Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Flight

Zuko was just coming out of his room when a girl came tearing down the hallway and crashed into him.

The most depressing part was that this was not, even at this early point in his life, all that unusual. What was unusual was that the crashing in question was not the first step in an act of attempted fratricide.

The girl squeaked - squeaked, not gasped or grunted or cried out or threatened to kill him, as he would have expected - and bounced off of him. Zuko staggered back a few steps from the impact and caught himself on the doorway, but the girl toppled backwards to land on the floor.

And that's when Zuko saw that it was The Other One.

At least, that's how he knew her. Azula's friends were Ty Lee and The Other One Who Didn't Speak But Was Always Around- ‘The Other One' for short, because Zuko tried to be friendly even to his sister's companions. Attempts to get her name had all consistently failed, as she seemed to speak a language that consisted only of teapot sounds, judging from her responses. (And she didn't know Uncle Iroh; he had confirmed it.) And now enough time had passed that he would just look either stupid or suspicious if he asked someone, and both were a good way to really get in trouble in the Fire Nation, glorious strength-honoring Homeland that it was, may it reign forever.

From her seat on the floor, The Other One looked up at Zuko with real fear in her eyes.

He knew she couldn't possibly be afraid of him - no one was, to his very complicated mix of regret and relief - so he said, "Are you running from someone?"

Her face went red. She managed a nod.

Zuko felt very proud for figuring it out. He said, "Azula?"

Her eyes went wide, her face went pale, and she looked over her shoulder for pursuit. That was answer enough.

At this point, Zuko had to stop and think about what to do. On the one hand, The Other One was in distress, and it was honorable for a prince to help his subjects when possible. Also, he had great empathy for people who ran in fear from Azula. He wished he could do it more often. (Running, that is. But helping other people would be nice, too.) On the other hand, helping in this case would risk clashing with Azula, and Azula was very good at clashing.

Besides, Zuko wasn't really friends with The Other One. She, along with Ty Lee, was Azula's friend. That alone had to mean that there was something wrong with The Other One. Also, despite Azula being very good at many different things, she had never quite figured out the concept of sharing. That went for toys, information, attention, and every single person in her life.

Back on that first hand, though- now that Zuko was getting a good look at her, he found that the flush on The Other One's pale cheeks was affecting his stomach in a similar way to bad cheese but somehow more pleasant. Perhaps he should start thinking of her as The Cheese Girl.

But instead of asking if that would be acceptably flattering, he merely said, "Come with me." And then he held out his hand.

The Other One looked at it. And she found a way to get even redder.

Quick footsteps, somehow heavy and light at the same time, echoed from around the corner of the Royal Fire Residences hallway.

So Zuko grabbed the front of The Other One's dress, yanked her upright, pulled her into her room, and shut the door.

(Some part of his consciousness, perhaps the same source as the feeling of having somehow eaten good bad cheese, took note of the circumstances and gave a wistful sigh over some kind of missed opportunity.)

He waited with The Other One behind the door, listening carefully.

He could hear the running footsteps through the door. He could hear The Other One breathing.

And then he heard Azula screech, "I know you have her in there, Zuzu."

Zuko barely managed to choke back a squeal of terror. He looked to The Other One. Her face was blank, but when she blinked, a pair of tears escaped to run down her flushed cheeks.

Oh.

She'd really gotten in trouble with Azula.

And with that realization, inspiration struck like one of Father's lightning bolts, except nothing exploded and there were no justified pronouncements of Father's greatness, afterward.

"Come on," Zuko said. "I know what to do."

The Other One blinked again, inhaled deeply, nodded, and grabbed his arm.

Zuko brought her over to his bedroom window. This high in the Royal Fire Palace's tower, he had a great view of the Caldera City below.

The Other One glanced a question at him.

Zuko nodded in what he hoped was some kind of discernable answer, because there was no time to explain, and anyway whenever he explained his ideas out loud they never sounded as good as in his head.

So he climbed up to sit on the window sill and pulled The Other One up with him. He'd often thought about this, about climbing down the tower to escape into the city without anyone knowing. Some of the noble children here in the Caldera liked to prove their bravery by sneaking down to Lower Harbor City to hang out for a while, to observe the laborers building secret prototypes of glorious war machines. Zuko had imagined going out his window on such an adventure and then coming back to lord it over Azula, maybe impressing both Father and Mom in the process. They'd say how proud they were at his cleverness at spotting such a great escape route and managing the climb down the courtyard, what a lucky person he was and how wonderfully he seized an opportunity and-

Zuko eased himself down towards a sculpted dragon head, immediately slipped, and began sliding down the tower too fast to even manage a scream of justified horror.

The Other One screamed, though. It was the first time he'd heard her make any sound above a whisper.

It might be the last sound he ever heard.

TO BE CONTINUED

Chapter Text

Focus

As Mai tumbled to her quick-but-surely-agonizing death on the cold, hard ground below, she had the traitorous realization that she didn't like Prince Zuko's plan very much. Or at all, really. Certainly, it was probably better than facing Azula's wrath, especially after what Mai had done, but only because that would involve a bit more agonizing before the death.

She felt strongly enough about this matter that she was actually expressing it, sharing her feelings with the world at large. Mostly, this was in the form of screaming for dear life as she plummeted, but there was also some panicked flailing, at least with one hand.

The other was still clutching Prince Zuko.

As much as it made Mai want to run around in circles going EEEEEEEEE, that had been the start of all the trouble. Prince Zuko had been climbing out of the window when he slipped and fell, and had pulled her right along with him. They would die together, the mushy remains of their bodies mixed forever. Ty Lee would probably call it romantic.

Mai thought it sounded gross. And more than a bit painful.

If only Prince Zuko would save them both, perhaps suddenly discovering whatever it was that made Azula such a better Firebender than him, and harness his power to shoot fire from his feet and fly them both to safety, sailing through the sky together with joined hands, perhaps passing over a glittering rainbow on their way to the land of fire flakes and no parents.

Ugh, this was why Mai usually tried to avoid Prince Zuko. Something about being near him made her thoughts like fire-chip fire-cakes with too much fire-bee fire-honey on them- slow moving, too sweet, and likely to cause an upset tummy. She had no idea why this was, but she was seriously considering the idea that Prince Zuko might be a magical spirit sent by the universe as punishment for the time she stole Mother's favorite comb and used it to stab a scary bug. And now the whole thing was going to claim her life in revenge.

Oh, right. She was falling and about to die. It was probably a good idea to focus on that.

But at least she wasn't screaming anymore.

Zuko still wasn't saving them.

And then a strange thought struck Mai.

Perhaps she could save them.

It was absurd, of course. She was just a child, and one who was only half-nobility on her mother's side. She wasn't good for much except staying quiet and doing what she was told, she knew, and she couldn't even manage that all of the time. What could she do to save herself and Prince Zuko from gravity? Gravity, she had learned, was even more strict than parents, plus more consistent with its punishments.

And then the words of her Uncle came to her, intoning through her mind, "Mai, in the hands of a true warrior, even a pin can be a deadly weapon. It has nothing to do with strength or size. It's just a matter of focus."

Of course, Uncle hadn't intoning them at the time he'd actually said them to her. He'd growled them with no small measure of annoyance, while the pin in question was being taken away from that troublesome one-eared prisoner who had tried to attack her. Then Uncle had ordered the man sent for Special Treatment for ruining Take Your Niece To Your Glorious Profession Day. Uncle had given Mai the pin as a souvenir and a warning not to stay still while mean-looking people rushed at her with pieces of sharp metal in their hands.

That had been the first piece of sharp metal in Mai's secret collection, a collection that was growing even faster than she was.

And so Mai focused as she and Zuko crossed the bottom third of the Royal Fire Palace's tower, reached into her sleeve with her free hand, and pulled out a dinner knife that Mother thought had gotten thrown out with the remains of the roast from the other night.

Then she stabbed it into the tower.

Focused.

And hard.

She EEP'd as she did it.

But the knife stabbed straight into the stone of the tower even as she and Prince Zuko continued sliding. She gripped the knife with all the strength in her fingers and all her will to live, which was very considerable, because if she got Prince Zuko killed even worse than his own terrible plan, then she had a horrible feeling that being dead herself wouldn't save her from getting in trouble. The knife tore a long gouge into the tower as they fell.

No, they weren't falling anymore.

They were slowing.

Sparks flew from the knife's edge as it cut a long straight furrow into the tower.

She and Prince Zuko had almost slowed to a stop when they hit the bottom. They went right over the edge and plopped down onto the curved roof below. They slid down that, reached the end, and then went over that edge. They struck another curved roof, another edge, and there was another fall. Even falling to death could be boring, it seemed.

And then they landed on the golden roof of the East Wing, a little two-person heap, alive, despite all expectations.

Mai didn't have time to feel happy about that before she realized she was on top of Prince Zuko. Specifically, his butt. She tried to move, but he had her legs pinned underneath him, so she just twisted and lost her balance and conked her nose into the back of his head.

Ow.

And then Prince Zuko was rising, lifting her up. Mai shut her eyes scrunched in on herself, sure that she was about to be punished for a treasonous list of crimes that included stabbing royalty with her nose, embarrassing royalty in the region of the rear end, and defacing the royal real estate with the world's most durable dinner knife.

Instead, Prince Zuko set her down on the warm roof and said, "That was amazing!"

Mai risked opening her eyes.

Prince Zuko looked a little green and his Phoenix Tail had been windswept into very un-royal fluffiness, but he was smiling, and his eyes were shining.

He said, "How did you do that?"

Mai thought about sharing her uncle's advice. Or maybe revealing her fascination with sharp things and how they might be the only way she could actually be strong.

But instead, something about Prince Zuko's shining face made her default to her usual strategy of trying to be as quiet and unnoticeable as possible. She just sat and stared at him.

Prince Zuko waited.

Mai reached for that same strength she used to stab the palace, and managed to raise her hand enough to show him the stolen knife.

His eyes went wide. "We're lucky you had that. I should probably get a knife, too. I think it's probably a good idea to always have a weapon ready. Even for Firebenders."

Mai vowed to cover herself in knives, if they were that lucky. Maybe then she'd be able to talk to Prince Zuko. Someday.

But for now, they seemed to be stuck on a roof.

She looked around, trying to find a way down. She supposed they could try to climb down to the next sloping roof, and then maybe scurry down the pillars like bugs, or-

"This is pretty nice up here," Prince Zuko said.

Mai looked back at him. She wanted to ask what he meant, but couldn't bring herself to voice the words.

He must have magically sensed the questioning burning in her throat like a post-fire-flakes burp, because he explained, "We can see everyone coming and going from the palace, and we're safe from Azula up here. We can sit and spy on things for a while. Just the two of us."

Mai felt herself heating up at the thought. Just her and Prince Zuko? Up on a golden roof? Watching and being unnoticed? It-

And then the roof collapsed under their weight, dumping them into the Throne Room.

This time, Mai managed not to scream.

TO BE CONTINUED

Chapter Text

Opaque

According to Lessons, the Throne Room of the Fire Lord had been rebuilt nearly 150 years ago to reflect the exceptional power and glory of Fire Lord Sozin, and not because a backwards meany-pants had destroyed it as a warning against such forward-thinking concepts as global domination.

Zuko often wondered why Lessons had to specify that last part.

Right now, though, he was wondering which contractor had overseen the construction of both the Throne Room and the East Wing of the palace that housed it. Because whoever it was, their family deserved to have all honor and status stripped away from them. What kind of a 150-year-old golden roof couldn’t support the weight of two kids who had just fallen on it from the top of the palace tower?!

At least this fall was a lot shorter than the one from the tower. But then, it would almost have to be.

Eventually, the pain and shock faded, and Zuko could do more than merely think negative thoughts about people who had been dead for a generation. (Because obviously no one could survive from the time of Sozin. It was ridiculous to even consider it.) He groaned, coughed in the surprisingly sharp air, sat up, and looked around for The Other One. For some reason, the Throne Room was dark and hazy, obscured by opaque smoke that pricked at the eyes, but The Other One had landed close enough to find with a minimum of groping. She gave her own groan when his hand landed on her face, but didn't immediately get up.

Zuko indulged in one last groan. This was no time for a nap, as nice as that sounded. The Fire Lord's throne was right up th-

...

THE FIRE LORD’S THRONE WAS RIGHT UP THERE!!

Zuko spun and kowtowed and said, “My most profound apologies for disturbing you, Gra- um, your majesty! We, uh- that is, this girl and I, we- well, it's kind of a funny story-"

“Zzzzzzzzzzsrntzzzzz,” interrupted Grandfather.

That sounded almost like snoring. But surely the Fire Lord wasn't napping in the middle of the day! He was strong and wise and no doubt very busy with pronouncements and paperwork.

"Zzzzzzz," added Grandfather

Zuko frowned.

Then he heard the snap of the heavy curtain that hung over the (proper) entrance to the Throne Room, and metallic voices of guards shouting things like, "Who dare disturbs the Fire Lord?" and, "I heard a crash and voices!" and, "It must be assassins!"

That was more like it! That was the kind of thing that Zuko would expect from falling through the ceiling into the Throne Room of the Fire Lord!

Except now he was probably in trouble.

As the guards rushed in, distant shadows in the smoke of the dark Throne Room, Zuko scrambled to his feet. The Other One was beside him in an instant, holding a sleeve to her mouth. That's right, she wasn't a Firebender; she wasn't used to breathing in smoke like this.

Smoke.

Maybe-

Zuko grabbed The Other One, yanked her to the ground with him, and pulled her along as he crawled as fast as he could from their crash site. He escaped just in time, the tromping feet of the guards coming down right behind him as they raced for the thin shaft of sunlight poking in through the hole in the roof. Zuko got to the closest of the Throne Room's decorative pillars, and inched around to the far side, still holding on to The Other One. She ended up in his lap as he settled to listen.

She seemed to be making a buzzing sound of some kind, but otherwise was staying stealthy, so he focused on the conversations of the guards:

"Look at this debris! Something broke in from above!"

"Assassins! We just barely saved the Fire Lord!"

"Pretty good job, since I can barely see anything. Why is it so smoky in here?"

"The Old Man fell asleep and let the fires burn down again. Go wake him up."

"Me?! Why me?"

"No, not you. You. Can't you see where I'm pointing?"

"Well, I said I can barely see anything in here with this smoke, so-"

"Just go!"

"All right. Yeesh. You don't have to yell. I wear a faceless mask all the time but I still have feelings."

Uh, oh. Zuko realized he and The Other One didn't have long before the lights were back on and Grandfather was involved! He tried sneaking away again, but The Other One didn't move out of his lap like he expected her to (maybe she was distracted by something, but he couldn't imagine what) and he wound up squeaking his boots against the floor from pushing up with the extra weight.

The guards all immediately shouted, "There!"

That's when the fire started flying.

Thankfully, none of it was flying in a particularly accurate direction. He had time to start running - holding a hand of The Other One to make sure she followed - before the fireballs started coming close.

But when they began getting close, they got close in a hurry.

He felt heat on the back of his neck when there was a very sudden and very strong yank on his arm, the one currently attached to The Other One, and the arc of his run turned sharply. The fireball passed through the air where he had been a moment ago.

He glanced at the girl through the smoke.

She winked at him.

Then he grabbed her and pulled her against his body to get her out of the way of another fireball.

She pulled him down to the floor as a fireball sailed over them both.

He initiated a roll that carried them through a rain of flame.

She yanked them back up to their feet to bounce into a pillar just before something exploded in their old path.

He pressed her against the pillar as a wall of fire tried to box them.

She scooted them around the pillar and shoved off just before it completely lit up.

They stumbled together through the smoke and smacked hard against the raised platform where the Fire Lord presided over his court.

"Zzzzzzrrrr- huh? Whuzzat?" said Grandfather.

And then a storm of fireballs came in straight at Zuko and The Other One.

And, Zuko realized as Grandfather screamed, at the Fire Lord, too.

The smoke cleared a bit as Grandfather leaped out straight over Zuko's head, kicking and punching as he flew through the air to block and intercept every single one of the incoming fireballs. Zuko watched in awe as Grandfather landed out in the center of the Throne Room and began attacking all the shadowy shapes of the guards. It was even better than watching Azula attack her Firebending teachers! Grandfather moved so savagely but efficiently, shifting from target to target to keep them all off-balance, his moves a blur of aggressive motion-

The Other One's finger poked Zuko's cheek.

He frowned at the interruption and glared at her, but she raised her eyebrows and held up her hands.

Oh, right, they were supposed to be escaping.

He turned back to the platform that held up the Burning Throne, which thankfully was not currently on fire (unlike an increasing amount of the rest of the Throne Room), and hopped up to grab the edge. He scrambled up to the top, where a line of flames would usually separate the Fire Lord from his guests, and landed in the little gutter where the flames would normally sit. Then he turned around and held out his hands.

The Other One stared up at him.

“Jump,” Zuko hissed.

She blinked.

Then she jumped.

He caught her.

And then nearly fell right off the wall because wow little girls were heavy!

But The Other One hefted her feet up onto the little wall, right in the center of a Fire sigil, and she kicked off with enough force to jump and land right on top of the wall beside him. And because he was still holding her hands, he was yanked to the side along with her so that they wound up kneeling and facing each other on the alter.

Something about it felt very right.

But he couldn't stop and enjoy it. He let go of her, grabbed for the grating in the flame gutter, the one where ash and oil and the remnants of whatever other fuel was used to help the Fire Lord with the flames would fall, and crawled into it. He heard The Other One following, and proceeded to squirm his way through the little tunnel.

It was a tight fit - he was no longer as tiny as he had been the first time Azula showed him this little trick - but Zuko eventually made his way to the proverbial and literal light at the end of the tunnel. He crawled through the opening into the unmistakably cooler air of one of the palace's basement rooms, and let himself fall into the waiting refuse heap. Ash and dust rose up around him, and he took a moment to cough before rolling out of the way of the next landing.

The Other One crashed down with a squeak that quickly became a coughing fit.

"Sorry," Zuko said. His throat felt raw, and he had to stop and clear it before continuing. "I should have warned you about it."

The Other One continued to hack.

When the dust cleared, Zuko could see in the light of the lamp that she was a mess. Her dress, of course, was filthy from the ash and dirt, and also seemed to be singed in quite a few places. He expected that his own clothes were in a similar state. Her face was also dark with smeared ash, quite a contrast from her normal pale appearance.

What struck Zuko the most, though, was that her hair had come completely undone.

It was tangled and dirty and standing up in a few places, but in the back it hung down to her shoulders and swayed as she coughed.

Zuko had heard of people being 'scandalized' before, but only now did he understand it. It seemed invasive to see her in such a- a natural state. The Other One was always so reserved, so polished, so ordered and arranged and perfect. She never failed to wear her ox-horn buns with their little ribbons or, on special occasions, little covers. A coughing fit that set her hair swaying was so opposite to everything she was, and yet somehow so suitable.

Then she noticed him watching her, and she froze in mid-cough.

"Sorry," he said again. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I've been doing that a lot, I think. I'm sorry! I'm not going to hurt you, and I won't touch you anymore!" He bowed his head in contrition.

She blinked.

Then she leaned over, reached towards his face, and-

-and gently took some of his own loose hair in hand, twirling it between her filthy fingers. His Phoenix Tail must have come undone at some point.

Zuko reached over and ran a hand through her own hair. She gasped, and her eyes widened.

Then she laughed.

Zuko was startled to hear her make a sound that was so bright and loud. She laughed and shook her head, sending ash and dust floating through the air. She paused in her mirth to make an, "Ugh," sound, but then looked back at him and laughed again.

Zuko found himself giggling as well, and shook his own head to whip his long hair around and raise a cloud of filth.

They were cackling like that, tears were streaming from their eyes to clean little trails down their faces, finally feeling safe and happy, when the door of the little room burst open and an old servant woman walked in.

She looked at them and screamed. "Ahhhh! Ash-demons have invaded the palace! Die, fiends!"

Then she threw a shovel at them.

TO BE CONTINUED

Chapter Text

Yearn

Mai never knew that religion could be so interesting. But then, no one had ever tried to exorcise her before- just exercise, and as a right-thinking little girl, she only had fun with that when she got to hit people.

She was listening through the locked door as the Fire Sage chanted in the old language ("Jiu mo gwai-gwaai faai di zau," whatever that meant), and then ducked down to peek underneath the door at the symbols being drawn with chalk on the floor. Supposedly (from what she had overheard of the discussion that took place between the Fire Sage and the servants who summoned him), this was the proper way to cleanse the room of ash-demons and evil spirits, or as proper as it got on short notice on a weekend.

Mai herself wasn't the type to be especially bothered by thoughts of monsters under her bed (the daytime world was terrifying enough), but she had always liked stories about ghosts and the wandering warrior-sages who either removed them or died horribly in the attempt. She wondered if she could learn enough from this ceremony to strike out on her own as a self-employed buster of spooks. She liked that idea much more than staying in the Capital and being Important like Mother and Father.

Prince Zuko, though, didn't seem to be as interested.

"I told you! We're not ash-demons! We're just little kids." He was pacing behind Mai, sending little clouds of ash flying with every stomp.

The Sage quiet for a moment on the other side of the door. "Eh, same difference." The chanting resumed.

Prince Zuko growled.

Mai purposefully didn't turn around to look at him. Every time she did, she got the giggles again. She was being worse than Ty Lee, and Ty Lee sometimes got the giggles at funerals. (Her family was still working off the shame of that one.) But then, Mai didn't have a lot of practice at being dirty, nor seeing Prince Zuko all dirty, nor seeing him with his hair (dirty or not) flowing free. It was all so unusual and- and not boring that she couldn't help laughing. She normally hated being dirty, but being dirty with Prince Zuko was another, much more fun matter entirely. Especially when she got to touch his hair! EEEEEEE!

Still, Prince Zuko didn't like being locked in a room with a heap of ash while a Sage tried to 'rend the disharmony that was their incorporeal existence' (Mai had learned lots of new words today!), and she didn't want him to be unhappy. She had to find a way out of here for him.

There was the door, but it was sturdy, locked, and currently had a chanting Sage behind it. There was the tunnel back to the Throne Room, but that had been filled with guards and a cranky Fire Lord, and was more than a little on fire when Mai had last left it, so that was probably not a good idea.

Hm. But there was a lot of ash in this room, so it couldn't just be all coming from the Throne Room, could it? The fires hadn't even been lit there when she and Zuko had first crashed into it.

She examined the top of the room, following the space where the walls met the ceiling, looking for-

Ah.

Holes.

But how to get up there?

Mai trotted back over to where the shovel was lying, the one that the first servant woman had thrown at them before locking the door and summoning the Sage. She propped it up against the wall right underneath one of the likelier-looking holes, and tried to climb up.

The shovel slid out from under her and she fell-

-straight into Prince Zuko's arms.

Ah.

Arms.

So warm.

All too soon, Zuko helped her to stand again. "Are okay? What were you doing?"

She wanted to explain, but was struck by the worry that it was a stupid idea. Mother and Father never wanted to hear her ideas, and Azula always dismissed them as stupid or 'uninformed' or 'impractical' or 'really creepy, ew, no.' What if she explained and it was stupid and Prince Zuko laughed at how stupid she was, instead of laughing with her about their hair being messy together?

All she could manage was to point at the little tunnel she found, and then the shovel.

His eyes went wide. "Yeah, we can get out through there! And it's high up, but I can lift you so you can climb in, and then hand you the shovel, and then you can hold the shovel down for me so I can climb up after you! That's brilliant! You're really smart!"

Her?

Smart?

Okay, she had to have a little sit-down, now.

Prince Zuko kneeled down beside her. "Here, sit on my shoulders. That will help keeping you from falling. "

Yes, she'd like to avoid more falling today. She climbed up on him like she did that one time Father played with her. It took him a few tries to stand up, but then he used the shovel as support, and was able to get to his feet and totter over to the wall beneath her chosen escape route.

And she found she couldn't quite reach it.

Well, that wouldn't do. Prince Zuko had called her brilliant, and she wasn't going to give up on that just yet.

As he wobbled beneath her, Mai unfastened her boots and pulled them off. She threw one and then another into the ash heap, and then - very carefully, because she was done falling on Zuko today - stood up with a foot on each of his shoulders. She could reach the hole now, and grabbed the edges to pull herself in.

Wait.

Except if she went in head-first, she wouldn't have enough room to turn around again and hold the shovel for Prince Zuko to climb. And, now that she thought about it, she was wearing a skirt, and having him crawling behind her sounded like one of those things that made Mother disapprove.

But Prince Zuko had called her brilliant, and there had to be a way to keep that. She hadn't cared too much about being stupid before spending so much time in his company, but now that she had confirmation that she was brilliant in the eyes of one very nice boy, at least, she yearned for it. She needed to keep it, and if she lost it, she would do anything to get it back.

So she propped her bare feet against the wall, her arms starting to shake from the effort of keeping herself suspended, and wall-walked her way up until she could slide her legs into the tunnel first. She heard her skirt catch on something and rip a little, but that was a small price to pay for brilliance.

And that left her hanging out of a hole. Yay. She looked down at Prince Zuko and held out her hands. He quickly passed the shovel to her, and she took a moment to get a firm grip before nodding for him to start climbing.

He jumped on it.

Mai went, "Hlk!" and was nearly yanked out of her hole until she slammed her knees against the sides and dug in and wow little boys were heavy!

He got high enough to prop his own feet against the wall, relieving enough of the tension for Mai to start crawling backwards into the tunnel. Prince Zuko continued up the shovel until she reached her hands, and then they both dropped it in favor of hanging onto each other, and then Mai was fully in the tunnel, and then Zuko, too, and they were officially out of the locked room, even if they weren't quite somewhere else yet.

And their faces were so close they were practically touching.

Prince Zuko's eyes were shining and golden, even in the near darkness. Mai found that she was perfectly fine just staying here for a while, staring into them-

The sound of a door slamming open echoed through the room and the tunnel, startling Mai, and then the voice of the Sage rang out with, "They're gone! I have successfully cast away the demons!"

Prince Zuko grinned, and Mai had to shut her eyes and cover her mouth to keep from laughing again. He leaned his head against hers, their foreheads pressed together and the ash grains rubbing between them. They proceeded up the tunnel in that way, with her eyes shut as she shuffled backwards along the upward slant of the path. It was probably the nicest possible way to travel through a glorified chimney, and Mai was starting to get a distressing amount of experience with that.

Too bad all tunnels eventually had to end.

This one came when Mai backed her rear into a dragon's mouth.

The teeth were the first thing she encountered, making her jump hard enough to headbutt Prince Zuko. He crumpled in the tunnel with a grunt as Mai bounced back off of him to hit the dragon's teeth again, and she twisted away from the sharpness, but there was no more dragon mouth where she landed, so rather than landing, she fell.

Then she landed. Hard. On a wooden floor.

She groaned from yet another crash. So much for avoiding any more falling. At least this time she hadn't landed on Prince Zuko or in some unlikely, disastrous situation.

Well, expect for the possible dragon.

Mai looked up from her position on the floor.

The dragon mouth she'd fallen out of was, from this angle, less of a dragon and more of a dragon-shaped shrine, although apparently both had mouths filled with teeth. The open jaws were where a fire was meant to go, hence the little tunnel for taking away smoke and ash. Good thing there wasn't a fire this time. She couldn't speak from experience, but she was fairly certain that getting poked by a fake tooth was marginally better than getting poked by a fake tooth on fire. She'd really lucked ou-

"Hello, child," Prince Ozai said. "You look familiar beneath that filth."

Mai's headed whipped around to find another occupant in the room, kneeling on the floor in front of the dragon-shrine. Prince Ozai was resplendent in the robes of his royal office and seemingly calm, but Mai knew the look in those eyes. Azula had the same eyes. And the same ugly smirk. And the same joy at someone getting in trouble.

Mai gulped.

"Yes, you're one of my daughter's followers, aren't you?" Prince Ozai leaned forward, and his smirk became a grin that somehow had twice as many teeth as the dragon shrine. "And what exactly brings you to my meditation chamber, on a day when my father warns of attacks by assassins, and the servants gossip of demons in the basement?"

TO BE CONTINUED

Chapter Text

Wait

It never failed: disasters, even the life-threatening kind, stopped being fun the very moment that parents found out about them.

Zuko and The Other One had been making their great (...all right, maybe it was just 'moderately accomplished') escape, crawling along through the cramped ash/oil/exhaust ventilation tunnel with their foreheads pressed together. The Other One's breath had splashed against his skin with her every exhalation, and he was trying to identity the sweet scent (fruit of some kind, maybe a sugar tart?) when she suddenly dropped out sight.

And then he had heard Father's voice. She was out there with Father.

All of the things that had happened throughout the day came crushing down on Zuko with the weight of the Fire Nation's glorious destiny to rule the world. He and The Other One had cut a line along the whole bottom third of the palace's tower! They had broken a hole in the roof of the Throne Room! They had somehow (Zuko wasn't sure he could replicate it if he tried) tricked Grandfather into attacking his own guards! They had terrorized the servants and gotten hit with a shovel! And now they had disturbed Father!

He knew it didn't matter that this had all been completely accidental. Purposeful or not, it was the kind of thing you 'forgot' to tell your parents about at dinner.

(Especially when it was all done with the surprisingly clever, reliable, and humorous The Other One at his side, because she was a girl, and people tended to get the wrong idea when the opposite gender was involved. Zuko merely admired her, experienced funny feelings in his stomach when she looked at him with pleading eyes and flushed cheeks, got a thrill out of touching her hair, and found physical contact with her to be pleasant- nothing lovey-dovey.)

And now Father had found out about it all!

Well, he found out about The Other One. He still hadn't seen Zuko, yet.

Somehow, that thought echoed through Zuko's head in Azula's voice.

'It would be simple,' the Azula Voice elaborated slowly, as if afraid he wouldn't understand. 'Just wait in the tunnel, and let that girl take the blame. And the punishment. You just need to wait for the fires to cool down. Metaphorically and maybe literally.'

'But why,' Zuko asked himself, 'wouldn't she just tell them about me?'

The Azula Voice laughed. 'Have you been paying any attention to her? That girl couldn't cough up a spoken explanation if someone wrote it for her and then tattooed it on her tongue. Wait and see.'

Zuko frowned. 'That sounds painful. I wouldn't be able to talk after that either.'

'The point, dum-dum, is that she's too scared and pathetic to talk. She'll just stand there blinking and staring while Father draws his own conclusions, and then she'll accept her punishment with silent tears. She'll probably be confused why she's being punished, but never ask. She might have been born in the Capital of the Fire Nation, but she's pure Servant Material. She serves capably, even almost being clever at times, but she'll always need someone with a brain to direct her. All you have to do is wait, and you'll be fine.'

Zuko winced. He didn't know how an Azula Voice had gotten in his head, or where such Azula-like thoughts could have come from. Especially if this was like in the storybooks, when the hero considers the right and wrong choices with little Dragon Spirits that pop up on his shoulders to set up a temporary debate club. If so, then the Azula-thoughts were coming from him. And he couldn't possibly think such things about The Other One, could he?

He liked The Other One.

They were maybe almost friends.

In a fair and just world, Zuko and The Other One would share in any punishments they had earned today, and he would get the greater portion because he was older and also royalty. It was part of his princely responsibility. The punishments would, of course, also be fair and just, because Father was a fair and just man who was admired by the whole Fire Nation. There was a lot of fairness and justice going around in this matter, but that made sense, because the Fire Nation was always right. All of his Lessons were very clear on that point. So, as much as Zuko didn't like it, there was only one fair and just action to take.

And he would do it.

'Dum-dum,' the Azula Voice said.

'Go soak your head,' he mentally retorted, because a mental Azula Voice couldn't light his hair on fire. Again.

He squirmed his way to the end of the tunnel and climbed out of the dragon-mouth shrine he found on the other side. "I'm here, too!"

Father, kneeling in the center of the room, and The Other One, collapsed in a little heap below the shrine, both whipped their heads to look at him.

Father's eyes narrowed. "So I see. Well, Zuko, what is going on?"

"A lot. And I'll tell you. But, uh-" He gave a little tug- "I think I'm stuck on these dragon teeth.

Father rolled his eyes.

Of course, he was very strong and powerful, so after he came over, a single yank was all it took for him to free Zuko. Zuko himself must have been very heavy, though, because Father immediately let him drop to the floor.

He kneeled into a full kowtow. "I apologize for the disruptions we've caused. You see, we went out of the window of my bedroom and kind of fell through the roof of the Throne Room and there was lots of fire and guards and fighting so we crawled out an exhaust vent to the basement where a servant thought we were too dirty to be human and locked us up to get exercise or something so we tried crawling back out through another vent and we wound up here but didn't know this was your meditation room and we're very, very, very sorry."

He needed a moment to catch his breath after all that.

Eventually, Father said, "I have to give you credit for one thing: fitting all of that into a single sentence was an impressive feat. Well done, my son."

Wow! Father had complimented him! This might turn out to be a really good day after all!

"But," Father continued, "your attempt to hide the truth from me was pathetic. Your sister is much better at lying, and you should, as ever, try to learn from her."

Zuko raised his head. "But I was telling the truth! We really did all those things!"

"Oh, I have no doubt. You're not creative enough to fabricate such things. But you are hiding something from me. Why were you trying to escape your bedroom with this moppet in tow?"

Oh.

Zuko should have known that Father was too smart to miss that.

"We, uh, were trying to escape Azula. She wanted to hurt-" He couldn't call her 'The Other One' out loud, and now would be a profoundly stupid moment to admit he didn't know her name. "-us. I was protecting someone of great value to the Royal Family."

Behind him, The Other One gasped. Had she figured out that he didn't know her name?

Father made a face. "I see. Well, perhaps this can be a teaching opportunity. You've risked so much for this girl of 'great value,' but do you even know what she did to earn Azula's wrath?"

Zuko blinked. He'd never really thought about it. It had been enough to know that The Other One was really scared and Azula was really mad. "Uh-"

Father snorted. "I thought not. You decided that the best solution to the problem was to simply run from it. Yes, I can believe that. And as a father, it is my duty to see that you learn from this."

Zuko wasn't quite sure what that meant. "Um?"

Father went over to the far side of the room and opened the door. "Out you go. Both of you. Quickly, now. You don't want to get caught looking so filthy."

Zuko wasn't sure what to do. He hadn't expected this, but not obeying Father's commands simply wasn't an option. As a compromise, he slowly got to his feet. "You're not going to punish us?"

Father's lip quirked so fast that Zuko wasn't even sure he saw it. "If you want my advice, go to the North Park. You can wash up in the ponds there, and then maybe no one will connect you with the day's troubles. Go out through the supply-entrance under the western wing; it's been left open during the search for the assassins."

Wow!

Father was so nice!

But that made complete sense. Uncle Iroh had once said that mercy was the mark of a great leader, and Father had to be one of the best leaders who ever lived. If Uncle didn't want to be Fire Lord when Grandfather eventually died, Father would be a perfect choice, and maybe become the best Fire Lord since Sozin. Not that Zuko wanted Uncle Iroh to forsake his birthright; it was just speculation. Father could still be a wise and supportive advisor.

Smiling, Zuko grabbed The Other One's hand and led her out the door.

As they passed, Father patted the top of her head and said, "I'm glad you're such a good friend to both of my children. What's your name?"

Zuko's heart nearly leaped up through his throat. This was his chance! He stopped to give The Other One an opportunity to answer. But she just stared at Father, biting her lip. He could feel her hand trembling, and held on tighter so that she'd know she had his support.

But no answer came.

Zuko sighed. "She doesn't talk much."

Father let out a single, sharp laugh. "Truly? A valuable ally to the Royal Family, indeed. Well, both of you better get going." And then he shut the door in their faces.

But that was probably Zuko's fault for lingering. "Come on, let's get to the park."

But before he could move, The Other One pressed herself against his chest and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. She made some kind of sound, but with her face buried in Zuko's tunic, he wasn't sure what it was.

"It's okay." He tried hugging her back, hoping it would make it feel better. "It's okay. We're safe now."

She let go of him and met his gaze with wide eyes, almost like she was surprised. Or maybe confused? She didn't seem like she was expecting what Zuko had said, but neither was she really disagreeing. It was weird.

Eventually, she sighed, looked down, and held out her hand again.

Zuko took it. It was time to get going.

Their final escape from the palace was easier than he expected. They didn't encounter any parents, Fire Lords, servants, guards, assassins, ash-demons, or even an Azula. Maybe the search that Father mentioned, for the assassins that everyone thought Zuko and The Other One had been, had taken everyone elsewhere. Regardless, Zuko led them through the halls, down into the basement where the Royal Food was stored, and up the stairs through the double-doored supply entrance.

And then they were once again out in the bright sun.

There was a cluster of people near the front gate, so Zuko pulled The Other One over to the rear gate, where there was just a pair of guards overseeing things.

Zuko took a moment to switch to his most authoritative gait. "We're on a special mission. This is a Royal affair."

The first guard looked at the second. "Kind of young - and filthy - for affairs, aren't they?"

The second shrugged. "It's better not to ask questions. You may pass, your highness."

And so Zuko had at last gotten The Other One to safety. He had actually succeeded in countering his sister! He had kept a girl safe, and even though she had helped a lot, he was going to count it as a win at life. Maybe this was the start of a streak, and he'd get a second win sometime soon.

He looked to The Other One. "We've escaped Azula! We did it!"

She almost managed a smile.

The walk to the North Park was fairly short; Father had made a good choice. Only a few people passed by and gave Zuko odd looks, which was no real problem as far as this day was going. At least they weren't trying to kill and/or throw shovels at him. The Other One let herself be pulled along, her gaze firmly on her feet (which Zuko realized were covered only in stockings, as she had left her boots back in the palace. He'd have to make sure those got back to her.) as they found the park and then a fairly isolated little pond within it.

With relief, Zuko splashed his head right down into the water. It was wet and cool, and when he emerged, he felt light and clean. This must be what a volcano felt like after erupting. Shaking the droplets away, he turned back to The Other One.

She was standing there staring at him. Her face was red again.

Zuko supposed she didn't like using pond-water as a bath. "It's okay! Nice and clean now."

She tilted her head to the left. Then to the right. Finally, she came over to the edge of the pond and kneeled down to dip a hand into the water.

With that settled, Zuko returned his attention back to himself. His face and hair were fine, now, but his clothes were still a mess. Should he just jump into the pond with them? Or take them off and try to clean them? Or could he just wet his hands and try to rub away the-

SPLAT.

Zuko could only sit there, numb, as the mud dripped down from his face.

It was The Other One's giggles that finally gave him the strength to turn and look at her.

She was still kneeling by the pond, pretending very hard to be minding her own business. But her lips kept twisting into a brief smiles, and giggles escaped from her attempt at seriousness. Zuko had to fight back against his own laughter. He shook the mud off his face, and then reached into the shallowest part of the pond in front of him to collect his own ammunition.

He didn't get three steps towards The Other One before she broke out into full laughter.

Zuko grinned and raised the mudballs in his hands.

She managed a, "No!" between cackles as she tried to scramble away, and her smile was as bright as the sun.

He chased after her. "You threw mud at me! Now I get to throw it at you!"

"No!" She ran around the pond, still chortling.

"Then why did you throw it?" He used one of his mudballs as a warning shot across her path. "People who throw messes get messes back!"

"Dirty looks good on you! Not me!" She tried to change direction and slipped on the grass, her laughter never stopping. She rolled on the grass and held up a hand in a very paltry attempt at defense.

It was the first coherent sentence he'd ever heard her speak. He decided he liked her voice.

But that wasn't going to stop him from beaning her with a mudball. "Dirty looks good on you, too." He raised his arm to throw-

"Mud looks good on no one," Azula said.

Zuko dropped the mudball and whipped around to see his sister coming up the path towards the pond. The Other One's laughter cut off with a squeak. He wanted to run, but the pond was behind him, and his sister was in front of him. There was nowhere to go.

Azula nodded as she approached. "Father said there would be presents waiting for me at the end of the ashy footprints. And it isn't even my Name Day."

TO BE CONTINUED

Chapter Text

Intimate

Mai couldn't move as Princess Azula, Namesake of the Fire Lord and the last living Royal Blood Daughter, stalked up the park's path. As always, Azula's clothes were crisp and immaculate, and now she wore a red silk veil hanging from her topknot-crown as a blazing backdrop for her visage. The only thing ruining the regality was the pure Murder in her golden eyes. Bloodthirst just wasn't something that could be displayed gracefully.

Mai was suddenly no longer enjoying her own filthy state. It was fun with Zuko, but it made her feel like garbage compared to Azula, although thankfully not the smelly kind made up of half-eaten fruit. Even with a knife, she couldn't stand up to the Princess of Fire. For one, fire was a bit more versatile than knives.

Mai had to get out of here.

She had to run. She had to get away. But there was a pond behind her. Jump into the pond? Pretend to drown, fake her death, and run away to a Water Tribe? Or go around the pond and hope Azula wasn't in the mood to run? Perhaps attack Azula? (No, bad idea. Stupid, stupid, stupid.) Maybe throw herself on the ground and beg for mercy?

In the end, she did the only thing she could do.

She jumped behind Prince Zuko.

Azula laughed. "OooOOOOooooooOOOOOooooooh, you're so friendly with each other. Did you have a lot of fun running away from me?"

Mai felt herself blushing despite her fear. She had gotten dirty and lost her boots and nearly died a few times, but yes, she had actually had lots of fun. Was that wrong?

"Go away, Azula!" Prince Zuko clenched his fists and took a step towards his sister. "We don't want you here!"

But she rolled her eyes at him. "I can go wherever I want, Zuzu. And she's my friend, not yours. Mine! It's time to give her back."

Mai put her arms around Prince Zuko's waist to make it clear which sibling she preferred to be with, right now. (It was the one who wasn't probably about to set Mai on Fire, for reference.)

Prince Zuko seemed to get the message. "You're just going to hurt her. That's wrong. And mean. You shouldn't do it. I won't let you. Mom says it's wrong to set people on fire unless they attacked you first or were born in another nation."

Mai nodded her agreement, but first ducked a little behind Prince Zuko so that no one would see it. Public statements were easier to make when no one was paying attention to you.

And she hated being the center of attention. Only bad things happened when people looked at her. They'd tell her to shut up, to not be a bother, to go somewhere else, to cut it out with the singing, to get rid of the spider, to stop being weird. It was much easier to deal with people one at a time (especially when you only had one knife), easier to be quietly polite and then reach out only when the person really seemed safe. Like Ty Lee. Or Prince Zuko.

Azula wasn't one of the safe ones.

She was more like the knives Mai was collecting- sharp and dangerous. And also like the knives, the princess made Mai feel strong. That was why Mai had-

"You think I'm wrong? You think I'm being bad?" Azula snorted as a breeze teased the veil that hung over the back of her head. "You don't even know what she did. You just took her and hid her and you don't even know her."

Prince Zuko glanced back at Mai. She tightened her grip on his waist but couldn't meet his gaze.

He looked back at his sister. "I know she's brave and smart and really funny. I like her."

Azula broke out into a grin. "Ooh, you like her!"

Mai's heart went thumpidity-bump. Prince Zuko liked her?! Like, boy/girl?! Kissy? Getting married?

WOW.

Zuko, though, pulled himself right out of Mai's grip and said, "I hate lovey-dovey stuff! She's my friend and I know her. That's what I meant."

Oh.

But still: WOW.

Azula shook her head. "You think she's nice. I thought that, too, when I saw her in school. That's why I didn't care about her at first. But then I learned that she's not nice. She's mean. She just hides it really good."

Prince Zuko was scowling.

Mai could see where this was going. It was going to come out, now. Zuko would know what had happened. He'd let Azula have her. There was nothing Mai could do to stop it, now. She sat down on the grass and hugged her legs to herself.

Azula glanced at her, and then back to Zuko. "She didn't want to play with me and Ty Lee. She said we were boring. So we left her alone and played by ourselves. And then-"

Azula reached up and pulled her crown out of her topknot. The veil fell away, revealing-

-Mai couldn't help looking up-

-that Azula's long hair had been shorn away, leaving just enough for the knopnot and the twin spears that framed her face.

Zuko made a sound deep in his throat. "You cut your hair off?!" No doubt he was shocked by the missing locks that had once spilled down like a waterfall to her shoulders.

Mai looked down again, unable to stand the sight of either sibling.

Azula said, "No, I didn't. And neither did Ty Lee, but her braid is cut in half now. Someone decided that sneaking up behind her friends and slicing their hair off with her stupid new knife wouldn't be boring."

Mai squeezed her eyes shut against the tears that were starting to well up. That wasn't why she did it. She just- she was looking at the knife- she was wondering how sharp it was- sometimes they laughed at her even though they were her friends- the girls weren't paying attention to her- she just grabbed and slashed- Azula had shrieked- Ty Lee had cried-

It was stupid. Mai was stupid. She hated herself. And now Prince Zuko would hate her, too.

He knew who she really was, now.

She could hear him sitting beside her in the grass. "Is Azula telling the truth?"

Mai couldn't find her voice, so she nodded.

"Why?"

Mai shook her head. It was the only answer she could give.

Zuko stood up again. "I think she's sorry. And you still shouldn't hurt her."

What?! He didn't-

"Oh, I don't want to hurt her anymore." Azula shrugged.

What was going on? Mai was safe? And both siblings liked her again? She opened her eyes and looked over at her princess.

Azula smiled. "You're going to make it up to me. Show me how sorry you really are. Or I will hurt you. Zuzu can't protect you forever. Do what I say, or I'll get you back someday."

Zuko stalked towards his sister. "Azula-"

But Azula continued, "I want you to cut off Zuko's hair, too. Cut it so that he can't make a topknot or Phoenix Tail or anything. Make him ugly."

"What?!" Zuko started to back away, but Azula was already in motion, rushing up behind him and grabbing his arms. He twisted and pulled and growled, but Azula kept a hold of him, and at the first chance used her leverage to force him down to his knees.

Azula looked back to Mai. "Do it. Do it now."

Mai stood up and took the knife out.

She hated this. She hated this but she had to do it. Azula was right. There was no running from her.

Mai felt bad that she made Zuko work so hard to protect her. It was all for nothing. And now he'd hate her.

Because she had to do it.

Mai approached him.

Zuko shook his head.

Mai reached out and ran her free hand through his hair. It was so clean and smooth now, and it was ever more fun to touch now than when he had been covered in ash. She tried to smile, to remind him how much fun they had today.

Zuko's lip trembled.

"I'm sorry," Mai whispered to him. At least it wasn't the first thing she'd ever said to him. What had it been? 'Dirty looks good on you.' And it was true.

She brought the knife up-

-slice-

-and now his hair was hers.

Not sure what else she could do to show how much she hated this, she leaned down and dropped a kiss on his forehead. The feel of his skin on her lips jolted her like lightning.

Zuko sniffled.

And Azula laughed. "Good. Now go home and don't show yourself again until I call for you."

Mai dropped the knife on the grass and turned to go. She didn't want this one anymore. But she kept Zuko's cut hair tight in her fist.

It was probably all she'd have left of him.

TO BE CONCLUDED

Chapter Text

Stars

"Honestly," Mom said, "where did you and Azula get the idea to cut each other's hair?" She made another couple of snips and then stepped back. "There. That looks fine."

Zuko accepted a mirror from her and examined the terrible aftermath of the tragic epic that had turned out to be his day. His hair was short. Not that short, but still- he'd only had long hair before. His head felt strangely light. He imagined that this was what it was like to look at a battlefield after one's side had gotten thoroughly trounced by the other, only without the blood or the screams of agony.

(Well, less screams of agony. Zuko had never liked haircuts.)

Zuko put the mirror down on his dresser, catching the reflection of the stars in the night sky through his bedroom window. That was the same window he had fallen out of earlier today, with his hand intertwined with a little girl who needed his help and had kissed him and sliced his hair off on the orders of his sister.

Really, the sagas of Xiangyu the Swordsman had nothing on what Zuko had gone through, today. (For one thing, there were less girls in Xiangyu's stories, which Zuko used to consider a selling point.) "I can grow it long again, right? Do a Phoenix Tail again?"

"Of course you can, sweetie. Only haircuts done with Firebending tend to be permanent." Mom smiled. Then she frowned. "Don't tell your sister that."

Zuko nodded his agreement, not that he expected Azula to be keen on matters of hair for quite some time. Unlike Zuko, she had been clear that she had no intention of growing her hair long again. Both of them, though, had covered for The Other One, which surprised Zuko coming and going because Azula was a vindictive little gremlin and he was still kind of mad at The Girl Who He Thought Was His Friend. Neither of them had a reason to keep The Other One out of trouble.

But apparently Azula was capable of keeping her end of a bargain, because she had taken the heat for her minion. And Zuko-

Well, he liked to imagine that he wouldn't have done the same thing in her shoes - or, rather, her filthy stockings that had holes in them by the time the day's activities were done - but defiance of Azula was always easier in theory than in practice. For one thing, she still tended to bite.

Still, as nice as being with The Other One had been, she obviously was Azula's property and Zuko couldn't trust her. That was that.

Perhaps it had been some kind of sign that he never learned her name. He wasn't meant to be friends with her. The kiss she had laid on his forehead - the first kiss he had gotten from outside his family - was a goodbye kiss.

Zuko sighed.

Mom ran a hand through his newly trimmed hair. "You sound tired. Come on, it's time for bed. It's been a busy day. And I still don't know what was going on with most of it. Everyone knows ash-demons aren't real. And assassins? Here?" She guided him over to bed, and he was more than ready to climb in and get some sleep.

Before he could tug the sheets up, though, a servant appeared at the door and bowed. "Apologies for the interruption, Princess, but a gift has arrived for Prince Zuko."

"A gift?" Zuko remembered how Azula had said that Father told her where to find him and The Other One as a gift. Father had been trying to teach him a lesson, Zuko knew now, but it still felt- "Mom, can you look at it first? Please?"

"Okay, honey." She gave him a look, but went over to take the little bundle from the servant. She unwrapped the outer paper, and then let out a small laugh. "Oh, my. It seems you impressed someone today."

Zuko frowned. He had? He wasn't used to impressing people. He wasn't even sure how to actually do it. From what he'd observed, it usually had something to do with an achievement in Firebending.

Mom brought over the package and held it out to him.

Within the unwrapped paper was a pair of intertwined locks of beautiful glossy hair, so smooth and silky that they reflected even the dim light of the stars. One strand of hair was lighter than the other, and he realized it was his hair, cleaned and combed and braided around the darker hair.

At the middle of the braid, a red ribbon was tied in a bow, holding all the hair together.

Zuko knew that ribbon. The Other One wore them, when she wasn't all messy from having fallen into an ash heap.

There was a little note next to the hair: "I hope you still like me. I like you. Love, Mai."

Mai?

Mai!

Mai.

Mai.

Her name-

Her name was Mai.

Well, so much for signs.

Unless-

Maybe-

Was this a sign, too?

Mom chuckled. "I'm glad you're getting along with your sister's friends. And you must have been very nice to her. She's a shy girl and gets spooked easily."

Zuko picked up the braided hair. She'd cut some of her own? And sent it to him?

And she'd told him her name.

Granted, she probably didn't realize that it had been a mystery to him, but-

"Well, I'm not afraid," Zuko declared. "I'm a Prince. I have to be brave for the people who aren't."

Mom leaned over and gave him a kiss at the top of his head. "Especially pretty little girls ribbons in their hair."

She was halfway to the door before Zuko realized what she was implying.

"Mom!"

He slept with the hair, and the note, under his pillow.

END