Prologue: The Tale of The Fire Prince and the Water Maiden

NOTE: AS OF 13/12/2011, THIS SERIES IS GOING TO BE HEAVILY EDITED.

Finished A Levels, reread this and was horrified, so I'm slowly making my way through each chapter, editing it. Prologue has been pretty much left alone though.

Once, there was a banished fire prince and a maiden of the water. They lived in a time of cruelty and war, where life was snuffed out as easily as a candle in a breeze.

The prince was one who had learnt suffering from a young age, and led a painful and lonely life. For angering his father and king, he was stripped of his birthright, and banished from his nation. As a result, he was full of rage and pain and loss, and lashed at anyone who came in his way. Though he was not unduly cruel - for he knew enough the sufferings caused but violence - he failed to see the pain he inflicted on others through his words alone.

The water maiden had suffered many a loss at the hands of the fire warriors, and like the prince, was scarred by sorrow and loss and anger. However, unlike the prince, she was surrounded by loving family and friends. As a result, she was shaped by kindness and love, and could still see the good that existed in the world.

When the fire prince first met the water maiden, he was filled with pride and arrogance, and scorned her for her affinity with water and her lowly birth, failing to see her grace and warmth, as well as the pain that followed her like a shadow. Likewise, the water maiden was blinded to the prince's scars. Overcome by fear and hate, she could only see the enemy, and not the wounded boy he was. Over and over again, they met, and their harsh words and threats quickly changed to violence. Over and over again, they exchanged blows, both physical and verbal, until they were blind to all that was good about the other and were consumed with hate.

The fire prince suffered many blows and defeats, and eventually, he was stripped of all his pride and hate. For the first time, he saw the madness of his actions, and all the hurt he had inflicted on others. He begged the forgiveness of the water maiden, and softened by his sincerity, the water maiden forgave him.

However, the fire prince was then approached by a demon, tempting him with power and his lost honour and love. He then lost sight of his newfound heart, of the love that already surrounded him, and betrayed the water maiden.

Hurt, the maiden vowed never to be tricked by him again, and she hardened herself to the fire prince. Even after he realised the error of his ways and did the best to repair the damage of his actions, she blocked her ears from his sincerity, and her heart from his heat of his warmth.

As time passed, the fire prince grew more and more desperate for the maiden's approval, and the maiden relished his desperation. Eventually, she demanded revenge for the death of her mother - one caused by the cruelty of the fire warriors - and in order to regain her trust, he sought quickly to comply. As the maiden stared into the eyes of her mother's killer, determined to end his life herself, she saw herself, as much a monster as the murderer - a being wrapped in the hatred of the war. The prince, for the first time, saw the compassion that filled the girl and begin to fall in love with her. Likewise, the maiden began to see the good that laid within the prince and accepted him into her heart.

Eventually, the century-long war that ravaged the world ended. The fire prince and the maiden of water married and lived to a ripe old age, surrounded by their loving progeny.

This one's gonna be a series of ficlets on Zutara. Was rewatching some Avatar episodes and seriously, there is so much evidence for a beautiful relationship between the two it's ridiculous she ended up with Aang instead. =(

Full title of the series is 'Tales of the Fire Prince and the Water Maiden'.

I wrote this in what I've termed the 'fairytale style' as a Prologue, because I've always liked fairytales and I don't know, it just seemed to fit.

Suggestions for what I should tackle for the short fics after here are very much welcome.