IVORY TOWERS

CHAPTER TWO: The Opportunity

"People are opportunities. The gift is in the interaction and the connection with another person, whether it lasts forever or not."
- Colleen Seifert

Kai was surprisingly easy to talk to. Jinora learned that quickly, as words flowed out of her with no sign of stopping, but what she liked most was listening to him speak instead. She liked watching and learning how his mouth formed words. He was originally from a small town on the outskirts of Omashu before getting a job at the castle with Sudhir when he was eight. Jinora's eyebrows shot up; that was so young.

"Master Sudhir's father, King Yon, was a great man," Kai said fondly. "Great man. He was the one who let me stay permanently in the castle as a servant, after my parents died."

"I'm sorry about your parents," Jinora said sympathetically, her eyes sad.

Kai half-smiled at her. "It was a long time ago, but thank you, Princess. What is your family like?"

"My parents, of course, King Tenzin and Queen Pema, and then I have two younger brothers and a sister; they're all betrothed," Jinora said, sounding far more relieved than she had meant to, once again feeling grateful for having escaped that fate. For a short while longer, anyhow.

"You don't want to get married?" Kai asked, surprised.

Jinora let out a soft chuckle. "I assume that whatever is said here will not be told back to Sudhir?"

Kai shook his head. "I don't think he knows that you've even acknowledged by existence, Princess. Your secrets are safe with me."

Despite herself, Jinora felt a rush of heat creep up her neck. Her secrets - their secret. They shared something together. Safe with me.

She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel unusually at ease around him. Maybe it was because for once, no pressure was being put upon her, no duties rested on her shoulders. Her parents loved her, of course, and she loved them, but they had expectations she had to uphold. With Kai, there was none of that. It was strangely freeing.

"I'm sure you've figured out it wasn't my idea to get married, at least not anytime soon," Jinora confided. "My parents want me to take my father's place as ruler, as he is getting up there in age. In their eyes, in my kingdom's eyes, a queen needs a king, so here I am. I'm afraid none of my 'suitors' have caught my fancy, however."

Kai's eyes widened. "Really?" he said in disbelief. "Princess Jinora," he added. "Then again, next week is the official start of the six months, you'll start one-on-one courtship, Princess?"

Jinora opened her mouth to speak when Poppy's voice rang out, "Princess Jinora!" The plump woman was hobbling towards her, looking agitated. Poppy spared a quick glance for Kai, but if she was surprised she didn't show it. "You need to get dressed for dinner, Mako couldn't find you anywhere," Poppy hoisted Jinora up by the arm.

Jinora shot Kai an apologetic look. "I have to go, it was nice talking to you Kai."

Kai stiffened, stood up and bowed formally; Jinora didn't like it one bit. "The same to you Princess Jinora, I am sorry for keeping you." Jinora hoped he wasn't really sorry. He exited the library after them and they split off in opposite directions.

"What were you doing talking to King Sudhir's servant?" Poppy didn't sound mad, she sounded curious, and slightly suspicious. Jinora was sure the maid hadn't missed the way the two had stared at each other when they had first met, and Jinora thought, replaying the afternoon she had just spent with Kai, that strange desire to be around him had only intensified. He was a good man, a kind man.

"We bumped into each other in the hall and I needed help with something he was kind enough to provide assistance with," Jinora said simply, hoping Poppy would drop the topic.

Poppy pursed her lips, although there was a gleam of amusement in her dark eyes. "Well if that's all?" Jinora nodded earnestly. "Let's get you properly dressed for the big feast then."

Kai knew as soon as he had laid eyes on Princess Jinora he was completely screwed. He knew that if Sudhir found out he had spent the afternoon talking to Sudhir's "bride-to-be" (or at least that's what the King boasted) he would be up to his neck in trouble in the form of a gruesome beating. He didn't know what it was about the princess that made him so drawn to her. There was an attraction, a big one, but it seemed stronger than that. He knew he had only scratched the surface of getting to know her, but the way she made him forget himself, forget his lowly status... It was unnerving, yet refreshing. Everyone else made him feel small, insignificant, especially Sudhir.

But Jinora had genuinely listened to what he had to say, had been sincerely interested in him. She was different, a good different.

And a princess.

Kai shook his head, hoping to shake himself free of the dangerous thoughts running through his head. Get a hold of yourself Kai. She's a princess. She's going to pick a prince and marry him and never think about you ever again. She did say she didn't like any of the princes though... It's only been a week, there's plenty of time for her to fall for one of them.

Kai cast a glance over his shoulder at her but Jinora didn't look back at him. Kai shook his head again, rolling his shoulders. Sudhir would be back soon, he needed to get his master's dinner attire ready. Now that all the princes were here, there was going to be a grand feast, Jinora being treated as the guest of honour. Sudhir had told Kai he could attend, as the Gyatso's servants were attending as well. Kai had thought he had been lucky to get new, nicer clothes - "I can't have my servant looking like a vagabond in front of Princess Jinora and her family," - but a five course meal was going to be a brand new experience.

He went down to his quarters, which were near the Servant Quarters (how fitting) and pulled on a fresh shirt. He even dragged a comb through his hair, not like it did much: his hair refused to lie flat no matter what he did. Then he headed up to Sudhir's room, the other princes staying along the same hallway, and picked out the King's finest clothes for dinner, leaving them lying neatly on the bed.

Kai left the room as quickly as possible: if he wasn't there when Sudhir got back he wouldn't have to hear about all of Sudhir's 'dangerous, exciting adventures' of when he went hunting.

There was some time to kill and Kai figured it'd be smart to explore the castle, seeing as he'd be living there for at least the next month. The place was even bigger than he thought. There hundreds of corridors, three courtyards, huge gardens, an orchard, and the tallest towers he had ever seen. The tops of the towers seemed determined to reach the sun.

The sun was steadily setting though, so Kai traced his path back and headed to the Great Hall where the feast would be held. Golden plates and goblets were at every seat, with platters overflowing with food. Kai could barely believe how much there is, or how many servants there were in the castle. The Gyatsoes were wealthier than he had thought.

King Tenzin was sitting at the head of the age, his face lined and beard gray, although he radiated an aura of calm and control. A dark red cape was draped over his shoulders. Queen Pema sat by his side, her hand in her husband's. A young girl sat on King Tenzin's other side, who must have been Jinora's younger sister. There was a young boy on the girl and Pema's side: Jinora's younger brothers.

The princess' suitors were lined up too, all looking bored or impatient. Sudhir looked particularly bad tempered.

Jinora herself was nowhere to be found, and the feast couldn't start without her. Her seat, smack-dab in the middle of her suitors, next to Sudhir and across from Kai, was empty.

The maid from before (Poppy, Kai remembered) took the seat next to Kai. "Hello," Poppy said, her face agitated. "The princess is running late, but she'll be coming any moment now..." She glanced at the Great Hall's entrance and Kai followed her line of vision. "I'm sorry I didn't get your name before, you are...?"

But Kai felt like maybe he truly had forgotten his own name. Jinora had been beautiful the first day he had seen her, but now - now she was gorgeous. Dark curls framed her face, her hair pinned back in curly ringlets, a rosy blush colouring her cheeks, her lips as red as her father's cape, her brown eyes changing colour like a kaleidoscope. Her dress was a deep red and hugged her chest and her waist, flaring at the bottom into a proper gown. A large gold necklace with a penchant - three spiral shapes, her family's symbol - hung at her throat. Simple gold bracelets were tight around her wrists, her slender fingers laced together.

Kai almost forgot how to breathe. He watched, transfixed as she glided over to her seat and gave her father a quick, apologetic look before sitting down.

"Sonny?" someone was tapping him on the shoulder.

Kai spared Poppy a glance, still unable to fully tear his eyes away from Jinora. "Hmm?"

"Your name, boy," Poppy said exasperatedly, but there was a tired smile on her face.

"Kai, I'm Kai," he said distractedly. He finally looked away from Jinora and stuck out his hand. Poppy shook it; she had a surprisingly firm grip.

"I'd be careful if I were you Kai, Sudhir's looking," Poppy said in a low voice. Kai eyes snapped to his master's. Sudhir was regarding Jinora with deep interest, a smirk twitching on his lips; all the prince's had similar expressions, almost hungry. Jinora looked extremely uncomfortable and Kai felt anger bubble up inside of him.

A clanging noise ran out (fork against goblet) and everyone directed their attention to King Tenzin, who was now standing. He cleared his throat and Kai risked a glance at Jinora out of the corner of his eye. She caught his gaze and flashed him a quick smile before they both turned back to her father. "Let the feast begin," King Tenzin announced.

Kai dug into his food, better food than he had ever tasted in his entire life. The chicken, the vegetables, the desert and bread all exploded over his taste-buds, but he made sure to not stuff his face. Sudhir wouldn't approve and, more importantly, surely Jinora wouldn't either.

"I killed a bear this afternoon," Sudhir boasted. "I managed to sneak up on it until it was only twenty footsteps away."

"It was probably because it thought you were its own kind," Jinora said dryly, and the other princes laughed. Kai snorted loudly but managed to turn it halfway into a cough when Sudhir glared at him. It made Jinora smile though, so it was worth it.

Dinner was easy, and very filling, even by only the fourth course with the fifth (a second round of desert) on its way. Once everyone had finally finished eating - and Kai had caught Jinora's eye no less than ten times and shared a couple of smiles - King Tenzin stood up again. "It is a great honour to have the King and princes of Omashu, Ba Sing Se-" he continued to list off kingdoms, some from the Fire Nation, one from the Water Tribes but mostly from the Earth Kingdom.

Kai zoned out, glancing at Jinora again. She smiled widely at him, shyly tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. King Tenzin's voice rumbled, catching Kai's attention again, "here in our great kingdom in honour of gaining my daughter's favour. The beginning of your courtship is tomorrow, you've all been informed of the rules. May the best man win."

Win. It made it sound like Jinora was a prize. It made Kai feel angry. He knew he was lucky he had gotten the chance to be a servant, not a slave. To be referred to as an object... Kai wondered if King Tenzin had done it deliberately, or if he hadn't realized the harmful nature in his words.

Jinora's mouth was set in a firm, unwavering line, not betraying any emotion, even if her eyes looked much too bright.

"You are all dismissed," King Tenzin finished. There was a loud scraping of chairs as everyone rose as one. Kai made a beeline for Sudhir, hovering behind his master while Sudhir gave Jinora a 'charming' smile. Mako, Jinora's bodyguard, stood behind her in a similar fashion to Kai.

"I am looking forward to seeing you tomorrow, Princess Jinora," Sudhir said.

Jinora half-smiled, clearly forced. "The same to you, King Sudhir."

Sudhir strode off but Kai hung back. "G'night Princess," he said quietly.

Jinora's face lit up. "Good night Kai. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Kai!" Sudhir called impatiently.

"Of course," Kai said hurriedly, and then he jogged to catch up with Sudhir.