kissed her hand, making her blush. "I hope to see you tomorrow, Lady Katara. Good evening." He bowed to her again and took his leave, leaving her still in a blushing daze.

Sokka, having seen all of this and still being surprised, looked at his sister who was still frozen in place. "You're not seriously considering this, are you?" he asked in a disgusted tone. He hated the thought of his little sister with anyone, let alone the high and mighty Avatar who also happened to be his best friend.

Katara finally snapped out of her daze and thought about it. As much as she didn't want to admit it, something about Aang made her heart skip a beat, even if she had thought he was up to no good when he had asked her to try out. And it would be nice to be able to make an impact on the world. But she also knew that every other girl there would be royalty. And although her father had once been Chief of their tribe, he no longer was, making her just a Water Tribe peasant. How could she compete with Royals?

"No, no, no!" Sokka refused adamantly when he saw the wheels turning in her head. "You are not doing this!"

This proved to be unwise to say, as it finally helped her make up her mind. "You know what? I'm doing it, and you can't force me not to," she shot back with her arms crossed over her chest in a defiant gesture. "I'm going tomorrow and there's nothing you can do to stop me." She walked quickly away, leaving Sokka with his jaw on the floor. Horrible thoughts of his sister kissing his best friend flooded his mind, making him shudder before he followed her.

Kanna, however, just laughed in amusement at her grandchildren. She knew this would happen, and she knew that tomorrow would truly be an interesting day.