Most characters by BrykeKyu and his parents by Mary Kate

.~.~.

Mourning

Aang and Katara got up shortly after dawn so they could go pick Azula up from the convent she'd been living in for the past several years. If they left within the half hour they would be able to make it back by the afternoon. The Avatar dressed and made his way to the stables to feed Appa while Katara went to check on the children.

As she came up the hall, she saw Zuko stepping through his door. She started to stop him, but decided to check on the kids first.

Before her eyed adjusted to the darkness, she smiled at the shadow of the bundle of young ones on the bed. When her eyes focused, she saw Lin hugged up in Kya's arms and Bumi and Tenzin on either side with their backs to the girls. She gasped and closed the door quickly when she looked to the foot of the bed and saw Ursa with Kyu wrapped around her. She shook the girl gently, but with urgency, "Ursa, Ursa wake up." she said in a panicked whisper.

"Ah, but Granny, there's no school today, let me sleep, please." She turned over and her eyes popped to attention when she realized that she was in someone's arms.

"You'd better be glad I'm not your granny."

Ursa jumped up, waking Kyu, "Auntie Katara, nothing happened, please believe me. I don't even know when I fell asleep. I would never-"

Katara put a finger on the flustered girl's lips, "Shhhh, I know nothing happened, but if Zuko or the Lady came in here first I don't think they would be as understanding." the girl breathed a sigh of relief as Kyu sat up and stretched beside her. "How are you feeling?" Katara asked Ursa.

"Okay I guess."

"Aang and I are going to get Azula, but we'll be back by the afternoon. Sokka and Toph will be around."

"Yes Auntie."

"I'm going to go check on your dad. Do you know if he got any sleep last night?"

"I don't know. He came in early last night. I pretended to be asleep so he wouldn't worry."

"Okay." Katara said as she turned and walked to the door, "we'll be back later. Go see how your granny's doing."

"Yes Ma'am, I will."

.~.

Zuko heard the knocking at the door, but he did not answer. Katara opened the door and stepped in quietly, "Zuko? Zuko, are you in here?"

"I'm here." his sullen voice came from her right. She turned and saw him sitting in his window sill.

She stepped lightly across the room and stood on the other side of the large window. She looked down and saw that the gardeners had arrived and were beginning to clean up the destruction of the night before. "Zuko, I think the head gardener can oversee the work." she said, trying to dance around the subject, "Why don't you get dressed and go have some breakfast."

"I'm not hungry." he said flatly.

"Did you sleep any last night?"

"For a few hours."

"Zuko." she turned to him, "how are you doing?"

He looked at her, "I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?"

Katara looked confused. "Ozai was a monster, but he was still your dad. I know that deep down you always loved him, there must have been some good in him at one time."

Then Zuko told her something that he had never shared with anyone.

"He was great, at first. When I was still really little, and before Uncle and Lu Ten left. That's when he started seeing the possibility of him becoming Fire Lord. Before that he loved us, and he showed it. But after Lu ten left and Azula started showing that she was a prodigy, he changed into…well, into what you knew him to be."

"So maybe it's okay that you remember the good in him and allow yourself to mourn."

"I don't want to mourn him. He doesn't deserve it. He was willing to kill me, scarred me, sent my mother away, poisoned my sister's mind, kidnapped, abused and tried to kill my child. Who would want to mourn a man like that?"

"A son who loves the man Ozai used to be. You can't control your memories. You have to let it go so you can move on. If not for you, then for your mother, daughter and sister. They need you…and you need them."

Zuko held his head down, his forehead propped on the arm he had resting on his knee, his hair falling over his face. For the first time, he allowed himself to weep openly. Katara moved to his side a placed a caring hand on his back. Aang came in, and when he saw his old friend crying, he went to him. He didn't say anything, he just sat in the window sill in front of Zuko. The Fire Lord lifted his head slightly and glanced at Aang through tear blurred eyes. "You two have been married too long." he said, wiping his eyes, "she's starting to sound like you."

.~.

Aang, Katara and Appa arrived at the Abbey at the Mo Ce Sea at around noon. The Mother Superior met them as Appa landed in the courtyard. "Aang, Katara, it's good to see you again. I wish it were under better circumstances."

"Yes Mother Superior, we do to." Katara said as they moved to hug their elderly friend, "I see the messenger hawk made it. How's Azula taking the news?"

"Surprisingly well, how is the Fire Lord?"

"He's trying way too hard to be strong," Aang answered, "but other than that, he's fine."

"Is Azula ready to leave?" Katara asked as one of the Nuns approached the group. "We promised that we'd be back before nightfall."

"I'm ready." the nun responded, "I wouldn't want to keep Zuko and Mother waiting."

"Azula?" the couple said in unison.

The princess leveled a sweet smile at them. "Yes. I see you like my new attire. I've decided to become one of the sisters."

Katara reached out and hugged Azula. "I'm happy for you Azula, Zuko didn't say anything."

"He doesn't know. I made the decision a month ago. I decided to hold off telling him because it was so close to Ursa's birthday."

Aang stepped up to hug the newest sister next, "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine." she said in a newly chipper voice. "It's sad that he's dead, but it was inevitable." she looked to Katara, "The letter didn't say how it happened. I suppose Zuko wants to tell me himself."

"Yes, that's what he said."

"Fine then." Azula said, "shall we go?"

.~.

Zuko was finalizing the arrangements for Ozai's funeral. He'd decided that there would be the traditional service that was held for a member of the royal family, but instead of a public display it would be held privately in the garden. Right as the Fire Lord was giving the last detail to the head fire sage, his daughter came storming in with her best friend behind her.

"Ursa, listen to reason." Kya pleaded, reaching out to try and stop her friend.

"No! This is crazy!" she said, shaking the white robes she had gripped in her hands at her friend, "Dad!" she turned to Zuko, "Do you really expect me to mourn HIM?"

In a surprisingly calm tone Zuko said, "No, I expect you to carry yourself like a Crown Princess should; and that means doing things that you may not want to."

"After all he's done to me, why would I?! Why would you?!"

"Because he was still our father." a voice said from the doorway.

There stood Azula, holding her mother's hand and dressed as an Earth Kingdom nun. "Azula," Zuko said, crossing the room to embrace is sister, "you look well, but you should've said that you were out of clothing. I would have had some sent to you."

Azula chuckled. "I have more than enough clothes. I guess you can say that this is my new uniform. I've become one of the sisters." Zuko looked at the two young women who stood behind her brother. She picked out her niece immediately. "She's beautiful ZuZu. You've done well."

Zuko smiled and turned to the girls. He reached his hand out for Ursa, "Ursa, come say hello to your aunt."

Ursa stepped forward unflinchingly. Although she had never met her aunt in person, they wrote each other regularly. "Hello Aunt Azula." she said, bypassing her father's hand and going to hug her aunt.

"Hello Love." Azula responded as she had in every letter she'd sent since Ursa was thirteen and Zuko told her that Ozai called Ursa 'Little Bastard' as if it were her name. She squeezed her niece tightly then looked at the young lady standing shyly behind her, "is that the sister I've heard so much about?" she whispered.

"Yes Aunt Azula." she whispered back.

"Is she still afraid of me?"

"She says she isn't." Ursa said loud enough for Kya to hear her. "but I think she is."

Kya straitened her posture and shot Ursa a look that said 'you talk too much.' "Hello Princess Azula." she greeted.

She approached Kya and offered her hand. "Call me Sister Azula. I relinquished my title when I joined the abbey."

"You did?" Zuko asked, surprised, "Why did you do that?

"

"Well, I couldn't very well take a vow of poverty if I still held the title of princess. That would be like taking a vow of chastity and having a husband."

.~.

Lady Ursa stepped forward and spoke into her granddaughter's ear, "Come to my room. I'd like to speak to you."

The two Ursas walked calmly own the hallway with Kya behind them. Kya continued to look for her parents and the other two went into the elders' bedroom. Ursa Sr closed her door tightly and locked it. Then she grabbed the mourning robes from her granddaughter's hand and shook them at her. "How dare you behave like a spoiled little brat? Do you think this is about you?" Ursa Jr was so shocked that her grandmother was chastising her that she couldn't answer. "Don't you understand that your father is in pain?"

"I'm sorry Granny Ursa." the young woman said ashamedly. "I hadn't thought about that."

"And that's the problem with youth, you don't think?"

"Granny," she said sheepishly, "can I ask you a question?"

"Yes, you can." Lady Ursa said, calming her tone.

"Why haven't you cried?"

"I've cried, but not to mourn Ozai. The Ozai I loved was gone long ago, and I mourned him for many years. I've cried for my children because no matter what Ozai was their father and they loved him."

.~.

Ozai's funeral was held after dark. In attendance were those who were in the garden at the time of his death, Azula, Lady Ursa, the fire sages, and all high ranking officials and military personal that were in the Fire Nation at the time.

Ursa took heed of her grandmother's words and stood in support of her father and aunt. Zuko had resumed his stone faced demeanor while Azula allowed silent tears to flow. The Fire Sages spoke and Azula offered a prayer for her father's soul before his body was set ablaze.

The Fire Princess notices a small shudder cross her father's body as the sages shot the flame into the funeral pyre. She wrapped her arm around his and laid her head on his shoulder. Zuko rested his hand on his daughter's and took a deep breath. She didn't know it, but she had given him the strength to make it through the rest of the memorial.