A/N: Ok, so this is a chapter where Ursa reminds me a lot of Zuko. A lot of reviews have been stating the fact that they are beginning to get annoyed with Ursa and her reasoning, and that's good. I originally was going to write Ursa as a very likeable character, but it just didn't feel right. This girl has spunk, yet she is very scattered and headstrong and a bit overly confident. It's just who she is. Her plan is suppose to appear ridiculous, because it is. She doesn't think things through, just like her father used to say he didn't. Maybe at some point Ursa will recognize how much of a mess she is getting herself into, but right now she's only concerning herself with one thing. Though, her plan sounds selfless, I actually see her actions as highly selfish, she doesn't realize how many people she is putting in hot water just because she thinks she can protect one person. Ok, I'm done rambling.
Also the review regarding the way I characterized Katara, I would like to respond to. Thank you for your review, I really enjoyed reading it! You shared what you liked and what you didn't and it's always really nice to see what your readers want and don't want, and what they are getting from the story. Now as for older Katara, a headcanon of mine is that she regards Bumi as her baby. Without noticing it, I think she would be overprotective of him specifically because he is the only child that cannot naturally defend himself. Though he is skilled with a sword, she still feels he is very vulnerable because he doesn't have an element at his fingertips to protect himself. I could just see her being upset with herself for ever making him feel like she wasn't proud of him, that it would drive him to join the United Forces. I think she sees it as mostly her fault. She doesn't get as overly emotional with her other children, but Bumi is different. To her, he always has been.
Please continue to review! Thanks for all the ones you have sent in so far! God bless!
Disclaimer: I don't own "Avatar: The Last Airbender" or "Legend of Korra".
Breathing deeply, the dark haired girl carefully opened her travel bag, trying to ignore the nervous knots within her stomach that threatened to cause her lunch to make a reappearance. Inside was exactly what she needed. Underneath her multiple Earth Kingdom styled outfits, were one of her black training uniforms, a red robe, and a mask that shined auburn and gold when turned in the dimming sunlight.
She put on her tight black traning pants, nearly tripping over her feet from nerves as she shakily buttoned them. There were a few burn marks on them from all her years of firebending practice, but they were also particularly sturdy, made of a protective material that would shield her from a firebender's flames. She put on the dark long sleeved tunic made of the same material, pulling the fabric to extend down the lengths of her pale arms.
Next came the mask, but Ursa decided that would be put on much later. Instead, the Princess doned the heavy fabric of the auburn colored robe, tucking away the mask where she kept some of her extra throwing knives.
Pulling a little box from her luggage, she quickly grasped the cold metal of her weapons and hid them in the black fabric that lay against her wrist. The rest of the small throwing knives were put in the pocket of the robe, just in case she needed them at some point.
Looking at her reflection in the glass of the window, Ursa didn't see a Fire Nation Princess anymore, no this time a warrior looked back at her. The same warrior Bumi had always told her that was buried deep within her heart. She saw Honora, brave and fearless, staring at her.
It had been hard getting the patrol guards to divulge any information earlier in the day, about the raid to her, but after a few minutes of asking them about their training and skills, she was able to coax answers from them. After she batted her eyelashes a few times, they were more than happy to tell her about the General's plans.
"They are going to attempt to take back the village at midnight, when they assume most of the rebels will be sleeping. It's going to be a cautious job, considering there still are villagers within the mix, either imprisoned or allowed to live among the rebels as long as they abide by their rules. It's not a big village though, so I suppose they can only smash so many of those good for nothings in there."
Ursa had nodded thoughtfully, marking the time of the raid mentally within her head.
Next, she had to ask Bolin in which general direction his village was.
Bo had tapped his chin for a moment, standing on the front steps with the Fire Nation Princess, his dark hair gently tickling his face as he frustratingly pushed it back, "Geez," He muttered scanning the forest in which he had hiked through with the recruits, "I believe it's that way," He pointed at a break in the brush and then shook his head, "But if you had a map I could show you exactly where it is."
Ursa rushed inside to ask Naomi for the piece of paper. The lady pulled an area map from one of the drawers in the living room and told her she was free to keep it.
"Ok," The Princess murmured, sitting with the young child at the dining room table as the young girls played dolls in the other room, giggling periodically, "We are here."
She pointed at a blue dot set on the paper near the coast, marking it as the small trade town she now resided in.
"That's my village," Bo muttered, squinting his pale green eyes as he pointed his small finger at a red dot a good distance into the forest.
"Alright," Ursa nodded, grabbing a pen and ink from the nearby shelf and drawing a line leading to her destination, Bo gave her a curious look though.
"I just wanted to plot your journey. It must have been very difficult to get a good idea of where you were suppose to be going."
The young boy nodded, smiling slightly, "It was. But I'm brave, and I'm smart. I wasn't scared of getting lost."
Ursa gently ruffled his hair, "Maybe you could let me borrow that bravery sometime?"
Bo gave her a toothy grin, causing the girl to laugh a bit at the absolute pride and confidence he was radiating.
She could probably use that now.
Grabbing the marked map from her desk, she curled it up and put that in her robe as well, sighing in relief as she finally got the first stage of her plan completed. Now, she just needed to escape.
There was always the going to sleep early excuse.
She looked really suspicious though, to just be going to sleep early.
"I could say I'm going on a nature walk," The girl began to mutter to herself, pacing the length of her room, barefeet scratching against the rough wood flooring, "That wouldn't be a complete lie."
She sat down on her bed, leaning over and grabbing her boots from their place on the floor, "That's becoming a reoccuring sentiment of mine."
After she had tied the laces, the Princess laid back on the soft quilt, moaning in despair. She couldn't think of anything to say.
"You know what?" Continuing to whisper to herself, Ursa stood from her bed, tugging conifidently at the front of her robe to keep it from wrinkling, "I'm just going to say whatever comes to me. Like Sho's mother said, I'm not a prisoner and can do as I want."
With a new touch of courage, the girl determindly opened her door, breathing a sigh as she closed it behind her. Walking down the stairs, she heard the sound of multiple conversations, from a mother and son conversing about trade issues, to little girls talking about what fashions their dolls should wear.
"Miss Naomi?"
The older woman turned and saw her guest standing in the doorway to the kitchen as her and her son washed the dirty dishes from the late lunch they had. The girl looked troubled, but the woman tried to keep up her motherly smile as she nodded for her to continue with her inquiry.
"Yes, Honora?"
Ursa looked up at the woman, her amber eyes casting sadly around the room as she attempted to appear as awkward as possible.
"Is there something wrong?" Sho asked from his place next to his mother, a strange glint in his emerald colored eyes.
"I need some time to myself," The Princess leaned against the frame of the doorway, frowning deeply, "I just need to get some fresh air and recollect myself. My mother, upon my leaving, had become gravely ill, and I just need to think for awhile."
Naomi looked unsurely at her guest, putting her rag on the countertop before setting a gentle, pale hand on the young girl's shoulder. "That's fine, dear. You are not our prisoner, feel free to do as you please while you are in our village."
Ursa nodded, a relieved smile gracing her features, "Thank you," She looked over at Sho as well as she spoke, "I don't think I will be back in time for dinner, but I promise to be back by morning. I just want to walk along the beach for awhile."
The older woman looked like she wanted to request maybe a different alternative and warn her about rebels, but her son cut her off, "Alright, just be careful."
The Princess smiled, nodding, "I always am."
Saying goodbye to the two, she took her leave, waving absentmindedly at the children as she passed the living room and calling back a slight goodnight, in hopes that they wouldn't notice and start bugging her about where she was going.
After leaving the inn, Ursa walked to where the break in the woods was still visible, smiling slightly as she pushed a branch forward and entered the darkening forest. Phase two of her plan was in motion.
The sun was slowly falling beneath the horizon, offering a small amount of light as the girl stepped every which way to avoid tree branches and roots sticking up from the cold forest floor. She wasn't truly worried about the sun's disappearing rays, considering she could just bend a flame in her hand, but that also made her more vulnerable in case there were rebels patroling the woods.
"Ok," The girl mumured, reaching into her robe and withdrawing the map in which she had hidden there, "Let's see where I go from here."
A creek was specifically marked on the map, though it appeared to not be much of a body of water, it was sure a great way to get an idea of where she was going.
"Alright," She put the map back within the fabric of her robe, brushing back her dark hair as she tied it back with a loose string from her sleeve, "This may actually be a successful night."
Though she usually craved action, she wasn't particularly found of violence at the moment. Perhaps it was the fact Bumi was now involved within it all. She didn't want to feel the need to fight, she didn't want to have to protect him, but she was going to be there just in case.
The sun continued it's descent as the girl walked for awhile longer, no way of telling how much time had passed except from the pain that ebbed away at her aching feet. By the time nightfall had descended though, she had reached the small creek.
Sitting beside the running water, the girl hastily stuck her hands in it, cupping the liquid within her palms and splashing it in her face. She had begun to sweat due to the layers in which she wore, and the forest had turned a bit muggy after the sunset.
Ursa unfolded the map again, lighting a small flame on the tip of her finger as she observed the landscape surrounding her.
"I'm here," She muttered, brows furrowed in concentration as her eyes scanned for anymore landmarks that could help her find her way to the village, "Now how in the world am I going to get to here?"
There was nothing else to help her find her way through the dark woods.
"You have got to be kidding me!"
She let the flame on her finger die as she lay back on the forest floor, throwing her hands up in the air, "I just can't ever think things through. The plan goes so well for awhile before somethings just got to mess it up!"
After sitting there for a few minutes, allowing herself to calm down and let her anger subside, the girl stood shakily grabbing the bark of a nearby tree. She put the map back in its place and covered her head with the hood of her robe.
"I didn't come all this way to allow a map to stop me from doing what I'm suppose to do," She crossed her arms defiantly staring at the dark trail in front of her, "If I get lost, atleast I can say I tried getting to my destination."
So she continued on, her mood often changing between that of absolute anger at having completely no idea where she was, to determination to get to where she wanted.
Taking a break, Ursa sat on a tree stump for a few moments. She rested an elbow against her knee and looked up at the sky, the new moon caused a darkness to fall around her, but the stars twinkled like little flickers of fire on the black backdrop of the night. "I can't just waltz in there," The Princess began to talk aloud to herself in a quiet whisper, "I need to find somewhere to hide, but I can't do that until I get there," She became frusterated again as she tightly closed her eyes, "But I need to plan this now."
She dragged her sweaty palms across her face, shaking her head slightly. She would just have to hide in the woods when the time came.
After regaining her breath and calming a bit of the ache in her feet, the Princess pressed on.
She really wasn't as clever as she gave herself credit for.