Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Author's Note: This is kind of a sequel to Chapter 10, though it can also stand alone.

Who's the Captive?

Mai was lounging in the throne room of the Earth King's former palace, cleaning under her fingernails with a throwing knife. Life seemed to get more tedious by the hour, but at least that stupid bear was gone. Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck her out of the blue.

"Hey, Ty Lee," she said, straightening her posture. "Do you know where Zuko is?"

"Probably in his room," Ty Lee answered. "Why?" Mai ignored both the question and the other girl's teasing expression as she left the room.

It took a long time to reach the quarters Zuko had selected for his own. Instead of choosing one of the more luxurious rooms closer to the throne room, he'd gone to one of the more distant guest suites. Mai had the strangest feeling that he'd been tempted to go as far the servant's wing, though she had no basis for this. Was he trying to get as far away from his sister as possible? Or from her? She shook off such paranoid thoughts as she knocked on the door, trying not to sound as timid as she felt.

"Come in," the familiar voice invited from inside. Mai was surprised that Zuko hadn't even inquired who it was. She pushed open the door. Zuko was reclined on a sofa, reading something. He looked up as Mai entered, and it was clear she was not who he was expecting.

"What are you doing?" she asked, suddenly realizing that she had no idea how to broach her intended topic.

"I was never much for reading back home," he mused instead of answering directly. "I'm finding it interesting now, though. I guess all that time without books helped me realize how valuable they can be."

"I always preferred action to words," Mai replied. She shifted awkwardly from foot to foot. Zuko seemed to be patiently awaiting the reason for her unannounced visit.

"Would you like to sit down?" he offered belatedly. She took a chair across from him.

"Thanks." Silence fell again. Without any further preamble, she blurted, "Would you like to see your uncle?"

"You know where he's being held?" Zuko's eyes shot up to meet hers, intense but guarded. Mai found herself slightly hurt that he didn't trust her, although, looking at matters objectively, she couldn't really blame him. She nodded in response, and his eyes narrowed. "This isn't some kind of trick, is it? A test of my loyalty?" he practically spat the words.

"I'm not Azula's flunky," Mai snapped, putting her defenses carefully back into place. She stood up to leave. "I just thought you might like to visit him."

"Wait," Zuko's voice was quiet and managed to be somehow commanding and apologetic at the same time. She stopped halfway through her turn and looked back at him, wishing her heart would return to a normal beating pattern. He came close to her, which didn't help her composure at all, and looked around furtively before speaking very softly. She didn't blame him for this, either; she knew as well as anyone how many Dai Li were likely to be lurking about.

"I would like to see him," he admitted. "I just…don't know where I am anymore." The gaze he directed at her now was probably the most open she'd seen from him since he was about ten. He did indeed look lost, and pity began to melt her insides, along with something else she wasn't in a mood to explore.

"Let's go," Mai said, barely stopping herself from taking Zuko's hand as she led the way to the dungeons. Once there, Zuko told her she didn't have to stay, but she wanted to, partly because it gave her an opportunity to observe his profile while he was occupied and wouldn't notice. Mai withdrew a certain distance to give them some measure of privacy, though she caught words here and there. Iroh was secured at the back of his earthen cell with stone bindings on hands and feet, which made discreet communication with the doorway nearly impossible.

Zuko's left side happened to be facing her, and she took the opportunity to study the angry, red scar. It had been such a surprise to see him with it a few days ago. Mai had heard about the incident, of course, but she hadn't been there, and that was the first time she'd seen him since his exile. Personally, she felt that the scar loaned Zuko a certain amount of character. He didn't look like a pampered prince but a man who had really lived.

In Mai's opinion, banishment had been good to Zuko, or maybe he would have turned out much this way anyway. He had gained considerably in musculature, although the loose Earth Kingdom clothes tended to hide it, and his noble features were sharper and more masculine than she remembered.

Finally, Zuko was ready to leave, and Mai walked with him back to the residential portion of the palace. From what she had caught of the conversation, she gathered that Zuko's primary reason for joining Azula was to gain his father's favor. Mai couldn't really understand this, as she had never desired or sought her parents' approval, but she supposed she could accept it. Maybe it was a guy thing. Ty Lee had certainly not shown much concern for her folks when she'd run off to join the circus, and Azula…she would kiss up to her father when it suited her, but Mai suspected it was all show.

"Thank you," Zuko said shortly to Mai, and he actually took her hand and pressed it briefly, much to her surprise. The words contained a note of dismissal, however, and he turned to walk alone down the hallway. Gazing after him, and thinking about the situations of Zuko, Iroh, Azula, Ty Lee, and even Mai herself, she wondered who the real prisoners were.

--

Author's note: Prisons can be made out of many things. I do have another thought or two to continue this Maiko series.

Member of the Boomeraang Squad: charleegirl, Jesus.Lives, Liselle129, and honorary member SnakeEyes16

Thank you to IGAF-kun, Aangsfan, and Kumori Doragon for reviewing Chapter 11.

Piezo: Yeah, both Suki and Sokka have interesting dichotomies of character, which is why I actually think they make a pretty good pair.

Tech-Man: Here's more Maiko for you! I have a plan for at least one more, but I'm not sure how much of a saga I want to get into.

MormonMaiden: That's great that there's the extra bonus of you having been in Oklahoma. I've seen it many times, and I always wanted to be Ado Annie, though I'm getting pretty long in the tooth for those kinds of roles now.

Durins Bane: Yes, that chapter was during and right after Suki's return from accompanying the Gaang through Serpent's Pass, so there's no canon conflict. Suki's fate was left open, but I really hope she's not dead, because I have to think that Sokka wouldn't be willing to get romantically involved with anyone ever again. He just loses them, so all other ships with him would be just as dead.

SnakeEyes16: Full membership shall be conferred when you write something. In the meantime, you retain honorary status (since the other members haven't objected), and you are not a useless lump. Your reviews help to keep me writing. Like an actor, what is a writer without a responsive audience? Sorry this isn't a songfic. I've had a couple of fleeting ideas for more of those, but nothing has really coalesced yet.

GrEeN-eYes119: I do find it funny that I seem to be able to convert people to any ship I write about. While I appreciate your praise, I don't think I could write any ship I didn't believe in, or that I couldn't at least find some canon support for. I find it hard to imagine that I could manage a realistic Zutara, for example. I agree that George doesn't get enough love, but neither does Soko.

Magawa: I don't know whether this ship will actually happen or not, but I think the series at least needs to deal with Mai's side of it, since it's been set up. As I've said before, I'm willing to play with just about any ship that doesn't contradict Kataang.

frozenheat: Well, lately, all the alerts have been down. Here's another Maiko to add to my collection, and I hope you liked it as well as the first.