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When the news came, Ozai was not surprised. The entire mission had been destined to fail, but they had not wanted to listen. From the outside, Ba Sing Se was impenetrable. That the army even managed to break through was a miracle, but the loss of manpower which made this miracle possible in the first place was vast. Ozai was far from an ethical man. He lied and manipulated when necessary to get what he wanted and he wasn’t above abusing people’s desires and vulnerabilities. But even he had felt mildly disturbed when the mission to conquer Ba Sing Se had been discussed in the war room. He sipped his tea. Lu Ten was dead. A twinge of minute grief shot through him before it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Fire Lily and Zuko will be devastated. Azula less so, having picked up her father’s attitude towards his nephew. Iroh will be back soon. Apparently, the great general was broken by his loss. A small smile tugged on Ozai’s lips. Perhaps Iroh was finally ready.
Funerals were a boring occasion. Apathetically, Ozai observed the preparations before leaving to find his wife. Normally, he was far from happy for her and the children to be in the palace while he was at Nizero, but trustworthy guards had stayed behind to guard them until he arrived. Ozai had a hunch where his Fire Lily could be and was confirmed when he found her in the private royal gardens. Naturally, it was underneath the tree by the turtleduck pond he found her at. Her shoulders were hunched and her head bowed. In the gardens’ privacy, Ursa could show her grief. She started when someone sat down next to her and her eyes teared up again when she saw Ozai, a soft expression on his face. Wordlessly, he brought her against his chest and she wrapped her arms around him. No word was uttered between them. After a few minutes, Ursa lifted her head again and wiped away the remnants of her tears.
“I’ve dirtied your robes.”, she said
“It’s fine, don’t fret about it.”
“I…I still can’t believe he’s dead. Lu Ten had such a bright personality. It will be strange for him not to be here. He would have made a good Fire Lord one day.”, Ursa said and cleared her throat. Ozai was quiet for a while.
“He would have been like father and Iroh.”
“You don’t know that.”
Ozai shot her a sharp look and Ursa sighed.
“Perhaps you are right. It’s just…those two sides of him don’t fit together. But he probably would have continued the war, or ruled over a conquered world, or ruled a defeated Fire Nation with no allies.”
“I told him not to go. Three times.”
Ursa whipped her head towards him. “What?”
“The mission wasn’t perfect. The generals and Fire Lord counted on the massive loss of soldiers and some barely tested technology to break through the wall. The chance that Lu Ten, heir of the Crown Prince, would be one of those casualties was high.”, Ozai gave a light shrug and flicked a petal from his shoulder. “To send both the heir and the heir’s heir into battle is a beginner’s mistake, not one seasoned generals should make. Both could have died.”
“Then you would have been heir to the throne. But Iroh survived. I wonder what he will do now. He needs an heir.”
“Mn. We’ll see what his grand plan is. How are the children?”, Ozai inquired.
“Zuko is deeply hurt by the loss. Despite their limited meetings, they had a bond. Azula, on the other hand, is not much affected. I wonder why that is.”
Ursa shot him a pointed look and Ozai pretended to be deep in thought. “Truly, it is a mystery.”
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Ozai thought he might fall asleep. The Fire Sages droned on and on about honour, glory, family and Agni. It was dreadfully boring and Ozai was certain he could fall asleep, a feat considering his insomnia. Subtly, he observed the attendances' reactions. The generals appeared stern, some having their eyes closed and brow furrowed to express a semblance of emotion. Fire Lord Azulon’s mouth was downturned in an expression of unhappiness. His eyes flickered over to Iroh, whose face seemed frozen and his eyes were glassy with tears. Resentment welled up in Ozai at the slightly softened expression his father threw Iroh. He swallowed it down, angry with himself. He had purposely distanced himself from his family, unable to bear the Fire Lord’s treatment of him and tired of an older brother who was busy warmongering and being the Fire Lord’s dirty lapdog. Ozai was better than that. He was intelligent and had seen through the propaganda long ago. There had been a time when Ozai had tried to open his brother’s eyes, but Iroh was a fool, blinded and unwilling to think. His eyes lingered on Iroh, then proceeded to move to Ursa. She was much more composed now. Her tears had been shed and were dried up. Zuko did not yet have a poker face, though he held his composure remarkably well. His hands clenched his white mourning robes and from time to time, his lower lip wobbled. Azula seemed uncomfortable, but otherwise showed nothing. Unfortunately, his observations lasted merely a few minutes and he was forced to listen to the Fire Sages again. Ozai has never been a devout person and prayers seemed ridiculous to him. At last, after an eternity, it was over and the people trickled away, until it was only Iroh who was left.
While his family left, Ozai stayed behind one of the pillars, out of sight and earshot.
“What are you scheming?”, a familiar voice asked.
“Ruk. Whatever are you doing here?”, Ozai asked. Ruk was dressed in his servant’s garb, brown hair tied up.
“I didn’t see you leave and suspected you to still be here. And I was right.” he grinned.
“You know me so well.”, Ozai teased him and Ruk’s eyes softened.
“That I do.”, he softly said before clearing his throat and turning back to Iroh. “Things will change now after Prince Lu Ten’s death.”
Ozai nodded. “Indeed. My dear brother is broken and filled with guilt.” He smiled, eyes narrowing. “He is not the same anymore. Now that he has experienced personal loss, his world is out of balance. He doesn’t know what to think.” Ozai laid a hand on Ruk’s shoulder. “Go to Ursa and the children. I still need to talk to him.”
“Don’t be too cruel.”
“Me? Cruel? Never.”
Ruk rolled his eyes before taking his leave. Ozai calmly approached his brother, whose head was still bowed. Before he could say anything, Iroh beat him to it.
“Have you come to gloat?”, Iroh bitterly asked.
“Whatever would I be gloating about?”, Ozai returned the question and Iroh laughed brokenly.
“Don’t play stupid, it doesn’t suit you. I know you told Lu Ten not to go.”
“And still he did. To please his father. I wonder where he got it from.”, Ozai sneered before composing himself again. “The question is: What will you do now? Remarry? Have some concubine carry your child?"
Iroh glared at him with red-rimmed eyes. "You know I will never remarry! Why must you bother me now?"
Ozai was unimpressed by his brother's anger. "The advisors will hound you with such questions soon enough. I am merely wondering if you have a plan. After all, why else would you take your only child with you on such a dangerous mission?"
Iroh threw him a look full of loathing. “Go away, Ozai, and spare me your forked tongue.”
“Did I hit a sore spot? My apologies.”, Ozai said and his brother ground his teeth. “None of this would have happened had you merely listened to me. I told you to stop this war. You command a large part of the army and without it, the rest cannot win. You could have slowed the war down until your coronation and as Fire Lord, put an end to this nonsense. You chose this yourself. Actions have consequences, dear brother.”
“I said leave, you vulture!”, Iroh roared and threw a fireball at Ozai, who merely waved it away. He bowed slightly.
“I’ll leave you to your grief.”
Satisfaction coursed through Ozai as he walked to his shared bedchambers. Through some way or the other, he will be on the throne: Either through Zuko or in person. Iroh will never remarry, that was clear and the chance of him siring a child with a concubine is unlikely. With Zuko or him on the throne, this blasted, useless war will finally be over.
In a sense, Ozai was glad his nephew had died.