Well, inevitably, I couldn't let my fic of a Dai Li agent in love stay a one-shot forever. This is something of a look at Hong's new relationship from the other side of the lake, as it were, examining what Rajata herself and her family think about the whole "Dai Li" date thing-not to mention introducing/fleshing out their characters.

"Now you tell me that you've fallen in love/

Well I never, ever thought that would be, ay/

This time, you gotta take it easy/

Throwing far too much emotions at me/"

Spice Girls, Say You'll Be There.

"Who, if I cried out, would hear me among the angels' hierarchies?

and even if one of them pressed me suddenly against his heart:

I would be consumed in that overwhelming existence.

For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror, which we are still just able to endure,

and we are so awed because it serenely disdains to annihilate us.

Every angel is terrifying."

Dunio Elegies, Rainer Maria Rilke.

As Rajata took her seat on a tram car destined for the general area of the Middle Ring where she spent each day helping to earn her keep in the spice market-like she'd been doing ever since she'd moved back in with her family after that disaster end to her first marriage-she was beginning to feel a mounting mixture of both excitement and unease.

It wasn't surprising in itself that a man would approach her out of the blue and propose a date together. She was a young, beautiful, congenial divorcee, who was attractively exotic in both her appearance and native garb. But to have caught the eye of one of the Dai Li...

Sweet Parvati, what've I gone and done by accepting? Rajata asked herself, internally cringing as the lovely thrill, the warm sensation of disbelief that one of the secret police had deigned to not only share tea and have a friendly chat with her, but invite her to dinner with him began to evaporate.

The Dai Li were the courageous guardians of both this great city and its ancient culture, working in tandem with the immense walls to keep its citizens as safe from danger as the crows swooping overhead were in the air. It was thanks to them that even in The Lower Ring, crime was kept to a minimum, and a woman like her could walk the night streets in relative safety.

And on a more personal level, she also couldn't help but view Hong and his brothers-in-arms as more than a little appealing, on a primal level.

They were brave, bold, clever, elegant, enticingly brooding-and holy hog-monkeys, were they fetching. Especially in the sleek robes of their uniforms.

She had to admit it. Their poise, the authority, even the aura of potential menace they had-there was something about it all that came across as strangely alluring, in the same way that an apex predator like a wolf-jaguar, or a death eagle, the savage, twelve-foot tall carnivorous cousins of the ostrich horses with taloned feet and hooked hatchet beaks, was alluring. Sexy, even.

Last but not least, being fortunate enough to have a Dai Li agent get sweet on her-and maybe take the relationship to a more advanced level-would catapult Rajata to a higher rung on the social ladder, no question-to say nothing of benefiting her family too. It'd be like heaven, after a life of desperate poverty in the Lower Ring.

Not that she would ever allow her potential new rank to go to her head, of course.

She'd either read or heard too many tales or real-life instances, after all, in which a similar stroke of great fortune had transformed a woman into an arrogant, spoiled hussy, who then came to regard even her former neighbors and good friends as beneath her. Rajata resolved that she would never dream of behaving that way, always staying true and respectful to her roots.

Yes, having a Dai Li agent ask her on a date was something wonderful indeed, like something out of a fairy tale-not to mention, maybe becoming his lover. His concubine, maybe, although she was a free born woman.

Or even his wife...

But at the same time…

This could end up being a dangerous liaison indeed.

Rajata lightly held her lower lip in her teeth as the train turned a curve. She'd been raised from toddler-hood to have a healthy, awed fear of the city's secret police. She'd heard the chilling, whispered rumors about these grim, remote figures in spruce green, gazes hidden by the brims of their conical hats and hands sheathed in cold stone.

She had no idea if there actually was, or had been a hidden war with the Fire Nation going on beyond the looming, gigantic barrier of the Outer Wall. Frankly, Rajata usually chose not to think about the subject if she could help it-and whenever she did, confidently told herself that such a thing could never be.

One thing she did know for certain was that no matter where you were in the city, you could never get complacent, never assume that a Dai Li agent wasn't watching every move you made-or just as bad, an informant for them was-listening to every conversation you had. And they had zero tolerance for people who tried to spread conspiracy theories about the war's existence, or just actively defied them in general.

Rajata suppressed a shudder as she watched the distant wall grow closer. In order to keep the populace safe, the secret police naturally had to do unpleasant things at times. Criminals had to be taught their place, brought to justice, jailed and sometimes even killed to protect others, yes.

But some of the things that the Dai Li were whispered to do, what the scrawled graffiti on alley walls and backs of houses spoke of…went too far, to put it mildly. The secret "mindbending" facilities. The wanton arrests and detainment of citizens, sometimes involving torture. The spooky, grinning living dolls, drained of self-determination, known as Joo Dees, who she always shied away from like they were venomous snakes whenever encountering them on the streets.

She had no way of knowing if the first two accusations were actual things the Dai Li did at their headquarters-which were said to either be somewhere in the Crystal Catacombs or underneath a tightly restricted area in the northeastern portion of the Agarian Zone, somewhere among a group of rocky hills and under a "Lake Laogai," depending on who was brave enough to discuss the matter with you.

Personally, Rajata was fairly certain it was in the latter area, for once a good friend of hers, Valarpirai, had told her about a time when her teenage cousin and a group of his own pals-filled with too much of a sense of adventure and not enough smarts-had actually dared to go looking for the Dai Li's secret base in said hills.

Their unwise quest had evidently resulted in only a glimpse of an engraved, sturdy wooden sign that simply read: All land behind this point is restricted government property. Sightseers and trespassers will be arrested-seconds before several Dai Li agents-in-training, of a similar age to them and lacking both the conical hats and diamond-shaped hair ties of their betters, had seemingly materialized to drive the foolish youths away.

But she had to admit that even without proof, she wouldn't put it past the Dai Li for a moment to do things like that. And you'd have to be a literal idiot not to be aware that something highly fucking twisted had been done to the minds of those Joo Dee women.

So, understandably, Rajata couldn't help but find herself becoming increasingly guarded and uneasy the more she thought about striking up a relationship with Hong. But did she really have any other choice when it came to accepting? Rejecting an amorous member of the Dai Li was probably about as smart of a move on her end as trying to take a bone from a chow dog.

And yet, she had an oddly cheery, optimistic outlook about the proposed date.

Why, she didn't really know for certain.

Well, she'd done nothing to stir up trouble, for one thing. The blameless in conduct had nothing to fear, right? Her naturally upbeat, the-glass-is-half-full attitude towards life, one shared widely amongst her people, was also a strong influence. But that was only part of it.

As the train passed through the gap in the Middle Wall, darkness washing over the passengers for about a minute, the rest of the answer suddenly came to her as she smiled. Mushi was a huge reason why.

She'd come to know the wise, friendly old waiter surprisingly well over the past week. He always had a kind word and good recommendations from the menu for her.

In spite of his imposing appearance and reputation, Hong was very likely good at his core, trustworthy, because Mushi had displayed trust and rapport with him-and Mushi didn't strike her as the sort of man who could be played for a fool.

Soon enough, the depot was at her right. It was time to disembark. As she stood and joined the other passengers in striding towards the nearest exit, Rajata was building palaces in her head.

The day had been hard and busy, but now Rajata and the rest of her family could relax for the evening in the tiny, ramshackle wood and stone-large portions of it bent out of the earth-house they shared, now that work was over.

Her mother, Madhuri, was cooking a dinner of fish curry, butter-brushed naan, and of course, jeera rice with help from Rajata's younger sisters, Tuhina and Maalai. Her father, Ashwin Chettiar, was already sitting at the table with her uncle, Pranjal, come to visit for the evening, both brothers enjoying a cup of lemon juice sweetened with palm sugar. Her little brother, Viyan, was laughing at one of his uncle's jokes as he sipped at his own ceramic cup of mango juice.

Once dinner was ready, the family sat down on a big hemp mat, and was just starting to enjoy their portions of food from the shared bowls set before them when there was a light knock at the door.

Expectancy swelled within Rajata as Viyan got to his feet and sighed, eyes rolling in his brown face as he said "I'll get it. Seriously," he grumbled to himself, his older sister turning on her cushion to watch him as he stomped his way to the door, "when are people going to learn that it's not cool to go and interrupt din-"

He broke off before grabbing the handle and opening the door halfway. Then Viyan stopped short in confusion. Standing before them was a courier, a boy in his early teens dressed in Upper Ring garb.

"What-what are you doing here?" Viyan asked.

"I have a package, a gift for a Rajata Chettiar from the esteemed Hong Yan," the courier replied, holding out an object covered in stiff, saffron yellow paper and secured with red thread.

Sets of green and brown eyes turned to stare at her in puzzlement as she rose from her seat on the floor and made her way to the door herself. "That's me."

As her brother stepped aside, she reached out and took the package from the young teen, feeling a shapeless, soft mass under the crackling paper. It made anticipation arise within her as she told him, "Thank you. Tell him I appreciate it."

The courier bowed as she backed away. "I shall do so. Won an," he said before leaving.

After closing the door, Rajata turned to see the rest of her family regarding her with amazed amusement.

"Well, well, do you have a special somebody we should know about?" her father inquired in dawning, thinly contained excitement.

"Whaa-You met a new guy, didn't you!" Tuhina exclaimed as Rajata began to sit back down with her package, her eyes twinkling with delight as Madhuri laughed happily. "Good Shiva, when?"

"Is he hot?" Maalai asked, slyly grinning. "With 'rock-hard' muscles?"

"I met him just this morning," Rajata demurely replied as she looked down at her package, cheeks getting heated. "And yep, he's very good-looking."

"You must've hit it off pretty quick for him to already be sending you a fancy gift!" her mother said in delighted wonder.

Her uncle laughed. "My niece captures hearts like a lightning flash!"

"One thing led to another very quickly," Rajata proudly admitted. "He sent this for me to wear on our first date tomorrow!"

"Whoa, you're already going to be dating this dude?" Viyan said as he blinked. "I guess love at first sight actually does exist!"

"No way," Maalai breathed out. "You met him wherever, this morning, and he fell that hard for you?"

"He did, and I am," Rajata giddily replied. "I still can't believe it myself. But can I take a moment to open my gift?"

"Yes, totally!" Tuhina cried. "Open, open it!"

"Let's see it!" Maalai squealed as she lightly clapped.

"Huh, there's a card here," Rajata commented as she noticed the white square partly covered by one of the flaps of yellow paper.

"He wrote you a card too? What's it say?" Maalai asked eagerly while Rajata slipped it out and began to scan the contents.

"That's a private matter, Maalai," Madhuri chided between bites of curry. "Mind your-"

"It's fine, amma," Rajata assured her mother. "I want everyone to share in the joy, now that you know!"

She smiled as she began to read out loud to the attentive group.

To Rajata,

I'm a confident, experienced man, and have learned many things both at Ba Sing Se University and in the course of my career. One subject I know very little about though, is women's attire, although I have a general idea of what composes high-class fashion and looks lovely on a lady.

Still, finding an appropriate outfit for you required an expertise that I just don't have.

Therefore, on awakening last afternoon, before I needed to be "on the job," I visited the home of my sister Lanying in the Middle Ring, where I requested if she could help with finding fitting clothing for you on our dinner date.

She was pleased to do so, and brought me along with her to an Upper Ring shop called Women's Celestial Wardrobe, where we discussed and examined the options before us until we settled upon, and I purchased this particular robe. Looking forward to seeing you in it!

Also, my sister has added her own comments below.

Hong Yan.

To Rajata.

First of all, greetings! So, you are the young woman who has stolen my older brother's heart across a cup of tea! You hit the jackpot there-but he told me you're quite a stunner yourself, ha ha.

I like your name as well. It's beautiful and exotic. We don't get or see many people from Tenjiku here in Ba Sing Se.

At any rate, when my brother told me that he needed my help finding a nice outfit for you to be seen wearing among high society types, I was glad to oblige.

I know that compared to what you normally wear, this dress may feel strange, or too flashy. But I firmly think that it's perfect for you, will only make your beauty further bloom.

We both hope you take delight in wearing it. I'm sure your first date together will be a blast!

A thousand days of good fortune,

Mrs. Lanying Yu Pang.

Rajata ignored the touched, amazed comments by the rest of her intently watching family as she opened the paper. The smell of fresh silk greeted her nostrils, and shining green cloth met her eyes.

She stood up as she extracted and unfolded a nearly ankle-length qipao, the lime green silk of the cross-collared gown rimmed with turquoise blue at its cuffs and wide hems. Brown half-circles scalloped the fabric just above these borders, and each sleeve was embroidered with the figure of a dazzling, rainbow-colored monal pheasant. There was a pair of loose, white linen pants as well, to be worn underneath.

Not a sari, but it would definitely do.

"Silk," Rajata breathed out in wonder as she held the qipao out in front of her before drawing it to her body and stroking the green fabric with the fingers of one hand, relishing the slick, fluid sensation. "Sweet Vishnu, I never thought I'd be able to so much as touch a garment made of it, far less get to wear one of my own," she choked.

Her heart was pounding in disbelief as she displayed it to the longing, astounded eyes of her sisters, the delighted and awed ones of her other kin. She was suddenly aware of how, despite Madhuri's best efforts, the floor of their home was rather grubby-although that could be just a sudden spell of paranoia-and she defensively raised it higher up.

"What do you guys think of it?"

"It's enchanting," her mother enthused. "Gorgeous!"

"Like something a princess would wear," Viyan marveled.

"Wish I had a sweetheart wealthy enough to just give me a qipao that lovely," Tuhina sighed wistfully.

"Should I put it on, see what all of you think?"

Rajata's mother shook her head. "Enjoy dinner with your family first. There will be time enough for us to marvel at it later."

"I'd also really suggest folding it away in the wardrobe until trying it on," Pranjal added. "You wouldn't want it to get stained or soiled before your big evening with him, after all!"

Rajata agreed, and did just that, resolving to wait and try the stately robe on until after she'd eaten and bathed as she returned to the table.

"So," Tuhina urged her older sister as they ate, "I'm totally dying to know more about this Hong Yan guy! He must be loaded and very important if he can just go into the Upper Ring and buy you a gown like that, and you already said he's pretty hot, but is there anything else you can tell us about him?"

"Inquiring minds want to know," her father wryly added.

"I just hope he's not some useless bureaucrat who only sits on his butt and pushes scrolls all day without ever lifting a finger to help people like us," Viyan grunted. "No offense to the guy," he added to his sister.

"None taken," Rajata smiled after swallowing a bite of buttered naan. "And he's anything but lazy. In fact, he's one of our city's valiant guardians, the Dai Li!"

Her father spat out his mouthful of rice all over the mat as the rest of the family went deathly silent, their pupils dilating while Madhuri's hand dashed to her mouth.

Maalai was the first to speak. "Okay, I've got as much of a sense of humor as anybody else here," she said shakily, "but last time I checked Raj, the point of a joke isn't to, you know, scare folks."

"Did you just say," Ashwin asked levelly after he regained his composure, "that you are going on a date with a Dai Li agent?"

She nodded. Another few seconds of eerie silence.

"What." her brother flatly replied at last.

"Are-are you sure that's a wise thing to be doing?" Madhuri asked uneasily. "My daughter, do you have any appreciation for how much danger you are putting yourself in?"

Rajata took a deep, wavering breath. Terrible possibilities swirled through her mind once more.

"Very much so Mom," she said softly, pensively. "I've been fretting about whether this is a smart move for hours already, believe me."

"Still," she added, a measured quality of defensiveness coming into her voice, "I've done nothing to offend him or break our city's laws. And he wouldn't get anything out of going and arresting or abducting me for no reason."

"Yeah, well, you never know with those creeps," Viyan said grimly.

"He seems nice enough to me, so far."

Pranjal nodded gravely. "That may be so," her uncle said gloomily-and already reflexively turning his head, carefully listening for the presence of one of the dreaded secret police before speaking- "but don't tell me that you've somehow forgotten the Dai Li's…reputation."

"I've heard that they can become invisible," Viyan shuddered. "Invincible even!"

"And I've heard that they eat the flesh of the people they make-disappear-in feasts at their hidden headquarters!" Maalai added, starting to show her teeth in an agitated grin.

"Oh yuck," Tuhina replied, lips twisting in disgust as she shot her older sister a concerned glance.

Meanwhile, her mother was despairingly placing her face in her hands.

"Oh, girlie," her father said dejectedly, "I was eager to think you just might end up wearing the ghoonghat for a man a second time-and one so fabulously wealthy too! But not one like this. Not a member of a force which…re-educates people."

"And even worse, if it comes to that," Tuhina grimly added, lips set as she stared down at her plate. "Never seen again, if you really get on their bad side."

"I know darn well it's a risk Dad," Rajata argued, "and I appreciate your concern, really. But the words you just said now-'fabulously wealthy'-take a deep breath for a moment, and think of what me being the girlfriend, the concubine, maybe even the wife of someone with that level of money, of respect, of power-how this could change not just my life in a big way for the better, but your life too appa, and your life amma," she urged. "Not to mention that whether you like it or not, I'm free to go and date whoever catches my interest."

"It could change all our lives," she added, gesturing around with a callused, work-hardened hand at her seated family, taking in the weathered stone and cracked plaster of the walls.

"It would be a wonderful boon," Ashwin admitted as he sighed. "But my daughter, would you really be so foolish and gullible as to trust in a rakshasa's promises of wealth and prestige?!"

"I'm not a fool, Dad," Rajata snapped somewhat hotly, her voice containing a hint of an angry drone before she suddenly became aware of the floorboards softly quivering under the soles of her bare feet. While she obviously couldn't use her earthbending on things made of wood, Rajata could still crudely send vibrations though the material at times-especially if she was nervous or irritable. Such as now.

"And Hong's not an ogre either. Maybe he could even end up becoming a good friend of ours."

"If that sort of guy became a family friend, then we sure don't need an enemy," Ashwin huffed.

"What are we going to do?" Madhuri half-pleaded to her husband as she raised her head and met his eyes. "Kadavule!" she cried, glancing up at the ceiling.

"A good question Mom," Rajata said simply, quietly, as she looked intently yet demurely at her mother, then boldly swept her gaze over the rest of her family. "What are we going to do about this incredible chance I've-we've-been given?"

She closed her eyes, and took a deep, steadying breath before speaking again. "An opportunity like this is already more than I could've ever dreamed of," she said levelly, "and one that only knocks once in a lifetime. Do you guys and gals understand that?" she asked, flinging her hands out to the sides for emphasis. "Don't we all deserve something better than having to spend the rest of our lives crammed into a glorified stone and plaster shack?!"

"Yes darling," her mother replied, her voice gentle, beseeching, "but your safety...he's one of the secret police, for Brahma's sake!"

"And you've only had a single chat with this Dai Li dude," Maalai added. "You know practically nothing about what he's really like! Or what his intentions towards you might be."

"This is such a bad idea on so many levels," Viyan agreed.

"You're not wrong," Rajata admitted, turning her gaze away for a moment. "I'm taking a major chance-but isn't it good to take a leap now and again?" From force of habit, she listened intently to the surroundings outside the house before looking at her parents and saying softly, "Mom, Dad, Uncle, I know you were all willing to take a massive chance when you both fled the poverty, the danger, the hardships of life in your homeland of Tenjiku as children for even just the possibility of a better life with all four of my grandparents."

(Of the most pressing reason for their flight, the war that dared not speak its name, Rajata was of course kept oblivious for her own good. She had gained enough wisdom though, to understand that even just probing about the reasons why a refugee had originally come to the city where she'd been born was the equivalent of poking at a hornet's nest.)

There was a hesitant, considering silence.

"It might be worth seeing what could happen," Pranjal softly agreed at length. "Who knows what good things this might lead to?"

"And what of the bad ones?" Ashwin snapped as he gave his brother a hard, quick glare. "I want to be wealthy too, get out of these slums, but...Brother, you know full well that not one of the Dai Li are to be trusted!"

"Well what are you going to do about it Dad?" Rajata responded, holding her arms out. "Go up to him on the street and demand 'You keep away from my daughter?' How do you think that's going to work out for you?"

A stricken, helpless look crept over Ashwin's dark features as he admitted, "It would go hard."

"Never having to worry about our next meal, or have to frantically deal with a leaky-ass tile roof whenever it rains," Tuhina said reflectively.

"I'd sure like that, for one," Viyan agreed. "But bahan," he urged Rajata, "what if this is all some sort of trick on his part?"

"It could be," Rajata conceded, "but I don't see what reason he'd have to do such a thing. And I'm an earthbender too, so if he or other agents did try something with me, I'm pretty sure I could manage to take care of myself. You all know I've used my bending to drive off street thugs more than once before."

"Just keep telling yourself that," Maalai said dryly.

"You might be a decent earthbender," Madhuri countered, "but daughter, the Dai Li are elite earthbenders. That means they are first-class, are able to do things with their abilities that you've likely never even thought of. Please reconsider!"

"I feel all right about him, amma," Rajata said firmly. "More or less. I mean, a man who goes and buys such a stunning silk gown just for me, so that I don't look ridiculous and cheap in some frayed, weathered cotton getup, whose relationship with his sister is good enough that he'll tolerate shopping for clothes with her-which you know has to be complete boredom from his perspective-can't be all that horrible?"

"Besides," she added, "if it turns out that our relationship was a mistake, I can just take a deep breath and break it off-and surely it's not a crime for me to start having one again in the first place? And as my parents, you'd want me to be with a man that can support and defend me, correct? Who could be a better choice than one of the Dai Li?"

"I wish I could believe that," her father sighed. "But you're right that getting to know him could certainly bring lots of benefits, and it would be deeply foolish to refuse this engagement, now that you've already agreed to it. Oh Rajata," he said helplessly. "Be so careful."

"If he shows any sign that he's going to capture, or harm you," Madhuri entreated, "you fight back against him with everything you have, do you hear me?"

Rajata nodded. "I promise."

"Good," her uncle replied in a tone that wasn't exactly fully relieved. "Other than that-well, I just hope you take care, that the spirits are on your side, and your dinner with one of the Dai Li proves to be enjoyable."

"And that you come back to us of sound mind," her father added gravely. "We shall soon see just how wise of a choice this was."

At her right, she saw Viyan helplessly mouth to Maalai, Yeah, she's totally going to get brainwashed.

A/N. Tenjiku is the Japanese name for India. In the Avatar world, I have it in my head as simply being the name of a large province in a tropical area of the Earth Kingdom where the people have developed a similar appearance and culture to people from Southern India in our own. Both of Rajata's parents and her uncle are, as stated, refugees from this province.

Yes, Miss Puri is an earthbender. And for those who are interested, here's a rundown of the ages of each major character so far, starting with the oldest.

Pranjal is 45.

Ashwin is 43.

Madhuri is 41.

Hong is 28.

Rajata is 24.

Tuhina is 17.

Maalai is 14.

Prankaja is 12.

While not all that much may have happened here, in spite of her family's dread and misgivings, Rajata's date is coming next chapter!

I very much value any kind of useful feedback on this fanfic. How's my writing style? Did you like it? Did it suck? I appreciate a good review, my readers.