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Walking unhurriedly along a hallway with two female guards trailing behind him, the warden taught about his new 'special prisoner'. He saw a glimpse of the young man before being placed in a cell minutes ago.

He recognized the boy as Zuko, traitor prince of the fire nation. Not that he actually knew the prince before, but his sister had been singing his praises ever since he returned from his banishment a while back, saying that his niece, Mai would be firelady one day.

Mai, he knew, did not have a mercenary mind as her mother. He could only thank Agni for that. He and his niece had spent some quality time in the bunker during the day of the eclipse. He couldn't believe that his brother-in-law and sister left the young teenager to her own devices. He understood that his brother-in-law was the governor of New Ozai, but allowing a girl to be on her own with her friends to face dangerous enemies?! What were they thinking?

He only had one sister, and Mai was the first child he'd actually been constantly exposed to, so, he was a bit protective of her, and treated her like the daughter he'd secretly hope to have.

He met up with her, right before they were ushered into metal bunkers underground. There, they had a chance to catch up. He was flabbergasted, to say the least, when he saw a hint of a blush on her face when her friend Ty Lee had teased her about her relationship with the prince.

And he was as furious as hell later, when he saw the expression on his niece's face when she had read the letter that the same prince left her.

Now, that he had a bit of time to cool down, a part of him wanted to tear the boy to shreds, and yet a part of him wanted to hug and rejoice.

That boy inspired reactions from his all too passive niece. He blamed his controlling sister for this and tried everything to get Mai to express herself more, but in the years, instead of expressing herself more, she expressed herself less, to the point of being afraid of caring for anything, containing her emotions and maintaining a bored facade. With Fire Prince Zuko, he suspects that Mai was slowly uncorking her bottled-up emotion and freely express herself. And for that, he had a healthy respect for the prince, even though he was a traitor.

One of the female guards opened the door to the cell. He saw immediately the pale looking boy, leaning on the wall with his arms cross – a pose he'd seen numerous times on his niece.

"Well, well, well, I'd never thought I'd find you in here", he takes a step forward "Prince Zuko".

Prince Zuko looks at him in surprise, "How did you know who I am?"

"How could I not?" The Warden's brows furrowed, this boy was too arrogant for his own good, "You broke my niece's heart"

Zuko stands up straighter, "you're Mai's uncle?". He saw the prince's expression change to that of a lost child – more telling than if the prince actually told him he had strong feelings for his niece, "I never meant to hurt her".

"QUIET! You're my special prisoner now", knowing that Mai wouldn't want this boy to be harmed unnecessarily, "And you best behave, if these criminals find out who you are, The traitor prince who let his nation down, why they'd tear you to shreds"

"So, what's in it for you? Why don't you just tell my father and collect a reward?", said Zuko venomously.

"Oh, in due time, believe me, I intend to collect", thinking of the retribution his niece would surely give the Prince.

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The movement of the gondola stirs back to life.

"Who's that?" came the confused voice of the impersonating guard as he looked out the window.

After a moments hesitation, the banished prince's shocked voice came, "It's Mai".

The warden froze in his struggling as he heard this, he stared unseeingly at his captor's back. His niece?! Help break his record?

Mai was loyal to a fault, and passive for most of her young life. If it was indeed Mai, then she was actually showing her defiance, she was showing her passion.

And although, it was a passion that is helping break his record, he couldn't seem to be as furious as he should be.

His passive niece was now actively showing her passionate spirit to everyone instead of hiding it behind a cold smile and a bored look; he just hoped that her belief was wrong, that she won't be shut down for it.