"All I'm asking is if you saw something." Zuko grasped the high back of the chair in front of him as he looked across the table at Mai. "That night, in Azula's library."

"I already told you, I don't know what you're talking about." Mai crossed her arms and looked away.

"You're not a good liar, you know that? You get a pouty look, like this." He formed his mouth into a moue. "It's, um..." he ducked his head at her glare, "interesting."

"Interesting." Her lips thinned. "Do you say that to every girl?"

"Not all of them. Just to ones I lik-" he snapped his mouth shut, the word stifling into hrrrgflg.

"Gee, how flattering. I'm one of all those girls you like, just when you want something from me."

"I never said there were a lot of them! There's only-" the blush crept over his collar up his ears. "Only-"

"Only two?" Mai placed her hands on her hips. "Or are there others I don't know about?"

"Now I don't know what you're talking about." Zuko crossed his arms over his chest.

"It doesn't matter, it's too stupid. You can hardly talk to a girl, much less..." she grimaced.

He frowned in confusion before he pressed on. "Did Azula ask you to keep watch in her library, on the fifth night of last month?"

"How did you even-" Mai sighed. "Of course. Ty Lee."

"She didn't see anything, but I think you did." Zuko walked around the table in time to his words. "What were her orders, Mai? What did she want you to keep watch for?"

"What are you saying." Mai backed away from his advance. "Are you accusing me of something?"

"No, of course not! I just want to know what Azula told you."

"The investigation is over, Zuko." Mai backed into a wall. "You won. Let it go."

"I haven't won anything!" Zuko struck the table, startling Mai. "The attempt on me just fueled this war, and the man who killed my people will get off with a few years in exile. And I still don't know how Azula had that information on me—or why."

"So this is about making her pay, because someone has to. You're using me against your sister."

"No! That's not me."

"Are you sure?" Mai took a step toward him. "Don't you want to embarrass her in front of your father? Isn't this about gaining favor with him by cutting Azula down?"

"It's about justice." Zuko swept his hand out, flames following along its arc. Mai's eyes grew wide and she ducked, the fire sailing over her head to strike the wall behind her. She straightened as the flames crackled and died, her jaw slack as her eyes met Zuko's.

"Mai!" Zuko ran to her and caught her shoulders. "Mai, I'm so sorry. Are you hurt?"

Mai looked down at him, then stepped back out of arm's length. "I have to go."

"No, wait! I didn't mean to-"

"I'm not mad, exactly. I need to think. And just now..." her lips trembled before she pursed them in a firm line. "Just now I didn't know who you were, Zuko."

Mai slipped out the door; Zuko closed his eyes and leaned against the singed wall.

She came out into the hallway, then stopped to see Shun standing guard just outside the door. Their eyes met, and he watched unmoving as her hand started toward her other sleeve.

Her hands fell to her sides. "He needs you."

Shun inclined his head to her retreating form before he entered the door she had come out of.

"My Prince." His voice was soft as he faced Zuko standing against the wall. "Are you all right?"

"I don't know." Zuko rubbed his face. "Shun, you... wouldn't leave me, right?"

"I will stay as long as you want me to, or until I am dead."

"What if I die first?" Zuko headed for the door.

"You won't. I will make sure to die before you." Shun followed him out to the hallway.

"Um. You must be a lot of fun at parties."

"Perhaps. No one ever invites me."

Zuko chuckled. "Don't ever change, Shun."

"As you command, sir." Their footfalls faded together down the hallway.

"I hear intriguing things about you of late, Princess."

"Intriguing, Father?" Azula bowed her head low before the dais of the throne room.

"Since the arrest of Lord Rang's youngest, rumors have swirled around you as well—most unseemly accusations against a Princess of the Fire Nation."

"Rumors." The muscles in Azula's cheek twitched. "The powerful inevitably swim in currents of half-truth and insinuation. You know this, Father."

"And the clumsy are mired until they choke." Ozai's voice cut back at her. "If there is one thing I cannot abide, it is clumsiness."

"I am not-" Azula raised herself to gaze up at her father's throne, only to drop back down when the flames rose above his head, concealing him from view.

"It is more than rumor when the aggrieved party, a prince of the blood, refuses to let the matter rest. And I will not," his voice reached her through the roaring flames, "not stand by while another Princess is tainted by treason."

"It was Zuko." Her face twisted as though in terrible pain. "Always Zuko."

The flames lowered and became quieter. "I would not have thought it of the boy, that he would insist the disgraced man is a front and the true culprit is elsewhere. He shows both generosity and cunning, a killer instinct to extinguish his true foe." Ozai clenched a fist, causing the flames around his throne to spark and jump.

"And he seems to swim well through the currents of his own rumors, this son of mine." The Firelord chuckled. "To think he is already a man... Of course, publicly I should reprimand him for indiscretion unbecoming his station."

"Of course." Azula stared at the floor between her hands.

"Perhaps I was hasty, Azula." Ozai sat back in his throne, his flames ebbing low. "I relied too much on you when you are not yet prepared."

The perspiration gleamed on her forehead. "That's not true, Father."

"You are so clever, so deep in your understanding, that sometimes I forget your youth. A year or two at the summer house on Ember Island should be enough for the rumors to cool and Zuko to be appeased. And for you to mature, of course." He smiled down at her. "In the meantime I have your brother by my side."

Azula raised herself on trembling arms. "A year? Two years in exile? After what I did for you- opened the tight fists of those noblemen-"

"Enough. You do not know what you are saying."

"You can't do this to me!" Azula stood in jerky movements. "He's the pawn to be used and discarded, not I."

Ozai clapped for a guard. "The Princess is ill. Have her escorted to her rooms."

Azula followed the guard out without resisting. At the entrance she looked over her shoulder at her father, who did not look back.

"Not I," she said again, though no one heard or cared.

Mai took one look at Azula's face as she stumbled into her outer apartment, and was at her side in an instant. "What happened?"

"I- need-" Azula caught the doorframe for balance. "Need-"

Mai touched the back of her hand to Azula's forehead. "You have a fever. I'm calling a doctor."

"No!" Azula knocked her hand away, sparks trailing the gesture. Mai retreated from her, eyes wary. "I need General Shu and... and Lieutenant Zhao. Now!" She staggered to a chair and lowered herself into it.

Mai addressed the petrified servant by the door. "You heard the Princess."

As the servant scampered away Mai came to stand on the other side of the table from Azula, her hands in her sleeves.

Azula spared her a glance. "You can go."

"I just need a moment. I have to ask you something."

"Ask, go, I don't care." Azula lowered her sweat-slick face to her arm. "Just clear out before my guests arrive."

"What happened the night you had me keep watch in your library?"

Azula said nothing, and Mai continued. "Did you know your library would be searched? Did you want the attack on Zuko to happen?"

"Careful, Lady Mai Ying." Azula did not raise her head from her arm. "Those are dangerous words."

Mai placed her hands on the table to lean over Azula. "I want to know what you made me an accessory to."

The clatter of armor and booted feet sounded outside the door, and the servant from earlier cleared his throat. "Princess, your guests are here."

"Well." Azula sat up, a composed smile on her face. "That will be my friends. I would love to talk, but matters of state await."

"Azula."

She stood to face Mai. "I told you on the first day you became my companion. You will be richly rewarded for service, but on the condition that you never." Azula pointed a finger in Mai's face. "Never undermine me, betray me. The penalty is as great as the reward."

After a long moment Mai stood back, lowering her gaze.

"Now, could you send in the people outside?" Azula waved an airy hand. "Such a busy day, everyone wants to talk."

"Yes, Princess." Mai bowed and went to open the door. She stepped aside for the military men as they entered, and then slipped out to the hallway. A light smoldered deep in her shadowed eyes, though the rest of her was calm as still water.

Azula turned to Shu and Zhao, a fevered look in her eyes though she was no longer pale or sweating. Her every movement blazed with decisive energy as she turned to the men.

"I apologize for calling you on such short notice, gentlemen. I had a small suggestion for the assault plans that you, General, will present at the upcoming war meeting."

A smile spread across her face, and the men suppressed a shudder at the sight of it. "I was hoping to hear your professional opinions."

"I can't seem to stop it." Zuko sat before the bars of Master Lu's cell, a lamp on the writing desk scattering light in the gloom and books piled high in a corner. "I've tried talking to the nobility, and Father himself, and nothing works."

"You are not yet in a position to influence war policy." Master Lu looked sympathetic. "In time, perhaps. But not yet."

"The war seems to have a life of its own. If only Father would see..."

"I don't believe the Firelord needs your help seeing anything," Lu's voice was sharp. Zuko looked at him, taken aback. "Forgive me, your Highness. But it is dangerous thinking to believe you can enlighten a monarch."

"You're right. It's just..." Zuko trailed off, his thoughts bounding from place to place. "There's a war meeting coming up in days. Do you think I should attend?"

"Your Highness!" Lu grasped the bars of his cell, straining to reach Zuko. "How many times must I warn you?"

"But I need to show Father that I'm not trying to subvert him!" Zuko shrank back. "To do that I should be a part of the process."

Lu opened his mouth to answer, closed it, and rubbed his temples. "If I were out of this cell I would physically restrain you, if I had to."

"It should be any day now. The Warden agrees you should be free, but he keeps giving me excuses about administration and formality."

"It is good of you to come keep me company." Master Lu inclined his head. "Thank you. Just be careful, your Highness. And be sure to speak to your uncle before you make any major decisions. Can you do that for me?"

Zuko didn't meet his eyes. "Of course."

"You can't stop it, Miss Tien." Inspector Shang regarded her across the interrogation room table. "Your parents will be arrested anyway."

Yenzi brought a hand to her mouth and gasped out a breath into her palm. "Why? We cooperated. I've told you everything I know, and I know they did, too."

"Yes, unfortunately we never did establish how the assassins found Prince Zuko. And the inconsistencies in your stories-"

"-are flaming crap." Yenzi's eyes shone out of the shadows that encircled them. "You and your men manufactured them, and you know it. Why don't you tell me what your real problem is, and I'll see if I can help."

"Usually they're crying at this point." Shang beamed at her with genuine warmth. "You're a smart girl, aren't you?"

"For all the good it's done me. Now tell me what's going on."

"Well Miss, you tell me. Ever since the assassination attempt we've seen defacement of public decrees, protests in front of city hall. Milli-skunk bomb at the city barracks." They cringed together at the memory. "The city is on the brink of boiling over."

"Too bad you got them angry with your curfews and anti-assembly laws." Yenzi smirked. "Ever thought of backing down?"

"Think? You give government too much credit. We react, as humans will. Usually badly."

"That's... pretty honest. Too bad it's coming from a man who's threatening to put my parents away."

"They'll be set free eventually. I know they didn't do anything." Shang leaned in with his elbows on the table. "But we have identified them as one of the leading families in this community, and placing them out of action will have a sobering effect on others."

"Or it'll make everyone angrier." Yenzi's fist clenched on the table. "You were just talking about reacting, and badly?"

"Yes, yes, we're all human here. I believe we have a better plan, though." He tapped his temple with a finger. "Your government using its head, for once."

"Do I even want to know?"

"It's simple, really." Shang rose and clasped his hands behind his back, as though starting a lecture. "In every society, youth are the driving force behind social change and large-scale unrest. You can look up treatises about it if you like—the more young people in a population, the more likely social upheaval."

"Your point?"

"We'll turn their energy to more productive uses. How about toward serving their country? You young people stay safely out of trouble while this blows over, get better job opportunities, the city grows quiet and everyone is happy."

Yenzi looked at him as though he had morphed into a boarcupine before her eyes. After a moment she managed: "The military. You're talking about sending us to the military. You're talking about sending me to the military."

"See, I told all my colleagues you're a quick one. The young men we can draft, but for you it's simplest if you volunteer." He drew a scroll from his sleeve and unrolled it to show her the words 'enlistment application' across the top. "Just fill out and sign."

"And if I do this, you won't touch Mom or Dad." Yenzi stared at the scroll in Shang's hands. "But you can just go back on the deal. Why would I do this?"

"Because, my dear Miss Tien, as long as you are a member of our great armed forces we have no reason to be interested in your parents."

"As long as I'm a hostage, you mean."

"And more importantly," he went on as though she had not spoken, "if you don't do this you will never stop wondering. Once they are in the system, your parents could spend months or years trying to get their lives back—what do you think will happen to your family's store?"

Yenzi swallowed, watching as Shang smoothed the application out on the table before her.

"And where would your brother go? Will you give up school to raise him on your own? All the time a part of you will always wonder, 'Could I have prevented-' "

"All right! I'll do it." Yenzi slapped her hand down on top of the application with a force that rattled the table. "Give me something to write with before I change my mind."

Before she had finished the sentence Shang drew a slender brush from his sleeve, pulling the cap off the bristles as he did. He opened the bottle of pre-ground ink on the desk, filling the air with its sticky smell.

Yenzi took the brush from him and started filling in the application, Shang pointing out fields and giving her directions.

"Name and age... occupation, don't need that... check 'firebending: yes'... preferred service, we'll take care of that one..."

"But I'm forge-trained." Yenzi looked up from the application. "Can't I be in the Royal Engineer Corps?"

"Fill it in however you like." Shang's look was indulgent, almost affectionate.

Yenzi checked "engineering" and "repairs," then further down the list, "security." She wrote her name across the bottom and put down the brush.

"If Mom and Dad do go to prison, maybe I can be their jailer." She chuckled to herself, a bitter sound.

Shang thanked her for her cooperation and assured her the Imperial Investigators would not call on her again. Yenzi rose and left the interrogation room, shaking her head in disbelief.

Next: A prince speaks out of turn, and promotions are made.