Hello and welcome to my first story! I wrote this story out of a desire to know what Izumi's daughter would be like-and to explore the LoK universe more in depth. There were a lot of characters in ATLA who we never got to see in LoK, and I also wanted to explore some of their stories through this one. Ursa, in this story, will tag-along for some of Team Avatar's adventures. However, she will also have journeys of her own. I hope to also explore the three year period between season 3 and season 4 in depth:)
While eating dinner, Ursa contemplated murder. For the last five days that she had been in Ba Sing Se, it had been a constant thrum in the back of her mind, and it made her fingers twitch slightly now, as she suffered through the Earth Queen's presence.
"Utterly disgraceful-this food is disgusting! Fire the chef immediately. Who does he think I am to accept food like this? The Fire Lord?" The Earth Queen screamed. Ursa's eye twitched. Her mother had sent her with Ambassador Choi as a sign of goodwill, to bolster diplomatic relations between the two nations-but Ursa was beginning to think it was better to let some bridges burn.
And to think-her older brother Roku had almost been sent in her place. Mother had changed her mind at the last moment, deciding that Ursa's temper was far less volatile than her brother's, and that she was a far safer bet to send. It was certainly a wise decision-Ursa was reasonably sure that Roku would've burned the Queen's palace to the ground by now-but even Ursa's temper had a fuse, and it was beginning to run short.
Since the moment she had arrived, the Earth Queen had not even attempted to be diplomatic, often making snide remarks about Ambassador Choi, Ursa, the Fire Nation, her Grandfather, her oldest brother's choice in career, and her mother. Truthfully, Ursa had always considered Choi to be a bit too much of a stickler for rules-but in the time she had spent with the old man at the palace, her respect for him had grown exponentially. If she had to deal with the Earth Queen for the rest of her life-well, she certainly couldn't begrudge the man his quirks.
However, Ursa could tell that Choi was getting worried about her. She figured Choi was worried about what she might do once she lost her temper entirely. Thus, back to the murder at hand. There were five Dai Li guards that were present in the room, so it was reasonable to assume that there were twice that number that Ursa could not see. But she wasn't worried about them-her great-aunt Azula had told her that all the Dai Li were incompetent sheep that would jump the fence at the first sign of power. Ursa would show them power.
A blast of lightning would take out Hou-Ting. Ursa had long mastered bending lightning with minimal movements, so by the time anyone noticed anything strange, it would be all over for the Queen. But would lightning be a satisfying death? Perhaps fire would be better-but that was cruel. And the fallout-even if she escaped, news of what she had done would reach the Fire Nation quickly. The Earth Kingdom would likely declare war, usurping the peace that her family had worked so tirelessly to cement and-Ursa let out a long sigh. No, it simply would not do.
"Tired, Princess?" Choi asked, giving her a knowing look as the Earth Queen scoffed.
"Tired. People of the Fire Nation have such weak constitutions. Pathetic. It must be all that smoke inhalation."
Ursa ground her teeth together, standing up in one swift movement. "Actually, I am. Goodnight, Majesty, Choi. I shall see you in the morning." She strode away from the table, noting irritably that two of the Dai Li had slunk out of the shadows to follow her to her room. Only two? The Dai Li most definitely saw her as a pathetic weakling, then. But, there was value in being underestimated.
At her room stood two imperial firebenders, Biyu and Akari. Ursa had known both women since she was a little girl. They nodded at her as she entered her room. Ursa allowed herself a smile once she entered the room, free at last from the Earth Queen's company, before changing into her nightwear and slipping into bed. She could only hope that tomorrow would be a better day.
The Earth Queen watched the construction of her garden with a scowl. Ursa, on the other hand, smiled to look upon it. She had always been fond of turtle ducks, and though the massive topiary was far gaudier than anything she prefered, it was still far nicer to look at than the woman next to her.
"About the import tax-" Ursa began, eager to get started on official business.
"How can I be expected to concentrate on shaping my garden when people insist on speaking to me?" The Earth Queen demanded, ignoring Ursa completely.
Ursa narrowed her eyes, scowling, as Choi gave her a warning glare. She was no queen, but she was royalty, and here as a diplomat-which at the very least required some respect to be given to her. "You are not shaping the garden-" Ursa began, fully ready to tear into the queen.
Just then, Grand Secretariat Gun entered, as timely as ever, with a girl who was clearly from one of the Water Tribes following behind him. "Your Majesty, Princess Ursa, Ambassador, may I present Avatar Korra."
The Avatar? What a pleasant surprise. As she bowed, Ursa took a step forward, smiling benevolently. "A pleasure to meet-"
"You're ruining the koi pond! It's completely overshadowed by the topiaries! Guards, take that buffoon away and get me someone who knows what they're doing!" The Earth Queen bellowed. She had not even turned.
Ursa bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood, refusing to be anything less than perfectly diplomatic in the Avatar's presence.
"I am surrounded by idiots." Hou-Ting turned to face Korra. "So, I finally get a visit from the Avatar. Let me guess, you want something."
"Well, actually Your Majesty, I was hoping you could…"
"I hardly think you're in a position to ask me for favors after everything the last Avatar did to the Earth Kingdom. He and Fire Lord Zuko took advantage of my father's weakness and stole our lands to make their own little empire." She turned to glare at Ursa. "The United Republic is Earth Kingdom territory!"
Ursa could not keep her mouth shut at this. "First of all, if I were you, Your Majesty, I would refrain from making baseless accusations about the men who helped to liberate my kingdom. Secondly, I would like to remind you that the land on which Republic City stands is the land of former Fire Nation colonies, and while I in no way support the actions taken by my predecessors to gain that land, it would be foolish to deny the lasting consequences of the conquest. That is, members of the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom lived together in those colonies peacefully for years, developing their own cultures, and in handing that land back to the Earth Kingdom, it would have only subjected them to more strife and cultural differences. Thirdly," Ursa dropped her voice, stepping towards the queen. "I would like to remind you that my great-aunt conquered this city with her two friends at the age of fourteen. I am almost twenty."
Hou-Ting narrowed her eyes. "Is that a threat?" It was the first time the woman had addressed her directly. Ursa tensed, waiting for her to move. She would not attack first, but she could hardly be faulted for defending herself-
Choi cleared his throat. "Perhaps we should hear what the Avatar has come here to say?"
"Excellent idea," Gun said hurriedly.
"Um...the reason for our visit is that we're trying to gather all of the new airbenders who are popping up in the Earth Kingdom, and we'd like your help finding the ones in Ba Sing Se." The Avatar said, looking awkward.
"Airbenders in Ba Sing Se. Where did you hear that?" The queen said sceptically.
Ursa resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Airbenders were appearing everywhere-and Ba Sing Se was massive. It was simple logic that there would be airbenders in the city.
"Before we left Republic City we got some reports."
"Hmm. Well, before I even consider helping you, I'll need you to do something for me." At this, Ursa was unable to hold back an incredulous scoff. Choi gave her another warning glare.
"Of course. What is it?"
"I have a vault full of tax money sitting in a town south of here. Barbarians have stolen my past two shipments. Go collect my money and bring it back here."
"You want to use the Avatar as your personal tax collector? You have completely-"
"The princess will go with you, Avatar, if you would permit it." Choi interjected.
"I will?" Ursa snapped, rounding on Choi.
"Yes, I believe a change in scenery would be...good for you, princess. You did speak of wanting to visit more of the city, did you not?"
Ursa was more than ready to leave the Earth Queen, but she also felt guilty for abandoning Choi-and for beginning to lose her temper. "Yes...I suppose I did." The Earth Queen shot her a smug glance.
"Uh...that's fine by me." Korra said, giving Ursa a wary look. Ursa sighed, wanting desperately to drop her head in her hands-her first meeting with the Avatar had gone nothing like it was supposed to.
"Are you sure we shouldn't have brought more people to collect the tax money?" Asami asked, frowning.
"There are royal guards waiting at the vault. I doubt anything will happen. I think Her Majesty likes ordering me around."
"Hou-Ting thinks being Earth Queen means she actually rules over the entire earth," Ursa threw in, rolling her eyes. "That woman gives royalty everywhere a poor name. Should you come to the Fire Nation to look for airbenders, I promise my mother would never assign such ridiculous tasks to you."
Korra and Asami exchanged looks, obviously unsure what to think of her. Ursa figured that the presence of Biyu and Akari played a part in their hesitance. Though Ursa had decided to remove her headpiece before boarding the airship, the imperial firebenders were not as easy to leave behind. "Good to know." Korra said finally. "What's it like being a princess?"
"It's usually quite lovely. What's it like being the Avatar?"
"Not so bad, most of the time…hey look! I think that's where we land." Asami landed the airship gently. The town was utterly deserted, and as they walked closer to the pickup point, Ursa noted that people were ducking down at the sight of them.
"I don't like the looks of this," Korra admitted. "Let's hurry up and get out of here."
As they neared the gates of the bank, the doors swng open, revealing an Earth Kingdom guard. "You here to pick up the shipment?"
"Go ahead and load it on the ship."
As the guards moved out, a red light appeared in the sky, and armed men on motorcycles jumped out from behind the buildings, causing the guards to drop the bags of gold and run away in fear.
"Stay close Princess," Biyu ordered. However, Ursa was itching for a fight. She hadn't used her bending beyond the privacy of her rooms in the palace lest the queen feel threatened for days, and her fire was rising to match the excitement pumping through her blood even now.
"So much for our escorts," Asami snorted.
"Maybe we should've brought everyone else," Korra muttered.
"I think we'll be just fine," Ursa said confidently. Once again, Korra and Asami exchanged looks.
A man wearing face paint, with half his hair dyed green, stepped forward. "Step away from the gold ladies, and you won't get hurt." Biyu and Akari pressed closer to Ursa.
"Sorry to dissapoint you, but we're taking this gold back to Ba Sing Se." Korra said firmly.
The man shrugged, "Awww, we love gals with spirit. Suit yourself."
"Wait!" Ursa stepped forward, years of diplomatic training ingrained in her brain. "Are you sure we can't settle on a peaceful compromise? There's no need to resort to violence."
The man laughed. "No can do beautiful." He said, stepping closer. He swung at her, and Ursa ducked as Korra earthbended the man away. Oh well. She had tried. With a smirk, Ursa allowed her fire to flow to her fingertips.
Beside her, Biyu and Akari were shooting fire at the barbarians, but they had gotten farther away in the commotion, leaving her open for attack. One of the barbarians sped towards her on his motorcycle, club raised with malicious intent.
"Watch out princess!" The Avatar yelled, but Ursa had been waiting for this moment. With a wave of her arms, she summoned a whip of fire, using it to yank at the wheel of the motorcycle, throwing the man off.
"What in the name of Shu…" But Ursa did not give him the chance to finish, quickly knocking him out with a blow to the head.
Asami and Korra stared at her in shock. "Left," Ursa ordered them, blasting another motorcycle away. She was careful to not directly aim for the men with her fire-they were non-benders, and would be unable to defend themselves from the burn.
The fight ended a few seconds later, with the men quickly retreating. "Retreat, retreat!" The leader roared. "You're on the wrong side of this fight, Avatar. That gold belongs to the people, not the Queen."
It was a textbook response from a vigilante, but Ursa still felt a rising sense of dismay as she thought about the gold-tipped roofs on the queen's palace, and the opulent decor. She worried that the man was right. A visit to the Lower Ring was long overdue-she needed to see the truth of the situation for herself.