The Order of the White Dragon

Chapter III

Mai escorted the Prince and two of his attendants from the throne room. They turned at the first corner of the candle lit hallway towards what used to be King Kuei's chambers. Away from Azula and Ty Lee's eyesight, Mai felt her hands grow colder from the perspiration forming in her palms. She attempted to get a glimpse of the Prince from the corner of her eyes even though she knew he was a few strides behind. He has not seen her for a year, and now she was walking right in front of him. Mai felt compelled to run her hands through her hair and even to slap her cheeks so they appeared a little coloured. Mai was never one to concentrate on her outward appearance, that's Ty Lee's thing. But being in front of Zuko urged the smallest speck of insecurity to amplify.

She kept her head held high and secretly clenched her fist under her loose long sleeves. The towering walls which greeted the high ceiling heightened her anxiety. Mai silently cursed the palace's architects and their need to locate the chambers so far away from the throne room.

A clearing of someone's throat pierced the silence, "So... Mai, uh... It's been a while," Despite clearing his throat, Zuko's voice sounded huskier than normal.

At the sound of his voice saying her name, Mai's ears perked up and she twisted her head to look back at her superior to realise that he was already next to her.

"It has." Mai meant to say more, but she was feeling hesitant due to the presence of the attendants behind them. She regretted not saying anything immediately because silence and the echoes of their shoes hitting the marbled floor enveloped them again. Mai searched her brain for anything interesting to continue the conversation.

She realised that she had a lot of things she wanted to ask him, but none of them she would dare say out loud. She wanted to ask him if another girl kept him company while she was gone. It hurt to even think of that possibility. Needless to say, Prince Zuko was popular with the ladies. There were so many girls Mai thought were so much more attractive than her. Mai couldn't never say that Zuko only cared about outward appearances though, he was so much more than that, he wasn't shallow. But then again, Mai also thought that there were a lot of girls more interesting than her. Probably ones that don't sigh nearly as much as she does. 

She sighed mentally.

"Are you staying? In Ba Sing Se, I mean." Mai didn't register that her face crumpled into a concerned frown as a result of her previous thoughts until Zuko's voice pierced the dead silence once again. This stretched her face into a mild surprised expression.

"Yes," Mai heard herself say. Was he worried she'd leave? Mai pushed the fluttering sensation in her stomach down. "Going back to Omashu would be suicide." She continued. Zuko raised one of his eyebrows.

"I'd die of boredom." Mai clarified.

Zuko chuckled, it was deep and throaty. Mai twisted her head to look at the Prince. His eyes crinkled in laughter; he shook his head lightly. Mai averted her eyes as the corners of her lips turned upward slightly.

"At least that's still the same about you," He said back to her.

Mai's eyes narrowed in confusion, "What do you mean?" Mai anticipated Zuko's answer.

One year can drastically change a person. The person next to Zuko was no longer a girl. She was now a young woman. At that moment Prince Zuko could've listed a hundred ways she has changed. Her lips were plumper. Cheekbones higher. Body slenderer. Breasts roun-

"You're taller," Zuko blurted. Zuko mentally grimaced for his near-idiotic reply.

"So are you," Mai countered. She suspected that Zuko noticed more about her appearance than he was letting on. Mai knew her body grew more toned as months of training went by. Before, her knife throwing was a secret to her parents. It was simply something between her and the pretend target glued on the inside of her closet door in her bedroom. Zuko also knew about it. Something they had in common, their appreciation for sharp blades.