Midnight Visit

The woman stood alone, shrouded in the shadows just inside the room.

She had no reason to conceal herself- yet. She had done nothing wrong. But as she thought of what she was going to do after she left this room, the ache that had been in her chest ever since earlier that evening intensified. But there was no choice; she had no options. If her children were to remain alive, it had to be done.

She stepped into the room, her soft shoes making no sound. She gently pushed aside the thin curtain that surrounded the bed- ah. There she was. Her youngest. Her baby. One hand reached out, gently brushed a stray curl of hair away from the face of the little girl who slept in the bed. The woman smiled as she adjusted her sheets- she always seemed to kick off her covers. Such an energetic little girl. Unlike her son, she knew she couldn’t wake her.

She shouldn’t be here at all.

But how was she supposed to leave without seeing her babies one last time?

Sighing, she sat on the edge of the bed. Her hand strayed, gently brushing her daughter’s hair as she slept. She didn’t always understand her daughter, but that didn’t stop her from loving her. And although she was doing this to save her son’s life, it was for her daughter that she was most afraid.

She was so much like her father, she thought. So stubborn, determined, with a fierce temper and sarcastic wit: a true firebender, Ozai called her- and it scared her.

Without her mother’s presence, would she lose herself in her father’s hunger for power?

Oh Agni, please watch over her, she silently prayed. Unnoticed, her hand tightened in her daughter’s hair.

Azula stirred.

Ursa froze, but after a while relaxed when it became apparent that she was not going to wake up. Deciding that was enough, she made up her mind to move. Bending over, she gave Azula a gentle kiss, then rose and walked away. Pausing in the doorway, she looked back just once, before melting into the shadows.

---

Years later, she would not be able to stop herself from running her eyes and fingers over Zuko’s scar, or visiting Azula in prison. She told herself that were it not for her actions and departure, they would not have been alive. But late at night, as she lay alone in her bed in the Palace, she wept for the suffering that her actions had caused. She had always known that staying in the palace was never an option.


But if she had taken her children with her, would it have saved her?