Fire and Aether

Chapter 55: The Search (Part 1)

   Many years ago...
   "Dark water spirit, you shall rule--no, no." a man said as he practiced his lines for an upcoming play. "Dark water spirit, you shall rue the day you condemned the mighty Dragon emperor to dwell amongst the mortals!"
   A sudden boo caused him to jump out of fright and fall on his butt. "Ursa, you scared me half to death!"
   "But I thought you were the mighty Dragon emperor?" she teased with a giggle.
   "That's only when I have my mask on." he protested.
   "I know. Without it, you're just Ikem, my poor, cowardly boyfriend." she teased again, touching his face.
   "Cowardly but handsome."
   "Well, handsome, guess who just got the role of the dragon empress?"
   Ikem shot to his feet, excitedly. "Congratulations!"
   The pair rehearsed their lines together. Then Ikem said, "Marry me."
   Ursa raised an eyebrow. "That's in the script?"
   "No." Ikem answered. "You remember when we were six and you kicked me in the stomach and pushed me face in the dirt?"
   "How many times do I have to apologize for that?"
   "I've loved you since that day and I've never stopped. So I ask you again, Will you marry me?"
   Ursa's eyes filled with tears and she could only whisper one word: "yes!"
  They fell into each other's arms.
                       * * * * *
  Team Avatar sat with a vast collection of other people in a meeting in Yu Dao, listening to an old man blabber on and on.
   "Tell me again, how exactly is boring lecture guy supposed to help us figure out what to do with Yu Dao." Sokka asked, leaning over towards Aang.
   As Aang tried to explain that the past is always a helpful teacher, Rose cut in with a comment that the guy could try to make the lecture more interesting. They were all rebuked by Katara.
  Zuko glared at her. "Do not cut off my wife."
   "Oogie!" Sokka shouted.
   "Oh shut up!" Everyone shouted at Sokka.
   "One big happy family." Aurora sighed.
   Zuko cringed at the word, his eyes growing wide as he heard the professor correlate ruling a nation with family.
  "No wonder everything's so hard for me." he confessed to the rest of Team Avatar. "My father is in prison, my sister in a mental institution. My mother's been gone for years. I'm married and yet I don't even know if I can properly raise any heirs." He turned his gaze to his wife. "What if I'm just like my father?"
   Aang, Katara, and Sokka cringed at the thought but Aurora was sympathetic. "Love," Rose spoke up, "I know this is hard for you but I promise you, you are nothing like your father. You are kind and loving. You will be a wonderful father one day. Besides," she moved from her chair in favor of sitting in his lap, "we have plenty of time for that later. We need to deal with this then we can be officially married and start preparing for a child."
   "My point is," Zuko said, voicing his other concern, "if ruling a nation is like raising a family then what does that mean for my nation?"
   "This guy's a blowhard." Sokka said, trying to make Zuko feel better. "Only people like Katara take him seriously!"
   She responded by bending water in his face. Everyone burst into laughter.
                        * * * * *
   Ursa rushed home, smiling all the way. "Mom, you'll never guess what Ikem--" She cut herself off when she saw her mother crying. "What's wrong? Where's dad?"
   "Your father's out back...with a visitor."
   Ursa walked out to the greenhouse and bowed before their imperial visitor. "Ursa, was it? Rise so we can have a look at you."
   Ursa did as the Fire Lord commanded. He regarded her slyly. "Magistrate Jinzuk, your wife raised a daughter far more beautiful than your flowers! We've had such trouble finding Roku's descendants. It's as if he was trying to keep you hidden from us."
   Fire Lord Azulon smirked. "But clearly the effort was worthwhile. The Fire Sages tell me that the pairing of Avatar Roku's granddaughter with my own son will yield a bloodline that will continue for centuries after I am gone."
   He gestured behind himself. "Ursa, may I introduce you to my second son, Fire Prince Ozai? He has a proposal for you."
                    * * * * *
   Later that day, Rose practiced her bending while Zuko watched her through the window as he signed important documents.
   He groaned, stretched, and turned to find Rose beside him. Usually, he would've jumped at her sneaking up behind him but, ever since their bonding ceremony, he knew where she was at all times.
   "Nice try." He smirked.
   They both chuckled, her leaning down to kiss him. She maneuvered herself into his lap and sighed. "So don't be too upset with me and I know you already know what I did."
   Zuko looked down at her. "Why did you go to my father?"
   Rose shrugged. "I just wanted an explanation I guess. I wanted to know why he was so cruel to you."
   Zuko turned his gaze from her. Letting her up, he paced away from her. "Did he give you an answer?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
   "He denied that you were his son. Then...I tried to find out if he knew anything about your mother."
   Zuko stopped his pacing and went stiff. "What did he say?"
   "He refused to answer. He said he would never help a traitor." In her mind, she continued replaying his words.
   Zuko turned quickly and moved closer to her. "He dared insult you?"
   "He called you a traitor and disowned you and you're worried about him insulting me?"
    "I'm not worried. I'm angry." He said, taking her hands in his. "You're my wife, my soulmate, you loved and cared for me when everyone thought the worst of me, and you changed my heart and their minds." He sighed, loosening his grip so he could pull her into his chest. "This isn't working. I've tried talking to him, you've tried. We need a new plan."
   "Yea but I don't like what you're thinking."
   "I don't either but we don't have much of a choice."
   Zuko called for a messenger, whispered something to him, then took Rose and headed to the throne room. Moments later, Zuko sat in his throne, Rose in a throne next to him, guards on either side of them, and another figure before them.
   "I know this is risky but I'm going to tell you the truth. I feel disconnected from the good in my own family and in my own nation. For a whole host of reasons, I believe finding my mother will help me reconnect. I've had conversation after conversation with Ozai and it's gone nowhere."
   "And I, too, have tried." Rose added.
   "He refuses to reveal what happened to her. So I've come to an uncomfortable conclusion. You are the only person in the world who can coax the information I need out of Ozai. Tell me then, what do you want in return for helping me find mother?"
   Azula, sitting in a wheelchair, strapped into a straitjacket, smirked.
"Don't be silly, ZuZu! The satisfaction of serving the Fire Lord and future Fire Lady in some small way will be compensation enough. Besides not a day has gone by since you put me in here that I haven't wondered--" Here she paused and glared at something no one else could see. "Whatever happened to our dear mother?"
   At this, she burst into fits of laughter. Zuko nodded and she was taken away to speak to Ozai.
   Rose sighed. "I really don't like this."
   "I don't either but, like it or not, she's my best chance of finding my mother."
                          * * * * *
   Ursa broke into tears when Ozai proposed. This wasn't what she wanted! But she had no choice. She could not refuse a prince.
   A little while later, she was riding in a carriage with Ozai and Fire Lord Azulon, quiet as the Fire Lord attempted to sway her with the idea of the fancy palace and city she would be living in following the wedding.
   At that moment, Ikem's voice sounded from outside. "Fire Lord Azulon, you have my-my true love in your carriage! With all due respect, I c-can't let you take her from me!"
   "Take care of him." Azulon cruelly told the guards.
   As they began firebending at Ikem, Ursa begged Ozai to call them off. "Please...my love."
   Ozai opened the carriage door and called them off as she wished. Ursa ran out and yelled at Ikem to go home.
   "Ursa, please, we belong together! Whatever they're offering you, it isn't worth it!"
   "The decision's been made."
   "Tell me marrying that Prince is what you truly want. Tell me and I'll go home."
   Ursa looked back at the carriage. Taking a deep breath, she spoke. "Fire Prince Ozai honored my family by asking my hand in marriage. I joyfully accepted." Tears ran down her face as she commanded. "Now for your sake and mine go home."
   Then she reentered the carriage and it pulled away, leaving him behind.
                       * * * * *
   Zuko waved the Kyoshi Warriors away, demanding that he take his sister on his own but he couldn't prevent Rose from joining them.
   "So when's the wedding for the lovely couple?" Azula sneered.
   Zuko's face remained impassive as he continued pushing her along the pathway. "We haven't decided on a date yet."
   "I want everyone to be there." Rose added. "All our families. Including his mother. And I'd like for you and Ozai to be there as well if at all possible."
   "Oh...well how sweet of you to invite me!" Azula laughed. "But I'm afraid I'm gonna have to decline. Sorry."
   "My wife shows you kindness by offering. You should show her more respect as she will be your sister soon."
   "Ah! And I would definitely love having a sister." Azula drawled. "But I--" Here she paused. "Wait. You called her your wife not fiancé. Oh ZuZu...are you dabbling in rare aetherbender rituals? Not very smart."
   "How do you know about that?"
   "Have you ever been chi blocked, ZuZu?" Azula randomly asked. Zuko shook his head. "Funny thing. All your joints go soft like they're made of melted wax." She looked up, sharply. "Then, for just a few moments, as your strength returns, you find yourself more flexible than you ever thought possible."
   It was then they realized that Azula had broken free of her restraints. She lightningbended at Zuko but missed. The distraction was long enough for her to escape. Rose and Zuko took off after her finding her moments later in a secret passageway, rifling through a box of letters.
   "What are those?"
   "What? These? They're many years of letters that she wrote. And they're the key to finding her."
   That said, she burned them in her own fire.
   "Azula, what is wrong with you?"
   "You're psychotic!" Rose accused.
   "Why don't you ask her that? I'm sure she'll be happy to tell you." Azula held her head as she heard her mother's voice repeating, "I love you, Azula. I do."
   "Azula, she's not real." Rose told her.
   "Oh she's very much real." Azula said with a laugh. "Believe it or not, dear brother, I want to find her too so I'll tell you what was in those letters on one condition."
   "Don't even think about hurting my wife."
   Azula sighed. "Do you honestly think I care about her? The two of you can live happily ever after for all I care. No. I want something else...."
                        * * * * *
  Ursa stood next to Ozai as they performed their wedding ceremony. Sadness remained in her eyes all the while. Later, they sat down for a feast and Ozai complimented how lovely her parents were.
   "They've always been good to me." Ursa said with a smile.
   "Be sure to tell them that when you tell them goodbye. Your last words should be filled with gratitude and kindness so their memory of you will always be sweet."
   "Last words?"
   "As a princess of the Fire Nation, you must sever all ties to the past and devote yourself entirely to your new duties." He took a sip of his wine. "After this day, never mention your old home, family, or life ever again. You belong to the royal family now and to me."
   That said, he leaned in and kissed her.
                        * * * * *
   Later that day, Team Avatar arrived to Zuko's palace. Aang, Katara, Sokka, Aurora, and even each of Rose's siblings as well as her own mother had come to visit.
   "Iroh, we didn't expect to see you." They commented, save for Aurora. Iroh stood before them, decked out in full on Fire Nation attire.
   He greeted them warmly, especially his old friend, Aurora. Then he called for Rose and Zuko to enter the room.
   Zuko was decked out in full Fire Lord attire with Rose in a fancy white dress, her hair in a equally fancy hairstyle.