Chapter Text
He felt like dead weight in Ursa’s arms. As she ran down the corridors of the ship, she tightened her hold of her unconscious son. Her mind raced as she relived the image of the faceless soldier she found standing over Zuko’s bed. His scream of pain echoed through her mind, and her hands were tacky with the stranger’s blood. She didn’t dare to look at his face, lest she risk losing her resolve. The injury itself was horrific, and the fact that Zuko was unconscious was a blessing. But seeing it inflicted on a child, especially her child, was unbearable. The burned wound covered roughly half of the left side of his face, including his ear. A terrible thought ran through her mind.
Would he lose his eye?
She didn’t have time to think about that.
“Lady Ursa!” A deep voice boomed, shaking against the metal walls. Her breath hitched as she heard footsteps, and she rounded the corner that would lead her to the stairwell of the the deck. She pressed her back against the wall, daring not to take a breath that could possibly give away her and Zuko’s location.
She waited for what felt like hours, her stomach twisted in knots, gently stroking her son’s hair. When the footsteps faded, she made her move. She silently slipped up the stairs. When she reached the heavy steel door, her mind began racing. She need to open it as quickly and as quietly as possible. And she didn’t want to risk putting Zuko down, either.
Biting her lip, Ursa shifted his body to her left arm, and began to turn the handle slowly.
“There they are! Over here!” Shouted a man from the bottom of the stairwell. Ursa panicked, wrenching the handle as hard as she could and shoving through, slamming the door behind her. The frigid, South Pole air sliced through her nightgown, and she looked around in the darkness. They had made this far, and now she had to figure out how they can get off the ship. They didn’t have much time.
Zuko doesn’t have much time.
“Don’t you think we’ve had enough of this game, Lady Ursa?” Asked a cold, familiar voice from behind. She whipped around, and spotted the source with wide, frightened eyes.
“Captain Zhao?! What are you doing?!” She tried to keep her voice even, but it betrayed her fear. Zhao smirked, taking a step forward. She responded by backing away, her face pale with terror.
“With all due respect my Lady, these orders are directly from the Fire Lord himself. Understand, I have no personal grudge against Prince Zuko, but you know that for the good of the Fire Nation, he can’t be allowed to live.” he stated in a disturbingly casual tone. “Hand him over, and I promise that he won’t feel a thing.” Ursa shook her head violently, holding onto Zuko as tightly as possible.
“He promised me. He promised that he wouldn’t hurt Zuko. That he would leave us alone if I did everything he wanted. I’ve done things that I couldn’t have dreamed of.” Zhao’s smile morphed into an aggravated scowl.
“The Fire Lord’s word is law. Hand the prince over, and you can go home, Lady Ursa. You can have another son. Hopefully one that won’t be a threat to his father.” She glared at him, shaking from the cold and from fear. “Give him to me!” he snarled.
“STAY AWAY FROM US!” She shouted. It was then that Ursa felt something cold and sharp being shoved deeply into her right side. She screamed and fell onto the floor of the deck, barely managing to not fall on top of her son. Ursa caught a glimpse at the white mask of a helmet and the tip of a spear, stained with her blood. Zhao chuckled, his smirk returning in full force.
“Well, this is your last chance, Lady Ursa. Hand your son over, and we’ll treat your wounds. Fire Lord Ozai won’t hear a word of your treachery. Or,” he gestured to the railing of the ship, which was about twenty feet away, “your other options is to jump. Even if you two manage to survive the cold, I doubt those snow savages would allow either if you to live. So, what will it be?”
Ursa didn’t say a word. She wouldn’t deign to even look upon this cruel man. Instead, taking in a pained, shaky breath, she looked at her child. Even with the burn wound, he looked as though he were only asleep. So sweet and blissfully unaware of the danger they were in, she wanted to cry.
No, they would not have him. She would not let Ozai nor Zhao have her son. They had taken too much away from her already. They were keeping her daughter, her Azula, away from her. They would not have her Zuko. She stood up, ignoring the pain in her stab wound, with her child cradled in her arms. She looked Zhao in the eyes, her face set.
“Captain, I have made my decision.” Ursa stated evenly, with a sense of strength that had been missing a few minutes before. However, before he could open his mouth, she turned around and bolted. Ignoring the shouts from Zhao’s men, she climbed on top of the rails and jumped, plunging into the icy waters below.
The rising sun was shedding light upon the snowy shores of the South Pole, tinting the snow a soft pink. However, Hakoda couldn’t allow himself to enjoy the normally tranquil sight. There had been a sighting of a Fire Nation vessel last night, something he, his best friend Bato, and a small search party had been investigating since the small hours of the morning.
He wasn’t sure why, but the fact that their village hadn’t been attacked was disturbing to him. The Fire Nation had never hesitated to wreak destruction upon those they felt they were superior to. A battle was simpler, it was predictable to him. But there was no invasion, no sign of the unique tracks that the soldiers boots would leave. He turned Bato.
“Have you found anything yet?” he asked. His friend shook his head, his expression similar to his own. Hakoda began to really worry. There had to be a reason that the ship here last. There probably was, but not knowing why was the worst. A voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
“Chief, Bato, come quickly! There’s a woman and a child over here! They’re alive!” shouted Amaruq,one of the youngest members of the search party. Hakoda, followed closely by Bato, ran over to the waving young man, his mind racing. A woman and a child? Were they Fire Nation? Were they Water Tribe? What happened to them? What were they doing here? Hakoda stopped a few feet away from Amaruq, his eyes widening with shock.
There they were, a deathly pale woman with a small pool of blood staining the snow at the right side of her body. Next to her was a young boy, who couldn’t be much older than Sokka or Katara, with a severe burn on the left side of his face. They laid unconscious on the snowy shore, lips blue, and yet they were both obviously Fire Nation with their black hair, pale skin, and red and black clothing. It didn’t take a genius to realize that someone on that ship was responsible for this. Amaruq shook his head in disgust.
“Damned savages.” He hissed, and Hakoda couldn’t help but nod in agreement. He crouched down and studied the two. He was amazed that they were alive in the first place. The others caught up and formed a semicircle.
“What do you want us to do, Hakoda?” Bato asked, crouching beside him. The chief didn’t answer at first. He kept staring at the survivors, afraid that something worse would happen to them should he take his eyes off for a moment. Hakoda understood that more than a few villagers wouldn’t be happy about housing Fire Nation citizens. But Kya and he himself would never forgive him for leaving a woman and a child that was most likely hers to die.
“We’re taking them with us.” Hakoda stated firmly. The reactions were divided. Some, like Bato, simply accepted his judgement. Others looked suspicious, but said nothing. The rest, including Amaruq, didn’t hide their relief.
Amaruq knelt down and was reaching out for the boy when the woman began to moan and stir. He stood and along with the others, barring Hakoda and Bato, took few steps back. She opened her eyes, the gold irises giving away her heritage. At first, she didn’t seem to notice the men surrounding her. Instead, she looked to the child and placed her hand on his chest. The corners of her blue lips quirked upwards as she felt the rise and fall of his breathing. Then she turned head and saw Hakoda, Bato, and the others. Her smile vanished.
“NO!!” She shrieked, tugging boy weakly into her arms. Hakoda slowly lifted a gloved hand and reached towards her. “No...” she whispered. He placed his hand gently on her arm. He then waited a moment, not making another move or saying a word. She looked at him, the fear in her eyes lessening after a few minutes, though not by much.
“Miss? What’s your name?” He asked quietly. She kept looking for another moment before relenting.
“Ur...Ursa.” She mumbled.
“Ursa?” Hakoda repeated. She nodded. “Ursa, is this your son?” Again, she nodded. “Can you tell me his name?”
“Z...Zuko.”
“How old is he?”
“...Six.” she whispered. Hakoda felt his heart clench. Tui and La, this boy, Zuko, was only a year older than Sokka, and two years older than Katara. He took in a deep breath.
“One more question, Ursa. How did you and Zuko end up here in the South Pole?” Ursa’s eyes widened, and tears began to pool in the corners.
“H-h-he promised!” she sobbed. “He promised...he...promised...” Hakoda gave her arm a gentle squeeze. That was enough questions for now. He needed to get Ursa and Zuko to the village as soon as possible.
“Ursa, my name is Hakoda. I can tell that something horrible happened to you and your son. I know that you have no reason to trust us, but we want to get you two back to our village where you’ll be safe. Okay?” She blinked, and he felt the tension in her arm lessen just a bit.
“Okay.” Ursa responded. Hakoda gave her a soft smile and nodded to Amaruq. The younger man slowly approached Zuko again and knelt, mirroring Hakoda’s smile. Ursa then used what was likely the last of her strength and tilted her son towards Amaruq, who gently picked the child up into his arms. Bato then lifted Ursa herself off of the snow.
It was then that both he and Hakoda saw the extent of the large, dark red stain she left behind.
It would be one the longest walks home.