"This is really weird, Katara" Zuko's first words to her upon her arrival could not have mirrored her own feelings any better.

"My Lord" Katara replied formally, bowing.

"You really don't have to-"

"Zuko, I really have to," she knew she was being rude to her old friend and ally, if not by court standards, than by their own. She wasn't ready to think of him as her betrothed, and stubbornly stuck to formal, cold, impersonal titles as her one way to distance herself from him.

Zuko took a deep breath and bowed formally, then looked away; clearing his throat he said "I thought you might prefer a more private setting for your arrival. It was announced that your ship would be arriving two days from now, officially speaking you arrived early and therefore could not be properly greeted by your new people."

Katara's shoulders drooped. Zuko was being too kind to her, it was hard to distance herself from that kindness. "Thank you my Lord," she felt even guiltier, returning his consideration with coldness.

Zuko took another deep breath, and offered Katara his arm, "We will travel by palanquin to the palace." He turned slightly to look at a proud looking man, perhaps in his sixties, yet still stiff in the spine, "Have the Lady Katara's things brought to the palace immediately."

Katara took the offered arm and shuddered slightly. Zuko stiffened, but said nothing, leading her toward one of two palanquins, manned by strong looking fire nation men. Each step Katara took seemed to increase her dread. Every inch closer the palanquins got seemed an inch closer to her doom. Her marriage to Zuko was unwanted, yet necessary. In the years since the war, her renown throughout the four kingdoms had increased; the world loved and respected her. Zuko on the other hand had no such luck with the world. Katara knew it was unfair, so far Zuko had been a truly great Fire Lord, but after so many years of war the world simply could not get over its fear of the fire nation. Katara could no longer count on only her ten fingers all of the supposedly secret societies she'd heard of, all of which had plots to overthrow the Fire Lord and destroy the fire Nation. She didn't want to think about all the societies that were actually good at keeping themselves a secret. Hopefully, her marriage to Zuko would increase the world's trust in the Fire Nation, and prevent another war.

When she finally reached her palanquin, Zuko helped her inside. He reached for the curtain, to draw it closed for her, and she stayed his hand with her own. She took a shaky breath, looking away, and whispered softly, "I'm sorry."

Zuko was silent for a moment, then replied just as softly, "I'm sorry too," and closed the curtain.

After a brief moment, the palanquin was jerked upward, and Katara was jarred with every step her bearers took. It was uncomfortable, but the cushions she was sitting on took some of the jostling for her. After a while she could feel a rhythm in the movement. The light swaying, the one inch or so difference in the left front bearer's shoulder height, the limp someone seemed to have. She was comforted by the imperfect rhythm, although she suspected that palanquin bearers were supposed to be somewhat better at their job than they seemed to her now.

Abruptly the palanquin stopped, and Zuko was there to escort her through the palace. "Katara," he offered her his arm again, which she used to help herself out of her transport.

"Thank you, my Lord," Katara hesitated, "am I to be presented to the court tonight?"

"No, that can be postponed until two days from now, the day everyone expected it to be in the first place." Zuko led Katara up a short flight of stairs and through an enormous gate, "This is the inner palace, this courtyard and that dining hall," Zuko pointed off to the left, "are the only public areas, nobles rarely stray anywhere else in the palace. You needn't worry about bumping into anyone other than family, servants, and guards anywhere else within the inner palace."

"I see," Katara was relieved, and yet terrified. She wouldn't have to deal with noble strangers everywhere she went, but Zuko had no family residing in his palace. She would be very alone with him.

Zuko silently led her though the courtyard. The silence grew awkward as he lead her through a long hallway, and steadily worked its way up to unbearable through a set of double doors. Katara desperately wanted to say something, but what? Should she tell him she hated the thought of marrying him? Or maybe she could tell him she refused to marry him. While she was at it, why not tell him she could never love him, or that she liked Haru? She berated herself inwardly for refusing Haru when he had asked to court her, merely three months ago. Then she berated herself for berating herself, knowing that while she did like Haru, it didn't feel like it would have worked out. Her relationships tended not to work out, Aang for instance, he hadn't worked out. Did she bring it on herself?

"This is your room, Katara," Zuko stopped outside a red door at the end of a hallway. There was an ornate gold dragon around the frame, and a guard stood at attention to the left.

Katara let go of Zuko's arm, "Thank you, my Lord."

"When you are ready, dinner will be waiting for you in the Jade Room. He can take you." Zuko nodded in the guard's direction. "I hope you will find happiness here, Katara, I really do," Zuko turned and walked quickly back the way he had come.

Katara watched him go, even after he had turned a corner she watched the last place his boots had been on the lush carpet, her mind blank. Finally, after a long moment, she turned and entered her new room. She couldn't keep in a gasp. Great care had been taken to insure her chambers would be pleasing to her. Carpets and tapestries were obviously Water Tribe and her bed had soft furs fit for a Water Tribe princess, over the thinner, more practical Fire Nation sheets, which had been dyed a beautiful cerulean. Two blue doors, each with a small decorative tapestry, were positioned to her right and left, in the middle of their own walls. Katara stopped staring at her quarters long enough to take a peek through the leftmost door. It was the bathing room, inside two attendants awaited her. They both bowed.

"Lady Katara, we are here to serve you," the eldest one said.

Katara almost opened her mouth to argue about that, having served herself just fine her whole life, but thought better of it when she remembered that she had no real experience with Fire Nation dress and face paint. She expected she would need the attendants greatly once she was brought into the public eye. "Thank you, I appreciate your attendance to me, but I bathe alone," she decided to compromise, some independence, some dependence. "However, I would need help with Fire Nation costume, and until I have mastered the art of putting on my own clothing," Katara grinned wryly, "I would gladly accept your help in that respect."

"Yes Princess," they bowed again, "would you like us to draw up your bath water?"

"Please do," a bath sounded heavenly, "I'll be right back."

Katara exited the bathing room, and went to inspect the other door. She expected perhaps a closet, and instead opened the door to a small courtyard. She strongly suspected the entire thing had been built just for her; the Fire Nation simply didn't share architectural and decorative tastes with the Water Tribes. The center of the courtyard held a large pool, the center of which held a large fountain. It was breathtaking. A spiraling Dragon sprayed a fine mist of water into the air through its mouth, and each of its many claws overflowed with even more water, making calming creek noises when it hit the pool. The walls had soft arches, leading off to other palace regions, and were snowy white. The stone beneath her feet was as white as the walls, and laid carefully with blue tile in large swirling patterns. Katara closed her eyes for a moment, ashamed beyond words that she could treat Zuko so coldly while he was obviously doing everything he could to please her. When she opened them again, the courtyard was abruptly too much for her. It was too beautiful, too kind. She could feel tears running down her cheeks as she turned back to the bedchamber. She was such a jerk.

Katara stopped in the middle of her new room, undecided. She desperately wanted to just have a good cathartic cry on her beautiful new bed, and she also wanted to hurry and take her bath, so that she wouldn't keep Zuko waiting in the Jade Room. She took a deep, unsteady breath, then another, and waterbended her tears away, resolved to keep as strong a front as she could. A few more deep breaths and she pushed open her bathing room door. The bath tub was full of steaming water, and the attendants were nowhere to be seen. A small basket of soaps and shampoos sat on a small stool next to the water, and fluffy blue towels hung on a tapestry pole nearby. The tub was enormous, and set in the floor waist deep. Katara wasn't sure how it had been filled so quickly, but some quick exploring showed her two holes in the sides of the tub. Each had a lockable covering, but neither was closed. The Fire Nation seemed to have invented an elaborate piping system for itself. It would be pointless to have such a system in the Water Tribes, where the pipes would burst from cold, but similar ice structures did exist.

Katara tried to enjoy a nice soak while still hurrying to wash herself. She alternated between scrubbing herself with soap and relaxing, shampooing her hair and relaxing. Soon she was clean, and with a sigh climbed out of the bath. The towels looked comfortable and warm, but Katara just waterbended any droplets from herself, and put on a shift she found nearby.

Katara was glancing around for a brush then a knock came from the door, "Lady Katara, are you done with your bath?"

"Yes, thank you, you may enter," Katara recognized the voice of the elder attendant. The door opened, "If you don't mind, what are your names?" Katara asked, deciding not to call them merely elder and younger.

"I am Jun, and this is Lin, Lady Katara," The elder attendant replied, and both bowed.

They made quick work of Katara's hair and attire, and lined her eyes with kohl. The clothes were in the style of the Fire Nation, but in soft blue tones. The upper half of her hair was done up in a top knot, with the lower half hanging free, exactly as it had been when she had stayed at the former Fire Lord's summer house, preparing with Aang and everyone else to defeat Ozai.

She and Zuko had fought Azula together, she remembered. They were close friends then, and had stayed moderately close since then, but now she could feel herself shying away from that closeness. She truly did not want to marry him.

Katara took a deep breath, thanked Jun and Lin for their help, and exited the bathing room. She picked her necklace up off of the bed, where she had left it when she went to bathe, and secured it around her neck. She paused only briefly by her door, then exited her room.

"Katara," Zuko bowed.

Katara had been expecting to be escorted to the Jade Room by the guard, and jumped at seeing Zuko. "Zuko? I thought that you would be-"

"I decided to escort you myself," he watched her carefully.

Katara quickly covered her surprise and recovered her distance, "of course, My Lord."

Zuko's eyes seemed to droop at the words, and his already impeccable posture grew even stiffer. "Your arm, my Lady"

Katara gave him her arm and they walked down the hallway together. Inwardly, Katara was a mess. She was so horrible to Zuko. This was worse than the hate she felt for him so long ago, because she didn't hate him and yet managed to hurt him on purpose anyway. She knew that her life as Zuko's bride wouldn't be horrible if she just let herself accept it, and yet she couldn't. She wanted desperately to turn to him, give him the biggest hug she could and tell him she didn't hate him, and she also wanted to tear her arm from his light grasp and run away. None of this showed on her face.

"Katara, here," Zuko pushed open a set of deep green doors and waited for her to enter.

Katara nodded, walking into one of the most beautiful rooms she had ever seen. The walls were inlaid with jade patterns, and if she wasn't mistaken, the entire floor was jade tile. The low table in the center was simple wood, but stained a rich red velvet, and surrounded by cushions.

The door closed ominously behind her and Katara spun, "It's just us?"

"Yes, unless there is someone you can think of who should be here?" Zuko asked, a little sarcastically.

"No," Katara turned away; there was no one other than Zuko in the palace. Iroh lived in Ba Sing Se, Mai moved to Ember Island, Ty Lee lived in Kyoshi, and no one had traveled with Katara to see Zuko.

Zuko sighed and sat heavily on some cushions, "I'm sorry, Katara. I'll send for anyone you wish to see. I miss them too you know."

"I know, Zuko," Katara took a deep breath, "I need to apologize for-"

"No, don't. I know you don't want this, I need to apologize. I was only thinking of myself when I asked you to take on the role of Fire Lady. It was wrong of me," Zuko put his head in his hands, "deeply wrong."

"Zuko, I'm doing this of my own free will," Katara forced out.

"No, you're not, and the people will notice. It won't help anybody if there is a war to rescue you from me." Zuko grimaced. "It wouldn't just be a revenge war, a war of fear, it would be a rescue mission, Katara, and it would be justified."

"Then how else can I prevent what's coming? No one listens when I endorse you! It's time for action, and if this is what it takes to prevent the next war, to prevent my family from being torn apart again, than this is what I will do," Katara crossed her arms.

Zuko took a long breath, "I would not sacrifice your happiness for my country, you're my friend, Katara and if I'm going to lose you over this then our betrothal is broken, as of now."

"No!" Katara shouted at him, "You would bring about a war anyway, breaking the vows. What will everyone think? They will see me leaving you as soon as I land, they won't know what happened and it will only add to their hate."

Just then a small door in the far corner of the room opened and three servants entered, bearing dishes and tea. Zuko and Katara watched them silently as they arranged the table and left. Only one stayed, bowing, "I will pour the tea, Fire Lord."

"Not today, Lee," Zuko said quietly, "We will pour our own tea, you are dismissed."

Katara waited until Lee had left, then sat down across from Zuko, "I will not break my vows."

Zuko was silent for a long moment, then picked up his chopsticks, "Very well, let us discuss this after the meal, I'm sure you're hungry."

Katara was reluctant to let the conversation go, it was too important, but her stomach grumbled at just the right moment, deciding things for her. The Fire Nation had some of the world's best hot dishes; Katara's mood couldn't spoil her enjoyment of them entirely. The tea was delicious, and reminded her of Iroh, and when the meal was over, the servants brought in ice cream.

"I didn't know the Fire Nation had ice cream," Katara mused.

"We don't, a chef from the Northern Water Tribe was hired for your arrival," Zuko smiled lightly. "There was some experimentation with flavor a few weeks ago, and one of our fire Nation chefs decided he liked fire flake flavor."

Katara dropped the bite she was about to eat, "What?"

Zuko chuckled, "It wasn't bad, although I had to put the kibosh to the experiments when someone started using garlic."

Katara looked at her dish in horror, "what flavor is this, exactly?"

"Unfortunately, it's hard to tell until you've tried it, but I suspect its plain vanilla," Zuko tried sniffing his, and then took a small bite "yep, vanilla."

Katara looked suspiciously at her ice cream, and then took a taste. Her eyes lit up, "it's actually good."

Zuko smiled again, then sobered, "I've missed you, Katara."

"I've missed you too, Zuko." Katara looked down, "I wanted to apologize for the way I treated you, it was wrong."

"It's fine," Zuko forgave her, "the wedding had me a little on edge too. But you don't have to worry about that Katara; I meant it when I said we could break it off."

"And I meant it when I said I wouldn't" Katara glared at him, "are you actually going to make me beg to marry you?"

"I had Jun watch you for me. Crying in your room, Katara? It that what our marriage would be? Am I truly that revolting?" Zuko stood angrily, unconsciously touching his scar.

"It's not your stupid scar I care about, Zuko!" Katara stood as well, "it's-" she started, then stopped herself. What was it she cared about? Her freedom? Well, yes, but that wasn't all of it, why did she find a marriage to him so detestable? Not everyone married for love, sure she had expected to marry for love someday, but she certainly didn't hate Zuko.

"What then, Katara, what is it about me, about us, that you can't deal with?" The candles seemed to glow brighter as Zuko began to pace.

"I-" she stuttered.

"You what? What?" Zuko slammed his fist against the wall.

"I don't know! OK? I just don't know!" Katara ran through the big green doors, and kept running, unsure of where she was going, but determined to leave the site of her discomfort. Why was the thought of marrying him so hard for her to take? He had every right to be angry with her, she couldn't even give him a reason for her behavior.

Katara's vision was blurring from tears and she violently bended the water away. "Ungh," she winced when she pulled too much water. She leaned briefly against the nearest wall to rehydrate her eyes and then started off at a slightly slower pace. Her brief stop had brought back some of her sanity, and she realized she was about to become hopelessly lost and needed to go back. She could hear Zuko through the walls, calling her name, and looked over her shoulder. Two hallways intersected a ways behind her, had she gone straight, left, or right? She cursed her idiocy, and then took a breath. She didn't want to face Zuko anyway, and she could find her room eventually. Katara straightened her back and walked forward.

"Right, right, left, straight, right," Katara repeated to herself, in case she needed to find the way back to the hallway where she had hurt her eyes. "Another right," she mumbled, entering a courtyard. Had she been here before? Katara didn't recognize it, not that that meant much. She ran across the granite tile, and into another hallway.

"Katara!" she turned at the sound of Zuko's voice, he was halfway through the courtyard.

Katara hesitated, and then ran down the hallway, making a left turn, and another, determined to lose him. She could face him tomorrow; tonight she had every intention of being alone. Before long she found another courtyard, and curled up in a dark corner. Once a guard came through, she could ask him to take her to her room. He'd surely tell Zuko she was safe, and everything would be fine.

It didn't take long for a pair of guards to turn up, but Katara ignored them. They didn't appear to see her, although one looked right into her corner, and walked right on through. She wasn't ready yet, she had to think. What about Zuko was so repulsive? His temper perhaps, but while his anger tended to bring hers to the surface it had never been something she couldn't stand. His scar was truly frightening, and hard for him to hide, but that wasn't the problem either. His past with her wasn't exactly perfect, but he had proven again and again that he was sorry and she couldn't hold it against him. What then? She buried her head in her knees, sighing. She knew what was wrong with the others. Aang was like a little brother to her, and while he could pull off wisdom, he was still immature. Haru would have been committed and steady, she would have been happy with him, but she just didn't find him attractive. Did she find Zuko attractive? A little, more than Haru or Aang anyway, but that didn't seem to help. He was kind and considerate and he wouldn't force her into anything, she knew that. He would probably make a wonderful husband if she'd just let him. But she wouldn't let him. Was this all her? Was she the one with the problem? She sighed again, and felt a hand on her back.

"Katara," Zuko said quietly, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you."

Katara froze, then mumbled into her knees, "how did you find me?"

Zuko slid down next to her, "The guards who came through, they saw you."

"Everyone seems to watch me for you," Katara shot out, then regretted it.

Zuko was silent for a long time, then sighed, "Well, I am the Fire Lord. I just wanted to keep an eye on you, at least for a while."

"Why?" Katara asked her knees.

"Because I want you to be happy, and to find your way around the palace with ease, and to think well of me. I guess I haven't been doing such a good job of that."

Katara didn't reply. They both sat in silence for a long while, until she said, "it's my fault."

"What is?" Zuko asked.

"Everything."

"Don't be ridiculous, Katara, I don't know what you're blaming yourself for, but I doubt it's your fault." Zuko defended her.

"Zuko, I'm the reason this marriage isn't working, there's nothing wrong with you and I don't know what's wrong with me. I could be happy with you, I know it, but I'm not and I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

"Nothing, Katara," Zuko's voice picked up a little in anger, "It's me, I'll-"

"Zuko, it's not you. I can't find one single solitary flaw with you, no matter how hard I look," Katara's eyes watered a little, but her head was still hidden by her knees. "You've been nothing but kind to me. You found a water tribe chef for me, my room was obviously carefully set up, and did that courtyard nearby even exist before I came along? You would be a perfect husband to me, if I wasn't being too stupid to let you."

Zuko was silent again, then he sighed, "It's no one's fault Katara, it just wasn't meant to be. Stay in the palace as long as you like, but we won't be getting married."

Katara looked up, "Don't say that to me, Zuko, I don't want to-"

"Katara, it's noble of you to want to give yourself up to prevent the next war, but it's cruel of me to expect you to do so. I thought that with time we might grow to love each other, but now I think I may have been mistaken." Zuko looked her in the eyes as he said it.

"Zuko, if you think you could ever love me, then do not cancel this wedding," Katara looked him in the eyes as well. "You are not a cruel man, and I will not back down."

Zuko looked away, "Katara, if you were carrying an important document to your Chief, one that would influence the world for the better if he got it soon enough, and a child stood in your way, could you push him to the ground to get by him?"

"What?" Katara was confused.

"Could you?"

"Of course not, that would be horrible. The world would hardly be a better place if I trampled over a child to get it that way," Katara replied.

"Well, you are that child Katara, and I'm pushing aside your happiness in an attempt to better the world. It's wrong, and I don't want you to let me do that. Let me help you back up again before I go on my way."

"I'm hardly a child, Zuko."

"That's really not the point, Katara. In the past I probably would have stepped on anyone to get to where I felt I needed to be, but now? I've changed too much, and you're more important to me than a child by the road anyway."

Katara thought for a moment, "Zuko, kiss me."

"What?" Zuko stood abruptly, "did I hear you right?"

"I want you to kiss me, and after that, I want you to take me to my room, say goodnight, and meet me in the morning for breakfast."

"Why?" Zuko backed up a step when Katara stood.

"Because we are going to be married, and someday we are going to fall in love, and until then you are going to court me, and I am going to court you."

"No," Zuko stated firmly.

"Because you still don't intend to marry me?" Katara asked.

"No, it's because you don't love me," Zuko replied. "Maybe someday you will, and at that time you may have your kiss. As long as you insist on letting yourself be thrown into the dirt I will not stop you, but neither will I coerce you. The day you convince me you are in love with me will be our wedding day. It's this way to your room," Zuko turned and began walking in the direction Katara had entered the courtyard.

Katara sighed, it was going to be a long betrothal, and followed him.