The chains hurt.

Mai had never really thought about it. During her life, she'd seen many people clapped in irons and sent to the dungeons. Her close association with Fire Lord Ozai and his children had seen to that! But, even though she had known that being sent to prison was a horrible fate, she'd never thought about the shackles themselves being painful.

She looked down at her wrists. Her skin was rubbed raw, even bloody in places. She wondered what they looked like underneath the metal cuffs.

It had been a long time since she and Ty Lee had been thrown in jail – weeks, at the very least. She had no real way of gauging how long. Her cell was always cold, always dark. The only bit of light that filtered in through the barred door was from a small torch in the hall. She wondered where Ty Lee was, and whether the acrobat was even in the same prison that she was. She wondered, too, if Azula was paying her visits.

A few days into her incarceration, she had been taken out – in chains – and put into the Fire Princess's war balloon. She'd been bundled into a cage there, and brought to the prison underneath the royal palace, in the heart of the Fire Nation capital. Soon afterwards, the visits from Azula had started.

Mai absently felt the mostly-healed cut on her lip with her tongue, remembering how it had first been placed there.

"I don't take kindly to weakness, Mai." Azula's eyes had been narrowed as she watched the soldiers chain the prisoner to the wall. "I don't take kindly to weakness, and I don't take kindly to treason!"

"What happened to your never wanting to lay eyes on me again?" Mai had asked coldly, unwilling to show the fear that bubbled up inside her.

The princess had smiled. It had been very unpleasant. "I…reconsidered." Her sharp nail had trailed lightly down Mai's cheek. "After all, we've been so close for so long! I simply couldn't bear the thought of not seeing you again." Mai had shivered. The blow had fallen soon after that – a sharp, precise backhand that split her lip open. "Now," Azula had hissed, all pretense of friendship falling away, "I'm going to show you exactly what happens to those who choose to be my enemy!"

Shuddering, Mai closed her eyes. They had beaten her then, their whips leaving angry, red stripes on her white skin. After that Azula had taken over, and shown her exactly what a firebending prodigy could do. Mai's silence – which she had stubbornly held onto throughout the whipping – had finally broken.

That had only been the first time. There had been many after that; but now Azula came alone. She didn't need her soldiers to control Mai. She had been doing that by herself for a long time.

Almost worse than the physical torments were the verbal ones. Azula had known Mai all her life – she knew exactly where to place her barbs, what poisonous words to whisper in her former friend's ear. And whisper them she had, many times. "You're a fool, Mai. You've given your life for my brother, who cares nothing for you. Why should he? You've served his purpose. Ungentlemanly of him not even to care enough to try to rescue you, isn't it? Ungrateful, even!" And then the flames.

It had been several days since the last session. Azula had left her to lie there in agony for several hours before sending a waterbender in to heal her. Mai traced the scars left on her inner arm, scars that even the healer couldn't erase. She remembered how Azula had hesitated before applying the blue flame to her skin – a hesitation that was entirely for Mai's benefit, so that she could anticipate. The Fire Princess knew exactly what she was doing.

There was nothing in Mai's experience to prepare her for this. Her mother and father had raised her to be a lady, a paragon of perfection. She knew every rule of court etiquette inside and out – what to say, how to sit, how to eat. But what should you say to a sadistic princess who was about to firebend you? Mai knew what she wanted to say. It would have involved several of her confiscated knives.

Mai buried her face in her chained hands and tried to think. There had to be some way out of this, some way..! But her mind, after a brief struggle, went blank. She was in the deepest dungeon of one of the highest security prisons in all of the Fire Nation. Unless Azula were to change her mind, she was stuck. And Azula wasn't one to take back her decisions.

Footsteps echoed in the hall. Mai's head jerked up as her breath caught in her throat. Was it..? But the measured tread moved past her cell door, and she felt better. Just a guard. Her breath hissed out from between her teeth as she released it.

Was it worth it? She replayed the scene in her mind. Zuko and his friends had been dangling precariously over the superheated water that surrounded Boiling Rock. The Fire Nation guards had been sawing away at the cable that held them. The instinct to fight – to draw her knives to protect Zuko – had been instant and irresistible. She had saved him. Later, when Azula had confronted her, she had been unrepentant; she had even, with a viciousness that surprised even her, dared to tear into the Fire Princess with her words! The barbs she had fired had been effective. Azula had tried to attack her – Ty Lee had taken the princess down in an effort to save her – and both Mai and Ty Lee had wound up in prison for it.

Absently, Mai toyed with the uneven ends of her hair. They had chopped that short when they had first bundled her into her cell, right after stripping her of everything she owned and bundling her into a prison uniform. Was it worth it? She looked at the tiny window of her cell, far above her head, and wondered. He was the only thing I ever cared about. He still is. The silence mocked her. And now, I have…nothing.

Footsteps again. Mai listened in silence, hugging her knees to her chest, her eyes squeezed shut. These footfalls were different than the last – measured and even, like those of a soldier, but without haste. She knew that tread. Ice water ran through her veins as she bit down on her tongue.

Then the footsteps stopped. There was a pause. "Good evening, Mai."

She knew that voice, too. It was a cultured voice, dripping with honey and poison. She'd known that voice since her childhood. Slowly, she raised her head and looked. Azula stood outside her cell, her lean form silhouetted against the dimly lit hall.

Mai licked her lips. "Princess." Her voice was low.

Azula smirked. Mai couldn't see it, but she could hear it in her voice. "There's a lovely sunset tonight. I was looking at it and thinking of how much you would have enjoyed it, so I just had to come down to see you!"

Sunsets. Mai looked away. "You know I hate sunsets," she said coldly. "What do you want, Princess?"

"Can't a girl come down to see an old friend?" Azula chuckled softly, and Mai heard a key turning in the lock. It took all her self-control not to flinch at the sound. She was probably only minutes away from being tortured again. "I would have thought you'd be happy to see me, Mai. Especially since your room seems a bit…lonely."

She was toying with her. Mai took her tongue between her teeth and said nothing, her gray eyes on the floor. "My quarters are fine," she said tonelessly.

"Are they, now?" Azula was amused. "I would have thought you'd find them rather lacking." Mai said nothing. Sooner or later, Azula would get to the point. "Let's see your back, Mai."

"My…back?" The prisoner looked up, her narrow eyes widening in surprise.

"Yes, your back," the princess said, with a touch of impatience. "Take off the tunic, and let's see it."

Mai briefly considered defying the order, then thought better of it. Azula always gets what she wants. Wordlessly, she pulled her shirt over her head and turned her back to the princess. She gritted her teeth as Azula moved in, closer – close enough to feel the heat of her against her naked skin. The young woman's sharp nails trailed gently down her spine, tracing the line of one of the scars. "Not bad. It isn't nearly as unsightly as I'd expected."

Mai swallowed hard. "No, Princess." Her voice quavered a little, as much as she tried to keep it steady.

"You know, Mai," Azula purred, "I've been thinking." She squeezed the prisoner's shoulder. Mai gritted her teeth, biting back a cry. "You did betray me. I can't forgive that, you understand! But maybe I can offer you something else."

Offer. Mai struggled to keep her mind clear. Azula did not give gifts! Nothing was ever simple with her. Mai wasn't stupid, but she had always felt that the Fire Princess was several steps ahead of her. "Offer, Princess?"

"Mm-hm." Azula paused, reaching around to trail her pointed nails down Mai's throat. "You are a skilled fighter, Mai. A potent weapon, even! It seems rather wasteful to keep you here. Even if it is entertaining." The nails dug into Mai's collarbone. She winced. "So I have a proposition for you."

"What…kind of proposition?" Mai's breath hissed through her teeth as Azula's claws raked across the base of her throat. She wished the princess would stop, so she could think…

"I'm the one who had you punished," Azula murmured, leaning close to Mai's ear. "I can also lift that punishment, Mai. What if I were to have you banished – and send you out on a mission? If you were to succeed in that mission, I might consider allowing you back into the Fire Nation." She laughed lightly. "And maybe I would even restore you to favor!"

The captive closed her eyes. "What…what mission, Princess?"

Azula chuckled. "I want you to get me the waterbender, Mai. The girl – the one with the Avatar. You remember her, don't you, Mai?"

"Katara," Mai whispered. She remembered.

"That's right." Azula's voice was silky. "You bring me Katara, and I will consider your debt to me…much diminished." She paused, squeezing Mai's shoulders suddenly. Pain shot through the noblewoman's body as the princess's nails dug into her skin. "Well, Mai? What will it be?"

Still, the captive couldn't fathom Azula's offer. Mai fought for clarity. "Why me?" she said. "You're far more capable of this than I am, Princess."

"Of course." Mai could hear the smile in Azula's voice. "But I have things to take care of here in the capital, my dear. Since my brother's defection, I have so many duties, you understand!" She chuckled again, with deep satisfaction. Mai suspected that Azula was still pulling strings, still angling for the throne. She must be close now, if she won't even leave to chase the Avatar! Mai felt a little surge of pride that she had figured this out. Then Azula's tormenting hands resumed their work, and what little coherency Mai had gained fled. "So, tell me, Mai. Would you like a chance to redeem yourself?"

There really wasn't any choice. Mai knew this.

Besides, Azula always got what she wanted.

"So," Azula said, "will you do it?"

"Yes." Mai's eyes closed. "Yes…"

"Excellent." The Fire Princess rose to her feet again, tucking her hands into her sleeves. She looked down at Mai with a smirk. "You will be brought to me in the morning," she said coolly. With that, she turned away.

"Wait." Mai turned to her. "I…I might need help," she said slowly, groping for the right words. "Or…or backup." She raised her gray eyes to the narrowed gold ones above her. "Would you send Ty Lee with me, Princess?"

Azula laughed – low and deep. "Ah, ah, ah," she chided, waving a finger playfully. "None of that, old friend! None of that." She closed the door behind her, and turned to look at Mai through the bars. "We will discuss this further in the morning," she said. "Until then, good night."

Mai understood. She pulled her prison tunic back over her head. "Good night, Princess," she said tonelessly. A minute later, Azula was gone. Mai wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.

Azula always got what she wanted.