A/N: I fixed Zuri's name. Thank you!
Ursa returned to their shared room late that night. She smelled like warm water and jasmine, entering with a dampened lantern to make her form glow in amber light. Moving around in silence, thinking Zuko to be asleep, he was able to watch her. It didn't seem like she was getting ready for bed. Ursa moved around the room, idly shifting objects and pausing to look through a few chests.
When it did seem like she was about to retire, Zuko sat up on his futon. Startled, Ursa clasped her robes tightly in her hands and whirled around.
Loose strands of her hair cut dark lines across her face, and her visage was fractured in the light.
"Mother." Zuko said and watched her relax.
"Ah my son, I thought the bandits had returned." She said and shuffled over to her own futon next to his.
"Are we safe here?" Zuko asked.
"Why would we not be?" Ursa replied.
"You have been harmed in my absence." Zuko paused and took a chance. "You said we wouldn't get hurt."
"Your uncle…" Ursa trailed off and stared over at the door. In the dark and with the lamp turned down low, it existed outside of the hazy boundary. It loomed just on the edge of his sight, standing as a waiting assassin.
"Did he hurt you?" Zuko asked urgently. Ursa stood up and untied her robes, forcing Zuko to turn away.
She didn't reply as she dressed, and Zuko just listened to fabric shift over itself as she folded things. When Ursa sat back down, Zuko looked down at his hands in his lap.
"Your uncle is growing impatient, and impatient men do rash things. As your father has already proven." Ursa sighed and Zuko felt her prod him with something hard. Glancing over, he saw the comb in her hand. He took it easily and turned his body just as Ursa presented her back to him.
"I did what was needed to make sure he wouldn't get rid of me." She added.
"And that required your blood?" Zuko questioned. He ran the comb gently through her hair, meeting tangles only briefly before the glossy strands gave way.
"It did, actually."
The lantern stained Ursa's skin the color of honey. Still, Zuko was overly familiar with scars, and hers was still so new. A gash cut across her arm, causing a break in her porcelain skin.
The strong scent of jasmine in her hair made Zuko wonder what kind of gold Iroh had used to repair her.
"While you were away in the South Pole, one of your uncle's mystics told him of a calling spell. There was a minor celestial event and by using something with the Avatar's essence, he would be able to call upon the spirit of the Avatar." Ursa explained. She ran her fingers lightly over her scar, moving them back and forth over the line.
"I carry the blood of the last Avatar." She murmured.
And now he understood.
By his mother's blood and with his uncle's voice - the two people he loved the most - Zuko had been ripped from his world and sewn into this one. Bound to this story by his own heartstrings.
Because he, too, carried the blood of the last Avatar.
His fingers spasmed and Zuko dropped the comb onto the floor between them.
And so did Azula.
"Mother, where is Azula?" Zuko struggled to ask, his voice hoarse and dry.
"She is safe." Ursa said and turned quickly. She held his face in her hands and she looked concerned. "I would never let anyone harm your sister."
He struggled to swallow and Ursa misread his panic, pulling him into a tight hug.
"You must be strong Zuko. You must be strong for her and for all of your family." Ursa whispered into his ear.
"One day you will be Fire Lord, and you will save us all."
Zuko didn't sleep that night. In the morning, as the sun breached the horizon and the birds began their dialogues, he had a headache. Ursa fretted over him, questioning Katara's healing until he waved her away. The throbbing in his head threw off his balance and he tried to focus on his steps. Anything to think of something other than his current preoccupation.
It wasn't until they rounded a corner heading to breakfast that Zuko remembered his plan. Sokka and Katara were escorted by a servant, having lost their armored guard for the time being.
"How did you find your accommodations?" Zuko asked as he sidled up to Katara. She turned her face demurely but the corner of her mouth lifted. To his mother, she may have seemed coy. But Zuko knew she was simply trying not to laugh.
"Much better than the cold ground of the past few nights." Katara replied, hiding her lips behind a loose fist.
"I would think your people do best sleeping under the light of the moon." Zuko said. Katara turned to him, fully smiling now.
"I do better sleeping in a bed, my prince." She retorted. Zuko felt a rush of cold fire pass over his skin. Sokka pushed his way between them with a dowsing scowl.
"We have a princess, not a prince." Sokka snapped, looking first at Katara but ending by glaring at Zuko.
"Don't tease the tribals my son." Ursa remarked as they all approached the dining room. "Though they are a marvel in such a state."
Sokka colored at the insult but said nothing. Katara was also dampened but smiled again as Zuko discreetly brushed his hand against hers. Her fingers twitched and Zuko's headache disappeared.