It was afternoon, the sun was an hour from disappearing into the horizon. Azula, Mai and Ty Lee occupied one of the many unused meeting rooms in the Palace. Like the others, this one was dusty, with half of the furniture hidden under white covers. The three girls removed the cover of one of the table sets for their own use.
Smack!
Azula's wooden pointing stick collided with the map plastered on the wall. "Eyes forward, Mai!"
Mai rolled her eyes and sighed as she dropped her hand on her lap. Previously, she was examining her nails for anything to battle boredom. Seated next to her was Ty Lee, who straightened her back to show her attentiveness.
Azula paced back and forth in front of the map whilst performing her weekly briefings, "The Day of the Black Sun is a week away. And according to our soldiers' reports on the Lower and Middle Ring, everything is proceeding as predicted."
Azula pointed her stick to the epicentre of the Lower Ring, "One of the soldiers witnessed a rationing of food in the Lower Ring. No doubt they're preparing for a coup. And it was also evident that the amount of building construction activities has almost tripled in amount this week." Azula narrowed her eyes for a second, "We have my brother to thank for that."
Just last week, Zuko sent resources to the most damaged section of Ba Sing Se, the Lower Ring. During the council meeting, Zuko proposed this idea and was heavily criticised for wasting resources. At that time, Mai and Zuko weren't even speaking. Not even after Jin 'left'. So, Mai thought it was now or never, when Zuko's eyes locked with her for the smallest fraction of a second, she stood up and backed him up. Her points were valid, her expression demure and her posture didn't waver. There was a moment of silence after Mai's speech, it was almost like waiting for someone to laugh after one said a joke. And the councilmen nearly did, this was, after all, a fifteen-year-old girl. What did she know?
Thank Agni, Azula second Mai's opinion, saving her from embarrassment. The Fire Nation princess would never waste resources on the Lower Ring, but Mai needs to earn Zuko's trust, and they didn't have time to waste. Mai did prove herself with handling the Jin situation. The councilmen immediately quietened after Azula's agreement. Mai sent Azula a discreet nod of gratefulness before trying to meet Zuko's eyes once again. Mai just wanted to talk to him, she wanted everything to be normal again. Even just for a little while.
Without meeting Mai's gaze, Zuko dismissed the council and marched out of the room. Her disappointment sent her figure to slump, and her face to droop. Due to this, Mai spent the whole day in her chambers. Despite Azula's ceaseless persuasion for her to meet up with Zuko, Mai refused to act first. She already approached him first, it was Zuko's turn now.
"Mai! Are you even paying attention?"
"Of course, I am."
"Seriously, you're making me want to make Ty Lee seduce Zuko instead of you."
Mai choked on her own spit.
Ty Lee gasped, "Oh, I can do it! Don't worry, Mai, no strings attached! I'm totally professional!"
"Wait, what? Who said anything about seducing?!" Mai exclaimed.
"If you were paying attention you would know!" Azula retorted, "And I don't mean seducing seducing. I just meant creating a distraction. Detonate a bomb, tell him his mother is back, flash him your bosom, I don't care. When the resistance attacks, he needs to be completely unaware of it."
Ignoring her warming cheeks, Mai scoffed. "That's impossible. Like you said, the Fire Nation has been doing drills for this day for months now. Zuko won't let his guard down."
"You won't believe how dim my brother really is. Trust me, it will work. The resistance should reach the heart of this Palace when you finish Zuko off. Otherwise, it won't be as believable if we are planning on declaring that he fell in the crossfire. Plus, I've arranged for the Dai Li to send troops to the outside walls of Ba Sing Se, to keep a lookout for any invaders. We can't have anything go wrong on this day."
Mai's beating heart tripled. 'Azula's right. We can't afford to make any mistakes on that day. Suki and I have to escape with Zuko.'
When the tension was at its highest point, Ty Lee thought it was the perfect time to make her point, "Uh, is that the best choice we have, though? Like can't we put him in a deep sleep using a potion or something, instead? Ooh! Or better yet, we should rough him up and shave his head like what Mai did to Jin! He'll never show his face again!"
Azula's glare slowly travelled to Ty Lee. The acrobat shrunk in her seat, immediately regretting opening her mouth in the first place. "And where do you propose we find this sleeping potion? And what makes you think he won't return when his wounds heal and his hair grows back, you imbecile!"
Ty Lee waved her hands in front of her apologetically, "No, no. You're right." Ty Lee said weakly, "It's best we put Zuko to sleep, you know... forever."
Oh, Ty Lee. How can I ever leave you with her?
A day passed. To clear her mind, Mai wandered the streets of the Middle Ring with Ty Lee. Personally, she preferred wandering around the Lower Ring despite the putrid odour that occupied the streets. The Lower Ring was the furthest away from the Palace, and Mai needed a break from that the most. However, after doing the 'Jin thing'... Mai wondered if she could ever walk the streets of the Lower Ring without the sinking feeling of guilt in her stomach.
Ty Lee originally wanted to go shopping in the Upper Ring, but Mai guessed the acrobat also felt guilty for mentioning that Zuko bought Jin a necklace from one of the Upper Ring stores. And this led to Mai shaving Jin's head and giving her a couple of bruises and cuts. To be fair, Jin did try to steal Zuko from Mai. Well, Zuko wasn't Mai's to begin with. But Ty Lee is a Maiko shipper forever, what can she say? (A/N: Omg, guys. I had to, hahaha! )
Zuko was a very handsome young man, with his flawless face and his silky brown hair and... glowing amber eyes...
Ty Lee fell for that same trap a long time ago. And she admitted to flirting with the Prince a few times in their childhood. But she cannot deny, the Prince's eyes lit up a million times brighter when Mai was the one that was in front of him. And Mai's aura, it was still grey, but Ty Lee could have sworn she saw a swirl of shimmering amber in there.
Ty Lee and Mai left Azula in the Palace; she was busy secretly training the Dai Li for the Day of the Black Sun. The two girls didn't mention to Azula that they were going to the Middle Ring to go shopping. It seemed like a bad idea, knowing how Azula can overreact. But Ty Lee convinced Mai that they weren't going to stay out too late, they'll be back before Azula notices they left the Palace.
The Middle Ring was certainly cleaner than the Lower Ring, however, it was more crowded than the Upper Ring. Mai and Ty stood in front of a small dress boutique; the exterior of the shop was heavily decorated with flowers.
"Oh my! Look at all those robes!" Ty Lee squealed as she gawked at the rack of robes, coloured in various shades of green.
"They're green." Mai rubbed the tip of her nose with a knuckle.
"I have to try some on." Ty Lee declared, "Wait, no. I need to try them on!" The acrobat barged into the store, leaving Mai to yell after her.
"Go ahead! I'll just walk around." Mai slumped her shoulders as she realised her friend was too far away to hear her. "Whatever." she grumbled.
Mai twisted her torso to look around the town square, it was a busy day. She sighed once more as she fell back to boredom. Mai took another look inside the store, Ty Lee was walking around, occasionally taking a robe from a rack and tossing it to the sales lady behind her. The sales lady had to force a smile as she carried a mountain of clothes.
Mai rolled her eyes. The intensity of her eye rolling allowed her to catch a glimpse of familiar orange robes in the corner of her eyes. Mai tensed. She searched for the orange robes and found them disappearing in a corner. Her eyes flashed to the store in front of her. Ty Lee was nowhere to be seen, however, that same sales lady was now waiting outside of rustling curtains.
'Ty Lee is trying on robes. With that pile, it might as well be the Day of the Black Sun when she finishes. She'll be fine.' Mai thought as she darted slyly into the shadows, turning to the exact corner where she last saw the orange robes.
As she turned into a new street, she found the orange robes disappearing into a store. She raced across the town square to catch up to the orange robes. That better not be who I think it is. This is the worst timing.
Mai hid behind a pillar in the shadowed side of the store where the orange robed person entered. Mai took a deep breath as she decided to take a peek at who this person was. She didn't have to look to identify who it was. Mai's suspicions were confirmed at the sound of the familiar quarrelling.
"These weapons are so shiny; I actually might cry." Cried a teenaged boy. Mai's ears perked, recognising the voice of the guy, the one Ty Lee found 'cute'.
A boyish boy replied, "I'm not one to use blades, but boy, those are shiny!" The Avatar.
"I told you the Middle Ring has better shopping options! You just had to land in the Lower Ring." An unfamiliar voice said. Mai quickly took a peek, the voice belonged to a green clothed... girl?
"We had to be discreet, okay? And plus, we just got Appa back, I'm not going to risk flying over new Fire Nation territory."
"Guys- Sokka, let go! We can't afford to buy nunchucks, or any weapon whatsoever!" The Water Tribe girl, now, that's a voice Mai remembers.
"But, why?!"
"Katara is right. We came here for one thing, and one thing only." The Avatar agreed.
"Come on! Chillax! The Day of the Black Sun is still a week away! We have time."
"Oh, thank you for the reminder, Toph! Why don't you say that a little louder so the Fire Nation soldiers outside can hear you!" By the end of that sentence, that Katara girl was whispering angrily.
As she leaned in to hear more of the conversation, a warm hand tapped one of her shoulders. Mai quickly spun around to see the offender. She was met with familiar white hair.
"Yue!"
The Princes of the Northern Water tribe wore robes similar to that Katara girl. Her eyes beamed at her comrade. "Mai! I knew it was you!" Yue wrapped her arms around Mai's slim figure.
"What are you doing here?" Mai said as Yue untangled herself from their embrace.
"Didn't you get my scroll?"
Mai's brows moved together, confused. "I didn't receive anything."
Yue scratched behind her ear, "I told Sokka starlings can't relay scrolls, but he seemed so confident, so I thought-"
Mai put a hand up, "Wait. You're here with them?"
"Uh, yes. See, the scroll was meant to explain everything to you-"
"Please do."
Yue paused and looked behind Mai, analysing the arguing group. "They're shopping still, that will take a while. Come, we should go somewhere else to talk."
Mai and Yue settled for a tiny eatery just around the corner of the block. Since they didn't intend to order anything, they sat at one of the empty tables just outside the eatery. Mai looked around anxiously. She didn't have the most pleasant meeting with the Avatar's group back in Omashu, and she doubt they'll be giving her a warm welcome this time. Not to mention the high stakes of Azula realizing that the Avatar is in Ba Sing Se, a week from the Day of the Black Sun.
"So, the scroll?"
"Oh yeah," Yue smiled sheepishly, "It probably got lost on the way..."
Mai sighed annoyingly, "Did you disclose any Order information?" She was suddenly feeling antsy.
"Well, not exactly, I wrote it in code. But anyone who'd read it would probably think it's from an overly dramatic teenage girl or something, heh."
"What was on that scroll?"
"Well, I just basically said how the Avatar arrived in the Northern Water Tribe, accompanied by two Southern Water Tribe siblings. Katara and Aang trained there while Sokka..." Yue's cheeks pinked, causing one of Mai's brow to raise. "Well, he was spending time with me."
The Princess quickly glanced up at Mai to see her reaction. On her friend's face was a trace of interest. "And this led me to break my engagement off. My dad yelled at me. The Fire Nation attacked. I nearly died. What else?" At this point, Mai's mouth formed a small O. "Well, after I nearly died, my father was suddenly very understanding. And I've decided to leave the Northern Water Tribe to help the Avatar. And of course, keeping in mind our duty. It all worked out eventually." Yue smiled sheepishly, once again.
"Oh, wow. That didn't even bore me for even a second." Mai stood up from her chair, "You, me and Suki really need to have a meeting, you need to elaborate what you just told me. And we have to send a scroll to the Elders. And perhaps rewrite that scroll of yours to send to Headquarters."
Yue followed Mai's example, and tucked her chair in behind her. "Rewriting it will be a pain. My hand ached for an hour after writing that scroll to you. Now, you can see how glad I am that you received it safety and efficiently." Yue attempted at a sarcastic joke, Mai's shoulders relaxed and cracked a smile back, remembering her friend.
"Nice to have you back, Princess." Mai tapped the other girl's shoulder affectionately as she plastered a welcoming smile.
Yue went in for another embrace, "Nice to have the group back together, Lady Mai!" Mai twitched in the girl's tight embrace. Wow, being away from the Northern Tribe really changes her. Mai's mind flashed back to when they first met. Like her, Yue was reserved, prim and proper. It was really Suki who brought them together. Effectively strengthening their bond as a group.
A shriek interrupted the girls' moment, "WHAT IS THIS?!" There stood Sokka with the rest of the gang behind him.
All jaws dropped to the floor.
A/N: Hello, everyone! How's it going? This chapter is where all the action starts. I hope you continue to support this story! Please review, favourite or follow! You guys continue to inspire me to write when you do! I promise to try my hardest to finish this story, as I'd like to keep our Maiko hearts beating! I hope you enjoyed reading this! I certainly enjoyed writing it!