Mai lounged in the palace against a pillar outside the throne room. She was guarding the door while Zuko discussed hideously boring matters of state with his ministers. She wished that Ty Lee were with her. She was always finding something to divert her, but she was not due to arrive until tomorrow—hopefully before Mai expired of boredom.

Mai spun her knives. They were a new set to replace the ones she had lost, and she was still familiarizing herself with them. Her thoughts wandered towards home as she flipped her knife. Her father had (supposedly) departed to Ember Island for rest and relaxation, but Mai had a letter from her mother in her pocket that said he had not yet joined her there. Mai had not yet divulged her suspicions of her father to her mother because what was there to say, what could she do, assuming she wasn't in on it too?

Mai sighed.

She was going to bring Tom-Tom to the palace for good now that her father couldn't be there to stop her. She had taken to staying with Zuko in the palace instead of returning home, but her father had never let Tom-Tom come with her, even though it felt like he was always gone these days.

Not anymore, Mai thought. She had already prepared Tom-Tom's room, and if her father didn't like it—she shrugged.

When Zuko finally emerged from the council chamber an hour later, Mai pushed herself from the pillar. "Finally," she whispered as she stood on tiptoes to kiss Zuko on the cheek. "I was almost starting to wish that someone would try something."

Zuko laughed at her. "When I'm on my deathbed from an expertly blown poison dart, you'll regret saying that."

"It would never happen. They'd have to get through me first," Mai said.

Zuko turned suddenly serious, his eyes soft. He was about to say something mushy and embarrassing, and she looked away from him so she wouldn't feel so self conscious. "Thank you, Mai," he said.

"For standing around and doing nothing?"

He kissed her cheek this time. "No, for being so invested in keeping me around."

"Who else is going to hate the world with me?" Mai said as she held his hand. She didn't say that she had already lost three years with him, that she would not allow herself to lose anymore. "I'll be back with Tom-Tom," she said. "Don't wait up for me."

"I'll wait up," Zuko said. "But don't be surprised if your tea's gone cold."

"You're a firebender. You can warm it back up in no time." Mai smiled at him and then walked swiftly down the halls. The meeting had taken longer than it should have, and she was anxious to get Tom-Tom and return to the palace.

It did not take her long to reach her own home, but she stopped short when she saw that someone had lit the lamps in the entryway. The nurses that Father had hired to take care of Tom-Tom always forgot to light them, and it always made him irritated.

He was home already.

Mai reached for her knife, and softly opened the door. She listened carefully, but her father must have sent the nurses away. She crept slowly through the hallways and the empty rooms. She wondered if she were overreacting, if she was letting her suspicion rule her.

But her father should not be home.

She did not hear her father until she approached the cellar, where he kept his fine wines. She hung back, in the shadows, and listened. It did not seem he was alone, but she could not tell how many were with him.

A voice she did not know accused her father of making a fine mess of things, another voice told him that he had made a sentimental decision because of Mai, and if Mai were a person inclined to laugh, she would have struggled to keep silent. As it was, she merely rolled her eyes.

Her father told them all to be quiet, and Mai recognized the tone in the shiver that went down her spine, in the way she instinctively tried to make herself smaller as she pressed herself against the wall. She became distracted from the conversation when she heard another pair of footsteps coming from the kitchen.

There was only one way into the cellar, and so Mai held very still, hoping that whoever it was expected the house to be empty and would not be particularly perspective to her presence. Her clothes were dark, and she hid in shadow.

Mai turned her face away so that it was hidden by her black hair.

Whoever it was breezed by without even a second look.

"Are you all discussing little old me?" a new voice asked. "Hasn't anyone told you it's rude to discuss people behind their backs?"

Mai put her hand to her mouth as she recognized Azula's voice. Wasn't she supposed to be in the South Pole, recovering? The whole purpose of leaving her there was to make sure this didn't happen.

She pressed her head against the wall and sighed. Even though they had all decided to leave her behind, she had hoped, she had been hoping, that Azula would not want to betray Zuko.

It had almost seemed possible that Azula could change, had changed.

It had been stupid to hope, and Mai bit her lip as she forced herself to listen and to pay attention. Maybe she would hear something that would help Zuko—and she closed her eyes at the thought of having to tell him about this.

Her father was trying to assuage Azula. "Forgive us, Princess. We are only unsure if your strategy of attacking during the ceremony will be feasible. Zuko may be careless with his own person, but his security is not something to take lightly. Perhaps-we should consider a more rational plan of attack."

Azula laughed the high pitched, skin-crawling laughter that had become so familiar to Mai.

"Do you think I'm crazy?" Azula said. "Is that why you challenge at every turn? We're doing this my way—it was Zuko who took the throne from me, and I'm the one who's going to take it back." There was an uncomfortable pause. "He'll regret what he did to me on that day."

"No, no, Princess," Mai's father said, and she could easily see him groveling on his knees as he had done once Azula had waltzed into Omashu and told him what a terrible job he was doing. Mai had almost smiled. Azula had always made him feel small.

Some things never changed.

The same dissenter who had wondered at the wisdom of including Azula in their schemes, spoke up. "This isn't about a feud between siblings. This is about putting the rightful ruler on the throne."

"My father made me Firelord before he departed on his conquest for the Earth Kingdom. And yet none of you are clamoring for me to rule you. What does that mean, I wonder? Perhaps you don't really respect my father or his choices at all. I'm sure he would have a lot of things to say about that. I know I certainly do."

Mai barely breathed in the silence that followed

"Perhaps, Princess," her father said, "it would be best to keep Zuko alive? As leverage to force Ba Sing Se to let your father go?"

Mai shook her head. Azula would have to get to Zuko through her—and she had already failed once. Ty Lee would be beside her—and this time, they wouldn't be sent away, out of sight of everyone.

"I am going to tell you a story," Azula said, sweetly. "Once, my mother, Ursa, committed an act of treachery. My poor father took mercy on her, and banished her instead of outright killing her. Then, his little spies brought word to him: Ursa was on the move. She was attempting to meet up with Zuko and Uncle Iroh. He knew what he must do, and so he sent an assassin after her, lest she form an alliance with his enemies and reveal secrets that were not hers to tell. But he didn't finish the job—he didn't kill Zuko for his treachery, for his shame, too, and look at what has happened. My father is a wise man, but he has made his mistakes—mistakes that I do not intend to repeat."

Mai shook her head. She should leave, she should warn Zuko, but she knew she had to stay in only to hear more. And to confront her father. He was another bully, just like Azula. If she had stood up to her, she could certainly stand up to him.

"So we will attack during the celebrations, and will make sure that there is no chance that Zuzu can come back to cause us any trouble after we are done. We'll do it in full sight of everyone. And if they struggle, they can join my brother's fate with their treachery. Don't you agree?"

There was a long pause. "Yes, Princess."

"That's what I thought," Azula said. "Now if you don't mind, I need to make arrangements to make sure that our plans will succeed. After all, guards aren't going to bribe themselves. Though, if they're wise, I won't need to bribe them at all. After all, you can't place a price on loyalty."

Her father stopped Azula for a moment, to assure him that he and the New Ozai Society were with her, no matter what, and Mai didn't have the patience for his flattery. So she crept away and hid in the room where they received guests, and served them their fine food like the nobility they were supposed to be. Tom-Tom was sleeping nearby. A porcelain bowl, white with blue paintings on it, sat in the center of a smooth glass table. It was full of fireflakes, and Mai reached for it as she waited for the Society to leave. The spicy heat cleared her mind as she tried to decide what to do. Maybe she should have tried to see their faces. Maybe she should have stopped them, right then, but she didn't know how.

And she did not know what to do with her father.

The Society had sounded fractured, as if their leadership were weak, and they were only bound together by their shared loathing of Zuko.

Her father was their leader, and maybe if he was gone, then the whole Society would collapse. They would be powerless, leaderless, and they would disperse. In which case, it would be better to corner him alone, without his friends to protect him.

Azula might try to take his place as leader, but no one wanted her there. Even Mai had heard their resentment and their fear when they spoke of her. If she tried to become the new leader, they would have no loyalty to her. Some of them might even realize Zuko wasn't so bad, and would ask him to take care of her, once they realized how terrible she really was.

And then Azula would be gone too, and the New Ozai Society would be finished. There would be no royal member of the family to legitimize their cause. Ozai would be too far away in the Earth Kingdom to save.

Mai reached for where Tom-Tom had woken with a sleepy yawn, and lightly held his hand. But she would need to do this after she took Tom-Tom away. Even though he was young, maybe too young to remember, she didn't want it to happen in front of him. She didn't want her father to maybe use him as leverage against the guards she would send to arrest him.

She straightened and went tense when she heard the New Ozai Society finally leave. They crept out swiftly, looking over their shoulders before they dispersed in the streets.

Maybe they should have thought twice before meeting so close to the palace. Maybe it was smart, because no one had thought to look for them. They were hiding right in plain sight. Mai wondered if that had been Azula's idea too. It seemed like something she would do. It's what she had done in Ba Sing Se, after all.

A few minutes later, her father closed the door to his home. He lit the lamp mounted on the wall and, when he turned, he saw Mai in the flickering light. He gasped.

Mai held the bowl out to him. "Fireflakes, Dad?"

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice nervous and trembling.

He looked afraid when he saw her. Perhaps she had already risked discovery by deciding to wait until he was alone. She should have left and told the guards to round them all up. But she had not known how many there were, and if Azula had regained her bending in the meantime-she saw how her father was waiting for her to respond, and shook the self doubt away. "I came to pick up Tom-Tom. You had visitors, and you know how boring I find them so I decided to wait in the dark." She held her hands in front of her face. "You know how the light hurts my eyes."

He stood at her, blinking as if he did not comprehend what she said. "You're taking Tom-Tom?"

"Of course I'm taking him," Mai said. After her time with Azula, it was easy to lie. Her father and his despicable actions made it even easier. "I just wanted to bring him with me to the palace this evening. I'll bring him back tomorrow."

Her father sweated, and he looked at her nervously. She wanted to leave now that she knew he was alone, but he couldn't be allowed to suspect her. She picked up Tom-Tom and then stood beside her father. "Goodbye, Dad," she said.

"Goodbye, Mai," he said. She thought his voice sounded strange, but she wasn't sure. They had never been friends, they had never had a relationship, and so she did not know him. Who was she to say his voice sounded strange?

Still, she felt his eyes on her as she went to the palace. She tried not to hurry her pace. She let Tom-Tom walk when he begged to be put down, and she held his hand, slowing down to match him. She even let him toddle off to look at a pretty butterfly.

She wondered if the act was good enough.

When she finally arrived at the gates of the palace, she ordered the guards to bring her father in for questioning.

Then she brought Tom-Tom to her room. He was asleep again, and she laid him down gently in the bed she had prepared. After she made sure he did not wake, she asked Li and Lo to look after him while she discussed an urgent matter with Zuko.

The chief guard was in attendance, and Zuko gestured for Mai to come. "Did you find him?" she asked as she approached.

"He got away," the guard said.

Mai frowned. "I hadn't realized he was so agile in his old age. He must have suspected me and left immediately."

The guard nodded curtly and said they would continue the search. He bowed to Zuko before hurrying off with the rest of his men.

"What is going on, Mai?"

She told Zuko what she had overheard, but she didn't tell him about Azula-not yet. She didn't know how. When she saw him lean back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose, she said, "I told you."

"You did," Zuko said. But there was no smile in his word, not light in his eyes. He stared at his desk, and sighed.

He already looked defeated. Mai didn't want to tell him about Azula, but she couldn't wait. He had to know. He had to be prepared. She forced herself to take a deep breath. "Zuko," she said.

He raised his head. "I know that tone. That there's more and worse."

"Azula was there as well."

Zuko's mouth dropped open. "What?"

"My father found her and she has joined his cause," Mai said, struggling to keep her voice bored, like of course this would happen, and anybody who thought otherwise was a fool. "She was the one who said they should assassinate you during the celebrations. I doubt they will strike then now since they will suspect I overheard them. I've ruined everything. I'm sorry." She folded her arms tightly across her chest.

As she spoke, Zuko's face morphed through every emotion that Mai could imagine feeling about receiving such news. Disappointment, first, and finally devastation as the news about Azula finally sank in.

Azula had betrayed him. Of course she would.

His mouth opened as his hand went over the scar Azula had left nearly a year ago.

The nothing stretched on.

Mai stood still, though her feet ached and she longed to sit down.

"Thank you for telling me, Mai," Zuko finally said, his voice cracking. "There's no chance that you might have mistaken her? Or misunderstood her?"

Mai forced herself to look at Zuko without flinching. "None." She told him the story Azula had told about his mother. His face paled. His eyes watered. "I'm sorry," Mai said again.

He nodded, as if accepting this fact though she could see in his eyes that he didn't want to. "Maybe she was lying," he said. "Azula always lies."

Mai shook her head.

She would always be ready to move on from Azula, and he never would.

It was one of the reasons she loved him, she realized. He had seen something in her beyond the bored, apathetic teenager, after all. Had believed in it so hard he'd help coax it out of her. Of course he would see something more in Azula too—something Mai could not see.

She put her hand on his shoulder, let her fingers glide across the smooth silk of his back, until her hand fell into empty space as she left him behind. He needed to be alone, right now. He didn't need to tell her because she knew him.

Instead, she went to her own chambers, where Li and Lo were watching Tom-Tom. She thanked them and sent them on their way, and sat beside him. He was sleeping, breathing noisily from his mouth.

She watched him. Hoped he wouldn't wake up.

A few hours later, she heard a soft knock. She hoped it was Zuko when she called, "Come in."

But it was Ty Lee, her braid perfect as always, her eyes incredibly intense and earnest as always. She still smelled like sea salt, like she had barely landed and hadn't even bothered to freshen up before finding her. Mai braced herself. "I heard what happened!" Ty Lee's voice was breathless as if she had run through every hall and corridor.

She probably had.

"Lots of things happen every day," Mai said.

"About your father! That must have been—" Ty Lee paused, thinking for the right word. "Hard. Or maybe it was easy? I know you were never on good terms."

"It was easy," Mai said. Easier than hearing Azula's voice conspiring with her father. Her face twisted.

Ty Lee watched her keenly. "Your face tells a different story." She knelt beside her, putting her hands in Mai's. "What's wrong?"

Mai looked at her for a long time. She would need to tell Ty Lee, but she didn't want to. Ty Lee would be so unhappy. She would cry. She would get angry. She would insist that Mai didn't know what she was talking about.

But Ty Lee deserved to know that her faith in Azula had been misplaced.

"What is it?" Ty Lee said, more insistently.

"I overheard Azula speaking with my father. They were conspiring against Zuko."

Ty Lee's mouth dropped. "What?" she said, her voice so high pitched it squeaked. "What did you say?"

Mai repeated herself, voice level to counterbalance the way Ty Lee's face was stretching itself into open shock and disbelief and, still lurking under the surface, anger. "I'm sorry," Mai thought to add after a few moments of silence.

"I don't believe you," Ty Lee insisted. She was on the floor, sitting on her knees, and she leaned forward, her hands gripping the lush carpets. "You're wrong. You misunderstood. There's something that you missed!"

"I heard everything clearly," Mai said, exhausted.

Ty Lee looked around her, as if she were looking for the perfect way to explain everything that Mai had heard. "She's only pretending. She's doing what she did in Ba Sing Se! She's being—" Ty Lee snapped her fingers, looking for the word. "It starts with a d because it's about making a dupe of the person you're fooling!"

"Duplicitous?" Mai asked drily.

Ty Lee lunged forward, seizing Mai's hands. "Yes!"

"You're right," Mai said. "But it's us she's deceiving."

"We weren't even around to be deceived!"

Mai slipped her hands away and folded her arms tight across her chest. "That's the whole point. She pretended to change when we were there, and the minute we had to leave she's joining the New Ozai Society the first chance she gets." Mai turned away. "We should have known. I should have seen it coming." But instead, she had been surprised.

Who had miscalculated now?

"Not the first chance," Ty Lee said.

Her desperation made Mai nauseous.

"What was she doing all this time?"

"Hard to say since I don't know when she woke up."

"Exactly! She could have been doing anything. She could have been on her way to us except that the New Ozai Society found her first. She saw an opportunity to trick them and so she did!"

Mai glared. "Don't try to make excuses for her! I know what I heard."

Ty Lee stood up, towering over Mai as she planted her fists against against her hips. "You're just looking for a reason to keep hating her!"

Mai was tempted to climb to her feet too, but then she sighed. It wasn't worth the effort. It wasn't worth the fight. "Ty Lee."

"What?" she demanded.

"When have I ever needed an excuse to hate anyone?" Mai looked at her then, unsmiling and serious as she always was. There were days, sometimes, where it felt like she even hated someone as good and kind as Ty Lee. Why would she then need a reason to hate Azula, reformed or not? Apologetic and humbled or not? On their side or not?

Ty Lee gaped like a fish because she knew it was true.

Tom-Tom woke and began to cry, so Mai turned towards him, and held him in her arms, mimicking the way she had seen her mother bounce him. She hoped she would return from Ember Island soon.

"I still don't believe you," Ty Lee said, her voice rapid. "I think that you're wrong. I think you don't know something important."

Mai shrugged as she sighed. "You're more than welcome to believe that."

They stood in tense silence. Ty Lee angrily wiped a tear away with her wrist, as if she were embarrassed that she be caught weeping. Mai turned away so that she wouldn't have to see.

And then another knock came at the door, and Mai again called for them to enter, even as she wondered how many visitors she would have today, even as she realized she should have asked who it was in case it were Azula waiting to kill them all.

But it wasn't Azula. It was Zuko, and he looked stunned, as if he were in a daze. He sat down heavily on Mai's bed, looking at his hands.

Mai watched him, worried, as she exchanged a glance with Ty Lee. Had it taken him this long for the news of Azula's betrayal to sink in?

"What's wrong, Zuko?" she finally asked when Zuko remained silent.

He raised his head, his hair flopping into his eyes. He looked at her then, his eyes wide, his lips slightly parted, and she loved him, she loved him, she loved him.

She gave Tom-Tom to Ty Lee and went to sit beside him, her hands on his shoulder.

He looked at her, and he was almost smiling. "I just had the most interesting conversation with Azula," he said.

Ty Lee shrieked and Tom-Tom started to cry. "I told you, Mai, I told you!"

But Mai was skeptical. "What excuses did she make this time?"

And he told them exactly what she had said.