Still not happy with Mai. Have to live with it, though.

"Where is she?" Mai asked. The firebenders, off duty and unarmored, looked up at her.

"Who, mistress?" the captain asked as she carved up the roast boarcupine.

"The Princess of the Fire Nation, who do you think?" Mai asked. The captain just rolled her eyes and shrugged.

"Your mother is in her rooms. Why?"

Mai narrowed her eyes a bit. "You don't need to know. Remember your place."

"Whatever you say, mistress," the firebender said. "Just remember the only reason you have a place here is because we earned it."

Mai considered saying something else, but then decided it was distinctly not worth the effort. The firebender was right. This place was only part of the Fire Nation because they had invaded it. Mai's family owed their 'prestigious appointment' to the endeavors of the army. That, and Omashu having an insane old lemur as a king. Mai just turned and walked away, toward her parents' chambers.

Omashu had come a long way in recent months. While there was still overwhelming green and yellow, within the palace at least, there was a more proper red. The entire site had been retrofitted to be a proper Fire Nation noble house. Still, it was an island of civilization amidst a sea of anarchy. She walked down the halls, watching as local cleaning ladies went about their business. Something seemed out of place. She kept an eye on the maids as she walked past. As she did, one of them stepped directly behind her.

She didn't need to be told what to do. Her mother had trained her well. She knew that the mop had a lead core, something to bludgeon. A twist of Mai's long back had it slide down her spine instead of crashing against her skull. A flick of her heel sent the bludgeon into the ankle of another reading a sack for Mai's head. Kidnappers? Fools. They obviously didn't know better than to try to kidnap an Azuli woman. One went down with a broken ankle, and the other maid, sensing that she'd lost initiative, did a wise thing and bolted away. Mai didn't feel like letting a potential kidnapper escape, so she calmly pulled a long knife out of her sleeve and threw it hard at the escaping woman. It slammed into the back of her leg, sending her to the floor with a cry of pain. Mai put her arms back into her sleeves and continued walking.

It wasn't very long before the firebenders in the garrison came running, spotting her calmly walking away. "Mistress, are you alright?" one asked.

Mai looked back at them, "Perfectly. Arrest these insurgents. Put them in the prison."

The firebenders looked amongst themselves. "Uhhh, ma'am, there is no prison here. There's just a few chambers with secure locks. One of them looks like it was recently refurbished."

"Just put them in a room and designate that the prison. Must this family micromanage everything that happens in Omashu?" Mai asked, annoyance only creeping into her voice in light tones. "And make sure I get that knife back. It's part of a set."

She left the soldiers to do their duty while she turned the corner and entered the network of chambers which her parents had appropriated. These kidnappers had come dangerously close to reaching targets of real value. But they hadn't, and that was all that mattered. Still, she would have to punish some of the guards. Things were getting perilously lax. Mai knocked on her mother's door. The door was unlocked, so she entered. On a table near the bath chamber were all of Mother's weapons. Mai tweezed her brow. "Agni's burning blood," she muttered. "What is she doing now?"

Readying herself for one of two unpleasant sights, Mai opened the baths door and was greeted with by far the lesser. Her mother was supine in a large, brass tub, and Ruo, the oldest and most trusted firebender that was pledged to the house was with her. Ruo was an old, hard bitten veteran, grey haired and childless. And now, this once prestigious soldier was relegated to warming her liege's bathwater. It could have been a worse sight to behold. Mai sat on the low bench that ran along the wall, opposite Ruo.

"There are insurgents in the palace," Mai said flatly. Ruo raised one scarred brow.

"I assume they didn't get very far?" Mother asked.

"Not this time," Mai said.

"Ruo would have kept me safe," Mother said with utter confidence. The old woman gave a single nod, then leaned back, giving another gout of flame to the walls of the tub. Her fire was an unusual sort; where most firebender's issue was red or yellow, hers was a green closing on blue. She had been doing this longer than her parents had been alive, though.

"Why exactly did you call on me? And why isn't there a knife in here?" Mai asked. There were only three reasons why an Azuli woman should ever disarm herself. The first was during childbirth, so she wouldn't stab somebody important. The second was bathing, so that the water wouldn't dull the blades. The third was... something Mai really didn't want to think about her parents doing.

"You know why I don't have a knife," Mother said calmly. "And I called you here because I'm hearing some unsettling things in Chin. A cultural uprising. They're celebrating something called 'Avatar Day', and the Fire Lord has let it be known that he does not approve. You've been expressing your desire to leave Omashu, so I considered you for the task."

"Reconnaissance? Really?" Mai asked. Mother waved dismissively.

"Oh, no. We've already dispatched a brigade of rhinos from Whale Tail. You will be finding whoever started this little uprising and removing them from leadership, however you deem necessary."

Mai leaned to one side. "Let me guess. Father already promised that he would deal with this revolt?"

Mother smiled. "And he will not disappoint."

Mai tsked. "Fine. I'll leave as soon as I have some provisions."

"Dealt with. They are waiting at the Fourth Iron Gate," Mai sighed. Of course Mother would have this already planned out. She rose. "Do try to be swift about this. The rhinos will likely be attacking as we speak, and I do not wish their leader to have too much time to go to ground."

"Please, like anybody could hide from me," Mai said. "I'll be back when I'm finished."

Mai turned and left her bathing mother to the indelicate but effective ministrations of Ruo. Finally, a reason to leave this unbearably dull place. Due to the compacted nature of the palace, Mai's proper rooms were not nearly as far away from her parents' as she'd have liked. It made it that much briefer for her to flatten out a parchment and finish the reply she had been carefully composing.

"I was surprised to hear from you, after all this time. I was beginning to believe that somebody had assassinated you. But who would have the audacity, the gall, and moreover the luck and skill required to do that? It is good to hear from old friends. Especially in this trying time. The Avatar is the word on everybody's lips. The insurgency in Omashu seems to consider him some sort of rallying point. If he could be disposed of, it'd make my father's work easier, if a great deal more boring. As if Omashu could get any more boring. It is probably safe to assume that your cloister was at your father's behest, and finally at an end. It would be" Mai had hesitated a long time trying to find the proper word, here, "pleasant to see you again, even if I understand completely that you would never come to a place like Omashu. Still, I will have you in my thoughts, and I will await your word as command, if the time should come. It would be like old times, Princess Azula."

Mai considered sending the message as was, but she second guessed herself. Chin was not exactly close, and a reply would need a proper hawk, not just the half-blind local variety, if it was going to reach her. She flipped the paper and added a post-script. "Please be aware that I am not in Omashu at this time. The Fire Nation demands my presence elsewhere." Mai nodded, then tubed the message and began to stride silently toward the gates. Along the way, she handed the tube to an aide.

"See that this gets sent to Sozin City when I leave," Mai said.

"You are leaving, mistress?" the aide said, scratching his patchy, only-somewhat Fire Nation beard. "Where shall you be going?"

"Some place even less civilized than this."