Alright, second chapter. Have at it, let me know what you think.

XXXXX

Katara glanced at her brother, who hadn't moved from his spot in the past hour. Curious, she asked, "Soka, what are you doing?"

He glanced up at her and smiled, stretching out his arms over his head and letting out a groan of relief. "I'm almost done with it. Think Yue will like it?"

"Like what?" Katara leaned over his shoulder. In his gloved hand sat a pendant of carved bone, a delicate design etched into it. Soka smiled with pride at the look on his sister's face. "Soka…it's beautiful," she breathed, touching her own necklace given to her by her mother. "Does this mean…?"

"Yeah, I'm going to propose to her after the war meeting."

Katara met her brother's eyes, and she couldn't stop the giant grin spreading on her face. "Oh, Soka, that's wonderful!" She hugged her brother, laughing, eyes tearing up with happiness.

xxxxx

"Sir, a messenger from the Fire Nation is here. He says he bears news straight from the Fire Lord."

Murmurs broke out across the room, people glancing around, confused.

"Let him in."

A soldier in Fire Nation uniform strode into the room. Men all around the table tensed, glaring at their enemy. The soldier seemed undaunted, face a perfect mask of emotionless, and opened the scroll in his hands. Reading aloud, he announced, "The Great Fire Lord Ozai, son of the late Fire Lord Azulan and late Fire Lady Ilah, brother to Iroh, father of…" He continued on, but Katara and Soka, who were sitting next to each other, shared glances and rolled their eyes at this pompous display. "…is mercifully offering to cease all attacks, remove all soldiers from the battlefield—"

Everyone around the war room sat up straight, now interested. Never had Ozai offered anything of the sort, but what was the catch?

"—in return for the hand of the Water Tribe Princess in marriage."

A ripple of shock rushed through the room. Katara stared at the soldier, and then whipped her head to look at Soka. He sat rigid in his chair, fists clenched, looking as if he was about to throw up. Katara then followed his gaze to Yue, whose face had lost all color. Everyone in the war room was staring at her, waiting for a reaction. Even her father, who was sitting by her side, looked too shocked to say anything. Yue glanced down, looking absolutely terrified. She licked her lips, glanced at Soka.

Katara immediately saw what Yue was thinking. She had a duty to her people. How could she put her personal happiness before thousands of lives? She had to agree. Yue swallowed, then raised her gaze up to the soldier.

Katara burst from her chair. "I accept!" she announced, standing up tall, staring down the solider. "Tell Ozai that Katara, Princess of the Southern Water Tribe, accepts his offer. I will agree to marriage if I find the terms agreeable."

Only the Fire Nation soldier moved. He turned to Katara and bowed deeply. All the others in the room were dead quiet, staring at Katara, absorbing what was happening. Sokka and her father, both on either side of her, openly gaped at her.

Katara didn't look at the soldier. She kept her eyes on Yue, who was watching her with eyes full of tears. She bowed her head for a moment, and then looked back at Katara. "Thank you," she mouthed silently, a single tear slipping down her cheek. Katara gave her a small, sad smile back.

xxxx

Katara eyed her accommodations with distaste. It was spacious enough, sure, and provided all the necessities, but it didn't look at all inviting. Cold, metal walls, the eerie red light—it reminded Katara of Firebenders themselves, and that wasn't a good thing. Cold hearted, cruel, and unyielding, the whole lot of them.

"As you can see, the crew has placed your personal items beside the bed. Let me know if you needing anything else," the captain behind Katara said. "I'll be on deck."

"Thank you," she murmured, not looking at him as he left. Jee was polite enough, but he was still fought for the Fire Nation.

Katara sighed. She had originally thought that she could merely spend her time in her cabin, but if she stayed in here it would likely drive her insane. Looked like she would just have to bite the bullet and actually socialize with the crew.

Being out in the open felt much better than confined inside the claustrophobic corridors of the ship. Katara took a deep breath of air, closing her eyes. At least on this journey she would be with the sea, always able to draw from it for strength.

"Ah, there's our Lady of the Water Tribe!" Katara blinked and saw Iroh waving at her from across the deck. "We were worried that you were hiding from us!"

Katara couldn't help herself, she liked the man, Fire Nation soldier and all. It was impossible not to, with all his simple charisma and happiness just oozing off him. Smiling, she walked over. "What are you up to?"

"We, my lady, were just discussing that. I believe, since it your first night aboard, we should greet you with a night of entertainment. My nephew here, however," Iroh elbowed Zuko playfully in the ribs, making him scowl, "doesn't approve."

"What sort of entertainment?" Katara asked, curious.

"It's music night," Iroh told her. "The crew loves to get together and perform. I'm certain they would be happy for the chance to play for you."

"Oh?" Katara was surprised. She certainly hadn't expected that. "That, um, sounds interesting."

Iroh apparently took that as encouragement, and in no time at all the available crew was out on the deck, some sporting their own instruments. Iroh himself had somehow procured a tsunagi horn. The crew assembled in a haphazard circle, settled down, and began to play.

Katara was amazed. Not by their skill—no, definitely not that—but at what they were doing. Music was…just something she didn't associate with the Fire Nation. It was such a leisurely pastime…a form of art, not of war. She watched as Iroh happily bawled out lyrics and the crew worked their instruments. They looked content, happy.

This didn't go with her idea of the cold-hearted Fire Nation at all. As Katara listened, mesmerized, she began to feel slightly ashamed of herself. It was true that the Fire Nation did horrible things, but it was still made up of many different people. And to throw all of them in a pile listed "EVIL" was close-minded. Just as there were bad people from the Water Tribes, there could be good people from the Fire Nation.

A small, fragile hope blossomed in Katara. Not for her, she knew that there was no hope for her—but for the future. Perhaps this generation would be ruled by war, but Ozai wasn't immortal. He would eventually grow old and have to give up his rule. Maybe then the world would be able to heal after that.

Her gaze drifted over to Zuko. He stood apart from the crew, looking surly and annoyed. For the second time that day Katara stared at him, assessing. It was hard to imagine this boy—her own age!—at the head of the Fire Nation. She knew next to nothing about him. Was he as power-crazy and destructive as his father? Or would he break the cycle of violence his father had created?

As if heard her thoughts, Zuko looked up and met her gaze. His look was challenging, just as assessing as hers had been. Katara did not look away and the two studied one another. It was a strange relationship they were entering, neither sure of who held the power.

The moment was broken as Iroh finished his song with a flourish of the tsunagi horn, dipping his head in mock bows to his audience. Katara turned her attention back to him and smiled, clapping along with the others. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Zuko turn and leave the deck.

"Well, Water Princess? What did you think?" Iroh asked.

Katara grinned. "I was pleasantly surprised."

"Well then, why don't you join in the next one?"

The crew chuckled as Katara waved her hands and said, "You know what, I think it's time for me to turn in."

xxxx

"What the hell were you thinking, agreeing like that? We need time to discus this, and you just ran along and accepted the offer?"

Katara held her head high. "What was I supposed to do, sit there gaping like all of you?"

The Northern Water Tribe Chief glared at her. "That isn't the point. You have no idea what—"

"Don't you think I know it's a trap?" Katara demanded. "It's Ozai, of course it's a trap! We all know that he was talking about Yue, not me. He wanted her for a reason, and now he can't have her."

Yue glanced up at her from the shelter in Sokka's arms. "But Katara, we still don't understand his plan."

Katara shook her head. "It doesn't matter. If we had refused, the Emperor would have retaliated. At least now we have time to figure out what to do. It will take time for negations to be worked out. Hopefully the Fire Nation will cease attacks for now."

"We have no promise of that, other than Ozai's word," one of the general's sneered. "That hardly counts for anything."

Katara clenched her jaw. "Yes, I know that. But there's a chance he keep to his promise, at least for a while. We all know that this is some sort of trap. But so long as we agree to his terms, we have time to prepare and figure out what is going on."

"At what expense? Your freedom—your life?" Katara's father demanded, making her flinch. He grabbed her arms and forced her to face him. "I already lost your mother to the Fire Nation—I won't watch my daughter being handed over to the enemy."

Katara was trembling inside, but she squared her shoulders and shook off her father's grip. "You can't stop me. If I don't go, the Fire Nation will continue attacking. More husbands will lose their wives. More children will lose their mothers. People will continue to die. Any time our people spend in peace will be worth it—I don't care if it's only a week that Ozai holds to his word, it's a week that families can spend together without fear of being ripped apart."

xxxx

Katara woke up to the bleary light of dawn filtering in through her window. She sat up, stiff from sleeping in a strange bed, then got up and dressed.

There was little activity going on that she saw as she walked down the corridor. The galley was just about empty, but Iroh was sitting down at a table eating from a bowl in front of him. Katara walked over and sat across from him.

"Lady Katara, what a pleasure to see your face first thing in the morning," Iroh smiled. "Would you like a bowl? The cook makes a lovely almond and peach porridge."

Katara shook her head. "Thank you, but no. I was hoping to speak to you."

"Oh? About what?"

Katara took his open face, debating if she was right for trusting him. She knew little about him, but already she liked the man. She could sense he had a good heart. "Serious matters. Relationships between our people. What's to come in the future."

Iroh nodded, his face becoming serious. "I see. Why don't you join me in my quarters." He pushed aside his bowl and led Katara to his room. Once he had closed the door behind him, he turned to her. "You may speak freely, without worry. There are no eavesdroppers here." His demeanor brightened, and he motioned towards a table in the middle of the room. "Please, make yourself comfortable. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have."

Katara thanked him and sat down, folding her legs underneath her. Iroh picked up a tray and set it down in front of her, then settled down himself. "Now, tell this old man your worries."

Katara was silent for a moment as Iroh picked up a kettle and poured water into a pair of cups. Her eyes traveled around the room, taking in the large Fire Nation tapestry over his bed. "You love your country, don't you, General?"

"Iroh, if you please. And yes, I do love my country, very much."

Katara sighed. "This is very strange for me. All this time, the Fire Nation has been faceless, made of soldiers who threatened my people. But now…I'm realizing that the Fire Nation is made of individual people who have their own lives and families."

Iroh nodded, giving her a small smile. "It must be very confusing for you. War is a very confusing time." He offered her a cup. "Have some tea. It's my own recipe." Katara took it, blowing steam off the top. Iroh continued. "My people love their country. In school they are taught that it is the greatest in history, and are told that what our army is doing is to share our greatness with the world." Katara didn't interrupt him, but she could tell that he didn't completely agree. "I can understand your feelings towards my people, but you must understand, not all of them are soldiers." He met her eyes. "Many of them are peaceful citizens, who lead honest lives and love their families. They do not see the destruction on the front lines. They do not hear the gristly war stories, they are only told about great victories over our barbarian enemies.

"I know what the other nations think of us. And I know how much you must hate my country. But please, if only for your own sake, try to accept them. This…marriage," he said the word reluctantly, "that you have agreed to will only be harder if you believe that all my people are monsters."

No, only a few, Katara thought, though she didn't dare say it. Ozai was front and center in her mind. Thinking that she should respond, she said, "Thank you. It does help me when I remember that the Fire Nation is made of people, too, just like my own."

Iroh watched her. Still, her unhappiness was evident. It twisted his heart to see such a beautiful young woman looking like she had lost everything.

After a slight hesitation, he reached across the table to gently touch her hand. When Katara looked at him, surprised, he said, "This will also be hard on you if you try to keep all your feelings inside. I understand the position you're in, and that you don't want to show weakness to your enemy, but please…no one on this ship expects you to be happy about this. And this old man will soon be your brother. It will cause you no harm to be honest in front of me."

Katara blinked back sudden tears. His generosity meant more to her than she could of have ever imagined. It looked like she might have a least one ally in this trip to hell. Katara squeezed his hand. "Thank you."

XXXXX

Before any of you mention it, I want to point out that Katara isn't quite herself for a reason. She's struggling to keep her opinions and personality from the others because she isn't sure what kind of impression she wants to make on them yet.

And before you mention this also, I'm aware there's no ZuzuKatara going on yet. All in due time, my pretties.