The city was just as I had left it three months ago, though fully restored and rebuilt from the damage it'd taken during the war. These last few months had been spent making sure that we found trustworthy and reliable people to take up positions in the court and military, though some were easier than others. Zuko and I had managed to persuade Jeong-Jeong to return, and he was now a great general just as Iroh had been, which set our mind at ease. With Jeong-Jeong handing military affairs, uprooting any dissenters and bringing order back into the ranks, we didn't have to worry about a military uprising to restart the war. The rest of our time was focused on finding homes for the colonists to return to, as most had either left their homes behind when leaving which then become home to another family, or they had lived and been born there for generation. That was a little harder, but so far thinks had been working and our plans were being put into place as we put all our efforts into a retrieval plan.
Aang had called it the Harmony Restoration Movement, and flew around the Earth Kingdom with Katara, Sokka and Appa in order to begin the process of separating the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation once more. I strangely didn't feel nervous, having grown accustomed to long, boring meetings and discussions with court officials, though in the Earth Kingdom it was probably going to be on a much grander scale. At least I looked the part now, wearing a court uniform which I had altered to suit me.
It was formal but allowed me full range of movement, avoiding the heavier garments so that I wouldn't' be weighed down in case I needed to move quickly. My hair I continued to wear in Water Tribe fashion, but my clothes were Fire Nation. With long sleeves which looped over my middle finger, my undershirt crossed over my front and stopped above my midriff. I wore dark tan pants underneath the dress which I wore on top. It had larger, longer sleeves that opened at my elbows and I'd embroidered it to make it look more formal, wearing a wide waist belt with my court token hanging over the top made from gold. I'm glad I only had to wear this thing on formal occasions, the rest of the time I just walked around in the undershirt, pants, and a four panelled skirt which tied around my waist.
When we arrived at Ba Sing Se, we were escorted by a rather imposing guard of Earth Kingdom soldiers who looked upon us with suspicion. "I guess 'warm welcome' isn't something we can expect." Zuko said quietly as we were boarded onto an especially ornate carriage to be taken from the outer wall to the palace.
"Just give it a while, wait for the ice to break, Fire Lord Zuko." I added the formality in play, making him look at me with a smile and feel more at ease. It was better when we actually reached the palace and everybody was there waiting for us, with Aang standing beside the Earth King as we were escorted through the gates and taken right up to the front of the palace.
"Your Majesty, it's an honour to meet you finally. I hope these negotiations are the beginning of a long lasting friendship between our nations." Zuko began formally with a bow and the king nodded his head stiffly. He looked rather nervous, glancing at the other delegates seemingly with concern so I made a movement with my hand, drawing his attention where I smiled and waved, hoping he'd recognise me somewhat from where we met before. It seemed to do the trick as King Kuei took a deep breath and managed a smile.
"You are very welcome here, Fire Lord Zuko. Please make yourself at home." It was then that we could look to Aang who bowed respectfully to Fire Lord Zuko but I completely ignored all formalities, jumping forwards in order to fling my arms around him.
"It's so good to see you Aang! Katara, Sokka, Toph, you guys look great!" I heard several disapproving coughs from the more upright minsters behind me but I ignored them as we all gathered together for a group hug, all of us settling into our usual familiarity as if only a few days had passed since we were last together and not a few months.
"I love your dress, did you make it?" Katara asked as she looked at my embroidery whilst Sokka teased Zuko for also having to wear a dress.
"It's a ceremonial robe, not a dress!" We all laughed.
"I customised it, though it's a little annoying to walk around in. Shall we go in? I'm dying to put my feet up and relax. King Kuei, your majesty, I'm glad to see you again too. How's Bosco? I was looking forward to giving my favourite bear a hug." And just like that, the ice was broken. See, it pays to know people. I knew that the moment you mention Bosco, King Kuei will immediately feel uplifted at the mention of his pet and talk about him nonstop, filling any awkward silence there may have been before. After finishing hugging everyone, we were all led into the palace where each guest was shown to their own residence in the palace gardens, though I insisted on staying with the others.
"That'll be great! It will be just like old times and we can catch up. Come on! I'll show you where we're staying." Katara eagerly pulled at my arm so I turned and smiled guiltily at Zuko to apologise for abandoning him to listen to the king's ongoing speech about Bosco, which he already looked completely fed up with. Toph followed us girls and we had some time alone together, which I greatly appreciated as I could throw off the stupid dress and kick off the tight, uncomfortable shoes in order to properly relax.
"Appa! Momo!" Running out back to see my favourite fluffy bison and flying lemur, I jumped onto Appa as he swung himself around excitedly with a growl, letting me hug his face before he started to lick me eagerly to show his affection until I was giggling with laughter, Momo squawking as he flew circles around my head before he started to lick my cheek too. "Okay, okay guys stop it! I missed you too, but I really don't need a bath right now." Laughing I quickly pulled water from a nearby pond to wash myself off before then pulling the water off my clothes and body and tossed it back as Katara and Toph sat down on the back porch.
"So what's been happening? Tell us everything."
"Too many rules, responsibilities and regular council meetings, that's what's been going on." I groaned as I rubbed my sore feet. Momo now sitting on my head and jumping up and down. "So let's forget about all that and have some fun! Toph, got any ideas?"
"We could always sneak out of the palace and go around the city. I've been dying to get out for a while now." She suggested and I was all for it, though Katara was hesitant.
"I don't know, maybe we should stick around. The banquet will be starting later, and we'll need to…"
"We can be back long before the banquet starts, it's still early morning after all. Come on, an all girls' fieldtrip? Sounds like something I've been missing since we all split up. Let's go wild!"
"Yeah!" Toph punched the air and after considering, Katara relented, agreeing that it did sound like fun. Taking Momo off my head, I put him on the ground and rubbed his ears with a smile.
"Sorry Appa and Momo, you guys will have to stay here and hold down the fort, but I'll make sure to pick up some treats for you both when I come back. Oh by the way, did you guys get my message about my troupe?"
"Sure did, they're already cleared to enter the palace later. Let's go see them, they're always up for a good time and a laugh." Toph said, all too eager to get out of here. I quickly put on some more comfortable shoes and left a note for Aang and Sokka so that they knew where we'd gone before we all head out. With Toph guiding our way, it was easy to sneak out through a tunnel she made and before we knew it, we were on our way to the upper ring's entertainment district. Already I was thoroughly enjoying myself, the lively bustle of people, the smells of tasty food cooking, everything was just like I remembered it. "Let's go get some food, I'm so hungry I'm starting to turn into Sokka. Give me meat!" Laughing at Toph's joke, we all got some breakfast at a fancy restaurant, enjoying the cuisine before we headed over to the dance school my troupe had opened.
At the front gates I looked up to see a golden dragon bird emblem with the plaque hanging above our heads. "Wow, they really spruced this place up." I blinked, remembering the partially destroyed building that my troupe had bought some months ago. "Let's go inside!" Eagerly rushing forwards after grabbing Katara and Toph by the hand, I excitedly went in to see a class being held in the main hall, whilst others practiced in the gardens under supervision, though when members of the original troupe spotted me, everything was thrown into chaos.
"Kayo!" Suddenly everybody was yelling and running and before I knew it, I was being lifted up into the air and thrown up and down, making me squeal with laughter at the thrill of being tossed before bone crushing hugs followed.
"It's great to see everyone, I missed you all so much!" It was just like old times, Director Daizo coming towards me slowly with his back hunched and leaning dependently on his cane, but warmly smiling towards me with difficulty since his eyes had lost a lot of their ability to see as I bowed then carefully hugged him.
"Welcome back my dear. We are so glad to see you again. Have you been eating? You have lost so much weight!"
"I have a stressful job, it happens." I shrugged it off before helping him to a seat. "I came by to see you all and ask about the preparations for the banquet tonight. It's really important that the Earth King sees fire benders and earth benders getting along, but I knew I could count on you Grandpa Daizo." Patting my hand, Daizo assured me that everything was taken care of before he tapped his cane three times on the floor, calling everybody to attention.
Immediately the troupe put on a performance for us, Toph and Katara joining me to sit so that we could appreciate all their hard work. They performed the set they were planning to use tonight and I watched everything carefully but had nothing to worry about. Everything was perfect, especially how the fire benders and earth benders worked together. It all merged so well, joining strength with grace and both demonstrating the power of their element. "There is room for you to join, should you wish Kayo. We held a spot open for you in case you wanted to perform as well. A water bender will complete the show."
"I'd love to, just tell me what I need to do."
"Can I join in too? I'd love to be a part of this." Katara requested and Daizo nodded his head, telling me to show Katara how it's done. Being an experienced water bender and having a great deal of natural flexibility and grace, Katara picked it up very quickly as Toph lounged around eating peanuts next to Daizo, enjoying the show and the fact that she didn't have to do anything. The final part of the set was the trickiest, as it depended on timing and unison. We formed two half-moon circles. On the outside we had the earth benders and on the inside the fire benders, with Katara and I standing centre forward.
The earth benders created two rock dragons from the ground, using smaller stones and earth to form the features of the face as the fire benders then followed with two fire dragons, the four serpentine creations spiralling around one another without ever clashing so that they were flying through the air. Standing with water between us, Katara and I mirrored one another as we created the final dragon out of ice and water, maintaining its shape and moving it to join the others until we had a spiralling sphere of dragons, continuing the set for the new dance routine Daizo had choreographed. "This is amazing! The Earth King is going to love this!" Katara breathed in awe as she stared upwards.
"It's not over yet, let's give a grand finale!" I grinned to her before we both jumped with an upwards leap, pointing our toes elegantly before bringing our other foot to meet the other as we twisted, arms rising in the air in a balletic leap before we landed and continued moving. The rock dragons disappeared back into the earth where our earth benders then stamped their feet and created two life sized badger-moles, the fire dragons continuing to loop around one another before freezing in a figure of eight, bodies entwined whilst Katara and I split our dragon in two, pulling the water back towards us and pirouetting, making the water then transform into two large koi carp to represent the Ocean and Moon spirits in the north, having them circle one another over our heads for the final stage.
It was magnificent, more than perfect and I couldn't help but wipe away a tear that I didn't bother holding back. "You've done it again Daizo, what I would give to have even half your imagination." He smiled softly.
"Age and experience, my dear, though more age than experience at this point, I'm afraid." Grinning happily, Katara and I dropped the water as we all then took a break, more than satisfied with the end result. We spent a good few hours with my troupe, getting ourselves measured for our outfits and whilst they were being adjusted we decided to go out to the market to explore more and look for other ways to enjoy ourselves. My troupe saw us off at the gates where all three of us waved, thoroughly relaxed and having the greatest time.
"Your family are just too cool Kayo. I wish my parents were as easy going."
"Have you seen them at all Toph? It's been a while since you left home now. Did they try and contact you in anyway?" Toph looked away so I glanced at Katara who shook her head.
"They can do whatever they want, I don't need them. I mean, I can take care of myself and I have you dunderheads to keep me entertained. I can do whatever I like and I'm free to train without being forced to stick to dumb breathing exercises." Cracking her knuckles with satisfaction, I couldn't help but reach out to ruffle Toph's hair playfully. "Hey!"
"You're adorable Toph, a real firecracker. Come on, let's go get some pampering. After dealing with the court council and all those stuffy ministers for three months, I need some stress relieving treatment. My skin has become so dry, it's a wonder it doesn't peel off my face." I complained sorrowfully, Katara sympathising entirely and offering to give me some of her special seaweed lotion which was great for moisturising, though Toph stuck out her tongue at the thought of some girly treatments.
"Do we have to?"
"Come on Toph, last time we went you had fun."
"Yeah, until they touched my feet." Laughing, I promised her that I would defend her feet with my life so long as she agreed to at least keep us company, so Toph relented. She ended up joining us for the massages, steam treatment, face masks, mud baths, everything except the pedicure. She allowed the ladies to work on her hands and settled for sticking her feet in hot water with some ointments to make them feel nice. "Okay, this isn't so bad. In fact I think I could get used to this." Lying back in her chair with cucumber on her eyes and a mud mask on her face, Toph looked right at home being treated like a queen, Katara and I in similar states each with different face masks.
"Hah…I feel so much better already…this is the life." I sighed contentedly, practically ready to just fall asleep right now as my nails were treated and filed into a more feminine shape.
"You've been helping Zuko for a while now, there's got to be something you can tell us about the two of you by now." Katara said to me as she enjoyed a head massage and hair treatment. "You two are so cutesy together, you always acted like a couple anyway."
"We're not together." Sitting bolt upright, Katara squeaked in shock before she cleared her throat and apologised to the ladies treating us.
"What do you mean you're not together? I thought you guys talked."
"Well, we kind of did. I mean, I asked Zuko how he felt about me and he said that he had strong feelings for me, but before I could tell him that I liked him too he said that he hadn't planned on telling me because he didn't want to start dating." Turning my head and opening one eye I saw Katara's jaw drop. "I know. Anyway, he said that he couldn't allow himself to be distracted with a relationship when he was just crowned Fire Lord. He said he needed to devote all time and energy into reforming the nation and that he couldn't let anything divert his attention."
"That kind of makes sense I guess, but still. What did you say?" Katara asked me, growing all the more curious and although Toph wasn't saying anything and was feigning indifference, I knew she was listening.
"I lied and said that it was okay. What else could I do? He's right, he should be focusing on being Fire Lord right now. Feelings will have to wait. I mean, even though we're always in council meetings together, we rarely have time to see each other outside of those. He's always busy with administrating and organising things ready for the colonies to return that we don't have time to just be together. In a way I'm glad we're not dating, because otherwise I'd feel all frustrated and lonely."
"That's too bad, but surely when things calm down you two can settle things?" I hope so, otherwise my only choice is to try and forget these feelings I have for Zuko by leaving him. I can't let myself become too caught up with it all, and I definitely don't deserve to be treated like an afterthought and made to wait for years and years for nothing to happen. "I'm sure everything will work out just fine. You and Zuko are such a good fit. It would be a shame for things to end before they'd even begin, you guys would make such a cute couple!"
"Oh please, I can't stand anymore couple nonsense!" Toph groaned, throwing her hands up into the air. "You and Aang are terrible when you're together, acting all cuddly and calling each other 'sweetie', I feel like burying my head in a rock." Amused at Toph's hard core attitude, I returned to relaxing with a sigh and started to tease Katara about dating the Avatar. It was a perfect day, and after leaving the spa I felt like a totally new woman, and my skin was finally as soft as it used to be. Together with Toph and Katara, I spent the day just being a normal girl hanging out with her friends, knowing full well that later, the real game would begin.
