Sokka waited in hushed silence, listening carefully as Katara's breath steadied. She was asleep. Finally.
As quietly as he could, Sokka slid out of his sleeping bag and tiptoed to the door, carefully stepping over a softly snoring Aang. He pushed open the fur covering the doorway and winced as the bright glow of the full moon flooded the room. The cold night air welcomed as he slid out and waited a few seconds to make sure Katara and Aang hadn't woken up.
Water lapped against the sidewalk, shimmering with silver light as it caught the moon's reflection. It was a beautiful night, but Sokka had no time to admire it. There was work to be done. He crept forward, taking careful note of the sound his boots made on the packed ice. There were no laws forbidding him from being out at night, but it would be better if nobody saw him. It would make the next stage of his plan so much easier.
He vaulted up onto the second floor balcony of the palace and took a moment to look out at the city. It was truly stunning, like a twinkling sea of orange stars against the dark ocean and sky. Turning away from the view, Sokka leapt up to the next balcony and slid inside, retracing the path he'd taken during the tour yesterday. If he was right, his objective was just one floor above him.
As Sokka tiptoed through the corridor, he spotted a dull orange glow around a corner. Thinking quickly, he vaulted out a nearby window and crouched down against the side of the building. Luckily for him, the Northern Water Tribe palace had a pyramid roof design he could press himself against. He waited in silence, heart pounding as the orange glow grew brighter.
But the guard passed by, oblivious to Sokka's presence. As the glow faded, the warrior allowed himself to breathe again. He was safe, for now. With a quick glance through the window, he rolled back into the hallway and continued his journey. Once more he ducked out onto a balcony to climb up to the next floor. He peered into the corridor and spotted a familiar door. It was wood, reinforced with steel and bearing a heavy-looking lock.
The Royal Archives.
Wood was a rare commodity in the Northern Water Tribe. The files held on the other side must be important to justify such a door. Volumes upon volumes of blueprints. The names of every citizen in the city. Addresses. Exactly what Sokka needed to cross check his list of suspects with anybody who received an unusual boost in wealth. All he had to do was get past the door.
With that thought, Sokka crept back to the balcony. Sure, he could try to break down the door, but Sokka had a far better way of getting inside.
Carefully, he swung himself over the balcony railing, standing precariously on the ledge. Only a few metres away was a balcony leading into the archives. Between that, a twenty metre drop. If he missed the ledge, they'd be scraping him off the ice tomorrow.
Sokka took a few deep breaths to steady his nerves and leapt across the gab. He flew through the air for what felt like minutes before gravity dragged him back down to the cold hard ground. The ledge was coming up quickly. He reached out, managing to just grab hold of it. The rest of him slammed roughly into the ice floor of the balcony.
With a relieved sigh, Sokka hoisted himself onto the balcony and took a moment to settle his heartbeat. That had been a close call. This data better be worth it.
After a few minutes of breathing in the frigid polar air, he peered into the archives. It was filled wall to wall with a series of shelves. Wooden shelves. They certainly spared no expense making this place. More scrolls were stacked in neat little rows, wrapped in a familiar waterproof covering. And more importantly, there were no guards. Perfect.
Sokka would only have a few hours to check through the archives. so there wasn't a moment to lose. He ignited an oil lamp and stepped into the dusty room. It was going to be a long night.
Amaqjuaq. Sokka flicked through the address book, finding the fisherman's name in the records and noting his address. Then, it was to the building commissions log. He lived in a middle class suburban house. A family home, in a nice neighbourhood. Finally, he checked an older address book, from before his father's second visit to the north. Same address, no indication of a sudden increase in wealth.
Amaqjuaq was not the spy.
Sokka's eyelids felt heavy. The archives were surprisingly warm. Or maybe it was the stress. His parka was hung up over the back of his chair, providing a nice cushion. Slowly, he began to slip forward. The sudden impact of his head on the table jolted him back into consciousness. Quickly, he crossed out Amaqjuaq's name. Only a few more to go.
Now, how about 'Kallik'?
These tasks were boring and repetitive. It was soul-crushing work, but nobody said finding a spy would be easy. If this gave him a lead, Sokka would be happy, though he wished there were someone else to share the load with.
Another name checked. Another name crossed off the list.
He wiped cold sweat off his forehead and began the process of checking 'Ujurak'. Just like the last hundred names, he was a random fisherman. No wealth, no record of issues with the government. By all means, a model citizen.
After checking the next name, Sokka automatically flipped the page of his notebook to work through the next bunch. He opened the address books, the building commissions, arrest records and then dragged his eyes to the next name to search.
And found himself staring at a blank page.
Irritated, Sokka turned back a page, carefully rubbing his fingers to separate the two pages. But there was no second page. Ujurak was the last name on the list.
"That can't be it!" Sokka stood up, frantically flipped through the notebook, looking for any name that hadn't been crossed off. Nothing! With a snarl, he sent the notebook flying across the archives. It spiralled away and was lost in the shadows.
This was hopeless. The only lead Sokka had was a dead end. All this effort, only to be met with failure. His knees gave out as he collapsed onto the table, cradling his head in his hands. What a miserable failure he was. This had been his only chance at righting an old wrong and bringing his family, of bringing Katara closure. And he'd failed once again, just like he failed to protect his tribe.
Sokka hadn't cried in eight years, so why did he feel tears in his eyes?
"Excuse me, I think you… dropped this?" A voice spoke out from the gloom.
Instinctively, Sokka leapt back, only to stumble over his chair and tip it over. His head collided against the cold ice floor, making stars flash across his eyes. Stumbling back to his feet, Sokka drew his boomerang.
Two identical figures watched him with expressions of concern mixed with amusement. They were female, with a familiar head of long white hair flowing down their shoulders. Sokka blinked and rubbed his eyes, causing the two images to merge into one.
Princess Yue giggled as Sokka stared at her with a dumbstruck expression. Of all the people he'd been prepared to run into tonight, the Water Tribe princess was not one of them. She sauntered forward and placed Sokka's notebook on the desk. He watched with bated breath as the princess slid one of the logbooks he'd been cross referencing across the table and flipped open the first page.
"A good night for some late reading?" She asked, not looking up from the records.
"Something like that."
"You are aware I could call a dozen guards here at any moment?" Yue fixed him with a steady gaze.
Sokka gulped. Her eyes literally glowed with some unseen power. This was not the giggly princess he'd met last night.
"Yes," he answered after a long moment of silence.
"Good," Yue pulled back a chair and sat down, gesturing for Sokka to do the same. "We have some things to talk about."
After a moment of tense hesitation, he picked up his chair and sat opposite the princess. She twirled one of her braids absentmindedly, but those unnatural silver-blue eyes never left him.
"Firstly, what are you doing here so late at night?" Yue asked just as Sokka was beginning to sweat under her stare.
"What are you doing here?" He replied automatically. Spirits above and below, why did his voice have to waver? This was just some girl! Why was he so scared?
"Let's just say I have trouble sleeping on nights like this," She leaned forward until her eyes were mere inches from his.
Under the light of the full moon, Yue appeared translucent. She glowed in a way he couldn't comprehend. Primal terror ensnared him. This presence… it did not belong in the mortal realm.
Sokka blinked and Yue's skin was back to it's creamy pale tone. Perfectly normal. That fall must have rattled something in his brain. Or maybe he was just tired?
"But this is my home, I have the right to be here. So… what about you?" Yue continued, sliding the address book back over to him. "Planning a party?"
"Would you believe me if I said I was?"
Yue giggled. "Not a chance. I can see five different address books, a record of arrests, some building commission logs and- oh, is that a guide to Water Tribe politics? I'm sure you've got a very interesting explanation for why you decided to break into my palace in the middle of the night."
For a brief moment, he considered lying. But he somehow knew Yue would see through any deception. Already she'd proven to be far more cunning than Sokka ever could've guessed she'd be. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but Yue had fooled him. The Water Tribe Princess was now an unknown variable. Yes, it was better to come clean.
"I have reason to suspect there is a spy in the North Pole," Sokka admitted.
"Care to elaborate?"
"It's my sister," Sokka loathed to speak these words. It felt like he was betraying Bato's trust. "When my father came to this city eight years ago, he wanted your father to send a waterbender south to train her. At the time, nobody outside my tribe knew there was a waterbender born in the South Pole. Yet only a month after my father's expedition to the north, the Fire Nation came to my village looking for a waterbender and killed my mother. You can understand how this looks."
Yue frowned slightly. "And this spy… you hope to catch them?"
"That's right."
"And that's why you're here, isn't it?" Yue flipped through the most recent pages of his notebook. "You are checking these names in the hopes of finding something suspicious."
Sokka nodded. "That's a list of people who left the harbour in the month after the expedition. I was checking if any of them had experienced a sudden increase of wealth."
"Searching for a bribe. Very clever," Yue agreed. "But your list is incomplete."
"Excuse me? These are all the names logged by the harbourmaster."
"That is true. But many of the wealthy or influential members of this city maintain private docks. Their departures are not recorded by the harbourmaster. What's more, there are a dozen coastal towns surrounding Agna Qel'a you could reach in less than a week's travel by sled. You cannot eliminate the possibility that your spy may have used one of those towns as their departure point."
"So, I still have a lead?" Sokka couldn't help but smile. "All I have to do is check those names and I can find the spy!"
"Assuming I don't have you arrested, that would be a good lead to follow up on."
"Are you going to have me arrested?"
Yue leaned back in the chair, seeming to ponder his question but never breaking eye contact with him. "I suppose that all depends on you."
Sokka sighed. Blackmail. Of course.
"Oh it's nothing like that," Yue corrected herself, seeing the expression on his face. "I want to help you."
"Excuse me?" Sokka replied. Of all the demands she could have made, this was not one he'd been expecting.
"Perhaps you have the wrong impression of me? This is my home, and I care for it deeply. A spy for the Fire Nation in our midst is a threat to the safety and happiness of my people. Thus, it becomes my job to care. Understand?" She fixed him with a hard stare. Sokka nodded slowly.
"I have already proven myself useful to this investigation, no?" Yue continued, tossing the notebook back across the table for Sokka to catch. "You have a lead in your investigation thanks to me, and I'm sure I could help further. For example, have you considered that the spy may have sent a hawk and collected their bribe after your mother's death?"
"Yes I have," Sokka nodded. "But would you trust the Fire Nation to honour a deal after they've got what they wanted from you?"
"I would, if the Fire Nation was expecting repeat business from me. The identity of your sister is not the only secret they would pay for."
"You think the spy has had repeat dealings with the Fire Nation?"
"If they were willing to betray their nation once, they'd be willing to do it multiple times."
Damn it, Yue was right. Sokka felt stupid for not considering that before. If the Fire Nation and the spy had regular correspondence, it was entirely possible that they'd built up enough trust for the spy to feel confident they could give the Fire Nation information without immediate payment. His shipping logs were now worthless!
Although… This did mean Sokka had another way of tackling the problem.
"If the spy is giving the Fire Nation that much information, then surely they'd be getting paid more?" Sokka reasoned, jotting down the new information in his notebook. "So we're looking for somebody who received a huge amount of wealth over the last decade under suspicious pretenses."
Yue held her hand out for the notebook. Reluctantly, Sokka passed it to her. She flipped through the pages until she reached his suspect profile and added her own notes.
"The spy would also need to own a fairly large retail business," Yue added, returning Sokka's notebook.
"What makes you say that?"
"Northern Water Tribe currency is made from whale bones, found only in the polar regions. Unless the Fire Nation has taken up whaling right outside the city without us knowing, it would be impossible for them to get their hands on any actual currency to pay their spy."
Sokka nodded, seeing her logic. "And it's not like the spy can just go around paying for things with the Fire Nation's currency."
"Which is why the spy must be getting paid in consumer goods…"
"...and that implies they must have a way to sell those consumer goods," Sokka finished for her.
"Precisely."
This was so exciting! Finally, he was making progress. How had he ever thought Yue was just a pretty face?
Well, there was really no question about what he had to do now. In the span of a single night, Sokka had made far more progress in the case than he ever could've hoped for. And it was all thanks to the princess sitting across from him.
"Alright, you've convinced me. I definitely want your help in this investigation."
Yue gave him a smug grin. "I knew you'd come around."
Despite his apprehensions, it felt good to have somebody helping him with the investigation. Especially when that somebody was as shrewd as his new companion.
"If the spy is getting paid in goods and selling them in the North Pole, would they not have to explain how they can import so many goods without paying for them?" Sokka asked the princess.
"Good point," Yue nodded. "It would require them to forge expense records for their business. That might fool some clerk, but would show too many inconsistencies if a proper investigator looked into it. Honestly, they would be better off keeping the entire transaction a secret from the chiefdom and pay their taxes through a legitimate side business."
That got Sokka thinking. It was becoming increasingly apparent that this spy wasn't working alone. At the very least, they would have to operate a medium-sized operation to turn their bribes into money without the government catching on.
"So we're looking for smugglers who've decided to add treason to their repertoire?"
"Smugglers would certainly fit," Yue scribbled a few additions to their suspect profile. "They are motivated by profit, have no qualms about breaking our laws and the ability to both sneak information out of the city and bring goods back in. We can't rule out other suspects, but I say looking into smuggling rings would be a good start."
Sokka nodded his agreement. "And I think I may have a lead. There's a Pitkurak named Suluk I met earlier today. He's been investigating smuggler rings, so he might be able to point us in the right direction."
"Then come find me the day after tomorrow. I'd very much like to meet this contact of yours."
Sokka agreed and bid Yue goodnight. He heaved a sigh of relief. Finally, he could sleep. With heavy footsteps, he made his way to the balcony. All he had to do now was sneak back through the guards and-
"You do know you could just leave through the door?" Yue interrupted his thoughts. He turned and saw her standing by the now open door with an amused smile. "I am the princess, you don't need to sneak around when you're with me. But if you prefer to go vaulting off a balcony…"
"No!" Sokka shouted, then caught himself. "I mean… Yes, that would be nice of you, Princess Yue. Thank you."
"You can just call me Yue."
Sokka smiled. Despite his apprehensions, he felt like he was going to get along with Yue just fine.
AN: Well, it's been a while. I'm sorry this took far longer than I said it would, but I've struggled to find the time and energy to write. But I'm back now and the next chapter should hopefully take less time to complete. Anyway, we finally get introduced to Yue as a proper character. If you can't guess, she's going to play a big part in this story. I really liked her character and wanted to do something interesting with her in Conspiracy in the North. Sokka also makes some progress in his investigation. Next chapter, we check in with Suluk.