Who is this woman who stares back at me from the mirror? Her blue eyes are somber, her dark skin flushed. She wears the traditional robes of the fire nation, and a small crown rests on her top knot. She is beautiful, but she is foreign.
Gone is the blue of the water tribe, replaced by hues of deep red, fur replaced by silk. Her face is painted- Kohl lines her eyes and rouge stains her cheeks, both substances that are uncommon in the South Pole. She looks out of place in the red that cloaks this country, and the calluses on her hands snag at the delicate fabric that she wears.
She looks lost, and more than just a bit lonely.
I take a deep breath and wrench my gaze from my reflection, unable to face the fact that this stranger is who I will become. Fire Lady, wife to Fire Lord Zuko.
The concept is so foreign to me, even now on my wedding day. I will be a queen, and with that title come great rewards. I will never want for anything; my children will be granted security and a life of peace in this strange new land. I will be with the man I have loved since I was but a girl of fourteen.
But I will lose my ability to travel; to roam the globe with Aang, Sokka, and Toph. It would not be fitting for a queen to ride on a beast such as Appa, nor to slap those who insult her friends with a stream of water. I will have to guard my every word, making certain not to speak my mind when I wish to do so. I must rule the people of this country with the tenderness of a mother while they whisper about me when they believe I cannot hear.
To be with this man, I must give up everything I love.
As my father comes to retrieve me, I have to wonder…
Is it really worth it?