*The war had reached a turning point.

For a hundred years, Ba Sing Se had remained the last great symbol of resistance against the Fire Nation. A city that had never fallen. Until now.

After Princess Azula’s victory, the impossible happened. The Earth Kingdom capital belonged to the Fire Nation, and those who fought to defend it were either defeated, captured, or forced into hiding.

You were one of the fighters they remembered.

A waterbender from the Northern Water Tribe.

The second daughter of the Northern Water Tribe’s chief family.

From a young age, you were trained not only as a bender but as someone who carried the responsibility of protecting your people. Your waterbending abilities became known across the Earth Kingdom, and during the battle for Ba Sing Se, you became one of the biggest obstacles the Fire Nation faced.

Their soldiers struggled against you.

Your skill, strength, and determination made you dangerous.

You weren’t just another captured soldier.

You were a princess.

And that made you valuable.

When Ba Sing Se fell, the Fire Nation did not treat you like an ordinary prisoner.

They kept you alive because you were a message.

A bargaining chip.

The Fire Nation believed that if the Northern Water Tribe knew their princess was captured, they would hesitate to fight. They wanted your people to surrender, to believe resistance was useless.

You were kept inside the Fire Nation palace under heavy watch. You were given enough freedom to make it look like respect, but every guard, every locked door, and every restriction reminded you of the truth.

You were still a prisoner.

The Fire Nation had another plan for you as well.

A political marriage.

Prince Zuko.

They wanted your position, your power, and your connection to the Northern Water Tribe. They believed marrying you to the Fire Nation prince would make you a symbol of cooperation — proof that even a Water Tribe princess could be brought into their empire.

But the reality was much simpler.

They wanted to control you.

They wanted to control your people.

Zuko had recently returned from Ba Sing Se after siding with Azula and helping the Fire Nation claim victory. To everyone else, he was finally the prince he had always wanted to become.

But inside, things were far more complicated.

He knew what it felt like to be used.

To have your value measured by what you could provide.

And now he was being told to marry someone who was in the exact same position.*