Approaching House Arza's estate on the Glittering Isles back when his mother used to force him to visit Raven was always daunting. The rigid, cult-like security bordered on humiliating even for a prince, at least until he had reached his betrothed. Even when he was with her, the scrutinizing warrior priests of the mad goddess had gazed at him like a snake in their linens on the days that Raven was happy with him.
No Arzayan had ever bowed to him beyond the merest, weakest acknowledgement until Lord Arza had suddenly groveled before him like a vassal caught in a corruption scandal.
In the whipping frigid winds of the north, Zuko stood on his own deck as the Sword of Ruin advanced, and the massive flagship could have split his cruiser in two straight down the length, but it came in for an unnervingly precise drop of its prow ramp, and now it seemed the Arzayans expected him to ascend straight into esteemed glory.
"Just walk like you know what you're doing!" Raven hopped up on the balls of her feet to whisper in his ear.
Zuko glared back, Arzayanagi in one hand and Raven wrapped around the other like he'd waltzed in like a jackass and claimed the frenzied religion's two greatest prizes for himself—apropos of nothing.
"What does knowing what I'm doing look like?!" he demanded harshly. "Your dad didn't explain this!"
He was probably too loud, but it hardly mattered once the metal ringing began.
"Walk with me," Raven hissed. "Pretend everyone is bugs and if they don't show respect you'll fucking squash 'em. Seriously, Zuko—do not look weak to my people, I am telling you," Raven insisted like a whole world he'd scarcely seen was being dumped out of a knapsack all over his boots.
One-two.
Raven let go of his arm so she looked a little less like a captured maiden as he ascended the jet-black, gold-ridged prow ramp. Then she let her sleeves fall to her elbows, revealing heavy golden bangles, which she struck together, forearm to forearm across her chest, and all without explaining a thing.
One-two.
There were rows of important-looking men in red, black and gold lined up down the vast deck of the flagship.
One-two-three-four.
Everyone else was doing it too, but he hadn't gotten his bangles delivered by hawk yet.
Sinister men in dark hoods, wielding dual swords much like Zuko's own pair, started running blades along blades to make a rather eerie and encompassing, keening screech of metal, not quite sharp enough to be annoying.
One-two.
An older sage stood front and center, and raised his many-ringed hand high, so Zuko promptly followed Raven's lead and stopped. He only had to shift his footing a bit, but took the opportunity to grimace wholeheartedly at every soldier, officer or priest in his field of view, which seemed to go well by their approving smirks.
One-two.
As Zuko reached the deck proper, men and women were kneeling on his approach, with Lord Arza and Captain Shoko trailing right behind him.
"Your people are crazy," he stiffly said out of the corner of his mouth to Raven.
She gave a slight shrug. "Just play along, it's gonna get weirder."
And she gave it her all as she clanged her bangles again, one-two-three-four, along with a hundred other Arzayans.
"Wielder of Renjidaya, step forth," the old and apparently important Arzaya priest said.
Zuko only had to really hope that wasn't him for a moment before Captain Shoko swept past him with her white glove fastened to the hilt of her jian. She spun on her heel to stand facing something that wasn't happening yet, as far as he could tell.
The metal hull groaned as a sizable wave struck, and everyone took a moment to shift their weight to balance.
"Wielder of Koanimaru, step forth," the priest said, because why not, he might as well have been making it up for all Zuko knew.
Zuko glanced over at Raven, then at the sight of an old marine officer he was fairly certain he had seen before but did not remember was named Commander Yo. Yo came from standing at the head of rows of elite Arzayan marines, and looked immensely determined as he scowled his way over to stand opposite of Captain Shoko, where he pulled a sheathed dagger with a golden pommel out of his long surcoat.
"Whaaat—" Zuko slowly breathed out.
Raven harshly whispered, "Just let them, it's not worth it."
"Wielder of Arzayanagi," the priest began, and the bastard paused on purpose just to glare at Zuko for a moment like he better not screw it up, whatever was going on.
"Just copy what I do," Raven hissed.
Surrounded by over a hundred very dangerous fanatics, Zuko still managed to spot Iroh on the sidelines, giving him the weirdest smile as he nodded to the side like get on with it and in a hurry.
So the prince let his betrothed turn him in place and faced her. She was biting her lip in a way that let him know she felt guilty about something, but that unfortunately meant very little in her latest bout of dumpster esteem. The Sword of Ruin rocked beneath them as she dragged his right hand into place around her forearm and fitted her own grip around his. For a moment he just hoped someone would explain as she fidgeted their exact postures for some clearly not at all public Arzayan ceremony.
"Wait…" Raven breathed, and her neck tensed like she hated to have to say, "Is he? Or I? Which—" and she blinked as innocently as she could at the Arzayan priest.
The wind caught his fancy hat for a moment, forcing him to adjust it. He muttered incoherently for a moment before leaning closer to grumble, "you tell me!"
"He did beat me…" Raven pondered, and saw how wildly annoyed the priest looked, and snapped, "I'm doing my best, I wasn't expecting this either!"
"Raven," Zuko said, louder than the private conspiring she had quite deliberately started. "What are you deciding? Tell me right now." Bolstered by her own warning not to look weak, he tightened his grip on her wrist and pressed his forehead to hers hard enough to make her buckle slightly. "I don't trust you with decisions yet."
The combative scrunching of Raven's face untwisted, and she was the picture of nerves as she glanced at Shoko for some reason.
"Well… traditional Arzayan weddings don't usually have two consenting parties…" Raven actually somehow said like that wasn't immediately and incredibly distressing. She saw the reeling look in Zuko's eyes, and instantly added, "they're rare!"
"Oh, that's just fantastic then, Raven! This one doesn't have two EITHER! What do you mean WEDDING?!"
"They didn't tell me either! You think I can stop this?!" she barked back, and clenched her free fist with a puff of flames.
Zuko twisted her arm behind her back, one handed as he kept Arzayanagi as steady as possible, and she buckled further towards the black iron deck.
"Don't you dare start a fight with me now," he growled at her as she winced.
"Ow-ow-ow! I won't, Zuko—Ow!"
He heard a cough beside him. Things had gotten… awfully quiet. Zuko slowly looked at the priest, who had an almost calm look of resignation, then to Shoko and Yo standing like witnesses, but they were both smirking with delight?
Trying to find anything that made sense, Zuko looked the other way to see Lord Arza still towering there, arms crossed, but instead of seeing a murderous gaze, the prince found the same tired eyes he always had for when Raven was being a brat.
But Lord Arza also had a smirk. Zuko genuinely wondered if he'd been drugged, or they had, because someone had been drugged.
"What."
"That'll have to do," the priest breathed out and stepped forth with a jingling of a small chain. "I apologize, Oh Great Lady Arzaya," he said with reverence as he bowed to the spear itself, also averting his eyes from the awkward, confused teenagers to weakly shake his head at the blatantly extreme rush of it all.
With a glow of firebending in his hand, the priest heated the golden chain, which Zuko saw was tipped with sharp spearhead-like ornaments on both ends.
Zuko only stood there, too stunned to intervene, as the priest almost casually wrapped a decorative golden chain around his wrist and Raven's.
"With the spirits themselves to witness…," the priest said slowly and reverently at first, but by the end he was obviously not comfortable. "Prince Zuko, son of Ursa, claims Lady Raven, Arzaya's chosen heir, as his own."
Zuko stared down at the glittering gold chain, and the sheepish 'whoops, we're married!' look on Raven's stupid face. It felt incredibly ironic in that moment that he was the one twisting her arm, but he finally released it and just had a good solid daze for a few breaths.
"Well, she's all yours," the priest said like he knew it was a punishment. "Good luck, I'm leaving."
"Uhh…" Zuko muttered.
As soon as the Arzayan priest stepped down and turned away, Shoko and Yo relaxed their postures. Shoko's white gloved hand instantly over her heart as she hurried up to Raven.
"That was lovely, Raven. Very convincing," she said with enough emotion to sound like an imposter.
Raven scowled back at Shoko. "I wasn't acting, Shoko," she growled.
"That's even better!" Commander Yo cackled once, but then just coughed.
All around the Arzayans broke out into murmuring, all looking delighted and eager like this was all very normal to them. Zuko spun about again, witnessing mass insanity like he couldn't believe he hadn't noticed coming from these weirdo fanatics before, at least not to this degree.
"They'd never follow you if you're not Arzayan by law," Raven quietly said like an apology from beside him, but the jury was still out on if he was actually mad at her or not yet.
Lord Arza had a big, incredibly untrustworthy and pleased smile on his face as he caught Zuko totally off guard by placing his hands on the boy's shoulders.
"Our Lady was right, you are one of us at heart," he gruffly stated, but there was no denying the pride in his tone.
Zuko could only wait, dumbfounded at what insane thing would happen next.
For just an instant, something wistful crossed Lord Arza's face. "Raven's mother twisted my arm just like that—was on the ground, of course—but that's a good omen, Your Highness," he said with a hint of softness.
"Dad, stop," Raven huffed as she crept up and tested tickling Zuko's hand with her fingers.
Zuko slowly sank to his haunches as the Arzayans excitedly hurried off in all directions, getting back to their stations. Lord Arza dropped his hands off him, and strode off without another glance.
"Shoko—make sure the royal suite is prepared," Lord Arza commanded.
"Yes, sir."
Zuko watched Raven's face for a moment. She had so many thoughts going on behind her wary hazel-green eyes. It was obvious she was not actually very calm about all of this, which was a relief to him at the very least.
But then Raven went and quietly said, "that really was perfect, though. Like textbook traditional wedding." Even she sounded impressed.
That Zuko lacked any words wasn't a problem when their attention was drawn by shouting.
Lord Arza had his hands raised, fire blossoming upwards for attention, and he bellowed, "who's ready to visit the old family den!?"
For some reason, after a brief pause, an Arzayan marine tilted his head back and gave a decent wolf howl, getting smiles and chuckles from all around.
Not out of the corner of his mouth this time, Zuko took Raven by the arm to shake and wobble her around for emphasis. "Raven. Your people are CRAY-ZEE," he rasped.
She had no arguments in her people's favor. The best she could offer was a shrug and the guilty smile of a teen caught getting home after curfew.