A/N: I hope you enjoy! Please leave a comment!
Chapter Three
The morning is early, the dew still sticking to the blades of grass on the lawn. After a week of waiting, Ursa and her mother had almost given up hope that Ozai would send for her. Perhaps she was not so entrancing as her mother thought. The prince would have to contact her first, or all was lost. A low noble like her couldn't send him correspondence unless he wrote to her first. The young courier knocked politely on the door. Her father set down his chopsticks and wiped his face with a napkin before walking to the door. Ursa and her mother looked up at him as he spoke,
"Who could this be so early in the morning?" He almost grumbled, shuffling towards the entryway in his house slippers. Her father opened the door, greeted the courier politely and took the letter, closing the door behind him as he made his way back to the dining room. Ursa sat patiently on the tatami mat, taking small sips of her miso. She watched with her mother as Jinsuk inspected the note and scowled, flipping it over in his hand.
"Who is it from, Jinsuk?" Rina asked, chopsticks in hand. He looked at her briefly before quickly moving on to Ursa. He kneeled back down at the table and stared at his daughter.
"It's for Ursa. But it doesn't make any sense," he paused, looking down at the royal seal, "It's from the palace. Look at the seal, it must be a mistake." Ursa took a sharp breath inward. Her mother sighed happily beside her.
"I knew he would send for you, Ursa. It was only a matter of time." She smirked and glanced proudly at her daughter. Jinsuk but it,
"Who would send for her? What is going on?" He asked, louder than before. Ursa had told her mother not to tell her father until they were sure Ozai truly was interested in her.
"It's Prince Ozai. Ursa met him at the ball, dear, and he was infatuated with her. He sent flowers nearly a week ago." Her mother took a sip of water, still smiling.
"Fire Prince Ozai? He spoke to you?" Jinsuk asked in disbelief.
"Is that so unbelievable, Jinsuk?" She was slightly angered, "That a prince could be interested in our daughter?" Jinsuk said nothing, he just leaned back and looked at the table, thinking.
"She is very fair, and healthy. She could bear him many fine children." Ursa snapped to look at her.
"Mother!" She nearly shouted, a fierce blush on her cheeks. Jinsuk straightened.
"There is more to marriage than that." He says unhappily. Her mother scowls.
"I'm aware of that, dear. I was trying to say that there is no reason he shouldn't consider her. There is no reason for you to think it strange," she says assuredly, picking up her chopsticks again, "He is of the appropriate age. Nearly twenty." Jinsuk looks between his daughter and his wife.
"It is not our lack of wealth that concerns me, dear. You think he truly would not mind Ursa's ancestry?" He turned to his wife.
"We made ourselves right with the Firelord. We told him we supported his father's decision. That feud is behind us." Her tone was sharp. Ursa set down her bowl.
"Father, he did bring it up with me," Ursa's tone was much softer than her mother's, "He said that he would not judge me for something I haven't done." Jinsuk tilted his chin upwards.
"Is that so?" He searched her, almost to check if she was lying or not. Ursa hummed in response.
"Well by all means, the letter will speak for itself. Read it, Ursa," Her mother persisted. Ursa reached across the table and took the letter as her father took a sip of tea, thinking to himself. She fingered the seal, opening it with her nail.
To Lady Ursa, firstborn daughter of Rina and Jinsuk, overseers of the Hira'a Province,
I apologize for not writing sooner. I have been quite busy. I very much want to see you again, my Lady. You are most enchanting. I implore you, do not leave the city. Do not return to your provence just yet, I must see you again. Would you be so kind to grant me your presence again? Visit the palace this evening for tea ceremony, if you will, and forgive me for the short notice. My father will be there, and possibly my brother if he returns soon enough. Do not worry about a thing, I will send a servant over later with a dress and carriage. I'm sure I could send nothing to properly compliment your beauty, but I will try.
Until we meet again,
Ozai
Ursa smiled slightly. You are most enchanting. Her mother and father had both been watching her the entire time. She almost blushed.
"Well," her mother started, "What did he say?" Her father frowned a bit.
"He says he wants to see me again. He has invited me for a formal tea ceremony at the palace," Ursa looked back at the letter, "Tonight." Her mother made a noise of excitement.
"Darling," she said as she leaned over to touch her shoulder, "That's wonderful! I knew he fancied you." Her father sighed, though not angrily. Ursa looked to him.
"And you, dear? What do you think of him?" He stared at her deeply, searching for something in her amber eyes.
"I barely know him, father," she said, too nervous at the prospect of meeting the Firelord so soon to pick up her chopsticks. He furrowed his brows.
"He is not spoken of very much. The only thing I know about him is his intelligence, and his age, I suppose." Rina smiled again.
"He would be a good match, I think! He is handsome, and tall. Brilliant!" She laughed slightly, "Agni knows I would have jumped at the chance to marry someone like him when I was younger." Ursa flushed and stared wide-eyed at her mother.
"Mother, don't say such things to father, you'll wound him," she reprimanded. But her father was still looking at her, searching.
"Is he kind?" Her father was completely serious. "Firelord Azulon is certainly not known for his amiable nature." Ursa frowned, looking at the letter in her hands. She almost shakes at the prospect of seeing his father.
"He has only been kind to me," Ursa remarks, thinking of Ozai's silken words.
"Let me read the letter, Ursa. I'll calm your father," her mother insisted as she extended her arm. Ursa froze.
"No!" Ursa said hastily as Rina tried to grab it. She clutched it close and lowered her gaze, fearful she would be reprimanded for speaking out. She swallowed thickly.
"It's personal. I don't want anyone else to read it." Her father scowled, his frown growing deeper.
"Personal? What in Agni's name is that supposed to mean?" Ursa scowled as well, looking up at her mother. There was nothing to keep private, Ursa just wanted her parents to not tell her what to do.
"Nothing, it's just - it's just for me, that's all," she explained assuredly.
"It's just for you?" Her father was growing angry. She retreated a bit. Why was he so upset? Ursa licked her lips.
"It's addressed to me, father," she said loudly, "not anyone else. I'm an adult now. I can make decisions for myself."
"Did you let him touch you?" Her father asked in a sound like a growl. He was never like this.
"No!" She shouted, upset at the idea of her father thinking of such things.
"I barely know him, father." Jinsuk straightened, confidently.
"Then you'll let me read the letter. If you have nothing to hide, let me see it." He was sure of himself, and something in Ursa boiled. She was sick of being dealt with like a child.
Suddenly, she stood, extending the letter hastily.
"Fine then! Let me have no privacy in any facet of my life. Read my private letters for no reason, what do I care?" Ursa never usually speaks out like this. But now she is nineteen. She is no longer a child, she thinks, she has been noticed by royalty. Surely the Prince would not care for a weakling, she thinks.
"Ursa!" Her mother reprimands, but it is too late, and Ursa is already walking towards the center gardens of the house. Jinsuk raises a hand,
"Let her be," he says, "We will read this letter from the Prince. Let us see what he wants from our daughter." He removes the parchment and reads it over, scanning each line. Rina is sitting next to him.
"Well? What did he say then?" She tries to read over his shoulder, but Jinsuk holds the letter in his lap. He glances out the door to look upon his daughter, standing by the cherry blossoms. Her hand is upon the bark, her long brown hair flowing behind her. Jinsuk inhales deeply,
"He has fallen for her, indeed."