Title: The Cycle of the Seasons
Summary: From the beginning of Ursa and Ozai's courtship to their separation.
A/N: Here's the second chapter. Hope you enjoy it guys. :3
The · Cycle · of · the · Four · Seasons
Summertime is always the best of what might be.
―Charles Bowden
The wedding had gone off without a hitch. Fire Nation citizens would certainly be talking about it for a long time. It had been three months since the mysterious Lady Ursa — rumoured to have originated from a small town outside of the Fire Nation Capitol — had married Prince Ozai, the Fire Lord's youngest son.
She instantly formed a bond with her nephew, Prince Lu Ten. She loved him the moment she met him in her engagement party.
She could tell he inherited his charming qualities from his father.
"Sometimes I think you prefer spending your free time with Lu Ten rather than me," Ozai joked, strolling in the royal garden. Ursa told Lu Ten she needed to speak with Ozai alone. Reluctantly, he got up and left. Ozai could tell his nephew didn't appreciate the interruption.
"Maybe if you didn't spend all the time going off to stupid battles and attending boring war meetings, you wouldn't have to be so jealous," she shot back.
"You know I have to fulfill my responsibilities as a prince," Ozai said, sitting beside her. Ursa felt his arm coiling around her waist.
"Sounds to me like you're just making excuses."
He became silent. He didn't seem to hear what she said. She could tell there was something on his mind. He had been like that for the past several days now.
"Ursa?" he started. "Have you ever thought of having children?"
Before he could proceed, she could tell he was waiting for her reaction. For the past few months, Ursa had been taking the contraceptive tea to prevent any unplanned pregnancies. If she was going to have a baby, it would be on her terms. The thought had crossed her mind from time to time. She even heard stories of past Fire Lords having concubines when their lifelong partner couldn't procreate. She thought the idea was ludicrous.
"Of course it has. We're married aren't we?" Ursa replied and continued. "I know we're lacking in the baby department but that can always change, you know."
Ursa loved children. In the beginning, she was overwhelmed with so many princess duties that the thought of having children barely crossed her mind. Ever since Ursa was given the title princess, she would spend her most of her days with Crown Princess Hitachi — who gracefully took up the responsibility of grooming her into the perfect princess. She would educate her on history of the Fire Nation and even politics, which Ursa found oddly fascinating.
There were certain days when she didn't have any princess lessons, she would sneak off to the training arena often used by Ozai and Iroh. She promised her mother she would practise her firebending rigorously as soon as she became accustomed to palace life.
She ceased her training one day when she was hit with a sudden wave of dizziness. Her breakfast felt like it was threatening to make a reappearance and it did. Concerned about her health, she consulted the Royal Physician immediately.
"I've been feeling out of it for the past few days. And I've been vomiting and felt dizzy for the past few days," Ursa confided the doctor.
He had been with the royal family for years, witnessing the birth of the two princes and watched them grow up into fine young men. When he was done questioning her, the Royal Physician smiled."You're not ill, Princess Ursa. These symptoms indicate that you might be pregnant."
She was pregnant? She remembered she hadn't taken her contraceptive tea for the past three weeks to see if she could get pregnant — she quickly learned whenever Ozai had an idea, he would latch onto it like a barnacle and never let go.
She went through the first and second trimester without any major complications. Sure, her stomach ballooned during the last few months of her pregnancy as though she swallowed a giant boulder overnight. She experienced the usual drowsiness, dizziness and vomiting that came with the pregnancy package. She hated how she looked. Ursa sometimes felt insecure about her appearance, an uncanny resemblance to an overgrown watermelon.
Overall, she thought she had a smooth pregnancy.
Those countless hours of labour were hell, though. Her screams were loud enough to be heard all throughout Capitol City. She felt as though someone had stretched her hipbones and repositioned them. She felt like someone dripped acid on her nerve endings which caused her endless amount of excoriating pain.
She swore she was going to behead Ozai for knocking her up and feed his carcass to the wild animals to feast on. .
"I'm going to name him after my father, Jinzuk," Ursa wrapped her arms around the squabbling infant and smiled up at her husband. "His name will be Zuko."
She refused the wet nurses to breastfeed her child. She told them she was perfectly capable of performing her motherly duties and she would personally torch the next person who offered their services to her again. They stopped coming shortly after that.
"Your methods are . . . unconventional, Princess Ursa," Fire Lord Azulon told her over a game of Pai Sho during one evening.
"With all due respect, sir, I was not raised as a royal."
Fire Lord Azulon cocked an eyebrow in amusement. He seemed to enjoy her antics. He thought her determination and loyalty were admirable qualities.
He was ancient, but that didn't make him senile. He was an experienced Pai Sho player, and he almost always beat her every time.
She knew Ozai thought he was severely lacking paternal instincts. It was common knowledge that the Fire Lord Azulon favoured his firstborn child, which caused his younger brother to nurse years of bitter rage towards his father and brother. He seemed to get along swimmingly with his mother, Fire Lady Ilah. Of course, it didn't help that she died in the middle of an assassination attempt that was meant for Ozai.
"My father hates me," Ozai deadpanned. He startled her when he barged into their bedchambers one morning when she was brushing her hair.
"Don't be ridiculous, Ozai. Of course he doesn't hate you," she tried to placate him but she swore she could see him glowering at her through her peripheral vision. "He's mourning for the loss of his wife, which is perfectly normal."
"He wished it was me that died and not her —"
She put the comb down. "He's lashing out on you because he's angry and on top of that his Fire Lord duties are weighing him down as well."
"That's a load of dragon dung and you know it, Ursa. My father is perfectly capable of executing his duties as the Fire Lord to his nation. He fucking despises me because his wife died for the sake of his least favourite child," Ozai launched into a tirade.
Ursa rubbed her throbbing temples. What would it take to shut this man up?
Slowly, a mischievous smile crept on her face. Ozai was busy rambling about Agni knows what, probably something related to his father — Ursa had tuned him out a long time ago because she know her attempts at calming him down were futile. She looped her arms around his neck and planted a firm kiss on his lips.
She smirked when he eagerly responded to her touch.
Several days later, Zuko began to walk and Ursa swelled with pride. She was disappointed when Ozai merely observed him with a disinterested look.
"Why are you so aloof?" she demanded hotly. "It was your idea to have a baby, and I gave you one! Now, you don't seem too fond of having one anymore. Why is so difficult to please you? You were never like this when we were first newlyweds."
"I'm not good with children. Besides, walking for the first time isn't that big of an achievement. Now, if he turns out to be a firebender, I'll be impressed."
"And if he is not?" Ursa challenged, rising to her feet. "I will love my son unconditionally, whether he turns out to be a firebender or not."
"Do you know what happened to the last prince who couldn't firebend?" Ozai said with an expression that quickly made her become fearful. "He was banished, along with his mother, who also couldn't firebend. The Fire Lord during that time — Fire Lord Zhen, I think was his name — remarried five times because his wives couldn't produce a firebender. The sixth time he finally had a firebending offspring, but this time it turned out to be a girl."
She wanted to scream there was nothing wrong with having a daughter, that she would have loved to have one herself. Instead, she didn't.
"That Fire Lord must have been an unbearable jerk," she scoffed disdainfully. "I hope he died young."
He grabbed her wrists. His sudden movement startled her. "You d not speak of ill of the royal family without facing devastating consequences, Ursa. Even if Fire Lord Zhen was an 'unbearable prick', as you eloquently put it, there are always people watching. The palace walls have ears, you know."
She shrugged off the warning. It wasn't like she didn't know people were watching her every move. She was a princess, she suspected people would look up to her to some extent, even if she wasn't as important as the crown princess. She meant every word of what she said. She didn't care if people heard her.
Their fears were not confirmed when Zuko his father's robes on fire. Ursa laughed at the surprised expression Ozai was donning.
"He set my robes on fire!" Ozai complained, trying to stomp out the flames.
"You're going to become a strong firebender, Zuko," Ursa cooed softly.
"Again!" Zuko clapped his hands. It was his new favourite word. "Again!"
"Well, you don't have to worry about your son not being a firebender," Ursa said, almost squealing with excitement at her son's accomplishment. Ozai smiled, his expression nothing short of delightful. Her family was safe. Zuko could firebend. Nobody had anything to fear anymore.
When Ozai offered the best firebending tutors in the country, Ursa declined saying that she would teach her son firebending herself.
"Am I not capable enough to teach my son how to firebend?"
"No, I didn't say that . . . it's just that these tutors are much more experienced —"
"Ursa has a valid point you know," Fire Lord Azulon said, walking in the middle of their argument. "After all, she is a firebending prodigy herself."
Ursa smirked at the compliment. She thanked the Fire Lord for praising her, and took Zuko with her before she left. She could feel Ozai glaring at her back.
She noticed Zuko's progress in his firebending was maddeningly slow. His firebending was still uncontrollable and erratic as before, possibly even worse. Whenever Ozai questioned her on his progress, she would plaster a smile on her face and tell him yes.
One of these days, her lies would undoubtedly catch up to her.
"Young Zuko looks much like his father," Fire Lord Azulon remarked one day. "Hopefully, he would not inherit that horrible temper his father is infamous for."
"Ah yes, that can be quite annoying," she agreed.
"Watching Ozai grow up was not easy. I hired many tutors, but all of them complained about lack of progress. It was much easier when he became older."
So that explained everything. It explained why Zuko's firebending abilities were developing in a leisure pace, why Ozai seemed agitated in the beginning.
He was a late bloomer.
She couldn't hide her secret any longer, especially when Zuko became overzealous during his firebending lessons and accidentally injured himself during the process.
Sorry I cut out the wedding scene. I'm not really good at writing weddings. I've never really been to one myself