A/N: Whoo! Actual first chapter! Yay! Again, go check out my deviantart account, Crzy4Avatar, to see my fanart for this fic! Drawings of characters and stuff. :D I'm really excited about this fic, guys. Really excited. Whoo! Review at the end, even if you've already reviewed, review again! (I like to see what people think chapter to chapter!) Second chapter coming soon!

"Child of Fire"

Katara looked at her newborn daughter proudly. She was beautiful. She was perfectly healthy for a baby that had been born a month early. Her cheeks were a rosy pink, and her hair was a deep chocolate brown. There was only one problem... The girl's skin was practically as pale as the snow falling outside the igloo, and her eyes were the color of golden amber. If anyone in the South Pole was unsure about the child's father, it would certainly be clear to them now. She hadn't told anyone who the father was, not Sokka, her dad, or even Aang. Her father, surprisingly, was the only one who respected her privacy, while everyone else bugged her about who the father could possibly be. She had been hoping the baby would take after her, tan skin and blue eyes, but now her plan of not telling anyone what had actually happened was thwarted. Her daughter was part Fire Nation, and now there was no way to deny it to anyone.

Looking at the cooing infant, all she wanted to do was run away; bring her somewhere they wouldn't be known, and could live in peace. She'd never actually do that, but she certainly wanted to. Just as she was about to get lost in her thoughts, Sokka and her father came into the igloo, smiling. Katara was a little hesitant to show them the baby, but finally sat up fully, giving the two men a better look. The infant looked at them curiously, her large golden eyes moving from her mother to the two warriors standing by her.

"She's Fire Nation..." Sokka mumbled, as if it was something horrible.

"How can you tell?" Hakoda asked, the view of his granddaughter slightly blocked by Sokka's head.

"Her eyes, look." Sokka frowned. "And her skin, it's as pale as snow! Katara, how did this happen?"

"Sokka!" Hakoda grumbled. "It doesn't matter! The Fire Nation isn't the enemy anymore." He glared at his son, giving him a silent, but stern, message.

"Who is he?" Sokka asked, his voice kinder now. He knelt down next to the mat Katara was laying on, and looked at his sister worriedly.

"It's none of his business, Katara. You don't need to-" Hakoda began.

"It's Zuko." Katara looked down at the baby in her arms.

"The Fire Lord?" Hakoda's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"I didn't even know you two were ever together." Sokka's anger turned into concern. At least he knew who the father of his new niece was.

"I don't want to go into the details now, Sokka." Katara looked away.

"Well... Does he know?" Sokka asked.

"No, and I won't tell him."

"Okay." Sokka nodded. Clearly, something had happened between his sister and Zuko that she didn't want to share. "She is really pretty..." Sokka quickly changed the subject, a goofy smile forming on his face.

"She is, isn't she?" Katara's angry frown slowly turned into a proud smile.

"What's her name?" Hakoda asked, putting his hand on his 18-year-old daughter's shoulder.

"Roku. Her name is Roku." Katara said softly.

"Like Avatar Roku?" Sokka said, confused.

"It's a girls name too, you know." Katara gave her brother a quick glare.

"Yeah, I know, but what made you pick it?" Sokka asked.

"I'll tell you someday." Katara sighed. "Now isn't the time."

"Hello Roku." Hakoda grinned, wiggling his finger in front of the infant's face. Roku quickly grabbed it with both of her tiny hands. "What are we gonna have her call me?"

"I thought I'd just have her call you Papa." Katara said. "Suki used to call her grandfather that, and we both agreed it would be appropriate for Kya and Roku to call you the same." She was referring to Sokka and Suki's daughter, named after their mother, who had been born several months ago.

"Fine by me!" Hakoda laughed.

"I didn't agree to that!" Sokka protested.

"No, you would have come up with something like PawPaw." Katara growled.

"Hey, I like PawPaw!" Sokka folded his arms across his chest.

"Alright, Sokka, we've bothered her enough. Let's leave them alone now." Hakoda grabbed his son's shoulder, and pulled him out of the igloo. Katara could hear Sokka begin to whine in protest. She rolled her eyes, and found her sight once again on Roku.

Katara was glad to have a moment alone with her daughter. It gave her time to think. The baby looked up at her, her golden eyes reminding her of Zuko's. A thought in the back of her mind bothered her suddenly... How am I ever going to look at her and not think of him? Katara knew it was a horrible thing to think about so soon after welcoming her daughter into the world, but she couldn't help it.

She didn't hate Zuko, far from it. She still loved him with all her heart. But she had left him for the well being of the child she now held in her arms. The last thing she wanted was to be seen as 'the woman who ruined the Royal Family bloodline', since she, herself, was a waterbender, and was likely to have waterbending children. Of course, Katara was unsure about Roku's possible bending ability. After all, most waterbenders, herself included, were born in the winter, and it was currently the end of the summer. The likelihood that Roku would turn out to be a waterbender was slim. She was probably going to end up being a firebender, just like her father.

Katara frowned for a moment. She couldn't even imagine how difficult it would be to raise a firebender in the South Pole... She would never forbid Roku from using her bending, so all Katara could do was hope that she would turn out to be a waterbender after all...

Zuko absentmindedly walked through the main hall of the palace. He no longer noticed the empty spaces on the wall where the portraits of Sozin, Azulon, and Ozai once hung. Since he began his reign as Fire Lord, he had everything that related to the war removed. He had hoped it would help begin a new era of the Fire Nation. It was impossible, however, with what was currently happening. There had always been people who opposed Zuko becoming the Fire Lord, people who still believed that Sozin, Azulon, and Ozai had been right to try and control the world. They were being called 'Ozai Loyalists'. There had been an increased number of attacks by them on small villages inside the Fire Nation within the past three months, and the people of the Fire Nation were living in fear, and most wanted to fight back. Zuko knew it could only lead to one thing. Civil war.

The loyalist numbers were growing every day. Zuko had no idea of how to find them, since there seemed to be a dozen separate groups scattered across the continent. He felt powerless against them, they picked villages to attack randomly. There was no way of knowing where they would strike next. The loyalists never killed more than six people in each attack, and most of the victims were men. Zuko thought it was a strange number, but people were dying, and he had to find a way to stop it. He just didn't know how.

As if the impending civil war wasn't enough, the Fire Sages were now on him about finding a wife. Katara had only left almost seven months ago, and they were already bugging him about finding someone else. He just didn't want to. Not yet. For once in his life, he was holding onto hope. The hope that Katara might come back. He still couldn't believe he had fallen for her so quickly, and still loved her so much. It was very uncharacteristic of him, and he had no idea of how it happened. He knew it was his fault that she left. He had asked her to be his Fire Lady after they had been together for a little more than a month. It was too much, too soon, and Zuko regretted ever doing it.

A/N: I'm not sure I like the way that ended, but I couldn't think of anything to put. Hmmm... Tell me what you thought! :D