I promised you all last chapter that this one was going to be exclusively surrounding the Fire Nation family and I think I delivered it quite well . I'm particularly happy about the Mai scenes in this one . Believe it or not she's actually one of my favorite characters in this fic , alongside Ty Lee and Azula . But not for the exact reasons that you may think , but more or less for the plans I have for her .
Now this chapter will in fact be covering some very important events happening in the Fire Nation since Zuko took over and highlight some very interesting issues that will come up later within the story . Now keep in mind that I'm not exactly the most ... politically rounded person , even more so when it comes to Chinese politics from centuries ago so I apologize if things aren't nearly as accurate as they would be .
Hope you all enjoy it though .
Sorry if this chapter seems a bit rushed , but I'm kinda struggling to juggle between updating this story and another one .
:)
Now onto one last important piece of info about this chapter ... one of the reviewers actually said that you really liked how a certain someone laid it down thick for Ursa and ... well I hope you're ready for this chapter cause Ozai's about to lay it down hard on someone else .
:P
With that said , let's get this chapter started !
Mai was in a familiar scene , one that she could still remember as if it had happened yesterday .
She was back at Boiling Rock .
Mai skillfully threw her knives at the guards who had attempted to cut the line of the gondola . Hitting them all in the shoulder and knees to incapacitate and not kill them .
And she watched as Zuko's gondola drifted further and further away , until she was certain he was safely away . And then let herself get overwhelmed by the swarm of guards .
Suddenly as if appearing out of shadows itself Azula suddenly stood in front of her . Only this time there was no Ty Lee with her . No Ty Lee to save her from getting burned to a crisp .
Mai felt a tinge of fear in her heart because she knew what came next .
" Leave us ..." Azula's cold voice made the air even more tense .
The guards who had been holding her down suddenly weren't there anymore , as if they had faded into dust , as if they were never there to begin with .
Mai must truly been in hell and Azula is her punishment .
" You betrayed me Mai ..." Azula's voice is cold and calculating , nothing like the barely veiled anger and shock she had shown in her voice that day .
" You miscalculated , I love Zuko more than I fear you " Mai says in a mixture of spite and anger .
Azula's face contorts to anger now " ... No you miscalculated . You should have feared me more ..."
Azula says before she sends a ball of blue fire hurling at Mai .
The gloomy girl barely has time to dodge the attack from her former friend , almost burning her clothes in the process , before she throws a couple of small arrows at Azula . Who burns the pathetic projectiles before they could even reach her .
" Die " Azula speaks before she sends a lightning bolt at Mai . Who manages to just jump out of the way just in time before throwing even more pointless weapons at Azula , before the girl burns them to a crisp .
Mai grits her teeth as she continues to throw a mixture of knives , arrows and shurikens at Azula .
She knows she can't win . Azula's flames are too powerful and she's too quick . And there's no Ty Lee to save her this time .
But she'll be damned if she lets Azula think she's going to go down without a fight .
" You know Mai ..." Azula spoke , the cold calculating voice coming back " I've thought a lot about this day ... like you have as well ... and I kept asking myself how could I hurt you in the worse possible way ? "
Mai said nothing back as she threw more knives which Azula dodged .
" Killing you would be too easy , torture isn't quite my style and would lack any sort of personal feelings " Azula mused " I could kill your parents but I think I would just be doing you a favor and since Zuko has just made his merry escape I can't quite use him to get to you ... and that brings us here "
" Shut up " Mai said in anger as she desperately tried to hit Azula "... What are you ? "
This was not the Azula she had faced that day at Boiling Rock . She was somehow worse here.
" Oh Mai ...always so quick to acknowledge and deduce but so slow to accept ..." Azula said in a sickeningly sweet tone that made Mai's blood boil " I think you know exactly what I am ... and I know the real reason for why you don't ever see my face again ... does it hurt to know the truth of it all ? The truth that you're desperately trying to bury and hope to Agni that Zuko never realizes ..."
" Shut up ..." Mai said as she inched her hand towards another knife .
" Isn't that just crazy ? " Azula smirks and Mai loses it .
" SHUT UP ! " Mai shouts and throws a knife at Azula's neck , hoping to wipe the smirk off of her stupid face and-
Azula doesn't move to dodge this time . She smiles at her .
Mai screams . She never screams .
Mai eyes snapped open as she found herself staring up at the ceiling of her room . She found that she was sweating and her breath was hitched , she tried to steady her breathing , the last thing she needed was to have a panic attack now .
She sat up on her bed and rubbing her eyes to try and shake off some of the sleepiness of suddenly waking up in the dead of night .
Zuko was off working late tonight to catch up on paperwork and Mai went to bed early , so fortunately he wasn't around to see her waking up from her nightmare induced fright of the night.
Mai shrugged it off , she didn't want to think too hard about that or her damn nightmare about Azula .
Even now Azula still manages to screw her over in some way .
Mai decided that she probably wasn't going to be getting any sleep , she exited her room to be greeted by two of the Kyoshi Warriors Zuko had assigned around the palace.
" Is something wrong miss ? " One of them asked , Mai never bothered to learn any of their names besides Suki .
" Nothing its just ..." Mai didn't feel the need to explain herself , but more like she didn't want to " I can't sleep , I'm going for a walk ..."
" Do you need anyone to escort you ? " Another one of them asked and Mai resisted the urge to roll her eyes .
" I am perfectly capable of taking a walk by myself " Mai shrugs them off rudely before walking away .
Mai wanders the palace aimlessly for a while , she doesn't really know where she's going , she knows the entire palace like the back of her hand . She had been here enough times to already know the entire layout of the palace but she doesn't even know where she's going .
After some thinking , she decides to get a glass of water or tea to try and help lull her to sleep . So Mai makes her way to palace kitchens , hopefully the kitchen staff won't mind her using their stations for a bit to help her sleep again .
Only ... as she approached the kitchen , Mai quickly noticed that it wasn't completely dark like she had expected or empty either . She noticed a light in the kitchen , accompanied by a dark figure standing around . Mai quickly went for one of her knives , she was glad that she never left anywhere without her trusty knives .
Thankfully before she could throw anything at the dark figure , Mai came into the light and the figure spoke up .
" I take it you couldn't sleep either ? " Ursa says as Mai fully steps into the kitchen .
" Ursa ..." Mai steps closer to Zuko's mother who was holding a tea cup " What are you doing here ? "
Ursa rubbed the tea cup in her hand in contemplation and with a sad look on her face " I couldn't sleep so I came here ..." Ursa then gestured to the tea pot on the stove " Do you want some tea ? I made some "
" ...Sure " Mai was not expecting to suddenly run into Ursa of all people tonight but it was certainly better than the night fiddling around in the kitchen alone like an idiot .
Ursa poured a cup for Mai and handed it to her . The gloomy girl took a sip and it tasted pretty good . Much better than anything she could have made .
Seriously what was it with tea in this family ? Does almost all of them have some unnatural talent with making tea ? Is this like some new weird requirement to be in the family ? Mai hopes to Agni she doesn't have to become a tea fanatic like Iroh when she weds Zuko .
Mai tries not to think too hard on it as she drinks some more . She casts a curious glance at Ursa who seems to have a reminiscent look on her face .
" What is it ? " Mai couldn't help but ask .
" Huh ? "
" Sorry I couldn't help but notice your expression " Mai admitted . Hanging around with Azula for years and spending a few more at court had given her some insight on reading people's emotions and expressions .
" Nothing its just ..." Ursa looks the kitchen with a sad expression " I used to come here some nights and ask a trusted maid , Eula , to deliver messages to my beloved Ikem in Hira'a ... she had been like family to me " Ursa explains " It wasn't until later that I learned that she had been filing away my letters and reporting to Ozai the entire time"
Mai can't say that she was really surprised . You really can't trust servants to be totally loyal to you , especially when they don't specifically work for you to begin with or unless you had something over them to keep them under control . Mai knew that much from her pampered life in the nobility as much as she didn't want to .
" I'm sorry you had to go through that " Mai gives her condolences for such a betrayal . Though she knows about being the betrayer than anything .
" ... I don't hold it against her " Ursa confesses much to the surprise of Mai " I know exactly what could have happened to her had she disobeyed Ozai's orders ... I was already asking her to pretty much stake her entire life on line just so I could keep in touch with my beloved ... so I don't hate her for it and I know that she was a good person in the end "
Mai said nothing as she took another sip of her tea .
Things were silent between the two of them for a time before Ursa spoke again .
" What was she like ? " Ursa suddenly asked out of the blue .
Mai already knows who she was talking about but wanted to be sure " Who ? "
" Azula ... what was she like before and after I left ? " Ursa said with sadness in her voice .
Before ? Why would she need to know about that ? She was there wasn't she .
Mai thinks hard about her past with Azula , the sleepovers and time they spent at the academy , the many times she had come to visit Azula at the palace with Ty Lee . And of course the time she lit put an apple on her head and lit it on fire and caused Zuko to push her into the fountain , which set off the chain for their current romance now .
No , Mai definitely does not want to give any credit to Azula for her relationship with Zuko .
They had played and spent much time together ... but had Mai ever really seen Azula ? Entirely at least ?
" I ... don't quite know how to answer that question really . Before you left ... I think you could see for yourself what Azula was like " Mai said honestly and that didn't seem to satisfy Ursa but she kept going nonetheless " After you left ... I really don't know Ursa . Neither me or Ty Lee were around her all the time after that . Ty Lee left to join the circus and I moved away due to my father's job and there's of course Zuko's banishment ..."
So she was alone ... with Ozai .
Ursa thought in horror , she barely coped living with Ozai cause she had Zuko around ... Azula had no one . No one but Ozai .
" When the three of us finally met again ... she wasn't too different from how I last saw her honestly " Mai explained " She was more or less the same mean I girl I knew she was but ... according to Zuko after Boiling Rock was when she really started to lose it ..." Mai's memories of that day came coming back and she desperately pushed them down " ... I don't want to talk about it anymore "
" That's fine , you don't have to " Ursa said , whether for her own sake or Mai's , she wasn't really sure .
Mai sat there looking down at her tea cup as she thinks about her relationship with Azula .
They had played and spent much time together ... but had Mai ever really seen Azula ? Entirely at least ?
When they saw each other again , Azula was definitely evil but ... there was something else just beyond that Mai couldn't quite grasp .
In fact if memory serves right , the most vulnerability Azula had ever shown was that night on the beach when she talked about Ursa . She had played it off as a joke but Mai knew that was genuine vulnerability there .
Had that just been a brief moment of weakness ? Or was it always there just lying right beneath the surface ?
Mai didn't know and didn't want to know . Because digging too deep made things complicated and she'd rather they stay simple . Azula was evil and crazy , end of story .
Keeping it simple like that meant that Mai didn't have to confront the truth that had been nagging the back of her mind since that day at Boiling Rock .
Six months into his rule as Fire Lord Zuko was seriously considering handing the Throne over to Uncle or at least have him serve as Regent for a while just because of the ridiculous amount of paperwork he had to deal with on a daily basis .
But ... Zuko put up with it .
He knew damn well that his uncle had no want for the Throne anymore and was much more content to live the simple of a tea shop owner . His uncle deserved the peace he had received and worked for .
Zuko's was just about beginning ... and by beginning one should say increasing because of the large stack of papers that need to be signed .
Which was why he was granted slight reprieve when he saw the door to his office open , initially he had hoped it was Mai who had come to see him , but soon saw that it was one of his captains who had entered . A middle aged man who had scars to show that he had experience in war .
" Captain Lim , what is it ? " Zuko said , not getting up from his office chair .
" My lord , my apologies but I have some ... troubling news ..." Lim bowed his head in respect .
" Speak " Zuko knew that it couldn't too bad .
" Yesterday , me and my team raided a warehouse where we initially believed to be a smugglers hideout but what we found was ... much more concerning " Lim looked worried at what he was about to tell his lord .
" Well , what did you find ? "
" ... We found banners of the former Fire Lord , your majesty , and a ton of weapons and armor enough to arm a platoon of men " Lim said it outright .
The room turned quiet enough that you could hear a pin drop as Zuko took a minute to process everything .
" Are you sure ? " Zuko asked , he needed to be certain .
" Yes your majesty , we found dozens of weapons and maps of the city and other surrounding villages "
Could the loyalists of my father be staging an attack ? Or could they be after something else like -
Zuko had to stop himself before he went overboard , he needed to stay focus .
" Were you able discover the inhabitants of this warehouse ? " Zuko asked in his most professional tone , enough to mask the fear he felt .
" We did . As a matter fact we seemed to have raided their warehouse at the exact time they were there " Lim explained " In the ensuing fight ... rather than submit to capture , the criminals lit the entire warehouse on fire and committed suicide "
They ... committed suicide ? Just how devoted are these guys ?
" I ... see . Is there anything else ? "
" No sir "
" Then you may be dismissed "
Lim bowed respectfully before leaving .
And that left Zuko alone to his own thoughts .
How many more are there ? There couldn't have been just that one group ? Who or where are the others ?
Lots of questions but no answers ...
Zuko needs to have a talk with his most trusted real advisors .
" Loyalists of Ozai are acting up ? " Suki clarified , looking just as alarmed as she was when Zuko told her .
" Yes ... that's what my Captain reported to me " Zuko confirmed which did nothing to ease the worries of everybody in the room .
Those people being himself , Suki , Ty Lee and Mai . He had called them into a meeting room to discuss the recent potential resurgence of loyalist of his father in the Fire Nation .
" Oh great , yet another thing we can't deal with right now ..." Mai rolled her eyes , but the look of worry in her eye was unmistakable .
" But ... Zuko's rule is legitimate right ? " Suki asked getting everyone's attention " You beat Azula in Agni Kai for the Throne "
" I did ..." Zuko nodded not really wanting to remember the day his sister had her mental break " But that's not the real problem when it comes to loyalists of my father ..."
" Huh ? " Both Suki and Ty Lee were confused .
" The Fire Nation as a whole didn't exactly have a very ... positive view towards me when I took the Throne . Considering the fact that I committed treason , desertion and a bunch of other crimes before I took the Throne " Zuko explained .
" Every politician do crimes worse than that . The problem is that everybody knows that you did them " Mai chimed in .
" ...Ignoring that . A lot of people and Loyalists of my father just see me as a traitor who got lucky and managed to steal the Throne from my sister " Zuko detailed fully the problem .
" Considering how your sister was crazy and evil , I'm not too sure she wouldn't be too popular now if she was Fire Lord " Suki commented and Zuko saw Ty Lee flinch at that .
" ... Point is , people see Zuko as a traitor who abandoned his nation to join the Avatar on his merry quest to bring peace to the world " Mai got the discussion back on track " I've even heard some people in my father's circle say that Zuko is just a puppet leader installed by the Avatar to keep the Fire Nation subservient "
Zuko grumbled at that " Aang may be my friend , but I sure as hell am no one's puppet "
" That's not how the people see it " Mai countered .
" But ... the public is one Zuko's side " Ty Lee chimed in quietly " Right ? "
" And they were on Ozai's just last year , popular opinion is quite frankly fickle and we shouldn't trust it so easily " Mai added .
" But can we do ? More specifically what can we do ? " Suki spoke up " This was just a small group operating right ? "
" Yeah ..." Zuko nodded .
But there might be more .
" Look all we can do for now is just keep our eyes and ears open for any other signs of Loyalists , okay ? " Zuko waited for everybody to nod before continuing " Good , meeting adjourned "
Zuko said as he left the meeting room with Mai . He wished Iroh was here , but he wasn't . And he didn't want to burden his mother with his troubles as Fire Lord .
So that just left ...
" Zuko ? What are you going to do ? " Mai asked , concern in her voice .
Zuko hadn't told her before , but he was going to now .
" ...I'm going to pay my father a visit "
Mai wished she could say she didn't see that coming , but she did .
" Zuko he's-"
" He can't hurt me anymore Mai , I'm not that same little boy he burned years ago "
" I wasn't trying to stop you ..." Mai admitted as she cupped his face " ...Just be careful , Ozai is still dangerous even without his bending "
" ...I know "
Ozai had taken to start counting the days of his imprisonment , it gave him something to do and it was useful information to help keep track of time .
It wasn't as if there was much to do , the days would start to blend together if he hadn't started keeping count of the days since they started keeping him here . Let them enjoy their brief peace while it lasts .
Ozai's thoughts were cut off when the door to his cell opened and walked in a familiar burned face .
" Father ..." Zuko said as he stepped into the room .
" Ah , I was wondering when you would come ..." Ozai said in an amused tone .
Zuko wasn't wearing his Fire Lord garments , rather he had dressed down into something a bit more casual . And the boy had been polite enough to bring tea again .
Zuko calmly set the tray near the bars as he poured a cup for the two of them . Handing one of them through the gaps in the bars .
Ozai smirked as he sat a bit closer , taking his cup .
" So what might be troubling you , Fire Lord ? " Ozai spits his former title out with calming spite .
" ... I need your advice again ..." Zuko admitted .
Of course , you do . You don't know a damn thing about running a nation .
Ozai thought but kept to himself .
" What troubles plague you now ? " Ozai asked as he took a sip of his tea .
" There are ... certain people who doubt my rule and position as Fire Lord " Zuko explained " They think I'm just a traitor who betrayed my nation "
" Oh , how I ever wonder why that is ..." Ozai rolled his eyes .
" Sarcasm is not appreciated " Zuko grumbled as he took another sip of his tea .
" Well then perhaps you shouldn't have come here but I digress " Ozai shrugged " The problem is people seeing you as a traitor is one thing , but the big underlying issue here is a lack of respect "
" Respect ? "
" Yes ... respect " Ozai nodded " You fought Azula for the Throne , but not me . The true ruler of the Fire Nation and people see you as weak for it "
" Oh and you know so much about fighting Fire Lords , do you father ? " Zuko sarcastically replied and Ozai had to suppress the urge to flinch " Oh yeah , mother told me the whole story . How you chickened out of fighting your father and would sooner cut me down than stand up for yourself . Yeah , hypocrite much ? "
" I won't deny that I never had the pleasure of striking down my father but consider that more attuned to wisely avoiding conflict with a superior foe and picking your battles carefully . That was what I did " Ozai countered " And it worked "
" And fighting Azula for me wasn't picking my battles wisely ? " Zuko argued .
" Oh yes , congratulations Zuko ! You managed to defeat your 14 year old sister who was having a mental breakdown and was fighting more akin to a rabid animal . Simply excellent work Zuko ..." Ozai mocked .
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Zuko said nothing in retaliation . He knew his father was right .
" How did you know about our fight ?" Zuko quietly asked .
" The guards here are talkers , you should tell them to keep their mouths shut " Ozai suggested and Zuko took it as something to do later .
Ozai looked at his son and relented , he might as well throw the boy a bone .
" But I take you didn't come here to be mocked about your shortcomings , so I'll give you some actual advice on how to handle this issue " Ozai sat up a bit more straight " You say that there was still many people who are loyal to me and you are unsure of how to deal with them ? "
" Yes ... what would you do ? "
" Kill them all "
" What ? " Zuko asked as if he hadn't heard right .
" Kill them all . Public execution should work , nothing too fancy is needed " Ozai calmly talked about killing people as if he was discussing the weather .
" I ask you for advice and the first idea you give is execution " Zuko didn't know what else he had expected .
" Well what do you suggest ? Lock them up ? No that's not enough , you need to send a powerful message to demoralize them all and keep them in line " Ozai said with firmness " Make it clear to all of them that you will not tolerate dissent and disloyalty "
" You're telling me to kill a bunch of people just to make a point ? "
" Oh please Zuko , you think running a nation is just about promoting peace , meeting with advisors and signing a bunch of documents all day ? You have not seen the worse of it yet I assure you ... there is a lot more darkness to the Fire Nation than you think " Ozai smirked at him " And trust me when I say that hands don't stay clean for long when you're running a nation like ours ..."
" You seem more than happy to have me execute your followers " Zuko added .
" Or maybe I'm just sick of hearing you run our nation into the ground with the Avatar's dead ideals of peace ..." Ozai countered " And I executed all of my father's supporters , so should you ..."
" Think it over is all ..."
Zuko said nothing as he quickly grabbed the tea cups and tray and walked out of the cell . Leaving behind a smirking Ozai .
Zuko didn't want to admit it ... but some deep dark part of his mind knew that his father was right .
And that is the end of this chapter , hope you all enjoyed and goddamn was this a long one .
I won't bother with teasers for next chapter since I haven't even figured it out yet , so stay tuned .
With that said , see you all in the next one .
Angel Out .