TITLE: Adversity
AUTHOR: Fugue
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. While the theme of the story has been heard before but hopefully the plot is different. Here is my take on it.
SUMMARY: Mai left Zuko on the day of their wedding. As Fire Lord, he was expected to wed soon and produce heirs. With the delicate political balance at stake, would he find a suitable Fire Lady from outside his country?
Something was wrong.
The new Fire Lord felt it in his bones as soon as he woke up. The sun has barely risen. Yet, here he was, very much wide awake.
"Hello Zuko."
Fire Lord Zuko sat up in his four-poster bed and faced towards the voice.
"Good morning Fire Lord." He could make out the figure of Mai sitting on a chair in the shadows.
Zuko wiped sleep out from his eyes. "Good morning Mai, what…what are you doing here?"
Mai's brows furrowed as she took in the man in the silk sheets, who began to stand up and stretch. "I'm actually here to say good-bye to you."
Zuko paused with what he was doing. "What?"
"I'm pretty sure you heard me, Zuko."
"Surely you can't mean that. I mean, today is -."
"Our wedding day? Yes Zuko. I am well aware of that." Mai picked at her clothes. "My mother constantly reminds me of that."
It was only then that Zuko noticed Mai's clothes.
It was normal Earth Kingdom attire. Not the silk and satin dark reds Zuko was used to seeing on the lady in question. A royal or a noblewoman would not be caught wearing those clothes, unless she was a fugitive or a prisoner.
Mai caught his eye. "I did not kill anyone, if that's what you're thinking."
The Firebender shook his head. "Why are you doing this?" He took a step closer to his fiancée.
By now, they were standing half a foot from each other.
"Because I am not a coward like you," Mai smiled. "I'd rather not leave a letter stating that I have left you – unlike someone I know."
Zuko cringed at the memory. "That was different Mai."
"Is it?" Mai murmured with a tinge of sarcasm.
"It wasn't about us. It was about the country. The Fire Nation's future was at stake." He had to make her understand once again.
"Yes Zuko, I know. You've said that a thousand times." The noblewoman examined her newly trimmed nails. "But maybe, this time around, I want to do something for myself."
Zuko stared blankly at her.
"For myself. Not for my family, not for the Fire Nation, and not for you. I want to do something for myself." She took a deep breath. "All my life, I have been dictated on what I should do and what I should not do. I thought I'll be happy if I did that." The young woman shrugged. "Apparently, I am not."
Zuko drew himself to his full height and cross his arms. "Maybe it's because you never let yourself feel – you did not show passion for anything."
"And you think goading me into becoming angry would solve that?" His ex-fiancée replied blandly. "Didn't you think that there might be other ways that would make me react?"
She turned from him and gazed outside his window. "I wanted to travel the world. I was never impulsive. This may be my last and only chance to be so." Her fingers gripped the railing tightly. "I hope you understand."
"But I can't."
She slowly faced him and raised an eyebrow. "Would you care to listen to me then?"
"Who is he?" The Fire Lord clenched his fists together as he grit his words out.
Mai rolled her eyes. "There is no one Zuko. I don't understand how you always draw that conclusion."
The Fire Lord narrowed his eyes. "Answer me Mai."
"I told you, there is no one." Mai crossed her arms, fingering the shuriken at her sleeves. "Must you be always paranoid?"
"The last time I was paranoid, I caught Sokka sneaking of to Boiling Rock." He ran his fingers through his hair.
"Times have changed, Zuko." His former girlfriend offered a slight smile, which was disconcerted the Fire Lord for a moment.
"Yes, I thought I knew you."
"You used to."
Zuko exhaled. "Tell me, Mai, where did I go wrong?"
"I just wanted to live life –my life. Not the life my parents have planned for me and not the life the Fire Nation expects of me." Mai looked into her ex-fiancé's eyes. "I really am sorry. I want a shot at being happy." She placed a hand on his scarred face. "I care enough about you to want you to be happy as well."
"But Mai -."
Mai placed a finger on his lips to interrupt him. "I don't think we'll be truly happy with each other, Zuko. We've reached this point because it was expected. We outgrew each other." She bowed her head a bit. "You always claim that I don't feel enough. I don't react enough. I'm sorry Zuko, but now, you're the one who isn't enough."
Zuko was taken aback. He did not realize that he had hurt Mai that much. "Mai, I'm sorry," He began softly. "I –I-I didn't realize that was how you saw it. I was just trying to get you to react…"
"You never did consider that maybe, just maybe, I am tired of all the anger? The scheming, the negativity, the hatred? I'm tired of it all." The usually apathetic woman glared determinedly. "If you wanted me to react, to show you how I feel, didn't you think that maybe I could have shown you happiness instead of anger?" She sighed. "You're still wrapped up in your anger, Fire Lord." Mai wrapped her arms around herself. "I can't do this anymore."
The stoic Fire Lord gave in to his impulsivity and brushed his lips against the noblewoman's.
Mai gently pushed him away, holding his shoulders. "I am joining Kuei's travels around the world."
"I thought there was no one, Mai." Zuko rubbed his nose bridge, grimacing.
"There is no one. He just happened to be at the right place at the right time at last night's banquet." Mai adjusted the sash on her clothes. "I had decided to leave before he came along."
"But still - the Earth King?" Zuko went to the credenza and searched for a bottle of liquor. "That would cause more suspicion and could topple this political balance. A member of the Fire Nation's nobility leaving the Fire Lord to join an Earth Kingdom ruler is sure to cause conflict. And really, now, at our own wedding banquet?"
She ignored his last question. "Kuei has abdicated." Mai leaned on the windowsill. "The Earth Kingdom peasant Haru has been training as the next Earth King for the past months now. He'll be ready by now. It has been sanctioned by Kuei, King Bumi and even the White Lotus Society. Even the Dai Li are supporting him."
"You really thought this through, didn't you?"
Mai gave a quiet laugh. "Not really. Kuei gave me the idea when I met him last night."
Zuko raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"Well, yes, I did think about it. I figured that if I were going with someone, it would be from the Earth Kingdom. Air Nomads are mostly… monks. What is the fun in that? Water Tribe people would be… too ironic, even for me. So, Earth Kingdom people it was. I was going to look for a traveling merchant last night when I came across Kuei and his bear."
"You know, you would've made a wonderful Fire Lady, Mai." Zuko gave a lopsided and wistful smile.
"Of course, I did." The Firebender was uncertain but he thought he saw the taciturn woman blush and smirk.
"What happens next?" The Fire Lord went behind his screen and proceeded to dress for the day. "Shall I send all the visitors home?"
"No, let them eat their fill." The lady had crossed the room and sat on the couch. "The whole palace staff has been preparing so hard for today. I'd rather that their effort not go to waste."
"And your parents?"
"They'll eventually get over it. Tom-tom is still there to continue their political dreams."
A sound of clothes rustling can be heard. "What do I tell them?"
"Don't worry your spiky head about it. I left them a letter. My mother will find it as soon as she goes to my room to wake me for wedding preparations."
"You really did think this through, didn't you?" Zuko stepped out from behind the screen wearing his formal Fire Lord robes. He obviously decided to forgo wearing his wedding attire though.
Mai responded dully. "And you never did."
"Ouch." He clutched at his heart, pretending to be shot.
"Well, just tell the people that I decided to travel for my sake. Let them think I am a spoiled member of the nobility." Mai bent down to carry a satchel that was hidden at the side of Zuko's desk. ""Don't bother mentioning Kuei. No one will notice he has left anyway. Tell people that well and good between the two of us. An amiable break-up."
"I thought you said we'll never break-up?"
"I said you will not break-up with me. In this case, I did the breaking up." She poked his shoulder. "The betrothal gifts would be brought to you tonight. I had given the servants instructions to hide them from my parents as they might not give the gifts back." Mai handed Zuko a couple of scrolls. "I have also prepared a letter for General Iroh. So you would not have to explain to him when he comes this morning." She adjusted the satchel at her shoulder. "I suppose this is it."
The Fire Lord took her in his arms and embraced the woman who faced the wrath of his sister for his sake. "Take care, Mai."
"You know I don't need protection. You said it yourself. Hence, I can take care of myself." She said wryly. "Good-bye Zuko." With one final kiss at his cheek, she left.
As Fire Lord Zuko stood in his room alone with only a slight feeling of being bereft, it was only then it sunk to him that something was definitely wrong.
