Whirlwind [Avatar Aang]

☁Chapter Thirteen☁

Early morning sunlight filtered through the windows as Nazadori hurried through the hallway toward the meeting room. She knew she was late for something, but after the events of the past day, she couldn't exactly remember what was on her agenda for today. She was lucky enough to be there in the palace, so she hoped everyone wouldn't be angry at her for how she ran away the other day and then stopped a robbery in the process.

Though she wasn't exactly happy to be back in the palace, Nazadori had to admit that she had missed the place. It was slowly becoming a sort of home to her, one where she could be herself without having to put on a facade in front of her family. However, she still had to put on a facade for her advisors, her teachers, and the staff, so she wasn't exactly sure why the place felt so familiar to her now.

As Nazadori approached the tightly closed door, she heard the sound of people already talking in the meeting room. Great. They had already started their meeting without her. What were they meeting about? She wished she knew. All her thoughts were piling up together in her head as she pushed the door open that she didn't see Gazon approach her from where he had been sitting directly next to Avatar Aang.

"King Bumi Day --"

"Where have you been?" Gazon exploded once she made it through the door, interrupting Avatar Aang. She didn't think she had ever seen him this angry before. His face was actually red, and a vein was throbbing in his forehead. If only she could turn right around and run away, but the force of his glare held her in place. "We have been waiting for you!"

"I'm sorry," she said to him. "I was running late. I stopped by my home earlier --"

"Tell us the truth, Nazadori." The look on his face told her that he already knew she had run away yesterday after the cake testing. She couldn't lie to him even if she wanted to. "I don't like it when you lie."

"I left --"

"You broke protocol and left the palace without any guards!" Gazon said angrily, ignoring her and what she was going to say to him. He took a step forward, and she scrambled backward before he could do anything to her. Nazadori didn't think she had ever been this scared in her life, or this shameful. Bile swirled in her stomach, threatening to rise up her throat. "What's even worse is that you broke up a robbery."

"How do you know about that?" she asked, finally finding her words. There hadn't been anyone else there that night and they couldn't see her that well in the dark . . . unless her brother or sister told someone about it. Pain spiraled through her chest at that thought.

"One anonymous person spoke to someone else who spread the news to everyone around them. It has spread like wildfire, Nazadori, and people are not happy that their future queen is fighting people on the street."

"But I didn't fight anyone," Nazadori cried. 

She glanced between her advisors and saw them all with varying degrees of anger or disappointment written across their faces. It seemed like none of them were willing to hear her side of the story at all -- none of them besides Avatar Aang. He had a frown on his face, but it wasn't because of what she had done -- it was because of how her advisors were treating her. 

"I'm sorry," she said, bowing her head to them. "It will not happen again."

"No, it will not," Gazon answered her. This time, there wasn't an edge to his voice. He just looked tired. His old face had filled up with wrinkles like he couldn't stop frowning for the life of him. She hated how tired he looked -- and it was all her fault. "We need to keep a guard on you at all times."

Nazadori nearly opened her mouth to protest that, but she didn't like the look on anyone's face right now, so she remained silent and nodded dutifully. She hurried over to her seat next to Avatar Aang and sat down as quickly as she could, trying to hide her face behind her hair the whole time.