Chapter Text
Azula diligently weaved the strands of Ty Lee’s soft auburn hair into a braid as the two of them sat under one of the trees that dotted the palace garden, the sound of Ty Lee’s sweet voice humming some song only broken up by the steady thud of Mai sinking her knives one after another into the bark of the tree.
“What are you singing?” she questioned as she made it about halfway down Ty Lee’s braid.
“A love song,” Ty Lee answered in an almost wispy voice, as if she were only half in reality.
She had noticed that about her new friend, Ty Lee, letting whatever thought that entered her head catch her fancy and slip into it. Azula hadn’t decided if it annoyed or intrigued her. Perhaps she should have made up her mind when Ty Lee first cartwheeled her way into her on the Academy courtyard, but for some reason she found the ditsy girl intriguing.
“What’s it about?” she asked.
“Love,” Ty Lee shrugged, looking back at her with a smile that caused a blush to warm her cheeks for some reason.
The sound of ruffling leaves broke her out of her thoughts. Looking up, she found the source of the sound, seeing the leg of a boy’s Fire Nation Academy uniform push through the wall of hedges that surrounded them. The branches gave way, revealing a flash of blond hair that belonged to Jin Akaron, son of the Fire Nations’ Agricultural minister. She recognized him from the few times she had seen him walking the halls of the palace, either with his father or with her brother Zuko and his other friends.
Azula could guess why he was here. Boys had been fluttering around her and her friends ever since they had started attending school. Mai had always rebutted their advances, her heart sickeningly set on Zuko. A few of them had even made the mistake of trying to court her, all of them leaving with bruised egos and even just some plain old bruises, though for whatever reason, Ty Lee always seemed to humor their attempts to woo her.
“Princess, my ladies,” Jin said with a bow, Azula letting out a snort of amusement as she watched one of the leaves that had lodged itself in his hair fall to the ground.
Ty Lee glanced over her shoulder at her with a stern look. “Be nice,” she hissed through her teeth.
“Hi Jin,” Mai waved, sounding unusually cheerful. “Is Zuko with you?” she asked, Azula not missing the hopeful tone in her voice as she glanced past him.
“I’m afraid not,” Jin said, his attention still fixed on where she and Ty Lee sat.
“Well, if you’re looking for him, he isn’t here,” she said, slightly pulling on Ty Lee’s half-finished braid to pull her closer.
“I’m not, actually,” Jin said, closing the distance between the three of them. “I was looking for Lady Ty Lee,” he said, smiling down at her as he pulled a fist full of withered-looking blue flowers from behind his back.
Azula had to stifle her urge to laugh at the pathetic display, her eyes flicking between the flowers and Ty Lee as she waited for her friend to reject the gift and send him away, only to watch as she gasped and reached out to accept the flowers, her hair slipping from Azula’s hands, causing the braid to come undone.
“Thank you,” Ty Lee gushed, “They’re really pretty.”
“Not as pretty as you, my lady,” Jin said, causing a slight blush to color Ty Lee’s cheeks.
Azula turned to Mai, feigning a gagging motion, causing the other girl to stifle a laugh and Jin to glare down at her with a disapproving look.
“I will leave you to the rest of your day,” Jin said through a huff, giving one final bow before turning to leave. Azula’s glare followed him as he left, as though staring at him long enough would cause his hair to suddenly catch fire.
“Zula?” she heard Ty Lee say, breaking her out of her fantasizing. “Could you braid these into my hair?” Ty Lee asked as she turned, handing her the raggedy flowers.
Azula felt an angry burning in her chest that she couldn’t place. She didn’t understand why Ty Lee didn’t reject such a poor excuse for a gift, and she certainly didn’t want her friend walking around with it in her hair for everyone to see.
“Oops,” she said as she lit a blue flame in the palm of her hand, consuming the flowers. Ty Lee watched as she let the charred plants drop to the grass, her eyes for some reason filling with tears.
“Why would you do that?” Ty Lee questioned as she abruptly stood, her hands balling into fists at her side.
Azula rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why you’re crying over some dumb flowers,” she said, crossing her arms.
“He was being nice to me!” Ty Lee insisted, stomping her right foot slightly.
“No, he wasn’t!” she shot back, standing with her. “It was a terrible gift, a borderline insult!” she scoffed, “he probably only did it because his parents told him to!”
Ty Lee’s lower lip began to quiver as her tears finally spilled over, cutting down her cheeks. “I hate it when you act like this!” Ty Lee said, wiping her cheek before swiftly turning and beginning to walk away.
Azula’s eyes widened in confusion, feeling her instincts stutter for a moment. She hadn’t wanted Ty Lee to leave, just for her to see how dumb of a gift it had been.
“Wait!” she called out, “what about your braid?”
“I’ll finish it myself,” Ty Lee called back as she disappeared down the path out of the guardian.
Azula’s anger quickly shifted to Mai when she heard the girl let out a snort of amusement.
“What!?” she demanded.
“Nothing,” Mai said, an amused grin cracking across her face. “I’ve just never seen you this jealous before.”
She wasn’t jealous. How could she be jealous over a few stupid flowers? Quickly, she rushed over to Mai, snatching the knives from the other girl’s hand.
“Hey!” Mai exclaimed as she watched Azula chuck her blades into the nearest rose bush before storming off.
‘I’m not jealous,’ she told herself. ‘It was that stupid boy’s fault.’
***
Ursa quickly followed Lo and Li through the Palace halls of the Royal Family’s apartments, wanting to move faster as she heard the sound of muffled yelling grow louder, but the two old advisers insisted on walking at the same pace as a turtle toad.
“Might one of you be able to tell me what’s happening?” she questioned with an exaggerated sigh, trying to find a gap in their hunched backs.
“As we said, the Prince and Princess are quarreling,” the one she thought was Li croaked out.
“About what exactly?” she asked with a barely suppressed sigh.
“One does not question why a mailstrom blows,” the other said, making Ursa wonder if their mother had intervened when they had fought or if she just let the two of them bludgeon one another with stones while she sat back and watched.
She supposed she had to count their blessings where she could find them, with Ozai and the Fire Lord away on their Royal tour of the colonies, dealing with whatever had occurred thankfully fell to her, as her husband’s solution for any disruption was more shouts and threats of violence.
Pausing in front of the door that led to the common room, the two old crones stood in her way, looking up at her through wrinkled eyes.
“We expect this situation to be resolved quickly,” Lo said.
“And any actions that damaged the Fire Lord’s standing with his advisors are to be amended,” Li added.
She had hated the old bats from the moment she arrived in Caldera, always judging her every move and whispering in Ozai’s ear about every step she took. Ursa was still unsure as to what their relation to the royal family was, and why they were so important, yet even as a princess, they treated her as if they were her superior.
“Of course,” she assured them with a tight smile, the two old women giving her one last look that she couldn’t decipher before they turned away.
Taking one last studying breath, she slid open the door to their family’s living room, finding the source of the noise.
“It’s your fault he has to leave!” Zuko yelled, his finger pointing accusatorily towards his sister, who sat in one of the cushioned sofas that dotted the room.
“And it was his fault for annoying Ty Lee and me!” Azula yelled back through the bloody handkerchief that was pressed to her nose, a slight shade of dark blue began to color the bottom of her eyes.
Ryuzo, a member of the royal guard, stood behind her, exasperation written clearly on his face. He was only a year or two older than she, though one wouldn’t be able to tell it by the dark bags under his piercing green eyes and the flakes of grey in his flowing brown hair and carefully trimmed beard, a few of which she was sure her children had caused.
“I hate you!” Zuko yelled, pulling her out of her thoughts.
“Zuko!” she gasped, catching the room’s attention. “You should not say such things to your sister!” she said, closing the distance between her and her son. “Apologize now.”
“But she punched my friend!” Zuko tried to object, his eyes widening in disbelief. “And now his father is making him leave!”
“And I will deal with her,” she silenced him, “but for now, you need to apologize.”
Zuko was silent for a moment, his jaw flexing. “Sorry,” he eventually huffed out before quickly walking past her and storming out of the room.
Ursa let out a sigh as she watched him disappear down the hall, her attention turning back to her daughter when she heard her let out a laugh of amusement.
“Oh, do not think you are out of the woods, young lady,” she scolded, turning toward her, any hint of amusement on Azula’s face disappearing as she walked over to sit next to her.
“Let me see,” she sighed, pulling the handkerchief away, revealing a dark red cut across the bridge of her nose, small rivers of blood streaming from it.
“It’s not broken,” Ryuzo provided from his perch behind them, “which is more than I can say for Minister Akaron’s boy.”
“She broke his nose?” she said in disbelief.
“She jumped him in the halls,” Ryuzo nodded. “She even managed to land a few good hits before I pulled her off him. Thankfully, there was no firebending.”
“You were the one to attack him?” she said, turning to her daughter, surprised.
“He started it,” Azula tried to defend, “and you promised you wouldn’t tell her that,” she said, turning to Ryuzo.
“No, I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone,” Ryuzo corrected. “Your mother, however, isn’t just anyone,” he said, a charming smile gracing his handsome features, one which she couldn’t help but mimic.
“What exactly did Jin do?” she asked, turning back to Azula as she went to wipe away the now-dried blood off her face.
Azula huffed indignantly as she squirmed slightly at her mother’s touch. “He gave Ty Lee a shitty gift.”
“Language!” She and Ryuzo scolded in unison.
“It was!” she insisted. “He gave her some ratty old flowers with the roots still attached,” she said, her lip curling in disgust. “He probably just picked them from the garden. I don’t even know why Ty Lee got upset when I burned them.”
Ursa sighed. ‘Well, that certainly explains things,’ she thought.
Ever since Azula had come back from her first few days at the academy with Ty Lee in tow, the two had been inseparable, Azula dragging the girl along wherever she went. With the exception of Mai, whom she had known since they were babes, Azula had never been particularly skilled at acquiring friends, and now that she had Ty Lee, she seemed to have grown fiercely territorial of the girl’s attention.
“Well, maybe it wasn’t the gift she cared about but the sentiment of it,” she suggested softly as Ryuzo leaned over and applied a small bandage to Azula’s cut.
“Maybe,” Azula conceded, as she seemed to knit her eyebrows in contemplation. “But she still should have been given a better gift than that.”
“Well then, maybe you should be the one to give it to her,” she suggested with a slight smile of amusement. “What kind of gift do you think she’d like?”
“Jewelry,” Azula declared after a moment. “She likes jewelry.”
Ursa nodded. “Well, maybe later, you and I can pick something out for her.”
“Really?” Azula gasped, her face lighting up.
“Yes, but only after you write an apology to Lord Akaron’s son,” she said, quick to set expectations, flicking her finger across the tip of Azula’s nose.
Azula’s face scrunched up, looking as though she was about to argue, but quickly bit back whatever retort she had in favor of a quick nod.
“And we will be working on your form during sparring,” added Ryuzo, poking Azula in the shoulder, “because a lot of those punches were just sloppy.”
“Okay,” Azula agreed with an excited smile before standing. She was about to leave the room when she paused, turning to her and Ryuzo with a concerned look.
“Don’t tell Father...please,” she said, gnawing on her bottom lip, a nervous tick she recognized from herself, one that she must have passed on to her.
The sight of it almost broke her heart. She had tried her hardest to shelter her children from the fear and pain their father wrought, only fighting with him when they weren’t in the room and covering the bruises he inevitably left on her skin, though it would seem she wasn’t doing enough. A part of her that twisted with anxiety wondered what other parts of herself, what parts of Ozai, had molded themselves onto her daughter.
Ryuzo turned to her expectantly, waiting for her answer, Ursa nodding.
“Of course, kid,” Ryuzo agreed.
Azula let out a small breath of relief, some of the tension visibly leaving her. “I’ll get started on the letter,” she said as she exited the room with a determined look.
Ryuzo let out a huff of amusement as he took the seat next to her, Ursa quickly moving to rest her head on his shoulder, the contact comforting despite the coarse feeling of his armor under her cheek.
“Thank you,” she sighed as she intertwined their hands together.
“It’s no problem,” he said, rubbing his tired eyes with his other hand.
“Will I see you again tonight?” she asked after a moment, shifting slightly to look at him.
“Maybe,” he sighed, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. “With half of the guard away in the colonies, the commander has everyone pulling double shifts to keep up.”
Ursa rolled her eyes as she shifted from her position next to him to straddle his lap, Ryuzo giving her a surprised look.
“Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear, Lieutenant,” she said, gripping his chin. “Your princess is ordering your presence in her room tonight once the children are abed.”
Ryuzo gave her a fond smile as he chuckled, “As her Highness commands...though,” he said, as Ursa felt his hands begin to trace up her thighs toward her hips. “If her Highness is so eager, then-.”
She cut him off with a chaste kiss on the lips. “Tempting, but no,” she said, patting him on the chest before pushing herself off his lap to stand. Though there was less risk of being found out when Ozai was away, they still had to be careful, as a servant or guard… or Lo and Li could still catch them.
“You’re a cruel woman, Ursa,” she heard Ryuzo say as she walked to the door.
“Patience, Lieutenant,” she called out behind her as she left to follow her daughter.
***
Azula nervously fidgeted with the bracelet her mother had let her pick out from her jewelry collection, her thumb twirling one of its polished bronze pearls as she made her way through the palace gardens, the setting sun bathing the overgrown stone path in an orange glow. She had spent hours searching for Ty Lee, unable to find her in the guest quarters, the kitchens, or her room. A part of her worried that her friend had departed back to her home and would never return to the palace as Jin had, but her mother had insisted that Ty Lee wouldn’t do that and instead search for her in the gardens.
Coming to the wall of bushes that concealed their hiding spot, she slipped between a gap in the branches. Glancing around, she saw no trace of Ty Lee, briefly worried that her friend had truly gone, only for a wave of relief to wash over her once she spotted a pair of legs clad in Ty Lee’s pink pants sticking down from the tree’s branches.
“Ty Lee?” she called up to the dangling legs. There was no response. “Can we talk?” she asked.
Again, there was a beat of silence before she responded, “Are you going to be nice?” she called down.
“Yes,” she sighed.
“You promise?” Ty Lee asked.
“I promise,” she rolled her eyes.
“Pinky promise?” Ty Lee pressed.
“I can’t very well do that when you’re up there!” she said, contemplating just shouting an apology and flinging the bracelet up at her.
“Then come up here with me,” Ty Lee responded, Azula catching a bit of mirth in her voice, clearly delighting in the power she held over her.
Azula let out a sigh of frustration as she shoved the bracelet into her pocket and began to ascend the slanted trunk of the tree. Carefully, she weaved her way through the canopy before finding Ty Lee, who sat on one of the tree branches. Cautiously, she sat beside her, careful to ensure her extra weight wouldn’t cause the branch to snap.
Once she had sat next to her, she heard Ty Lee let out a gasp. “What happened?” Ty Lee questioned, placing her hands on Azula’s cheeks and turning her head to face her.
“It’s nothing,” she insisted, squirming out of her grasp. “I just got in a fight.”
“With who?” Ty Lee pressed.
“Jin,” she mumbled out.
“Zula,” Ty Lee sighed in a disappointed tone.
“Didn’t you want me to do some pinky promise?” she said, trying to change the subject.
Luckily, that seemed to distract Ty Lee, an excited smile breaking across her face as she raised her hand with her pinky out. Azula rolled her eyes at the childish tradition but still hooked her pinky with Ty Lee’s, the other girl’s face lighting up as she did.
“What did you want to talk about?” Ty Lee asked.
“I suppose I wanted to apologize for burning your flowers,” she sighed.
A beat of silence hung in the air as Ty Lee continued to look at her expectantly.
“What?” she finally asked.
Ty Lee gave her a confused look. “W-was that the apology?”
Azula wasn’t sure what else she was supposed to say, so instead, she reached into her pocket. “I also got you this,” she said, handing her the bracelet, causing Ty Lee to gasp as she examined the sunflower-shaped charm and the orange gemstone at its center.
“Thank you, Zula,” Ty Lee said as she clasped it around her wrist.
Azula felt a smile pull at her lips at seeing the appreciative look on Ty Lee’s face as she admired the bracelet.
“I can get you more,” she said, chewing on her lower lip. “If you stay.”
“Okay,” Ty Lee shrugged, “but I’d probably stay anyway.”
“Why?” she questioned, squinting at Ty Lee as she tried to decipher the reason in Ty Lee’s face.
“Because I like spending time with you,” Ty Lee said, sounding amused.
“Oh… okay,” she said, matching Ty Lee’s smile.
She was about to begin climbing her way back down the tree when Ty Lee quickly leaned over, placing a chaste kiss on her cheek, barely giving Azula’s heart a moment to double its beating before Ty Lee leaped out of the tree’s canopy and landed gracefully on the ground.
“I’ll see you tomorrow!” Ty Lee called back as she rushed out of the gardens, leaving Azula with a blush on her cheeks and a head full of confused thoughts.
***
The sound of her daughter’s giggling drew Ursa down the palace halls to one of the exits that led to the royal gardens. Finding Ryuzo with Azula walking at his side, laughing at something he said.
“There you are,” she said, both of them turning their attention to her as she approached.
“Mother,” Azula greeted, Ursa seeing her eyes go wide for a moment as she hid her hands behind her back.
“What are you hiding?” she questioned, squinting down at her daughter in suspicion.
“Nothing!” Azula tried to lie.
“She has dirt on her hands,” Ryuzo answered for her.
“Traitor!” Azula gasped, looking up at him with a betrayed look.
“How did that happen?” she questioned, crossing her arms.
Azula bit her lower lip as she glanced up at Ryuzo for help.
“Don’t look at me,” Ryuzo shook his head. “If you won’t tell her, I will.”
Azula let out an annoyed sigh but relented. “I climbed a tree,” Azula confessed.
“What were you doing up there?” she questioned.
“I was admiring the sunset,” Azula said, looking down at her feet as a blush colored her cheeks.
She gave Ryuzo a confused look, hoping for more of an explanation, but he simply smiled and shrugged.
“Did you manage to find Ty Lee and give her her gift?” she asked, looking back to Azula.
“Yes,” Azula said through a yawn, “I think she liked it.”
“Sounds like it’s someone’s bedtime,” Ryuzo chimed in.
“No,” Azula insisted, rubbing her eyes, “I’m not even tired.”
“Is that so?” Ryuzo said. “Well, at the very least, you should wash up and get changed for bed. A princess of the Fire Nation can’t be seen in clothes with dirt and leaves on them,” he pointed out as he picked off a leaf stuck to the back of her tunic.
Azula looked down at herself, wrinkling her nose in disgust at her own state.
“Fine,” Azula acquiesced, “but I want a story, and Ryuzo has to read it,” she demanded, pointing at him.
“Very well, your Highness,” Ryuzo said with a slight chuckle as he followed them down the hall to her daughter’s bedroom.
___
Despite Azula’s insistence, she barely made it past the first few words of the story before she was out, her head bobbing over to land on Ryuzo’s shoulder, causing him to pause in his reading.
“That was fast,” he commented, looking down at her from where he sat on the right side of Azula’s bed.
“I’m impressed,” she admitted as she carefully caressed Azula’s head so it wouldn’t fall as Ryuzo stood. “Usually, it takes the servants quite a while to get her to sleep. I think you’re even better with her than even I am,” she sighed as she delicately pulled out the hairpin that Azula had insisted on keeping, letting her black locks spill across her sleeping face.
“It’s not as hard as you think it is,” he shrugged as she tucked Azula in before standing. “Just need to pander to that pride of hers.”
“Something she and Ozai have in common,” she mused to herself as she walked to the other side of the bed to stand beside him. “Sometimes it scares me how much she’s like him,” she admitted with a sigh.
“She’s a child, Ursa,” Ryuzo reminded her with a slightly bewildered look. “Of course, she’ll try to emulate him, that’s what everyone does at that age, but she’ll grow up to be her own person. We all have to eventually.”
A part of her felt awful for thinking that way, but she couldn’t help but fear that she would one day turn out as Ozai had, a shiver going through her as she remembered the day Ozai and the Fire Lord appeared in her small village. Ozai had been so domineering and practically otherworldly when she had seen him speaking with her father, adorned in his fine silks and gold. He had spoken of their betrothal as if it were inevitable despite only having just met her, but she supposed it was as she had little choice in the matter. Ozai had wanted her, no matter who else she had promised herself to; a brief image of Ikem standing in front of the Royal Procession flashed in her mind, his sorrowful expression as she told him that marrying Ozai was what she truly wanted now burned into her memory. She had done it to save his life, but she could still feel her heart begin to ache and tears burning behind her eyes at the memory.
“Ursa?” Ryuzo said, breaking her from her thoughts. Looking back at him, she saw that he was staring at her with a worried look. “Are you alright?” he questioned.
“Fine,” she said as she swallowed down her sorrow. She had already spent enough tears on Ikem for a lifetime, she decided as she took Ryuzo’s hand in hers.
“Care to escort your princess to bed?” she said, letting a smile pull on her lips as she extended her hand.
Ryuzo still looked concerned for a moment, but eventually, he smiled. “It would be my pleasure, Your Highness.”
___
Ursa’s nails dug into Ryuzo’s muscular chest, from where she startled him, having to bite back a moan at the feeling of him splitting her open as she sank down onto his length.
“Fuck Ursa,” Ryuzo gasped as she felt his hips buck up into her.
“Shhh,” she hushed him as she messily pressed the palm of her hand to his mouth. “Need- need to be quiet,” she said even as she herself was struggling to do the same.
It was rare they would get this much time together, let alone a bed to themselves. Their tryst usually consisted of the two of them sneaking away into some dark corner and letting their hands wander where they pleased, though they rarely had the time, or bravery, to fully take off their clothes. Now she was quite thankful that Ozai was gone and they were able to at least able to have a few hours alone, appreciating the view underneath her.
Once she was used to the stretch, she began to move, her sticky thighs grinding up and down, causing a gasp to escape her lips. She felt his hands move from where they gripped her hips up her waist before they cupped her breasts. Ursa finally gave up her battle and let out a long moan as she felt his calloused hands pull at one of her nipples. Wrapping her own hands around Ryuzo’s wrists, she pulled his hands away and pinned them over his head.
“I tell you… to be quiet… and then… you try to make me scream?” she said through breathy gasps.
“I apologize, your Highness,” Ryuzo said with a handsome smile. “But you make it so easy.”
She let out a laugh that was swallowed by a kiss as he leaned up to capture her lips. She was close, she could feel it, the familiar tightening in her lower belly, as she began to move faster, desperate for more friction.
“Ryuzo,” she whimpered as their lips parted, feeling herself clench down on his length, “I’m close.”
“Should- should I pull out?” Ryuzo grunted, his breath growing more frantic.
A few months ago, she may have said yes, even insisted on it, but that was when she was still holding onto the idea that she could bear another child. She had let that part of her die, now she just wanted to live.
“No,” she decided. “I want you to fuck me.”
She saw something flash in Ryuzo’s eyes before his strong arms pushed against her grip, flipping their positions, Ursa letting out a laugh that turned into a gasp as she felt her back hit the mattress.
Without words, she felt his hand slide down her abdomen and between her legs, his callused fingers rubbing tight circles around the bundle of nerves just above her slit, her back arching as she shuddered, Ryuzo continuing to pump in and out of her through her climax. A few moments later, she felt him tense above her as he grunted out his pleasure into the crook of her neck, his hips jostling erratically as he spilled inside her.
They were both panting by the time he rolled himself over to lie next to her. Ursa sighed as she rested her cheek on Ryuzo’s bare shoulder, leaning into the touch of the strong, secure arms that wrapped around her and pulled her flush with his side. They would have to get up soon and clear the bedsheets of any evidence of what they had done, mindful not to make the same mistake that had gotten Ozai caught.
Despite the forced state of her marriage, she had been heartbroken the first time she had smelled another woman’s perfume in their bed and found long strands of hair in the sheets whose color was not her own. For weeks, she had twisted her mind into knots of self-loathing, trying to find out what she had done wrong. She had eventually confronted him with tears in her eyes, asking why, after going through so much to make her his, would feel the need to invite another woman into their bed.
That had been the first time he had struck her, still six weeks pregnant with their first child. He had raged at her supposed insolence, telling her that it was not her place to question who he brought into his bed, as it was his right as a prince of the Fire Nation.
She had resigned any hope of a happy marriage with Ozai then and there. But she hadn’t broken her marital vows as he had, not until a year ago when she and Ozai had just had one of their worst fights. Ozai had wanted a third child, but to spite their best efforts, it had proved fruitless. The royal physicians had given them a reason why, when they informed them that she was no longer fit to bear children, Ozai had raged at her as though she had any way of controlling it.
When Ryuzo had found her, she had been sobbing alone in her room, feeling useless as the crushing loneliness of it all finally caught up with her. Ryuzo had been the only one in the palace to show her a modicum of kindness, and she had grabbed onto it like a drowning woman onto driftwood.
She knew it was dangerous when she gave in and kissed him. When he had kissed her back, they both knew that if they were caught, Ozai would likely have them both executed, but even still, she hadn’t stopped his hands from sliding beneath her clothes. She had expected regret or guilt after their first coupling, but all she could feel was the gaping loneliness deep in her chest filled with wanting and comfort, and she couldn’t find it in herself to care.
Ursa was brought out of her thoughts when she felt Ryuzo begin to slide out of bed.
“Leaving so soon?” she asked as he stood and began to gather his discarded clothes.
“I’m afraid so,” Ryuzo said, pulling his trousers back on. “I’ve got to get back to my patrol before someone notices I’m gone.”
Ursa let out a gasp in mock surprise. “You would leave your princess alone and defenseless.”
“You are hardly defenseless,” Ryuzo said with a smirk as he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her lips.
She thought she might be able to coax him back into bed when suddenly there was a knock at the door, drawing both their attention.
“Shit,” she cursed under her breath, feeling a bolt of panic go through her. She had told her servants to leave her be for the night, but obviously something was wrong.“Get out of sight,” she told him in a hushed whisper, Ryuzo quickly complying.
Standing, she grabbed her discarded robe from the floor and tried to make herself look presentable. Cracking the door open so only she was visible, she was met with the wrinkled faces of Lo and Li.
“My Ladies,” she greeted through a forced yawn, briefly glancing over to Ryuzo, who was now standing against one of the walls adjacent to the door. “The hour is late, is something wrong?”
“A message from your husband,” Lo said in place of a greeting as she slipped a scroll from her sleeve.
“Rushed all the way from the colonies,” Li added. Ursa almost certain she caught a hint of panic in the old crone’s wrinkled eyes.
“Of course,” she said, taking the scroll, the two women quickly turning to rush down the hall, or as fast as they could.
“Is everything alright?” Ryuzo asked, pushing himself off the wall, moving to her side.
“I don’t know,” she said through a shaky breath as she unrolled the scroll, feeling Ryuzo read the letter with her over her shoulder.
Ozai’s handwriting was sharp and blocky, the letter’s contents short, but it still caused a fresh wave of panic to crash into her.
Prince Lu Ten is dead. Prepare the children accordingly.