Chapter 14
"About what, Feng?" Aang asked curiously in response to his question.
"About just what's going on in this place. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's noticed something fishy is going on in the city of Ba Sing Se, right?."
"No, you're not." Sokka frowned in agreement, earning a nod from Katara. "When I tried to ask Joo Dee about seeing the Earth King, saying it was important, she just kept blowing me off, pretending like it was nothing. That can't be normal, especially now that Omashu has also been taken by the Fire Nation. They'd have to know that Ba Sing Se would be next."
"Mm, they would." Feng agreed.
"Then why aren't they doing anything?" Aang said with concern, worry flashing across his face as he began to pace. "Arnook immediately listened to what we had to say, taking our warning to heart just before the invasion of the Northern Water Tribe. Why hasn't the Earth King?"
That was the question, wasn't it? It brought a somber air to the room, one that everyone present felt, even Feng.
"I have a suspicion about that." He admitted as he turned to Toph. "Before I say anymore though, could you to a search for anyone who might be listening in? I don't want to be overhead."
"On it." Toph nodded as she closed her eyes, lifting her right leg before slamming it down at an angle, sending a wave of vibrations through the earth that bounced off of anything physically in contact within a wide range.
The rest of the gang waited patiently for Toph to finish, trusting in her skills, but more than ever it just made Feng feel jealous. Jealous that he couldn't do the same after he had watched time and time again his mother do the same.
It was not a nice feeling, and it was one he did his best to bury.
"Okay, I can't sense anyone moving within hearing distance as long as we talk normally. There are people towards the outer range of my senses, but they all seem to be doing their own thing judging by how their moving.
"Good, that means I can say what I'm about to say without worry," Feng smiled, but not nicely. No, this was a grim smile, one that promised pain and anguish. "Guys, I think that the Earth King is just a figurehead, I don't think he's actually in command of the kingdom if he even exists at all."
"What?!" The others all screeched, each of them raising their voices in an outburst of noise that Feng weathered silently. Once they quieted down again, he continued.
"What do you mean the Earth King is a fake? He's the ruler of the Earth Kingdom."
"Yes, and in that time, has anyone ever actually seen him? Has anyone ever actually talked about him? Toph, this question is mostly directed towards you."
Pausing to think for a second, Toph scowled as she shook her head, a grimace appearing on her lips even as her hair swayed.
"No…no, I don't think he has. Spirit's knows that my parents complained about that enough, how someone of their stature should be able to meet the King, but every time they asked to they just got delayed, kind of like we were, only they kept trying but never actually succeeded. Eventually, they just gave up, but they still made sure to complain about it."
"Mm, that's data point one." Feng agreed, lifting his first finger before following it with a second. "Data point two is how Joo Dee has been acting. As we spoke today, I made sure to keep track of her reactions to certain things, to certain phrases. When I talked about uncovering secrets, she twitched, which means that she's hiding something. The way she talked about the Dai Lee was another point of interest like they were some holy organization, but when I talked about the leader of the Dai Lee, that unnatural smile finally fell from her face."
"Yeah…it did, didn't it?" Sokka rubbed his jaw, his brow furrowing. "How did I not notice that?"
"I wouldn't worry about it." Feng shrugged, seeking to put the boy at ease. "The only reason I did is that I was looking for it. From what I gathered, Joo Dee is an agent of the Dai Lee of some kind, whether it's consenting or not. But it was the final data point that made me come to my conclusion about the Earth King's status. Can you figure out what it was?"
"…it's about what the Dai Lee is said to be, isn't it?" Aang said softly, a frown appearing on his lips. "They were said to be the cultural guardians of Ba Sing Se or something, and that they guard the Royal Palace."
"Exactly." Feng nodded, sounding pleased at Aang's deduction even as the boy flushed faintly under the praise. "But being cultural guardians sounds like another thing to me."
"Policing agents, people who control what is known and who does what." Toph scowled in realization, crossing her arms even as Feng nodded.
"Policing Agents? What are they?" Katara asked with concern, worry filling her eyes as she glanced back and forth between Toph and Feng.
"To summarise Princess, their people that can make someone disappear if they upset the natural order around here, who ensure that what they want to happen happens. Like seeing the Earth King, if they don't want anyone to see him, no one does."
"That…that's horrible." Katara gasped, raising a hand to her lips in horror.
"It is." Feng agreed solemnly. "And there's only one other place I know that's like that."
It didn't need to be said what he was talking about, everyone understood what he was saying.
"But if that's the case, what can we do? Who can we go to? Ba Sing Se is the final place we can go to outside of the Northern Water Tribe." Katara voiced her concern.
"To be honest…" Feng sighed, closing his eyes in regret, "…I'm not sure there is much we can do. From the sound of it, the Dai Lee have been in control for a long time, perhaps since even before the 100-year war even started. The only thing we really can do is wait and listen. I, personally, need more information before I would even consider any actions, even if what I decide to do is leave. It's one of the reasons I was so successful in the past." Feng chuckled darkly, earning a faint but resolute nod from Sokka.
"Best case scenario? The Earth King is just being misled, and as long as we can get to him personally, we can reveal what's going on and allow him to gain control. The worst case is that there is no Earth King. In that case…I think we'd just have to leave."
"But couldn't we expose the Dai Lee, expose that there is no Earth King if that's the case?" Aang asked, desperate for a solution of some kind. Feng didn't even need to open his mouth for this one as the question was answered by another.
"No Twinkletoes, we couldn't." Top sighed, slumping into one of the supplied chairs heavily. "If it is revealed to the citizens of Ba Sing Se there is no Earth King, it would be chaos. Right now the balance is kept through careful governance by all the city officials, but if it's revealed that the ultimate authority in the city is fake…the people would no longer listen, and would no longer keep the status quo. There are just too many citizens for the Earth Kingdom Soldiers to pacify, and even if they could, that would leave the city open to an attack from the Fire Nation as they did."
Toph shook her head sadly.
"No, we can't do that."
Aang opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out, the air refused to leave his lungs. He couldn't, not with the weight of Toph's words.
"Remember though, that's just a worst-case scenario, we might get lucky," Feng interjected, seeking to put the conversation back on track. "The Earth King very well might be fine. But if he is, he will have a large number of guards who will attempt to stop us from reaching him, which means that we're going to need a plan. A plan, and information about the palace. Once we have both, we can go after the Earth King, for better or worse."
"For better or worse?" Katara echoed in confusion, wondering why that would be the case. "Wouldn't it only be better?"
"Katara," Feng said in amusement, "we're going to have to assault the Royal Palace of the Earth Kingdom, fighting off all of its guards as we break through. There are a number of ways that could go wrong. I don't think I need to spell out the consequences in case we fail."
"Oh," Katara said softly, her voice echoing the thoughts of the others as silence dawned on the room. Oh indeed, Feng thought before shaking his head, clearing his mind.
"That's for future consideration though. I don't know about the rest of you, but it's been a long month and a half of traveling for me, and I could do with a rest. We have the time for it too, so I suggest we spend the next few days relaxing before we get stuck back into things, alright?"
"I can do that." Sokka nodded with a smile, walking to the kitchen in search of food, as did Toph.
"Are you sure we can relax?" Aang asked, still standing there nervously as he looked between Katara and Feng for support. The Pair shared a glance before Feng flicked his eyes towards her, trusting her to take care of this seeing as Aang felt safer with her.
"Aang…we're only human. You're only human, and humans need rest. You know this, it's the whole reason behind the mini vacations, after all, so yes, we can take a few days. We still have some time yet before the invasion, so we can afford it. Ok?"
"...Ok," Aang replied after a pause, nodding as Katara's words calmed him down.
"Excellent." Feng clapped a smile crossing his lips as he rubbed his hands together. "That means we can have some fun tomorrow."
Aang tilted his head in confusion.
…
Yawning, Feng opened his eyes to the sunlight streaming into his room, shining across his face as he lay in the most comfortable bed he had ever used. It was so comfortable in fact, that he didn't want to leave.
"Curse you Sun. Why'd you have to wake me up?"
While Feng was lamenting his misfortune, a far more energetic and excitable person opened the door to his room, swiftly padding into the room and jumping on Feng's lying form.
"Oomph!" Feng groaned as the air knocked out of him, the small form of his assaulter lying across his stomach.
"Hello to you too, Toph." He sighed, reaching up to rub his eyes before staring at the girl.
"Hello Sleepy Head, it's time for you to get up. The sun's been up for hours now, as have the rest of us."
Huh, Feng would have at least thought Sokka would still be sleeping. Apparently not.
"Alright, alright. Get off so I can get up." Feng rolled his eyes, doing so when she moved as he took off the covers, revealing that he had been sleeping in nothing but his pants, having taken his shirt and cloak off to enjoy the feel of the silk on his skin.
"I take it your impatient to start the day then?" Feng conversed as he pulled one of his shirts over his head, following it with his cloak.
"You know it." Toph returned the grin, leading the way out of the room. "Also, the creepy lady's been waiting outside for hours now, she's actually the reason I woke up. And judging by her body language, it seems like she's found the places you requested, so let's get going. I've got some gambling to do."
"Yes, that." Feng sighed, nodding to Sokka in greeting who merely nobbed back seeing as he was currently stuffing his face with some kind of meat-filled sandwich.
It looked pretty good actually, so using the ingredients that were still out, Feng made one of his own.
"Good morning, Feng!" Aang cheered, rushing into the room as he almost bounced around the room, full of energy, the relaxation clearly doing something good for him.
Seeing as his mouth was full, he just waved, swiftly moving through the sandwich as Katara also emerged, looking like she'd freshly combed her hair. Now that the gang was all together, they turned towards Feng, seeing as he was the mastermind behind the day's events.
"Right, here's the plan." Feng began, swallowing his final bite of food and washing his hands in the sink.
"Today…is a day of rest. Of no bending, no planning, no nothing. Just a day to refresh ourselves and prepare ourselves for future struggles, alright?"
"Understood." Sokka nodded, as did Toph and Aang. Katara, instead of nodding, opened her mouth to say something, but Feng cut her off.
"Yes, we still need to gather information and make a plan on what to do, but that can come later, starting tomorrow. If you want a bit more information though, Toph and I will be the ones gathering information, while the three of the plan. Later though."
Katara closed her mouth, making Feng nod.
"Good, now for the day's agender. First up…Gambling. Do any of you have any experience in this? Don't answer Toph." He interrupted the girl who pouted, crossing her arms.
"No, we don't," Katara answered for herself and Sokka who just shook her head. "Before we met Aang we never left the Southern Water Tribe, and they don't allow you to gamble under the age of 20 there for the few people who do, and it's mostly on the outcome of physical challenges, which doesn't really apply here I think."
"You would be correct." Feng agreed before he noticed something unexpected. Aang was scratching his cheek sheepishly.
"Aang? Is there something you want to tell us?"
"Ah…yeah." Aang began, not looking any of them in the eye, especially the amused-looking Toph. "You see, before my time in the iceberg, you know I traveled the world, right? Explored and saw new places?"
"We know." Sokka and Katara echoed.
"Well, during that time, I may have come across some people gambling in Omashu. And, under the insistence of Bumi, I may have participated in it a little. Just a little bit, anyway." Aang was hasty to add at the end, waving his hands rapidly through the air.
"…huh, didn't expect the goody-two-shoes of the group to have also experienced gambling," Feng muttered as he narrowed his eyes. "What about Alcohol? Have you ever tried that?"
Aang, probably wisely, chose not to answer as he nodded. It seems like the curious little boy has a few hidden aspects that no one knew about, even Katara and Sokka who were looking at Aang in a new light.
"Okay, new plan then. Aang, would you be able to show the two of them around when we get to the gambling house, as you already have experience in it? I'll be showing around Toph."
"I can do that," Aang nodded, "but are you sure we should all be going? People often lose money in such establishments, and I'm pretty sure we don't have much left." Looking in the money pouch at his side, Aang counted out a measly gold coin and two silvers.
"Yeah, not much, and I wasn't very successful when I tried. I don't think we can afford to lose it."
"You thought wrong." Feng chuckled, drawing out a heavily laden pouch from an inner pocket of his cloak, one that clinked audibly in the air, the other three siblings gasping in surprise. "We've still got plenty of money."
Hell, this one bag wasn't even all of it, Feng still had another just as large bag sequestered away in his backpack, the one that contained the ransom of gold bars for Toph's release that he had yet to touch.
"So, as long as you stick to a budget of 10 Gold coins, you can lose it all if you like, it doesn't matter." Feng shrugged, passing the 10 coins to the Avatar. "And Gambling is something I think every young person should experience, just so long as you go in with the expectation to lose whatever you wager."
"Wise words," Aang said aloud in surprise as he pocketed the gold.
"Years of experience I'm afraid." Feng chuckled in self-degradation before perking up as a smile crossed his lips. "Now let's go bother the crazy lady." He said cheerfully, leading the way to the front door, the rest of team Avatar following along like a squad of baby turtle-ducks. They even kind of resembled it too as Feng towered above even Sokka, the next tallest.
"Hello there! I'm Joo Dee! How can I show you around today?" Joo Dee said as Feng opened the door.
"Oh, I think you know." Feng's smile became wider as Joo Dee's became smaller.
…
"And here we are, one of the more reputable Gambling houses located in the Middle Ring." Joo Dee narrated, stopping in front of the door of the luxurious-looking building, covered in white sandstone with black tiles to give it a unique appearance among the rest of the brown.
"Jack's House of Luck is very popular among the residents nearby, and it doesn't have an age limit, so I think you'll be quite satisfied with it." She said with a smile.
"Thanks, Joo Dee." Feng replied, stepping forward with Toph as he looked at the original Team Avatar. "Do you want to meet up out here or back at the house?"
Taking a second to think about it, Aang shrugged.
"Eh, it doesn't really matter. I'll aim to be in here in about two hours, but if you're not there we'll just go back to the house. That work for you?"
"It does." Feng agreed, and without any further ado, stepped inside, holding the green curtain wide enough for Toph to squeeze past as Sokka, Aang, and Katara went through a separate doorway.
The second Feng's eyes adjusted to the dimness of being inside, he knew he had selected the right doorway, as he immediately recognized that he had come to the card section, rather than the more unique games that changed from place to place.
It meant he knew exactly how most of these games would be played, which was probably more than could be said for a number of the residents here. Judging by its acceptance of those of younger age, it was no surprise that almost a third of the gamblers hovering around were around Feng's age or younger, but there were still quite a lot of older people, some even with greying hair, which was a good sign.
It meant that more than just guileless fools attended this place.
Taking in a deep breath, Feng refamiliarized himself with the smell of desperation and self-loathing that often filled such places, soaking it in for a moment before turning to the reason he was here.
"Alright, we're here now, and today is about you. What do you want to do first?"
"Everything!" Toph exclaimed in excitement, a wide grin splitting her face, "I want to do everything!"
"Ah, a girl after my own heart." Feng pretended to swoon before he gave up on the act, scanning the room for a free table, spotting one over by the back corner with only a single man playing against the dealer. "But maybe we should start with something simpler."
"Ah, Here we go," Feng said as he led the way around the sprawling collected of tables and roulettes, Toph following his lead as they came up on the table to hear the man cursing as he looked at his depressingly small bile of silver and bronze coins, not a single gold to be had.
Likely because of the dealer with a mischievous smile.
"Welcome, welcome, what can I do for you, my good sir and lady? May I interest you in a game of Devil's Gambit?"
"You may." Toph chuckled gleefully as she sat on the stool, likely remembering the lessons Feng had given her on the game as he stood behind her, smiling fondly.
"Not playing yourself?" The dealer asked as he shuffled the cards, earning a shake of the head from Feng.
"Nah, today is all about her, I'm just here to help her play." He said, gesturing to her clouded eyes, making the dealer's eyes widen slightly before returning to normal as he nodded, dealing out two hands of cards, one to Toph and the other to the unknown man playing next to him.
Feng didn't really pay the man any mind, he looked to be in his mid-20 and dressed in high-quality clothes, but he also looked like he hadn't shaved in a while and had dark bags under his eyes. The classic signs of a chronic gambler.
Finishing setting up the round, the dealer flipped over the three cards on the table, revealing an Earth Card of 4, a Water card of 3, a Fire Card of 7, and an Air card un-flipped.
"Here is The Devil's Hand." The Dealer chuckled, smiling professionally. "Now, what would you like to wager before we begin?"
Seeing that Toph was unsure of what to start with, Feng helped her out. "Start with a silver coin, your still learning."
"Right." Toph nodded, fetching one of them out of the three small purses she had, something to help the blind girl differentiate her money as she placed it on the table.
Beside them, the man silently placed 5 silver, half of what he had left.
Now that the wagers had been placed, the Dealer handed out four cards to each of the players, who each held them up to look, careful to not show anyone else. Well, in Toph's case she held them up to let Feng see. Reading them, he tapped his foot for the number of each card as he spoke aloud.
"Earth." 5 taps. "Water." 9 taps. "Fire." 6 taps. "Air." 7 taps.
Toph nodded to show that she understood, replacing the cards back on the table as she relied on her memory. This was the first stage of how Devil's Gambit was played.
To summarise, a Dealer would get four cards from four separate piles, placing three of them face up.
Players would then receive four of their own, each of one element, and would then decide if they wanted to wager for another card, each one requiring at least an additional silver coin in value.
"I'd stay where you are Toph," Feng said, making her nod as she sat there, smiling.
"Give me a fire." Their unknown man spoke, placing another silver from his dwindling pile on the betting pile, earning a card in return that made the man curse viciously as he laid all of his cards on the table, revealing an 8 for Earth, a 6 for Water, a 9 for Air, and a 4 and 11 of Fire.
Grumbling wearily, the man grabbed the rest of his coin as he stormed off, likely to drown his troubles Feng smirked. You see, in Devil's Gambit, you added all the scores of your cards together before dividing by 4. If this total was higher than the average of the dealers, you won and received your wager back plus its value from the dealer.
However, if your score was greater than the second highest element total, you were said to be out of balance and lost the hand, as the man had so accurately demonstrated with an average of 9.5, which was greater than his 9 of Air. It should also probably be said that this wasn't the case for the dealer, where only the average mattered because they were the 'Devil', who could be unbalanced without issue.
"Unfortunate soul." The Dealer pretended to sypathise, only to smile viciously as he scooped the small pile of coins into his 'bank' where the money of the casino was held.
"And since you decided to hold, let's see if you have the luck of the Devil, or if you've played into his hand." The Dealer said ominously, revealing an Air card of 8 as he smiled unwaveringly.
"Look's like it's the luck of the Devil." The Dealer spoke, adding a single silver coin to Toph's pile as the girl cheered.
"Yes!" Toph laughed as Feng grinned, just enjoying the 12-year-old's enthusiasm. It was probably a lot more enjoyable when there was no downside to losing, but winning would still always feel sweet.
"Time for round 2." The dealer smirked, discarding the cards into the spent section as he withdrew fresh cards from the deck, placing them in the appropriate seconds. Each Deck consisted of 4 suits or 'Elements', each with a value of 1 to 13 for a total of 52 cards. Only when there weren't enough cards left to play would a new deck be used, where the process started all over again.
Smiling happily, Feng sat back as he let Toph play, watching as she won some and lost others, slowly getting a feel for things with smaller bets. This meant that, even after an hour of play, they were only sitting at a loss of 6 silver, not even a full gold coin.
It turns out that Toph was better at gambling than Feng had thought she would be as she swiftly started turning a profit over the next 30 minutes.
"A Fire and a Water!" Toph exclaimed recklessly, joining her already two Earth, two water, one Fire, and two Air, leaving her a total of 9 cards. As Feng signaled Toph what the cards were, Toph's smile didn't even waver, like she already knew what she was getting.
"I'll hold." Toph smiled brightly as she pushed forward the impressive wager of 3 Gold, making the Dealer's smile twitch slightly as he revealed his fourth card for an average of 9.75, which fell just under the 10.5 Toph had that still left her balanced.
"Good game, little miss." The Dealer grunted out as he handed her her winnings. This was the third major bet Toph had won, and she'd only lost one moderate one two rounds ago. Currently, they were sitting at a surplus of 5 gold, which for a first-time gambler was astounding. "It seems like you do indeed have the luck of the Devil, little miss. It makes me wonder if you would be open to testing your luck in a higher ranked table, where the money involved is greater."
Blinking in surprise, Toph turned to Feng for support. Unfortunately for them, he had never been in this situation before. Still, they were both highly skilled people, and it was still money that he had expected to lose.
"It's your choice Toph."
This made Toph smile as she nodded, the no longer smiling attendant leading the way to a much more luxurious room, one filled with an enormous green table with 5 plush seats, all but one of them filled by one of their own high rollers as a beautiful looking woman dealt out the cards.
"Ah, a new player!" The unknown woman smiled, gesturing at the open seat invitingly. "Welcome, welcome. Come, join our game."
"Don't mind if I do lady," Toph smirked as she jumped up to lean into the plush seat, her legs barely touching the ground due to its height.
"If I may introduce everyone?"
Toph nodded.
"Firstly, my name is Jackeline, or Jack as it says on the sign outside, welcome to my gambling parlor. Starting from the left we have Faruk Minnow, the merchant, Tien Huang, the Blacksmith, Chang Gumi, gambler extraordinaire, and last but certainly not least, General Sung of the Council of Five." Jack explained, gesturing to each individual In turn.
The first three weren't of much interest to Feng, even if Faruk looked vaguely like he came from one of the Water tribes. No, it was General Sung who was of most interest, and someone Feng would pay close attention to.
Something that was also of note was that Toph was also the youngest by a large margin, the next youngest being Tien, who looked like he was in his early twenties.
"And you? What are your names?" Jack asked curiously, a graceful smile adorned her lips in a way that seemed to put people at ease.
"Toph, Toph Beifong."
Jack's eyes alit in surprise at the name before she suppressed the urge as she chuckled, bowing slightly.
"It is a pleasure to serve one of the Beifong family, although I have to confess that I did not expect someone of your callable to grace their presence at my abode, especially while so young."
"Eh, I felt like experiencing gambling for myself. It's not like I can't afford it either." Top shrugged, earning a nod from Jack as a faint gleam of greed appeared in them.
"Indeed," Jack chuckled, fully aware of the Biefong fortune, before turning to Feng. "And you?"
"I'm just Ms. Beifong's guard and assistant for anything she wants to do," Feng replied calmly, letting a faint but polite smile grace his lips.
"As someone of her stature should have." Jack nodded graciously before turning back to the table. "Now, we were just about to start a new round, so it is fortunate you have joined us now. I hope you don't mind that we use three decks for Devil's Gambit, there are too many people for just one. I hope you don't mind the challenge."
"Mind? Ha, I welcome it!" Toph exclaimed with an eager grin that earned a round of chuckles from around the table as they swiftly started the betting. Feng for his part didn't even try to follow what was going on, as it had long since gone over his head, but not Toph's it seems as after a small adjustment period she started pulling ahead once more.
Really, all Feng was doing now was telling her what cards she got, the girl eagerly participating in the high stakes game where the minimum bet was a gold coin, and only went up from there. It just went to show the wealth of every single person at the table.
Even if the gold they had now was all they had, which Feng doubted, each individual at the table would still be obscenely rich anywhere outside of Ba Sing Se, as each of them had over 100 Gold coins on the table with the sole exception of Toph, who was now sitting at 25, 15 Gold above what she had started with.
"Give me a card of each." Toph grinned madly, bringing her card total up to 8 in a way that somehow didn't make her go bust, instead bringing her to the cusp of being unbalanced but not actually going over it.
Hell, if his math was right, Toph's average of 14 was the highest of the entire day so far, which beat out the somewhat obscene Devil's Average of 12, which was almost as high as she could go based on the rules. It was certainly enough to beat out the others though, each of them groaning in despair as Jack pocketed their bets, a sum total of 24 Gold, half of which went to Toph.
"Too rich for my blood." Tien sighed, pocketing his remaining 62 Gold and leaving the table, as did Chang as if he somehow knew that something was amiss. This meant that the table was left with just Toph, Faruk, and General Sung.
It was at this point that three attendants came out of the wings, appearing through a side door almost as if on schedule, which would be highly unlikely as they were dressed up elaborately in a way that would have taken at least 5 minutes, and they appeared right after two of the gamblers had left.
"I hope you don't mind if my assistants here observe, a high-stakes game like this is always exciting," Jack said with a grin, not missing the way General Sung and Faruk's eyes were drawn aside by the new attraction of the morning.
"Not at all," Toph said first, looking back at Feng with a playful smirk before refocusing on the table, earning a question raise of Feng's brow. What was she up to?
"Would you like a drink, sir?" The beautiful attendant asked Feng, the sound of her attractive voice gaining his attention before her revealing sheer green silk dress forced his gaze downwards, unable to help himself, her large bust almost touching his arm as she drew close.
"Unfortunately, I can't." Feng sighed in regret, tilting his head down towards Toph. "I can't afford to dull my senses while on duty."
"Understandable." The attendant smirked, making no move to move away from Feng. Now, while Feng's refused the offer of the drink, the same could not be said for the other two gamblers at the table, who almost seemed to be waiting for the attendant's presence.
"I'll have a drink darling, whiskey if you please." Faruk smiled in a way that seemed to attempt to resemble suave but just came off as creepy on his middle-aged face.
"Same here, my lovely lady." General Sung said softly, only smiling normally as the two attendants by them moved to the bar over at the side, swiftly fetching the refreshments.
As soon as they came back, the gambling only began to get fiercer, the stakes being raised far higher by Jack much to the gambler's approval. Toph because she kept winning more money than she lost, and General Sung and Faruk because the longer the game went on, the more alcohol they drank and the more handsy their attendants became.
By this point, the one by Faruk's side was actually sitting on his lap, laughing inanely at some joke he had said, while it seemed like the General was content to just have a pretty lady at his side. Feng couldn't say he minded either, even though he'd figured out that they were there to distract them so that the gamblers would lose more money.
And it was working, as Faruk's supply of money was swiftly depleted until he was left with a measly 8 Gold coins, unable to afford the bets now going on the table, but miraculously, he did not care for the lost fortune.
No, with a flushed red face, he seemed almost happy as he was helped to his feet, his attendant leading him away from the room, but not through the door they entered. No, it was through the side door the attendants had originally come through, and it led to who knows where.
General Sung was doing better, still sitting at 56 Gold, while Toph was up to 72 at this point. And Feng for the life of him couldn't figure out how, because as a 16 year male with still raging hormones and a long dry spell, he had been very distracted at the softness leaning into his side, the attendant almost reaching his chin in height which was quite surprising for the taller teen. He had been so distracted in fact that he didn't always remember to tell Toph what her cards were, not that it made a difference.
She kept winning anyway.
A fact that Jack did not seem to enjoy, her brow furrowing in thought as she glanced between Toph and Feng as if coming to a decision as she flicked her head to the side door, earning a minute nod from the attendant that Feng did not see.
"Mm, this game is getting a little…boring," The attendant purred as she basically rubbed herself into Feng's side. "Why don't we go elsewhere to…get to know each other better."
That was a proposition if Feng had ever heard one.
Which is why he became so indecisive, as he would very much like to follow the pretty lady to whatever it was she was offering, but he still had to act like the guard he said he was, so clearing his throat, Feng reluctantly shook his head.
"I'm afraid I can't, my lady. I am still Ms. Beifong's guard."
"Oh, live a little, Feng." Toph waved a hand, winking with a playful smirk on her face as Feng turned to look at her. "I'm sure I'll be perfectly safe here as I can't imagine anyone would dare to attack me in the presence of a member of the Council of Five."
"You got that right little lady." General Sung chuckled as his aged visage turned to face Feng. "Go have some fun, lad, I'll make sure to keep an eye on your charge here. On my word as a General."
Well…Toph was a Master Earthbender and would actually be safer in case of attack than Feng would, and with the General giving his word, he didn't have any obligation to guard her. And if Toph didn't need his help to gamble, well…
"I guess…if a General tells you to do something…you do it. Oh well, catch you later Ms. Beifong, General." Feng decided, accepting the proposal at the lady at his side giggling, a victorious look appearing in Jack's eyes as she nodded.
So, careful to not let too much of his eagerness show, Feng let himself be led away by the scantily clad woman, following her voluptuous behind and long black hair through the side door that Faruk had previously left through, greeted by the smell of tasteful yet strong perfume.
"Through here, my lord." The woman smirked, gesturing to one of the doors along the corridor they were in as Feng moved through, closely followed by the attendant as she closed the door behind her and locked it, turning to look at Feng with a smirk as he moved over to sit on the rooms large bed.
"This is always one of the favorite parts of my job, especially when they're cute like you." The woman smirked as she wrapped her hair up in a ponytail, tying it up with an elastic band on her wrist that Feng hadn't noticed until now, but now that he had, he very much appreciated it. Having her hair up like that just worked for the woman.
It also allowed him to get a good look at the woman, identifying that she was actually younger than he thought, only perhaps 19 years of age judging by just how youthful she looked.
"To be clear, you know this won't mean anything, correct?"
Feng nodded as a lecherous grin appeared on his face, making no move to hide it.
"Good." The woman smirked as she reached up to behind her neck, untying the collar around her neck and letting her fancy dress fall to the ground, revealing her body to the world seeing as she was now dressed in only stockings and underwear, having no bra.
Not that one would fit under that dress of hers.
Now free to move, the lady stepped out of her cloth pile as she strutted forward, rolling her hips with a lustful smile as she drew closer, easily lowering herself to sit on Feng's lap as his hands came up to support her, resting on her large derriere as she leaned forward to place her mouth on Feng's ear, whispering huskily into it.
"And do call me Angel, please," Angel said, rearing back before leaning forward to kiss Feng as they began a make-out session, the last thought in his mind as they began to explore each other's bodies being:
Toph, you are an absolute legend.
AN: And that's the end of another chapter/ I tried to not go overboard in anything, but I'm not so sure I succeeded. Next chapter we'll get the aftermath of the day's gambling and the beginning of the next arc, which should bring the action back to the story. As always, thank you for reading, I hoped you enjoyed my little writing project.
Peace.