Rise of the Blind Bandit
It had been difficult to run away. I didn't manage it right away, but as the midnight trips to the kitchens gradually grew to early morning strolls around the gardens with only one incident of being caught ("What do you mean it's not morning yet? How could I tell the sun wasn't shining brightly in the sky?"), I realized that I was ready to break out of this joint. I was definitely going to come home – I just wanted to prove to myself that I could live outside of the walls. I had experimented with digging in the gardens, but didn't want to raise alarm in case I couldn't return the landscaping to the way it looked before. I opted for disguising myself as a servant and slipping out that way. I swiped a spare shift one of the younger kitchen girls kept in a cabinet and pretended to be said kitchen girl not feeling well. It's a shame how little notice you get with some dirt in your hair and a coarsely-made outfit.
As I walked away from the estate, I felt giddy. I was free, and I was alive. I was still close enough to hear the alarm that the Beifong girl was missing when dinner rolled around. I broke out in a run. I went off the road and started thrashing through underbrush. I kept the sun to my back, heading toward some mountains I had heard about. When the sun set and I no longer had its warmth to guide me, I dug a nest in the ground to curl up for the night. I tried to sleep, but the excitement was too much. As soon as I felt the sun's rays to the east I began walking again.
The cave was strangely easy to find. I felt drawn to it, like it was my destiny to explore it. The stone was smooth and cool against my bare feet. I was glad to be away from the brush that pulled at my clothing and ripped into my feet. I placed my right hand against a wall and began walking. If leaving home made me feel free and alive like a bird taking flight, this cave finally felt like home, and I was safe. It was dry and quiet. I kept walking, hearing nothing but the shuffle of my own feet.
I wasn't sure what I was thinking, but one moment I was on solid ground and the next I wondered if I was going to live as I tumbled down a shaft. I felt the ground rushing toward me, but instead of hitting solid rock, I gently touched down on a pillar of stone. I heard some shuffling and sniffing below.
"Hello?" I tentatively called out. There was no response, and I knelt to feel out my surroundings. When I realized my pillar was only about three feet in diameter, I stood again.
I stomped my foot in frustration, and felt the ground lower beneath me. I landed roughly on the floor of the cave where the shuffling was coming from. I froze, and just listened. Something opened inside of me, and I felt like I could see something in the cave with me. I breathed, and wiggled my toes. I realized I could sense the animal through my feet. It was amazing, and I was a little overwhelmed. I sat down, and waited for the creature to venture closer to me. It kept sniffing me, and I realized from the stale air and my new-found foot-sensing technique that there was no light in this part of the cavern. This creature either had really good eyesight in the dark, or none at all.
"Hi there, I'm Toph. I'm a friend." I hoped it was a badger mole and not something else more ferocious like a shirshu. A wet tongue licked my face. For a moment I was sure that I was wrong; now I was paralyzed and pretty soon going to be a shishu snack. The tongue licked me again, and I giggled, reaching up to hug the animal. Stupid, I thought. I never giggle. The badger mole let me pet its ears for a while before turning away again. I heard it stomp its foot and felt a new opening in the cave.
I followed the badger mole through the opening, and had a thought. I focused on the earth it had moved, and I stomped my foot too. It felt like I had caught it in my fist, so I dragged my arm up. The tunnel closed as I brought my fist up and in. On instinct, I punched, and sent the earth in my grasp back down the tunnel. The badger mole licked my face again, as I laughed. We took turns moving the earth after that, and I felt the crust above us thinning. When we arrived back at the surface, I knew we were close to Gaoling again. I hugged the badger mole good bye, and started back toward home. I didn't care how long my mom forced me to sit in the bath that night – I had a piece of freedom my parents could never take away from me. I was Toph Beifong, and I was going to be a Master Earthbender.
The freedom I had didn't last me long. I had to be on my best behavior for the next few months to gain enough trust and distance from my parents to attempt another break-out. I bided my time by using that earthbending sense to detect things and people. My mother commented on how much more graceful I was. I shyly told my parents that I thought I had bending powers. They were not happy, but after a few more conversations decided that bending might turn out to be an asset if they decided to tell the world about me and needed to arrange a marriage.
I started earth bending lessons with Master Yu from town. At first I was exhilarated that my parents were going to help me with my dreams, but soon realized just how pointless his lessons were. My lessons were hindered by his idea that I was as delicate as a panda lily and about as dumb as one too. I began to play into it just so I wouldn't have to spend as much time with the dithering idiot.
In my spare time, I spent more time in the gardens, pretending to smell the flowers. Instead I eavesdropped on the guards by the main gate. They spoke about my new obsession. There was a competition in town called the Earth Rumble, and only the best benders competed. I had to get to the Rumble. They spoke of the matches in blow-by-blow terms. I learned the rules. I learned how matches were scored. I learned the names of the most famous champions. Finally, about two years after my big break-out I decided I could risk another to attend a match.
I tunneled out using my earthbending (and I'm pretty sure I didn't disturb any of the landscaping either) and made my way toward the arena the guards spoke of. I had to stop and try to find the vibrations a few times, but I knew when I was getting closer by the palpable excitement in the air. I snuck past the doorman and found a seat. I wiggled my toes in excitement, and I was not disappointed. The earthbending I had done with the badger moles was like large-scale demolition compared to the finesse these benders were using. I sensed the chops and the punches, the kicks and the hits. It was amazing, and I was hooked.
I still don't know how my parents didn't catch on to me. It helped that they thought I was delicate, so I passed the sleeping in as a part of my frail condition. I hated misleading them, but I figured what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. I was sneaking out at least five nights a week – I never missed a rumble, and the other nights I practiced the moves that I had witnessed.
The Rumble headed into tournament time, and the matches became more intense and more exciting. I had never been so excited for anything before in my life, and was as giddy as a fangirl about it. The Boulder (my favorite) had won all of his matches up to this point, and was the projected champion.
I was glued to the floor as I followed the action. The Boulder won (of course) with great fanfare, and then Xin Fu spoke the words that changed my life forever.
"So now to spice up the competition, we will offer this bag of gold to anyone who can defeat our champion."
I stomped my foot, and launched a pillar to catapult me on the stage. "You're on!" I said as I heard a mixture of shock and amazement mix with the cheers.
The Boulder seemed the most flabbergasted. "The Boulder does not want to hurt a little girl." I heard him turn to Xin Fu.
I felt Xin Fu size me up. "If that seat catapult was any indication, I think she can hold her own." He said to The Boulder. "What's your name, kid?"
I hadn't thought about it, so I said the first thing that came to mind. "I'm the Blind Bandit. But I won't need to remind you of that after tonight."
Xin Fu laughed, and announced to the arena that a newcomer was going to take on their champion. I felt the crowd's confusion, but shook it off. I would turn it into adoration by the end of the first round.
The bell rang, and I waited. I knew that the Boulder was going to do something really flashy – his fighting style was half entertainment, half nitty-gritty fighting. He punched a boulder toward me, and I blocked it with a wall. The resulting explosion of rock and dust caused a stir in the crowd. I pushed my wall at him like a wave and heard him jump over it. He slammed back to the ground, and I sent an aftershock wave at him. The motion sent him off balance, but not over the edge. I tried a punch next. He caught the boulder and tossed it into the lower seating of the arena. While he was distracted with twirling the boulder aside, I stomped a step to launch him. He was caught off balance again, and I finished him off with a punch of rock from beneath him.
The crowd went nuts and started chanting my name. Xin Fu slid out of the commentator's box and gave me the prize money. "You played well, kid. Come back next week and we'll include you in another fight."
The crowd roared as I hoisted my winnings in the air. I was the Blind Bandit, and I had arrived.