Chapter 7
A Search Gone Wrong
"So what did the Queen say?" Toph asked once Sokka and the Commodore once they got back. Sokka filled Toph in about all that had happened at the palace while Mr. Wilberforce made some travel arrangements. Once Sokka finished, Toph burst out,
"They can't kill them!"
"I know! The Queen was worried about the government's credibility or some such thing." Sokka said.
"Toph! Sokka! Get packed! Our airship to Glasgow leaves in a hour and a half."
"Where's Glasgow?" Toph asked.
"In Scotland. Dola's rumoured to have a hide-out nearby, so I figured we should start there."
"All right! Let's go!" Sokka yelled with exuberance as he bounded up the staircase to the room he had been staying in. Toph followed him up the stairs, and in ten minutes they were packed and downstairs. Mr. Wilberforce led them out to his car, and they sped off towards London Heathrow airfield. Once they arrived, they showed their Imperial Writs and were taken straight to the Queen of Glasgow, an smaller airship that made regular runs between London and Glasgow. Most non-cargo airships only made runs to Transoceanic destinations, the closest being Dublin or Paris, but since there wasn't a direct railway line between London and Glasgow, it was thought profitable by the biggest transportation company in the world, Imperial Transit Ltd., owned by Prime Minister Churchill. The 200-foot long airship skimmed the ground, tugging at its' mooring masts. The airship scooted up to the boarding tower, and all Sokka, Toph, and Mr. Wilberforce had to do was flash the Imperial Writs and they instantly were allowed on board.
The inside of the Queen of Glasgow was luxurious. It had no cabins, seeing as it was only a four and a half hour flight, but it had a lot of luxurious Victorian couches. Sokka and Toph stayed near the bow of the airship, while Commodore Wilberforce went astern. Sokka and Toph sat on a love seat in front of the window. After about thirty minutes of waiting, the Queen of Glasgow rose off the ground and turned north towards Scotland.
As Toph and Sokka watched London slipped by below their feet, Toph found herself leaning in to Sokka, enjoying his briny smell. She leaned all the way in, and Sokka found himself putting his arm around her soft shoulders. As the airship left London behind, Toph said softly,
"I'm scared Sokka."
"Why?"
"I'm scared for Aang, and for Katara. Nothing in this world makes sense! Why would some woman who doesn't even know how important the Avatar is, kidnap him? Why?" she started to cry softly on Sokka's shoulder. Sokka gave her a quick squeeze and said,
"It will all be all right."
...
4 1/2 hours later, Glasgow Airfield
"Let's get moving then!" the Commodore said. They disembarked from the airship to a taxi waiting outside. Mr. Wilberforce gave the driver twenty pounds to go to Dunnecragy, a small village near where Dola was supposed to be hiding out.
...
Pirate Hideout, 5 kilometres outside of Dunnecragy Village
It was a foreboding spot. Perched on the very top of Dunn's Crag, the house and barn overhanging the cliff seemed so out of place among the Scottish mist, but there placement was no accident. Built by Dola's grandmother in 1793 for the very purpose of air piracy, it was outfitted with a large hangar and tanks for hydrium gas.
"All right, let's get a few things straight." Dola was instructing Aang and Katara on the rules of their captivity. "First things first. You are not to leave this house. You are already handcuffed, but we'll put a ball and chain on your ankles if you try to escape. We'll feed you three squares a day. Got it?"
"Yes Captain." Katara said. Then Dola felt odd. She couldn't figure it out, until she realised that she loved being called "Captain". She felt touched, but it was short lived.
"Don't get smart with me! Now get back to your room! Both of you!" as they left she rounded on her eldest son and yelled at him "Why can't you get things straight like that lovely young girl and call me captain!"
"Yes mum!"
"CALL ME CAPTAIN!!!!" She stormed out of the room to her Spartan room upstairs.
"I wouldn't bother her again today, boys! Now cook us all up some grub!" Gerald told them.
"Yes Pa!" they answered in unison. Upstairs, Aang and Katara were happy to have a warm room with a fireplace, and Aang was struggling to figure out how the hell to use matches. He finally got it and lit the fire, which crackled into life in the stone hearth. The door opened, and Dola strode in with two plates heaped with spaghetti.
"I'd hate to see such fine young people such as you go hungry, so eat up!" she said in a surprisingly motherly voice. "Well don' just stare at it! Eat it!" They were quite shocked and continued to just keep staring at the heaping plates of spaghetti. "What's the matter? Nothing wrong with the spaghetti! Don't worry, I didn't poison it!" she proved her point by taking a healthy bite out of the meatball on Aang's plate. After that display, Aang and Katara set into the spaghetti with great enthusiasm. After Katara had taken a bite, she turned to Dola and said,
"Thank you captain,". Damn and blast! Dola got that stupid warm and fuzzy feeling again. She was irritated how much she liked these kids. She was coddling them for god's sakes! Dola stormed out of the room to go shout at her feather-brained sons again.
...
The Dog and Dragon Inn, High Street, Dunnecragy Village
"Ye are ginna take a left on Charch Lan and go up the ole 'igh strait 'til ye hit the village end. Thin ye are ginna take a left on the path up to the crag. Thats were ye are ginna find them pirates." the bartender said in the thickest Scottish Accent to ever be on the earth.
"Thank you sir. Good day to you." Mr. Wilberforce said as he flipped him a pound.
"Thank ye kind ser! Watch oot for a part o' the path that makes an awful shawp turn o'er the crags edge, and in this mist, one wee misstep could lead to ye shaking 'ands wit good ole Saint Peter!"
"Thank you. Goodbye!" Once they were outside the pub, Sokka, Toph, and Mr. Wilberforce followed the kilted Scotsman's directions to the pirate crag. The misty village was quiet and foreboding, and high street was muddier than wettest swamp. Once they started ascending the crag, Toph brought up the obvious need for strategy.
"How are we going to get Aang and Katara out of there?"
"I think we should sneak around the back, and assuming it's a stone house, Toph can earth-bend the wall out and.."
"I can't earth-bend here." Toph interrupted.
"What? Why?" Sokka asked in total shock.
"This isn't the same earth. I can't bend it." they all were silent as they walked through the heavy fog and contemplated how this would affect their plans. The fog grew very thick, and suddenly a yell broke the foggy calm! Unfortunately for Commodore Wilberforce, he had not understood the Scotsman's warning, and had neglected to look for the sharp end, and fell 300 feet to his death.
....
