Managed to grind out another short update! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Neither Avatar: the Last Airbender nor its characters belong to me, nor will they ever.

Katara had thought this Fire Nation tradition that kept her from seeing Zuko would mean she could spend the next day or two relaxing with her family.

She couldn't have been more wrong.

The minute breakfast was finished she was swept from the dining room—away from her family—and ushered into the last dress fitting. The women that surrounded her fussed about how they should have measured her before she ate for surely now her stomach was full and bloated and the dress' fit would be all wrong. Katara was going to mention she was unable to stomach any food this morning and therefore had not eaten anything for breakfast—if anything the dress would be too tight—but she didn't have the energy. If there were any fit issues the day of the wedding, someone would fix it. These ladies wouldn't let her marry in any state other than perfect.

After the dress fitting, she was run through a rehearsal of the wedding day. It wasn't a real rehearsal though; people just told her what would happen and she gathered they'd tell her what to do the day of anyway.

The rest of her day was spent in the palace spa—she, however, decided that the name "spa" was a farce, for they surely were the palace's torture champers. The work that had been done on her for the wedding announcement when she'd first arrived was nothing compared to what they did well into the night. Katara missed both lunch and dinner with her family as women scrubbed her skin and her hair, massaging different oils and lotions all over her. They scrapped nearly all the skin off her feet and hands trying to remove the calluses. At one point they wrapped her in a giant heated cloth and left her strapped to a table while they all ate a leisurely. The only thing she was permitted to eat or drink was a tea she was told would "cleanse" her; she had thought they meant it in a spiritual sense, as in it would cleanse her spirit, not that it would literally cleanse her internals. She was released shortly before midnight but spent the rest of the night sick in the bathroom.

The next morning she rinsed off quickly, sure she would be forced to bathe again because she could never do a good enough job on her own. Although she was now completely empty, she felt sicker than ever.

Today was her wedding day.

Per Fire Nation tradition, she and Zuko would be married at noon, when the sun was at its highest. In the Water Tribe, a couple wasn't truly married until the moon was at its highest, but she didn't think they'd be observing this tradition.

As if on cue, the minute she stepped out of the bathroom, women barged into her room carrying boxes and cloth she could only assume was her dress. They laid the dress on her bed and the boxes of jewelry and shoes on her dressers and vanity. They immediately shoved her back into the bathroom, forced her into the tub, and scrubbed every inch of her body. Then they pulled her out, dried her and her hair, and sat her in a chair. While some women attacked her hair, others started to work on her face, complaining about the dark circles under her eyes. She didn't say anything in reply, but when her hair and makeup looked finished, she pushed them away and stood. Holding her head up high and trying to make her voice sound as regal and authoritative as possible, she said, "Thank you all for your work and help on this…wonderful day, but now I must ask you to leave. There are…certain Water Tribe traditions I would like to uphold before the ceremony that I cannot do in your presence. Please respect my request. I will be ready when the time comes, but for now, I need to be alone."

Her mini-speech worked. The woman all bowed respectfully, finished up whatever they were doing, and left.

Jien, the last one to leave, stopped at the door on her way out. "My lady…are you sure you do not need me?"

Katara smiled at the caring woman. "I am sure. But thank you, Jien."

Jien smiled and bowed before closing the door behind her.

Finally alone, Katara sighed. And that's when it all hit her. She was getting married today.

Breathing became difficult and the room began to spin. She had to sit down. Suddenly, regretted dismissing the servants. She was now all alone on the morning of her wedding. How had she expected to finish getting ready by herself? She hadn't been lying when she'd said there were certain Water Tribe traditions she wanted to observe, but there was one tradition that would be impossible: that her mother help her get ready. Katara's eyes began to sting as she reached for her mother's necklace. She missed her every day, but today was going to be especially hard, she could tell already.

Her dress was lain out on her bed. It was beautiful. Truly, it was. It was a deep red silk, richly dyed, embroidered with an elaborate golden phoenix rising elegantly from the hem, and chrysanthemums and peonies were scattered across the long sleeves and shoulders. She fingered it carefully. As beautiful as it was, she had always expected to wear blue on her wedding day.

Golden slippers with curled toes sat on a crushed velvet pillow beside the gown, and a matching one held the crown jewels she was supposed to wear. The gold and gems sparkled and shone in the daylight streaming in through the windows. A thick, gold chain, nearly as thick as her wrist and braided like a thick vine, held a ruby the size of a child's fist. A mound of gold bangles sat for her choosing, every design and engraving imaginable present in the pile of gold. There were ruby earrings that matched the necklace, too. It was all beautiful.

And far too much.

There was a knock on her door, and she nearly cried out in relief, frankly not caring who it was. "Come in."

The door opened slowly, and Kanna strode in, followed closely by her son.

"Gran," she sighed, crossing the room to hug and greet them both.

Kanna grabbed her firmly by the elbows. "And why are you not dressed, hm? It is your wedding day, is it not?"

"It is—"

"Come here, child. I have something for you."

Katara looked at her father questioningly, but he just shrugged.

Kanna stood by Katara's bed and ran her wrinkled hand over her wedding dress. "A fine piece. Not Water Tribe, surely, but…." Her set mouth revealed her approval. She motioned for her son to bring the trunk he was carrying over to her. "Now…."

"What is this?" Katara questioned.

Kanna snapped the trunk open. "This," she said, digging into it, "is your mother's wedding trunk."

The younger woman gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "Her wedding…I—I didn't know…."

"I was saving it for you," Hakoda stated quietly. He was staring at the trunk, his hands running over the brass locks reverently.

"It used to be that a woman moved into her husband's house with just one trunk of possessions. Times have changed, and women are permitted far more than one trunk, but the tradition has stuck. This," she said, pulling out a length of powder-blue wool material, "was her wedding dress."

"Oh my…." Katara reached for it with cautious hands. The material was stiff from age and disuse, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

"Your mother's mother and I made it for her. We had to import the wool from the Earth Kingdom, and we spent two weeks dying it." She ran her fingers over the dress. "It still didn't come out the color we wanted, but we'd had to settle. Besides, she made the dress beautiful, not the other way around."

"She was beautiful," Hakoda agreed quietly.

"Just as you will be."

"Oh, Gran."

Kanna was elbow-deep in the trunk once more. She pulled out handfuls of objects. "These are silver," she said, handing her a few bangles, "but the shouldn't clash too terribly with your gold jewelry. Ah, here they are!"

Katara peeked at what Kanna was cradling in her browned hands.

"These…were my grandmother's," she said, carefully handing Katara a palm-full of pearls. "My grandfather spent some time in the Earth Kingdom and came across these in their warmer waters. Women in our family have worn them on their wedding day for four generations. Today, five. I want you to have them, and pass them to your daughter. She may be Fire Nation royalty, but she'll be half Water Tribe. Always remind her of that."

Katara's gaze became blurry with tears. "Gran—"

Kanna held up her hands. "No. No crying. This is a happy day. Now…let us get ready."

"Us?"

"Yes, 'us'. Of course. We will do it as if we were still back home. As per tradition. Did you expect anything different?"

She couldn't answer.

The older woman turned and shooed Hakoda from the room. He looked over his mother's head and sought his daughter's eyes, his own still filled with guilt and a faulted angst. He reached for her, and Katara wrapped her arms around him, as she had always done. They held each other silently; no words were needed.

"I love you, Katara," he told her quietly.

"I love you, too, Dad."

He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head and gave her a final squeeze before dismissing himself.

Kanna led Katara to the vanity and sat her in front of the mirror. She started to brush her hair slowly, taking great care in her steady, methodical strokes. "You are so beautiful, my granddaughter."

Katara caught the older woman's eyes in the mirror. "Gran-Gran, I know I'm not supposed to cry, but—"

"I know, child. I know. Please believe me when I say this is not how I ever pictured your wedding day, for I have been envisioning it for as long as you have, I am sure. You mother is not here with us; we are not in the South Pole, but the Fire Nation, of all places; and you are not marrying a nice Water Tribe warrior. I know, child. But take heart, my sweet granddaughter. The spirits will bless you in your obedience and sacrifice; know that they will."

Katara's eyes were stinging terribly. "But Gran—"

"I had a dream last night, and I pray it was a vision from the spirits. You are happy with your husband, and the two of you will share a love unlike any this world has ever seen. And you give me beautiful grandchildren." Kanna sniffed and wiped at her own tears. "I have faith in this vision."

"I hope you're right," Katara said with a shaky breath.

"Of course I'm right. I am your grandmother." She kissed the back of her head. "I love you, Katara, and I'm so proud of the woman you have become."

"I love you, too, Gran-Gran."

Kanna squeezed her shoulder. "I suppose we should get you ready then, hm?"

Katara laughed breathlessly and wiped at her face. "I suppose."

Together, they got her ready for her wedding. Kanna did Katara's hair and respected her decision not to take off some of the makeup. She helped her carefully step into the dress and tied the sash around her waist as Katara did the buttons that rose to the collar. She helped her slip on the bangles and put on the heavy earrings and necklace, tucking her mother's necklace beneath the collar of her dress. After slipping on the gold shoes, she stood and crossed the room to look into the full-length mirror.

The sight took her breath away.

She looked like a Fire Lady. Truly, she did. She looked regal and rich and powerful.

The thing that saddened her, however, was that she did not think she looked like Katara, at least not the Katara she thought she was.

But I'm not that girl anymore, am I?

"Beautiful," Kanna crooned. "Absolutely beautiful. It's almost time, now. You ready?"

Katara fisted her hands at her sides and looked down at her grandmother. "I…I'm scared, Gran. I-I don't…. Oh, Spirits, I'm so scared. I'm going to be sick."

Kanna took her hand and led her to one of the lounges. Moving was hard as the intricate dress was heavy, but the world stopped spinning so as she sat down.

"Gran, I can't get married. I'm not ready."

"Most Water Tribe girls are married by sixteen. You know that."

"Yes, but…I'm not ready. And I'm not ready to be Fire Lady. And I'm not ready to be married to…to Zuko. I—I can't—"

"I know it's scary, dear, but you are strong."

"No, Gran, you don't understand. I don't love him. Am I…? Will he expect—" She broke off, unable to complete her thought.

Kanna's eyes widened with understanding. "Oh, dear. Katara, you must remember that the Fire Lord is first and foremost your friend, and he has been for some time now. Do not worry about such things. If he does expect anything of you, trust him to be kind and understanding; that's all you can do."

Katara looked stricken. "That—that's all you have to say? 'If'? 'Trust him'? He's a man, Gran—"

"And you are a woman now, Katara," she stated simply.

Folding her arms across her chest petulantly, she huffed, and her face grew red.

A knock on the door prevented any further discussion. Kai, Sun, Qi Na, and Aeza entered gracefully, clothed in fine red silks, and a few armed guards in their dress uniforms stood behind them.

"It is time, Lady Katara. We will escort you to the coronation temple."

"What about Gran? And my family—"

"We are walking over together and will meet you there."

"No—"

"As per tradition." She placed a hand on her granddaughter's cheek. "Do not worry, child."

Katara could only sit there complacently as she watched her grandmother shuffle out of the room. Jien and the others touched up her makeup and showered her with words of her beauty and grace.

All she wanted to do was cry.

Finally, they made their way down the halls of the palace. The soldiers walked on every side of them, forming a barrier, and the women were holding the hem of her dress, helping with the heavy burden. Their walk was slow, but Katara thought it would never end. They were supposed to walk to the main doors of the palace where a palanquin would pick her up and parade her through the streets on the way to the coronation temple. She was to travel, alone, as citizens showered her with flower petals and grains of rice for good luck.

She hated the idea of being alone—she was still dreaming of being awakened from this nightmare—and she hated the thought of being fussed over.

So she was getting married. Did it have to be the whole world's business?

She knew how ridiculous that sounded. She wasn't just getting married, and she knew it. She was Katara, the famous waterbending master, and her groom was Zuko, the Fire Lord who'd ended the hundred-year war and brought peace to the remaining three nations.