Title: The Cycle of the Seasons
Summary: From the beginning of Ursa and Ozai's courtship to their separation.
A/N: I think the Search was a major disappointment, especially how terribly they depicted Ursa and Ozai's relationship. Personally, I wished I never read the comic altogether. I suppose I'm going to blame my curiosity for reading it. So, I'm going to be writing my own version of their relationship.
"You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming."
—Paul Neruda
The biggest turning point in Ursa's short life occurred when Fire Nation royalty set foot inside the town she once called home.
Ursa grew up listening to tales of Avatar Roku, her deceased grandfather and Fire Lord Sozin, the tyrant who ordered the eradication of the Air Nomads after he subsequently betrayed her grandfather. She hadn't anticipated an engagement to one of the Fire Nation's esteemed sons, Prince Ozai.
Much to her disappointment, Ursa and her family was staying at the guesthouse that belonged to her relatives a week before the engagement party. Aunt Ming was a prime example of the perfect hostess, which compensated for the fact that her twin daughters were infuriating little monsters. Hua Ling and Li Juan were five years younger than Ursa, but despite their angelic countenances, they were conniving little devils.
"I can't believe our little Ursa is getting married!" Li Juan shrieked with pride. "Never in a million years did I think you would get married before we did —"
"Much less to a gorgeous Fire Nation prince!" her twin sister, Hua Ling finished her sentence. It was a habit that Ursa greatly despised.
"You are so lucky," they squealed in unison.
"I don't even know him!" Ursa said defensively.
"Girls, stop harassing your cousin," Aunt Ming chastised her daughters.
This prompted the two girls to share conspiratorial grins.
Here we go, Ursa sighed as the two girls dragged her upstairs.
"So aren't you excited for the engagement party?" Li Juan asked, accompanied with inane giggling. "I mean, you are marrying one of the most handsome —"
"Please. Stop. Talking."
Ursa whipped around to see Mei Fang, the older sibling of the twins. She was about the same age as Ursa.
"Mei Fang!" Ursa exclaimed, relieved to be free from the clutches of the terrible twosome. She rushed forward and embraced her favorite cousin, and demanded in a mock angry tone, "Why didn't you save me from the twins earlier?
"I was busy with archery practice," Mei Fang shrugged, unaware of the fact that she was on the receiving end of two very murderous looks.
She spent the rest of the week touring the Fire Nation Capitol with Mei Fang, who seemed to know every nook and cranny of the city. They dined at the most exclusive restaurants (with an even more exclusive clientele). It helped Mei Fang was a noblewoman, which gave her access to money Ursa didn't have.
Before she knew it, it was the day of the engagement party.
Ursa felt overwhelmed with nervousness. She briefly wondered if her future husband would be content with her being the daughter of a mere magistrate. Would he be able to overlook that fact that unlike him, she was bereft of a noble background?
Her mother presented her gown for the evening. It was a gorgeous, deep mahogany number that was trimmed in lavish gold. Ursa loved how it hung loosely off her frame, and it didn't block her blood circulation by being too tight. She also noticed how it seemed to accentuate her curves perfectly.
"Where did you get this dress, mother?" Ursa was shocked. Her family wasn't poor, but it wasn't as though they could afford extravagant pieces of clothing.
"Your grandmother heard of the engagement party but she couldn't come due to personal reasons," her mother explained. Ursa knew her grandmother had a bone to pick with the royal family, but the dress was absolutely magnificent. "She sent this dress through the mail to make it up for her absence."
Mei Fang chose a crimson gown that looked beautiful, despite its simplicity. It had a matching dress shawl and she threw on a pair of gold earrings.
"Well," Mei Fang said tiredly. "Let's get this over with."
The engagement party was going to be held at one of the many houses that belonged to the royal family. When they walked in, Ursa suddenly felt uncomfortable when every pair of eyes turned to her. The feeling of being watched was deeply unsettling, Ursa mused darkly.
She knew her parents were trailing behind her, and she was thankful her mother didn't see her panicked expression. She would never hear the end of it.
Mei Fang seemed to take it all in gracefully. She didn't seem the slightest bit apprehensive when everyone looked at their particular direction. Ursa felt envious at Mei Fang's sudden burst of confidence and took a deep breath.
"I haven't sprouted another head, have I?" Ursa whispered to Mei Fang.
Mei Fang smirked at her cousin's uneasiness. "Quite the contrary, actually. I think their minds are still processing how beautiful you look in that dress."
"Don't mock me, Mei Fang. I'm being serious," Ursa said thickly, clenching her teeth.
Before they reached ten paces, they were bombarded by guests. It took a considerable amount of time to shake them off.
"Hello," a girl with a fan smiled prettily at them. She had noteworthy features, with a flawless porcelain complexion. Ursa prided herself for being an observant person, and she noticed how the girl's smile did not reach her eyes. "So you must be Lady Ursa. My, nobody has told me how beautiful you were."
"So nice seeing you here . . . Natsumi," Mei Fang said with a forced smile.
Ursa could sense the obvious tension in the atmosphere. She would be an idiot not to. She believed the two harboured mutual resentment for each other.
"You two seemed to be getting along swimmingly," Ursa said with an impish grin. "Well, I'm heading off towards the refreshments."
She could feel Mei Fang glowering at her back.
The refreshments had plenty of drinks. There were many she was dying to try, but Ursa was wondering how many of them could be spiked with intoxicants.
Tired with her indecisiveness, she randomly picked a drink. She turned around abruptly, and nearly careened into someone that had a stocky build.
"I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going . . ." She rambled, feeling apologetic at her clumsiness. It was at that moment Ursa noticed the three-pronged headpiece in his topknot. This was the prince she was supposed to marry? He looked considerably older than her.
Then, she remembered the Fire Lord had two children. It suddenly dawned to her that she nearly spilled her drink all over the Fire Lord's eldest son.
"Well, my father never told me how beautiful you were when he came to visit," the Crown Prince remarked. "My brother is truly a lucky man."
Ursa felt uncomfortable with the shower of compliments she was receiving that afternoon. But, she realised that the Crown Prince was merely being kind.
"I haven't properly introduced myself. My name is Crown Prince Iroh."
"It is an honour to meet you Crown Prince Iroh," Ursa might have come from a small town, but she knew monarchs were usually addressed by their given honorifics. "I am Ursa of Shongshou."
"Seeing that we're going to be family soon, I don't think you should keep on calling me by my title. Simply Iroh will do," he said with an amicable grin.
Ursa felt relieved at least one member of the royal family seemed to enjoy conversing with her without shooting her disdainful looks at her lack of having a prestigious heritage. He appeared to be the lackadaisical type, with his easygoing demeanour and idyllic persona being the proof of that.
Suddenly, a woman and a small child appeared at his side. "Lady Ursa, I would like you to meet my wife, Crown Princess Hitachi, and my son, Lu Ten."
"It is an honour to meet you Crown Princess Hitachi," Ursa replied. Crown Princess Hitachi looked exquisite in her extravagant choice of apparel for the engagement party. She gave Ursa a radiating smile. "You too, Prince Lu Ten."
"Is it true you're going to be my new auntie?" he asked, sounding excited.
"Well, it appears it's going to be that way if I survive until the wedding day," Ursa joked.
Crown Prince Iroh was swept up in a conversation with a general that demanded his attention. The same happened to the Crown Princess, only the conversation had something to do with politics, dragging her son along with her. Feeling bored, she roamed the ballroom until she came across a balcony.
The atmosphere in the ballroom was stuffy and she needed to some fresh air that would be able to help her clear her muddled thoughts. The balcony was bigger than she orginally thought, and there were several unlit candles around her and instantly thought of an idea. Why not? Ursa thought optimistically.
It wasn't like she was going to get in trouble for firebending.
She loved how captivating the balcony became when she lit the candles.
"So you must be Ursa."
She suppressed a gasp, whipping around to find the source of the voice. Ursa knew the ballroom was packed with hundreds and hundreds of people and the odds of being alone in the balcony by herself were very slim. She sighed dejectedly when her poor attempt at stealing a few moments alone hadn't worked.
Ursa noticed the royal headpiece in his topknot and decided that this was Prince Ozai. His towering build made him look nothing like his older brother. The two brothers looked nothing like each other. Prince Ozai had thick black tresses that surpassed his shoulders and eyes of burnished gold.
"I imagine you would seek solace in the balcony seeing that you're not used to attending these kind of parties," he began.
Ursa narrowed her eyes. Was he mocking her because of her less than satisfactory status? Would he despise her for not having an impressive lineage? "You raise a fair point, Prince Ozai. However, none of these people are remotely interesting to talk to which is why I decided to come here."
The Crown Prince and his family were an exception, of course, but Prince Ozai didn't know she encountered her brother.
If this was how she was behaving in her own engagement party, how would be react during her wedding day? Ursa knew that with time, she would able to cope with being a Fire Nation princess.
Sensing her discomfort, he changed the topic of the conversation. "Did you firebend these candles?"
"Obviously they didn't light themselves."
He smiled, ignoring her offhanded remark. Ursa mentally berated herself for being rude to her future husband. "Well, my father certainly never told me of your firebending capabilities. It's been decades since a female member of the royal family has been given the gift of firebending, you know."
"Are you serious?" Ursa asked him with a note of incredulity in her voice. "Hm. I don't know why, but I've always thought the royal family would only marry firebenders — so they could heighten their chances of having a firebending offspring. Because of this, Crown Princess Hitachi pegged me as a firebender."
"Strangely enough, we haven't had a non-bending heir in my family for generations," Prince Ozai replied. "Even my own mother is a non-bender."
"Wow, you must really have potent firebending genes," Ursa told him.
He laughed. Ursa smirked, grateful that she was making some progress.
"Even that hag my stupid brother is with gave birth to a firebender. Have my met their son, Lu Ten?" he asked.
Ursa frowned at his behaviour. "Well, if anything, Crown Princess Hitachi is nothing short of exquisite. And yes, I have met Lu Ten. He's a very nice child."
"The hag is giving off the illusion that she's pretty from all the makeup she has caked on her face. Besides, I prefer girls who don't rely too much on makeup."
Ursa garnered all of her willpower to not blush at his comment, knowing full well that she usually applied minimal amount of makeup when it came to attending social gatherings. She would not give Prince Ozai the satisfaction that he managed to get to her with his flirtatious comments.
"Well, you're not looking too bad yourself, Prince Ozai."
Taken aback at her bold comment, he grinned. "I think we should be heading back. My father should be announcing our engagement any time soon."
When Prince Ozai offered her hand, she took it without hesitation.