Dao and the Freedom Fighters

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟓 - 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐞?!

Third Person POV:

Three days.

Three days since Ozai had asked his father to name him heir in Iroh's absence. Three days since his father had ordered him to... dispose of his first born. Three days since his father ordered him to kill Zuko.

He hadn't done it. Why would he? Yes, he was hard on Zuko sometimes, but that was only because he knew his son had so much potential and could do so much more. He loved Zuko, truly he did. 

He'd never want to hurt his boy, even if it meant facing the Firelord's wrath, it wouldn't be the first time he'd had to deal with his father's anger. Ozai's younger years were a true testament of that. The point was, Ozai would protect his family.

On the morning of that third day was when everything changed.

---------------

 Azula had shown up for training that morning, on time as always, but Zuko was nowhere to be seen. Ozai just brushed it off as him being late and continued on with the lesson figuring his son would show up at some point, but he didn't. He sent Azula off to her usual daily lessons and went to look for Zuko.

His first stop was Zuko's bedroom. Maybe he was ill, it wouldn't be unexpected, sometimes things like that happened. Entering the room, he found it completely empty. Not one thing was out of place- Zuko had always been very particular that everything had a set place and shouldn't be kept anywhere else -but that was the odd part. Even with Zuko's perfectionism, there'd still be something slightly off, he was ten after all. Children weren't always perfect, so it didn't make sense why the room was seemingly perfect now.

No matter. Zuko had to be somewhere in the palace.

He checked the library next, Zuko loved the library. The number of times he'd found Zuko curled up in one of the oversized chairs with a book that probably weighed more than he did, it wouldn't be a surprise to find him there. However, after looking around the whole library, there was still no sign of Zuko.

Maybe the gardens? But after looking around, there were no signs of his son. Not by the pond, or in the trees, anywhere.

Ozai was starting to get worried. There were always days where Zuko would disappear for a little while to get away from all the noise of the palace, but even then, Ozai could at least find Zuko to make sure he was okay. But today he couldn't find Zuko anywhere.

He was so caught up in his own head, that he nearly crashed into his wife who was just leaving her morning meetings. He must have appeared more frazzled than he'd realized because the concern on Ursa's face was immediate.

"My dear, are you alright?" She asked, cupping his cheek.

"I can't find Zuko. I've looked all over."

"What about the gardens? You know how he likes to hide in them.x

"Ursa," Ozai said, "Zuko's not in the palace.

Movement behind Ursa drew Ozai's attention. The small figure ducked back around the corner, thinking she hadn't been seen. But Ozai knew his daughter when he saw her.

"Azula?" He asked and her small head glanced back around the corner. "Azula, come over here." She quickly came over and joined her parents. Both of which crouched down to be closer to her height.

"Azula, have you seen Zuko today?" Ursa asked, brushing back Azula's hair.

Azula shuffled a bit in place, but shook her head.

"Do you know where he could be?" Ozai asked.

Azula chewed on her lip before answering. "I heard grandfather talking to someone about taking care of Zuko."

No.. Worry shot through Ozai. If his father was involved, then there was no saying what could have happened to their son. Especially considering Azulon's anger at Ozai since the meeting with his father a few days before.

 Ursa, who was still crouched down at Azula's height, quickly kissed her daughter's forehead. "Azula, sweetie, stay with your father, okay? Mama has something she needs to do."

 "Ursa, what are you going to do?" Ozai asked, suddenly very concerned, but not for his wife. He was concerned for whoever it was that was about to face Ursa's wrath. And he was pretty sure he knew just who would be facing her, which did nothing to comfort his worry.

Ursa marched off immediately towards the Firelord's meeting room, fire raging in her eyes. Ozai followed at a safe distance, Azula held securely in his arms to keep her safe from the confrontation that was about to go down. 

Ursa flung open the doors to Azulon's meeting room, ignoring the guards that immediately swarmed her. All the ministers and generals stared at her with either looks of curiosity or disdain, though some flinched at the intensity of her glare if it landed on them.

"What did you do to my son?"

Azulon's lips grew to a cruel smirk. "Why don't you ask your dear husband, daughter? After all, he was the one to suggest I revoke Iroh's birthright. I've merely shown him the pain his brother is suffering through."

He was a fool. Ozai was a fool. Zuko's disappearance was his fault. He should have known how his father would react. He should have known the danger of ignoring his father's orders. And now his son is gone. Dead or abandoned somewhere, it didn't matter. Zuko was gone, and knowing his father, Zuko wouldn't be coming back.

The only sound in the entire room was the crackling of fire surrounding the Firelord. That was until those flames went out at once. 

Ursa's voice traveled strongly across the room despite having seemingly come out as nothing more than a whisper. "Agni Kai. At sundown. When I win, you will answer for your crimes against my family."

The Firelord let out a haunting laugh that would have terrified anyone else, if they weren't Ursa. "Fine. If you win I'll give you the title of Firelord as well. But you won't. And then your 'beloved' husband will have lost both his spouse and first born, finally understanding Iroh's pain."