Happy Ending

The young woman leaned forward on the railing, looking over the balcony of her home. The sun hadn't risen yet, and she was staring out at the scenery around her. The lush green hills rolled on endlessly. Villages were planted on the peak of each one, the multicolored buildings shining in perfect harmony with one another. She remembered a time when it was not like this: the villages had been only green, or only red, segregated by nation.

But that was all over now. There was no war. The thought of this peace made her glow with joy.

A small moan came from behind her. Within five seconds it turned into a loud cry, making the woman smile. Turning from the railing, she walked into her room and picked the small child out of his ornate cradle.

"Shhh," she cooed, rubbing his back and pacing back and forth, "Mama's here…."

Then she retreated back to the balcony, letting dawn's rays bathe her in soft warmth. With the slow rise of the sun she watched each village awake. Lamps turned on, farmers went out to sow seeds, young benders walked to their temples. In the closest village towards the palace she saw, a young girl gliding through the sky with a shout of joy. That was Kasha, the Avatar's daughter. The woman smiled. The Airbenders were no longer on the brink of extinction, as of the birth of this girl seven years ago.

Suddenly a warm hand was caressing her back. "Oh!" she said in surprise, turning. "I didn't hear you come out, Zuko."

He smiled at her. "Enjoying the sunrise?" he asked, putting his arm around waist.

"Yes," she said, smiling and looking down at the baby boy she cradled. "Little Zuko slept through the entire night. He just woke up minutes ago."

"That's excellent news. Maybe now, without him keeping us up all night, I won't fall asleep in my Assembly of Peace this week."

She laughed. "Well even if you were snoring at the meeting last month, the Assembly still succeeded." She sighed, an almost dreamy smile on her face. "Look," she whispered, "you did all this… you brought us peace…."

"Behind every great Fire Lord," he told her, "there was always a greater Lady." He turned and faced her, stroking her hair. His hand traveled over silky dark hair, then up again to a delicate and simple silver crown. "I love you, Katara…."

----

Katara sighed, eyes closed, enjoying the soft touch of her lover. How did she get herself into this? She was in love with Prince Zuko, her enemy. She was only fourteen, and her own brother didn't know about their forbidden relationship. But she knew it would all end up okay. One way or another, they would have a happy ending.

AN: I came up with this a long time ago, right after I read the ending of RedNovember's THATP. Katara would like to think that it would turn out all right, but I don't think so... I also drew a sucky picture to go along with it, but I haven't even scanned that yet.

Yay for thefirst one-shot I ever posted!

Edit: That picture is now on my deviantART! See profile for link.