Disclaimer: We don't own Avatar. We're not making any money from writing this.
The comments have been really sweet, thanks you guys.
To be honest, I've been working on several different projects, original pieces I intend to publish, so I'm afraid this one gets shoved to the side quite a lot.
I have written an ending to this story, and that means that the chapters I post were already written on a previous date, so what I'm doing now is going through and editing to make sure it meets my standards.
And for angelhalo 19, who wanted to see Ty Lee… well I wasn't bringing her back just yet, but I see no reason why I can't.
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Chapter 34: Hunting for a Solution
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"Where could she have gotten to?" Zuko asked, kneading his temples.
"You mean: Where would Lin go to feel comfortable?" Sura corrected, waterbending her tea into little patterns above her cup. "It would be somewhere she could follow her original commands. I don't know exactly what they were, but she has told me she likes taking orders."
"So it would be somewhere where she'd constantly be told what to do," said Toph.
"That means no working for herself in a market stall, for instance," Topekaia reheated her tea.
"Would she try being a servant again?" Suki asked.
Sura frowned, her tea splashing back into her cup. "That wouldn't make sense to me. She wanted so badly to be free. Why would she go back?"
"Maybe to feel safe?" Suki guessed. "Servanthood is all Lin is familiar with."
"Whose servant would she be?" Toph ventured. "Would that matter to her?"
"She'd look for someone rich," Sura said. "That way, she could rely on staying there for a long time. I think it would bother Lin if she had to job hunt all the time."
Zuko nodded thoughtfully. "Do you think there's a chance she'll get tired of hiding and expose herself?"
Sura frowned. "Not intentionally. More likely, she'd be ordered to do it. Otherwise, she'd do her best to hide."
"Which could include working for someone with a lot of servants so she can blend into the crowd," Katara said.
"Which brings us back to a rich person," Zuko said. "This is the biggest city in the Earth Kingdom. Rich people are everywhere. We'd have to ask everyone." Zuko shook his head. "She hides so well…" After a pause, he drank all his tea.
"We don't even know if she has a job yet," Aang pointed out. "She could just be out on the street. Maybe she'll just stay outside all the time."
Zuko stared at Aang in horror. "She can't! She can't sleep outside! Something will happen to her!"
"What will?" Aang asked.
"Anything!" Zuko leapt to his feet. "If Mai is out sleeping in some filthy alley… where there could be thugs! And vermin! She'll get hurt!" Zuko breathed hard. The way he said "hurt" made it sound like an apocalypse.
"Breathe, Zuko," Sura said, waterbending her tea into a smiling face.
Zuko grimaced at her attempt to cheer him, while others could not hide their snickering.
"Perhaps we should consider what sort of job an employer would ask her to do," Katara suggested.
Sura cocked her head. "Menial tasks tended to be what they gave her at the complex. Either she'll return to that which is most comfortable to her, or she'll avoid it at all costs."
"Until we know for sure, it doesn't look like we can make any sort of assumptions," Sokka said, cupping his chin and squinting up at the ceiling.
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Lin dragged herself out of bed.
When she opened the door, she was greeted by the sight of a golden-eyed servant.
"Good morning, Lin! Are you feeling better?"
Lin rubbed an eye. "Better than… what? An ostrich horse?"
The golden-eyed servant laughed. "You're funny! No, I meant better than last night."
"I was perfectly fine last night," she lied. She'd had a terrible nightmare concerning the Fire Lord and lanterns.
The servant blinked. "I'm pretty certain I heard you crying last night..."
"You imagined it. What's your name?"
"Oh, that's right! I never told you my name!" Bowing exquisitely in the Fire Nation style, he smiled at her. "My name is Hachiro. About last night..."
"What about last night?" Lin asked. She'd had enough confidence to run away, so maybe she could stand up to this person.
"You don't remember..." Could she have been sleepwalking, but able to converse coherently? Hachiro dismissed the idea. "You asked me to help you find the storage room."
Lin frowned. "Why would I want to find the storage room? I'm not a thief or anything like that. Are you trying to accuse me of something?" There was a faint glint in Lin's eyes. If it was an argument he wanted, she'd give it to him.
Hachiro, noticing the familiar aggressive glint in Lin's eyes, decided it was best to back off. "Just...forget it, Lin, whatever you say."
This satisfied Lin. There was a moment's silence before Lin returned to the subject. "How did you know my name?" she asked.
Hachiro looked at her in confusion. "You introduced yourself last night!"
Lin frowned. "Are you sure?"
"Your name is Lin Qiang. You like knives and violence. Something isn't quite right with you."
Lin stared at Hachiro impassively. "That's why I'm here. I need to start over."
Hachiro looked at Lin speculatively. "Start over?"
"My life is a wreck. At least now I'm doing something worthwhile."
"Not likely," Hachiro said. "You'll probably end up a hairdresser or something, by the look of you."
Lin shrugged. "A lady must look her best."
Hachiro stared at Lin for a moment. "You seem different."
"I've never met you," Lin insisted.
Hachiro stepped back. "You… never mind. Just come with me." He turned to leave.
"Wait! I haven't even—"
"Lady Tai Mu wanted an interview with you as soon as you woke up. If she likes you, there's a surprise waiting for you." Hachiro smiled weakly at her.
Lin nodded slowly. "Lead on."
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"If Lin is anything like Mai, she had a plan. She is fine." Iroh laid a heavy hand on Zuko's shoulder.
"Plans don't always work, Uncle!" Zuko said, voice breaking.
He'd begged his uncle to come meet with the rest of the group in the Earth King's palace, before even realizing that Iroh was already on his way.
"You would know," Sokka pointed out.
"So would you!" Zuko returned fiercely. "But that isn't the point. The point is that Mai is probably in terrible danger, and nobody can tell me where!"
"You don't think perhaps she's safe?" Iroh asked.
"Ever since she's been with me, Mai has been in danger. I just thought we were up to it."
Sokka looked at his downcast friend. "Zuko, at the Boiling Rock, you told me that I was going to fail a lot before I succeeded.
"But he shouldn't give up because of a fear that he might fail," Suki finished.
Zuko looked at Sokka and Suki. "You remembered that?"
They nodded.
"It was really motivational," Sokka said. "Bring back that fighting spirit. Nothing, nobody, not even Lin can keep Mai from you. Return the favor."
Zuko squared his shoulders. "You're right. Let's go see if they found her."
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"Well, by the looks of you, we won't have to do much," Lady Tai Mu said.
She was getting her hair done as she looked Lin up and down appraisingly. "Your name… Lin Qiang… It means, 'fine, dark blue jade,' am I correct?"
"I believe so, my lady."
"That's excellent! You will be a perfect addition to my collection!" she turned and clapped.
Two very well-dressed ladies appeared, both Lin's age. They bowed, quietly analyzing Lin.
"Please escort Lin Qiang to the Fancy Lady Day Spa!" Tai Mu said. "Then bring her back here."
The two servant ladies nodded and approached Lin, smiling with their mouths, but frowning with their eyes. "Come with us," they said.
"Tell them, when you get there, that I sent you," Tai Mu instructed.
"I will, my lady," said Lin as she was escorted out.
Tai Mu breathed in and out contentedly. "Oh, she's perfect for my matched set!"
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"Nothing? Absolutely nothing?" Zuko asked, voice cracking, of the Earth King. He stood with his friends in the throne room.
"I am sorry, Fire Lord. The streets were very empty. We did have some arrests, but saw nobody who looked capable of being your Fire Lady."
"Anyone who looked capable of being Bosco's paw stool?" Sokka asked, an arm on Zuko's shoulder.
Zuko brushed Sokka off in disgust.
"No young women matching Lady Mai's description were found on the streets They even checked the lower rings. She couldn't have gotten out of the city last night. She found a place to stay. You can rest assured of that."
Katara, Sura and Topekaia huffed.
"Zuko? Rest easy?" Suki shook her head.
"I will begin additional searches personally," said Zuko. "She's not getting away from me."
"You've got that right!" Sura said.
Zuko rewarded Sura with a small smile.
"Appa and Liang will help," Aang said.
"She's our friend, so she'll be back," said Sokka.
"Friend…" Suki repeated to herself. "Zuko! Would you say that you knew Mai very well as a child?"
Zuko's brow knit before he said: "She was… quiet. I didn't really—"
"Sura! Would you confirm that Lin behaves like a child version of Mai?"
Sura considered a moment before nodding.
"Then I think I have an idea! To catch Lin, we should call in an expert!"
All eyes trained on Suki's full-faced grin.
"I'm going to write to Kyoshi Island and get Ty Lee sent out here!"
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"All of this isn't really necessary, is it" Lin asked, shifting uncomfortably as her simultaneous manicure and pedicure continued.
"Of course it is! Your feet and hands are in great shape, but everyone needs constant care!" one of the spa workers said.
Lin sighed. "And how much is left after this?"
"Hair, makeup… then we fit you for clothes…"
Lin sucked in a breath at the mention of clothes fitting.
What if these people noticed the intruder?
"Do we have to do that last part?"
The spa employees stopped working.
"Yes."
Lin stared at the ceiling.
She'd figure out what to do when the time came.
For now, though, this whole process was so… boring…
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"Do you have any new servants?" Zuko asked.
He had put up his hair in a topknot with a small gold fire ornament in the hopes of looking more official.
"How new do you mean?"
This was the fifth nobleman Zuko had visited that morning.
His name was He Zhi, and he was looking at Zuko with a mixture of uneasiness and suspicion.
"She would have had to arrive last night." Personally, Zuko would prefer tearing the house apart in search of Mai to calmly asking questions, but this was the way everyone else thought was best.
He Zhi pretended to search through his latest records. "Name?"
Zuo twitched.
He wanted to say: "Fire Lady Mai. She's my wife and I want her returned to me now."
Instead, he said: "Lin Qiang." He forced the words out.
He still hated admitting that Mai would not answer to anything else.
He Zhi's eyes widened at the name.
"You know her!" Zuko's heart leapt.
It had been so easy!
She could be in the next room!
Maybe he'd just walk in there and see her!
She'd apologize for running away, and even if it was in Lin's way, she'd… make it up to him.
"She did come by last night…" He Zhi said thoughtfully.
"Yes? Is she here? She has to come with me!"
"She left," He Zhi said firmly.
Zuko's blood froze.
"It wasn't so late, so she went back out to look for another job."
Zuko kept himself composed. He pictured Mai, unwavering in the face of even the greatest danger. He tried to recreate that image with his own features. "Do you recall her behavior at the time?"
"Elegant, well-spoken, polite… one may be led to believe she was of the highest breeding." He Zhi decided not to lie so that he would not be found out later.
Zuko's imperfect mask cracked. "She is."
He Zhi's brows rose. "She is?"
Zuko examined the other man. "She is the Fire Lady. If you see her again, have her escorted to the palace. I will go find where she found a job. Good day."
When the Fire Lord was gone, He Zhi wrote a note to his allies.
Lin Qiang was more important as a tactical tool than a servant.
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Mai reached out her hand, feeling for the desk.
She found it, her candle, and her spark rocks.
By the candle's light, Mai found paper, ink and a brush.
At the top of the page, she wrote: "Lin Qiang, do this now."
Satisfied with her introduction, she continued. "First, get your knives. The Fire Lady wants you to have them. Second, convince Tai Mu to let you perform for the Avatar if and when he visits. Third, be friends with Hachiro. That dingbat means well. Fourth, find ways to be near the Palace."
"You're up again?" Hachiro asked from the door.
Mai gasped and whirled around. "What are you—"
"Doing here? Well, as you seem more coherent at night, I think it's best to question you now."
"What sort of questions?" Mai asked warily, contemplating a revision of her commands to herself.
"Where are you from?"
"The Palace City," Mai said, standing so she didn't feel so disadvantaged.
"Why do you act so differently during the day?"
Mai sighed. "Because currently, I am in the midst of an annoying situation which compels me to constantly forget who I am and do whatever I'm told."
Hachiro waited for her to continue. When she didn't, he pressed on. "Who are you, really?"
Mai bit her lip. "I do not believe I am at liberty to divulge that information."
"Why not?" Hachiro came closer, whispering.
"Someone could hear," Mai said as she retreated.
"You're someone important," he concluded.
Mai frowned. "You're someone persistent." She stepped closer to Hachiro. "I," she said as she looked at the door to check for spies, "am Fire Lady Mai."
Hachiro's mouth dropped open. "The Fire Lady…" he breathed. He then came to his senses. "You'll have to prove that."
Mai nodded, "Good, that means I can trust you." She pulled her collar down a fraction to reveal Zuko's betrothal necklace.
Hachiro firebended a flickering spark to see better. "That's a fine piece of jewelry," he said.
Mai covered it again, her hand lingering over it. Despite herself, a tear broke through her mask. "I have to get home," she said, feeling as if she'd said it a thousand times.
"If you have to get home then we'll have to find a way to get you there," Hachiro said, stepping closer to Mai.
He could then see her tears.
Suddenly uncomfortable, he looked at his feet. "I guess...this is more serious than I thought."
Mai nodded. She did her best to pull herself together. "The Fire Lord—" that wasn't helping! But she still had to finish her sentence. "He's probably going insane over this. I can't possibly blame him. He's at the palace, but I'm pretty sure Lin will fight you tooth and nail if you try to make her go." Mai shook her head.
This being half conscious made it hard to concentrate.
"Unless you order her. Lin will do anything if she's ordered to do it." Mai sighed and sat on the edge of her bed. "Just so you know, I'm asleep right now. Last night was the first time I was able to get up and sleep walk, so I don't exactly understand how this works. When I wake up, I won't remember this conversation, and I won't know who I am. You'll be on your own then."
Hachiro glanced alternately around the room and at his feet. "I... don't know what to say... I have to admit I am... completely... lost?"
Mai sighed and shook her head. "I was afraid of that," she said drowsily.
Hachiro shrugged his shoulders and tried to sound confident that he knew what he was doing, even though he really didn't. "I'm going to have to sleep on this new information, but don't worry, my promise still stands. Uh… goodnight."
Mai stood up and bowed. "In the morning, then," she said. When Hachiro was gone, she threw herself on her bed, burying her face in her pillow. "Don't think about Zuko," she muttered to herself.
As Hachiro walked back to his room, he considered what he had gotten himself mixed up in.
So the Fire Lady was awake and asleep at night, but during the day she was this… Lin?
He shook his head.
Like he had said, he would sleep on it.
He was in this mansion for one purpose only, and he was willing to do his duty.
He had to admit, however, that these new developments were part of his duty and he knew even if he had no business interfering he would still be in the same situation he was in now.
In perfect honesty, Hachiro preferred to watch conflict rather than be part of it, which was why he liked the undercover jobs, he could just blend in and take it easy; people were less likely to suspect someone who was relaxed.
Now, he was tense as meadow vole.
Just sleep on it... he told himself.
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Music lessons.
Lin felt like she'd taken them all her life.
The Erhu was as familiar as her own hands.
The long neck of the instrument was decorated with delicate flower shapes.
Lin entertained herself as she played the meaningless warm-up chords with tracing the color patterns.
The strings as she held them down cut mildly into her fingertips.
It didn't bother her too much, but she would rather it ended before her fingers ended up calloused.
"You may pause, Lin," said the director.
Lin's fingers jumped out of position, and only a quick save kept her looking dignified as she looked up for further instructions.
"I can tell you are well-trained, but you are also rusty. What have you been doing recently that has gotten in the way of your technique?"
Lin bit her lip. "Travelling, mostly," she didn't know much else.
"Travelling? You hardly look like the sort to go traipsing around. Where have you been travelling to?"
"Here and there," Lin said with a shrug. "Nowhere in particular. I went to Omashu, if that means anything to you."
"Omashu! Well, that is a nice place to be, I cannot blame you!" For no apparent reason, the woman began rearranging her hair.
Lin kept her face composed despite her curiosity.
"Anyways, show me what you've got!"
Lin nodded and concentrated for a moment.
A song sprung to mind. Closing her eyes, Lin drew her bow across the two strings.
She didn't know why the song she'd chosen was so melancholy.
She felt as if it had once been her preferred lesson song.
She must have played it thousands of times… with repetitions, performances, humming renditions…
Forgetting all about proper posture, Lin began to sway with her music.
The song picked up and her eyes closed.
As the song finished, Lin let out a heavy sigh.
It was almost like talking to an old friend.
She opened her eyes.
They focused on the open door for some reason.
Had she just seen someone in a red robe pass by?
She rose from her chair.
"Lin! I'll admit that was a stirring performance, but you aren't finished!" the director protested, one hand dabbing tears away and the other reaching for Lin.
"Did he come here?" Lin asked, not paying attention to the older woman's protests. She was still walking toward the door, the Erhu abandoned and forgotten.
"Whatever do you mean?" asked the bewildered director.
Other girls in the room, who'd been sitting quietly as Lin was put through her introductory motions, laughed behind their hands and whispered to each other.
"I don't know who," Lin said, reaching the door, "but I think…" Seriously. She had to have seen someone in royal Fire Nation robes pass by the door… right?
"What do you think?" asked the director, getting annoyed.
"I think I love him," Lin blurted out, and ran down the hall without glancing back. Had he turned that corner? Was he still up ahead in the shadows?
"Lin Qiang! Please return this instant!"
"I have to find him!" Lin called back. "I think he's here!"
"Who are you talking about?" the voice of the director was getting fainter.
"Zuko!" Lin cried. She finally stopped running. Zuko? Fire Lord Zuko?
As in the man she had purposefully run away from out of fear?
Had she just said she loved him?
"Zuko…" she repeated, her voice breaking. She slowly dropped to her knees. "I'm such a fool," she said quietly.
"Well, what's going on here?" Hachiro asked from behind her.
Lin looked up at him, the first signs of tears showing up in her eyes. "He was here," she whispered.
"Zuko?" Hachiro asked for clarification.
Lin nodded. "Zuko," she repeated, just to hear the name out loud again.
Hachiro looked up and down the hall. "I don't think so, Lin," he said gently. "I would know about something like that."
"Are you sure?" Lin asked, standing up and wiping her tears. "He could have just gotten here!"
"Not the Fire Lord," Hachiro said with a shake of his head. "That's something of a big deal, you know."
"Oh, the Fire Lord was here yesterday," said the music director, having reached the same point at a more sedate pace. "He spoke with Lord He Zhi. He was looking for information on his lost wife."
Hachiro's eyes quickly darted to Lin's face. Would that get a reaction from her?
Lin averted her gaze. She was probably responsible for Zuko's distress at the moment.
But she had decided that her being with him was unhealthy for him…
So why had she reacted the way she had when she'd imagined him?
And why was she imagining him?
Why was her mind so fixated on Fire Lord Zuko?
Perhaps their meeting had been unhealthy for both of them?
"Anyways, it's time to get back to work, Lin Qiang," the director clapped her hands, so much like Lady Tai Mu, and walked off.
Lin bowed her head. "Yes, ma'am," she said in a dull, hollow monotone.
Hachiro blinked. "But… wait, Lin! What about…"
Lin looked at Hachiro, her eyes darkened and blank, like paintings covered with shiny black umbrellas. "I must work now, Hachiro," she said just as dully.
Bewildered, Hachiro watched her go.