A long overdue update.

"No, it's not Prince Zuko's child," Perhaps Mai should have finished her sentence, but the sight of her mother half screaming and half fainting was much too good to waste on telling the truth on.

"Oh, my daughter's a-a, a tramp!" Mai's mother sobbed as her and Ty Lee guided her into foyer.

"Mother," Mai tried to gain her attention, but was so far failing to do so. "Mother!" The loud shout caught her attention, and Mai's mother quickly stopped sobbing hysterically.

"Whose child is it, then?" She asked, using a cloth to wipe her eyes.

Mai sighed. "There is no child."

"No child? But Ty Lee said—"

"Ty Lee was lying to you,"

"No I wasn't! You're in denial!" Ty Lee pointed at Mai.

"Right. I'm in denial about my own pregnancy, just like you're in denial about snogging with the princess last night." Mai said sarcastically, turning her head in the other direction.

"What? Me kissing Azula? That's completely absurd!" Ty Lee said, blushing fervently.

"I know it's absurd, I was being sarcastic to prove my point." Mai said, ignoring her mother's flabbergasted look.

"Oh, right, of-of course." The contortionist lowered her head and smiled weakly to cover up for her embarrassment.

"What has gotten into you?" Mai's mother asked, referring to her daughter. "First you leave your father and I to live in the palace, then you go and get yourself pregnant, and now you're accusing your dearest friend of kissing another women?"

Mai pursed her lips, thinking hard of something to say that wouldn't be incredibly crude. "I left you and father because you both were- and are- twits, I am not pregnant, and I was only acting pithy when talking about Ty Lee and Azula." Maybe it wasn't nice, but what she said was a lot better than what she would have said.

"Twits? So that's what you think of us? Your parents who raised you to be a woman of high class and morals, are now twits?"

"Obviously I don't have high morals if you think that I am pregnant," Mai said dryly.

Ty Lee bit her lip, staring awkwardly at the two arguing in front of her. "I'm just going to go and h-help Azula," And with that, Ty Lee ran off to find the princess, and most likely hide.

"No, I suppose you don't." Mai gave a hard look at her mother before turning around and leaving, fallowing suit to Ty Lee.

--

The weak rays of the setting sun shone through the windows as Mai gingerly tied the sash of her dress robe. She smiled to herself, relieved that it still fit.

"You can't keep hiding it forever," Mai turned around to see who was speaking.

"I'm not hiding anything Ty Lee." She replied, smoothing out the long silk.

"How long have you known?" Ty Lee asked, ignoring her friend.

"I haven't known—" Mai was cut off, however, when Ty Lee opened her mouth to interject.

"Zuko said you've been throwing up each morning for a week."

"Since when have you listened to Zuko?" Mai asked.

"I've never not listened to him- he's never really told me anything. Besides, I doubt the soon to be Fire Lord would lie."

"Take a look at his past," Mai muttered.

"Hm?" Ty Lee couldn't hear what Mai had said.

"Nothing."

"You are pregnant, and there is no denying it."

"I'm only denying it because it's not true,"

"What are you so afraid of? You and Zuko were bound to have children anyway, why does it matter if it's now?" Ty Lee questioned.

"It matters because we're not married," Mai sighed, sitting in one of the chairs near the window.

"So you are pregnant,"

"Ty Lee!"

"You can't hide it," The contortionist said again, walking out of the room. "Because it will soon become obvious."

Mai turned her head and bit her bottom lip. She hadn't thought about that- the obviousness, at least.

--

The fancy gathering of stuck up, wealthy men and their wives, was unnaturally boring in Mai's opinion. She sat next to Zuko who had to stand up every three minutes to shake the hand of a rich noblemen or ambassador.

"How am I supposed to remember the names of all these people when I'm Fire Lord?" He asked, sitting back down.

"You won't have to. You will probably have an advisor who does that for you." Mai said, sipping her tea.

"I suppose I will, but it is dreadfully boring at the moment." Zuko sighed, receiving a look of agreement from Mai.

She placed her half empty cup of tea down, the chattering of wealthy wives growing louder.

"I heard she was having his child," One woman said.

"At such a young age? Are they even married?" Another asked.

"No, but she does live in the palace." The first woman replied.

"They're unmarried? How libelous!"

Mai froze. Her mother had gone around to all of her friends and gossiped about the pregnancy that she denied.

"I see the rumor mill has already started," Zuko stated, referring to the rich wives of the noblemen getting up and walking around, whispering shiftily to each other.

"Yes, it has." Mai replied monotonically, her eyes still glazed over.

"I wonder who they're talking abut this time?" He wondered allowed, turning to Mai for an answer, but she instead turned her head away. "Mai?"

The first woman began speaking again as Zuko tried gaining his girlfriend's attention: "Apparently she's denying it."

"Well who wouldn't deny such a scandalous thing?" The second woman questioned.

"Mai!" She turned her head back to the prince, the conversation between the two stuck up, wealthy woman literally behind her.

"Are you feeling alright?" Zuko asked skeptically.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you've been a little … off for the past few weeks."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mai said simply, taking another sip of her tea.

Zuko rolled his eyes, but stood up in order to shake the hands of two ambassadors that had just arrived, quickly fallowed by Ty Lee and Azula.

"Mai, Zuko," Azula said, a rather fake looking smile plastered on her face.

"Azula, Ty Lee," Zuko nodded as he spoke, obviously refraining himself from speaking unkindly to his sister.

"So Mai," Azula's fake smile turned into a smirk. "How are you feeling?."

I feel Mai was a little out of character, and possibly Ty Lee as well ... Why yes, I did change what Azula just said. I know, it was a bit more suspenseful before, but I was blessed with an idea, and it would be easier if I were to just tweak Azula's words slightly. Hopefully I'll have chapter five up within due time.