𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐋 ᵃᵗˡᵃ

Chapter Eleven: Oh Look, Kidnapping!

"Why can't we just ring the doorbell?"

I leaned down so Beth could grab my hand, then yanked her up and over the wall. "What's a doorbell?"

"You know, the button you push so people let you in their house." She sighed and caught Katara. "I see no reason to trespass. What part of us climbing over their walls is gonna make her trust us?"

I pulled Sokka up. "Have a little faith, Beth!"

Sokka and I jumped down onto the ground. Easy-peasy!

We dashed over to a line of trees and peeked out, trying to see if the Bandit was there. Then, the ground shook, and we were thrown into the air. "AHH!"

Katara and I landed on some rose bushes. Sokka hit the ground with a thud. And Beth ...

"Ow ... Beth, get off me!"

"Sorry Sokka. Next time, I'll make an effort not to land on you," she growled, standing up and dusting herself off.

"Thank you."

"Why are you here, Twinkle Toes?" I looked up to see the girl from my vision. Wait, no--it was the Blind Bandit!

I frowned. "How can you tell it's me? You're--"

Sokka groaned, "Don't let her call you Twinkle Toes!" Beth nodded.

"It makes it sound like you're a sneaker brand."

The Bandit snapped in my face to grab my attention. "How did you track me down?"

I airbent myself off of the bush. "My crazy king friend told me to find a teacher who listens and waits. And then we went to a magical swamp and I had this vision--"

Katara cut me off. "What he means is, Aang needs your help to master earthbending. He's the Avatar, and if he doesn't master earthbending, then he can't stop the Fire Lord and win the war."

The Bandit flung up her hand in a "stop" gesture. "Your problem, not mine." She started to walk away. "Leave before I call the guards and get you sorry butts thrown in jail."

Sokka opened his mouth to say something, but Beth gave him a look and mouthed, 'I got this.' She walked up to the earthbender and touched her shoulder. "Toph, wait."

The Bandit froze in her tracks. "How do you know my name?!" she whispered.

Beth shook her head. "I know a lot of things. Listen," she knelt down in front of her and gently took Toph's hands in hers. "We really need your help. Aang needs to defeat the Fire Lord by the end of the summer, and he can only do that if he masters all four elements." Beth bit her lip. "But no one's forcing you to help us. It's your choice. I know what it's like to be tossed into it all against your will. Not fun." She smiled. "If you decide to train Aang, then I gotta warn you, he's a bit of a handful."

"Hey!" I whined.

"If you decide not to, then, okay. No hard feelings. We'll find another earthbending teacher for Aang. But I want you to know, we're never going to find an earthbender as great as you. So, think about it, and get back to us, okay?" Beth squeezed Toph's hands and stood up, coming to stand beside me.

Sokka rolled his eyes. "That was a lovely speech and all, but you're wrong." He turned to Toph. "You don't really have a choice. You have to teach Aang."

"Sokka!" Beth swatted his arm. "Of course she has a choice! It's completely unfair to just force her to do it! The good guys don't do that."

While the two argued, I walked up to Toph, who was still standing in the same spot.