Chapter 1: Decision Time
Gaoling, Beifong Estate Gates
As Toph tried to regain control of her breathing, her father pushed her behind him. She couldn't help but roll her eyes. 'Of course' her face twisted, the anger from her thoughts seeping into her facial expression 'No one should know the Beifong's have a blind daughter, even in a situation like this.'
It made her blood boil so much that she barely noticed her mother's hand hold her arm back, whilst her own hands were clenched, nails digging into the pale flesh of her palms. She was about to voice out her thoughts, but the General's voice beat her to it.
" As many of you may or may not know, the Earth King has declared that each household must contribute one man to join the fight against the Fire Nation! Every man chosen must make their way to the Earth Kingdom Base to train, after which you will make your way to Ba Sing Se to protect the Earth King and the citizens there!" - Toph couldn't sense his presence on the ground through vibrations, but she could feel several ostrich - horses hooves. 'No wonder his voice is booming this early in the morning, he's way too high up for anyone's comfort' Toph couldn't help but groan quietly, she was beginning to form a headache.
His son, Zhang Wei, spoke next, and Toph couldn't help but chuckle at his high pitched voice,
" When I call out the name of your household, the man who is intended to serve must come up and take their sealed declaration! You will be set to travel tomorrow morning! The Fa Family.." at that any anger Toph had dissolved, and fear clenched at her chest. This was really happening, any minute now they would call her household name and that would be it. Her father would be taken away, without a moment's consideration. She could feel her pulse quickening and her head pounding,
" The Liu family.." as Zhang Wei continued, Toph wished he had never opened his mouth. She felt the urge to pelt boulders the size of houses at him, and if it wasn't for her family's dignity she would. Toph had only been scared 2 other times in her life, and this anticipation of her last name brought up that number.
" The Beifong family!" Poppy's gasp echoed in Toph's ear, and she felt her father stiffen. Before she could even think, her father strode pridefully to Zhang Wei, ready to receive the ribbioned tied parchment. What happened next was all due to the rush of adrenaline she had received.
"NO!" before Toph could think about the consequences of her actions, she had placed herself between her father and Zhang Wei's ostrich - horse,
"My father is old and weak! He is not fit to go to war, you cannot take him! Please General, allow him to stay" the words came pouring out like water off a cliff and Toph immediately regretted it. People had started to whisper "Look, the Beifong's have a daughter!", "I didn't know Lao had a daughter", "I can't believe she spoke out of turn to the General like that!".
She felt the whole street fill with tension, and could feel her father shaking, was it out of fear or anger? Toph didn't know, but whatever it was, she realised she had disgraced him in front of everyone.
"Well Lao, I didn't know you had a daughter, and a disrespectful one at that. Unless there is another man in this household, I would suggest you take the declaration swiftly Lao. Wouldn't want to cause more trouble, now would we?" Toph could hear the sneer in the General's voice, but she wasn't concerned with that. She turned to her father, who simply took the declaration out of Zhang Wei's hand swiftly and turned his back to her.
"You have dishonored me, Toph"
Words could not describe the wave of emotions that ran through Toph. She felt everything and nothing at the same time. The sheer amount of disappointment in his voice cut through her like a knife. She turned to her mother, and JinJing (who came running as the commotion started), but they too had turned their backs and were making their way back home. She could hear the whispers increase all around her, but it was as if she was in a void of nothingness, abandoned by those she loved.
It didn't take long for her to follow, as tears tried to force themselves out. Her head hung low and she dragged her feet back to her room. It was then she truly let it all out. She let every wave of emotion out, all that had been building inside her,
Toph wept.
XxxxxxxxxxxxX
'Ugh, what time is it? And why is my body so sore?' as she blinked a couple times, Toph stretched herself out. 'I must've fallen asleep', through vibration Toph could feel that she had been spread across the floor. She had thrown herself earlier onto her bedroom floor and cried herself to sleep, the dried tear stains on her face to prove it. She went up to the window and felt a slight warmth on her ivory skin. It was nearing the end of sunset, and suddenly Toph was reminded of the day's event.
'Shit! Father is about to go off to war, and now I've made him mad, and won't be able to say goodbye' She couldn't believe what she had done. Not only had she spoken out of turn, but now the outside world knew she existed, something her parents had tried to avoid all her life. Even JinJing was disappointed in her. She couldn't help but beat herself up over it, but Toph was also mad that no one had stood up and defended not only her but her father.
' Ugh, why must seeing people be so morally BLIND! You would think they would have common sense and see through the bull that they are going to put father through, and that's coming from a BLIND person! ' she grunted as she punched the air in anger, why couldn't that silly general and the King see that?! Did they even think that some households wouldn't have fit men, or men at all?
The more she thought about it, the more it infuriated her. ' UGH! I wish I was a stupid boy, then I could go instead of hi- wait, what if…?' Toph paused, she couldn't possibly do what she was thinking, right? There was no way it would work, right? Yeah, it wouldn't. It was crazy!
'Or maybe it's not, what if it does work?' Suddenly it was becoming more and more plausible for her, and she was beginning to convince herself that it was worth the risk.
"I could pretend to be a man, and take my father's place"
XxxxxxxxxxxxX
During the late hours in the dark night, where the moon shone in all her glory, Toph crept quietly through the house. Her destination, the attic of the storage unit at the back of the estate. Usually it would take no more than 10 minutes to reach there, but Toph had to be silent as a feather, and had constantly taken detours to avoid the guards patrolling.
As she finally reached the stairway that would lead her to the attic, she suddenly felt a familiar set of footsteps already standing there. Toph stiffened as she felt the eyes of the person standing there fall on her.
"Well look who finally decided to show up"
"JINJING?! But, how..?"
"Please, I know you too well Toph, but I didn't think you would actually go through with a plan like that. Guess you're more insane than I thought you were"
Toph sighed, her plan was now busted. She was turning to leave, but JinJing spoke
" What, aren't you going to take what you came here for? Your Father's old uniform and sword? " Toph was confused, wasn't JinJing here to stop her? Didn't she want to make sure Toph didn't do anything crazy and put her back to bed?
"Don't yo-"
"Toph, didn't you hear me before? I know you Toph, you don't give up. I'm not going to stop you, you've been in serious, dangerous situations before. I know about the Earth Rumble tournaments you go to. I've seen you fight men twice your size! I know about all the times you tried to run away, and each time you've come back.
"I know you feel vibrations through your feet, and can probably see better than anyone with working eyes. I know you really do love your father no matter how many times you vent about hating him. I know there's a strong independent woman in you, and you will do anything to protect what and who you love."
For once in her life, Toph was speechless. The secret life she had been living, her secret skilled ability, JinJing knew all about it. She could feel JinJing's hand under her chin to close her gaped mouth. She couldn't believe it, she thought she was careful so that no one knew. Did other servants, or worse, her parents know?
"Don't worry, I'm the only one who knows about this, and I have never, nor will I ever tell anyone if you don't want me to. And I've altered your father's old uniform, and cleaned the rust from his old sword and adjusted the strap. It should all fit you now."
"JinJing, I don't know what to say…. I can't even begi-"
"Then don't, don't say anything. Spirits know that this would make saying goodbye even harder for me than it already is. Come, we must get you ready to leave, we don't have much time!"
XxxxxxxxxxxxX
The next thing Toph knew was that she was about to have her hair cut by JinJing. She had already put on her father's old uniform, all that was left was to put the wide hat on. JinJing had packed her clothes, toiletries and a small bit of food already whilst Toph had fallen asleep earlier. She had also helped her write a note for her parents and had taken out her headband that Toph had stopped wearing when she was twelve years old, the one with little pink flowers and a gold band.
Toph felt her little petals of the headband, so tiny and delicate. 'Just like father thinks about me, well, used to think about me'. It suddenly dawned upon her what she was really doing, that she was leaving her family for good, possibly forever.
"JinJing wait, before my hair is cut, I just wanted to let you know that you've been the sister that I never had, and I cannot thank you for your kindness. If I don't come back, please take care of my family for me. And when they pass too, I want you to have everything. You've done more than enough." Even though JinJing had told her not to say anything after they had written the note, Toph knew that this was probably the last time she would be with JinJing, she had to let her know how she felt.
"Toph.." JinJing wrapped her arms around the smaller girl's shoulders and Toph felt the tears running down JinJing's face on her cheeks. But Toph had no more tears left to cry, from now on she was going to be a pillar of strength, and bring honor to her family, including JinJing.
Finally, after a moment, JinJing let her go. Toph took the slender, short blade from the older girl's hand, took the long ebony braid that JinJing had made…
...and cut through the braid as though it was air.
XxxxxxxxxxxxX
" There's an ostrich - horse waiting for you outside, it knows the way to the declaration is in your bag already, I was able to sneak it in. You should be there by morning. Here, take this pouch, it has some money, just in case. This is your family's pass, the Beifong seal. And take this"
"What is it, it feels like a small wooden cage"
"There's a cricket inside, it's for good luck. You know how superstitious I am! I'll miss you Toph, more than you could ever know. Now go I'll leave the note and hairband in front of your parents door, they will find it when they wake up. Go!"
" Thank you JinJing"
"Good luck Toph"
And with that, the young woman left. JinJing turned back to the house, and whispered to no one in particular,
"Please, ancestors, hear my plea, take care of Toph. Keep her safe and please let her bring honor to us all, and keep her father standing tall"
Little did JinJing know, they had heard her prayer.
A/N: There you have it! I'm kinda embarrassed about chapter one, I feel as though there was too much dialogue,less thought and a lot of mistakes etc. Oh well! Thank you for the support Ellery Dorward, I appreciate it. Please write reviews people, it shows me what your thoughts are! Btw I think when reading this story you should listen to the Mulan soundtrack, it's what I do when I'm writing. Should I make a playlist? Let me know!
P.S. I would love to have a beta reader, if anyone is willing to do that I'd be grateful. And don't be afraid to pm me about ideas, criticism or just to say hello! God knows we need to be connected more in times like this. See you next time!
- Cindy