Author's note:
Round 5, Season 5
Word count: 814
Prompts: Table, Ozai, "One more light" by Lincoln park
Team: Future Industry Fire Ferrets
Position: Waterbender
Other: A little AU or Out of character I don't remember this story line from the show all that well and a lot of details were left out.
A Mother's Instinct
Were there signs I ignored?
Ursa knew she had to protect her children. From the day, they were both born she took an unspoken oath to stop anything bad from happening to them. It went well for a while.
Her life was as good as it could get. She was married to a Prince, had two beautiful children, and was living in luxury. Her children had the best clothes, education, toys, etc.
But with the upsides there were downsides. All Ozai would talk about was getting the throne despite being the second child. And her Father in law was crazy and running a war that was killing thousands. Ursa had to ignore the red flags if she wanted to continue providing for her kids.
Can I help you, not to hurt, anymore?
Ursa did her best to try and comfort Iroh in her letters. The loss of his son hit him hard. It made things back home worse. Ozai never shut about how everything was leaning in his favor.
Every conversation was about how Iroh didn't have a successor anymore and how he had two. Which is how they ended up in this mess. Ozai called a meeting with his father and tried to convince the elder of his plan.
Azulon was tired of his son's petty ways and demanded that Ozai suffer the same fate as his older sibling. Little did Ursa know that her children had heard the whole conversation.
When her Husband came to her with the news she put her foot down. She would not let Zuko die for something so primitive.
Ursa had plenty of free time around the palace and often stayed in the library. Where she once read and interesting book about poisons. She snuck off to Azulon's sacred garden where he kept many dangerous plants and other wild species.
She found the hemlock plant and snip enough off. She then snuck her way into Azulon's chamber and mixed the Hemlock into his late-night tea. Her father in law never saw it coming. It did take all of her strength to carry the man into his bed. He may have been old but that didn't mean he was frail.
When Ursa returned to her and Ozai's chamber she told him what she did. He declared that she be banished for killing his father and sent her to pack.
She made sure to say goodbye to her children as she left the palace door under the gleam of the moon. She found a safe space to set up a small campsite and doze for a bit.
In a sky of a million stars
Ursa expected to wake up under the stars not in her bed next to Ozai. She got out of bed groggily and put on clothes. She drifted through her normal routine and was confused when she was dragged into the Throne room.
Ozai hadn't said anything when they woke up so why would he say something now? Ursa thought to herself. She nearly choked on air when she met Azulon's gaze and not Ozai's.
She thought she was still asleep but everything she knew about dreams told her this was real.
So, when the time came Ursa killed Azulon and was banished again. This happened for eight more days. She didn't understand why she was reliving this day over and over again. There was no way to change her actions. If she didn't kill Azulon her son would die.
Who cares if one more light goes out?
When she woke up on the 10th day Ursa decided she would change some little aspects about her day.
She had a different breakfast, wore different clothes, and wore her hair differently.
When the time came for her to sneak into Azulon's garden she didn't grab Hemlock she grabbed a Lily of the valley instead. She hoped that the poison she used would cause the days to go back to normal.
Azulon died slower this time and she didn't have to carry him to bed. He walked himself and she watched as his eye lids slowly shuttered shut. Ozai yelled less this time but still demanded she leave.
This time she only visited Zuko and for a shorter time. She didn't lie with him for a few minutes, she didn't sing to him, she didn't bother to see Azula. She ran in kissed his forehead and left.
Ursa tried to put as much distance in between her and the Palace as possible before she set up her make shift camp. She laid out a plan for herself and even came up with a list of new names.
This time she woke up under the light of the sun and not next to Ozai. This time she was truly free. Her heart ached for Zuko and Azula and prayed they would be safe.
She be reunited with them eventually.