Chapter 3
Zuko executes a spinning back kick, shooting fire across the sparring field at one of his opponents who stumbles back before launching a focused stream of fire from his fist back to the prince. Zuko ducks the flame and, not forgetting his second assailant, pulls his arms in toward his body and hurls a ball of fire at him, watching the other man evade the attack only to lose his balance and fall to his knees anyway.
The three stop their sparring long enough to drink water and wipe sweat from their damp brows. It's less than an hour past dawn and the sounds from the awakening waterfront are starting to drift up the cliffs to the palace.
Suddenly, Zuko's bare arm is stung by a thin but, potentially lethal, stream of water. His opponents take up fighting stances and the prince turns quickly to see Katara, dressed in a sleeveless, light blue tunic and dark leggings, grinning wickedly at him.
"You wanna spar with someone who doesn't work for you?" She asks mockingly.
"They don't hold back!" Zuko grumbles before a flicker of doubt crosses his face and he turns to his opponents. "Do you?" He asks them.
"No your highness!" They quickly reply in unison.
Zuko closes his eyes and drops his chin to his chest as Katara's laugh fills the sparring grounds.
"How long has it been since you've fought a water bender…your highness?" She asks him.
"About five years, give or take." He answers, putting his towel down and walking toward her.
"Hmmmm. Probably pretty rusty. Maybe I should look elsewhere for a challenge." She teases.
"Look no further peasant." Zuko smirks.
Zuko's earlier opponents clear the field. The two benders face off against one another, Katara toying with a stream of water from her pouch. In an explosive motion Zuko pushes a blast of fire straight at Katara and knocks her on her behind.
There is an expression of shock on both of their faces as she regains her breath and hauls herself to her feet.
"Um…sorry?" Zuko says sheepishly.
Katara gifts him with a dazzling smile and says, "not as sorry as you're about to be."
With that she sends a stream of water toward the ground beneath his feet and quickly freezes it creating an ice sheet, causing him to slip and fall on his behind. She melts the ice and pulls it back in a watery ribbon to her hand where she lets it glide over her arm like a snake, smirking malevolently.
Zuko laughs and gets to his feet, taking a wide stance as he gets down to business.
A bald head pops into view just as the sparring begins in earnest.
"I call winner!" Aang cries excitedly, sitting down to watch the show.
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It's mid-morning now and Katara, Sokka and Ty Lee head away from the palace and toward the Fire Harbor Market, money in hand and eager to shop the day away. The promenade at the harbor had excited Katara upon her arrival the day before with its colorful shops and stalls. Smells of exotic cuisine fill the air, mingling with the smells of the ocean and tickling the senses of the Water Tribe pair.
Ty Lee is so used to the marketplace that it doesn't interest her so much anymore, but when they had first opened it she had made it a second home. There are cafes and taverns and shops catering to every possible need, but the best are the alcoves where fortunetellers and magicians hawk their talents. Ty Lee visits every one of them repeatedly, asking questions and getting strange answers that she doesn't understand yet trusts implicitly. Seeing it through the eyes of her "sister," Ty Lee is once again enamored of the atmosphere and how festive and celebratory it is.
The marketplace was a stroke of genius by Iroh. He had wanted to give the first impression to visitors entering their harbor of a nation prospering on the simple joys of life. Armories had previously lined the shore and that would certainly not convey the message the new Fire Lord was looking to send. His first order of business was to convert all of those armories to sectioned shops, giving preference to artisans and sellers of exotic products and commissioning bright, colorful murals for the bleak exteriors of the one-time warehouses of war.
Even the Jasmine Dragon has a home in the Fire Harbor Market. Iroh had opened the tea shop as one of the first businesses to grace the new waterfront in order to give the other merchants confidence that the endeavor was sanctioned and supported by the palace. Fire Lord Iroh was more proud of the success of that tea shop than he was of any of his other accomplishments as ruler of the Fire Nation. The early success of the promenade had encouraged merchants from near and far and the Fire Harbor Market became a destination spot for tourists across the globe.
Sokka is eating some kind of meat on a stick as they cross the walkway to a shop selling hand-dyed scarves. The shop owner shoos Sokka and his greasy snack away from the merchandise and the warrior finds a bench to sit on in disgust as the ladies browse.
Katara pulls out a scarf with silver threaded through azure silk and holds it to her skin reveling in the cool softness. She feels a tug on her sleeve and looks down to see a short woman no taller than Katara's shoulder, her gray hair in a severe bun atop her head and wearing all black but for an amulet carved from a stone veined with red, brown and gold.
"Don't turn back now," The woman whispers, "you're almost home."
"Excuse me?" Katara assumes the woman is insane.
"Hey Amiki," Ty Lee greets the tiny woman, "will I have a good day today?"
"Do you deserve a good day my dear?" Amiki asks her.
"Oh, yes!" Ty Lee gushes. "I deserve an excellent day!"
"Then you shall have it." Amiki smiles as she leaves the shop.
"Yay!" Ty Lee celebrates.
"Who was that?" Katara asks, unnerved by the encounter.
"Amiki. She's one of the fortunetellers here, but she doesn't make any money because she never charges people so she's kind of a beggar too." Ty Lee shrugs.
"She told me I'm almost home. What could she have meant by that?" Katara asks, afraid the comment had been inspired by a vision of the waterbender's imminent demise.
"She was probably talking about that scarf. You really have to wear that thing. It matches your aura perfectly!" Ty Lee gushes nonsensically arranging the scarf around Katara's neck so it hangs seductively down her back.
Katara grins and allows Ty Lee to arrange her attire at will, dismissing the fortuneteller as a quack.
Sokka watches as Ty Lee fiddles with the blue scarf. She's given the silken strip a nice little twist that highlights Katara's long, slim neck and he's amazed that Ty Lee can do such a thing with only one hand. He's also amazed that she can be such an impish delight while still being incredibly dangerous in a fight.
She had come to them as an ally through Zuko.
Three days and nights they had held the prince prisoner when Toph and Sokka decided they would release him. They waited until Katara was asleep before they dissolved the cuffs.
"I want you out of here." Sokka told Zuko.
"What will the boss say?" Came the sneering reply.
"Look, you being here makes her a different person and I want my sister back you piece of scum." Sokka had expected a little more gratitude.
"I wasn't lying before. You need to move on and quickly." Zuko rubbed his wrists which were deeply reddened, chafed by the cuffs.
"If you lead Azula to us, you're as good as dead. And it won't be a fair fight," Sokka warned not trusting a word out of the prince's mouth, "It'll come to you in the dead of night when you're sleeping in your comfy royal bed. When morning comes they'll find your blood-drained corpse and the world will celebrate. Got it?"
The two teenage boys glared at each other for at least a full minute before Zuko finally spoke.
"I only came to tell you about Azula and to see that my uncle was safe. I won't tell her where you are." Zuko said quietly as he turned to leave.
Suddenly he stopped and turned back to them.
"Thanks for taking care of him by the way. I hope you can keep him safe." As he turned to go again Sokka heard him whisper, "I couldn't." And he walked away.
"Jerk." Sokka said to Toph.
"Man Snoozles, you were harsh. Blood-drained corpse? I'm gonna start sleeping with one eye open." Toph grinned.
"And that would help you how?" Sokka hazarded a joke. "Besides, we won't live long enough to do each other in. Katara's gonna kill both of us when she finds out we let him go."
As it turned out, Katara barely seemed to notice. Toph and Sokka had stood together and defiantly told her of their mutinous release of the prisoner. Katara merely shrugged and went back to making breakfast, but they could see her relax as the time went on and she didn't have to worry about the enemy in their midst anymore.
That day the group moved another five or so miles to a more dense part of the forest and set up camp. Aang was muttering and tossing in his sleep, which they took to be an improvement in his condition, but he still was not conscious. It was disheartening that they couldn't do anything for him and they all went about their chores as if in a daze, doing everything by rote. Iroh's only tasks were starting and tending the fire and making tea so he had plenty of time to watch them worry over their friend's condition and to curse his niece for her villainy. He felt a deep shame over his family's actions and vowed to himself that he would do everything he could to make amends.
And then the prince returned. They had been three days at this campsite and Sokka nearly exploded when Zuko showed up.
"How do you keep finding us?!" He screeched.
"You leave a trail. You're easy to find." Zuko told him shrugging. "I need your help." He addressed Sokka quietly and motioned for him to follow. Katara and Toph stood stunned as Sokka hesitated by the tree line.
Sokka debated the wisdom of following his enemy – recently released prisoner enemy – deeper into the woods, but somehow his curiosity overcame his doubts and he motioned for the two girls and Iroh to stay where they were.
When he reached Zuko he found him crouched on the ground talking to a ball of pink under a tree. Sokka got closer to the strange vision and saw it was Ty Lee, Azula's springy henchwoman.
"I knew it! They're here, aren't they?" Sokka was furious and drew every weapon he could hold.
"No!" Zuko stopped him before he could race back to camp to warn the others. He turned back to Ty Lee. "I want you to let her come with you. As an ally."
Sokka looked closer at the girl and saw that she was trembling, her face wet with tears. She was a mess, he noticed, with her hair in disarray and her clothes rumpled and dirty.
"What happened to her?" Sokka asked, suddenly concerned as he now saw the slip of a girl as a terrified young woman instead of the sidekick of a dangerous, malevolent princess.
"Azula decided Mai and Ty Lee were accomplices to Uncle's rescue. I found Ty Lee in my room when I got back. She'd been hiding for days all over different parts of the palace. I can't get her to eat anything." Zuko said worriedly.
"Where's 'knifey?'" Sokka asked, referring to Mai.
Ty Lee buried her face in her arms and shuddered with fresh sobs.
"Oh." Sokka wasn't as thick as everyone supposed he was.
"Azula made an example of her and tried to do the same to Ty Lee, but she got away."
"Why doesn't your sister suspect you?" Sokka wondered, still suspicious.
"She does." Zuko replied, "I was your honored guest while all this was going on." His voice was bitter. "I snuck back into the palace so I wouldn't have to tell my sister where I'd been and that's when I found out what happened. The Dai Li are searching for me too."
"So I guess you won't be going back either?" Sokka really didn't want Zuko hanging around their camp.
"No. But I'm only asking you to take Ty Lee. I know I'm not welcome." The prince said crouching again to put a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder.
"I want to go with you." Ty Lee whimpered to Zuko.
"It's okay," Zuko looked beseechingly up at Sokka who nodded, "They'll let you go with them. They're good at protecting each other and they'll protect you too. And my uncle's with them. You like him, right?" He spoke to her as one would to a frightened child and Sokka felt slight remorse for his hatred. Ever so slight.
"Yes." Ty Lee nodded.
Zuko helped her stand and the two boys walked with her back into the camp.
"I want you to teach them what you know, Ty Lee, " Zuko told her as they walked, "They'll need it. Especially him, " He made a gesture at Sokka, "He's not a bender. If you teach them they can protect you better."
"Okay." She promised.
Zuko bent down to her ear, but Sokka could hear what he whispered to her. "Keep a little something back for yourself. Just in case."
She nodded to the prince. Sokka had to admire that advice. It's what he would have told her too.
"What did he want?" Katara said, barely looking up and then freezing in her place when she saw the trio. "What's going on?"
"It looks like we've got a new family member." Sokka said nodding toward the tearful tumbler.
"Ty Lee!" Iroh exclaimed, lumbering to his feet.
The girl ran to him and threw her arms around him like a child seeing her father return from the war. He held her in a close embrace and patted her shoulder, shushing her sobs and clucking over her like a devoted grandpa. The former general looked over at Zuko, but found his nephew in a quiet conversation with the water tribe siblings and Toph. They weren't fighting each other and that was good. Zuko was not being rock cuffed and that was progress. No one had been frozen to anything, scorched or launched into the air by a sudden pillar of rock and that was enough. It was a start.
And then Zuko left. He hadn't even tried to talk to Iroh. But then Iroh didn't really want to talk to his nephew so it was as it should be.
That was before. When she joined them she was hesitant. Afraid to trust them. She taught them a few holds and strikes and tried to get them to do handprings, and she dissolved into the group, like another hue added to a rainbow. It was almost unnoticed. And she had two perfectly formed hands with which to perform those moves she taught.
That was before. They had promised to protect her and they had failed. Ty Lee was taken as she bought fruit and vegetables at a village market. She had gone alone while the others sparred so she could surprise them with a sumptuous lunch. Azula appeared before her as if by black magic and demanded Ty Lee come with her. The girl was so filled with terror she immediately obeyed. But some in the village had seen what transpired and they told the Avatar's group what happened.
Sokka lit out on a rescue mission, dreading to find Zuko to enlist his aid, but needing it all the same. He knew the prince would be furious that they'd allowed Ty Lee to be taken, and he was. Furious. Extremely furious. In a firey way. But he and Sokka worked together to find where they were keeping the girl and to free her. But their rescue took nearly two weeks. Just long enough for the bones in her hand to heal into a useless claw. Katara worked on her for days and could do little to change it.
And Ty Lee had uttered not a word of the Avatar's whereabouts or the mission before them. She was strong under Azula's torture, stronger than even she had believed.
That's when Zuko started traveling with them. Well, not exactly with them. He always stayed within a few miles but he traveled alone. He'd never been far, but he found himself trying to cover their tracks constantly and he decided to concentrate on that duty rather than try to get his kaleidoscopic mind to settle on what he should actually be doing. The job of obscuring their ridiculously obvious trail had fallen in his lap so he went about doing it and not thinking about anything else for the time being. He hoped for some sort of epiphany, but knew he might go on waiting forever, so he did what he could and he kept to himself.
Sokka finishes his meat-pop, wipes his hands and joins the girls in the shop. Ty Lee giggles as she drapes him with various scarves and he allows it, never once complaining about the unmanliness of it all. He even holds his arms straight out at his sides so she can cover his upper body completely, and she squeals with joy.
Katara watches her brother as he submits to the foolishness. He is more patient with Ty Lee than he is with any other person in the world, an obvious result of the responsibility he continues to feel for the girl's injury.
Why do good people hold themselves accountable for the evil done by others?
Katara shakes her head and saves her brother from this assault on his masculinity by mentioning a rumor of a darn good mango puff sold at a nearby food kiosk. The scarves flutter away from him like spirits in flight as Sokka's stomach takes the lead.
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It is mid-afternoon when the palace guard again shows up at the harbor. A ship has just docked and Sokka makes his way toward the commotion. The ship bears the insignia of the Unified Council of Nations, but it's actually one of the old Fire Nation battle ships, stripped of its most aggressive weaponry and outfitted for comfort rather than war.
The ramp descends from the bow of the ship revealing a group of five ramrod straight diplomats walking haughtily down the gangplank. As they reach the shore a tall woman steps out of the line-up and makes a beeline for Sokka.
The Water Tribe captain is speechless. Surely this can't be Toph. This stunning woman who strides toward him cannot be the twelve-year-old girl he rejected at the end of the war. That girl had suffered a crush on Sokka, but this woman wouldn't have thought twice about him.
For some reason the last five years had gone by without Sokka ever being in the same place at the same time as Toph. They had written one another but she was very busy developing the Unified Army and planning its mission. She traveled from nation to nation, working with the allocated troops, teaching them to work alongside former enemies to create a fighting force loyal to the world rather than to a corruptible regime.
There had been precious little time for socializing in Toph's life and Sokka hadn't pushed the matter, what with his eyes cast always on the horizon. He just figured they'd meet up when circumstances allowed. That time has come and he may as well be a statue for all he can think.
Toph stops in front of him and he is still frozen.
"Well?" She demands.
"Uh…" Sokka's mouth refuses to form an actual word.
"Obviously it's not your silver tongue that impresses the ladies." Toph puts her hands on her hips and waits.
"Hug?" Sokka croaks.
"Good suggestion, captain." Toph pulls him into an embrace and he blushes.
"I can not believe how beautiful you are. Toph." Sokka finds his voice as he places his hands on her shoulders and pushes her back a little so he can look at her.
"Tell me about it." She rolls her eyes.
"What?"
"Really. 'Cause you know I can't see…" She waves her hand in front of her face.
"Toph!!" Katara squeals running up to them. The two women hug each other tightly and Ty Lee joins them in a group hug. They reach out to include Sokka but he backs away.
"No thanks. Too much. Too much." He shakes his head, trying to clear the stupidity that seems to have gathered there.
"General Bei Fong," an imperious voice penetrates the chatter of the three women. "We need to depart to the palace." A doughy-faced diplomat looks at Sokka, Katara and Ty Lee. "We are guests of the Fire Lord." He informs them soberly.
"You mean the Prince," Sokka goads. "He's not Fire Lord until tomorrow."
"You're right Sokka," Toph grins, "It's not that big of a deal to be the guest of a prince. Tomorrow though we'll be sitting pretty."
"Good luck with that," Sokka pats her kindly on the shoulder. "We'll just walk on up there with you." He drawls in his best "swamp guy" dialect.
"That will not be necessary!" Mr. Imperious snaps.
Before anyone can say anything more there is an even bigger commotion on the promenade. The prince and the Avatar have come to the Marketplace. Crowds form, parting to allow them to pass and then gathering again behind them, watching in awe as the two men make their way to the group on the pier.
"Your highness!" Mr. Imperious, along with the other haughty diplomats, bows deeply to Zuko.
"Ambassador Xin," Zuko nods curtly, "the representatives of the Council of Unified Nations honor the Fire Nation with their presence."
Sokka notes the look of distaste on the prince's face and smothers a chuckle.
Zuko turns to Toph, smiles and bows to her, "General, you are most welcome."
"If you're bowing I can't tell, so you may as well shake my hand." Toph holds her hand straight out in front of her in a gesture alien to all in attendance.
Zuko lightly takes her fingers and shakes them around, looking at Sokka as if he might offer some explanation but getting nothing more than a shrug in return.
Toph sighs loudly, "It's never gonna catch on."
"Hey, how come the prince and the avatar show up to meet Bei Fong, but not us?" Sokka grouses.
"We're finished for the day." Aang pipes up, thrilled to be out in the fresh air after three days of meetings and duties of protocol.
Zuko turns to the captain of the guard, gesturing to the diplomats, "Please take them to the palace and show them to their rooms."
"Yes, your highness" The captain bows and motions the company to move in the direction of the palace.
Mr. Imperious looks at Toph, "General Bei Fong." He says as if to summon her to join them.
"I'm with them." Toph nods to her companions.
"I thought we'd take tea at the Jasmine Dragon and then maybe Sokka could give us a tour of his ship." Zuko suggests.
Sokka smugly looks over at Mr. Imperious whose eyes seem about to pop from his head. Unfortunately, Sokka's preening gives Zuko time to offer both of his arms to Katara and Toph while Ty Lee accepts escort from Aang. Sokka sulks along behind them by himself as they make their way to the Jasmine Dragon.