4.16.12
man, I've been writing this a lot faster than I normally write things, because holy hell I love them.
I've already written much of the later chapters. Just need to finish adding to them and tweaking them :D
ugh I love me a good romance story
She is walking alone through the forest, knowing her mother will be angry if she finds out but not really caring at the moment. She is ten years old already, for goodness's sake; she isn't a baby anymore.
Ursa is going to the small lake in the middle of the forest. In her hand she is carrying a small paper sack with bread crumbs in it - all for the turtle ducks. She knows that it's the right time of year for them to have babies, and she can't wait to see the turtle ducklings.
When she reaches the edge of the lake, she sits down, not bothering to "sit like a proper lady", as her mother would put it. There isn't anyone but her out here anyway. So she sits cross-legged, a position that her mother hates because of how her knees push out her dress. Her mother thinks it makes Ursa look like a frog.
Ursa doesn't really care, and now that she's alone in the forest she cares even less. She opens her paper sack, and the rustling draws out the turtle ducks she's been waiting for. They're familiar with this routine. Here is a mother with her four babies, quacking softly, gliding towards Ursa at full speed. Ursa tosses out a handful of crumbs to them, and they eagerly scoop up them up from the water.
"Hello, momma," she says. "You look like you've been doing well." She tosses some more crumbs. "Your babies are very cute." She longs to scoop one of the fluffy turtle ducklings up and cuddle it, but she knows from experience that it wouldn't end well. She's learned that the hard way, and she ruefully rubs the red mark on her hand, which even now is still a little painful.
More turtle ducks are approaching. More mothers with babies. Young mateless males. Ursa feeds them all, amused as she watches them squabble over her bread crumbs.
"Hey! What are you doing here?"
Ursa jumps and nearly drops her bag of bread crumbs. She has not expected to encounter anyone else out here. As she turns around, she sees that it's a young boy, dressed in rather fancy red and gold robes. He walks up to her, having apparently emerged from the trees somewhere, and stares down at her somewhat haughtily.
She glares back, not wanting to show any weakness or hesitation. Something tells her that this boy is the kind who can take advantage of that. "I'm feeding the turtle ducks," she says, matching the boy's own haughty tone. It takes him by surprise, she can tell. Her eyes flick up to his headpiece and she tries not to let her surprise show on her face when she realizes that this is Prince Ozai. "What are you doing here?" Why on earth would the prince be out in the woods alone?
"I was practicing my firebending," he says, a little defensively.
The turtle ducks have retreated, wary of the sudden and unfamiliar intruder. Ursa turns back to them. "Now look what you've done," she complains. "You've scared them all away." She tosses out a few more crumbs, hoping that they will come back. She can tell that some are tempted but still unsure of getting too near. "Sit down," Ursa orders Ozai, before realizing what she has just done. Ordering the prince around! Still, she has come out here to enjoy herself, and he will not ruin it. "They're afraid of you."
To her very great surprise, Ozai sits down next to her. She offers the bag to him, and, a little uncertainly, he reaches in and grabs a handful of crumbs. He tosses them out to the water, and this time a few brave turtle ducks approach. Mothers still remain back, still fearful for their babies.
Ursa has not seen the prince in years; at least not up close. The parties she has attended at the royal palace over the next few years allowed her only glimpses of him at a distance. She has not spoken to him since their first encounter.
She still remembers that night, four years ago, when he showed her his firebending. It's one of the earliest memories she can recall. Some details are hazy in her memory, but she still remembers the way the fire lit up his face, the way he told her, "Don't worry, there's nothing to be afraid of" when she had been afraid of the dark. She figures that he has probably forgotten all about it by now.
She looks up to see that he is staring intently at her. Blushing, but too afraid to ask him to stop, she turns back to the turtle ducks. Suddenly she feels self-conscious of the way she's sitting and wonders if he thinks she's strange and unrefined.
"I know you," he suddenly says, very quietly.
She blinks rapidly and turns back to him. "You do?"
"Yes. You're that girl... the one who liked my firebending. Ursa. You're that girl who's not afraid of me."
She is so surprised that he remembers her, and how he remembers her, that she can't think of anything to say. "Um. Yes, I suppose."
A rather awkward silence settles over them. A mother turtle duck approaches Ozai and bravely nips at his pant leg, quacking loudly. Ozai jerks his leg back from the water's edge. "Get off, you stupid thing!" But the mother is persistent and only detaches herself after a few wild jerks of his leg.
Ursa lets a giggle slip out before she can stop herself. His face is red, and he is huffy. "What was that for?" he asks, annoyed.
"She was protecting her babies from you. That's what mothers do."
"Hmph." Ozai folds his arms and glared at the turtle ducks. "I didn't even do anything."
Ursa shrugs. "You scared them."
Ozai frowns and stares at the turtle ducks as he absentmindedly grabs another handful of crumbs and tosses it to them. "So you came out here just to feed the turtle ducks?"
"Well. Yes." Ursa shrugs, slightly embarrassed. "I just wanted to get away from my mother. She's always to into formalities and 'proper behavior' and all that, and it gets tiresome. Father is all right, but he's busy most of the time. And besides, I like spending time alone. It's peaceful." She realizes what she has said and hastily adds, "Not that it isn't nice to, um... be here with you."
He gives her a look, like he doesn't believe her. "I suppose... I know how it feels."
"What?"
"My parents. My mother... is a kind woman, but she has little time for me. My father..." Ozai's face tightens. "My father has only eyes for Iroh. And my parents are both growing old; their company isn't something that I particularly enjoy." He descends into moody silence.
Ursa doesn't know what to say. She knows virtually nothing about the prince and what sort of life he lives, but she gets the feeling that it isn't a very happy one. It surprises her. She had always thought that he had had everything he needed and wanted, and she says so. "But don't you have nearly everything you want? You have many servants. You have the best food, the best clothes, a comfortable palace - "
"What good is food or clothing to me?" he says, and he sounds angry. "An easy life in the palace? Maybe so, but that doesn't mean that I'm happy." He turns away.
Most people would have thought that this was simply the talk of a spoiled prince who wasn't satisfied with that he had. But Ursa realizes something else, because she's felt it before too. He's lonely.
His brother is much older than him, already a grown and married man; his father is elderly and short-tempered and favors his first son; his mother is kind but dismissive. Ursa knows that he doesn't need any more of the luxuries of palace life. He needs something much more than that.
"You can talk to me about it if you want," she says.
He looks at her, surprised.
Suddenly she feels rather foolish. "I-I mean - you know, if you ever... need someone to talk to," she says lamely. She's afraid to use the word friend, not sure if he'd even want her friendship anyway.
He doesn't say anything for the longest time, only stares, and Ursa, embarrassed, lowers her hand back into her paper sack to grab some more crumbs for the turtle ducks. Oh well, the offer hadn't hurt.
But when she chances a glance back at him, he's no longer looking at her but at the turtle ducks.
He doesn't say anything, but she knows the gratitude in the smile on his face.
so... dunno if you noticed, but yes there was a moment in this scene that was similar to what we know happens years later, when ursa and ozai have their kids... :D Remember that scene with Ursa and Zuko at the turtle duck pond? yeahhh, part of this was supposed to be like that one.
I just thought it would be interesting. she tells this to ozai, and the same thing that she will tell her son...