"Lady Toph?" the maid whispered softly into the darkness.

"Hnnngh?" came a small moan in response.

The maid chuckled softly as she pushed open the door and lit the lamp nearby.

The room was pretty bare; only a small vanity with a stool and a bed in the center of the room for furniture and almost no decorations.

"Lady Toph, it's nearly ten. You need to get up."

"I'm awake," Toph mumbled. "Isn't that close enough?"

"I'm afraid not."

The seventeen-year-old let out another moan, but sat up nonetheless. Her long dark hair, still full of earth from the previous night's fight, was sticking out in every direction. The blanket fell away from her as she stretched, causing the maid to gasp in surprise.

"What? What is it?" Toph asked quickly, instinctively throwing a foot out from under the covers so it connected with the earthen floor. She couldn't detect any immediate threat…

"Lady Toph you are not wearing your night shirt."

Toph felt her cheeks burn as she yanked the blanket back over herself, forgetting she had skinned off her clothes upon returning to the house and had not bothered to put anything else on.

"I'm so sorry Lin. I-I took it off because I was too warm and couldn't find it again," Toph lied, though the note of apology in her voice made the lie sound more real than usual.

"Uh-huh," Lin said, raising an eyebrow. "How about I fetch your clothes and prepare you a bath? You have to be presentable today. If you bathe quickly, perhaps we can attend to your cuts before doing your hair."

Dammit she saw them.

As Lin stepped into the closet to pick out Toph's clothes for the day, the Earthbender cursed under her breath.

Not at Lin. Never about Lin. The maid had been by her side since birth, and never once had she ever felt any animosity towards the caring woman. When she was younger, she liked to believe that Lin was her real mother, citing only that the care Lin gave her was the kind a mother should give.

No, she was not cursing Lin. She was cursing herself.

The Earthbending battle she fought in last night had been particularly brutal. She had won, of course, but it came at a bit of a cost. Her main competitors had been a set of twins who would use acrobatics while they Earthbended. She had nearly been caught off guard when one had climbed onto the other's shoulders. They lifted their boulders from the ground at the exact same moment, and then one twin would break theirs into small pieces and pelt her incessantly while the other battled with the boulder. She won by getting a small boulder in under the bottom twin's foot while they picked up more ammunition, causing both twins to hit the ground hard. From there it was just a little flick and they were both out.

The cost, however, was the physical effects of the fight. Barely anyone could touch her in battle, which made keeping her secret life far easier, but the twin that kept flicking the little bits of rock at her had managed more damage than she had originally thought. Distracted by their sibling's boulder, she had been unable to stop all the little bits from knocking her around.

Upon returning to her room after the fight, she took off her dirty clothes and hid them in a hole in the floor before collapsing into bed. This morning, Toph cursed herself for not putting on something before falling asleep, as Lin was sure to have seen the numerous small cuts and bruises across her chest and arms.

"Here you are, my dear," Lin said softly as she returned to the room. She sat a neatly folded dress on the bed directly in front of Toph. "You need to get father is having another suitor for you to meet in an hour. You must be ready."

"I don't want to meet any suitors. Not today, not ever."

"I understand. However, your father-"

"I know, I know," Toph groaned.

"Perhaps afterwards, I can convince him to allow us to go into the city for a little while," Lin offered.

"Why do assume I will not be engaged by the end of the luncheon?" Toph asked, doing her best to look affronted. Lin only chuckled.

"Perhaps because every suitor so far has been run off. I believe the total is up to fourteen, with every single one complaining of some unusual things happening to the floor every time they attempt to talk to you."

Toph smirked.

"I will draw you a bath. Your robe is on the ground on the right hand side of your bed. I recommend you put it on."

This time, it was Lin who smirked as she stepped into the bathroom, which was adjacent to the closet. Toph felt her go. Taking a deep breath, Toph picked up her fallen robe and slipped it on.

After a quick bath (which given the amount of dirt that was still on her person was simply mud by the time she was clean) Toph sat at the stool and allowed Lin to brush out her hair. No one except for her maid was allowed to touch her. Anyone else who tried found themselves suddenly pushed backwards by an unseen force they couldn't explain.

"Alright, my dear," Lin said as she pulled Toph's long dark hair up into a bun. "I'm done. And just in the nick of time. I'm sure your father and his guests are waiting for you."

Toph tapped her foot on the ground. Sure enough, in the living room on the other side of the house, her father and two men stood in close proximity,, her mother in the nearby kitchen talking to the cook.

"I hear this young man is very smart," Lin said as she and Toph walked down the hallway towards the living room.

"That's what father has said about every boy they've dragged in here," Toph replied quietly. "And he's yet to be correct."

Lin smirked. Once they had reached the living room, Lin hung back to let her ward enter first.

"Hello ladies. May I introduce you to Bo Huang and his father Bao. Gentlemen, this is my daughter Toph and her handmaiden Lin."

"Spirits, what's wrong with her eyes?" the young man Bo exclaimed loudly.

What's wrong with my eyes? What's wrong with your tiny little-

"Uh, well. I did warn you," Lao Beifong said with a nervous laugh. "She has been blind since birth. But she is a wonderful young lady, I assure you. Demure and proper, just like a lady should be."

It took Toph a lot of effort not to snort at her father's comment.

"The chef has informed me that lunch is ready," Toph's mother Poppy said from off to Toph's right. "Shall we make our way into the dining room?"

There was a mutter of agreement from the group. Lao and Poppy graciously led Bao in first. Before he exited the room, Bao made eye contact with Bo and jerked his head towards Toph.

Bo rolled his eyes and begrudgingly lifted an arm to escort her into the dining room. Toph didn't move. Bo's cheeks burned red as he remembered she couldn't see.

Of course, Toph knew he did this. She almost chuckled as she felt his vibrations move as he shifted uncomfortably, trying to determine his next move. Smirking, she stepped forward without him and led herself into the dining room.