She saw the scar first.

It had consumed much of the left side of his face, a terrible mar partially hidden by dark hair that had grown just a bit overlong. The golden eye looking out from behind the scar met her gaze and held it. Ursa's breath caught as she realized that this seventeen-year-old boy standing before her, scarred inside and out… was her son.

"Zuko?" she whispered.

"Mom," he breathed.

And quite suddenly they were in each other's arms, tears spilling from their eyes, mother and son again at last. Ursa held him tight, hand on the back of his head; she could feel him almost clinging to her, this child she had abandoned in the darkness.

What had she done? Forced to protect him, she had assisted Ozai in the murder of her own father-in-law, but in her banishment she had left Zuko at the mercy of a monster. She saw it now plain as day, the story burned into him: the scar went further than the surface, and she hadn't been able to save him.

Now holding his face in her hands, she gently brought her fingertips to the scar and saw how he shied away slightly before allowing her touch.

"Your father?" Ursa asked through her tears.

"Yes," he said quietly. "Four years ago… this spring."

He had lived with this, without her, for all this time. And she knew that after the war, he had been named Fire Lord, forced to lead a broken nation at a younger age than any before him.

This is my fault.

"Oh, my love…" She let out a sob. "How could you ever forgive me? I left you all alone."

"No, Mom. I had Uncle. It's okay." Zuko wiped his tear-soaked face with the back of his hand. "And I made some friends, after a while."

"I've missed your whole life."

"I'll tell you everything. I promise."

"I should have been there, I should have tried harder to come back to you. And when the war ended, I-" She couldn't finish, couldn't voice the dark fear that had haunted her since her banishment — that her son wouldn't want her back, after all the pain she'd left him to. But he just hugged her again, and presently they sat down on the floor together.

He started to tell her about all that had happened to him since she had left, starting with his scarring and banishment. As she listened, Ursa wept at the pain and confusion he had gone through, but also with pride in her son. Beside her was the same child that had tried harder than anyone, who despite his failures had kept getting back up. He had never given up without a fight.

She saw how Zuko's travels and trials had changed him as well. In those gold eyes she watched the sorrow and the strength, the reservation and determination, a duality that had emerged and made him new, balanced. His experiences had repeatedly shattered him and reconciled the pieces, again and again to make someone who was humble and powerful beyond what he had ever believed himself to be. The Fire Nation was lucky to have such an honorable soul as its head. Ursa was grateful as well to the friends Zuko told her about. Anyone who had shown kindness to her son had her greatest thanks.

Soon Zuko began to wrap up his story.

"During the comet, I fought Azula in an Agni Kai. She cheated, and I got hurt, but Katara finished the fight for me… My coronation was the next morning."

"You got hurt? What happened? Are you all right?" Ursa drew in a shaky breath at the thought of her children dueling each other, and during Sozin's Comet no less.

"I'm okay. Azula shot lightning at Katara, and I managed to redirect it... but I did it badly. Katara healed me as soon as she could." He touched a hand to his abdomen, just below his ribs. "It's just a scar now."

Ursa took a moment to process that. "...And what happened to your sister?"

He broke eye contact, and she could tell from the look on his face that whatever happened, he didn't want to tell her. What could be that bad? Where was her daughter?

"Love?" Her voice quavered.

Bitterly, the answer came. "She's in an asylum. She's lost her mind."