01 - Arranged Marriage

Mai was twelve years old when the rest of her life was decided for her.

At least she went in knowing the deal. On the surface, this was a little private garden party so that the Royal Family could have tea with and better know the Fire Nation's latest rising star, Lord Ukano, known in some less savory circles as 'Father.' But Mai had been briefed about the truth, multiple times and at length. People had noticed that Lord Ukano's daughter was, in fact, a girl, and the Royal Family just so happened to have a prince near her age. It helped that said girl was already good chums with said prince's little sister. Coincidences like that couldn't be ignored, especially since Lord Ukano had what was said to be a solid idea for finally capturing Omashu for the glory of the Fire Nation's grand imperial ambitions. The alternative would be letting Prince Zuko pick out a girl on his own and maybe ending up with one of those eccentric 'Ty Sisters' who regularly caused havoc in the capital, and no one wanted that kind of trouble.

No, such things had to be decided before either Zuko or any eligible daughters took interest in the matter themselves.

Just this once, Mai's life was being dictated to her in a way she didn't entirely mind.

And thus this little garden party was really an opportunity for her to be evaluated. An isolated little world had been created by a distant perimeter of Crimson Guards, the center of which was a very nice table and chairs placed right on the summer grass, where if Mai lived up to the Fire Lord's expectations and all her parents' lessons, she would get further opportunities over the years to effectively sell herself as royal breeding stock. If she, just to name a random example that when ventured had made her mother go to have a little lie-down, tripped and threw scalding hot tea in Fire Lord Azulon's face hard enough to shock him to death, her romantic prospects would be substantially diminished.

And in that particular example, she might also be put to death. So she should assured her mother she would make an effort not to accidentally kill anyone.

(That had sent Mother to lie down again.)

And so Mai was dolled up in the nicest robes and scarves in all the Fire Nation. It was why her hair was tightly tied beneath an ornate (but not royally ornate, as it wouldn't do to presume too much yet) phoenix crown covered in gems and beads and what she very much hoped were not real feathers. It was why she kept a mild and dead smile on her face as she poured tea for the Fire Lord himself and tried very hard not to think about her earlier morbid jokes.

He didn't so much as look at her, keeping his ancient eyes on his cup as it was filled, but she nevertheless made her movements as smooth and graceful as if she was throwing her knives. Father had made her practice this for hours and hours, days upon days, and what she lacked in proper respect for authority she made up in the steadiness of her hands, so she didn't so much as spill a drop. As soon as the cup was full, she all but twirled (but didn't actually twirl, as that wouldn't be appropriate) to the next person at the table.

Prince Iroh was off in the Earth Kingdom, so it was his son Prince Lu Ten who merited Mai's attention next. He did look at her, unlike his grandfather, and gave her a polite smile as she began filling his cup.

Since Mai was already keeping her own face twisted into a pleasant expression, she nodded an acknowledgment. She never had much to do with Lu Ten, as by the time she had started hanging out with royalty he was a little too busy to waste time with little kids. Then he had gone to war and- well, since his ignominious return, he hadn't exactly been the life of the social scene. Not that Mai was particularly social, either, but Lu Ten definitely wasn't crashing any of Ty Lee's sleepovers, so that might as well as have put them in two completely different worlds.

Once the cup was full, Lu Ten said, "Thank you. It smells wonderful."

Mai had been explicitly ordered not to even try to be clever, so she merely gave a small bow and replied, "Thank you, your highness."

Then it was on to Prince Ozai, the second son of the Fire Lord. He did not smile, and definitely did not thank her for the tea. In fact, Mai wasn't sure he was aware tea was involved, as he kept his gaze on her the whole time. It wasn't a bad stare, exactly. But it was so distant that it made Mai feel like a bug that just so happened to be crawling crawling across his path. At least he didn't smoosh her.

In contrast, the next guest at the table stared at her with trembling eyes and flushed cheeks and lips that kept parting as if to say something and then snapping closed again after a moment of silence. Mai didn't return Prince Zuko's gaze until she had filled his teacup, and then she slowly raised her eyes, met his gawking boldly, and winked at him. It was a trick she had learned from the best of those chaotic Ty Sisters, and she had practiced it almost as much as she had pouring tea. Like with her throwing knives, practice had payed off. She caught his ears turning red as she turned to Princess Azula.

Mai attempted to play no games with Azula. She filled the teacup with flawless efficiency, gave a nod of deference, and made to move on.

But because Mai was old, warm friends with Azula, she wasn't surprised when Azula stuck a foot out and tripped her.

It could have been an accident. But Azula was not the kind to ever have even a foot out of place.

Fortunately, Mai was not the kind to go flying just because she tripped. It helped that she had been tensed as though for combat, her reflexes ready to save her. She stumbled, but did not fall or drop the teapot or throw its contents at Princess Ursa. Hopefully, that would be enough of a failure for Azula to be satisfied.

Ursa frowned at the slip-up, although whether that was because she disapproved of Mai's lack of perfection or actually saw that her daughter was at fault was an open question. Ursa's eyes were searching as Mai poured her tea, the most scrutiny offered so far. Mai tried not to wilt under the heat of the potential mother of her groom and then moved on to the last two guests.

Father and Mother, naturally, offered no problems as they were served their tea. Just this once, Mai's parents were her greatest allies.

It wasn't that she was looking to get married. She was only twelve and still had two years to go at the Royal Fire Academy for girls, never mind the extra two years after that it would take her to reach official adulthood. Zuko was still only thirteen. Perhaps in the age of Fire Lord Yosor that kind of thing hadn't been uncommon, but this was an enlightened era. Still, Mai was old enough to start thinking about her future, and there had never been a time when she didn't consider Zuko to be a light that brightened the entire world. Someone had to marry him, so why not get her claim in while she could? And not only had she not needed to raise the idea with her parents, they had apparently thought of it first. That had only rankled a little, as Mai liked to think of herself as a practical girl.

It was just too bad this whole thing couldn't be more interesting. With everyone in possession of a gift of hot tea, Mai stepped away from the table where a cushion and a pipa lute awaited her. She picked up the instrument, its weight as familiar in her hands as a knife or calligraphy brush thanks to years of lessons at Mother's insistence. She began with 'High Mountains Flowing Water,' something that would create a nice atmosphere and would showcase the complexity she was capable of performing.

Her fingers worked the strings according to muscle memory, requiring just enough of her concentration that she couldn't let her mind drift. But neither did she need to focus exclusively on her playing, so as she really got into her rhythm, she looked up.

Everyone was sipping their tea and conversing sedately. Zuko was the only one looking at her, but then Azula said something that made him scowl and hiss something back at her. In the distance, the Crimson Guards stared outward, making sure that no interlopers could approach this public private event, their eponymous armor almost blending into the colorful autumn bushes that filled the garden.

But then, as Mai played, she saw one of those bushes move and take a few steps towards the picnic.

No, it wasn't a bush. It was a person, in some kind of costume that had allowed him (her?) to blend in with the foliage.

As Mai's fingers danced over the strings, the figure raised something in her (his?) hands- a thin tube of some kind. It placed the end of the tube near where his (her?) mouth would be-

Was that a blowpipe?

The figure turned and pointed the blowpipe towards the Fire Lord-

No-

She was very good at angles. It was aimed at Prince Lu Ten.

Mai moved without thinking. She let go of her pipa, reached into her sleeve, and whipped out a small blade. It flew right past Lu Ten's head, long gone by the time he reacted to the rush of wind past his ear.

It struck the end of the blowpipe with a quiet thunk, lodged point-first to block the opening.

Everyone froze for a long moment- except the assassin, who was trying ineffectually to breathe into the blowpipe.

Then the guards rushed in and tackled the disguised figure, the Fire Lord and Prince Ozai snapped to their feet fast enough to knock their chairs over, Lu Ten rolled out of his chair to land on the ground beneath the table, and Princess Ursa tackled her children and covered them with her body. The only ones still sitting at the table were Father and Mother. Eventually, one of the guards called out that everything was clear, and most got back to their feet. Lu Ten remained under the table.

Everyone looked at the attacker, now being wrestled by so many guards she (he?) was barely visible. Then everyone looked at Mai.

She had no idea what to do.

Apologize? Join in on subduing the blowpiper? Run home? Get the Fire Lord and Prince Lu Ten to run home?

Unable to choose, Mai elected to bow her head, sit down, and pick up the music where she left off.

"What were you thinking?!" Mother wailed that evening.

They were back home in Mai's bedroom, ostensibly to undress her without ruining her nice robes, but Father had come along and no one seemed interested in her clothes. She sat down on her bed and shrugged. "I figured the knife was a better choice than a razor disk, since it travels in a straight line and would hit quicker, and I wasn't wearing my bolt launchers, and my needles wouldn't have fully blocked-"

"I am referring," Mother interrupted, "to just sitting down again and playing your lute like nothing happened! You looked deranged!"

Mai would have to take Mother's word for it. She had been focused on her playing as the assassin had been dragged away and the various members of the Royal Family evacuated. She had only stopped to bow her farewells.

Father stepped over to Mother and took her hands. "Let's not get hysterical. Mai did prevent an assassination attempt. She's a hero! I doubt having a moment of obliviousness afterward would ruin that."

Mai said, "Thank you."

Father nodded at her and continued, "Most likely she's going to be forsaken as bad luck, since her party became the setting for an assassination attempt in the first place. It's not her fault she's now a bad omen."

Mai sighed. "Thank you. I guess."

At that point, their household administrator, Shuchang, glided into the room. "Pardon the interruption, but a note has arrived from the palace. It- it has the Fire Lord's seal on it."

Mai sat up. Mother and Father let go of each other.

Shuchang held out the rolled note.

Mother was the one who grabbed it first. She unfurled it and immediately began reading silently.

Father said, "What does-"

"...our gratitude for stopping a craven attempt to kill my grandson..." Mother mumbled. She went quiet again for a moment, and then picked up with, "...precision and elegance... calm in a crisis... the mastery of self required to carry on with life after a confrontation with mortal danger... perfect protector... despite young age... offering a betrothal... TO MY GRANDSON!" Mother looked up at Mai. "The Fire Lord is offering an arrangement with Prince Lu Ten. He's in the only son of the crown prince. He'll be Fire Lord one day."

Mai's stomach clenched. "Not Zuko?"

"Who cares about Zuko?! You're going to be Fire Lady!" She threw the note in the air and grabbed Father's hands. Mai had barely enough time to cover her eyes before her parents started dancing.

Shuchang caught the note out of the air and smoothed it. "I'll just keep this safe, then." He hurried out of the room with a practiced ease that suggested dancing wasn't entirely unknown in this house.

Mai risked peaking at her prancing parents. "But what if-" She made herself stand up from her bad and approach them. "But what if I don't want to marry Lu Ten?"

Her parents froze. They let go of each other and turned to face her together. Father scowled down at her and said, "Why wouldn't you?"

"He's- he's old!"

"He's only nineteen, practically a child. And someday a seven-year difference won't even be noticeable."

"I barely know him!"

Mother gave a laugh. "Well, that's easy enough to fix. Supervised get-togethers are a part of any betrothal. I'm sure someday you'll find him perfectly acceptable. After all, his father is still in the Earth Kingdom working to make up for his previous failures, and the Fire Lord certainly has continued to show favor to both of them. This is much better than Prince Ozai's son, trust me."

Mai swallowed against her aching stomach, summoned all her courage, and said, "I like Zuko."

Her parents both stared at her.

Then Father chuckled and petted her hair. "But the Fire Lord wants you to marry Lu Ten. And by the time you're of age, the Fire Lord will rule the entire world, so I think his opinion is a bit more important than yours, hm?"

Mother nodded. "Remember, our purpose is to serve our nation, and in doing so, serve our families, and thus ourselves. You're just a very tiny part in the system that lets the world work, and this is an easy situation to make the best of. Now, let's get that dress off you. We don't want it ruined in case you need to wear it on a date!"

And so Mai was twelve when she realized that her life was not, and never would be, her own.

TO BE CONTINUED