Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Sitting on the ledge of her window pane, Katara stares out through the glass at the open sky. Her room is elegant and full of magnificence charm, perfect atmosphere for a queen. Full of warm colors, and plush pillows beckoning to be smothered in, hoping to soothe and fill the aching soul that she feels with what she is needing to do for her kingdom. The warmth of her room does not compare to the coldness she feels inside. She feels trapped, lost, and afraid. Staring at the sunset, katara wonders what it would feel like to touch the clouds that scattered across the red-orange sky, she wonders what it would feel like to soar through the sky, to feel the cool air on her ski, blowing through her long brown locks of hair and to finally feel at peace, which was something that she hasn’t had these past few days, it had just been couple of days since her father had told her the big news.
" What do you mean I have to have to choose someone to marry within the next six months", said katara, her dad had dropped the news on her out of nowhere.
" Katara please just listen ", said her father.
"Dad I don't understand, I don't understand why I have to get married so soon, I mean I just turned 19 and I most certainly don't think I can fall in love with someone in six months", katara said angry, almost on the verge of tears with how frustrating this situation was.
“Katara honey you are now at the age where it is crucial that you get married and have a family and the kingdom needs a new queen ”, her father said.
“But i’m not ready to get married and I can’t have a family when I myself is still just a kid and i’ve always wanted to fall in love on my own not with someone you picked for me”, katara said.
“ Katara please jus-”
“ I want to marry someone that i know like the back of my hand, someone I can trust, someone that knows when something’s wrong even without asking, someone that understands me and someone that I am completely and utterly in love with”, she says with tears in her eyes, “ I don't wanna marry a stranger please don’t let me marry a stranger”.
“ Katara I know this is hard but you have to think about the kingdom and the people that are depending on you”,he was telling the truth, the kingdom and the people within it were depending on her.
Katara looking out the window in her father’s office, looking at the people of her kingdom, they all looked so happy and hopeful and she didn’t want to take that away but could she really give up her own happiness for others, what’s the point of living in a happy world when you’re the only miserable one.
“So why can’t I just rule the kingdom by myself until I find someone to marry on my own”, she pleads with her father.
“ Honey I don’t want to do this to you but it’s beneficial for the kingdom if you marry a prince from one of our neighboring kingdoms”
“Why?”,asked katara trying to make sense out of the situation,“Because with that both kingdoms can come together and become even more powerful together”
“So I have to give up my happiness for power”, she says as she looks around the large room, walls coated with a deep dark navy blue, famous paintings scattered across the wall but the one that stood out the most was their family portrait, it put all the other paintings to shame and it captured the last time katara was truly happy before her mom died, the last true smile that came across her face.
“Katara”, he signs, “ Don’t think of it like that, who knows maybe you’ll come to find out that you really like him”, her father said while leaving from where he sat on his large desk to go and comfort his daughter.
“Yeah maybe”, she says with sadness and disappointment laced in her voice.
So here she is looking at the sunset with tears in her eyes, scared to let them fall because she knows that if they do that she’ll probably end up breaking down which was something that was common with her these days. She holds onto her mother’s necklace praying and hoping it would take her somewhere other than her palace, somewhere she can finally be free of all the things expected of her, be free of all the things causing her to feel like she was sinking to the bottom of the ocean with weight on her shoulders and to feel free of the heartbreak she was feeling right now.
“I wish you were here mom, I can’t do this without you”, she thinks while sobbing."I need your help, i really need your help".
As she sits on her window pane a knock on the door interrupts her thoughts, “Katara can I come in?”, the soft voice of her brother Sokka asks.
“Yeah”, she said sniffing,
“hey, just checking to see if you’re ok,'' said Sokka softly while making his way across her room to get to where she sits at her white and gold window pane.
“ yeah I’m ok just sitting here crying my eyes out”, katara said while rolling her eyes.
“Katara it’s not that bad”, Sokka tried to reason.
“That’s easy for you to say, you already found the love of your life, no one had to do it for you, no one is forcing you to marry someone you don’t even know the name of”, katara said growing angry with the passing seconds, “ and you don’t have the weight of the world on your shoulders”.
Katara felt like her head was about to explode due to all the stress she was enduring at the moment.
“Katara I don’t know what you’re feeling right now but I do know that everything will be okay because you have people who love and support you, i’ll always be here for you and you can always count on me because i’ll never leave you behind, so if something ever seems impossible we’ll get through it together, I promise”, Sokka said while pulling her into his arms, gently stroking her hair and wiping her tears.
“But it’s not fair”
“I know but if you’re gonna become queen you can’t think for yourself anymore, you have to think about yourself as well as the kingdom, it’s a big responsibility and which means sacrifices have to be made and I know that this may seem like a big one but maybe you’ll end up falling in love with him”, he said still holding her in his arms.
Sokka wants nothing but happiness for his sister but he knew what taking on this position would bring to her but he also knew her well enough to know that she always finds a way to work things out no matter how difficult the situation.
“But sokka-”
“Please just give it a chance, I promise everything will be ok”
Katara signs, “Ok i’ll do it, but please keep your promise”
“I will”