After Dark
Part 3
The palace garden at noon time was filled with bright sunlight and Mai let her eyes drift shut in an attempt to block it out. She was sprawled out casually on the stone steps, bored out of her mind, while Azula stood on the yellowing grass and demonstrated her latest firebending moves. Ty Lee sat on the grass, as close to the princess as she could safely get, and watched with rapt, admiring attention.
"Did you see that, Mai?" the acrobatic girl asked her friend. "Isn't Azula talented?"
"Sure," Mai replied, irritated that she was forced to open her eyes and actually look.
"You don't sound very impressed," Azula observed sagely. "Are you certain that you were watching?"
"I saw," Mai lied, and her heart began to beat just a little bit faster.
Lying to Azula was never a good idea but at that moment Mai really didn't care.
"Hmm," the firebending prodigy continued. "You seem distracted today, Mai. What's your problem?"
"Nothing; I'm just a bit tired."
"Well, when you come to visit me, make sure that you're not. I deserve all of your attention, not just a part of it."
Mai silently cursed her mother for encouraging this 'friendship' but pulled her lips into a pleasant smile and nodded at Azula.
"Good. I realize that you have nothing important to do, Mai, nothing to strive towards, no great things waiting for you, but I do. Father is grooming me to be the next Fire Lord. Now that Zuko's ….."
Mai flinched and then prayed that Azula hadn't seen.
"….out of the picture, I'm the heir. It's obvious that I'm the better choice anyway. I mean, when Zuko was thirteen he could barely make fire let alone bend it like I can now. And I'm only twelve. And he was such a dolt when it came to history and military strategy. I can see why Father wanted to get rid of him."
The knife thrower bit the inside of her lip hard. She was practiced at hiding her emotions, skilled even, but the anger she felt now was difficult for even her to control.
"Now, let's go inside and get something to drink. I'm thirsty," Azula stated.
The girls all climbed the stairs and walked along the covered pathway that eventually led to the palace proper. Mai was grateful for the shade and for the shadows. Azula's remarks had cut deep and Mai felt heat rise in her face at the memory. What was she going to do; wait around until her parents finally found someone willing to marry her? No, she would refuse. Whatever boy they picked probably had a father who visited Chika at night or perhaps visited her himself. She wouldn't be tied down to some hypocrite. She wouldn't.
"Mai!" Ty Lee shouted.
The black haired girl jerked and then looked into wide grey eyes.
"What?"
"We've been calling you. Do you want some lemonade?"
They were in the palace kitchen and Mai couldn't recall getting there.
"Okay," she replied.
Azula brusquely ordered a harried member of the kitchen staff to get the cold drinks and laughed when the poor woman hit her head on a cupboard in her haste.
"Here you are, Princess Azula," she said shakily as she set the tray down on the counter.
"We're not drinking it here, dummy. Carry it into the dining room."
"Yes, miss," the young woman stated and picked up the tray once again.
She waited for the trio of girls to get up from their seats and then followed them out of the kitchen.
"Oh, and get us something to eat too; some spring rolls and rice will do."
"Yes, miss."
Moving quickly, the servant fetched the food and served it to the girls. She stood back and waited for further orders.
"Leave!" Azula shouted.
The woman scurried away, back to the kitchen where she felt safe, as long as the little tyrant wasn't around.
Mai sipped the deliciously cold lemonade but only picked at her food. The two meals she'd had the night before combined with her late breakfast to make her stomach feel full.
"You seem different, Mai," the princess said sharply.
The girl was astute and very aware of the habits of both her friends. It was dangerous to act out of 'character' or express too much around the princess.
"Different?" Mai asked. "Me? I'm just as bored with everything as I always am."
"No, there's something," Azula insisted.
"Maybe she's just excited about the new baby coming," Ty Lee suggested.
"She just said that she's bored with everything, Ty Lee. Pay attention."
"Oh, yeah," Ty Lee stated, looking rebuffed.
"Did you have a fight with your parents about another marriage candidate?" Azula asked. "Why don't you just agree to the best one? It's not like there's anything else waiting for you. You can be a good little noblewoman like your mother."
"Good," Mai sneered. "And how do you know what's waiting for me?"
Ty Lee gasped. "Mai, you shouldn't talk that way to Azula."
"Whatever; I don't care," the black haired girl shrugged.
"Hmmm, I really don't like your attitude, Mai. You're almost exactly like you were when Zuko first left. You're not thinking about him, are you? Don't waste your time. Look, maybe if you're lucky, when I finally get to join in the actual campaign my father is running in the Earth Kingdom, I'll take you with me."
Mai's ears perked up at the mention of the Earth Kingdom, but the thought of traipsing along behind Azula was not so appealing.
"Oh," was all Mai gave as a response.
"Come on, Ty Lee. Let's go. Mai can stay here and mope or whatever it is she does best."
The acrobatic girl jumped up from her seat and followed the princess out the dining room door. Mai was relieved to see them go. She finished her lemonade, not quite so cold now, got up and wandered down the hallway. She passed several spots where she and Zuko used to play or escape to when Azula's teasing got especially vicious. The palace, a dark and almost foreboding place, especially with its current Fire Lord, was full of tiny unused rooms and little nooks two children could get lost in quite easily.
A smile played at her lips as she recalled some of her better times with the prince. But the reality of her life, a one without Zuko, never stopped hitting her in the stomach like a series of brutal kicks. At thirteen years old, she felt aimless and cynical and tired of everything. Maybe she should just marry the son of one of her father's cronies and get it over with. Like Azula said, what else was waiting for her anyway?
Her dismal thoughts turned to Mr. Ibaraki, the nobleman she had seen the night before leaving Chika's 'place of business'. What would his wife do if she knew? Probably nothing, if she was like all the other noblewomen. 'Let the men have their fun as long as they come home to us' was their philosophy. Mai would never tolerate any husband of hers stepping out.
She felt for one of her blades and its presence reassured and grounded as it always did. No matter what, she would always have the joy she got from throwing those deadly projectiles. Almost nothing compared with how she felt when a blade was in her hand and all her focus was on the target. Problems and worries, both silly and serious, dropped off her like leaves off trees on a blustery autumn day.
With all her wool gathering, Mai had gotten turned around somehow and was unsure of where exactly she was. She turned another corner and found herself in the palace's residential wing. Mai knew her way from there; she'd been in Azula's room more than a few times over the years. Walking faster now, she heard the sound of a door opening and ducked behind a conveniently placed pillar.
Keiko Tanaki, the woman she and her mother had met shopping a week ago, stepped out from the Fire Lord's chambers, flushed and sated looking. The man himself pulled her back and gave her a savage kiss before shoving her through the door and part way down the hall.
"Next week," he ordered imperiously.
"My pleasure, my lord," Keiko replied with an openly lustful look.
Waiting until she was sure the hallway was deserted, Mai ran through the corridors, out of the palace and then the rest of the way home. What in Agni's name was going on with everyone? Mrs. Tanaki was married with three young children and always nauseatingly proper. By no means was Mai unaware of court politics or the subtle language that men and women of the noble class spoke, but the rampant infidelity was new to her. She wondered about her own parents.
Mai wanted to turn around and leave as soon as she entered the foyer of her spacious home across from the palace. Her mother heard the click of the door and leapt on her like a mooselion would its prey.
"I'm so glad that you're back," she whispered and pulled the girl into a quiet corner.
"Didn't you want me gone too?" Mai replied tartly.
"Stop being so contrary; I don't need the stress. The baby's coming any day now, you know."
"Yeah, I know," Mai replied with a roll of her eyes.
The girl crossed her arms underneath her small breasts and waited for her mother to start one of her usual melodramatic spiels.
"You'll never guess who's visiting, Mai."
Masami looked at Mai expectantly but the girl said nothing. Irritated, Mai's mother continued.
"Mr. and Mrs. Ibaraki and their sons are here. I invited them to stay for dinner. Slip upstairs and change into something pretty. Fix your hair and put on a bit of makeup. And for Agni's sake, don't look so sour and bored at the table. But don't say too much either. Maybe one of their sons will show an interest in you."
"Why don't you write me a script?" Mai retorted sarcastically.
Masami narrowed her eyes. "Watch your tone. You've got fifteen minutes to get ready."
Showing no emotion but raging inside, Mai started up the staircase to her bedroom. She considered climbing out her window and escaping, but decided to wait until nighttime instead. Mr. Ibaraki; how could she look at the man or sit in the same room with him, knowing what she knew?
She peeled off her clothing and picked out simple but elegant black and maroon robes. She sat down at her vanity and looked at herself in the mirror. Scowling, she redid her hair but rebelled and skipped the makeup. The thirteen year old heaved a sigh and left her room, closing the door behind her. Her mother waited at the bottom of the stairs, hands on her belly.
"Where's your makeup?" she snarled.
Mai shrugged and Masami pinched her daughter's cheeks hard in attempt to infuse them with color.
"That hurts," Mai hissed and pushed her mother's hands away.
"You need to look your best," was the woman's response.
She practically shoved Mai along the hall and into the sitting room where the Ibaraki family sat sipping tea. They all looked up at Mai's entrance. She said hello and sat down beside her father before Masami could find a seat for her.
"You remember our daughter, Mai, don't you?"
"Of course," Mr. Ibaraki replied with a smile. "She's lovely."
"Mai just got back from the palace. She's very good friends with the princess."
"Oh, that's wonderful," Mrs. Ibaraki stated. "Kenji, why don't you have a talk with Mai?"
Kenji was their fifteen year old son. He was pleasant looking enough, with brown hair and brown eyes, and a solid frame, but his face seemed vacant somehow. Sen moved to a chair and let Kenji sit down beside his daughter. The boy looked at Mai and Mai looked back. She wasn't going to make it easy for the guy. Besides she had absolutely no interest in him.
"So, you know the princess?" he began rather lamely.
"Yeah," Mai replied dully.
"So, um, what's she like?"
Mai shrugged for the second time in the half hour she'd been home. She couldn't say what Azula was really like. That wouldn't be proper or respectful. Better to say nothing.
"My father's a very important man. He's the city planner, handpicked by our great Fire Lord. I'm sure that I'll have a position just as important in a few years."
It was all Mai could do to look at Kenji.
"I'll need a wife," he stated boldly.
"Then I guess you'd better find one," Mai snapped and turned her back to him.
Dinner was painful to sit through. Mai kept stealing glances at Mr. Ibaraki, Kano, and observed as he tended carefully to his wife, Taji, all while talking politics with Sen. Meanwhile, Kenji continued his fruitless efforts to engage Mai and the Ibaraki's youngest son, eight year old Katashi, picked peas out of his rice and threw them surreptitiously at Mai.
The knife thrower glared at the little brat. She reached into her sleeve and picked out a blade, making sure that the adults were occupied. She gave Katashi an eyeful and then slipped it back inside the wide expanse of material. The boy began to wail, pointing at Mai with tears and snot running down his face.
"What did you do?" Taji asked Mai accusingly.
"Nothing," Mai replied neutrally.
"Well, he's awfully upset for nothing," Kano stated. "Clean your face off, Katashi."
The boy scrubbed at his face with a napkin and then stole a peek at Mai. She made a move for her sleeve again and he wisely put his face down and concentrated on eating.
"Young boys have vivid imaginations. Don't you remember, Kano?" Sen asked, trying to clear the air.
"Indeed they do," he chuckled. "I recall when Shinji thought there were monsters living under his bed."
The Ibaraki's seventeen year old looked embarrassed but said nothing.
"I hope you have a son this time, Masami," Taji remarked to her friend.
"So do we; girls can be so much trouble."
Mai felt as though she had been slapped in the face. She put down her chopsticks and clasped her hands together under the table. Her nails dug into her pale skin and tiny drops of blood beaded up slowly. It hurt but felt good at the same time.
With everything settled, food and conversation became the focus once again. It was impossible for Mai to slip away without incurring the wrath of both her parents later on, so she ignored Kenji, watched the others and thought about the night time ahead. She would visit the underbelly of Capitol City again and look out for Mr. Ibaraki. Maybe she could even talk with Chika. Mai wasn't sure why the man's actions and those of Keiko Tanaki bothered her so much. She wasn't naïve, was she? She realized that the world she was forced to inhabit was phony and vicious and filled with people with no greater desires than to increase their wealth and better their positions. Marrying off children to families that could help in those ends was common practice. Marriage for love was a rare thing in Fire Nation nobility. Maybe Mr. Ibaraki and Mrs. Tanaki didn't love their spouses. Maybe they never had. Still, their behavior turned the proper world she'd been raised to believe she lived in, upside down. It was disturbing and thrilling all at the same time.
By the time the guests left for home, Mai was mentally exhausted. She scurried up the stairs after a cursory good night to her parents.
"Get back down here, Mai," Masami called. "We want to talk to you?"
She pretended not to hear but Sen stomped up the staircase and opened Mai's door without knocking.
"Your mother asked you to come downstairs," he said sternly. "Don't ignore her."
"Fine," Mai acquiesced and walked back down to the sitting room ahead of her father.
Masami sat on a chair and dabbed at her eyes. Mai rolled hers and prepared herself for a lecture.
"Couldn't you have tried harder?" she asked her daughter. "The Ibaraki's are such a well respected, wealthy family and their son, Kenji, is a fine young man. You could have been friendly at least."
"I don't like him," Mai replied bluntly. "I'm not interested in marrying him."
"If you don't change your ways, Mai, you'll be an old maid and bring shame to your father and me."
"I want more," Mai tried to explain.
"So the life I have isn't good enough for you?" Masami asked.
"It's your life. I want my own."
"What does that mean?" Sen asked.
"Do you even love each other?" Mai asked.
Sen raised his hand and slapped Mai hard across her left cheek. She took a step back, partly because of the force of the blow and partly to move away from her father. Without saying another word, she walked slowly and with great dignity out of the room and back up the stairs. Once in her room, she locked the door and lay down on her bed to wait for the arrival of darkness.
It was a long time before Sen and Masami went to bed. Mai could hear her mother sobbing and felt a twinge of guilt, just a twinge however. She still didn't have the answer to her question either. Did her parents really love each other or was their marriage just a convenient partnership?
Sighing, Mai shifted on her mattress and did her best to fight off sleep. It claimed her despite her efforts and she awoke with a start about two hours later. Silently, she climbed off her bed and opened her wardrobe. She changed into more comfortable, dark clothing again and tied on her cloak. Within a few minutes Mai was out on the street and running through the shadows. Within another fifteen she was at the bookshop. She readied a knife for safety's sake and strode purposefully down the alley.
Outside Chika's place, couples gathered, some mounting the outside stairs that obviously led to bedrooms and others disappearing down deserted alleys. Mai found a spot close to Chika's and decided to watch exactly who came and who left.
"Are you in the market for some work?" one heavily made up and pretty young woman asked as she walked by. "There's always room for one more."
Mai shook her head and looked darkly at the woman.
"Then why are you here?"
"I'm looking for someone," Mai replied.
"Aww, is Daddy cheating on Mommy? Or maybe your boyfriend needs a little extra attention. You look a bit young to be married."
"Is there a law against standing here?" Mai inquired sarcastically.
"No, enjoy the show, rich girl," the woman replied and pushed her way past the couples into the building itself.
Mai wondered if that was Chika herself. She stood rooted to her spot for more than an hour, hands in her sleeves, feeling the blades and thinking, all while watching the endless parade of colorful people walk or stumble past. When she finally saw Kano Ibaraki, she ducked into the doorway of a neighboring building. Peeking around the corner, she saw the man laughingly embrace a girl who couldn't be more than eighteen. They walked off down the street and Mai followed, darting out and around groups of revelers.
The couple took in all the sites, as if they were on a date. Mai didn't understand. What was Ibaraki up to? It was another two hours before the man walked the woman back to Chika's. Mai was tired and wanted to go home to bed very badly. She grew careless as she followed him home. When her father's friend stopped quickly, sensing someone behind him, Mai didn't hide fast enough. He spotted her flattening her body against a wall.
"Why are you following me, Mai?" he asked. "And what exactly did you see?"
Mai gripped a blade tight and walked out of the shadows.
A/N: Honestly, I'm not quite certain where I'm going with this. I started with a basic idea and as often happens when I write, different ideas emerge and I incorporate them into the chapters (if I like them). I suppose what I'm going for is a sort of 'Mai gets disillusioned' tale. That sort of tale more often has a bright eyed, naïve main character. Mai is already somewhat jaded and cynical and shut down. But even she (at least in my story here) still thought certain things were sacrosanct. She is only thirteen, after all.
So, while loving the dark and how she can be herself while in it, the dark (whether it's the actual dark or the darkness of the palace) also shows Mai a side of the nobility that isn't pleasant.
Does any of that make sense?
Alabaster