Ursa stood at the bow of their ship headed back to the Fire Nation hugging herself and feeling grateful for some emotional numbness. She was done crying, but she couldn't stay below deck for too long because she started thinking of the Air Nomads trapped even further below. It made her sick to think that they were being kept in that tiny store room, and there was nothing she could do about it without raising too much suspicion.

After taking her to see the Air Nomads, they stayed on at Ember Island for another week while Ozai tended to business, sending off one messenger hawk after another, no doubt arranging for a showing as soon as they returned. She hadn't bothered to ask him, and she didn't really care. Nothing more had been said about Councilman Yi. She'd been allowed to continue ministering to the prisoners, though after a few days, she was barred from feeding them, and no matter how much she raged, Ozai wouldn't relent. He didn't want them regaining too much strength, but he did let her wash them and clean their wounds to the best of her ability. Every night that she left to tend to the airbenders, Ursa noticed that Ozai watched her leave with a set jaw and a tense body. Whenever she asked if there was something he wanted to say, he would storm out of the room, and she would be on her way. Sun explained to her that she had never tended to him as a wife the way she was tending to the airbenders. Ozai was jealous. This pleased her. Let him be jealous.

For his treatment of the Air Nomads, she made him sleep in his own room for the remainder of their stay on Ember Island, thought she didn't tell him the reason for his banishment. He just couldn't understand why she was so angry with him, especially about being told she couldn't feed them. Logic, he said, that's all it was. She would have continued their separation on the ship, but they'd taken a smaller vessel to avoid too much attention, and now they were stuck in the same room. She still made him sleep at the opposite edge of the bed. By then, he learned that he was firmly on her bad side for the time being, and had stopped trying to sleep next to her.

"You'll catch cold if you stay up here too long," Ozai said, snaking his arms around her from behind.

Winter was quickly approaching, and the temperatures were cooling. As much as she hated to admit it, Ozai did bring warmth. She was wearing a thin dress with short sleeves and she'd been standing out in the wind for hours. Her cheeks were pink, and she kept her hands tucked under her arms as much as possible.

"Will you come downstairs and eat?"

She didn't answer him, instead choosing to look at the near-armada of ships sailing with them. She was glad Ozai turned down the invitation from one of his generals to ride with them in greater luxury. Ursa knew she would have to accept Ozai's actions in silence, even pretend that it wasn't him who'd harmed the Nomads so she wouldn't be repulsed by his touch, but she'd be damned if she had to put up with that nonsense from his generals.

"Are you still ignoring me?"

"What did former Councilman Yi ask for in return for his aid? Did he want you to throw a few pleasant words about him toward your father? Did he want some credit for finding them?"

Ozai nipped at her neck, and she tried to move away from him, but she was stuck in the circle of his arms. "You are forever the business woman, aren't you?"

"It was the reason I was chosen to be your wife."

"I won't ask how you know he is no longer a member of my father's council, but he did ask for some credit, hoping it would put him back in favor."

"Will you give it to him?"

"No."

"Why not? If you made a deal, you should stick to the terms of that deal or you'll risk ruining your reputation, and no one will do business with you."

Ozai huffed, but pulled her tighter so that his grip became almost painful. His mouth was close by her ear.

"I made no such deal with Yi. He asked, and I did not answer."

Ursa tried to break away from him, to at least turn around, but he wouldn't let her. The more she struggled, the tighter he held her. Tsking, she rolled her eyes and gave up.

"What, Ozai?" she asked sharply.

"You've been avoiding me. I want to know why."

"When will we make it back?"

Ozai loosened his grip and Ursa turned to face him. He was looking at her chest and smiling. She looked down and blushed deep red. Ozai ran a thumb over her hardened nipple, but she slapped his hand away harshly, looking to see if anyone was around.

"Don't be crude."

She crossed her arms and tried to turn away from him, but Ozai only put his arms on either side of her, pushing her back against the rail. He ran his lips over her neck. She wanted to lean back and away from him, not even excited by his touch, but if she leaned any further, she'd be falling over the rail.

"Come inside, now."

Reluctantly, Ursa allowed Ozai to lead her below the deck, but she didn't take the hand he offered. To get to the kitchens, they didn't have to pass the room where the airbenders were being kept, for which Ursa was grateful, because she didn't think she could walk past without doing something rash like trying to break down the door and free them. Ozai got her a cup of jasmine tea before leading them to his office with his hand on her lower back. She sat down in the plush chair, placing her cup on the table, kicked off her shoes, and pulled her feet up. When her dress fell open at the split, she watched as Ozai's eyes travel up her bare skin.

"Why was Yi removed from the council?" Ursa asked as Ozai leaned against the desk.

"I'm not sure. I wasn't at that meeting."

"Do you want to know?" she asked.

"How would you find out?"

"How did I know that Yi was no longer a member of the council?"

Ozai watched her for a while, probing, but there was nothing she had to give him without getting a little first.

"If you want, I'll find out for you why Yi was removed. In return you will let me in on your schemes." It was a simple enough thing to do. There was only one person she had to ask, and he would give her a straight answer. It was nothing Ozai couldn't have done himself, but she knew he would never ask his brother what was going on. If he even cared.

"Who said I scheme?"

Ursa rolled her eyes and held her hands out for her tea. "It's cold," she said, handing it back. "Heat it."

Ozai mumbled, but he heated her tea. She accepted the cup and sipped it. Iroh said that she was like him in that they knew how to wait. So she did. Ozai was at least mildly curious about why Yi was kicked out—she could see that in the way he snapped to attention when Yi's name was mentioned.

"When we get back to the capitol, we'll get you fitted for proper Fire Nation clothes—"

"What's wrong with my clothes?" she yelled, offended. If the past two weeks weren't bad enough, now he was insulting her island's culture. She stood, shoving the teacup in Ozai's hands. "You certainly never had a problem with anything I've ever worn before." She glared at him, pleased to see him try to back up a few inches.

"It's just that, in the next year, we'll be getting a lot of new attention. It would be best if you dress in the style of the capitol. There's nothing wrong with the clothes you have now, just that—"

"Just that everything is wrong with them. Fine. You don't like them, I'll get rid of them."

Ozai waited, setting the cup down on the table. He blinked. Ursa blinked.

"Ugh, I'm not taking them off now, jerk." She stepped closer to Ozai and leaned against him, ignoring images of him doing the beating. "When you bring the airbenders to your father, he'll be pleased, right?"

"Right."

"You need to know how he thinks. You'll let me find out about Yi and tell me about the things you're planning."

She let Ozai kiss her.

"Deal."

He didn't question it. Of course he wouldn't. She was his wife, and he believed she was completely devoted to him.

"Ozai…" Images of him beating others could be pushed down, but if he'd been responsible for what happened to Io, she didn't think she could let him touch her again. Already, she was pushing away from him.

"Yes?"

"The youngest girl, there are marks on her legs. It wasn't you who…"

Ozai held her away so he could look in her eyes. "You have nothing to worry about."

He leaned in to kiss her, and she turned her face so he would kiss her cheek instead. He hesitated, but brought his lips to her cheek. Ursa's stomach churned. That wasn't even an answer. The girl had been raped, and he made it sound like he was promising not to rape Ursa, not assuring her that it hadn't been done by him. It was a hollow consolation for her, and Ursa wished she'd never agreed to go to Ember Island in the first place.

Ozai didn't bother her much for the rest of the day, leaving her to sort through papers in his office. She didn't find anything too important, but did pocket a few. It's not like Ozai would miss them. When he rolled on top of her that night, she let him instead of pushing him off or telling him to go back to sleep like she'd been doing, but there was no enjoyment for her. It was the first time she faked it.

When Ursa satisfied herself that Ozai was sleep, she got out of bed, grabbed her robe, then snuck down to the airbender holding room. As quietly as she could, she opened the door and closed it behind her, trusting completely in her faith that they wouldn't harm her. She sat the lamp on the floor and pulled out food she'd stashed for them.

As she fed them what little their broken bodies could stand, she sighed.

"There's little I can offer you," she said to them, "but I've studied herbs and poisons. I can numb your pain, of if you wish, I can grant you a swift death."

"Death," came the immediate reply from one of the younger men. "They'll hear none of my secrets."

"Why should we trust you?" another questioned.

Ursa was about to answer when Io responded. "Avatar Roku is her grandfather. They butchered one of their own just as they butchered us. She's a slave, just like we are."

Ursa bristled. "I'm not a slave," she said.

"Then you're here by choice?" Io asked, sneering with swollen face and cracked lips. "The only difference between you and me is that they don't chain you and rape you. Not seriously, anyway, and you have to pretend to like it."

Ursa swallowed hard, looking away from Io. Rather than think about what Io said, she focused on grinding the lilies of the valley she'd hidden in an inner pocket. She apologized for not having water or tea to mix them with so they'd be easier to swallow. She ground an entire plant using only her hands, then spooned it into the mouth of the man who'd wanted death. They all watched as, within minutes he stopped breathing. It was quick and painless, as she'd said. For one other, she gave something to numb him.

When she got back to her room, she was shaking. Ozai was still asleep on the bed. She made her way to the bathroom and vigorously scrubbed her hands. She was breathing in quick short gasps, and she tried to keep them quiet, but a few rather loud ones escaped. Ursa covered her mouth, afraid that Ozai would wake up and find out what she'd done.

He didn't make any noise, so she settled back into bed. Ozai was facing away from her, and she draped her arm over his middle. The more risky the actions she was going to take, the more he needed to believe that she belonged to him. The more Ozai needed to believe she was on his side.

A/N: About last chapter-ok, so I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good done messing with the timeline. I tried really hard to figure things out, and had come to the conclusion that the perfectly rounded numbers the Bryke gave us couldn't be right, and finally said 'screw it,' but I don't suppose that's good enough. Last chapter doesn't hold any influence over the rest of the story, and I'll decide later whether to keep it or take it down, since it does present such a large problem in continuity. Since people have reviewed the chapter, I'm somewhat reluctant to remove it (a holdover from my forum going days).

Back to our regularly scheduled story. I was torn between making Ozai participate in the violence, and making him relegate that task to others. On the one hand, it would fit in with his attitude and behavior, but on the other, would Ursa truly be able to keep up the ruse if she had seen it? I'm not sure she could let him touch her without feeling so repulsed that it would show on his face. His answer about whether or not he raped Io is ambiguous, which isn't the most comforting thing for Ursa to hear. But this is war. She's having to learn what people not in the nobility have known for quite a while. When you're rich, it's easy to keep (relatively) safe. For others? Not so much.