Chapter 19
„What?!" Blue looked at the king in disbelief. Yellow and Crystal exchanged worried glances.
"Why?" Blue asked and took a step forward. Still in the same moment the watchmen did the same and looked at Blue warningly.
"Why you ask?" A grim smile formed on King Rowan's face. "I have no reason to help you."
"B-but… The Fire Nation is also the enemy of the Earth Kingdom. Only together can the Earth Kingdom and the Water Nation defeat the Fire Nation."
"The water nation is defeated. There is no Water Nation anymore."
Blue froze, she didn´t knew what to say. The King used her silence and continued to spoke.
"Almost all of your water mages are in captivity; your islands are occupied by the Fire Nation. The Water Nation is dead. And I will not enter into coalition with a dead nation."
Discouragement came over Blue. She didn´t want to believe the words of the king.
"That means you have given up?"
King Rowan laughed in amusement.
"Given up? Conordia threatens no danger. I have no reason to start a war with the Fire Nation."
"We ARE in a war!"
Crystal´s angry voice echoed through the entire hall. Horrified Blue looked at the girl. Did she know what she had just done? Not even she, as heir to the throne, is allowed to yell at a king.
The king was threatening still. His dark eyes pierced Crystal.
"Conordia is in no war. We have a nonaggression pact with the fire Nation. Conordia threatens no danger."
Crystal began to laugh derisively.
Is this girl crazy?! No one laughs at a king!
"Do you really think the Fire Nation will comply with a pact? The Fire Nation wiped out an entire nation! And they will do the same also with the Earth Kingdom, if we don´t stop them!"
Oh Crystal, stop talking. You'll get us all in trouble!
Blue saw the anger in the face of the king flare. That's not good…
"Leave." He said. "Leave and never come back."
His words were unmistakable. They were no longer welcome here. They screwed up.
Blue grabbed Crystals arm and pulled her with her. They have fallen out of favor with the king and must quickly disappear before anything gets worse. Crystal, who knew that she had screwed up everything, was white in the face. Without to defend herself she let her pull with Blue. Only Yellow remained motionless where she stood and looked at the king, thoughtfully.
"Yellow…!" Blue whispered quietly, but the blonde girl ignores her.
"The problem is that we do not have enough mage, right?" She said. Blue didn´t know whether she talked with the king, or with herself.
The King raised an eyebrow and looked at the, disguised as a boy, girl appraisingly.
"What do you want to say?"
"Would the Water Nation regain its former strength, would you then form a coalition with us?"
What was Yellow purposing? Confused Blue remained with Crystal on the door frame.
"It´s impossible for the Water Nation. Don´t waste my time with absurdity, boy."
Yellow turned to Blue.
"Blue, do you know where the fire nation has imprisoned prisoners of war?"
Blues blood froze in her veins to ice. That was Yellow purposing?!
Is she crazy?!
"The Ignisis Dome…" she whispered softly. Blue had heard her father talk often about this place. Whenever her father was talking about this place, he was hopeless. No one has ever succeeded to escape this prison.
King Rowan laughed aloud and vicious.
"You really want to break into the Ignisis Dome and free the prisoners there? That's ridiculous."
"But not impossible."
Yellow looked at the king seriously and unimpressed.
Huh? Since when was this girl brave?
"It is impossible. Believe me boy."
"You think the same about Conordia, or? You think it´s impossible to break into your city. But is isn´t. Today I saw at least one person of the fire nation in Conordia. The safest city in the world."
King Rowan was silent. The whole room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.
In this brief moment Blue first saw Yellow as the Avatar. She could feel the authority, which was surrounding this little blonde girl.
"Who are you?" the King asked Yellow.
"Yellow."
"Who are you?"
"I´m the Avatar."
"I want to break out here."
Silver looked at Hugh skeptical. "It´s impossible."
"Says who?"
"Have you ever heard of someone who could break out here?"
Hugh laughed softly. "Then I'll be the first. And you'll help me."
"Says who?"
"You owe me a favor."
Silver and Hugh stood at the edge of the enclosure and were highly anxious not to attract attention. As Silver learned was Hugh also a water mage and came from the October Island. Since 4 months he is caught in Ignisis Dome and he wants to get out of here.
"And do you have a plan?" Silver asked him.
"Yes. But we need help from outside." Hugh looked around thoughtfully. "I have to get out here…"
"YOUR TIME OUTSIDE IS OVER!"
The watchmen moved closer and chased the prisoners together.
Hugh grabbed Silver's arm and pulled him closer.
"We talk more next time. Until then try to get along with the watchmen, we might need their help later."
Crystal had the feeling to breathe easier after they had left the castle.
Were they successful…?
"The Avatar?" The King sounded incredulous almost amused. But then he turned serious.
"You really think that you´re the Avatar? Good, then I give you a change. If you manage to break in the Ignisis Dome and liberate enough mages then… I will think about forming a coalition with the water nation."
It´s better than nothing, said Crystal to herself. But can they really manage to break in the Ignisis Dome? Crystal doubted this. They were only four of us and the king will not help them.
Why I was so stupid?
Why did she argue with the king? Nearly they had been banished because of it… if Yellow wouldn´t have been...
"Look! There is Ruby!" Blue shouted.
Crystal looked up and saw the boy with the white cap behind the palace gates. Guiltily and almost frightened, he looked at Crystal.
But today he has luck. Crystal isn´t in the mood to yell at Ruby. She was too angry about herself…
"Hi…" Ruby murmured quietly, as the group of girls reached him.
"Were you successful…?"
Blue sighed in frustration. "More or less ..."
"More or less ...?"
Blue gave Crystal a scowl. "Thanks her we were almost banished. But Yellow has saved the situation and has made with him an agreement that we can never keep. Or do you have any plan, Yellow?"
Yellow looked to the ground and bit her lip. "No…"
"Oh great… we're fucked."
"Uhm… What an agreement did she make?" Ruby asked.
"She want-"
"Guys? You know that there are watchmen everywhere who are spying on us?" Interrupted Crystal Blue and looked around suspiciously. "Blue? Where do we want to stay overnight?"
Blue hesitated before answering. "I don´t know… I had hoped that the king would willingly form a coalition with us and we could sleep in the palace..."
"Why don´t we go back to Gold or Wailord?" Yellow suggested, but Crystal shook her head.
"If we leave the city, there is no guarantee that we can come in again. But sleeping on the streets here is also dangerous…"
Crystal thought back to the earth mage in the alley a shiver came over her.
"Why don´t we rent a room for us?" was Ruby´s suggestion.
Crystal and Blue twisted their eyes at the same instant.
"We don´t have money."
Ruby smiled. "But I have money."
"You really won a magic competition?!"
Although he has already affirmed her for the thousandth time, Blue didn´t believe him.
"You?!"
"Where else I have all the money from?"
"Have you cheated?"
"No."
"Have they died laughing and lost because of this?"
"No."
"Have they-"
"Shut up!"
Instead of making fun of him, Blue could thank him. Thanks to him, they are now sitting in a warm room and are able to discuss possible plans.
"You really want to break in the Ignisis Dome?" Ruby asked to change the subject.
"This is… really crazy!"
"But our only change to get help from the earth kingdom…" Yellow murmured.
"Yellow! You have no idea! No one, really NO ONE has ever escaped from the Ignisis Dome!" Screamed Blue hysterical.
"At least not alive…" Crystal added and scowled.
"My father had often thought about whether he should attack the Ignisis Dome, but he knew that he would have no change. He knew that he would lead his men into the death! He had an entire kingdom at disposal, we are only four! We don´t have the slightest change!"
Rarely Ruby had seen Blue so scared. He doesn´t know much about the Ignisis Dome, but it sounds like the place is the hell.
"We aren´t many… but can´t we use this to our advantage?" Yellow asked. "We don´t have to attack the Ignisis Dome obviously. We can us smuggle in there and attack the prison from the inside."
"The prisoners there would surely help us ..." Ruby support the idea of Yellow.
But Blue and Crystal didn´t looked convinced.
"I don´t know…" Crystal expressed her doubts. "How do we want to smuggle us in? And in order to succeed we have to attack the Ignisis Dome from the inside and outside. But for that we are just not enough…"
"Than… we need to find people, who want to help us." Ruby murmured. He is the more he thought about the idea of Yellow, the more he is convinced of this idea. He thought about Silver ... If he were still alive, then he is in the Ignisis Dome.
"Black and Bianca would certainly help us and also Gold. And in magic competition I won there were many talented mages; maybe some of those help us as well?"
"And what about the wandering rogues from the No Man's Land?" Yellow asked.
"In Conordia many talented mages live on the street… Gold knows some of them… maybe… when Gold convinces them, they help us too…" Crystal murmured.
Ruby's eyes lit up. Crystal was now on his and Yellows side? Full of expectation Ruby looked at Blue. What will she say?
Blue seemed to struggle with herself. Again and again she opened her mouth, but then she closed it again and bit her lips.
"This is really crazy… and risky… and did I say crazy?"
Ruby chuckled. "This is war."
A soft knock brought Green back to reality. He put his book aside and rubbed his eyes.
"Yes?" he yawned.
The door to his room opened and Diamond entered. Diamond, a watchman of King Rowan and Greens personal spy.
"Sir, I have information for you that may interest you." He said to Green.
Green raised an eyebrow.
"Is that so? Then tell me."
Diamond smiled and closed the door behind him.
"Today the princess of the Water Nation and two more people talked to the king. They wanted to form a coalition with the Earth Kingdom but the king refused."
"That doesn´t surprise me."
"But they made an agreement with the king. If they manage to break in the Ignisis Dome and to liberate the mages there, then the king will think about a coalition."
"Oh, that is really interesting. Is that all you know?"
Diamond shook his head.
"One of the companions of the Princess claims that he would be the Avatar."
Greens eyes widened.
"A boy, you said?"
"I´m not sure…"
"Do you know where they are right now?"
Finally I've finished the next chapter. I have long thought about whether I should continue the story, because I've lost for the second time my Beta…
But I read all your lovely comments and they made me really happy so I just have to continue my story. I really like writing this story and I hate to not finish things.
Currently, I write without a Beta so I´m sorry about all the grammar mistakes. But I didn´t want to let you wait any longer. I hope you can still enjoy reading my story ^-^