Mai knew it was nothing, believed it was nothing. She took it as just that the servants had nothing better to do but dally around and spread stupid rumors when they should really just mind their own business. She had to congratulate them though for making her this anxious, because truth be told, she never was one to believe some nonsense story so conveniently made up just for the luxury of having something to stir trouble in the palace. Because, after all, what else could be more intriguing than talks about the Fire Lord cheating on his fiance?
But she had to admit, Zuko has been spending less time with her and more time with his friends. She had dismissed it as his way of making up for the time away from them and was just glad that he had time to relax. Since becoming the Fire Lord, having his friends visit him had been his excuse for getting away from his duties. The council just didn't have the guts to 'control' him when the Fire Lord says it was them that helped, and were still helping, with establishing "peace and love" among nations.
However, it's already sundown and she had not seen Zuko since morning. She knew that his meeting with the council should have been over by now and he should have been with her, eating dinner. She had waited at their room, patiently tapping her manicured nails on the table for his arrival, making an eerie sound that makes the guards' hearts tremble. When she began pulling her daggers from her sleeves and throwing them at the nearby wall, she knew she had reached her limit, and Zuko would have to have a better excuse than just say he forgot the time.
She stepped out of the room quietly waving a hand to the guards to signal them not to follow. She doesn't know where Zuko is, but she's not wasting another minute confined in a room with their food turning cold and with the guards turning wary each time she makes a noise. It's not like she would begin sending her knives at them; even if she wants to, it wouldn't be as entertaining as it once had, since the Fire Lord had already forbidden them to fight back. They had already fought that one out, Zuko gaining the upper hand, making her agree to instead giving his best fighters for target practice during her free time; which was everytime Zuko was not with her.
Remembering their agreement, Mai flicked a dagger from her sleeves and turned to face the guards still standing by the door. She saw the guards stiffen at her sudden retreat and a smile played on her face. It was neither fear nor shock, she didn't have that much influence on them just yet. She didn't want them to fear her. When the guards eyed each other, she knew they were silently making an agreement.
"Where is the Fire Lord?"
The looks they gave each other were more obvious this time and for some reason, she felt her blood boil. If this was some sort of a plan to annoy her, well, it was working. Her day had been getting from bad to worse and she was just about to find out if she's kind enough to bring somebody else down with her.
"I don't care if he asked you to lie to me and pretend you didn't know. Just..." she sighed. She retracted the dagger from her hand and placed it back under her sleeves and she saw one of the guards let out a sigh as well. "Just tell me that he's safe." The guards hesitantly nodded but remained mummed. "I hope he's paying you well. You can eat the food inside. It's much too fancy to be wasted on garbage. I'm no longer hungry." Without waiting for any of them to reply, she gave them a nod before completely turning away.
Feeling like a sailor lost at sea, Mai continued walking the palace hallways with no definite destination in mind. She had been walking the same hallways for years but now it seemed that she was just passing by some sort of an empty scene. She barely noticed that she had already walked outside the courtyard and was now entering another hallway when she chanced upon a slight hint of music coming from one of the rooms by the end of it. She followed the source of the sound and felt like it was calling out for her. As she neared the room, she heard a girl let out a loud giggle just as soon as the music started slowing down. Feeling her curiosity piqued, she opened the door slightly ajar and slowly peeked inside. As the room's interior revealed itself to her, she saw two people in the middle of room, trying to catch their breath, clearly exhausting themselves with whatever they were doing. The man had the girl dipped down slightly to his side, looming over her, holding her by her waist while the girl wrapped both her arms on his neck to steady herself. The girl smiled bigger just as the man pulled her back up before twirling her around, then pulled her back, coming to stop in front of him. When she let go of him to sway to his side while he did the same opposite her, just as the light clearly defined the man's face, Mai caught a glimpse of him. Mai's eyes widened in disbelief as she felt her heart beat faster and she gasped at the realization; the rumors may not just be rumors, after all.
Feeling her world spin around her, Mai felt for the handle of the door and ever so slowly pulled it back to close it, hoping they didn't notice her. Just as soon as the door was closed, she pressed her back to it and tilted her head towards the ceiling. She raised her hand to clutch at her chest and fought hard to keep her eyes from watering. She reminded herself of the incessant tutoring of her mother, of how to control her emotions, and closed her eyes in concentration. After what seems to be the longest moment of her life, Mai opened her eyes again and pushed herself off the door, her face revealing nothing. She began walking away from the door just as soon as the music from beyond it had completely stopped and she barely heard more laughter ensued. Suddenly the voices stopped and somebody must've said something because she heard the door open. She saw the light from the room spill out to the hallway and her steps became faster until she was almost sprinting towards the courtyard again.
"Mai?"
She heard the voice that was so familiar called out for her. However, she didn't turn around, instead she made an effort to walk away faster, further away from who's calling her. She heard footsteps following her and closed her eyes for fraction of a second to control her heartbeat before she felt her feet touch the soft ground of the garden. She didn't even know she was going there and she had to look around to know the right way to her chambers. This momentary pause caused her the disadvantage of loosing her follower.
"Mai! Wait up!"
She felt warm, sweaty palms grabbed her wrist. She forcibly pulled her hand away, gathering all her strength not to shout in anger. "Don't touch me." She said through gritted teeth, without glancing a look at her assailant.
"What?" Zuko's voice sounded like a nail scratching through metal and Mai just didn't want to hear it. "Oh." He started again, sounding that he just noticed something so obvious. "I'm sorry, I missed our dinner."
She's right, of course, she's right; he did forget the time. Mai could only imagine how he could've just realize the time and had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. But how else could he not forget the time when he's so happily prancing around with his waterbender friend. In a close room, with no windows. He tried to reach out for her hand again but just as soon as his fingers made contact to her skin, she jerked it away from him again.
"Mai. What's..."
"I'm tired. I'm going to bed." She interrupted even before he could continue, her voice was so calm he couldn't tell if she was really upset. But the way she's not even looking at him tells him more what her words can convey. He walked closer to stand before her and she shifted her eyes to her side. "I just want to rest. It's been a long day."
"What's wrong? This isn't about dinner, is it?"
"I just said I'm tired Zuko." She tried to look straight to his eyes to prove her point, but after doing just so, she felt the gaze bore a hole in her that she couldn't help but close her eyes. When she opened her eyes back, she made a move to walk past him. She's still not sure if the hallway to the right would lead her straight to her chambers but it looked somewhat familiar so she decided to follow that path. After taking a couple of steps, Zuko didn't move to stop her and she felt somewhat thankful, but half disappointed.
"You're lying, I can tell."
It's not what she expected, but that stopped her from her tracks. She didn't want to react to his bait, but before she could stop herself, she found herself responding. "Just forget it Zuko. Just... just go back to her. You obviously would like to spend more time with her than me." Her voice was so soft she wouldn't be surprised if Zuko didn't hear her. She bit on her quivering lips, trying yet again to control herself. She didn't know if Zuko could see it, but she was trembling. She closed her eyes and waited for her breathing to return to normal before starting to speak again. "Good night."
"What? Who?" The way he sounded so confused just made Mai more annoyed. He really didn't think she'd notice, did he? "Katara? Mai, you're not thinkng we're..."
"What am I thinking, Zuko?" This time Mai turned around to face Zuko, her face flushed wth anger. She narrowed her eyes at him and tried her best to remain calm. But the volcano of emotions she had so desperately contained was just about to let loose and she just couldn't stop it anymore. "Tell me what should I be thinking when half of the palace are already talking about it? When you spend most of your time with them, with her. When you miss our dinner because you're having a merry time in her arms. And don't tell me I'm imagining things, Zuko, because I just saw you. With my own two eyes."
Before she noticed it, she had thrown her arms in the direction of the hallway towards the room she'd seen Zuko in. Zuko stared at her in shock, hardly registering what she just said. He pinched the bridge of his nose and Mai casually dropped her arms back to her sides. Feeling dejected she turned around once more before saying, "I'm really just tired, Zuko. I have no energy for this. Please, don't mind me and just go back to whatever it is you were doing."
"We were just practicing, Mai."
"Oh." Mai let out a exhausted sigh. "That explains a lot." She looked at the grass beneath her feet and stepped forward. She heard Zuko shuffled his feet and she lifted her head to look at the hallway to her destination. Looking at it now with more clarity, she realized it was the hallway towards the Palace Gates. Maybe instead of sleeping on her own chambers, it might be a good idea to sleep somewhere else. She didn't know where exactly, but she couldn't think right now. Her eyes were starting to get clouded as she felt tears rolling down the corner of her eyes.
"We were practicing for your birthday."
Mai stopped again but she didn't turn around, she didn't want to let Zuko see the tears that are now making her face moist. She didn't notice it but he was following her, making their distance closer. When he was close enough, he stood behind her and felt him trying to reach for her but hesitated.
"It was supposed to be a surprise. Aang said it would be a good idea. I told them you didn't like dancing but they forced the idea on me, saying it would be nice to see you dance. Then, I thought, I would love to see you dance... with me. Aang asked Katara to help me and..."
Zuko's voice was cut off by Mai's hand slapping him, causing him to tilt his head to his side. Zuko raised his hand to cup his pained cheek and shot a questioning look at Mai, who looked back at him with tears on her eyes.
"You're such an idiot!"
"I know, I'm sorry." Zuko cast her an apologetic look and Mai felt all her anger melt in a confusing sigh. He reached a tentative hand to her face and rubbed the tears away from her cheeks. "I'm sorry I made you cry. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry... I made you feel this way. Mai, you're the only one for me and I would never ever think of cheating on you."
Mai leaned forward and found herself nestling to Zuko's chest and her arms crawled around him to wrap it on his back. She felt her breathing return to normal as she took pleasure of the warmth that Zuko was exuding, making her ignore the cool breeze of the night passing by them. Zuko brought his arms around her to pull her closer to her and she let out a satisfied hum. They stayed like that for a moment before Mai slowly pulled out from the embrace. She looked up at Zuko and placed her right hand to trace his jawline. Zuko leaned down, expecting a kiss, but Mai held him tight, squeezing his face to contort in the most amusing face she'd seen off him.
"You stink of sweat. You need a bath." She gave his face two soft slaps before turning around, walking away from him. He murmured something behind her but she continued walking, making sure to turn to the correct hallway, the one leading to their chambers. She heard Zuko shouting something about telling Aang and Katara that their practice is over and that he'll catch up to her asking her to wait for him. She then heard him running, his footsteps fading to the other direction. Just before she stepped into the hallway, away from the garden, she felt Zuko's hand grabbed her again.
"So, are you giving me a bath?" He asked, tugging at her hand to make her look at him.
"Why? Wouldn't it be better if your waterbender friend gave you one instead?" The smirk playing on her face was the only indication that Mai was joking. But Zuko decided to play along.
"Uh, yeah. I guess I should just ask her then." Zuko carefully loosened his hold on her hand as if to let her think that he was going back to where he came from, but was surprised when she totally let go of him. He cautiously looked at her, worried that he made a wrong assumption to what she said and with much determination, hurriedly decided to rectify the situation. "Wait, Mai. I'm just jok..."
"I see." Mai interrupted. "Then, you can forget dancing with me."
"Huh?"
Mai raised an eyebrow at him before leaving him stunned at the hallway. Zuko tried to gather his wits before catching on to what Mai had just said. A silly smile made its way to his face and he made a run to catch up to Mai, with the smile never leaving his face.