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...

286. Chapter 286: Family Reunion-Str Bonds 4

Family reunion/Strengthening bonds

4

The soldier on duty wasn't the one Azula and Renkai had successfully persuaded often to allow her into Xin Long's refuge, and perhaps that was for the better: by the time their group returned to the Palace for the promised visit to the dragon, they had drawn so much attention to themselves that any attempts to enter the likely out-of-bounds building wouldn't go unnoticed. Even so, the man agreed to open the door slightly by Renkai's express request. Thus, Rei had a chance to see the shadows that comprised the dragon's silhouette, as well as hear him groaning, with a slight burst of smoke pouring out through the door's small gap.

"He's greeting you… as best he can, anyway," Azula told Rei, with a pained smile. The younger woman had been startled by the smoke, but she smiled back upon understanding the true intent of the dragon's gesture.

"I… I hope he's not in too much pain," Rei said, nervously. Azula breathed deeply, with resignation.

"He's certainly in far more pain than he should ever have had to endure, but I'm in no position to do anything about it," Azula explained. "Hopefully… hopefully one day you'll be able to see him in all his magnificence. Seeing how you liked a dragon moose as much as you did… surely you'd enjoy riding Xin Long, too."

"I… c-could I, really?" Rei asked: Azula smiled fondly upon recognizing the young woman had been moments away from rejecting the possibility, but the newest changes in their dynamics appeared to be taking root already.

"If the chance ever comes up… definitely," Azula said, squeezing her shoulder.

From inside the refuge, Xin Long growled weakly… but with a positive answer. Azula smiled warmly at the sound, nodding in the direction of her dragon as she sent him her deepmost thanks through their linked minds. He still struggled with his bindings, but he had subtly encouraged her to cling onto the strength she had regained after the dark episode that had nearly driven her over the edge. He had feared for her, and yet he had been quite so close to his own edge for so long now that, had she let herself go forward with her attempt to let go of life, he might have simply stopped eating too and died with her.

Azula knew so. Azula also knew it was unfair of her to hold him to any cruel promises and demands that he stayed alive in this nightmare just for her sake. Yet… it seemed the only thread Xin Long clung to anymore was Azula's survival, much as Azula clung to Sokka's. Theirs was, she realized, a complicated, delicate situation, one that seemed to dangle on the most unstable, frayed thread, so easily broken… but as long as Sokka still stood strong, as long as he continued to fight, Azula would do the same. And if Azula regained her strength and found reasons to keep fighting, reasons such as the young woman she had taken in, Xin Long, as well, would live with his sorrows and shackles as patiently as he could, waiting for the future when he would finally be free to roam the skies again.

"One day… surely, one day, you'll get to know him properly, Rei," Azula said, patting her shoulder gently, bowing her head towards Xin Long. "We'll be back, Xin. I promise."

The dragon groaned softly, in a tender manner that choked Azula with emotion, but she held back the tears successfully as the soldier closed the gate as inconspicuously as possible. Behind them, Song and Renkai waited for them to finish their conversation with the dragon.

"How is he?" Song asked Azula, who breathed out slowly as she approached them.

"Better than when Renkai and I first came to see him, I'd say, but… of course, he's not himself yet. Who knows if he'll ever be, again," she admitted. "The sooner I can secure better conditions for him, the more likely it is that he won't succumb to his own darkness, much as…"

Much as she nearly had, much as she would have, if Sokka himself hadn't stopped her that night.

"Well, that sounds like a good plan," Song said, with a weak smile. "Do you think maybe you'll have a chance to speak with your father soon about it?"

"No idea. It would be the best way to go about it, if possible…" Azula admitted, with a frown. "But I don't know if he's even remotely ready to listen to anything I say just yet."

"It may be for the best if we return to your room, Princess," Renkai said, softly. Azula nodded: it was already mid-afternoon, as their venture in the Temple had taken them most the day. Discussing such matters out in the open was a dangerous choice to make, too.

"Certainly," Azula nodded: she wrapped a protective arm around Rei's shoulders, guiding her inside the Palace, following Song and Renkai. The girl smiled shyly at the gesture, relishing in it quietly.

It had been an eventful day, and a successful one. Among the small victories she had collected so far, Azula also felt far more confident and willing to spend time outside her room than she had before. Frequent visits to the Temple would be ill-advised in the future, but she had enjoyed wandering through the Palace grounds with Rei, Song and Renkai. Perhaps they wouldn't go as far as the Temple, the next time… but she could still walk with all of them again, as long as they wished to join her.

"Oh, by the way, you could hand that back by now, Wen," Azula told Song, who shot her a clever grin: she held a very valuable scroll close to her chest, one she had offered to carry for Azula while she spoke with Xin Long. Her initial answer was a proud snicker, and Azula raised a judgmental eyebrow.

"You're a Princess, why would you need to carry your documents yourself?" she said. "As your midwife, and as of late, close advisor, I demand to be allowed to carry your papers for you whenever the urge hits me."

"Really, now?" Azula smirked, as Song laughed. Rei did the same, quietly, still in Azula's half-embrace. "You've given yourself a promotion, just like that?"

"Oh, I think you've given it to me in anything but title, Azula, really…"

"How arrogant of you, midwife. Truly, shame on you…" Azula said, feigning her disbelieving outrage for the amusement of both the woman who had become her closest friend in this strange, chaotic stage of her life right now, and the younger one who nestled against her, her shoulders shaking with each laugh…

Their mood was perfectly pleasant, right up until Renkai opened the bedroom door to reveal the Princess's quarters weren't empty.

All levity faded quickly, as it seemed to in every location Zhao set foot in, recently. Rei immediately clenched up, but Azula's hand gripped her shoulder firmly, as though to convey she shouldn't shrink away and hide… not anymore. Song pulled the scroll she held closer to her chest, in an impulsively protective gesture, and Renkai himself froze cold, blocking the threshold into the room with his body.

"Ah. Back at last? And here I thought you'd never return," Zhao hissed spitefully: he rose from the bed, where he had been sitting so far. He seemed much cleaner than before, than usual… he had even shaved properly, and although he didn't wear his armor yet, he seemed better groomed than he had been during his latest appearances in the Palace. "Strange, not finding any of you in this room…"

"Stranger yet that you'd drop by three days in a row," Azula rebuffed, relinquishing her grip around Rei to step around Renkai. The guard appeared unwilling to let her through at first, but instead of blocking the way, he marched into the room after Azula did the same. "To what do we owe this rare occasion, I wonder?"

"To you, if anything," Zhao said, with a dry grin. "I've mulled it over enough, as it is. You're no longer bedridden, not quite as helpless as you'd been in the past, and that leads me to believe you could just as well assemble a new staff, with new maids, to care for your every need: I'm taking Rei with me again."

Azula raised her eyebrows, as the young woman gasped somewhere behind her. Renkai angled his body in a hostile position, though it seemed he would wait for Azula to give him a sign, or a command, to take any course of action. The Princess, however, made no motions to do so: she stared down Zhao, with a slight tinge of mirth coating her immense disdain for the man who, yet again, seemed to believe the only right choice to be made, when it came to Azula, was stripping her from everything she held dear, much as her father had.

She was genuinely grateful to have the upper hand this time.

"Assembling new maids for me, then? A sound, remarkably considerate idea on your part," Azula said, with a slow smile. "One that, I'm sure, requires the Fire Lord's approval. Have you spoken to him of it yet?"

"I… haven't. I shall do so after I take Rei with me, like I said," Zhao scowled, no doubt irate to see Azula failing to pay any attention to the main blow he had intended to deliver against her. The Princess hummed, folding her arms over her chest as she raised an eyebrow.

"Is that so? If I may inquire… with what authority, exactly, do you intend to take her anywhere?" Azula asked, point-blank. Zhao scoffed.

"I'm Crown Prince, curse you. I have far more authority than you do, authority that you granted to me upon agreeing to our nuptials. Therefore…"

"You're Crown Prince… and you're an Admiral. Me? I'm just the fallen Princess of the Fire Nation," Azula said, dramatically… then she breathed in, turning her merciless, golden glare towards Zhao. "But I don't need to be more than that to assure you that I have far more say upon what happens in Rei's life these days than you ever could."

"Oh? Why is that? Is it because you take her on strolls with you these days?" Zhao asked, with a derisive smirk. "Because you've changed your obsession over that slave to Rei now, perhaps? Why would that, somehow, give you far more power over her life than the one I hold, by right of…?"

"By right of… what, exactly?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow. Zhao froze cold, perhaps unwilling to acknowledge his paternity of Rei in front of a guard and an unknown midwife. "I'm confused. You see, just a few hours ago, the four of us went to the Temple, because you happened to give me a most fascinating idea after our argument yesterday. In a surprising twist of fate, however, we happened to learn that your main claim to Rei, meaning, being her father, isn't on record anywhere at all. Worse yet… Rei had no records, altogether."

For once, it seemed Azula had succeeded at turning the tables on Zhao. Arms folded across her chest, she crooked an eyebrow at him, as though waiting for an answer, or an explanation… and neither thing arrived.

"I'm aware of the likeliest reasons why that's the case… and I, frankly, don't see the point in demanding for explanations that won't ever prove sufficient," Azula said, with a shrug. "The Head Sage communicated with the sage who serves at Hong Qu district in Harbor City and he assured him that many children from the area are simply never presented at the Temple, regardless of his best efforts to make it happen… and it seems that Rei was one such unfortunate child."

"T-that's… none of your business," Zhao said, though he spoke half-heartedly now, almost knocked off his feet by the blow Azula happened to deal him, with perfect naturality, right now. "You had no right to look into it, y-you…!"

"I'm afraid that's not quite true, though, is it?" Azula said, smiling in an unpleasant way. "I am, after all, your wife, aren't I? Legally. Therefore, my attempts to fulfill your wish to see me as Rei's stepmother shouldn't be a matter of offense…"

"You have no right!" Zhao exclaimed, and at last, all sign of mirth fled the Princess's countenance.

"No: it is you who has no right, not anymore," Azula snapped, stepping forward. "I'm the one who presented Rei at the Temple today. Seventeen years too late indeed, and yet, it was done: I'm her legal guardian now."

"You… you're not serious. You couldn't have…!" Zhao gasped. Azula blinked blankly before gesturing at Song with a head: the young woman spread the scroll, proudly, where Azula was certified as the one who had first presented Rei at a Temple. "That's absurd!"

"Absurd?" Azula repeated, frowning. "Oh, I'm quite serious. Entirely serious, if anything: I've taken her in, and she's mine to protect from anyone who may do her harm. I might fail at it, of course I might… but if you have any true interest in her life, if you do want to be part the choices she'll make, why, you have a few months to make up your mind, head to the Temple and acknowledge her as your own. It won't even be that hard, considering your wife is her legal guardian already… if you don't wish to bother, however, if being the lawful parent of a child you fathered out of wedlock is so appalling to you that you couldn't even bother to find her records, to take her in as your own before I did? Then you can very well take your damn pretensions and stuff them right up your ass. Rei is not going anywhere, not without my say so."

Zhao gasped, shaking his head in shock. His eyes shifted towards Rei, who couldn't seem to meet his gaze. He made a strange sound, as an asphyxiating fish might upon being dragged out of the water, gesturing at the young girl, who flinched as she lingered behind Renkai.

"She's… she's illegitimate. She's not… y-you can't…" Zhao hissed, glaring at Azula. "Do you even know the first thing about… about where she comes from?!"

"I know everything I need to know already," Azula said, bluntly. Zhao's eyes widened. "And I don't see how that should have influenced my decision in the slightest."

"You… you really are mad, aren't you?" Zhao scoffed. "You can't just adopt a child on a whim, you can't…! Curses, you're not just highborn, you're the Princess!"

"The fallen Princess, actually. I've apparently sunken so damn low that I've hit rock bottom, or at least, that's what it feels like down here," Azula said, again with her sarcastic grin. "What about it? Is my reputation going to be smeared any further for it? Why, I'm afraid I don't give a damn. If you believe this outcome is appalling, for any reason, if you believe Rei deserves better than the deceiving, wicked Princess Azula for a guardian, then why, exactly, didn't you take action sooner? You had Rei with you for three years, didn't you? You've had every chance to come see her and spend time with her ever since you first brought her here. Now, though, your grand plan was to take her away, no doubt to make me furious and assert your authority over me, again… how very clever of you, huh? And it just never occurred to you that, had you been a better father, an actual father, I should say, none of this would have happened at all?"

"You… you're one to talk," Zhao hissed, snarling at her. "You only use people. She's only ever going to use you, Rei, listen to me…!"

Rei flinched, hiding behind Renkai still. Azula snorted, rolling her eyes.

"Ironic words, coming from the man who salvaged his own child from a whorehouse only to make her his maid, rather than ever treating her as his daughter," she said, fixing a stern glare upon him. "At the very least, have the decency to acknowledge you're simply unwilling to accept the responsibilities of being a father, will you?"

"I have nothing to acknowledge… not before you, not before anyone!" Zhao snarled, marching towards the door: everyone shifted out of the way, even Rei, and he didn't so much as glance at her again. "This is not over! You will pay for this!"

"Oh, I suppose we'll see about that. Go on right ahead, will you?" Azula said, watching him with a mocking smile as he rushed out into the corridor.

Rei sighed, watching him go with uncertainty. Azula breathed deeply, her amusement fading quickly as she glanced at Rei.

"All this being said…" she whispered. "I've done this so that he won't have absolute power over you anymore, Rei. Consider it my way of countering his influence over you, to a fault… a way to help you break out from underneath both our shadows and to make your own choices in life, whatever they may be. If by any chance you wished to at least take Zhao's plans into consideration, Rei, I…"

"No."

The girl cut her off before she could finish speaking, and Azula blinked blankly as Song smiled brightly. Rei bit her lip and shook her head again.

"I said so before, and I still stand by it: I don't want to go. I… I don't think he can take me anywhere I'd want to be, not anymore," Rei said, smiling with more confidence now. "I don't know if this Palace will ever feel like a home to me… but I want to think it will, someday. Even then… it already is a better place than anywhere else I've been in, before. And it's not because everything's so luxurious or because the food is great, or because I have a good room, n-none of that… i-it's because of you, Princess. You, and Wen, and Captain Renkai, all of you have made me feel, w-well… like I belong here, as long as all of you are here, too."

Azula smiled fondly at the young woman, stepping towards her again. Rei raised her head, gazing at Azula expectantly as the Princess placed a hand on her shoulder, affectionate and reassuringly.

"You'll always be welcome by my side, for as long as you wish to be there. You don't have to stay if you don't want to… but if you do? It's my honor that you've chosen this, no matter if it's not as glamorous a life as you might have expected…"

"It's better because it's not," Rei laughed, and Azula smiled more earnestly yet.

"Good, then. But… just so you know? I won't ask you to, well, call me your mother. That might feel weird," Azula acknowledged, and Rei laughed again. "But… you don't need to call me by my title either. Considering you're not really my maid anymore…"

"W-what…? B-but I am!" Rei gasped, surprised. Azula raised her eyebrows.

"You don't have to be…"

"Well, Wen can't clean everything by herself," Rei declared, and Song snorted with undisguised amusement.

"Well, I could, believe it or not… not that I want to, but I could," she clarified, making Azula laugh again. "Still… you're not really thinking of doing what Zhao said, are you, Azula? The whole new staff thing…?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure what's more dangerous, really… and frankly, it doesn't feel right for Rei to clean around if I'm her legal guardian," Azula winced. Rei shook her head rapidly, though.

"I'm… w-well, your legal daughter now," she said, with determination. "And you did ask… you asked if I could teach you how to clean, right?"

"Oh… well, I did," Azula acknowledged, nodding.

"Me and Wen, we can clean when you're indisposed, or once the baby is too big," Rei smiled brightly. "Whenever you're feeling up for it, we can teach you how to do it yourself, and that way we can work together… l-like, well, like families would. At least, I'd like to think that's what they're like…"

Azula smiled again, earnestly, before pulling Rei in for another hug. The young girl smiled, pressing her face to Azula's shoulder as the Princess sighed, shaking her head.

"I have no idea how anyone could meet you and not be blown away by how good-natured and kind-hearted you are, Rei," Azula said. "Thank you."

"I'm the one who should be thanking you!" Rei exclaimed, pulling away with a joyful smile. "F-for… for everything you've done for me so far, for today, for… for everything, really."

"Well, I'd think most of it is just the bare minimum expected from a parent… though that continues to be a strange concept that I still need to get used to," Azula laughed, with a shrug. "With any luck, it'll make sense before this one arrives, huh?"

She glanced at her belly: she already felt a slight bump, protruding from her formerly perfectly flat abdomen, and it wouldn't be long before everyone else could see it too…

"You're starting off on the right track, as far as I can tell," Song declared, stepping closer to the other two, reeling them in for another group hug, one that found Rei laughing happily as Azula grinned at them both. "I know you don't feel all that confident, Azula… but as long as you stay in good spirits, you'll just keep on doing what you always do."

"What, exactly, does that mean?" Azula asked, amused.

"Oh, you know: that you'll keep blowing everyone's minds by excelling at anything you get up to," Song grinned. "Rei, and your child… they'll be way luckier than you can tell just yet by having you for a parent."

"I… I hope so. I sure hope so," Azula smiled weakly, as Song chuckled, tightening her grip on the other two.

She had become a parent, then, many months before she had intended to do so. Rei was almost fully grown, almost an adult in her own right… yet she had never had a true parent, not in any way that counted, until now. While Azula was accustomed to the fear of failure, to dreading she might not be good enough for something, there was a part of her heart that remained convinced, fully, of having done the right thing… and every time she gazed upon Rei's bright smiles, she couldn't help but be further convinced of that.

She was truly making progress, in strange, unpredictable ways, but she was. Day by day she would grow stronger, strong enough to truly evoke the full power of her golden fire… but for now she relished in what strides she'd made towards healing, and she clung to the bliss born in her chest upon knowing she had changed Rei's life for the better. Upon believing she would continue to do so, for as long as she continued to serve as the young woman's legal guardian, and for however many years Rei chose to remain by her side, afterwards, too.

---

Two days ago, Azula had sought to meet Ozai for the sake of confirming whether the information Zhao had given her was true or not. She had broken down, right before him, in a manner so disturbing and perhaps even terrifying, that Ozai still found himself shaken by the strange event.

Thus, when he heard raised voices outside the door to his study, the Fire Lord immediately dreaded it would be unpleasant news regarding the Princess, even when he had heard just a few hours ago that she had been seen marching to the Temple with her maid and her midwife, escorted by Captain Renkai. He had been of half a mind to send Seethus after them, but he decided against it in the end. If the Princess meant to mourn her dead lover, he'd do best not to get in the way of it, no matter how inappropriate the grief itself might be… all be it to ensure he'd never have to see Azula acting that way before him, ever again.

Whoever stood outside his door, however, was forceful and aggressive enough to reach the door and shove it open violently: Ozai crooked an eyebrow upon finding his newest visitor wasn't quite the Princess, but rather, the Crown Prince.

"Ozai!" Zhao snarled, chest heaving, as his eyes met those of the Fire Lord, who stared at him skeptically.

"Zhao? Fancy seeing you here, these days," he said, unamused. "And you appear to be in quite a pleasant mood, too."

"Don't…! Don't patronize me when you have no idea what's happened!" Zhao exclaimed, stomping up to the desk and slamming down a hand upon it. "Do you know what she's done?!"

"What… Azula has done, I take it?" Ozai asked, frowning warily. "I'm afraid I either know too much or too little of her activities as it is, so you'll have to speak plainly, Zhao. Which, out of her many questionable choices, are we to be outraged by today?"

"Azula has…!" he snarled, pulling a fist back, as though to punch the mahogany desk that had been replaced far too many times over the course of the last months. "She… s-she's striking back. She's fighting back, Ozai, all over again, the way she used to…"

"By doing what, exactly?" Ozai asked, skeptical.

"She's become… someone's legal guardian. Without your approval, I'm sure," he said. Ozai's brow drew together.

"What?" he said, cuttingly.

"The maid I brought, Rei…" Zhao gritted his teeth. "It seems she's the latest pawn in Azula's games. I don't understand what she hopes to gain by it, but…"

"Wait… she became your maid's legal guardian?" Ozai asked, his face marred by disbelief that bordered on derision. Zhao scowled.

"Yes, and I certainly don't appreciate it," he snapped. "Tell the Head Sage to rescind the documents and…"

"Why?"

Zhao froze at Ozai's unexpected question. The man raised an eyebrow as Zhao's jaw dropped.

"W-what do you mean, why…? Rei can't become a Princess!" Zhao exclaimed, as though the mere idea horrified him. Ozai shrugged.

"I didn't say she'd become one. I'm certainly not going to bestow any titles upon her and neither will Azula, who is powerless to do as much and who, as we know, is currently bearing a child who will be a legal, righteous heir of the appropriate bloodline," Ozai said, raising his eyebrows. "I'm surprised by the news, don't get me wrong, but…"

But he had expected something far, far worse. Adopting a common girl? That was practically meaningless, overall. With the distress Azula had displayed upon learning of her lover's fate, Ozai had genuinely expected her to rally the Palace servants somehow and lead some pointless uprising against him, if she could make them listen to her… this, though? It hardly amounted to a problem, in Ozai's eyes…

"Oh, you think this is nothing? You think this isn't a problem?" Zhao snapped, furious "Isn't that how you felt about the Gladiator as well, and he turned out to be…?!"

"A hazard, and now, a dead hazard," Ozai said, almost proudly. Zhao snarled. "Azula is no fool as to make the same mistakes twice. What, you expect she'll take your maid and turn her into a powerful warrior, akin to her Gladiator? Does this Rei have any sorts of impressive physical skills, perhaps? Any previous training in warfare?"

"No, but…"

"Then how, exactly, is this common child's new connection with my daughter a threat to the peace and tranquility of the Fire Nation?" Ozai asked, with a full-blown sardonic grin. Zhao froze cold. "Explain the real reason why this bothers you, Zhao. I refuse to believe you'd throw a tantrum of this magnitude over something like this for no greater reason than those you've exposed…"

Zhao gritted his teeth, trembling as he struggled with his emotions… with his need to put a stop to Azula's machinations at all costs. Ozai waited, most impatiently audibly, tapping the floor with a foot while Zhao huffed, pushing himself upright before uttering the truth he didn't wish to speak out loud.

"Rei is… my daughter," he said, quietly, as though hoping the guard posted outside the study wouldn't hear him.

He spoke the words with shame, though it was hard to say whether the feeling came from a place of regret over his poor parenting, or embarrassment over having a child out of wedlock… Ozai's foot stopped moving, though his expression hardly changed.

"That's it?" he asked, bluntly. Zhao's eyes widened. "You must think me daft or dense, Zhao, don't you? I already knew that."

"You…? Y-you knew…?" Zhao flinched, shuddering as he stepped back, almost as though Ozai had dealt him a sucker punch to the gut. Ozai shrugged.

"The fuss you made over her disappearance a few years ago wasn't that of a man displeased with the unwanted guest who had misbehaved with the help… it was that of an outraged father, concerned quite rightfully over his daughter's virtue. I would know," Ozai said, with a sardonic grin. "Your behavior with the girl has always been odd, and that seemed the only reasonable explanation for it. All of which further compels me to wonder what the drawback of the current situation is: Azula is your wife, much as you'd rather she weren't. If she's taking in your child as her legal ward… why, exactly is it such a cause for concern, again? Isn't she being, well, welcoming of your family, so to speak? Wouldn't that be preferable than a wife who would lose her mind in a jealous rage upon learning of the girl's actual parentage…?"

"You're…! You're not serious, are you?" Zhao almost yelped, hands held out pleadingly. "She's my daughter, and yours is…! Yours is trying to do it again, damn you! She's weaving her manipulations, getting inside Rei's head and making her drop her guard, turning her against me…!"

"Oh? Well, that's almost ironic," Ozai said: something cold crossed his eyes then, as he glared at Zhao. "The last time I saw Azula was but two days ago: she'd fallen to pieces, all be it over your brilliant choice of sharing with her that I've sent forces to attack the Southern Water Tribe. Information she had no reason to obtain, not now, not ever."

"I… I'm aware of that, but…!" Zhao shook his head, flinging an arm in an arch that brought a spark of flames with it. "She was already doing it then! I wanted to make her stop, to teach her a lesson, much as you always intended to, because it's clear she refuses to learn it at all…!"

"And so, you decided the best way to teach her anything would be by sharing confidential information with her, confidential information that could have seen her reacting in a myriad of worrisome ways, none of which, clearly, concerned you in the least," Ozai scowled. "Not that I should be surprised anymore, considering what you've proven capable of so far…"

"Please, Ozai…" Zhao gritted his teeth, shaking his head. "You know what she's like. She's not an innocent, sweet-mannered child and never was. If she was capable of turning a nobody from the Southern Water Tribe into a foe you'd deploy hundreds of troops to destroy, do you truly expect that yielding anything to her will result in a less catastrophic outcome than everything she's been capable of, so far? She wants revenge, especially now that she believes he's dead…!"

"Well, she certainly will have a hard time enacting that revenge upon us through a common maid," Ozai sneered. Zhao rolled his eyes, stepping back from the desk as he ran his hand over his forehead. "All in all, however… whatever she may do now as retaliation for our choices, it is, ultimately, your fault. You told her of the attack to the south, in the first place: if her reactions over all this displease you, you have no one to blame for it but yourself."

"No one, but…?" Zhao said, staring at Ozai in utmost horror.

So, the man who hadn't wanted to be part of these twisted games between royals, the one who had given up his old life to adequate to his best friend's needs, the one who had tried to do what was best for the wife he'd never wanted, and who didn't want him back… he, who had been dragged into this mess unwillingly when all he'd wanted, at first, was to defuse the situation and minimize the damage, was the one to blame for everything that had happened?

He scoffed, staring at Ozai in chagrin: Azula's wide net of manipulations was powerful even now, but Ozai certainly made matters all the easier for her by constantly refusing to see his own faults, by never acknowledging that none of this would have been happening at all if it weren't for his own wretched pride and his refusal to acknowledge any points of view but his own.

"My fault, then? Mine?" he repeated, shaking his head as he stepped backwards towards the door. "You just don't learn. You really don't, do you? Well, go ahead and give her all the leeway you want again! Go on and play the nice father after having killed the man she so claimed to love! No doubt, it'll go swimmingly! Perhaps, by the time I return, you two will be sharing tea and pastries while playing Mahjong together, just as I bet you'd love to! But as for me? Oh, I've had it with the both of you. Curse you for putting me up to all of this, to any of this, you selfish, incorrigible bastard…"

"Zhao…!" Ozai spoke with a dangerous tone, but the man he once called his closest friend seemed to have reached the ends of his patience: he shoved the door open again and stormed past it, unconcerned over bumping his shoulder against the guard while he did so.

Ozai huffed, sinking back in his seat as he scowled prominently. Zhao himself had always offered him his assistance, ever willing to help him sort out his problems… well, back in the day, anyway. Nowadays, it was clear their friendship was slowly and surely becoming a thing of the past, replaced only by countless regrets.

Ozai breathed deeply, rubbing his brow with his fingertips: what on earth could Azula want with that girl? Did she merely intend to displease Zhao? She had certainly achieved that, though Ozai wasn't entirely sure of why. The maid surely had been conceived by one of Zhao's more inappropriate conquests, someone he felt so ashamed of that he had chosen not to acknowledge the child as his own, not even before his closest friend, not until today. Azula had figured it out, though… not that it was all that difficult to unravel it, but she had. Was she truly turning this into a political ploy, though? What on earth could she have to gain from this other than angering her husband? Perhaps that truly was all there was to it… and if that was the case it was ironic that, if only Zhao had been reasonable about the matter rather than seeing Azula's choices as unacceptable, as he had, she wouldn't get away with said childish vindictiveness…

If anything, her willingness to accept Zhao's daughter as her own sent a strange message to Ozai. The one thing that could make this matter worrisome was that Azula might truly intend for the girl to become heir to the throne… but surely Azula wasn't quite that foolish anymore, was she? Surely she no longer idealized the throne as she likely had until her week as Fire Lord had occurred, let alone after everything that had followed. With how sensitive she seemed to be as of late, it was hard to fathom that Azula could be manipulating this child by feigning to care for her only to cause her no end of grief by trying to turn her into a royal, in virtue of her filial connection with Zhao…

For, even if that were her intent, it would never work. Ozai certainly wouldn't let Azula's schemes pay off ever again, no matter which form they might take. She was clever, certainly, but not clever enough to do anything suspicious without Ozai catching wind of it anymore.

But perhaps he could humor Zhao, to a fault. Perhaps he could test Azula one more time, to ensure she had no wicked plans in mind for this innocent, common maid…

He called the guard by the door and gave out his command. After that, all he had to do was wait.

---

Renkai intended to come along, but Azula rejected the offer: he grimaced as she walked away, guided by her father's single guard, a reassuring sign, as far as the Princess could tell. Back when he had first retaliated against her so-called treachery, he had sent at least four. The man under the mask claimed the Fire Lord wished to have a word with her… and so, even if Azula's blood boiled as it rushed through her body, she would humor Ozai's wishes.

She doubted her reassurances to Rei had worked, but Song had told her to do what she needed to do and to leave Rei to her. The youngest out of the four of them was still nervous, profoundly, even if she seemed to come out of her shell more and more each day… but as much as she wished she could assure Rei that nothing would go wrong, Azula understood the girl's anxiety all too well. Azula as well had gained things she had never thought she would. She, as well, had found unparalleled happiness once, and in the blink of an eye, the very man awaiting her behind his study's desk had taken all of it away…

Ozai regarded her with wary eyes as she entered the study. The Princess brought her fist to her palm, performing a proper reverence for her father by bending her body forward, letting her long ponytail spill over her right shoulder.

"Rise," he said, curtly, before glancing at the guard. "Leave us."

The guard left as Ozai gestured at one of the chairs in front of his desk. Azula abided by the wordless command just as silently, taking her seat, set on maintaining her blank stare and plain, obedient, respectful behavior in front of her father.

"Zhao stormed into my study a while ago, utterly enraged over your latest decision to become his illegitimate daughter's legal guardian. Is it true that you have done this?" Ozai asked, bluntly.

"It is," Azula answered, simply, avoiding his eyes.

"Can I ask for your reasoning? Something tells me it couldn't have been a mere matter of wanting to bridge your family and your husband's…" Ozai said, with distaste. "Surely you had other motives."

"I did," Azula said, business-like, still. "His behavior has been increasingly erratic over the past months. I've learned more about his shortcomings, not only as an employer, but as a father to Rei. I find said failings most unbecoming of the man I must be married to…"

"What failings are these?" Ozai asked, frowning warily.

"The girl was raised in poor conditions, didn't know how to read or write until I began teaching her, myself," Azula explained. Ozai's brow furrowed. "She wasn't even presented at a shrine or temple upon her birth, or at any point in time in her seventeen years of life. Surely that speaks for itself regarding how negligent Prince Zhao has been towards her. I've known for some time that she's his illegitimate daughter, and our last argument over her gave me the idea of taking her in as my own. I didn't know she hadn't been presented at any shrine or temple until today, but upon confirming as much, I've decided I will be responsible for Rei, from this day onwards."

"Really, then? And here I thought you believed motherhood would be unbecoming for you," Ozai said, crooking an eyebrow.

"I… cannot pretend I know exactly what I'm doing, in those regards," Azula said, firmly. "But I can certainly see the failings in Prince Zhao's parenting, as well as Rei's birth mother's own. If I can make amends for some of them, if nothing else, it should, perhaps, help me prepare for…"

"For your future child?" Ozai guessed. Azula nodded weakly. "Then… you do not intend to use this girl for anything nefarious, do you? You won't, I don't know… put her forward as a potential heir for the throne, instead of Zhao or your unborn child?"

"I'm trying to do right by Rei. Attempting to do that would only achieve the exact opposite outcome I'm looking for," Azula said, unable to contain her skepticism as she glanced at Ozai, at last. The man remained contained, calm, for now, at least… "No, I don't ask for her to be acknowledged as part of the Royal Family. She's my responsibility and mine alone. Prince Zhao, of course, can share in that responsibility if he simply visits the Temple and acknowledges Rei as his own as well…"

"But that would be a smear upon his reputation…" Ozai recited, raising his eyebrows. "Whereas yours, I suppose, is so stained you no longer care for what people might say of your choices?"

"Do people know of my choices?" Azula asked. Ozai's eyebrows twitched. "Are they aware of… of why I'm no longer who I used to be?"

"Not quite. Not likely," Ozai acknowledged, frowning.

"If so, would they learn of this choice at all?" Azula said, closing her eyes.

"A valid point," Ozai said, breathing out slowly before shaking his head. "It's… strange, what you've done. Not wrong, not entirely disagreeable, if you're not about to disrespect your family legacy by demanding this girl, utterly unrelated to it, embodies our bloodline's future despite not carrying our blood at all… yet you didn't need to do this, did you?"

"Perhaps I didn't. Perhaps I merely wanted to," Azula said, simply. Explaining her reasons to Ozai thoroughly hadn't gone well, in the past. She wasn't sure she cared to try it again this time.

"How very impulsive of you, if so," Ozai said, skeptical. Azula raised an eyebrow.

"Is there anything wrong with what I've done?"

"No, not truly…" Ozai acknowledged, with a sigh. "Merely… see to it that your relationship to the girl is kept quiet. As quiet as possible, anyway. The last thing we need is the Fire Nation up in arms because their new Crown Prince has acted irresponsibly in the past."

"I have very little contact with anyone beyond Rei, my midwife and Captain Renkai," Azula said, simply.

"Yet you visited the Head Sage today, didn't you?" Ozai asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I did. For the sake of becoming Rei's guardian, as you already know," Azula said, simply. Ozai's eyes narrowed. "I do hope the sages will exercise discretion, but if necessary, I can visit the Temple again tomorrow, and…"

"No need: I'll do it myself," Ozai said.

Azula nodded compliantly: she had nothing to gain from visiting the Head Sage again, anyway. The man had taken a short time to confirm her pregnancy was going well still by reading Azula's chi while they waited to hear back from the sage stationed at Hong Qu. The latest events somehow hadn't taken a toll on the child – she had regained some chi too, the Head Sage had confirmed as much, even if not at the astounding rate as she used to when Sokka was with her. There wasn't bound to be a considerable change in her chi's recovery process over the course of the last few hours… therefore, she wouldn't need to visit the Head Sage again anytime soon.

"Well, then… I truly can't see much of a cause for concern in this strange situation," Ozai said, with a shrug. Azula raised an eyebrow. "Zhao appeared to believe you'd do something nefarious upon gaining the legal guardianship of this girl… I suppose, if you do betray any such intentions, I shall swallow my words and intervene. But as long as you truly have no intentions to put her forward as heir, when she doesn't have a single drop of royal blood in her veins, I fail to recognize whatever danger this adoption of yours could represent for us, in any way. Keep it quiet, like I said…"

"I shall," Azula nodded, keeping her head bent in his direction.

"I… will trust you to do so, then," Ozai said: a jolt of strange emotion crossed his face upon speaking those words.

It dawned on both of them, at that moment, that they hadn't shared any conversations as civil as this one, as devoid of hostility and hard feelings, since Ozai gave Azula his verdict regarding her brief tenure as Fire Lord. She wasn't sure she should feel nostalgic about that… but life had certainly seemed much easier back then – even when she hadn't been able to walk on her own at the time, still badly wounded after the fight with Rhone and the Bloodlust Spear.

"You… are free to go now," Ozai said, though the words he had intended to speak plainly were, instead, impregnated with emotion he had bestowed upon them most unwillingly.

Azula didn't acknowledge the slight break in Ozai's perfectly cold semblance, though. She rose to her feet, performed the expected reverence, held it for a moment… then she rose again and made for the door, without another word.

It was odd that she could hold a front so much better than her father did, Azula realized, as she marched alone through the familiar corridors, back to her room, as fast as her feet could carry her. If she hadn't known any better, she might have even let herself be swept into her frequent moments of confusion, pondering if perhaps there was more kindness underneath her father's mask of cruelty than what met the eye. If only she hadn't known, already, that the kindness was the actual mask, and the cruelty the deceitful snake lying in wait to strike at her if she made a single wrong move…

"Princess…" Renkai sighed audibly, relieved when she returned safe and sound, by herself, to her room's corridor. She offered him a tight-lipped grin.

"I told you I'd be fine," she said, simply. He nodded in acknowledgement of her words before opening the door for her.

"Ah, see? There she is!" Song exclaimed, beaming, as Rei sighed in even more apparent relief than Renkai had. Azula couldn't restrain a smile this time as she marched inside her room, followed by the typical creak of the closing door behind her. "Did everything work out? Is he angry, or…?"

"Confused, but not angry. He just wants me to keep it quiet, a strange request to make…" Azula said, raising an eyebrow. "Not like I talk much to anyone aside from you two, these days."

"Well, then, if you want, we can pretend we don't know what's going on, that way you'll fulfill your father's orders just fine," Song said, pompously, and Azula smiled at her joke. "Princess Azula is adopting children? Why, I've never even heard of her! Who's that?"

"No doubt, everyone will believe you if you go about it that way," Azula smirked, nudging Song's foot with her own.

The midwife snickered shamelessly, sitting by the foot of Azula's bed, with the relieved Rei beside her. Azula would have made a comment regarding how the two women had grown far too used to sitting or resting on her mattress, far too quickly… but Rei would surely grow self-aware about it, if she did. No… it would be for the best to handle this as casually as possible in order to continue reassuring the young woman that there was nothing to fear, no true protocol to follow, not here.

And if she meant to prove that to the young woman…

"Now that this is all behind us, though, and Rei is officially burdened with being part of my family…" Azula said, with raised eyebrows. "I'll do my best to make it as little of a burden for you as possible, but still: it seems to me this is something we ought to celebrate, right?"

"I… thought we already had," Rei said, with a slow smile. "By… by visiting your dragon?"

"Ah? Well, partly," Azula smiled too. "But we can do more than that right now, can't we? Following fit with a certain someone's suggestion…"

"What, me?" Song blinked blankly upon realizing Azula's attention was on her. The Princess smirked and nodded:

"How about that slumber party you promised us, huh?"

"Oh… oh!" Song grinned madly, and Rei giggled happily as well. "Oh, this is going to be grand! Though, uh, I don't know if we'll be able to steal mochi from the kitchens, but…"

"We can send Renkai to request three full bowls of mochi, one for each of us…" Azula said, dramatically, before smiling slyly. "And then I'll eat all three of them myself, yes, why pretend otherwise…?"

"Oh, Azula…!"

Rei's laughter had been meek, contained, in the past: these days, she let it run freely, pouring out of her without restraint, and Azula smiled fondly at her for it. Little by little, unconsciously, the innocent girl had worked her way into Azula's heart… and that was exactly where the Princess would ensure to keep her now that they were legally bound to one another, at least until Rei reached full adulthood.

Their slumber party started right away: the three young women played whatever games the Princess had kept in her room since her childhood, including a Mahjong set that Song was happily surprised to discover after having hoped to buy one for weeks now. She insisted on making Renkai join them for at least two rounds, and as expected, Rei caught on to the game's rules quickly, managing to outdo the others in the final game they played. Then, they'd eaten their fill of whatever food they could persuade Renkai to find for them – the guard went to the kitchens with their requests, slightly self-aware over fulfilling his duties to the Princess in such an odd manner –, sharing stories and anecdotes far more freely than ever before… though it was Azula who did most of that, as Rei's stories tended to be quite depressing, and Song wasn't entirely ready to share her own – yet she found herself laughing fondly at the ones Azula shared, especially those she had witnessed personally.

It was late at night when Song finally fell asleep: by then, Azula was also moments away from dozing off too. The three women were splayed horizontally across Azula's bed, for it was large enough that they could lie down comfortably on it that way, so none of them needed to find futons of their own. Song laid by the foot of the bed, Azula nearest to the pillows – as demanded by the drowsy midwife, who insisted the Princess needed to be properly cushioned as she slept, for her pregnancy's sake. Rei, then, was left to lie in the middle of the bed, cheeks aflush with delight still, a wondrous smile spread over her lips.

"Still too excited to sleep, are you?" Azula asked, quietly. Rei giggled and shrugged.

"Today was… it must have been the best day of my life," she said, glancing at Azula with difficulty: Rei's head happened to be near the level of Azula's knees, as they laid across the bed in opposite directions. "You've showed me so much kindness, Princess… so much more than I ever imagined I'd know. I… I can only hope I'm worth it."

"Hmm. The question that plagues us all, I'd say," Azula whispered, her gaze lost in the ceiling of her four-poster bed.

"It… it shouldn't plague you," Rei said, softly. Azula chuckled quietly. "You're… you're the best person I know. The kindest, the most generous… I've never known anyone like you."

"Unfortunate. There are lots of people who are far better than me out there, Rei," Azula said, closing her eyes.

"If you say so… but most people aren't as kind as you. I'm sure of that," Rei whispered. Azula hummed in response. "You've barely known me for a few months, and… and you've already changed my life completely."

"I wasn't always this quick to help others," Azula said, with a fond smile. "Yet another habit I ended up picking up because of Sokka. He… he had to nag me into it before, you know? I was happy to be a selfish asshole, doing nothing for anyone else, ever. But if I did the right thing, even if for the wrong reasons, he… he would always be happier for it. So… I guess that got me started, in a way. I did do it for the wrong reasons, many, many times…"

"How can you help someone for the wrong reasons…?" Rei giggled. Azula smiled.

"By being so self-centered you're only thinking of how you'll be benefited by helping them. But eventually… eventually I just started doing it because I could. I impulsively lunged for every chance to change something for the better. And I made mistakes, too, when trying to help people who didn't want me to, but… I think I did more right than wrong, all around. Which, then, makes me think I wasn't all that unworthy of people's appreciation, back in the day. Nowadays, though… it's harder to convince myself of that."

"Because of everything…?" Rei guessed. Azula hummed again.

"Even if he's alive… even if he outsmarted those troops, the Water Tribe should have never been attacked, in the first place," Azula sighed. "Who knows how many people have been affected, hurt in countless ways, by my father's choices…"

"Well… maybe that's true, but it was the Fire Lord's doing, right? Not yours…" Rei said, rolling onto her side, towards Azula. The Princess sighed.

"I try to tell myself as much, believe me. I resent him plenty as it is. Even so… I can't help but feel guilty. I didn't want this outcome, but I knew it might come to pass. I didn't do enough to prevent it, I was careless and reckless and… and I made a thousand, stupid mistakes, one after the other, until, well…"

"Until you wound up… here?" Rei asked. Azula sighed and nodded, smiling weakly at the young woman as their eyes met across the bed.

"I never did think I'd have any reason to smile again, to be honest," she said. "I never imagined that I'd… I'd ever find the strength to keep on living, once everything I had built fell apart. I don't really know if you'd understand, but…"

"I can try," Rei said, biting her lip. "I never did fight for… for anything. I never had anything to fight for, to begin with. The dragon moose, maybe, but even then, when Admiral Zhao seemed to think I was overstepping my boundaries, I backed down at once. You, though… you've done amazing things. You've saved the Fire Nation, helped countless people…"

"And none of it was enough for my father, in the end," Azula said, with a drawn-out sigh. "He was different today, at least. I find some relief in that."

"That you've challenged your own father in any way is also… admirable. Scary, too," Rei smiled. Azula sighed but nodded.

"Terrifying. More so when I know I have much more to lose than he does, though he's convinced himself of the opposite," Azula said, with a shrug. "I don't know if I'm setting a bad example for you, though. I… I don't really want to drive a wedge between you and Zhao. You understand that, right?"

"You could do it, if you wanted to. It'd make no difference, if you did," Rei smiled as she shrugged too. "He's acting like you've already done it, isn't he?"

"I know, but I mean… he's your father. If you have any lingering attachment or affection for him, I'm not asking you to forsake it, nor would I ever," Azula said, softly. "I know all too well it's quite difficult to let go of those sorts of bonds… no matter how damaged they might be."

"You… can't let go of your bond with your father?" Rei asked, softly. Azula sighed.

"Not entirely. Not deliberately, either," Azula said. "But how I wish I could…"

"He's hurt you in the worst of ways," Rei said. "But he's still your only father. I… I guess he wasn't this bad all along, right? Was he… was he a good father, before?"

"Honestly? No," Azula admitted, to Rei's surprise. "Even if I didn't realize it all along, eventually it became quite clear that he wasn't all that interested in being a good father. You don't exactly run your mouth about how you'd gladly kill your own son if you're trying to be a good father, as far as I can tell…"

"He… h-he did that?" Rei asked, eyes wide. Azula nodded.

"My brother… he probably was both unluckier and luckier than me, in various ways," Azula whispered. "He dealt with the worst from our father for a long time. The most violent sides, the derision, the spite… while I got away with hollow praise and high expectations that my brother coveted hopelessly. But precisely because he was such an awful father to him, Zuko… he was banished twice, no less. The second time, by his own choice. He took off with the woman he loved and he never returned. They're living happily with their family, far away from this mess, if all is going well for them."

"That's… that's good for them," Rei said, quietly. "But, I guess, you… you wish you could have done that, too? With Sokka?"

"Hmm. We talked about it sometimes. Joked about it, at first… eventually, it wasn't much of a joke anymore," Azula admitted, closing her eyes. "He's the one who made me see the truths I wasn't ready to face before I met him. I really came to terms with the fact that the Fire Nation has so much to answer for… so many things we can't even make amends for, not even if we try. But my father… he wouldn't ever try. He would drag us through this pointless, endless war for eternity if it suits him. And he'll convince himself that he must do it, no matter if every sign suggests otherwise, no matter if no one is forcing his hand. That's how he acted before things took the turn they did… whenever we clashed, he refused to yield at all, to ever consider that maybe he was in the wrong. I had to constantly mind the way I handled… well, everything, really. The slavery laws… they left much to be desired because I knew I couldn't realistically expect him or his council to approve of anything stricter than what I proposed in the end. He took enough offense to the restrained laws when I first presented them to him… I had to swallow my pride, my knowledge of right and wrong, my very morals, all be it in the hope that, if I remained on his good side, I'd one day be in his place and change the world properly, fully, because I couldn't, just yet… and it amounted to nothing, in the end. He tossed me aside the minute I let him down… and why did I? Because I loved the wrong man, according to him. Just that was enough for him to toss me aside. A father who's as ready as he was to forsake his child the minute they make a decision he can't accept… well, he just can't be a good father, no matter how you look at it."

"And… what of those who forsake their child without the child ever making a decision they don't like?" Rei asked, biting her lip. Azula frowned. "I mean… Admiral Zhao didn't know I existed when I was younger, I think. But after bringing me here he was always too busy for me, and… and then he started to leave the Palace whenever it suited him. He barely even acknowledged me whenever he returned. He was the one who chose to bring me here, but… even then, he seemed to forget about me, in the end. But I… I didn't do anything but follow his orders, did I?"

"You didn't," Azula said, softly. "The truth is, bad parents prove themselves to be exactly that, regardless of what the child might do. Rebel against them and they will shut you down. Abide by their every order and they'll toss you aside when it suits them."

"Yeah… yeah," Rei said, biting her lower lip before smiling at Azula. "So far… you're the best parent I've had."

"Well, the bar seems to be quite low, but I appreciate knowing that, nonetheless," Azula smiled. "Truth be told, I… I wanted to do this to help you, but you'll be of age soon. By then, you'll be free to make your own choices and you can just wave in my face that you're a legal adult if I ever dare question you…"

"Would you?" Rei asked. Azula smiled.

"Depends on what kind of choices you want to make, I suppose. If you decide your favored career path is joining the Ember Island Players? Yes, I'll question you, for sure…"

"Who are they?" Rei raised an eyebrow.

"Only the worst theater troupe in the history of the world," Azula said, eyes wide, as Rei laughed softly. "My mother used to love their terrible shows, for whatever reason…"

"Your… mother?"

Azula breathed deeply, her amusement fading quickly: well, it was her own fault that the conversation had taken that turn…

"Yeah. My mother," Azula repeated. "I don't talk about her much… she's nowhere around, hasn't been for fifteen years, or so. I haven't seen her since I was a child… to be honest, I have no idea if she's even alive anymore."

"She vanished?" Rei asked. Azula nodded. "T-then, she left you…?"

"Abandoned me, in a way? Yeah, I suppose you could say that. Though I didn't really resent her for leaving… alright, no, I did," Azula acknowledged, with a sigh. "But I found comfort in knowing that, without her around, I would be far freer to chase after my every wishful ambition. She was strict with me, more than most people had been for most my life… and for a long time I just thought I ought to thrive in her absence. I did, by all effects, but…"

"But?"

Azula breathed deeply, running a hand over her hair as she closed her eyes again. It was never easy, talking about Ursa, and yet…

"Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad, if she had been here," Azula whispered, acknowledging truths she might have never spoken aloud in any other circumstances. Rei gazed at her in surprise. "I just… can't really imagine her sitting back and letting my father do everything he's done lately. N-not even if… if I was the one taking the brunt of his rage. No matter how badly we got along, she… she was still my mother, so I'd like to think that… though, who am I kidding? She probably would have just said 'I told you so', and recited again every reason why I shouldn't have strayed from the path she'd set for me…"

Rei remained silent this time, and Azula bit her lip. She shook her head, wondering if she should just roll on her side and sleep off the rest of the night, pretending the last portion of her conversation with Rei hadn't happened at all…

"Well, I'll never know anyway," she said, softly. "Must be pretty ridiculous, though, hearing me complain about my own mother when yours… yours most definitely had to be worse than mine."

"I… w-well, it's not really a competition. If it were, your father is much worse than mine, I think, even now," Rei said, shrinking in place. Azula raised an eyebrow, unsure that the winner of that specific contest would be as certain as that – not out of any hidden virtues on Ozai's side, but rather, over every new, glaring, disturbing flaw of Zhao's. "My mother was… well, busy, always. She had no time for me. I always wanted to help, to do whatever I could for her, but… but every time I followed her orders, I did it wrong. Every time I acted out of my own volition, she'd scold me for it too. The best I could hope for was… indifference. Silence."

"See? Much worse," Azula sighed, gazing at Rei compassionately. The girl smiled and shrugged.

"I don't think she misses me at all. I don't think she ever will," Rei said, quietly. "As bad as he's been lately, especially to you, Admiral Zhao certainly saved my life by taking me from the Scarlet Oasis when he did. I would have spent my whole life there… I wouldn't have known anything else, anything better. I wouldn't have learned how to read, or do math operations, or made any friends… so I'm grateful to him for that. I… I know I said I had expected nothing else in my future, but I really didn't want to become like her. I never wanted to be… like my mother."

"You don't have to be," Azula said, softly. "Just as… as I don't have to be like mine, either. I never thought I'd be ready to be a mother because… well, I thought my own mother didn't love me, so there had to be something very wrong with me for that to be the case. Those thoughts… they convinced me that parenting would never be in the cards for me. I never wanted children…"

"And now you're stuck with me," Rei said, with a sympathetic smile. Azula laughed, shaking her head.

"What a terrible deal that was, a nearly-fully-grown daughter who helped me find my will to live again. Woe is me," Azula teased her, and Rei laughed quietly. "I… I didn't really imagine I'd adopt anyone, to be honest. I was always sure I'd suck as a mother. That I barely got along with children when I was a child, let alone once I grew up, didn't help matters much…"

"But you get along with me because I'm not a child anymore?" Rei asked. Azula shrugged.

"Or maybe it's because you're you. Maybe, if I'd gotten to know you earlier, years ago… we could have been friends for much longer than we have been," Azula said, with a reassuring smile. Rei grinned and nodded. "So… as far as becoming like our parents, I'd like to think neither of us are in any danger of that, at least, not anymore. You're not in a brothel, whether cleaning or providing other kinds of services… and I'm a mother. Of a teenaged, soon-to-be-adult girl, and of a child so small it's nearly imperceptible. But even if it is…"

"Even if it is… you'll love your baby, right?" Rei said, with a gentle smile. "Unlike our mothers… you'll do right by the child."

"That's the hope. That's the plan," Azula bit her lip.

"Do you think… we're defying destiny, somehow?" Rei asked, softly. "That maybe we were fated to become… exactly what they thought we would be? Exactly like them? And then… w-well, we got lucky, I guess?"

"Hmm, I wonder…" Azula rubbed her chin. "In a very depressing way, I'm resembling my mother far more than I ever thought I would, to be honest. Married to someone I didn't love, someone I resent more every day… I'm living a faster version of it, for sure, but her marriage with my father certainly appeared to be headed downhill to me."

"Well… maybe, but you won't have to worry about not being a good mother," Rei said, smiling. "I know you've only been a mother for a little while, but… you've taken care of me from the moment I first set foot in this room. Or, even before that, when you got rid of Hahn for me… or, well, even before that…!"

"What, when I told you to rise so you'd stop walking while in mid-reverence?" Azula asked, amused, and Rei giggled as she hugged herself with one arm. Azula smiled fondly again. "What weird places life has brought us to, huh, Rei?"

"If anyone had told me I'd ever… that I'd ever be your daughter? I'd never have believed it," Rei admitted, with a joyful smile. "I would have been thrilled by the idea, though. Daydreamed about it a lot, and probably would have worked up a very strange image of what that kind of life would be like, but… it wouldn't have been as wonderful as the real thing has been. I… I know you've been through a lot, but I… I'm glad we've had a chance to become friends. And family, too…"

Azula smiled warmly, reaching a out to pat Rei's hand with her own. The girl smiled, taking Azula's hand shyly, but clasping it with certainty.

"It's fairly easy to regret everything. To this moment, I have no end of regrets to spare for many reasons… but getting to know you has been a gift for sure, Rei. I'm glad you're here," Azula said, tightening her grip affectionately. Rei blushed as she smiled proudly.

"I'm glad to be here, too. I hope… I hope I can stay by your side for a long time."

Azula smiled fondly at her as Rei closed her eyes, relaxing on the mattress at last. It was an innocent wish, by an innocent girl… a wish she wasn't sure could be granted, not even now. Her vision of Sokka had changed many things, infused her with far more strength and determination to see her ordeals through to the very end… but it was quite likely that she'd need Rei and Song to protect the child after it was born. Rei's sibling… she smiled, hoping her child would be a better younger sibling than she had been. Rei, as far as she could tell, would make an amazing big sister.

Her thoughts strayed again towards her mother… towards the memories that used to bring her no end of grief. Memories that, much like many other sources of sorrow, appeared so faded, so meek, compared to the nightmares she had lived through at her father's hands recently.

Would Ursa be proud of her for taking in a lonely girl like Rei? Would she encourage Azula to do her best for both the child lying down beside her, and the one growing within her? Would she truly forego her grievances, her disagreements with Azula, to fight back against Ozai for her daughter's sake if she knew of what he'd done? Six months ago, she would have scoffed at any such notions and assumed them impossible. Today, though… today she could only hope, deeply, that even if her mother hadn't loved her as she loved Zuko, she still would have cared, that she still would have protected her, even if not to the extent of murdering the Fire Lord responsible for Azula's suffering.

Azula sighed, closing her eyes as she decided to stop fighting her drowsiness. It was quite late, and as she carried a baby inside her indeed, she needed as much rest as she could get, especially after a day as hectic and busy as that one had been. Thoughts of her mother would likely resurface eventually, but she set them aside for now, knowing there would be no easy, immediate answer for any of her questions. She'd attempt to overcome her mother's legacy and to be the best mother she could be, for both her children… she hoped, deeply, that she had done right by Rei today, and for every day the young woman had been working for her. Going by her heartfelt smiles, it certainly appeared to be the case.

And so, soothed by the rhythmic, steady breathing of her two companions, comforted by the hand that still held hers, Azula let herself drift off into the most peaceful slumber she had enjoyed in about four months.

---

The strange, cordial encounter he'd had with Azula almost haunted Ozai more than the chaotic one from two nights before. She had refused to meet his eyes for the most part, unsurprisingly. She had spoken with respect and always deferred the control of the conversation to him, expectedly… and she hadn't called him her father. Not even once.

It didn't bother him, not truly. He had been the one to tell Azula not to ever call him her father anymore, and she was, of course, abiding by his wishes. What fault was there in that? None, not as far as he could tell, so…

… So why did it bother him?

He clenched his fists, sitting up on his grand bed, unable to settle into sleep. He'd spent hours tossing and turning, struggling to find enough tranquility to truly rest… his own fault, he knew. If he were at true peace with himself over his latest choices, if he didn't fear he was making mistake on top of mistake, sleep would not elude him.

Zhao had walked away yet again, and he hadn't truly repented or apologized for the foolish mistakes he had made. Azula had become a vacant, obedient, empty carcass in his presence. And the damn Avatar was presumed to have returned…?

If the Gladiator weren't dead, he wouldn't have even bothered trying to sleep at all, consumed by thoughts of failure as he would have been.

He climbed out of bed, pacing by the windows of his room, failing to calm himself with anything, so far. Drinking some midnight tea could have helped, perhaps, but just the thought of doing so sent his mind towards his irksome brother, yet another loose end he had no clue how to unravel. The bastard had been the one who had started all this, and he had vanished right before matters took the worst turn they had… shouldn't he have been proud of himself, his actions and his choices? Yet, instead, he was nowhere to be found, no doubt aware that Ozai would gladly skewer him if they ever crossed paths anew.

There was nowhere to take refuge in, no source of comfort… nothing. Everything that might have reassured him once was now tainted with no hopes of being amended…

Everything but her.

He breathed out heavily: after ten minutes of sitting by his window, finding only regret and doubt where he usually could find confidence and pride, Ozai rose to his feet and strode to the bed. After pouring the right amount of firebending into the right, invisible spot in the bed's frame, a hidden compartment slipped out… and Ozai sighed as he withdrew the box of treasures he had kept tucked safely underneath his mattress.

As much as there were a few valuable things in the small box, none truly beckoned him the way that crimson hairpiece did. He disregarded the bag filled with the results of Seethus's mission to track down the White Lotus's spies, as well as the old letters written in decaying paper, all be it to pick up that lonesome hairpiece without its pin…

Sometimes it was hard to evoke her at all, to remember her face, no matter if he had wanted it etched across his memory forevermore. Yet, when all else failed, his eyes would only close through the night if he held her hairpiece, as his thoughts turned away from the future and into the past, when their paths had been joined, when he had wishfully believed he had countless years ahead with the woman who, had anything been different, might have never been his wife at all…

---

He expected nothing good whenever Azulon summoned him for meetings. Said summons typically took place in the Throne Room, Azulon's favorite location in the Palace… but not today. For that reason alone, Ozai should have suspected today would be different… but he was well past the point of holding onto hopes, of any nature, where his father was concerned.

He strode into the opulent Palace sitting room five minutes earlier than the appointed time. Azulon only acknowledged him with a grunt when he entered the room – as ever, he rested on a seat with soft, yet taller cushions than those intended for his son and his guests. Ozai sat quietly after performing the mandatory reverence towards his father and then he simply waited in silence, knowing better than to ask any questions until Azulon allowed it… which, of course, he didn't.

Shortly after Azulon made himself comfortable in his throne-like chair, the door opened anew. Escorted by an Imperial Firebender, a noble couple stepped through the threshold, both clad in fineries, jewelry and ornate patterned outfits both extravagant and excessive. Everything suggested that Azulon's guests weren't as highly ranked in the nobility as they wished to be, and they equated flaunting their wealth with displays of greatness… Ozai wouldn't have judged them for that if only their fashion sense hadn't resulted in such a mismatched, poor combination of clothing items.

"The lady Rina and the lord Jinzuk," the guard who had escorted the pair performed a profound reverence, bowing his head in Azulon's direction. The Fire Lord nodded in acknowledgement.

"So I see," Azulon said: the couple didn't take their seats yet, waiting for Azulon's command to rise. It seemed to Ozai that his father found some amusement in keeping lady Rina bowed as she was, perhaps even wondering if she might fall forward once the weight of her many hair ornaments caused her to lose her balance… though it didn't happen before he spoke again. "Rise, then. I trust that you had no trouble on your journey to the Palace?"

"No, my Lord. You are most gracious to host us," Jinzuk said, with a kindly, nervous smile. Rina offered Azulon a similar grin: they were close to Azulon's age, Ozai suspected, judging by the graying hair and the wrinkles the two nobles sported.

"Well, it isn't a matter of gracefulness: you requested this hearing, and so, I have granted it. It is but my duty as Fire Lord," Azulon declared. "Do take your seats, then… though, Prince Ozai, please greet our guests first."

"Certainly," Ozai answered, rising to his feet.

He bowed to Jinzuk and Rina, who would be sitting across him on the table at which head sat Azulon, on his taller seat. For now, he watched with a keen eye as Ozai offered his respect to his new acquaintances.

"It's an honor to meet you," he said, following fit with what protocol dictated.

"Oh, but the honor is all ours!" Jinzuk exclaimed, bowing as well, alongside his wife. "You appear to be an exemplary young man. Exactly what I imagined I'd see from a Prince of the Fire Nation."

Azulon scoffed audibly, but Ozai didn't allow his father's reaction to faze him: Azulon could make a fool of himself by throwing tantrums if he wished, but Ozai refused to give him the satisfaction of reacting nervously or adversely over his dismissive disdain.

"You honor me by saying so," Ozai smiled graciously, rising back to his full height. "If you will forgive me for prying… is it possible that lady Rina might be Avatar Roku's granddaughter?"

"Oh, why, that is correct!" Rina smiled, beaming at Ozai's pleased smile. "Perhaps you weren't told before this meeting, Prince Ozai, but I am indeed Avatar Roku's direct descendant. Though that you could guess as much so easily is quite impressive…"

"It is not a matter of chance, I'm afraid," Ozai smiled graciously. "I researched much about Avatar Roku several years ago, and I thought I recalled that his last living descendant happened to be called Rina…"

"Well, I'm no longer the last one," Rina giggled. "I have a daughter, too, though I suppose she mustn't have featured yet in the records you may have consulted…"

"Oh, I see," Ozai nodded.

"She is but a few years younger than you are, Prince Ozai," Rina said: her voice tone, and the strange look in her eyes right now, that of further nervousness than before, brought an unexpected thought to Ozai's mind. An unexpected explanation for why the nobles across him would have requested an audience with his father, an audience he, somehow, had to be part of…

"And not a bender, I hear?" Azulon asked, cutting across the conversation without the slightest concern and no shortage of judgment. At the very least, Ozai thought, he hadn't said anything to humiliate him before the nobles just yet.

The Fire Lord made a dismissive hand gesture, indicating he expected them to take their seats, and they did as much silently before Rina and Jinzuk answered his question with poorly disguised nervousness.

"I'm afraid that my grandfather's gift… skips a generation, it appears," Rina explained, smiling kindly. "I am a bender, myself, though no master, by any means! I learned how to use my fire for fine purposes, of course, but I would never compare myself to my grandfather, let alone to the extraordinary talent present in the Royal Family…!"

"Which begets the question of why, exactly, you'd expect the joining of our bloodlines to result in any benders of significant talent," Azulon went for the jugular without wasting another moment with chit-chat, and Ozai wasn't surprised for it. His heart pounded, however: was he right to suspect the nobles hoped to offer their daughter as his wife? He had never expected a marriage proposal to arrive for him, not when his father appeared to consider him unworthy of even breathing the same air he did…

So why had Azulon taken this proposal seriously at all? He frowned as Jinzuk and Rina prepared to answer the Fire Lord's question, more anxious than they already had been.

"As I've said, the gift of bending appears to skip a generation in our family," Rina explained. "My daughter is not a bender… but her children most likely will be. Perhaps, then, the joint bloodlines of Avatar Roku and our most esteemed and revered Fire Lord Sozin would yield descendants of great firebending talent…"

"And if, perchance, the gift of bending is, if anything, diluted into nothingness with every new generation of your family?" Azulon asked, with a mocking grin. Rina swallowed dryly. "Perhaps Avatar Roku was the last remarkable bender your lineage would ever yield. Why should we gamble on the possibility that perhaps your bloodline's bending abilities 'skip' a generation when the only evidence we have of such a skip is… you?"

Rina swallowed hard, and Ozai grimaced. He didn't doubt that Azulon was spiteful towards many of his nobles and highly-ranked officers, but it was the first time Ozai had seen him sneering far more boldly at someone else while he was around. Did Rina disgust him that much? Far more than Ozai himself did?

"Do excuse us if our presumptions offend, my Lord," Jinzuk intervened, upon realizing his wife appeared too terrified to speak again. "This is, as we have told you, a proposal. An offer that, if it displeases you, shall be withdrawn and you shall never hear of it again. It is possible that Rina's words are correct, just as it is possible that yours might be, so… ultimately, we only offer our daughter if you will have her. If… if your son will have her."

He glanced at Ozai, almost as though hoping the Prince would offer him a lifeline of some sort. Perhaps, ten years ago, Ozai would have been bold, reckless enough to offer it. Now, though…

"I shall follow suit with my father's wishes," Ozai said, simply. Azulon scoffed, and this time, Ozai had no doubt the dismissive tone was directed at him. He elected to ignore it.

"You brought the girl with you, did you not?" Azulon asked. Jinzuk and Rina nodded.

"We did, my Lord," Jinzuk said. Azulon raised an eyebrow, as though weighing things in his head still… but he nodded, in the end.

"Then I suppose we shall make the most of the journey that has brought your family this far. Ozai shall see your daughter and a decision shall be made regarding your proposal. That being said, I will have a word with him first," Azulon said, cuttingly. "Please, rejoin her. He will be with you shortly."

Jinzuk and Rina smiled and rose to their feet again. They offered Azulon no end of reverences and gratitude, all of which clearly washed off the weary, skeptical Fire Lord in an instant. He nodded in response to their words to hurry the process along, and he only spoke again once he and Ozai were alone once more.

"Evidently… I see more drawbacks than merits to this match," Azulon said, firmly. "Were it truly a certainty that benders in their family skip a generation, I would have few doubts about wanting our family joined with theirs. No matter his many failings, Avatar Roku was, nonetheless, an Avatar. Combining our family's prowess with his could yield, ideally, an extraordinary firebender… yet there's nothing to suggest this will be a guaranteed outcome other than lady Rina's wishful thinking."

"If you would have me reject the match, you need only say so," Ozai said, pointedly. The sooner he could leave Azulon's vicinity, the better.

"That is the problem, though… I cannot quite make up my mind as to whether the risk is worth it or not," Azulon sighed, rubbing his large forehead with his bony fingertips. "I suppose it is for the best that their daughter is of suitable age to wed you. Far too old for Lu Ten, far too young for Iroh, whose wife hails from a lineage of Imperial Firebenders. If this match yields fruit, somehow…"

If Rina and Jinzuk's claims were true, Ozai realized, it meant his own children might prove more powerful than Lu Ten. They could be contenders for the throne, potential dangers for his brother's lineage…

All of which easily warmed his heart to the daughter of Jinzuk and Rina even before meeting her. Whoever she was, so long as he didn't find her utterly deplorable, she might just be a suitable partner for him.

"If it doesn't, I am but the second Prince, third in line for the throne ever since Lu Ten was born," Ozai recited, doing his best to betray no bitterness through his words. "My potential nuptials with their daughter wouldn't signify a hazard for the main branch of the family, something that would represent a concern if she were expected to wed Lu Ten…"

"Oh, please. The boy is about fourteen years younger than her, as far as I understand," Azulon scoffed. "By the time he is ready to take a wife, she might be too far past the point where she could bear him a child safely, all this without considering how questionable it is that their bloodline would yield any benders of consequence, for starters. The only option available, Ozai, is you. And all things considered, it may be for the best that you are. I, myself, received a proposal from lady Rina back in my youth, alleging the same virtuous legacy and bloodline: had I found the woman appealing in the slightest, I might find myself the shameful Fire Lord who bore nothing but non-benders for children, as per her new belief that their bending skips a generation. Appalling."

"If that theory is correct, the likelihood for there to be a bender in their family should increase, if only slightly, now that the daughter of this generation is ready to bear children," Ozai reasoned. "But I understand, it is but a theory indeed…"

"This is your first marriage proposal," Azulon said, staring at Ozai pointedly. "Potentially, the only one you might have, and even if it weren't, it might be the best offer you'll get, altogether. They might intend to barge their way into our family by feigning that there's some manner of gracefulness in lady Rina's firebending party tricks… but, if nothing else, being descendants of Avatar Roku should give your potential offspring something to boast about, if emptily so. Yet my grievances and doubts aren't dismissed as easily as that, Prince Ozai. Ultimately…"

Ozai waited, expecting a harsh verdict… one that didn't come. Instead, Azulon's sharp, hard eyes seemed to relent, for an instant, before he spoke words he seldom had.

"Ultimately, it is up to you. If you wish to saddle yourself with this potential blemish in our family history, so be it," he said, cuttingly. "If, by any chance, you are quite lucky and Avatar Roku's true talents do happen to show themselves in your future children, you'll certainly be the winning party in this otherwise pointless ordeal."

"I understand," Ozai said, frowning slightly: he was allowed to make a choice? His own choice? He could reject or accept Jinzuk and Rina's daughter based on his own preferences and priorities?

It was an unusual display of generosity from his father. One that, ultimately, revealed that Azulon was hardly intrigued by the concept of extraordinary benders born upon the joining of the lineages of Roku and Sozin. It seemed that he didn't put much stock on the matter altogether – more than enough remarkable families and matches of perfect firebenders had yielded non-bending children in recent years, Ozai had heard about such occurrences in the past. Perhaps bending wasn't straightforwardly hereditary, perhaps other factors happened to play into who would be born with the ability to bend… and it seemed that Azulon believed heritage wasn't everything, otherwise, he wouldn't be quite so dismissive over the matter. However prestigious Ilah's family had been, however remarkable Daiyu's lineage of Imperial Firebenders might be, none of it carried the exuberant prestige of being an Avatar's descendant… and Ozai suspected that Azulon would hope, deeply, to see the joining the two extraordinary bloodlines failing just so he could mock his son one more time.

But if it didn't. If it didn't…

No. That was folly. That was the same, pointless hope he had clung to when seeking the Avatar and he remembered exactly where that had gotten him. He wouldn't let Azulon do this to him a second time. Never again. He would honor his word to Jinzuk and Rina, he would see their daughter, perhaps even talk with her… and then he would tell his father that he would reject the match. Never again would he allow Azulon to humiliate and mock him as he had when he returned empty-handed after four years at sea. Never again.

He marched out of the sitting room with his head held high, his determination set in stone.

The first sound that reached him as he approached the indicated location was that of his nephew's childish laughter. Ozai's eyebrows twitched as he strode through the corridors firmly: Lu Ten was a most unruly child, spoiled rotten by both his parents and even coddled by his wretched grandfather – well, what amounted to coddling when it came to Azulon. Instead of being disciplined harshly, Lu Ten was allowed to run around the Palace, laughing his lungs off if he so pleased… and it didn't matter how many times Ozai scoffed at him for it, scolded or dismissed him, the boy never failed to smile when he saw him, to greet him enthusiastically, or even to ask for firebending lessons that Ozai always refused to offer him. Why, exactly, hadn't Iroh or Azulon told the boy to leave him alone, Ozai had no clue. Perhaps they knew he found Lu Ten profoundly annoying, or perhaps they were unaware of Lu Ten's attempts to fraternize with his uncle. Surely the latter was the truth, for they'd both be quick to reel in the boy and prevent him from being infected by Ozai's… well, whatever they thought was utterly disgusting about him. It wasn't like Ozai understood what it was, anyway.

"… it's this big! Well, no, like… two times this big!" the boy rambled, no doubt sharing one of his outlandish stories with the visiting family. Ozai rolled his eyes, already composing a stern phrase to dismiss Lu Ten as soon as he saw him…

"Is that so? That sounds like the biggest catfish in the world. Are you sure it's not an elephant koi, instead?"

His feet slowed suddenly. His heart quickened its pace, his brow drew together… for that deep yet bright voice belonged to a stranger. It might just be the most pleasant voice he had ever heard.

He gritted his teeth before marching what little distance was left in the corridor, before the garden was in proper sight. He could see Jinzuk and Rina already, smiling enthusiastically even before he had stepped into view…

"I bet that's what it is! Yeah, an elephant koi!" Lu Ten exclaimed, and Ozai could hear the sound of his feet falling heavily in grass – was he jumping up and down, then? Ever so childish, and yet Ozai couldn't quite dismiss the boy's enthusiasm as readily as always…

He finally stepped past the threshold from where he'd have a perfect view of the garden.

Lu Ten was dressed in his firebending training clothes, drenched in sweat after practicing his forms during the afternoon. Yet before him…

Before him stood the picture of elegance and grace, with her hair perfectly combed into a half-knot, crowned by a subtle comb. Her attire didn't seem remotely as boastful as that of Jinzuk and Rina… and yet it seemed far more expensive to Ozai, far more tasteful in its dark burgundy and deep crimson shades. Her delicate profile, the perfect stance with which she stood by Lu Ten's side, and more than that, the gentle smile that graced her smooth, porcelain-like face…

"I wonder if you truly could have one of those in your Palace's ponds…" she told Lu Ten, raising a hand to her mouth before laughing softly: her every move was so graceful his heart almost seemed to burst at the impossibly beautiful sight before him… "That would certainly be a sight to behold."

"Ah! Here he is!" Jinzuk spoke suddenly, and only then did Ozai remember himself: he had been so profoundly enthralled he hadn't even announced himself. Instead, he had stood in the corridor like a fool, gaping at her…

But how could he not? Jinzuk's voice had alerted his daughter of Ozai's presence, and she was quick to turn her head around… and what a beautiful face she had. The smile upon her lips seemed to wane for a moment, and then it came back stronger still… though her eyes seemed to probe him, to test him silently, to weigh him, though not in the way Ozai was accustomed to. Instead… instead, any amusement the woman might find in him appeared inoffensive, innocent compared to Iroh's dismissive mirth. She was curious about him… just as he was curious about her.

"Uncle Ozai!" Lu Ten exclaimed, breaking the spell the woman's features had cast upon Ozai's senses. Ozai flinched as the boy waved at him, enthusiastically. "They were waiting for you! I entertained them before you got here!"

"You… well, you didn't need to do so, but… I appreciate it, nonetheless," Ozai said, far more respectful and agreeable with Lu Ten than he usually was. The boy smiled brightly, hands on his hips as Jinzuk and Rina smiled kindly at Ozai.

"Prince Ozai, as you may have guessed by now, this is our daughter," Rina said, and Jinzuk gestured at Ozai to approach the woman in the garden.

"And this, as you can tell, no doubt, is Prince Ozai," Jinzuk told the young woman: she smiled earnestly and nodded in her father's direction.

"I see. I… I see," Ozai swallowed hard, finding his throat too dry to speak, his heart racing so quickly… it pounded as fast as it usually did whenever he was furious, and yet what he felt right now had nothing to do with rage.

The woman curtsied elegantly, bowing her head in his direction, holding out her hands in the proper position to offer Ozai the respectful greeting he awaited. His cheeks flushed as she rose back to her full height… and once she did, her amber eyes seemed to glow with a cleverness that nearly saw Ozai falling to his knees right then and there.

"Prince Ozai," she said. "I have looked forward to meeting you for a long time."

"You… you have, then?" Ozai stammered, fearing he'd even bite his tongue halfway through a sentence, at this rate. Yet… yet he needed to talk to her. No, he needed her to talk, or… well, he needed one thing, first of all. "Well, unfortunately… I haven't heard nearly as much about you as I certainly should have."

"Oh? A shortcoming I suppose I shall attempt to remediate now if you will it, Prince Ozai," she said, courteously: that spark of cleverness remained there, stirring something powerful inside Ozai's chest that he wasn't sure he was strong enough to contain.

Any moment now he'd do something foolish, like praise her beauty and compare her to a goddess, or perhaps he'd beg her to wed him, right then and there… but he couldn't be so stupid, couldn't be so rash, no. He had to slow down… to make a good impression. He was the one in control in this situation, so… so he only had to remind himself of that and tread carefully in his every exchange with the extraordinarily beautiful woman in front of him.

"Then… might I ask your name?" Ozai asked, relieved that he hadn't bungled up any words when he spoke this time. Jinzuk and Rina's daughter smiled.

"Ah. The best first step to that end, indeed," the woman said, with a soft laugh. "Well then… Prince Ozai, I am Ursa, daughter of Jinzuk and Rina, and I'm deeply honored to have made your acquaintance."