CHAPTER 30- The City of Red and Gold
Early the next morning, before the sun was even up, they all were. Toph felt around for vibrations above them, but didn't feel any around. She opened up a hole big enough for one of them to get through at time. Katara poked her head up to check for anyone Toph might have missed. She signaled the all clear and, one by one, they came up. Toph sealed up the ground and they all looked around. They had made it to the Fire Nation.
Zuko pointed out a couple places he remembered. One of them made his eyes sting momentarily. "There," he said pointing to an enormous building in the distance. "That's the palace. It's surrounded by a wall. Mai and Ty Lee will be our key to getting through. We'd better start moving. It'll take us awhile to get there."
They gang started walking in the direction of the palace. Ty Lee and Mai, along with Zuko, pointed out places as they walked around.
"We'd better be
careful so we're not spotted," Katara said.
Zuko took a piece
of the red fabric he wore between his fingers. "Uh, Katara? You do
realize we're dressed as Fire Nation, right?"
"Oh, right," she said as she looked around and studied their clothes.
Zuko had convinced the king to just let him go to the Fire Nation with the clothes he'd worn to the party in Ba Sing Se. Katara had a long red sleeveless dress on over a pair of black leggings. The dress had slits up to the thighs for easy movement, and she finished it off with a set of gold cuffs and bangles on her arm. The bangles were on her upper arm, like those worn in an Agni Kai. On her feet she had a simple pair of black flats. Toph wore an outfit similar to her usual, but it was still very different at the same time. Her shirt was red and sleeveless with golden embroidery, along with a matching pair of wide leg pants like her old ones. She still went barefoot and had gold and crimson fabric cuffs on her wrists. The headband holding her bun in place was golden now, with small tassels on either side.
Mai and Ty Lee figured no one would recognize them since they'd been gone for so long, so they stuck with the clothes they'd worn before they posed as Kyoshi warriors. Sokka wore a red vest style shirt over a pair of black baggy pants and the Fire Nation's classic pointy boots. He had the red Agni Kai inspired bangles on his arms as well, as well as red cut off gloves on his hands. His hair was now grown on the sides, and his ponytail was folded into a topknot. His new sword hung at his waist, and Zuko's hung in the sheath on his back. Aang wore a three piece shirt. It started with a shiny crimson long sleeved shirt, and a red gray short sleeve one over that. On top was a dark red, almost black, vest with bright red trim. He had on baggy pants like Sokka's that matched the short sleeve shirt he had on. He also wore the pointy toed boots as well.
"Okay, but, no Bending here, at least until we invade the palace later," Katara said quietly. "We don't want to attract attention to ourselves."
"Aang and I can Bend," Zuko said. "Don't forget, the Fire Nation is filled with Firebenders. We'll look ordinary."
Katara sighed and they kept walking. The sun had risen now, and people were walking through the streets like them. People smiled at the gang and at each other as they walked past.
"Wow, people here seem really friendly," Katara noted.
"Well, don't forget, not everyone is like my father. Though he doesn't really know it, more people disagree than agree with him," Zuko pointed out.
"I can imagine why," Sokka said.
By now, the palace was growing larger in size as they got closer. The reds and golds adorning it shone in the morning sunlight. Before they knew it, they were standing at the base of the wall. They looked around.
"Zuko, you were right, the Fire Nation is beautiful!" Katara said.
"Unfortunately, that's not what we're here for," Aang said, looking at the Fire Nation insignias everywhere.
"Come on, we better look around," Sokka said. "We need to make sure the area is okay before the messenger hawk comes."
For the next two hours, the gang walked around the entire length of the palace wall until they'd gotten back to where they started. Guards looked at them oddly when they came back to their starting point.
"Okay, let's find some place to wait for the messenger hawk," Katara said.
The gang walked for a few minutes until they stood in front of a tea shop. Zuko laughed when he saw the tea shop and instantly thought of his uncle. They waited for awhile, and eventually they heard the hawk's cry as it swooped down toward them. It landed on Aang's arm. Katara took the message out of the tube on its back and read it out loud, but only loud enough for her friends to hear it. It said:
We hope you have now made it to the palace and have checked the surrounding area for danger. When you get this, it should be about eleven in the morning. You've got about an hour until the eclipse begins. The moment the Firebenders are powerless, begin making your way into the palace. The troops will be with you shortly afterward. Return the message.
General How
They sent a message back with the hawk and it flew away in the direction of the troops. There was no escaping this. No going back. In an hour they'd be in the process of storming the Fire Nation palace. All they could do until then was wait.