I cannot even begin to say how sorry I am for making you wait so long for an update, and then give you so little. I have been so busy with school and whenever I get free time and want to start writing, something comes up. Now, enough of that. I wanted to try to write from the POV of another character for a change, and who better to change to from the bubbly acrobat than Mai. This chapter isn't very important, just some pointless filler really, but still, an update is an update.
Chapter 3: Alone with Your Thoughts
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. Nope, this isn't working either.
Mai stopped tapping her index finger on the armrest of her mahogany chair. It wasn't doing anything to quell the never-ending boredom staying in this room was causing.
Zuko was in yet another meeting with his High-Council and apparently it wasn't appropriate for the Fire Lord's wife to attend such a meeting. Stupid traditions. She was smarter than all those generals and governors combined, but instead of using this talent for the management of the state, Zuko was enough of a pushover to let her talent go to waste.
She didn't have anything to do. At first she'd thought marrying the Fire Lord, the leader of the most powerful nation in the world, would give her something to do. But it seemed politics were no place for a lady. Ooh, how she hated that word. It came with so many stupid expectations.
The room she'd spent all too many hours in wasn't all that unpleasant. The ceiling was high up, almost ridiculously so, and the walls were lined with tall bookcases with the exception of the east wall, which had a large door leading out to a balcony. It was designed so that a person could enjoy the sunrise or something like that. It was stupid in Mai's opinion.
Her gaze moved over the uncountable number of books that seemed to cover the entire crimson surface of the walls. In the past two years there had been far to many days just like this one, and the Fire Lady had read just about every single book that even just slightly sparked her attention. Being an incredibly fast reader of course didn't help.
It looked like the only thing she could really do to keep herself from going insane was letting her mind wander, but for some reason it always came back to the same subject; the things she hated about this stupid royal life.
Every single moment she was required to wear some fancy, overly elaborate gowns. Naturally she had insisted that the one tailored especially for her had compartments all over the inside of it so she could still carry her weapons of choice. Having spent so much time walking around with all those knives and darts, they'd become a part of her, so to speak, and being able to keep them at least gave her a little comfort. Of course that didn't change the fact that the gown itself was way too heavy for her to move around quickly in, and so long that it constricted most movement that wasn't gracefully walking around.
She stood up, only to get a dizzy feeling and realizing she had been sitting down for far too long. Stretching her arms and walking across the room to one of the shelves, moving her pale finger over various titles. Read it, read it, read it, would rather chew glass than read, read it...
Hearing the large door behind her creaking, she quickly whipped around and drew one of her small knives out of her sleeve.
Zuko stopped dead in his tracks in front of her. His expression was a that of both surprise and exhaustion.
"If you're going to kill me I would at least like to get one last nap," he said as a smile slowly crept onto his face.
She sighed in relief and lowered her weapon. The last two years had not only been excruciatingly boring, but they had also made her a bit paranoid. "I guess I'll let you go this time." She walked towards him and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. "I just pray that your day was as dreadful as mine."
"Well, if you consider hours and hours of discussing the distribution of crops and other agricultural matters dreadful, well you know what I mean," he chuckled. "I'm just glad you're able to stand me having to go to so many meetings."
"Hey!" she pulled back a little and poked him in the center of the chest. "I'm not going to be bored like this for nothing! You owe me a trip somewhere." She loved the fact that every time she was able to spend time with her husband, she remembered why she put up with all of the things that bothered her about the royal life.
Zuko chuckled. "Of course. We'll go to Ember Island or something when everybody arrives."
She smiled. They'd sent out letters to all of their friends, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki, Toph, Iroh, and last, but definitely not least, Ty Lee. Mai usually didn't like having to many people visiting in the palace, since she had to play the role of hostess, but the thought of seeing their friends again, especially the bubbly little acrobat, was something she was really looking forward to. It would be a refreshing change of pace from her recent activities of finding new, previously unknown ways to be bored. Most of all she looked forward to seeing her childhood friend. She hadn't seen Ty Lee in months, not since those awful meetings in Ba Sing Se.
Of course the idea of inviting all those people to the palace had not only been to give her something to do, although she probably would have suggested that either way. The real motive was that her and Zuko had news they wanted to break to all their friends and closest family, but they felt it was to big to simply write it in a letter.
It was quite exciting news, however it was very difficult to be excited about when you were stuck in the same stupid room for hours and hours almost every day with absolutely nothing to do. Being able to tell someone else would hopefully make her feel a bit more enthused.
"Mai?" The Fire Lady was snapped out of her train of thought. She looked over to see her husband who was now examining the side of one of the bookshelves, tracing his fingers along the small holes and cuts on the wooden surface. "Didn't we talk about not practicing knife-throwing inside the palace?"
"I don't know Zuko," her indifferent facade broke and her usually monotone voice revealed her frustration. I can't believe him! I wouldn't have to resort to this if it wasn't for him. "Didn't we also talk about you spending way to much time in meetings and not enough with, ooh I don't know...your wife!"
"Ok, ok. Fair point." Zuko took the hint and backed off. Mai had been a bit moody recently, not that she was to blame, so he guessed taking some time off for her wasn't too much to ask for.
He walked over to embrace her again. For a second she considered not letting him, but in the end decided she wasn't that mad at him. She returned the gentle embrace, resting her head on his shoulder. She was not a short woman, but Zuko still towered over her.
"I am sorry, you know," Zuko said apologetically and kissed the top of her head.
"Yeah," she sighed. "Ooh yeah, I meant to ask you; When do you think people will start arriving?" Not that she wasn't genuinely curious about it, but she really wanted to change the subject.
"Well," Zuko rubbed his chin, a habit he had taken up when he was in deep thought, or just thinking in general, Mai had noticed. "Aang and Katara were in Yu Dao, and they have Appa, so it shouldnt take them more than a few more days to get here. Sokka should arrive with a ship from the South Pole a few days later, and Toph... Well I think Toph's going to show up whenever she pleases really."
Her lips curved in a slight smile, but thankfully he picked up that she wasn't completely satisfied.
"Ooh, how could I forget. Suki and Ty Lee's ship should get here the night after tomorrow."
That was was what she'd wanted to hear. She looked forward to seeing everyone, but none as much as her bubbly childhood-friend. She could think of no one better to get her out of this rut than the overly cheery acrobat. Even though she was glad, she was a bit worried as well. Every time they saw each other, which wasn't often enough in Mai's opinion, she was sure Ty Lee was going to bring up the subject of a certain ex-princess, she could tell she wanted to. However, to the Fire Lady's great surprise, it had never come up. She knew Ty Lee cared deeply for that sociopath, though she couldn't understand why. In fact, she'd started to suspect there had been something more going on between the former-princess and the acrobat. She never told anyone, of course, it was a very serious accusation after all.
Pushing the slightly disturbing thoughts out of her mind, Mai refocused on her husband, gently stroking his scarred cheek. "Well, anyway. Now that you're here at last," she purred seductively. "I have a few ideas of what we could do to keep us from being bored."
Zuko's cheeks flushed and he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well, actually, this is just a break of sorts," he loosened his grip on his wife. "I have to be back in the throne room in a few minutes."
"You have got to be kidding." Mai deadpanned.
"Heh, sorry." Zuko apologized as he started walking backwards to the large door. "But hey. I promised I'd make it up to you, didn't I?"
He's halfway out the door. I wonder if I could still hit him with a knife if I do it now.
"Yeeeah," There was a dangerous tone in her voice, and Zuko obviously noticed.
"Eeh, so, I'm off then. Sorry again," with that said he practically bolted out the door, leaving Mai there, staring daggers at thin air.
I swear to Agni, one of these days I'm actually going to kill him...
After the trip, of course.
Ty Lee sat quietly in her quarters, deep in thought.
It had been about four days since her fight with Suki, and the two had barely spoken since. The acrobat didn't go out of her room much, out of fear of running into her captain, who she was sure now hated her. The only times she went out she made sure there was nobody around, but even then she made an effort to be as sneaky as possible. She even went so far as to have a boy she met on the ship bring her meals to her room. She felt a bit bad for using him like that, but desperate times...
Now she was sitting there, rubbing her chin in an attempt to think more clearly. For the last few hours she'd been pondering the same thing; How to tell Zuko and Mai she wanted to see Azula. She couldn't just go "Hey guys. Nice to see you. I want to go see Azula." No, she had to be more subtle. Ooh wait. I'm horrible at being subtle.
Groaning in frustration, she started lightly bashing her head down on the desk in front of her. The dull sound it made echoed of the metal walls. She decided to stop before she either suffered a major head injury or the sound of her misery drove her ins-
She stopped her own thoughts. For the past two years she'd tried to steer clear of that word. Then again, seeing as how she was going to see her old friend again she was probably going to hear it a lot, she might as well try to get used to it.
Now, back on topic. What could I say to them? Couldn't I just upfront with them? Just tell them? That's so simple it actually might work!
That or she didn't feel like thinking of something more complicated. She wasn't sure.
Her mind went wandering again. She didn't even notice.
"Ty Lee, get down from there. You're going to hurt yourself!" the little princess shouted at her as she dangled from the branches of a tall tree.
"Don't be silly. I never fall!" She called back. Then, of course, she fell. Twisted her ankle pretty bad too. Azula had to half-drag, half-carry her inside to the nurse.
A loud roar brought her back to the world. She must have nodded off. She looked out the small, circular window and saw crashing waves and thick, dark clouds pouring water down on the world. She wasn't concerned, though. She was still pretty dazed from the rude awakening, and her mind was still replaying the distant memory in her head.
I wonder if she hates me.
She laid down on her bed, not bothering to pull the covers on.
I wonder if she even knows how sorry I am.
It was cold. Dark too.
Why is it so cold? Why is it so dark? Wait...isn't it always cold here? Isn't it always dark here?
Where is here? Where am I?
Did I just get here?
No...No, I've been here for a while. Haven't I?
She tried to get up. Her feet wouldn't carry her and she fell down. She tried to soften the blow with her hands but found that she couldn't move them.
Wha...what's going on. She struggled. Her arms were stuck. She started panicking.
She screamed. Help me. Ooh Agni help me! Her screams didn't actually come out as words. Only pitiful cries of pain.
Suddenly her world was flooded with blinding light. Shadowy figures surrounded her. They reached out and grabbed her.
No! NO! Leave me alone! Please!
They were so strong. They held her down, grabbing virtually every joint in her body to hold her still.
Stop it! Go away! Help me! MOMMY!
She cried, her tears further obscuring her vision.
Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in the side of her neck. Shortly after she was released. The shadows retreated and the mysterious light source disappeared. She tried to get up, to run away. As far away as possible. But her limbs would not obey her. She couldn't move. All she could do was lay there and weep.
After a while she saw another form moving towards her. Eyes wide, she tried to flee, but was of course completely helpless. The creature came closer and leaned over the weeping girls face, revealing it's appearance.
M-mother?
The creature looked at her with contempt. It shook it's head and began walking away.
No. Mother! Don't leave me!
Don't leave...
Ok, one more chapter down. I do not think this chapter reflects my best work, but whatever. I decided not to reveal what the "news" that Zuko and Mai have for the rest of the characters is, but I guess you CAN figure it out for yourselves. I also decided to have a little Azula tease at the end. As you can see she not really thinking clearly. I will also apologize if you think Ty Lee isn't happy or bubbly enough, but she's going through some pretty rough times, so she's obviously not as happy as she might have been on the show. I'm sorry for the late update (once again). And I will try to work harder, but as I said, I have a lot of other stuff to do. As always I would love it if you left reviews telling me what you think of the story so far.
Peace out!
