Chains shuffled as Zuko, suddenly awake, fought hard as he heard his daughter screaming. He pushed and pulled against the iron but to no avail. He took his eyes from Katara and stared angrily at his captor.
As soon as Maya was securely in her arms Mai looked up and gave a signal. Two Dai Li agents came forward and unhooked Zuko's chains from the wall. Still bound but at least able to move, he got some renewed hope until he saw a blade of iron flash across his vision.
"No funny business, Zuko. You wouldn't want anything to happen to your daughter now would you?" Mai bent down and kissed the top of Maya's head lovingly. She handed the screaming girl to the Dai Li agent at her side and before his eyes the girl was placed in a rock tomb and one agent earthbended a giant boulder hovering above her head. The little girl screamed and cried frantically as Zuko watched helplessly. He heard a snicker and saw Mai descending from her earthen throne to come closer to him.
"Let her go, she's just a child!" Mai's smirk turned into a frown and she came up beside Zuko taking his chin into her grip.
"Oh I'll let her go, alright. But you have to do something for me first." Zuko eyed her dangerously, watching as she paced back in forth in front of him.
"What do you want?" The Fire Lord gritted through his teeth.
"Oh nothing really, just a small token of your affection. How about the Fire Nation?" He felt his teeth biting down against each other so hard the muscles of his jaw stiffened.
"Oh Zuzu, and one more thing. I want you to denounce your entire family in front of the whole world and then I want you to marry me. If you don't then I will kill them myself right before your eyes." His eyes widened as he looked to Katara who stared incredulously at the scene playing out before her.
"Why are you doing this?" A knife flicked so fast to his neck he almost blinked and missed it. The anger in Mai's eyes was a passionate anger and resentment.
"From the time I was born my father told me I would be the next Fire Lady. Do you think it a coincidence that I was sent to the academy with your sister or that I spent almost all my waking time with her? No, I was getting closer to the family. Lu Ten's death was no accident. My father arranged it. All in the hopes that one day I would marry you and become your queen. My father knew Ozai wanted power and he practically handed it to him on a silver platter. Unfortunately with your little misbehavior you were banished. That put a bump into our plans but when you finally came home everything was well again. I had you and I had everything I had ever wanted.
"Oh don't get me wrong. I loved you Zuko, dearly. That's why I was heartbroken when you left me. You were the Prince of the Fire Nation once more and you had to go act all noble and side with the Avatar. How disgusting. The end of the war had finally been in sight and we could have won. The Fire Nation would have been all powerful but you ruined everything. Everything we had all worked so hard on!" She had to take a few moments to gather her breath. The grip on her knife readjusted and with a new intensity she pressed it harder against his skin.
"I kept telling myself you would come back to me. You had said you loved me. Then you did come back and your uncle was Fire Lord for a time, but you wouldn't even look at me. I felt betrayed. Everything I had ever felt or known was gone. Azula was dead, Ty Lee disappeared and you, my prince, ignored me. Still I kept hoping one day you would be mine. I appeared more at court until the Elders stripped me of my title and lands and reduced me to a peasant. My father fought hard for us to keep at least some of what we owned. We were the old blood, strong and resilient and with time we got some of our lands back, but we were broken. That was when we found out you were to wed, and of all the disgusting things, you married a waterbender. You could have had me, the old blood, the pride of the Fire Nation at your side and you decided to marry a water tribe whore. So, I bid my time. It was an arranged marriage, the people would refuse her, hate her. Someone else would do the deed I so longed to do, but they didn't.
"When she went back to the South Pole I thought it was for good and my spies told me she had gotten dangerously ill. It was only a matter of time before she died, or so I thought. No one tried to kill her and then in the midst of everything you two bore an heir to the throne. I was astounded and broken once more. So I decided another tactic. I decided to remind the people of this nation, who we are and what we could do. I reminded them just how close we had been to sharing our wisdom with the world. I did all of this so I could get your attention Zuko. So that finally you wouldn't have a choice, but to be mine."
"You're crazy." He hissed at her.
"No Zuko, you're the crazy one, giving up your heritage, your nation, for a silly waterbender. Well now's the time to choose, what will it be? Denounce your stupid wife and children and marry me or else I'll kill them." Zuko looked down from her gaze and fought back tears. He had to be strong for his family. He loved them more than any other thing in the world; if it meant they would live and be safeā¦could he live the rest of his life without them?
He looked to Katara and his heart sunk, she looked so sad and scared. Her eyes lifted to meet his and he knew he would do anything to protect his family. Anything.
"I'm waiting Zuko." He turned to Mai and growled. She flicked her wrist slightly. His head swung as Katara screamed. The boulder came closer to his wife almost hitting her before bouncing back up at the last second. His heart beat quickened. He turned back to Mai, her devilish grin widening.
"Alright Mai, I'll do whatever you want. Just let them go!" Zuko screamed fighting against his chains. Mai's smile broadened and he felt the hatred building up inside of him.
"Good for you Zuko. You will see you have made the right choice, but I'm afraid I just can't take any chances. She flicked her wrist and the boulder above Katara's head disappeared. Suddenly the stone guard around her became thicker and harder. The shell became a prison and slowly covered her head. Katara's scream became muffled as the last hole of air was gone from sight.
"No!" Zuko screamed and fought against his chains.
"Sorry Zuko, I just can't take any chances. I can't risk letting her escape, but don't worry I won't hurt your daughter unless you disobey me." Suddenly his eyes shifted to his daughter who began to scream, tears streamed down her face.
"Mommy!" She cried her small chubby hands reaching out to where she knew her mother had been.
Mai watched them impressed as Zuko struggled against his chains. His body was heating up quickly, like it had never done before. His hands began to go numb as his wrists began to bleed against the shackles. He struggled harder, calling out to Katara. He heard nothing and feared she was suffocating quickly.
His daughter's screams increased and his heart beat quicker. Mai looked at Maya disturbed and drew a knife from her sleeves. She threw the knife at his daughter just barely missing the girl as it curved to the side.
"Leave.
"Her.
"Alone!"
"Shut up brat, you will listen to me now! I will be your new mother." Maya screamed and all the while Zuko could only think of Katara suffocating. By the moving rocks he knew they were squeezing her.
Inside his mind everything went quiet. He couldn't help them and yet he struggled. The inner flame within him was being fed rabidly and it grew with every scream. He had to help them.
They were his life.
Maya's gaze turned to her father as he struggled and even for her age to realize the immense heat radiating off of him. His body had turned to flames and she watched as the gold fire began to grow turning white and then blue almost touching on a shade of green.
By that time Mai had turned her head to him and lifted her hands up to see better.
With one powerful blast Zuko broke through his chains his body rushing on pure intense heat and he charged to Mai.
Maya could see no more as the entire building was engulfed in flames and the light blinded her momentarily. The Dai-Li agents were running and she saw their shadows and screams disappear from behind the flames. She turned to her father calling out for him.
He looked up his eyes glowing like the stars. He raced over to her and burst through her rock tomb. She clung to his burning skin. She almost screamed he was burning so hot, but her own inner fire was being fed and she adjusted to the new warmth quickly.
She finally felt warm and secure in his arms. She felt him push aside the rocks that buried her mother and felt a pang of fear as the flames all around her began to lick her skin hungrily. She had never been afraid of fire until now and it scared her.
Finally through the dirt and smoke she saw her mother's figure. Her father was struggling now, more than she had ever seen him struggle before. He set her down for a split moment.
"Come on Maya I want you to jump on to my back so I can get your mother. Whatever you do don't let go. Hold on as tight as you can!" He yelled at her over the roaring flames and as soon as he cradled her mother in his arms she jumped on to his shoulders grabbing the top of his head. She looked down realizing how high she was and she grew even more frightened.
Her grip around the top of his head was as tight as could be and she found herself inwardly focusing on his top knot crown. She had never seen it so close before and she saw how the fire sparkled and danced within it and she knew why it was in the shape of fire.
She held on for dear life as the fire was literally suck the breath right out of her and just when she thought she was going to choke she felt a breath of fresh air. And her lungs were clear.
