Unintended Rendezvous

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters there within.

Azula's games were getting rough. That last "inadvertent" flame ball had singed the ends of one of Mai's red hair ribbons. Her mother was going to have a fit about that. Mai ducked into an alcove to avoid another blast and apparently, what was left of her ribbons fluttering behind her. Neither of the girls seemed aware of her disappearance.

"Come on, Ty Lee," Mai could hear Azula say tauntingly, "I thought you were going to be an acrobat. Surely you could dodge anything I throw at you."

"But Azula—" Ty Lee had begun, but her words were swallowed by a high-pitched shriek not long followed by Azula's wild laughter. Mai did not want to get involved in this. Poor Ty Lee seemed to accumulate most of the maltreatment whenever she spoke or acted too freely. Mai had learned to be silent. She exercised this tactic now. Shrinking backward from the scream, she hid herself better among the shadows. She thought the Fire Nation Princess was being unnecessarily harsh on the nobleman's daughter, but it was not her place to say. Her mother had insisted Mai stay and become good friends with the princess, but what with how the games usually ended up being played, Mai did not think it was very fun, much less friendly.

The raven-haired girl inhaled and took a step back to rest her heels a moment, but there was no wall to stop her as she had first thought. She turned her head to see that the alcove was actually a long, enclosed, high-vaulted corridor. There was a faint light there at the end of it about the size of her palm, giving the hallway a deep and ominous reddish-black effect. She became curious as to where the hallway could possibly lead, but she bit her lip in hesitation; Azula would probably not like her wandering off.

Without warning, another high-pitched shriek pierced the air, and Mai was suddenly feeling very adventurous.

She took a few tentative steps forward, her courage slowly building as she placed distance between herself and the fiery princess. Even as her courage rose, her fear seemed to match it as every one of her light footsteps seemed to bang and echo endlessly down the corridor. A shuffle of her foot there, a misstep here; she learned to pick up here feet and walk more quietly.

Taking her time to carefully pick her way, she admired the lavishly adorned walls and breathtaking craftsmanship of the palace. On impulse, Mai shyly reached out to let the tips of her fingers trail along the sturdy tiled walls. It felt cool to the touch.

Mai smiled softly to herself. It was ironic that the walls would be so cool with all the fire emblems hanging from them. A sinking feeling arose as quickly as the shy smile had. Why could she not firebend? Why not her parents? Was it some sort of unfortunate disease that impeded certain peoples abilities to firebend, even if they were born of the Fire Nation? Most of the soldiers in the military had the wondrous ability and were trained many months to master their techniques. But she had been indisputably denied. An image of Ty Lee came to mind, and she was reminded that she and her family were not the only ones who could not bend fire. However, Ty Lee appeared skilled in other respects, like her tumbling acrobatics; what was Mai good for?

It was not fair.

She bit her lower lip, willing the negative musings away. The thoughts halted abruptly when her fingers lost touch with the wall. Gazing precariously around herself, like a mouse sensing a trap, she came to discover that she had arrived at a junction in the hall. There were now three paths she could follow. She half-spun to see how far she had come and to get her bearings. The alcove she had entered had nearly halved in size. She turned undecidedly back to the paths before her. Dare she continue?

The path to her left was pitch black. No, that did not seem very welcoming. The young girl cringed away from the silent, cold darkness as though it were reaching out to snare her with black, tapering tendrils. She would leave that path untried. The path directly before her continued on simply as the path behind her had. This would probably be the one to follow, but her attention caught at the path to her right. There was a light at the end of this hall. Glancing at the path directly before her, there appeared to be no definitive end. She bit her lip, thinking she would not stop following the hallway forward if she did go ahead. It seemed so far.

She looked to her right again, standing frozen as she noticed a few guards stationed there. Mai reflexively retreated a few steps, ensuring that she was hidden in the shadows; praying that she had not been discovered. She looked back at the path she had followed to this place—should she go back? Perhaps Azula had noticed her absence? Mai did not want to be on bad terms with the princess.

Still, her eyes slipped furtively down the corridor to her right; her curiosity had not yet been entirely satisfied. Why would there be guards stationed at the end of the hall—unless they had something to protect? The young girl instantly thought of Zuko and her heartbeat quickened. The thought of the prince roaming somewhere just beyond her sight made her swoon slightly. Mai weighed her options; she had a chance of seeing the prince, but risked the wrath of a princess. An image of Zuko smiling materialized in her mind's eye and it emboldened her. Perhaps she might give it a try and if she was turned away by the guards, it was just as well. Better to be turned away before she was missed than being caught absent.

With her mind made up and a muted breath, Mai moved forward into the lit corridor, searching for the light source and furtively eyeing the guards, as her fingers reached irresistibly again for the stable assurance of the wall.

As she came abreast the guards, her hand slipped from the wall and, feeling as though she had lost part of her steadiness, she awkwardly slowed half a step to recover. The guards were watching her in earnest now. What was this little girl doing wandering the halls alone? One moved as though he was going to stop her from continuing and Mai faltered in her step. She was in trouble now—her resolve crumbling away as easily as turtleduck bread, when the other guard halted him with a low grunt of disapproval.

"She is one of Princess Azula's friends." The guard spoke as if she were another form of royalty that walked before them in shy, quaking footsteps. She glanced at each of them with thinly veiled anxiety, but the pair of them settled back to their posts without another sound. They made no more effort to stop her and she pressed on hardly believing her luck, her heart hammering in her chest. Mai was so taken aback, that she quite forgot her manners to thank them as she moved forward in silence.

So, that was why mother wanted her to become friends with the princess, it gave the benefactor a certain degree of power. Merely being associated with the princess had granted her access where the guards would have halted any other commoner from trespassing. Though the guards seemed wont to let her pass without the princess herself present to lead the procession of her friends through the corridors, they allowed her enter. It was better to not question whatever Azula might be up to.

Mai's fingers reached out again for the protection of the wall as she mulled over these new thoughts.

She had almost reached an opening in the corridor where sunlight came through the open expanse of a beautiful array of red-marble columns lining the ambulatory below. The girl had begun to turn to examine this transformation of the hallway when the texture of the wall beneath her fingertips changed. Mai turned to see a metal working of the royal family. Startled, she withdrew her hand from a piece shaped in the likeness of Azula herself. The gray metal was bitterly cold, as little of the light had been cast on the Princess. Mai's calculating gaze studied this artwork; it was cast very finely and might have passed for the princess herself had it not such lifeless, empty eyes. Even so, the blank eyes seemed to stare at her menacingly, poised as though the princess was about to jump to life and admonish Mai for wandering off alone. The raven-haired girl unconsciously bit her lower lip as moved away from the stone gaze. Mai continued on a little further to discover a metal work in the likeness of Prince Zuko. This was the closest she had been to the prince, likeness or otherwise (aside from the fountain incident), and he was indeed handsome. His features were bathed in light and reflected some of it in odd angles, which made her lean in a bit closer to assess this. His only flaw, he shared with his sister's statue; those same cold, lifeless eyes.

Mai's hand rose and rested on her chest, as though to still the rapid heartbeat within as she reached out to touch him…

"Hello."

Mai started and whirled around, caught red-handed in the act of her crime. The shock nearly overwhelmed her as she faced none other than the senior Fire Princess; the mother of Azula and Zuko herself.

Struck dumb for an instant, she merely stared at the woman that sat across from her. She remembered her manners with a jolt. Mai clapped her hands together, shutting her eyes tightly and bowing so quickly she nearly stumbled forward a few steps.

A soft tinkling laughter reached her ears.

"It's all right, you can stand if you'd like."

Mai slowly obeyed, swaying slightly after such abrupt movement; numbed by the entirety of the situation. Her cheeks must have been so red with embarrassment and her eyes so wide from surprise that the woman laughed again.

"I promise you that I do not bite."

Mai stood with uncertainty.

"Here, come a little closer into the light so that I may see you properly."

She swallowed hard, standing stock still.

"Come along," the woman said tenderly, urging Mai forward with a graceful motion.

Mai began to approach the princess. The light of the sun climbed higher and higher; past her waist, her elbows, her shoulders, until they finally fell into her eyes. She shut them a moment before blinking them open again; her eyes adjusting to the scene, but her mind still fighting its absurdity.

The Senior Fire Nation Princess sat perfectly straight on an exquisitely carved bench of stone; her garments seemed to ebb and flow like a river of fire around her. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap before her and her long, brown hair was laid behind her back and done up with the trademark fire emblem that graced royalty. She was very lovely and she smiled warmly at Mai.

"Ah, you are one of Azula's friends. Mai, was it?"

The girl struggled for her mouth to form the words "yes highness", but all she could do was nod.

The woman chuckled amiably, covering her mouth with one hand.

"Azula did say that you were very quiet. I can see that now."

Mai dropped her gaze in timid awkwardness, holding her hands behind her back. The woman seemed to realize that she had caused the younger girl some embarrassment.

"Oh there is nothing to be ashamed about, sometimes there is strength in silence. That is something that has taken me years to learn and perfect."

The girl did not appear reassured as she shuffled her feet and kept her gaze elsewhere. The woman smiled more knowingly.

"Would you like to sit by me? I could use the company while I wait for my son to finish his sparring lesson for the day." The princess smiled smoothly as the girl finally seemed to perk up at this information. So her suspicions were justified. This pale, shy little girl, whom Ursa had caught stealing glances at her son on more than one occasion, was indeed smitten with Zuko. She patted an open space beside her on the bench closest to the girl, where her skirts did not occupy it. The girl approached the woman timorously, more introvert than ever as she slowly lowered herself to sit on the bench, daring not the meet the princess' eyes. She sat on the high end of the bench, arms holding to the edge as though she might fall off otherwise, and her shoulders rising high to meet her ears. She looked entirely like she was ready to run the very instant things the royal lady changed her mind and decided to reprimand Mai's foolish actions.

Ursa chuckled to herself; this girl reacted rather extremely in the presence of royalty. Too acutely shy. It should not have come as a surprise with Azula as one of her friends. Their friendship was at once a blessed union of political astuteness and yet, it was a road of treacherous policies and forbearance in the face of a pampered palace child. And what was worse, Azula seemed to be fully aware of her power over her companions and she exercised this regularly. Ursa was not too distracted to notice the girl's burnt hair ribbons. That would explain why she was wandering the halls alone, poor dear.

"Mom!"

The loud call broke the silence. Ursa saw the girl start violently out of the corner of her eye as Zuko came rushing up the steps from the small courtyard below the end of the column lined hallway.

"Master Kaizen said I'm doing really well with my dagger exercises and that I could move on to the twin swords soon—"

He came to a stumbling halt in both his words and stride as his eyes fell on Mai. His eyebrows knit in unveiled suspicion.

"What's she doing here?"

"Zuko!" Ursa chided him for the distrusting note in his voice and causing the poor girl to flinch. "That was not polite."

The prince dropped his eyes in humility for being scolded by his mother before one of Azula's friends. No doubt she would take this news back to his sister and wreck more undue torment on him. Ursa stood from the bench, folding her hands inside her long sleeves. Oh, she was curious as to what this would aspire to next, but she knew this young girl would come out of that shell if granted a moment alone with Zuko. The senior princess glanced down at Mai, who was staring up at her with wide-eyed surprise. She knew that Ursa was going to leave the two of them together.

"This young lady provided me some pleasant company and I expect you to be courteous to her." Ursa winked at Mai, and the girl returned the gesture with a thunderstruck expression. The princess moved forward to leave, hoping that Mai understood her, when Zuko spoke up.

"Where are you going, Mom?"

"I…have something I would like to ask the guards. If you will excuse me..."

Ursa continued to walk uninterrupted.

There was a long stretch of awkward silence as the two children looked anywhere except at each other. There were a few instances in which they each stole a glance, waiting for the other to break the uncomfortable silence first, but neither seemed too inclined to. Zuko pulled out his knife to quietly examine it and to distract himself from the intimidating situation. But unfortunately it worked in just the exact opposite fashion for him.

"That's a pretty knife," Mai blurted before she could stop herself. She had been admiring the weapon whenever she managed to spot Zuko sparring with invisible Earth Kingdom soldiers. Zuko looked up at her in stunned surprise, as though he had just discovered she was a girl. Immediately, Mai's cheeks turned a hot pink, but she could not draw her gaze away from Zuko's golden eyes.

"You think so?" Zuko ventured in amazement, glancing back down at his knife. Mai nodded, her tongue had suddenly ceased to cooperate with her. The prince smiled at the weapon in his hands and his gaze returned back to Mai, a polite idea forming in his mind. "Would you like to hold it?"

Mai's stomach flipped and her heart was beating quickly again as her mouth became much too clumsy for words. She nodded a bit more vigorously than before. He gingerly handed her the dagger, which Mai accepted with just as much reverence. This pleased Zuko. She had very obvious respect for the weapon and somewhere in Zuko's subconscious, he understood that it also meant she had respect for him. For a moment, she sat admiring it in her cupped hands, when she transferred it to just one hand, holding it loosely by the hilt. A sudden courage rose within her and she held the blade more firmly in her hand, like she had seen Zuko do so many times before, as she held her arm out to admire the blade.

"Hey, you hold it really well—like a professional!" Zuko said, impressed. This caused Mai to flush all the more brightly. "But, maybe if you bent your arm just a little here…" Zuko reached out with both hands to gently adjust her arm so that it was in a slightly more relaxing position. Mai tried her hardest to contain the emotion that seized her, lest she faint under its pressure. Instead her arm began to tremble. Zuko did not seem to understand where the sudden quaking originated from; she had been doing so well just a moment ago.

In response to the shaking, Zuko walked to the far side of her and placed his hand over hers to steady the knife, which in turn caused him to align himself right beside Mai, his chest pressed lightly against her shoulder.

He was so close! He surely had to hear her thundering heart.

"That's better," Zuko murmured to himself, but Mai, in her swirling vortex of competing emotions thought he was speaking to her. "Now, if you move like this, and this…"

He began to move her hand with his, very gently, through the motions of his basic exercises. He was so caught up in the excitement of the lesson that he did not hear his mother return.

"Are you ready to go, Zuko?"

The boy turned to face his mother, releasing Mai's hand and stepping slightly away from her. The raven-haired girl was trembling terribly now without him around her and she nearly dropped the knife. She gripped it tightly, but a moment too late. The dagger had slipped down and she had caught it again with the blade. It bit into her palm, but she dared not let go.

"But mom, I was just starting to teach her how to use the dagger." Zuko argued, wanting to continue the lesson. "She's pretty good at it."

Mai swooned again, disbelieving what she was hearing.

"I am sorry dear, but we must be going. Your father has called for us." Ursa sounded truly apologetic. Zuko sighed with slightly sagging shoulders, but did not argue. He turned back to Mai, who was staring at him. He held his hand out on a silent request for his knife back.

"I'm sorry, I have to go."

Mai carefully returned the knife to him and was just as surprised as he was to see the blood flowing over her fingers.

"Oh no, you're bleeding!"

Ursa glanced at Mai at this news.

"Oh dear, are you all right?" the princess asked.

Mai nodded numbly, unable to take her eyes away from Zuko's hand which held fast to hers. The prince used his free hand to fish out a red-colored cloth with a large emblem of the Fire Nation embroidered at its center; he deftly wiped off his blade before he sheathed it back in its scabbard and then stashed it into his pocket. Then he took Mai's (trembling again?) hand in both of his to clean her up. The cuts were small and not very deep. A light brushing over and they were dry, though the bleeding continued. Mai looked up at Zuko after the treatment and gave him a warm, tender smile. He was smiling back. She was just about to say her thanks when a curt voice cut through the silence.

"Mai! There you are!"

Azula tramped down from the hall, a nervous Ty Lee hovering a short distance behind her. The edges of the pink-clad girl's clothes were singed. Mai's smile evaporated at the sight of the princess; her expression was irate.

"We've been looking for you. What are you two doing?" she demanded with a challenging tone, stopping just before and glancing between the two of them with a suspicious glare. Did they dare to form alliances against her without her approval?

"None of your business," Zuko retorted heatedly.

"Azula, Zuko, it is time for us to go." Ursa interrupted, sensing a fight brewing between her children. Zuko glanced back at Mai, pressing the cloth into her damaged hand. Mai looked at it then looked back up to him, about to question his means.

"Keep it." He said, the small smile returning. "It was…nice to have this time with you, Mai." He bowed slightly to her and turned to follow his mother who was beginning to leave. Mai stared after him, her entire body tingling. It was a moment before a movement of red made itself apparent in the corner of her eye. She glanced nervously at Azula. The princess was staring at Mai with a heated mixture of spite and disloyalty, but Mai was simply feeling too lighthearted to be bothered by the look.

"Azula!"

The younger princess was at last spurred forward to her mother's call. Ty Lee watched the royalty go, before walking over to Mai.

"Wow, he gave you his kerchief. It's got the Fire Nation emblem on it and everything! You must feel so special. What happened between the two of you?" Ty Lee grinned at her friend's genuine smile as Mai stared at nothing with absolute euphoria.

"He remembered my name."

Author's Note: Finally, a Maiko story by me, eh? Hopefully it will have attracted a bigger audience than my other Mai stories. Poor Mai. And what a way to end it too! Nevermind that fact that just about everyone said Mai's name before Zuko did--I think I'll blame that on Mai's beind blinded by love.

I had the idea with Mai finding a passion in daggers because of Zuko (which I'm sure people have already figured out themselves, and written about too! But, here is my version of it anyway) and then I had no real idea to end it--and I've been sleeping on this story for well over a few months now. The story was actually heavily inspired by Pines of Rome by Ottorino Respighi, right up until the spectacular finish where Ozai appears and leads the Fire Nation to victory...didn't seem all that plausible with what I have written here. I DID want to write the interation between Ursa and Mai, which I hope played out rather canon. There just wasn't enough Ursa to go off of, so I filled whatever I could really.

Haha, I wish I could have come up with more names to call Mai besides: "Mai", "girl", and "black-haired girl". Ah well, my creativity eluded me on this one.

Ack, with my rambling. I hope all who read enjoyed the story and will please review!

Blackfire 18