And it's a very prosperous, life-changing day at the races for Rajata and Hong!
"Every boulevard, is, a miracle mile/
You'll take the town, and, you'll take it with style/
If you play it brave and bold/
These are streets of gold!"
Streets of Gold, by Ruth Pointer.
It was a rather muggy day, and as she approached the crisply painted row of wooden booths, Rajata cooled herself as best she could with the lacquered fan in her left hand. It was a beautiful thing, displaying a scene of a pair of impala-blackbuck in a flowery forest glade when fully extended.
Made of golden paper, the fan was of course, another thoughtful gift-this time not from Hong or one of his family members, but from Lady Jiu Pan, one of Guozhi's sisters. She shared her brother's fondness for gambling, and had intended to be here at the Jade Arrow Racetrack with him anyway. (Guozhi's actual wife, Lady Ying Yue, had little interest in watching such races.)
And when she'd heard from her brother that he'd talked his patrol partner into coming along too with his new girlfriend-one which hailed from the Lower Ring, of all places-an intrigued Lady Jiu was eager to both provide Rajata with female company and school her in everything that she needed to know about betting on an ostrich-horse.
Sweating slightly through her rouge, Rajata thoughtfully peered at the sign above the particular arch, covered by a tight metal grate, which their well-dressed little gang of four-plus a pair of manservants-was approaching as she held Hong's bare hand and read off the words.
"All betting and currency transactions conducted here. Minimum bets of forty silver pieces."
"Amateur stuff," Lady Jiu half-sneered, with a mildly contemptuous flick of her own mint-green fan, bordered with gold. Behind her stood the short, stocky figure of Qianfan, one of her servants. "Any gambler worthy of the title stakes gold pieces, wen-or even jin-by the hundreds, the thousands-even tens of thousands!"
Just even thinking about risking such an inconceivable amount of wealth, like it was nothing more than a handful of copper pieces, nearly made Rajata's head swim. She'd played games of chance herself for money of course-like Yee Han Hi with its colored dice, or the popular Tenjikuan card game Teen Patti-while her uncle took particular enjoyment in betting on cricket fights, wrestling matches, cockfights, mahjong, and other common Lower Ring pastimes.
But the amounts of money, of fabulous wealth, evidently being placed up for bets among the residents of the Upper Ring-they were something else, to say the least. Insane was the only word she had for it.
"Refresh my memory about how this all works again," she asked Lady Jiu. "It's a lot more complicated then betting on a back-alley cockfight, I know that much."
"To put it mildly," Jiu replied, red lips parting briefly in what Rajata was pretty sure was revulsion at the mere thought of such crude, ghastly entertainment.
"But the first thing you need to know is you can bet your money on the chance that the ostrich-horse you favor will do well in one of three ways: a bet to win, a bet to place, and a bet to show. A bet to win, obviously, means that if that ostrich horse wins, you get the profit in qianpao notes equivalent to what the odds were for that ostrich horse-if they were 6 to 2 for instance, and it won, you would get six qianpao notes for each two that you wager, for a total return of eight qianpao! A pretty nice deal, wouldn't you say so?"
Rajata fervently nodded. She was very glad for the other woman's assistance.
She also deeply appreciated that unlike her brother-who often seemed to display a thinly veiled lack of regard or respect for her as a lower-class citizen-Lady Jiu came across to Rajata as both curious and cordial in her interactions.
She suspected much of it had to do with the fact that, as both someone who was of Tenjikuan ethnicity and a citizen of the Lower Ring, it meant Rajata was a woman like none that the aristocratic Jiu had ever met before.
The sense of being regarded as little more than some fascinating exotic animal to be gawked at and befriended in Lady Jiu's point of view made Rajata feel distinctly uncomfortable. Still, Jiu was proving herself to more or less be pleasant, helpful company, and Rajata could live with that just fine.
(She even had an impression that there were some things about her that Lady Jiu actually admired, such as the fluid, pacing, erect gait that was pretty much cemented into Rajata's very limbs after close to two decades of carrying baskets of clothing to be washed, great metal pots of water from public wells, baskets of foodstuffs, sacks of the spices her family sold, bundles of firewood, and similar burdens nearly every waking day atop her head.)
"On the other hand, though," Jiu went on, "if that ostrich-horse loses in a bet to win…" She shrugged.
"I come away empty handed," Rajata answered.
"Which is seriously no fun," Guozhi grumbled. "I've had that experience too many times, believe me."
"I can totally see how that would ruin your day," Rajata earnestly agreed.
Hong nodded. "That's why I personally like to make a bet to place whenever I let Guozhi drag me to one of these races, where you're hoping your ostrich horse will come first, second-or maybe third, if they're running enough of them on the track-and you win money back either way, of course."
"You don't get as good of a payoff with that as when you're betting for a winner though," Guozhi cautioned.
Then they were walking below the eave of the row of booths, up to the tightly placed metal bars in their iron frame. The aging bookmaker gazed expectantly at them through the metal poles, his drooping mustache and brown hair, naturally pulled back in a queue, streaked with pale gray.
When his glance veered from the Dai Li agents to Rajata, it seemed to develop an assessing, faintly amused quality that made her feel that mild prick of discomfort once more, that she was just a poser, a fraud, among all these highborn people.
Between the gifts from her new boyfriend and the attentions of Lady Jiu, she was dressed more extravagantly than she could ever have dreamed, wearing full makeup (including kajal eyeliner, of course), the lime green qipao, her hair styled up into a qitou, with a huge lavender peony crowning her felt hairpiece. A spread-out row of eight dandelions was tucked into her hair at the wooden hairpiece's base, for Hong's pleasure.
As a concession to her birth culture, she also wore a silver mookuthi in her right nostril, a nose stud, embedded with tiny crystals of harlequin opal, the minute jewels forming the shape of a star, as well as a few copper and shell bangles on her wrists. Perhaps wearing traditional jewelry was making her stand out from the crowd a bit too much, she started to worry.
Quit that Rajata, she rebuked herself as she inhaled softly. People who are ethnically from Tenjiku aren't exactly common around here, so of course you're going to turn heads! That's a big reason why Hong was drawn to you in the first place. Besides, you have just as much right to be enjoying yourself here as any of these wealthy folks, she reminded herself.
Still, it was good when Guozhi, of all people, distracted the bookie's attention by being the first of their group to step up to the counter. He thoughtfully glanced at the sheet of black slate mounted beside and behind the bookie, on which the names and odds for each ostrich horse were engraved, and Rajata noticed how the older man began to lightly fidget under the agent's gaze.
"Qianfan, give me my bag," Guozhi commanded as he gestured to the man behind him. "Not my sister's, remember."
"Yes, Lao Wang."
"Four hundred jin on Emerald Star, bet to win, odds at seven to one," Guozhi said as he took the sack of green silk, embroidered with a leopard baring its fangs, from Qianfan in a stone-gloved hand, and quickly counted out that value in qianpao. He then handed the bundle of money under the metal grate to the slightly awed bookie, who hurriedly counted it a second time before putting it under the granite counter and nodding.
She glanced at Hong, who simply said, "After you," as he nodded in the counter's direction. Lady Jiu, Qianfan, and one of Hong's own male servants-a wiry, mustached man by the name of Haoren who had also been given the task of lugging his master's money around-accompanied her, as she told Rajata, "Remember how the odds work."
Rajata nodded as she took a steadying breath, scanned the possibilities, and finally, timidly ventured, "I'd like to make a bet to place on Monkey Catcher," resisting her impulse to giggle at the name, "second place at finish, odds at five to one-um, five hundred wen."
"Five hundred wen?!" Lady Jiu exclaimed disdainfully. "Where's the excitement in that? When you gamble in the Upper Ring, you go big or you go home, my girl." Before Rajata could respond, Lady Jiu gestured to Qianfan-not Haoren, to Rajata's surprise-with her fan as she told him, "Count out a hundred and eighty jin for our guest's wager."
"Oh Lady Jiu, I can't possibly risk that much of your own mon-"
"You don't need to concern yourself with my financial welfare," Jiu said in a dry, yet flippant tone. "Just watch the amount I'll be placing on my winning bet after this," she grinned.
And when she placed a bet of two hundred and sixty jin on Bringer of Great Fame and Wealth, one could indeed have knocked Rajata over with a bent pebble.
Going against what she'd assumed from his earlier comment, Hong made a bet to win instead of place, on a mount named The Grand Cricket, with yet another eye-watering wager of four hundred and seventy-five jin. That was even more than his partner had dared to stake-a lord's ransom, from her point of view-and Rajata couldn't help but wonder if Hong was being motivated by a desire of competition, while also wanting to impress her with how much wealth he could afford to almost literally dispose of.
Their wagers placed, the four of them made their way to a good seat in the set of bleachers which ringed the circular track. (Qianfan and Haoren had been dismissed to wait back at Jiu's private carriage with its driver.)
A pair of Dai Li agents, a noble lady, and an agent's girlfriend were as much guests of honor at the Jade Arrow racetrack as they were anywhere else of course, and an usher led them to the deluxe seats, the shade of the ornate awning refreshingly cool as Rajata took her place on a cushion next to Hong, who moved the tiles that formed his rock gloves up each arm before taking her by the left hand and helping her sit down.
As they made their way to their seats, he'd often had to patiently come to a halt, both while going up the stairs-and for that matter, ever since stepping out of the carriage, so that she could keep pace with her shorter legs. The guy had an intimidating aspect to him, most certainly-but he was also proving to be a real gentleman, Rajata fondly decided.
She was interested to see that like the rest of the racetrack's seating, the flooring beneath her feet, the stairs to their box, its sides, were all made of wood instead of the more typical stone, which made the pegs of Guozhi's geta produce a dull knocking sound against its surface. She briefly wondered just why that was.
So that earthbenders like me can't interfere with a race in any way, it then occurred to her, make one of the ostrich horses trip and fall, entrap its legs in the dirt, something like that.
Guozhi, probably by mere chance, absentmindedly began to sit down on her right side-but was then brought up short when Hong turned his head with a soft grunt and gave his patrol partner an intent, telling look.
Guozhi gave a small, uneasy grin before standing erect and backing away, gesturing at his sister as he said, "How about you two ladies have some bonding time sitting together?"
"Looking forward to it," Rajata beamed, although she was inwardly startled. Perhaps Hong had realized that finding herself seated between two Dai Li agents, even in a relaxed, off-duty situation, placed in the same position as a prisoner being held in their custody, would freak her out, make her edgy. And he wouldn't be wrong. Although at this point, resting against Hong's body, at least, made her a large part of her feel-oddly secure, to be truthful.
But perhaps there'd been a more primal motivation behind the act as well.
And, Matangi help her, the thought actually made her break into a flattered smirk.
A couple serving boys, bearing trays, came and went with offers of complimentary food and drink, which Rajata happily accepted as she talked to Lady Jiu, both women fanning themselves in the heat as they watched teams of ostrich horses stampede around the dirt track in other races that they didn't yet have a stake on. Guozhi's sister proved to be sociable enough, and far less of a dull, stuffy conversation partner than Rajata had expected from one of the well-to-do.
They complained together about the muggy heat, naturally, and Rajata told Lady Jiu some things about her career as a spice seller, her parents and siblings, what her brothers and sisters did at school, the joys of chai tea, naan, and how to make them, and her mostly self-taught skills at earthbending-which she freely admitted could probably use some work.
She had no idea if Lady Jiu was silently judging or thinking less of her as she talked about her low-class background or experiences. But the highborn woman next to her wasn't sneering, raising an eyebrow, or showing any other patronizing gestures, which was hugely relieving.
And she truly did seem interested in what Rajata had to say, speaking of things which Rajata found equally captivating, such as how she and her brother had had a private tutor as children, their father's job as a judge for District Eighty-Two, the pet monkey she'd been given as a girl and all the hilarious mayhem it had caused, the glittering wares of the Upper Ring's ultra-fancy jewelry stores.
At one point, the turquoise-shadowed green eyes peered intently at Rajata's forehead for a few seconds before Lady Jiu seemed to work up her courage and asked, "That dark red spot, just above where your nose begins. Is that a mole, or some other birthmark?"
Rajata lightly laughed as she pointed at the place and replied, "This? No, it's-well, you could call it a type of religious makeup, but it's also a cultural symbol to my people too, and all men and women of Tenjikuan ancestry wear these."
"I see."
"It's called a tilakam," Rajata went on as she took a sip from the refreshing cup of millet beer she held, "and you can think of it as being very like the tattoos that I've heard the Air Nomads would get when they truly gained expertise in their bending skills. Shame what happened to the poor folks," she commented, shaking her head sorrowfully. "I can't understand how the Fire Nation could just senselessly slaughter an entire, gentle, harmless nation of people like weasels among pigeon-chickens!"
She only distantly noticed the way Hong's massive body slightly tensed, and the slow, sidelong eye contact he made with his partner at the mention of the extinct people's fate, both seeming to listen a little more intently. But then he relaxed after a few moments, as if he'd been considering a possibility in his mind and decided in the end that it was no big deal.
"Save for one, we now know," Lady Jiu amended, giving her brother a cautious look as she did so. "How amazing, that the Avatar is back from the dead, as the last of his race."
"Yes, a true tragedy," Guozhi quickly agreed as he nodded, his features commiserating. "Awful and revolting-but thankfully, the Fire Nation of today is much different than it was a century ago, and has chosen since then to live in peace with the remaining nations," he said, giving both women a reassuring grin.
"And we have the Avatar back now to set the balance of the world right again too," Hong confidently added as he reached out with his right hand to affectionately stroke Rajata down her spine with his knuckles. For some reason though, even as Rajata smiled in pleasure at his touch, Hong briefly reassembled one of his granite gloves with his bending, the stone tiles sliding from underneath the sleeve of his robe before shifting into place like the pieces of a puzzle to cover his left hand, which he then moved to his lap.
"Good news however you look at it," Jiu calmly smiled.
With an air of casual boredom, even while his right hand moved to caress her opposite flank, Hong regarded the regulation rock glove he was wearing for a few long moments, before returning his relaxed gaze to her and saying in a light tone, "Well, anyhow, who cares about the Air Nomads right now? Let's hear more about this tilakam your people wear. I saw it on the foreheads of everyone in your family when I visited, but I didn't want to come across as impolite by asking," he added. She had a vague feeling that his seemingly curious inquiry wasn't a request.
And even as Hong commented, he did a strange thing with the tips of his stone gloves that Rajata had never seen before, bending the finger plates into sharp points of rock, which he used to nonchalantly scratch at his broad throat for a second or two. He was most likely just scratching a fly bite or another itch-but it also gave Rajata a momentary, fleeting feeling of unease...like his actions had been a veiled threat towards her somehow, to think twice about the topics she chose to gab about.
"You say that it has a religious significance," Lady Jiu replied, nodding as Hong bent the plates of his glove back out of sight, the tiles sliding up his arm. "Is it all right if I ask what that is?"
"It's fine," Rajata assured her companion. "Anyway, a tilakam is placed over what we believe is the location of the sixth of the body's chakras, pools of swirling chi, known as the light chakra."
Hong nodded beside her, once more giving no hint of menace in his demeanor. "There's seven of them, right?"
"Yes, that's correct," Rajata confirmed with a quick nod of her own before returning her attention to Jiu. "It also represents the third eye, which I know that your people also believe in. Basically, the tilakam helps to strengthen concentration from the third eye, and retain spiritual energy-which is an especially important deal for benders like myself!"
"I can imagine so," Hong commented.
"Any special reason why the mark is red? For luck maybe?" Jiu guessed. "And what do you use to make it, anyway?"
Rajata lightly shrugged. "In my family at least, we use a simple paste of red turmeric. Dip the tip of your ring finger in, jab yourself between the eyes as you look into a mirror, and the deed is done. All sorts of red 'sticky' materials can be used for a tilakam though, including the same vermillion your artisans use for lacquered dishes."
"As for why it's red, the color is to symbolize honor, prosperity, the divine power and skill you've been blessed with if you're an earthbender...and love," Rajata replied, unable to stop herself from blushing slightly as she gave the man next to her a quick glance and thin smile. He softly, warmly smiled down at her as well, as Rajata thought she heard a light, knowing snicker from Guozhi.
She concluded by saying, "And speaking of red substances, besides the tilakam mark, married women in our culture-like my mom, for instance-will also paint a red streak along the seam on her scalp where her hair is parted. It lets other men know that she's taken, but also symbolizes her commitment to always do right by her husband."
"And by the way things are developing," Rajata heard Guozhi softly comment in jest, "it looks like one woman here is going to be placing red stuff in her hair sooner rather than lat-Ow! Good Kyoshi man, what happened to your sense of humor?" he whined as Hong gave him a quick, stinging blow to a pointed ear with a bent tab of stone.
"We're barely even a couple right now," Hong growled back.
But Rajata couldn't help but internally smile.
At last, the time came for a meaningful race to be run, as far as the foursome was concerned. Guozhi's ostrich horse was first.
"Look, they're bringing Emerald Star up to the starting gates," Guozhi said eagerly as he pointed at one of a half-dozen mounts being coaxed toward the stalls by their grooms, a jockey perched on top. "See the yellow and tan banner glued to her tail?"
Rajata nodded. She also saw the cloth panel draped underneath the saddle on each flank of the hen, bearing the character for the number five.
"That's a fine looking Hequ hen," Hong commented in admiration. "They make great cavalry mounts too."
Rajata and Lady Jiu both turned to glance at him, impressed yet mystified at the same time.
He gave them a grin and lightly shrugged. "Hey, when you spend the first thirteen years of your life working closely with all sorts of animals on a farm, you're going to learn your share of things about the different breeds."
"I would imagine," Rajata said.
One by one, the steeds were led into their starting boxes, each one constructed of wood with metal support beams-except for the stone door at its front.
A trio of men climbed atop the roof of the movable row of boxes on wheels, their stances and hands prepared to pull. A gong was struck, the three earthbenders sent all six sandstone doors flashing upward as one, and the ostrich horses were instantly pounding down the track, dirt flying from underneath their three-toed feet.
Standing atop a platform on a wooden tower in the center circle of the racetrack, mouth against the narrow end of a great, perfectly smooth stone funnel a yard across, a stocky little man served as announcer, animatedly chanting a constant commentary on the race's progress.
"And they're off!" his voice cracked.
Even though Monkey Catcher wasn't on the track, it was still exciting and thrilling to watch, and Rajata found herself vicariously eager to see Emerald Star do well for Guozhi's sake (even if he didn't think much of her due to her lowly, 'peasant' status), leaning forward in her seat.
"Out of the gate, it's Armadillo Lion in front, with Justice Agenda coming up hard on the outside, and this race's favorite, Emerald Star, right behind them as well!
Agents of the Dai Li were well known for being the imposing, brooding, serious type. This was not one of these occasions-and besides, the rest of the spectators were shouting in a frenzy as well.
"Go! Go! Get out in front!" Guozhi yelled at his steed of choice.
"Come on, bring in the money for my brother!" Lady Jiu shouted; her green eyes wide with anticipation.
"And it's Justice Agenda who's in the lead," the announcer declared, "setting the pace with Emerald Star close behind on the inside!"
"Pull ahead!" Guozhi urged. And "his" ostrich horse was slowly getting out in front of the pack, but Armadillo Lion was keeping a hard pace alongside her, Rajata saw.
"And we have the first turn!" the announcer proclaimed. "Here comes Watercress! Now we have Emerald Star, Justice Agenda, Armadillo Lion, and Watercress pretty much leading neck and neck!"
"Come on, Emerald Star!" Hong shouted.
"And we have Emerald Star leading by a muzzle as they enter the back stretch! But a stubborn Armadillo Lion is almost glued to her outside flank! Going stride for stride here!" the announcer's voice rang.
"Faster, Emerald Star!" Rajata shouted, begged, as she became caught up in the excitement. "Leave them all in the dust!"
"Watercress is catching back up again, and has now passed Emerald Star by two lengths!" She could nearly hear Guozhi's teeth gritting in frustration.
"Don't let me down, lady!" he shouted. "Please, for the love of Hou-Tu!"
"And now Watercress, Emerald Star, and Armadillo Lion are all neck and neck again as Justice Agenda falls two lengths behind and they come to the top of the final stretch! Anything could happen between now and then!"
"Go, go, go!" Lady Jiu cried.
"Get moving!" Hong urged in a thunderous voice, his back bent like a bow with tension.
"And Emerald Star pours on the speed on the outside of Armadillo Lion, getting ahead, while Watercress is dropping back as they pull into the home stretch!"
"Yes, yes!" Guozhi yelled in delight. "That's the way!"
"Take it home! Don't let up!" Lady Jiu pleaded.
Rajata was as tense as a hunting cat-owl, a bundle of nerves as she watched Armadillo Lion catch back up to Emerald Star, both ostrich horses flanking the other as the gap between them and the finish line swiftly narrowed.
"There's every chance this race might actually end in a tie here," the announcer exclaimed in wonder. "But no, Emerald Star is just too good-and she streaks over the finish line by a body length! We have our winner in Emerald Star, and jockey Xiao Yee riding her to victory!"
The crowd detonated, a mass of green and gold and brown clad figures crowned by queues and flowered hairpieces leaping to their feet as one with a wild chorus of shouts and yells. Among them were two men and two women in the deluxe seats, teeth bared in grins of mutual, shared triumph, fists pumping the air.
Guozhi had a jubilant, if unsettling, smile of relieved, victorious pleasure that Rajata never would have imagined seeing on the face of a member of the Dai Li as he clapped his hands sharply together in a gesture of thrilled satisfaction.
"Ha-ha!" he chortled, looking for all the world like the cat that ate the canary-mouse. "And now I get to go home with my money bag even heavier than it was when I walked up to the betting counter! Great Kyoshi, do I ever love that feeling!"
"Two thousand, four hundred jin!" Hong shouted in wild astonishment as he rocked back. "Guozhi, you'll practically need to use your bending to get all that money from the collection booth to the carriage!" he wryly half-joked. "Well done!"
"It's such an awesome sensation, isn't it?" his grinning sister agreed as she lightly embraced her brother in celebration. "So glad you ended up picking a winner!"
"Me too Jiu!"
"And Guozhi's 'Golden Touch' serves him well once again," Hong approvingly remarked, chuckling. "Great going, my friend," he said as he reformed one of his concealed stone gloves, made it into a fist, and sent it gliding past both women at a sedate pace to lightly bump his patrol partner's bare knuckles.
"Thanks," Guozhi replied, laughing as Hong pulled the mass of stone tabs back to his sleeve. "Let's hope this is just the start of a winning streak for all four of us today!"
"That was incredible!" Rajata congratulated in her turn. "I can't believe it! How fortunate you were that Emerald Star never let up!"
"Oh, fortune is just one of many factors involved when it comes to successfully betting on the 'right' ostrich horse," Guozhi replied giddily, still very much pumped up and in a rightfully celebratory mood. "If you get to be experienced at it, skilled enough at recognizing and picking good choices like Jiu and I have, you're already three-quarters of the way to raking in the cash, my lady!"
"I'm still amazed at how your luck worked out though. It was a one in eight chance that she would win, after all!" she pointed out in awe.
"Don't spend too much time being astonished," Guozhi smugly replied with a causal flick of a bare hand. "It was almost a given, really, the way I see it. For the only way a Dai Li agent like your new man yonder and myself, my dear," he grinned, "knows how to finish at anything is to finish out ahead. Right, Hong?"
"Absolutely," Hong earnestly agreed. "We Dai Li work hard, play hard, and finish first at both!"
Another race came and went without any of the three remaining steeds they'd bet on participating.
But then- "Look, look," Hong suddenly said to her, snapping Rajata out of a heat-drowsy lethargy as he lightly touched her shoulder and gestured in the direction of the starting boxes. "That's the ostrich horse cock you made your bet to place on, Monkey Catcher!"
Rajata was laughing in sheer, giddy disbelief as Hong himself carefully handed over the sheaf of her winnings, then a bag of nearly sixty gold pieces, after accepting them from the bookmaker on her behalf. He'd sort of had to, for Rajata had gone into something of a stupefied trance when their group had once more come within sight of the collection booth for the bets, as the utter, immediate magnitude of the amount of wealth she'd just secured, without even having needed to lift a finger to work for it, came down on her like a landslide.
Because she had chosen to make a bet to place that Monkey Catcher would come in second, the money she collected was split between people like her, who had chosen that ostrich horse as the runner-up, and those who had picked the actual winner, a cock dubbed Golden Boarcupine.
Still, a haul of five hundred and forty jin! Bless Lakshmi for smiling so fondly upon her on this day! She felt richer than the king himself!
She had had just enough presence of mind to dully agree with Lady Jiu that she should divide her winnings into a bundle of qianpao worth three hundred jin, and an amount of fifty-eight gold pieces to help suitably astonish the rest of her family at home.
The weight of the gold was unexpected in more ways than one, and her grip almost faltered as she nearly dropped it into the bare dirt.
"Whoa there," Hong said as he reached for it and Rajata pushed her feet several inches into the dirt to steady herself. "Gold is heavy stuff," he commented as he supported the bottom of the bag with one broad hand.
"I can manage Hong," she assured him as she also slipped a slender, but labor-toughened brown hand underneath her bag of winnings, steadying it while she gently, cautiously brushed his hand away. "Thank you though." It struck her in the next instant that it was a very fortunate thing he hadn't been offended by her gesture of refusal.
It had been a good day at the races indeed for the most part, with spirits high as the well-dressed foursome made their way back to the carriage depot among the departing crowd, most being quick to slip out of their path the second they realized two of the Dai Li were among them.
Guozhi of course, had made out wonderfully with his wager. Hong had done well on his chosen mount too, taking home an even more impressive, unbelievable total of two thousand, eight hundred and fifty jin after The Grand Cricket had just managed to win by a beak.
For Lady Jiu, it had been a bad day, with Bringer of Great Fame and Wealth failing miserably to live up to his name, only finishing in fourth. A frustrating outcome. It was just part of the gamble though, and she was vicariously pleased that her companions had experienced better luck.
Certainly, Rajata thanked her profusely at least a dozen times for "sponsoring" her on both their way back to the noblewoman's private carriage, and then on the way through the city back to the Chettiar home on Pojiu Avenue.
And all the while-at least when they were still in the Upper and then Middle Ring-she couldn't stop repeatedly taking the bundle of paper money, made from both cotton and mulberry bark fiber, printed with the haughty face of King Kuei in full royal dress, from her worn cloth purse and just marveling as she flipped through it.
Or she would open the sack of gold and half-gape, all agog in disbelief as she ran this even more tangible, powerful reality of her sudden new wealth through her long fingers, feeling their weight and smoothness as she allowed them to fall back into the pouch with a chorus of tinkling impacts.
On his seat across from her, his posture as elegant and proud as that of a seated pygmy puma, she noticed that Guozhi couldn't help but give her a thin smile at these times, puzzled and mildly disdainful all at once as he observed her delight over what to him was probably a trifling sum of money. No doubt he was the type with cash to burn as it suited him.
At the same time however, partnered agents of the Dai Li were clearly very good at anticipating what the other was probably going to do, where their gaze was going to turn next, for whenever Hong began to turn his focus towards Guozhi at these times, his partner instantly either made his expression neutral, or turned his faintly insulting smirk into a more cordial one.
But her new boyfriend was not a fool, and soon enough, Hong became aware of what his comrade was doing, the looks he was giving Rajata as she reveled in the miracle of her new wealth.
Eyes became as stony and piercing as jade knives as they narrowed further, and even she found herself cringing back as Hong punished Guozhi for his insolence. A stone finger and thumb assembled themselves in the air before darting across the gap between both men to give the other a violent pinch to the ear.
"Whoa, what was that-" Guozhi yelped, only to be cut off as Hong snarled dangerously, "That'll be enough of your arrogant schist towards her, you hear me buddy?! I mean it, damn it!"
Even their driver, Gang, in his seat behind the ostrich horse in harness, winced and shrank into himself somewhat at the harsh lash of his passenger's voice as the other out of uniform agent compliantly replied, "Clear as crystal."
Women, Gang thought with a knowing grunt. Even without trying, they can sure set off a man's protective side-and it looks like even the Dai Li are no different!
For Ashwin Chettiar, the past eight days had been emotionally complicated, each one fraught with unease and anxiety, to put it mildly.
What was he, as a man, as a father, supposed to do in this situation? Was there anything that he really could do?
When Rajata had told them that her new paramour was an agent of the Dai Li, for Shiva's sake, of course he'd "freaked," to use a slang term from the younger generation.
What was his daughter thinking, to accept being courted by one of these dangerous, awful men in their face-concealing green hats, who quite literally suppressed the people of Ba Sing Se and crushed any dissension, any talk of the war which had driven both him and his future wife from their respective hometowns all those years ago, with a stone hand?
It was rumored on the streets that agents of the Dai Li were masters at the art of sorcery, and Ashwin would not have been shocked at all to discover that Hong had used it to get Rajata to fall in love with him. But even without magic, they were already fiendish enough. He could vouch for that from bitter experience.
Not long after Ashwin's own parents had somehow managed to find a cheap apartment and a job here in the Lower Ring, his father had taken it upon himself to try to inform their new neighbors about the danger that had driven his family to seek safety in this city, how the Fire Nation's forces were out there, and would try to conquer Ba Sing Se too, so people had better watch out for trouble, be prepared to fight.
Manoj had also gone to seek out fellow refugees, inquiring in a spirit of sympathy and curiosity about just what the Fire Nation's troops had done to make them flee their scorched villages and towns.
It'd come back to bite him in very short order.
Many people he tried to warn or speak with-especially native Ba Sing Seans-had either responded with puzzlement or plain laughed at him in derision.
Other people had tried to prevent the dreadful outcome as best they could, telling Manoj in hushed, desperate voices that he'd do well to just play dumb and oblivious like they did, pleaded with him to shut his mouth when it came to the war talk, and yes, flat-out told him in low tones that if he talked about things like that for any degree of time, the Dai Li would come and arrest him.
And they had, after an informant had tipped a pair of agents off to Manoj's "disruptive speech."
Ashwin had only been able to helplessly yell and beg and cry along with the rest of his family as the looming figures in dark green had dragged his struggling father to a prison wagon, made mostly out of black-painted wood so that his dad would be powerless to earthbend with his feet. He could never forget the sound of the bolt on the back doors engaging with an awful, final metallic click, before Manoj was whisked away to what an anguished Aswhin was convinced would be a lonely, certain death in some hidden dungeon.
The next nine days were an excruciating, emotionally tortuous time for a young Ashwin and his family. They could only hope and pray together, comfort each other as they embraced and wept, with no idea if his father was still alive, if he was being treated well, where he was, what the Dai Li might be doing to him this very instant.
Then, as if by a miracle, on the morning of the tenth day after his arrest, Manoj had come walking down the stone-paved street, carefree in his demeanor, with a warm glow about him-and even a light bounce to his step.
The rest of his family were obviously immensely relieved and delighted to see he was both alive and evidently okay, Ashwin crying "Dad! It's you!" before racing forward and embracing his father in a grateful hug along with his siblings and mother.
But after the thankful thrill of the reunion, within just half an hour's time, Ashwin began to see disturbing signs, that gave him a sinking feeling that maybe his dad wasn't as okay as he looked.
Back inside their apartment, his mother Jaanvi had frantically asked his father where the Dai Li had taken Manoj after arresting him, and kept him imprisoned during the past nine days.
His response had been to just cock his head slightly to the side and briefly give them a blank stare before saying "Arrested? Jaanvi, they did no such thing to me."
"Yes, they did," Ashwin's mother had insisted. "I was there! Surely you remember the rock gloves they used as handcuffs?"
"There were no handcuffs of any kind," Manoj had replied with a dismissive grin.
Ashwin's breath had caught in his throat before he'd exchanged a concerned glance with one of his sisters.
"In fact," his father had blithely gone on, "the Dai Li actually took me to a wonderful lakeside resort in the Agarian Zone, where I was treated like a prince! I don't remember very much about it though, just that my stay was so relaxing and just great! And that I learned a lot about just what a perfect, safe city Ba Sing Se truly is!"
And it was then that Ashwin began to realize something truly insidious and horrid had been done to his father by the secret police.
Over the years, as he grew and matured, Ashwin would now and again hear his father offhandedly discuss, in baffled confusion, the strange, puzzling, recurring dreams he occasionally had with Jaanvi.
From what Ashwin had been able to gather, they prominently featured a sensation of being pinned and chained to a stone chair in a dark, cold chamber, of seeing a lantern smoothly, constantly circling around him in a hypnotic rhythm, and a voice levelly assuring and insisting to Manoj that the war was all in his head, that the Fire Nation was at peace with the Earth Kingdom-and it didn't matter either way, for the walls of Ba Sing Se would keep him protected and safe for all time.
Sometimes his father would even say with certainty that the voice in these unsettling dreams was that of a Dai Li agent, the other man's implacable, yet oddly paternal green gaze never wavering from his own.
Manoj Chettiar had continued ever since then to express a profound faith in the security of the city walls, to deny the existence of the very global march of conquest that had driven the frantic remnants of his family from the village they'd lived in for several generations, believe that the Dai Li could do no wrong, and have those eerie dreams up until his death, four years after his grandson Viyan was born. Lesson learned indeed.
And the knowledge that his oldest daughter was daring to woo one of those same agents, that he'd picked her out as his beloved, came very close to scaring Ashwin out of his wits.
Again though, what could he reasonably do about it? Attack Hong and try to chase him away with his own, much inferior earthbending abilities? Try to play the tough guy protective father and bellow at him to keep away from his family? Hong was the tough guy in this situation!
(Hells, he wouldn't put it past Agent Yan to outright have him 'disappeared' if he got too uppity concerning his daughter.)
Rajata was also a grown woman of twenty-four now, and she had the right to make her own choices in romance-even if they were foolish and risky ones. And considering that his oldest daughter was a devotee of the goddess Matangi, he supposed that he shouldn't be too terribly shocked by her actions when all was said and done. Besides, didn't every father of Tenjikuan blood ideally want to see their daughters married off to a man of great wealth and power?
He sighed as he ran a hand through his sleek black hair, stippled here and there with gray. He had to admit that so far at least, her relationship with Hong not only seemed sincere enough, but very much promised to turn a new page for all the family.
It was already paying dividends in a big way. With the ten gold pieces Hong had so generously given them, Madhuri planned to have their spice stall repainted and expanded, make it look more attractive to potential customers, and have some advertisements printed to drum up even more business.
She was also going to have a team of carpenters come to tear out their crumbing roof two days from now and replace it with a sorely needed new, far more impervious one. What a relief and blessing, Ashwin thought, that having to endure water dripping on them and their possessions alike from rain and melting snow, the cold drafts slithering between the cracked and damaged roof tiles and warped boards, was going to be a thing of the past now.
They could buy better quality spices from their wholesaler, and therefore make more of a profit.
Not surprisingly, Maalai and Viyan had each spent the two gold pieces Hong had given them mostly on sweets, a gorge on sugar like none they'd ever had before in their lives. Maalai though, had thought ahead a bit, and reserved enough of the change to buy herself a lovely silver ring later on.
Older and somewhat wiser, Tuhina had chosen to use her gold pieces that very evening to buy herself a new, less threadbare and embarrassing outfit for school on a shopping trip in the Middle Ring. Even Madhuri had decided to buy herself a new bag during their mother-daughter outing. It was wonderful to see that now two of his daughters were finally able to wear decent clothes!
Hong's increased presence alone was also making their chunk of the Lower Ring a lot safer, just the sight of him and his unpredictable visits being sufficient to have prodded a lot of the local ruffians and thieves into wisely making tracks.
But still, that tense, nagging feeling of doubt and concern in his gut…
If Ashwin had been one to wear his hair in a long braid like most other men in this city did, his anxiety probably would've made it tie itself into knots several times over by now.
When Rajata had left for that first momentous date, dressed in her stunning new silk dress, every minute of her absence had been an agony of uncertainty and apprehension for him and Madhuri as they paced, fidgeted, and stared out into the darkness. All fathers of a daughter above a certain age knew the sensation of stress and constant "what-ifs" that preyed on the mind when she left on her first outing with a new guy-but this had been a hundred times worse.
Would she return that night? Would she ever come back at all? Would she be the same when she returned?
He'd desperately tried to reassure himself and his wife in the meantime with the awareness that the Dai Li were bad news only for people who went around saying things they shouldn't, or treated an agent with disrespect and aggression. Rajata was blameless on both counts. She knew better.
The comforting words couldn't help but feel so hollow all the same though, and the sense of relief he experienced on seeing his oldest daughter return home, after a reasonable time and with a sound mind, had nearly staggered Ashwin.
Even now, he went and prayed before their devotional painting of Lakshmi within minutes after Rajata would leave for yet another date or outing with Agent Yan, hoping that the goddess would continue to ensure her safety.
A sound of pottery scraping against a surface of the same material, of water falling into a hollow vessel startled him, and he whipped around with a quick cry, feeling for the stone underneath the floorboards and hoping his energy could somehow penetrate the wooden planks (now quivering from his alarm) so he would have a chance of warding off the intruder…
But to his profound relief, it was only Madhuri, her kajal-lined green eyes staring back as she gave him a sheepish smile. Ashwin knew that whenever his wife was on edge, she often tended to deal with the stress by hurling herself into her work. Since it was a day of rest right now, that meant domestic chores, including drawing fresh water from the well.
(As for the rest of their children, Tuhina had taken Maalai to go play at a dilapidated little park a few minutes walk away, while Viyan was out running around with some friends from school.)
Ashwin sighed. "Don't scare me like that, Madhuri," he chided.
"I'm very sorry," she apologized as she finished pouring the rest of the water from her wide-mouthed, ornately stenciled, massive pitcher into the water cask. "I'll let you know when I'm entering the room next time."
Carefully placing the pitcher on its thick wooden shelf, she walked over to the table and took a seat by her husband, softly saying as she placed her hand on his arm, "I know how you're feeling, and don't blame you for being worried, chellam. So am I. But it'll be all right."
He uncertainly nodded. "I suppose. I'm more or less confident at this point that he has no intention of harming or-changing-her, and their love truly seems to be genuine."
Madhuri lightly drummed her fingers on the table in thought. "Yeah. And he's not the type to press his advantage on a woman, either, I sense."
"No. Still, I don't like this one bit, and I hope she'll remember that even in the Upper Ring, just because something glitters doesn't mean that it's made of gold."
"A point well taken. But Ashwin, kanmani, this is also proving to be a golden opportunity for all of us. Literally."
"Most certainly," he agreed. "Everyone-well, naive newcomers and people living outside these walls at least," he snorted ruefully, "will bray like a rhea-donkey that hopeful new beginnings are a way of life in Ba Sing Se." He gave a slow, amused smile as he regarded his wife. "And it looks like after all these long, bleak decades of struggle, we're finally going to get our own fresh start in the most ironic way I could've ever imagined."
She bared her teeth in a knowing laugh. "I know I would have called you crazy if you'd ever suggested that one of the Dai Li would become like a patron for our family!"
"Weird, isn't it? Lakshmi sure displayed a sense of humor when it came to favoring us." He frowned in concern. "If he chooses to marry our daughter though-and right now the signs are very much pointing in that direction-I don't know what we could possibly offer him for a decent dowry. What if he gets offended by our pathetic offerings, and lashe-"
"I'm sure Hong will be happy with whatever we give him as a bridegroom," Madhuri assured him as she caressed his upper arm with one of her long hands. "Besides, a few dates out on the town are still a long way from a marriage proposal. Let's not count our pigeon-chickens before they've hatc-"
She was cut off by the distinctive sound of an ostrich horse's feet slapping against the flagstones outside, growing louder in company with the grinding of carriage wheels.
As they rose from their chairs and began to stride towards the door, they heard Rajata's voice from dozens of yards away, strident and almost frantic as she cried out into the evening air.
"Mom! Dad! Where are you?!"
Great Brahma, it sounds like she's in trouble! Ashwin thought as his heart leapt into his throat. What has that bastard done-or is doing!-to her?! I knew he couldn't be trusted!
Madhuri was evidently of the same mind, for she shared a wide-eyed, panicked look with him before they charged for the door, Ashwin hurling it open as he leapt out first, going into a horse stance to push out stone with his chi-
And he was checked in place by an unexpected sight.
Rather than being in distress, their daughter was downright beaming with elation as she emerged from the carriage, almost even before its steed had been induced to stop by the driver.
She was nearly squirming where she stood, briefly making Ashwin think of a dog anticipating a treat as Hong then stepped out of the carriage himself in a far statelier fashion. He was casually holding a small pouch in one hand as he did so, which he presented to Rajata just before she warmly embraced him, and he responded by giving a light smile as he stroked her shoulders and upper back, kissing her on the hairline.
The two other passengers in the carriage stepped out themselves now, with the lazy, feline grace of the highborn, one a young noblewoman and the other a second Dai Li agent in formal clothing, their features hinting at a sibling relationship.
The other Dai Li agent lightly shook his head in thinly concealed scorn as he took in the Puri residence and the rest of Pojiu Avenue, while the noblewoman's features went slack, her eyes regarding the house and area with a mixture of unease and dismay.
But Ashwin hardly noticed the judgmental duo as the recollection suddenly flashed across his mind that Rajata had told them both last evening and this morning that Hong and his partner were taking her to see the ostrich horses run races in the Upper Ring. He'd told her not to be foolish when it came to the amount of money she parted with for bets.
Great Vishnu above, he thought, flabbergasted as his eyes widened, could she actually have won big there today? And in gold, no less?!
As soon as their goodbyes and a farewell kiss to Hong's cheek had been completed, Rajata turned towards her parents. Instead of running to greet them, she actually earth-skated right to the doorstep in her enthusiasm before flinging an arm around them both and whispering in gratitude, "I pulled in more money at the races today then I could've ever hoped for, anma, appa. We'll never want for anything again after this."
"Are you...you've actually come home with a fortune?" her mother sputtered incredulously.
"Wow! But…which one did you bet on…and can you tell us…can we see for ourselves?!" Ashwin began chattering. "We're-you're-talking a pouch of go-"
"Shhh!" Rajata urged as she glanced around. "Let's not discuss that sort of thing outside where our neighbors might find that topic a little too interesting," she admonished as she slipped inside and gestured to her parents to follow.
As soon as the door was shut, and they were at the kitchen table, Rajata wordlessly, proudly smiled at him and Madhuri as she took a bundle of printed paper money from underneath her broad sash and placed it on the slick wood. Then she loosened the drawstring around the leather pouch and poured dozens of gold coins, shining like the reflected image of the sun in a pond, in a stream across the varnished surface.
Ashwin felt like he was suddenly in a lucid dream as beside him, his wife audibly gasped before folding her legs underneath her and sitting on the floor. With a hard impact.
Their family's future had suddenly, and genuinely, transformed into one that was paved with gold.
You have NO idea how much time and effort I spent researching how betting is done, particularly in Asia, on horse racing. Hopefully though, it's resulted in a segment that was thrilling and satisfying to read.
The Hequ is a native Chinese horse breed.
When I began this fic, I had no specific culture in mind for Rajata and her family other than just generic South Indian. But even that area of India covers a large expanse, and is home to dozens of different tribes, ethnic groups, languages. So to make a long story short, I've chosen to base the appearance, native language, clothing, and so on of Rajata's family more or less on the Tamil people/culture specifically.
While the red or white forehead mark donned by all followers of Hinduism is called a tilakam in Tamil, you may be a lot more familiar with its Hindi term, bindi.
Chellam and kanmani are Tamil terms of endearment used between lovers and married couples, similar to our "dear" or "lovely."
The phrase "Abari hoon" means thank you in Hindi.
Enjoy your reading experience!