Katara is home alone, which means she can stop hiding her deepest secret for a little while.

She plays with fire on her fingertips. It always has been the most resistant element to her, but she likes living a little dangerously. Katara is daring enough to sleep with Prince Ozai's fiancée after all. Stone is easy to melt and rebuild. Air, well, she lied and said she was an airbender to one of the ambassadors and he taught her a few swift moves before he could find out her name.

Someone needs to formally train her, but that cannot happen. Katara runs a brothel and sells secrets for a living. Let the world think the Avatar has vanished; they do not need her anyway. Everything is balanced, and Katara kind of likes tipping scales from time to time.

She snuffs out her flames when she starts to think too much about Ozai again. How he knows what she is… she has no clue. Katara has never told a soul, because she is remarkably good at withholding information. How could he know? How could she vow allegiance to a man who cannot want her gift for anything savory?

Katara returns to her dishes, but gets mere moments with them because someone knocks on the door. She rushes to open it, uncertain who would be calling upon her at this hour.

"Mai?" Katara asks, stunned. She has no idea why the future princess would be in this area of town, or any area outside of the palace, especially the night before her wedding.

"I needed to get away. Everyone keeps talking about tomorrow," Mai says, pushing Katara aside and closing the door behind her. Their eyes meet and then part. "I can't do it. I can't get married tomorrow."

"You have cold feet," Katara says. Mai cocks an eyebrow. "Cold feet. Jitters? It's normal to get nervous before your wedding and want to back out."

"I've had my entire life to prepare for this, but I just…" Mai locates the nearest chair and sits down. "Did you know that my parents trained me in hobbies that he enjoyed? I had no idea until I was old enough for them to shamelessly inform me."

"That sounds a lot like them, from what you've told me," Katara says, accepting the fact that her dishes will not be washed tonight. "You're going to get in trouble."

"I'm going to get you in trouble. You should be more worried about yourself; I can take care of myself," Mai says, wringing her hands. She had a knife or ten when she left home, but she does not know what happened to them. "Hide me. Send me to the South Pole."

"Yeah, the South Pole isn't a nice place anymore. Not that it was extremely nice when I lived there, but it was home then," Katara says. "You would hate it."

"Just take me somewhere," Mai orders, but Katara cannot comply.

"You have to marry him," says Katara.

"I know that! Everyone has told me that for my whole life!" Mai settles herself down and regains her cold composure. "I thought you might have a different opinion."

Katara kneels with her hands on Mai's knees. She feels vaguely maternal in this position, or at least more devoted to Mai than she should be.

"I wish I did. I've known a lot of girls in arranged marriages. Yours is a little more important than most of theirs," Katara says, patting Mai's leg.

"Royalty isn't special. I was raised around them, in their palace, and they're not gods."

"Did I say I thought they were? This is an important wedding, and we both know that," Katara says tenderly, sitting down on the floor. Mai rubs her face and breathes deeply. "I'm sure it hurts."

"It doesn't. It…" Mai is at a loss for words. "It makes me angry."

She does not think she has ever assigned a feeling to herself. Right now, though, she does not know who she is anymore. Mai has only ever been what other people have told her to be. That does not seem to cut it anymore. Tonight, she has entered an identity crisis at the worst possible time.

"I can understand why," Katara says, standing up. She does not know what to do with herself right now. "I've spent my whole life running, and it really sucks. Which means I'm a hypocrite when I tell you that you should face this."

Mai feels lost until she thinks of something perfect.

"What if I tell you the biggest secret you have ever heard? Will you help me run away if I do that?" Mai suggests, and Katara instinctually wants to tell her that no secret could stop a wedding.

Then again, Mai has been very close to Ozai and whoever his informant was. Maybe she can help Katara solve her dangerous mystery.

"Does it have to do with Prince Ozai?" Katara asks. Mai nods. "I can help you if it's the one I'm looking for."

Mai tries to slow her spinning head down. She cannot just give her only leverage away, but, at the moment, she is beyond desperate.

"He's going to start a war," Mai says, and Katara can hardly contain her shock. "This summer."

"That's soon," Katara says. She starts to think about it and wonders if that could be what Prince Ozai needs the Avatar for.

"It's when the Great Comet comes," Mai explains, which means nothing to Katara, but she assumes it is a significant event.

"I don't know what that is, but I do know that comets are terrible omens," Katara says. Mai nods.

"They say an emperor falls every time one comes. Fire Lord Sozin did. I don't know much before that," Mai says. Katara holds up a finger. "It gives firebenders power."

"Okay, that answers my question." Katara closes her fist. "That's part of what I was looking for."

"This secret is not for resale. Do you understand me?" Mai says gravely. Katara nods; she is not planning on telling a soul. "Unless you can get me across the ocean before morning."

"I need to find a few things out, but I owe you a huge favor. You can call on it whenever you want, but not yet," Katara explains. Mai does not look like she cares, but Katara knows that she does. "It'll be okay."

Mai stands and kisses Katara.

Katara's heart races. She pulls Mai into a tight embrace and keeps their lips locked until she is suffocating.

"Lets go upstairs. My brother might come home," Katara says and Mai nods.

Katara guides her up to her bedroom. It does not look like it should belong to Katara. Too barren, lacking warmth or personality. She has a painting of a waterbender, but, beyond that, it could be a mundane guest room at an inn.

It probably will not be their last time, but they pretend that it is.

They undress and kiss and undress some more and kiss some more.

Katara sits down on her bed, pulls Mai down and kisses her like kissing was everything. She caresses her hips and down to her thighs. Katara had not noticed the muscle tone in the dim, candlelit palace.

"This isn't practice," Mai says, lying down. "I want to make that clear. I can't think of this as that. It makes me sick."

"You're not very good at talking dirty, are you?" Katara smiles.

Mai sets Katara's hands on a trail to her cunt. Katara strokes the fur between her legs and Mai noticed how oddly strong and capable her fingers are. Everything Katara does is deliberate, but not precise. Not Azula or Ozai or any of them. No; Katara knows what she wants and she cares about getting it. Mai would rather have this whore than any royal.

Katara's touch seems perfectly designed to send tremors through Mai's body.

They lie on their sides, facing each other, but not looking at each other's faces. Mai mirrors those movements and they linger over each other and thrust simultaneously and their moans sound like sighs.

Mai closes her eyes.

This is what she wants. She just wishes she could be passionate enough to get it.


Katara walks Mai home before the sun rises. It seems like the city is empty save for the two of them. They arrive at the palace and stand still for a long time.

Mai kisses Katara on the lips, risking being seen.

Her lips are poison; her lips are wine.


In the morning, Mai wonders if last night was a dream.

In the morning, Katara schemes. She has to find out about Ozai's conniving, and the wedding seems like the perfect place to do it.

It will be a long day.