Mai's hands were freezing, but she only shifted her weight on her palms and straightened her legs upwards. Then, standing on her hands with her knees still slightly bent, she began tossing her pebble from foot to foot. Her arms trembled; days of languishing in her cell had weakened her more than she had expected. She tried to stretch her legs straighter, wobbled, and almost fell, but caught herself on the cold wall.
The door opened.
"Hello, Uncle," said Mai, upside down.
"Mai, I have urgent news from the capital," said the Warden. "The Avatar has defeated Fire Lord Ozai."
Mai dropped into a ball and stood up facing her uncle. "What happened?"
"I don't know much," the Warden said, his brow creased. Mai was almost as tall as him and looked him directly in the eyes as he said, uncomfortably, "Sozin's comet was two days ago, and Fire Lord Ozai planned to use it to destroy the Earth Kingdom, but the Avatar and his friends destroyed his fleet and defeated him. It seems he is still alive, though—"
"And Zuko?" said Mai.
"Reports say he and one of the Avatar's friends defeated Princess Azula, who Fire Lord Ozai left in charge of the country. He's the de facto Fire Lord now."
Mai folded her arms, her bangs partially covering her eyes and her loose black hair spilling over her shoulders. The cords in her long neck were taught.
"This is probably a good thing for us, Mai," said the Warden quietly. "I am disgraced for letting Prince Zuko escape from the Boiling Rock, but now that he's in power…and you—"
"Uncle, release me," Mai interrupted, raising her head to look him in the eye.
He stepped back. "I can't do that, niece—not yet—"
"Yes you can," Mai said. "Release me immediately. I'm going back to the capitol. To Zuko," she added as an extra incentive.
The Warden raised his hands placatingly and seemed about to speak, but then he sighed and put his hands over his face. "All right. All right! My position can't get any worse than it already is. You'll be on a balloon ship within the hour. But please put in a good word for me, Mai!" He started to leave the cell, but Mai put a hand on the door to stop its closing.
"Wait, Uncle," she said gravely. "That's not all."
