Focus
As Mai tumbled to her quick-but-surely-agonizing death on the cold, hard ground below, she had the traitorous realization that she didn't like Prince Zuko's plan very much. Or at all, really. Certainly, it was probably better than facing Azula's wrath, especially after what Mai had done, but only because that would involve a bit more agonizing before the death.
She felt strongly enough about this matter that she was actually expressing it, sharing her feelings with the world at large. Mostly, this was in the form of screaming for dear life as she plummeted, but there was also some panicked flailing, at least with one hand.
The other was still clutching Prince Zuko.
As much as it made Mai want to run around in circles going EEEEEEEEE, that had been the start of all the trouble. Prince Zuko had been climbing out of the window when he slipped and fell, and had pulled her right along with him. They would die together, the mushy remains of their bodies mixed forever. Ty Lee would probably call it romantic.
Mai thought it sounded gross. And more than a bit painful.
If only Prince Zuko would save them both, perhaps suddenly discovering whatever it was that made Azula such a better Firebender than him, and harness his power to shoot fire from his feet and fly them both to safety, sailing through the sky together with joined hands, perhaps passing over a glittering rainbow on their way to the land of fire flakes and no parents.
Ugh, this was why Mai usually tried to avoid Prince Zuko. Something about being near him made her thoughts like fire-chip fire-cakes with too much fire-bee fire-honey on them- slow moving, too sweet, and likely to cause an upset tummy. She had no idea why this was, but she was seriously considering the idea that Prince Zuko might be a magical spirit sent by the universe as punishment for the time she stole Mother's favorite comb and used it to stab a scary bug. And now the whole thing was going to claim her life in revenge.
Oh, right. She was falling and about to die. It was probably a good idea to focus on that.
But at least she wasn't screaming anymore.
Zuko still wasn't saving them.
And then a strange thought struck Mai.
Perhaps she could save them.
It was absurd, of course. She was just a child, and one who was only half-nobility on her mother's side. She wasn't good for much except staying quiet and doing what she was told, she knew, and she couldn't even manage that all of the time. What could she do to save herself and Prince Zuko from gravity? Gravity, she had learned, was even more strict than parents, plus more consistent with its punishments.
And then the words of her Uncle came to her, intoning through her mind, "Mai, in the hands of a true warrior, even a pin can be a deadly weapon. It has nothing to do with strength or size. It's just a matter of focus."
Of course, Uncle hadn't intoning them at the time he'd actually said them to her. He'd growled them with no small measure of annoyance, while the pin in question was being taken away from that troublesome one-eared prisoner who had tried to attack her. Then Uncle had ordered the man sent for Special Treatment for ruining Take Your Niece To Your Glorious Profession Day. Uncle had given Mai the pin as a souvenir and a warning not to stay still while mean-looking people rushed at her with pieces of sharp metal in their hands.
That had been the first piece of sharp metal in Mai's secret collection, a collection that was growing even faster than she was.
And so Mai focused as she and Zuko crossed the bottom third of the Royal Fire Palace's tower, reached into her sleeve with her free hand, and pulled out a dinner knife that Mother thought had gotten thrown out with the remains of the roast from the other night.
Then she stabbed it into the tower.
Focused.
And hard.
She EEP'd as she did it.
But the knife stabbed straight into the stone of the tower even as she and Prince Zuko continued sliding. She gripped the knife with all the strength in her fingers and all her will to live, which was very considerable because if she got Prince Zuko killed even worse than his own terrible plan than she had a horrible feeling that being dead herself wouldn't save her from getting in trouble. The knife tore a long gouge into the tower as they fell.
No, they weren't falling anymore.
They were slowing.
Sparks flew from the knife's edge as it cut a long straight furrow into the tower.
She and Prince Zuko had almost slowed to stop when they hit the bottom. They went right over the edge and plopped down onto the curved roof below. They slid down that, reached the end, and then went over that edge. They struck another curved roof, another edge, and there was another fall. Even falling to death could be boring, it seemed.
And then they landed on the golden roof of the East Wing, a little two-person heap, alive, despite all expectations.
Mai didn't have time to feel happy about that before she realized she was on top of Prince Zuko. Specifically, his butt. She tried to move, but he had her legs pinned underneath him, so she just twisted and lost her balance and conked her nose into the back of his head.
Ow.
And then Prince Zuko was rising, lifting her up. Mai shut her eyes scrunched in on herself, sure that she was about to be punished for a treasonous list of crimes that included stabbing royalty with her nose, embarrassing royalty in the region of the rear end, and defacing the royal real estate with a dinner knife.
Instead, Prince Zuko set her down on the warm roof and said, "That was amazing!"
Mai risked opening her eyes.
Prince Zuko looked a little green and his Phoenix Tail had been windswept into very un-royal fluffiness, but he was smiling, and his eyes were shining.
He said, "How did you do that?"
Mai thought about sharing her uncle's advice. Or maybe revealing her fascination with sharp things and how they might be the only way she could actually be strong.
But instead, something about Prince Zuko's shining face made her default to her usual strategy of trying to be as quiet and unnoticeable as possible. She just sat and stared at him.
Prince Zuko waited.
Mai reached for that same strength she used to stab the palace, and managed to raise her hand enough to show him the stolen knife.
His eyes went wide. "We're lucky you had that. I should probably get a knife, too. I think it's probably a good idea to always have a weapon ready. Even for Firebenders."
Mai vowed to cover herself in knives, if they were that lucky. Maybe then she'd be able to talk to Prince Zuko. Someday.
But for now, they seemed to be stuck on a roof.
She looked around, trying to find a way down. She supposed they could try to climb down to the next sloping roof, and then maybe scurry down the pillars like bugs, or-
"This is pretty nice up here," Prince Zuko said.
Mai looked back at him. She wanted to ask what he meant, but couldn't bring herself to voice the words.
He must have magically sensed the questioning burning in her throat like a post-fire-flakes burp, because he explained, "We can see everyone coming and going from the palace, and we're safe from Azula up here. We can sit and spy on things for a while. Just the two of us."
Mai felt herself heating up at the thought. Just her and Prince Zuko? Up on a golden roof? Watching and being unnoticed? It-
And then the roof collapsed under their weight, dumping them into the Throne Room.
This time, Mai managed not to scream.
TO BE CONTINUED
