Chapter 4: The Players Onstage

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Zuko stood at the docks, waiting for the arrival of the ships from the Earth Kingdom. According to the messenger hawks, Kings Bumi and Kuei would arrive that day. He spotted the ships on the horizon. Standing still, he waited for them to dock.

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The first ship to dock was from Omashu. King Bumi didn't even bother with the ramp. He leapt down from the deck and landed directly in front of Zuko, forcing Zuko to take a step back.

"Congratulations, Fire Lord!" Bumi said loudly, leaning very close to Zuko's face.

Zuko took another step back. "Thank you, King Bumi," he said uncomfortably.

"Where is she?"

Zuko knit his brow. "Excuse me… who?"

Bumi finally straightened up out of Zuko's personal space. "You must know who I'm talking about, or else I wouldn't be here!"

The lights went on in Zuko's head. "Oh! Mai is at home."

Bumi frowned disapprovingly. "Why did you leave her when you came out here?"

Zuko cringed. That sounded a bit too much like he'd abandoned her. "She said she wanted to stay home and pack. She doesn't want to leave anything at her parents' house."

Bumi considered. "That sounds reasonable. I expect to see her as soon as possible, though. It isn't healthy to be apart too much."

Zuko wondered if Bumi had ever had a girlfriend, but didn't ask because he really didn't want to think about it.

"I will see you later, Fire Lord!" Bumi called, walking past Zuko.

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King Kuei was much more formal. Zuko was grateful for this. They exchanged pleasantries and then the Earth King was gone.

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Servants and other anonymous people filed past Zuko, and he barely acknowledged them. It was only when the earth began to rumble that he took notice. A slightly taller Toph shot up from the ground.

"Sparky!" she yelled.

Zuko jumped out of the way just before Toph landed hard on the place he'd been standing.

"Sparky! How's it going?"

"Well…" Zuko searched his brain for an answer. "Great, actually. I'm really excited."

Toph marched up to him. "I'll bet you are! Sunshine ought to be, too, but I still doubt anything gets her excited!"

Zuko blushed. "Well, actually—"

Toph knocked all the air out of Zuko with a tight hug. "I missed you," she said, too quietly for anyone to hear.

Zuko recovered from his lack of air and hugged Toph back. "Missed you, too," he said. "Now, could I please… have some air?"

Toph laughed loudly and punched Zuko's arm.

"Ow!" Zuko protested as Toph walked right past him.

This just made Toph laugh louder. "I'm going to go visit Sunshine!"

The thought of Toph arriving at Mai's house and demanding to see "Sunshine" or "Sparky's Babe," unnerved Zuko. "Um… Toph? Would you mind waiting to be accompanied?"

Toph stopped mid-stride. "In fact, I would mind!"

"Well… by Suki? Aren't she and Sokka supposed to be—"

Toph laughed again. "Yeah, Sokka has this tiny canoe. I think they've taken it all the way here from Kyoshi Island."

"How do you know?" Zuko asked.

"We passed him a couple days ago. He yelled at us for a while. Suki looked like she was about to whack him!"

Zuko shook his head. "This will be interesting…"

"You bet! See you at Sunshine's place!"

Zuko's mouth dropped open. "Toph!" he called.

All he got in reply was another laugh.

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"My lord!" Captain Zuchi saluted in front of Zuko.

Snapping out of his horrible visions of Toph ruining his reputation with Mai's parents, Zuko looked at the captain. "Yes, Captain Zuchi?" he asked.

"There is another ship arriving that will require your attention, my lord."

Zuko nodded and looked out over the harbor. The arriving ship was also from the Earth Kingdom, though it was much smaller than the other ones had been. He frowned. "How does it require my attention?" he asked.

Zuchi simply pointed to the back of the ship as it made port.

From behind the ship came a little canoe with two people in it. A young man in Water Tribe blue was frantically paddling, trying to make his way around to the side of the ship. His progress was hampered by the thick ropes that connected his canoe to the ship.

Zuko shook his head. "Same old Sokka," he muttered.

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Fifteen minutes later, Sokka and Suki pulled up to the docks. Zuko stood over them as they climbed up the ladder.

"You just had to bring your canoe all this way, didn't you?" Zuko shook his head as he spoke. "That was crazy."

"Hey, at least I have my own mode of transportation!" Sokka said, still a few rungs short of ground level. "I built it myself!"

"Right, right." Zuko offered him a hand up.

Sokka examined Zuko's hand as if it might burst into flame as soon as he touched it. Then he shrugged and allowed himself to be pulled up.

Zuko turned to do the same for Suki, but Sokka pushed him out of the way.

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Sokka," he began.

"What? I'm up, too! Why should I let you help my wife up?"

Zuko rolled his eyes again. "Whatever," he said with a shrug.

Suki and Sokka examined Zuko.

"You… look like Mai when you do that," said Suki.

Zuko grinned. "That's nice."

"Where can I get some decent food?" Sokka asked.

Zuko blinked. "Uh… dinner is in an hour in the palace…"

"Great!" Sokka grabbed Suki's arm and began racing toward the palace.

"Wait!" Zuko grabbed Suki's hand.

Sokka ground to a halt, looking back at Zuko.

Suki attempted to recover from the jarring she'd just suffered.

"Suki… could you please go to Mai's house and make sure Toph doesn't—"

"I'm on it!" Suki said, shaking herself free of both men.

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When the ramp on the smaller ship had finally been lowered, a green blur raced down it.

Zuko squinted, trying to make out what exactly it was.

Behind the blur, the Kyoshi Warriors walked calmly.

Zuko's eyes widened as he realized who this must be.

"Zu-ko!" Ty Lee squealed.

Zuko barely had enough time to brace himself before Ty Lee slammed into him, almost knocking him completely off-balance. "Nice… to see you, Ty Lee."

Ty Lee pulled back and grinned. "I can't believe you finally got around to proposing to Mai!" she hopped and clapped. "Where is she? I have a present for her! I have to see the look on her face when—" Ty Lee stopped bouncing. "There probably won't be an expression, will there?"

Zuko shrugged. "You might be surprised."

"Really?" Ty Lee began bouncing again. "You've been making her more emotional, haven't you? That's so wonderful!" She twirled around, her braid zinging through the air. "Oh, Zuko! This will be the most beautiful week ever!"

Zuko laughed. "I sure hope it will be, Ty Lee."

Ty Lee hugged him again before cartwheeling past him. "I'll go see Mai now!" she announced. "See you at dinner!"

"Uh-huh…" Zuko was suddenly exhausted.

"Palanquin, my lord?" Zuchi asked.

"Yes, please." Zuko stumbled into the palanquin, massaging his temples. Ty Lee was so exhausting.

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Shortly after arriving at his quarters, Zuko was surprised by several servants, who entered his bedroom with measuring tape and pieces of wood.

"What are all of you doing here?" he asked, as they started measuring the walls and floor, and most strangely, his bed.

"They are measuring to determine the dimensions of your new bed, nephew," said a laughing Iroh from the doorway. "Don't you know that you're supposed to have a new bed before you're married?"

Zuko slapped his forehead. "Oh, right. I forgot."

"The best carpenters in the city are going to start building it once the room measurements are submitted."

Zuko sighed. "All right." He tried to remember the other things he'd been told about wedding traditions, but his mind was clouded by the content of the meetings he'd attended the day before and the ones he was set to attend tomorrow.

Iroh was eyeing Zuko thoughtfully. "You took lessons, didn't you?"

Zuko eyed his uncle quizzically. "Of course I took lessons. All sorts of lessons."

Iroh shook his head. "Nephew, have you taken lessons about women?"

Blood seemed to abandon Zuko's face. "Yes." He was trying to get a hold of himself, but he was finding it difficult to keep from running away.

"I think you need to be told some more. You need to be caught up."

Zuko groaned. "Please… not that."

Iroh laughed. "You have free time, Nephew, and I know Mai will appreciate what I have to say, even if you don't."

Zuko cringed. "As long as it's for Mai."

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Mai was busy packing her belongings, which were to be moved to the palace the next day. she knew that her parents were entertaining again. The chain of parties and gatherings had started about a month before, and Mai was trying to just ignore it. Katara was helping Mai pack, which was really just an excuse Mai had come up with to experience the therapy Katara was rumored to be good at administering.

"I would like to talk to you about my parents," Mai finally said, rolling up a painting that was hanging on her wall.

"What about them?" Katara asked.

"I don't know what to do about them. You saw them down there. When I walked by, they pointed me out: their daughter who was going to be crowned Fire Lady. I know they only care about social status.

"I just need some encouragement, I guess, because there's nothing that's going to stop me from marrying Zuko, but I'm not marrying his title, I'm marrying him. But after our wedding, I'll be giving my parents the ultimate excuse to use me as a social tool. I don't know what to think about that."

Katara nodded sympathetically. "But you're not marrying Zuko for your family's sake. You're marrying him because you love him. If your parents decide they want to twist that for their own benefit, that's their problem, not yours."

Mai sighed. That was what she'd been telling herself. Maybe there really wasn't anything else to it.

Topekaia entered the room. "Any more large boxes I am to have the honor of carrying from here to the front room?"

Mai looked around. "No, I think all the big stuff has been moved."

"This is big." Topekaia moved to the wall portrait of Mai and Zuko.

"Don't move it, please!" Mai said, her arm shooting out to block Topekaia.

Topekaia laughed. "Well, someone's attached to her decorations."

"That painting doesn't move until I do," Mai said stubbornly. She would have been easier to take seriously if she hadn't been staring wistfully at the image and smiling slightly.

Katara and Topekaia both started to laugh.

Katara threw an arm around Mai's shoulders. "Someone is besotted," she sang.

Topekaia leaned against the wall. "So the painting moves when you do? You don't think Zuko would mind having it in his room?"

Mai frowned. "Why should he?"

"Neither of you are smiling," Topekaia pointed out, her fingers tracing the faces of Mai and Zuko. "This painting is so gloomy."

Mai glowered at Topekaia. "Don't you think that's probably part of its charm?"

"Maybe to you," Topekaia laughed, wrinkling her nose in mock disgust. "I still think it'll make the Fire Lord feel gloomy."

"It'll be in my room, anyway, not his," Mai said.

Topekaia and Katara froze and exchanged glances.

"Wait, you won't be sharing a room?" Katara asked.

"Of course not," Mai said, shrugging Katara's arm off her shoulders. "Noble and royal couples each have separate rooms, and another room to share."

Katara made an uncomfortable sound. "Which means you won't be together every night, doesn't it?"

Mai shrugged. "There's nothing in the law about only being together in the 'couple room.' Why do you think this is such a big deal?"

"It's just that in the Water Tribes, we only have one room in our houses. Family means a lot to us, and so do relationships. Zuko's work schedule probably won't allow you to spend much time together during the day; with separate rooms, it will be even harder for you to spend time together."

"Don't worry about us, Katara. We'll work it out." Mai shook her head and marched over to the window.

Topekaia shrugged at Katara. "I'm sure it'll be fine, Katara," she whispered.

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All three of them heard a banging on the door.

Mai frowned. "Who could be visiting now?" she wondered aloud.

"Someone important?" Katara guessed.

Mai huffed. "Everyone in this city is important… except the servants."

Topekaia shook her head. "Servants can be important, too."

"But they aren't top priority," Mai pointed out. "I can ignore them."

"What if Zuko sent you servants?" Katara asked.

"They'd say so," Mai shrugged.

"Where is Sparky's Babe?" Toph's voice rattled the wall hangings.

Mai's hand covered her mouth. "Sparky's… babe," she repeated.

Topekaia and Katara burst into gales of laughter.

Mai hurried down the stairs. She picked up Tom-Tom, who was in her way, and threw open the door. "Toph! What are you yelling that around for?"

"Hello, Sunshine!" Toph threw her arms open and hugged Mai. "Uh… Sunshine… who's this?" she asked, poking Tom-Tom.

Tom-Tom was delighted, and grabbed Toph's finger.

"It's my little brother," Mai said. "Now come inside! I need you out of the street!"

"Why? Because I called you Zuko's—"

"Come on!" Mai grabbed the girl's arm and dragged her in.

Topekaia and Katara arrived at the bottom of the stairs.

"Sweetness! I can tell those are your footsteps!" Toph announced.

"Hello, Toph!" Katara said, and hurried over to give Toph a hug.

Mai was getting annoyed with Tom-Tom pulling her hair. She set him down and let him crawl off.

"Who are you?" Toph asked suspiciously, pointing at Topekaia.

"I'm Mai's lady in waiting!" Topekaia said. "Who are you?"

"I am Toph Bei Fong, Champion of the Earth Rumble and hero of the world!"

Katara and Mai exchanged glances and rolled their eyes at each other.

"Wow," Topekaia said. "I didn't realize I was speaking with a hero."

"Yeah, people usually don't," Toph said with a shrug. "I should wear something that announces my identity to people—but that would take too much work."

There was another knock at the door.

Mai sighed. "My house is not a hotel," she muttered. She walked resignedly to the door.

"Mai!" Suki threw her arms around Mai, forcing her off balance.

"Hello, Suki," Mai said after checking her attacker's identity.

"I was sent here to watch Toph," Suki said, looking around the room before finally seeing Toph. "Zuko was afraid she'd call you something unseemly."

"Did he say that?" Mai asked.

"No, I guessed," Suki said, smiling brightly at Mai as she walked over to the others. "It's been a while, Katara," she said before hugging the waterbender. "How's my favorite sister-in-law?"

"She misses Aang a lot," Mai said, leaning on the wall next to the door just in case she had to open it again.

Katara blushed. "Well, of course I do!" she said.

Suki nodded. "Don't worry, I understand."

"And… this is…?" Topekaia looked to Mai for an answer.

"Suki of Kyoshi Island," Mai said. "She's the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, of which—"

"Mai!" The door was thrown open and Ty Lee flew in. "Where are you?" she asked in confusion. She turned to see Mai's shocked face and grinned again.

"Hello, Ty Lee." Mai couldn't believe she'd been caught off-guard like that. Ty Lee had to have been making a lot of noise out there!

"Mai!" Ty Lee repeated before sending Mai to the floor with an enthusiastic bear hug. "I can't believe you're getting married! Well, I mean I can, but at the same time, I just can't! It's so wonderful, and beautiful, and you'll have lots of gorgeous babies, and—"

"Ty Lee!" Mai cried in exasperation. "Let me up, please!"

Ty Lee frowned. "Right, right, where was I? Oh!" She paused for a moment to let Mai up. "You're going to be Fire Lady, and wear all the most beautiful clothes, and you'll always be with Zuko, and you're always going to be so happy, and you'll smile all the time!"

Mai had composed herself. "Are you done?" she asked.

Ty Lee let out a heavy breath. "I might start up again later."

"I wouldn't count on anything else." Mai rolled her eyes.

"Is this that best friend you were telling me about?" Topekaia asked.

"Best friend?" Ty Lee repeated gleefully. "You call me your best friend?" Ty Lee hugged Mai around the neck. "I'm so happy!"

"I can see that," Mai said. "Yes, Topekaia, this is her."

Topekaia shook her head and approached Ty Lee cautiously. "I can only imagine what your childhoods must have been like."

"Crazy!" Ty Lee and Mai chorused.

Everyone else laughed.

"And who are you?" Ty Lee asked, watching Topekaia bow.

"I am Topekaia, Mai's lady in waiting."

"Are you sure you're not something more interesting?" Ty Lee asked.

Mai shook her head. "Ty Lee, you sound like me."

Ty Lee giggled. "I hoped I would! Come on, spit it out! What are you besides a lady in waiting?" Ty Lee looked at Topekaia with bright eyed anticipation.

"The Fire Lord hired me to be Mai's body guard," Topekaia admitted.

"Aw!" Suki and Ty Lee grinned.

"That's so sweet!" Suki said.

"Sure it is," Mai said. "I think it's paranoid of him. But at least I get a new friend out of the deal." She gave Topekaia a small smile.

A little girl's scream sounded out in the street. "Mommy! What's that?"

Katara glanced out the window—and saw Appa flying over the rooftops. She whirled to the door, flung it open, and started dashing down the street.

Mai stared after Katara. "That was… random," she said. "Let's follow her."

"Why?" Ty Lee asked.

"Because if she's running, there's got to be a good reason. Let's just catch up." Without another word, Mai ran out, too.

Topekaia saw her charge running out the door and decided she best to do her job. So she ran out the door, too.

Ty Lee decided it was time to follow Mai and turned to Suki. "Come on, please?"

Suki and Toph shrugged, and they ran out with Ty Lee.

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Katara raced through the streets, following Appa to a large, fairly empty square.

Appa settled on the ground with his back to Katara, kicking up a cloud of dust. Barely waiting for it to settle, Katara dashed forward along Appa's side.

Aang patted Appa on the head and then jumped off.

Katara flung her arms around him from behind. "Aang!"

Aang jumped, instinctively trying to free himself from her arms. Then he noticed that it was Katara and hugged her back. He drew her close for a kiss.

Mai chose this moment to arrive. She stopped, looked at Katara and Aang still kissing, and took a few steps back.

Topekaia stopped behind Mai, also watching.

Ty Lee came darting around the corner, and ran right into Topekaia.

Topekaia fell on Mai.

All three women slammed to the ground.

Katara and Aang separated at the resultant crash and looked over.

"Oh my!" Katara said. "Are you going to be all right?" she called.

"Yes," chirped Ty Lee, bouncing off the pile.

Too consumed with finally seeing Aang again to think about much else for long, Katara turned back to Aang. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you, too." Aang brushed back a loose wisp of Katara's hair. Then he glanced over at the two women picking themselves up off the ground, and the three women standing behind them. He pulled away from Katara.

Katara glanced up at his face—and then did a double-take. She'd glanced up—to look at Aang! "Aang!" she exclaimed, her tone mildly accusing.

He looked at her in befuddlement. "What?"

"You're taller than me!"

"I am?" He realized that he was looking down at her. "I am!" Suddenly his face fell. "You don't mind, do you?"

Katara shook her head. "Of course not. It's just… different."

"All right, that's enough, break it up!" Toph yelled. "Twinkle Toes! Sweetness! There are other people right here!"

"Including you, most importantly, right, Toph?" Mai asked, rubbing her face.

"You catch on fast, Sunshine!"

Topekaia raised her hand. "All right, do I get a translation here?"

"Well, Shadow, it's like this: Mai is Sunshine, Katara is Sweetness, Sugar Queen, Swishy, and anything else that comes to mind. Aang is Twinkletoes. For future reference, Suki is Honey, Sokka is Snoozles, and Zuko is Sparky, and I am Queen of the World, thanks for asking."

Topekaia blinked. "And… I am Shadow?"

"You've got it!" Toph said, and marched over to Aang. "You've been ignoring me, Twinkle Toes. I don't take kindly to that."

Aang rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"

Toph punched Aang's arm. "Figure it out, Twinkle Toes! I'm not going to say it!"

"Would you stop calling me Twinkle Toes?"

"No!" Toph yelled. She stomped her foot and a pillar of rock rose from the ground, sending Aang flying.

Katara flattened herself against Appa, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire. Momo scuttled down onto her shoulder, chittering a greeting.

Aang caught himself with airbending, and let loose a large blast of air straight at Toph, just before he landed gently on the ground.

Toph flew through the air and slammed into Appa's side.

Appa lowed.

Aang winced. "Sorry, buddy," he said to Appa.

Toph ripped apart the earth pillar she'd made and threw chunks in Aang's general direction.

Topekaia and Suki gawked in confusion.

Mai looked on without caring. She'd only become involved if her city were threatened. After all, she would be Fire Lady in mere days, and it would be bad form to let the city fall to ruin. However, if the earthbenders wanted to be messy, that was their business.

Aang shielded himself with a concentrated blast of air.

"Come on, TWINKLE TOES, I know you can do better than that!" Toph made a "come on" motion with her hand.

Aang's eyes narrowed. He leapt into the air and loosed a series of short, hard blasts at her, driving her backwards.

Toph scooped a large chunk out of the ground, waiting for Aang to land so she could "see" where he was.

"Hold on," Mai said, walking up to Toph. "This is my home, and I'd rather you didn't break anything."

"Stay out of this, Sunshine!" Toph said, and sent Mai flying backwards into the group of spectators.

Aang landed and Toph lobbed the boulder at him. He split it as it reached him. Toph threw more rocks at him.

Mai straightened up, fuming. She loosed her knives, getting ready to pin Toph.

Katara, noticing the glowering Mai, decided things had gone on long enough. Pulling water from the nearby water pump, she threw up two ice walls. One separated Mai from Aang and Toph, and one separated the latter two from each other. "That's enough!" she called firmly.

"Ugh," Mai said. "I didn't even get a chance to do anything. Figures."

"Sweetness, why?" Toph crossed her arms and pouted.

Before Katara could answer, Zuko cleared his throat. "Why is there a wall there?" he asked, pointing at the ice.

"Because Katara didn't want us to have any fun," said Mai with a shrug.

"Because I didn't want anyone to get hurt," Katara retorted.

"I'm all for that," Zuko said, striding over to Mai. "Hey," he said as he looked at Mai more closely, "what's on your face?"

"The road," Mai said. "Ty Lee didn't watch where she was going."

Zuko scowled at Ty Lee but remained silent.

Ty Lee knew the particular brand of glare she was receiving and put on a grin, her first line of defense. "It's so sweet that you're so protective," she said.

Zuko's scowl deepened. "Mai is perfectly capable of taking care of herself," he said testily.

"But you're still trying to protect her, and that's so adorable," Ty Lee gushed.

"It's good to see you again, Zuko," Aang called through an ice wall.

Welcoming the interruption, Zuko spun towards Aang. "It's good to see you again, too."

Deciding that everyone had probably calmed down, Katara dropped the ice.

Aang bounded forwards and shook hands with Zuko.

Katara crossed to him and leaned towards his ear. "You might want to try putting the street back together," she suggested quietly.

Glancing at the pitted square, Aang winced. It did look pretty bad. With a few decisive movements, he replaced the largest chunks back where they came from, and smoothed the area with a stomp of his foot. It wasn't perfectly restored, but it was smooth and didn't look all that bad.

"Where's Sokka?" Katara asked, registering that he was the only member of their group currently not present.

Zuko shrugged.

Suki sighed. "He probably went looking for the kitchens. He was complaining about being hungry shortly before we arrived."

Momo hopped from Katara's shoulder to Aang's and chittered into the boy's ear, thrusting one paw in front of Aang's face.

Aang laughed. "I think Sokka's not the only one hungry. Where can I get food for Appa and Momo, Zuko?"

"I figured they'd stay in the palace stables. Mai doesn't really want them in the main palace. Come on, I'll show the way." Zuko took Mai's hand and headed toward the palace.

Aang frowned slightly, but said nothing. Whistling to Appa and slipping his hand into Katara's, he followed after the royal couple.

Appa trundled after Aang.

"I hope you won't do that again," Topekaia whispered to Toph.

Toph punched Topekaia's arm. "Keep your hopes to yourself, Shadow."

Topekaia was sorry Toph couldn't see the look she gave her.

Ty Lee broke in, throwing an arm around Topekaia's shoulders. "Tell me all about what Mai has been up to!"

"Why do you want to know?" Topekaia asked with a raised brow.

"Because she's terrible at writing letters!" Ty Lee made this statement just a bit louder than necessary.

Mai turned and gave Ty Lee the benefit of rolled eyes.

Ty Lee laughed. It was a high, chirpy sound.

"As far as I know, she's mostly been," here Topekaia gave Ty Lee a wink, "unsuccessfully trying to act like she has no feelings!"

Mai and Zuko pulled to a halt and gave Topekaia and Ty Lee a full set of rolled eyes. They then sped up.

"That was really good," Ty Lee whispered.

"I've gotten on her case a lot recently," Topekaia whispered back.

"Keep it up. It's healthy."