Chapter Twenty-One

The fifteen year old was looking on, towards the people filled cavern. It was a huge area, with an Earth Kingdom symbol covered wall protecting the boarding area.

Rya moved along with the crowd to see a bitter old lady, the one who gave the tickets. She then heard someone speak from the group before her, "Do you have your passport", the middle aged man asked, with worry, to whom she thought to be his wife.

The girl went into a bit of a panic then.

Rya scavenged for the piece of paper from within her backpack. She was happy to know she still had it since Omashu. She was even a bit surprised she hadn't lost it through her years of travelling.

The next problem was knowing if the Omashu authorities had warned this place that she was a firebender. She didn't think they had made a wanted poster of her. They did never saw her. Maybe she was in the clear. But if they knew who she was, she would be royally screwed.

The firebender decided, after a few anxious moments, she would go along with her initial plan. If they attacked her she would have to get away. Yet, the girl had a feeling it wouldn't come to it.

So, she waited on, always making sure Tai wouldn't just pop up from her backpack.

Before, when Rya entered the cave which was protected by a handful of earthbenders, she had seen a sign that prohibited animals from going along to Ba Sing Se on the ships. She decided it was best to hide him since she intended to take him with her. Rya had made a promise to Ayane and she planned on keeping it.

After a while it was finally her turn, "Passport please", the woman said, a small bored yawn escaping her thin lips. The 'please' she added, wasn't from politeness but rather from repetition. Rya sighed before handing the document to the old lady.

The attendant looked from the passport to the person in front of her with some suspicion. Rya could definitely picture what was probably going on, on her mind. The firebender knew she didn't look to be from the Earth Kingdom. Jet even made sure to say that when she met the Freedom Fighters. But the passport was there and she was an Earth Kingdom citizen.

It took a few moments for the old woman to stamp the ticket in front of her and giving it to the expecting golden eyed fifteen year old. As Rya walked away towards the crowd the attendant gazed on, spotting an orange tail dangling from the girl's backpack.

Rya recalled why she didn't liked her travel to the Fire Nation and back as she braced herself for the ship's wavy ride. Her stomach was not appreciating all this swinging and the girl kept herself by the rail in case something wrong happened.

The wind blew her hair out of her face as she gazed on towards what was supposed to be the great city of Ba Sing Se, the capital of the Earth Kingdom, the only place the Fire Nation had tried to take and wasn't able to. Sure, she couldn't see it yet but in a day and a half it would most likely appear in the horizon.

She reminded herself of Vao Quan and his friendly words. The guide that helped her across the Great Divide had firmly pressed her to go through Half Moon Bay, telling her it would be a great mistake to walk through The Serpent's Pass. Rya was glad he did so. Thanks to him she would be in Ba Sing Se in at most two days and was eating, not a delightful but still, a hot meal, the slight comfort of a thin blanket keeping her warm.

Leaning against a metal wall, she turned her orangey eyes to the people inside the ship. The other travelers looked at her in a funny way, she noticed, but was too tired to give it much thought. So, as the last of the stars appeared in the sky, she fell asleep.

ՓՓՓ

Two Days Later

The morning of the last day came quickly as Rya woke up with the sun, just the way she was accustomed to do. She headed to the food distributer inside the small vessel, waiting for some bread, which would serve as her breakfast.

Sitting herself in a secluded place, she laid down her leathered backpack, "Come on Tai, come eat", the young Master whispered. Tai, the fire ferret popped out of the bag at the mention of food, sniffing his way to Rya's extended hand. The girl smiled as he ate the walnut and piece of bread in front of him.

She then walked up to the edge of the ship. Her eyes glinted as she watched the dock they would port in. It was hidden, the same as the one before.

"Attention to all refugees and crew! We will be anchoring in half an hour. Please be ready to leave the ship on the main deck, in twenty minutes", a voice announced from a speaker. Tai stopped his chewing to listen, his fur puffy from the fright. The girl noticed this and walked back to the creature, petting him and making sure everything was okay with the fire ferret.

She put him in her backpack once again and walked towards the meeting area, expecting something very different from her normal life to take place, perhaps some time of peace to find out about the so called library was all she needed for things to fall into place and to heal the wounds she carried for some time now.

But fate is a funny thing and although something very different was about to happen it just… wasn't something she was expecting.

Author's Note:

So, here it is.

I really don't know if I should keep writing this... I don't know if any of you are enjoying this and the last thing I need is to feel bad about not posting a chapter for people that don't really care. Sure I'm doing this for myself as well, but I could use the encouragement.
Anyways, I'm hoping for things to change a little in Ba Sing Se. I already have some things planned out in my head for the upcoming chapters but I haven't written a whole lot.

Please tell me if there's anything I could work on (I sure know there is but it's much easier for someone from the outside to point it out).

For now, this is everything, bunas out