Boiling Point
Whom to Apologize

He found himself moved from the building, first to a covered caravan so that nobody might suspect they were transporting a person, bound and gagged, then on a ship likely headed back to the Fire Nation under the nose of Fire Lord Azulon. The very thought that Ozai would do something under his father's nose made his stomach churn unpleasantly, but then so did thoughts of so many other things.

For one thing, thoughts of his father still lingered in his mind. Musing to himself, Lu Ten hated the idea of his father grieving for him, not knowing that he was still alive. Many times, his father told him that he, Lu Ten, was the man's reason for living, but the last thing he wanted was for his father to decide to join his wife and son in the afterlife was far better. Of course, that was the worst-case scenario, another one being Iroh beating himself up if he were to learn that Lu Ten was alive or not, not looking for his beloved son.

Of course, there was also what he'd not told his father. In the back of his mind, he knew Akio was right in that his father would take great joy in having a grandchild…

His fingers played with the hairpiece Ursa gave him on one of his earlier visits back to the palace so he might deliver a message from his father to his grandfather. A smile played across his face, remembering how Azulon's normally stone face melted upon seeing him, yet there was also that inkling in the back of his head that Azulon might not forgive him for what he'd done in the past, what he and Ursa were doing now.

Lu Ten didn't feel as clever as he did back then when he'd simply thought himself doing Ursa a favor by fulfilling the role her husband felt, but now, older as he was, he knew that there was nothing clever about having an affair with another man's wife, particularly when that man was a family member. There were so many risks entailed just by meeting Ursa privately, hoping every single time that Ozai wouldn't pick up on what was going on, that nobody would.

"I see you still have that."

"I wish I could give it to Zuko," he muttered. "I wish…"

"That we weren't hiding the truth from everyone." Ursa looked sadly at the Turtleduck pond despite that place normally being her favorite place. "We might have to. I don't think I can hide it this time."

Lu Ten's eyes closed. "I'm leaving again for Ba Sing Se. I'll try to think of something while I'm away, but hopefully, it won't be too long. Just know I wouldn't let anything happen to you, or…"

"Shush. Don't make promises you can't keep even if your intentions are the best."

"What was I thinking?"

Specifically, he'd been thinking about coming clean with Azulon, hoping that the Fire Lord's soft spot for him would prevent the man from turning his wrath upon those who wronged him and his own, even if they were his own. In truth though, thinking back, he should have told Iroh about what he'd done. True, Iroh would have been disappointed in both Lu Ten and Ursa, but on the other hand, there was the fact his father would indeed love having a grandchild, more than one. More importantly, Iroh would fight tooth and nail for his own, yet Lu Ten effectively removed this course of action, but the only proof now lay in the word of Akio and Ursa.

"What were you thinking?" the man behind the mask chimed in, standing in front of the jail cell of the small ship traversing the ocean while Lu Ten's hands were bound behind him in a manner that prevented him from Firebending. He thought at first that the man suspected what he'd done, but then he said, "I mean, leaving the Crown Prince without an heir, knowing full well General Iroh would never remarry. Everyone in the Fire Nation knows this. Talk about screwing up."

"You're not going to get a rise out of me, you know. You've tried multiple times since you captured me." Lu Ten glared at him, sitting on the bench, yet he did know what the man was talking about and it stung.

His mind typically focused on other things such as becoming a proper soldier for the Fire Nation and other pursuits preteens and young teens in the Fire Nation got up to.

"Well, my wife is beautiful, so I couldn't help but marry her."

"Personally, I think Liang is beautiful," one of the other lads said regarding a girl Lu Ten never met which soon resulted in the other young men at the academy training to be soldiers to which Lu Ten would eventually join in noting that Ursa was also beautiful.

One of the lads let laugh, brushing the comment off and clapping a hand on his back. "She's also the only Fire Nation girl you've ever met."

The conversation then drifted to the girls they liked, but nobody questioned the fact Lu Ten didn't bring up anybody as his social network was limited to those in the palace and those at the academy, yet when he walked back to the palace with Akio he did see other Fire Nation girls who never turned his head, but his best friend wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"Don't worry. You'll eventually find the one but be glad that General Iroh has no plans of marrying you off once you turn sixteen. You'll also have your own tot to gush embarrassingly over like myself and the others who are already married."

"Sure." Except, he'd not taken an interest in any other Fire Nation girl, brushing later questions aside after the wedding based on the fact he was busy serving the Fire Nation as a soldier.

After all, the person he'd fallen for was Ursa.

"Ozai must want you alive for some reason," the person stated. "Otherwise, you would be as good as dead or turned over to the Earth Kingdom's soldiers. So it must be more than say a bid to move himself closer to the throne."

"Oh, he's simply a sadist." After all, Ozai's actual one child with Ursa did turn out that way. In the back of Lu Ten's mind, he wished even more that he'd told more than just Akio.

"You should tell him, your father. He'd be delighted, but he'd help you out of this situation you've gotten yourself and Ursa into."

There remained a small hope that Akio might, despite promising not to, tell Iroh which in turn would mean Zuko, Ursa, and the unborn child would be safe. Of course, there was no telling what Ozai would do to him once he did know, but in Lu Ten's mind he would likely end up knowing they were safe.