Ursa sat in the royal family's gardens at the end of her first day at the capitol. Her wrist was swollen and bruised after her "talk" with Azulon, and she'd used bracelets to hide it, even from her parents, until that evening when she got back to her room and had Sun put a healing ointment on it and bandage it. Alone, under the stars, Ursa sighed as she ran her fingers lightly over the water.
"What're you doing here?"
She perked up immediately. "I apologize, my lord. The servants said that the royal gardens were open to me, but if they were mistaken, I will leave at once."
Ozai waved it away and came to sit on the bench behind her. Ursa tensed, moving into a position that would allow her to stand quickly if Ozai should come too close to her.
"What's wrong with your wrist? Your hand was shaking when you served me tea at dinner."
"It's nothing, my lord. Fatigue."
"Then go to bed."
Ursa turned carefully so she could look at her husband-to-be. She watched him try to piece her features together through the lace of the veil. He had been surprised to see her at dinner with the veil on, and even more surprised to see her eat with it on. Qiao and Sun carefully rolled it up to her shoulders, and she tilted her head so that she would still stay covered while she brought food to her mouth. Iroh had found the whole thing hilarious.
"My lord is eager to see my face."
"Your wrist is bandaged."
A bit of Ursa's confidence returned to her when she saw a slight blush across Ozai's cheeks. It was as her teachers said—men are hard pressed to ignore a pretty girl, and certainly Peng and Azulon would have told him that she was pretty. He set his jaw and stared at her.
"You spoke with my father?"
"Yes."
"What did he tell you?"
"He told me what was expected of me."
"And your wrist?"
Ursa said nothing.
"Whatever you did to make him angry," Ozai said with a sneer, "I would not do again, because he just might break it."
Ursa said nothing, but when Ozai abruptly stood and marched toward her, she was on her feet in a second, gracefully, reaching for one of her hair ornaments, ready to sacrifice keeping the veil on for her safety.
"Ooh," Ozai said, stopping short. "Someone's had training."
"I attended the Fire Nation Academy for Girls briefly."
"Too cut throat for the 'little flower'?"
"The smallest of flowers can contain the deadliest of poison," Ursa said without missing a beat.
"So you are here to poison the royal family?" Ozai asked, stepping closer to her.
Ursa was aware of how much bigger than her he was. She wasn't much shorter than him, but his arms were bigger and his legs were bigger and his hands were bigger. Heat radiated from him, and he smelled of leather and spice. Ursa had very little combat training, but she knew how to assess an enemy, and she knew to stab with the pointy end. The strength in Azulon's hand had been incredible, and Ozai was far younger than his father, and would undoubtedly be able to snap her like a twig. Still, she met his gaze, determined to be defiant. His actions were for show; he wanted her to be intimidated.
"I would be a fool to poison the royal family and invite destruction on our nation."
"Take the veil off."
"No."
Ozai forced her back against a tree and slammed his hands on either side of her. "You would expose yourself to everyone but me? Am I not good enough for you? Or had you been holding out for the bigger prize?" Ozai gripped the lace in a fist, staring down at her, but there was no malice in his voice despite his actions.
"There are only two men in all of the capitol who have seen me: Minister Peng and your father. And I did not expose myself to anyone." Ursa narrowed her eyes at Ozai.
"You removed your veil for him. It is the same thing."
"It is not the same thing!" Ursa yelled, pushing against Ozai. "I would never…expose myself to anyone. I am not some prostitute from the docks!" Too late, she remembered who she was talking to, and covered her mouth. Ozai, too, seemed to realize what he'd implied, and he backed up even further, his face turning red.
"I didn't mean to imply that…"
Ursa bowed in the style of the capitol, open palm over fist, but when she stood, she couldn't think of anything to say. When she looked at him, she didn't see the prince, hotheaded second son to the powerful Fire Lord. She saw a man blushing at having just implied that his fiancée had taken off her clothes for his father and older brother.
Ozai sat down again on the bench. He gestured to the spot next to him, and she sat.
"I would be willing to bet you know more about me than I know about you." Ursa said, hoping to turn the conversation around. She turned toward Ozai, and was amused to see that he was smirking. Chem had told her to amend her earlier wrongs, and though there were some stumbles, at least he wasn't trying to set her on fire.
"I know that, despite refusing to do so, you do know how to bow properly."
"Who's to say your way is the better way?"
"I'm the prince of the Fire Nation—"
"And you have made me princess."
"Not yet I haven't."
The smile still hadn't faded from his lips, and he turned fully to face Ursa. Na was right; Ozai was quite handsome, and that would make the burden of marriage easier. She smiled at him, remembering what she learned about playing emotions against others, but was surprised when Ozai leaned in. She was even more surprised to feel his lips against hers. He wasn't tender; his kiss was as he was, aggressive and powerful, and Ursa found herself blushing so hard that not even her veil could hide it. Ozai looked pleased with himself when he pulled away.
"I will look for you to be everything Jian is and more," Ozai said to her. "She is smart and cunning, able to hold her own in those stupid court conversations, and is well versed in politics. She supports my idiot brother. I expect nothing less from you."
Ursa nodded, still blushing. "Am I to submit to you?"
"You will submit to me as I submit to my father. As Jian submits to Iroh." Without warning, Ozai gave her another of his aggressive, powerful kisses, then stood. "Let it at least be said that I kissed you before any other man."
Ursa hated herself for feeling like a foolish seventeen-year-old girl. One strong, handsome young man kisses her, and her heart's all fluttery and she's blushing like she'd never been kissed before. Even if that had been the first kiss she would ever admit to.
A/N: I think Ozai was an awkward duck in his younger days. Very impulsive and single-minded. I'm trying to balance a bit of social awkwardness with sheer aggressiveness and power. I don't know why, but in my head canon, Ozai's all about conquest and the war, and pays little attention to anything else, which includes social events. Maybe it just tickles me to think that Ozai's clueless about women. But let's not forget that Ozai's a sexy beast. Ursa can't help it. Rwar. Stay tuned for Lu Ten!