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setaripendragon · 7 years

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Like Fire and Water - Part 6

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 Woo, final part! Look at me making up a bunch of history for the Avatar verse. I absolutely headcanon that the Yu Yan were once air-benders (okay, the Temples cannot be the only air-benders, Embers has convinced me of that, and also; Air Nomads. The monks and nuns lived at the temples, that’s not nomadic.) that were absorbed into the Fire Nation looong before anything even remotely associated with canon happened. The ending feels a little cramped to me, but I had so many people I wanted to give a say before I wrapped things up, but not enough material for another part, so... I did the best I could. I hope you guys find it satisfying.

Today had been a very long day. Not that Ursa wasn’t glad to have seen her daughter, and finally – finally – managed to apologise for the way she’d left, but it was exhausting. Azula had been a handful growing up, and she was worse now. They had parted amicably, at least, with promises to write. Azula had hinted that she was planning to return to the Fire Nation, which made Ursa suspect that she was, in fact, going to try and infiltrate Ba Sing Se. Or perhaps Azula had expected Ursa to think that, in which case, her hints had probably been the truth.

Ursa shook her head to herself, and poured another cup of ginger tea. She was over-tired, and five years out of practice at playing courtly intrigue. Better not to try and divine Azula’s intentions. Instead, she would wait and see what happened next, and pray her family came out of it in one piece.

When she’d received the message that her daughter was outside Ba Sing Se and waiting with Hakoda’s ships to meet her, she’d been terrified she’d get there to find the beach on fire and Hakoda dead amongst the ashes. But no, he’d been fine and even, if her ears hadn’t deceived her, cracking jokes. And Azula hadn’t set anything on fire, although she’d clearly been tempted a few times during their conversation. The fact that Ursa was also a fire-bender, and could probably put any fires she started out was the only thing that seemed to stop her on a couple of occasions.

Hakoda had promised, once they’d seen Azula, Mai and Ty Lee off – Ursa was glad those two had stayed; if there was one thing Azula needed more than anything else it was a couple of true friends – that he would try and make it back to the city for the night. Ursa appreciated it. She could really use her husband’s support and bad jokes right about now.

The worst part about seeing Azula was the way that, every now and then, an expression would cross her face that was so purely Ozai that Ursa wanted to cry. No matter what Hakoda said, she hated herself a little for leaving her children with that monster. He’d injured them both in different ways, and Ursa would kill him for that, if she thought herself capable. Azulon had been old, and easy to get the drop on. Ozai was in his prime, and quite a bit more cunning than Azulon had ever been. Azulon had been ruthless and cruel, yes, but he was always very straightforward about it.

A knock at the door shook her out of her thoughts. It was probably uncharitable of her to think ‘oh spirits, what now?’ as she climbed to her feet and headed for the door, but she wasn’t in any mood to take it back. She was even less inclined to take it back when she opened the door and found Katara standing there, apparently alone.

She found a smile for the girl anyway, even if it probably did look tired and sad rather than the welcoming she’d been aiming for. “Katara. I wasn’t expecting to see you until the weekend.” She said as she stepped out of the way to let the girl in.

“I… wanted to talk to you without my dad around.” Katara admitted stiffly, glaring around the room. She didn’t seem at all softened by the Water Tribe decorations that Hakoda had added over the last few months. “Or Sokka. He wandered off with Toph for a while, to give us a chance to talk.”

“I see.” Ursa murmured politely, even though she wasn’t entirely sure she did. “Tea?” She offered, because manners were important.

“Sure.” Katara agreed shortly. She gave the teapot a deeply suspicious look as Ursa poured Katara a cup and refilled her own. When Ursa settled back at the table and wrapped her hands around her newly steaming mug, Katara reluctantly joined her, sitting across from her and toying with her own cup, fidgety and pensive. “Sokka told me that you killed Fire Lord Azulon.”

Ursa nodded. “I did.”

“I thought he died in his sleep.” Katara fired back, eyes narrowing.

Ursa smiled, although it felt sharp on her face, and clearly looked less than friendly to Katara, because she leaned back a little bit, and then, with very deliberate casualness, stirred her tea with a graceful swirl of her hand in the air. “Very, very few nobles of the Fire Nation die of natural causes, Katara.” Ursa informed her, ignoring the silent threat. “Azulon died in his bed, certainly, and he was asleep before I woke him with my blade at his throat, so that he would know who had killed him, and why.”

Katara absorbed that, then frowned. “Why?”

“That… is a complicated question.” Ursa said finally. “And it ties in to a lot of my history that you don’t know.”

“You’re Fire Nation.” Katara stated coldly.

“Yes.” Ursa confirmed. “I’m always surprised at how long it takes people to notice,” she said, gesturing at her eyes, “and it takes them even longer to reach the logical conclusion. Then they’re far too easily put off by a story about an Earth Kingdom mother and the pirate raids along the coast.”

Katara’s expression turned hard. “Fire Nation raids.” She stated, and the ‘your people’ behind it was loud and clear.

It was not an easy accusation to answer, and Ursa thought her words over carefully before she said anything. “Yes.” She agreed finally. “In that particular case, I won’t argue that the Fire Nation is at fault.”

“That particular case?!” Katara demanded furiously.

“Mm.” Ursa hummed. “Under Sozin and his son and grandson, the Fire Nation has committed many atrocities. And before Sozin it was the Earth Kingdom that pillaged and raped its way across the continent, under Conqueror Chin’s command. And before Chin, it was the pirate hordes of Chief Kalea looting and murdering up and down the coast. And before that it was the devoted zealots of the Living-Earth-Mother, Queen Nitocris. And before that it was the Yu Yan-” Katara made a triumphant sound, like she hadn’t even registered any of Ursa’s other points. Ursa gave the girl a stern look. “-air-benders and their founder, Taiyari.”

Katara gaped at her. “The Yu Yan aren’t air-benders!”

“Not anymore.” Ursa agreed sadly. “But once, the Yu Yan archers were the terror of the skies. After their defeat they disbanded and vanished into the other three nations. As far as I’m aware, the Fire Nation is the only place they maintained most of their customs. The accounts of their origins are old, and rare, but they have some preserved documents here at the university, if you doubt my sincerity.”

That, at least, seemed to give Katara pause. She stared down at her tea while she marshalled her thoughts. “How do you know about all of that?” She asked, still suspicious, but with less hostility than before. “I’ve heard of Chin the Conqueror, but…”

“I like my history.” Ursa admitted with a faint smile. “I’m more fond of myths and legends, but I know the darker side of history, too.” She paused to sip her tea. “I like to learn about a time when my people weren’t the enemies of the world. It gives me hope that all has not been lost for my people. The other Nations have treated the world just as horribly, and yet life goes on, their people continue, and most of them keep trying to do good.”

Katara opened her mouth, then stopped and frowned. “You distracted me.” She accused, although with less venom than Ursa honestly expected. “Why did you kill Azulon?”

“Simple answer?” Ursa offered, and when Katara nodded, she offered her a gentle smile full of irony. “He threatened my children.”

Everything about Katara seemed to soften at that, anger draining out of her like the tide. “And what’s the complicated answer?” She asked after a moment, glancing up with a challenging expression that just dared Ursa to try and dodge the question again.

Ursa found she couldn’t actually meet Katara’s eyes while she tried to tell the story. She looked down at her tea. “It started, I suppose, when I got engaged to a very charming young man.” She began carefully. “I was an only child, and my parents were minor nobles who pinned all their hopes for political ascension on me. I was shown off at parties and banquets, but most noble boys…” She trailed off, and shrugged ruefully. “But that is a poor excuse for why I fell for my husband’s charms. And I did fall for them. Hard. I thought he was… well, like me, I suppose. A second son, with no real power of his own, used as a game piece by his father to accrue more influence.”

“But he wasn’t?” Katara asked shrewdly.

Ursa pursed her lips. “Well, he was, but where I had learned compassion, to treat those below me as more than just pieces to step on to get myself higher, he had learned cruelty. And he wanted, above all else, to have power over those who presumed to control him.” Here she smiled bitterly, and shook her head. “And when he misstepped, and Azulon ordered him to kill his son in penance, he was going to do it.”

“Kill his-!” Katara gasped, hands flying to cover her mouth. “And he-!”

“Now, after five years to reflect, I begin to wonder if Azulon hadn’t meant for him to simply give up his son, adopt him out to his brother, but either way, Azulon’s order was ambiguous enough that my husband decided to kill two birds with one stone, and get rid of ‘the embarrassment’ and get back into his father’s good graces at the same time.”

There was a long, drawn out silence.

“His… father’s…” Katara breathed, horrified realisation dawning on her as she said those two condemning words. “You-!” She began, but seemed to choke on her next words. “You married-! You were the-! Your son is-” And she stopped. And stared.

Ursa looked up at her at last, but saw only shell-shocked disbelief on Katara’s face, nothing more telling. “Yes.” She said, hesitating before going on. “I married Fire Lord Ozai. Although, at the time, he was only Prince Ozai, and by the time he was crowned, I had already been banished.”

Katara took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “The Fire Lord was going to kill his own son.” She stated in tones of disgust.

“Yes.” Ursa confirmed. “And despite committing treason to protect my children, all that did was leave me banished and unable to protect them when Ozai turned my daughter into his perfect little soldier, and branded and banished my son simply for speaking up in defence of his people.”

Katara recoiled. Her hand flew up to her left eye, and when Ursa nodded wordlessly, she blanched and went pale. “His own dad did that to him?!” She gasped, horrified. Then her expression hardened. “I always knew the Fire Lord was a monster.” She spat.

“Quite.” Ursa agreed with a hint of dark humour.

For a moment, Ursa wondered if her humour was in bad taste, but then Katara smiled, a grim, knowing sort of smile. The moment settled, and they both finished off their tea in the comfortable silence that followed. Ursa refilled their cups without speaking, resolved to give Katara the time she needed to process everything. Katara quietly thanked her for the tea, then abruptly groaned and buried her face in her hands. “I just can’t believe this.” She complained.

“Which part?” Ursa asked kindly.

“My dad married the Fire Lord’s ex-wife!” Katara burst out, incredulous and pained. Ursa raised an eyebrow at her, waiting for her to realise the implications of what she’d just said. Slowly, Katara began to put the pieces together. “That’s… going to really piss the Fire Lord off, isn’t it?” She asked slowly.

Ursa raised her teacup to her lips to hide her vindictive smile. “Probably.” She said blandly.

Katara stared at her as Ursa sipped carefully at her tea, then lowered it again, carefully maintaining a straight face as she did so. A tiny giggle escaped Katara, and then she clapped her hands over her mouth in a futile attempt to muffle her laughter. “Oh, Tui and La, that’s… that’s actually really funny.”

“You father thought so, too.” Ursa muttered, unable to hide her smile any longer. “After he got over the shock.” She sighed at the memory. It was a good one, full of laughter and love. She’d had too few of those before Hakoda, and too many to count since she’d met him. “And just to be clear,” she went on, her tone serious enough to catch Katara’s attention, “your father really is a thousand times the man Ozai wishes he could be.”

Katara’s smile slipped sideways into something strangely rueful. “You… really do love him, don’t you?” She asked, quiet and sad.

Ursa blinked, caught off guard by the sudden melancholy beating off Katara in palpable waves. “I- Yes, I do.” She replied.

“I’m sorry.” Katara said, and then sniffed like she was trying not to cry. “Sokka was right, it’s not- it’s not fair of me to blame you, but I just…” She choked on a laugh that sounded terribly close to a sob. “I just miss my mum. I want her back.”

Ursa wasted no time in sliding around the table until she could pull Katara into a hug. Katara went stiff for a moment, then seemed to melt all at once, hugging Ursa back with surprising force. “You don’t have to be sorry for missing your mother, Katara.” Ursa murmured into dark hair. “And you’re allowed to be angry that she’s gone, that she was taken from you. I only hope that you can come to see me as an ally, not your enemy.”

Katara sniffed again and drew back, and Ursa was surprised to notice that it didn’t seem like any tears had been shed. Katara’s eyes were wet, but the tears hadn’t spilled over. “Well, you did murder the man who ordered my mother’s death, so…” She said, cracking a grin. When Ursa let out a startled but pleased laugh, Katara’s grin softened into a smile. “Yeah, I think-”

There was a knock at the door. Ursa rolled her eyes, and cursed the spirits for their idea of good timing. Katara grinned. “I think it’s probably Sokka.” She offered, and when Ursa stood and opened the door, she found that Katara was right.

“Hi!” Sokka exclaimed brightly, something a little manic in his eyes. “Did you tell her about the Fire Lord, yet?”

“Sokka, I thought you’d told me about the Fire Lord.” Katara said, in a tone of growing suspicion.

Ursa kept a straight face only through sheer force of will as Sokka blanched, and looked nervously over his shoulder. “Uh, yeah, totally.” He said awkwardly. “I mean, I should- give you two more time to- chat. And not kill each other. That’d be… really good. Maybe Toph should stay here to mediate-”

“Don’t exaggerate.” Ursa chided mildly. “Katara hasn’t even tried to drown me once.” She mused, stepping back to let Sokka inside. He didn’t seem to want to take the hint, and dithered in the doorway. “A few angry words are the least of what I’ve had to deal with today.”

“Yeah, but-” Sokka began.

“But what, Sokka?” Katara asked, coming up to stand at Ursa’s shoulder, arms crossed and a deeply unimpressed expression on her face. “What did you think I was going to do to the woman who picked Dad over the Fire Lord?”

Sokka blinked at her rapidly for a moment. “She-! You-! Argh! You’re evil.” He accused. Then raised his voice a little as he stepped inside, jostling his sister with his shoulder in a petulant sort of revenge. “Okay, I think it’s safe, guys!”

“Excellent!” Iroh’s voice preceded him into the apartment, and Katara stiffened as Zuko came into view over Iroh’s shoulder. Ursa couldn’t help but smile, though. He looked stiff and angry, but Ursa knew her son, and she knew the difference between his true anger, and the way he tried to hide his insecurities. He was nervous, not angry, so she pulled him into a hug the moment he was in arm’s reach. “It is very lovely to meet you properly this time, Katara.” Iroh was saying, as Zuko clung to Ursa as though to reassure himself that she really was there, and she hadn’t vanished since he’d seen her yesterday.

“Uh-huh.” Katara drawled.

“Oh, get over yourself, Sugar Queen. Uncle’s nice.” Toph interjected.

“Uncle?!” Katara echoed incredulously.

“I would be most honoured if you would consider me your uncle.” Iroh announced, as if Katara’s question had been jealous, rather than infuriated. “Ursa is as good as a sister to me, and it would be a delight to count her family among my own.”

Zuko finally drew back and let Ursa usher him into the apartment and close the door behind them. “Katara, would you like to help me with dinner?” Ursa asked over the bubbling chaos that had spilled into her apartment.

“Yes.” Katara said quickly, grateful for the excuse to dart around Iroh and over to Ursa’s side. Only once she was there did she register that it meant she was in close proximity to Zuko. Her eyes narrowed sharply. “You’d better not cause any trouble, because if you think-”

“Whoa, calm down, sis!” Sokka called over some conversation about the tea market in the Earth Kingdom. “Our new brother has agreed to a truce as long as we’re in the family home, so don’t go starting any fights, or Dad’s going to be pissed.”

“Mum’s going to be pissed.” Zuko corrected, shooting Ursa a look from the corner of his good eye.

“I would. I finally managed to buy an apartment of my own, so I would hate for it to get burned down or water-logged.” Ursa agreed.

“Hmph. Fine.” Katara huffed. “Is he going to be helping with dinner too?” She asked Ursa, pointedly not asking Zuko. Ursa had a feeling there was a right and wrong answer to that question, and she had a feeling it wasn’t the one she might have expected it to be.

“Yes.” Ursa said, and was pleased to see that it was the right answer. She led the pair of them into the small kitchen and started flipping through her small notebook of recipes to find something that would feed… Oh, spirits, at least six, possibly seven.

“Just don’t ask me to make the tea.” Zuko groused, accepting the box of eggs Ursa passed him from her pantry and passing them to Katara, so that he could take the vegetables Ursa was holding out.

“Hey, if we’re staying for dinner, we should invite Aang!” Sokka suggested.

Battle-honed reflexes were the only things that saved their dinner from ending up splattered all over the kitchen floor, and two voices shouted “No!” in perfect unison.

“Aw, come on, guys. It’s not fair to leave Aang out!” Sokka protested.

Iroh cleared his throat. “Perhaps Miss Be Fong and I could keep the Avatar company. That way he need not be left alone, and the four of you can have a nice family dinner together.” He suggested. It was a good idea, and no one had any real objections, so after Zuko had reluctantly let his Uncle hug him, and Toph had punched all three teenagers in the arm hard enough to make them wince, they left.

“So!” Sokka clapped his hands together, then rubbed them like an evil genius. Ursa wondered if it was as clear to Katara as it was to her just where he’d picked up that mannerism. “Dinner! How can I help?”

Three minor disasters and one successfully made stir-fry later, Hakoda arrived home, looking worn out but relieved, only to pause when he spotted Katara. He opened his mouth to speak, but Katara beat him to it. “I’m sorry.” She said quickly, wringing her hands together and not quite meeting her father’s eye. “Dad, I’m sorry about… what I said before.”

Hakoda huffed a happy little laugh, and hugged her. “Thank you, Katara.”

When Katara let go, Hakoda made a beeline for Ursa, and she put the stir-fry down on the table just in time to turn into his embrace. He was warm and solid in her arms, and he nuzzled into her hair with a little hum of contentment, before she tipped her face up to offer him a proper welcome home kiss.

“Dad, no! Stoooop!”

“Oh, ew, gross!”

“Urk, do you have to?”

They only stopped kissing because Hakoda was laughing too hard to continue. Ursa rolled her eyes at him, but her own smile gave her away. She hummed thoughtfully, giving Hakoda a considering look. He met her look with happy curiosity, and the sheer perfection of the moment made Ursa feel more than a little playful. “Yes. Yes, I think I do have to.” She informed their kids, and promptly kissed her husband again. Ever in favour of a good prank, Hakoda made sure to kiss her back quite thoroughly.

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