Zuko
Betrayal
"You wrote me a note?"
Mai shook the letter he had written in front of his face. This was less than ideal. They were in the Fire Nation's most secure prison trying to free a prisoner that wasn't even there - and Zuko's ex-girlfriend was going to be their biggest problem? Now that's rough.
"I'm sorry," Zuko told the ground for the thousandth time.
"Tell me why," Mai demanded.
"It was the right thing to do."
"No." Mai's voice trembled. Was she crying? She hated crying. Zuko peeked up at her. "How could this be the right thing to do? You betrayed your family! You betrayed your country. You betrayed me. Everyone who has ever loved you is going to suffer if the Avatar succeeds. You know what the Avatar is going to do to your father if he wins! How could you do this? Tell me!"
Mai's words hit him like knives. He actually would have preferred that she use her knives. You try to avoid them until one hits you and you die. Easy. There was no way to dodge the truth in Mai's words. It had already struck him a thousand times over.
"I know." Zuko forced the words out through gritted teeth. "It's terrible what I've done. I've betrayed everyone by leaving. But if I had stayed-" Zuko trailed off. He couldn't finish the sentence.
"If you stayed?" Mai demanded. "What would have been so terrible if you stayed. You would have been the Prince of the Fire Nation. You would have been Fire Lord one day. You could have been with me!"
Zuko knew what he had to say. The words rang in his head. It was the only thing to say - no more hiding behind his uncle or his honor. But when he finally forced the words out, it would break Mai's heart in two. When Azula heard, she would harden her heart to him forever, if she hadn't already. When his father heard, there would be no chance for forgiveness. Just one sentence would seal his fate forever.
"If I had stayed," Zuko forced himself to look into her eyes, so that she would know he meant what he said. "I would have been betraying myself."
He watched Mai retreat inside herself. It broke him up to see. She nodded and shrugged and left Zuko alone in his cell. Zuko didn't see her again until she arrived while his sister was trying to kill him. It made him sad, but it wasn't entirely unexpected. Now Avatar's gang could add jealous ex-girlfriend to the list of people who were determined to kill them.
The scene was confusing to watch. The gondola was shaking like crazy and moving farther and farther away each second. But something was not right on the platform. Zuko's first clue was Azula's body language. It was like she was a cat, with hackles that rose in fury. Zuko nearly hung out the back, trying to see what was going on. It wasn't until Tylee disabled his sister and Azula dropped to the ground that Zuko accepted what his eyes had told him.
Mai had betrayed Azula. She had somehow convinced Tylee to do the same. But they were surrounded by guards, there was no way for them to escape. Mai had given up her freedom, to save his.
"We have to go back!" Zuko said to Sokka.
"We can't!" Sokka screamed back. "There is no way back!"
Zuko pounded on the metal box with his fist. He knew Sokka was right. He knew Mai wasn't stupid - she had made her choice and known the consequences. But it was all so unfair. When Sokka and Katara and Toph and Aang wanted to do something heroic, it was heroic. No questions asked. When he - or anyone from the Fire Nation - tried to do the right thing it meant hurting your friends and family. Doing the right thing meant betraying everything you had ever known.
