Authors Note: Just a quick heads up that the end of this chapter does take a darker turn so please be mindful of that. Now onto the chapter!
Chapter 20
"Leave," Meiko demanded, attempting to shut the door and not jostle the sleeping baby.
Ozai's arm shot out past Meiko stopping her from shutting the door. She turned on her heel and decided to go back to her bedroom. Fuck Ozai, she thought to herself, he could stay in the living room as long as he wanted but he wouldn't get to see their son. No, she told herself. Not their son. Her son. Ozai had his young naïve bride and her baby. He didn't get to have theirs too. He didn't get to come into the colonies, where he had banished her and her family too. Her father no longer held the same sway that he had held in the Capital and he was itching to leave them in the colonies to go back to war despite his retirement. Her mother and her sisters were miserable. They were used to their lives of luxury, to their large house in Caldera City outside the palace and the social circle that had left them spoiled.
She knew that they blamed her for her bad decision to get involved with Ozai and for getting pregnant but they had had no problem with the arrangement when it was providing them with the luxuries that they were used to. Back in the Fire Nation, it hadn't been a well-kept secret and they had had plenty of opportunities because of her closeness to Prince Ozai.
Meiko shut the door behind her and laid Asahi in his crib and she pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead. She could feel a headache brimming. She could hear Ozai moving around in the living room and she could only imagine what her mother would think if she returned home and found Prince Ozai in their living room because she knew that Ozai wasn't going to leave until he saw the baby. But she wasn't going to give in that easily. She could be just as stubborn as Ozai.
"Open the door, Meiko," Ozai said firmly.
"Go back to the Fire Nation and your wife," Meiko spat out.
"Not until you let me see him. Lee told me I have a son. A son, Meiko. You gave me a son and I deserve to see him."
"No."
"Fine. Then I'll sit here until you decide to open your door and give me my son."
Meiko looked down at Asahi and rested her hand lightly on his stomach. She suddenly felt tears burn in her eyes but she refused to let them fall. Asahi should be growing up in the palace with nannies to take care of him and people serving him. He should be treated like the Prince that he is supposed to be. She realized that her son was never going to get the opportunities that he deserved, that he should be given because he was Ozai's son. She closed her eyes and took a few deep calming breaths. She didn't want to do this but if she played nice with Ozai then maybe…maybe he would acknowledge Asahi. Maybe they could come back to the Fire Nation, maybe he would treat Asahi like a Prince.
It wasn't what she wanted. She didn't want to share Asahi with Ozai. Not after the way that he had treated her. But if it could get her what she wanted and what they deserved…well then maybe it would be worth it.
She finally went to the door and opened it. "He's sleeping," she said as she stepped out of her bedroom.
Ozai was to his feet in an instant. He had been waiting for this moment since he had learned that he had a son. He wasn't a patient man but for some reason he was willing to wait until Meiko gave in to him, he knew that she would eventually. She was never able to say no to him.
"You can see him when he wakes up."
Ozai didn't look happy. "Okay," he finally said. He looked her over for a moment. "You look good."
"You have a wife."
"She's not here," Ozai retorted. "And that never bothered you before."
Meiko rolled her eyes and shot him a look. "If you think that something is going to happen between you and me, Ozai, you are sorely mistaken. I'm through with you. We may share a son but it's never going to be the way that it was."
"I'm just here to see my son," Ozai told her.
"Then you don't need to make comments about my appearance and we don't need to talk," Meiko said.
"Fine," Ozai snapped.
The two sat in complete silence as they waited for the baby to wake up. Ozai had only had a glimpse of the baby but he had thought that he looked like him. It made him curious about what his son would look like with Ursa. Already he had two children compared to Iroh and it clearly made him the superior son. It had been several years since his wife died and he had shown no interest in remarrying. He had thrown himself into the war and perhaps their father approved of that, but if something happened to Lu Ten their line would be through if his father didn't make him the next in line.
"What's his name?"
"What?"
"My son," Ozai clarified. "What's my son's name?"
"Asahi," Meiko replied.
"Asahi," he repeated. It wasn't the name that he would pick for a son, but it wasn't terrible. "It's not the name I would have picked…but it's not terrible."
"Thanks," Meiko snapped sarcastically.
Ozai rolled his eyes. "I didn't mean it like that. It's a fine name."
"That's not what you said," Meiko pointed out.
"You just have to pick at everything I say now, huh? What is your problem?"
"What is my problem? What is my problem?" Meiko demanded. "You got me pregnant, Ozai! And then you sent me and my family away to the colonies. We have been friends for years and you just threw me away for Ursa. You absolutely destroyed my life and my family's lives. So sorry if I'm not jumping for joy that you are here right now. I'm so angry at you Ozai I don't even want to look at you."
Ozai was silent and didn't look at him. He knew that he deserved that but he had been doing what he thought was best. He thought that sending her and her family away would protect her and her reputation…but more importantly, would protect his reputation. And it would keep Ursa happy and by extension, him happy as well since she would leave him alone. It was selfish, sending Meiko away, he knew that, but Ozai was selfish and didn't pretend to be otherwise.
"I was doing what's best for you and the baby. Society would have destroyed you and the baby-" Ozai began to say.
"You just don't want your wife to know about me and the baby. Don't fool yourself because you're not fooling me."
Ozai opened his mouth, anger rising when he heard the baby start to wail in the other room.
"Bring me, my son," he said coldly.
"Fine. The sooner you see the baby the sooner you can get the hell out of my house," Meiko snapped.
She walked back towards her room and despite how angry she was at Ozai the moment that she saw her son she could feel herself calm down. She looked down at him and carefully scooped him up into her arms.
"How was your nap?" Meiko asked gently, rubbing his back. "I'm sorry that I failed you, Asahi, and gave you such a terrible father. But we're going to be okay together. You have me and that's not going to change, I promise."
Meiko looked down at her son and smiled. He was perfect and she loved him. And even though she didn't want to admit it to Ozai, she realized that she wouldn't have him without Ozai and for that she knew that she needed to at least play nice while he was there.
She finally walked out into the living room and looked at Ozai.
"This is Asahi, your son," Meiko said, carefully placing the baby into Ozai's arms.
Ozai looked down at his son. Asahi stared up at him. Ozai immediately noticed that the baby had his eyes and he thought that he looked like Lu Ten had looked when he was a baby.
"He looks strong," Ozai commented.
"Yes," Meiko replied.
"Do you think he's a firebender?"
"I don't know."
"You'll keep me updated when he shows signs," Ozai stated.
Meiko raised an eyebrow. "You're telling me what to do again."
"He's my son and I deserve to know if he's a bender."
"Fine," Meiko replied.
Ozai nodded his head.
Iroh hadn't been this exhausted in a long time but it was well worth it to have Lu Ten with him. Spending time with his son was his biggest priority while Lu Ten was with him but there were still decisions to be made and a war to win. He was working longer hours than he had been when Lu Ten was back at home in Caldera City but it was well worth it to have his son with him again.
Sitting at his desk he had maps of the Earth Kingdom spread out over the tablespace and letters from the other generals off to the side. They had decisions to make. Fire Lord Azulon wanted more Earth Kingdom colonies and there were always the Water Tribes that they could try to colonize. Iroh wasn't sure if it was the time yet to go after the Water Tribes, but if his father wanted it then that was what they were going to do. But at the moment, Azulon had his eyes on the Earth Kingdom with Ba Sing Se as his eventual end goal, but they were nowhere near ready for that. He was sure of that.
Iroh reached up and wiped at his eyes, he was exhausted and was ready for bed but he had letters to respond to. He sighed and grabbed his brush and ink and looked down at the paper and began writing back to General Liu.
"Dad?" A voice said from behind him.
Iroh turned his head and saw a bleary-eyed Lu Ten standing there in his pajamas.
"Son, I thought you were asleep," Iroh said.
"I had a bad dream," Lu Ten said, looking off to the side, shame on his face.
Iroh placed the brush down and closed his ink jar and sighed. He stood up and walked over to his son and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Nightmares happen to the best of us, son, there is nothing to be ashamed of."
"Even you?"
"Especially me," Iroh admitted. His dreams were filled with visions of war and death and of his wife. In his dreams, he always tried to save Kuvira but in the end, he lost her again and again and again.
"But you're a grown-up and the best General, Grandpa said so."
"Well, let me clue you into a well-kept secret. Grownups, even ones like me, have nightmares too. Come on, son, let's get you back to bed."
"Okay," Lu Ten said.
Iroh opened up the flap to the tent and let Lu Ten walk out into the cold dark night. Soldiers were milling around and they bowed respectfully to Iroh and Lu Ten as they made their way over to Iroh's personal tent. He leaned down and held the flap open for Lu Ten and he followed him in. Most nights he slept in the other tent but with Lu Ten around he was making a point of separating his work life and his personal life.
"I wish that I could stay with you," Lu Ten said as he got into bed.
He sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I wish that you could stay with me too, but the war front is no place for a boy, Lu Ten," Iroh said. Their time together was getting shorter, and soon Lu Ten and Ozai would be returning home to Caldera and the palace.
"Says who?" Lu Ten asked, frowning.
"Your place is in the palace, son. With your Grandfather and Ursa and Ozai and your tutors. You don't want to live at the war front. I don't want you to grow up here among all the soldiers."
"But I want to be a soldier just like you," he argued.
"When the time is right," Iroh said firmly. "For now you are going to be a kid."
Lu Ten sighed but nodded his head. "I miss mom," he said softly.
Iroh looked down at his son, who looked so much like his mother. Every time he looked at his son he saw his wife and it made it hurt that much more. But he thanked the spirits for his son and the time that he had had with Kuvira before she got sick. He sighed and smoothed his son's hair down.
"I miss her too, son."
"Stay with me until I fall asleep?"
"Of course," Iroh nodded, getting comfortable.
He suddenly jolted awake and looked around. He looked down and saw that Lu Ten had fallen asleep and Iroh realized that he had fallen asleep. He knew that he should just go back to bed, but he had those letters to respond to. He sighed and pushed himself off of the bed and walked out of the tent.
"Oh," A voice said.
Iroh turned and saw Ozai standing there. "Hey," Iroh greeted. "Where have you been?"
"Out," Ozai said.
Iroh raised an eyebrow. Ever since his brother had come to the colonies he had been spending more time away from the camp than he had been spending with them. It was giving him a lot of time with his son but he couldn't help but think that he was having an affair with someone. He wouldn't be surprised if his brother was seeing some Earth Kingdom girl. It just made him feel bad for Ursa in the Fire Nation, oblivious to his brother's indiscretions.
"Fine, don't tell me what you've been up to," Iroh said. "I'm going to go back to work."
Iroh started to walk towards his tent. "I have a son," Ozai blurted out.
He turned to face his brother. He couldn't see his face in the darkness and his eyes widened. "Ursa had the baby?" Iroh knew that it was too soon for Ursa and he could feel his heart pounding.
"No," Ozai said. "Meiko. Meiko had my son."
His mistress. Ozai had a bastard son. "Does Ursa know?"
"No. She's not going to find out."
"She deserves better than you," Iroh said before he turned and walked away.
"How is our Prince feeling today?" Rina asked happily, placing her hand on Ursa's stomach.
"Mom, you don't even know if it's a boy," Ursa laughed.
"It's a feeling," Rina said. "Grandmother's intuition."
Ursa shook her head and smiled. "Ozai is convinced that it's a boy."
It was nice to be at her parents' house again. As much as the palace had become her home over the past almost year of her marriage, there was still something special about her parents' house. It was sad to see it like this, all packed up and ready for them to move. It was exciting that they were moving closer to the palace with her Father's new position as an advisor to Azulon, but she was sad that they were losing this house. She was going to miss all of the memories and all of the years that they had spent here. But she had never seen her mom so excited; she had thrown herself into packing their things up and getting ready for the move in a few days.
"You sweet naïve girl," Rina said with a laugh, shaking her head. "Of course Ozai is hoping for a son. If anything happens to Prince Iroh and Prince Lu Ten—"
"Mom!"
"No, listen," Rina continued, waving her hand. "Of course I don't want anything to happen to them, but if something did happen, well, the new Fire Lord would be Ozai and your son after that."
"Ozai doesn't think like that," Ursa said, shaking her head.
"All Princes think that way, Ursa. I don't know how you've made it this far in the Fire Lord's court," Rina laughed, shaking her head.
"You make it sound so dangerous," Ursa rolled her eyes.
Rina placed a teacup in front of Ursa and she picked it up and brought it to her lips. Sometimes it felt like her Mother just wanted to instigate drama and she would never understand why.
"I'm glad that you are having an easy time with things, Ursa. Perhaps things are different now than they were when I was a young girl."
"Maybe," Ursa agreed.
Jinzuk walked into the room and smiled when he saw Ursa sitting at the table. He walked over and kissed her head.
"How are you feeling?"
"Good," Ursa replied, placing a hand on her stomach. "We're feeling good. Congratulations, dad. I'm so happy that Fire Lord Azulon has given you such a good position at court."
"It's all thanks to you," Rina said proudly.
"To me?"
"When you married Ozai our status greatly improved and it's all thanks to you and your marriage."
"You're giving me too much credit," Ursa said with a laugh as Afiko ran into the room.
"Ursa! You're here!"
Ursa laughed and leaned over to hug her little brother. "You are getting so big."
"Are you ready for the Light Festival next week? Me and Ukano have been saving up to buy fire flakes!"
Ursa smiled. "I'm very ready. But how about you and Ukano save your money and I'll buy you as many fire flakes as you want."
"Really?" Afiko asked with wide eyes.
She smiled and nodded. "Really," she promised.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Afiko exclaimed, hugging Ursa.
She laughed and hugged her brother back. It was one of the perks of her marriage, she could spoil her younger siblings and Ozai didn't care.
"When does Prince Ozai come back?" Jinzuk asked curiously.
"Tomorrow," She said. Her husband had gone to visit Prince Iroh with Lu Ten for a few weeks, and they were due to arrive back home tomorrow.
"That's good, it's seemed like they've been gone for a while. It must have been quiet at the palace."
"It has been," Ursa agreed. "I've missed both of them. It's strange without Lu Ten around, but I'm happy that he got to spend some time with his father."
The docks were on the horizon and Ozai was glad that he was almost home. It was a day sooner than they were supposed to get back home and he was relieved at the good time that they had made. Lu Ten had been a mess ever since they had left the colonies and Ozai didn't want to deal with it anymore. Let his nannies and tutors handle him, Ozai had had enough.
It had been a good experience getting to see his son and Meiko. Meiko was still angry with him but he had finally gotten her to promise to send him frequent updates on his son. He hoped that his son was a firebender just like him, but he hadn't shown any signs yet. He knew that it was still too early but he had hope that he would get a letter soon that Asahi was showing signs. He wasn't sure how he wanted to handle his bastard son or how much he wanted to provide him with. That would be a conversation with his father, he supposed. He wasn't going to acknowledge him but he could still provide something for him…just in case, he was ever needed.
Iroh had been just as judgmental as Ozai had expected him to. He had opened Iroh's letter to Ursa to make sure that he didn't tell Ursa about the baby. They hadn't spoken again besides cordial small talk and Ozai wasn't looking to change that. As far as Ozai was concerned, Iroh could stay at war for the rest of his life.
"How are you feeling?" A voice asked from behind her.
Ursa gasped and turned to see Ozai standing there. "You weren't supposed to be home until tomorrow!" She exclaimed, smiling.
"We made good time," Ozai explained, walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her.
She smiled up at him. "I'm glad that you're home."
Ozai leaned down and kissed her, placing his hand on Ursa's stomach. When he pulled away a moment later, he looked down at her. "How is our son feeling?"
"He's been moving away," she replied.
"Good. He's going to be a strong boy," he commented.
"Just like his father and grandfather," Ursa agreed.
"And your grandfather."
It wasn't the first time that Ozai had mentioned Ursa's grandfather. Even though she had never met Avatar Roku, he had been gone before she had been born but it was a source of pride for her mother, being the daughter of Avatar Roku.
"Tell me about your trip! How is Iroh? Did you give him my letter?"
"I did," Ozai nodded. "He sent one back, you can read it later," he said, as he sat down on the edge of her bed. "Our trip was good. I'm glad that we're back, though."
"I'm glad that you're back."
"Me too," Ozai said.
The Capital had been completely transformed for the Festival of Light. Vendors had set up up and down the streets and they were selling food and different goods. The streets smelled heavenly from all of the different foods and spices cooking at all of the different vendors. Lanterns were hanging all throughout the streets casting light and shadows throughout the streets. The streets were filled with children and people all over and street performers were dancing and putting on plays in different locations. It was one of the biggest Festivals in the Fire Nation.
Ursa had always loved the Festival of Light since she was a young child and she had been worried that Ozai wouldn't want to go because of her pregnancy. But when she had brought it up to him, he had been accommodating and they had agreed to go for a few hours. Ursa was excited about the different foods and to see one of the plays, perhaps. A part of her did feel strange that she wasn't going with Ikem. They had gone every year together since she met him and Elua and this was the first year that she wasn't going with them. She felt a twinge in her chest when she thought about him and Elua, she missed them both but she knew that she needed to leave them in the past.
"Aunt Ursa! Look!" Lu Ten exclaimed. He had run a little bit ahead and was staring at the street performers.
Ursa smiled. "They look amazing, right?"
It was good to see him smiling again. Coming home from visiting his father, Lu Ten had been moody and Ursa couldn't fault him for that. She knew that it was hard for him to be away from his father and he had been struggling lately so it was good that he was distracted.
"Yeah!" Lu Ten smiled.
Ursa smiled up at Ozai, who looked exceedingly bored, but Ursa was appreciative that he was there at all.
They stood there together as she rested her hand against her stomach. She winced slightly as she felt a strange twinge.
"Are you okay?" Ozai asked.
"I'm fine," Ursa replied, looking up at him. She didn't know what that was, but she pushed it out of her head. "Come on, Lu Ten, let's see what else is going on."
They continued on, pushing through the crowds. Their guards were nearby, but she was glad that they were having a semblance of normalcy again. It wasn't often that they were out among the people away from the palace.
"Can we get some fire flakes?" Lu Ten asked.
"Of course," Ursa said.
"You're spoiling him," Ozai commented.
"I'm not spoiling him, he deserves to be happy. He's been so sad lately."
"Hmph," Ozai said noncommittally.
Ursa wanted to roll her eyes but she held back. Ever since Ozai had returned back from the colonies he had been in a bad mood when it came to Iroh and Lu Ten. She had tried to find out what had happened while he was there but Ozai had refused to say anything and she had eventually stopped asking. She didn't want to anger him or start a fight with him. She just had to hope that whatever had happened they would make up eventually.
She let go of his hand and walked over to Lu Ten, who was waiting in line. She could feel the palace guards grow closer and she looked over her shoulder to see them standing close enough to intervene should something happen, but generally speaking, the citizens of the Capital loved the Royal Family and they didn't want to harm them. Ursa felt safe amongst the people but she knew that Azulon's paranoia knew no bounds and it was easier to just go along with it rather than fighting it.
"They smell really good, don't they?" Ursa asked her nephew with a smile.
Lu Ten nodded his head happily. "My mom loved them."
"Well, we'll get some extra in her memory, okay?" Ursa smiled sadly, squeezing his hand gently.
"Really?" Lu Ten perked up.
Ursa nodded. "Really."
"You're going to be the best mom to the baby," Lu Ten told her.
"Thank you, Lu Ten. You're going to be a great cousin to him or her too."
"It's a boy. I can feel it," Lu Ten said confidently.
"That's what everyone thinks," Ursa said with a laugh, shaking her head and resting her hand on her stomach.
They stepped up to the vendor and Ursa ordered them more fire flakes than they could realistically eat, but Ursa had promised Lu Ten and she wasn't going to break her promise. She popped a few into her mouth and offered them to Ozai, who begrudgingly took a few as well. She smiled at him and they continued to walk through the transformed streets.
As they walked, Ursa felt another twinge, this time worse than the last one. It stopped her in her tracks and she breathed through the pain.
"Ursa?" Ozai asked, his voice laced with concern.
She doubled over and closed her eyes, liquid dripping down her legs. She didn't know what was happening but she felt a terrible feeling in her stomach and she was completely filled with dread. Ursa knew that something was terribly wrong with the baby.
"Aunt Ursa?"
"Guards!" Ozai shouted. "We need to get Princess Ursa home!"
Author's Note: I hope that you enjoyed this much longer chapter than usual. It was a bit of a different style than the others but I hope that you liked getting to see some different points of view. Going forward I think that chapters will be more like this and we are going to start having some more significant time jumps as well. I can't believe that we're already to chapter 20. I am so thankful for everybody who is sticking with this story, this is the longest fic that I've written in a very long time and I have no desire to abandon it. However, just thinking about where this fic is going we're going to need to start doing time jumps because this fic is going to cover at least another decade of Ursa and Ozai's life. That's enough of my rambling, however, and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Please feel free to let me know what you thought and I hope that the next chapter will be up soon!
