The Apprentice's Choice (an Avatar: The Last Airbender Fanfiction Zuko X OC)

Chapter 16: Are You Happy?

After long months of waiting, the pair had spotted the giant wolf spirit drinking from the spiritual pool where they had set camp at.

"That means we're in the right spot. The Mother of Faces must be near!"

Ikem, now named Noren, looked over to Ursa, expecting to see her beautiful smile. Instead, an unreadable expression was present. Only her sad eyes conveyed her true feelings as she watched the wolf drink to its heart's content.

He placed a gentle hand on her waist and pulled her close. "Don't be sad, Ursa. This is what you want. With a new face, you might be able to see your kids again!"

The tears she had been holding back finally fell. "These last few months, living in the forest with you... I feel like I've finally found my place in the world."

Noren could not bear to see his beloved in pain like this. He gripped her shoulders with both hands and looked at her seriously in the eye. "Maybe there's another option! What if you bring your kids back to Hira'a? We could all live together! Like a family!"

She shook her head fiercely. "You don't know what Ozai is like! It wouldn't just be endangering me and my children! I'd be endangering you! And probably the whole town!"

As soon as the wolf had finished and disappeared, the water from the spiritual pool rose high into the air, hundreds of faces surrounding the tall, otherworldy figure who emerged.

The Mother of Faces sensed the human in front of her and immediately set to work. "What do you ask of me?"

With Noren supporting her, regardless of her decision, Ursa stepped forward and bowed in greeting. "Mother of Faces, pardon this intrusion. My name is Ursa... And I... I heard you can give me a new face... a new identity..."

"Why would a woman of such beauty desire a new face? Would you be willing to accept one much plainer than your own?"

The Mother of Faces was disbelieving of the request this human had made before her. So, she had set out to test her. The spirit held out her hand for the human, showing an image of a face as plain as any other. Dark hair, dark eyes, tan skin... Could this human really trade in her beauty for something so plain?

"Any face will do." Ursa answered with no hesitation at all. "As long as it's new."

The spirit hummed in contemplation, and that was when she sensed what the human was carrying with her.

Pain.

"Ursa, I sense so much pain in you. Do you really believe a new face will relieve you of this pain?"

"No, of course not. My pain comes from the memories of a life I did not choose for myself."

Further, the Mother of Face leaned down closer to Ursa as if to tell her a secret. "I can do more than give you a new face. I can give you a new mind. One that does not remember the life that came before."

Shock was written on her face and her first thought was to glance back at Noren who was watching them warily. "Will I remember him?"

"Is he a part of the life you wish to forget?"

"No."

"Then you will remember him."

"H-how about my c-children? Will I remember my children?"

"Are they a part of your life you wish to forget?"

Ursa choked back her sobs, clamping a hand over her mouth as she bowed her head in shame. "Yes."