She

Chapter 16

"Invitation please," the guard said. We were waiting in line to get into the party.

"I think this will do." Toph held up her family seal to the guard.

"No entry without an invitation. Step out of line please."

Toph seemed irritated by this. "Look, the Pangs and the Yum Soon Hans are waiting in there for us. I'm going to have to tell them who didn't let me in."

"Step out of line please."

We walked off to the side, disappointed. A carriage pulled up just in front of us. Katara smiled as she got an idea.

Katara walked up to the man who got out of it. "Sir I'm sorry to bother you, but my cousin lost our invitations." She leaned close to him and whispered, "she's blind. Do you think you could help us? Our family's inside and I'm sure they're very worried."

The smiled at us, and bowed. "I am honored, please come with me." We followed him past the guard, sticking our tongues out at him as we did so. He brought us into the palace.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? By the way, I'm Long Feng. I'm a cultural minister to the king."

"I'm Kwa mai, and this is Dung, and her sister... Y/n." Toph tugged on a string hanging from Katara's hair. "Ow!"

"Now where is your family? I'd love to meet them," he said as he looked around the room.

"Um... I don't see 'em right now. But I'm sure we'll find them soon. Thanks for all your help." Katara smiled at him and began to walk away, pulling us with.

Suddenly we stopped as he mysteriously appeared in front of us. "Don't worry, as your escort it would be dishonorable to abandon you ladies without finding your families first. We'll keep looking." He turned around and walked away, forcing us to follow.

We wandered around the party, trying to find our parents which didn't exist. Seemed like a waste of a good party to me.

Toph and I walked off to the side. "Two crab puffs please," she asked one of the servers, which turned out to be Aang and Sokka.

"You found us."

"I'd know your little footsteps anywhere Twinkletoes." She smiled.

"Twinkletoes?" I snorted.

"A nickname I gave him."

Katara appeared behind us, making Aang blush.

"Thanks for letting us in." Sokka said sarcastically once he saw her.

"Sorry, but the guy who escorted us in, won't let us out of his sight."

"He sure was creepy." I shuddered.

Sokka looked behind Katara, trying to find him. "What guy?" I looked around to see that Long Feng was nowhere to be found.

"What are you doing here? You have to leave immediately, or we'll all be in terrible trouble." Joo Dee walked up to us, nervous for once.

"Not until we see the King," Sokka said

"You don't understand. You must go." She tried to push Sokka away, causing him to bump into Aang, who spilled a pitcher all over a girl.

"Sorry! No, don't shout," Aang said. He used his bending to blow away the water, creating a mess of her outfit and makeup.

"The Avatar. Ooh, I didn't know the Avatar would be here." They all stared in awe. Aang now had the attention of everyone in the room.

"You keep their attention while I look for the King." Sokka whispered to him. Katara, Toph, and I, went in a different direction, looking for the King elsewhere.

I stood next to Toph, swirling a drink around in a cup, as nervous silence ensued. If she noticed anything, she didn't seem to mention it. My thoughts were interrupted as a pair of stone hands grabbed me and pulled me back, covering my mouth and restraining my wrists.

We were brought to a library, with a fireplace dimly lighting it. Long Feng soon entered, Aang following behind him.

"Why won't you let us talk to the King? We have information that could defeat the Fire Nation!" Sokka said.

"The Earth King has no time to get involved with political squabbles and the day to day minutia of military activities." He waved his hand dismissively.

"This could be the most important thing he has ever heard."

"What's most important to his royal majesty is maintaining the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se. All his duties relate to issuing decrees on such matters. It's my job to oversee the rest of the city's resources, including the military."

"So the King is just a figurehead," Katara said beside me.

"He's your puppet!" Toph said, furiously.

"You're using him."

"Oh, no, no! His majesty is an icon, a god to his people. He can't sully his hands with the hourly change of an endless war." Long Feng said, as though it was the most obvious thing.

"But we found out about a solar eclipse that will leave the Fire Nation defenseless. You could lead an invasion-"

Long Feng stood up, cutting him off. "Enough, I don't want to hear your ridiculous plan! It is the strict policy of Ba Sing Se that the war not be mentioned within the walls. Constant news of an escalating war will throw the citizens of Ba Sing Se into a state of panic."

"You can't keep the truth from all these people. They have to know," Katara said.

Aang took a step forward, pointing a finger at Long Feng. "I'll tell them. I'll make sure everyone knows!"

"Until now, you've been treated as our honored guest." He stepped forward, bending down and looking Aang in the eyes. "But from now on, you will be watched every moment by Dai Li agents. If you mention the war to anyone, you will be expelled from the city." He turned around and walked back over to the fireplace. "I understand you've been looking for your bison. It would be quite a shame if you were not able to complete your quest. Now Joo Dee will show you home."

He sat back down as the library doors opened. A lady walked in. "Come with me, please."

"What happened to Joo Dee?" Katara asked, bewildered. Whoever this lady was, she was not our Joo Dee.

"I'm Joo Dee. I'll be your host as long as you're in our wonderful city." She smiled widely at us.