Chapter 36
The metal cell door screeches open and Captain Zee snaps awake. It's the middle of the night and his heartbeat accelerates to a breathtaking pace. Who would be coming to see him if not someone intending to kill? His bravado in the face of the Fire Lord's interrogators now seems incredibly foolish. He should have told all he knew.
The door clangs shut and the pirate peers through the darkness, hoping to get some idea of who has come to him.
"Did I interrupt a sweet dream?" A man's voice says silkily.
"Captain?" Zee responds.
There is silence for long moments and the pirate stares unproductively into the black shadows where the visitor has tucked himself.
"Captain Sokka?"
Zee hears a snort.
"Sounds like a character in a puppet show." The voice laughingly answers.
"Is that you?" The pirate is not enjoying this game. He sits up on his bed and steels himself for whatever blow may come. "I recognize your voice."
"Ambassador Xin sends you a message." The voice whispers.
"What? Can he get me out of this? I did everything he asked. Tell him he must help me." Zee answers excitedly.
There is a long pause. The pirate realizes he still hasn't heard the ambassador's message. He recognizes what a coward he's become and he's ashamed. A little darkness and he's spilling his guts.
"What did he say?" Zee asks, contrite now.
Another long pause during which time the pirate is certain he's died a thousand times. He's offended everyone in the human and spirit worlds and there really is no reason anyone should help him. He's gone to great lengths to hurt others and to benefit from their misfortune. The silence he's forced to bear now affords him the opportunity to see the truth.
There was no message.
"Thanks." The voice replies. "That was easier than I thought it would be."
The door opens but the corridor is so dark it doesn't help him to see the identity of the shadow as he leaves the cell although Zee sees his shape as it is joined by other human shapes before the door slams shut behind him and the pirate is once again alone.
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"Why do we have to do this so early?" Yukio yawns. They have met on the deck of the ship at dawn. The sky is just starting to lighten and the sun is barely peeking over the horizon to bathe the deck in a pale light.
"By the time we finished yesterday the sun was too high. Katara had to heal some sunburn on the twins." Zuko explains.
"Oh." Yukio yawns again. "Why don't we just train in the shade? Or with our tunics on? Or inside, it's kind of cold this time of day."
"You could wear your tunics, but you know there are things that can be missed when you're covered. The shade is too dark and it's dangerous to train firebending inside. And if I hear one more complaint out of you, you'll be running laps for the rest of the session." Zuko says irately.
Yukio shuts up immediately. He wouldn't mind running laps but it would be embarrassing to be punished for childish behavior.
Kenya and Taoki join them with Bokkusu and the boys immediately begin their stretches.
"Sorry we have to do this so early." Taoki quietly tells Yukio after the prince yawns again.
"It's okay." The prince grins. "I sleep too much anyway."
The boys continue stretching as the Fire Lord and the security man chat by the rail.
"Would you like to try running on walls later? It's something we could do inside." Yukio asks them.
"I don't know. Do you think we'd be able to do it?" Kenya furrows his brow.
"Sure, why not? It's a good way to surprise an opponent, I can tell you that." Yukio nods.
"I'd like to try it." Taoki says.
"I would too." Kenya admits, shrugging.
Yukio grins happily as the masters join them for the workout. The three boys don't rest again until they're finished with the session. And then Zuko makes them all run five laps around the entire deck for good measure. It turns into a race, of course, and Taoki surprises them all by winning. He's gulping air and bending over like an old man at the end of the sprint, but he's legitimately victorious. By a long shot. Zuko looks at Bokkusu, brow raised. The box man grins back and nods, the wheels turning. Taoki has just been specialized.
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"Where's the healer?" Aang asks Bato anxiously. Appa's injury has been tended, but he really needs some specialized care. Especially because they need to get back in the air as soon as possible.
"I'm sorry," Bato tells him, "the entire village was hit by the mudslide. We thought it was just one family, but there are others. I've sent someone with a message that she's to come straight back when she's finished and she will. But she won't leave people who need help. Even for you. You know that."
"Maybe if she was familiar with my charming personality…" Aang attempts a lame joke.
"Not even then." Bato says. "Get some rest. I'll wake you the moment she returns."
"She'll need rest too." The avatar murmurs thinking irrationally that this whole mudslide business is incredibly unfair.
"Appa's injury won't be that challenging for her. Get some sleep." The Water Tribe commander pushes Aang into his tent and the avatar lays down gingerly on a pelt, trying to smooth his cloak out enough that he doesn't actually have to touch the hair.
He falls asleep dreaming that the fur palate on which he's sleeping is chasing him with the intent of devouring him whole. He wakes up in a cold sweat and looks around panicked. He's only been asleep about twenty minutes. How embarrassing.
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"It's all in place your highness." Xin bows to the Earth King and smiles tightly. He's had about all he can stand of the self-absorbed monarch and these daily meetings have really taken their toll.
"You're certain there will be no argument. The other nations won't intervene." The Earth King worries.
"They needn't concern themselves." Xin explains soothingly. "The Council will take care of everything."
"They could still protest. They didn't know what they were signing, you said so yourself."
Xin takes a moment to regain his control. He often regrets involving the child-man in his schemes. Too eager, too stupid, too obstructive, too slow to understand a concept, the Earth King will be a joy to depose when the time comes.
"Once they know the details and file their complaints, it will be too late." The ambassador promises.
The Earth King sighs and takes a sip of his tea. He spits it out in his cup, nearly in tears as its luke warm wetness slithers down his throat. He calls for a servant to replace the tea at the temperature he likes. How disappointing. His palate is discerning and delicate. His people know that.
The monarch sighs sadly. Since Bosco's death they've all been distracted. Thank goodness for the ambassador's frequent visits. His organizational skills have been a gift from the spirits in this difficult time. He'll have to remember to reward his good friend after his year of mourning, the King notes. Yes, a week at one of the Earth Kingdom's best resorts will be a suitable gift.
Xin quietly takes his exit when the Earth King starts to get a self-satisfied look on his face. Striding down the corridor the ambassador takes a deep, cleansing breath. When he rules he will surround himself with people of good sense and intelligence. Until then he must suffer fools like everyone else.
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"By tomorrow we'll be in Ba Sing Se." Zuko tells Katara as they enjoy a private lunch together on the aft deck.
"I hope nothing goes wrong. I'm just glad Long Feng is at the palace and not on one of the ships. They'd turn up with a search warrant if they thought he was with us." She responds popping a grape into her mouth.
Zuko watches her chew.
"Yeah." Is all he can think of to say.
"You didn't get enough sleep last night did you?" She laughs.
"First I got word that Yukio was sending a message to Kenya and Taoki's grandfather, so I had to find out if he was revealing anything he shouldn't. You should read it by the way it's a good letter. Then Sokka decided he needed to trick Zee into admitting involvement with Xin and I had to go along with that although it took surprisingly little to get him to blurt out a confession. Then we had to get up before dawn for our training session with the twins and Yukio. No, I didn't get enough sleep last night."
"You could be taking a nap right now instead of wasting your time with me." She says.
"No I couldn't." He responds quickly.
Katara smiles and pops another grape in her mouth. She picks up another one and aims it at his mouth. He opens it for her to toss the fruit in. She hits him in the eye. Then the nose. Then the chin. The neck. The forehead. The cheek.
It takes him a full five minutes of patiently putting up with this playful torture to remember that Katara never misses the target at which she aims.
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"Great hang time!" Yukio compliments Kenya who has just run up a wall in the prince's room, paused balanced at the top for what seemed an impossible amount of time and then run back down.
"That was amazing Kenya!" Taoki declares excitedly.
"I can really see how this could be used in a fight. Nobody would be expecting someone to run up the wall and drop down from overhead." Kenya beams.
"Well, I actually lost the one fight where I was able to use it." Yukio says sheepishly, remembering his attempted escape from the room at the fortress. "But I lost that because the door was locked. If I had been able to get through the door, I'd have been gone. I don't want to have to fight anytime soon, but I'd really like a chance to see if it's as effective as I think it is."
"Yeah, it's too bad you can't just do it to show it off." Taoki nods. "You'd lose your advantage if everyone knew you could do it."
"When will they let us spar?" Asks Kenya.
"With each other?" Yukio asks and the boy nods. "Probably soon. I've already sparred with some firebenders from the crew. They probably want to get us all at the same level before they allow it. Why?" He grins as he adds, "you looking to take me out?"
"Like I could." Kenya snorts. "No, I'd like to know I could use it if I have to. It's no good to know the moves but never know if you can actually fight."
"We'll ask tomorrow." Yukio nods. "Maybe they'll spar with us."
The twins get very excited by that possibility. Who would have thought they'd take to warrior training so well? They were raised to be afraid, but had to scratch and claw their way through life regardless of their fears. Yukio's enthusiasm for training and physical challenge is so infectious they've even started hinting to him that they'd like to learn to hunt.
They are interrupted by Muni and Din who have come to escort them to the tutor for their more scholarly studies. This is the area where Kenya and Taoki inspire Yukio, who would be just as happy never to open a book again. The twins have never had any formal teaching and they treat these academic sessions as a starving man would a feast. The tutor is grateful for their presence. Yukio has focused more on learning since the twins came along than he ever has before, even when the Fire Lord sat in on a lesson.
In a very short time the trio has come to depend on one another. Wherever their individual destinies take them, they will remember these first days of their friendship forever.
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Toph fingers the braided bracelet around her wrist. She was pleasantly surprised to find such a sweet gift in the message from Vallon. He wrote almost nothing in the note and that made her smile as well. He had very formally indicated that she has been missed on the ship. And he also said he's looking forward to solving the mystery. She wonders if he's gone ahead and finished the book. Of course not. He would wait.
She had sent him back the tassel from her passport. Her note was equally short. She just told him not to solve the mystery without her input and that she misses the camaraderie on the ship as well.
She'll be happy to get back in the same room with him so they can exchange these pleasantries without an intermediary.
But first there's the Council to deal with. The more she thinks about the perfidy of the ambassador the more she seethes. And the Earth King! That idiot! The monarch needs a keeper. The problem is there are only too many people willing to take that job for their own benefit.
Toph remembers the meeting she had with the Earth King about six months ago. He had spoken to her about a betrothal contract. He actually wanted to marry her! She got out of there as quickly as she could and she hasn't returned. She never told her friends either, fearing they would tease her and cause their own horrible injuries in the process.
Can she avoid him in Ba Sing Se? She used to stay at the palace, but that's not a problem, she can find lodging elsewhere. If he knows she's meeting with Xin, will he make a point of appearing?
She twists the bracelet taking comfort in its texture on her skin. Ba Sing Se might mean an encounter with the Earth King, but it also means Vallon. If Zuko's already there, she could meet with Xin and then bunk with Katara at the Water Tribe embassy guest suites. Or will Katara stay at the Fire Nation embassy this time? Either way she'll have a roommate because there is no way Toph Bei Fong is staying at the palace of the Earth King ever again.
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"Are you nervous about testifying?" Sokka asks his sister as they play an uninteresting game of ma jhong in her cabin.
"Not nearly as nervous as I am about going back to the Fire Nation." She shudders.
"There will be people who reject you. A lot of them." He says honestly.
"I know. That's the problem. I'm not good with rejection." Katara sighs.
"Katara," he says very seriously and she looks up at him, "if you're not up for this get out now before you humiliate him and shame the Water Tribe."
She opens her mouth to blister him but he's too quick with his next words.
"Think about it."
"I have thought about it." She hisses. "It's all I think about. And I am up for it. I won't disappear for five years if that's what you're afraid of."
"It is what I'm afraid of." Sokka says bluntly. "You're going to have to grow a thicker skin if you're going to be any use to Zuko in the near-future."
"I was confiding in you, not confessing doubts. How can you think I wouldn't be up for this? Have I ever backed down? Ever? So I had a meltdown after the war. I waited until after Aang didn't need me anymore didn't I?"
"Alright, alright. I'm sorry. I don't want to see you hurt, but it'll happen. And when it does, you have to go to Zuko about it." He holds up his hand to stop her protest. "He won't want you to suffer, but more importantly he needs to know what's going on in his sphere. Anyone being cruel to you might have even more dangerous intentions toward Zuko's administration."
"Okay. It'll sting my pride, but I'll let him know what's going on." She concedes.
"Good. I'm going to assume you're as interested in this game as I am and take myself off to bed." He yawns and stretches.
"Um." She begins and then blushes.
"What? Is there something else you wanted to confess?"
"Actually yes." She takes a deep breath. "I've never… you know."
Sokka's eyes go wide and he stares at her as if she's just suddenly turned into the Unagi.
"I don't want…" He blurts and she stops him.
"This is the point where a young woman talks to her mother and learns what she needs to know. I don't have one of those. I have you. Please."
"Crap. Okay. But you know the basics right? I mean, you don't need the full … description… do you?" He's sweating now.
"Not really. But…I want to be able to please him. What do men like?"
Sokka imagines himself someplace else. Anyplace else. Just not here. Talking about this.
"Men don't all like the same things. Just do what you feel like doing and you'll know by how he reacts." He gulps and his dry throat sticks together uncomfortably.
"Hmmm. That's good advice." She smiles. "Thanks."
"Right. Okay. So we're through?"
"I suppose. I'm not sure if I can heal a heart attack and you don't look well." She jokes.
"Good night." He rushes out the door and closes it behind him, leaving her grinning but still slightly confused.
What in the world is she going to feel like doing?
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Sokka thinks about the conversation for hours. He lays on his bed, exhausted but not sleeping. As disturbed as he is about discussing sex with his sister, he is more agitated by her comment about their mother.
It's true. Young women should have their mothers with them when they marry. To help them understand the intimate aspects of wedded life as well as to share in their joy of the event.
The Water Tribe captain wipes unwanted tears from his eyes. There are times when it seems Katara has taken possession of their mother's memory and forgotten that he too lost something precious and necessary. He usually shrugs it off reminding himself that he's a man and doesn't indulge in such things. Too busy, he tells himself. Too manly.
He wipes the tears away again, annoyed that they keep coming.
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The Fire Lord and his betrothed engage in a make-out session every night at this time. They meet in the same place and they kiss for the same amount of time and then he walks her to her cabin and kisses her goodnight.
Katara's mind whirls over the possibilities. She's certainly not bored with the nightly ritual, but now she's imagining what else could be happening. He wants to wait, she knows, but there's nothing wrong in testing the waters is there? Find out something he likes and build on that for the big night?
Slowly, tentatively at first, she lets her hands roam over his strong body. Up and down his back and shoulders. She touches every inch of his chest and feels his breathing quicken. She takes her healer's hands down to the small of his back and runs them further down over his firm ….
"What are you doing?" He pushes her away.
"You don't like it?" She asks, her own breathing ragged. She liked it. A lot.
"Of course I like it." He snaps.
"Then why are you angry?"
"We have to wait, Katara."
"I know, but I just want to see what…oh darn it!" She stamps her foot. "You've been intimate with women before me right?"
His look answers the question.
"Yes, but…"
"I thought so. Well I've never been with a man and that's not fair. I want to be good at it, but I don't know what to do. Sokka told me to do what I felt like doing and see how you reacted. You reacted by shoving me away. Now I'm really confused and more nervous than ever." She finishes her rant and stares at him. Daring him to say something stupid.
He takes a long time to say anything; just looks at her with a thoughtful smile on his face.
"You're a waterbending prodigy. You're a healer. You've excelled in everything you've ever tried. I have faith that making love will be no different."
"I had good masters." She deflects his compliment as always.
"I wouldn't call myself a master, but it will be my honor to teach you." He gathers her in his arms and pulls her close.
"I promise to be an attentive pupil." She smirks.
He grins and then looks her in the eyes soberly.
"And I shall be firm but fair." The corner of his mouth nearly twitches up to a smile, ruining the effect of the stuffy old master impersonation.
"I'm counting on it." She sighs as he purposefully restarts their nightly ritual.