Lord Lobsang Bai Jiang's arrival had been made without fanfare. To all appearances, it was a more or less insignificant event. To Mai, however, he might as well have been announced with blaring horns and clanging cymbals; he represented something significant, indeed. When his presence in the palace was announced, Mai immediately ordered that he be shown to her private drawing-room, and that refreshments be served. She took a few moments to smooth her clothing and check her hair in a mirror before going to greet her guest.

Her cousin rose and bowed as she entered the drawing-room. Mai was not a short woman, but Lobsang stood a full head taller than her; she suspected he was even a bit taller than Zuko. With a smile, she approached him, extending her hands. He took them in his with courtly grace. "Good morning, your highness," he said, with a slight twinkle in his dark eyes. "You look well."

"Good morning, cousin Lobsang." Mai's smile widened a little. He had always been her favorite cousin, and that much hadn't changed. "I haven't seen you since I was back in the Earth Kingdom. How are you?"

"I am quite well." He pulled out her chair for her, and she sat down. "Your fortunes have changed quite a lot since I last saw you. Then you were just my mournful little cousin Mai, with a broken betrothal and not too many prospects. Quite a lot has happened since then, hasn't it?" He smiled and shook his head as he took his seat. "You were the right hand of Crown Princess Azula for nearly half a year, and helped her take Ba Sing Se for the Fire Nation. Then there was that debacle at my father's prison, and it looked like you'd be a pariah – and then the war ended, and now you're the empress of the country! Your life certainly seems to have some hills and valleys, your highness."

"That it has," Mai said quietly. A silent servant poured their tea; the young queen took a piece of fruit from a bowl in the middle of their table. "And what are you doing these days, Lord Lobsang? I know you were helping my father in his duties as governor of New Ursa for a time, but you haven't been doing that for over a year."

Lobsang sipped his tea and helped himself to a sweet pastry. "My time with Governor Tsang was good," he said. "I learned quite a lot. In the end, though, I decided that I wanted to be back in the old country – particularly once you were made Fire Lady, cousin Mai." He paused for a moment. "Trust is a rare thing for a queen."

Now that was the truth. Mai nursed her teacup meditatively. Right now, she didn't really trust anyone in the palace at all. She eyed her cousin for a moment, and then decided to broach the subject she had called him here to discuss. She cleared her throat a bit. "Have you heard about the difficulties between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom?"

The lord nodded. "I've heard a few things, yes. Your father and I still keep in touch, and he mentioned that the Earth King wants all Fire Nation soldiers withdrawn from the Earth Kingdom. Is that the difficulty you're referring to?"

"One of them." The young queen sipped her tea as she chose her words carefully. "I believe the problems can be solved. A lot of them have been caused by our approach, however." Lobsang looked at her keenly, and Mai gave a distracted sigh, glancing out the window. "Komodo rhinos are excellent in battle, but not so welcome in china shops."

"True enough. No one pulls a plow with a mongoose-lizard." Lobsang scratched his chin. "Wisdom would dictate a change of animal."

Mai's heartbeat sped up a little at this. Lian was right. Lobsang believes someone else should be ruling this country! Her mask of polite interest unbroken, the Fire Lady nibbled on her apple. "An ostrich-horse would be more appropriate for a plow, I expect." She met her cousin's gaze for a moment. "I don't suppose I would have made much of a farmer."

Lobsang smiled. "You, cousin Mai, are an extremely capable woman. You are excellent at whatever you choose to do. If it was your lot to be a farmer, you would be a very good one." He paused. "However, neither the Tsangs nor the Bai Jiangs are farming families. And so you are a lady instead."

The young queen gave a slight inward frown. What is he saying? "Of course. I know family traditions are very important. But if it had been necessary for me to farm...."

"As a farmer's wife, you would have done fairly well, I think. Once you had learned all about the skills you needed, of course." Her cousin ate a bite of pastry and washed it down with a sip of tea. "As a farmer yourself, though? Perhaps not. Many would never support a farmer whose family wasn't firmly rooted in agriculture."

Her lips tightened just a bit. He's right. If I take the simplest route and take over the throne myself, there will be a lot of opposition to me, simply because I'm not of the direct line of Sozin. That could even trigger civil war...there are already a lot of factions. She finished her apple thoughtfully. "So those poor fields would simply be doomed to be plowed by mongoose-lizards?"

"Not at all. You'd just have to find a real farmer's child to do it with you."

Mai's head snapped up, and her amber eyes widened a little as they met his. Lobsang's expression was grave. Is he...is he suggesting...what I think he is? She bought herself some time to think and plan her next words by taking a few sips of tea. "Well, enough about inconsequential things," she said lightly. "Did you hear about all that happened with my husband's sister a few months ago?"

"I did, indeed. The whole thing was quite the scandal." Lobsang took another pastry and bit into it meditatively. "There were a lot of people who were quite amazed that the Fire Lord allowed her to live in exile after what she was rumored to have done. Is it true that she isn't actually a lunatic?"

Wow. Lobsang knows a lot more than he should, if he's hinting at what I think he is. Mai set her teacup down on the table. "She was raving mad for months," she said firmly. "That rumor was absolutely true, and I saw it myself. However, it seems that the Avatar and his waterbender were able to cure her. The last time I spoke with the former princess, she was as sane as I am."

"Interesting. The Avatar really must be a miracle worker." The lord sat back in his chair. "It's certainly a good thing for her that your husband is a merciful man."

Bitterness flooded Mai at this. She found it difficult to maintain her mask of calm for a moment. She knew what Lobsang had meant by the statement – Azula is alive and sane, and you're going to need her if you want to take the throne – but she couldn't bring herself to applaud Zuko's mercy, even just as a coded phrase, after everything he had done. "I'm sure his sister is grateful that her life was spared," she said tersely. "It's certainly more than she deserved." Lobsang frowned slightly, and Mai sighed. "It was a difficult situation for me," she said truthfully. "I'd rather not discuss it."

"As my lady desires," he said, with a courteous bow of his head. "I'm sure there was much more to those incidents than what I know. We'll let it lie." He sipped his drink. "So your parents are here in the Fire Nation. Have you been having a good visit?"

The conversation moved into purely light small talk after that. Beneath the surface, though, Mai's mind was racing. Lobsang has to be out of his mind if he thinks that we should put the reins of this nation into the hands of Azula! She might have changed a bit over the last couple of years, but it would still have be a bad idea to put the crown on her head. She's still Azula – isn't she? The memory of how the young woman had willingly put her head in the noose to save Ty Lee rose up uncomfortably in Mai's mind. All right, so maybe she has changed more than a bit. But even so, I wouldn't trust her with the full power of the throne.

A new idea struck her. The young queen nearly lost the flow of the surface conversation for a moment. She paused in her thoughts long enough to reestablish it. What if Azula didn't have the full power, though? She can't firebend. Her hands and feet are still weak, and will probably stay that way. Azula is a lot more controllable than she used to be. What if we were to make her into a sort of ceremonial figurehead? We could crown her Fire Lord and make it look like she ran the country. But behind the scenes, I and my allies could wield the real power. Mai's narrow eyes gleamed at the thought. We'd have to be careful, though. I'm pretty sure that Azula's mind is as sharp now as it used to be. She'd have to be watched closely – but it would be doable.

Mai paused in their conversation, trying to choose the proper topic to convey her ideas in. "You know, cousin Lobsang, I'm sure my father was grateful for your help with governing New Ursa," she said slowly. "Sometimes it's good to have help when you're a ruler." His eyes narrowed slightly as he tried to catch her meaning. "But then, my father held the real power – right?"

He understood now. Mai could see the corners of his mouth twitch upward. "That's right, he did. I wasn't the governor myself." Lobsang tapped his finger against his lips for a moment. "But then, I didn't want to be the governor. If I had, it would have been harder."

"Harder, yes. But not impossible." The young queen finished her tea. I think that's about as in-depth as we can go with this conversation here. If we want to go deeper, we'll have to talk someplace more private. She glanced at the silent servant. "You're staying at the Bai Jiang ancestral estate at the moment, aren't you, Lord Lobsang?"

"That's right." He inclined his head.

"I'd love to see that," Mai murmured. "I think Father and Mother took me to visit there once when I was about eight years old, just before your family moved to the Eath Kingdom, but I don't really remember it. I was probably too young to properly appreciate the place, anyway."

Lobsang smiled and nodded. "Well, cousin Mai, I'm certain we'd be more than honored by a visit from the empress of the Fire Nation," he said. "Consider this a standing invitation, your highness. The Bai Jiang family estate is open to you whenever you like. Only..." He paused, his eyes twinkling. "Give us a few days' notice, please. I'm sure my mother would like some warning."

"Of course." Mai couldn't help smiling at this. She extended her hand, and Lobsang took it. "Thank you for coming, cousin Lobsang. I'm sorry I can't stay longer, but there's a meeting of the high council in a half-hour, and I really need to be there."

"No need to apologize. Thank you for the invitation to come." They both rose to their feet, and the lord bowed smoothly from the waist. "I hope to see you again soon, Fire Lady Mai. May you live long and burn brightly." She bowed her head in return, and they parted. Both of them had a lot to think about.