Finding a Mother
Chapter Five
"Oh, I am so sorry!" Ursa and the rest of the gang were now sitting around a campfire. "I had no idea that my son could possibly be allies with the Avatar."
"Yeah, it shocked me too." Katara scoffed, causing Ursa to frown.
"Do you have a problem with my son?!" Ursa stood up. "I would kill to protect him!" she declared finally, causing just about everyone to gasp.
"Great…" Katara frowned. "Psycho dad, psycho mom, psycho daughter and psycho son. It's the perfect family."
Ursa almost growled. "It's one thing to call my daughter and former husband what they truly are; it's even one thing to say that to me, but nobody says something like that to my son."
"You just said you would kill!" Katara shouted. "All for your pathetic, evil, monstrous, scar faced son! The Fire Nation killed my mother! Would you kill my mother for your little shit of a son?"
Ursa froze completely. She then sighed and sat down.
"No." she replied. "I'm sorry for your loss."
"Then who did you kill?" Katara didn't back down. "Some helpless old Water Tribe or Earth Kingdom person?! You kind of people make me sick!"
"No." Ursa said. "Yes, I did kill someone, but it was necessary for another person's safety. I killed Azulon, the Fire Lord before my husband."
"So, what father said was true." Zuko replied. "You saved my life…"
"For these past six years, I've always wished there was another way." Ursa sat back down besides Zuko. "It's because of me that your father is Fire Lord. It's because of me that this war continues to go on. If Iroh had became Fire Lord like he should have, maybe this war would be over."
"Wait, Iroh was supposed to be Fire Lord?" Toph asked.
"Yes." Ursa smiled. "He was the older sibling; he was the heir to the throne."
"But…" Suki continued.
"But his son, Lu Ten was killed in battle. Iroh was devastated; he abandoned the siege of Ba Sing Se. Ozai saw that as the time to tell Azulon that he should be named heir since Iroh's bloodline had ended."
"But things didn't go so well, did they?" Aang asked.
"No." Ursa replied. "He was enraged that Ozai had the gall to try to steal Iroh's throne right after his only son's death. All I know is that at the end, Azula told me that Ozai was going to kill Zuko."
Everyone except Hakoda and Katara gasped.
"Was he really?" Toph asked, somewhat terrified at the answer she might hear.
"Oh, yes." Ursa spat. "When I found him, that bastard was practically making a list of ways he could do it." This revelation caused both Zuko and Toph to yell out in anger.
"I killed Azulon and let Ozai steal the throne so that Zuko could live." Ursa finished. "But apparently, I didn't save him from the other inhumane things that man could do. Did I?"
Everybody's eyes were on Zuko.
"I don't want to talk about it." Zuko turned away.
"Zuko…" Hakoda said. "Getting it off your shoulders is the first step to recovering and moving on."
"I have moved on!" Zuko defended.
"Apparently you haven't."
"Yes I have!"
"Then tell them. You told me."
"Why do they have to know?"
"Because, maybe if they understood your motives for trying to capture them, it would be easier for them to forget about your little run-ins before you finally joined them."
"Zuko, tell me." Ursa softly demanded. "Please…"
"I can't!" Zuko almost yelled. "That's like someone asking you about the time your pet died! It's just too painful to relive!"
"Fine then," Hakoda crossed his arms. "I'll tell them. The reason Zuko was chasing you is related to that scar over his eye."
"What happened?" Aang asked.
"Zuko's father gave him that scar personally."
END CHAPTER