Zuko had not slept at all, not since the night before the tournament. He was starting to see things; shadows skirting on the edges of the halls, fuzzies when he glanced up, ghosts lurking. He was starting to hear things too, or maybe it was just the reverberations of his own endless thoughts coming back for him.

As it was, he doubted anyone would blame him for taking a nap. He'd been handed a bad set of events in the last few days, more than any single person should reasonably have to deal with.

And perhaps he should go to bed. His father was now scrutinizing his every move. He'd fucked up in Ozai's eyes. Or, others around Zuko had royally made a mess. Ty Lee: Airbender. Kuzon/Aang: avatar. Sokka: traitor. Toph: traitor. Iroh: traitor. And despite none of these things being anything Zuko could control, there were whispers about how so many people he was close to were found to be such 'villainous' people. Therefore, he was sure his father was looking for the chance to seize Zuko and throw him in jail too.

Zuko was not sure Ozai bought the claim that Zuko had no idea about any of the things that had been going on in the palace. Well, okay, he'd known about Aang, but that was honestly where his knowledge ended! He'd guessed about Sokka and Toph, but that had also not been his issue, or so he'd thought.

Maybe if he did sleep, his father would be more inclined to believe him. That was some real political manipulation he was now considering. If he slept, it would show that he was a-okay and not anxious at all. He could say he wasn't going to lose a wink over it all because he was confident that Ozai would be able to find no issue with his son.

And perhaps that would have been a good ploy...had he any ability to sleep at all right now.

There had been a moment, a few nights ago, where he'd been inches from falling asleep. His head had hit the pillow, he'd been able to cast out the worry for Aang and Ty Lee, knowing he'd be no good to them half-asleep, able to think that his Uncle would not be angry for him trying to get even just a few moments of shut-eye...and then there had been a knock on his door.

He grumbled, mumbling something like 'It can wait', but the knocking was insistent. Frantic.

He'd shot up, grasping blindly for his robe, praying it wasn't Aang or Katara. The sound of the knocking was louder and more erratic, but out of all the things behind his door, Mai standing there with a pale face was most unexpected.

"Prince Zuko, I'm-" She broke off, trying to regain her usual stony facade, but something had her looking so upset. "I'm sorry to bother you this late."

"Oh, it's uh..." He was about to say 'no trouble', but despite the fact that he did care about Mai enough to be concerned, he would honestly rather be sleeping. "What's wrong?"

"I..." She was shaking and grasped for his hands. "I don't know how to tell you this...I'm sure you'll be upset, but it's not fair to you..." She was more unraveled than usual, though the fight between Azula and Ty Lee and such revelations on both sides must have rattled her enough to make her show emotion. Even though she delivered her words with a touch of monotony, it was far more feeling than he was used to.

"Mai, what is it?"

"It's Lady Bei Fong, my Prince," she said evenly, "I know you and she are..." She licked her lips. "You care for her."

"Of course I do," Zuko replied. Yes, it was in a sisterly way, in the sort of way he'd never really felt toward Azula, but of course, Mai was not privy to such information. "What's wrong?" Why wouldn't Katara be coming for him if something was truly wrong with Toph, he wondered in a panic.

Mai nodded evenly, as though digesting the confirmation with a hint of hurt, but this only made her frown deepen. "Prince-"

"You can call me Zuko. We've known each other long enough."

"Toph is unfaithful."

"What?" he asked, startling back. Mai inhaled hard, taking his shocked tone for the betrayal of his feelings, but in all honesty, Zuko was surprised Toph had romantic affections for anyone.

"It's Prince Sokka, your highness!" Mai continued, staring at Zuko, rubbing his hand. "I just found them in the library and they were..." She gulped. "They were entirely focused on each other. There's no mistaking it. And I just didn't know what to do or who to tell," she continued. "I'm so sorry, Zuko," she said, truly sincere.

Oh, spirits, Zuko realized with growing horror. She must think that he was torn up, that Toph had all but broken his heart. She was looking at him with such an expression and had the circumstances been different, it would have been endearing. She was so worried about his feelings, of how this would shatter him. She wasn't tattling on Toph hoping to get her thrown out, she was doing it because she thought it was unfair for Zuko not to know this, to be led on.

At that moment, Zuko naively believed he could fix this before it became a bigger deal than it was. Get Toph out quickly, maybe. Make up some story. He could-

"What's going on?" Ozai asked, exiting his chamber, still wearing his clothes from the tournament. Ursa followed after, staring between Mai and Zuko with mild surprise.

"I'm so sorry, my Lord," Mai bowed deeply, "For intruding into the Royal Family's personal quarters at this hour, but I...I needed to speak to Prince Zuko."

"Yes, and we have," Zuko said, trying to sound chipper, hoping to distract from Mai's face and mournful tone. He knew that, on some level, she'd admired Toph and her fighting ability. It had slipped out on one of their dates, though she'd never admit it again. Maybe she was affected by this realization – and the thought of another contestant leaving – more than he'd assumed. "I will, uhm, go and look into this Mai, right now."

He tried to spin on his heels, ready to go and find Toph and yell, in between throwing her suitcase at her, while sending her quietly from the premises. Mai followed, with no intention of telling his father until Ozai's voice paused them.

"Lady Mai, what did you come to tell my son?"

Zuko and Mai both turned. Mai's face was back to impassive. She'd managed to pull herself together, but it was too late. Perhaps Ozai had seen her expression previously. Perhaps he'd heard the waver in Zuko's voice. Perhaps he didn't trust Zuko at all.

"Well..." Mai looked to Zuko, wondering if she should. He wondered if he asked her to lie, would she? She was far more on his side than his father's. There was no time for furtive conversations, no time to plan. And even still, he was not sure he could ask that of her, or that his father wouldn't find out the truth anyway. He gave a grim nod.

"I was worried about, uh, a contestant." Mai still tried to veer away from the truth. "And Prince Zuko said he'd take care of it."

"Oh, of what nature?"

"They were...locked in an embrace. Not Prince Zuko and this, erm, lady, but another man," Mai said tentatively.

"Who?" Ozai's voice was deadly sharp. Zuko felt like screaming. He had lost it. If only he'd ushered Mai out quicker. If only he'd asked Mai to speak in his room, or outside the Royal bedrooms. If only he'd taken a thousand choices that wouldn't lead them here, to this second where he knew Toph's fate was going to be something unspeakable.

"Lady Bei Fong and Prince Sokka, Fire Lord Ozai," Mai said quietly, eyes down, shivering at Ozai's murderous stare. She sent a look to Zuko, a flicker of her eyes sideways.

Zuko closed his eyes, wishing he could send himself back a day previous, and be anywhere but here.

And, days later with still no sleep, he was still thinking that.

It was in moments like this that he felt how raggedly the lack of slumber was edging on him. He wanted to curl up in his room and cry or scream. He was losing his brother, Aang, and one of his dearest friends Ty Lee. Iroh and Toph were to be killed. Sokka may never speak to him again, nor would Katara or Suki or Besu or any other girl who would be able to so easily see that this was wrong.

Everything was slipping through his fingers.

He knew he was not allowed near his Uncle at all, but he could not bear the thought of never getting to hug him one last time, or even try to. His execution, along with Toph's, was set to occur in an hour.

Zuko wanted to puke.

He'd managed to bribe a guard to let him know when Iroh was being taken to the arena, which was now slated to be a site of death. He lingered in the halls until he heard the four guards coming through and the sounds of his Uncle's chains. Sure, Iroh could easily take them down, but where would he go? They were taking him through narrow halls with little access and he'd maybe get a couple of seconds before more guards would be called and it would all be over.

"-try that new place down in the middle ring?" one guard asked another.

"Yeah, but it was too spicy for me," a second said, "My date liked it though. Was 'kay, I guess."

"Oh, c'mon, that place is fantastic. Their noodle dish is perfect!"

Zuko wanted to punch them; they were bringing General Iroh to his death and they were talking about food? Though, perhaps it was just another day in the palace for them...

He slid into the small hallway. Two guards walked in front of Iroh and two walked behind, boxing him in. He looked up at Zuko's footsteps, and there was a sense of relief like he'd expected Zuko to be there. Then, he tilted his head, as though confused once he took a second to see who it really was.

Zuko was entirely distracted by the person behind Iroh, however. It was Aiga; carrying Iroh's Fire Nation garb that his father wanted him beheaded in. It was meant to make a statement.

"What...what's she doing here?" Zuko asked, wondering why they'd pulled her away from Katara for this.

"Huh? Well, I'm not gonna carry his stuff. It's heavy," one of the guards snorted, though that wasn't the question Zuko had exactly meant.

"No, I mean, why...her?"

"Wasn't doing much in the kitchens. Figured this was a better use of her time," the third guard said flippantly. Zuko tilted his head. He knew that many guards looked down on maids, trying to feel superior in some way, even though they were treated just as unjustly in many matters, but were they so haughty that they didn't know the difference between a handmaid and a kitchen maid?

"But she's not-"

Aiga caught his eyes. She gave a sharp shake of her head. Stop asking questions, she mouthed to him, leaving him more mystified.

His Uncle made no motion at all. He seemed purposely like he was not meeting Zuko's gaze, but rather something beyond Zuko.

"With all due respect, I'm not sure you're supposed to be here, Prince Zuko," one of the guards said apologetically, moving closer to Iroh, as though they expected Zuko to try to fight him out.

"I just...can't I even have a second with him?" Zuko sounded like a child, he knew. He was sure that this look was unbecoming for a Prince, but he was out of options.

The guard looked at Zuko with sympathy. "Your father's orders. You know that. He trumps your wishes."

Zuko exhaled, trying to keep himself together. He was not about to admit defeat, but at the same time, Iroh wasn't even looking at him. He felt alone, more so than ever.

He turned, telling himself to take a moment to compose himself, but unfortunately ran smack-dab into a kitchen maid, an actual kitchen maid. She'd been so quiet on her feet that he hadn't even heard her coming around the corner.

The clang as the pots hit the floor was a cacophony. Zuko yelped as hot soup poured over him and the floor, splattering all over his clothes, the walls, and the guards. The soup was scalding hot, and the guards exclaimed out too, jumping around as they patted the liquid as though they were patting out a fire. One of the guards slipped, almost comically, and hit a side-table, knocking a vase from it.

The fourth guard jumped to catch it before it hit the floor, knowing that this vase was worth more than all their salaries together. One of the handles cracked off, which had the fourth guard cussing at the second guard.

As they picked themselves up, groaning, and as Zuko carefully eased himself to stand, using the wall as a guide, there was a beat of silence.

Iroh and Aiga were...gone.

"Where'd the prisoner go?" one of the guards demanded.

"I don't...I don't know!" the third blubbered, still rubbing soup from his face, holding the chains in horror.

"Well, he didn't just vanish into thin air!" the first guard snarled, spinning around. Despite his declaration, it seemed that's exactly what they'd done. One moment they were standing there...the next, they were simply...missing.

"Did you plan this?" a guard demand of Zuko.

"You think I'm what, a magician? That I snapped my fingers and sent him away? Are you crazy?" Zuko was past his point of being reasonable. Despite how glad he was, or assumed he should be, he was sure he was really hallucinating right now. If the four guards were not equally as stupefied, Zuko would say he had tipped over the line of sanity.

"You!" The second guard pointed to the kitchen maid, who was trying to gather the dented metal pots back onto her serving tray. She was blubbering in the background, horrified at her blunder (which honestly had been mostly Zuko's fault).

The second guard stalked up to her and slapped her hard across the face, so hard that the sound echoed and she hit the floor. "You just aided a prisoner! You'll hang for this!"

"Hey!" Zuko yelled, wrenching the guard's arm back so that it cracked a bit. Good! "You are not allowed to talk to her like that!" he snarled, "And you are certainly not allowed to touch her."

"She just made us lose the biggest traitor, second to the Avatar!" the guard spat, "And you're saying we should be merciful? She should be glad her brain isn't scattered on the ground right now!"

"Oh? And you think my father will really believe it was a kitchen maid who allowed him to escape, a tiny little thing compared to, oh, I don't know, the four guards who were supposed to be taking him to the arena?" Zuko pointed out, "This seems more like a 'you' problem. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time! I think you're deflecting."

The second guard sneered at her, moving backward and rubbing his shoulder blade, but his face was pale. The faces of each guard seemed to be some unhealthy shade right now; whether it be red in the face, white as a ghost, purple as though he hadn't taken a breath since realizing Iroh was missing, or close to a green hue.

"We...we...he just disappeared! You can tell your father that, right? Verify it." Guard three seemed like he was about shit himself, looking at the empty spot where Iroh was supposed to be.

"I don't know what I saw!" That was the honest truth. "And even if I did, I doubt my father would believe me."

Zuko turned to the maid who was still on the ground. She was touching her cheek, which was bright red and bleeding a little from hitting the floor with such force.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked gingerly. He didn't know as well as he knew all the handmaids, but he recognized her.

The maid looked up, at the guard he thought for a second, but then he realized it was even past their view. It seemed she was staring, just for a moment, at the wall, gaze unfocused. Zuko winced; maybe that guard had knocked a screw loose in her brain.

"Yes," she said with a soft smile, "I'm perfectly fine."

XXxx

Katara felt as though she was reeling; how had she completely missed it? Seeing the two of them in the guards' hold, she could tell that this was no spring romance between her brother and her friend, this was something deep. She'd been too shocked to realize it, but as she sat in her bedroom, refusing to come out, mourning what she felt was an inevitable loss of her handmaid and of Toph, she recalled how tenderly Sokka had looked at the earthbender.

Her brother in love, that in itself was a strange idea. But what was stranger? The way Toph had turned her head, looking back at him. Just a brief moment, something quietly passed between the two.

And in that moment, she knew that as unbelievable as it seemed, Toph was in love too.

You had to be truly besotted to do something so reckless.

She was going to pay with her life and for what? For a few quick kisses in the halls? For sweet nothings under the cover of night? For longing looks across a ballroom?

Perhaps Katara did not understand the depth of their love. On some level, she was shocked she had been so blind.

As she looked back, it was all so clear on both sides. How Toph had been so excited that Sokka was coming – spirits, were they already in the process of falling for each other far back then? Or how Sokka was always grumpy whenever Toph was gone.

She cried, even after she was sure she had no more tears because she wished it was different. She wanted them to have their life, their love. She wanted Mai to fall off a cliff, Zuko to pardon them both, and everything to be fine. She wanted to be at their wedding and tease her brother and by spirits, tease Toph too.

She wanted to let them grow old or grow apart, but great Tui, she wished they had that chance.

And she did not want Sokka to have to grow with the guilt about how it turned out. She knew it would fester and creep upon him. She knew he'd always blame himself.

She knew that this sort of agony would eat away at him on the inside.

Zuko had saved Sokka's life, sure, but at what cost? With what sort of aftermath?

All of Katara's worries seemed so insignificant now. To imagine her own romance with Zuko at all seemed wrong and out of focus. She couldn't even think of that right now, all she could do was wish she could comfort her brother and try to fix things.

Not everything could be fixed, but she would try and try and try until the universe proved her wrong.

But she didn't know how to mend this break, or bring people back from the dead, or save Aang and Ty Lee. She felt sick to her stomach, and even though she'd only had some plain rice, it threatened to rise back up.

She didn't know how many friends she'd still have when the next morning came.

There was a knock at her door. She sprung up, hoping to see Aiga.

"Yes?" She answered it breathlessly.

"Katara."

"Zuko-" Katara felt her eyes water as she looked at him, her throat closing up, "I..."

What did she say to him? Thank you for saving my brother but condemning Toph? I'm sorry about Iroh? Aang is in deep shit now, isn't he? There were so many threads, so many little issues that all were tangled in one knot, impossible to pick up just one.

Zuko had a reason to be here; this was not merely a procedural visit.

"Is Aiga with you?"

"No, uhm," Katara frowned, letting him move into her room. Rather, he plowed right by her. "She's..." She was trying to figure out how to tell Zuko that she was scared of what Aiga may do next.

"Do you know where she is?" Zuko seemed pale.

"Zuko, what's going on?" Katara asked, reaching out for him. She felt his forehead. "You're burning up! You look half-way to death."

"I think I'm hallucinating..." He mumbled with a raw laugh, "Katara, I'm going crazy."

"When was the last time you slept?" Katara asked. For as awful as a time as she was going through – and yes she may have him beat just slightly – his life was also thrown