When the cell door opened again, a helmeted Fire Nation guard stood in the doorway, her face obfuscated by the light streaming in behind her. Mai's eyes turned to her before she could stop herself. "Azula wants you and Ty Lee executed!"

"Free time," the guard snapped. Mai stared at her. "Get up!" She stepped in, seized Mai's arm, and dragged her up and out of the cell. Mai's bare foot struck her pebble and it clattered across the cell floor, but luckily the guard didn't notice. She half-dragged a limp Mai out of the cell and deposited her into the stream of trundling prisoners.

Ty Lee was waiting at the entrance to the courtyard, searching the crowd and smiling nervously at all of the prisoners that filed past her. Her face broke into a true smile as she spotted Mai.

"Good morning!" She pirouetted on her tiptoes, took Mai's arm, and leaped out of the crowd. "I'm so glad to see you. Let's not get into any fights this time; we have so much to catch up on. Oh, and look—" she peered over Mai's shoulder— "the Kyoshi are here too!"

Mai leaned against the wall and slid down to the ground, but she kept her eyes on the three girls who broke off from the other prisoners and approached them.

"Hello, girls!" said Ty Lee brightly as they walked by. "You guys must've just gotten moved to this prison, right? Why's that?"
"We tried to escape from the last one," said the shortest one.

"Don't talk to them, Nysa!" snapped the braided one.

Ty Lee bowed to the short girl. "Nysa? My name's Ty Lee, and this is Mai."

Nysa glanced at the short-haired Kyoshi, who stood in between the other two and had been watching the proceedings with an expression of imperious skepticism.

"I'm Li Yut," the short-haired, imperious girl said finally. "Deputy leader of the Kyoshi warriors." She gestured to the braided girl. "And this is Agri."

"You'll learn to fear those names," Agri grumbled. "Come on, girls."

She tried to usher them on, but Nysa had already asked, "…Why are you two in here?"

"Nysa!" Agri snapped.

Mai's chin fell to rest on her folded arms as Ty Lee said, "We attacked Azula. Well…I guess technically you didn't, Mai—but you were about to. Mai attacked the guards who were trying to stop the Avatar's friends—including Zuko— from escaping on the gondola. Then Azula was going to hurt Mai, so I blocked her chi. And now we're here!"

"Why'd you do that?" Li Yut said.

"Because Azula was going to hurt Mai!" said Ty Lee.

"Why did Mai help the Avatar's friend's escape?" asked Nysa.

"I don't know," Ty Lee said brightly. "You'll have to ask her."

"You don't know?" Mai repeated, looking at Ty Lee.

"Well, I'm sure it has something to do with Zuko," said Ty Lee. "But it's not like you to break the rules, Mai. We haven't gotten a chance to talk about it."

"But…" Mai bowed her head slightly, so her loose and disheveled hair fell about her shoulders. "If you didn't know, why'd you help me?"

"Because Azula was going to hurt you!" Ty Lee repeated, as if it were obvious. "Silly."

Mai looked away. "That's a stupid reason," she said hoarsely. For some reason the image of her baby brother swam before her eyes. She blinked it away.

One of the Kyoshi spoke.

"What?" Mai said hoarsely.

"I said," repeated Li Yut, "Why'd you help the Avatar's friends?"

Mai uncrossed her arms and pressed her palms to the dirt floor of the courtyard. "Because Azula was going to kill Zuko."

Agri snorted. "That would help the Avatar, not hurt him," she said, as Ty Lee gasped, "Do you really think so? You think Azula would kill her own brother?"

"Do you think she wouldn't?" Mai countered flatly. She glanced at the Kyoshi and then back to the ground.

"Zuko's apparently deserted the Fire Nation," Ty Lee explained. "He's promised to help the Avatar end the war and free the other nations."

"Do you expect us to believe—" Agri began, but Li Yut interrupted her, "It's true, Agri. I've heard it from other prisoners and even the guards. On the Day of Black Sun, Prince Zuko confronted Ozai—Ozai tried to kill him but he escaped on a war balloon. And then just before we arrived here, he and one of the Avatar's friends snuck in and broke out a Water Tribe general and—so I've heard—our leader, Suki." Li Yut raised her eyebrows at Mai. "But if Ty Lee is 'stupid' for saving you, why'd you save Zuko?"

"Zuko isn't like me!" Mai snapped. "He's—"

"You're betraying your country!"

"That's not how I see it."

"He's the only one I've ever met who actually believes in the 'Fire Nation,'" Mai pronounced the last two words with scorn. "He actually believes in honor." She looked at the floor. "Zuko's not like other people."

"Yes he is," Agri snapped. She raised her fists and stepped closer to where Mai sat. "Your little boyfriend Zuko's not the only life that matters in this war. But you are too spoiled and prejudiced to realize that! We Kyoshi were protecting refugees going to Ba Sing Se—people just as important as your darling Zuko, who weren't lucky enough to be born princes or murderers or overlords—refugees trying to find a better life in Ba Sing Se—but you wouldn't understand."

"You two!" a guard called. "Behave over there!"

Agri leaned threateningly over Mai, but Mai did not flinch or move. "All the people who die on the road to Ba Sing Se are on your conscience," Agri hissed. Then she turned away.

"You aren't the first couple to get ripped apart by this war, you know," Li Yut spoke up. "But if it's true that Prince Zuko is helping the Avatar, perhaps he will start making amends for all the harm he's let happen in the past."

"So he went and got himself arrested," Mai retorted sarcastically, playing with the pebble in her hand.

"So did you," said Li Yut. "If Zuko helps end the war, then perhaps you've saved many lives by saving his. It's a noble sacrifice."

"Great," Mai said flatly. "So now instead of sacrificing for the Fire Nation, I'm sacrificing for the Earth Kingdom."

"No," said Li Yut. "You're sacrificing for people. For love."

Mai sighed deeply and refused to speak again.