Disclaimer: Disclaimers are a funny thing on fan sites. We all know I don't own Avatar.

AN: I'm quite surprised with myself in regards with this fic. I've consistently spat out ten-page chapters, and this one was originally 15 before I decided to some out and let it start the upcoming chapter! Uh, wow guys, this is completely unnatural of me. I tried to build up the relationships between the characters more in what is, I hope, a believable way. I feel like Mai and Toph would totally get along, both being from high society and totally rebelling against it in their own ways. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. :)

So it Goes

by: N3L

What happens in the aftermath of Zutara? A Zutara fic. But not for Zutara enthusiasts. A new chapter of her life unfolds as all she ever identified with is out of her grasp. Mai-centric.

Part Three: Of Common Contingencies

It's getting late in the afternoon, and the teashop's business is slowly winding down. Mai's taking a short break and tending to the garden when Aang and Toph make their way back from sparring. Both individuals are quite a sweaty and dirt ridden sight to behold.

Mai wrinkles her nose in distaste. "You two really need a shower."

Toph tilts her head in Aang's direction and a devious smile stretches across her face, "Y'know Aang, I think what Mai really means to say is that she's a sore loser and really needs a hug right now."

"Hmmm," her friend taps his chin thoughtfully. Then Aang's expression begins to horrifically mirror Toph's and they advance toward her grinning like demonic harbingers of dirt with their spattered arms stretched out in a 'welcoming fashion.'

Mai clutches at her useless water pail for defense against this unsightly scene.

She had just bathed a few hours ago! "Don't either of you even dare –" She steps backwards as Toph's and Aang's grimy fingers draw close.

She dipps underneath Aang's and Toph's ghastly blackened fingernails, and weaves out of range.

Mai shoots a fierce glare at her filthy reeking company, "I will wet the both of you."

"I dare you, sunshine." Toph dives at her with Aang following hot on her heels and oh-dear-god-their-fingernails-are-so-filthy, so Mai well, dared. With a mighty swing, she gave them what they had coming: a cold shower of water from her pail.

"You wet me!"

The pair gasp and jump about, quite wet and sopping to Mai's satisfaction.

"Of course," she pauses, sniffs and tosses a stray tendril of clean hair behind her back, "It's barely an improvement, but better than none I suppose."

Toph continues to sputter indignantly, and flings as many muddied droplets she can in Mai's direction. Aang frowns as he looks down at himself, dripping in Iroh's herb garden.

At least it was kind of refreshing. He guessed.

"How did you two get so dirty anyway?" She side-steppes Toph's spray of muddy water, "Neither of you even need to touch dirt to move it." Toph doesn't even bother answering and settles for wringing what water she can out of her tunic.

"That's a good question," Aang shrugs, already content with not knowing how he got so dirty in the first place. He wipes the water from his brow and appears thoughtful for a moment and rapidly comes to a conclusion.

"It's dirt. It happens."

He then begins to skillfully bend all the water and dirt off his person with ease. In a few minutes he's dry as a bone and nearly sparkles in comparison to Toph who has graduated from merely dirtied to muddied and now sopping wet.

Mai gapes at Aang, quite envious at how quickly he is able to be clean. Stupid benders and their stupid bending. Ugh! What Mai would give to be clean just like…that!

Aang only grins cheekily at her and makes quite a show of dusting off his now impeccable sleeve.

She catches herself staring like some idiot and recovers, "Show-off."

"Argh!" Toph is still dripping, though considerably less muddy due to her own earth bending skills.

Mai smirks, "Need a little help there, Toph?"

Toph stands there and scowls. She is still the shortest out of their group of friends and both Mai and Aang have to look down at their drenched friend in amusement.

"Mai, you asshole."

Toph wrings out the hem of her tunic once more for good measure, then sighs in defeat.

"Fine. Let me borrow your bath."

"Oh really? Because you're sparkling, Toph."

"Oh please, not everyone bathes as much as you do, Mai. You're borderline obsessive about cleanliness."

"And you're borderline obsessive with dirt."

Mai shoos Aang into the shop to allow her and Toph some privacy as the younger woman shed her outer clothing to prevent from dripping all over the interior of the house and the two head inside.

One of the pluses is that there was always hot water at the Jasmine Dragon. So baths did not take as long as usual to prepare. An amicable silence passes between to the two as Mai fills the tub, and Toph busies herself with peeling herself out of her wet clothing.

The women were quite familiar to being 'assisted' at times when they bathed. They were quite high in ranking, even for noblewomen. Only Toph more often that not hated it and resisted it as much as she could at home. However, Mai was a friend who'd grow to be somewhat of a cranky older sister that she liked to bug the crap out of, so Toph did not protest. As much as she normally did. They saw each other often in Ba Sing Se and Toph has even spent a few nights at their place on occasion. The two noblewomen had come to friendly terms.

Mai diligently wets Toph's long dark matted hair and adds soap.

"Still sticking to that Fire Nation stuff, Mai?"

A subtle scent of spices and herbs wafted through the air and intermingled with the steam.

"Would you prefer to be doused in some tea leaves instead?"

Toph wrinkles her nose in displeasure. "No thanks. At least your stuff isn't super strong or anything."

Another moment passes quietly, as Mai thoroughly lathers Toph's hair.

Toph took in a few deep breaths of the unique scent. It reminded the earth bender of the Fire Nation exclusively. Mai still smelled like the Fire Nation wherever she went. That and now maybe tea. She splashes the water absent-minded and reaches for the soap.

"…There was something bothering you earlier, wasn't there, Mai?"

"Toph, you did dare me to."

"No, not that. I meant earlier. After our little spar, you felt…off."

"Hmmm…because I certainly don't recall being slammed onto the ground earlier today," she shoves the side of Toph's head playfully for emphasis, "I'm bruised as we speak."

"Hey!" Toph noisily dismisses her and continues to press further, "You gave me a some bruises too," she lifts her arms as proof, and indeed there are faint splotches of purple blossoming here and there on Toph's light complexion, " and a face full of tree bark to boot! But seriously, Mai, what's up? I mean…I know it's been really hard for you recently…but I thought that…well, I thought that we could at least tell each other crap now."

Mai smirks in amusement, "Crap, huh?"

"You know what I mean! Touchy feely feelings and crap."

She chuckles to herself, "Oh, of course. That crap." She concentrates on de-tangling her friend's mane and emits a small sigh. "…It's nothing, Toph. You and Aang are just truly master benders and...I never really got to witness it until today."

Toph snorts, "You're joking. I display my awesomeness all the time."

Mai rolled her eyes and was sure Toph knew it, "Well, that's different. This is the first time I've seen you go at it with Aang."

"Really? I guess you never do get to see Twinkletoes do his thing very often."

"Mmmm."

To Mai's surprise, Toph exhaled a sigh of what appeared to be relief.

"What?"

"Nah, I was just afraid that you were moping over stupid Zuko or something. Even if you're pretty mopey all the time anyhow."

Mai scoffed. "Please, Toph."

"Thank god, otherwise I don't think I smacked you around hard enough."

Mai can't help but smile and feel a little touched at Toph's concern. She withdraws her hands and begins to rinse Toph's hair with care.

"Excuse me? I totally could have killed you earlier if it was serious."

"Oh bring it, Sunshine."

When the two resurface, they find Aang hiding in the kitchen away from the prying eyes of customers.

Relief crosses his face, "That was the longest bath ever."

"Yeah, yeah."

Mai raises an eyebrow at the noise at the front of the shop. Looks like the shop is bustling and brimming with activity thanks to Aang's arrival.

"Um, excuse me," the entrance opens to a group of three young women. They titter at the sight of Aang, "I was wondering if you could replace our order for some white tea instead?"

Mai refrains from rolling her eyes and nods curtly, "Of course."

With one last long shared look at Aang, the women retreat, slightly put off by Mai's withering stare.

"You." Mai turns to Aang.

Aang jumps a little at her tone and accidentally bumps into a teapot. It swivels precariously over the ledge, but he quickly recovers it before it has the chance to shatter into pieces.

Mai is not impressed with his quick reflexes, however. "To the back. Now."

The Avatar dutifully does as he is told and sheepishly heads back to the garden.

Iroh slips in, flushed, looking happy but worn.

"They are all drawn to Aang like moths to flame," he begins to fan himself, "Seriously. Aang did a few tricks with his fire bending."

"All this fuss over Twinkletoes, geez." Toph heads back into the garden and joins said Twinkletoes.

"Isn't it about closing time, Iroh?" Mai regards him quizzically.

Iroh brow is dotted with sweat, "Yes, I've already stopped taking orders and turned away some people but they are quite persistent!"

Mai stares unsympathetically.

"You're way too nice," she reprimands him, "I'm going to go announce that we're closing in fifteen minutes."

She brushes past him and many of the faces who whip around to face her are immediately disappointed that she's clearly not the young Avatar. Paying no heed, she announces their closing time and reenters the kitchen while unhappy murmurs break out.

By the time everyone is gone (or kicked out), it's almost an hour later than their usual closing time. It's dark, and the candles don't offer enough light for her and Iroh to clean the place efficiently. They settle for putting up the chairs, Toph and Aang also pitch in.

A little later, they're all seated at one table and everyone sags a little into their seat as the time passes. The lights are dim and calming as their soft chatter flows. Aang decides to stay for the night, but Toph declines the invitation because her family might 'totally throw a fit' if she stays out again and say it's improper even though she'd spent a good year travelling the world at twelve. Iroh is the first to retire to bed. While in quite good health and very happy, the effects of age have grown more prominent. Following, Toph bids the 'losers' goodbye and heads home.

Aang and Mai are left facing each other in the flickering light, a mirror image of how their spent that very morning. Both are quiet for a few moments and they look at each not really knowing what to say, both realizing that they'd never really been alone together like this before. There was always Iroh, or Toph, or Zuko or Katara. Somebody.

When they start avoiding each other's gaze to observe anything and everything else in the room Mai considers retreating to bed also to save them both for this embarrassing fate.

"Sooo…how are you doing, Mai?"

She's a little startled that'd he's striking up small talk with her. Small talk. While perfectly capable (she did dabble in politics after all), Mai wasn't really one for small talk if she had a choice. Though in this instance, Aang is far from just some representative with something to gain. Plus, having come to terms with her unsettling little wonderment only recently, Mai realizes this is an opportunity to figure out why she ever wondered about him in the first place. So she remains seated and answers to the best of her ability.

"Super," she pauses and corrects herself, "Better. " She imagines that a little honesty with him could go a long way.

Aang is pleasantly surprised at the sincerity in her answer and looks down at his hands.

"That's good to hear."

"…What about you?"

It's a still little awkward for the both of them though now for completely different reasons. As they are both part of the same reason of the scandal that happened more than a year ago at the heart of the Fire Nation. The two of them are separate individuals but together make up one half of the story. They are the two pieces left, traded up for something else and left behind, sitting here, together, facing one another in this dim and flickering candlelight.

He glances up before casting his gaze down again and exhales, "I'm…better too, I think." His brow furrows a little, "No, yeah…definitely better now."

Mai nods in acceptance and actually quite thankful that neither of them have to explain their recent past histories to each other. Well hell, the whole world knew but that certainly didn't help.

The silence lengthens between them again. Aang looks preoccupied by his past memories, and Mai takes the chance to fully observe him the best she can in this faint light. The quivering shadows lend a strange ethereal quality to him. It all seems to easily confirm her otherworldly perception of him. The shadows are soft on his face, but it's obvious that he is no longer the same boy that Zuko blindly chased across the world. He is much older now. They are both much older from the grips of heartbreak and just carrying on with it. His cheekbones are more defined, and his face is a little longer and sharper with a jaw that is much more well defined and devoid of baby fat, but all in all it still retains a slight boyish quality that Mai thinks he will never lose.

She was willing to bet good money that Aang was going to age like Iroh, no matter how old he got, he would still be youthful all the same. Just one of…those, she supposed. Maybe Ty Lee too.

She didn't know (but could probably guess) what Aang was reminiscing about, but if she let him continue at this rate she was also going to follow a similar path. And she would be damned before she lets her mind wander to Zuko again so Mai clears her throat quietly into her sleeve. "Riveting."

Aang's eyebrows shoot up in attention as he is brought back from his memories. "Oh! heh…" he grins sheepishly at her. "Sorry, I zoned out a little bit there."

Mai raises an eyebrow and speaks in a monotone; "Did you? I didn't notice."

"Heh, yeah. Sorry."

Mai lifts her shoulders minutely in a shrug. "It's better keeping busy."

He twists his mouth into a slight grimace, "You're right about that. I've started to even be okay with all the nit picking of wording in proposals."

Mai smirks to herself, "I don't think I've ever considered waiting tables to be in my future." Then she frowns, "Or washing the dishes either."

Aang shares in her amusement easily. "I sure didn't see that one coming. You surprised all of us by coming here."

"Myself included," she turns over a slender hand and examines it. Her hands were never as soft and smooth as silk as they should've been for a noblewoman. Though she was no Ty Lee in hands on combat, she was also a fighter. Fighters couldn't afford soft hands smooth and soft as silk. Even if they were noblewomen.

"How'd you really end up here anyway, Mai?"

Mai tilts her head and she digests the implications of his question. She bites back a sarcastic remark. "What have you heard?"

"Oh. Uh. Weeeelll, not much really."

Mai's frown stays in place at the question. It unnecessarily led her to down to things she was just trying to avoid earlier. Great.

"Mmmm. Chance."

However her face softens as she thinks of Iroh asleep and warm in bed. "Actually...I ran into Iroh, and he offered to…help me get away from it all," she scoffs in amusement, "he meant it as a vacation. But really, I think he just needed a worker. Lucked out."

"I guess he did then," Aang chuckles lightly to himself. "You seem to have taken pretty well to the tea business."

She shrugs, "I knew some things about teas before I came here." She watches Aang fiddle with the wooden beads on his rosary and gestures subtly at them. The lull in conversation this time is less awkward and a little more comfortable for the both of them.

"...How long have you had that mala?"*

"You know about malas?" He blinks up at her wide-eyed, clearly surprised at her knowledge and interest.

"I'm a little familiar with them," she simply quips. But with Aang's questioning gaze she continues, "Religion was what was considered fun at my school. And as nobility, we were expected to upkeep and remember some traditions."

His mouth forms into a silent 'O,' before continuing. "I never thought about that. Zuko never mentioned anything."

"Zuko never was particularly religious," Mai replied reflexively.

Realizing that the conversation could take a dangerous turn at the mention of Zuko's name, Aang took off his prayer beads and spread it out on the table instead. "I've had this for as long as I can remember." This mala was probably one of his most precious material possessions. Over the years and the many battles it had been damaged a few times, so he'd learned to store it away somewhere safe in until he had the time to repair it himself. It helped remind him of where he came from in times of having to deal with great uncertainty and trouble. He fingered the wooden beads and reveled in their familiar texture.

"We all had one," his lips lift at a fond memory, "though, back then I was way more interested in playing around with air bending than practicing my prayers. I came up with this awesome move and we turned it into a game and everything."

Mai could imagine that scene effortlessly. It's too easy to imagine him as a child, fooling around, completely light-hearted and care-free. A boisterous and happy little brat. She then grimly thinks to herself that Zuko was never completely light-hearted or care-free. Come to think of it, neither was she. Agni, her and the little crew she belonged to all had some issues.

Aang appeared better off. Somehow. He had his own troubles no doubt, but…he just seemed so…

Free.

She watched him and realized that perhaps that was what made her so curious. He just seemed so…free. Even if he was the Avatar, with the weight of the world on his shoulders, the guy seemed…so…free. She's known of restrictions and protocols all her life. She was accustomed to troubled people with troubled hearts. Heavy hearts with secrets and conceals agendas. Even the photograph of Lu Ten that Iroh stopped to gaze at in his room from time to time was testament to that. Even Ty Lee struggled in her family and joined a circus. Aang somehow seemed to be unfettered by these concepts that had shaped her life.

…free from it all.

"That sounds…fun."

"Yeah, it really was fun. I had a lot of fun before I found I was the Avatar."

Oh. Right. Being the Avatar must've done some things. But Mai merely nods once and doesn't try pressing the issue. She values her privacy quite a bit, and will respect his. In fact, she's surprised that they've even managed a conversation this far, and begins to stand up. She realizes that her side is sore and the idea of bed didn't sound too bad in that moment. "With great power comes great responsibility," she quotes.

She pauses as Aang forms an unreadable expression on his face. Mai furrows her brow in questioning. She didn't think she'd said anything odd or out of line.

He regards her curiously for another moment before declaring in awe, "You sound just like Iroh!"

Mai blanches. "I sound like a tea-crazed old man? Thanks."

"No, no! I meant that it was totally something that he would say."

"Yes, I got that. Again, thanks."

"I mean, it's a wise and old saying. It's a good thing!" He flails about his hands in the air to make his case much more persuading.

"…right." She lifts her chair onto the table and continues on her merry way, marveling at the fact she'd been likened to an old man.

Aang follows suit and trails behind her.

"Hey, what were you like as a kid?"

It takes her a moment to think about it, before she realizes that the answer is just all too easy to provide.

"Bored."

.

Not half a year goes by before Mai's life is abruptly interrupted again.

The day starts out, more less, quite normal. She awakes to an empty house, and after lounging around for an hour or so, joins Iroh at the tea house and does her best in pitching in with the help. She was not the best waitress (to no one's surprise) but Mai was perfunctory and polite and didn't waste time with bringing people their orders.

As she made her rounds, three men came in, but took no heed as they were seated by a fellow waitress. It was only when she passed them the second time that she realized they had distinctly Fire Nation features, and without a doubt looked her in the eye and knew exactly who she was. She was one of the four parties involved in the great international scandal, but while everyone had mostly heard her name and description, most people outside of the Fire Nation did not know just what she exactly looked liked in the flesh.

There were some mixed feelings about her situation voiced by the people, of course. While quick-witted and more than capable to be an active participant in the ruling process as Fire Lady, it was no secret that the peoples of Fire Nation were more or less, rather indifferent about her. Despite looking the part quite well, she did not smile too often in public, and laughed even less or be very personable in any manner.

This caused some misgivings. Some people misinterpreted her as a cold and unfeeling woman that was solely after the title for selfish reasons, and did not like her. They were not surprised that she had been left up for another woman by Zuko. She was just another stuck up noble who'd squandered her chances at a lifetime of luxury. Some people did sympathize for her, but the heart of their concerns weren't entirely focused on her. Most who were against the whole deal were more focused on the fact that Katara was blatantly a foreigner with no political training or background, and would completely 'taint' the royal bloodline as a peasant from the Southern Water Tribe. Which barely had a made a name for itself in the past years. At least Mai was a capable Fire Nation woman of noble blood. This was to be a new era of peace and healing, but to bring in a foreigner like this was certainly suicide to the royal lineage. The peoples of the Fire Nation are well aware of their blackened reputation with the world and the many enemies they had made through the war of one hundred years. Not to mention having one of the children who defeated Ozai at such a position of power stung like salt in the wound.

Not did this only border on blasphemy because the royal lineage ought to remain pure, but it certainly would be best to keep to themselves in the very least. Everybody wanted a piece of them after the war. Reparations were only just beginning. They could not forget the fact that the Southern Water Tribe she was from was practically non-existent also due to them. Even if she had helped restore the world at the Avatar's side, it was rumored that her mother was killed in the war by Fire Nation soldiers. Who was to say that she wasn't plotting some personal revenge?

Those not from the Fire Nation however, were more familiar with Katara, who is quite famous in her own right. Stories of her skills and adventures had grown wide spread. Master water bender, friendly, kind, compassionate and open, she was well-liked and well known for helping those in need. It was frowned upon, no doubt, but well, they tended to like Katara at the very least. And with all the wild rumors, it appeared that in attempting to help poor Fire Lord Zuko out of a loveless marriage to be, she and the young Fire Lord ended up falling helplessly in love in the process. She was only trying her best to help.

So where exactly did these men fall into? From the way they looked her into the eye boldly in defiance, specifically requested to have her as their waitress, and seemed to relish in having her take an order from them…they probably thought she got what she deserved.

The frigid Ice Queen of the Fire Nation no more. Sigh.

Mai dealt with it the way she dealt with much of things in life; she stilled her face and presented it with complete apathy and insulting boredom. She set down their orders quickly and could care less when they tried to make lewd conversation with her and sauntered off to serve a non-bastard paying customer.

.

Early that evening, Mai sat at her small vanity, brushing out her hair for the night. She was tired. Working as a waitress could be damn hard work on a busy day and spilling piping hot teas even worse. She looked forward to the night's rest. Her lit candles flickered steadily and bathed her surroundings in a warm glow.

Finally satisfied with the state of her hair, she tied it to keep it neat as possible throughout the night and blew out her candles. Her bed was a small paradise.

It felt like only minutes later her eyes snapped open. Bleary and tired, she couldn't fathom why in the world she was awake so suddenly. Then she heard it; creeping footsteps.

Right at the foot of her bed.

Now she was wide awake. This was definitely not Iroh, and that was all that mattered.

Her room was still blanketed in darkness so she doubted the trespasser knew she was awake; she forced her breathing to resume its slow rhythm and to calm down and analyze the situation. She eyed the dark figure just to hover at the edge of her bed. Goosebumps rose on her skin in fear and anticipation. She made some murmuring noises and made to turn in her sleep as a cover to her reaching for the weapon concealed at the side of her mattress.

The figure stilled as expected before relaxing again. Not willing to wait and see what the intruder was up to, Mai then sprang up and was upon him, weapon in hand.

She knocked him across the head forcibly, and the man fell with a thud and a groan.

Frantic whispers met her ears from outside her doorway, spilling in through the dark from the hallway.

More light footsteps.

She gripped her dagger and quickly took out some of her holsters from the nearby drawer, then flattened herself against the wall of the entrance.

"Lee," an urgent whisper came. "Lee, what the fuck happened?" All of the sudden the room was flooded in a dim light. A palm holding a tiny flame appeared in the threshold and illuminated the unconscious man on the floor, revealing her empty bed along in plain sight.

Mai was momentarily stunned at the revelation that this was a fire bender in her home.

"Shit!" The flame in the man's hand grew in size as he began to cross the threshold into her room. She let loose a few knives and they pinned the man's arms to the adjacent wall. She got a quick glimpse of him lit by his own fire; mustached with the standard top knot, and probably in his mid-thirties. Average, build and height. Completely average in almost every way except for the fact that the damn bastard was in her room in the middle of the night.

Shocked at the sight that greeted him, the man scanned the room frantically. When he spotted her, he instantly reacted as a fire bender would. A burst of flame came forth and Mai barely managed to duck in time and was feverishly glad that her hair was tied up. Because hair didn't burn. It practically evaporated in flame. If she didn't know that with all the years she'd known Azula then she surely deserved to be bald.

The stench of smoke was already beginning to permeate the air, and she wildly wondered about how Iroh was.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed venomously. "What do you want?"

Another one appeared in her small room and Mai found herself cornered. Without any other route, she stepped onto her bed and readied what little weapons she had on her. Just how many of there are there?

The third arrival was similarly surprised at the scene before him, a fire ready in his hands. However, this one reacted differently. Upon sighting her, he seemed…impressed.

"Didn't think she could actually fight," he smiled a smile that Mai wanted to rip off his face. "You idiot! We said we wouldn't use flame! We might as well wake up the whole goddamn neighborhood!"

With a start, she recognized them to be the customers from earlier today. Bastards. Mai sneered at his implied "compliment." She flicked her wrist and the man moved to dodge but wasn't fast enough. He found himself with a knife embedded in his upper arm intended for his chest. Mai was at least content that she rid herself of his patronizing smile, as he snarled and leapt at her. Given that now, he at least took her seriously, though now the bastard had his guard up and it made it a lot harder to slit his throat.

Mai narrowed her eyes. The odds were rapidly going against her. The bed was unstable ground and it brought more problems with it as she narrowly managed to dodge the man's hands. She cursed under her breath as the stranger ended up blocking her way to the window. Next to that, the only alternative exit was through the doorway and she had pinned a man right next to it. And who knew how many more were inside.

Shit.

Desperate, she leapt off her bed toward the door, yet her wrist was seized by the man behind her. In the same instance, the man pinned to the wall had finally ripped himself free.

Her heart was pounding. A sharp pain entered from her shoulder as her arm was twisted back. She made to strike at him with her free arm but the man foresaw her action and managed to get a hold of her other wrist, twisting her other arm painfully back, effectively immobilizing her. She struggled fruitlessly. Shit, shit, shit, shit. The man who'd freed himself from the wall now stood menacingly before her, and she readied herself for the worst.

She barely managed to twist her body just enough to have the punch intended for her gut collide with her side. Pain shot through two places at once, her ribs and her arms that were violently jerked backward even further. Holding her own through the pain, she managed to use some of the momentum and aimed a knee that connected solidly with the a jaw.

A muffled curse sounded.

And now all of a sudden the house was flooded with light. Flames burst forth from the hallway. Pounding footsteps followed, and she heard Iroh's livid voice over all the sudden chaos.

At least Iroh was good and alive. However, her relief was short lived as the man who held her arms bent them further back till she heard a light 'pop', and suddenly she doubled forward as pain spread out violently from her abdomen and shook out her legs from beneath her. This time the fist aimed at her abdomen connected. Solidly.

She grunted as she fell to her knees. The hands gripping her wrists grew unbearably hot. Hotter and hotter until she felt it burn the flesh of her wrists. She began to struggle anew, presented with this new pain before she felt the world sway and realized she had just taken a blow to the head.

A rough hand fisted itself in her hair and forced her head up. Next she felt another searing hand on her neck, the pressure increasing steadily as the air supply to her lungs grew lower and lower. Struggle as she might, she was no physical match for the force of two grown men. Mai's head grew light and heavy at the same time as she struggled and choked and gasped for air.

The violence of the dancing flames reflected off her dulling irises as darkness came over her.

Ugh.

She feels like utter crap. This, she is immediately aware of, and has been for some time.

It took her a little longer to realize that she had regained consciousness. A frenzied second passes before she realizes that she can't open her eyes because she's blindfolded. Another second to realize that she is unceremoniously slumped over like a sack of potatoes on a moving vehicle of some sort.

And she really felt like crap.

Her head is aching horribly, her body is sore, her shoulders are tender and her abdomen aches especially. When she accidentally shifts her head, she hisses and realizes that her neck stings and that her wrists did too. They seemed to pulsate with pain.

Well. She is definitely still alive.

Where was she? How much time had passed? What the hell happened? Who are these men? And what about Iroh? Was he alright? He'd better be fucking alright. Of course, he'd be alright because he's the goddamn General Iroh, the Dragon of West!

The air is still and a cold realization she could not push away dawns on her.

If Iroh was alright, then why is she bound and blindfolded?

Dread pools in her aching belly.

…what is going on?

She realizes that she is on some sort of an animal now. The smell surrounds her. It…sounds like an ostrichhorse. It made a particularly enthusiastic step and she grunts in protest.

"She's awake."

Oh fantastic. Alert everyone that you're awake.

A gruff voice confirms it noncommittally.

"What…are you going to do with me?" She manages through a dry throat and stinging neck.

"Oh, don't worry, you'll live. For now."

That was not in the least reassuring.

Her head was swimming. "Mai, are you alright!" she hears a voice call from ahead of her. It is faint from distance.

"Iroh! I'm fine, what about you!" He must've been in a similar state on another animal somewhere up ahead of…wherever the hell she was currently. The damn fucking lunatics.

"…Not my best!"

"Shut the hell up! Both of you!"

For once, Mai thinks it wise to obey. Silence ensues except for the click of talons on the dirt. There must've been at least five of them. Three in her room, and at the very least two or three to take down Iroh. At the very least.

She begins to shiver. It's cold. The sun probably has yet to rise.

Straining her ears, she discerns two ostrichhorses, the one she was currently slung over and another accompanying them. She has no idea how many were up ahead, where Iroh is presumed to be also bound and blindfolded.

This is bad.

Very bad.

The man's taunt echoes in her mind. She'll live at least. For now.

However long that is.

She remains silent and hopes that her kidnappers would mistake her to be asleep and converse amongst themselves about their plans.

So she stills and waits.

And waits.

And waits.

And waits.

But to no avail, no words are exchanged between them. After what felt like hours passing, Mai feels her mind slowing down as her body readies itself to shut down and attempt to heal itself.

Eventually, she surrenders to sleep.

The next time she wakes, she experiences an added soreness and stiffness brought upon her from her constant unseemly position of being bent over the saddle of the creature. Her muscles are stiff and taught. Her wrists and neck are now just uncomfortably heated and most likely swollen.

Her voice is thick and slow, "What are you going to do with us? What do you want?"

No answer.

Hours pass by. Mai attempts to free her wrists. She hisses lowly in pain. She remembers being burnt by that man's hands. Her skin is raw and open. She shifts them again and winces. Not only are there hard metal cuffs scraping against the flesh of her wrist but her upper arms are bound tightly with fabric.

She tires. Then struggles again. Either way, the men who have her captive don't seem to notice or care about her endeavors.

After so many fruitless attempts, she finally gives up and rests.

This maddening cycle repeats itself over a course of what feels literally like days, and before long she finds herself weak from thirst and hunger. Her wounds are possibly infected by now too, if the sharp stinging pains are any indication. She reasons that they must be taking shifts in transporting her and sleeping, because she never touches the ground. Her back feels horrid.

…Fuck. Her hopes of escaping were best when they slept at night.

Hope was slipping away slowly even her mind worked furiously to find a solution, as she grew more tired by the hour.

In a fit of sheer frustration, she manages to fling herself off the animal and goes crashing onto the ground. She's not surprised to be lifted back up and thrown over the damned animal. After the third repeat of this, a cuff to her already aching head leaves her quickly slack.

She is growing weaker; haven't eaten in days, tired, and just so thirsty.

The next time she gained consciousness and gathered enough information that she and Iroh were being transported somewhere, which was even more unsettling. Her and Iroh's protests and questions were of course left unheeded.

Dragged across a smooth slick surface, the sound of ocean waves crashed her ears.

Dear Agni, was she on a ship? Where the hell were they taking her?

The man's taunt is her only clue, and one possibility of where they're headed makes it through her muddled mind. If so…then…it's quite possibly that she will be dead soon.

AN: Okay, so I know I suck leaving everybody with a cliffhanger. And I did a little research, as it turns out that mala = prayer beads or a string of them in Hinduism/Buddhism practices. In no way do I claim this information to be completely accurate.

TheBlueFoxtrot A Samba: Right. Duly noted and changed. Oh, and yes, I do realize that. But I finagled a bit because unfortunately in the English language there is no gender neutral term I could have used to refer to Toph, and I wanted to keep her sex a secret.

INUJ.E.S.06 : I'm so glad to hear that! (: I hope you also enjoyed this chapter.

Skyhigh18: Hmm, yeah. Don't worry, I think Zuko and Katara just might run into some problems here. (; And I ought to pass on the fic "Forgiveness, A Start" by VereLupin recommended by arizony in his review in case you missed it. It appears to have plenty of backlash for Zutara.

Arizony: Well, I figure with a pairing as rare and odd as MaixAang there needs to be a little explaining done. I almost have to convince myself in writing this along with all you wonderful readers that Aang and Mai could work together. Also, thanks for passing on that story, it brought up quite a few issues that I didn't even consider! Thanks for the R&R.

Eliza731sm: Glad to hear that. (: Hope this didn't disappoint!

As always, thanks for the reviews, guys. In addition to having somewhat of a plot already planned out, your reviews really really do motivate me!