Mai surveyed herself in the mirror with a critical eye. For the last two hours, her servants had been busily engaged in preparing her for the tea party that was to be held that afternoon. She was finally dressed and ready, all except for her hair and nails, which would be done only when she was completely satisfied with everything else. In honor of the occasion – and because tradition dictated it – she was actually wearing a gown instead of her usual robes. Mai looked it over through narrowed eyes, turning to see it from different angles. It was black silk, with accents of dark crimson and pale gold. The black collar was high and stiff, as were the collars on most of her garments, and trimmed lightly with gold thread. Finally, after several minutes of examination, she gave a curt nod and seated herself in a nearby chair. Without being told, the servant women clustered around their queen and began their work on her hands. She laid her head back, closing her eyes as she felt a brush begin to pull carefully through her long tresses of black hair.

There came a tentative knock, followed immediately by a very masculine clearing of a throat. Mai knew who it was without opening her eyes. She sat up, pulling away from her servants slightly, and looked up. Zuko stood by the doorway, dressed in full armor and red cloak. She remembered that he'd had a meeting with some high-ranking military men that morning. Gracefully, Mai rose from her chair and bowed her head. "What can I do for you, my lord husband?" As was usual lately, her words were flawlessly proper and chillingly impersonal.

The Fire Lord's amber eyes swept the servants coolly. "I would speak with the Fire Lady alone." Without a word, the women bowed and began to file from the room. Mai raised a brow slightly, but didn't protest. The door closed. There was a moment's silence; then Zuko coughed. "You look beautiful, Mai."

"Thank you, my lord." Mai acknowledged him with a nod. "I doubt you came to talk about that."

"No." He looked away uncomfortably. "The tea party you're giving for your mother is this afternoon, right?" Mai nodded. "Was there anything else you wanted for it? I can take care of it for you."

"Everything is already in place, thank you." She looked down. "The peacock-foxes you ordered for it came this morning."

"Good." There was another awkward pause. "Mai, how long are we going to be like this?"

The young queen raised her brows icily and met his gaze. "Like what, my lord husband?"

"Like that," Zuko growled, his frustration obvious. "How long are we going to live like two strangers under the same roof? It's...it's not right. We're married. We're supposed to talk to each other and support each other, and...and things."

Her brow creased slightly. Mai knew exactly what he was getting at, but she had no intention of making this easy for him. "Do you feel I haven't been performing my duties in some way?"

"No! Of course not. You're performing like some perfectly-oiled machine. That's the problem." Zuko sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I know you still haven't forgiven me for that situation in Gaoling. And I guess I can't really yell at you for that. It can't have been any easier for you than it was for me. It was...ugly." He stopped, meeting her eyes with his own. "I asked you then if you could forgive me, and you didn't really answer me. I've been trying to give you space and let you deal with things. But I want to know, Mai. Can you ever forgive me?"

The neutral mask slipped from Mai's face. She felt it, and turned quickly away. She had to take a couple of deep breaths to calm herself. "It's not like I can just forget it, Zuko." Her voice was low. "You had me tortured. Tortured! And you hit me yourself, and threatened to execute me." Her hands clenched into fists. "I know your sister's a sore point with you. But it was like you suddenly turned into someone I didn't know."

"All right. I admit I went too far. I shouldn't have hit you, and maybe I shouldn't have had you interrogated like you were. But Mai, can't you see my side of it?" He held up his hands. "My sister was an enemy of the state. She'd tried to have me killed. She'd even taken you – although it kind of looked like you might have gone willingly. And then, when I finally had her accomplice in custody and was having her questioned, you suddenly broke her out of jail and hid her from me. What was I supposed to think? You and Azula and Ty Lee were together from day one. How could I not have assumed that you'd taken their side?"

Some of Mai's resolve was slipping. She wasn't even sure if she should be fighting that or not. Slowly, she looked at him again. There he was – still Zuko, still the young man she'd so gladly married less than two years ago. Had he changed? Had she? Or just their circumstances? "You wouldn't listen to me." Her voice shook with passion. "That's the worst of it, Zuko. You wouldn't even listen."

"No. I wouldn't." He shook his head. "That's one of the things I need you to forgive me for, Mai. My temper gets me in trouble. You know that."

"That's hardly an excuse!" Mai snapped, her anger flaring up again. "You only thought that I betrayed you. You did betray me!"

"We betrayed each other." Zuko's voice was low. "I might have been just as much to blame than you, but it cuts both ways, Mai. And I could have had you punished when you stopped my sister's execution, too – but I didn't." She glared at him speechlessly. Why, you self-righteous ass... "Look, I said I was sorry. And I am! What more do you want from me?"

The fury drained from her like water. Mai felt suddenly very tired. She sat back down in her chair with a deep sigh. "I don't know, Zuko. I just don't know." There was a long pause. "Can we...talk about this later? I have to host the event in less than two hours, and this is probably going to be a long conversation."

"All right. We can talk about it tomorrow." The Fire Lord turned away with a long sigh of his own. "I'll see you later, Mai."

The young queen was silent as her servants entered and resumed their work. She was troubled. She'd intended to take the first careful steps today toward deposing her husband – to network just a bit with her cousin, Lady Bai Jiang, and with Lady Shung. But now she was having second thoughts. Mai frowned a little. I did once love him. He was the only thing I really cared about for a long time. It hadn't been so long, either, since she had laid her life on the line for Zuko. And it had all seemed so clear then. How had things gotten so muddled and confusing? Mai breathed deeply. I should have expected this, I suppose. The only consistently clear thing in life is duty. And my first duty is to my country and its people.

Regardless of how she felt, the fact was that she needed to act in order to avert another war. But there were a few possible courses of action she could take – some of which didn't involve outright treason. Mai mused on this quietly as her hair was pulled up into the traditional royal topknot. I'll still begin talking to people today, just to test the waters. Then I'll at least have that started if I end up needing to go the more extreme route. But I'll try the peaceful options first...maybe tomorrow, when I talk to Zuko again. Her emotional turmoil died down as she made her decisions. By the time the moment came for her to go down to the garden to host the tea party, she was once again her regal, self-possessed self.

She'd chosen one of the larger palace gardens for the event. It was one of the most elaborate gardens on the palace grounds, and so it required very little in the way of decorating. Three or four low tables had been set up for the tea and pastries, and three tamed peacock-foxes had been released into the area to grace the greenery with their magnificent plumage. The atmosphere was elegant and refined. Perfect. Mai nodded her head in approval.

The guests had, of course, been selected carefully. There were all of the women from her mother's family, of course – it would have been an insult to the Bai Jiangs if she hadn't invited them. She'd also invited the wives and daughters of all the council members who had them, as well as a couple of the female council members themselves. Mai soon found herself making the social rounds – greeting her guests, making polite small talk, and generally being bored out of her mind.

It took nearly two hours for her to finally manage to get her youngest cousin – Lady Lian Bai Jiang – and Lady Shung off to one side. They seated themselves calmly around one of the tables. As the hostess, Mai poured their tea. "Thank you both for coming," she said politely. "I've been hoping for the chance to talk to you this afternoon."

"It's my honor to have been invited, your highness." Lady Shung inclined her head. Her soft gray eyes smiled. She was rather like a much less energetic version of Ty Lee, Mai thought – always smiling, always good-natured. But, like Ty Lee, there was much more to her than met the eye.

"It's been a while, cousin Mai." Lian took a delicate sip from her teacup. "And it's a pleasure to be here, of course." Her brow raised slightly as she glanced at the Fire Lady. The question was obvious – what do you want, Mai?

This was a delicate subject, and Mai knew she would have to be very cautious. Even though she knew that her mother's family had been against the war, she also knew that they were aristocracy with a very old bloodline. And while she suspected that her cousin would support her, she couldn't be sure. Lady Shung was a similar case. "Things have been interesting on the diplomatic front," she said quietly. She took a sip of her own tea. "There are problems in the Earth Kingdom colonies."

"I believe I heard something about that," Lady Shung murmured, looking distractedly over at one of the nearby peacock-foxes. "Doesn't the Earth Kingdom monarch have some issue with the troops that protect our people now?"

"Mm, yes. That is the presenting issue at the moment." The young queen nodded slowly. "I think, though, that it could be handled differently." She paused to see whether the two women had caught her inflection. Lian's amber eyes glinted keenly for a moment, and Lady Shung's brows lifted a fraction – they had caught it. "It would be a pity for the relations between the four elements to become too tense again," she went on. "Especially if it was unnecessary."

Lian glanced up at the sky. "I do hope it won't get windy – I despise having to redo my hair a dozen times a day," she sighed. She smoothed down the hem of her gown with one hand. "Yes, it would be a pity, cousin Mai. I hope someone finds a solution." Lady Shung nodded gravely, still apparently fascinated by the peacock-fox.

"Someone might." Mai sipped her tea again, with a proper courtly smile. "But I imagine it would take the best efforts of quite a number of people. It's quite a big problem, after all."

"True, true." Lady Shung opened a fan and fluttered it daintily. "My husband and son would probably help. They've got a number of Earth Kingdom connections around the area of Ba Sing Se...your family's connections all center on Omashu, do they not, Fire Lady Mai?"

"Yes, they do." Mai's eyes flickered. Good. She caught it. And Lord Shung might be interested in talking to me...I'll pursue that later, if I need to. She looked calmly at her cousin.

Lady Bai Jiang was evidently very absorbed in sipping her tea. There was a pause. "My brother should probably discuss this with you, cousin Mai," she said finally. "Lobsang is also well-versed in Earth Kingdom politics, as you know. I'm sure he would be very helpful."

Perfect. The slight tension that had been building in the back of Mai's neck dispersed. She nodded gravely as she opened her own fan. "True. And it would be good to talk to Lord Lobsang, anyway. I don't believe I've spoken to him since I was living with Mother and Father in Omashu." Lian gave an enigmatic smile, and the conversation moved into trivialities. To all appearances, they were just three highborn ladies at tea – but the dangerous games had begun.