The Jaded Princess - A Sokka Love Story

Chapter Forty-Eight

The night was alight with fireworks and lanterns when they enter the town. Orzala's heart beat rapidly against her chest as she glanced around, eyes wide in awe. Sokka grabbed onto her arm as a large dragon puppet marched by, pulling her closer to him as he glared around. His icy blue eyes widened a fraction as he observed all the surrounding costumes.

"I-I think you need some new disguises," Orzala told him, cursing herself silently as heat crawled to her cheeks. The boy nodded in agreement, not releasing her from his grasp. "Where are we supposed to get masks like that?" He asked.

As if hearing him, a vendor began calling out: "Get your genuine Fire-Festival masks here!" They quickly turned, sharing a look before grabbing the younger two and dragging them toward the stand. "That was surprisingly easy."

Aang, Katara, and Sokka each grabbed a mask, quickly paying the vendor before walking away. Sokka had chosen a bright, smiley mask, making Orzala laugh. Her laughter only increased when Katara shook her head, switching his mask with Aang's, which was an angry mask. Sokka's head snapped toward the princess, slightly relieved to hear her laughing once more. He shoved her lightly.

"Hey! There's some food." Sokka perked up at this, running past the others and toward the stand. "Finally! What do you have?"

"Flaming Fire Flakes! The best in town." Sokka quickly snatched the bag from the vendor, tossing some coins his way before beginning to scarf down the food. Orzala suppressed her laughter until he started screaming. "AH! Hot! They're hot!"

"Flaming Fire Flakes, hot? What do you know?" Katara quipped, crossing her arms and shaking her head at her brother. Aang chuckled. 

"Hey, look at this!" He grabbed Orzala's elbow, pulling her toward a small puppet show. The siblings followed closely, eyebrows raising as a puppet of the Fire Lord popped up. "Don't worry, loyal citizens!" It called. "No one can surprise the Fire Lord!" An Earth Kingdom puppet popped up at that, raising a rock to throw. 

The Fire Lord puppet turned, breathing a blast of fire and incinerating the earthbender. Orzala jumped at that, backing into Sokka. The boy quickly wrapped an arm around her, pulling her away from the scene with wide eyes. "Well, that was lovely."

Aang rushed past them, heading for the large crowd ahead of them. "Aang, hold on!" Katara called, trying to keep up with the young avatar as he ran. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know," he conceded, "but there's a big crowd, so it must be good." Orzala scoffed, making Sokka tighten his grip and glance at her worriedly. "That's what we thought about the puppet show."

"Yeah. Knowing the Fire Nation, it's probably an execution or something." Orzala's eyes drifted up to the stage, observing the bender cautiously. The firebender shot the crowd a smile, waving his hands and drawing fire from each other torches around him. He spun them wildly before they faded with a final burst, and three doves flew from the midst of the blast.

"Wow! I've got to learn that trick!" Aang exclaimed, turning toward Orzala with a grin. He pulled his mask back down as he turned to watch the bender once more. Orzala sighed, reaching out and placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Aang, there's more to firebending than fancy tricks--"

"For my next trick, I need a volunteer from the audience!" The bender called, and Aang immediately cut the girl off, waving his hands and jumping up and down. "Oh! Me! Me! Me!" Sokka broke away from the princess, pulling the avatar back.

"What do you think you're doing?" He hissed. 

"I want to get a closer look!" Aang whined.

"You don't need a closer look," Orzala scolded, and Katara nodded in agreement beside her. "It's better that we don't attract any attention to ourselves," Katara reasoned quietly.