Prologue
Afford:To supply,to give,to provide.
Five weeks after the takeover...
The cool breeze swept his ash brown hair away from his shoulders,tingling his forehead and causing his fingers to only loosen slightly in Mai's who he felt gaze upon him intriguingly.
"What is it?"
"Hmm?What is it what?"
His back stayed to her."What are you thinking about me?"
There was an awkward moment where neither one spoke. But he knew that once Mai spoke it would be in all honesty.
"You aren't yourself,"she finally admitted.Zuko kept his eyes out on the pond below as she continued."Should I ask why?"
He continued to stare until his eyes strained so much he had to blink.Looking to make sure they were alone,he faced her.
"What could I tell you that you haven't already assumed."
Mai sighed roughly and strolled forward towards the end of the bridge."Mind reading isn't my specialty.Zuko,you've never been so wrapped up then you have in these last few weeks."
"It's called deep thinking.Everyone does it."
"There's deep thinking and then there's paranoia,"he felt her arms encircle around him and her cheek on his forearm."I'm not going to tell you what you want to hear.You're not well."
The whole sensation of her physical touch and the grating of truth residing within her soft spoken words made him cringe.
"Zuko?"She said in surprise.
"I need space.If my spawned sibling asks,tell her I'm dead."
Mai reached instinctively out to take his hand,as if afraid his sardonic words might come true.Instead of a reassuring little squeeze,Zuko reached up and touched her beige oval face.
"Time afforded my life before,it will afford it now."
Over the bridge he went,passed the cistern where moss was collected on the fringes and on toward the archway of stone that lead out into the delicately tended flowered landscapes.
Mai kept watching that whole time and closed her pale gold eyes only to find his figure gone when they re-opened.Along with a resounding crash that quickly followed his departure.
To be continued...