Hey! Told you all to expect another update soon! Anyways, this is the first chapter and I hope you like it... and I'd like to thank the first three people who reviewed my prologue: A711owner, CommanderApple and Blz1990.

Enjoy!

Chapter One:

The Plan

… And so my dear and loyal friend, I am afraid I cannot attend your meeting, for under the great pressure of work and the war in my hands, I have no choice but to work harder than usual. I wish you luck that your meeting goes well and I hope you understand the situation. Stay in good condition and may you and your Lady Soha's health remain as well as ever. I will appreciate your help and promise to attend the "Avatar Day Festival" with you in a few months.

Special thanks to you, General Ten Li.

Signed

The 52nd Earth King, Kuei

The Earth King gently placed his ink brush back into the small ink jar and picking up his letter, he re-read it a few times before sighing and putting it back on his desk. He gracefully rose from the seat and turned to his right, where his old but beautiful wooden cabinet stood. Next to it was his large shelf stacked with books top to bottom, some with dust filling the pages after not being opened for some time.

The king had a large room, with its area covering an average house comfortable for a large family. The floor was covered in green patterned rugs that gave the room a warm feeling. Most of his furniture was made of mahogany wood that displayed a beautiful reddish sheen if kept polished and the walls were painted pea green to match with it. And placed in the southern wall of the room, was the bed, large enough for two full grown people to sleep well on. It had dark green bed covers which one of the king's favourite colours. The Earth King took a step forward toward his book shelf, but as he approached it there was a soft knock on the door.

Turning curiously, the king stroked his long black hair tied into a braid that fell down his back. Who would be disturbing his king at a time like this? He asked himself as he gently brushed his long silk embroidered robe and adjusted the traditional royal king's cap, a sign of authority.

"Enter!" He commanded his voice full of frustration. The large oak door slowly opened and a head popped out from behind. The rest of the body entered the room and the man took a deep bow before his king.

"Your most excellent highness, your majesty sir, your humble –"

"Yes, yes. Now what have you the right to interrupt my work?" The Earth King demanded, cutting off the servant.

"Oh. I deeply apologize with my up-most respect sir. I was just working when I overheard your royal adviser, Long Feng sir, talking about good news… And bad news," the servant kept his head faced down, not daring to have any eye contact with his king.

"Good news, bad news, what difference does it make?" The Earth King paced back and forth in taking no notice that the servant cowered at his loud voice. "But what did you dare to overhear?" The king stopped pacing and turned to his not-so-significant servant who stood there, back still arched motionlessly. The king glared at the poor man as he impatiently waited for an answer. "Well?"

The servant dared to look up a bit and plucked up his courage to speak. "Well, Long Feng claims to have located the Avatar sir," the servant explained as he waited for the king to react. As soon as the word 'Avatar' was mentioned, the Earth King's eyes lit up. The king's mouth moved a bit which the servant swore that could have actually been a smile. His first smile in months!

"Long Feng has found the Avatar?" The king looked excited as he spoke, causing the servant to frown.

"Long Feng has claimed he has," the servant corrected, emphasizing the word 'claimed'. "And the bad news is that the Fire Nation has located him too and they're after him, like we are," he added, watching anxiously as the king's smile turned to a frown.

What? How can this be? Why would he want his son back if he banished him in the first place? The Earth King looked back at the servant, his mind asking him.

"I see… Well, all I know now is to make sure that we get to the Avatar before the Fire Nation does," the king winced as his own mouth said the words 'Fire Nation'. But he tried to stay positive for surely he had the advantage since the Avatar was hiding in his kingdom. How could they get on his land without getting noticed? Before they could even get passed the Earth kingdom waters he would be aware of them. "Very well, I shall speak with Long Feng immediately. Bring him to me at once. I shall talk with him about this," the Earth King said. He watched as the servant nodded once, bowed even lower, then straightened and left.

A few minutes passed as the king waited. The silence tortured him. Then finally, the patience was rewarded as the same servant returned with a neat-looking man at his side. The servant bowed once more before leaving the two for some privacy. The man, dressed in dark green robes, bowed to his king with his arms crossed behind him. His long black hair, like the king's, was braided.

"Your majesty sir? You called?" The man looked concerned as he questioned the Earth King.

"Yes, Long Feng. I want to know about the Avatar and his whereabouts," the king ordered, pacing once more as he gently scratched his chin. He stopped and looked at Long Feng who seemed deep in thought. Long Feng then looked up to face his king, looking surprised.

"You've been told?" Was all he could say, the Earth King glared at his adviser and nodded.

"Yes Long Feng, I was informed this morning, when I was in the middle of writing a letter." The Earth King added. "Now tell me about the Avatar."

"Of course sir." Long Feng hesitated. "We located the prince in a small town called Jing Xeng far in the South sir, on the island of Kyoshi. But as you might already know, the Fire Nation –"

"Yes, yes. I was already informed," the Earth King cut off impatiently. "I want to know what you are going to do about it," he added. The king tapped his foot as he crossed his arms.

"Oh," Long Feng nervously took another respectful bow. "With many apologies sir I – I mean – we have already put a plan into action, a mission that has already been assigned to," he informed. The advisor waited for his king to react, with high anxiety.

"WHAT? You have put a plan into action without me knowing? I need to know what is going on Long Feng! What have you done? This could ruin everything!" The Earth King's impatience was replaced by anger as he yelled. "Why? Why Long Feng? Why have you done this to me?" The king whispered, though his tone demanding and cold.

Long Feng quietly gulped as he tried to find the right words: "My lord, I sent my best agent to fetch the Avatar and bring him back so we could hire masters to teach him the last three elements. She is sure to succeed," he remarked, trying to sound confident as he emphasized the word 'best', but his look gave away his uncertainty. "Plus she was sent nearly over a month ago, so it's too late to go back or start over," Long Feng added unnecessarily.

Much to Long Feng's surprise, however; his king's face lit up almost at once.

"Your best agent is a she?" The Earth King suddenly sounded excited. "Wait, you don't mean...?" The Earth King trailed off as his adviser nodded more confidently. "You sent her on this, so called mission? But Long Feng, are you confident, no wait, sure that she is fit for the job? I mean you sent a girl to go after a man?" The Earth King challenged.

"Sire," Long Feng said. "She is a fully grown woman who is highly, no top-ranked and knows her duty to her king and country," Long Feng proudly explained. But the king knew better.

"You call fifteen fully grown?" The Earth King challenged once more. Long Feng knew he could not protest against his king's statement, and fell silent.

But the Earth King sighed. "I remember Dai Li Agent Toph," the king looked deep in thought. "I remember how she saved me from those Fire Nation guards when I was on my way to a meeting. They ambushed me and I nearly was taken captive when all my body guards failed to protect me. I remember that day so well. Speaking of which, ever since your young agent saved me, I took notice of every mission she was sent on and I couldn't believe how you, Long Feng, dared to send a young teenager on such dangerous missions. But to my surprise and delight, she was successful in every single one; in fact I checked her record and no failures on all dangerous and important missions she was assigned to."

"Yes, your highness, it is impressive. But, um, we need to move on," Long Feng said. He impatiently waited for the Earth King to agree on his plan or not.

"Oh. Sorry Long Feng. Where were we? Oh yes, you sent her on the mission. Well, I do have to admit, she is definitely a remarkable agent, a very skilled Earthbender and the best I've ever seen… Not including you. I do have faith in her, but who else did you send?" The king eagerly waited for an answer. This, Long Feng took as a good sign of agreement.

"I only sent her, sir," Long Feng said. He watched as his king's face turned doubtful.

"Well, I suppose she is fit for the job, but she will have to get to the Avatar before the Fire Nation does," the Earth King said, grimacing like he regretted saying those words.

"Do not fret my good king. She is a very determined young woman who is the best agent I've got. She will succeed," Long Feng actually smiled for the first time. "She will succeed, she has to," Long Feng repeated in a low whisper.

"I sure hope you're right Long Feng," the Earth King replied. He then turned to his large window that over looked the Royal Palace Gardens that faced south. "Good luck my dear, for your country and the world's fate rests on your shoulders."

Then, miles away from Ba Sing Se, in the one of the most southerly islands of the Earth Kingdom, a young man woke up from his sleep to prepare for a new day for his tea shop.

Hope you liked it... please review and tell me what you think, and I will appreciate any constructive criticism as well as opinions and praise :)

So yeah, that's about it I guess :)

Happy Days!

TezTra