"I got it! I know how we're going to see the Earth King!" Aang exclaimed as he burst into their house.
It was still strange to think of this house as their house, although he, Sokka, and Toph had been living here for three weeks now. It was a nice house, Aang guessed, with enough bedrooms for them each to have their own room (plus one for Katara, if she had been there) but it was about the only nice thing in this city.
Their arrival had been interrupted by Princess Azula and her friends, and a giant drill that tried to penetrate the great outer wall. Luckily, they had been able to stop it, but it had been a close call. From there, they had finally made it into the city, only to be set upon by Joo Dee, who claimed to be their guide, but really seemed more like a watchdog. She had barely let them out of her sight!
Joo Dee, with her too-wide eyes and creepy smile, had followed them around the city as they asked everyone from a pet shop owner to a university student if they knew anything about Appa. The loss of his pet hurt nearly as much as Katara's prolonged absence from the group, and with no leads on either of them, Aang was beginning to worry that he would never see either of them again. But no one had heard about Katara, either.
They had asked Joo Dee if they could see the Earth King, but she had told them it would be weeks before the request was even processed. Sokka's discovery about the solar eclipse was way too important for King Kuei to not know about it, but every time they tried to tell Joo Dee that, it was as if she only heard half of what they said. So Aang, Sokka, and Toph had been trying to come up with a way to see the Earth King for weeks, and Aang had just happened to stumble upon the solution to their problem in that morning's newspaper.
Toph and Sokka were lounging lazily in their sitting room, and neither of them looked very excited by Aang's announcement.
"How?" Toph grumbled from where she was sprawled out on the rug. Mimicking their host, she said, "One doesn't just pop in on the Earth King!"
Aang held up the newspaper, which was a moot point in Toph's case. "The king is having a party at the palace tonight for his pet bear."
Sokka quirked a brow. "You mean platypus bear?"
"No," Aang said. "It just says 'bear'.
"Certainly you mean his pet skunk bear," Sokka insisted.
"Or his armadillo bear," Toph added.
"Gopher bear?" Sokka said curiously.
Aang frowned down at the paper. "Just...bear."
Toph shook her head. "This place is weird."
"It doesn't matter," Aang said with a grin. "The palace will be packed. We can sneak in with the crowd!"
"Won't work," Toph said.
"Why not?" Aang wanted to know.
Toph sat upright and cocked her head in his direction. "Well, no offense to you simple country folk, but a real society crowd will spot you a mile away. You've got no manners." She grabbed a lychee nut from a bowl on the tea table and popped it into her mouth.
"What, and you do?" Aang said incredulously. "You're not exactly Miss Prim and Proper."
Toph burped as if to prove a point. "I learned proper society behavior and chose to leave it." She tossed another lychee nut in the air and caught it in her mouth again. "You never learned anything, and frankly it's a little too late."
She picked her nose and flicked it across the room. Aang grimaced. He missed Katara. She never acted like that.
Sokka sat upright. "But wait, you learned it! You could teach us."
"Yeah," Aang said, growing excited. "I'm mastering every element. How hard could manners be?"
He pulled down a curtain and draped it around his shoulders before he strutted around with his nose upturned like a stuffy noble. He bowed dramatically to Sokka.
"Good evening, Mr. Sokka Water Tribe." He bowed to Toph. "Miss Toph Beifong." He bowed to Momo, who chirruped in response. "Lord Momo of the Momo Dynasty. Your Momo-ness."
Sokka got to his feet and grabbed a second curtain before he donned it like Aang had, nose up and hand raised snobbishly. "Avatar Aang, how you do go on."
Aang laughed as he bowed to Sokka again. Sokka returned the gesture, and then Aang bowed, then Sokka, and then they bowed at once, smacking their heads together. Toph just sighed and shook her head.
"I can pull it off, but I have to put on my helpless blind girl persona again," Toph murmured thoughtfully. "I guess Sokka could maybe pass as my valet."
"Why not me?" Aang said, slightly offended as he rubbed his smarting forehead.
"Well, you're too young, for one, Twinkle Toes. And two, you're just a bit too goofy," Toph replied.
Aang sputtered. "Oh, like Sokka's not?" He dropped onto the ground and huffed out a breath. "I wish I could just go in there, announce that I'm the Avatar, and get in to see the king."
"Joo Dee has made it clear that's not gonna happen," Sokka said. He pursed his lips. "Guess it's valet Sokka, then."
That evening, Sokka and Toph stood in a long line with a bunch of other nobles dressed in their finery. Joo Dee gave them a weekly allowance (which was more coin than Sokka had ever had in his possession at once), so they'd acquired some new, fancy attire to help them blend in. Finally, they made it to the tall gates that led into the palace city.
A stern-faced guard held out his hand. "Invitation please."
Toph offered him her passport, which had been enough to give them passage into the city. "I think this will do."
"No entry without invitation," the guard said gruffly.
Toph put her hands on her waist and scowled in his general direction. "Look, the Pangs and the Yum Soo Hans are waiting in there for us! I'm going to have to tell them who didn't let me in."
The guard was nonplussed. "Step out of the line, please."
Sokka took her arm and pulled her out of the line, biting his lip. What were they going to do now? He looked around, and thought he found a solution in a serious-looking man emerging from a private carriage off to the side. Sokka led Toph over to him.
"Sir, I'm sorry to bother you, but my charge lost her invitation," Sokka said apologetically. He dropped his voice to a whisper as he added, "She's blind." He looked at the man with a hopeful expression. "Do you think you could help us? Her family is inside and I don't want them to worry about her."
The man bowed. "I am honored, please come with me."
Sokka inwardly cheered himself for his quick thinking. With the man's help, they got into the party without issue. The place was packed to the brim and he worried for a moment that they would have a hard time finding the Earth King, but Sokka thought that a king would look pretty...kingly.
"It's nice, isn't it?" the man remarked as he saw Sokka looking around. "By the way, I'm Long Feng. I'm a cultural minister to the king."
"I'm...Chang-Woo, and this is...Dum," Sokka stammered out. He felt Toph step on his toes, and he winced.
"It's nice to meet you. Now, where is Dum's family? I'd love to meet them."
"Uh, I don't see them, but I'm sure I can find them for us," Sokka said in a rush. "Thanks for all your help!"
He and Toph started to walk away, but Long Feng caught up to them. Sokka had a sinking feeling in his gut.
"Don't worry. As your escort, it would be dishonorable to abandon you and your charge without first finding her family," he said with a smile. "We'll keep looking."
He turned and started to walk away.
"Great plan, Sokka," Toph muttered out of the corner of her mouth.
Sokka sighed inwardly. This whole night was going to shit.
Aang hovered near a side door of the palace, wondering how he could possibly sneak in. He didn't want Sokka and Toph to talk to the Earth King without him. He knew that as the Avatar, he was more likely to be believed, even if Toph was a Beifong. This was too big, too important, to risk messing it up somehow.
He watched as a group of busboys carted clean dishes into the palace. His eyebrow quirked. That could work.
Aang slipped over to the wagon the busboys were unloading from. By fate, it seemed, he found a spare busboy outfit and quickly changed into it. He blended seamlessly with the others as he slipped into the palace. He found himself in the huge kitchens. Someone put a platter of hors d'oeuvres in his hand, and Aang made his way out into the party. Now he just needed to find Toph and Sokka. Or the Earth King.
His eyes cut over the room as he walked around, but he couldn't see Sokka or Toph anywhere.
"Another crab puff, please."
Aang held his tray out in the direction of the voice without looking. Then he glanced over, and recognized Toph and Sokka.
"There you are!" Aang exclaimed. "I've been looking everywhere for you."
"I'd recognize your little footsteps anywhere, Twinkle Toes," Toph said with a grin. "Now what are you doing here?"
"I thought seeing the Earth King was a little too important for me to sit out on," Aang replied. "Where is he?"
"We haven't seen him yet," Sokka replied. "And the guy who escorted us in won't let us out of his sight!"
Aang looked around, frowning. "What guy?"
Sokka looked around, his brow creasing. "That's weird."
He turned, and found Joo Dee standing behind him. Aang swallowed nervously as her eyes widened.
"What are you doing here?" Joo Dee demanded to know frantically. "You have to leave immediately, or we will be in terrible trouble!"
She tried to push Sokka towards the door, but he stepped around her with a determined look on his face.
"Not until we see the king," Sokka said firmly.
Joo Dee shook her head. "You don't understand! You must go!"
She pushed him again, and Sokka stumbled back into Aang. His tray went flying, spilling the tiny glasses of rice wine he was carrying all over a nearby guest.
"Oh!" the woman gasped.
"Sorry!" Aang squeaked. "No, don't shout!"
He brought his hands together and exhaled, blowing her dry with one quick movement. The woman turned towards him as her eyes went wide. She pointed her finger at him.
"You're the Avatar!" she exclaimed reverently. "I didn't know the Avatar would be here!"
Everyone in the nearest vicinity turned and looked. Oh boy, Aang thought. This night was not going as expected.
Sokka leaned closer to him. "You keep their attention while I look for the Earth King."
Aang nodded before he faced the crowd with a sheepish smile. Luckily, he knew how to entertain. He leapt up on a nearby table before he bent the water out of everyone's cup before he jumped onto a glass pitcher, manipulating the air around him to keep himself weightless as he bent the water into it. The crowd ooh'ed and aah'ed. The Earth King's bear even made a pleased sound.
Suddenly, a green and gold palanquin was making its way across the room, guarded by Dai Li agents. That could only be the king! Whipping up a quick air scooter, Aang flew across the table towards the palanquin.
"Greetings, your majesty!" Aang called as he dropped nimbly to the ground at the end of the table.
But to his dismay, the palanquin was quickly carted from the room, and Aang was faced with a stern-looking man who did not look happy.
"Avatar, it is a great honor to meet you," the man said as he bowed. "I am Long Feng, Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se and head of the Dai Li. I'd like to talk to you. Your friends will be waiting for us in the library."
Aang didn't have a choice but to follow him, even as his stomach twisted nervously. This didn't sound good, and talking to this guy meant he couldn't see the king.
When he and Long Feng arrived in the library, Toph and Sokka were waiting for them with a trio of Dai Li agents. The library was ominously lit with green crystal lanterns, and Aang's stomach twisted even tighter.
"Why won't you let us talk to the king?" Sokka demanded to know. "We have information that could defeat the Fire Nation!"
Long Feng chuckled. "The Earth King has no time to get involved with political squabble and the day to day minutiae of military activities."
"This could be the most important thing he's ever heard," Aang said insistently.
Long Feng sat behind a desk in front of an empty hearth and looked sternly at them. "What's most important to his Majesty is maintaining the cultural heritage of Ba sing Se. All his duties relate to issuing decrees on such matters. It's my job to oversee the rest of the city's resources, including the military."
"So the king is just a figurehead!" Toph said accusingly. "He's your puppet!"
"Oh, no, no." Long Feng waved his hands. "His Majesty is an icon, a god to his people. He can't sully his hands with the hourly changes of an endless war."
"But we found out about a solar eclipse that will leave the Fire Nation defenseless!" Sokka told him. "You could lead an invasion—"
Long Feng stood up and tucked his hands behind his back. "Enough! I don't want to hear about your ridiculous plan. It is the strict policy of Ba Sing Se that the war not be mentioned within the walls. Constant news of an escalating war will throw the citizens of Ba Sing Se into a state of panic. Our economy would be ruined, our peaceful way of life—our traditions—would disappear."
"But—" Aang began, but Long Feng kept talking.
"In silencing talk of conflict, Ba Sing Se remains a peaceful, orderly utopia." Long Feng looked at them. "The last one on Earth."
Aang and Sokka looked at him with a mixture of shock and horror. Even Toph's eyes had widened. Aang almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. That was insane!
"You can't keep the truth from all these people," Sokka said. "They have to know!"
Aang dared to step closer to Long Feng and pointed a finger at him. "I'll tell them! I'll make sure everyone knows!"
The man's expression darkened. "Until now, you have been treated as our honored guest. But from now on, you will be watched every moment by Dai Li agents. If you mention the war to anyone, you will be expelled from the city immediately."
Aang narrowed his eyes at him, but Long Feng wasn't done. His cold green eyes seemed to pierce him.
"I understand you've been looking for your bison. It would be a shame if you were not able to complete your quest," he said coldly.
Aang's jaw dropped open. He knew a veiled threat when he saw one. Anger surged within him, and he fought to push it down. Behind him, the door opened. Long Feng smiled cruelly.
"Now, Joo Dee will show you to your home," he said.
Aang and Sokka turned and saw a woman in a green qipao behind them with the same creepy, too-wide smile, but it wasn't Joo Dee.
"Come with me please," the woman said cordially.
"Where's Joo Dee?" Aang demanded to know.
Confusion flickered over her face. "I'm Joo Dee. I'll be your host as long as you're in our wonderful city."
Aang, Sokka, and Toph were led out of the palace and to a carriage. Aang and Sokka exchanged a look. Maybe this city was even worse than they had thought. What were they going to do now?