"It's been a while, Zuko. Maybe you should go and talk to her."

"Me? You're more her friend than I am, Mai. I don't even understand her half the time."

"I don't do these kinds of things…you know that. She's been in there for days. Just…go ask her if she wants something to eat…or something. Talk to her."

"Mai, she came out an hour ago and grabbed a persimmon. I doubt she's hungry, leave her alone a while."

"So what? You're the fire lord, are you really intimidated by some girl?" There was a pause. "She doesn't even like persimmons…does she?"

"She doesn't intimidate me!"

"How long are you going to let her…decay like this? I know she isn't your best friend but…"

"Give it another day, Mai, she'll come around."

"Whatever…"

…

It was about time to leave my room, wasn't it? I could hear every word Mai and Zuko thought I was deaf to, I looked at the moon through my open blinds.

I rose slowly, my body was weak and tired; acrobats were all I had really been doing lately. It could take a lot out of a girl, I smiled at the progress I was making. Even with all that aside, I knew I still needed to go out and face my public of two. My knees cracked as I walked towards the door, it opened in silence.

I walked briskly down the hallway getting back into the habit of things. I kept my head down, however, trying not to look at the pictures that adorned the hallway. I wasn't ready to face the look of my problems…

The living room was lit brightly by candle and smelled of tea that was a mixture of honeydew and some kind of ginger. The sent warmed my spirit and I could feel a wave of pleasure wash over me as I gave into my sense of smell. It brought me back to many memories.

"Ty…hey. Finally decide to get out of bed?" It was the lovely sound of that deep monotone that anyone else might mistake for the sound of the reaper himself. I found her voice rather soothing actually.

"Good evening, Mai! What are you brewing? A honeysuckle of some kind? I love honeysuckle!" I smiled and took my place beside her on the throw pillow near the dark oak table.

Mai looked at me quizzically. "Are you alright Ty-lee? You've been…sloth-like lately."

"On the contrary, Mai, I've been finding new ways to bend and twist! Wanna check it out?"

"Not particularly, but if you feel that you must…Ty, I know you're upset. Maybe you should…" She sighed long and hard. "…talk about it?"

"Mai, I'm fine! You're acting silly, I've been working on my aura and such…I'm trying to maintain a healthy salmon pink!" I rose and walked over to the kettle, the steam rose in swirls.

"If you consider pink a healthy color…" Mai rolled her eyes at me. I laughed aloud at her, she was always such a moody girl.

"Well, it's better than your dull lifeless grey. However, I think I spy some purples and crimsons…is somebody happy with their new found love?" I teased a little, Mai was quite funny when she flushed red as she had right then.

"Shut it, Ty-lee."

I poured my tea to the brim of my cup and fetched a cup for Mai. Placing the cups on a tea tray I also placed biscuits and honey alongside the drinks. She seemed rather pleased that I saved the trouble of having to fetch her own tea herself. We drank in silence.

"Ty…I'm sorry." She broke the peace with a barely coherent mumble.

"Please, Mai, I'd rather not talk about it…"

"Ty-lee you need to face this. It's okay now. I mean…she's…gone. You understand? We can't help this just-"

"Mai, I'm alright. It's no biggie…"

"You're hurt. You need to come to accept the fact that Azula…well…" her voice trailed off and my mind went with it.

"…She's dead…" I finished her sentence for her. The words came out but meant nothing.

"They never actually proclaimed her dead, Ty-lee…" I could feel the sense of false hope she tried to light within me. So palpable, so warm.

"They found her clothes floating in the Great Ocean. They found her locks of hair washed up on shore…they found a bone…A collar bone. She had drown Mai, let's just move on…"

"We'll…it's her fault anyways…running off before her court hearing. Who would try to swim the great ocean anyways?" Mai sipped her tea, she found ways to avert my gaze.

I wanted to believe. I wanted to dream that she was okay. That Azula, as always, found a way and had a plan. That she boarded a passing ferry or made friends with a lion-turtle. Somewhere out there she was laughing and playing Pai sho with some craftsman in the Earth kingdom.

But it was all in vain. I kept my hopes up until enough fact was found to bring me down to a harsh reality. I finally accepted the situation for what it was. Azula knew she was going to die, but she wasn't going down without a fight. She ran, escaped her prison…got a guard close enough, Agni only knows how, and beat him into the bars until the wounds were fierce enough to kill him. She timed it right, at the fine point of dusk when the guards took shift and there was only a slight vulnerability in the prison because of the shift in workers. By the time other men got there she squeezed his head through the bars and stole his keys. The odd thing was, he didn't have the key to her cell on him…But Azula always made do…

So it was that simple. She made a last ditch effort to cross the Great Ocean to Agni knows where…she failed.

"I didn't even get to say good bye." It was a thought out loud. I never dealt with bad situations well, and this was the worst situation ever.

"Ty, how about we go to the beach tomorrow…or whatever." Was that genuine kindness? I felt bad turning down Mai on such a rare offer, but I wasn't ready to deal with all the news outside about her…

"Nah, I'm okay Mai, I think maybe I'll go do something on my own tomorrow. Maybe feed some turtle-ducks or visit the plaza…"

"Fine, I didn't really want to go anyways." She looked relieved at me and I smiled. Mai, rose from the table as I did and walked me back to my room when I told her I was heading in for the night. She stopped at my door.

"Ty-lee you're strong. I've always known this. Everything will be okay. You need to trust me." Her words were so soft and gentle, she was almost cooing to me.

I grinned. "Of course, Mai, I'm already over it!" I lied.

The door shut behind me silently, without a word I walked over to my vanity and opened a small teal booklet. The pages were soft and shone ivory in the dark room. Azula gave me this booklet for my tenth birthday, the age when I aspired to be an author. She paid more attention to me than I gave her credit for…I never used it. Instead I saved lovely blank canvas, the world of opportunity for something special.

I opened it and saw the first blank page; a mass of beauty and possibilities. My hands shaped words with the ink tablet nearby…

Ivory princess,

Why have you turned?

From kindles of amity,

As conviction would burn.

Ivory Princess,

Did you not hear?

The fables they tell,

Of your panic fled fear,

Ivory Princess,

I've more faith than holds true,

I still see your face in the water,

I'm still looking for you,

My Ivory princess,

Maybe one day,

As I trust in my lore

I dream maybe one day,

I could find you on shore.

I hadn't realized I was crying until my tears hit the paper. I sobbed gentle cries to myself and choked out calming words.

"It's okay Ty-lee. You…You're strong…"

I ripped the page out from my book and kissed it gently. Following the moonlight that led me to my window I opened it a crack and slipped the letter on to the autumn wind. I watched as it carried the soft poem to the sea and out of my range of view.

I went to bed dreaming that the letter found its way to Azula's underwater resting ground.

I cried softly to the hum of my own lullaby. Sleep greeted me solemnly.