I think Mai is quite an interesting character and that's why I wanted to do a fic about her. Before you continue, I want to warn you that this story is partly Zutara, and even Maiha (Mai x Haru)
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Heartbreak
Mai risked everything to safe Zuko's life, but when she looked into his eyes briefly after, she knew his heart would never truly be hers again, no matter how many times she stood up against his sister.
Shattered
All her life, Mai had been craving for freedom. Loving Zuko would offer her freedom. As the wife of the future leader of her nation, she would have all the freedom of choice she could possibly want, or so she thought. Oh the irony when she was looked away for the very love that once offered freedom.
Weakness
"I love Zuko more then I fear you" Mai said to Azula. Azula just smiled sadistically and whispered: "too bad he loves the water peasant then" before ordering the guards to lock Mai away where she wouldn't ever have to see her again.
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Freedom
All her life Mai had longed for freedom. After being stuck in a relationship with no future (come on, the whole world knew he loved Katara and that Katara loved him back) Mai travelled to the earth kingdom, hoping to find the freedom she so longed for. The only person who knew where she went was Katara, ironically. The two had become best friends quickly after Zuko took the throne, and with Katara hanging around her all day, Mai's gloomy moods changed to bright moods. She loved Zuko, that she knew, but she also knew that Katara loved Zuko all the same. She could tell that Zuko loved her as well, so she did the honourable thing to do: Mai ran away
A month before her wedding to Zuko, Mai entered Katara's chamber and told her that she knew. That she, Mai, had to get out of the way, because even though she loved Zuko, she loved him too much for him to be unhappy with her, and that she had to get away from the court, away from the fire nation. Katara then told her that she knew some people in the earth kingdom who would happily take her in. Together they wrote a letter stating that Mai didn't have any riches, any wealth or any other way to repay them, but that she would be forever grateful. So naturally, Mai was quite surprised when a letter arrived for her, a week before the wedding, telling her that they were happy to take her in, regardless of her fiancés.
So Mai travelled to the earth kingdom, with just a set of robes and some personal belongings. She told nobody where she was going, she just left a letter saying that she was breaking off the engagement to Zuko and that she was going to go somewhere where they wouldn't be able to find her.
Hungry and quite lost, she finally made it to the humble earth town that was going to be her home. The family that took her in was a humble one but they loved her as one of their own. They couples son, Haru, showed her around town and taught her everything she should know when living in an earth bending city. She learned how to do her own laundry, how to cook, how to grow her own food, but most importantly, she learned how to make her own decisions.
Haru was cheering on her all the way, even though he barely could keep himself from throwing up after eating her first cooked meal (they were eating fish and she conveniently had forgotten to skin it and to remove the bones), had to buy her new clothes when she ruined her own while doing the laundry, and when she wasted the harvest of one year because she forgot to water them for a week.
Three years later, a letter arrived, stating the engagement of the honourable Fire lord and sifu to the Avatar, Zuko to the ambassador of the water tribes and sifu to the Avatar, Katara. After reading the letter, Mai couldn't help it but be sad. In the letter, they only invited Haru and his family, but not her. Later that day however another letter arrived from Katara asking her to come. She hadn't invited her along with Haru's family because she had written the invitations together with Zuko, and even after all those years she still hadn't told him where she, Mai, had went. After showing the letter to Haru, Mai started packing. Zuko and Katara were in for the biggest surprise of their lives.
At first, Mai was scared about going to the wedding. She would have to face her parents there, for she was sure they were invited as well. Secondly, she had run away a week before her own wedding to the Fire Lord, what would people think if she showed up again at the wedding? Would they think she had come back to claim him as rightfully hers? But when Haru took her down to the river she really loved and asked her to marry him, she forgot all her worries about attending Katara's wedding, after all, whatever it was that they would throw at her, she wouldn't have to face it alone, she'd have Haru standing right there beside her.
They arrived the evening before the wedding. Utterly exhausted, Mai couldn't help but want to collapse in on of the guest rooms of the royal palace. But before she could do that, she would have to get some things straight. So she took Haru to the Royal bedroom, knocked three times, and wasn't surprised when a still sleepy looking Katara opened the door. Awkwardly standing there, Mai didn't know what to say anymore, all her carefully thought up lines were pushed out of her now blank mind. But words weren't necessary. Katara ushered her and Haru in and hugged her before she could even say "hug". And that's when Katara saw it, more accuracy, them. Her thumb rings.
The "omg I can't believe it, I'm so happy for you" woke Zuko up. Rubbing his eyes three times to make sure he wasn't seeing things, he fell from the bed. Again awkwardness took hold over Mai, but Katara's behaviour had been rubbing off on Zuko, and he quickly pulled her in his embrace. Suddenly feeling a bit better Mai whispered: "I'm so sorry for leaving without telling you Zuko" and he replied with "It's ok, I forgave you a long time ago".
Zuko even gave his consent when she told him that she wanted to marry Haru and told her that he hoped that he would give her the freedom he never could have given her.
When Mai and Haru walked out of the royal bedroom their steps were so much lighter that Toph, if she was awake at the time, would have sworn they had suddenly learned to air bend.
Right before getting into the chapel in which the wedding was to be conducted Mai ran into her parents, well actually, Tom Tom spotted her, ran to her and clung to her skirts holding on for dear life. This naturally attracted the attention of her parents. But instead of yelling at her and making her feel bad for leaving without telling them her mom ran up to her and hugged her, while muttering that Agni had finally answered her prayers. And when Mai told them about her engagement to Haru, her father laughed and told her that he wouldn't have it any other way, for Haru had given him his daughter back. Not really given back as in returning her, but he had given her her liveliness back that she had been lacking for the past 14 years.
So here she was, watching the man she once loved, getting married to her best friend, and all she could think about was that she had to be the happiest girl in the world.