"Toph!" Aang yelled as he reached her. He tried to shake her awake, but it didn't work. Her face was flushed and she looked horrible. Worse than that, she looked weak.
He scoped up her limp figure in his arms and carried her to his bed. He gently laid her down before frantically running to a table that held his pitcher of water. He grabbed a towel and ran over to the girl on his bed. He dipped the towel in the cold water and placed it on her forehead.
Aang bit his lip and wondered what else he should to help her. He had no medical knowledge and he couldn't take her to the castle doctor, she wasn't allowed to help slaves with their illnesses. Nobody was supposed to; Aang's father believed that slaves were easily replaceable, so they weren't supposed to be cured.
Aang sighed in defeat and sat down on the bed next to her. The bed creaked slightly, but other than that, there was nothing to be heard save Toph's rough breathing.
Aang leaned back against the headboard. He felt horrible about not knowing what to do. He just stared at her for while before reaching out and touching her face. Her face was soft against his skin and he lightly stoked her cheek with his thumb. He started to let his hand slip from her face and travel down her face. His hand moved from her face to her neck, collar bone, shoulder, and arm until he reached her hand. He slipped his hand into her limp one and laced his fingers through hers. He was shocked when he felt an electric shock go through him.
What surprised him more was when he did that, Toph moaned a little and shifted a little bit. When he looked down to their clasped hands again, he noticed that her hand was now closed around his too. Aang smiled slightly at that.
Aang closed his eyes and laid his head on top of hers. Her heavy breathing was starting to slow down into a steady rhythm. He let out a deep sigh and let the noise consume him as he fell asleep.
Aang awoke to a moan and someone shifting next to him. He also felt something wet on his shirt. He groggily opened his eyes and noticed the wet cloth that was on Toph's head had fallen off. He tried to move a little before he realized that when Toph shifted, she shifted so that she was lying on his chest.
Aang smiled at the girl as he felt his heart swell. He reached up with one of his hands and brushed her bangs out of her face. He pressed his hand to her forehead, seeing if she still had a fever. She did.
As much as Aang wished they could stay like that forever, he knew if she was to get better, he would have to help. He gently shifted her over so that her head was lying on the pillow again and got up. He took the moist towel and soaked it again. After placing it on her head again, he glanced around the room and remembered the vomit on the floor. He knew he had to clean it up, as much as he didn't want to. He glanced out the window at the sky. The moon was still high in the sky, so he knew everyone was still sleeping.
I'll just sneak out and get some rags and a bucket of water, Aang thought to himself. He took one last look at Toph before exiting his room to try and find the things he needed. It took him a while to find the closet that held the supplies, but he finally found it and started rummaging though it. He just about didn't notice the figure in the doorway approach him.
"Hello?" a feminine voice asked him. Aang jumped up, startled, and hurriedly spun around, knocking a broom to the floor. Dust sprang up everywhere; making the light beams from the candle the other person was holding more visible.
"Yes?" Aang asked, worried it was one of the guards, despite the voice.
"Oh! Your highness! I'm so sorry! I thought it was an intruder!" the voice said rushed, no doubt trying to explain them self as fast as possible to avoid punishment. The figure dropped to the ground, bowing to Aang, hoping it would help. Aang knelt beside the person.
"Don't bow. It's alright. I'm just glad you aren't my father," Aang told the person. The other person chuckled slightly and sat up. Aang recognized the face slightly.
"Hey… are you one of the slaved here?" he asked. The girl's eyes went wide when he asked that.
"Ye..yes I am. I do your laundry," she mumbled the last part.
"What's your name?" There was silence it the closet as she recovered from her shock.
"My name's Katara," she said so quietly that Aang had to lean in a little to hear her. He held his hand out to her.
"Nice to meet you Katara," he said with a smile on his face. She shyly took his hand and shook it.
"Same to you." Aang stood up and started looking for the stuff he came for again.
"I'm sorry, I'd love to get to know you better, but I really must get back up to my room," he said to her as he found the stuff he was looking for. "Why don't you come up to my room with Toph sometime and we could talk?"
"That sounds great!" she said excitedly. Her face dropped as she remembered something. "Wait; do you know where Toph is? We haven't seen her for a few hours and are worried about her," Katara explained.
"She's up with me. Don't get any ideas either, she just fell asleep and I thought it'd be better if she just stayed where she was," Aang explained. Katara gave him a surprised look.
"Oh, alright. Well then, I'll see you around," she bowed once more before leaving.
Aang left shortly after Katara, hurrying back up to Toph, hoping no one had decided to peek in his room and saw she was there.
Katara walked sullenly around the castle, half wanted to forget about her conversation with the prince, half wanting to savor it. Her heart was slowly breaking as she remembered the look on the prince's face when he talked about Toph. Even though they had only mentioned her, she could see his face light up about it. He was quite taken with her; that was obvious. Probably even more than that, Katara thought to herself.
Katara soon found herself standing just infront of a window ledge she used to sit on when she was younger .She hopped up onto the window ledge, staring outside; a place she hardly got to go. She thought back to when she used to sit here, wishing the prince would suddenly fall for her and they would live happily ever after. Except in reality, Toph was living out her fantasy, and didn't even want it.
Katara suddenly heard footsteps behind her. She jumped up and spun around, ready to run, depending on who it was.
"Katara?" a voice asked her.
"Haru?"
"What are you doing up at this hour?"
"I could ask you the same thing."
There was a silence. "Well, are you going to answer me?" Katara asked.
"I asked you first, therefore, you should answer first," Haru said calmly. Katara scowled.
"Forget it. I'm going back to bed," she said. She started to walk back towards the chambers when Haru ran to catch up to her.
"Wait, something's bothering you. Tell me what it is," he said kindly.
"My life is none of your business Haru. Besides, I'm fine," Katara said, storming off. She didn't even glance back at the chest fallen Haru, who was now staring down at the floor.
Toph groggily awoke, but didn't want to open her eyes yet. It wasn't like it mattered, opening her eyes made her feel officially awake. She moaned a little when she felt her head start to throb. She reached her hand up to place it on her head, but it came in contact with a wet cloth instead.
Her eyes shot open and she felt around. She was in a soft bed that was obviously not her own, seeing as she slept on the ground. Her energy soon drained though and she felt a rush of cold hit her. She searched for the covers and when she found them, pulled them aside to crawl underneath them. It took her a while, but as soon as she was covered so that only her nose and up were showing, she started to fall back asleep again. But she couldn't do it without taking a deep breath and taking in the scent of the blanket.
That smell… it reminded her of something. The memory was fuzzy in her head, almost like a dream. A dream… that was it! She had dreamed of the scent just a little while ago. She snuggled down deeper into the pillow and continued to take in the scent.
As Toph continued to waver from reality to dream state and back, she heard someone else enter the room. She didn't bother trying to figure out who it was, she didn't care. She felt horrible and was comfortable. Whoever it was didn't say a word as they started working on something a little ways away.
He or she finished working after a few moments and she heard the light footsteps some closer to her. She felt the bed move and she started to get confused. Who was this and what were they doing?
Suddenly, a warm hand slipped itself into hers and gave it a squeeze. Toph felt her heart stop for a brief second. She couldn't believe how good it felt to have this person holding her hand, especially since she felt horrible. She may not normally like this, but something felt just so right about it, she couldn't help but let it continue.
When a painful throb went through Toph's head, she let out a small moan. "Toph?" the voice of Aang asked her. Toph didn't feel the anger she was expecting, so she cracked an eye open to let him know she was up.
"You're awake!" he said happily and quietly at the same time. He reached out and hugged her briefly before pulling away. Toph gathered up her energy to speak.
"What happened?" she whispered, for her voice hurt too much to speak in her normal firm voice.
"You collapsed on the ground and threw up before passing out," he explained to her. She closed her eyes at the thought of passing out. It was a symbol of weakness, something she tried her whole life to avoid.
Aang noticed her eyes close and thought something was wrong. He questioned her on this.
"I'm alright Twinkle Toes, it's just…" she thought about this for a minute before continuing, "nothing. It's nothing."
"Toph, it's not nothing. I can tell. Please tell me. I can help," he tried telling her. This just made her scowl.
"That's the problem Twinkle Toes. You'll help me. Well guess what. I don't need help. Not yours, not anybody's," she told him in a tiny but powerful voice. Toph rolled over onto her side, hoping the action would block him out.
Aang looked down into his lap. He knew what this was about. He had heard plenty of rumors about how Toph never accepted help. Normally, he respected that. But this was different. Something was obviously hurting her.
"Toph… I'm not offering my help as something out of pity. I'm offering my help because I want to help you." Toph was quiet for a few minutes and Aang sat there patiently the whole while.
"It's not really something you can help me with. It's over and done with now. Hopefully I'll never have to go through it again," she explained, sadness filling her voice. She felt the soothing hand that was once in her hand touch her shoulder gently and pull her so she was lying on her back.
"Then tell me about it. You might feel better," Aang told her, his hand not leaving her shoulder.
Toph sighed and coughed a bit before starting. "It's not all that big of a deal. It's just about my parents. They were always trying to protect me by keeping me locked up in the house. They never let me go outside, have friends, or play with any toys. They thought me how to be a proper lady, hoping that if my manners were good, then some suitor would look past the fact that I'm blind. They almost had something set up too, if your guards hadn't come and taken me from my home. So there, end of story," Toph ended bluntly.
But Aang knew that was hardly the end. What she told him was just a scratch on the surface of the real story. He was about to ask her something else but she uttered something instead.
"That's why I'm in your debt," she whispered, hoping he wouldn't hear it. He did, and it shocked him.
"You don't owe me anything Toph. My guards took you from your home to make you a slave, that's hardly a trade up."
"Are you kidding me? Here I can actually do stuff, at home I wasn't even allowed to lift my spoon. And here I won't be forced to spend the rest of my life with someone I can't stand. Your guards invaded my house just as the jerk and my parents were going to sign the marriage agreement. I didn't get a say in it at all."
"Was he that bad?"
"Yes, he was that bad. He was a rich, fat, and old guy who just wanted me to give him more kids. He kept telling my parents that he treat me like a woman should be treated. He made it sound like a good thing to them, but I knew it was different. He would have treated me like dirt. So yes, I am in your debt. You prevented me from having to marry him." Once Toph finished, she felt better. Not sickness wise, but in her heart. She coughed some more and her was throat hurting from talking so much, but she knew it was worth it.
"You're still not in my debt Toph. You'll never be in debt to me," Aang said softly, rubbing her shoulder a bit. She gave him a half smile before exhaustion started to come over her again.
There was a long pause when Toph thought that Aang had nothing more to add and started to let sleep take over her. "Hey Toph?" This pulled her from her sleep slightly.
"Yeah?"
"How about when you're better, we go outside?" Aang suggested.
For the first time she could remember for a long time, Toph smiled. "I'd like that Twinkle Toes," she said before falling back asleep.
A/N: This chapter is a little shorted than some of the others, but after this it skips to when Toph is better and it didn't seem to fit in this chapter to me.
I'd also like to thank all the wonderfull people who reviewed my last chapter and all the chapters before that. It encorages me to write more.
Please review and thanks for reading!
