Story is set in the Avatar Universe, but pretty much dismisses the content of seasons 1-3. The relationship between Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark is interesting to me, so I wanted to write an Zutara fic inspired by their story. Zuko (Rhaegar), Katara (Lyanna), Sokka (Ned), Jet (Robert), etc.

Since this is an AU, things will be different, such as certain traditions. The Avatar world is run GoT style, with Firelord Ozai (similar to King Aerys) having power over the four nations. There is a lot of tension, but most accept the fact that Ozai is their king (the ruler of their rulers is one way to explain it).

Disclaimer: ATLA, ASOIAF, and their characters belong to their creators, not me.

Chapter 1: Duty

"Katara!"

The familiar sound of her brother's voice caused Katara to look up from the waterbending scroll she had been studying. Sokka was making his way towards her, trudging through the deep snow.

The Southern Water Tribe had experienced a heavy snowstorm last night. While most of the villagers had stayed warm inside their homes throughout the storm, Katara had been outside, attempting to bend the rapidly falling snow around her so that she stayed dry. It had been difficult, but Katara welcomed any opportunity to practice waterbending outdoors without the prying eyes of other people on her.

"Nice little snow cave you've got there." Sokka arched an eyebrow at the tiny snow shelter that Katara had created as a place to study her waterbending scrolls in peace.

Katara smiled up at him. "How else am I supposed to hide from the villagers?"

"Better try to create a better hiding place. It took me less than a minute to find you. Then again, maybe I just have amazing tracking skills." Sokka looked very pleased with himself.

"I wasn't trying to hide from you. You always manage to find me eventually, anyway." Katara shrugged.

Whenever Katara had the chance to, she would sneak away from the village to practice bending. Sometimes she would travel for miles, searching for a spot that was far from any fishermen or anybody else. Sokka would often find her and join her, giving her waterbending tips that he had heard from his friends and practicing his swordfighting. Sometimes they would sneak out to practice together, saving Sokka the time and effort to look for his younger sister.

In the Southern Water Tribe, the women who were waterbenders were only allowed to use their bending for healing purposes, never to fight. Katara thought that it was horribly unfair. While the male waterbenders were taught how to fight and defend using their ability, the women were limited to sitting in healing huts and being closely supervised as they practiced healing on a dummy.

While Katara understood the importance of using waterbending to heal and respected it, she still wished to learn and train as the male waterbenders did. If female waterbenders were taught how to fight and protect themselves and others using waterbending, wouldn't there be less injuries to heal?

"I wonder what would happen if someone actually caught me practicing water whips. What could they do to the chief's daughter, anyway?" Katara wondered aloud.

"They would tell Dad, and you would still get in trouble. Especially if they find out you stole all those waterbending scrolls," Sokka replied, crossing his arms.

"It's not stealing, it's borrowing! I always return them anyway!" Katara protested with a laugh.

Sokka pointed to the waterbending scroll still in Katara's hand. "That is stolen property right there!"

Rolling her eyes, Katara changed the subject. "What are you doing here, anyway? Don't you have future-chief-of-the-tribe duties?"

Sokka's expression turned serious. He hesitated, and Katara knew that he was debating how to tell her whatever news he had.

Finally, he spoke. "Dad has arranged a marriage for you." He watched as Katara's expression darkened, but he knew she wasn't surprised.

As the daughter of the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, she had a duty to marry whomever her father chose for her. The purpose of this was to strengthen the tribe through strengthening their alliances. It was common for girls to be betrothed once they turned sixteen, and Katara was already eighteen.

"Who is it?" Katara braced herself. Her father was a wise and good man, but what if his judgment was clouded by his intention to make a strong alliance?

"Jet, the son of the ruler of Gaoling. He's a friend of mine. I met him when I visited Gaoling years ago. Their family is really wealthy." Sokka paused, noticing his sister's unenthusiastic expression. "Don't worry, he's a handsome guy. Not as handsome as me though." He grinned as Katara rolled her eyes.

"Is he a bender? An earthbender?" Katara asked. Gaoling was located in the Earth Kingdom and was known for holding earthbending tournaments.

"No, he's a non-bender. He's a really talented fighter. He's known for his skill with hook swords."

Katara mulled over Sokka's words. He's not a bender…would he understand my passion for waterbending? Then again, Sokka also isn't a bender and he understands me completely.

Letting out a sigh, Katara leaned back against the wall of her little snow structure. "You already know that I dislike not having the freedom to choose…but…it's not like there's anybody else for me." At the moment, Katara wasn't interested in anyone romantically. All of Sokka's friends treated her like a little sister. The other boys she knew who were around her age were either too immature for her or were already betrothed.

Sokka nodded. "You have a point."

"And…" Katara went on. "I knew this would happen eventually. It's my duty. It will benefit the tribe." She seemed to not just be talking to Sokka, but also seemed to be reminding herself of these facts.

Katara truly wanted the best for her tribe and her family. She knew that her arranged marriage would create an alliance that would benefit herself, her betrothed, their families, and everyone else around her.

"Dad put a lot of thought into his decision," Sokka mentioned. "Gaoling has a lot of rich and powerful citizens, with Jet's family above them all. It's a good political move to become strong allies with them."

Katara didn't think she'd ever feel comfortable with an arranged marriage—her freedom felt threatened by it—but she understood what Sokka was saying. "Well, I'm glad Dad took his time deciding this. I want to be free as long as I can. I could've been in this situation two years ago, and I'm grateful that I wasn't." A thought suddenly occurred to her, and she looked at Sokka quizzically. "Wait, why hasn't Dad arranged a marriage for you yet? Your marriage is probably way more important than mine, with you being the future leader of the tribe and all."

"Trust me, he's in the process of deciding who the lucky girl should be. It's hard to find the perfect match for a perfect guy like me."

Katara playfully smacked him with a stream of water from her waterskin. "I feel sorry for the girl who'll have to put up with your narcissism."

Sokka gave her an indignant look. Laughing, Katara bent water back into her waterskin. Then her expression became sober.

"Sokka…when I get married, I'm going to have to move to Gaoling, right? And you'll have to stay here and become chief."

Sokka sighed. "Yeah…that's the way things will have to be. But hey, you and Jet will rule Gaoling together. You'll be just as much a leader as me. That sounds pretty cool, right?" Sokka tried his best to cheer his sister up.

Looking down, Katara willed herself not to get too emotional. She didn't want to leave the Southern Water Tribe, the only home she had ever known, but she knew that she didn't have a choice. She didn't want to be separated from Sokka. He was not only her brother, but also her best friend. Who else would accept her completely the way she was and understand and encourage her desire to become a waterbending warrior?

"I'm going to really miss you." Katara's voice was quiet.

Sokka put an arm around her shoulder, giving her a squeeze. "It's going to be really different here without you. But you'll be happy with Jet. I'm going to be one missing you. But maybe I won't miss being splashed with your magic water." 'Magic water' was Sokka's word for Katara's waterbending.

Katara let out a laugh. "We'll both miss each other, okay? And I'll make sure to splash you with 'magic water' whenever you come to visit or I visit home, which will be often."

"Of course you will." Sokka smiled, then he looked towards the village. "We should go back. Dad and Gran Gran probably want to talk to you about the marriage. They don't know that I've already told you about it. I just wanted to be the one to break it to you, you know?"

"Thanks, Sokka."

As the two siblings headed home, the sun began to set behind them, creating a beautiful, fiery sky.

"Prince Zuko, your uncle has requested that you join him for tea and firebending practice."

"Tell him that I will be there in a moment." Zuko waved his hand to dismiss the servant.

After the servant bowed and left the room, Zuko carefully rolled up the scrolls he had been reading. As much as he enjoyed reading about prophecies, firebending, the Fire Nation history, and many other topics, it was now time to train.

Zuko knew exactly what he was training for. The Fire Nation Royal Family was going to attend a tournament held by Ba Sing Se's ruler, Kuei. This tournament, the tournament at Ba Sing Se, was going to be one of the biggest ones ever held, with many important leaders and powerful warriors invited to attend. Winning in this tournament would bring a lot of honor and admiration to whoever the victors were, as well as to their families.

Firelord Ozai wished for his son to win, and Zuko was determined to do so.