Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, etc etc, I just wish I did.
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"I hate this!" Sokka stalked angrily out of the council room, slipping on a patch of ice while he fumed. "You think it's safe to send my sister into the Fire Nation? To spy? Undercover? Surrounded by men?" Hokada ran after his son.
"Sokka, Katara knows what she's doing. She's a powerful bender, and she'd be easy to disguise. Girls, especially servants, are often overlooked in the Fire Nation," he panted, trying to catch up.
Sokka turned around to face his father. "You think it's a good idea? You're willing to risk her life, again, just for some stupid rumor that you THINK is true? Some father you are! Why can't we just ask Ozai what's happening? I thought we had an alliance with the Fire Nation." Hokada frowned at his son.
"The alliance is all but completely vanished. The water tribe ambassadors stationed in the palace have reported back that things are not looking up. The Fire Nation is plotting something. We can't just sit back and wait for it to happen. We owe it to ourselves, and to the Earth Kingdom, to find out what's going on before it's too late," Hokada explained. He placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "I know it's tough to imagine Katara out in the world. But she's twenty years old – more than old enough to fend for herself."
"But Dad… we don't even have any solid proof. If the Fire Nation discovers that we don't trust them... what if they're not conspiring? Think about what could happen to Katara!"
"Think about what could happen to her, to all of us, if we don't stop this before it's too late."
Sokka followed his father back to the council room.
-x-
Katara was pacing rapidly down the hallway, chewing her lip. It had been six years since she'd last seen combat, since she'd last had to lie to save her skin. It had been six years since she'd been in any real danger. And now here she was, purposely bringing herself into a position to get killed.
It's for the good of my country, she thought to herself. What if the Fire Nation is really plotting? I have meaning; they trust me to do this. I can do this. I can do this. Won't someone recognize me? There aren't exactly a lot of blue-eyed firebenders. Crap. This is a horrible idea. CRAP!
She walked in one direction down the hall, to her brother's room. He was on his bed, and he turned to face her.
"Now, Katara. I don't care how charming some fire nation noble-whatever may be – you have to watch out for those little skeeze-balls, because all men want the same thing, BELIEVEEE ME, they just want –"
Rolling her eyes, she tried to interrupt Sokka's lecture. "Sokka, I'm perfectly capable of resisting the temptation of any smooth-talking –"
"You won't need to worry about resisting the temptation – Toph will be coming along to make sure you resist temptation." Sokka smiled broadly, congratulating himself on finding such a simple solution to the grand problem.
"Toph? Toph is coming?" Katara could barely contain her excitement; it'd been years since she'd seen Toph.
"Not coming, came. She's got a room down the hallway. Try not to hurt yourself on the way there," Sokka advised, but the words were lost on Katara, as she was already down the hallway, screeching loudly. Girls.
"Toph! Toph!" she squealed, running into her friends arms. Toph had grown a lot since Katara had last seen her. At the ripe old age of eighteen, however, she was still considered short, and Katara had to bend to hug her. Toph sighed.
"Gee, Sugar Queen. I don't know how you live here, do you people like torture? This ice is horrible. The faster we can get to the fire nation, the better. It might be hot there, but at least they had enough taste to settle on actual ground." Katara shoved her playfully, and the two walked out, chattering amongst themselves.
-x-
Soon enough, Toph and Katara were on a ship, setting sail for the fire nation, befitted in the clothes of fire nation servants. A light powder on Katara's face made her nose itch; it was supposed to disguise the tan of her skin. She looked at Toph.
Toph sighed.
-x-
Disembarking from the ship, they were herded off into the crowd, and led to a carriage which would take them to the Palace.
"Get in." The man looked around, checking for danger. He was clearly a fire bender like most others in the town, and he quickly ushered the girls inside, where an armoured guard sat, solid and unmoving. Another man, elderly, frail, and emotionless, sat across from the guard. He barely acknowledged the girls as they entered. Once moving, however, he began to talk.
"How much do you know about cleaning?" he asked, avoiding eye contact with either of the girls.
"I don't clean," Toph stated, her ferocity lingering in the air. Born of the Bei Fong family, she'd led a privileged life-style. And her hygiene was lacking even then. She raised her eyebrows at the old man.
"I … I can clean," Katara offered. She glanced at Toph. "It's not exactly complicated." Her servants garb itched, the red clashing with her eyes. It would be easy, disguised as a servant; many like her had remained in the fire nation even after the war, for there was plenty of work and money to be had in the heart of the palace.
She wore a red robe, without sleeves, with a belt tied loosely about her. Her hair was pulled back loosely in a bun, and she looked every inch the fire nation servant. But she felt none of it.
"Stuff it, Sugar Queen," was Toph's acidic reply.
"You'll be serving around the Palace – cleaning, cooking, whatever you can do, you will be enlisted to do. You know why you are here. You know what your job is. The war chamber needs much cleaning, you should know. Letters must be sent through the servants, but you are to remain as discreet and nondescript as possible. Attract no attention to yourself. Do not cause trouble. You may find me in the nearby town, on the West end, at the first strike of Friday. Call me Tsi." He nodded as they reached the palace, and gestured for them to get off.
-x-
As soon as they were out of earshot, the girls looked at each other. "I don't trust him," Toph put out. "We don't know him. And I am not cleaning!" The paved ground was made of a rich stone, and ladies of every kind walked past them, and paid no notice to the two benders. One stepped on Katara's left foot. Toph stepped on the right one to keep her from crying out.
Footsore and crabby, not to mention confused, the pair reached the doors, and seeing no other alternative, turned toward the closest guard.
"Good day, sir," Katara said, awkwardly bowing. "We're new servants here, and we seem to have lost our way… could you possibly help us?"
He blankly looked at the girl. Katara wondered if the bow had been too much. She fluttered her eyelashes and looked up at the man expectantly. He had opened his mouth to reply when a loud shout echoed through the halls.
"Get out of my way, filth! Do you know who I am? Have you seen Azula? Does anyone know anything?" The menacing figure was making his way straight to the door, which Katara and Toph were standing in the middle of. He wore a long red robe, and his face was turned away, shouting orders at his guards. His muscular stature was reflected in the way he walked, in the assurance with which he strode through the halls. Katara dreamily admired him, forgetting where she was and who she was supposed to be, and merely letting her rampant hormones take control.
While Katara was undressing him with her eyes, he turned and looked her straight on. Petrified by fear, she did not move.
She looked into the eyes of Prince Zuko.
-x-
A/N: I know, I know… really dull But I promise it will get more exciting! All leading up to the action ;)