Daughter of the Moon - Book Two: Earth

Chapter 19.2: A New Day

- Elara -

I wasn't too sure how Iroh had managed to do it, but the grand opening of the Jasmine Dragon was a smashing success. Perhaps he had taken special care to advertise his tea shop in the weeks leading up to opening day, or perhaps this was just one of those things that rich people were naturally inclined to, but the reason didn't really matter much. The fact was the shop was absolutely packed. If I had thought that our last tea shop was busy, that was only a fraction of the work that was required to keep this place up and running.

Luckily, it wasn't just Iroh, Zuko, and I anymore. Iroh had practically hired an army of workers to help, including my friends Candra and Badru (that was another story). But even with all the extra help, I still found myself getting lost in my work, leaving me rather unprepared for the surprise heading my way.

"Table for two, please," I heard a young woman address me as I was fumbling with a stack of menus under the Jasmine Dragon's large hostess table (I was really going to have to talk to Iroh about this whole staying organized thing).

"Of course," I replied cheerfully as I pulled myself upright, completely oblivious to the fact that the voice had seemed strangely familiar. "I'll be with you in just one moment."

As I turned to greet the new customer, my jaw almost immediately fell to the floor and I blinked in disbelief. I could have recognized those signature hair loopies anywhere. And that lemur—one of a kind. The only problem was that I had no idea what they could have possibly been doing here.

"Elara?" the girl muttered in disbelief as the recognition set in.

"Katara?"

"ELARA!" the waterbender cheered as she leapt forward and pulled me into a hug. "I can't believe you're here!"

"Quiet down," I pleaded with the girl as I pulled her aside, making sure that Zuko and Iroh hadn't caught, a glimpse who had just arrived. Once I was confident we were out of sight, I asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I heard that this place has the best tea in the city," she answered casually, her face beaming with more ferocity than the freaking sun.

"That's not what I meant," I chuckled nervously as I kept one eye on the busy shop. "What are you doing here; in Ba-Sing-Se?"

"Oh," Katara chuckled as her eyes lit up with understanding. "We came here to work with the Earth King on the invasion."

"The invasion?!" I asked, my heart plummeting. "What...how...who are you even invading?"

"The Fire Nation, of course," she answered simply, even though the very thing she was suggesting was far from simple. "There's going to be a solar eclipse that will leave the Fire Nation completely defenseless in a few months, and that will be the best opportunity for Aang to take down the Fire Lord before Sozin's Comet!"

My mind whirled as I tried to comprehend all the information I was receiving. Katara was simply rambling everything off as if it were old news, and I was struggling to take it all in. "This is so much to take in..." I finally mumbled as the waterbender paused for breath.

"I know it's a lot of information, but you don't have to worry. Sokka already has a plan," Katara tried to reassure me as she placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Sokka?" I asked as several (extremely embarrassing) memories flooded my mind (and the Zuko, Elara, and Sokka equation was not something I wanted to try and solve at that moment). I looked behind Katara nervously as I continued. "He's not here, is he?"

"No, and neither is Aang," she answered gloomily. "Sokka left to find my father's fleet this morning, and Aang left with him. I guess he's meeting with some guru that's supposed to help him master the Avatar State, or something. It's just me and Toph in Ba-Sing-Se right now."