CH4: Mai

Zuko hated it when he did things like this; he was already halfway to the tea house where he would be meeting Mai., and the rain was still pouring down. He had forgotten to bring anything that would constitute protection from the elements. He was soaked again, down to his skin. The rain was beneficial, he supposed, because it allowed him to get his mind off of Katara for a time. She knew exactly what to do to get his attention; he only wished that he knew how to get hers.

The tea house was a different one from the one he visited earlier in the day. This place was owned by a young man who had returned from Ba Sing Se after it had fallen to the Water Tribe's most renowned general. The tea-shop owner had learned a lot in Ba Sing Se, and he made some of the best tea in the new capitol of the Southern Fire Nation.

Zuko stepped into the shelter of the tea house and plodded toward a table near the door. Water dripped off of him as he sat. A puddle formed on the floor below him while he waited for Mai to show up. The young man who ran this tea house immediately fetched him a cup of tea; he knew what the Fire Lord desired, and was honored to be the man serving him tonight.

"Congratulations." Mai spoke evenly as she sat down across from Zuko, causing him to tense up a bit and cough up a bit of the tea he had been drinking.

"For what?" Zuko coughed and placed the tea down on the table, clearing his throat in an attempt to get the fluid out. He looked her over; she wasn't so different after six months, though she hadn't changed much in ten years either. Of course, she was completely dry, a fact that made him a bit envious of her. She produced a rolled up piece of paper and placed it on the table in front of him; a wedding invitation.

"Your marriage, of course. Though, that girl will be the death of you." She snatched the piece of paper back up, and looked to the young man, who obviously recognized her and waved. The young man went about preparing her tea as well.

"Why would you say something like that? How did that even get to you, anyway? You never seem to keep any " Zuko picked his tea back up and continued to drink it. He wasn't going to let Mai's attempts at unnerving him get him off balance; he knew she was a double agent now, and letting her screw with him wouldn't be good for his position.

"These little letters? They're all across the world now. Southern Water Tribe, Northern Water Tribe, Ba Sing Se, Omashu, you name it, these are there, in the hands of at least one person. It managed to find its way to me north of the Wall." She nodded to the young man who came with her tea before he scurried back to his place in the back of the shop.

"I see. So the North is going to come crashing down on me on my wedding day? That seems a bit low." Zuko placed his cup on the table and thought for a moment; that sort of plan was suicide, considering the amount of guards and powerful benders in the area.

"The North simply wants supremacy. In their desire for power and revenge, they have lost much of their honor. Just like their leader." She sipped from her tea for a moment, watching Zuko before her. She did feel a sense of enjoyment in this; or, at least, an absence of boredom. Bringing two nations together in war was at least something to do, and the aftermath would be interesting as well.

"Who is their leader, anyway? We haven't heard anything down here about the name of the man, or what he's capable of doing." He placed his hands on the edge of the table, waiting for the tiny snippet of information he was to receive. He knew he was giving her fodder for the other nation, and attempted to appear as eager as possible to learn any scrap of new information. This eagerness would likely be construed as weakness. At least, he hoped.

"His name is Zhao. You knew his father well, and are the one known to be responsible for his death, as well. He's a powerful, impulsive young firebender. Much like you used to be, when you were his age." Mai watched as Zuko's expression changed for a moment to one of surprise before he fixed it. This war was going to be interesting; maybe not as much as the Great War, but it would be interesting nonetheless.

"Zhao? As in, son of Admiral Zhao? That's... wow. That man had some ego. He couldn't even expect his name to go down in history without attaching it to his kid." Zuko smirked a little, he hated to speak ill of the dead, but the old admiral was an exception. The fool was so deep in his hubris that he couldn't even be moved to save his own life.

"The very same. They have very clever people up in the North; some of the greatest minds the Fire Nation has ever seen. You would do well to send some of your own intelligence agents in, to see what they have made. I doubt you would take my word alone for it." She finished off her tea and set the cup down on the table as she made her attempt at baiting Zuko with glimpses of more information. The look in his eyes told her all she needed to know about how much he would give her in return.

"I thought you were one of my own intelligence agents." Zuko smiled a bit, a sliver of overconfidence showing, "I'm sure you could give me some idea of what they have that we do not."

"I work for myself, Lord Zuko. My interests lie in seeing my country united again. Whether it be under you or Lord Zhao is only the concern of destiny itself." She said this earnestly, and with as much conviction as she had ever put to any words she told someone else. Zuko appeared to believe it, but she certainly knew it to be a lie. She had her preferences, but none would know except her until the final cut had been made to the dying nation.

"I see. I could make a few accommodations for you, then. My apologies for misinterpreting you. But, I still want to know, what sort of new devices do t hey have?" He fed her a false apology, which she seemed to accept despite knowing how hollow it was. He would pay, of course, whether it was voluntary or not.

"They have better flying machines now. Similar to the ones of the Great War, only they have been greatly improved. They also have a weapon that I wasn't able to learn much about, other than that it is said to be a special ship that passes below the waves." She knew more than she was saying, but she didn't let on to it. Keeping up appearances was the most important part of this; she couldn't let Zuko get his hooks into her, as she had already managed to sink hers into him. Keeping him hooked was important, as she couldn't go back to the North empty handed.

"Impressive. We don't have much in the way of new things, here. We will be receiving a few troops from the other nations, though. Not much, as they won't spare more than a few; the bastards are treating this like it's not their problem." Zuko lowered his head a bit and looked at his glass, before looking back up to Mai. She didn't seem to pick up on his tiny deception. He turned his attention to the young man in back, who returned to refill the cup. The rest of the tea house was empty, and had been for some time now. The young man was looking nervous, as he disliked the fact that these two were staying far past his normal operating hours, which always seemed to lead to trouble.

"Ah. Of course. Excessive self-interest can be such a bother, sometimes." She held her cup out to the young man, and he took it to have it refilled as well.

"So, enough business. How have you been? I mean, I don't see you for six months and all we talk about is the war? How have you been getting along up there? Do you need anything?" Zuko placed his hands gently around his cup, feeling the warmth with his fingers. He was feeling cold now; the wet clothes around his body were draining the heat from him.

"I have been fine; just traveling a bit within the country. Town to town, place to place. Trying to find something I haven't done before." She gently plucked her cup from the hands of the shop owner as he came back and placed it down on the table before her. She had hoped that she would manage to get out of this before Zuko started asking personal questions and putting on his 'nice boy' routine. Too late.

"Ah. Well, since the war is starting up, maybe it might be a good idea to head off to other lands for a while? You could maybe do some of the little things that the Avatar used to do. You know, penguin sledding, elephant koi riding, gliding around at the northern air temple, things like that. Some adrenaline might do you good. You haven't left the area since the whole mess ten years ago." Zuko smiled in a rather friendly manner, which gave Mai some pause. She took a large gulp of tea as he spoke. He sat silently for a bit and watched her, before looking back down to his reflection in the surface of the tea.

"... You know what?" She spoke up after a moment of awkward silence.

"What?"

"I might just do that." She placed her cup back down and looked across the table at Zuko, who had resumed his smile, "What are you smiling about?"

"Just glad that you might finally find something you can enjoy out there. You've been in a state of perpetual ennui for a long time now, and it's gotten worse since..." He trailed off, looking to her for a moment and pausing.

"Since Azula died. I suppose it is time to go out into the world again." She stood up and moved out into the aisle, stretching a bit as she stood. She pulled a parasol out and moved toward the door. Zuko finished off his tea and stood up as well. He left a couple of large-denomination coins on the table for the young shopkeeper as he moved to follow her outside.

"I can help you out with enough supplies to last you your travels for a few months, if you would like." He walked with her through the rain toward the palace. It hadn't let up, and he was again getting soaked.

"Just keep me in the palace for the night, and get me free passage to the Earth Nation, and it should be fine. I figure that I might try to go travel about on the back of an ostrich-horse. Being alone and not kept-after for a while might be, well, interesting." She looked over the palace as they approached, and noted the lack of guards toward the inside of the grounds. She said nothing about this, however, on the assumption that Zuko would notice soon enough.

"Consider it done, then." He looked back to the palace as they walked, and stretched a bit before stopping mid-stretch. He surveyed the grounds before jogging ahead.

Katara looked up from her papers as there was a knock on her door. She organized her things for a moment and yawned as she stood up and looked toward the window. It didn't feel late enough for Zuko to be back yet, but it wasn't impossible.

"Back so soon?" She opened the door, and outside were several of the palace guardsmen. They stood at attention, and the one in front, Bizo, bowed to her. She paused for a moment, "Sorry, I thought you were Lord Zuko. Is something the matter?"

"Lady Katara. The Fire Lord has sent word that he has discovered there will be an attempt on your life tonight. He requested that we accompany you down to the docks so that you may take the first ship out of the nation, so that you will no longer be in danger." Bizo was serious, and the other men stood fast, their spears at the ready. They waited eagerly for her response.

"Where is the Fire Lord?" Katara stood her ground while talking to the guardsmen, her hands relaxed at her side. There was always water on hand, just in case, but these men were no threat; they were here to protect her, and had been for some time.

"He is ending his meeting with his informant, but he said he is going to be heading north to round up emergency forces once he is certain that you are safe." The guardsman stepped back a bit to make room for her, "We must go quickly, so that the plot may be foiled."

"Of course. There is only one thing I require before I go, to be certain that I am not being deceived. What code did the Fire Lord give you to tell me?" She smiled, and watched as some of the peripheral guardsmen began to sweat a bit. Things were not as they seemed.

"Certainly. The code that Lord Zuko gave us was... Avatar." Bizo almost paused for too long, but he felt confident in his save. He didn't let the relief show on his face, however.

"Gentlemen, please get some sleep. You shouldn't be up and attempting silly tricks this time of night." Katara began to close the door, but Zao stepped up and thrust his hand against it to keep it open. Katara retreated into her room a few more steps and began bringing water to her hands, "You don't want to do this."

"Maybe she's right, guys. We shouldn't be doing this. What if the Fire Lord catches us?" Yozan, around the back of the pack, spoke up in a tone that Katara could barely hear from her position. He was looking down the hallway almost every other moment, hoping that they wouldn't be discovered.

"Shut up, Yozan. This is for the good of the Fire Nation. If we don't do this, then what happens when they marry? It won't be right." Bizo lowered his spear a bit, keeping an eye on Katara, "We don't want to hurt you. We just want you gone."

"And what of the Fire Lord's desires?" Katara drew water from the small cistern near the doorway, bringing it into a defensive position. She waited for the guardsmen to approach, as she threaded the water around her body idly.

"The Fire Lord desires that his nation comes together under him. It's not likely that such a thing will happen if he is wed to a woman from the Southern Water Tribe. The people would not accept it. Even though he claims to love you, he simply does not know any better." Bizo spoke as he moved forward a bit more, one hand on his spear, the other out towards her, beckoning for her to come to him. Katara held her ground, the speed of the water increasing as she watched them look to each other in an attempt to communicate a plan without her hearing. They didn't seem very organized.

"Look, Bizo, I think we're in a bit over our heads here." Zao watched Katara as he stood near the door, holding it open as the others moved forward again. He had never encountered a waterbender in a fight before, but he knew that it was going to hurt, and there was little he could do to stop it.

"Just grab her, Muro." Bizo moved in quickly to grab her before being snapped in the face with the water. He stumbled back a bit, and the others simply stood still and watched Bizo move away a bit.

"You know, you all can still manage to get back to your posts before the Fire Lord returns, without any consequences." Katara brought the water around so that it was pooling at her feet and spreading out along the ground in a thin layer towards the door. The guards simply watched her, not paying any attention to the water as it slowly made its way around their feet.

"No, they can't." Zuko's voice was heard as he appeared in the doorway, next to the others. He was soaked in water, and a flame was burning at his right hand, "It's a bit too late for that."

A/N: And more and more. I've already pulled in inspiration for the next chapter, and by the time this is posted, I'll likely be halfway through with it, if not more. I seem to be moving at a decent pace through all of this on the writing side of things, as I can't go a day without adding more. Here goes!