Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ The Dark Spirit ❯ A New Job........ A Difficult Job ( Chapter 3 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

She remade her mask and was sitting in a tavern in the middle ring of Ba Sing Se. A man in an armored uniform approached her. "You're a Tai Li agent aren't you?" she asked. He nodded. "What do you want?" she asked. He motioned for her to follow him. She followed him, hand on her sword should he attack. He led her to a back alley where a young woman stood leaning against a wall. She showed her face and Amaya bowed. "Princess Azula," she whispered. "Not anymore," Azula replied. "Zuko banished me and I want to get back at him." "How so?" Amaya asked. Azula smiled. "I'd like you to do what you do best," she said. She handed Amaya a bag of gold and a sketch. Amaya looked at the sketch and her eyes grew wide. "Mai?" she asked. Azula nodded. "Is that a problem, because I plan to pay you 500 gold now and 1000 when you finish it." Amaya tucked the bag under her cloak. "Deal," she said reluctantly. She didn't want to betray her friend, but she really needed the money and frankly she was bored. This was the first job she had received in a month. She returned to her apartment and went to bed. She awoke before dawn and donned her armor. She went to her dragon and they flew off to the Fire Nation capital.....When she reached the Fire Nation capital she went to the area near the palace and ran into Mai. "Hi Mai," she said. "Hello," Mai said. A young man, about age 20, with a golden flame in his hair came up behind her. He had a scar around one eye. "Mai who is this?" he asked, wrapping his arms around Mai. Mai smiled. "Zuko, this is my friend Amaya," Mai said. "The one I met in prison." Amaya gasped. She bowed. "I'm sorry I didn't realize who you were Firelord Zuko," she said apologetically, her tone begging for forgiveness. Zuko smiled. "I appreciate your respect," Zuko said. "But a friend of Mai's is a friend of mine and right now formality is unnecessary." Amaya stood. "Do you have anywhere to stay?" Zuko asked. Amaya shook her head. "Would you like to stay in the palace?" Zuko asked. Amaya nodded. "Thank you," she said. She was showed to a large bedroom. It was almost too fancy for her taste but it was lodging that she didn't have to pay for and it was close to her target. She decided to kill Mai painlessly. She stayed up late that night creating an herbal mix that would slowly poison Mai. She was still debating whether or not to kill Mai, but she wanted to be prepared for whatever choice she would make. How could she do it without getting caught? She didn't sleep that night.  She and Mai spent a lot of time together the next day. They went to a spa and got the royal treatment. Then they went back to the palace all dolled up. Amaya joined Zuko and Mai for dinner and they talked till very late. Amaya looked up suddenly. "It's late," she said. "I should go to bed." She excused herself, but did not go to bed right away. She went outside and a Tai Li agent came up behind her. She turned and handed him the 500 gold that Azula had given her. "Tell Azula to take her gold and stuff it," she said. "I'm not betraying my best friend." She went back into the palace, burned the herbal mixture and went to bed......  The next morning she was met in the hall by a furious Zuko. He shot a fire blast at her. She was taken aback by this attack dodged it. "What the Hell is wrong with you Zuko?" she asked. "Shut up, murderer!" he yelled, shooting a blast of lightning at her. She redirected it down the hall. "What the Hell are you talking about?" she asked. Zuko flung a dagger of diamond at her. "That look familiar?" he asked. She picked it up. "Where did you get my dagger?" "I went in to wake Mai this morning and found it sticking out of her heart," Zuko replied. He broke down in tears. "And you assume I did it?" she asked. "Well it's your dagger," he said. "And it is rather suspicious that your dagger was used to kill Mai two days after you show up here. Mai told me that you're an assassin. Who paid you to kill her?" "Azula offered me the money to do it but I refused," Amaya replied. "I would never hurt Mai. She's the one friend I've ever had." "Then tell me," Zuko said. "Who killed her?" "Azula's Tai Li agents most likely," Amaya replied. "They are sloppy when it comes to killing." Zuko thought for a moment as he regained his composure. "Azula will pay for this," he growled angrily. "Where did she contact you?" "Ba Sing Se," Amaya replied. Zuko called for some soldiers. "I want Azula brought to me immediately," he ordered. The soldiers bowed and left. Mai's body was properly laid to rest. As Amaya watched her friend's body burn, she realized the warden from the Boiling Rock prison was staring at her. He did not take her again, though. Which was unexpected to Amaya. She had prepared herself to be dragged back to prison. She began to cry for the loss of her closest and only friend. But she also felt for Zuko who not only had a friend in Mai, but also a lover. He cried on Amaya's shoulder for many hours after the funeral. "I know," she whispered to him. "It’s ok let it out." The young Firelord did exactly that. He had lost the woman he had planned to ask to marry.  Weeks passed and Azula wasn't found. Zuko called Amaya back to the palace; she had left a couple weeks before. Amaya entered Zuko's private chambers and bowed. "You sent for me, Firelord Zuko?" she asked. Zuko nodded. "Azula has not been found," he said. "And I require your special services to bring her to me. Your reward will be a place in my council of generals, immunity from prison and whatever gold Azula currently possesses." Amaya smiled. "You had me at immunity from prison," she said. "I'll gladly bring her here." She bowed and left. She knew exactly where to look for Azula......