Mai walked out of the room with tears in her eyes and rage in her heart. She had always believed that no one could be trusted other than herself, but never thought Zuko, of all people, would be the one to prove her right. If Zuko thought they could still be friends after this he had another thing coming. Mai stormed down the hall and took a left. In her haste she ran directly into someone. She immediately recoiled and reached for her throwing knifes, ready to cut the idiot in two. Mai looked up and found herself staring into a pair of big emerald eyes. The unfamiliar girl regained her balance and immediately began to apologize.
"Oh I'm so sorry, are you alright?"
Mai discretely put her daggers away and nodded.
"I'm fine. Just watch where you're going." She started to walk away but the girl reached out and grabbed her arm gently.
"I'm actually lost, can you tell me how to find Zuko?"
Mai stiffened and jerked away from the girls touch. She gave the girl a hard glare and asked,
"Why do you want to know?"
From the blush creeping in on her cheeks Mai knew her assumption was right. It was her. The little tramp that stole away the only person she really cared about. She briefly contemplated ending her right then and there, but she really didn't want to go back to prison. Not yet anyway. She plastered on a fake smile and continued.
"Oh, I see. Well he's just around the corner, first door to your left."
The skank smiled brightly at Mai and thanked her. Before leaving she said,
"My name's Maggie by the way. What's yours?"
She gave the girl her deadliest smile.
"I'm Mai. I'm sure Zuko will tell you all about me."
Mai savored Maggie's confused gaze only for a brief moment before turning and walking, head held high, down the long corridor.
Maggie's POV
I watched the ebony haired girl walk down the hall and felt an odd sensation. I felt like a fly in the presence of a deadly black widow, and a shiver crept up my spine. Shaking off the unsettling feeling I followed Mai's directions and found myself at a large red and gold painted door. Before doing anything I straightened my hair and dress, making sure I was presentable. I had to change into this ceremonial outfit for the coronation, and I hoped it looked at least half-way decent on me. The hair alone was a complicated knot of braids and fire-lilies that took three maids to help me create. Luckily they were able to incorporate my hair ribbon before they finished. The dress was a kimono-looking thing with three different colored sashes and a flame design going up the back which also took a team of people to construct. Sure it was beautiful, and surprisingly comfortable, but I was seriously mourning the loss of my jeans and t-shirts. Once I was satisfied I gave the door a few raps and heard a familiar raspy voice invite me in.
I opened the heavy door and stepped into the large room. I noticed Zuko was standing to the left, looking out one of the gigantic windows. The sunlight made him seem to glow from the inside out, and I felt my heart pound in my chest. It was strange; I hadn't known him long but I knew without a doubt that I was crazy about him. He seemed to notice me for the first time and flashed a beyond sexy grin at me. My heart leapt from my chest into my throat as he walked over to me and took me in his arms. I flinched a bit when he touched my arm. It still hurt from the lightning bolt, and Katara hadn't had enough time to heal it all the way. Zuko immediately pulled away and inspected the wounded area. It was sort of pointless because the bandages were covering it, but the sentiment was adorable, and much appreciated.
"Zuko relax, I'm fine. It's only a little sore. Hey!" I grabbed his hands and made him look at my face instead of my arm. He relaxed and only looked at my arm once more.
"I'm sorry, I still feel really guilty about that…"
"Well don't. It was my choice, and trust me it was worth it."
He smiled and kissed my forehead, then led me to the other side of the room. We both sat on a red and gold trimmed couch and just talked for an hour. I wanted to know everything I could about him, good or bad. He told me all about his uncle Iroh and his tea shop. I giggled at the thought of Zuko having a customer service job. He seemed so excited for me to meet Iroh again, under better circumstances. Zuko seemed so happy I didn't want to bring up the black widow I met in the hall, but it had been nagging me for a while.
"Zuko can I ask you ab-"Just then there was a loud knock at the door, cutting me off. Zuko apologized to me and got up to see who it was. I man stood in the doorway and said something to Zuko I couldn't hear. Zuko's reply was clear as a bell though.
"What!?" I couldn't figure out what would be upsetting him until I looked at the window again. The sun had sunken significantly, and Zuko was going to be late for his own coronation. I turned to look at him and said,
"It's ok just go, I'll meet you there!"
"I'll make it up to you I promise."
And with that he was out the door and I was left alone.