Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. Damn it!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO MY AWESOME REVIEWERS!

And Happy Holidays to all! Here is the new story I've promised you as a present! I've been excited to begin this story for a long time! I'll tell you exactly why—Imagine Avatar deliciously accented with our favorite pairing (ZUTARA!) with a dash of Phantom of the Opera mixed in. I'm not talking about crossover or Zuko-as-The-Phantom stuff, although that would be really hot. It will still be completely canon and in-character and will not interfere with any of my other projects, so don't worry! The only thing I've changed about the Avatarverse is the unfortunate fact that dancing seems to be taboo in the Fire Nation—you can't have a decent romantic masquerade ball without dancing! Enjoy my lovelies, and once more—Merry Christmas!

::THE MASQUERADE::

CHAPTER ONE: THE ENTERTAINMENT EVENT OF THE YEAR

Zuko's face creased into a harsh scowl as he reacted to the news his father had just relayed to him. The crown Prince of the Fire Nation—the greatest empire on earth—hung his head low and cast his eyes towards the ground, clearly unhappy. The task that the Fire Lord had just assigned Zuko and his sister was nightmarish. He couldn't imagine a worse punishment—and he hadn't done anything wrong!

"Is anything wrong, Prince Zuko?" Fire Lord Ozai asked unknowingly, raising a disapproving eyebrow.

Azula, who was standing on her brother's right side, snickered darkly. "Oh, he's just being melodramatic, Father. Grow up, Zuzu."

"Grow up?" Zuko raised his head and extended a hand towards his sister, searching for the sympathy he knew she'd never award him. "Your asking me to dress up in some ridiculous costume, go to a formal ball, socialize with hundreds of people I don't know—and you're telling me to grow up? This is no more than an adult version of a game of dress-up tea party!"

"I don't think the Annual Royal Masquearade Ball is that bad," Azula rolled her eyes, crossing her arms in front of her chest and looking tiredly at her brother.

"You're a girl," Zuko emphasized, poking an index finger into her face. Then he turned to his father. "Can't Azula do it alone? She actually wants to go."

The Fire Lord regarded his upset son, stroked his beard, and frowned. "No, Zuko. Participating in the Annual Masquerade is part of your duties as Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. It's the entertainment event of the year for the highest orders of Fire Nation society. You and Azula are expected to represent the royal family there."

"Father, you've been putting on the ball for years. Why don't you go?"

Ozai chuckled, but the sound was more unnerving than it was pleasant-sounding. "Zuko, don't be absurd. I only host the ball—it would be unsuitable for me to attend. That is why you and Azula are going in my place."

The Prince seethed and gritted his teeth. "But—"

"Prince Zuko, you will attend the Royal Masquerade with your sister. That is an order." Ozai crossed his arms as he sat authoritatively atop his flame-wreathed throne. "The ball is in three days. Dismissed."

"But Father—"

"Prince Zuko, you are dismissed." The Fire Lord spat out the last word at his son. "Leave now."

Azula frowned and reached out to grab her brother's arm in an attempt to drag him out of the royal hall. However, Zuko wretched away from her grip. The Prince shot the Princess a nasty, very displeased look and stomped out of the door on his own. He was enraged. He hated formal balls, and now he was being unfairly forced to attend one. The awkward, uncomfortable dancing, the socializing with snobby socialites, the ridiculous notion of respectable figureheads of Fire Nation society dressing up like children—he hated everything about them. As he struggled to control his temper, his sister caught up with him.

"Oh, don't fret so much, Zuzu," she said teasingly, using his wretched nickname. "I don't think it will be half as bad as you think it will be."

"Well, you're wrong," replied the Prince, glancing with dagger-like eyes as his sister. "This is stupid. We're the Fire Prince and Princess—we shouldn't be reduced to this."

"Relax—you're not under any pressure to perform. Remember, it's a masquerade," the Princess reminded him. "That means everyone's going to wear masks. No one will know we are."

"I don't care."

Azula raised a pointed finger, and an idea brightened her eyes. "I know," she said dramatically. "Why don't you ask Mai to come with you? If she's with you perhaps you'll enjoy it more."

Zuko scoffed at the idea at first, and he retreated a few steps to lean against a nearby pillar. His eyes flashed uncertainly from an unknown point on the marbled palace floor, to his sister, then back again. He thought about the possibility of Mai attending the ball with him. It would still be unpleasant, but if he brought his girlfriend then at least he'd have someone to talk to—or maybe even dance with. He turned back to Azula and sighed, feeling his tensions ease a bit.

"Fine," he announced. "I'll ask Mai to go with me. But do you even think she'll want to?"

Azula smiled her familiar, malicious grin and waved a hand casually, as if she were swatting away Zuko's question like a pesky fly. "Oh, don't be silly, Zuko." She said. "I'm sure she'll be thrilled."

"What? Are you kidding?"

Zuko blinked in shock as his girlfriend shot him a glance as bright and sharp as a knife. She stormed a few steps away, then whirled round, her long robes flowing around her, her hands clenched tightly into fists. This was not what he expected.

"What—you don't want to go? I thought girls liked formal balls and dressing up!" the Prince replied clumsily, stretching his arms out in a confused gesture.

"Maybe stupid girls like those things—dressing up in hideous costumes and dancing—" the girl visibly retched at the thought. "I wouldn't be caught dead at the masquearade. I don't even know why you want to go."

"I don't!" Zuko shouted, stomping his feet into the floor for good measure. "But my father is forcing me to attend. I just figured that it would be less torturous if you came along with me."

"Why didn't you just tell him that you didn't want to do it?" Mai inquired, lowering her eyebrows and gazing at him intently.

The Prince sighed in exasperation. "I tried, Mai! But he ordered me to go to the ball. I couldn't say no. Not after all that's happened—not after I'd just earned back his approval."

"Well, then you've dug your own hole and you have stay in it. I'm not joining you."

"But—Mai—"

"Just drop it Zuko! There's nothing you can either do or say to get me to go, and that's that. Just accept it, okay?"

Zuko's hurt expression hardened, and a frustrated, angry scowl crossed his face. First his father, then his rotten, conniving sister, and now Mai was becoming insensitive to his feelings? He cursed the day in Fire Nation history that a horrid thing like a masquerade had been invented.

"Fine," he spat cruelly, and he turned to go, halfway expecting his girlfriend to chase after him and ask him not to leave. But as the Prince's feet dragged him stomp-by-stomp towards the door, he slowly realized that Mai wasn't going to do that. She was far too stubborn and proud—just like him. And like him, she'd sooner set herself on fire than be caught dead at such a stupid, pointless, and foolish social event.

However, unlike Mai, Zuko had his father's orders to follow. Sighing heavily, he resigned himself to the grim inevitability that he would be attending the dreaded Royal Masquerade alone. Well, besides Azula's company—but she'd most likely abandon him anyway. She'd enjoy watching him flounder, unable to keep himself afloat in an awkward social situation, embarrassing himself. Zuko sighed for what seemed the millionth time today.

It's only one night, the Prince rationalized as he exited Mai's home and huffed his way onto the palatine waiting for him in the courtyard. I'll only have to endure this torture for one night.

Even so, as the palatine lifted and began to carry him back to his elegant, bejeweled palace, Prince Zuko hoped and prayed to the spirits that he'd somehow wake up from this nightmare.

Only one night.

"One night only!"

Sokka heard his little sister squeal in delight as she pressed herself to the wall on which the large, colorful flyer was posted. He, Katara, Toph, and Aang had ventured out into the city in order to find more food and supplies to make surviving in the outdoors a little more comfortable—and now they were being held up because Katara spotted some silly flyer for—what was it again?

"What's she getting all excited about?" The Water Tribe boy asked his friends, turning to each of them and blinking in frustration.

Toph shrugged and rolled her pale, sightless eyes. "Beats me. Blind—remember?"

Aang crept forward and managed to pry Katara away from the poster long enough to take a good look at it himself. Sokka watched as the boy's expression suddenly brightened. "Actually, you should look at this yourself, Sokka," the Avatar called him over. "It does seem pretty exciting!"

Sokka rolled his eyes, sauntered over, and stared, unimpressed, at the advertisement. In elegant, crimson calligraphy accented with pictures of lilies and leaves sprouting from its edges, and surrounding a portrait of two gorgeously dressed Fire Nation couples dancing, the poster announced loudly to the world:

FIRE LORD OZAI PRESENTS THE ENTERTAINMENT EVENT OF THE YEAR: THE ANNUAL ROYAL MASQUERADE BALL!

THIS YEAR'S THEME FOR COUPLES: OPPOSITE ELEMENTS!

WITH LIVE MUSIC FROM THE EMPIRAL PROCESSIONAL BAND AND ACCLAIMED SINGER YURI AMAYURI!

Then, in smaller print down at the bottom of the poster:

Tickets available by request through messenger hawk. Address hawk to Mao Lin: Fire Nation Palace Entertainment Coordinator along with number of tickets requested and a payment of 45 gold pieces per ticket requested. Tickets awarded on a first-come-first-serve basis based on availability.

"Oh, Sokka! Can we go? I've always wanted to go to a royal ball!" The Water Tribe boy glanced again at his sister, whose blue eyes were as large as saucers and sparkling as if she were floating in some whimsical dreamland. He frowned and shook his head disapprovingly.

"Royal ball? What are you guys talking about?" Toph cut in, stomping her way over to them and clearly confused.

Sokka ignored the tiny earthbender for now, and chose instead to address his sister. "Katara, can't you read? It's the Fire Lord's ball! Don't you think it would be just a little risky for us to attend a masquerade held in the Fire Nation royal palace?" The young warrior placed his hands on his hips and waited for his sister's inevitable protest.

"Sokka, look around. We're out in public in the Fire Nation every day, and no one's ever suspected anything," Katara explained, resorting to rationality in order to persuade her older brother. "I think we'll be fine."

The girl flipped her curly, wild hair over her shoulder confidently. "Besides, it's a masquerade. You know what that means, genius? Everyone has to wear a mask! We'd be perfectly safe."

"You guys want to play dress up and dance around like a bunch of sissy-ninnies?" Toph scoffed and crossed her arms. "Count me out!"

Then Aang raised a hand. "Actually guys, I think attending the masquerade would be a great idea."

Sokka's eyebrows raised. "Are you serious? It is not a good idea!"

"It could be just like my experience in the Fire Nation school," Aang persisted, stretching out his arms towards his friends in an attempt to persuade them. "We've been given an opportunity to access the Fire Lord's Palace before the Day of Black Sun. If we went, we could see it for ourselves and be able to better prepare and plan for the Invasion. Sokka—who needs a map of the Fire Nation Palace City after you've seen it for yourself? It's the chance of a lifetime!"

Sokka was taken aback, and he blinked while he processed the airbender's proposal. "I…I knew that—I'm just saying—we have to be careful."

"You didn't know that!" Katara poked her brother in the chest. "Give Aang some credit."

"Okay!" Sokka held up his hands dramatically. "Aang—that's a good idea, but think about the risks! If someone recognizes you, there won't be anywhere to run."

"Like I said before," Katara chimed in, swaying her hips to one side and placing a hand on her hip. "We'll be wearing masks, so no one's going to recognize us."

Aang and the waterbender exchanged supportive smiles, and Sokka sighed. "Okay—so it's a good idea and worth the risk. But it says that each individual ticket costs 45 gold pieces—"

"—and you guys will need to buy costumes," Toph injected.

"Exactly!" Sokka shouted. "Where are we supposed to get that kind of money? The ball's in three days!"

Katara, Aang, and Toph all suddenly fell silent, and Sokka watched as his sister turned away thoughtfully, one hand delicately tucked up under her chin. Her blue eyes darted from the poster on the wall to the cobblestone street, and back again. Then her eyes brightened in excitement and a smile blossomed on her face.

"Why don't we have Toph pull some of those earthbending pranks again?" She suggested excitedly, leaning down to wrap her arm around the tiny earthbender's shoulders. "You'd like that, wouldn't you, Toph?"

The other girl shook off the waterbender's arm. "Not really, considering what happened last time you and I tried to pull a scam."

Katara frowned, recalling their terrifying episode imprisoned in a wooden cell and Combustion Man persuing them relentlessly. Still—she really, really, really wanted to attend a royal ball. It had been something she'd dreamt of since she was a little girl—to twirl gracefully around a gigantic dance floor, wrapped elegantly in the finest silk garments—and to be watched and admired by hundreds of others. She glanced unhappily at her brother. It was mean of him to try to crush her childhood dream, even during this tense time before the Day of Black Sun. However, Aang had an excellent point—attending the ball would give them an invaluable opportunity to investigate the Fire Nation Palace in detail before the critical battle—it would give their small invasion the advantage it desperately needed. Pleadingly, the waterbender stretched her arms out towards the unsympathetic earthbender.

"Toph, please?" she asked. "This is our one and only chance to get inside the Fire Nation Palace, to see how it operates and how we can easily invade it!"

"You just want to go so you can wear a stupid, floaty dress and dance with all the cute boys," Toph replied with a smirk.

Katara reeled back and blinked in embarrassment. "No, I want to help the Invasion!" She protested.

"I can tell you're lying…"

"I'm not lying!"

"Okay, but I can still tell you want to go just because of the dress-up-and-dance part."

"You—argh!"

Sokka grabbed each of the girls and stepped between them before they forgot where they were and attempted to out-bend each other in front of a throng of Fire Nation citizens. "Okay, listen!" he told them all seriously. "I'm beginning to agree with Aang. This is the chance of a lifetime, and since I know Katara will never forgive me if I don't let her go—so Toph, even though our last string of scams turned out badly, would you for the sake of the Invasion?"

The little earthbender's brow furrowed into a frown. "Now you're taking Sugar Queen's side? Traitor!"

"Toph, please—it's for the greater good," Aang pressed.

Gradually, the earthbending girl's stubbornness was worn down and she agreed. "Fine, we'll do a few more pranks. But on one condition—I'm not going to the ball. There's no way you're squeezing me into some stupid, floozy costume. I'm sick of that stuff."

Katara squealed again with delight and rushed forward to award the other girl with a tight embrace. "Thanks, Toph! You're the best!"

Toph rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I know."

"So it's settled then," Sokka concluded, smiling at the rest of his group. "We'll begin scamming today. As soon as we have enough money, we'll send a messenger hawk for our tickets and take it from there. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Aang confirmed as the rest of the gang nodded.

Sokka's grin grew wider, spreading across his face goofily. Despite his initial doubts, he was beginning to really like this idea of attending the Royal Masquerade Ball. Who knows? It could not only turn out to be a great opportunity but a great time as well.

"Great!" He exclaimed, pumping up his fist in an enthused, excited gesture towards the others. "Team Avatar—prepare to have a ball!"

PERSONAL THINGY:

So there you have it. I have set the stage for what's sure to become a truly exciting Avatar adventure. Not much Zutara-goodness yet, but it will come! I hope you enjoyed! Now go to the bottom of the page and click that little button that says "Review This Chapter!" REVIEW!

Merry Christmas!