Flameheart | Zuko

SIX

"I'm helping the Fire Lord."

"Really?" Ty Lee exclaimed, her eyes wide. "In which way?"

"Zuko can't do everything," she explained, her voice, Homura noticed, having the same volume and tone from start to finish, as if she was reading a script. "I help him organise feasts and prepare for the arrival of any guests and occassionaly, I do a few more tedious tasks. Like making sure everything in the prison is the way it should be."

Homura and Ty Lee exchanged a look as Mai let out an almost inaudible sigh. "Of course, that's not going to be my job forever. When our Fire Lord finally finds a suitable wife, I'll be relieved of my duties and she will take over while I take control of the prison in the Boiling Rock."

Homura's eyes widened. "You think that's better than being Zuko's assistant?"

"I'm not an assistant," she replied, a sharp edge in her tone as she briefly turned to face her. "I'm an advisor. A consultant. And yes, I'd rather be in charge of a prison than make sure the Earth King has gotten enough pillows for his bear."

Ty Lee giggled but Homura remained silent. Conversation shifted as Ty Lee took it upon herself to give Homura a brief tour of the upper part of the city as they got closer to the prison. It didn't take much time for her to notice the prison they were heading to was the one she and her fellow Kyoshi warriors had been in for a few months before the Avatar defeated Ozai and they got to be free once more. She recognised the scenery around them, and without meaning to, she caught herself taking deep, steadying breaths, getting prepared to face such a place once more. Ty Lee and Mai seemed to be unbothered at the sight of the prison and she tried to keep her unease to herself as well. She schooled her features carefully as she got in the prison after them, passing by a few guards who nodded at Mai as she passed by them. Mai led the way to where Homura remembered was the director's dormitory. It was getting harder by the second to ignore her memories from her time in this place.

It was one of the few times Homura wished she was dressed as a Kyoshi warrior to hide her unease at being in a place like this once more. Her eyes were wide as she took in every corner of the place they were in, almost knocking on Mai's back as she stopped in front of the door leading to the warden's dormitory. Ty Lee sent her a questioning look she evaded as she turned her attention to the guards standing on either side of the door to the warden's dormitory. They nodded at Mai, no doubt in recognition, opened the door for them, and let them pass.

"Welcome," a man with a ridiculously long beard spoke as they got in, in his haste to stand up, almost knocking the chair behind him to the ground. He bowed at Mai before straightening up, and at the sight of Homura and Ty Lee he seemed to second guess his original decision and he bowed at them too. Homura blinked, confused, as she turned to Ty Lee, but she seemed to not be bothered by his treatment as she looked at Mai. Homura followed her line of vision, taking in Mai's every move.

"Warden Lee," she spoke, almost coldly as she took a step to the side, watching him closely. "Let's begin the tour."

He nodded and with quick steps, left the room. Mai swiftly followed after him, Ty Lee and Homura bringing the rear. They walked deeper in the prison, through corridors Homura recognised. It didn't take her long to realise he was taking them to the common area they let the prisoners in after lunch. He was talking to Mai about something Homura didn't pay attention to, and just as she was about to try to listen in their conversation, her attention was dispersed. Beyond the closed door leading to the wide room she had spent countless of hours with her fellow Kyoshi warriors, shouts were coming. Her eyes widened at once.

"Wait," she called out, lifting an arm to stop Ty Lee from going any further. Mai stopped on the spot, briefly turning her head to the side to face her. "Listen."