A Year of Silence (ATLA Zuko x OC)

Chapter Four - Change of Plans

"Fire Lord Zuko, there's someone here to see you,"

Suki's voice heard as she opened the door of his office. Zuko lifted his gaze off the documents he had in front of him on the desk and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Mai!" he hadn't seen her for almost a year. She seemed paler than usual. Her eyes and her expression were dark. She had some bandages tied around her left arm and she had a wide cut on her left cheek as if she'd been in some kind of a fight. "What-?" he tried to ask but she cut him.

"Where's the rest of the gang?" Mai asked immediately.

"In their rooms," Zuko asked waking up and he walked towards her.

"Call them here, they need to know," Mai said.

Zuko looked at Elin and he nodded at her to do as Mai had asked. Elin immediately exited the room and Suki stood guard outside. Zuko walked towards Mai.

"What happened to you?" Zuko asked worriedly.

"I can't say much, for now at least. Suki, Ty Lee and Elin are the only persons you can trust from the Palace. No one but them and the gang must know I'm here," Mai said darkly.

"How did you enter the Palace?" Zuko asked.

"Good thing your sister knows every little maze of tunnels beneath the Palace's walls," Mai said.

"My sister?" Zuko asked confusedly and she shot him a cold look that repeated the fact she couldn't explain a thing further, but he asked anyway. "Mai, what's going on? Why are you here, what happened to you?" he asked worriedly and he raised his hand to cup her wounded cheek but she slapped his hand away.

"Don't," Mai said biting the inside of her cheek.

Zuko just made a step back and then the others entered. Elin entered as well, closing the door behind.

"Mai!" Katara said surprised.

"What are you doing here?" Toph asked.

"What's going on?" Aang asked crossing his arms.

"Your cheek... let me take care of it," Katara said and she immediately tried to bend the water out of the pouch that was tied around her waist, but Mai stopped her.

"No, don't. I can't risk staying here longer than I'm supposed to," Mai said darkly and then she turned at Aang and Zuko who stood side by side. "Someone's trying to kill you," she said looking at Zuko "...there's a big bounty on your head and many secret societies and bounty hunters are racing as to who gets to kill you first,"

"Wait, who's offering that bounty, why?" Aang asked worriedly.

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Mai answered.

"We're'? There's more?" Toph asked.

Mai looked at Sokka, both exchanging understanding looks. Of course, Sokka knew about it. I was his plan after all. Zuko noticed it.

"At the ball that's going to happen in two days from now, Azula will come to kill you," Mai said.

"What?!" Zuko, Aang, Katara, and Toph asked in unison.

"Listen to me, they tasked on Azula your death because they know she's going to fail," Mai said.

"Whoever fails in the Red Shadow Demons is being killed. They can't leave anyone behind. It's a secret society that uses an incredibly intelligent tactic of keeping their agents faithful and their Leader's identity secret," Sokka added.