Mi Amigas! Como estas? Ha, ha! Just joking. Like I was really going to speak in Spanish the whole time. I don't even know the language, but I'd like to learn! Anyway, glad you all liked the chapter! (Even though it was WICKED SHORT! I'M SO MAD AT MYSELF! GRRR!) For those of you who reviewed: Thank you!
Ally- Thanks you for reviewing! Sorry I didn't add you in the last chapter, I forgot about you. Oh well! No hard feelings right? Right? I guess not since you told me that I suck because I didn't add you. WELL, HERE'S A NEWS FLASH FOR YOU: YOU SUCK! Kidding!
Brokn Innocence- Thank you! Really? You thought it was informative? I just thought it was wicked short. You're welcome for the personal update message. I thought that if I entrusted Lavanderrose, then you'd never read it. Just Kidding! You'll find out how the three teens cope with this, don't worry.
Fire Blazing Chan S.E- Thank you!
Flames 220- I'M SO SORRY I HURT YOUR FEELINGS! I DIDN'T MEAN TO I SWEAR! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! I'M SORRY! Thank you though. The answer to your question is I purposely left Zuko out of the chapter, because I wanted one chapter dedicated to the evilness that is Captain Zhao, and the Fire Lord. I'm glad you liked it! Sorry it was so short, I couldn't think of anything else.
Lavanderrose- Calm down! You'll find out, don't worry! Holy monkeys! I'm sorry, I forgot to call you, so sorry! I'm very forgetful. I don't like to admit it, but I think my memory only lasts 3 seconds, like a goldfish.
Thank you all! I hope you all like this chapter!
Chapter 10: A new dress and an invite
Ryu and Ayaka didn't get home until 2: 00 a.m. the next morning. By the time they were in their rooms, they were dead to the world. That is to say, they were so tired, that by the time they put on their sleepwear and climbed into bed, they immediately fell asleep and if a single-minded person took one look at them, he/she would assume that they had suddenly died…shocking. However, wishing he could have had a few more hours of sleep, Ryu was awakened by someone shaking him rather roughly. Groggy and tired, Ryu looked up wearily to see who had disturbed his slumber. "Ryu, dear, wake up," said his Mother. Ryu, though still rather tired, could see that by the light that was coming through his window, it must've been 7: 00 in the morning, and his Mother was not intending to leave him alone until he got out of bed. "Ryu, hurry up, we're going to be late. I have an appointment to pick up something for your sister, and if I don't make it, someone else is going to take it," said his Mother. WOMAN, I'M FUCKING TIRED RIGHT NOW, AND IF YOU DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE TO GET SOME SLEEP, I'M GOING TO SNAP! Thought Ryu. Nonetheless, though still groggy, he sat up in bed. "If you have an appointment with someone, then why do I have to come?" he asked her. "Because, my son, I know you can actually keep a secret. This whole thing is supposed to be a surprise. Now go take a bath and get dressed," she told him. Sighing, he obeyed. "DAMN! I ONLY GOT 5 HOURS OF SLEEP! THAT WOMAN MUST'VE GOTTEN AT LEATST THE WHOLE 8 HOURS! GRRRR, I HATE THIS DAY! AND WHY DO I HAVE TO COME? CAN'T SHE GO BY HERSELF? I MEAN SHE HAS LEGS TOO, NOT JUST ME. COULDN'T ONE OF THE SERVANTS GO WITH HER? DAMMIT!"Ryu complained about his Mother all through his bath and as he was getting dressed. When he had finished eating his breakfast, he found his Mother waiting for him in the Common Room.
"Oh good, you're ready," she said. "Now come on, we'll be late." And she walked out the door, Ryu behind her. "Mom," asked Ryu, "just exactly where are we going?" "We're going to a shop to pick up a dress for Ayaka, and maybe something for you too" she replied. Ryu was confused. "Why are we picking up these things?" he asked. His Mother gave him a smirk. "You'll see," she said. Although, the Ryu had lived on an island all his life, he never noticed how big it actually was. (That is to say, he never actually knew that his island had shops and stuff.) Before Ryu could take in the scenery of his home, he and his Mother were already in town. Ryu was in awe at all the things there was in town, while his Mother looked quite at home. She then led them to a nice little shop in a part of town, and they walked inside. "Helloo? Is anybody home?" his Mother asked playfully as she stopped at the desk. An elderly woman came out of the back room. She was very short, but could still be seen over the desk. Her hair was white and tied in a tight neat bun. "Good morning, Your Majesty," she said. Her voice had a sweet grandmotherly sound to it. "Good morning, Shari. Is the dress ready?" asked Naoki. "Yes, Your Majesty, it is ready. I will have my granddaughter bring it out. Shuri!" she called. From the back came a beautiful girl of about Ryu's age wearing a navy blue silk, short-sleeved dress. The collar and the hem of the sleeves were light blue. Ryu assumed that the hem of the skirt was also light blue. The colors of the flower patterns on her dress were black, and her hair was pulled back in a bun, like her grandmother's. She seemed to be carrying another dress but of red silk.
"Here you are, Your Majesty. One red silk dress with gold," she said and unfolded the dress. The dress looked much like her own, however instead of black floral patterns, it had delicate golden flowers and vines all over it. Also, much like her own, the hems of the sleeves and skirt were gold instead of light blue, and the collar came down first as a very short straight line then went at a diagonal to the right shoulder, then down the length of the dress. Ryu noticed that the dress had two very large slits going up on either side of it stopping just below the waist. If Mom thinks that Ayaka is going to wear this dress for Captain Zhao, then she's dead wrong. If I were Ayaka then I wouldn't even wear this dress for such a grotesque man, thought Ryu. He looked again at the dress. On the other hand, he thought, she might be tempted to wear it for Zuko. Ah, whatever. It's her dress, not mine. She can do whatever she wants with it. "Oh, Shuri, it's beautiful! You really out-did yourself," said the Queen. "Wait," said Ryu taking in what his Mother just said, "You made this…with your hands?' he asked. Shuri just looked at him and said, "Yes. How else would you make a dress this delicate?" "I don't know…machines?" said Ryu. Everyone laughed and Ryu was sent into a wave of embarrassment. He could feel his cheeks going bright red as blood rushed into them. "N-no, dear boy. Not m-machines," said Shari as she tried to control her fits of laughter. "A machine would eat this alive," said Shuri once she had controlled herself. She then began to put the dress into a small, white cardboard box, and then wrapped it with a pale yellow ribbon and handed it to Ryu.
"Here you are. I hope your sister will like it," she said to him. Ryu looked at her suspiciously. "How do you know I have a sister?" he asked. "Well, if she's the one making the dress, then she needs to know who it's for, doesn't she Ryu?" his Mother asked him. He looked at the ground. "Well if you gonna put it like that…" he mumbled. Naoki turned her attention back to Shari. "Well, Shari, how much do I owe you?" she asked. The old woman looked at the box with the dress inside, considering its value. "Well…by the quality and craftsmanship of the dress…I would say…300 gold pieces," she said. "Okay, 300 it is," said the Queen, and she pulled out a small sack of money from the waistband of her dress, and placed it on the counter. "There should be about…500 gold pieces. You can keep the change as a 'thank you' gift and buy yourselves something nice. For you and your granddaughter. Isn't it about time for her to be looking for a husband? Ryu, I think you will do nicely," Naoki said, looking at her son. "Uh, Mom, I think we should we now," said Ryu as he walked out of the shop, blushing madly. The Queen smiled as her son left, and then turned again to the shop owners. "Well, I couldn't thank you enough, the dress is beautiful. Good-bye," she said and followed her son. "Mom…why did you say that?" asked Ryu as he and his Mother walked to get some lunch in a restaurant.
"Well, because I'm right. She is looking for a husband, and you will do nicely," she said. "Yeah, well, I'm not looking for a wife yet. And I probably won't have one any time soon, so can you please stop saying that?" Ryu asked her. "Oh alright, fine. I just don't want you to end up lonely is all. That's why your Father and I arranged your sister's marriage," she told him. "But Mom, she's fourteen! She has plenty of time to think about marriage!" he exclaimed his voice and temper rising. He couldn't believe out of all the men there were in the world, his parents just had to pick Zhao. "Don't raise your voice at me, Ryu," said his Mother threateningly. They didn't speak anymore once they were in the restaurant, and once they were out. Ryu, for fear that he would get the scolding of his life, and his Mother…well…because she had nothing to say. (For the first time in her life.) Once they got home, they found Ayaka practicing her Fire bending with her Sensei, Lili. "Ayaka!" called her Mother. "Ayaka, dear, come inside! Your brother and I have a surprise for you!" Ryu saw his sister dodge a Fire blast, bow to her Sensei, and come toward them. Her Mother walked towards the palace. When Ayaka got closer, she took one look at her brother and said, "Whoa! You look tired." Ryu glared at her. "Heh, heh, YOU THINK! You know what time I got up this morning? SEVEN! SEVEN-O'CLOCK-IN-THE-DAMN-MORNING! That's five hours of sleep. FIVE HOURS! BECAUSE OF YOU I GOT ONLY FIVE HOURS OF SLEEP! THANKS A LOT, MUNCHKIN!" And he stomped into the palace, Ayaka behind him. Jeez, you don't have to yell, thought Ayaka.
"Is Zhao still here?" Ryu whispered to Ayaka, once they were in the palace. "Yeah, unfortunately," replied his sister. "I asked Dad when he's going home, but he said that I wasn't being a good bride by wanting my… husband," she did quotes with her fingers, "out of the house." Ryu sighed. "Well, maybe I should ask him when Zhao's leaving." He reasoned. Ayaka chuckled. "Good luck," she said, "He'll just say, 'you're not being a very good brother-in-law if you want your sister's husband out of the house so much.' " "Well, at least I could try," said Ryu. "Not a good idea," said Ayaka. "Why not?" asked her brother. "Because Dad said that if he hears one more sentence with the words 'Zhao', 'leaving', and 'home' then we're gonna be grounded, and the wedding will be pushed up," she said. Once she said 'wedding will be pushed up,' the siblings both made faces of disgust. They both walked into the Common Room to find their Mother, Father, and (much to their chagrin) Captain Zhao. "Ryu," said their Mother, "what are you still doing with the box? Give it to your sister." "Oh, yeah, sorry. Here you go," said Ryu. He had totally forgotten that he'd been holding the box since he and his sister walked into the palace. He handed it to Ayaka. "What's this?" she asked. "Open it and you'll found out," said her Father. "I'm sure you'll like it," he continued. Ayaka did what she was told. When she saw the dress, she gasped. "Oh, Mother! It's beautiful! I don't know what to say," she exclaimed. "How about a 'thank you' to your brother and your Mother," said Zhao. Ryu felt flames form in his hands. She doesn't need you to tell her what to do, he thought savagely. Ayaka saw the flames in her brother's hands, and flicked his ear to get his attention. "Hey, calm down, okay? I can handle it," she said. Ryu glared back at Captain Zhao, who smirked.
"Ayaka, aren't you going to try on the dress?" asked her Father. "Uh…before you do that," started Ryu, "Ayaka, I need to talk to you. Bring the dress," he whispered. Ayaka followed her brother into his room, carrying the dress. "Ryu, what's going on? Why don't you want me to try on the dress?" asked Ayaka. "Hello? Have you seen the two enormous slits going up the dress?" he said as he past his arm up the side of the dress. Ayaka saw that the slits stopped just below the waist. Her eyes widened. "I'm not wearing this! Especially when there's a pervert in the room!" she said. "Exactly," said Ryu. "That is precisely why you can't wear this dress." Ayaka looked hurt. 'But it'll make Mom and Dad so happy though," she said. "Yeah, it'll also make Zhao happy," said Ryu. Ayaka sighed. "Well,' she said, "That's a risk I'm going to have to take." Ryu's mouth fell open. "You're going to wear it?" he asked in disbelief. "Yup! I kind of have to," said Ayaka. Ryu sighed. "Alright," he said. "Go on." Before Ayaka could reach the door, Ryu stopped her. "Do you still have that necklace?" he asked. "Yes," replied Ayaka. "I'm wearing it." "You're wearing it?" he asked. "Calm down, Ryu," said Ayaka. "If somebody asks me where I got it, I say that I bought it in town, like, two days ago, and I haven't worn it until now," she said and walked out the door. When she was done changing into her dress, she felt extremely uncomfortable, because she didn't like the fact that the two slits showed almost all of her legs. That, and because Zhao never took his eyes off her.
"Oh! Wait here Ayaka, I have something else for you," said her Mother and she left the room. When she returned, she had a small stack of envelopes, a white mask with red gems on the corners that goes around your eyes only, and red shoes that Ayaka was sure almost looked like slippers. "Here, try these on," she said and she handed the mask and shoes to Ayaka. They fit perfectly. "Mom?" asked Ayaka, "What's all this stuff for?" Her Mother handed Ryu half the stack of envelopes and half to her. "Invite anyone you like," she said. "Invite then to what?" asked Ryu and Ayaka in unison. "I'm sure you and your friends will have a fun time," their Father said. "Yes, I'm sure they would," said Zhao. "Have fun at what?" asked the two teens. "At the ball of course," said the adults. "What ball?" asked Ayaka. "Why don't you guys tell us anything?" asked Ryu. "Why, your ball, Ayaka," said her Mother, ignoring Ryu. "My ball?" Ayaka said. "Yes, my daughter. We are throwing a ball for you in your honor, signifying that you are to be married to Zhao," said her Father. "WHAAAAT?" said the two teens. "Well, if you don't like it, then we can just…burn the invitations," said their Mother. "No!" said Ayaka. She had just remembered that most important thing there was to this ball: she can invite whomever she wanted. The entire family looked at her. "I mean…why burn them? It'll be a waste. Why don't we just send them and let all our friends come and we can all have a blast?" she said. "I knew you'd like the idea," said her Father. "Great! I'm gonna go send these now," said Ayaka. She ran out of the room, Ryu following her, suspicious of what she was thinking.
"What are you doing?" he asked, once he found her in her room. "What does it look like? I'm sending these invitations?" she replied. "To whom, dare I ask?' said Ryu. "Oh, a few people…Suki, Ryoko, Tangi…Zuko." She said 'Zuko' in a hushed voice, but unfortunately Ryu heard it. "What! You can't invite him!" he said. "Why not?" she said. Ryu looked flabbergasted. "Well…uh…because…" he stammered. "Ha! You can't even think of a good reason," said Ayaka. "Alright, fine! I give up," said Ryu, finally giving in. "Wooo! I'm so happy! Thank you!" said Ayaka and gave her brother a hug. "Yeah, yeah, I know…I'm a softy," he said. "But Mom and Dad can't find out about this," he continued. "It's gone this far, and they haven't got a clue," said Ayaka. "What makes you think they're going to find out now?" she continued. She moved away from her brother. She held up an invitation and looked at it. "I'm inviting Zuko…and we're all going to have a blast," she whispered.
Wheeee! This one's done! I'm so happy! I'm thinking of writing a sequel to this story. Don't worry; this is not the last chapter! What do you guys think, should I write a sequel? Anyway, please read and review. You all know what to do. Until the next chapter!
Signed,
Redroseternity a.k.a. - Mango