Toph Beifong does not want to be married.

She does not want to travel to the Fire Nation – on a wooden junk, no less, where she'll essentially be the frail, helpless girl her parents think she is – and leave Gaoling, and do whatever it is that princesses do. She knows every pathway, every pebble on the grounds of her family's home, and she's finally figured out what to do to make her yawn-inducing days a little less boring.

But, as her father explains, each time sounding as though his patience with her is wearing thin, she needs to marry the prince. Not immediately, but eventually. There's been discontentment brewing amongst the Earth Kingdom colonies. Talks of rebellion, and war. The people aren't happy at the Fire Nation encroachment on their territories. The problem isn't getting solved as quickly as everyone had hoped. The royal family wants to make a show of goodwill by betrothing the crown prince to an Earth Kingdom girl.

Toph hasn't even met him yet.

It feels like her parents are selling her off somehow, like a length of cloth or a bushel of apples.

There isn't any room for refusal.

Of course not.

Not with the honor and prestige the betrothal would bring to her family's name.

Her mother sounds almost giddy at the prospect of court life, Toph much less so.

The decision has already been made, and it's with a servant's help that Toph composes a letter to her future husband, sealed and embossed with a golden flying boar on the envelope.

Toph's first impression of her betrothed is the awkward, yet somehow hopeful lilt to his voice, how the Fire Lady has to gently urge him to greet her. He sounds close to her age, a fact which secretly relieves her. She'd heard the intonations of an elderly man, and had frozen for the briefest of seconds, wondering if that was the man her parents had promised her to.

"Hi, I'm Zuko. You must be Toph." He blurts out, sounding just as apprehensive as she feels. "This is for you."

He must be holding something out, something metallic dangling in the air. Toph can hear it clinking together gently, but she can't see it, not with her feet encased in dainty silk slippers. Today's the one day she hasn't been able forgo wearing shoes, and she's forced to cling onto her mother for support.

Tilting her head, she asks, "What is it?"

"It's a bracelet. For our betrothal."

His fingers feel too warm, too shaky as they reach out to clasp the bracelet around her wrist. "I-I'll make you happy. I promise."

Toph doesn't reply.

"You must be tired," The Fire Lady interjects, after a weighty silence. Her voice is smooth, like honey. "Let us show you to your rooms."

Toph's mother tugs on her hand.

Zuko lingers behind her mother, just long enough to murmur, "You have pretty eyes."

Toph has been set against loving him, against even liking him. But his words draw a smile from her, tempering her sharpened edges ever so slightly.

No one's ever said that about her before.

Fragile, yes.

Helpless, yes.

But never pretty.

Toph comes to the Fire Nation because her family expects her to do her duty.

And here she is, doing her duty.

It's a sheer miracle that she hasn't run away yet.

And yet, there's less expected of her here. She isn't expected to do needlepoint, or chat with the rest of the court ladies ( though she suspects that will happen in time ). The servants don't badger her about her lack of shoes. In fact, if she doesn't know any better, she'll say that most everyone has practically forgotten that she exists. That's fine, she's small and easy to miss, and this way she can do what she wants.

Ursa, muffling her laughter, gently tells Toph that she isn't expected to do needlework. So she explores the different passages around the palace. She visits Iroh's chambers, and lets him pour her oolong tea, each cup accompanied with a bit of Iroh's sage advice. She takes walks around the neatly-manicured gardens with Zuko, who purposely seeks her out, determined to spend time getting to know her.

His company is preferable to his sister's. Azula has a mischievous streak a mile wide, tempered with bouts of cruelty.

She talks to Zuko. The prince is kind, his voice bright and cheerful. Unlike the others, he doesn't overlook her. She wonders if once, he had been overlooked, overshadowed by his sister, the firebending prodigy. Beside the turtle duck pond, her back pressed against the rough bark of a tree, Toph tells him of Gaoling, how mild the winters were, how cool the summers. How suffocated she felt at home, of servants catering to her every need, and her parents staunchly believing that she was frail and helpless and incapable. Zuko tells her of the Fire Nation, of the beautiful volcanoes and the curious black earth they spawned, of the sandy beaches on Ember Island that his family would frequent – though they haven't been back there since his father had passed from a sudden illness.

Zuko is strangely quiet then.

"I'd like to see it," Toph says, hesitant.

Except she doesn't. Not really. She won't be able to see anything in the loose, grainy sand, and the effort of trying will soon give her a headache.

But, she figures, anything to make Zuko sound a little less sad.

She'd endured the boat ride with only mild complaining, clinging tightly onto Zuko's hand all the way.

She'd even endured the agonizing walk to the beach house, again, with mild complaining, once again clinging onto Zuko's arm as he'd helped her to navigate over the loose, shifting sand.

But the moment she steps onto the wooden steps leading up to the beach house, she quails. The last of her courage slips away, and she hangs back, tugging Zuko to a stop.

"Uh uh. No. No way. I think I'll stay out here."

Please, Toph thinks, let me stay out here.

"Are you scared?"

"No!" Toph snaps. Then, she stumbles. Shaken. "Maybe. Kind of. A little."

"I'll hold your hand." Zuko promises.

Staring, she wonders if he's the blind one. "You're already holding it."

"Oh. Well, then I promise not to let go."

Her fingers dig into the soft flesh of his palm. "You better not."

Tentatively, she follows him into the musty-smelling house.

The blackness is cloying, suffocating, but she finds that she isn't drowning in it this time.

"How're the turtle ducks today?"

Toph sits at the very edge of the pond, shoving her toes into the water and the mud. The mud makes a satisfying oozing sound every time she swishes her feet about.

"They're doing great – Oh no, wait. Sugar just tried to peck Bandit's eyes out. That's bad, isn't it?"

They'd named the turtle ducks together, after Toph had frankly told Zuko that the names he'd chosen stunk. She'd renamed them to her satisfaction, and the prince had gamely followed her example, after half-heartedly trying to sway her opinion.

Toph snorts. "I'd think so. Bandit needs to learn how to fight back."

"Well, Sugar shouldn't be so mean!"

The midday sun blazes down from the center of the sky. But under their shared tree, they're sheltered from the cruel heat. It's quiet here. Restful. She rests her head against Zuko's shoulder and closes her eyes.

Maybe Toph Beifong wants to be married after all.

A/N: You know I had to do it to 'em. This time, it's an arranged marriage au ( featuring the two of them as young kids ), but with some tweaks that I've made. Please leave a review, you have no idea how much validation I get from those!