Chapter 6

Zuko's POV

Sitting in the dining hall with my newest arrivals, I could not help but not contribute to the conversation because I was thinking of the way Katara was treating me earlier.

Why was she so angry with me? Did I say something that could have made her mad at me?

Glancing at her secretly without lifting my head up, I saw that she was sitting there demurely without saying anything until the girl she was sitting next to addressed her. She would place upon her beautiful face a kind smile and have a conversation with the elder lady sitting next to her. She would speak softly and kindly whenever she spoke, and her eyes held a kind of soft glimmer in them.

Why in Agni's name would she be so angry with me? She broke off what little of a relationship we had.

I began to breath heavy and felt a sudden pain in my abdomen, where Azula had shot me with lightning all of those years ago. Yet, even though Katara may have healed me that day, I could still feel the pain at times.

"Zuko are you alright?"

I snapped my head up, only to see about twenty pairs of eyes staring straight at me. Recognizing the voice as Hakoda's, I said, "Yes, I just had some pain from a previous wound, but the pain is gone, so everyone please continue to enjoy your dinner."

All of the people in the room went back to there previous task of eating, except three: Katara, Hakoda, and the girl.

"If you would not mind me saying this Zuko, but my daughter has quite the skill in healing. I am sure that she will be willing to-"

Cutting him off rather quickly, I said, "Oh no, that is fine, the pain flashes every once in a while, but it is rare."

Uncertain, Hakoda said, "Well alright… I guess then if you are sure about it?"

Nodding my head, the matter was dropped quickly. The dinner continued on without any fuss, with dinner soon served right after. All of the men talked with such abrasiveness about past endeavors, bringing a sort of family-like atmosphere. Seeing all of these sailors, reminded me of living out at sea for a little more than three years with my own ship and crew.

Hakoda stood up from the table, with a glass in his hand, "Now with Zuko's permission," I nodded giving him my blessing, "I would like to say that I am happy to be here today with you men and ladies. If it was not for this man, I would not necessarily be here, watching my daughter and son live the rest of their lives. Zuko had rescued me from Boiling Rock a long time ago, along side of my son, saving my daughter in law and I from a lifetime of suffering from torture. I also would like to show my gratitude for saving my daughter from your sister. Katara and Sokka are my entire world, and I can't imagine my life without them in it. I thank you, Fire Lord Zuko of the Fire Nation."

He bowed in deep respect, and then rose to clank his glass with all of the men. I felt a great swell of pride within myself for what I had done to preserve what limited family members they had within their family. Glancing around, I saw that Katara had tears in her eyes, making them glisten in the candlelight. I wanted to go to her and wrap her in my arms, but I knew that she would only push me away and then hate me for the rest of her life.

Quickly replacing the frown on my face, I said to Hakoda, "They were the right things to do. I could not just have left either of you to die, nor did I want to. You do not have to thank me for either one."

The man did not reply, but only said to his men, "My fellow companions, I think it would be best if you went to bed for the night. There is much for us to do tomorrow, and I wish to discuss the proposal with the Fire Lord."

The men all bid the Chief a goodnight and then went up to Katara, kissing her hand and wishing her pleasant dreams. My heart constricted as she blushed at the men's manners, and I only nodded to them as they bid me goodnight.

"Zuko?"

I had barely remembered that Mai was sitting next to me the entire dinner. Standing quietly with her arms crossed, she walked over to me and said, "I think that I will go to bed as well. Hurry back when you are finished."

I only replied with a nod, and she kissed me chastely on the cheek, and walked out behind the men from the room. Then there was only the Chief, his right-hand man, Bato, Katara, and her lady in waiting.

Hakoda, sat down in his seat and bit his lip, as if he was trying to debate on what to say. Bato looked tense about the whole situation, as did the lady in waiting. Katara, however, looked very terse, with her lips pulled into a very tight line.

"Zuko, I know that it may seem that the nations are at peace as of right now, however, the Northern Tribe is still rather angered with the past siege led by Admiral Zaoh, and they still think that although you promise to bring change to the ways of your nation, you will betray us and continue on with the war because you wanted to be the Fire Lord and not your father. Unfortunately, they believe that you only wanted the Ozai defeated, so that you would receive the crown in your own selfish greed. I cannot sway their anger away from the Fire Nation, but they have came up with their own idea of a resolution to the situation."

My eyes went up, and I couldn't help but ask, "Okay, well what may I ask is this 'resolution'?"

He sighed gravely, and I could see that he looked older than he acted right now, "As much as I hate to say this, but there might be no other way. Our sister tribe wishes for a sort of contract or a compromise between the two nations."

"Well, I assure you that we are open to almost any agreement. Whatever they have in mind, I am sure that my council and I will cooperate with them when it comes to brining peace."

"I have talked to the Chief of the Northern Tribe, and he is seemingly insistent on what they wishes to happen. All he ask is for your cooperation with what they want."

He got up from where he stood, and walked over to the window where the full moon had shown brightly in the sky.

"As you are well aware of, seeing as how you were there to begin with, you are well aware of the fact that there were two Water Tribe princesses. Yet, Princess Yue of the Northern had died to protect the world from utter chaos and thus became the Moon Spirit, leaving there to only be one princess."

"Yes, I am fully aware of that, but what does this have to do with the sit-"

"Please, let me finish. It is hard enough to even try to say this, but… the elders of the Northern Tribe would like for the bonding of the two nations by marriage."

I stared hard at the man. Is he saying what I think he is saying, or am I just imagining this?

"With Katara being the only Water Tribe Princess, the members would like for her to be set up in an arranged marriage with a Fire Nation nobleman. They say that if it were not for the fact that you are engaged, that they would be asking this of you. I would have told them no, but I did not want to risk straining the two sister tribes even further than they were in the past. This is why I have come to you."

I stood up; my hands were balled into fists at my sides, shaking in anger. My breathing was starting to becoming ragged, and I looked at him with my nostrils flared.

"Your people wish to force her into a marriage with some noblemen they have never met, with the intent of trying to come into an agreement of peace with us? We could offer to help them with resources, and trading agreements. Did they even ask her what she wants? Did they even take in her consideration?"

Hakoda turned to me quick and glared at me, "Do you think that I would just force her into something that she does not want to do? Of course I asked her, and she said she would be willing to do anything for her Tribe. The only reason they don't marry off some girl from their own tribe is because she may have been born in the Southern Tribe, but she was trained to be a master waterbender in the Northern Tribe. They believe they have some sort of entitlement to have contributed in the training in one of the greatest waterbenders in the world. They think that for her ability and art in waterbending that she is worth a lot of value and that she will be a great benefit to their cause of 'peace'. I only wish that she wasn't so stubborn, but she does not want to have any more war between the two nations or between the two tribes."

I looked over to Katara. She sat there, resolute, looking serious with her expressionless face.

"Katara, are you insane? What about your freedom, or your sense of pride? How can you just sit there looking like… well that? Why won't you stand up for your personal will, and how you won't let them tell you what to do? Where is the girl I knew a long time ago, who fought for what she believed in?"

Katara's head jerked up at the last question, and I could see the storm brewing within her deep blue eyes.

"That girl is gone; she grew up. I am doing what is good for my Tribe, and if that means I have to marry someone of your nation, then so be it. I am not going to sit here and listen to you tell me what to do. I do not care if you are the Fire Lord because you are not MY Lord, and in which case you have no authority over me. It is not until I marry a member of your nation, that I will bow down to you. Yet, until that day, I will only respect you by calling you by your true title, nothing else. I don't tolerate this kind of nonsense, especially from you. Now I will be going to my chambers, come Yori."