-It's been a while since I posted anything, but I hadn't been feeling much like working on my fanfictions, just the original story I had been writing, then I didn't want to work on that, so I decided that I should work on this. I sped things along here, and then again in the next chapter, so yay! Two chapters. I'll work on another one soon, but I'm sorry that it took so long to come out with these. And the next chapter's a little longer than this one, so I hope that makes up for me not posting for a long time a little bit. I want to thank the people who are following this story and those of you that like it. I'll try and work on it more often. =) I'll let you all get to the story now.- SpiffyPixie1

The Avatar's Disciples: Story of Mayu

Chapter 6

I remembered Uncle Iroh's news well, even years later. It was a terrible day.

Things had cooled down between both Azula and me so we could be around each other again. It didn't matter so much on some days because she habitually regarded me with a cool demeanor; I was beneath her.

Zuko, Azula, and I were playing in the garden with Lady Ursa when she opened the letter from Uncle Iroh and read it. We were concerned immediately when she gasped and covered her mouth, eyes wide with tears.

It wasn't anything good and there were no presents this time, like the dolls he had sent Azula and I, or the beautifully engraved pearl dagger he had given to Zuko. The news was that Lu Ten was dead; killed in action during the very siege on Ba Sing Se that Iroh was leading.

I held Zuko later that day while he cried in his room, telling him that it was better to cry and let his emotions out than to keep them in. Even while telling him so, I didn't cry so I wouldn't upset him further. I was devastated that Lu Ten was gone; he was a good friend to me and kind, and I felt sorrow at the fact that I would never see his smiling face again.

Uncle also sent word that he was quitting with the siege. He didn't have the strength to fight anymore. I couldn't blame him.

Through the grieving, I grew infuriated with Azula. I knew that she must have felt some sort of sadness at her cousin being dead, but instead of showing that she only mocked Uncle and called him a quitter and a loser. She also made it a point to tell us that Iroh's heir to the throne was gone.

Zuko wanted to hear none of it, of course, but I listened and worried. It turns out that I worried for a good reason.

Zuko and Azula's father, Ozai, showed hardly any sadness, if he felt sorrow at all, at the news of his nephew's death and his elder brother's devastated state of mind. Not long after he requested a meeting with Fire Lord Azulon and Lady Ursa, Zuko, and Azula were to attend as well. I had no idea why, but Lady Ursa and Zuko encouraged me to go as well, and so I did, but I sat behind Zuko and tried to seem as well-mannered as I could.

I had never seen the Fire Lord before and I was surprised at how timeworn he appeared to be. Then again, he did have a whole nation to run and he was still waging a war that his father had started, so it shouldn't have surprised me.

Still, I would be lying if I said I hadn't been in awe of the Fire Lord. The whole of the throne room was meant to be intimidating, obviously; a single ruler commanding large rows of flame on either side of him.

My control over my own abilities had gotten better so I was not afraid to be so near to the flames, and I was in no danger of the fires being drawn to me.

I sat and listened while Ozai asked a question about Zuko and Azula's great-grandfather Sozin, and how he was able to win the battle of Han Ti. Zuko, flustered about the question, forgot the books we had studied and couldn't remember.

Azula showed her brother up immediately, smirking. "Because even though his army was outnumbered, he cleverly calculated his advantages; the enemy was downwind and there was a drought. Their defenses burned to a crisp in minutes."

She was, of course, correct, and Ozai wasted no time in praising her for it. "Now, my dear, would you show grandfather the new moves you demonstrated to me?" He ignored Zuko completely, eager to show off Azula to the Fire Lord.

Her skills with firebending were honestly spectacular. She was a perfectionist in everything that she did. It was no secret to any of us that Ozai thought his daughter a firebending prodigy, and even less of a secret what he thought of Zuko's skills.

Ozai was smiling. "She is a true prodigy, just like her grandfather for whom she's named."

Azula scampered back over to sit by her brother and whispered, "You'll never catch up," earning a scowl from the both Zuko and I, though she couldn't see me.

Zuko, feeling competitive, immediately stood up and stated, "I want to demonstrate what I've been learning."

I could practically feel Ozai's mood drop as Zuko started to go through his forms.

I knew Zuko worked very hard on his firebending and, even though he wasn't as 'naturally gifted' with skills like Azula, he did very well. He practiced his firebending often and worked on his forms as much as he could, but his movements were noticeably different than his sister's; more fluid, less rigid. I, for one, thought it looked more natural, at least.

We all watched him as he progressed through his forms, and I glanced up at the Fire Lord to see him with his hands together, watching Zuko intently.

After a moment, Zuko attempted a jumping kick, slipped, and fell backward.

Lady Ursa and I both moved forward a bit, concerned, but Zuko got right back up and tried the move again, producing fire this time but once again falling. His mother rushed forward to help him up and I heard Zuko's disappointed tone.

"I failed."

"No," Lady Ursa said kindly, smiling. "I loved watching you. That's who you are, Zuko; someone who keeps fighting even though it's hard."

There were tears in Zuko's eyes as he listened to his mother's words and I yearned to comfort my friend.

Fire Lord Azulon spoke up, tired of sitting and waiting. "Prince Ozai, why are you wasting my time with this pup? Just tell me what you want! Everyone else, go!"

Lady Ursa, Zuko, Azula, and I got up to leave but before we reached the door, Azula pulled Zuko behind one of the curtains and Zuko pulled me along.

I was worried. "We'll get in trouble if we're caught eavesdropping back here," I whispered, hoping Azula would let us leave.

"Shut up," she hissed.

Zuko began to ask what she was doing but Azula shushed him and opened the curtains a bit so we could peak through and see Ozai talking with his father.

"Father," Ozai began, "You must have realized as I have that with Lu Ten gone, Iroh's bloodline has ended. After his death, my brother abandoned the siege of Ba Sing Se, and who knows when he'll return home."

I bit my lip, angered. Uncle has a right to mourn the loss of his son. He loved Lu Ten more than anything!

Still, Ozai continued, angering me further. "But I am here, father, and my children are alive." Anyone could see where he was going with this.

The Fire Lord spoke gruffly. "Say what it is you want."

"Father, revoke Iroh's birthright. I am your humble servant, here to serve you and our nation. Use me." He bowed before his father, head down.

My body was quivering with rage.

Fire Lord Azulon, at least, seemed angered at this suggestion as well. He rose slightly from his throne. "You dare suggest I betray Iroh, my firstborn!?" The fire around him flared brighter and I could feel the heat even at the back of the room. "Directly after the demise of his only beloved son!? I think Iroh has suffered enough, but you? Your punishment has scarcely begun!"

The flames leapt high from the Fire Lord's rage and Zuko ran, dragging me with him. Azula, as far as I knew, stayed behind to watch more of the exchange.

I sat beside Zuko's bed later while he was lying down and resting, a sad look upon his face.

"Zuko, look at me."

He glanced up, countenance still depressed.

I smiled and took one of his hands, wanting to make him feel better. "Don't worry about anything, okay? Uncle is in mourning right now, but he'll come back and take his place on the throne when the time comes." I hoped so, anyway. Fire Lord Azulon didn't seem too pleased with the idea of replacing Iroh with Ozai, and I was glad for that. "Everything will be alright."

Zuko smiled slightly and squeezed my hand in appreciation for my attempt at cheering him up.

Azula opened the door and leaned against the doorway, smirking and looking mischievous. "Dad's going to kill you, dad's going to kill you," she sang, then turned her head toward her brother, smiling maliciously. "Really, he is."

Zuko sat up in his bed, scowling. "Ha ha, Azula; nice try."

"Fine, don't believe me." She strode over to us, almost dancing. "But I heard everything. Grandfather said dad's punishment should fit his crime." She tried speaking in a deeper voice to imitate her grandfather. "You must learn the pain of losing a firstborn son by sacrificing your own!"

The words gave me uneasy chills. He didn't really say that, did he?

Zuko looked away from his sister, irritated. "Liar."

Azula spun around, pretending to be shocked. "I'm only telling you for your own good." She acted suddenly as if she had an idea and sat on the edge of the bed. "I know! Maybe you can find a nice Earth Kingdom family to adopt you!"

"Stop it! You're lying!" Zuko closed his eyes and pulled his blankets closer to him. "Dad would never do that to me."

Or would he? I felt worried about Azula's words. Since we left, we had no way of knowing whether or not the Fire Lord had really said such things to Ozai, but Azula did have a reputation as a liar.

Lady Ursa stood at the door, curious as to what was being said. "Your father would never do what to you? What is going on here?"

Azula acted innocent and said sweetly, "I don't know."

Her mother didn't seem to buy it. "It's time to have a talk." She grabbed her daughter's hand and pulled her out of the room.

When they were gone, Zuko closed his eyes once again, trying to push the fear away. "Azula always lies. Azula always lies." He kept repeating this to himself, obviously worried about what his sister said.

I sat beside him and listened to his worried tone, wanting to comfort him, but I was worried as well. I wanted to believe that Ozai loved his son and would never even think of doing something like that to him, but it was hard to be sure of what he'd do. For a while I just sat and held Zuko to me while he shook and worried but eventually I tried cheering him up with tricks of fire.

"Are you ready?" I held my hands out, one palm up, the other down, and he nodded to me. After a deep breath I willed a ball of flame into existence and shaped it so that it looked like a miniature, fiery version of a turtle duck.

Zuko stared, wide-eyed but smiling. "How are you doing that?"

I shook my head, concentrating. "I don't know. I just practice with it and eventually I can do things like this." I made the fiery turtle duck walk out of my hand and onto the bed, willing for it not to burn anything.

My friend looked startled but amazed. "Wow. That's amazing, Mayu!" He reached out a hand to the turtle duck but then pulled back and looked at me. "Will it burn me?"

"No, it's alright." I had commanded the fire not to burn anything at all, so it wouldn't harm Zuko.

He reached his hands out and picked up the miniature fire animal, forgetting all his fears for the moment. "You make fire come alive. How is that possible?"

I had the miniature turtle duck dance in Zuko's hands, determined to keep my friend smiling. "If I knew, I would tell you. I just feel the essence of the fire, feel the emotion of it, and I just reach through somehow and command it." I morphed the turtle duck into a fiery, miniature version of Zuko and had it wave to him, earning myself a delighted laugh. "Do you want me to freeze this one too?"

Zuko shook his head but smiled. "That's okay. I wouldn't want anyone to find it and become suspicious."

I agreed and kept creating little fire creatures until dark and said my goodbyes. "I'll see you in the morning, Zuko. Goodnight."

He hugged me tightly, still a little worried about Azula's words. "Goodnight, Mayu. Sleep well."

I left then for the servant's quarters and practically collapsed into my bed, tired and feeling worried myself. Ozai wouldn't really do anything like that, would he? I couldn't imagine waking up and finding a dead Zuko, but I silently cried myself to sleep, hoping that Azula really was just lying.

When I awoke I ran to find Zuko, wanting to see that he was still alive, and I found his room empty.

My heart dropped until I heard his voice down the hall.

"Where's mom?"

Azula responded, sounding bored. "No one knows. Oh, and last night, grandfather passed away."

I walked down the hall quietly until I saw Zuko and Azula.

Zuko was angry. "Not funny, Azula. You're sick." He strode toward her. "And I want my knife back. Now."

Azula, indeed, appeared to be playing with the knife Uncle had sent to him. When Zuko reached for it, however, she hopped away, out of his reach, and held it out tauntingly.

"Who's going to make me? Mom?"

The words hit a nerve and Zuko faltered before gritting his teeth and snatching the knife from his sister's hand. He ran off and I followed him, briefly looking back to glare at Azula.

Zuko ran to the palace garden and found his father who was staring out at the turtle duck pond with a cool expression. My friend had anger in his voice. "Where is she?"

Ozai ignored his son and did not answer or even acknowledge that he was there.

The next day a ceremony was held for Fire Lord Azulon's death. A fire sage spoke of his accomplishments in battle, of his family, and set his body aflame to burn to ash.

The fire sage's next words filled me with dread. "As was your dying wish, you are now succeeded by your second son." The crest of the Fire Lord was placed upon Ozai and the fire sage's voice rang out loudly, "Hail, Fire Lord Ozai!"

The columns of soldiers, the fire sages, Zuko, Azula, and I as well, all bowed to the new Fire Lord.

I felt fear in the pit of my stomach, knowing that this was not the way things were meant to be. Iroh was supposed to be the next Fire Lord, not Ozai, and Lady Ursa should not have been gone. I wondered if Ozai had anything to do with the simultaneous disappearance of Lady Ursa and the death of his father, but I couldn't figure out how it could've been done. I looked at Zuko and feared for my friend, knowing, somehow, that he would end up being hurt.

In the weeks that followed Azulon's death and Lady Ursa's disappearance, Uncle returned home.

For a while I would watch him and silently hope that he would do something, that he would take his throne back before Ozai did something terrible, but he didn't. Uncle was too hurt over his son's death.

I couldn't blame him, though. If I lost my mother, my father, or if I lost Zuko . . . I wasn't sure what I would do.

My mother had been Lady Ursa's handmaiden, but when Zuko and I questioned her on where Ursa might've gone or why she had disappeared, mom would only say that she didn't know.

This only made Zuko sadder, but I couldn't help but feel that mom was lying. She still thought she was keeping it a secret from me that I was a firebender, after all. I felt like mom did know what happened to Lady Ursa and she just wasn't telling us. It infuriated me, the secrets she kept and the lies she told me.

I could do nothing about it, though. Whatever her reasons, mom felt that she was protecting me.

I watched everyone around the castle and felt like everything was slowly falling apart. It looked fine, but the basic peace that Lady Ursa had brought was gone.

And Fire Lord Ozai started to take an interest in Zuko's studies more, wanting him to become better, which was all fine and dandy except for the fact that he no longer wanted me to be around his son.

"You're too old for a playmate, Zuko. You need to study and practice your skills without any distractions." He was practically glaring at his son, and ignoring me.

I had never spoken to Ozai before, not once, but I couldn't stop myself now. "Fire Lord Ozai, Zuko needs me! I'm his friend, and I need to be here for him!"

He still wouldn't even acknowledge my existence. "You are to study with a tutor every day and report to the dojo for training at noon. There will be no more playing with servants, Zuko. Do you understand?"

I bit my lip and kept silent, thinking, I'm not a servant! I'm his friend. I was Zuko's best friend. And now he wouldn't be allowed near me.

Still, he nodded obediently. I would be lying if I said that it didn't hurt a little bit, his willingness to just be separated from me.

I left the throne room immediately after that, trying my best not to cry when I reported to the kitchens for my new job as a scullery maid. The kitchen maid was a robust older woman with a round face and small dark eyes. She was gruff with me, but seeing that I was distressed, sent me to do multiple tasks to keep me busy, which was cleaning and scouring the floors and then, after the floors were clean, throwing the inedible food out into a compost bin for the gardener's use.

The bin was heavy and I struggled to carry it out to the gardener's shed, but I gritted my teeth and kept on walking slowly, determined to keep myself busy and not think.

I was angry, and upset with Zuko that he hadn't tried to at least put up an argument. I was supposed to be there for him, comforting him when he was upset, encouraging him in his endeavors, and now I couldn't.

Do you not want me around, Zuko? I just shook my head and gripped the bin full of decomposing food closer, not wanting to drop it when I was so close to the shed.

"Do you need any help?"

I slammed the heavy bin to the ground, not caring that bits of food had fallen and marched up to Zuko, scowling. "No, I don't need help! Why the hell are you here!?"

Zuko looked confused, not used to my anger. "I saw you out here and I figured you might like company."

"Company!?" Of course I was delighted at seeing him, but I was still mad. "Your father said you're not allowed around me anymore! And you said nothing about it! You just agreed, not protesting or arguing, like you couldn't care less that I can't hang out with you anymore; just shook your head obediently." Tears were threatening to spill from my eyes and I wiped at them angrily.

"Please don't be upset, Mayu." Zuko drew me into his arms and stroked my hair, voice and touch as comforting as ever. "I didn't want to make my father angry, that's all." He tilted my chin up so I was looking into his eyes. "I agreed with his wishes because I had no intention of actually going through with them. I will never stop spending time with you."

I had little hiccupping sobs trying to escape, but pushing them down just made my hiccups worse. "A-as *hic* if you *hic* you will be able to *hic* get away from your studies now." And I descended into a fit of hiccupping, made painful by the need to cry that I was pushing away.

Zuko laughed a little and I gave him a dirty look. He only stifled his laughter but kept smiling. "Mayu, whenever I have a spare moment and I can go hang out with you, I will." He let me go so he could take the food bin to the gardener's shed but returned as quickly as he could, wiping my tears away when they finally started escaping. "You're my best friend. I won't ever abandon you."

I just nodded, still hiccupping and crying.

After a moment, when I composed myself, we determined that I had to go. I had a new job and Zuko had to get back to his studies.

"You can't come see me when I'm working, Zuko." He was walking with me to the back door of the kitchen to see me inside, but I had to make a point first.

My friend folded his arms and waited for me to continue, so I did.

"Everyone in the castle knows that I was your playmate, and for lack of a better word, your 'personal servant', so it will be known that we're not supposed to be around each other anymore." I watched as he leaned against the wall to the kitchen and sighed. "People will report to your father that you're still trying to spend time with me, and he'll be angry."

Zuko kicked at the ground with his shoes, scowling. "So what, we'll just start hanging out in secret?"

I nodded, albeit reluctantly, knowing that it seemed inappropriate. "Maybe not totally in secret, because there have to be some people who won't care, but I don't want you to get in trouble. I don't want to be thrown out of the castle either and never be able to see you again." This earned me a derisive snort and I rolled my eyes. "You might be the prince, but I'm just a lowly scullery maid now, Zuko. Your father has no use for me."

I could see that he didn't like the idea, but Zuko sighed and nodded, seeing my point. "Fine, but where are we supposed to sneak off to and meet without people thinking that we're . . ." He blushed faintly and looked away from me, unable to finish the sentence, but I knew what he was trying to say and cleared my throat, feeling a slight blush on my face.

"The servant's quarters, Zuko." He looked confused, so I explained further. "There are no guards around the servant's quarters, and the others don't mind us hanging out with each other, really. It's the ones that live in the palace that we have to avoid." I thought about it for a while and shook my head a little. "It's probably best that we avoid hanging out around my mom, too. She'd panic about the possibility of us getting into trouble and never let us be around each other."

"What excuse would I have for going out to the servant's quarters?"

I shrugged and hoisted the food bin on my hip, holding it at an angle. "You don't have to study every minute of every day. Just get away when you can and work out a time when it'd be okay." I smiled, feeling the little hope in my heart that I wouldn't have to lose my best friend. "You don't have to come see me every day. I'd be happy with seeing you at least once a month."

Zuko made a noise of exasperation and laughed, as if he couldn't believe what I was saying. "Oh please, as if I'd really go to see you only once a month." He smiled at me in such a sweet way that made my heart beat faster and my head a little dizzy. "You're my best friend, Mayu. You make my life better."

The blush on my face was practically burning as Zuko kissed me softly on the forehead then walked away, promising to come visit me later to tell me how his studies went.

I just nodded and fled to the kitchens, getting scolded for taking so long but then getting saddled with taking more compost material out to the gardener's shed.

I did so without hesitation, keeping myself busy, again, so I wouldn't have to think, or overthink about how nice Zuko's little kiss felt.

Later the kitchen maid made a little joke to the head cook about how red my face was, and how I must have a little crush on a boy and they laughed harder and harder when my blush would just get deeper and I'd stammer that I had to finish the job I was doing.

I didn't know what to make of my own feelings, but I refused to think about it. Even if I did have a crush on Zuko, there couldn't have been much of a future there. He was a prince, and compared to him, I was literally nothing. He would be Fire Lord someday, and I would still just be a servant. Mai would be able to marry him, and I would be able to marry another servant or a soldier, but thinking about Mai marrying Zuko just set my blood boiling, and I had to control my fury immediately for fear of setting the kitchen ablaze.

Much later, when I was exhausted and I was just sweeping out the floor of a pantry, I settled down on the balls of my feet and cried silently into the apron I had, muffling any sound that could have escaped me.

So much for not thinking about it.

- Ah, young romance. I love torturing my characters with it. Of course, it is a Zuko/OC story, so it was to be expected. Things will be rushed along a little bit more in the next chapter, so prepare yourselves. And be prepared because it's a little longer than this, and I worry that it was drawn out, but it just seemed right to me. Thank you for reading, and leave a comment if you wish.- SpiffyPixie1