A Kiss in Ba Sing Se: Secrets and Promises

[A/N: History it said is written by the victors. Truth and facts are often marginalized.

We see the world through our perspective until another side is presented.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Avatar: The Last Airbender

Enjoy.

Comment if you wish. All feedback is welcomed.]

Chapter 86

Upset

Aang turns towards the weeping young woman, pulling back the heavy blanket.

"What's wrong, Toph?"

"I dunno."

"Please tell me. How can I help you if you don't let me know what's wrong?"

For several minutes all that fills the room are her soft cries. It reminds him of when they first spent the night together just days before.

"Please Toph, let me help you. Are you upset with Katara?"

The princess slowly shakes her head.

"Okay. Are you upset with me?"

She nods vigorously.

"Me? What did I do?"

Toph turns her face up to his. "You, you, cheater! You kissed her! You kissed her right in front of me! How could you do such a thing Aang!"

Aang's mouth drops open. "T-Toph. You know I didn't mean to upset you. If I didn't do something, she would have discovered you were here. Plus, you were messing with me!"

"So, it's my fault you kissed her?"

"Yes… no, I mean no. It's not your fault I kissed her, but when you were playing around, it was making it hard to think."

The princess scowls. "Speaking of hard, why'd you swell up like that? Did she get you that excited? I thought you were going to cum on my face!"

The Avatar takes in a deep breath. "Yes, seeing her vagina got me aroused Toph. But mainly I was thinking about you and her."

"You mean," The princess' eyes doubled. "…ménage à trois?"

"No, nothing like that," Aang refutes.

Toph sighs in relief. "Okay for a minute I thought you wanted to do something really freaky."

"I was thinking about a threesome. I don't know what that 'manage' whatever is. If you say it's freaky, I believe you Toph."

The princess' elbow came down hard on his solar plexus, making the Avatar double up. "You idiot! Ménage à trois is a three, three, threesome! What makes you think I want to get it on with Sugar Queen! You're disgusting!"

"Get it on? With Katara? You two? That never crossed my mind Toph, I swear! Ow, hard to breathe. You just about knocked the wind out of me. You know I'm still hurt from that fall, and that elbow sure didn't help!"

"Why would you think about a threesome Twinkle Toes? What could have possibly crossed your pebble sized brain to think that was ever okay?"

Aang saw how upset Toph was by the columns of tears that washed down her enflamed face.

"What crossed my mind was the fact that you were sucking me and she had her, uh fuzzy pussy, I mean, huh womanhood, in my face. What was I supposed to think at that moment? Two beautiful women in my bedroom both wanting to be with me! It was like a wild dream come true. I'm a Man; what was I supposed to be thinking about? Birds and clouds?" he plead logically.

The princess sighs as she rubs her forehead with her fingertips. "I don't know Twinkle Toes. I don't have an answer for you. I should have seen this coming."

"You're not a fortune teller too, are you?"

The princess rolls her sightless eyes. "No, you idiot, I'm not. I just know she's probably starting to feel a bit set upon. With what we did yesterday and how that monster attacked us; her proposal makes sense, and this won't be the last time."

"You really think she's going to try and seduce me again?"

"Try not to sound so happy lover-boy. We're both responsible for making her up her game. I don't know how much she believes you about what you recall from yesterday, but when she gets a moment to sit and think, she's going to call bull-yak shit on it."

"Why would you think that Toph? Doesn't she trust me?"

"Uh, she's seen you break too many of those useless Avatar promises. Aang, you lie when it's convenient. Not that you do it well, and sometimes unnecessarily, but your rep is questionable at best. Sweetness is a lot like Sokka, naturally suspicious."

"I only do it for the greater good. As the Avatar, I try to maintain peace and balance."

"Now I call bull-yak shit! You do it for the same reason we all do Aang. There isn't some high and noble cause! You're just covering your ass," she states, pointing a finger in his face.

"That hurts my love; it really does."

"As I said, you're a terrible liar Aang. But that's not a bad thing."

They both begin to giggle, and the mood lightens significantly.

After several moments, Toph's expression turns serious. "I shouldn't blame you for getting excited over seeing Sweetness' va-jay-jay. Technically you two are dating, even though you're sleeping with me."

"Speaking of sleeping with, I missed not being in the same bed with you Toph last night."

His confession brings a heated rush to her cheeks. "We were in the same room."

"Yeah, but you still felt far away. Like now, I wanted to be with you. I felt like Katara was keeping us apart. Seeing her… uh, stuff, yeah it shocked me, and some dirty thoughts ran through my mind. But every dirty thought included you. They were mostly about you, my sweet."

His long deep sigh sounded pretty sad.

"I guess I should have just stayed still until she left. I just thought it would be fun to tease you. It never occurred to me she was here to buy insurance."

"Insurance?"

"Yes, Aang, insurance. She figured if we already crossed that line, her only hope of protecting her relationship with you is to go to the next level. If you let her, she would have been riding that rock or smothering your face."

"I was seriously surprised when she made the offer," he says, rubbing his bald head.

"I know me too. She sounded so… desperate. I almost felt sorry for her."

The Avatar drops his head. "Yeah. But Toph, the truth is Katara would never do such a thing. I know that for a fact."

The princess' foggy jade eyes rolled upwards. You only think you know her Aang. That girl is open to a whole lot of things.

"My love, you just asked what made me so hard, and I wanted to answer you truthfully. I would have never even brought up the subject on my own."

"You could've said I couldn't tell you," she replies as her lips twist into a pout.

"And how has that worked for me in the past? You never leave it at that! I'll know that you know when I've not been totally honest with you. That would just make our relationship, uh, awkward, Toph."

"Quite true."

"It does make it hard when something like this happens for us to communicate. In a normal world, I don't think people end up like this. Toph, you don't usually let things like this go easily, even when I'm trying not to be evasive."

The princess nods her acknowledgment.

"In a 'normal' world, I wouldn't be fooling around with the Avatar either," she points out.

"And I wouldn't be making love to a princess who just happens to be a real live goddess."

Toph smiles softly at him. "I guess we all have our burdens to bear."

Damn my suspicious nature. "Aang, I'm sorry I got so upset with you. I know you were just trying to protect us, but I just don't like sharing you at all. Maybe it's because I'm immature and selfish, but that's the way I am. It would probably make things a lot simpler if all three of us were together."

"Really!"

The princess' eyes narrow. "Don't get your pervy hopes up flyboy! It'll have to be a cold day in that damn desert before I consent to that! As I said, I'm not sharing!"

"So, my love, shall we continue where we left off?" he suggests, his voice lowering in range.

"No," she answers matter-of-factly.

"Why not? I'm so excited, and I feel like I'm going to bust."

"Aang, I know you're still worked up over what she showed you. (that disgraceful hussy) But, I don't like the idea of you doing me and thinking about her. It just doesn't sit right."

"I promise I wouldn't do that, my love! You're the only one on my mind!"

"I know you believe that." She places a hand on his chest. "…and I know it wouldn't be on purpose, but like you said, you're a man. What has been seen, can't be unseen. Time is the only thing that's going to dull that vision. Can you promise me that her fuzzy… pussy, won't come back to mind?"

"No."

"See, then it's all for the best we don't."

"But Sifu, I'm still hard, my love," he boyishly complains.

"Why don't you just take care of it Aang like you did before we were having sex."

"Pleeease Toph! I'm begging you. You're right here! Mercy, my goddess!"

She sighs heavily at his persistent entreating. "Okay, since this is partly my fault, I'll give you a hand. Better appreciate it!" Toph spits into her palms and seizes his sizeable erection.

"OHHHH YESSSS! Thank you, my goddess!"

It only takes a couple of strokes, and his hands firmly planted on her breast, for the young Avatar to bubble over her fingers.

Toph worked his emissions back unto the shaft, using the slickness to cause a second volley. Her hands instinctively know the timing and places to touch on him.

"Were that one for her and one for me?" she asks in a seductive tone.

"That was all for you, my love," Aang breathlessly states without pause.

"Then I'll take it," she declares with a wicked grin, covering the point of the pulsing pole with her mouth.

Aang's hips bolt up at the contact, and his body shudders and twists as his hyper-sensitive member cums under her lingual assault.

"Please T-Toph, T-T- Toph, TTT-Tofffff…. Toph," he implores, twisting about frenziedly.

The heavy smell and bitterness don't deter her continued oral endeavor. She enjoys hearing her name proclaimed over and over. Likewise, his vain struggle adds to the intensity of the moment.

Finally, he collapses. His breath is coming out in short ragged pants.

Toph moves up to lay beside him. "Feel better?"

He lays his head between her breast and starts to – cry.

"Uh, hey, Aang… love, what's wrong?"

"I swear Toph; it's only you! Right here, right now, it's only you! Please, please, believe me!"

She hugs him tightly. "I know. I believe you, honey. My sweet man. You're all mine, forever," she declares with a look of stark determination as she kisses the top of his head. "No one is coming between us."

After his sobs fade, she soon hears the short, shallow sighs of sleep.

I guess you were tired. It has been a long day and this evening will only be more so. Rest my love.

The princess nestles in even further beside her snoozing lover.

Aang groans in satisfaction, pulling her closer. "Toph." Her name escapes his lips once more before he drifts into a deeper slumber.

Toph's mind begins to race about. The recent events keep her from joining him in their naptime.

Katara, girl, you surprised me. I didn't think you would be going full commando and throw your nastiness into his face like that. I know you're stressed about Sokka, but that shouldn't make you so frantic.

The earthbender replays the waterbender's attempt at seduction in her mind.

Good thing that wasn't Lili or even my little virgin cousin Fong. I don't think he would stand a chance against them. They're taught how to put the moves on a guy. Katara, you poor girl, you believe flashing your pootang is enough? You got a lot to learn. Thank the Earth you're still naïve.

The demi-goddesses mind slipped to her own encounter with her past lover and current friend.

But I must say you are a delicious dish. So sweet. My dear Wu. You may have been cruel and sadistic, but you were always kind to me. My date is on her mind as well. I can't blame her for wanting to make sure I don't steal you away. I think I would do the same.

Toph squealed with satisfaction as she wiped the drool from her mouth with the back of her hand.

Well, both of you have a pretty sick brother, fetish. I guess even lifetimes doesn't change some things.

Memories from thousands of years prior were flooding her mind before she shook her head,

That's all in the past. You're in the past to Wu. But someone knows my weakness for you Sweetness, and they took advantage of it. Spirit, human, deity, I have to find out who it is. They almost killed Snoozles and certainly would have ended Aang too. Poor Hidimbi. I'm so sorry for having to stop you like that. I'll make it up to you. Hopefully, in a couple of thousand years, you'll be able to forgive me.

Toph yawns as her own very human fatigue take hold, and she soon let herself slip into the inviting dream world, surrounded by her lover's warm, comforting embrace.

Countess Lili Soo Hahn checks in on her critically wounded patient. The needles she put in place earlier seemed to be blocking his pain. His auburn face appears almost child-like as he rests.

"Handsome young man."

"Quite."

"Is this a result of that issue last night?"

"No, that was resolved Lady Soo Ming."

"Since you're not lying in one of these beds, I take it you weren't the one to attend him in that matter?"

"I did not have that honor. I believe that will be one of my regrets for years to come."

"Mine as well. He seems to be a gentle soul, strong in his loins. Do you know Countess, that his name is known in the spirit realm?"

"Truly?" Lili replies with a raised brow.

"Yes, truly. The moon spirit whispers his name every night. It carries on the wind like a prayer."

Lili gazes quizzically at the young man. "I wonder why she would do such a thing? Who is he?"

Soo Ming shrugs her narrow shoulders. "I don't know. Maybe even the moon spirit appreciates big cock. Still, I don't think it's long enough to reach her."

The two courtesans giggle at the joke.

"Why did you request me, Countess," Soo Ming finally asks.

"My princess needs your help. It appears that there are persons or entities unknown working to undermine her. She feels these attacks upon her friends have a purpose," Lili reports turning to gaze into Soo Ming's unblinking eyes.

"And did the princess ask you to contact me?"

Lili shakes her head. "No, I did this on my own."

"But what if I'm the one who is perpetrating these events. I have a long history with, Zhinu."

The Countess smiles. "So, you know her true identity as well. I thought you would."

"Of course. How could I not know my big sister."

Even the stoic leader of Toph's ladies-in-waiting could not hide her shock as her mouth drops open. "Big… sister?"

"Yeah, same dad, different moms. They don't get along though. Sis and I used to be like that too until she helped me out of a real bad relationship with this spirit named Koh. He was this real clingy kind of guy. When I broke up with him, he became like this stalker. He starts following me around using all these different types of faces, thinking, I wasn't going to recognize him. Sis comes to my rescue and puts him in his place. She takes away all his faces… but that was what? Maybe 65 or 70 thousand years ago. He has new ones now. He was showing them at this mixer we were attending... not together of course. Well, I did go home with him and fool around. What's wrong Countess Soo Hahn?"

"So, you're a goddess too?"

"Well, technically, yes. I've chosen a human form, and I live here at the palace. Did you think I was just some run-of-the-mill sorceress? Sweetie, I've lived here long before this palace or city existed. They built the place around me!"

"Then cousin is…"

"Not like me. She's a spirit that is inhabiting a human body we call a robe. They have a mutually beneficial relationship of a sort. If her robe dies, she has to return to the place we deities exist. I, on the other hand, just regenerate my body as often as I want. I can freely move between the different realms. It's like a snake shedding its skin."

Lili's fear in speaking with this supernatural being dissipates for curiosity. "Is this robe, like a regular person that she is possessing?"

Soo Ming turns and smiles at her with a grin that literally goes from ear-to-ear in a reptilian-like fashion. Likewise, her pupils become slits. "That is a wonderful question, countess. In all my years, I think you're the first to ask that question."

Lili's fear returns with a vengeance upon seeing Soo Ming's inhuman expression.

"What's wrong, countess, you look troubled."

"Your face, your face looks like a snake…"

"Oops, my bad. I just got so excited over your enlightened question I showed you a bit of my true form."

"You're a snake spirit I take it?" Lili's voice is noticeably shaking.

"Yes, the snake goddess, Xtabay."

Lili's eyes narrow. "I heard from the traders near the desert that Xtabay is a demon, feeding off of fear and lust."

"Comme ci comme ça, demon or goddess, it all how people look at you. Some people worship me; others fear me. The same is true of my sister. Zhinu is revered while Empress Ci Quan is loathed and despised."

Lili covers her mouth. "Toph… Toph is, uh, was Ci Quan?"

Soo Ming breathed in deeply as if inhaling some delicious aroma or exotic fragrance. "Oh yes, Sweetie. She sure was. For more than two thousand years, she ruled and made humanity suffer as her playthings. It was said back then that Ci Quan's pinky is weightier than a million men."

"Why? Why did she do all those terrible things? Villages, cities, whole tribes slaughtered."

Soo Ming inhales once more. "Your feelings are just yummy. Lili, you should understand more than anyone the 'why'."

Lili fights back her tears. "How can I understand or justify such atrocities, such cold-blooded rage. Such callous actions!"

"Countess Soo Hahn, you are well versed in history, but not in facts. For me, this is a memory, as clear as if it happened just moments before. Shall I show you? Do you want to know the -truth?"

Lili gathers her resolve and nods.

"Excellent! Just look into my eyes, Lili!"

Instantly the countess felt as if she was floating. Before Lili is the scene of a city or town. She can't tell which from the plumes of thick smoke and fire. Dragons circled in the air and men in brightly colored armor ran about shouting and waving their bloodied weapons.

Lines of boys, girls, and young men and women were chained together, bound hand and foot, with metal collars on their necks. They were being herded along. To Lili, it was apparent they were being taken as slaves.

"Is this part of Ci Quan's doing?"

"No, Ci Quan is the terrified child, third from the end."

Lili gasps. "She was a slave!"

"Captured by the Sun Warriors, her parents were sacrificed to their god, Agni. They were flayed alive right before her eyes after both of them were raped. Of course, she was raped as well, several times. That blood on her legs isn't from wounds that one can see."

"B-but she just a child. She can't be any older than five or six," Lili cries.

"The Sun Warriors made no distinctions as to age. Infants were fed to their dragons because they were considered of no value. Most adults were sacrificed unless they were particularly attractive or skilled. Children were valued as slaves and forcing sex upon them was considered a way of breaking their spirit, making them controllable," Soo Ming narrates. "They would continue to do so until the child either dies or stops crying. That's why all these children have such blank faces."

"History never makes mention of the Sun Warriors being like this!"

"That's the difference between reality and your history. As a goddess or demon, your choice, I have seen many such things since the dawn of man. Rarely does the account gets passed on to posterity."

"I-I didn't know." Lili shakes her head, staring at the child who was undoubtedly in shock.

Soo Ming speaks up. "Oh, let me tell you about robes. Robes are a human body crafted for the habitation of a spirit. They don't have spirits of their own. Once the spirit enters them, they are just like any other human until they experience an awakening. That's when they realize who they truly are. Many of your heroes were such beings as well as many of your history's villains."

"Soo Ming, what happens after this? How does Ci Quan survive?"

"The compassion in your voice is admirable Lili. Let me show you. Ci Quan was sold to some Rock Breaker nobles. They used her to make money on the streets of their capital city, as a prostitute. There she met another sex slave named Wu. The two girls and Wu's twin brother Kovi sold their bodies for their master's profit. They were the only comfort and support for one another as well. She also met Lothi and Tioi. You probably recognize those names as well."

Lili nodded. "The Blood Queens."

"Yes! Indeed, that is who they become. You are very learned! This is getting exciting now!"

Lili sees a scene in a back alley. An older version of Ci Quan and another girl, who she assumes to be Wu by her brown skin and blue eyes, is standing with their hands out, obviously expecting money.

A single copperish coin is placed in Ci Quan's hand. The other man spits into Wu's.

"What's going on, Soo Ming?"

"They are being paid for services rendered. Wu's 'customer' is refusing to pay even though he finished. If they don't collect a payment, the girls are severely beaten. Oh look, Wu's brother steps in to help her get paid, and now they are fighting."

Lili watches the three children tussle with the two men. As one of the men pulls out a dagger and lunges for Kovi, Ci Quan apparently bends a rock that not only hits the man but flies right through his skull. The second man attempts to flee but is instantly buried, almost as if he had vanished.

The three children coldly search the body for valuables, talking as if this was a casual occurrence. When they finished with the first, she unearthed the buried man, and they repeated the process. Ci Quan then sinks both of them with a snap of her fingers as the two other children applaud.

Lili notes that each time Ci Quan bends her element, her eyes light up bright green. "Why are her eyes flashing, like an Avatar?"

"She's awakened. Within the next few days, she will know completely of her divine origins. She will also awaken the elemental gifts in the other children. From here Ci Quan will lead a slave revolt and take over the city… well, the rest you can say is history."

"I don't understand. She leads a revolt, sets slaves free, and then becomes a tyrant herself? That just doesn't make sense. What of mercy and compassion," Lili moans.

"Poor child. Don't you know that mercy and compassion were not traits Ci Quan ever learned or rather were snatched away? She survived by being as cunning and ruthless as her captors. Her family and the people she most wanted to protect consisted of those four other kids. She leads a revolt, and then enslaves the slavers! She has their families raped and sold, right in front of them. They are tortured and crippled. Her former captors beg her for death, but she denies them. Instead, she prolongs their suffering until she gets bored of them. This was just the start of their reign. I'm not asking you to justify her actions Lili, just understand the – why."

The countess looked away. "She probably went hungry and was treated like an animal."

"And that was a good day, Lili. Those men, this society created Ci Quan and the monster she would become. They sowed the seed of anguish and reaped a harvest of despair! Let us return. This breaks my heart as well," Soo Ming discloses in a choked voice.

"Soo Ming, if you knew who she was, why didn't you help Ci Quan?"

"The rules, our father, the Jade Emperor, imposed on her, would not permit me to do so. She had to live the first twelve years as a mortal, without help from the spirit world. I was powerless. After her awakening, she had dominion over all she saw and claimed. No force in the heavens or earth could stop her then."

Lili bows to the normal looking young woman. "Thank you for showing me all of this. I do understand why, now."

"Uhm Lili, now that I've told you about my sister, can I take a peek under his sheet? You know, get a look at the goods?" Soo Ming shyly points Sokka's way.

Lili straightens. "That would not be appropriate Soo Ming! He is a patient here."

"Ah, come on! I know you've seen it!"

"Well, I had to look! I'm a healer, and he's in my care," the countess offers in defense.

"If I heal that hole in his gut, can I take a look too," Soo Ming counters.

Lili sighs. "Sure, I think that would be a fair exchange. I better step out and keep a watch for his sister. If she sees you, we'll never hear the end of it! I swear they remind me of Kovi and Wu!"

Soo Ming laughs. More than you know Lili, more than you know!