Warning: M begins the process of what is technically a medicated abortion and this is Zuko's Agni Kai against his father. The scene itself happens off screen but M does describe why she hates Agni Kais.
Your father will fight in place of General Khin. Whatever you do, do not surrender. He is in one of his moods and will see this as an insult.
"Can I trust you to deliver this to Prince Zuko and only him?" I ask the manservant in charge of running the Crown Prince's chambers.
The servant, a man from the colonies with three children now grown, nods and runs off to find his master and I head to Ozai's rooms where he prepares to kill his own son.
Ever since I was a child, I have hated Agni Kai's. The smell of charred flesh and the brutality of it all disgusted me.
As Lady Fire Fountain I could claim to be a frail woman and ban them inside the city limits, but as Fire Lady I was not even allowed to claim to be indisposed to avoid it.
I had the displeasure of having a husband who liked challenging people to an Agni Kai for no fucking reason. Last time it had been an Admiral, the day before that a random peasant outside of the Temple and early in our marriage he killed a young private in the army who suggested I had not been a virgin on my wedding night.
This one sickens me the most.
He will kill his own child because he spoke out of turn.
"I say this with as much respect as possible, dear husband, but you should not go through with this-" I say genuinely terrified of what will happen. Ozai is mad, Sozin's Madness is what people called it. You get so hungry for power you kill the person you were and everyone you love -or ever loved you- for it.
If I can somehow dissuade him from this, I won't end my pregnancy, I silently pray. I have never been devout, in fact I did not even believe in Gods and Spirits, but I swear on my own life that I will give Agni another chance if he grants me this favor.
"I cannot let Zuko's insolence grow, dear wife. As endearing as your concern for my son is, I cannot be made a fool by my own son." He dismisses me. "You and my brother insisted that I give Zuko more responsibility, and this duel is part of his education."
I feel a shiver down my spine and all the blood leave my face. We must kill him. Our plans have barely started Phase One, but I cannot let this man live past tonight.
"May I retire to my rooms; I fear such an unsettling sight could affect the babes." I put my hand over my belly.
"Ursa never attended a single Agni Kai when she carried Zuko, I will not have another weak son." He dismisses the valet dressing him and gestures for me to finish readying him.
After this you will not have any sons. But I do not say it aloud as I put the golden arm bands on his forearms.
"I won't kill Zuko." He says almost patronizingly answering the unspoken question in everyone's mind, "I am not a monster."
"I need the tea; I need it now!" I whisper to Ruyi as she helps me change out of my leisure kimono and into a ceremonial robe.
"Are you sure?" she asks me as she adjusts the hem of my dress.
"I can't leave the dais, and I will be with Zuko or my husband after." I explain, Ruyi while a quick learner had never seen the aftermath of an Agni Kai, these were usually to the death these days.
"What if it happens while Ozai is dueling Zuko? They might think it suspicious." Ruyi warns before leaving to fetch the teapot already heated.
"The shamans and sages will say Agni punished Ozai for attempting filicide." I just need four maids and my cousins at the Main Temple to spread it. Ruyi should know by now that I control the Fire Nation gossip system. "I can't risk giving him two more victims."
"The midwife in Huazo Street said two cups will have it start within three hours." Ruyi whispers and serves me the first cup of poison.
The Agni Kai is everything I have come to dread. Well, I had the fear that Ozai would straight up murder Zuko -or this new terrifying Azula would do so- and thank Agni it had not come to pass.
"You placed your bets on the wrong ostrich horse, dear." My mother whispers as she accompanies me inside the Agni Kai Arena.
"He promised me that he would spare him." I clutch my sleeve of my hanfu tighter as the Fire Sages begin the rites for a Royal Agni Kai. "I don't think he plans on following through."
"I know, I should have said no when he came to fulfil Azulon's betrothal contract." My mother says filled with remorse. She had rejected him once and she feared what would happen if she did so again. Just as I was sacrificing my unborn children and my ability to have more for my country and stepson, she had to sacrifice my happiness and sanity for the sake of the Clan and the world.
They treat this as if he had committed treason and tried to kill him instead of expressing a good strategy which his mad father could not accept because of some trifling things like etiquette. Etiquette Ozai himself didn't even fucking follow.
"Did my message reach the Prince?" I ask Ruyi, who helps me into the Fire Lady's throne.
"The little monster intercepted it." Ruyi shakes her head and glares at a triumphant Azula coming into the arena and walking up the dais. "Little bird told me that she spoke to Ozai before he decided to be the one to duel Zuko."
"Fuck. Fuck it all." I curse and pretend I have not felt the first of the pains that tell me its working. There will be death this night, but it won't be Zuko's.
"Lady Stepmother," Azula bows in greeting and I only incline my head slightly in return.
"Azula," I keep my face as impassive as I can, but as Zuko walks into the platform and sees his father, I feel the mask break.
There's an evil little smirk in her face. "Father will be angry to know you've been conspiring with the former Crown Prince. It's a good thing you are with child or you'd be the one facing him in the arena."
Of course, she was planning on taking her brother's place, but she is both female and showing signs of Sozin's Madness was never going to be Fire Lord. Had I been allowed to raise her and have taken her to the Bhanti Temples with me, we could have undone all that Ozai had done to her these past two years.
"Is the life of your brother, heir to the Fire Nation, and your father's peace of mind worth so little to you, dear daughter?" I ask her, searching for the little girl who could have been such a strong force for good in her face.
"If that is the price we must pay for victory, then I will pay it gladly, dear stepmother."
"Please, Father, I only had the Fire Nation's best interests at heart." Zuko pleads." I am sorry I spoke out of turn!"
"You will fight for your Honor." Ozai seethes.
"I meant you no disrespect." Zuko kowtows to him to show his sincerity, but that does not touch the nonexistent heart of his father. "I am your loyal son."
"Rise and fight, Prince Zuko."
"I will not fight you." The audience gasp and more than one begins muttering in support of the Prince. Mothers and fathers watching wonder if the Fire Lord would kill his own child.
"You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher." Ozai dictates as he readies his wicked right fist with angry flames.
I do not look away. If the entire nation must see that their Lord is without mercy, then I must never forget why I killed my babies.