Gladiator

by Seyary-Minamoto

In a world where the Avatar wasn't found, the Fire Nation took over two nations and they strive to overcome the last one. Water Tribe warrior Sokka seeks to fight for his people's rights, but he's captured by his enemies. His life is no longer in his hands as he fights as a Gladiator, and his fate will eventually depend on the Fire Nation Princess, who needs him for her own ends...

347. Chapter 347: The North's Aftermath 6

The North's Aftermath

6

The absence of Azula, Ozai and Piandao had only truly dawned on Ursa after she followed Fat inside the main building, with Zuko holding her hand as he excitedly talked to her about the foods he wanted to eat, raving over how his father had smiled as he sparred with his sword master. It was precisely in wanting to show her appreciation to Ozai for having made the journey to support his son that Ursa had realized they were gone. She had been puzzled, and she had left the building again, with Zuko tailing her, to find them once more.

The sight that greeted her when she arrived, though, was something she did not appreciate in the slightest.

"Lady Ursa…" Piandao started, but she raised a hand to silence him harshly. Piandao blinked blankly, but he didn't dare push against her.

"Ozai?" she asked. Her husband seemed apprehensive, certainly fearful, seeing as they'd never been in conflict over anything regarding their children's education before… but he had sensed this would escalate into one. Hence why he had no choice but to do this secretly, sneakily… something that horrified Ursa beyond belief.

"What are you doing?!" Zuko's childish voice echoed next, and he glared at Azula reproachfully. "You're not supposed to learn swords!"

"You learned! I can too!" Azula rebuffed, proudly. "I am five now! You were five too, it's my turn…!"

"No, it's not! You're not allowed!" Zuko exclaimed: his face was starting to turn red, and his placid mood appeared to shift quickly as the reality behind his father and sister's presence in the island today started to gain a different quality… "Master, you can't teach her!"

"Zuko, that's not up to you to decide…" Piandao said, his voice calm but stern: Zuko winced, tears in his eyes as he shook his head.

"She can't learn! She can't! It's not fair!"

"I'll do better than you!" Azula huffed, pouting. "I can do it! I can learn…!"

"Master Piandao."

Ursa's voice seldom rang with that kind of authority, but it did this time. It stilled the children's argument immediately, as she stared at the sword master reproachfully. Her eyes shifted towards Ozai, and she appeared to feel even more betrayed as she looked at him…

"We will speak of this. Now," she said, curtly. "The three of us, alone. Zuko…"

"Mom, she can't learn! She can't…!"

"Zuko, love, please calm down," Ursa said, leaning down and cupping his face carefully. Her thumbs rubbed away his tears, and she smiled reassuringly. "Everything will be alright. Now… stay here, with your sister. Can you do that for me?"

"I…" Zuko gritted his teeth, lowering his gaze and nodding. "Okay."

Ursa sighed, rising back to her full height and stepping up to Azula. The little girl winced, eyeing her mother apprehensively: Ursa stretched out her hand towards her daughter.

"The sword. Now."

There was no room for dissent or rebellion. Not when her mother was quite as displeased as she appeared to be. Azula swallowed hard, shivering as she raised the sword towards her mother: Ursa clasped it by the wooden blade, taking it more forcefully than necessary.

"Stay here, with your brother. Don't cause any more trouble, young lady. I'm serious."

Azula's eyes were the tearful ones now… but she nodded, lowering her gaze and accepting her mother's terms.

"Come on then. The both of you."

The way she wielded such expert control over the situation would have surprised even her, had she been aware of it. Her glacial glares were unprecedented. Ozai, in particular, seemed shaken by her behavior… whatever she wanted from him, she'd take as she pleased.

Without another look at the kids, the three adults walked away, further into the gardens. Leaving two conflictive siblings unsupervised wasn't a good idea, but Ursa ensured she would still keep them in her field of vision as she turned around to face the two men who, by all effects, appeared to have been conspiring over her daughter's education behind her back.

"Explain yourselves. Now."

She didn't give them room to wiggle their way out of the predicament. Ozai was clearly apprehensive for it… Piandao, however, appeared confused.

"I… did not think this would be quite so controversial or unacceptable," he said. "Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but you were entirely unaware of what Prince Ozai meant to ask of me today?"

"I certainly was," Ursa said, her glare unyielding as she fixed it upon Ozai. He tensed up further, fists tight at either side of his body. "Care to explain the meaning of this madness, Ozai?"

"Madness? Your daughter asked if she could be trained by Master Piandao as well, why would that be…?"

"Azula doesn't need to be trained by Master Piandao," Ursa said, cutting him off immediately. "She is a talented firebender, a prodigy as proclaimed by every master firebender who has trained with her. Why, exactly, would it matter if she grows jealous upon seeing that her brother is in the center of attention with his swords? It's, if anything, a learning experience for her! Zuko has expectations to fulfill, as a male heir of the Royal Family…!"

"He's as unlikely to make any use of said skills as I have been for most of my life," Ozai rebuffed. Ursa froze. "What kind of need does he have for swords? You only brought him here so he'd feel less insecure about himself, so he'd feel valuable, so he'd have one aspect in his life where he wouldn't need to compete with his sister…!"

"And how is that a problem?" Ursa asked, staring at him with wide eyes. Ozai huffed.

"It's a problem… because you cannot protect the boy and coddle him every single time he's not the best at something in his life," Ozai hissed. "I wasn't better than the brother who happens to be a decade older than myself, not for many, many years. I have trained. I have worked hard in order to achieve a mastery of fire that Iroh could only ever hope to envy: Zuko will never understand this is what he needs to do if you endeavor to spare him every miserable moment of his life…"

"How could it ever be wrong to want my child not to be miserable?" Ursa asked, perplex. "Ozai, you're not making any sense…!"

"If that's the case, how is it so unthinkable to allow Azula to learn from Master Piandao as well?" Ozai asked. "It would make her miserable, in turn, to be told that she cannot do this…"

"If you believe that Zuko should be prepared for facing misfortune, why wouldn't the same logic apply to Azula?" Ursa asked, harshly. "It's as if you thought she's your second son rather than your daughter…"

"My son?" Ozai repeated, scowling. "And what, pray tell, does that mean?"

"You're only used to the way things have been done in your experience, Ozai: your daughter is not going to be raised the same way you were, or the way your brother was, or your nephew…! She's different. She's a Princess. You may not understand what it entails to be born a woman of nobility, but I do, and it certainly doesn't include combat training of the levels you've put her up to, Ozai!"

"Is that so?" Ozai asked, raising his eyebrows skeptically. "What, then, is our daughter supposed to even become? Is she to use her grand firebending talents the same way your mother used hers?"

"She has no place in a battlefield," Ursa hissed. "And putting such ideas in her head is only going to disappoint her further by the time she realizes it personally! You're so concerned for her wellbeing, for her happiness… and you cannot tell just how harmful it is to make her play games she's not going to be allowed to partake in once she grows any older. Who do you think she's going to resent for it, once the world punishes her ruthlessly for becoming something she never was meant to be?"

"What, exactly, was she meant to be if not this?" Ozai retorted again. "And I would imagine she would resent the world that holds her back, rather than me, for giving her any hopes that she could explore her potential as a bender and warrior…"

"How very idealistic of you…" Ursa said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Ozai scowled.

"Answer me: what do you want Azula to become?" he said. "What could be quite so terrifying of letting her learn swordsmanship too?"

"Why, Zuko's safe place, which is what this was meant to be, will be gone," Ursa said. Ozai huffed. "He's comfortable with swords. He's not competing with anyone in some twisted, unhealthy manner…! If he has no competition, he will thrive even more and he might overcome this foolish mentality of constantly one-upping his own relatives to prove himself…!"

"Foolish?" Ozai repeated. Ursa scowled.

"Are you about to pretend it isn't? Because, in case you haven't noticed, your father and your brother's entire pretext to treat you as they have is that they believe themselves better than you. There's a competition there, constantly, Ozai, and it's not only from your end. If Zuko can stop thinking of Azula as a rival, the day may just come when the two of them will break this maddening cycle and understand they're not enemies…!"

"No one ever said they were," Ozai huffed. "They may be conflictive, but that doesn't change that their relationship is already miles ahead of mine with Iroh."

"And you'll be setting it back so it catches up to that, should you press on with this nonsense," Ursa said, shaking her head. "Azula has her own duties, there are expectations, countless subjects on which she needs to educate herself that are not related to combat. To this moment I've kept my thoughts on the matter to myself, yes, but I meant to bring up that she should begin attending the Royal Academy for Girls soon…"

"What? The same place you attended?" Ozai asked, scowling. Ursa huffed.

"Why the disgust? Is the highest educative institution for women in the nation too lowborn for your daughter?" she asked.

"It is," Ozai huffed. Ursa's eyes narrowed. "Zuko isn't in any institution of any kind. We've hired specialized tutors for every discipline he needs to learn, Ursa, what kind of madness are you proposing? Why would Azula need to attend some school instead of…?"

"I already told you… a woman's education is different. It's good that it is. It's tradition," Ursa said, harshly. Ozai scowled. "Azula doesn't need to become a military leader: she needs to become a proper Princess of the Fire Nation, and that includes a certain, specific kind of education that your grand plans appear to be failing to provide. Plans which, yes, you kept behind my back, something I cannot fathom, even now. Why didn't you tell me, Ozai? Why did you simply bring up that you wished to join us, only to turn around and do something like this as soon as I wasn't paying attention? If you're quite so proud, quite so certain that this is the right choice… why were you hiding it from me?"

Ozai's fist trembled. Ursa's accusatory glare seemed to shame him, and nothing was more unpleasant, more embarrassing, than realizing they had an audience. Ozai snarled, glancing quickly at Piandao… to find the man didn't seem to be ready to side with either of them.

"Answer the question, Ozai," Ursa huffed.

"Because I wanted to bring it up to you once I'd settled whether Azula was an apt pupil for Master Piandao or not," Ozai finally said, scowling. "I wasn't about to waste your time with…"

"You could have told me your intentions from the start. I would have told you my reasons to refuse it, and we could have settled the matter without this unnecessary fuss," Ursa cut him off. Ozai snorted.

"Settled the matter by my acquiescing to your refusal?" he asked. Ursa raised her eyebrows.

"You intend to press on, then? To push forward and continue to encourage Azula down this path?" she asked. "After everything I've said, you're still going to act as though Azula and Zuko were equals?"

"The only difference between them… is who was born first," Ozai scowled. Ursa gritted her teeth.

"That's not true," she said.

"It is for me," Ozai huffed. "If you cannot see past the fact that one is a boy and the other a girl, then that's something you'll have to sort out for yourself: Azula has every chance to become an extraordinary leader, an incredible fighter, and you intend to shut her down solely because she was born a woman?"

"Did you…?" Ursa started, staring at him in confusion. "You've been counting on her, all this time… to contest your father. To prove him wrong about whatever he assumed about our marriage, about our children and their potential. Did you mean to train her into perfection, send her out to war by Iroh and Lu Ten's side instead of Zuko, by any chance?"

"I…! I wouldn't have done such a thing…!" Ozai huffed. Ursa offered him a sardonic smile.

"Then what is, pray tell, the point of what you've been doing?" she asked. Ozai shook his head. "Why would you be this deeply concerned about Azula's potential as a fighter when you, too, know that she's going to make no use of it?"

"It's…! It's not as simple as you're making it seem!" Ozai said. "There is no harm in allowing her to reach her full potential, even if in something she's not supposed to be doing! Curses, Zuko has been learning swordsmanship, Ursa, by your whim: this isn't anything a Fire Nation Prince is supposed to be doing either!"

"It's closer to a prince's expectations than what you're trying to put on Azula's shoulders!" Ursa retorted. "It's enough, Ozai! I sat back for years, thinking you had her best interests at heart… that you were being so much more helpful with her than you had been with Zuko because you were finally comfortable with fatherhood, but that's not it, is it?"

"Of course it is! Why would you accuse me of anything else?" Ozai stared at her in chagrin. Ursa shuddered.

"So, you're truly not using her as a means to fight back against your father? That's not who Azula is in your eyes? In your heart?"

Ozai blinked blankly. Ursa's accusatory glare bore into him… as did the poignant, deadly words she had addressed at him. She shook her head at his silence, her reproach coming back at full force.

"I… am a noblewoman. I know what our daughter needs. I experienced it and lived it myself," she stated. "I know my mother's mistakes. I remember them clearly enough to know better than to repeat them. Therefore, I advise you to step out of the limelight and accept that you are not the one who will determine the course of Azula's education. The girl is out of control, has been for months, years even, and you do nothing but enable her, all because her behavior suits your selfish whims. She deserves better than that. And you can be better than that. I refuse to believe otherwise."

Ozai snarled… but no words came out. Nothing seemed to suffice now, when it appeared that there were no possible responses to Ursa's words. Could he actively argue that she was wrong to read him in such poor faith, when Ozai had genuinely rejoiced in the signs that suggested that his daughter would be a more extraordinary firebender than his own father? When his willingness to support her came from a place of belief in her skills, in her potential, and willingness to help her fulfill it so he could prove, through her, that he had never been worthless?

"Lady Ursa…" Piandao said, breaking his silence at last. Ursa shot him a glare that suggested she wasn't all that eager to listen to what he might say, either. "I understand your reservations, and I will respect whatever choice you make. That being said, it would not be a problem if your daughter learned swordsmanship with me…"

"Really? How many female students have you ever had, Master Piandao?" Ursa asked, with unusual bite.

"None: she could be the first," Piandao said, point-blank. Ursa scowled. "There's potential in the girl. That is all I meant to say. It would be a pity if it went to waste."

"Save your pity for better causes," Ursa snapped. "Azula won't be your student. Her aptitude for swordsmanship is beside the point. I don't know how neither of you can understand that."

Piandao gritted his teeth and lowered his gaze. Ozai beside him, closed his eyes and tightened his fists. The argument was over… she had won. There had been no fighting her anyway… there had been no disposition on her part to hear him out. The door had been shut, and she had made it clear she wouldn't accept any responses besides silent, meek agreement.

She only waited briefly, confirming neither of them would fight her anymore before making the way back to where the children waited. Unsurprisingly, all tears were gone from Zuko's face, for he seemed eager to pick a fight with his sister: Azula pouted, fists tight at either side of her body as she glared at him.

"I'm the one who learns to use swords, not you," Zuko said. Azula's brow drew together even more heavily.

"Shut up, Dum-Dum," she retorted. Zuko huffed.

"I'm not…! You shut up!"

"You!"

"Azula, Zuko."

Ursa didn't raise her voice, for she didn't need to: both kids flinched and stopped their argument immediately. Her inscrutable face made it so neither would know, for sure, what the decision might be… but there was hope, somehow, in Azula's eyes. There was a part of her that wanted to believe that Ursa's displeasure would not fall upon her this time…

"Master Piandao, if you will," Ursa said, looking at him from over her shoulder. He gritted his teeth.

"Here I thought you'd take care of the matter yourself, Lady Ursa…"

"Must I?" she asked, curtly. Piandao sighed, stepping up to Azula… and bowing his head remorsefully in her direction.

"Princess Azula… as promising a student as you might have been, I'm afraid I shall not teach you."

Azula's bright eyes seemed to lose their glow. Instead of a bright smile, her lips curved downwards… and it was clear that her promise to her father would go unfulfilled:

"B-but… b-but I…" Azula mumbled, looking at her father, as though hoping for help… looking for backup anywhere around, anywhere… except for her mother. Certainly not from her brother, either…

"I told you! I told you that…!" Zuko smirked: it was the outcome he had been banking on, the one he had been expecting… and just so, the one that would break his sister's heart.

"Prince Zuko," Piandao said, his voice firm and threatening: Ursa frowned, and Zuko's childish glee froze over, too. "It is unbefitting of a young man of your station to rejoice in the misfortune and unhappiness of another… most of all, your own sister."

The words seemed to hit the little boy as a bucket of ice-cold water drenched over his head. He swallowed hard and nodded, his mirth over Azula's refusal entirely gone… but if she heard the words at all, the little girl found no relief in them. There would be none, whatsoever, unless the decision were reversed somehow, unless she could fight it and prove herself again…

Her eyes shifted towards her father: he was displeased, irritable. His silence seemed to hide a storm, presumably to ensure there would be no more scenes by his family in Piandao's mansion… he didn't meet her gaze, though. He didn't dare, it seemed.

For the first time in her life, Azula was fighting against the harshness of her reality, the restraints imposed upon her, alone.

Anguished, she turned on her heels and ran. Tears spilled down her face as she took off aimlessly, careless of if she got lost or hurt somehow: she wanted to get away from her family at all costs, and the family in question didn't do anything to stop her as she ran off.

Ursa gritted her teeth at the sight… expecting that Ozai would follow her.

One glance at him, over her shoulder, revealed he hadn't moved an inch.

"Ozai…" she called him.

The glacial glare he shot at her spoke for itself: this was her fault. The child's tears were her responsibility, not his. He had not agreed to this course of action. He was not about to make up for Ursa's mistakes, not when she had shut him down as harshly as she had earlier.

Ursa's heart clenched: she'd have to compromise in some ways, though she scarcely knew which. Zuko's arms wrapped around her leg, as he no doubt sought comfort of his own after being scolded by his master…

The next hours would be the most distressing they had experienced in Shu Jing. Ozai was absent during lunch: so was Azula. Ursa hoped they were together, but she didn't know for sure. Within a few more hours, by sundown, the family had to converge once more to return to the Capital: by then, Ozai reappeared with Azula, neither one looking any more enthusiastic than before. Ozai offered Piandao a stoic farewell, and he simply marched on ahead, without addressing a single word to his wife or children.

Nothing improved over the course of the first day: Ozai didn't join Ursa in their cabin at night. A part of her was profoundly apprehensive over his behavior… another part, however, believed firmly that she couldn't give him much leeway when it came to this. Apologizing, changing her mind, would only persuade him to carry on behaving as he had thus far with Azula. The girl needed something Ozai wouldn't offer her, guidance and wisdom from those who genuinely shared her experiences and understood them… she wouldn't find that in her father, as much as he wanted to deceive himself into thinking otherwise. As protective as he might be of his daughter, which certainly was a nice change, considering how distant and aloof he ever was with Zuko, Ozai couldn't expect to become the girl's whole world, and he'd do best to keep that in mind.

The girl in question was, however, inconsolable. Instead of picking fights or trying to start games with Zuko, she stayed in her cabin. When forced to join the family for any meals during this trip, she'd remain silent, though she'd shoot begrudging glares at her brother, who did his best to ignore her. Ozai didn't join them.

It was up to Ursa to start mending fences and fixing what she'd broken, then. The two of them needed to understand why she had done it, if nothing else… they needed to realize this wasn't some vindictive spree on her part. Ursa was trying to help, in the long run, and all she needed was for them to learn to listen to her.

She approached Azula's cabin after leaving Zuko to nap in his own room. Her heart clenched as she knocked softly, to no avail. She pushed the door open anyway, finding the small child lying on her side, her back towards the door.

"There you are," Ursa said, as if she hadn't known where she'd find Azula at all.

She closed the door behind herself and approached the child's bedside. Azula tensed up visibly once she sat beside her, but she didn't say a word yet.

"Azula… I know you're disappointed. You've made it quite clear," Ursa said, breathing deeply. "You misunderstood certain things, and that's not your fault. The world doesn't work quite the way you thought it did, and there's no shame in coming to terms with that reality. I know it must hurt to know it now, but… no, you have no business learning swordsmanship. I'm afraid there's nothing in the world that could justify a Princess involving herself in such business."

"But Zuko can do it!" Azula rebuffed, turning around and sitting up to glare at her mother. Ursa sighed, shaking her head. "He's a Prince, and he can do it, he started when he was five, and I…!"

"Azula, you don't understand the way of this world because you've never seen anything other than your father, your brother, your cousin… even your uncle and your grandfather," Ursa said, raising a hand and touching Azula's hair. The child tensed up, but she didn't pull away from her mother's caress… even if it looked like she feared a blow rather than gentleness, for reasons Ursa couldn't even fathom. "What is it? Azula, I'm just touching your hair…"

"Why?" the child asked. Ursa smiled.

"Because it's beautiful," she said. Azula swallowed hard, still eyeing her mother apprehensively. "Can you imagine how distressing it would be for your hair to be singed, or cut, in the middle of a battlefield?"

"It… it would grow out again…" Azula mumbled.

"It's better if it can grow on your terms anyway," Ursa said, sighing and pulling her hand back. "Listen, Azula… I understand if you feel that I'm being unfair to you. I know why you think so. I'm here to explain why that's not the case: you're not like any other member of the Royal Family."

"I'm not," Azula agreed, looking at her mother apprehensively. "I'm a prodigy…"

"That's not the reason why you're different. In fact, your grandfather was a prodigy as well," Ursa said. Azula pouted. "Azula… you're a Princess. You're a girl. You will be the highest ranked noblewoman in the Fire Nation by the time you're an adult. And as fun as you find firebending to be, the truth is it will play a very small role in the life you're bound to lead once you're older. There are many more things you need to be concerned with…"

"But I don't want to…" Azula frowned, looking at her mother accusingly. "What kind of things?"

"Well, there are traditional abilities any noblewoman must master," Ursa said. "You need to be the picture of gracefulness, become an example to follow for other young women of the nation. You're to be the best Fire Nation citizen you can be, Azula, and that means setting aside the aspirations your father has been recklessly allowing you to pursue for years…"

"I don't understand," Azula frowned, reproachfully.

"I'm trying to explain so you do," Ursa said, sighing and shaking her head. "A girl like you needs to be prepared to become an exemplary woman. You'll need to be educated, cultured, polite, your manners must be impeccable, your ability to navigate social situations second to none. All this because… one day, Azula, you'll marry an important nobleman, much like I married your father. By that time, you'll prove yourself the best candidate to wed him by exemplifying everything I've just told you about. You'll be able to find the right husband, too, by behaving yourself as best as you're able…"

Azula, however, appeared entirely appalled by the notion. She shook her head, glaring at her mother as though what she'd said so far was the most disturbing concept she had ever envisioned…

"No!" she exclaimed. Ursa raised her eyebrows.

"No? Azula… goodness, the damage your father has done is beyond me," Ursa said, shaking her head and bringing a hand to her brow.

"I don't want to marry some dumb nobleman!" Azula exclaimed, tears in her eyes. "I want to fight! I want to be like cousin Lu Ten, I want to…!"

"Azula, you don't know the first thing about a war or what it entails," Ursa said, firmly. Azula winced. "Men fight wars: women have to pick up after them once they do. It's an unfortunate fact of life. If they're off fighting recklessly, killing each other in battlefields, what will be left of our nation then? Should anything happen to these strong warriors you look up to so much, that you wish you could become, what do you think would happen to the Fire Nation? It would be left unprotected. It would be left without guidance. Our duty, as nobility, is to ensure to preserve the integrity of our nation, of our people: it's not about fighting the war. But if the Fire Lord wishes to fight it? Then the ones who must obey his call are those he determines suitable for the task. And he will not choose you for it, try as though you might to prove what a powerful firebender you are, because you're a girl. You have a duty to your family that doesn't entail battlefields but… but furthering the lineage. Azula, you and I are here to support them, not to do as we please. You'll stand by your brother, by your cousin, by your husband once you're old enough and we find a suitable match for you…"

"I don't want to!" Azula exclaimed, pulling back from Ursa, tears in her eyes. "I… w-why do I have to support them? They should support me! I'm the prodigy, I…!"

"You're not listening to anything I say, curses…" Ursa huffed, shaking her head. "What do I have to do to get through to you? Azula, you're not going to have your way when it comes to this. You won't be trained by Master Piandao: your education entails something much more complex and delicate than what you'd ever be able to learn from him. And as you're old enough to make such requests, then perhaps you're already old enough to begin a proper education regime in the Royal Academy for Girls."

"W-what…?" Azula asked: she was confused, curious… she didn't know what that entailed. Ursa breathed deeply, shrugging in her direction.

"You must be quite torn up by the fact that Zuko gets an education you don't, so you'll have one he doesn't, too. I'll arrange matters with your father as soon as I'm able. Perhaps it will still take another year, maybe two, before you're ready to begin your instruction, but you'll begin to prepare for it regardless. You need to understand there's more to life than picking fights and competing with your brother over everything."

"B-but he picks fights too…" Azula asked.

"And you'll show your maturity by not humoring him, when he does," Ursa said. Azula remained perplexed. "Yes, I know, this sounds abysmal for you right now, but you'll understand eventually. Your brother already has plenty of expectations he needs to keep up with, to catch up to, and if his focus is centered on outdoing you at whatever you happen to outdo him at? It will only hinder and damage this family in the end. Therefore… you're going to begin transitioning to a different life. A civilian life, so to speak: until you begin your instruction in the Royal Academy, I will have Lo and Li take charge of your education and…"

"Lo and Li?!" Azula exclaimed: now she was genuinely outraged. "No! Not them! Mom, I don't want them! Mom…!"

"This isn't about what you want, Azula! How hard is it to understand that there's more at stake, more at play in life than your whims?" Ursa asked. Azula winced, staring at her apprehensively again. "Yes, Azula: Lo and Li. They will see to your education personally. They're the most experienced women in the spheres of Fire Nation power, and they know exactly what will be expected of you. Protest all you wish, but I'm your mother: my decisions may not make sense to you for now, but you'll understand once you're older…"

"I don't want to!" Azula huffed, scowling. "They can't teach me anything! They're not benders, and Dad wants me to have tutors for firebending…!"

"Your father's say upon your education has been put into question, child, whether you like it or not," Ursa said. Azula's eyes widened. "Lo and Li are non-benders, yes… much like I am. Do you think me less powerful than you, just because I cannot bend?"

Azula didn't answer: her begrudging glare spoke for itself regarding the answer she wanted to give that question. Ursa scowled back.

"If anything… Lo and Li's knowledge on all royal matters would make them suitable for the role of your firebending tutors, too. That they're not firebenders is even an advantage, in this case," Ursa said, curtly.

"N-no… NO!" Azula exclaimed, sparks of fire burst from her lips, and Ursa gasped.

"Azula! Behave yourself!" she exclaimed: as angry as the girl was, she still obeyed… still held down by the control her mother exerted over her. "Curses, this is exactly what I'm talking about! This is exactly the behavior you need to stop! How do you not understand that…!"

"I don't want to! I'm not going to…! Leave me alone!" Azula exclaimed, tears spilling down her face as she turned around, burying her face in her pillow. Ursa huffed, rising to her feet: this pointless argument was giving her a migraine, and Azula's outbursts certainly were much more daunting than they should be, coming from a five-year-old…

"You're impossible," Ursa said, shaking her head. "You don't even begin to understand what kind of life you've been born to, Azula! This is not a game! War is not a game! No one, not even your father, is ready to keep up with a child like you! There's no room in this world, in this nation, for the Princess you want to be. You're a child… you don't understand it yet. But you will. You'll grow old, and one day you'll open your eyes and see that every single one of those people who are pretending to stand on your side now, who humor you and find your antics endlessly entertaining will be ready to tear you down mercilessly, to cruelly teach you what your place is supposed to be! You can't trust that this world will ever be welcoming to the Princess you believed you could be, Azula!"

Her words, of course, fell on deaf ears. Her attempt to make amends had failed entirely, at least with Azula. With that intensifying headache bothering her now, she certainly was in no fit state to deal with Ozai next… so she shook her head, marching out of Azula's room, trying to ignore the angry sobs of her frustrated daughter.

She would understand one day, Ursa was certain of that. She didn't know what she was asking for, didn't understand it… but she would, and she would thank her mother for her teachings, for her warnings, by the time it did. She would come to see how harsh this world was… for even Ozai would fail to fight back against the constraints of traditions and the expectations that would be likely to swallow Azula's every aspiration. For as long as Azulon was in power, for as long as Iroh was his successor, Azula's position in the Royal Family was precarious. Stepping out of her set role, defying a millennia's worth of society and culture, wasn't something Azula could ever hope to do… she didn't realize she would be doing that, truly. She simply saw the world with her childish eyes, failing to comprehend the bigger picture. One day she'd thank her mother… one day she'd understand.

But that Azula was too young to understand didn't change that Ozai should.

He was an adult by now: he knew the pressures of his role deeply. He understood how dangerous it was to swim against the current of Fire Lord Azulon's might. Why would he be so foolish as to encourage their daughter to become a transgressor when that would only hurt her, in the long run? How could he fail to understand the gravity of his own actions?

For with his evasive behavior, that was all he seemed to be doing. Ursa attempted to speak with him a few times while on the ship back to the mainland, and all she found were dismissive, uninterested responses. It seemed apparent that this sudden, unexpected rift in their marriage would only be resolved once they were home… but Ursa failed to understand why the cost of it proved to be as steep as it had been so far. Why was Ozai as upset, as outraged as he was? Disagreements were hardly uncommon in royal marriages: did he truly expect they'd never have cause to enter conflict? If so, he was being as childish as Azula was, and without the justification of youth and inexperience that their daughter could be absolved by.

Nothing changed for the better even once they were home again: Zuko didn't seem to know how to respond to Azula's sulking, more so as she certainly seemed set on holding Zuko responsible for the decision Piandao had made – at least, she appeared to resent him for making the most of an opportunity that had been denied to her. But as much as Ursa made efforts to keep the peace between them – efforts Azula clearly resented her for, too –, Ozai didn't involve himself in anything. The longer it went, the more frustrating the situation would become for Ursa… Azula seemed to sulk even more over her father's absence.

He didn't turn up over dinner. He didn't show up to send the children safely to sleep, either. He wasn't in their room, but he was bound to return to it eventually. Ursa changed into her sleeping gown, and she waited.

After nodding off for hours, sitting on a chair by the small table in their rooms, the door finally opened: Ursa grew alert at once, eyes sharpening as she took in Ozai's appearance. He seemed to have cleaned up elsewhere, likely at the spa, judging by the sheen of his dark hair. He entered the room quietly, gazing about himself with a slight frown upon realizing Ursa wasn't already in bed… at the very least, the small jump once his eyes met hers was satisfactory, where nothing else had been for days.

"Why aren't you in bed?" he asked, curtly.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking that question?" Ursa asked, arms folded over her chest. "Why would you need to go to the spa at these hours, exactly? Where were you?"

"Training," Ozai said, simply. Ursa scowled. "What? It's hardly the first time I…"

"You're not seriously going to pretend you've ever trained well past midnight before, are you?" Ursa huffed, pushing herself up. "If nothing else, you've never done it through our marriage, and I don't see why you would switch back to any old habits you had discarded when you married me."

Ozai scowled, showing no willingness to back down this time. His irritable demeanor was certainly something he had in common with his daughter, Ursa thought…

"I don't know what exactly is going on here, Ozai, but I demand that you speak your mind at once," she said. "The sole vow I asked of you, the one thing I said I would request from you, was your honesty. We are allies in this family. Pushing me away does you no favors…"

"It does me no good to let you any closer, though," Ozai said. Ursa's lips parted, mystified by his sudden declaration. "For it seems I'm quite a terrible person, aren't I? A man who uses his child as a weapon to inconvenience his father…"

"What…?" Ursa blinked blankly. Ozai scoffed.

"Don't pretend to rescind your words now. You humiliated me before Piandao, hurled unfair accusations at me, all be it to win an argument you didn't have any right to launch upon me that way…!"

"Ozai…!" Ursa gasped, staring at him in utter disbelief. "I didn't…! Goodness, I apologize if you felt I was humiliating you, but that was not my intent…!"

"As if the intent would matter," Ozai said, shaking his head. "I'm sure you spoke your mind quite candidly then, just as you think our vow demands that you do: I'm quite the terrible father, the kind who thinks his children are nothing but tools for his advancement…!"

"I never said that! Ozai, I…! I may have overstepped boundaries and said hurtful things I didn't mean to say, but you weren't listening to me. You still aren't!" she exclaimed, her tone pleading. Ozai scoffed.

"You're not listening to me any more than you listened to Azula, I'm sure. You know best, don't you? You know exactly what the girl needs because you're a noblewoman, because your experiences are absolute, because you know what a Royal Family's demands look like…!"

"Ozai…!" Ursa started, eyes wide: what was happening? What on earth was happening? Her stomach was burning, churning, her throat seemed moments away from growing thick with tears… why was he doing this? Why was he fighting her this way? "Ozai, I am not your enemy. I didn't say those things because I wanted to sabotage Azula, curses, you have to understand you're preparing her for a life that no one will let her lead! Your father will tear her down if she so much as tries to rise anywhere beyond his expectations…!"

"And that's a good enough reason not to do anything?" Ozai hissed. "I should sit back and allow our daughter to be controlled and restrained by my bastard of a father until he finally drops dead? Ah, but it will be Iroh then, won't it? And he will be no different, no better, than my father already was! Is that the life you want for your daughter? A life of restraint, of holding back, of letting everyone around her control her as her potential wastes away?"

Ursa gritted her teeth: she certainly had her own ideas regarding Azula's potential, but it didn't seem the right moment to share them, not when Ozai was in such a foul mood. It would only make matters worse, she knew…

"Ah, but my concern on the subject makes me a monster, does it not?" Ozai asked, glaring at Ursa. "Zuko will have whatever he wants in life. He's a firstborn Prince, even if of a second branch: you have no idea what it means to be the second child. You were an only child yourself: the pressures you speak of, that you pretend are the same for the both of you, are entirely different. But ah, my insight on the matter is irrelevant. I am, indeed, the worst of fathers…"

"No one ever called you that, damn it, Ozai," Ursa said, her hands rising to her face as she shook her head. "Listen to me, if just for a moment, curses. I'm sorry I made it sound like you weren't a good father, or that you hadn't looked after Azula properly. I understand that you believed you were doing right by our daughter, and I simply have another outlook on the matter. Perhaps… perhaps you're right to say that Azula's potential will be stunted due to being a second child, but being a girl already would make it all the more difficult for her to play any part in Fire Nation society beyond the ones we know about."

"Hence… why would you get in her way?" Ozai asked. Ursa blinked. "Why would you be another obstacle in her path?"

"Another…? Ozai, I'm not being an obstacle, I'm trying to help her understand that there are boundaries and limits she will need to abide by. What kind of life do you think you'll prepare her for by pretending she's no different from Zuko? If you make her believe everyone will treat them as equals? No one will do that other than us, Ozai. No one…"

"You certainly are keen on proving that you, too, won't treat them as such," Ozai said. Ursa scoffed.

"That I'm treating them differently doesn't mean that I don't see them as equals…"

"Terribly contradictory on your part, if so," Ozai stated. Ursa's conciliatory demeanor faded quite quickly upon hearing those words. "You're perfectly content to give in to Zuko's every whim to keep the boy happy: life will never be that kind or forgiving to him either. He's not the heir to the throne: he's the firstborn son of the Fire Lord's second son. You sought Piandao so he would train the boy in the art of the sword so his ego would not be harmed by his sister's superiority in firebending: what makes you believe that there won't be other matters in life in which he'll face similar upsets? His cousin far outdoes him at every discipline in life: by the time Lu Ten is Fire Lord, Zuko will be mortified by his inability to catch up to him! What will you do then, I wonder? How will you protect him from the cruelty of this competitive world where the strong constantly overpower the weak?"

"You're not seriously trying to say that you think your son is weak…" Ursa huffed.

"He wouldn't be… if he had a chance to prove it," Ozai hissed. Ursa's eyes widened.

"So… what, you want me to leave him be? To let you decide on his education, all because you want him to prove his true strength?" Ursa asked. "You mean… that the child you've overlooked, that you've set aside to focus on his sister, you'll actually give this boy the attention and dedication that he needs from a father?"

"I have given him enough…" Ozai said, but Ursa shook her head.

"You could have come with us on every trip for his training in Shu Jing," she said, stepping back. "You have no idea how excited he was over the prospect of showing you, personally, how much he had grown as a swordsman on that day, and you were simply biding your time to make Piandao teach Azula…"

"I wasn't making him do anything, I told Azula personally that, if she were deemed unworthy, she wouldn't cry and she would accept Piandao's choice," Ozai said. "But she cannot do that, certainly not… because she sees clearly that he would have taken her on as a student if you hadn't interfered. You claim it's the world that will get in her way… you demand for honesty: admit, then, that the first to get in her way would be you."

Ursa's jaw dropped. Ozai glared at her accusingly, and at a lack of an answer he simply scoffed again, shaking his head.

"Making demands you cannot even abide by yourself? I see. I'm not too surprised, frankly," Ozai said, rolling his eyes and walking past Ursa, who gasped and shook her head.

"Stop this. Curses, just…! Stop!" Ursa exclaimed, rushing after him as he approached their bed. "Listen to me, Ozai, and quit jumping to conclusions! I'm not an obstacle on Azula's path, I've never wanted to be anything like that! I want to protect her! I want to…!"

"From me?" Ozai asked. Ursa froze. "From Piandao? From a life of danger upon learning combat skills? Or from the wickedness of Fire Nation society? From my father, perhaps?"

"From… from herself," Ursa said. Ozai's eyebrows drew together with a distasteful grimace. "Ozai, you don't understand… you'll never understand. A woman's role in this world…"

"Is going to be dictated to her by someone else?" Ozai finished for her, once Ursa fell silent. "I never meant to raise Azula to be complacent… I wanted her to be strong, to overcome the limitations of her station and prove my father wrong to a point where he could never dismiss her as meaningless or worthless. Your idea of how to protect Azula is entirely different from mine, Ursa."

"It may be, but… it's not because I believe you to be a terrible father to her," Ursa said. Ozai frowned. "We need to find common ground somehow. To find a compromise. To…"

"Truly?" Ozai cut her off. "What, exactly, are you willing to yield, Ursa? How much leeway do you intend to offer her? Will you ever concede that I'm right about any of what I've said?"

"Would you accept that I have a point?" Ursa asked, staring at him begrudgingly. "You're not exactly in the best position to accuse me of stubbornness, are you?"

"Why not? I let you have your way," Ozai said. Ursa frowned. "I gave up. I let you humiliate me indeed, I let you inflict unhappiness and misery upon our daughter, and I stepped back and did all those things so you would be satisfied, certainly! And suddenly, it turns out that this isn't enough! That, on top of everything I've already done, you also want me to be perfectly content with your every choice? If I were nothing but a supportive husband, would you ever care to see my side? Would it ever matter to you if you're destroying your daughter's spirit so long as I'm not upset about it?"

"She's not…! I'm not going to destroy her spirit!" Ursa gasped, eyes wide. "Ozai, what kind of madness are you even talking about? These are lessons of life Azula needs to learn! That's as true for her as it is for Zuko!"

"So why aren't you advocating for teaching him said lessons?" Ozai asked, skeptical. "Why is it so easy to want Azula to learn that this is not the way life works… but somehow, Zuko needs to be coddled and protected from reality? At the very least be consistent, now, will you?"

Ursa huffed in frustration, walking away from him as tears burned in her eyes: she still didn't understand how this simple matter was escalating this far. Was it truly something she had said? Was it her fault? But if it was, why did Ozai's arguments feel so wrong? Why would she feel the need to protect her children from him, when she had no reason to believe he meant them any harm?

"I don't see the point in this discussion," Ozai said, shaking his head. "You've already had your way, and apparently you need more than that, still. This is getting us nowhere…"

"It is, because you won't listen to me. Because you're fighting me, hurling accusations at me just as I rescind the ones I senselessly sentenced you with before," Ursa said, glaring at him through her tearful eyes. "What the blazes is this, Ozai? What are we doing, why…? Why are we doing it at all? What are you trying to achieve? You want to win? You want me to let Azula fly into infinity only so she can crash against your father's immense ego? He already must resent her for being a prodigy beyond his own abilities at her age, from all you've told me… and you'll put her at greater risk still, all be it so you can show the world that she's extraordinary? Why does she need to be extraordinary to begin with? Why can't she just be our child? Doesn't that alone make her as extraordinary as can be? Ozai…"

"I don't believe we'll ever see eye to eye when it comes to how we protect our children," Ozai said, glaring at her. "But just as you're putting it, Ursa: what are you trying to achieve? What exactly did you expect would happen once you confronted me about this?"

"I thought we'd talk! I thought we'd make peace, that we'd figure out a solution…!" Ursa huffed, shaking her head, hands falling at either side of her body. "But clearly there's no solution. We're… at some sort of war, are we? That's what this is?"

"No one ever said… you're overreacting," Ozai huffed. "This is an argument! There's no need to push it any further than…!"

"It never needed to become an argument to begin with!" Ursa exclaimed, walking up to Ozai again. "All we need to do is listen to each other and understand what's at stake! For crying out loud, it's us against them! It's our family against the rest of the world, Ozai! That's how it always has been! Why would we let something this small destroy what we've spent years building? Why are you putting up these walls and pushing me away instead of talking to me, instead of opening up to me and helping us find the right solution? I… I'm here, Ozai. I'm listening. Please…"

Her hands fell upon his arms. His eyes remained affixed to hers… and so, she could see as a sudden burst of tenderness bloomed in them, past the obvious hostility he had showed her so far.

It was working. At last, she was getting through to him. Somehow… she'd fix this. She had to fix it. She couldn't stand the thought of being in conflict with him. She couldn't fathom losing the comfort, the certainty of having him by her side…

"What do you want from me?" Ozai whispered, his voice softer… and yet something made it sound threatening, instead. Ursa swallowed hard.

"I want… I just want you," she said, bluntly. "As it always has been. I want my husband. I… I don't want to lose you. I don't…"

She was fulfilling her vow to him. She was honest. Her greatest concern, her biggest fear across this clash between them, was nothing other than that.

Ozai's brow drew together… and her previous hope seemed to fade. Was he against this? Was he going to refuse her, to reject what she wanted? Was this the end of the line for their marriage, somehow… over an argument regarding their daughter's education? How did that make any sense? How could something like that spiral to this extent?

She couldn't let that happen. She refused to let him go. He couldn't pull away from her. Whatever happened in life, going forward, she couldn't lose him.

She lunged forward: her hands clasped the back of his neck forcefully, and she pressed a desperate kiss to his mouth. Their teeth crashed, if not too painfully, but she refused to pull away even if Ozai groaned in discomfort…

He didn't push her away. His hand rose to her hair, gripping it tightly, but he didn't yank her off him, as she thought he might.

Instead, his incubated anger was ready to come into full bloom, and it did so through a ferocious, invasive kiss she couldn't anticipate in the slightest. The pattern of his hands, moving and roaming over her body, seemed to be charged with a possessiveness she couldn't understand right away… but the way he touched her suggested he was as desperate for her as she felt for him, too. The fear of what they'd lose if they allowed this argument to escalate any further was enough to bring out a different kind of honesty from their hearts…

But it was vicious. It was violent. It was unlike anything they had dared experience before.

His forceful behavior was rewarded with hers. Where he yanked her robe loose, she pushed him into their bed and climbed over him. There were no smiles over their faces. There was nothing but a burst of unknown, unfamiliar passion, for it was nothing like that which they had felt for one another until then. There was a profound frustration that couldn't be quelled with kisses, a hunger they couldn't sate by devouring each other's bodies: they struggled, they pushed back, they attacked and defended, fiercely meeting each other in the middle as their shared fire threatened to consume them both.

By the time it was over, Ozai sat up by the edge of the bed, his back towards Ursa. She laid on her side, unwilling to speak another word, hugging herself as she climbed down from the most scandalous heights Ozai had brought her to this time. This was when he would hug her from behind, kiss her cheek, utter teasing words with devious wickedness she could only find impossibly delightful… and yet that didn't happen. It wouldn't.

A chance glance over her shoulder showed her he was holding up his head, elbows on his knees. He was anguished still. So was she. Unsurprisingly, as passionate and intense as it had been, their tryst hadn't done away with any of what had been left unresolved between them.

Ozai rose from the bed, picked up his robe, fastened it over his body and left. Ursa gritted her teeth, rolling unto herself even more tightly as bursts of furious tears began spilling down her face.

Who was right? Who was wrong? What exactly had she done wrong? Where had she made such unforgivable mistakes that her husband would never forgive her for? She knew exactly where he had gone wrong… she knew where he was still going wrong right now, for his unwillingness to set this matter aside was certainly a blow against him. But she'd overlook it all if he did the same. She could forget about it, leave it behind, if he did it too… and yet he didn't. He wouldn't.

She hugged herself, trying not to give in to the despair of knowing something was irremediably wrong between them, where nothing had been merely a week earlier. Trying to cling to hope, to the belief that their marriage wouldn't falter and collapse over something quite so simple, after so long of smooth sailing… Ozai couldn't be so foolish as to let their bond die out over one disagreement. There had to be more important things than whether or not their daughter could learn swordsmanship, or whether Ursa or Ozai were the ones to determine her future education…

That belief certainly backfired: there had been more important things than preparing Azula for a miserable future in which she would be cut down, held back from achieving her full potential. Of course there had been. Ursa hadn't seen it… for she had been as stubborn as Rina, her own mother, as keen on pointless things that ultimately held no value, and she had punished her daughter for disagreeing with her beliefs, for having the courage to build her own path in life. That she had ever displayed any malice or childish mischief had nothing to do with those things: Azula had been genuine, innocent, pure-hearted once. There had been no true cruelty in her heart, no matter if her brother had found it difficult to keep up with her. She had simply been a child, seeking to be as free as a bird… and perhaps she had stopped being one on the day her own mother clipped her wings.

Perhaps what hurt the most was knowing that, in the end, Ozai had proven Ursa right: Azula had failed to reach the heights she aimed for, after spending years of her life changing the Fire Nation for the better. She had succeeded in so many ways… and the minute she had dared defy what was expected of her, Ozai himself had adhered to meaningless traditions and broken his daughter mercilessly, punishing her for transgressions that were no such things at all…

That mischievous child had been right. She had always been right. Protecting Zuko's confidence should have amounted to teaching him to value himself through something other than skills or material belongings: his own sister would have never felt like a threat to his young mind if only his mother had taught him better. If only she had slowed down to truly ponder what the truth behind their rivalry was… if only she had unveiled the truth of Ozai's insecurities, of his fears, and seen inside him, deep enough to defy his demons and show him a different path…

But Ursa woke in Ba Sing Se that morning with tearful eyes, much as she had on that morning, well over twenty years ago: Ozai was as absent from her bed now as he had been on that day. After so long away from him, it seemed senseless that she would still miss him as badly as she had once the darker days of their marriage had begun: no matter if he stood right beside her, he had always been out of her reach.

She sighed, pushing herself off the bed, trying to ignore the hole in her heart, the loneliness that cut away at her like knives. A look in the mirror after washing her face revealed that she was certainly no longer the young woman who had bickered and argued with her husband over anything and everything, eventually as good as doing it for sport, all be it to get enough of a rise out of him to feel him close to her once again. It had become a toxic, twisted matter… for the only intimacy she would ever find with him, at that point, would be as a result of another argument that physicality would not resolve. Their mutual attraction had remained strong, if it hadn't grown stronger still… but their hearts, once so well synched, had fallen into a dissonance they had never found a way to repair.

It was all the worse, of course, to think of how profound that dissonance would be nowadays, should she ever face her husband again. He betrayed everything he had ever pretended to stand for, and he had done that against none other than Azula. A spat as seemingly small as the one from that day had gone far overboard, as problems upon problems had piled on, many of which revolved around which one had the right ideas regarding how to raise their children… and now, what had been so small, what had seemed so insignificant in the face of the wider world, appeared instead to have expanded to a greater, terrifying, sprawling conflict that the fate of the four nations hinged on. If Ursa had allowed herself to be persuaded, if she had opened herself up to the possibilities… how different would the outcome have been? How much more could she have done for a daughter who had grown to resent her for every boundary and limit she had tried to set upon her, limits she had never set around her brother?

Should she ever speak to Azula again, she would ensure to tell her countless truths: one of them, that she had always been right, even as a child, to fight and reach for whatever heights she set her attention on. But at this stage, would it even matter if Ursa said anything of the sort? Would it count for anything at all? The pain and anguish her daughter had experienced would not be soothed at all even if she knew her mother had changed her views. It felt like vanity, even, to want to share her new thoughts with Azula when they would amount to nothing, change nothing, especially the sorrow she had caused her so long ago.

She sat down at the bed, her breathing trembling as she clung to the mattress – she hated to reminisce on those days. The earlier ones had been a balm upon her soul… but that stopped being the case when their marriage had started to crumble. When she had started to feel Ozai slipping through her fingers. Her heart pulsed so much misery through her body she barely could bring herself to move, even if her stomach roared with need for food…

A knock on her bedroom door. She ignored it, but the person entered the room even so.

"It's well past noon, Ursa."

She sighed: as usual, he would arrive just in time to cut off her mental tirades. She hardly knew whether to thank him or resent him for it…

She rose from her seat, turning towards Piandao with half-lidded eyes. He would be able to tell she had cried. He wasn't likely to ask for details, though, knowing better by now than to do so if she didn't offer to share personally.

"Any news?" she asked. Piandao shook his head.

"None from the frontlines. Only the same hearsay spread from the Fire Nation soldiers," Piandao said. Ursa sighed. "With any luck, we'll hear from them soon. It won't happen any sooner if you to starve yourself or lay awake late into the night, though."

"Whatever I do has no bearing on when a message arrives. Healthy or unhealthy," she said.

"No doubt. I simply doubt you wish to worry Zuko over your health while he's battling in the war," Piandao pointed out. Ursa huffed, marching out of the room.

"He has no reason to worry, seeing as my health has a personal guardian who never fails to nag me when I'm being irresponsible," she said. Piandao actually smiled.

"I sincerely doubt he realizes how irresponsible you can get," he said. Ursa glared at him sideways, unamused. "You are, after all, his dignified mother. I can't imagine he would fathom that you'd be willing to stay awake for hours into the night, arguing with me about the designs of Pai Sho tiles…"

"Well, they continue to be unbearably confusing, so pardon me if I'm not a good enough rival whenever we play," Ursa said, rolling her eyes. "I barely know why I humor you with it at all. You let me win more often than not, and don't pretend otherwise."

"I would not do such a thing. You are far smarter than you ever will give yourself credit for," Piandao stated. Ursa hummed.

"Reality suggests otherwise, but I suppose you haven't yet mastered the art of flattery to the point where I'd accept it blindly. You need as much work with that as I do at looking after myself."

"Two works in progress, aren't we?" Piandao said. Ursa eyed him skeptically as they marched into the dining room.

So much had changed in life… to the point where the man she had addressed so carefully, that she had respected deeply long ago, had become, instead, her most faithful friend. Whether he annoyed her or he comforted her, the truth remained the truth. She had never quite imagined their bond would change as it had… but at the same time, recalling the next visit she and Zuko made to Shu Jing also sufficed to remind her of when matters had begun changing for her, even when it came to Piandao…

Ozai and Azula, of course, had stayed behind. He hadn't protested to Ursa's determinations regarding Azula's education anymore – he hardly spoke to her over anything but platitudes after that night, even if he joined her in bed obediently without fail. The distance between them disturbed his wife, but it appeared to be something he was used to, for that was what his relationships had been like with his father and brother… even so, there was a part of her that had the feeling that his passiveness would become dangerous, that he would intervene in Azula's education whenever she wasn't paying attention. If it hadn't been entirely insensitive, Ursa would have brought her to Shu Jing and kept her out of Ozai's reach… but the girl wasn't bound to agree to that, and for once, Ursa wouldn't blame her for it.

And so, she sat in the hills of Shu Jing, watching as her son trained by practicing with his wooden blades – it was time for him to learn to coordinate with two broadswords rather than one, and it was a challenge he was facing with no end of determination. He might have hoped, even, that his mother's spirits would improve if he was successful… not knowing that her stress, her uncertainties, related to every element of her life except for him.

"I take it matters have not improved much since your last visit?" Piandao had asked her. Ursa gritted her teeth, hoping to retain her composure.

"If you mean, in regards of my family… they haven't. I'm sorry if I'm too troubled to be receptive to your conversations today, Master Piandao… I have much on my mind," she said, as politely as possible.

"I understand if you'd rather not share," he said, taking his seat beside her. Ursa eyed him warily. "But perhaps another perspective, from an outsider, could aid you in finding your bearings within your reality. I'm afraid I'm quite uneducated in the troubles of the highest class: I've never been part of it, and I don't intend to join it anytime soon… but if I can help, I will be pleased to do so."

"Why?" Ursa asked, glancing at him with a slight frown. Piandao met her gaze. "Pardon me, but… why would it matter to you, whether I'm handling myself well in my family's conflicts or not? You're Zuko's master. My personal problems shouldn't be of any concern for you…"

"I'm afraid I feel involved in this matter, seeing as my lessons were the core of the conflict," Piandao said. Ursa winced. "Naturally, if you'd rather I remove myself from the conversation entirely, I'll do so immediately."

She was tempted to tell him to do exactly that, right away. The temptation weakened quickly, of course, as a result of her anguishing loneliness: he was offering her a hand when she was down on the ground, and she could very well take it in order to rise to her feet once more…

"I don't understand… how this has caused my husband and I to drift apart," she said. "I hear his reasons, but I don't think he has ever heard mine. I've tried to make it clear that I don't wish for this to harm our marriage, but… it feels as though he has no idea how to have a normal argument, how to disagree with someone without assuming every difference is irreconcilable."

"Perhaps he doesn't," Piandao agreed. Ursa glanced at him with uncertainty. "Considering the family that raised him, the violent ideology he must have certainly adhered to for as long as he lived… I wouldn't be all that surprised if, indeed, he believes all arguments must conclude with either side's surrender, whether it concerns the fate of the world or who eats the final pork chop…"

"Frankly, with Ozai, everything seems to be about the fate of the world even if it's not. I don't understand it," Ursa shook her head. "Azula's training… she has so much more she needs to be prepared for, so many aspects of life a noblewoman is expected to master. Rather than training with you, she's better off learning about all such things in the Royal Academy for Girls. It will be better for her future."

"Hmm. She could have very well learned with me and been a student in the Academy," Piandao said. Ursa flinched, glaring at him accusingly. "I'm only saying…"

"Don't… don't even try to tell me it makes any sense for her to learn from you," Ursa said, scowling. "You told me you haven't taught any women before, Master Piandao."

"Indeed," Piandao admitted. "And curiously, I'd never thought about how unnatural that is until your daughter sought to change things."

Ursa's eyes widened. She was so shaken up she couldn't even fathom responding to the sword master… just as a needling curiosity took hold of her heart.

"She is indeed impulsive," Piandao continued. "She is a five-year-old, of course, she has no notion of how the world works, what kinds of restraints and limitations have been set upon her. But perhaps her childish innocence can teach us more wisdom than we anticipated."

"That… that's absurd," Ursa said, breathlessly. "What kind of wisdom are you expecting from my daughter? She's only just getting to know the world…"

"And she defies what she doesn't understand. She faces it with bravery that many great generals ten times her age can't even begin to muster," Piandao said. Ursa's eyes widened. "No master could ask for a better student than the kind who makes him question everything he has taken for granted. While I will understand and respect your choice, Lady Ursa… I cannot say that tradition is a strong enough argument to block your daughter away from all martial arts within her reach. She might have just proven to be the best student among all those who have ever learned from me."

"But… but this isn't about her," Ursa said, shuddering. "It's about Zuko. It's about…"

"About helping and reassuring him of his talent and potential, yes," Piandao said. "As I told you, I understand if you won't change your choice. But Zuko's heart is troubled by something far greater than being outdone by his younger sister at firebending: his self-worth hinges on attention. It's hardly a surprise, he is a child as well, but he seeks approval from you and from your husband out of fear that he will lose your affection if his sister proves worthier of it than him. Ask yourself: what exactly has caused him to believe your bond with him is conditioned by his skills on a battlefield, or perhaps by his talent at academics? Why would he determine his worth through anything of the sort?"

"Because… because it's how Azula has earned attention and impressed people for as long as she's had any sense of self," Ursa said, frowning. "He has seen his father praise Azula and dote on her… he wants the same thing."

"But the girl is not responsible for her father's behavior. If your husband had any sense in his head, he would not sideline one child for another… and frankly, neither should you."

"I'm not sidelining either of them," Ursa said, frowning.

"You may think so… but your daughter might not," Piandao pointed out. "You're here, now, across a five-day trip with your son. She is not here. She won't see you for five days. Once you send her to the school… well, you'll stay home with your son while she must face countless strangers, as well as a school's hierarchical order, things she has never had to deal with on her own before. Her father won't be there, holding her hand through it. Were you in her shoes, would you feel loved and appreciated by parents who, in a child's mind, by all effects, have dismissed you and set you aside for your brother?"

Ursa gritted her teeth, remaining silent at his cutting words. Piandao sighed, gazing at her earnestly.

"Your husband is stubborn. You need to stand your ground against him to protect your children in case his temper worsens matters," he said. "But you might be better off by listening, not simply to me… but to your daughter. I mourn that I won't be her teacher personally… but I can only imagine the day will come when she'll learn everything she wishes to know from someone better suited than myself for the task."

"I don't think what she needs to know has anything to do with blades," Ursa said. Piandao shrugged.

"True swordsmanship is about much more than waving a weapon in a battlefield, or stabbing people with them, as much as some might believe otherwise," Piandao said. Ursa gritted her teeth, shaking her head.

"Then… what, do you think I should apologize? Change my mind? Go to Ozai and beg for his forgiveness?"

"I… did not say that," Piandao grimaced.

"Then what are you saying?" Ursa asked, eyes wide. "Please… if you're to help me, do so: tell me what to do. Tell me how to fix what I've broken. I don't know… I really don't know. I'm at a loss, Master Piandao. My family is falling apart… and I'm terrified that it's my fault."

"I'm afraid that's one more mistake on your part…" Piandao said, eyeing her compassionately. "You are not responsible for anything quite as severe as that. From my understanding… you've sought to make amends. To find an understanding with them. I'm unsurprised that it wouldn't work on your daughter… but if it's not working with your husband, Lady Ursa, I'm not sorry to say it isn't on you. Prince Ozai is, indeed, a prince. He's proud, he's stubborn… it doesn't matter if I side with him or you in the original argument, for his behavior towards you is entirely out of place. I've never had a wife, personally: I could never dream of treating her as he has treated you, should I ever find one."

"He's… he's not all bad," Ursa said, grimacing. "What I mean is… it wasn't like this before. He wasn't always…"

"Wasn't always disagreeable? I'm sure he wasn't. But challenging moments and trials such as these are the ones that show you his true mettle. Pardon me for being too harsh… but if a man like Prince Ozai cannot differentiate between an actual battlefield, a political scuffle and an argument with his wife, it's a shortcoming he will need to amend himself. You cannot heal him from all his experiences just by willing it, Lady Ursa. Whatever damage he has sustained due to his family's cruelty in their treatment of him, it doesn't change that he should never repeat their behavior, least of all towards his wife and your common children. You are only responsible for your own choices, which indeed includes the raising of these children: if Prince Ozai will not reconsider his behavior, if he will not offer you the respect you deserve, you're not at fault for it. It's all on him."

"Well… maybe that's true, but that's not too helpful," Ursa said. "How do I fix it? Do you think I can't just speak with him and heal this rift by having a sincere conversation…?"

"If he remains immovable after you've tried that approach, no. If you remain immovable, in turn, even less so," Piandao said. Ursa scowled. "Either one of you will need to compromise, or a miracle will have to strike, I suppose, to show both of you that neither of your positions is entirely wrong or entirely right. Is that too difficult to grasp?"

"It might be," Ursa said, shaking her head. "I can't leave my daughter to behave recklessly, carelessly, attempting to overcome the trappings of her role, only to be taken down in the future by those who will wish to mock and ridicule her. She doesn't understand what kind of life she's looking for… she doesn't realize how badly she will be hurt."

"She only realizes how badly she's hurting right now," Piandao finished. Ursa snarled, covering her face with her hands. "Which, I dare say, is unsurprising, considering that she's a child. She lacks the insight, as well as foresight, to see well past the obvious just yet. But one day she'll understand indeed. One day, she'll grow older: whoever she becomes by then will be able to look back on these days, and either she will decide you were correct all along, or she will break away from all expectations while begrudging you for holding her back."

"And so, I shouldn't hold her back?" Ursa asked.

"Would you ever consider doing anything else?" Piandao asked. Ursa grimaced.

"I… I can't really fathom it. For her sake, for Zuko's sake, I… I have to look after them. I have to protect them. Maybe… maybe, indeed, once she's older, matters will be different. Maybe society itself will have changed once Iroh is Fire Lord… though I doubt it. But if it did, somehow, and Azula still wished to learn from a sword master…"

"If you should change your mind by then, whenever it might be, I would be honored to take her as my pupil as well," Piandao said, bowing his head towards Ursa. She breathed deeply and nodded.

"I'm not sure if it would be the right choice, even now. But thank you, Master Piandao."

"You're always welcome, Lady Ursa. If there's ever anything I can do for you, you need but ask."

She wondered, nowadays, if he had ever regretted that offer. Perhaps, if he hadn't been so generous, she wouldn't have made his life as difficult as she had across the past years. He had been the only person she could go to, the only chance of survival she could cling to. His apparent selflessness, years later, in Ba Sing Se, his casual smiles, his reassuring words and grins as she ate her lunch – which, by all effects, was her breakfast instead – were perfectly welcome… and yet Ursa found them entirely undeserved. Every expectation he had held, every belief that she could do right by her family, by her children, had been proven entirely wrong merely a few years after they had first bonded over that conversation…

"What's on your mind now?" Piandao asked, after she finished her meal. Ursa sighed – by now, he simply asked bluntly rather than approaching her with caution. A sign of closeness, she knew, even if sometimes she missed the days in which he had been far more careful in how he spoke to her…

"I can't seem to stop pondering the past. No surprises there, as usual," she said. "Who would have thought that we would wind up here, so many years later? You were but a swordsman teaching my son, if a nosey swordsman who made a sport out of telling me everything I didn't wish to hear…"

"I was so very inconsiderate indeed…"

"Still are," Ursa rebuffed. Piandao smiled. "And now… we're here. You're still looking after me, but in ways you certainly mustn't have imagined likely, or possible, back in those days…"

"Indeed, I did not," Piandao confirmed. "Though I certainly suspected the day would come when the White Lotus would take off and fight in this war. I merely failed to predict in what manner it would occur…"

"Or that one of your students would be responsible for it," Ursa said. Piandao smiled and nodded.

"Indeed. The very best of them."

"Say…" Ursa frowned, eyeing him with uncertainty. "You once said Azula might have been your best student, had I seen sense and allowed her to train with you."

"I don't recall wording it that way…"

"You probably should have. Even if I wouldn't have welcomed it, back then," Ursa admitted. Piandao smiled. "Do you think… she would have been as good a student as Sokka proved to be?"

"Without a doubt," Piandao answered. Ursa swallowed hard, a tingle of undeserved pride dwelling in her gut upon hearing those words. "You needn't fret, though. Sokka took care of teaching her himself, so…"

"I know. I'm grateful that he did," Ursa said, with a small smile. "It's curious to think a total stranger succeeded where I failed for all of Azula's life, isn't it? Where I thought I would prepare her for the miserable life she'd have to endure, by repressing herself in the same ways I'd repressed myself… he, instead, let her be exactly who she wanted to be. He set her free… and in doing so, she changed the Fire Nation, the world, in countless ways before Ozai, of all people, wound up proving me right. Honestly… it baffles me that it never bothered him to prove me right as he did. I suppose that, in his eyes, destroying Azula's life over her relationship with Sokka was a matter of amending her alleged betrayal of her nation… but he certainly proved that the one person most adhered to the Fire Nation's cultural values regarding a woman's role in society was him. Ironic, isn't it?"

"Showed his true colors in the end," Piandao sighed. "As you said, he'd likely argue it was a matter of national security, the Gladiator was a risk due to his heritage, of course he couldn't have married her…"

"At times I wish I had taken Sokka up on that offer to return to him… solely so I could slap Ozai as many times as my hand can sustain it," Ursa said, bitterly. "Not that it would mean a thing to him, of course… he would simply lash out right back, I'm sure."

"He might," Piandao said, eyeing her with uncertainty.

"I hate remembering the bad days," Ursa said. "But maybe… maybe it's a good thing to do so, at times. Knowing that he may just face the reckoning he deserves, at long last, can be surprisingly comforting…"

"With any luck, he'll face it within the next few months indeed," Piandao said. Ursa gritted her teeth and nodded. "I don't know for certain how long it will take, or what the outcome will be, but I trust that Sokka will see the war to its conclusion as soon as he's able."

Ursa sighed, hoping he would be right. Hoping, despite herself, that Ozai would survive said reckoning, if only so she could face him again. It was hardly as though she were blameless in the catastrophes that had befallen their world… but she wanted to speak with him. She wanted to confront him. She wanted to…

"Master Piandao."

Their quiet lunch was interrupted by the sudden, unwanted arrival of the White Lotus leaders: Ursa froze up in her seat as Piandao's leisurely demeanor shifted into seriousness at once. He pushed himself up, meeting Jeong Jeong's glare… glimpsing, behind him, a pale, trembling Iroh.

A young man stood next to Anorak: a member of Zuko's firebending forces.

"Greetings, Master Piandao…" said the man, bowing his head respectfully.

"What…?" Piandao frowned, glancing at Jeong Jeong.

"This messenger arrived only five minutes ago, on a hot-air balloon," Jeong Jeong said.

Ursa gasped and rose to her feet as well, bumping the furniture with her hip and caring nothing for the blooming pain upon her skin. Suddenly there seemed to be no air in the room, not enough of it, at least, for this messenger had traveled north with her son. He knew what the outcome of the battle had been…

"The messenger has conveyed that the battle in the north has been won… but only after great sacrifices," Jeong Jeong said. Ursa covered her mouth with her hand. "The death toll among the Water Tribe's warriors is immeasurable. The available, able-bodied sailors are not sufficient to carry our troops across the ocean. As for…"

"What happened to Zuko? Sokka? Are they safe? Are they…?" Ursa blurted out, cutting off Jeong Jeong before he could finish. The man shot her a skeptical glare, but she was undisturbed by it as the messenger cleared his throat.

"Lady Ursa… Prince Zuko is out of danger," he said. Ursa's eyes widened. "I… I know it sounds terrible. It was, actually, terrible. He took a serious wound, but…"

The blood seemed to slow in her veins as she struggled to remain on her feet: Piandao turned quickly, first grasping her by the shoulder, then wrapping an arm around her waist to keep her upright. The messenger gasped, no doubt mortified to see her reacting this way… but he wasn't too surprised by it: Iroh, clearly, was as horrified by the news as Ursa had been.

"He's out of danger!" he repeated. "The Northern Water Tribe's healers… they saved him. They're only waiting for him to wake up, and I'm sure he'll do it soon! I know it's little reassurance, but…"

Ursa shook her head, as tears spilled from her eyes: he was safe. He was out of danger. He was still unconscious. He had taken a severe wound. Her son was…

Piandao's arms wrapped tightly around her, letting her hide her tearful face from the others by holding her against his chest. He glanced at the others, though: as protective as his intent might be, he needed to know more than just that.

"Sokka?" he asked.

"Also took a serious wound, but not as bad as Prince Zuko's…" the messenger explained. "He's already on his feet, so it's okay. We really didn't take any casualties, our group, but… but the Water Tribe is not well."

"It seems the Avatar saved the day by turning the airships' weapons against the Fire Nation's forces," Jeong Jeong said. "A remarkable demonstration of power… and one that resulted in a greater loss of lives on their side than ours. It seems the Gladiator has seen to it that the Fire Nation will be able to mourn their dead, somehow. As usual, the madman makes displays of generosity he shall never be thanked for… his enemies would never return the favor, but that means nothing to him."

"He's honorable that way," Piandao said, firmly.

"All this is to say… we have no more time to waste," Jeong Jeong stated. Piandao grimaced. "I would have delayed it further, but my forces will be setting out in a week. I expect that you'll agree with this course of action."

"Certainly," Piandao sighed, nodding. "We need to secure more ships urgently."

"Yu Dao might not have enough of them, but it will be the best way to bolster our possibilities…" Iroh recited, his voice faded and weak.

"We shall proceed as planned," Jeong Jeong said. "I will lead my forces: the two of you will remain here, serving as the link between us and General Sokka's forces, as well as Colonel Beifong's own. The sooner the Fire Nation is brought to heel, the sooner the war will end… and no one will need to fear for the fate of their sons or nephews anew."

It was strange to hear Jeong Jeong uttering a phrase so surprisingly compassionate, even if he didn't impress much emotion in it when he spoke it. He glanced at Ursa, however, as she trembled among tears, as she retreated in memories, as she struggled to so much as breathe: her son had been in mortal danger. Even if he was safe now, he had been in mortal danger. What would she do if he never woke up again? What if the harm had been worse than they believed it was? What if the northern healers hadn't been as thorough as they thought…?

What would she do if she never saw him again?

---

It hurt. That was the one thought in his mind as he struggled with the darkness that seemed to have swallowed him whole. It really, really hurt. What hurt? He wasn't sure. Something certainly did. Something in his body was wrong, something had been broken, maybe many things… and it hurt. It hurt like hell…

Where was he? What was he doing there? He heard voices, but he couldn't understand them. He could see the shadows shift slightly, but not enough to identify any silhouettes. His head felt as though it had been stuffed with koala-sheep wool, and the unpleasant sensation of motion inside his mind was actually pain, nothing but pain, and…

Wake up.

A voice he knew. A sweet, tender voice he hadn't heard in far too long. It enveloped him with clarity, with resolve, with need and longing:

Wake up: your daughters are waiting.

He gasped, and he opened his eyes.

"Zuko!"