Prompt: Ursa explaining the 'fact of life' to Azula, and Ozai to Zuko; siblings' talk after that. (I flipped this around a bit, and took Ozai out, because I didn't feel that he'd actually take the time to explain something like that to Zuko...especially since he's so full of himself he probably doesn't care...I hope you don't mind!)

Requester: Lucrezia6565--(Sorry it took so long to get up, I've been muy busy lately!)

Words: 1,187

"Mom, I demand to know why you and Father made Zuko first, instead of me!"

Ursa suddenly fell into a fit of coughing, almost causing herself to tip over the chair she had been sitting in. A female servant rushed to her aid, steadying the chair and reaching out a hand to help the Fire Lady, but Ursa waved her away, recovering quickly and wheezing, "I'm all right, leave us."

Hesitating, the servant backed away a few steps, but didn't depart.

Regaining her breath, Ursa glanced toward the door. "Go on, Ai. I need to have a private word with Princess Azula."

Curtsying politely, the servant girl glanced briefly toward the young princess and left the room, shutting the door with a soft click behind her.

As soon as they were alone, Azula piped up again, her amber eyes blazing. "Which one of you decided that Zuko was to become the heir and I wasn't?"

"Now, dear," Ursa calmed, "It's not that simple. Your father and I had no choice in the matter."

"What do you mean 'we had no choice?'" Azula whined, "You made us, didn't you? How do you expect me to believe that you had no choice in who came first?"

"Azula," Ursa sighed, suddenly sounding weary. She tried to grasp any explanation that a ten-year-old would understand, "You're a little too young for me to explain."

"What?" the princess scowled, "Are the answers only reserved for the firstborn? Does Zuko know already? Is it some secret harbored only by the Fire Lord and his wife, and their heir?" Azula was fuming now, suspicions of conspiracy and secrecy raging in her ten-year-old mind. Before her mother could even reprimand her for her insolence and disrespect, the princess shot out of the room, sprinting around corners and down winding corridors with surprising agility. She ran down two flights of stairs, leaped over a bench, slid under a long table that occupied the now-empty dining hall, and headed for the central courtyard and the turtle-duck pond. She knew Zuko would be there. He always was.

Today was no exception.

Sitting at the edge of the water and tossing breadcrumbs as far out as he could throw, the preteen prince watched as several turtle-ducklings scrambled over each other to get at the tidbits. Calm and serene, the place was a refuge and sanctuary for Zuko when being a 'proper' prince was too much and he needed a release from the pressures of being the Fire Lord's son. Usually, his peace didn't last long.

Today was no exception.

Azula burst in.

Vaulting over the wooden rail that separated the courtyard from the covered awning that led out of the palace building, she saved time instead of going through the gate. Running headlong across the lawn, she collided into him, and they rolled over and over on the grass, kicking and scratching and screaming, until finally, Azula pinned her older and bigger brother down in the grass.

Distant, frightened quacks echoed from the other side of the turtle-duck pond.

"Have you lost your mind?" Zuko yelled, his voice high-pitched and angry as he continued to struggle, "What are you doing?!"

"I want my question answered, and no funny business!"

"Funny business?!" Zuko sputtered, his eyes narrowing in a glare. "Why couldn't you just have asked me, instead of tackling me to the ground?"

Pinning him by his wrists, she sat, straddling his chest and smirking down at him. "Number one, because its fun watching you squirm." Zuko snorted in response to this, but by now was far beyond helpless in his younger sister's grasp. "Number two," Azula went on, ignoring his protest, "I can seriously injure you if you lie to me. So, answer truthfully, Zuzu, and you won't get hurt."

Zuko gaped, not quite in disbelief, but in the utter absurdity of the entire situation. "Fine," he hissed, "What's your question?"

Azula smirked, glad she had gotten the better of her older brother. "What do you know of Mother and Father's plot to make you Fire Lord?"

"Plot?" Zuko's eyebrow raised quizzically. "I thought the firstborn always becomes Fire Lord."

"Don't play with me," Azula hissed, to her brother's confusion. "I know you were born first! My question is why? Why not me?"

"Uh…"

"Aha! I knew you were hiding something!"

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"Don't pretend you don't know, brother! I know you do!"

"I don't know what you're…wait, you want to know what?!"

"How is it possible an imbecile like you was born before me? Why would Mother and Father do that to me?"

Zuko suddenly became very quiet, his eyes wide, something akin to emptiness in his eyes. He said absolutely nothing for the longest possible time.

"What?" Azula demanded, giving him a frantic shake.

He stared up at her blankly, his eyes distant.

"Tell me!" she shook him again, and he blinked.

"Do you really want to know?" he asked, his voice quiet.

"Yes, yes! Tell me everything!" She was excited now, quivering like a wolf drawing close to its helpless prey.

"I'll only tell you if you let me up," Zuko demanded. "I can't tell a story like this."

Involuntarily, Azula let out a half-snarl. This was a dampener on her fun. But she had to agree, it would probably be questionable to anyone passing by what exactly she was doing. She didn't want to get caught interrogating Zuko about something he wasn't supposed to tell.

"Fine," she hissed, "But if you make a break for it, I'll catch you faster than you can blink."

She shifted back, settling on the spongy grass, allowing her brother to push himself to a sitting position. Brushing a stray clump of dirt off his shoulder he crossed his legs, leveling his gaze with hers. She listened hungrily as he began the tale.

An hour later, Azula returned to Ursa's sitting room, where they had had their earlier argument. Her face was pale and colorless, and her eyes were dull and shocked. Even her hair, usually so well kept and neat, stuck out in strange angles from her head, like she'd tussled with a wildcat.

"Oh, dear!" Ursa exclaimed, standing. "What happened?"

"This…?" Azula looked down at her wrinkled clothes that she'd messed up during the wrestle with Zuko. "Oh, this is nothing. Just playing."

Ursa stepped forward. "You know, Azula," she said, her voice tender, "Maybe I was too harsh with you. I've decided to answer your question from earlier. You have a right to know, just as Zuko did, when he was your age."

Azula's eyes flew wide, and she took a step back. "No, no, Mother. That's okay, I don't really need to know, anyway."

"Oh, but I think I should…"

But the princess was already out the door, her quick footsteps echoing down the hallway as she ran.

Ursa frowned, turning back to her maidservant, who stood back respectfully. "Ai," Ursa sighed, meeting eyes with the woman before her, "Where have I gone wrong raising that one?"

Ai's amber eyes sparkled knowingly as she locked gazes with her mistress.