Mai gazed at another boring Fire Nation banner streaming from a wall. “This city fell without even a fight. How sad.” She spoke with scarcely a hint of interest. When her parents informed her that her father had been appointed governor of the newly-subjugated city of Omashu, she'd hoped that she was going on an adventure. The city was anything but exciting.

  She looked down a massive chute. “What was this for?” The city was chock-full of the troughs. They twisted and turned to random parts of the city.

  Her mother, holding Mai’s little brother Tom-Tom, smiled at the sickeningly cute toddler. “They transfer goods and mail and such things. Earthbenders could send items from one end of the city to the other in only a few minutes. I’m told the former king of this city invented them.” She cooed at her son. Mai's mother was so overly affectionate.

  A small bit of disdain flickered in Mai’s eyes. “You mean the crazy old man in the metal box?”

  Her mother nodded. “He’s as crazy as he is cunning, or so I'm told. Even you might find something interesting.”

  “Doubtful,” Mai harrumphed. “This city has been so obnoxiously peaceful since we conquered it. Why do we need these guards flanking us?”

  Something exploded above her family. Her head snapped upward to see a young man in an orange and red monk’s uniform. He held a staff in his hand.

  “The resistance!” Mai’s mother cried.

  Mai smiled. It was time. Perhaps that training from school wouldn’t go to waste. She threw a batch of darts at him. He jumped up and out of the way as most of them stuck in some wooden pallets. One did find a place in his leg. He cried in pain as he jumped almost supernaturally high to get away.

  Along with her guards, she scrambled up a ladder that was placed on an earthen wall to get to the higher level. The resistance wisely chose to flee. She chased them with speed, agility, and deadly accuracy. A dark-skinned, blue-eyed girl in Water Tribe clothes waterbended a whip of water at her. Mai flipped sideways onto a wall to dodge and then jumped off it to attack. She threw some shurikens at the waterbender, who frantically created a wall of ice to block the shurikens. That was merely a feint, however. Mai also threw a knife, which pierced the girl's hand. Mai was rewarded with another scream.

  All too quickly, some earthbenders in the group opened a hole, and the resistance vanished into it.

  Mai smiled, slightly wolfishly. Now she was intrigued.

  ***

  Crown Prince Zuko sniffed the air with disgust. Around him, circus animals and people bustled about. A huge platypus bear was laying an egg not far from him. Some folks were watching with fascination, but all of this had lost its joy long ago. He had important affairs to attend.

  His eyes fell upon his true target. He walked forward until a braided, brunette girl in a pink acrobat uniform noticed him. The girl had more curves than others her age, and she was bending over backwards, literally. He cocked his head to the side until she could see his face. “Ty Lee?”

  “Prince Zuko!” she said with a high voice, prostrating herself low before jumping upright. She tilted her head. “Your aura is a strange color today."

  He wanted to laugh at Ty Lee's belief in that nonsense, but he wisely refrained. "Strange in a good way?"

  "Mm," Ty Lee said, squinting at him. "I'm not sure. What brings you to the circus?”

  He gave her a sad look. “It’s a serious matter, I’m afraid. You remember that awful business with my sister?”

  She nodded right before doing a handstand. “Poor Azula! To be hurt like that. I can’t imagine!”

  “She’s gotten into more trouble, and I’ve been assigned to go after her. Care to join me?”

  Ty Lee’s large eyes grew even bigger. “Why me?”

  He’d been expecting that question. “Do you remember my fat uncle?”

  She grinned. “He could always make me laugh!”

  “He and Azula have run off into the Earth Kingdom. They’ve turned traitor.”

  “I don’t believe it.”

  Zuko walked past her and frowned. “When I tried to get them to come back peacefully, they fought me.” He turned to her with just the right amount of fear and sadness in his eyes. “She almost hit me with lightning.” That was why he'd made a stop in the Imperial Capital before coming here. He'd had to do some training with Uncle Iroh's former protege.

  “That’s terrible,” Ty Lee said.

  “Now you see why I need you for this mission, don’t you?”

  She shook her head.

  “I need you to get her to come back before anyone else gets hurt. She didn’t listen to reason, but she’s your friend. She might listen to you.”

  The ambivalent look in her eyes told Zuko he was close to winning this battle. It was time to close in for the kill. “She’s a force of chaos, willing to harm people to get her way. I couldn’t live with myself if someone else got hurt because I didn’t want to be bothered.”

  The girl clutched her hands together under her chin. “But I can’t leave the circus. They need me too. They said I was one of a kind.”

  She’d walked right into his trap.

  “Oh, don’t worry about them,” he said. “I brought a couple of your sisters to take your place.”

  “You…did?” Ty Lee looked crestfallen.

  Zuko’s smile didn’t quite meet his eyes. He waved at two girls of almost the same figure, height, warm brown hair, and round face as Ty Lee. They waved at him and Ty Lee. She barely waved back.

  “The circus won’t even notice you’re gone,” Zuko said. "Come with me, and you will gain notoriety.

  “I guess you’re right," Ty Lee sighed. "You know, your aura is definitely a weird color. I don't know if I like it."

  "Well," Zuko said, "The sooner we retrieve my sister and uncle, the sooner it can turn back to normal."

  Ty Lee nodded. "Where are we going next?”

  Zuko smiled at a warm thought. “Omashu.”

  ***

  Mai waited until her parents were asleep before sneaking out into the city. Omashu was a strange city, reflecting its eccentric king. There were many levels, and they intersected and snaked about so that it was tricky to navigate. She'd been searching for several days and had come up empty. She was nothing if not persistent, however.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  She slid down a ladder to a lower level. Her goal, she’d decided, was to find the ones who’d evaded her attacks—the boy in orange and yellow clothing and the waterbender. There was something about them. Her gut told her they were dangerous. Anyone who could stop or dodge her shurikens ranked highly in her book.

  It took several hours of sneaking around on rooftops and in alleyways before she saw some folks entering a cave. She raised a superficially bored eyebrow and slipped in after them. In a short while, she came upon a large group of people arguing in a covert cave. In the center of them were her targets.

  The bald one with blue arrow tattoos on his head and hands stood before them. “Fighting the Fire Nation is suicide.”

  “It’s better to die than to live under tyranny,” an older man responded. He angrily itched his beard. “I say we keep fighting.”

  “He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day,” a dark-skinned boy with a boomerang on his back said. He looked related to the girl who’d waterbended.

  “I don’t know,” said another man. “How would we get out of the city?”

  The dark-skinned waterbender and the pale boy grinned at each other. “Pentapox!”

  “What’s that?” the older man asked.

  The boy with the tattoos reached into a small bucket of water and pulled out a small, squid-like creature. “Pentapii leave the best little red dots on the skin.”

  ***

  After a few hours, many of the people left the cave with strange red marks on their skin. Mai gave the trio credit. They were clever. She didn't doubt that their ruse would be successful. She was halfway tempted to tell her parents, but it actually might be safer for them if the resistance left.

  She inched closer to hear what the trio was saying to one another.

  “For the last time, Aang, you shouldn’t try to rescue Bumi. It’s too dangerous!” the girl said to the boy with blue arrow tattoos.

  “I’m with Katara,” the dark-skinned boy said.

  “C’mon, Sokka, what’s the point of being an airbender if I can’t at least fly around and see if I can find him? He’s my friend,” Aang said.

  “We’ve had enough run-ins with the Fire Nation already,” Katara said. “They wouldn’t hesitate to kill the Avatar.”

  The Avatar! Mai's eyes almost lit up. Almost.

  Sokka nodded. “And if they’re all as crazy as Admiral Zhao and that girl with the scar on her eye…”

  They knew her friend Azula? Mai sneaked a little closer and hid behind some rocks overlooking them.

  Aang crossed his arms. “She wasn’t all bad. She could’ve killed me.”

  Mai raised both eyebrows. Azula hadn’t captured or killed the Avatar when she had the opportunity? Maybe the princess really was going insane, like the rumors said.

  Katara frowned. “You defend that Fire Nation girl too much!"

  Did Mai detect a hint of jealousy? Over Azula? The princess was better at frightening boys than attracting them.

  "There's something about her that tells me to give her a chance," Aang said.

  Katara sighed. "You’ve got to do whatever you think’s right.” She placed a kind hand on Aang’s arm. “But be careful.”

  ***

  The next morning, a groaning crowd with red splotches on their skin wandered about the city. The Fire Nation soldiers kept their distance. Even her parents fell prey to the mania.

  If Mai had been prone to such things, she’d nearly have doubled over in laughter. Instead, she munched on some fire flakes. She offered to share with her family, but they were too worried to accept. Her father quickly allowed the subjects of Omashu to leave. As the residents groaned out the city gates, she wondered if her father's decision was because of the Fire Nation soldiers or for Tom-Tom's welfare.

  Mai gazed out over the courtyard. Another procession had entered the city. She squinted her eyes. “Is that…?”

  “Prince Zuko has come to see us," her mother said. "Be careful.”

  Mai’s heart leaped in her chest just a little, though she’d not dare admit it. She moved down the steps determinedly and sat down just as Zuko arrived. He was as handsome as always. She'd always been partial to his golden eyes.

  She pretended like she didn’t care that he was here. She rose and gave a half-hearted bow. “You’re here to end my misery, right?”

  “Mai!” Ty Lee called from behind some others in the procession. She ran up and hugged Mai tightly.

  Mai patted her friend’s back, who finally released her. At the Fire Nation Academy for Girls, some had thought it weird that she and Ty Lee got along so well. Those people were idiots.

  “I need your help,” Zuko said.

  “Always straightforward,” Mai said. That was one of the things she liked about him.

  He smiled sadly. “It’s Azula. She’s become…unstable. My father is very concerned.”

  Mai crossed her arms. “Really?”

  He nodded. “You were closer to her than anyone. You know how ruthless she can be. I’m afraid—”

  “Okay,” she said.

  "I mean, I really nee—" Zuko blinked a few times after realizing that she'd already agreed. “Are you sure?”

  She nodded. “Getting out on the road sounds mildly entertaining. Anything’s gotta be more than this place. It’s so…sunny.” All of what she said was true, but the ultimate reason was far deeper. Azula was in trouble, and there was something about Zuko that felt off. Something in him had changed, and she was profoundly curious.

  Mai’s mother burst onto the stone courtyard. “The rebels have Tom-Tom, and they want to exchange him for King Bumi!”

  ***

  Zuko had decided to bear the burden of leadership for the prisoner exchange. He, Mai, and Ty Lee stood on a high ledge. Above them, scaffolds surrounded a giant statue of his father, Fire Lord Ozai. The likeness was decent. Maybe he would have them rename the city to New Ozai. It would please his father.

  A pale boy with blue tattoos stood next to a couple of Water Tribe teenagers. The girl held Tom-Tom in her arms. Zuko admired her for a moment. His father had introduced him to the best girls in the Fire Nation during the past few years, but there was something special about this one. She seemed pure, maternal. That, and she was pretty, which didn't hurt either.

  “Do you have King Bumi?” the pale boy asked.

  Zuko nodded and waved at a Fire Nation soldier, who operated a large crane. It swung a large metal box over. Inside was the old king, looking as crazy as ever.

  “Hiya, Aang!” he said. The old man had a wild look in his eyes, which were two different colors.

  Zuko stood forward and placed a hand on Mai’s arm. “I'm so sorry about this, but it occurs to me that this isn’t a very fair trade at all.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You mean, for my brother?”

  Zuko pouted his lower lip a little. “My father wouldn’t want us to trade a powerful earthbender for a small child. It wouldn’t be the right thing. Don’t you think?”

  She stepped back. “As you say.” She turned to the trio with Tom-Tom. “The deal’s off.” She signaled with her hand, and King Bumi laughed maniacally as he was hoisted away.

  Then she and Ty Lee attacked. Zuko once again marveled at their efficiency. Mai was a vision with those shurikens, and Ty Lee attacked the dark-skinned girl, who bended water at her. Ty Lee quickly dodged and flipped in close. She landed some well-placed punches into the waterbender’s pressure points. The water the girl had been bending fell to the ground.

  The pale boy turned his staff into some sort of glider and flew into the air. “Bumi!”

  “The Avatar!” Zuko said. So, this was the airbender he'd heard so much about. He was shorter than Zuko would’ve thought.

  He ran up to a lift and used it to climb to the top of the scaffolds. When he reached the top, the boy was talking to the old king, who was muttering something about “neutral jing.”

  “I always preferred positive jing myself,” Zuko said, launching a powerful stream of fire at Aang, who quickly tried to fly away on his glider. Zuko jumped off the scaffold and grabbed onto the back of the glider. They plummeted toward the earth.

  At the last moment, Aang created a blast of air to soften their landing. Zuko’s feet found purchase on the stone. He punched two powerful fireballs at Aang, who spun his staff and blocked. Zuko rushed in to punch Aang, but the Avatar was too quick.

  Zuko grinned. “You remind me a little of my sister. She’s quicker than I am, too.”

  Aang dodged some fiery kicks and punches. “So what are you going to do?”

  Zuko stomped on the ground, and fire spread out in a wicked circle. Aang barely had time to jump over it. He landed on his side with a grunt and rolled. “Strike everywhere at once.”

  He sent a powerful stream of orange fire at a fearful Aang, who jumped onto a stone cart and slid down one of the chutes. Before Zuko could find another cart to chase Aang, the Avatar flew into the air and onto a large flying bison.

  “That’s right,” Zuko said. “Run away.”

  He made his way back to the two girls. They were nursing some injuries.

  “I hate waterbenders,” Mai said, groaning a little as she stood.

  Ty Lee helped her up. "You did hit them a few times!"

  "It wasn't good enough," Mai replied.

  "We'll get them next time," Zuko said. As non-benders, they'd have a difficult time with the Avatar, but he needed them for Azula.

  Both girls turned and bowed to him.

  “I’m sorry, Mai,” Zuko said. “I didn’t want to cancel the deal, but it had to be done.”

  “Did it?” Mai said. Something inscrutable flashed across her normally apathetic face.

  “Everything I do is to minimize suffering,” he said.

  “Of course,” Mai said. She turned away from him to go to her parents. “I’ll see you tomorrow, when we leave. Come on, Ty Lee.”

  ***

  Mai hid on a balcony and watched as the Avatar returned her little brother. She figured he would. Aang was one of those heroes. He practically oozed care and concern for others. Her crying parents didn’t even see Aang drop Tom-Tom off and then disappear into the night. One second, Tom-Tom was gone; the next, her parents were hugging her little brother.

  She smiled, but not at the scene below her. Most physical affection didn’t appeal to her. Rather, she was anticipating the chase. Zuko would have her and Ty Lee hunting the Avatar, as well as Azula and her uncle. Mai loved a good challenge.