Mai escorted the Prince and two of his attendants from the throne room. They turned at the first corner of the candle lit hallway towards what used to be King Kuei's chambers. Away from Azula and Ty Lee's eyesight, Mai felt her hands grow colder from the perspiration forming in her palms. She attempted to get a glimpse of the Prince from the corner of her eyes even though she knew he was a few strides behind. He has not seen her for a year, and now she was walking right in front of him. Mai felt compelled to run her hands through her hair and even to slap her cheeks so they appeared a little coloured. Mai was never one to concentrate on her outward appearance, that's Ty Lee's thing. But being in front of Zuko urged the smallest speck of insecurity to amplify.

She kept her head held high and secretly clenched her fist under her loose long sleeves. The towering walls which greeted the high ceiling heightened her anxiety. Mai silently cursed the palace's architects and their need to locate the chambers so far away from the throne room.

A clearing of someone's throat pierced the silence, "So... Mai, uh... It's been a while," Despite clearing his throat, Zuko's voice sounded huskier than normal.

At the sound of his voice saying her name, Mai's ears perked up and she twisted her head to look back at her superior to realise that he was already next to her.

"It has." Mai meant to say more, but she was feeling hesitant due to the presence of the attendants behind them. She regretted not saying anything immediately because silence and the echoes of their shoes hitting the marbled floor enveloped them again. Mai searched her brain for anything interesting to continue the conversation.

She realised that she had a lot of things she wanted to ask him, but none of them she would dare say out loud. She wanted to ask him if another girl kept him company while she was gone. It hurt to even think of that possibility. Needless to say, Prince Zuko was popular with the ladies. There were so many girls Mai thought were so much more attractive than her. Mai couldn't never say that Zuko only cared about outward appearances though, he was so much more than that, he wasn't shallow. But then again, Mai also thought that there were a lot of girls more interesting than her. Probably ones that don't sigh nearly as much as she does.

She sighed mentally.

"Are you staying? In Ba Sing Se, I mean." Mai didn't register that her face crumpled into a concerned frown as a result of her previous thoughts until Zuko's voice pierced the dead silence once again. This stretched her face into a mild surprised expression.

"Yes," Mai heard herself say. Was he worried she'd leave? Mai pushed the fluttering sensation in her stomach down. "Going back to Omashu would be suicide." She continued. Zuko raised one of his eyebrows.

"I'd die of boredom." Mai clarified.

Zuko chuckled, it was deep and throaty. Mai twisted her head to look at the Prince. His eyes crinkled in laughter; he shook his head lightly. Mai averted her eyes as the corners of her lips turned upward slightly.

"At least that's still the same about you," He said back to her.

Mai's eyes narrowed in confusion, "What do you mean?" Mai anticipated Zuko's answer.

One year can drastically change a person. The person next to Zuko was no longer a girl. She was now a young woman. At that moment Prince Zuko could've listed a hundred ways she has changed. Her lips were plumper. Cheekbones higher. Body slenderer. Breasts roun-

"You're taller," Zuko blurted. Zuko mentally grimaced for his near-idiotic reply.

"So are you," Mai countered. She suspected that Zuko noticed more about her appearance than he was letting on. Mai knew her body grew more toned as months of training went by. Before, her knife throwing was a secret to her parents. It was simply something between her and the pretend target glued on the inside of her closet door in her bedroom. Zuko also knew about it. Something they had in common, their appreciation for sharp blades.

Omashu was boring, as Mai liked to advertise. But as more responsibility was given to her parents as the new leaders of Omashu, the less they concentrated on Mai. She was able to sneak out at night and practice. And the day came when Princess Azula arrived in Omashu, for the first time, Mai fought using her knives. In her very gray world without Zuko, at a flick of her wrists and with the adrenaline pumping throughout her whole system, she saw colour again.

When Azula decided to take Mai with her on her mission to conquer Earth Kingdom cities, Mai saw this as an opportunity to be away from her parent's watchful eyes. The three of them, Ty Lee, Mai and Azula, trained every day. Mai blossomed; her body metamorphosed to the captivating warrior she has always dreamt of becoming.

"Do you still throw knives?" Zuko wondered out loud. It was a stupid question really. An obvious answer stared at him in the face, but he craved to keep this conversation going.

"I never stopped. And I trust you're still training with your broadswords,"

Zuko's hand rose to rub the back of his neck, he caught himself mid-way and returned to his straight posture, "I don't train as much as I used to. My sifu left, remember?" Mai stared at him dumbly.

Oh, he was referring to her.

Boys complimented Mai a lot. They tell her that her hair was as dark as nighttime, they tell her about how milky her complexion is, they tell her that her eyes resemble a fusion of silver and gold. Mai sighed in boredom at all of these comments.

But to refer to her as a master?! Agni, take me!

Mai quickly collected herself and decided to take initiative, "Well, I'm here now. And I train daily at the Palace Training Room in the lower floors. Maybe you'd like to..." She trailed off, the possibility of rejection was lurked in the back of her mind and Mai couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

"Train with you? I'd be delighted!" Zuko's eyes shined, "Let's do it tomorrow, after the council meeting. You are going to that too, right?"

"That's right." Mai agreed with a nod of her head.

Eventually, they reached the Prince's chambers. Mai was glad her conversation with Zuko was not as awkward as she thought it would be. She was comfortable around him and him with her, that made all the difference in the world.

"This is it." Mai said as she gestured to the tall and heavily decorated double door.

The one of the attendants was already positioned on one side of the entrance and the other one opened the heavy door. While one of the attendants stayed outside the chambers, the other surveyed the inside of the chamber. Mai and Zuko were still in front of the entrance and both took in the interior of the room for the first time. There was a sitting parlour that eventually lead to a curtained doorway, which lead to the bedroom. Another door led to what seemed like an overly luxurious bathroom. "It is very green." Zuko stated.

The Prince was used to the spaciousness of the Earth King's old chambers, he was the Prince of the Fire Nation, after all. But the different shades of olive green were officially making him experience culture shock. "Indeed." Mai replied.

"I should head back now," She said after a while.

"Oh, yeah." He smiled sheepishly at her, "Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

"What?"

"The boy is meant to be walking the girl to places, not the other way around. Not that I think you're incapable of walking anywhere by yourself- I just meant-" The Prince rambled off.

"Next time." Mai's answer shut Zuko up, "You can walk me to my room next time," And with that Mai walked off with a satisfied smile plastered on her face.

Prince Zuko looked forward to tomorrow and so did she. For the first time in a long while, Mai was not bored that night as her interactions with the Prince replayed in her mind continuously.

The meeting held the day after lasted three whole hours. By the end, Mai wanted to ram a shuriken in the jugular of every council member who lengthened the meeting with their incessant complains. Zuko's attempt to rule Ba Sing Se whilst minding every perspective of each citizen did not pass effortlessly. Nearly each council member managed to contribute a contradiction to Zuko's avant-garde methods. Mai even noticed a few members glance at Azula while expressing their point, in hopes of achieving the Princess' support.

Azula put on quite the show, or lack thereof. Not once did she interrupt her brother or contribute to any arguments against his ideas. This was very unlike her; she was being the perfect subordinate to Zuko. But the Princess was ever observant, her time spent not talking provided her more time to analyse and revise the situation.

Ty Lee, on the other hand, fell asleep twice. She dozed off, her head gradually falling on Mai's shoulder. Every time her head landed on Mai's shoulder, the inky haired girl would flick her friend's forehead, jerking the sleeping girl awake. Mai did her best to pay close attention to the information being shared, this was part of her job. If it wasn't so important to her mission, Ty Lee would be the one cradling Mai's head.

Mai knew she couldn't afford to miss any details. She was expected to meet with Suki at the kitchens at sundown to report the particulars of the meeting. She also had to look alert and somewhat presentable, Prince Zuko was three sword lengths away from her. The anxious part of Mai's brain obsessed over situations where the Prince would cancel their much-anticipated rendezvous. Mai expected the meeting to last an hour maximum and it has gone way beyond that. What if Zuko was too exhausted to train with her?

The meeting eventually adjourned. Mai immediately left for her chambers without a glance towards Zuko. She was careful to not draw Azula's attention towards their undefined relationship.

Putting on her training gear like she did every day, Mai proceeded towards the training courtyard in the lower floors. It was an open courtyard which was easily accessible to the training room. The training room was congested with sweaty Fire Nation soldiers performing their everyday routine. Mai settled for the decent space sheltered by a single tree and set up the target against it. After doing so, Mai felt foolish for wallowing in the suspense of Zuko's arrival. She decided to start training without him.

After throwing three sets of knives, Mai's accuracy suffered a tinge because she was focused on Zuko's whereabouts. Did he forget? Mai shook her head at the near misses of the bullseye and huffed.

"Mai!" Mai heard Zuko's voice calling her. Instantaneously, she dashed to the target to remove evidence of her lack of concentration. Mai whipped around to see Zuko jog towards her, clad in his training robes.

"Hey," She watched him put his two broadswords against the tree.

"Sorry." He smiled weakly, "Being late doesn't make a good impression, huh?"

Mai returned the smile, "It really doesn't." She agreed, "But I don't blame you. Those council members are difficult to avoid."

"I didn't think it would be easy governing Ba Sing Se. It was obvious none of them agree with me." Zuko turned to her, "I suppose you feel the same way?" He asked hesitantly.

"Not at all." Mai met his eyes with an unwavering stare, "I trust you completely,"

Mai's eyes focused on the blade she was expertly twirling in her hand, effectively missing Zuko's reddened face. She continued, "When my dad was appointed the new governor of Omashu. It only took a few weeks until we lost control of the citizens. They all managed to escape from the city. You could say the Fire Nation ways aren't as effective beyond Fire Nation territory. I really don't mind seeing a different approach." Zuko blinked. For a girl who was raised to be wife and nothing else, she was really something. He has always known that. Not a lot of Fire Nation noblewomen invested any time secretly training with blades. They were taught to be quiet and obedient. This just sculpted Mai into the observant woman she is now. A very valuable asset in the world of politics.

"Well, that... That makes me feel a lot better." This was true. Since Zuko's Uncle Iroh wasn't permitted to join him in migrating to the new colony, Zuko found he missed his support. Moving to Ba Sing Se without a guardian was meant represent his father's trust in him. But he knew the truth. His father and his sister were waiting for him to make a wrong move. They're waiting for him to fail. Half of him wondered if Mai was being true. She is one of Azula's friends and he heard she accompanied his sister around the Earth Kingdom. But Mai was his friend too. He has felt secured in her presence, he could always count on her candid opinions. He still can't help being cautious.

"What are we waiting for?" Zuko gleamed at her, he grabbed his broadswords leaning against the tree and tossed one to Mai.* "Let's dance."

And they danced the dance of blades all afternoon long. Afterwards, the Prince walked Mai to her chambers, just like he said he would.

*In this fic, Mai used to train with Zuko before she left for Omashu.

A/N: This chapter is shorter than the first two, but it is still 2000K+ words.

Anyways, there's a lot of Maiko moments in this chapter that I hope you enjoyed! There will be more in the coming chapters. Although this is meant to be a romance fic, I wanted to incorporate the politics in the story as well. Politics isn't really my strong point, but I will try my best!

See you next week! Don't forget to review, favourite and follow!