Chapter Thirty-Nine: Reaching Out.

–

The Guardian.

"Ow."

"Stop moving."

"Ow."

"If you'll just hold still, this will go a lot faster."

"Hmph."

"...Okay, there we go. Now, if you'll just hold this down with your thumb... thank you. Okay, keep that bandage on until I finish up next week."

"Whatever."

"I'll have to wait a week so it'll heal up a bit on its own. If it hurts before then, let me know, okay?"

"It hurts."

"I mean more than it does now. I'm sorry, but I can't heal it all up at once."

"Whatever."

–

"Are you alright?" Ty Lee looked up from her seat at the table, opposite the Avatar. I nodded.

"That's good." She turned back to the bald kid, with an air of continuing an earlier conversation. "So... why were you wondering what my grandparents were called anyway?"

He shrugged, unconvincingly. "Just wondered, that's all."

That's not actually the sort of thing one normally wonders about. And the Avatar is a truly awful liar. Maybe it's part of the whole Avatar package. Godlike powers, living bridge to the Spirits, but to keep you on the straight and narrow, we're going to make sure you are completely incapable of telling a believable fib.

I wonder, are there any records of an Avatar going off the rails? I mean, everyone knows what the Fire Nation propaganda mills have to say about Roku, but that's hardly admissible.

Kind of a worrying thought, now I ...think about it.

Suddenly, the door opens, interrupting my musings, and three people enter. Sokka, still pouting from his hissy fit earlier, General Iroh, serene as ever, and Zuko.

Zuko looks better than when I last saw him. Back when we last met, he had been pale, and slightly sickly. Now... now he looks, apart from being physically better, somehow... different. He looks indefinably well, in any case.

It's... good to see him like that. Somehow. It makes me feel better.

Although his hair is getting shaggy. It looks like it could use a comb.

"Mai?" He looks very surprised to see me. I guess no one told him I was here.

"Hey, Zuko."

"Alright, everyone here? Yes, good. Alright, let's sit down then, I guess." Sokka, taking charge whether anyone wants him to or not and interrupting conversations since... since... about a month ago, when I was forced to get to know him.

Nevertheless, we sat. Tea was provided. I was careful to use my left hand.

...Why did she have to break two fingers on my right hand? I can already see that being really annoying.

"Okay, here's the deal," he began. "This morning, Aang and I were summoned to see the Council of Five and the Earth King." He paused. "Well, Aang was summoned, anyway. I just came with him. Anyway, when we arrived, they got all annoyed because we hadn't told them that we were having guests. This was the reason the house was surrounded earlier."

So I wasn't entirely incorrect when I surmised that the earthbenders were a threat. It's nice to be vindicated, at least a little.

"Anyway, after Aang shouted at them for a while-"

More than one head turned to look at the Avatar, who shied away.

"I didn't shout at them that much."

"You shouted just as much as was needed. Anyway, they conceded that it might be impolite to introduce our new guests to the inside of a prison cell."

That sounds good.

"However, there were certain... conditions attached. They are as follows." He pulled out a scroll, and cleared his throat. "'Mai and Ty Lee are to be given free access to the Upper and Middle rings.' I guess they don't want you poking around the slums, for whatever reason."

What a shame. I did so want to get mugged during my stay here. However long that ends up being.

"'They shall not go within one hundred paces of the Palace grounds' for obvious reasons"

Damn. Looks like I'm not going to be finishing that book any time soon.

"'and shall go nowhere alone.' This is the annoying bit, I'm afraid. 'For the period of one month, they are to be accompanied by either the Avatar or one of his companions at all times.'"

Well, that doesn't sound too-

"'It is to be noted that this does not include Prince Zuko and Former Crown Prince Iroh of the Fire Nation.'"

Bugger.

Sokka cleared his throat.

The Assassin.

I glared at the room at large, and Mai and my sister in particular. No one looked particularly cowed, unfortunately.

"Now, I had assumed that we would all be able to get along without any kind of incidents. Especially not the kind of incidents that could get one or more of us hauled up in front of the Five. Certainly not the kind of incidents that leave anyone injured for long periods of time. Maybe I'm being overoptimistic, I don't know. Now, I'm not asking for everyone to suddenly become the best of friends, because I know I'm not going to get it. But I am asking for everyone to try and be civil. Since we're all going to be in one another's company for the next month. Can we do that?"

Toph waved from her position on the floor.

"Sure thing, boss."

I can't tell if she's being sarcastic or not. I think we have too many people around who enjoy lying to each other for no good reason. Even if I'm one of them.

"Thank you, Toph."

"Um."

I looked up.

"Yes, Zuko?" I wouldn't have thought you'd have a problem with this.

"You said a month, right?"

"Yeah. Is that a problem?"

"Well... what about the invasion? It's in two weeks."

The Guardian.

Sokka folds at the waist, eyes wide open, and there's a low groan as his head plummets towards the table. It's really quite majestic. A good 'whump' of contact, too.

I do like onomatopoeia. Especially the more elaborate ones.

–

With this new problem in Sokka's world, he rushed off in great haste to the palace. Leaving the rest of us to... mooch around, I guess.

Ty Lee was giving me very unsubtle looks. Yes, I know Zuko is in the room. Yes, I know. I know. What do you expect me to do about it? Proposition him right here and now? I somehow doubt that's how it works.

Nevertheless, it can't hurt to talk to him. Currently, he's sitting at the table, looking remarkably comfortable in the company of the waterbender and the earthbender. One of them told a joke I couldn't hear, and Zuko's face split into that enormously goofy grin of his.

I suddenly felt very nervous. I seemed like an outsider here. Which was ridiculous, seeing as I had known Zuko far longer than either of these two. But that just made the feeling more disconcerting.

But this Zuko wasn't the same Zuko he had been before he had been banished, and certainly wasn't the one I had met briefly while on the road. He seemed... older, but also younger. Does that make any sense? No. No it doesn't. It's a direct contradiction. Typical Zuko. Always declines the opportunity to make any sense.

But there was no space for me here, figuratively or literally.

Okay, Mai. Stop drowning in moronic imagery now, please.

–

The Assassin.

"I'm sorry, but do you have an appointment?"

I slapped my forehead.

"Look, I've told you people four times now. No. I do not have an appointment. But I need to see the Earth King. You do know who I represent, right?"

"Of course, sir. Is your reason for requesting an audience urgent?"

Here I made the fatal mistake.

"Well... sort of. I need to see him today, at least."

Damn my new-found honesty.

"Well, just take a seat in the foyer, and I'll see what I can do."

I'm beginning to miss Joo Dee.

–

The Guardian.

General Iroh unexpectedly came to my aid.

"Excuse me? Miss Katara?"

Oh, so that's her name. Whatever.

"Appa is making a noise. If you would come into the garden, you might hear it better, but I think he is hungry."

"Oh?" The waterbender stood up, and excused herself, leaving the other two to shift, re-accommodating themselves to the extra space. The earthbender slipped lower, her feet hitting the floor.

All of a sudden she glanced my way, and a glance of confusion headed straight for me, to be quickly obliterated by an unpleasantly sly look.

No pre-teen girl should ever look that much like a shark. If she's thirteen, it's acceptable. Otherwise, no way.

"I'll just leave you two alone."

Was that really necessary? Nevertheless, I sat down opposite Zuko.

"Hi."

Bluuuuuurg. Mai make conversation real good.

"Mai. I was told you were here, but I wasn't sure I believed it."

I rolled my eyes. Refuge in sarcasm.

"Nice to see you, too."

He clearly didn't pick up on the sarcasm, because his eyes just bugged out.

"No, I mean, I'm really pleased to see you, it's just... what happened?"

"Long story."

He looked around.

"Doesn't look like there's anything going on at the moment."

I don't want to go in to this. The thought of telling Zuko I got myself locked up on death row because I wanted to make sure he was safe is... uncomfortable. Very, very uncomfortable.

But he wants an answer. So I'll give him one.

"Your sister... has kind of gone off the rails." True enough. "I did something to annoy her, went behind her back. She didn't react well to it."

Zuko has turned to glaring at the table. It's practically smouldering.

"Azula... what's happened to her?"

Way to kill whatever mood there may or may not have been, Mai.

"Ty Lee probably knows more than I do, but I've heard rumours. Uncle passed them along to me. Apparently she hardly ever leaves the palace any more. She's been firing servants left and right. Some said they heard screaming in the middle of the night."

I've gone too far. Damnit, Mai, that last one was too much for him. He's just kind of... wilted.

In a fit of daring, I lay a hand on his shoulder. He's very warm, and smooth.

I notice how long my nails have gotten. My hand looks like a claw.

"I'm sorry, Zuko. I didn't want to-"

He pulls his left hand up, placing it over mine. I fight to avoid flinching, and try to wrestle my heartbeat down to normal.

(I hear, or possibly imagine, a high-pitched snicker coming from over on the other side of the room.)

"Mai." He looks at me, and all of a sudden I remember exactly why I went to all the trouble I did for this guy. "Don't. Really. I needed to know." He sounds so old again. Maybe it's the way his voice scratches.

"I am sorry, though." I really am. I can't say I can empathise, but it must suck to have a sibling go crazy on you.

"I know. Thanks."

Abruptly, he stands up.

"I need to talk to Ty Lee."

"Zuko-"

He shakes his head.

"I need to know, Mai. You can't shelter me from that."

I let him go. Didn't say a word as he tapped Ty Lee on the shoulder, interrupting her conversation with the Avatar, and followed her into the garden.

Ugh.

Ugh. My muse utterly deserted me when it came to starting this chapter. And lo, plot was reiterated, dialogue was quoted, and Sokka was useless.

Also, alternate character interpretation alert. Or, rather, alternate relationship interpretation. Since this story was plotted before I actually saw any of season three (at the time of writing, I have only seen up to The Beach, although I have been throughly spoilered as far as the big events go) my vision of Maiko, or, at least, how Maiko gets off the ground, was... kind of different to on the show. I mean, I liked the show's version (totally out of left field, which made me laugh), but mine is more... um... angsty. Sort of.

And Zuko is not, and never will be, badass. Sorry, this has nothing to do with the story, but I was perusing aome otherwise well-written Zutara, and this ticked me off. Zuko is not badass. He thinks he's badass, he wants to be badass, but in reality he has only two settings- Overly Melodramatic, and Adorably Dorky. As seen above.