Here it is! I know you guys were all eager after that cliffhanger...no one guessed it, though there were some very astute guesses that all I'll say is that you guys are def on the right track for some OTHER events happening soon...;)
Thanks to my reviewers: lucel18, Hristonostore Onnediel, jacpin2002, Zebra Blu, KnightOwl247, SetsunaNoelle, mystic-hysteric, and touslesnoms!
"Poison?!" Zhi's screech echoed in the hallways, hearing the end of Toph's words after Wei had fetched her back.
"Yes," Toph said, "In here." She didn't release her hand from the seal she had over the top of the cup. "I'm positive. Get me Prince Zuko and I'll explain it," she said.
"This is a very serious allegation-"
"Yeah. You know what else is serious? Getting poisoned! Katara should come with. It happened to her too," Toph said. "C'mon!"
"Katara?" Suki gasped, and Katara hadn't even realized Smellerbee and Suki had followed them out. Katara gave a 'I-have-no-idea-what-she's-talking-about' sort of look back at them, but she was already being herded through the double doors and into a meeting room. Zhi left with Wei to find Prince Zuko, leaving two guards at the door. Katara paced while Toph just continued to sit, holding her mug of tea. Mug of poison tea, as Toph had proclaimed.
"Do you think it was equalists? Are the other girls in danger?" Katara asked, unsure how Toph could be so calm. "I drank the tea too!"
"No, I don't think so. I'm pretty sure it's just me. But, we'll check," she replied, as casually as if she were informing Katara that today it was going to rain again.
"Toph! Aren't you more freaked out?" Katara said, her entire body shaking. "I mean...would it have killed you?"
"Possibly," Toph shrugged, "But, I'm not so easy to take out."
Katara was about to demand to know exactly how Toph was so calm, how she had known, and why she thought Katara had also been poisoned, when the doors opened again. Zuko came in first. Even if they were still fighting, when he saw Katara, a flash of fear passed over his face.
General Iroh, along with Lu Ten in tow, entered next, and finally Zhi followed, wringing her hands. Katara had never seen their attendant so frazzled.
"Zhi says you think someone poisoned you," Zuko began, crouching near Toph.
"Attempted to poison me," Toph said, finally releasing her cover of the cup. "Don't drink it," she added, as though that needed to be said. "I'm more prepared than that."
"How?" Katara said.
"I can smell it, of course," Toph said, as though it was obvious. Zuko sniffed it, but shook his head. "It's nearly odorless, which is why it's used pretty often, Spark - I mean, Prince Zuko," Toph said, "Luckily, with my nose, I can smell it clear as day."
"And how would you know the smell of something poisonous?" Lu Ten asked, not with any suspicion, but just curiosity.
"It was imperative for me to know, in case I ever came across it. I can smell all the things that could kill me," Toph said simply, "Because I cannot see, so, yeah."
"Why would you need to know that-" Katara began, but sighed. "Right. Surprising the pants off people." She recalled Toph's favorite past time. Zuko's lip twitched into almost a smile, which would have been inappropriate for the situation.
"Yeah, that, and plus...I'm a pretty big deal. Offing Lady Bei Fong woulda been a dastardly plan, or a good bargaining chip or whatever."
"I would say that it would have been unneeded, but here we are," Katara agreed, thinking that she couldn't imagine that a kid like Toph would be required to know what poisons there were out there, for gosh sakes.
"Uncle?" Zuko handed the cup off to Iroh to smell. "You've come across some nefarious weapons before…"
General Iroh took one sniff, a very long one, before scowling. "Lady Bei Fong is absolutely correct. Someone was trying to poison her."
"Yeah, and as I said, I think someone tried to kill Katara the same way and failed," Toph added. Everyone's gaze, sans Toph, swung to face Katara. "You know, at the party?"
"The first one?" Katara thought back. She had been very sick, but it hadn't been much of a concern, so it was dropped.
"I didn't think of it until now," Toph added.
"I think Lady Bei Fong might also be right about that, too." General Iroh looked deeply disturbed.
"What? Did they get the measurements wrong? How could I still be alive, then?" Katara felt rattled to know an attempt on her life had been made, even if it had failed.
"Not exactly so." Iroh handed the cup off to Lu Ten, who took a couple of sniffs of it too. "Princess Katara, you eat zebra prunes, don't you? In the South?"
Katara blinked twice, unsure of how this connected.
"Err, sort of. We eat the protective shells they leave behind. We grind them and put them into stews for flavor and to add a little extra protein. The animal itself isn't worth the effort to eat. It has a thousand splinters to pick out, and if you miss one, it could scratch up your throat. And they take forever to cook, and turn to rubber if you miss it by a second, and to be honest they're not that tasty even after that." Katara scrunched up her nose. "But I don't get why that relates to someone poisoning me and Toph."
"Actually, zebra prunes are some of the most deadly creatures," General Iroh said, to which point, Katara scoffed. Sure, the spikes hurt a lot if you got them in your hands, but they were smaller than a newborn and gelatinous if caught outside their shell. "No. It's true. When threatened, they excrete a very potent poison ink, one so concentrated it's been used as an assassin's tool for many years."
Katara sat, back, thinking. Since she was a little girl, zebra prunes were difficult to capture, and Katara had only seen one once. She'd only ever tasted the actual animal once, and she didn't want to repeat the experience. However, somewhere, she did recall her parents talking to her about its defensive tactics. The pickings for food had been so meager lately that they hardly ever found a live one anymore, just the husks of their shells that washed up on the glaciers.
"There are a great many battle tales about the ferocious Southerners with their poison tipped arrow heads," Lu Ten added, and Katara was a little miffed he apparently knew more about their story culture than she did.
"Yes." Iroh stroked his beard. "The poison, if cut with water, is quite disastrous. When the animal secrets it, it's sticky. That's how it keeps itself in the shell. So, your entire life, you've been eating dried remains of the poison. I'm sure the amount the culprit used was meant to kill you, but they obviously did not know that most Southern Water Tribe members have developed a tolerance over the years. I imagine it was quite a lot to have made you sick, but luckily, no other side effects have come from it."
"Oh, wow." Katara's eyes widened. Zuko looked impressed about a skill that Katara hadn't even known she possessed.
"How hard is it to acquire the poison, father?" Lu Ten asked.
"Very," Toph answered for Iroh. "I mean, they call it the 'Suicide Fish' for a reason...idiots, really. It's not even a fish." Toph snorted.
"Suicide Fish…?" Zuko repeated, tilting his head.
"The zebra prune itself is a delicacy here, because it's so hard to get. When preparing it, the poison sac needs to be very carefully extracted so as to not kill the person eating it. However, killing the fish in the South is not an option, because the meat requires very cold temperatures to keep good, and it spoils as soon as it leaves. But, catching the fish and moving them are also not an option, because if it senses any change in their environment, it releases its secretion and do not release its own antidote after, thus killing itself. And, it's a long trip just to go to the South to get some poison, much less a sea creature itself. And, frankly, it's not as though we know any better way to cook it." Iroh explained.
Lu Ten made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat. "It tasted quite terrible the only time I've ever had the displeasure to taste it," he said. Behind him, Zuko gave a sharp nod in agreement while wrinkling his nose.
"Tasted like a booger that was left on someone's slipper for a week," Toph supplied helpfully. That was about the description that Katara had heard Gran Gran speak of it. She would take the shells any day, which were salty with just a tang of bitterness, but in quite a pleasing way.
"Now that we've established the method, we should figure out who did it and if anyone else was poisoned. Is it fast acting?" Zuko brought the group back to why they'd been summoned in the first place.
Iroh made a 'so-so' motion with his hands. "I think the medical wing would have gotten at least one person in with an upset stomach by now," he said. He turned to Zhi, who had been white as a sheet, silently listening the entire time. "Can you go collect all the mugs that the ladies drank from today, as well as the maids who served them?" he asked.
"And the rest of the girls!" Toph added.
"To see if they're sick?" Zuko asked.
"No, to find the jerk! I have a feeling it was one of them who did this," Toph said narrowing her eyes. "If not, you have a serious security problem, considering that these attacks were weeks apart," she said. Zhi looked to Zuko or General Iroh, who both gave permission to gather the other girls.
"How will we tell?" Katara asked, "If it's clear and near odorless?"
Toph grinned.
"Well, its use is not only a poison. If you dilute it until it's practically useless as a weapon, it's also used as-"
"Invisible ink!" Zuko interrupted, sitting up straight, a light going on in his mind. Iroh looked very pleased with both Toph and his nephew.
"Yeah. And obviously an invisible ink that stays permanently invisible would be completely stupid, so there's a way to reveal it. Orange juice."
"Guards, grab fresh oranges from the kitchens," Lu Ten said, "Now."
"It turns a most pleasing shade of teal green," Iroh added with a soft smile. "Quite beautiful. Deadly, yet beautiful."
The guards returned before Zhi did, arms full of oranges. Katara and Toph set to work straining them to get juice, while Lu Ten went and grabbed a soft brush used for calligraphy to apply it with. In a connected area, Katara could see the cups being stacked. To show Katara her proof, Toph squeezed the orange into her cup, sitting on the table still, and Katara watched the sides of the white ceramic turn a vibrant color, clearer with each passing second.
"That's a little overwhelming," Katara commented.
"It's a little more manageable as an ink," Iroh said, taking the glass and peering down into it.
Katara and Toph set to work swabbing the cups, but they came up with no other results.
"Well," Toph snorted, "Good to know I'm special."
Zuko asked each girl to come in one-by-one, where Iroh or Lu Ten were waiting to brush their hands with the orange juice. While Katara was sure that they would have washed their fingers off, Toph pointed out that the ink was sticky enough that even washing it would leave residue.
Most girls were just confused, and Toph could not detect any nervousness or worry from them. Zuko began to ask if Toph was sure it had been a contestant and not an equalist, and quickly regretted it when Toph nearly chewed his head off.
As the girls trickled through, most tried to ask what was going on. Iroh advised Zuko not to tell them, but to keep them in the room, just in case. At least, until this was figured out. If the culprit was not a girl but one of the Equalists, then having them all together would be the safest option anyway.
Around the ninth girl, Katara was beginning to wonder too.
Until someone's palms turned bright teal blue.
Katara sucked in hard, staring at the person who had tried to kill both her and Toph, unable to think for a couple seconds, unable to even react. Even Toph seemed startled. As much as she'd insisted it was one of the girls, it was very different to be proven right.
The Royal Family, however, wasted no time.
"Guards!" Iroh said, using a tone Katara had never heard. It was the tone of the legendary General Iroh, not the kind-hearted Uncle Iroh. "Arrest her."
Bahiravi stood her ground unflinchingly, staring down Zuko with a completely placid look, as though she wasn't just caught red -err, blue- handed.
"You understand you're hereby cut from the Prince's Choice," Zuko said, his tone cold. In moments like this, when his eyes were flaring but his voice was absolutely even, Katara could see how much he resembled his father or Azula. It was not a look she liked. As angry as he was with her, as much as he was ignoring her at the moment, his tone had never dipped into this with her. She hoped it never would. "And, you'll be lucky if you aren't locked up forever for your crimes in the worst holding cells. This is high treason against the Fire Nation."
Bahiravi said nothing; she just held his gaze. No pleading, no explanations, no insistences that she was not at fault. She didn't indict herself, either. She just stared. Katara would say she nearly looked smug.
"That bitch tried to poison me!" Toph snarled, and jumped forward but was held back by Lu Ten. Most of the girls paled to hear what she'd done. Katara thought that Saya in particular looked white as a sheet and fainted a little where she stood. When it was reveled she had just been scared, and not poisoned, a guard helped her back up to stand but no one was to leave yet.
"Language, Lady Bei Fong," Zhi said, but her voice wasn't as sharp as it often was when reprimanding Toph. She just seemed so caught of guard.
Behind her, the girls twittered amongst themselves, speaking in worried and shaking voices. The rest were swabbed with orange juice, but no one else came up guilty.
"Why you? If it were more of us, we might have a problem. But it was just you." Smellerbee scratched her head. "I mean, no offence, but you're just number five. Not one, or even two…" she said, flashing a look to Mai.
"I'd figure that she already tried to off Katara, and that didn't work. And didn't you hear? Bahiravi, somehow, was number six. She probably figured that offing me would just get her into the top five," Toph responded. Zuko seemed to be taking it all in, examining Toph carefully before nodding in agreement. Katara wasn't entirely sure she was happy with this, feeling in her bones that there was something else to be explored here, but unable to express it into words. It was just...a feeling.
Bahiravi was looking at Zuko with adoration. Katara wasn't so sure that she was with the Equalists, trying to kill Zuko. Maybe it wasn't so political. Maybe she was just a girl who wanted to be the Fire Lady a little too much?
The maid who served the tea and handed Toph her cup was brought in and promptly burst into tears. The maid explained how Bahiravi had threatened her this morning, but she had never thought that Toph's life would be in danger. Apparently, Bahiravi had spun a convincing story that Toph was going on a date with the Prince today and the vial would merely give Toph an upset stomach, making her unable to attend. That in itself was against the rules, but from the way the handmaid shook, Bahiravi had been convincing enough to cause her to fear for her life over what she thought was just to be a stomachache. Toph verified she was telling the truth and urged Zuko to not punish her for a being manipulated by a psycho.
"Plus, no harm done. I'm fine. Not a drop ingested," Toph said.
Then, they asked Katara about her experience during the party.
"Eva! Oh, she had wine. She insisted on getting me some. Wait, you don't think…" Katara's breath caught in her throat. She did not want to imagine a world where someone she considered a friend like Eva betrayed her, tried to kill her. Besides, Northerners ate zebra prunes too, or had at one point. The North was much better with their history, so Eva would have had to know that Katara wouldn't be killed from it. The North still might eat zebra prunes regularly too, and so they would know about its properties.
Eva shrunk under the harsh and unyielding stares the Royal Family was giving her. Zuko's face was the softest, but it was still wrought with worry and concern.
"Tell us the truth, we'll find it out anyway," he encouraged her. "Did you poi-"
"Me?" Eva practically squeaked, "I would never!"
The trio of men looked at Toph. She crossed her arms. "Truth."
"Well, how did Katara get the poison?" Zuko asked, sitting across from her, holding her shaking hands.
"I...I went to get Katara some…" Eva was close to tears, blubbering at the thought of being accused. She managed to take a heaving breath and collect herself to tell the story. "Some wine. I was bringing it back to the table and Bahiravi bumped into me, spilling it everywhere. She was so apologetic, and she offered to go get me another one while I helped one of the attendants clean it all up. I never would have thought that she...she…"
"Yeah, I get it," Zuko said comfortingly.
"I believe her and you all should too," Toph agreed. Iroh and Lu Ten exchanged looks before motioning for the guards to let her go.
It was declared that Bahiravi acted alone and would be tried as a criminal within the coming weeks. Katara was asked to speak against her, and as long as Bahiravi was put away, Katara would gladly do so. As awful as the circumstances were, this got rid of one more girl, and made Prince Zuko's choice a smidgen easier.
THEPRINCESCHOICE
Directly after the event, Zuko found a reason to vacate the room quickly, muttering something about 'council proceedings' and 'paperwork', his golden eyes shifting around the room before jumping over Katara's a smidgen too quickly. Katara saw that Lu Ten took in the moment, but he said nothing and his face did not portray any sort of knowledge about them. However, Katara was sure he would put two and two together soon enough.
Zhi was ushering the remainder of the girls, handmaids, and guards into the hall to allow Katara and Toph a moment to breathe. Katara was still reeling that someone had made an attempt on her life. She could have died, had she not grown up in the South.
It made her want to laugh and cry at the same time. Her parents had warned her about how dangerous the palace was, and this had only proven them right. Of course, it was another girl that was trying to murder Katara...not because she was even from Water Tribe, but because she was the number one pick for a game Katara wasn't sure she wanted to win. All Katara knew was that this could never get back to her family, because she was sure they'd be on the next boat over to drag her home by her feet, if need be.
"I just want to apologize again," Iroh said, once it was just him, Toph, and Katara left.
"It's okay, Uncle." Toph said. "Even I didn't know she was crazy." Katara ruminated for a second on the closeness of the two, the fact that Toph called him 'Uncle'. Iroh had tried to insist once that Katara call him that, but Katara couldn't imagine not calling him something more formal. She'd dropped the 'General' in front of his title, and called him Iroh, if she were speaking directly to him.
"Still, I think a...day off is in order. We have some of the best spas in all of Fire Nation, and I think Zuko would agree - if he didn't have such an important meeting to return to-" Katara could not tell if Iroh was making fun of Zuko or not, "That it would be just to send you there today."
"Spas aren't really my thing…" Toph said uneasily before Katara could accept.
"Lady Toph, I think you would find it quite enjoyable. Facials, massages," he paused, smiling in Toph's direction, "Mud baths."
Toph's whole demeanor changed. "Say no more, Uncle! When do we leave?" she asked, grinning in absolute excitement.
"I have to make the necessary arrangements, but this afternoon should work," Iroh nodded to both of them. "So please, enjoy your day and we'll call for you once it is ready. And I'm very glad to have such a smart girl in our midst," he said, patting Toph's shoulder.
"Ah, well, someone has to," Toph replied, but Katara could see the blush creeping up her cheeks. "Kat, did you hear that? Someone is going to rub mud all over me and it's what I'm supposed to be doing!"
"Yeah, I heard," Katara sighed. A spa day would be nice. Her grandmother used to rub her back as a child, but that had stopped a long time ago. That was the closest thing to a 'spa' that she'd ever gone to, although being here in the palace had opened her knowledge to much more, even if she hadn't experienced it yet.
The Ladies' Area was full of girls, despite the fact they were completely allowed to go out again. Yesterday's big drama - Mai being kissed - seemed to pale in comparison to Katara and Toph's news. Anyone could be kissed. Someone trying to poison two girls? Well, that would keep them twittering for weeks!
Toph had vanished right after leaving, muttering something Katara couldn't hear, leaving Katara to answer all the questions from the girls wanting to know what happened. Surprisingly, one of the first people to Katara was Nadhari.
"Are you both alright?" she breathed, eyebrows knit.
"Don't try that, concern sounds weird on you." Katara brushed past her, ignoring her. "Plus, killing me and Toph to get ahead sounds right up your alley."
"Katara." Nadhari looked actually offended. "I mean, I've done things to get ahead, yes...but killing someone?" She swallowed hard. "That's unimaginable."
So, Nadhari was more moral than Bahiravi. Katara might not have been able to guess that. Nadhari did seem sincerely worried about them, not just for show. Katara shoved back her dislike for Nadhari, shaking her head.
"We're both okay. Really. Toph didn't drink a drop of it."
The relief from Nadhari, and the group of girls waiting the hall behind her, was palpable.
"Oh, it was so scary when I heard poison!" On Ji was pale and shaking. "She could have killed us all, if she wanted. I wouldn't have known to check for it."
"Hey, hey," Katara cooed softly, "She was just one crazy person. Bahiravi is gone now." Even if the girls hadn't known or seen Bahiravi be cuffed, logically she was the only one who didn't leave the room.
"Good!" Ratana nodded firmly. "We're all real glad you're okay, Katara. We all want to win, but not like that." This seemed to be the general consensus, which warmed Katara's heart.
"Look, I'd love to stick around but…" Katara gave a long sigh. Frankly, she hadn't even been in harm's way this morning, but she wasn't really keen on doing twenty questions. Immediately, the group passed with 'oh, of courses' or 'let her rest' passing across the group. She closed her door behind her.
She penned half a letter to Sokka, before balling it up. One part wanted to tell him about this event, but nothing seemed to be the right way to tell him, especially in a way in which he wouldn't tell their parents.
Hey, Sokka, you'll never guess what happened - but don't freak out-
Hi, Sokka. So, you remember when I was really sick a couple weeks ago and-
So, this crazy bitch tried to kill me-
Is life boring at home? Mine's not, because today-
She sighed, thumping her head on her desk. Sokka probably wouldn't even answer if she wrote.
She did nothing much of value until there was a knock on her door.
"Yeah?"
"Princess Katara?" a hesitant voice asked. Katara's head shot up and she grinned widely.
"Shoji! Oh, come on in," she said. Shoji nervously entered, dressed in a beginning Fire Guard outfit, holding his helmet under his arm. She felt like a proud sister, like he was her younger brother or something, seeing him like this.
"Uh, so, I'm going to be escorting you and Toph to and from your session. I don't really know why, you and Toph could probably smash someone better than I could," he said.
"Don't play yourself down." Katara said. "But, yes, you're there more for show," she added.
"Where is Lady Bei Fong? She wasn't in her room." From the careful way Shoji pronounced Toph's last name, he'd clearly been taught it very specifically, or he was remembering to add 'Lady' before it.
"Let's go find her," Katara said. When she thought back to it, she recalled that Toph had mentioned something about the Hall of Histories.
She saw Toph standing near Sozin's portrait, next to a side table that had a tchotchke of some sort. Toph rolled it around in her fingers, licked it, and then stuck in in her pockets very sneakily.
"Shoji, just stay there," Katara said, sighing.
"Did she just-"
"Yeah." Katara rolled her eyes. "I'll make sure she puts it back."
As Katara approached, Toph spun around, trying to look casual.
"Hey, Kat. Just, er, enjoying this here…." She patted the table, finding it empty. "Wood. Nice wood."
"Empty your pockets, or I'll make you," Katara said firmly, crossing her arms.
Toph held her ground for a few seconds before taking out the orbish thing she'd swiped. Katara did not say anything, but she continued to glare with disappointment. To Katara's surprise, she unearthed about six to seven other small, but likely very valuable, items. Katara hadn't been sure, so she was glad she hadn't been standing there like an idiot.
"See, there!" Toph pulled out her pockets, shaking her dress. "Nothing else! Spoil sport," she muttered.
"Toph, what in the world were you going to do with those?" Katara asked.
"Fence 'em, obviously, once I left," Toph said simply.
"Really?" Katara sighed.
"Yeah. You've seen this place, I've touched this place. They probably wouldn't even notice. Lots to spare. I mean, ever since you decided last night to shut down my main source of income, I gotta think about the future."
"You know, if you really needed help, Zuko would…" Katara said softly.
"I don't need any handouts." Toph shoved her off. "'Especially not from Princy Firefeet."
"You really aren't going back home when you get eliminated?" Katara rubbed her arms, feeling a little sickened to think that Toph would just vanish.
"Obviously, my parents want me to marry Zuko. But, they realize that that might not happen, not with talks of this 'Water Tribe girl who he seems to think can do no wrong' – hey, their words, not mine," she defended herself at Katara's opened jaw. "So, they've started sending me 'replacements', other prissy lords for me to consider. If I return, they're absolutely gunna marry me off to one of them. I know that. So, yep, I can't stay." She shook her head.
"You'd always be welcome with my tribe, and that's not a handout," Katara said. "That's what friends do. Plus, we aren't under Fire Nation rule, so you can seek refugee with us. You can't be forced back."
"Yeah, but that's all ice and no mud. I'd have to think about it, Sugar Queen." Toph rubbed the back of her neck. Katara was a little shocked she was even considering it. "Hey, it's a great offer. Plus, well, I'm not sayin' no yet."
"Mud! Oh, right. Shoji is escorting us to our spa day," Katara said, tugging Toph back to him.
"Hey, Embers! You look nice." She held up her thumbs, grinning.
"Embers?"
"Cuz you nearly died and you're a firebender," Toph said, "And because as you so irritatingly pointed out, I can't call you kid."
"Oh. Well, thanks anyway…" He trailed off. "Wait, aren't you blind? How can you see me?"
Toph snorted, smacking his arm. "Gotcha!" Katara just moaned, rolling her eyes.
He put on his helmet, taking them to the palanquin and escorting them not very far into the upper ring to the spa.
The ladies were very smiley, if Katara had to describe their attendants.
"What do you mean no mud bath right now?" Toph asked, crossing her arms.
"Well, we'll do that later." The lead attended seemed to know how to deal with Toph. "There are many other good services that we will offer you," she said, escorting Toph away.
Katara was brought into a separate room. Try as she might, she couldn't get relaxed. Not with Toph yowling in the other room.
"Hey! Whatta you donin'? Get your hands off me if you-ohh," Toph's tone sunk into a dreamy one. "Yeah, that feels nice. Keep doing that. Just don't touch my feet, or there'll be hell to pay."
Katara chuckled, letting the attendant ease Katara back into a state of zen. They rubbed warm stones over her back with some oil, strong palms rubbing out all the kinks (according to the spa attendant, Katara had many). They did this for at least an hour, but since Katara had fallen asleep, she couldn't have said.
They woke Katara up with some warm tea. Katara had to say that she was a smidgen terrified about drinking it, after today's events. However, she pushed that aside and drank it, recalling how rare the poison was to begin with. She faintly wondered how Bahiravi got her hands on it. Bahiravi was from an upper-class family, but from what it seemed, that stuff was pretty expensive.
Either way.
After the massage, Katara was given a facial with a soft face scrub and cucumbers were put over her eyes. Three people came to attend to her while the scrub soaked into her face: one person washing through her hair, one person at her fingernails, and a third at her toe nails. Katara hadn't heard any screams of terror from poor attendants, which meant that Toph probably only had two people – i.e, not a person touching her feet. She was glad they took heed of Toph's threat, because she knew Toph wasn't joking.
Katara felt like she could stay here, being pampered, forever.
"When you become the Fire Lady, you can have days like this whenever you please," one of the ladies said, and Katara realized she must have said it out loud.
"Oh, er, right." Katara blushed. "Of course."
Well, with the way Zuko was acting towards her, she might never even make it to the final competitors for Fire Lady, fake or not.
"You said 'when', not 'if'," Katara called her out. She was silent after that, not really asking a question, but was commenting upon the language.
"Well, it seems all in the bag," the one said, and immediately, Katara heard another hit her and lightly hush the girl. That was all that was said upon it.
After they were done there, they rolled Katara's hair up into an elaborate up-do, high on her head, and Katara could guess what was coming next. Of course, Toph's elated whooping pretty much confirmed it.
Katara was offered a soft and fluffy robe to cover herself, since she'd shed everything but her underwrappings when she arrived in the massage room. She was led out to the hall, where Toph was waiting. The robes were large on Toph and Katara, so they pooled around Toph's ankles. Toph's hair was piled up similarly, and she looked cleaner than Katara had ever seen her.
"Are you ready?" Toph was almost bouncing like a child.
"Sure, I'm sure it will be nice." Frankly, slathering oneself with mud for beauty sounded fake to Katara, but she was willing to try anything at least once.
They were brought into a tiled room with low lighting. The room was already nearly unbearably hot, at least to Katara, who started sweating the moment she entered. There was an earthy scent in the air, and admittedly the mud in the baths didn't look like the average mud someone would unearth from their garden, but instead was fragrant and expensive looking. It was a much richer color than the mud that Katara had made with Toph before.
There were two baths sunken low into the ground, each filled to the brim with the mud. On a table between the tubs, food and drinks were piled high, enough to feed a small army, Katara thought. Plus, it seemed like - although there were other mud baths - they were unfilled, leaving the entire area open to the pair.
"Ladies, you are free to spend as much time as you wish in here. Please enjoy food and drinks. General Iroh mentioned that you may wish to spend the rest of the afternoon in these baths, and nothing would make us happier. If you ever need anything, there is a bell on the table, just ring it and someone will be out right away. It is up to you, but since you will be the only ones in here, you're welcome to undress completely. Have a good time." The lady bowed, closing the door.
"Well, this is nice," Katara said, unknotting her robes as she decided whether she wanted to strip everything of. "Toph?" she said, turning, "Toph, are you...crying?"
"Katara," Toph said, voice completely serious. "I think that poison killed me and I've died and gone to heaven."
Katara rolled her eyes, throwing her robes at Toph's face. "Drama queen."
I uploaded another drabble for Blue Dynamite, a Beast BoyxRaven Hogwarts!AU (in which Beast Boy is a werewolf) on my tumblr, wattpad, and a03 :)