Continuing just where I left off...

"Welcome to Pao's Tea shop. Wh-"

Iris recognized that voice. She turned to look and froze, as did the speaker.

"Zuko," she muttered.

No fucking way. But it was Zuko alright. He had the scar and all. But his hair had grown out. and he was wearing Earth Kingdom clothes.

Zuko's eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened.

Iris checked him over. With his greenish garbs, apron, notepad, and pen in hand and the way he tried to suppress his panic and anxiety, he didn't even remotely resemble the Fire Nation Prince she was so accustomed to. He looked so different yet similar.

She took a deep breath, blinked, regaining her posture.

"I'm sorry. You were saying?"

Zuko quite audibly gulped, "What would you like to have?"

"Lemongrass tea with anise"

Zuko shakily nodded and wrote it down, "I'll bring it out soon."

"Thank you." she smiled softly as he literally scurried off.

What was Zuko doing here working in a tea shop? But at least the universe was helping her in some way. this should speed things up a little.

She took a deep breath and sat there, twiddling her thumbs. Zuko returned after 10 minutes with her tea. He placed it on the table in front of her.

"Is there anything else you'd like?"

"No, thank you. This would be all for now." she smiled and he hesitantly nodded and he walked off.

For the remainder of her time there, she kept an eye on him. He was being a regular waiter. taking and delivering orders, dealing with customers, and even cleaning tables after the customers.

Iris had found Zuko trying to look at her various times and every time she'd look away.

Patience was not a virtue Iris possessed for most of the time. But here, she had to be patient. She was as much on the edge as Zuko was, by the way his posture was tight and his facial expressions looked strained.

She slowly sipped her tea, keeping it warm with a spell. She took really small sips.

Gradually the rush started to deplete. New customers didn't come while the remaining ones were starting to leave. It must have been lunchtime.

Once only a couple of old men were lingering around, she saw Pao behind the big desk. So she got up and walked there. she perispherically saw Zuko stiffen up when he noticed where she was heading.

She stopped and smiled at Pao, who was busy counting the money his business had earned.

"Hello."

Pao looked up and then frowned a little, "What are you doing here?"

"Came to enjoy some tea. Should I not come here and find myself a different tea shop?"

Pao looked around and then at her teacup.

"Lee, kindly take this customer's cup."

To her surprise, Zuko stepped forward with his tray and she hesitantly placed her empty cup on the tray.

"Thank you." she softly smiled before looking at Pao, "I want to talk to you."

"I told you I'm-"

"You said you were a government official. You own a tea shop." she cut him off. Zuko had walked away but remained kind of close, probably to hear what she was going to say.

"Look," she lowered her voice a little, "You were right about the things you warned me about. I just wanted to say thank you and apologize for the way...I...you know what I did. So, sorry."

Pao scoffed haughtily, "Glad you learned it."

Iris snorted, "I wanted to ask you something."

"What?"

"The King. Has he always been like this?"

Pao looked thoughtful and hesitant.

"Whatever you tell me won't be heard by another soul. I promise."

Pao still had the look of contemplation and she might have shown him a little desperation because he sighed.

With a low voice said, "He became King at the peak of the war times. Quite after the Dragon of West assaulted Ba Sing Se. His father was much more proactive in terms of war but the now King has been quite..."

"Off-handed."

Pao nodded, "He's more interested in maintained the cultural integrity, utter non-sense if you ask me, of this city than defending us against the Fire Nation attacks."

"If it is not his job to plan for assaults and war, then whose job is it?"

"that would be the General Secretariat and King's personal advisor, Long Feng."

"Long Feng." she muttered, "Mustache, half bald, ponytail and kinda old?"

"that's him, alright."

So that was the guy who was planning against them.

"And does he have a connection to Dai Li?"

"He's their leader."

Oh, were they fucked.

She took a deep breath and raised her voice, "Well, thank you for the nice chat and tea. It was great."

"Thank you for visiting."

She nodded, dropped a couple more coins in the tip jar, turned smiled at Zuko, and walked away.

"How was the tea shop?"

Iris looked at Katara as they prepared for dinner later in the evening.

"It was good. I'm planning on going tomorrow too. It was a nice change."

"Don't get too addicted to this tea shop." Toph piped in

Iris chuckled, "Duley noted, Toph."

"did you get anything else?"

Iris exhaled, "Not really. I did manage to find out the guy's name. the one who's calling the shots. Long Feng. Dai Li leader. So we gotta be careful and watch our backs. And keep a close account of Appa and Momo. And everything we have. They might try to acquire anything for leverage purposes and we can't allow that."

She was at the tea shop the very next day, a couple of hours after lunchtime. Despite the...discoveries...the tea shop did provide a nice ambiance and peace. So next day, she went there with one of the energybending books and her notebook. If Duová wasn't going to tell her everything, then fuck it, she was gonna learn it by herself.

Zuko did not look pleased when he saw her but didn't act. He asked for her order, which was the same, and for the most part, left her alone. She just focused on her book, made her notes, and just remained busy. She would, at times sneak a glance or two at Zuko who would be busy waiting tables. She even caught a glimpse of Iroh, dressed quite similarly.

She found him looking at her before he went back inside.

A few minutes later, another cup was kept on her table. She looked up at Zuko.

"I didn't order another."

"My uncle made it for you. Said it would help with focusing on your studies." he deadpanned

"Oh!" she took the hot cup of tea. It smelled great. "Please convey my thanks to him for this. And thank you for this too."

She smiled as she took the sip. Just a couple more days and things might work.

The third day work pretty much the same. The fourth day started the same. But that night after dinner, Momo barged in, screaming at the top of his lungs.

The group followed him outside and Iris felt the change in energy in the surrounding. There was a small disturbance a little near the treetop as well. And soon enough Neva appeared and Iris caught her, cradling her in her arms.

Neva softly trilled, cuddling in.

Iris turned and showed Neva's leg to Katara, who quickly untied the letters attached to it.

"Let's get you someplace comfortable," she whispered to Neva. She quickly made a small next-like place for Neva, placed a bowl of water and some raw meat, and let her rest. Momo stayed with her for which Iris was grateful.

She left them and returned to the group with the letters.

"So?" Sokka asked

"Let me open them," Iris muttered. She first picked the letter from Gringotts, carefully peeled it open, and pulled out the parchments. she skipped over them quickly, not really reading them until she spotted the word 'Eclipse'.

"Iris..." Sokka whined but she ignored him.

She read the paragraph twice before she looked at him. "I was almost right. Sinistra would love this."

"Iris," Katara prodded

"Right. Instead of 13 weeks, it is 13 1/2 weeks. I somewhere lost the extra 4 days in the calculation. I'd really have to check the correction they did. which means now we have 12 weeks before the next eclipse. Three months."

"And two more weeks before we are supposed to meet the King," Toph said

"Which boils it down to...10 weeks. a little over two months," Katara noted.

"Are we really going to stay for two more weeks here?" Aang asked

"We have to."

Iris had decided to make it a habit of going to the tea shop every day after lunchtime. Not only did it offer her a nice quiet environment and some time away from the kids and Dai Li situation, but she also got tea. Her inner brit was quite happy.

Zuko and Iroh didn't bother her. And she didn't bother them either. but Zuko still remained quite tense around her, as if he was waiting for the second shoe to drop or something. And despite not being fond of her, Pao didn't mind her either since she was a paying customer.

And she could focus on things better. so for as long as they were staying in Ba Sing Se, she was going to visit the tea shop.

On her fifth visit to the shop, she witnessed two surprising things.

The first was a group of girls, sitting quite close to her. She was never the one for girly gossip. And she usually minded her business in the tea shop. But then she heard some words that piqued her interest. she was about to read the letters when she heard them. The letters could probably wait. So she sat there, eavesdropping. she might have used a little magic but what people don't know isn't gonna matter.

she almost choked on her tea with laughter when she actually heard what they were saying. Oh boy, it was almost comedy gold. she pressed her lips to stop herself from smiling goofily or laughing and opened the letters.

Sharptooth's letter was mostly just a regular letter. he had gotten her equation correct, which she revised with her own calculation.

Of course. It was the minus sign. It had to be a fucking minus sign.

Further, there were updates regarding her possessions, a note that they had sent her a pouch of quite a lot of money, and that they were looking forward to when she'd be returning.

Right. Returning. to her homeworld.

She took a deep breath and opened Andromeda's letter. She had enclosed a few more books and there was a photo of Teddy in Andy's arms, that almost made her tear up. He looked so much more like Tonks but if you knew where to look, Remus was there too. He was giggling, his hair color changing like a rainbow streak.

Andy's letter mostly had similar things. A brief of how everyone was doing. nothing new was happening so mostly there was to share was family and friends drama. There were some things about Draco, mostly him maturing, almost completely getting out of his father's shadow and taking responsibility.

That was good. Ron and Hermione had officially gotten together. She further told things about the Weasleys and her other friends. It ended with the same 'Get home in one piece'.

She took a deep breath and folded the letters, keeping them in between the pages of her notebook. She quickly wiped away some unshed tears and with a sniff got to work.

"Can I get you anything else?"

She looked at Iroh, who was smiling at her softly. since the shift had been more packed than usual, Iroh had also gotten to waiting tables along with Zuko.

"what tea is that?" she asked, pointing at the pot he was carrying.

"that'd be green tea."

"I'd like some of that." she smiled and extended her cup. Iroh softly smiled and poured her the tea before walking off.

She looked around. Most of the patrons were gone, including the group of girls. A few burly-looking men and a few people looked like merchants and traders, but that was it.

She had to find a way to talk to them both. But she wasn't sure if it was going to happen tonight, so she got back into her book.

"So you're the genius behind this incredible brew. The whole city is buzzing about you. I hope Pao pays you well."

she looked up from her book and at a man whose entire ensemble screamed 'rich'.

"Good tea is its own reward." Iroh smiled back

"But it doesn't have to be the only reward. How would you like to have your own tea shop?"

Iroh looked reasonably stunned, "My own tea shop? This is a dream come true."

Suddenly Pao scampered to the front, looking panicked, "What's going on here? Are you trying to poach my tea maker?" he threw himself protectively between Iroh and the rich man. Iroh had to be a damn good tea maker if Pao was ready to throw hands for him. And she had to agree that he was a damn good tea maker.

"Sorry Pao, that's business for you, am I right?"

Pao's look turned desperate as he looked at Iroh, "Mushie if you stay, I will make you Assistant Manager. Wait, Senior Assistant manager."

"I'll provide you with a new apartment in the upper ring. The Tea shop is yours to do whatever you want. Complete creative freedom." the man proposed

Iris looked around the tea shop. The offer was super tempting, she could tell. So much so that it had gotten Zuko's attention

Iroh looked very, very happy at the proposal, "I even get to name the shop?"

"Of course!"

"Uh, Senior Executive Assistant Manager?" Pao pleadingly asked

Iroh turned and set teapot into the hands of Pao, who grimaced in pain. Pao walked off, defeated, as Iroh and the man exchanged respectful bows. Zuko walked over to Iroh.

"Did you hear nephew? This man wants to give us our own tea shop in the upper ring of the city."

"That's right, young man. Your life is about to change for the better." the man beamed

Zuko resumed walking towards the front door, setting down the tray of cups on a table nearby her.

"I'll try to contain my joy." he deadpanned and stepped outside.

Okay, maybe this was the opening she needed. She closed her books, packed her stuff, keep a few coins on the table, and quickly walked out. She found Zuko close by.

"Would it kill you to be happy for your Uncle?" she asked

He looked his shoulder at her and then ignored her.

"Geez, don't be so happy with the fact that Iroh is getting his own tea shop. You'll burst with happiness." Iris rolled her eyes

"His name is Mushie."

"Of course. Lee."

He frowned and she mentally chuckled.

"What do you want?"

She shrugged, "I just wanna talk."

He scoffed.

"Why? What do you think I want?"

"To hand me and Uncle over to the Dai Li. To reveal our identities."

She rolled her eyes, "I know we haven't had a proper introduction whatsoever but do I really look that sadistic? if I wanted to blow up your cover, I'd have done it the first day I saw you here. It's been four days and you are still a free man." she folded her arms, "Well, as free as a refugee can be."

Zuko was looking at her as if he didn't believe her. She wouldn't blame him for that.

She leaned back on the wall next to him, arms still folded, "I heard a few girls talking at the tea shop today. It's bad to eavesdrop, yes, I know. but I got bored and my interest was piqued. Anyway, one of the girls, I think her name is Jen, has a cute crush on you. She's going to ask you out tomorrow."

Zuko's eyes widened at her.

"Just wanted to give you a heads-up because you don't seem like the romantic type. I don't want a sweet innocent girl's heart to be broken. I couldn't care less about you, as of now."

Zuko looked away.

"Nephew!"

The two looked over to find Iroh heading for them. He looked at her and smiled. She smiled back.

"Congratulations on the new tea shop."

"Thank you very much."

Iris pushed herself off the wall, "If it is alright, I'd like to help you with the new tea shop."

"What?" Zuko asked

"I live in the upper circle. and I don't have a lot to do these days. I wouldn't mind helping you both a little here and there. If you allow it, of course."

Iroh was about to say something but Zuko spoke up, "We don't need your help."

Iroh kept a hand on Zuko's shoulder, placating him, "We'd be glad to have your help."

She smiled. "I'll see you both tomorrow then." and she turned and left.

Zuko was not happy. His Uncle was getting a new tea shop of his own, the Avatar's companion knew about them and Jet had already created ruckus before.

He grunted as he packed the bags. There wasn't a lot they owned but the rich man had offered them a new apartment in the upper circle. Where the Avatar lived.

"So, I was thinking about names for my new tea shop. How bout the Jasmine Dragon? It's dramatic, poetic, has a nice ring to it." Iroh's voice broke his thought reverie.

Zuko frowned and turned to look at Iroh, "the Avatar and his companion and all their friends are here in Ba Sing Se."

"Yes, I'm aware of it." Iroh nodded, "We have a chance for a new life here. If you start stirring up trouble, we could lose all the good things that are happening for us."

Zuko frowned further, "Good things that are happening for you. Have you ever thought that I want more from life than a nice apartment and a job serving tea?"

"There is nothing wrong with a life of peace and prosperity. I suggest you think about what it is that you want for your life, and why."

Zuko turned around to look outside, "I want my destiny."

"What that means is up to you." Iroh replied and stayed silent for a few moments, "The Tea Weevil! No, that's stupid."

Zuko didn't say anything, looking outside. After a while, he looked over his shoulder, "Why do you think she wants to help us?"

Iroh paused what he was doing and looked thoughtful, "She has helped us in the past without expecting anything in return. I don't think she has an ulterior motive."

"What if she's just waiting for us to trust her so she could blow our cover?"

"If she wanted to do that, she'd have done it already. She seems genuine, Prince Zuko. Perhaps you should give her a chance too."

The new shop was posher than the previous one. From the interiors to the sitting arrangements, it all was better.

He and his uncle had just arrived in the empty shop. They had quite a lot of setting to do before they could open it to the public.

And then there was a knock.

Zuko turned around and there she stood, with her bluebird on her shoulder. That bird was quite big, how was it perching there?

"I hope I'm not late or early?" she softly smiled

"Of course not." Iroh smiled, "We are glad to have you here."

"I'm glad to help. To be honest, I could really use some time away from the kids. Being the oldest is not fun."

Iroh chuckled, "I can understand. Kids tend to tire you sooner than anything."

"Yeah, they do." she smiled, "So, this place looks amazing. Much better than Pao's, I must say."

"The man was quite generous."

"Your skills deserve this." she chuckled, "So, how can I help?"

Iroh was about to start telling her when he stopped and looked back at her, "I'm extremely sorry for my rudeness, but I never realized that we didn't know your name. My nephew forgot to ask the last time you helped us."

Zuko frowned. Why did his uncle have to drag him into this?

The girl chuckled and opened her mouth to say something, but stopped, stepped forward, close to Iroh, and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

Iroh chuckled as she pulled back, "That is a beautiful name. Suits you just fine."

"Thank you." she looked around, "so where do we start?"

At first, they set around a few things here and there. The tip jar, ingredients on shelves, and some table decorations.

"Is this where the spices go?" she asked, opening a couple of empty cabinets

"That'd be right, dear. Oh, I almost forgot. We are running a little low on spices and that is no way of running a tea shop. I must go an-"

"I'll buy them for you." the girl offered, "I know the best place to buy spices in the upper circle. You can pay me later."

"You have already helped us enough."

"Exactly. What is a little more help? I'll be happy to."

Iroh nodded and then looked at Zuko. Zuko did not like the look his uncle was giving him.

"Why don't you go with her and help her?"

"I'm fine working here," he grumbled, pouring things from boxes to new jars.

"Nephew, she's kind enough to help us. She's not our employee. You should go with her. Maybe she can teach you a few things about spices."

Zuko frowned and the girl gave him a smug smile, clearly enjoying his trepidation. then she turned to Iroh, "It's alright if he doesn't wanna come. I'll get the spices. If could just tell me what you like and what your budget is."

Iroh gave him a look and he rolled his eyes.

"Alright." he muttered, "I'll go with you."

Iroh handed some money to him and off the two went. Her bluebird took off the moment they stepped out but she didn't pay much mind to it. she led him to a better-looking market area and straight to a shop that just stank of spices.

"If you know how to haggle, you can actually get good stuff at a decent price," she muttered to him

Zuko just stood there while she made the purchase. she did haggle, quite nicely as their overall purchase price was dropped from out of their budget to just within their budget. She seemed quite proud of that as they bagged their products.

She was good looking. But then again, every Fire Nation girl had a unique charm to them. she seemed no exception. But it was her hair that did baffle him at the start but now that he had seen her in the last few days, he realized that the white actually suited her pale skin and highlighted her green eyes. Which further confused him as he had never met a Fire Nation citizen with bright green eyes like her. They always had shades of brown or hazel, but never green. Green was the color of earthbenders.

They then resumed walking back towards the shop. A question popped in his head but he didn't ask. And then a thought struck him. Why didn't she say her name out loud? Why did she only tell her name to Uncle? Was she genuine or did she have an ulterior motive?

"Your sister was here a few days ago."

His train of thoughts broke and he looked at her.

"What?" he asked

"Your sister. Her friends. They were here a few days ago. More like 10 something days ago."

He had heard that there was a Fire Nation assault at the Great Wall but he hadn't known that Azula was a part of it.

"She's quite a powerful bender." she nodded, "What's her secret?"

"what do you mean?" he narrowed his eyes

"I'm just curious, okay? Your sister is different, also that is in a weird way. Blue fire. Sharp movements. Father's favorite child, isn't she?"

He looked away. Okay, so she was smart and observant too.

"I know what it is like, you know." she softly said, "To be pushed aside for another. I went through it, for about 14 years. They snubbed me to favor him. I don't blame them." she shrugged, "Some people are just like that."

"Right, you do." He scoffed.

"Scoff all you want. I just want to help. And if you don't want it, all you have to do is say so."

He looked at her with narrowed eyes, frowning, "I did say I don't want your help."

"And I remember your Uncle saying that he'd be happy to have my help. He's older than you. His decision overrides yours. I don't know if I mentioned it earlier or not, I'm doing this for Ir-" she cleared her throat, "Mushie. Okay? He appreciates my help, unlike some entitled arsehole who don't know how to appreciate the help they are getting."

She rolled her eyes and started walking faster.

He stopped and blinked. Not really sure what happened. But then he shook his head and walked back to the shop.

Thanks to her, not in his opinion though, they were able to open the shop the very evening. Iroh had thanked her quite profusely and she just waved him off saying a few cups of amazing tea would be appreciated.

She then took a corner spot, pulled out her books, and got busy by herself. She remained there pretty much till their closing time when she packed her things, kept a few gold coins on the table, turned, and left.

Zuko exhaled and cleaned the table and collected the money only to notice it was a gold coin extra. He might not be fond of her but he had honor and morals. He walked out of the shop to find her but she was long gone.

"You look mad"

"I'm not mad."

Katara, Sokka and Aang exchanged a look. Iris had been behaving a bit oddly for the last couple of days and things seemed to have escalated today. She had disappeared after breakfast with just a-"I'll be gone pretty much the whole day so try not to get in trouble please."

She had returned just before dinner time and had been helping Katara with dinner. Let's just say the way she was mincing the meat seemed a little aggressive.

"I'm blind and even I can tell you are mad." Toph piped in.

Iris took a deep breath and ran her hand through her braided hair, "Sorry. It's just...I had quite a long rough day."

"Did something happen?" Sokka asked

"Not particularly." she muttered, putting the meat in the stew, "I'll be heading over to the palace tonight. See if there's anything I could find."

"Maybe I should come with you," Aang said.

"Appreciate the help, kid. But I'll be going solo. I want you to master Earth and Water for as long as we are here. Then you'll have to spend one-month practicing Firebending. We can't afford to lag."

After about 30 minutes, dinner was served.

Katara was the first one to notice that Iris was eating but rather playing with her food. She elbowed Sokka and gestured him towards Iris.

Before either of them could say anything, she sighed and put her plate down.

"Okay, I got a confession to make. Zuko is here in Ba Sing Se with Iroh."

Everyone stilled around her.

"What?" Katara asked, "You can't be serious."

"I am."

"Then why didn't you tell us sooner?" Aang asked

"The first day I saw him, I wouldn't have recognized him if it wasn't for his voice and scar. I wanted to make sure that he wasn't here to brew trouble."

"the tea shop," Sokka muttered,

Iris nodded, "He used to work with Iroh at Pao's tea shop in the Lower Circle. Just yesterday he was offered a new shop at the upper circle. I didn't wanna miss the opportunity so I volunteered to lend them a hand."

"Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't we supposed to not interact with anyone from Fire Nation?" Toph asked

"True but there was something I was thinking on. We are getting closer to the eclipse. And we have no idea about what lies in the Fire Nation. Who would know the best about Fire Nation?"

"A Fire Nation citizen," Katara guessed

"And who would know the palace best?"

"Of course someone who had lived there," Toph replied

"And who would know Ozai the best?"

Sokka narrowed his eyes, "You are planning on recruiting them?"

"Doesn't hurt to try. And if they do agree, we'd be hitting two birds with one stone. We'd have someone who knows Ozai, Azula, everything Fire nation better than everyone else. We'd have insider knowledge. And we'd have someone to teach kid Firebending. Dragon of the West, guys."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Aang asked, "What if Zuko or Iroh turned on us and betrayed us?"

"Yes! What if he told Fire Lord about everything we'd plan? What if he tells Fire Lord about you!" Sokka added

Iris's jaw tightened, "I did consider those. And I know it is risky. But if we manage it, it'd work wonders for us. Besides, both of them are banished. I don't know how much trouble that can be worth." she got up, "You guys sleep over it tonight. I'll get changed and head over to the palace. See if I can find something useful."

She walked into her room, sighed, and opened her bags. She quickly brushed her hair and made it into a tight braid and covered her head with the hood of the top. She exchanged her shoes for boots with silencing charms; gave one look to Neva and slipped out in the darkness.

Breaking into the castle wasn't hard. She pretty much followed her previous steps and entered. The hall was empty this time but she still remained cautious. Once she slipped into the big dark hallway, the real problem started. Where to go.

She checked energy within various doors but couldn't find much. she avoided the door that led her to the underwater prison thing and moved on. One door opened into another brightly lit hallway. It was a nice change. She started walking down the hallway only to end up in an intersection of four in a huge vault-room. now where to?

She rolled her eyes and took the right and started heading down. The long hallway was decorated with old murals and paintings. She figured most of them had to be past rulers and she didn't pay much mind to it until she saw a familiar portrait.

She walked to it. It was huge. she looked down at the golden plaque.

AVATAR KYOSHI
Founder of Dai Li

That was a new piece of information. No wonder those men were deadly. They were trained by the finest.

Just then she heard a creak and looked to her left where there was a giant ornate wooden door that slightly opened. She carefully headed there and opened the door further and her eyes widened.

It looked like a miniature arena but for Dai Li. For them to train and practice and all. but that wasn't what shocked her exactly. It was the reason why they always hid their hands inside the sleeves. She had always wondered why they did it but had chalked it up to their culture.

Those stone gloves were fabulous. And she would have fawned over them had they not were not belonging to the enemy. so at least she now knew of their secret weapon. Toph would love to know of this.

She quietly stepped back and turned around. she got out of the hallway and turned to the right one. this hallway was short and had a similar door but it was locked. She wanted to try and open it but then she felt more than a couple of energy sources inside, which meant there were people in there.

Not wanting to appear suspicious with locked doors opening on their own, she stepped back and apparated inside.

the one thing she had always hated about apparition was the popping sound it made.

As soon as she appeared inside, she quickly slapped her hands over her mouth and nose and stilled because every single eye turned in her direction. For a second she thought she had forgotten to put her Disillusionment charm and that they could see her.

And then one of the men moved towards her and stepped aside on reflex. Instead, the man unlocked the door and opening it looked outside. and then he pulled back in and locked the door again before back taking his seat.

She sighed softly and looked around to spot Long Feng addressing all the men in the room. Now that she looked closely, a lot of those men were dressed similar to that General they met when they first landed on the Earth Kingdom. So all of them were Generals and other important military people. Okay.

Which stirred the question- were they in league with Long Feng or were they in dark as well? She stayed there for quite some time as Long Feng, and a Dai Li agent spoke and discussed with all the Generals about what to do with Fire Nation should they launch another attack in the future and how to get rid of the giant-arse drill that still was there.

Wait, they hadn't moved the drill yet?

Whoa.

All the while she was there, she had to admit that Long Feng had a good brain, and had he not been using it for his evil schemes, he'd have made quite a good leader.

She didn't know how long she stayed there but it wasn't until the meeting was adjourned and the Generals started leaving. she remained there until Long Feng and his pet Dai Li agent didn't leave. She exhaled a bit tiredly and then quietly slipped out of the empty conference room.

then she headed for the last hallway. This one ended in a gold ornate door. And there were people on the other side. She looked around and spotted no windows or vents or anything.

But she did spot a large clay vase. Her mental gears started moving and then she pressed herself to the wall and with a slight gust of wind directed at the vase, it swayed and then fell with quite a loud crash.

She stilled as the gold doors opened and a Dai Li agent walked out to inspect. The door width wasn't big but she should be enough to fit in. She quickly and silently headed for the opening and slipped in, almost stumbling into the other agent.

"A broken vase," the first agent spoke and she quitely backed so as not to hit anyone.

"Could be an intruder. Secretariat should be informed of this." the other one said

Okay so maybe that was not such a good idea. The first one left to probably inform Long Feng and Iris turned and headed down the hallway. there were another set of ornate double doors. She took a deep breath and found no presence in there. okay. She checked other doors and finally found a door that gave her the right vibe. she checked the wall and found a window that was big enough for her and open. She stepped back, took a quick sprint and jumped up, and catching onto the ledge pulled herself up.

The King...was...why did he look so scrawny?

Considering the size and physique of the Generals, she had a bit of expectation for the King. And those expectations were quite crashing down now. He didn't have much of a physique and he didn't have the vibe all the benders had so he wasn't a bender. No wonder Long Feng manipulated him so well.

Well, there wasn't much she could do while he slept. she was about to move when the doors to the King's bedroom were opened and Long Feng entered. He looked around, probably looking for the intruder but didn't spot anything. he then turned and walked out, closing the door after him.

The window was probably one of the best vantage points she had ever gotten since she could see what was going on in both places: inside and outside.

"Are you sure about your claims?" he asked the Dai Li agent

"Of course, sir. there was no wind or disturbance."

"And did you see anyone?"

"No, sir. Just a broken vase."

"Hmm." he stroked his beard, "Be more alert. If this is something more than it looks, we should be prepared. I want an immediate if something like this happens again."

the agents nodded and nodded, probably to get their spots. So returning the way she came wasn't going to be an option.

she took a deep breath, watching Long Feng as he stood there for a few minutes before he turned up ad left. Once he was gone did she jump down from her perch.

she did a point-me spell and soon enough found a service hallway and she slipped into it. The hallways were long and maze-like and it probably took her more than an hour before she reached a door that opened in the backside of the palace. From there she exited and made her way to the house. It was maybe an hour or a little more before the dawn as she slipped into the house. As she removed her boots, her eyes went to Appa in the backyard, snoring, and sleeping.

An idea appeared in her head pretty much with a light bulb. Taking a deep breath, she laid down to get a couple of hours of shut-eye.

She was roused by a lot of hushed whispers.

"Can we let her sleep?"

"But I wanna know if she found something interesting."

She grunted and turned to look at the door, which was slightly open and a bunch of shadows loomed outside. She rolled her sleepy eyes and got up, stretching.

"How long are you guys planning to stay outside my room?" she asked

The door opened and the four gave her sheepish looks.

"Did we wake you up?" Katara asked

"Actually, yeah. you did." she stretched again.

"So, did you find something?" Sokka asked

"A couple of things, actually. Sit around."

It's a bit bigger chapter since I haven't updated it in a while. Also, I might be running a bit on endorphin and dopamine, maybe a little adrenaline too since my semester result just came out and it was much better than I expected it to be! So in that rush, I've been writing for the past couple of hours, with the goal of finishing this tonight. That I just did. So, Yay me!

Also, the next chapter, which is complete btw, is the Q&A and it is done in a format I've never written before. I've experimented with that type for the first time so it may not be perfect. It will be on 26th June (it's the 24th June rn).

You know the drill.

Ciao