Chapter 15

When Ursa married Ozai she hadn't realized the good that would come for her family but in the two and a half months that they had been married she had watched as her family rose in status. Despite her initial reservations about marrying Ozai, she had been pleasantly surprised that it was different than she had expected. He wasn't so…harsh and cold. They actually seemed to be growing closer and for that, she had been grateful. And she was grateful that her mother was happier than she had been in a long time.

The thing that she hadn't expected when getting married was how isolated she would feel from her family. She didn't know if that was normal for marriage or if it was because she had married into the Royal family. But she missed seeing her siblings every single day and she missed her late-night conversations with her father. She missed her mother's cooking and seeing her mom every day. It surprised her that she missed listening to her younger brother's fight with each other all day. It had always driven her crazy having to hear them argue but after two months without seeing them, she realized that she would never complain about it again.

"Ursa look!" Eska exclaimed as she twirled around and then toddled towards her.

"Wow!" Ursa exclaimed, smiling at her younger sister.

Ursa's mom and Eska had come over for tea at the palace this afternoon and Ursa was so happy to see them. She wished that the rest of her family was there too, but they were at school and work. She would have to make a point of seeing them more; she needed to schedule time with her family. Her days were so scheduled by the Palace handlers but she realized that she needed to be firm with them and include her family more because she missed them.

She watched as Eska went towards one of the tapestries that hung on the wall. It was a beautiful landscape of Ember Island and it was Ursa's favorite part of this room.

"Eska come here," Rina commanded as she watched her youngest come towards her.

"Mom, she's fine," Ursa said, waving her concern away. If she pulled it down they could just hang it back up, she wasn't worried about it.

"I don't want her to break anything," Rina replied as she leaned down and scooped Eska up and placed her on her lap. Ursa frowned but didn't say anything.

Some servants walked into her room with their tea and placed it onto her table. They bowed and walked out. It was something that Ursa was never going to get used to, having servants. She still found herself cleaning up after herself despite Ozai's reminders that she didn't need to do that. She had grown up having to clean up after herself and it was ingrained in her.

"You look happy," Rina said after they were served their tea. She had been looking at Ursa for the past few minutes as they sat there as Eska ran around her sitting room.

Ursa took a sip of hers and looked at her mom. "Yeah, I guess I am."

It still felt strange to say out loud that she was happy. It felt like she was betraying Ikem but she had made a promise to herself to give this marriage a chance and she had. Even though there were times that still felt like she was married to a stranger she was growing to appreciate the things that she had now. She adored Lu Ten and Iroh and she was starting to form friendships with some of the other women. She had started to think about ways that she could help the citizens of the Fire Nation. She didn't want to just be a Princess in title; she wanted to use her title to help people. She just hadn't found the perfect cause to work on.

"I'm glad that you're happy, Ursa. That's all that I've ever wanted for you."

"I know, mom. But please, how is Mura and Afiko and Ukano? I wish they could be here too. How's dad?"

"They're good," Rina said, raising the cup to her mouth she took a sip of her tea. "They miss you. But Mura has moved into your bedroom," she said with a laugh.

"That's what she had always dreamed of," Ursa said, with a jolt. Even though it had been two and a half months since she had been married, it was still a shock to hear that life was moving on without her at home.

"She waited a week," Rina said with a smile. "We would love for you and Ozai to come for dinner some time."

"We would like that," Ursa replied with a smile. She wondered what Ozai would be like around her family. He had only been to her home one time, and he hadn't moved past the entrance and living room of their home. The thought of Ozai in her house was a strange one, and she wasn't really sure if he would agree to go. If he didn't want to go then she would have to go by herself. She wanted to see her father and her other siblings again, she missed them like crazy.

"Have you seen Elua? I miss her so much."

"She's doing well. I heard from her mother that she's going to start teaching at one of the schools in the village."

"She's leaving the Capital?" Ursa asked, her eyes wide.

"I think so," Rina confirmed.

Ursa knew that she had been a bad friend to Elua since her marriage but after Ozai's reaction over Elua possibly being in the wedding, Ursa hadn't wanted to bring her up. She realized that that wasn't a good excuse to ignore her best friend and she would have to write her a letter. If she was leaving to go to a village, Ursa wanted to see her before she left.

"You know Ursa I'm glad that finally saw reason. You were always destined for greatness and Ikem would have just held you back. He was never good enough for you."

There was a sudden lapse of awkward silence as Ursa stared at her mother. She had always known that her mother didn't like Ikem but to hear her say that so casually was shocking for her. It hurt. She had been with Ikem for so long and her mother had apparently not approved for that entire time. If Ozai had never noticed her than she would still be with Ikem and they would have been planning their marriage. Would her mother have stood in the way?

She felt a familiar ache as she thought of Ikem. She had been doing so well not thinking about him but of course, her mother had to bring him up. It hurt to think about him at war. Was he still alive? She thought that she would have known if he wasn't.

Ursa opened her mouth to say something and then just closed it. She didn't even know what to say to her mother right now. She suddenly wished that she wasn't there.

"Have you…" Rina started, breaking the silence between them. She looked at Ursa. "Have you thought about children?"

Ursa felt her cheeks turn pink. How could her mother go from talking about Ikem to asking her if she was pregnant? Ursa knew that that was what she was getting at, she wanted to know if Ursa was pregnant. She brought the cup to her mouth and took a sip to give her a few moments to get her thoughts in order and to avoid answering her mother's question. She wasn't surprised that her mother had asked, she knew that her mother wanted to be a grandmother.

"Well…yes," Ursa finally said, looking up at her mother. "It hasn't happened yet. But…we would like to have children soon. Perhaps a boy to give Lu Ten a cousin to play with."

"That would be wonderful," Rina agreed, looking at her daughter. "Some of the other ladies have been excited for you and Ozai to start a family together."

"Well…hopefully, it happens soon," Ursa finally agreed.


Meiko stood in the harbor a few feet away from her family as she watched as the guards loaded up all of her family's possessions onto the ship. She could feel her parent's eyes boring into her as she stood there looking out over the water. They had been furious when she had told them that she was pregnant and Prince Ozai was sending them away. Her parents had grown up here and had never left the Fire Nation, much like Meiko, and now they were being sent to the colonies. It felt like a punishment and Meiko was never going to forgive Ozai.

She realized that she was in a position of power carrying a potential heir to the throne. Ursa wasn't even pregnant yet and here she was carrying Ozai's child. And he was sending her to the colonies. He was damning his child to a provincial childhood and she would never forgive him. This child was going to know that he was a Prince of the Fire Nation. Meiko was sure that this child was a son and it made her angry to know that Ozai was never going to acknowledge him.

Her anger hadn't dissipated at all since she had told Ozai that she was pregnant and he had banished her from the Fire Nation. She and her child should be treated better than this. Did their relationship not mean anything after all of these years? She felt like she had wasted so much time on Ozai and what had it gotten her? Pregnant and banished.

For a few hours, she had thought about going to Fire Lord Azulon and telling him everything. Meiko knew that the only reason that Ozai wasn't going to tell his father about her and his child was that he was afraid of disappointing his father. In her angriest moments, she thought about going to tell his father as revenge for treating her so badly. She was sure that he would have treated her and her child better than Ozai was. But then she thought about her mother and the humiliation that she would face if people knew that she had been Ozai's mistress for all of these years. In the end, Meiko had decided that it wouldn't be worth it to tell Fire Lord Azulon.

The guards called for them to start boarding the ship and she looked behind her one last time. So Ozai wasn't brave enough to come and face her and her family. He had been their ruin and he didn't even want to come and say goodbye. She realized that she wasn't even surprised that he didn't come. Ozai had proven that he was weak lately with how much he had avoided her since he had married Ursa.

"Well? Are you coming?" Her mother asked her as she stood at the entrance of the warship.

"One second," Meiko called to her mother.

As she walked up the ramp to come onto the ship, she had the distinct feeling that she was never going to return to Caldera again after they left. Meiko paused at the entrance and turned to look back at the docks.

Meiko could see a figure standing in the darkness several feet away from the ship. As she looked closer at the figure, she realized that it was Ozai. He was standing in the distance watching them leave. So he had decided to show up after all but not approach them. It still made him a coward. Before she gave him the chance to approach her, she shook her head and turned the other way and walked into the ship.

"Shut the doors," She said.

There was nothing that she wanted to say to him today.


It had been several weeks since that night on the docks and Ozai couldn't get Meiko and his child out of his mind. He had sent them away because he had thought that it was the right thing to do but now he wasn't so sure. Ursa still wasn't pregnant and he was starting to think that it wasn't going to happen. She was nineteen there should be no problem conceiving. Ozai clearly wasn't the problem; he had conceived a child with Meiko, after all. He had been so sure that Ursa was going to be the one to give him a strong line of children and here they were almost three and a half months into their marriage without a pregnancy.

From the moment that he watched the ship leave with Meiko and his child, he had wanted to recall it and bring them back. He knew that they had arrived in the Earth Kingdom colonies but he hadn't heard from Meiko. He had sent a messenger hawk with a letter to her but she hadn't replied. He hoped that she would eventually stop being so angry and return his letters. Ozai was planning on finding a reason to go to the colonies when his child was born, but he would have to make sure that his father and Ursa didn't get suspicious of him and the trip.

"Prince Ozai you have been distracted lately," his father commented as they walked out of a war meeting. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine," Ozai responded immediately.

Ever since his marriage his father had been more interested in him and had been less dismissive of him. In war meetings, he asked for his opinion and he considered them. He was almost treating him like he treated Iroh and for that he was grateful. He refused to do anything that would take his father's newly found respect from him away and that meant not letting him find out about Meiko and the baby.

"Walk with me," Azulon requested.

"Sure," Ozai replied.

They were silent as they walked towards his father's rooms in the main part of the palace. He couldn't wait for these rooms to be his one day. They were bigger and much nicer than his. Ozai watched as his father walked over to his chair and sat down, running a tired hand over his face. It was one of the first times that Ozai noticed that his father was aging. His hair was starting to grey and these war meetings were starting to take more out of him than they used to.

"Are you alright, Father?" Ozai asked, looking at him.

"I'm fine," Azulon waved his concern away. "I heard that Meiko and her family went to the colonies."

Ozai looked up at his father. He knew that his father had an idea about his relationship with Meiko but he had been careful to stay away since his marriage. He knew his father wouldn't forgive cheating but he couldn't be mad at him for what happened prior to his marriage.

"That's what Lee told me," Ozai said coolly, meeting his father's gaze.

"That's a shame; her father has always been a valuable advisor."

"You can find new ones," Ozai replied.

"And who were you thinking about as a replacement?"

Ozai shrugged his shoulders. "Whoever you think would make a valuable advisor to you, of course."

"What about Jinzuk?" Azulon asked, looking towards his son.

"Jinzuk? Ursa's father?"

"Do you know another?"

It was a surprise to hear his Father consider Jinzuk for such a high position. He wasn't sure if he was qualified for such a position. His father, not one to forgive grudges, was looking to raise Jinzuk and Rina's status.

"I'm sure that Ursa and her family would be very grateful for the honor."

Azulon nodded his head thoughtfully. "Perhaps after Ursa bears you a child we will do something to show our appreciation."

So his Father was having doubts about Ursa and her ability to bear a child as well. It seemed that Rina and Jinzuk were fertile, they had four children between them, and yet it had been nearly four months and Ursa still wasn't pregnant.

"I think that that would be fair. Who will act as an advisor without Meiko's father then?"

"I was thinking you, Prince Ozai. What do you think?"

Ozai looked up at his Father. It was a shock to hear him say that he was considering him as an advisor.

"I would be honored."

"Good. Then you will take the role for now until we decide that it's time for Ursa's family to be honored."

"This is a great honor, Father," Ozai bowed.

"Go on, go tell your wife," Azulon instructed.

Ozai bowed to his Father and straightened up and took his leave.


"What are you doing?" Ozai asked as he walked into her bedroom.

Ursa looked up from the letter that she was in the middle of writing and smiled at Ozai.

"Just writing a letter to a friend," she replied, sitting back in her chair.

Ozai nodded his head and walked over to stand beside Ursa. He glanced down at the letter and then looked at Ursa.

"My Father asked me to act as an advisor."

"That's wonderful, Ozai," Ursa replied.

"You should ask your friend to come for a visit before she leaves," Ozai commented.

Ursa was surprised after Ozai had so vehemently been against Elua being in their wedding she hadn't thought that he would be okay with her coming for a visit. But she had been hoping to see her before she left, and Ozai had come up with the idea so she smiled at him and nodded her head.

"I would like that."

"Good," Ozai said. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Ursa replied. She paused and looked at Ozai. "I'm…I'm not pregnant. I'm sorry."

Ozai shook his head. "That's not why I was asking."

"Oh," Ursa said, her cheeks turning pink. "I'm sorry. It's just…all that anybody wants to know these days. I thought…"

"That I was the same?"

Ursa looked down at her hands and nodded.

"It'll happen when it happens," Ozai said firmly. "Write the letter, invite your friend for a visit, and don't worry about what anybody else thinks. It's what you're going to learn, Ursa, that what other people think doesn't matter."

Author's Note: Thank you all for reading and I hope that you are having a wonderful day or night!