Chapter 5

It had been a few days since the party and Ursa had finally started to relax some. She hadn't seen or heard anything from Prince Ozai and her parents were none the wiser that something had happened. She felt a little bit guilty hiding it from her parents but she felt that she was doing the right thing. Ursa wasn't going to get involved with the Prince and she didn't want her mother to be disappointed. Her mother seemed normal again although maybe a little bit let down that nothing more had happened. Despite what Prince Ozai had said he hadn't gone to her father's school for lessons and Ursa thought that it was further proof that Ozai had forgotten her. Which was all the better.

"So guess who I just ran into at the market," Rina said with a smile, holding her bags of groceries. Ursa had stayed behind with Eska and Afiko, her youngest siblings, and let her mother go to the market with just Ukano and Mura. It was usually easier to get it all done that way.

"Who?" Ursa asked, getting to her feet to help her mother carry the bags in.

"Elua's mother. They arrived back from Ember Island last night," Rina said as she started to pull some bread out of the bag. "You can go see her if you help me unpack."

"Thank you!" Ursa exclaimed, hugging her mother.

It took no time to finish unpacking the groceries and within moments she had her shoes on and she was racing down the street to her best friend's house. It had been driving her crazy not being able to tell someone about what had happened. She had spent the previous night with Ikem at his father's shop helping to deep clean the store and she had felt so guilty not telling him about what had happened with Prince Ozai. But she knew that if she told him he would be furious and Ikem had a tendency to lose his temper and make rash decisions.

"Ursa!" Elua exclaimed when she saw her approaching. She jumped up and ran over, hugging her.

"I've missed you so much!"

"Me too!"

"How was Ember Island? Did you see any cute guys there?" Ursa teased with a smile.

Elua laughed and tossed her long brown hair over her shoulder. "Come on, we'll talk in my room."

Following Elua into the house, Ursa greeted her friend's parents and followed her up the stairs. Her home was as familiar to Ursa as her own. They had been best friends for years and she had spent as much time with Elua's family as her own. She was truly grateful that she had such an amazing friend and that they had stayed friends through school and beyond.

Making herself comfortable on Elua's bed, she grabbed one of the pillows and put it into her lap. "Come on, you have to tell me everything!"

"Okay, okay," Elua laughed. "I met this boy there. His name is Hahn and he's so cute and so sweet and we promised that we would write letters to each other. We spent so much time together on the beach and then we went to this party together and it was just amazing. I was so sad to come home but his family was leaving the same day that we were."

"I'm so happy for you!" Ursa said smiling.

"We'll see if it goes anywhere, you know? It could just be an Ember Island fling, but I hope it's not."

"You deserve more than just a fling."

"Well, we can't all be so lucky to find our soulmate when we were kids. How is Ikem?" Elua asked teasingly.

Ursa bit down on her lip. "He's good."

"What happened?"

"What?" Ursa asked, startled. But of course,

Elua knew that something was on her mind. She always did. "Um. It's just…"

"You two didn't break up did you?" Elua asked, worry in her eyes. "Please tell me you didn't break up!"

"No, no, of course not. Do you think that I would be this okay if we did?" Ursa asked with a shake of her head. "Just…something happened while you were gone."

"What? You have to tell me! I'm dying over here!"

"My family was invited to Prince Ozai's birthday party and um…he took me to the royal gardens and he said that he…that he wanted to get to know me better."

Elua stared at her with wide eyes. "Prince Ozai? Said that? What did you do?" She demanded. "Does Ikem know?"

"I ran away! I was in a panic. I told him that I couldn't do this and then I just…I ran and avoided him for the rest of the night and I went home as soon as I could. I didn't know what to do. It's been eating me up inside not telling anyone because I know what my mom would say if she knew what had happened. She would be so embarrassed. And I can't tell Ikem because you know how he is, he makes rash decisions when he's angry. Elua I don't know what to do, I've been so confused."

"Have you heard from the prince since then?" Elua asked. Ursa shook her head. "Well, maybe he just moved on and saw that you weren't interested in him. I mean he can't want to pursue someone that's not interested, right?"

"I hope so. I don't know what I will do if my parents find out. I know that they would want me to pursue it, especially my mom. But I can't imagine myself being happy with someone like Ozai. My heart belongs to Ikem."

"It's too bad you can't just marry him now. That would solve all of your problems."

Ursa laughed. She knew that if she did that her mother would practically disown her. And Ikem would never go for it; he was waiting to inherit the shop or to have a better job before they got married. As it was they couldn't afford to get married now anyways, and Ursa didn't want to have to live with either of their parents after they were married. She wanted to move into her own home with Ikem.

"I wish," she said, shaking her head.


It had taken him some time to find the school. For a sword master, Jinzuk's school was hard to locate. No wonder he wasn't getting new students. He had set Meiko to the task of learning more about Ursa's family and she had done marvelously. She had discovered that the family was poor and struggling. It would work out well for Ozai, however, that the family wasn't well off. They weren't in a position to turn down his offer. Fire Lord Azulon had barely agreed to the match when Ozai had told his father of his intentions. He had said something about Jinzuk's family being a disappointment, but he had only agreed when Ozai reminded him that Ursa's grandfather was Avatar Roku. Ozai could only imagine how powerful their children would be with his bloodline and Ursa's combined.

Finally locating the school, Ozai was struck by how small it was. It was in the not so good outer district, and it looked positively desolate.

"Wait out here for me," he told Lee, who nodded his head and leaned against the wall.

"Don't take too long," he said lazily.

Walking into the school, he stood in the lobby area. Although he noted, it wasn't much of a lobby. The entire building must be two rooms, so he supposed that this was where the teaching went on. Swords lined the walls and he saw a door that he presumed lead into a workshop. Meiko had mentioned that he sold swords. He walked over to the wall and inspected them. They were of nice quality but he had no use for a sword. Swords were for weak men who couldn't bend.

"Can I help—" Jinzuk began as he came out of the backroom but he trailed off, his eyes wide as he quickly bowed when he saw him standing there. "Prince Ozai! This is such a surprise."

Ozai turned to him. "Did you make these?"

"Yes Prince Ozai," he replied.

"They look like good craftsmanship. But I'm not here to speak of swords, Jinzuk. I have come with a request."

"Anything," he replied.

"I met your daughter at my birthday party. She's quite an extraordinary girl." Jinzuk looked surprised by the revelation. So Ursa hadn't spoken of their time in the pond. How interesting. Meiko had said that she may not have said anything. "I have been looking for a bride, Jinzuk. And I'm interested in marrying your daughter. I think that we would be a good match. My father agrees."

Jinzuk was silent for a few moments. Ozai was patient as he waited for an answer. It would be foolish to say no if the Fire Lord already approved. He knew that he had him cornered. With his money issues and that large family to take care of, it would be reckless for him to refuse him. But still, Ozai thought that it best to make him think that he had a choice in the matter.

"Prince Ozai I must confess that I am shocked by what you're saying. I need to speak with my wife and with Ursa."

Anger pooled in his chest. Be a man, he wanted to tell Jinzuk. But that was the quickest way to anger him and so instead he nodded once. "Please speak to them and let me know as soon as possible. I will send a messenger hawk tonight and I will expect an answer." He strode to the door and turned back to look at Jinzuk. "It would be such a shame if something were to happen to your lovely school," he said, taking a look around the school again before walking out the door.

Lee straightened up when he saw him approaching. "How'd it go? Get the girl?"

"Not yet," Ozai replied. "I have to make it seem like it's their idea. It'll be better for me in the long run."

He knew that he could go in there and demand Jinzuk hand his daughter over, but Ursa would be more…pliable if she thought that she had a choice in the matter. At least initially.

"What makes you so sure that she's the right one?" Lee asked.

Ozai smiled. "Can you imagine what my children will be like with my blood and Avatar Roku's blood? We will be unstoppable. And Ursa? She seems easy enough to control."


Ursa spent the rest of the day with Elua gossiping and catching up and just enjoying some time together. Elua loved books as much as she did and they talked about the newest release of The Young Firebender, a story that was posted weekly in the newspaper. It was nice to get away from her siblings and her family for the day. Things had been so tense at home that she just needed a break from them. She had stayed with their family for dinner, but when it started to get dark, she said her goodbyes and walked home.

When she opened the door to her home she noticed how quiet it was. The atmosphere had changed in her house while she was gone, and her heart started to race. "Mother? Father? I'm home," she had called, biting down on her lip.

"We're in the kitchen," her mother replied. "Please come here."

Was she in trouble? Had something happened to one of the kids? She took her shoes off and walked to the kitchen, stopping in the doorway.

Her parents were sitting at the table almost like they had been waiting for her to come home. No longer steaming cups of tea were sitting in front of them, looking like they had barely been touched. Her father looked like something had happened, and Ursa could feel that familiar sense of anxiety creeping in that had been heavy on her chest the last few days. Her mother's expression was unreadable, and that worried Ursa.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Please sit down Ursa," Rina said, gesturing to the open seat. "Let me get you some tea."

"I'm okay," Ursa dismissed as she took a seat in the chair, looking from her mother to her father. "What's happened? Please tell me. You're worrying me."

"I had a visit from Prince Ozai today, Ursa," Jinzuk said, running a hand over his face. "He wants to marry you."

"What?" Ursa gasped, her eyes wide, looking at her father. How had things gone from Ozai wanting to get to know her to marriage? "You have to be kidding me."

"He said that he met you at his party," Rina said, an accusatory tone to her voice. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think…it meant anything," Ursa faltered. "I didn't…he didn't say anything about marriage, mom."

Her parents both looked at each other and Ursa looked at them helplessly. What was she supposed to do? She didn't want to marry Prince Ozai, she was very happy with Ikem. But he was a prince, he was the prince. Could she refuse him? She didn't know.

"Well, clearly you made quite the impression on him," Rina finally said, looking at her daughter. "I think that you need to give him a chance."

"What? But mom, what about Ikem?" She asked her mother, a frown on her lips.

"Ursa, perhaps things won't work out between you and Ozai," Jinzuk interjected before Rina could say something. "But we think that you need to give him a chance."

Ursa looked from her mother to her father, a look of disbelief on her face. How could they ask her to do this? Why would they ask her to do this? She didn't understand. Sure, Ozai had seemed nice enough when she met him but she had already planned a life out for herself and Prince Ozai was not included in it.

Rina saw the look on her daughter's face and stood up, coming around to Ursa's side of the table. "You know that I love you, Ursa. And I just want what's best for you, always. You know that I would never ask you to do something that I thought wasn't a good idea. Perhaps you are right, and Prince Ozai will lose interest. Perhaps he will just want to be friends with you. We don't know what the future will bring for us. We don't know what our destiny is. Maybe it is your destiny to be a friend to him. I'm not asking you to marry him tomorrow. I'm asking you to get to know him. I'm asking you to listen to your father and me and to just give him a chance. Please, Ursa."

She looked into her mother's eyes and saw the sincerity in them. She could feel herself caving to her parents' wishes, and she hated herself for it. But how could she turn her mother down when she did everything for her? When her mother did nothing but love her and guide her. She knew that her mother would never steer her in the wrong direction. But she could still see Ikem's face in her mind, and she felt so guilty that she was even thinking about betraying him. She knew that he would never understand. But perhaps her mother was right and Ozai would decide that they were better off as friends. He had only said that he wanted to get to know her better when they met and that…that didn't mean that it had to lead to marriage, even if that was what he had said to her father.

"Okay," Ursa said softly. "I'll do it. I'll get to know him. But I won't make any promises, mom. I'm not going to marry him, and you know that."

Rina kissed the top of her head, relief on her face. "That's all I ask, Ursa."


Rina and Jinzuk sat in the kitchen, sitting there in silence long after Ursa went to bed. The house was silent around them and it was very late, but neither of them could even attempt to sleep.

"Our daughter is in danger," Rina whispered, looking at Jinzuk with wide eyes. "If she doesn't go through with this, I fear for her."

"He isn't going to stop until they're married. I can sense it, Rina," Jinzuk replied with a heavy sigh. He worried about his daughter's future if she married Prince Ozai. The danger that she could be in. "But maybe he has pure intentions with her. Maybe he didn't threaten me; maybe he was just…talking."

Rina gave her husband a sad smile. "We can only hope that Ursa makes him happy and he makes her happy."

Rina felt guilty for letting Ursa think that she had a choice in the matter, but she didn't think that Ursa would deal well with the truth. That if Prince Ozai wanted to marry her and Fire Lord Azulon approved it, than it was pretty much done. She was going to have to marry him. But Rina hoped that this way would make Ursa more open minded and that that could lead to a happy life for them. That was truly all she wanted for all of her children. But she couldn't deny that the thought of being family to the Prince…well, it was very appealing.

Author's Note: I hope that you enjoyed! Things are going to really start moving rather quickly now, and there are a few surprises in store for the next few chapters. I'm really excited about the next phase of the story and where things are going to go from here.