Toph spent the rest of the summer in the fire nation. The wedding was set to take place first in Ba Sing Sa, then in the fire nation on the last day of summer. The bride didn't want to have part of the wedding in the earth kingdom, she now dressed only in reds ignoring the greens she had previously worn. This was her way of severing her ties to her nation, she had to be taken seriously as the fire lady for the plan to work. Of course she would continue to earthbend, but her dress and hair had to be of the fire nation style. Zuko had notice this, she didn't look like Toph any more. Now she was sitting across from him, at a small table on the verandah in under the balcony giving them shade from the sun it seemed more noticeable than before. Toph had her hair pulled up in a high pony tail, and wore a red dress robe with gold detail. The only thing that he recognised about her appearance as being herself, was that she was bear feet and her mothers necklace.

He finally broke the silence that had crept in once they had started to drink their tea. "Are you sure you wont come."

As she answered, Toph lifted her tea cup "I have been to enough meetings, its your turn." she now drank form the cup, taking her time. This Zuko knew was her way of ending the conversation before it even started. He had manners drilled into him since he was a child, so had she, he wouldn't try and have a conversation when the other person was eating or drinking.

This situation was to important to ignore thou. Zuko reached over the table, taking hold of her wrist that held the tea cup, and pulled it away from her face. "Toph!"

Toph let out a breath, as Zuko moved her hand to the table, so she could let go of the tea cup. Once the tea cup was out of her hand, Zuko still didn't let go of her wrist. "You knew the fire nation court is stricter than the earth kingdom council. You ran away from that..."

Toph pulled her arm out of Zuko's hold. " I didn't run away. I chose to stay out of it. You are the one that ran away from it."

now free from his hold, Toph got to her feet and walked back into the palace. Zuko wasn't far behind her. "I was banished."

Toph was now in the main hall of the palace heading towards the main staircase. She stopped, and spun around on the spot to face the angry fire lord. "So what." now stomping she made her way to the satires. Zuko saw red. He ran after Toph, who was now on the second step of the staircase. She felt him come after her, and turned round to face him. She was only able to turn half the way round, before he reached her. Zuko took hold of her right arm, and placed his right arm at the back of her knees. In one quick movement he lifted her up, and had her on his shoulder. "Put me down. Zuko, put me down now." she was flailing her arms and legs to get him to let her go.

"You are coming to the meeting. Weather you like it or not." Zuko had to yell, to be header over Toph's yelling. He knew that he was going to end up with bruises all over his back because of this, but he didn't care.

"Put me down." Toph seemed to be tiring of screaming and lashing out, but when Zuko started to walk towards were she knew the meeting was to be held, she started again. "Zuko, I swear. Put me down."

"Your highness." a stern voice said as the owner enter the main hall from a side door. "I think it would be best to do as the princess asks, and put her down." the man was a noble one that was going to be attending the meeting. Zuko could feel Toph shacking as she tried to stop herself from bursting into laughter. With a red face that almost matched his robe, Zuko lowered Toph to the ground.

The noble had called Toph princess, because once the wedding was made public Toph had to be made a princess of the fire nation, so she could marry Zuko. This required her to sign a pledge saying she would always be loyal to the fire nation. She didn't have any real problem with this, as nothing in the pledge said she had to be loyal to the fire nation above any other nation.

"I'll see you at dinner." with that Toph made her way to the satires. Knowing that Zuko wouldn't come after her, or do anything to make a scene. It was hard enough to get the nobles to take him seriously, he couldn't risk doing anything that would make that any harder. Toph as she walked away from him, could feel the frustration and embarrassment building up in Zuko.

The fire lord had no choice now but to be lead by the noble to the meeting and to let Toph walk away.

The meeting as he had expected was long and drawn out, very little was actually sorted out. However he did feel that he was listened to more. There was still a long way to go, but this was a start at least. The idea that an idea that was thought of by Sokka was working, almost made him burst into laughter right at the closing of the meeting, but he was able to suppress it. He looked forward to telling Toph about this, then remembered that he was still annoyed with her for skipping out on the meeting.

Before Zuko even got up from the table to level, one of the nobles, whose name for the life of him he couldn't remember, asked to have a private word with him. Without waiting for a answer the noble followed by two of the other older nobles left the room, expecting Zuko to follow after them. After a second or so, the fire lord got to his feet and left the room. He saw them starting to descend he stares and picked up his pace to catch up to them. They lead him out in to an area of grounds in the centre of the palace, that was surrounded by the walls of the palace. This area was not built into the palace, as it was the first place that the sun shone on in the morning.

Toph was talking her daily walk through the palace. She had been through the entire palace by now, but she still kept up this routine, it gave her something to brake the day up with. She had known full well what she was getting herself into when she choice to go through with this idea, but that didn't make her days any less boring and drawn out. She was now walking towards one of her favourite places in the palace, the sun room as she called it. The area of ground that remained in the centre of the palace. Before she reached her distinction, she had to walk along a long corridor, that had a number of doors that lead into a number of small rooms, that she still didn't know what they were used for. She felt a door opening a few feet ahead. A young man a good few years older than herself left the room, then took a step back to lean against the door, his back to her.

Toph let out a deep breath, that pushed her bangs out of her face for a second. She knew exactly what this guy was planing. Judging by the weight on his body from his clothes, she could tell he was a noble as he as wearing a heavy robe. She kept walking neither slowing her pace or speeding up. As she paced where he was trying to hide from her, she felt his hand grape hold of her right arm, and pull her into the door way. With his right hand he held a dagger up to her throat This was just what she expected. "little girls shouldn't get involved in the business of men."

before he could say any more, Toph lifted her left arm up next to the man's out stretched right arm. In one fast move she twisted her arm around his wrist, forcing it to lower. As it did she took hold of the dagger out of his hand with her right hand. Placing the tip under his chin, she forcing his head up. "don't ever call me little girl." she felt that the handle of the dagger was very heavy engraved, with what seemed like vines with flowers. Toph took a step closer, standing on her tip toes so she could reach, she leaned in, to speak into the man's ear. "And just because I'm blind, doesn't meant that I cant see you." she pulled the dagger away, leaving a small cut on the man's neck. Then she was gone, the dagger still in hand. It seemed that so much effort had gone it to making it, it would be a shame if something so like that was only going to be used in this kind of way, to threaten young women, so Toph would kept it.

The majority of the people of the fire nation had excepted Toph as the future fire lady very quickly and with little effort. There was still however those that saw her marriage into the royal family as weakening the fire nation even more. A number of the nobles shared this view, Toph knew this, the fact one would try and kill her was a little unexpected. Not unpleasant for her thou, it would just make things more interesting for her.

As she drew closer to the sun room, she could hear voices, and feel the vibration of four very angry men, one of which was Zuko. "She has been very influential in the rebuilding of the nations after the war, and she is a gifted earthbender, but..."

"She is a great earthbender, the best bender I have ever know, except my uncle. She is a grand master. She is also my best friend. We are going to be married. That is the end of it."

Zuko stormed out of the sun room, and turned to walk along the corridor in the opposite direction from where Toph stood, so fast he didn't see her at all. A feeling of pride, and caring welled up in side of the tiny earthbender. "The greatest bender you have ever known, huh." the smile on her face translated into her voice, forcing Zuko to turn around with a smile on his too.

"Don't start. You'll end up with a bigger head than you already have."

the smile didn't leave her face as Toph walked to catch up with Zuko. When she reached him, she got onto her tip toes. She kissed him on his check, right under his scare. Before she returned to her normal hight, she tilted her head to his ear. "thank you, sparky."

Toph hated being thought of as weak, that she needed any one to help her, or stand up for her, but even she was grateful for Zuko's words. He didn't think she needed him to stand up for her, he was doing it because he cared, they were friends. Once both of her feet where on the floor, they started to walk towards the dinning room. Both had a faint smile, and a feeling of warmth, and safety building up inside of them.

"So. You like me, I'm your best friend." Toph sang in a sing song voice.

"Not for much longer, shorty."

they both burst into laughter that filled the hall they were walking down. It seemed like all of the stress and drama that had been going on around them was washing away. For the briefest bit of time, they had no worries in the world.