AN: Oh look, I'm not dead... Sorry guys, to be honest this chapter has been mostly done for a while, but I got a little discouraged since no one was reviewing. I did get one review last time and he expressed that he was rather fond of the 1st person POV. Any other views on that? I liked it too, but I think the present tense was a little too much for me? Anyways, let me know in that REVIEW I know you're going to leave. Lastly, I still don't like the name! This isn't usual for me, I usually know exactly what I want when it comes to titles. So if anyone has any stellar suggestions, please let me know, because I can't just keep changing it. The moral of this message? REVIEW and I'll love you forever. Also, be mindful that I usually write during times of great stress and/or insomnia, so if you see grammar or spelling issues, please let me know, I try to catch them as best I can but sometimes its hard when it's your own work. So if you see something, don't get mad, just let me know and I'll fix them.:)

(Look who I got to do the disclaimer!)

"Yeah guys, the random chick on the internet totally owns ATLA. That makes total sense." – Sokka, the meat and sarcasm guy.

(totes…. Not)

Chapter Three: Fire Ladies

Dear Yue,

I've been in the Fire Nation for a week now. Today your father will be leaving me to sail back to the North, I am sending this letter with him and by the time you read this you will most likely already have set sail for my wedding. I feel bad for your father, it seems he's spent all his time at sea lately. Once all this marriage business is over you must see that he takes a few weeks to relax with your mother.

I hope it gives you some peace of mind to know that my time here so far has not been entirely unpleasant. Capital City is so beautiful, rich with vegetation and the most extraordinary architecture I have ever seen. The skies are always clear and the air is hot and sticky, not at all like the brittle frosts of the arctics. I don't mind the humidity but the heat is too much for my taste, Ama says I will get used to it, but I have my doubts. Ama is in charge of planning my wedding. Although it hardly feels like my wedding. Ursa tells me that all royal brides feel that way. Princess Ursa is Zuko's mother, and she has taken it upon herself to teach me the customs and traditions of the Fire Nation. Today we begin my training in how to be a proper lady at court. I'm not too worried, it seems fairly similar to the rules I was taught when I moved to the north. But, I was never much good at being a water tribe princess either. I am quite fond of her actually, she's been quite kind to me, and she reminds me of my mother.

I still haven't had much time to become acquainted with my future husband, Prince Zuko. Every day Ursa sends us off for an afternoon walk through the garden, but I hardly know anything about him. I'm trying so hard, I'm always polite and kind and try to engage him in conversation, but he's just so cold to me. If this is how our marriage will be I don't know if I will be able to bear it. But I have hope. I think there's something that's keeping him from opening up, and once I get through to him, things will change. We could even become friends. At least, I hope we will, if he ever stops being a jerk that is.

I'm worried about my waterbending. I won't have anyone to practice with, and I'm afraid my skill will stay at the level it is forever, or worse, I will lose all the progress I've made. I have taken up practicing at night, when I can't sleep. I sneak out and go to the turtleduck pond. Turtleducks are the most adorable and charming creatures I've ever seen, you have to visit them when you get here.

I hope your journey here is safe, I can't wait to see you. Also, if you could bring me some blubbered seal jerky and kale cookies I would be very grateful, the food in the Fire Nation is absolutely wretched.

Love, Katara.

As Katara signed the letter she heard Arnook's knock on her door, (he always had good timing like that.) She wished she had the time to write to her brother too, but it's a two months journey from the South Pole to the Fire Nation, and by now he was already on his way here.

She quickly rolled up the letter and sealed it, then hoped up to answer the door.

"I'm leaving now. I was just coming to say goodbye." Chief Arnook wasn't an emotional man, but Katara could hear something like sadness in his voice.

"You'll be back in four weeks right?"

"If sailing is smooth, we should arrive just in time for your birthday. Hopefully your father and brother will be here before that. I know they are both very excited to see you." His words are meant to comfort her. But somehow, they don't.

"I will miss you Master." She surprises him with a hug. It's short lived and she quickly releases him. There's water in her eyes and Arnook silently wondered if his student will be alright by herself.

"Could you give this to Yue when you get home?" She'll be fine. They both silently decide. One because he knows she is strong enough, and the other because she has no other choice.

"Of course. I must be going now. Do you plan on seeing me to the docks?"

"No, I have to meet Ursa for my lessons." She's afraid if she gets to close to the boat, she won't be able to stop herself from climbing aboard and running back to the North Pole.

"Then I'll see you soon. Goodbye Katara."

"Goodbye master."

She was all-alone now.

Zuko sat crosslegged on the edge of the garden wall looking greedily at the pile of freshly baked sweet buns he had swiped from the kitchen. His eyes shined with anticipation and his mouth was moist with salivation. His morning had consisted of a tedious search through the palace library for a book by a strange author; his Uncle had woken him up and insisted he search for. After hours of searching he had finally found it.

The White Lotus: the History and Instruction of the Ancient Art of Pai Sho.

His Uncle had made him spend his entire morning, skipping breakfast and lunch, looking for a stupid Pai Sho instruction manual. And then when he gave the book to him he shrugged that he had remembered the rule he had forgotten and suggested Zuko keep the book, incase he ever needed a refresher in Pai Sho rules. It was safe to say Zuko was never doing anything that crazy man asked again.

He didn't want to waste any time, lifting one to his mouth, ready to finally nourish his starving stomach. He could smell the sweet aroma of the buns, he could taste the-

"So how's the Princess?"

What?

His cousin had somehow popped up next to him on the wall, preventing him from biting into his food.

"Uh, I'm kind of busy here." He sneered.

"Oh come on, I've hardly seen you two since she's gotten here, I know you've been spending time with her. So…?"

Damn it all to Agni. What was with this family? Did the obnoxious gene just drip down from father to son, between his Uncle and his son Zuko was going to snap.

"Seriously, Lu, not the time."

"I was right though, about Watertribe girls being pretty, you have to admit she is quite the beauty, even if she is a little too young for my taste you're one lucky man." Was he trying to make him lose his appetite? If so, it was working.

"You're disgusting, and can't you see I'm trying to eat?"

"Careful Zuzu, too many of those and you'll start to get fat." Azula's voice roamed in. Zuko cringed.

Just. Great.

"Mind your own business would you."

"Oh but I'm dying to know too. What do you think of the lovely Princess Katara?" He was wrong, it wasn't just Iroh's kooky gene's, his whole family was nuts and out to make his life miserable.

"Can I please just enjoy my meal in peace?"

"Oh don't be that way Zuko. We were just curious." Azula pouted her lip and nudged closer to him. Why he could…

"Fine, you guys want to know what I think of Katara? She is the most dull and uninteresting person I have ever met in my entire life. Happy? Now leave me alone."

"Oh come on Zuko, don't be like that, negativity doesn't look good on you." Lu Ten chuckled, dammit why wouldn't anyone take him seriously.

"Well I for one don't understand why you would dislike her Zuzu, I happen to find her just wonderful."

"Of course you do. Azula anything you like must be evil by nature."

"Brother you wound me. And Princess Katara is hardly evil. She's quite the opposite."

"Whatever, its nice that you two are all buddy buddy now but frankly I couldn't give two shits so if you both could kindly get out of my face and let me eat my damn lunch that would be greatly appreciated."

"Temper, Zuko, what would mother think if she heard you using that kind of language. It's so un-princely." He could feel the veins pulsating in his forehead, he shouldn't have to put up with this.

"That's it, I'm eating somewhere else." He jumped off the wall and drudgingly stomped through the garden, the sound of Azula's laughter ringing faintly in his ears.

Being alone had proven to be harder than Katara thought. It wasn't even that she missed Arnook's company, although it would be nice to have a more familiar face around, it was not the loneliness that got to her first. It was the anonymity. Here, no one saw Katara. They saw a princess, or a bride, or a waterbender. The person though, who she was underneath all that, was lost. She just quietly filled the roles and expectations inflicted on her. She wondered if this continued like this, for weeks, months, years, might she too forget who she was?

Her afternoon walks with Zuko were the worst. Over the week and a half that she had known him it had become clear that he simply saw her as the incarnation of all wickedness, with no other purpose than to make his life miserable. It didn't matter what she said or did to try to show him that she meant him no harm. He only responded with cold and callous words, or nothing at all. She couldn't decide which was worse. This resulted with her consistently making a fool of herself by yammering on about anything she could think of, ranging from mildly interesting to completely ridiculous, hoping that something, anything, would spark his interest.

"Do you ever stop talking?" Zuko groaned. In the week and a half that Snow Queen, as Zuko had promptly nicknamed her (not that he would ever call her that out loud), had been in the Fire Nation, she had found a solution to the awkward silences in their conversations. Unfortunately, that solution was to just. keep. talking. The first time he tried to listen. After a minute and a half he realized that everything she said was utterly, and completely, unimportant. She'd ramble on about stupid stories from her whimsical childhood, or pointless thoughts about the random and meaningless things. She probably knew that nothing she said was even remotely relevant or meaningful, but she insisted on blathering on anyways. Zuko couldn't stand it.

"Excuse me?" Katara wasn't even sure she heard him right. It seemed like the kind of thing he would say, but considering he hardly ever said anything she couldn't be sure.

"All you ever do is talk, I'm getting tired of hearing your voice." She suddenly decided on silence. Silence was much better than him opening his mouth. She had known the prince was standoffish, and irritable, she hadn't realized just how rude he was though. No one else was around to reprimand either of their behavior. So she supposed… if he could be rude, so could she.

"Well, at least I'm trying to make an effort here! Although I don't know why, since you've made it perfectly clear you want nothing to do with the person you're supposed to be marrying."

"Maybe if you talked less it wouldn't be so difficult to associate with you." He didn't say it jabbingly, or with any sort of anger behind it, he was calm and uncaring, and it only served to anger her more.

"Then leave. If it's such a burden to be around me, then leave." There was no point in feeling hurt. She knew he couldn't care less about her, and she certainly didn't care what he thought about her. But hearing him speak so ill of her wasn't something she would call pleasant.

"Trust me I'd like to. Unfortunately, not all of us here had a choice."

"Do you think this is easy for me? For the second time in my life I was forced to leave my home, everything I knew and loved, sacrifice the only thing that has ever mattered to me, just to spend the rest of my life in an unfamiliar land, married to a selfish prince who refuses to grace me with even the smallest pleasantries. Do you think that is what I wanted? Do you think that this is how I pictured my life. It isn't. I sacrificed everything. But I refuse to focus on all of that. I'm choosing to make the best out of this. Maybe you should consider doing the same."

"I can't."

Her family.

Her home.

Her bending.

Her freedom.

She gave them all up. And he can't. He can't even try to be nice.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand my situation. All royalty is the same, selfish and completely ignorant to any kind of suffering." She stopped dead in her tracks, grabbing the side of his sleeve, jerking him to face her.

He didn't think she could understand his suffering.

"I have experience more suffering than you could ever imagine. My country, my home, my people were wiped out. An entire civilization wiped away in ash. No one, not even the Northern Tribe would help us. Thousands of people lost to the sins of others, leaving only a few dozen left to remember them. All because of your people's overzealous ambitions. Or did you forget, Prince Zuko. If anyone here is ignorant it's you. You are ignorant to the violence and death and suffering your own family has caused the world, and too selfish to think about anyone's pain but your own. I may be forced to live in this country and cooperate with it's people, but I will never forgive the Fire Nation for what they have done to me and my people. So don't even for a second, think that I don't know about suffering."

"I-"

He was stupid. Stupid and surprised. Stupid because he should have known better to say something that he knew would offend her like that. And surprised because he didn't expect her to defend herself so strongly, to accuse him like that, and after she had been trying so hard to be a good and patient princess. Well, everyone has their limit, and he hadn't really meant to upset her. Well, rather he wasn't purposely trying to do so. She probably deserved some sort of apology.

"Well?" His lack of words only angered her more.

"I'm sorry Katara, I didn't know…"

"No, you didn't care. Good night Prince Zuko." She let him go and walked out of the garden, trying to keep steady until she was out of sight and could run to her room.

Shutting herself inside, she collapsed onto her bed. For the first time since she arrived she allowed herself to cry, tears of anger and hopelessness, and utter disappointment, in Zuko and herself. She had promised. She had promised herself that she would stay strong. That she wouldn't let him get the best of her. She would be just like the poised princess they all expected her to be. But she failed. Allowed her emotions to seep out. It was a mistake, one she couldn't afford to make. For her own sanity. It wouldn't happen again, she wouldn't let it. Tomorrow she would apologize to Prince Zuko, even if he didn't deserve it. But she would apologize, and then she would change, she had accepted this ass her life, she had to learn to live the part, even if that mean forsaking her own emotions the rest of her life.

What she did had been a mistake. One she wouldn't make again. But even so, for the first time since she arrived in this place, she didn't feel quite so lost.

The next morning Ursa's lesson was on how to behave in public. Katara found it bitterly appropriate considering last evening's out lash. She remembered receiving a similar lesson from Arnook when she had first arrived in the North. A banquet had been held, to celebrate her arrival and the strides towards unification between the two tribes, a unification that everyone knew would never come, but none the less, she had gotten around to saying some rather impolite things about Pakku, after which she had received a stern scolding in what was and wasn't the proper way to act and speak in public.

"It's important to always be gracious to your company. Even if they haven't given you much to be gracious about."

"Always show the upmost gratitude and strive to be pleasant and poise at all times. Don't say anything that could offend the other party. Never speak out of turn, recognize and accept your position as a woman. I'm well aware of the role of a lady. Thank you Ursa but I don't think this is a lesson worth covering."

"I know Katara, I don't doubt your ability to behave properly, I just want to make sure you're prepared. When I first came to the capital I didn't have anyone teaching me, and it got me into quite a bit of trouble, I'd like to spare you from that. Besides, I never got a chance to teach my own daughter, Azula was never interested in any of this."

Katara felt an ounce of pity for the woman, Azula seemed utterly disinterested in her and while she imagined that Zuko's relationship with her might have been good at one point, she suspected that this wedding changed that.

"It's nice that you're worrying about me, I just feel like I'm wasting your time and I don't want to do that."

"Katara, I want to be here, I like teaching you, but if you'd prefer my lessons stopped, just say the word." The sadness in her voice broke Katara a little bit. Poor Ursa seemed to just want someone to mother. Seeing as she was the only person she felt had offered her genuine kindness to her, Katara supposed the least she could do was play the role of daughter for a little while.

"No! I mean no, that's not what I want. Sorry for making a fuss, lets continue."

"It's okay Katara, but I think you're right, I don't think I need to be teaching you how to behave in front of others. I hear that the North Pole is even more strict than the Fire Nation when it comes to that."

"It is, especially for women, not like the South at all, but I've gotten used to it over the years." Katara remembered what it was like when she first arrived. The first few months consisted of people constantly gawking and gasping at her, exclaiming how rude and improper she was. Slowly, the rules of the North became ingrained in her, as she was trained to act like a true Northern Princess. Her "properness" was second nature now; it was a quality that she had never been quite comfortable with having.

"Before I was married to Ozai, I lived in a small peasant village, when I moved to the palace it was so different, the way the royal family lives is nothing like what I was used to, there were so many rules and rituals I had to learn. And I was on my own, I was not allowed to contact my family or go back to my home. It was very lonely. I can't imagine experiencing the same kind of change as a mere girl."

"You couldn't see your family?"

"Oh my, I didn't mean to scare you." She laughed. "Of course it will be different for you, since you and my son have equal ranking. You will be welcome to see your father and anyone you choose at your demand."

"I just meant, that must have been so hard for you, being all by yourself."

"I managed, and Zuko wasn't born long after my move to Capitol City, he brought so much joy to my life." Ursa spoke with such fondness of Zuko, Katara almost wondered if they were talking about the same person.

"How has my son by the way? He's hardly speaking to me but I'm assuming your walks have been going well." Katara felt guilt and relief. Guilt because Ursa couldn't be further from the truth, but relief that Zuko had managed to keep their disagreement last night to himself.

"I don't know if I would say that. Zuko doesn't seem to be all that fond of me." She admitted.

"I'm not surprised." Ursa sighed. "He's always been a stubborn boy. I wouldn't take any of it personally, he'll warm up to you eventually."

Katara prayed that she was right.

"Gahh!" Zuko cried. He just couldn't get it right. He tried and tried, but it wasn't right.

"Is that some new type of battle cry you're learning Zuko?" Ursa's voice rang throughout the arena, startling him half to death.

"Mother! What are you doing here?" He exclaimed, pulling off his armor.

"I thought we could talk?"

"I'm not really in the mood."

"You've seemed to give Princess Katara the impression that you don't like her that much." That little blabber mouth. Zuko thought.

"That's not my problem." He huffed as he slid his duo blades into their sheaths.

"Zuko, I know you are still upset about this arrangement but that is no excuse to take it out on Katara, she is sacrificing much to be here and a guest in our home. Not to mention she is going to be your new bride, so it would be wise if you would at least attempt to get along with her." Zuko had to admit, after last night he had a newfound, respect (or perhaps fear) for Katara, but his mother had no right to meddle in his business like this.

"Upset? Mother this goes far beyond being upset. You, father, grandpa, uncle, those Water Nation goons, you all think you own me, selling my life away for a business contract. Father I expected this from, he hates me, but you went along with it, you betrayed me mother."

"Zuko, do you not think if there had been any other way to prevent war I would have fought for it. This is about something far bigger than you. The only one who can control your life is you, not me, and not Katara. I thought I raised you to be smarter than that."

"Stop trying to make excuses for your guilty conscious mother. Now if you would excuse me." He stalked out of the arena.

That evening Zuko and Katara's walk started out particularly miserable, neither of them spoke for the first five minutes. Zuko hated to admit it, he really hated to admit it. But his mother was right. He knew this wasn't her fault. Her parent's maybe, but not hers. And if she hadn't been around they would have found some one else to force this wedding on.

"I'd like to apologize for my behavior last night. It was uncalled for. " Katara broke the silence.

Zuko paused, she was apologizing? He hadn't been sure before but now he knew. This girl was certifiably crazy.

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?" She quizzed.

"I'll admit, I haven't been exactly he nicest person to you." Katara snorted at his understatement.

"What?"

"Oh nothing, what were you saying?" Katara redirected, curious that he might actually say something other than a one worded huff."

"Right, well I know I haven't exactly been easy to get along with . But you still trying so hard, even when I've made it obvious that its not going to work. And when you finally do get angry you come back and apologize for it. When we both know that I'm the one who should be apologizing. I don't understand how someone can be so unnervingly optimistic." So he did know that he had been a jerk. Well at least he wasn't that oblivious, Katara thought.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm trying to be happy."

"What?" Zuko asked, as if it were the most foreign concept on the planet.

"I don't want to be trapped in a cold and loveless marriage for the rest of my life. It terrifies me. I won't let that happen. So it doesn't matter how infuriating you are or how much you ignore and berate me. I'm not going to give up. That's not who I am. I wont let myself be subjected to such a miserable future." Zuko couldn't admit it now, but he realized that she was far wiser than he gave her credit for. And for the first time, he didn't see her as a frivolous little girl, suddenly, only for a brief moment, she was no longer the enemy.

AN: REVIEW? ARE YOU GOING TO REVIEW? YES. YES YOU ARE. OR NO MORE SUPER QUICK MIRACULOUS UPDATES! ….I think I'm going to need to give Yue's mom a name soon. I wont be able to get away with calling her Arnook's wife much longer. If you have a good name, give it to me! (I have an idea, but it's a bad one, involving my headcanon around Korra's lineage. But more on that in chapter 11 O.O)