"Ursa, no matter what, I will always love you."
I abruptly wake up and touch my face. It's cold, clammy, and damp. I look across the velvety sheets, to sadly see my sleeping husband, and not Ikem. I sigh, as I think of my nostalgic memories I had with Ikem. I quietly shift off of the bed and head towards Zuko and Azula's rooms. As I creak open the door to their room, I can already tell one of them is not in the room. I see Zuko sleeping soundly in one bed, and ruffled sheet in the other.
"You know you should stop spying on us Mom." I whirl around and see Azula, hands on her hips, her beautiful dark brown hair lightly sitting on her shoulders, and her bold, brown eyes.
"Azula, why are you awake? It's really early in the morning. You can still sleep." I say, with a sort of morning grogginess in my voice,
"Well, I don't like being spied on by my Mother. And besides, why do you even care if i'm awake or not?"
"Because I'm your mother Azula. There are certain people that you care for and love. Two of those people are you and Zuko. I love you both very much."
"What about Daddy then Mom? Do you love him?"
"Of course I do Azula. Now head off back to bed." I hate telling lies to them. That's one of the things I regret most about my time with them. Azula walks into their room and shuts the door behind her.
*************************************
A couple of hours have passed, and it is now around 9 AM. The servants are making breakfast for us. I guess being the Fire Prince's wife sometimes has its upsides. I can't stop thinking about Ikem. I just miss the one I truly love so much. I open the doors to one of the entrances of the palace garden. This is where I usually spend most of my time. I have always loved herbs, flowers, and gardens. They make me feel calm and help me deal with my anxiety and pressure. I sit on the bench, my favourite reading spot; that over looks the garden.
"Mom! Come and watch Azula and I train." Zuko yells from the bottom of the stairs leading into the garden.
"Alright Zuko, I'm coming!" I say, as I slowly walk down the stairs to my children.
"Mom, I have been practicing something that is too advanced for Zuko to even watch. He'll just cry because he knows hes nowhere close to being as good as I am." Azula says, with high confidence in herself.
"Azula! You shouldn't speak that way to your brother. That is mean and disrespectful to him. Now go on with your routine." I say. Azula has an explosive personality and she needs to learn how to control it. Just like her father, although, unlike him, at least she might be able to learn how to control it before she grows up. As I look up, I see Azula perform a highly advanced technique, with fire glowing everywhere. Although she is controlling her fire, I can see that her form runs on hatred and anger in her dark, mysterious eyes.
"See mom? Told you it was good." Azula says.
"Yes, that was good Azula, but I would love to see what Zuko has been practicing."
"Ugh fine. It's not going to be impressive though. Everything he does sucks. It's just a waste of time Mom."Azula says
"Azula if you don't have anything nice to say to your brother then just don't say it at all. Is that clear?" I say sternly.
"Whatever Mom. Lets see what you got Zuko"
As Zuko is about to start, Ozai walks over from breakfast. As Zuko sees Ozai, he looks even more self conscious and nervous then he did before. Ozai has been treating Zuko absolutely terribly since I told him that Zuko was Ikem's son, and not his. I absolutely hate the way he is treating him, and I just can't stand it anymore. Ozai doesn't care about anyone but himself and, of course, Azula. Zuko begins his routine, which is not as advanced as Azula's, but still very impressive. There is bursts of his beautiful, soft, and gentle fire all lighting up the sky.
"Clap clap clap clap! Wow Zuko! That was outstanding!" I say.
"Are you kidding me?! That was absolutely horrible Zuko! I want you to practice every night for five hours from now on so you can catch up to Azula. You really need to learn something from her. She is amazing, and you are horrible. I cannot believe I just exposed my eyes to that." Ozai disgustingly says.
"Exactly Zuko, your just being protected by Mom. Your actually not even good."Azula says.
Zuko starts forming tears in his eyes and runs out of the garden.
"Go to your room right now young lady. Your father and I have to have a talk" I say as I stare straight into Ozai's eyes. Azula runs back into the palace, leaving only Ozai and I in the garden.
"How could you do that Ozai! To your son! Make him feel so bad about himself all for what? Tell me now!" I angrily yell at him. He definitely deserves this for the way he has been treating Zuko.
"Oh my son? What about Ikem? Isn't that disgusting child his son? Don't deny it Ursa, you know the truth about him." He smirks. "He is nothing to me. Absolutely worthless. And so are you for betraying me."
In tears myself, I run back into the palace and immediately go to Zuko's room. He is sitting on his bed, crying.
"Hey hey hey. It's ok baby. I have you now. It's all going to be ok." I try to comfort him, but I think he noticed me crying too.
"Mommy. What's gonna happen?" Zuko asks, looking up at me with teary eyes and a stuffy nose.
"We are gonna go somewhere far far away from here. Somewhere where Azula can't be mean to you anymore, and Daddy can't ever hurt you." I say.
" Come on. Let's pack up our bags okay? It's all going to be fine. You're with Mommy now." I try to reassure him.
As we pack our bags, I think about why I actually did marry Ozai, when he was so cruel to me all the time. Oh that's right. To save my parents from the kingdom's' debt. These past 12 years have been so hard on him and I. Always being pushed around by the both of them. Now, we are never going to have to go through this again. We are both; Zuko and I, going to start a new chapter in our lives. No more suffering, no more crying and no more stress. We are going to go find Ikem, and start our new life together as a family. I know he is out there. Just waiting for us.
