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chapter xxi

Word Count: 4,108 words

CHAPTER XXI: 夏子物語

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­­­­­The Tale of the Summer Child

Day 01

The day after the party, what Natsuko unknowingly did was get the King to ask for her every time of the day, she thought it was lovely at first.

"Get back here."

Now, she always needed the strength for running away from the Dai Li.

She woke up fresh and ready to run away from the Dai Li, "New outfit?"

"King Kuei gave it to me." She twirled around at the sight of her white top and light green and gold, puffier skirt that reached her ankles, not used to wearing skirts but it would be a shame if she hadn't worn it. They all looked at her with a knowing glance which she shot back an annoyed one and they all went back to getting ready for the day.

A week of nothing, she tried to bring along the others whenever the King asked to see her, but nevertheless Long Feng was always one step ahead of them. What she needed was his trust but his trust wasn't always there whenever Long Feng was, "Are you going back to the palace?"

She didn't want to come back to the palace, it was stiff, colorful, but so suffocating when the Dai Li would follow her every move. Natsuko shook her head and stayed away from all windows, knowing that she was being watched,

Except Toph wasn't ready to even walk outside, even if she said she was whilst covered in what she called, "A healthy coating of Earth."

"You know what we need? A girl's day out!" Katara enthusiastically proposed, "Even Natsuko can come with us."

"Sure if the Dai Li wouldn't be within a 5 meter radius then why not?" Natsuko didn't want to be touched so much in places she doesn't even usually touch, even the scarring on her hand that was barely there but is very obvious. But given the circumstances that the Dai Li were adamant in bringing her in the palace for King Kuei, she needed new ideas instead of going around doing the same things.

Besides, the Dai Li wouldn't bother staying at the door to a lady's spa for hours, enough time for Natsuko to move along without caring.

She was really relaxed inside a bit too much, especially on the sauna, skipping out the make-up part because it was an itch on her face and when they went out and there wasn't a single Dai Li on any rooftop or even near the gates, just gone. So when she made the mistake of joining in of airbending the stiff clothes the three stuck up girls, the Dai Li spotted her quickly, "Good luck, Natsuko!"

She looked back as she ran fast and saw Toph and Katara waving at her and laughing, having more time to themselves.

"Get back here."

Back to the present, she passed the Middle Ring in hopes of losing any of them and her best bet was the Lower Ring where the Dai Li never even bothered unless contacted by the authorities there, so she hid there. She had a hard time blending in the crowd at that point due to her pampered face and nice clothes that stood out amongst everyone else's, she disliked the feeling.

The sun wasn't anywhere when she was walking around the Lower Ring too, so her stomach must be starving and luckily currency wasn't a problem for her as of the moment. She went to a small restaurant across the place she was hiding from, "There she is."

Her eyes widen as she heard Dai Li agents ran towards her, so she grabbed whatever she could get from the counter and tossed the old lady working a gold piece, "Treat yourself, ma'am."