GOOD DAY, MY CHERRY BLOSSOMS!

I'M SORRY I'M POSTING SO MANY CHAPTERS I'M JUST TRYING TO GET AS MUCH DONE AS POSSIBLE OVER BREAK.

Ok. SO THIS CHAPTER IS LIKE A TWO IN ONE YOU'RE WELCOME. LONGEST. CHAPTER. EVER. So you better enjoy it. JKJK.

I'm just really trying to finish up book two, and we only have a few chapters left so WHOOOOO. Next chapter is going to be so super cute though so STAY TUNED FOR THAT. It's also just a little chapter so don't expect it to be longer then 3000 words. OK THIS CHAPTER IS A LOT BETTER THEN THE LAST CHAPTER SO REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK KAY? Wow I say chapter a lot.

Like when you review I get so happy my heart puffs out and oozes with gratitude and pleasantry. SO TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OR IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS OR YOU DON'T WANT SOMETHING TO HAPPEN OR YOU DO WANT SOMETHING TO HAPPEN OR TELL ME WHAT YOU HAD FOR LUNCH.

ALSO PLEASE GO CHECK OUT MIMMY14'S STORY BECAUSE IT IS AMAZING! OK, enough jibber jab, here are some review responses. 3

To ThisIsMeAndYou: I'm so so happy you like it! AAAAAAHHHHHHH I really don't want to ruin anything for you by telling you what happens, but I will tell you; he does love Ria, and it wouldn't be that easy to get him to leave her. OK THAT'S ALL YOU GET. THANK YOU FOR READING YOU'RE AMAZING. (づ￣ ³)づ

Layla347: I KNOW RIGHT. I'm not going to ruin anything for you, so just keep reading and everything will become clear. I'm so glad you're reading this and hopefully enjoying it! YOU'RE SO COOL.(▰˘◡˘▰)

To Kaiservb: *Sprays you with holy water* (。・_・。)

To Mimmy14: I know right?! That's like the only reason I wrote that chapter because that was super important. I hope you like this chapter thanks for being so cool, AND KEEP WRITING YOUR STORY! (✿ ‿ )

Ok enough of this! Be sure to review with ideas or whatever! Have a Merry Christmas too!

(Also I own nothing minus Ria and Michi and the idea of the dragons or whatever. kay bye)

~(•ε • ~) -Chloe out

Ria

It was nearing the end of the day, and exhaustion hung over our group like a dark cloud. I don't think we've had a single down moment since we lost Appa, we were already tired from the serpent, and then the drill just added to our weariness. So once we boarded the train we found seats as quickly as possible and collapsed. Zuko tilted his head back and closed his eyes while I peered out the window as the earthbenders in the back pushed our train to the city. I gazed out over the farm land. It looked incredibly peaceful. I saw Katara sit up in excitement. "Look, the inner wall!" I turned around in my seat to watch as it approached. "I can't believe we finally made it to Bae Sing Sae!" She said in her usual optimism. "Hey, don't jinx it!" Sokka snapped at his sister. "We could still be attacked by some exploding fire nation machine, or the whole city could be filled with killer shrimp!" Zuko rolled his eyes. "Right, because that's totally bound to happen; Bae Sing Sae, city of killer shrimp." Sokka got defensive. "What? Weird things tend to happen to us." No sooner did he say it then a fat man forced himself between him and Toph, chewing on a piece of corn. I was too tired to laugh. Instead I focused on Katara and Aang, who sat solemnly next to each other. "Don't worry, Aang, we'll find Appa." He silently looked out over the window as we were submerged under the tunnel that led to the city. "It's a big place…" He said. Sokka shoved the fat man away from him. "He's a flying bison! He won't be too hard to find."

Once we emerged from the tunnel we stared in awe at the massive city, many walls surrounding it. It was by far the biggest place I have ever seen, and amazing too. It was incredibly impressive. I smiled at Zuko, who still had his eyes closed. "Hey," I said, shaking his shoulder. "Look at this place! Isn't it amazing?" He grumbled something I couldn't understand, I looked at Katara and she shrugged as if saying: "I don't know." I just shrugged back. Finally our train pulled in the station. I stepped out and smiled at the earthbenders who had pushed it. They smiled back. I looked out over the breathtaking view, and cringed when Toph had to ruin the moment. "Ew, back in the city." I turned around in horror, how could anyone not be amazed at the beautiful sight? This was amazing! "What's wrong with you! It's amazing!" Sokka said, mirroring my disbelief at the young blind girl. "Just a bunch of walls and rules… just wait, you'll get sick of it in a few days." She said as she patted Momo, who sat on her shoulder. "Take it from a girl whose lived in a cave most of her life," I said in a voice of amazement. "I won't get sick of it." Aang stepped forward and looked out over the city. He pulled out his bison whistle and blew into it. I stepped forward and gently put a hand on his shoulder. "He misses us too, Aang. We will find him." He smiled at me in gratitude.

I jumped a little when a woman walked over to us. "Hello! My name is Ju Dee, I have been given the great honor of showing the avatar around Bae Sing Sae!" I looked upon the woman in slight fear. Her smile stretched across her entire face, it almost looked painful. "You must be Katara, Sokka and Toph!" Zuko and I cast an uneasy glance at each other. "And… uh… they must not have mentioned you two." I stepped forward to the woman whose smile didn't budge. "Um, yes, we're just his servants." I stammered. Zuko sighed heavily from behind me. Luckily Katara stepped forward and saved me. "Yes, the avatar has very high demands that must be kept, they are very key people to our group." Ju Dee smiled more… which I didn't think was possible. "Of course! Many of our upper class has servants, so that will be just fine!" She turned around, and before we followed her Katara and I secretly high fived. "Shall we get started?" She asked sweetly. Sokka stepped forward. "Yes, we have vital information regarding the war, and we need to talk to the king immediately." She clapped her hands together in fake excitement. "Wonderful! First I will give you a tour of our amazing city, then I shall show you your new home in the upper ring!" She started to walk away again. Sokka stood with a gaping mouth. He hurried and caught up to her. "Maybe you missed what I said, we need to talk to the king about the war, it's important." She turned around. "You are in Bae Sing Sae now, everyone is safe here." My eye brow arched in confusion and fear.

Once we got in our carriage, we made our way through the lower rink, the people looked poor and dirty. "What are all of these walls for?" Aang asked as we slowly made our way through. She grinned. "Oh, Bae Sing Sae, has many walls, there are the ones outside, that protect us, and the ones inside, that help us to maintain order. This is where our newest arrivals live, along with our craftsmen." I watched in slight fear as a man with a sword made eye contact with me and licked his lips. I grabbed Zuko's arm. "You do want to watch your step, though." I let myself breath a sigh of relief once me made it to the second ring. "This is the middle ring, home of the financial leaders and the university." I watched as we made our way through the richer district. Sokka got a spark as he looked at Ju Dee. "We met a guy who was from the university! He took us to a special underground library that was magical and we found super great information about the war THAT IS ABSOLUTELY VITAL TO GET TO THE EARTH KING." He screamed loudly at her, which didn't faze the insane woman in the slightest. Her smiled didn't get wiped off her face at all, instead she just calmly looked at us. "Isn't history interesting? Look! Here is one of the oldest buildings in the city, town hall." Sokka face palmed so hard I thought he had hurt himself. We watched the lady get out, and Sokka groaned. "Is that woman deaf? She only seems to hear every other word I say." Toph folded her arms. "It's called getting handled, get used to it."

We made our way into the upper ring. I gasped in wonder, I haven't seen such luxury living since I grew up in the palace with Zuko. I knew he was slightly excited too by the way he sat forward in his seat a little. "This is the upper ring, home to our most important members of the city, your house is not too far from here." I grinned as I peered out the window at a small pond. It was truly beautiful. Zuko grinned, and said softly so only I heard, "Kind of like the one back home, huh?" I smiled and play shoved him in the arm. We passed a huge building, with angry looking guards standing in front of it. They eyed us when we passed. "What is that big building, and who are those men?" Katara asked. "Inside is the royal palace, and those men are the Di Lee, the royal guards, and protectors of all our traditions." Aang finally snapped a little. "Can we see the king now?" Ju Dee laughed like he had just told a joke. "Oh no! One does not just pop in on the king!" We hung our heads in bitter disappointment.

The carriage pulled in front of what would be our home for the time being. I stepped out and gently thanked the animal that dragged us around the city by giving him a carrot. We walked up the steps to the door, and the woman's never not smiling face watched us walk up. "Here we are, your new home!" I looked at the fancy doors. Before we could walk in a man ran up to Ju Dee and handed her a scroll, bowing before he walked away. "Oh, and more good news!" She said as she read it. "Your request to speak to the king as been put in, and should be ready in a month!" I felt my jaw drop. "A month?!" All of us shrieked at the same time. She just smiled more and folded it back up. "Six to eight weeks, actually."

After Ju Dee gave us the grand tour of our new house, we gathered in the front room, I tickled Momo on his tummy while Sokka yelled at the insane lady. "I think this whole experience would be a lot more enjoyable if we could see the earth king sooner, isn't there any other way?" She folded her hands together. "The earth king is very busy running the grandest city in the world, but he shall see you as soon as time permits." I scowled, this place was creepy as a jail. Aang gazed out the window. "If we're going to be here for a month, we should spend our time looking for Appa." I stood up, causing Momo to fall off my lap. Ju Dee turned to face him. "I will be happy to escort you wherever you want to go." Toph groaned in annoyance. "We don't need a babysitter." Toph walked over to her, as if she was going to show her to the door, but she only side stepped out of the way. "Oh, I won't get in the way. Where shall we start?" I wanted badly to shove her right out of the door alongside with Toph, but I resisted as we made our way back into the carriage.

After asking the owner of the pet shop, and many students at the university, we decided we needed to call it a day, without any luck. These people acted incredibly strange, and it almost scared me. We stood back on the steps of the house, and Ju Dee left us to get some rest. "Finally Ms. creepy is gone." Zuko mumbled with his arms crossed. Sokka looked across the street, as if deep in thought. "Follow me for a minute." He said and we crossed the street to the other house. Sokka knocked on the door, and a man answered. "You're the avatar!" He proclaimed as he saw us. "I'm Pong!" Aang smiled nicely at the older gentleman. "Nice to meet you, Pong." Sokka stepped forward, getting down to business. "Look, what's going on here, why is everyone so afraid to talk about the war?" He looked down, sweating nervously. "War? Afraid?" He stammered. "I can feel you shaking, moron." Toph snapped. "Look, I'm just a minor government official, I've waited three years to get this house, I don't want to get into trouble." Zuko took a threatening step forward. "What would you even get in trouble for?" He peered from around the door. "Look, you can't mention the war here, and whatever you do; stay away from the Di Lee." He slammed the door shut, leaving us stuck and confused.

oooooooooooooooo

Zuko

The next day came early, and I was still slightly tense from my talk with Azula. I stretched and made a pot of tea, awake before anyone else was. "Nice bed head." I jumped, practically dropping the pot of tea. I looked up to see Ria laughing at the spill I made. "Nice," I mumbled in anger. She stepped forward and took the pot from me. "Come on, Zuko, what's gotten into you lately?" I ran my fingers through my hair that now hung down a little on my forehead. "Nothing, why?" She rolled her eyes, obviously knowing something was up. "Something happened between you and Azula, didn't it?" She said gently, grabbing my hands in hers. I looked down. She gently touched my cheek, making me look at her. "Zuko… whatever it is, I want you to know, you can tell me anything, ok?" I looked into her deep and wise blue eyes, that held so much sympathy and love. I grinned, easing up on her a little. "I know, I'm sorry, I've just been… stressed lately." I lied. She smiled again. "It's ok, we'll get Appa back, and everything will work out. I love you, alright?" I smiled and kissed her forehead. "I love you, too." I meant it with every fiber of my being.

Once everyone was up and dressed, Katara ran back in with the morning papers. She smiled. "Guys! I know how we're going to talk to the king!" We looked up in interest, all expect Toph, how sighed heavily. "How? One does not just 'pop in on the earth king.'" She said, doing a mocking Ju Dee voice. Katara looked up from the paper. "It says the earth king is having a party tonight for his pet bear." I cocked my head in confusion. "Bear?" I asked. "Surely you mean platypus bear." Sokka corrected her. "No, it only says bear." Aang chimed in. "Is it a skunk bear?" Toph spoke up from her corner. "Of course you mean armadillo bear," Katara read the paper again. "Nope, just bear." After a moment of heavy silence Ria spoke up. "This place is so weird."

Katara quickly changed the subject. "The palace will be packed, we can sneak in with the crowd!" Toph laid down. "Won't work." She said. We all looked at her in anger for ruining the mood. "Why not?" Ria asked, sounding somewhat distressed with you young girl. "No offense to you simple country folk, but a real society crowd would spot you a mile away, you've got no manners!" I sighed heavily. "Toph, in case you're forgetting, Ria and I grew up in a palace and were treated like royalty, if anyone knows manners, it would be us, and no offense, but you're kind of a slob." She took a pastry and crammed it into her mouth. "Yeah, well I learned proper manners and chose to leave it, and these three haven't learned anything! You two may be able to pull it off though." I rolled my eyes. Ria pipped up from her corner of the room. "Zuko and I can always teach you!" Aang's eyes lit up. "Yeah! I'm mastering all four elements, how hard could manners be?" I watched in disappointment and embarrassment as him and Sokka mock bowed to each other, talking like fancy people. They continued bowing until they smashed heads and fell over. I shook my head. "Ok, maybe you two can't handle it, but how about it will be me, Ria, Toph, and Katara? We can sneak in and you guys can just… wait outside." Toph laughed and sat back up. "Yeah, you morons would be lucky to pass as bus boys!" I snorted a little as the girls laughed. Ria squealed in excitement. "Yay! I'll go help the ladies get dressed and ready!" They disappeared into the other room.

I had changed in a high ranking earth kingdom tunic, with my hair pushed back to help look somewhat fancy. I would easily pass off as someone who would be invited to the party. The girls had taken much longer, so I sat silently and watched Aang and Sokka play stupid games. Sokka had just won a round, so he flicked Aang in the head. I rolled my eyes. Suddenly the doors opened to reveal the girls, all three looked amazing, but Ria was a jaw dropper. They had packed on white powder make up, and bright, thick color over their eyes. Toph wore her hair in braids, while Katara had hers pulled back, and Ria had hers up in a high pony tail. All of them had a hair piece in, and they all had fans that they waved in the air femininely. Toph wore a pale green dress, while Katara wore one that had more of an earth tone. Ria had on a dress so dark green it was almost black. All of our mouths hung open. "Wow, you guys look amazing." Aang said as he gawked at Katara. They giggled, and Sokka again flicked Aang in the head. I grinned at them.

I stepped forward and offered Ria my hand, which she took. "You are looking incredibly exquisite, my lady." I said and kissed the top of her hand. She giggled and hid her face with her fan. "As well as you, my good sir." We headed for the door. Katara called back to the boys over her shoulder. "We'll get into the party and find a way to get you in through the side gate." We shut the door behind us.

One we got there we had to wait in the line that would let us into the palace. "This reminds me of old times." I heard Ria say. "Yeah, it really does, huh?" I said back, and after a pause I said gently, "You look beautiful." She blushed a little in return. Once at the front of the line, a guard held up his hand. "Invitations please." He demanded. Toph pulled her golden seal of Bei Fong family from her sleeve. "I think this will do." She said in a snobby voice. The guard narrowed his eyes. "No entry without an invitation, step out of line, please." He said in a not so friendly voice. "Look, my family is in there waiting for us, and I'll have to tell them who didn't let me in." He didn't budge. "Step out of line, please." He demanded. We reluctantly did as told and stood off to the side.

"Now what?" I mumbled. Ria stood deep in thought. "Here, Zuko and I will see if we can find a way in, and then we'll try to come back for you two." Katara nodded at the plan, and we snuck around back. After looking around for a moment, we spotted a window. "Here, give me a boost." I cupped my hand and she gracefully slid in. I climbed up and slid in after her, almost getting spotted by the guards. "That was close," She whispered as we watched them pass. "Come on." We found a door that led the ballroom, and we stepped in, both of us holding our heads high and acting like we belonged. "What about Katara and Toph?" I hissed, grabbing a cup of water from a man with a tray. "They'll figure it out." She hissed back. We continued to converse amongst ourselves. "Where is this king?" I grumbled at her. "Just, play along." She snapped. After a few awkward moments, I heard familiar voices.

"Mom, Dad!" I whirled around in surprise to see Toph fling herself in my arms, I awkwardly hugged her back, and Ria and Katara hugged by my side. I looked at them in blank confusion. "There you are!" Ria proclaimed after a pause. "Me and your… father… were so worried!" She said and grabbed my arm at the word 'father'. I continued to stare at them blankly. "Sorry, some rude man at the gate wouldn't let us in, even though Dum lost the invitation." I finally realized what was happening, and tried to not laugh at the name Dum. "Your mother and I have been looking everywhere, do you realize how frightened you've had us?" A man stepped forward from behind the two girls. "I have found these young girls outside the palace." He said. "Um, I take it you are the parents?" Ria stepped forward. "Indeed! We must have lost them in the hurry to get in!" I stepped forward too. "Yes, we are their… parents." Ria stomped on my foot and I flinched. "Well, you two look very… young." He said suspiciously. Ria laughed heartily. "Oh, you are too kind, sir!" She held out her hand and he reluctantly shook it. She held up her fan as if telling a secret from our 'daughters'. "My secret is my anti wrinkle cream; it works wonders." He bowed, still looking at us suspiciously. "Very well, enjoy your evening."

We watched the man walk away, and Ria slapped Toph upside the head. "Seriously? You couldn't have said we were your cousins or something?" She flinched and rubbed her head. "Ow! Don't judge us, we were put on the spot!" I rolled my eyes at the bickering girls. "Whatever, we pulled it off, now let's just try and get to Aang and Sokka." We stood there thinking about how we would bust those guys in, when Katara spoke up. "Found them!" She stated, pointing at the two morons who were dressed as buss boys. "We'll go get them." Toph decided as she dragged Katara along with her. We both kept a look out for that one guy. "Where on earth is this king?" I grumbled. Ria shoved me. "Sh, just… act like we're making small talk." I shrugged and kept looking. After a moment I saw the horrible Ju Dee walk up to the others. "Come on," I said and grabbed Ria as we went to try and save them. "You must leave!" She begged, her smile was pleading. "No, not until we speak with the earth king." Sokka argued. Once the two of us walked up, her smile grew in terror, which I didn't think was even a thing that could happen. "You brought your servants?! No, this will not do at all, you must leave now!" She shoved Sokka, who stumbled into Aang, who threw a pot of tea all over some poor fancy lady, whose makeup began dripping down her face as she let out a cry of terror.

Aang, who didn't know what to do, desperately tried to shush her. "No, no! Don't scream, here I'll fix it!" He let out a huge gust of wind, blowing back her hair, dress, and even make up, but instead of crying out harder, she looked at us in amazement. Others began to circle around us. "Oh, I didn't know the avatar was here." The woman said. The next thing I knew, the entire crowd of people had gathered around us, and I saw something I never though I would see, Ju Dee wasn't smiling anymore. Aang blushed and gave a nervous smile as Sokka grabbed me and Ria to go search for the king. I looked back to see the young airbender bending everyones tea in a giant and beautiful circle, making the crowd look upon it in awe as a good distraction. I watched silently. Suddenly many guards entered from the doors, followed by more men holding up a platform with silk covering it. I knew from the entrance, it was the king. Sokka and I rushed forward together while the ladies stood back, and Aang airbended his way down the table. Before I could get far, I felt a cold and hard rock hand cover my mouth, quickly followed by another one pulling me backwards, I tried to fight it, but I was dragged away from the party without anyone noticing, and was taken to another room.

I was roughly shoved into a room thats only light source with a green fire, cascading me and the rest of our faces in an eery emerald glow. I quickly took in my surroundings, only to find we were in a library, and I saw no immediate threat except for the same man sitting down in front of us. The large doors opened again and Aang was shoved in with us. "Why won't you let us talk to the king?" Sokka boldly demanded of him. "We have valuable information that could win the war." Ria added, slightly more softly then the water tribe boy. This man, who was called Long Feng, spoke as if in a trance. "The king as no time to get involved in the day to day squabbles of military enforcement." I stepped forward now, anger heating my body. "This could be the most important thing to win this war!" I yelled. He sat calmly, and wasn't fazed by any of us. "What is most important to his royal majesty is to maintain the cultural heritage of Bae Sing Sae, all his duty relate to issuing his decree to such matter, it is my job to oversee the rest of this cities resources, including the military." I let that sink in, and I stepped forward to point an accusing finger at his snobby face. "So are you saying the king is just your puppet?" I spat. He held up his hands in horror like I had just told him the most outrageous thing. "Oh no! His majesty is an icon, a god to his people. He cannot dirty his hand with the pathetic and outrageous war." Sokka stepped forward, waving the papers around in his face as if he couldn't even see it. "But we have such valuable information that could-" Long Feng stepped forward, for the fist time getting angry and loosing his patience with us. "Enough! I do not want to hear about your ridiculous plan! It is a strict policy of our city that the war not be mentioned in our walls, constant news about a war would send our people into a state of panic, Our economy would be ruined, our peaceful way of living would be over, our traditions would disappear. The inside of Bae Sing Sae will remain a peaceful utopia, the last one on earth." My look of horror was mirrored on the faces of the rest of us, and I could see the terror clear on Ria's face, even behind her make up. "How could you keep something like this from the people?" She gasped in terror. "I'll tell them," Aang said confidently. "I'll make sure everyone knows!"

Long Feing stepped forward threateningly. "Until now you have been treated as an honored guest here in our city, but from now on you will be watched every moment by Di Lee agents, if you mention the war you will be expelled from Bae Sing Sae." He stepped close to Aang and bent over so his face was only inches from his, and I felt a small spark of pride in me when the young boy didn't back down from his spot. "I hear you are looking for your bison," The tall and emotionless man sad to Aang, finding his week point and nailing it. "It would be a shame if you did not complete your quest." The airbenders brow furrowed in frustration. He turned his back on us and faced the green fire. "Ju Dee will show you home." He said in a monotone. The doors opened to show Ju Dee, who stepped forward into the light. But when her face was reviled, I gasped in horror. It wasn't Ju Dee, it was another woman. Ria let out a cry of surprise and shock at the disturbing sight of the new woman. I grabbed Ria. "Where is Ju Dee?!" I snapped.

"I am Ju Dee," She said in a voice that wasn't normal. "I will be your host as long as you are in our wonderful city." Her smile didn't vanish from her face.

ooooooooooooooooo

Ria

(Two days later)

I had hardly slept for the past few days. I was far too paranoid with Long Feng and the threat of the Di Lee watching us every second of the day, but I was starting to ease up, and I had gotten used to the idea of eyes always watching us. I knew no harm would come to me and the others as long as we followed the rules and did not mention the war. We had tried to calm our nerves for the past while, and were currently trying to figure out our game plan as it came to finding Appa and somehow warning the city about the war. The six of us sat in our comfy house, the boys were rough housing in the middle of the floor, Zuko had Sokka in a headlock while Aang teamed up against Zuko and was trying to get him off the poor choking boy. It warmed my heart to see how close we had all gotten, we were almost like a family now. It made me happy beyond compare to have been given the chance to work along side the avatar with my boyfriend, even though we hadn't have been much of a help seeing we couldn't bend without throwing the people we were around in a state of panic, and I still wasn't allowed to turn into a dragon yet, but something was telling me that that was soon to come.

I watched Zuko laugh at the water tribe boy try to wriggle out of his grasp for a few more moments, before I stood up and slipped on my traditional earth kingdom robe. I was starting to miss the red and black colors my people normally wear, but I would get over it. "I'm going to get us a special treat for tonight, it seems like we deserve it. Anyone wanna come with me?" I said, slipping on my shoes. Toph, who was laying on her back, shot up at the chance. "I'm in! I have to get away from the stench of rotting boys before my nose explodes." I gave a small laugh as she headed for the door. "Katara? Do you want to come?" She looked like she did, but she gave a quick nervous glance at the boys who were dog piled on each other before saying, "I better stay here and keep an eye on things so somebody wont die." I smiled back. "Ok! Well we'll pick you up something." I said cheerfully. She grinned and then went back to keeping an eye on the guys.

"Where are you going?" Toph asked when we started to head down the road. "I figured we could all use a good home cooked meal, unlike the crap we get served every day. I thought I would make some traditional flame steak, but they only carry some of the spices I need in the lower ring, is that ok?" She kicked a rock with her foot. "I don't care, anything to get me out of that house for a while." We traveled on silently until we made our way to the gate that would lead to the poor section of the city. We showed the Di Lee agent our passports, and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously before letting us in. Once we entered it was felt like we walked into an entire new world. Toph leapt back with a cry of surprise as a cart almost ran over our feet. "What's got you so excited, flame queen?" She said snootily. "I always feel like this place is so much more alive then where we are now." I said. "Come on, let's get the stuff." After finding the market we needed, I gratefully paid the man. "Your change, miss." He said as he handed me back some money. I stuffed my pouch up my sleeve and folded his old fingers around the gold pieces. "No, no, you keep it." I said and flashed him a smile. He gave me a crooked grin. "Bless you miss, if only the world was filled with more kind souls like yours." I grinned as I picked up my spices and left the shop with Toph, pleased with the mans kind words.

As I walked I heard a voice call my name, and I froze in place, forcing myself to not look behind me from the way the voice had come. "What? Who's calling you?" Toph asked as my heart roughly pounded in my chest. No… it can't be. I thought in shock. "Uh, no one, it's no one, keep walking." I said. "Wait, I swear I heard someone call your name!" She argued. "Ria!" There it was again, and it was unmistakable who the voice belonged to. I felt a rush of panic as I shoved the earthbender. "Just move." I demanded and roughly shoved her. I quickened my pace, but I saw the shadows of the figure running to catch up. I roughly grabbed Toph's hand and sprinted off, my feet pounding on the ground as we barely dodged carts and goats. "Ria, what is happening?" Toph cried as I dragged her away. Finally I ducked out of view and hid in the alley behind the blacksmiths shop. The pounding of the man hitting the red hot steal matched my racing heart.

"I think we lost him." I gasped once I caught my breath.

"Who on earth are we hiding from?!" Toph snapped once she too caught her breath.
I placed a hand over my chest to try and calm myself. "I swear that was Je-"

I broke off to someone grabbing my arm. I whirled around to and my eyes latched to Jet's and I felt a quiver of hatred and rage run down my back.

"Jet." I hissed from between my teeth.

oooooooooooooo

"Ria…? Is it really you?" He whispered in awe, looking upon me like I was a god. I felt my lips curl back into a snarl of raw loathing. "You, what in the name of the spirits are you doing here?" I said, enraged by his presence. I froze when I saw Smellerbee and Longshot rush up behind Jet. They smiled at me, even Longshot, who rarely showed expression of any sort. I didn't smile back, instead I wrenched my arm free of his cold and firm grasp. "Don't touch me," I growled. He backed up, and his eyes went from surprise and excitement to hurt and sadness. He turned and referred to what was left of his old group. "Would you guys give us a second?" He said in a saddened tone. They gave me one last look before nodding and turning away. "Um…" He said as his eyes looked upon Toph. I crossed my arms. I opened my mouth to defend the presence of my friend, but she held her hands up as if surrendering to the boy. "I'll be over by the pond when you're done… jeesh, wait until I tell Zuko about your run in with whoever this ex boyfriend is." She strode off.

Once she was gone I let hatred blur my vision. "What do you want." I demanded, not ready to talk to him. His eyes filled with emotions. "I… I just can't believe it's you," He said as he stepped forward. "I thought I wouldn't find you again, I thought that it was official last time, and now that you're here I just want…" I recoiled in disgust. "You want what, Jet?" He grabbed my shoulder. "I won't ask anything of you, but your forgiveness." Something softened inside me, and it dawned inside that the hatred I had been feeling for this one boy wasn't like me. I let my body relax. "Listen, what you tried to do, what you almost did, isn't pure, Jet. I can't let myself forget that." I turned away, my hatred replaced with sadness. "I never will be able to." He placed a cold hand on my cheek, and I looked into his eyes that were pure and full of remorse. "I've thought about you every day. Every day I've had to wake up, and tell myself that you'll never come back because of what I did. Every day I've had to remember what could have been, and I've thought about your face when you look at the boy with the scar, and how long ago you used to look at me like that." Tears brimmed in his deep eyes. "I've never stopped loving you, and my heart can't handle it." He took another step closer, and I felt myself get uncomfortable.

"Jet, I've learned to move on, we never would have worked, you and I both know that." I looked away. "Why?" He whispered. I blinked, wanting badly to express the situation. "I can't tell you, but your hatred concerns me, and if you knew everything, Jet…" The door opened and the blacksmith pushed a cart of hot coals to the side of the building. He didn't seem to notice. "What could possibly be so bad that I would hate you, Ria?" I tried to walk away in haste. "We're done, Jet. I don't love you, and I don't have time for this anymore." He tried to follow me. "Just tell me!" He said and again grabbed my arm.

I tried to push him off. "Jet, enough!" I blindly tried to get away, but tripped over the coal cart, the burning contents inside went flying. I watched in terror as the heat began to cascade over the boy, who lifted his arms up in an attempt to dodge the scolding rocks. Our eyes locked, and instinct took over. I lifted my arms and pulled the heat away from the rocks, so the only thing that hit him was cold and small rocks. I held the hot fire in my hands for a moment, and then let the heat fall up into the air. His arms dropped to his sides in complete shock. The emotion in his face went from confusion to realization to complete outrage. I slowly shook my head back in forth in terror. What have I done… I thought to myself in horror. I had gone for years being able to keep my secret hidden from Jet, and now here we were, meeting for less then five minutes, and I had ruined everything. All my attempts to keep it hidden had vanished. I took a step back as he slowly walked towards me.

"So that's it, that's what you were so afraid of…" He gasped. "Please," I begged and help up my arms. He roughly grabbed my shoulders and shoved my against the wall, my head hitting brick roughly with a crack. Tears were a natural reaction and I tried to blink them away as his enraged eyes laid on me. "You're one of them, you're a fire bender!" He snarled. I tried to wiggle away. "Stop! Jet, enough of this hate!" He growled at me like a wild animal. "Let me guess, your boyfriend a leech, too! You deserve to be thrown into a prison and rot." I gasped at the severity of his words. "We aren't all out to kill people! I'm not a bad person, I'm trying to end this war!" I finally managed to shove him off of me. With a whisk he pulled out his hooks from his back, his eyes went black and all feelings were erased, now he only sought to end me. "No, your evil, and now I'll expose you to everyone and get my revenge." He came at me.

His foot roughly made contact with my chest, violently throwing me back into the busy street, where I landed painfully on my back. He stood out of the shadows. I stumbled to my feet. "Go on, show them who you really are!" I noticed a crowd of people form around us. "Stop!" I desperately called out of fear for him. An awful smile curled on his lips. "You'll need to firebend to defend yourself." He came out me again, this time his sword only missing me by an inch. I rolled out of the way. He lashed out again, and his sword nicked me on the shoulder. I let out a cry as my hand found the small wound. I held it, and before he could make another attack Longshot and Smellerbee grabbed him. "She's a firebender! I saw her! Arrest her!" He screamed as the police walked up and grabbed him, cuffing him with rocks. His eyes widened in shock. Toph ran up to me and placed a hand on my shoulder as we watched the men start to drag him away. "It's her you want!" He cried. "Take her!" I swallowed back tears as he was thrown into the back of the carriage. Longshot walked up to me, and placed a hand on my shoulder that was injured. I noticeably flinched away. All of the eye stared at me, and before I could think I sprinted away, Toph chasing after me. I didn't stop until we were back in the upper ring.

Toph finally caught up with me. "What was that?' She gasped. I wiped off the dry blood from my shoulder and covered it up with my robe. "That was Jet, my crazy ex boyfriend who hates the fire nation and just barely found out I was one of them, so he tried to kill me." She stood with a gaping mouth. "WHOA." Was all she could say. I speed walked as we neared closer to the house, and Toph had to jog every now and then to keep up. "What are we going to tell the others now that we now your mentally insane ex is in the city?" She gasped. I came to a sudden halt. "Listen, Toph, no one can know about Jet, ok? The officials will take care of him, just forget everything you saw, ok? No one needs to know what happened." Maybe it was the desperation in my voice or the pleading way I grabbed her shoulders, but she shrugged. "Ok, I guess, if it's that important to you then sure." I sighed with relief a little as we hurried back to the house.

"But you're still going to make dinner tonight, right?"

I sighed heavily.

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K I HOPE YOU LIKED THIS EXTRA LONG CHAPTER AND REMEMBER TO REVIEW I LOVE YOU ALL.