Lady Bei Fong

It had to be a trick. She must have had something planned and was simply biding her time. There was no way Toph would sit quietly and obediently throughout the journey from the Earth Kingdom to the Fire Kingdom. Lao Bei Fong shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his eyes fixed on his bull-headed daughter who for some unknown reason had transformed into the vision of docility and serenity. Somehow this terrified him more than her usual self. She must have something planned.

"You are not going to object to this?" he asked, putting on his air of power and self-assurance.

"If you are going to sell me off for trade benefits, I would rather someone I trust pick my future husband." Toph said curtly, her milky-green eyes fixed straight on his dark ones. It still unnerved him how she could stare at him so unblinkingly. He knew she could not see, but still he felt as though his daughter could see into his soul.

Toph clenched her hands into a fist in the fabric of her dress, the silk folded easily under her calloused palms. Sometimes, she wondered how her father could be so immensely thick. You would have thought sixteen years with her would have taught him that he could never make her do anything. But the bull-headed man would never stop. He kept trying to make her do things, make her be his perfect little china-doll of a daughter.

The carriage pulled to a stop and a fire nation soldier opened the door. "Lady Bei Fong," he said as he offered his hand to her and bowed deeply. Toph placed her hand in his and allowed him to help her out of the carriage. It was all part of the charade anyway; every soldier knew that this slight woman in an excess of green and beige could send them straight to the center of the earth if she wanted to. She stepped down and relished the feel of cold, hard stone underneath her bare feet. Yes, she would wear the dress, and the make-up, the perfume, the jewelry. Hell, she would even let them twist and tease her hair into unnatural shapes. But, it would be a cold day in hell before she let them cover her feet.

He felt so familiar. She would never tell the others, but Zuko was the one she would forget last. His walk, his heart-beat, his breath was so distinctively Zuko that she did not even have to think. She just felt him. "Hey, the princess became a queen!" she yelled with a smirk. Some other time, she might have gathered up the excess of dress and ran towards him, but today she was putting on a show for the old man in the carriage so instead she walked like the lady she was.

Zuko could barely believe his eyes. Yes, he had seen her before, but it had been two far too long years and she the last time he saw her, she was not pretending to be a lady. So it was true after all, Toph really was Lady Bei Fong. He watched, shocked as she gracefully walked towards him. Somewhere in her parents' etiquette training she had lost that boyish swagger she had so carefully practiced, in its place was a light, graceful walk that was almost a glide. But somehow in her normal, oversized clothes it seemed less pronounced. In a dress however, that was a different story.

"Wow, you are a girl?" Zuko teased.

"Zip it sparky," she said under her breath, "I have a reputation to uphold." She was about to say something else when she heard her father speak from behind her. Normally, she should have been behind him. She was supposed to quietly watch him dictate her future. But that would only happen over her dead body.

"Firelord Zuko." Lao bowed deeply.

"can we leave him like that?" Toph whispered to Zuko who pushed her aside playfully.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"Great, everyone is introduced." Toph cut in quickly as she grabbed Zuko's arm, "now show me the ducks. I miss the duckies."

Lao cringed; of course the perfect lady he had travelled from the earth kingdom with could not last. But she could be worse; he had seen her be worse.

Zuko had to speed up to catch up with Toph who was racing to the gardens. It was strange, for a girl who hated water she really loved water animals. She sat on the grass, her silk dress forming a pool of beige around her. "Why has it been so long?" He asked as he settled down beside her.

"Because it had to be." She said, her voice making it clear that she did not want to speak about it any further. But Zuko was not one to give up easily; the first thing he had learnt about being friends with Toph – actual friends – was that she tried to hide a lot, and if he let her he would never get anywhere with her.

"Why though? You could have come to visit me anytime. You never let me come and see you. Katara said you were fine but I missed you." He said. He was never this open with anyone, but something about Toph made him feel as though she understood. She made him feel like he did not have to be strong around her because she could see his weakness and still not judge him for putting on a façade of strength.

"Well, I needed space princess."

"From me?" He sounded both confused and hurt, "why would you need space from me? We have always got along so well. You were essentially my advisor for the first two years of my rule. You and I rebuilt the fire nation."

"They needed me in the earth kingdom. I needed space from the gaang, and from rebuilding your home, to hold mine together. Somehow, I am the face of the earth kingdom, the great national hero. After the war the territories started to splinter and the king asked for me. I'm not royal, being noble is hard enough. I could not handle all four nations." She lowered her head and for the first time Zuko saw that she was not this mystical wise, being. Her father had raised her very well, and very intelligent. She had an excellent mind for business and nation – no empire building. It started out with her giving advice, and in less than a year she was the defacto advisor to aang and his dreams of an air nation, Sokka and his dreams of restoring the southern water tribe, and him and his lost and disgraced nation.

"Oh my goodness you were twelve." He said in disbelief, "you just seemed so much older because you knew more."

"I wasn't supposed to get tired. Rock does not get tired." She clenched her hands into a fist, "then I felt like I failed you guys. Especially after the battle in the Southern water tribe and hearing that people moved out of the air temples. I just hid."

Zuko wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. "Don't worry, I survived the assassination attempts."

Toph pushed him away in mock annoyance. "You, princess, are asking for it." She smiled at him. For the first time, Zuko noticed how she looked both delicate and fierce at the same time. If you merely glanced at her you would see the perfect, delicate-looking princess, but if you looked closer you would instantly think twice about crossing her.

He was about to speak when one of his servants interrupted him. "Firelord Zuko, Lord Bei Fong would like to meet with you in private."

Zuko hesitated, but rose to his feet the moment Toph motioned for him to go. "You should have told me," He said, "I would have told you. We tell each other everything."

"You can whine later. My father is not very fond of waiting." Toph said as she turned her attention back to the ducks. Zuko lingered a little longer and watched as she played with the 'duckies'. He could not help but feel so immensely guilty for making her shoulder so much. All the while she was frantically travelling from nation to nation, trying to solve crisis after crisis, no one had given a single thought to how it affected her. In their minds, she was Toph; she was the backbone of their group. Strong, fearless and incredibly resilient, it had never crossed their minds that perhaps rebuilding all four nations was too much for even the greatest earth-bender in history.

Zuko felt so strange walking with Lao Bei Fong as equals. Somehow, just knowing he was Toph's father made Zuko nervous. Perhaps it was the stories he had geard from Toph, or it was the fear that there might be a bit of her in the slick, kempt man and if that part showed, Zuko's façade of political savviness might just fall apart.

"Firelord Zuko, as you might know our nations rely heavily on each other. Historically it has been out trade that made our nations so strong, and after the war, we need each other more than ever, no matter how uncomfortable that relationship might be."

Zuko used to get uncomfortable at the mention of the war, but he had quickly gotten over that. "Yes lord Bei Fong, but unfortunately the earth kingdom has been less than willing to revive that relationship."

"Trust me Fire Lord, I am just as upset by the situation as you are. As is the Earth King. Both nations are suffering from this icy relationship." Lao slowed his paced and admired the elegant garden "there simply is no trust between out nations."

"That is understandable; there is no reason for you to trust us yet. The fire nation has a long way in terms of proving itself." It was a hard truth Zuko has come to accept. He would spend his whole reign fixing his nation's reputation and it would be a long and difficult road.

"But, perhaps there is a way to speed that up." Lao said, and suddenly Zuko was a little more than apprehensive. All the questions he should have asked earlier flooded his mind: why would the Earth King send the Bei Fongs and not his regular ambassador? And why had Toph suddenly reappeared after two years, without so much as a warning?

"And how would you suggest?"

"Well, as you may know after your little 'adventures' my daughter became some-what of a national hero. The Earth people love her unconditionally, and with her discovery of metal-bending they are hailing her as a new cultural leader destined to pave the way to Earth Kingdom greatness. To capitalize on her popularity, the King suggested that if Toph married a fire nation noble it might ease diplomatic relations. Her marriage would be a sign of unity between out nations."

"And what does this have to do with me?" Zuko asked nervously. He knew being noble was full of un-pleasantries and ridiculous agreements, but even this was way too much for him. No marrying Toph off to him was just downright stupid; would the fire nation lose its lord or the earth kingdom its hero?

"I know you care a lot about my daughter. But not nearly as much as I do." Lao said, his voice losing a little of its haughtiness. Zuko almost laughed at the man's insistence that he cared about his daughter; he did not even know her. Someone who would rather lock Toph away did not understand what caring about her meant. "I was hoping you would find her a good suitor."

Zuko stopped. He was not sure why, but the thought of finding Toph a husband just seemed wrong. He could not handpick someone who was worthy of her; Toph chose who was worthy. He could not be part of this conspiracy to plan her life. "Lord Bei Fong, I don't think I can."

"You afford my daughter more freedom than I ever could. She trusts you. Toph agreed to this on the grounds that you choose her husband."

"She agreed?" Zuko asked incredulously, "Toph? The one I know?"

Lao smiled, "Strange I know. But aside being incredibly stubborn and rebellious, she is almost intelligent and loyal. She will do anything for those she loves, and she loves her kingdom. She knows out nations' cooperation is the crux in moving all four nations forward. No matter how she acts, in the end my daughter is still a noble and nobles do what they have to for their people."