In a small, yet prosperous town named Gaoling, there lived a husband and wife. They were rich, young and content with each other.
But despite all of their wealth and their love, life was not as happy as they envisioned. What the pair wanted most of all was a child of their own.
They tried for many years without success, exploring all the avenues they could; turning to healers and medicine men throughout the land.
Eventually they heard of a powerful witch named Hama, who grew amazing flowers. Just eating one would grant fertility to any woman, guaranteed.
Naturally, the couple immediately sought after these magical plants, seeking out the witch. They tracked her down to a small village in the Fire Nation, and pleaded with her for one of her flowers.
Hama agreed to grant them her gift, provided that when the child was born it was given to her to raise, and she would name it Fire Lily after her flowers.
Lao and Poppy were horrified. What good was having a child if they couldn't even keep it? But Lao was a shrewd man, hardened by his years of business. He agreed to part with the child, and obtained the Fire Lily.
Of course, as soon as Poppy had eaten the plant, Lao immediately had Hama arrested for sorcery and she was thrown into prison for the rest of her days.
But Hama wouldn't relinquish her prizes so easily. She cursed the child, that it would be born twisted and deformed. And when the time came, they looked upon their daughter and wept.
When she opened her eyes, it was clear that she was as blind as could be.
How cruel would the world be to a child that could not see? So it was decided that they would build a tower to house their daughter and keep her safe from all the evil in the land for all eternity.
The woods were so dark at night, you could hardly see your hand in front of your face. More than once Sokka had walked into a tree, and his nose smarted terribly.
If only his horse hadn't gotten spooked and thrown him from the saddle. That was just his luck.
"What I wouldn't give for a torch," he muttered, feeling his way through the darkness.
"I will be having words with Aang when I get back. 'He's not afraid of anything', my backside. Just because his own mount is weirdly loyal doesn't mean they all are."
Stumbling through the forest, Sokka noted the trees were growing fewer. Some of them seemed to have been cut down, their rotting stumps serving as evidence of human activity.
"Maybe there's people nearby!" He said excitedly
He dearly hoped that if there was, then they had food of some kind. He was starving.
Stepping clear of the trees, the waning moonlight was just enough to grant him vision. Up ahead in the distance, he saw a shimmering light in the window of a massive tower.
"Wow. I wonder who lives there, they must be pretty well off."
As he arrived at the base of the tower, he noticed that there was no door to access it. Confused, he circled around the building. It was completely shut off.
"Who would build a tower you can't even get into?!" He exclaimed in distress.
"My parents would," a voice called.
His head snapped up to see a figure leaning out of the window, staring down at him.
"Um. Hi there," he said, waving his hand.
The figure did not reciprocate.
"Who are you?" They asked after a moment.
He straightened up, thrusting his chest out proudly.
"Prince Sokka," he boasted.
The figure did not seem impressed.
"A prince? There aren't any kings here. Ba Sing Se is a long, long way."
Sokka found himself humming for a moment, before he hurriedly stopped.
"Well, my dad's chief of the Southern Water Tribe," he explained.
The girl raised an eyebrow, though Sokka couldn't see it.
"Your dad's a chief, but you're a prince. " She said, disbelief evident in her tone.
"It's complicated!" Sokka pouted.
"If you say so," she said dismissively.
He squinted up at her, the sun's slow rise illuminating her features slightly.
"What about you then, got a name?" He asked.
"I'm Toph Beifong," she declared.
"Right. So, Toph - what's the deal with the tower? You get grounded for a hundred years?" He asked.
She looked away.
"No. I was born blind, and my parents put me in here for safekeeping. I'm not allowed to leave, ever."
Sokka whistled slowly.
"Wow. That's pretty rough. Not even for your birthday or something?"
Toph glared at him.
"Do you know what the word 'ever' means?" She demanded.
Sokka held up his hands in surrender.
"Alright, just wondering. Must be pretty lonely up there, with no one else around."
Toph narrowed her eyes, but nodded warily.
"How do your parents get in, if there's no doors?" He questioned.
Toph didn't speak, her hands going to the headband in her scalp. In seconds she had removed it, and the big bun of hair fell apart.
Sokka stared at the cascading waterfall of onyx hair in amazement. His gaze switched between the hair just touching the ground, and Toph's head.
"How did all that even fit into a bun?" He said in bewilderment. "So what, do they climb up it?"
Toph nodded, sending ripples throughout the mass of hair.
"Man, that's gotta be tough on your neck," he remarked.
"I can handle it," said Toph easily.
"Can I try?" Sokka asked.
"I've got a better idea," Toph said, and pulled away from the window, the long hair slowly disappearing inside.
Sokka stared up at the empty window in confusion for several minutes, before a tap to his shoulder sent him sprawling the to floor in shock. He gazed up from the dirt to see Toph grinning down at him.
"How? There's no door…" He mumbled.
"I've lived in this tower for eighteen years, you learn all its weak spots eventually."
Sokka picked himself up, spitting out dirt.
"I thought you said you couldn't leave," he argued.
"I said I wasn't allowed to leave."
He scowled, but conceded the point. He followed after her, finding that there was a hole in the very bottom of the tower where one of the stones was pushed out.
"How do you get that back in from the inside?" He wondered.
"It's not easy, but if you believe in yourself, anything's possible ," she replied.
"I once believed that I could move water with my mind, but all that happened was I got a headache and very wet," he countered.
Toph shook her head bemusedly, shoving him through.
He walked through the tower, noting the spartan decor.
"What do you do in here all say?" He wondered.
"Work out, mostly."
He glanced over at her, noting the prominent musculature. He opened his mouth to reply, before the sound of hoofbeats caught their attention.
"It's my parents!" Toph hissed.
Sokka spied the window and stuck his head out of it. He'd never make the fall.
"Toph, let down your hair!"
Toph frowned at him, but unbound her bun once more. Sokka took a hold of it, quickly shimmying down to the ground.
"Don't worry, I'll be back," he called up to her.
"You better be," she ordered.
He fled the scene.
Game Day Round 5 relevant information:
Words: 1234
Prompts: Rapunzel, "If you believe in yourself anything is possible", 1234 words.