Training
The day after Mai graduated from the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, she had a job waiting for her. She thought that was pretty good for a fourteen-year-old who had expected to spend her whole life freeloading.
Not that most people would consider it a 'job.' Serving as a lady-in-waiting for Princess Ursa didn't come with shifts, wages, and three Agni Kai duel-days a year. That much was clear when all of Mai's worldly possessions were removed from her parents' mansion by Royal Servants and brought to a suite in the residential tower of the Fire Palace itself, all set up for her before she even finished ascending the ridiculous amounts of stairs. Mai's rooms were near Ursa's - and, as a result, Azula's - and the staff was instructed to treat her commands as coming from royalty. Mai, in turn, had to treat all of Ursa's commands as coming from royalty- which was true.
"Perhaps," Ursa said on that first day, when Mai was brought to the princess's suite to begin her service, "it would be helpful to think of this as an apprenticeship."
Mai had read about those in stories. "Blacksmiths do those, right? They work for a while and then inherit the business?"
Ursa's lips quirked. "That's one form it can take, yes. I'm sorry; I forget that things like that aren't common knowledge around here. I mean that the goal of the arrangement is for you to learn the skills you'll need in a hands-on way, and you'll do it by living with me and helping with my duties. In time, I'll let you start taking on some of my work yourself. By the time you're crowned a princess, you'll already have been acting as one."
That fit with what Mai had been told about this. She had also read that ladies-in-waiting used to also be candidates for the Fire Lord's harem, back when the Fire Lords had harems. That's why she liked history; it was always good to know that someone dead had it worse than her- and that she should watch out for any ancient precedents that could sneak up on her. For now, though, she only had to worry about standard marriage, and that wouldn't be arriving until she reached adulthood at sixteen. Or so she had been assured.
Mai bowed to Ursa at the waist. "I am grateful for your guidance. And may I ask a question?"
Ursa smiled. "Feel free to ask as many questions as you want, whenever you want. Your sense of discretion is probably better than mine."
"Thank you." Speaking of which, Mai checked to make sure the suite's door was closed. A year had done nothing to heal the rift with Azula, and now they would be living within a fireball's throw (or a knife, just saying) of each other. Not that Azula was likely to voluntarily spend time near her mother. "Did you serve as a lady-in-waiting for Fire Lady Ilah?"
"No." Ursa frowned, but the way her gaze went distant told Mai that it wasn't the question that troubled her. "Ilah died before I came to the Capital, and I was married to Ozai on the day of my arrival. But you're doing things along a much more traditional path. My own marriage was- a last minute arrangement."
Princess Ursa hadn't been from the Capital, originally? Perhaps a governor's daughter from one of the Outer Islands? That was interesting. Even more interesting was that Ursa, a modern living princess who not yet part of history, had gotten a worse deal than Mai. That was also good to know- and proof that some precedents weren't so ancient after all.
Mai's first duty turned out to be given to her by the Fire Lord himself. When Ursa presented her in the throne room as her new lady-in-waiting, old Azulon had gargled, "It will be good to have you in the palace, Lady Mai. I have very high expectations of you."
Naturally, she kowtowed and said, "My lord honors my humble self." Deviating from the script might give the old geezer a heart attack, and wouldn't that be so sad?
He certainly hadn't aged well in the years since Mai had poured tea for him. He barely had enough hair for a topknot, now, and the lines on his face had grown more pronounced. Yet his voice echoed strongly through the throne room as he intoned, "I have a task for you, as you serve Princess Ursa. Before the summer's end, I want you to tell me what your primary purpose will be both as a Princess of the Fire Nation, and - much later - as your Homeland's Fire Lady. Learn well, and I'm sure the answer will come to you."
That wasn't part of the script. And Mai couldn't help but be miffed how, despite having graduated the academy, she was still being given homework.
That night, Mai was about to slip into her new bed (somehow even larger than the hotball field she slept in back home) when a knock echoed through he suite. She put on a robe and went through the bedroom, through the receiving parlor, and into the little vestibule to answer the door. She half expected it to be Ursa - or a servant bringing orders from Ursa - asking for a lullaby or something.
Mai opened the door to find Azula standing there.
"I didn't have an opportunity earlier to welcome you to the palace," Azula said. "I'm sure you'll find your place here. And remember, you're not a princess yet."
"I-" Mai was keenly aware that she didn't have a single weapon within reach. "I know."
"Excellent. Well, we both have had busy schedules in the coming days, so I'll just say good night." She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Mai for a tight embrace.
No flaming hands scorched their way into Mai's flesh.
Still, it took her a long time afterward to stop shaking and fall asleep.
It turned out that Mai's concept of royalty had been highly skewed. Azula was often said to be a perfect princess, but Mai was no Firebender destined for a set of armor and conquests in a foreign nation, as fun as that sounded. So, naturally, she expected to be expected to be like Ursa and spend all her time lounging around garden ponds dealing with babies, either incubating or entertaining them.
In the weeks after she came from the palace, she learned that, perhaps, her perception of Ursa's life had been colored by being a baby, herself.
"This afternoon we are accepting a visit from Lady Tsumugi. She is War Minister Quin's daughter, and she is worried that your own father is going to usurp Qin's position," Ursa explained as they entered one of the palace's tea rooms (not, Mai noted with relief, the same one where Azula had tried to humiliate her that time). They had meetings like this on most days, sometimes more than one. "You will serve us tea while we converse, and then kneel at my side to wait on me. At some point, I will let slip that if your father's bridge concept is successful, he will be given governorship of Omashu. Please don't react."
Mai blinked. "He will? But they're still developing the bridges, aren't they? Um, you said I could ask questions."
Ursa shrugged. "You'd know the status of the bridges better than me. But as for the governorship, yes, I'm told that's the plan. Tsumugi will hear that Lord Ukano is paying his political dues and won't be an immediate threat to her father, convey that to him, and everyone including the War Minister can do their jobs without worry."
That seemed to make sense. As Ursa kneeled at the room's low table, Mai began preparing the tea set. "You said I can ask questions. Why doesn't the Fire Lord just tell Qin directly in a war meeting or something, if he's worried?"
Ursa gave a little chuckle. "That would be more efficient, wouldn't it? The boss takes his man aside, says that he knows everyone is worried, and puts minds at ease with honesty."
"Exactly."
"Well, that isn't how it's done in the Capital." Ursa sighed. "This is how princesses make themselves useful after their children are grown. They listen and make connections that the princes are too busy for. Much of your work will involve tea parties, subtle politics, and the possibility that someone else will fight an Agni Kai if you fumble things."
Mai gave her own sigh. She had always dreaded social situations that weren't limited to her close friends and/or didn't provide an opportunity for her to fight someone. A lifetime devoted to tea and boring conversations sounded only marginally better than being in a harem, even if (or perhaps especially because?) lives were on the line.
But Ursa raised her eyebrows. "Not fond of that idea? Well, you'll still have plenty of time for exercise. Now that you're settled in the palace, this afternoon you will begin mandatory training sessions with one of the Royal Combat Instructors. I know you're very good with your throwing blades, but it is expected that you will improve your skills before you're crowned. You're still young, yet, and no one will accept that you've already reached your maximum fighting potential."
Mai raised her own eyebrows in imitation of Ursa. "You said I can ask questions. Did you train to fight?"
Ursa's lip quirked into something like a smile. "No. Expectations were lower for me. It's only recently that even this much of a role was given to me. You're being treated like a traditional princess."
Implying that Ursa was not traditional. Interesting. "And who is expecting these things of me?"
Ursa stared back coolly. "Everyone. Welcome to the family."
Of course, just because she was training to be Lu Ten's ideal knife-throwing tea-pouring wifey-poo didn't mean she got to skip her regular dates with him.
At least she wasn't being made to actually live with him. The Fire Lord's suite got its own floor, while Ozai and Lu Ten shared a floor, and everyone else was all grouped together- so with Zuko gone, that made the remaining level a ladies' haven. There was no such thing as a Royal Family Dinner; everyone took their meals either in their own rooms or on their own schedules. Mai saw Lu Ten in the halls every so often, but he had his own schedule that apparently didn't take him near Ursa frequently. Mai encountered Ozai and Azulon about as often as she did when she had lived across the street. Ursa, so far, had not visited them without purpose.
But at least one level of distance between Mai and her future husband became removed by her living in the palace.
At their first date since she arrived, instead of walking into a tea room to find Lu Ten already robed and seated, Ursa brought her to the receiving parlor of his suite. Mai was admittedly a little nervous about it, worried whether her two years until adulthood would be honored even with Ursa's supervision, so she didn't immediately process what she was seeing when she walked in to see Lu Ten sitting in an ornate wooden chair with two large brass rear wheels that he turned with his hands to propel himself. He was wearing a nice but practical outfit that would let him sit comfortably- and didn't have any long capes or sleeves that would get caught in the wheels.
"Hello," he said with obvious shyness.
Mai's eyes and brain had processed all the details automatically, so she was able to keep her face expressionless, give a little bow of greeting, and say in a bored voice, "Twist your ankle kicking Azula out of your picture-book collection?"
Lu Ten stared at her for a moment. Then he burst out laughing.
When he calmed, he said, "Not a bad guess. But no, this happened in Ba Sing Se. This- well, this is why Zuko was sent to Father in my place."
It took Mai a moment to understand. "You- you were sent back from Ba Sing Se five years ago. Injured."
"That's right. This isn't- it's not going to get much better. Ever. I exercise my legs, but that's to keep from losing what remains of their strength and health."
She glanced at Ursa, who had sat herself down on a couch and was watching the proceedings silently. Was she testing Mai? Judging her? Was this whole thing a prank of some kind?
Mai looked back at Lu Ten. "But I've seen you without that chair. I've seen you standing. I've seen you walking."
Lu Ten nodded. He gripped the arms of his wheeled chair and lifted himself up to stand. After a moment, he let go, his legs supporting his own weight. Then he reached down and lifted the legs of his pants.
Instead of bare skin, there was a frame of hinged metal over another thin layer of cloth.
The hinges reminded Mai of some of the more complicated razors in her collection. She could tell that the craftsmanship was exquisite.
"This was made special for me. Without it, I require the use of a cane- two, usually," Lu Ten said. "An Earthbender crushed me back in Ba Sing Se. He almost crushed all of me, but I moved quickly and he only got half. The bones- they didn't heal correctly. But with this under my robes, I can appear to move normally, if I'm slow and careful- and I haven't run out of strength."
Mai's mind was racing back through all her encounters with Lu Ten. "That's why you were always already kneeling whenever we met for tea! You never stood up to greet me or say goodbye. I thought it was a snotty royalty thing." Another memory struck her. "That time in the garden with the assassin- you rolled under the table and stayed there."
Lu Ten sighed. "I couldn't get to my feet quickly, and running is out of the question. So I took cover and waited for help. I never could have dodged the blowdart, even if I had known the assassin was there. I was lucky in more ways than one that you saw him and acted."
Mai blinked.
She blinked again.
She focused her gaze on Lu Ten. "May I sit down?"
"Of course."
Mai plopped herself in a plush chair and just barely managed not to fall out of it. This changed everything.
Lu Ten eased himself back into his wheeled chair with, now that Mai knew to listen for it, a whisper of sliding metal. He must have kept the hinges well oiled.
She managed to grab a thought and hold onto it. "Princess Ursa said I could ask questions. How many assassins have there been since then?"
"Five that I know about," he replied.
"And how many assassins have gone after the rest of the Royal Family?"
"Eleven since I married Ozai, including the five who have gone after Lu Ten." Ursa replied. "Why?"
Mai glanced at her. "Sometimes percentages can help fill in the picture." She looked back to Lu Ten. "So someone or someones wants you dead, specifically, and after you returned to the Fire Nation. How secret is your- your condition?"
"The palace servants know. The royal physician and his assistants. A specialist oversees my daily exercises. And the whole family, of course." Lu Ten shrugged. "But plenty of my father's soldiers witnessed the Earthbender's attack and evacuated me off the battlefield. I was evaluated by medics and surgeons, and had to be carried on and off the ship that brought me home. Someone might have figured something out. I try not to go out, and my public appearances are carefully staged, but who's to say how closely I'm being watched?"
Mai couldn't make herself see the whole picture; the idea that Azula and Zuko and Ursa had been helping to hide this all these years explained some things, but it was impossible for her to map the full consequences. She wasn't like Azula, cataloging all kinds of little details for months at a time and parsing them to deduce everyone's little secrets.
Something she could evaluate, though, was how dangerous this was. Lu Ten was the most physically vulnerable member of the Royal Family, and he had assassins after him. That was clearly cause and effect. Had Mai been picked as his bride because she had proved herself trustworthy? Her interference in the one attempt could have made her a target, too. Or would, now that she was living in the palace.
If there was anything she was absolutely certain about here, it was that Mai wasn't going to figure everything out here and now. She inhaled, moved into something like proper posture, put all her worries and hurt out of her mind, and turned a neutral expression to her betrothed as she clasped her hands in her lap.
"So aside from all of that," she said in a light voice, "how have you been?"
Lu Ten laughed again. "You're funny! How I am only learning this after two years of meeting with you?"
She sighed. "Pessimism brings out the best in me."
He laughed even harder.
She hadn't been joking with that one.
Mai's daily training sessions were with a man who had been introduced to her only as the Royal Combat Instructor. He was part of the training staff for the Crimson Guard responsible for the Royal Family's safety, oversaw security for the palace, and also served as a consultant in matters of personal combat. His primarily responsibility, though, was in actually training the royals to fight and defend themselves- with one exception.
Azula trained only by herself or with her father.
And yet Mai never failed to arrive on the combat grounds to find Azula finishing up and and ready to offer her warm wishes for a good session. The princess was always polite and never did anything like try to trip Mai. She was the perfect picture of royal elegance.
It terrified Mai.
But feeling insecure for her safety was very good motivation for improving her fighting ability. The instructor often looked pleased with her.
She kept up with throwing knives, but also learned close-range bladework. She finely honed her general combat abilities, learning strategies for fighting Firebenders, Earthbenders, and all manner of weapon-masters.
Maybe someday it would save her from Azula.
If she saw the princess coming.
Mai did, at least, get to see her family most days.
Her parents and new little brother Tom-Tom lived right across the street, and Ursa encouraged her to visit as often as opportunity allowed. Not that Mai was eager to be plied with tea and cookies by Mother for royal gossip. She didn't even reveal Lu Ten's condition. Father sometimes put in an appearance and attempted to be encouraging, although what Mai was actually being encouraged to do was never quite clear; possibly, she was merely being asked to continue living.
Much more pleasantly, Mai had taken to going out on her royal suite's balcony at sunset, if she was free and not being given a double training session, for a little exchange that did not require any human contact. She'd lean over the edge, and if Mother and Tom-Tom were out on the veranda, she'd wave to them. She wasn't sure if Tom-Tom actually recognized her at this distance, but he liked waving back. Not that Mai was overly sentimental about babies, but it seemed a simple thing if it made the kid happy, and it was something to look forward to in her days.
One time, Ursa had witnessed this from several balconies over. When Mai had dinner with her later, Ursa said, "It's good that you're not forgetting your family. I didn't have the same opportunity."
Mai had been piling up clues about Princess Ursa. "You said I could ask questions. Why was everything so different for you? Is it because I'm going to be Fire Lady?"
"No." Ursa had stared at her for a long moment, ignoring heir dinner, before finally saying, "I came from a very different world. Nothing about my life since then has been natural."
"You make it sound like you're a spirit."
"Maybe I am." Ursa's gaze was steady.
Mai stared back. "Ha. Ha?"
Ursa finally smiled. "I'm not a natural comedian, either, apparently. But thank you for humoring me."
"Pun intentional?"
"-No."
Despite her many complaints about the situation, Mai could not say that she was being kept prisoner in the palace. She was also expected to accompany Ursa on excursions.
It turned out that the princess was a patron of the arts- literally. The newly renovated main stage in the Caldera's opera house was actually named for her, which alone spoke to the amount of gold Ursa must have thrown at the owners. She also funded temporary art displays, visits from traveling museums, educational lectures, and on one notable occasion, a visit from an acclaimed circus.
And all of that came, naturally, with attendance at performances and any related social events. And, equally naturally, it meant Mai got to go, too. She'd always preferred books she could read alone in her room, but she was quickly and against her will being turned into an expert on theater and why the Ember Island Players were overrated hacks who nevertheless filled an important ecological niche in the entertainment sector. No wonder Azula and Prince Ozai never attended these things.
Once such gathering came before the premiere performance of a new version of the 'The Tale of the Pipa' at the opera house. Since it was using the stage Ursa paid to renovate, the princess was the woman of the hour. Azula never attended these things, but Mai always did as Ursa's guest, joining the conversations and making herself known to the nobility of the Caldera as her own person. Usually, that meant talking with a bunch of stuffy adults and resisting the urge to slit her own throat from boredom.
But 'The Tale of the Pipa' was a popular opera, with this performance featuring Lee Huang in the role of the husband, and it wasn't just his singing voice he was famous for. At the party, Mai saw many girls she recognized from the Academy (even if she couldn't remember some of their names), and all of them greeted her warmly with the kind of deference shown to royalty and asked if she could arrange a meeting with Lee Huang. Even the Ty Sisters were here with their infamous autograph books.
Not that the sister Mai was interested in bothered with autograph books.
When she spotted Ty Lee, she made sure to check with Ursa, first. "I see a- an old friend. Is it okay if I- ?"
"Of course," Ursa replied with a wave of her hand. "Take all the time you want. You can meet me at our seats for the performance."
Mai nodded her gratitude.
She wasn't sure what to say to Ty Lee, what with all the business with Azula. A normal greeting? Open with an insult and segue into bitter recriminations? Offer arrogant forgiveness?
While she was pondering it, Ty Lee spotted her and started things by exclaiming, "Oh, Mai, wow, your aura is very yellow!"
It definitely wasn't the kind of thing she would have expected from a friend she hadn't been able to talk to for over a year. "Come again?"
"Your aura." Ty Lee fluttered her eyelashes. "You know, the mystical emanations of colored energy around your body? Yours are yellow, edging towards a little too bright. Maybe you're afraid of something? Or several somethings?"
Mai sighed. "Did Azula put you to this? Humiliate me with nonsense?"
"Oh, no, auras are real! I learned how to see them when I opened myself spiritually and recognized the fundamental connectedness of all things." Ty Lee's shoulders drooped, and she offered a wan smile. "Seeing the muddy green and orange in my own aura made me realize how unhappy I am."
Mai blinked. There might have been something important buried in all that gibberish. "What's wrong?"
They both looked around at the gathered nobility, at the social swirl where the direction of the greatest nation in the world was decided with veiled exchanges of information and threats disguised as compliments. And it was all while enjoying crab puffs carried around by servants with trays, because this was civilization, where kids were betrothed to adults whose life expectencey was in serious question.
Ty Lee said, "I think I hate everything about my life."
Mai nodded. "I knew we were friends for a reason."
"Ugh, that bad, huh?" Ty Lee put a hand on Mai's back and guided her through the crowd to the room's edge. "Azula doesn't talk about you anymore. Is it her, or Lu Ten?"
Mai made sure they were out of anyone's hearing range. A few servants were passing by with empty trays, presumably on their way for a refill, but otherwise she and Ty Lee were alone. "It's all even more confusing than I thought. Lu Ten was- well, crippled by his injuries. It's supposed to be this big secret. So I'm guessing that's why the Fire Lord wanted someone whose parents wouldn't question the opportunity to give their daughter away."
"Oh, wow. Is he- is he still in the line of succession?"
Mai hadn't even considered that. She made herself do so, now. "I haven't been told otherwise? And- well, the fact that Azula has been so terrible makes me think I'm still slated to be Fire Lady, for now at least."
"Has she- has she hurt you?" Ty Lee's gaze fell away. "She said she wouldn't."
"She hasn't. Not yet, at least. But she makes sure I know she's there. Sometimes I wonder if if dealing with Princess Ursa isn't too much bother for her., and otherwise she'd be hounding my heels."
Ty Lee's eyes rose again. "Well, Princess Ursa was always nice enough to us. When we hadn't gotten into some kind of trouble. Or covered Zuko in mud. She was really mad that time." She suddenly smiled. "But at least Princess Ursa sponsored that circus to come here. That was amazing! That was the first time I- Anyway, I guess she's not bad."
Mai flicked her gaze around to make sure her 'boss' hadn't suddenly snuck up to stand over her shoulder. "She lets me ask questions. And she's not mean. That I've noticed. But she's kind of odd, and I don't trust oddness."
Ty Lee tilted her head.
"Present company excluded, of course."
"Aw, thanks. I exclude you, too."
A change of tone rippled across the symphony of quiet conversations, catching Mai's attention. She couldn't help giving a quick look to see if she was the center of attention again. But no, the crowd was parting near the entrance of the hall, where a trio of Crimson Guards were striding forward in a triangle formation and- yes, Mai got a glimpse of Lu Ten in the center of the triangle. Fashionably late, but now she knew it wasn't because of a need to be dramatic. He was walking smoothly, the hinged supports he wore on his legs working perfectly and invisibly.
Ty Lee nudged. "Your date's arrived."
"He's here to help support his aunt. So that she's not the only one of the family bothering with these things." Mai noticed a number of servants come back out of whatever hidden little supply depots they used, although their trays were still empty.
"So- you're not going to sit with him?"
"Princess Ursa has box seats for us. He likes to make goofy commentary during the performance, though, and he's not as witty with it as I am, so I'm hoping that Ursa will be-" Most of the uniformed servants were still moving through the crowd offering finger foods, but the ones with the empty trays had positioned themselves at regular intervals around the edges of the gathering. "between us-"
Oh-
Oh, no.
Mai motioned to Ty Lee with a gesture Azula had taught them to signal danger, and then pointed at the strange servants. One of them shifted to hold his tray by the edge with one hand, and curled his arm in preparation to throw it. He launched it at an angle towards the ceiling, but the spin on the tray twisted its flight around and back towards the center of the crowd.
Directly towards Lu Ten.
It collided, clanging loudly, with the tri-blade that Mai had thrown to intercept its path.
By then, Ty Lee was already tackling the servant who had thrown it, and once she was on top of him she landed a pair of nasty punches to the backs of his knees. Mai left her to her fun and dashed at the next closest of the weird servants. He saw her coming and threw his own tray straight at her.
She threw herself into a butterfly jump-kick that spun her body into the air above the tray, and as it passed beneath her face she noted the razor-sharp edges. Someone was copying her gimmick, but they hadn't put enough thought into hiding the weapons. As she landed, she flicked her arms out to demonstrate the level of professionalism expected here. A pair of short knives flew out to pin the servant's sleeves to the wall behind him.
By then, the other assassins had loosed their own razor-trays, and the whole crowd around Lu Ten had thrown themselves to the floor. The Crimson Guard Firebenders - Lu Ten at their center, acting with them - punched flames at the incoming weapons, but the trays sliced right through the fire without slowing, their spin scattering the fire. So Mai performed another butterfly kick that spun her around in a full circle. Before her feet touched the ground again, she had filled the air with her own swarm of razor disks, smaller than the trays but with a lot more tangible mass than simple flames. It was quite enough to disrupt the trays' flights when they collided.
She didn't miss a single one.
And so there were no more trays to deal with. Just the assassins themselves, dressed like servants. The three Crimson Guards were already moving towards the enemies closest to them, and Ty Lee was dashing to another. That left several of them to try to flee into the maze of corridors in the opera house, and that wouldn't do. So Mai went ahead and clicked the bolt-launchers on her wrists into active mode and set about targeting robes and sleeves and one floppy shoe, stopping them all.
But that didn't mean the danger was past. Over at the front of the hall, Ursa had reached Lu Ten and was helping him out of the building while the guards took care of the assassins, as was only sensible. Her own guards, stationed outside so she could socialize without intimidating anyone too much, would provide protection in case of an ambush on the way to the palace.
That left Mai with nothing to do.
But no, that wasn't right. Not anymore. Not since that tea party years ago.
She confirmed that Ty Lee was okay and enjoying taking a prisoner, and then she walked with stately grace through the crowd. She stopped at the front of the hall, just before the entrance. She didn't bother looking to see if the setting sun was properly positioned behind her. Either way, she had a job to finish.
The crowd started getting back to their feet and looked at her.
Mai gave a short bow. "The Royal Family must regretfully see to other business, but hopes you will enjoy the opera sponsored by Princess Ursa. The performance is sure to bring new life to a classic and beloved tale. Good evening." Then she turned and left for the palace without hurry.
"It's good to see that you're earning your keep," Azula said when Mai got back. The princess was leaning against one of the pillars in the palace's vestibule. "Although I feel like I should be getting a finder's fee for having picked you out in the first place."
Mai held back a sigh. "You heard already?"
"Yes, Mother was positively effusive about both the unpleasantness and your effectiveness, as if she doesn't already have a daughter who could have spotted the danger before the attack started. She has Lu Ten upstairs, and more guards have been dispatched to bring in the captives. Hopefully, Grandfather will order the execution of the three guarding my cousin for such incompetence." Azula shrugged and stood up straight. "I'm going to have dinner and then see if I can observe the interrogations of assassins. You should probably go to your husband-to-be so he can thank you with a kiss."
Mai stared after Azula for a moment, and then made her way to the Fire Lord's throne room. The guards admitted her without her having to say anything, and moments later she was kowtowing before Azulon.
Behind his flames, the Fire Lord said, "I have heard that I own you my thanks, once again, for my grandson's life. Well done."
Mai lifted her head. "I have your answer. I realized it at the opera house today."
The Fire Lord raised his thin eyebrows.
Mai said, "I'm to be Lu Ten's protector. But not just that. My life is to be devoted to preserving his, and also to projecting the strength he cannot."
The Fire Lord's lips pulled back from his teeth in a grin. "I can see I chose well. Prince Iroh will never have to worry after his son, and he can bring glory to our family and nation."
Mai lowered her head again. She had been hoping she was wrong.
"Very well," Fire Lord Azulon said. "You may go."
Life continued on after the brush with death. If anything notable came from the interrogations of the assassins, Mai heard nothing about it. Her time was spent attending to Ursa during tea parties, meetings with the palace's head servants, and a much more successful but boring visit to the opera.
Managing the palace servants was one of those boring duties that Mai had dreaded about the whole 'princess' thing. It was supposed to be the responsibility of the highest-ranking lady in the house, and Azula wasn't making any claims on that in this case, which just left Ursa. She, now with Mai's help, got to make such impactful decisions as approving menu plans, setting policy for the royal family's wardrobe for the next season, and directing the few social events the palace put on that didn't involve a bunch of generals sitting around a table fantasizing about owning Ba Sing Se.
Only a little more excitement was to be had from the letters that came from Iroh and Zuko. Both princes had apparently been informed of the assassination attempt and were full of concern for Lu Ten.
Iroh made a point to thank Mai. Zuko didn't mention her.
She was kind of flattered by both. It was nice to be appreciated by the Dragon of the West, the greatest tactician the Homeland had ever produced, even if he was tacitly approving this whole betrothal thing. And the fact that Zuko couldn't bring himself to even mention her implied that he really cared, that he was mad or hurt enough to make the effort to rudely ignore her. It didn't make up for Azulon confirming that she had essentially been purchased as a bodyguard slave thanks to a moment of bad luck, but it was a small comfort.
Mai had to stop herself from considering if she had just let that first assassin kill Lu Ten, she might be betrothed to Zuko now.
After all, she knew life didn't work like that. There were no second chances, and it was too complicated to think she knew how it all would go, anyway.
One night, Mai was late getting to her balcony, and emerged on it to find the sun fully set and neither Mother nor Tom-Tom outside across the street. The Royal Combat Instructor had thought she'd gotten a good rhythm going with her forms and ordered extra time. He'd been pleased at her rescue of Lu Ten, but after she'd told him the blow-by-blow, had criticized her for needing Ty Lee's help. Apparently, she was expected to be able to do it all herself, faceless guards not withstanding.
She leaned on the railing of her balcony and watched the stars come out. She had an urge to throw needles at each one, pinning them to the night sky forever, her own private collection. But no one could keep the sky to themselves. Everyone would always be looking at it, even if someone like Azula told them not to.
Mai turned her head and saw, case in point, that wasn't the only one getting some night air.
Ursa, on her own balcony near the bend in the royal palace's tower, had brought a desk out and was writing something by candlelight. Mai's sharp eyes picked out piles of paper, held down against the breeze by polished black volcano stones, little dappled pieces of the night sky which had lost their stars. Ursa was hard at work, her diligent effort completely different than the serene grace that was supposed to come with painting or practicing calligraphy.
Curious, Mai climbed up on the balcony railing. Then she dashed across it, leaped, and landed on the railing of Azula's balcony. She kept moving, crossing that balcony and jumping again to land on the railing of Zuko's. By now, Ursa had noticed her, and was staring open-mouthed as Mai made the last leap, putting enough effort into it to clear Ursa's railing completely, landing with a skid right next to the desk.
Mai rose to her feet and inclined her head in greeting. "Good evening."
Ursa blinked. "Why not just go back in the palace and come that way?"
"I wasn't sure you'd hear me knocking on the door, and it seemed silly to send a servant to ask you for an audience."
"Sillier than leaping balconies?"
"It was also more fun this way."
Ursa's lips quirked. "Yes, it looked like it was. Can I help you with something?"
Mai's face warmed a bit against the coolness of the night. It did seem kind of silly, now. "You said I could ask questions. What are you doing?"
"My budget."
Mai raised her eyebrows. "Ha. Ha?"
"Oh, I'm not joking. See?" She held up the paper she'd been working on, and sure enough, it was filled with very neat columns of amounts.
Mai looked at the desk, picking out in the candlelight what appeared to be receipts and ledgers. "Why?"
Ursa put her paper back on the desk, under a rock paperweight, and folded her hands in her lap. "I pay for my little projects out of my royal stipend. I need to make sure I'm not overspending."
"No, I mean- the Royal Family has people for this. Why not let someone else do this?"
"It's my money and my projects. You think I should give some control away to the royal staff?"
Mai gave a half-formed, one-shoulder shrug that would have earned a smack from her Mother. "Does it matter? It's just sums."
Ursa turned to look out at the city beneath them. "I don't know. It does to me." Then, in a quieter voice, she added, "I used to help my mother with the financial books for her apothecary. It reminds me of home."
Mai considered the little pile of clues she'd been accumulating about the princess. "You weren't a noble. You weren't even from a wealthy merchant family, or you wouldn't have had to help do budgets."
Ursa looked back at Mai, her eyes reflecting starlight. "No. My mother was an herbalist and my father was the magistrate of a little town you've never heard of. We owned a greenhouse and some pig-chickens. I wanted to be an actress."
Mai tried to envision such a life, but quickly gave up. "You said I could ask questions. So- uh, why?"
Ursa sighed. "I'm forbidden to speak of it. And it will just scare you. But I had even less choice than you did."
"Wait, I had a choice?"
"Well, your parents were given the illusion of one. And the implied threats were much more mild. And they didn't wait until you were engaged to someone else to drag you away to the palace."
Mai wanted to laugh at the way it had been said, but Ursa was right- she was no comedian. And that had been no joke. "So that's why you're nice to me? We both got stuck in the same way and- both preferred someone else?"
Ursa blinked at her. "I'm nice to you because it's good to be nice to people. I can't read you very well, and that worried me, but I've never seen you been mean, and you've had opportunities. So why wouldn't I be nice to you?"
"Well, Azula-"
"Azula." Ursa sighed. "I apologize for her. I wish-" She leaned her elbows on the desk and looked at the stars. "I wish."
Mai nodded. "Yeah."
"Did- you really wanted to marry Zuko?"
Mai wiped all expression from her face. "I thought you can't read me very well."
Ursa's eyes became piercing. "That's true. But Azula is much smarter and more observant than me, and I believe that she thinks so."
"I see. Well, I like being hard to read. Let Azula play her guessing games." Mai remained very still. "I know what's expected of me, and I can do it. I don't have- what did you call it? Ah. I have no illusions of choice."
Ursa didn't say anything for a long time. "I'm so sorry. I hope you do better with it than me."
Mai allowed herself to relax, judging that The Moment was over. "So. You said I can ask questions. Show me how to do a budget?"
"You really want to do it yourself?" Ursa took another candle out of a drawer in the desk and lit it from the first, shedding more light across the desk.
Mai looked up at the stars. "It's going to be my money and my projects. You think I should give some control away to the royal staff? Besides, I'm good with numbers, even when they're not angles."
And so Mai learned how to be a princess from someone who had not been born to the role, and was all the better for it.
TO BE CONTINUED