A/N: Sorry for the long delay.

For ten years the Fire Lord's first-born had lived far off (at least from the capital) with his mother in the quiet country side of the Fire Nation. He had everything he and his mother needed, provided by the Fire Lord himself who came to visit and see how he was doing from time to time. The child was no fool, for early on in his life he knew that his existence and his mother's connection to the Fire Lord was a complete secret--especially from his aunt, step-mother, and female monarch. If he wanted to stay alive, and keep his father well Azula could not know until the time came for him to rule.

Ten years he would believe that one day he would take the throne and rule his nation, and not even Her Highness could say a word about it. That all changed though when his father told his mother that Azula had given him a child, a young princess of the nation of flames.

"Don't worry," Zuko told the woman he once slept with. "You will be well provided for for the rest of your lives and thensome, even after I am gone."

The woman smiled, blessed that finally the country had a decent ruler. How kind he was to her, despite not loving her and only their son. "Thank very much my lord."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. This way the Fire Nation won't need to see conflict; and Her Majesty's heart will never know pain," she told him. "You've done more for us than we could ever hope for."

The child believed his mother was too kind, too relenting.

Twenty years passed, and a family and nation mourned. Several months later, a widow would return swearing and cursing her late husband. "You deceitful, unfaithful, good-for-nothing bastard! Why if you weren't dead, I would have killed you myself in a slow antagonizing way rather than the way you really died!

"Did you think you were able to bury everything? My dear, the only way to do that is to annihilate the evidence, and you're too weak hearted for that. Now, your son with some other woman is attempting to claim the throne that rightfully belongs to your daughter! To my daughter--to our daughter born of full blooded royalty."

Then she collapsed on her knees and wept silently, telling him how much he hurt her; and questioned how could he?

There would be answer, only the wind.

"Majesty the Fire Nation will find itself in a civil war if we don't act. We can't afford a civil war," the sage guided her. Zuko had been a good ruler, with great help from Azula of course; but now Zuko was gone and Azula couldn't stop the rebellions unless she wished to become a heartless dictator and have other nations butting in to her business of how she ruled.

"I will not give the Fire Nation to some brat! The throne belongs rightfully to my daughter."

"How could you do this? Your father gave you everything a father could in his position," a friend told the son of Zuko.

"Except the throne," he bit out bitterly.

The person next to him shook his head in dismay, "I would have never thought..."

"What?"

"You certainly don't take after your mother, or your father, but your paternal aunt and grandfather. What a shame. You should be thankful that neither of your parents are alive right now. They would kill you."

"The Fire Nation wants me. I am his first-born and only son; I know the people more than the princess does because I've lived among them my entire life. I understand them and know their needs."

"Aren't you ashamed that you're breaking your parents' heart in the afterlife for being so power hungry?"

"I'm not power hungry. I honestly know I'm a better candidate for sovereign than my half-sister."

"Maybe they both can have it Your Majesty. Have them co-rule."

"As brother and sister?" Azula was not pleased.

"As husband and wife; like you and Fire Lord Zuko. Brother and sister, husband and wife. Look how marvelous that was for the nation? Our nation's prosperity arose greatly in your reign."

"Do I have a choice?"

"You are despicable."

"Says my darling half-sister born of incest," he retorted. "Someone who is my cousin and sister at the same time."

"You shouldn't mock," she frowned. "Your future child will be born of incest as well. Unless you give up and allow me the throne. Why would you want it any way?"

"It was rightfully mine before you came into the picture."

"I am the daughter of the Fire Lord and his true and only wife--I have the pure blood of the past sovereigns in me, unlike you. Therefore it is more my right than yours to be monarch of the Fire Nation."

Her older brother would never relent though, because he believed that he was better for the people and if that meant he had to marry her and be with her for the rest of his life while the thousands became happy at his expense he would do it.

A/N: Sorry I didn't know how to end that.