Chapter 31: Out of My Reach

They snuck out of the palace with precision, and in their initial moments of freedom, they dared to exude their relief through their confident gaits, but it was not long at all before Sokka was recognized by a Loyalist guard.

"Isumataq Sokka?"

"Shit," Sokka froze in place as Yue tightened her mask around her. The Southern prince awkwardly greeted the approaching guard. "Hello there," he forced out a grin. "How's everything going?"

"Alright..." the tribesman looked at Yue, who bowed in greeting. "Sir, I thought you were supposed to be with the princess. You're her bodyguard after all. What are you doing here? Who's your friend?" And after briefly widening his eyes and gawking at Yue, "Wait, is this lady our pri—?"

"Her Highness told me to take some time off today," Sokka cut him off before the tribesman could go on with his assumptions, "She said she has some important work to do and that she won't be coming out of her chambers anytime soon. So I decided to use my time off to take care of, uh...other important matters..."

"You didn't seem to want to leave that easily according to the incident I've been hearing all around," the man raised his eyebrows suspiciously at Yue, "Ma'am, I'm gonna need you to come right this way for a moment—"

"Okay, that's it, I'm done," Yue threw her hands up in the air in exasperation and turned to Sokka, "Can we not go a single minute without getting involved with your job? All I ask is for you to spend a tiny bit of time with me, and you're still hanging onto your duties to the Princess!"

Sokka had never been so confused in his entire life as he gaped at the princess, whose voice had risen several octaves higher than he'd ever known it to be.

"Princess, Princess, Princess! Don't you think about anyone else? Do you not have any time for me? You're so focused on your job that you don't even have the courage to tell this guy—" she pointed to the equally confused guard, "—to back off and let you spend time with your girlfriend!"

And that's when it struck Sokka like a bolt of lightning that zapped up his slumbering brain cells to life, "I...I tried to...baby... he didn't give me the chance, yet—!"

"So this is your girlfriend—?"

"Yes, she's my girlfriend, genius!" Sokka snapped at the guard.

"Quit your lying, I know you like the princess!" Yue feigned heartbreak, purposely summoning a shake in her voice, "If you like your precious princess so much, then why are you still after me?"

"I don't see the princess like that—!"

"I snuck out of my igloo and into your ship and left the South all for you, and you're over here preaching about the princess every two seconds!"

And seeing her like that sent a strange kind of quiver through him like someone was tossing around his heart. Sure, this was all an act, but she astonished him with the amount of moisture that began collecting in her reddening eyes, and he felt quite restless. "I'm sorry, baby—"

"I really thought we had something, but I guess we don't." Sniffing and brushing the tears at her eyes, "It's over between us, isumataq."

"I don't have feelings for the Princess, Baby Blue!" he sounded more desperate than even he expected himself to be, shoving the guard out of his way in his heightened emotion, "This is just my duty—!"

"You were the one who kept dancing around her wanting to be her bodyguard! Don't tell me that was for nothing!"

"Please, you're not understanding the situation—!"

"I gave you a chance because you kept hitting on me like a polar bear puppy. My parents kept trying to warn me against falling for someone of your esteemed status, and I didn't listen to them. I didn't even suspect anything when you told me not to tell anyone about our relationship. But now I know your priorities don't include me." Faking another sniff, "You just wanted to play around, didn't you?"

"That's not true, my love, I would never—!""

"And what do you want?" she turned to the guard bitterly, "You think I'm your mysterious princess who's stupid enough to step outside after I was kidnapped by some imposter yesterday?"

"No, miss, I didn't think you were the prince's—"

"Well I'm not your princess, alright? Your princess has ruined my love life, and even for a million gold pieces, I wouldn't pretend to be her, so help me Spirits!" Brushing aside more of the tears rolling down her cheeks, "I'm gonna catch a ship back to the South right now. Marry that guy my father arranged for me—"

"You'd rather choose that boring-ass coward over me without even listening to my side of the story?!" Sokka exclaimed, "He doesn't even love you! He just wants your dad's money!"

"I'd rather marry a boring man than a man who makes no time for me at all! You've got charm but no dedication!" Pushing him out of her way, "We're through—"

"Baby Blue, wait!" Sokka called after her, shooting a glare at the guard, "Are you happy now? This is all your fault!"

"I'm truly sorry, sir, I didn't know you were seeing someone! I'll fix this, please, give me a chance. Young lady, wait!" The guard ran after her along with the prince, pausing when he saw that her mask was brought down and her glare was directed at them. Of course, he did not recognize her, for no one could recognize the princess if they never even saw her in the first place.

"Ma'am, I had to ask the prince certain questions because it was my duty, and I thought for some reason he and the pri…" shaking his head, "Never mind that. I apologize for intruding on your date. He's a good prince, ma'am, please don't misunderstand the situation." Turning to the prince, "Go with her, isumataq. If anyone asks for you, I'll tell them you're on an important errand."

Seeing how the guard wasn't making his way back yet and was looking at them expectantly, Sokka scrambled before the princess, "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry..." he trailed off, suddenly plucked out of the situation like a flower catching the universe's eye, and he was tossed into endless baby blue oceans, feeling a fierce tug in his chest. "I really...have feelings for you," he choked out. "I want to take good care of you. That's why...that's why I'm working so hard, you know that…?" Without thinking, he let an involuntary impulse shoot through his brain, which made him bring his hand slowly up to her cheek, softly and tentatively cupping the skin. He thumbed away a "tear." "I'll leave everything behind for you. Just say the word and I'll...I'll leave everything…"

She blinked at him, baffled but nevertheless interested in the prince's rather invested performance.

"Don't you see how sincere he is, ma'am?"

Sokka snapped out of his trance and moved his hand away quickly, mouthing a "sorry" in her direction without the guard's notice. Yue pulled her mask up again to fight off the awkwardness. "Fine..."

They went on their way with Yue pretending to come down from her "sobs" and Sokka pretending to comfort her, and after failing to find ways to look behind them without turning, they went a good distance like that, holding hands and leaning against each other. Eventually, Yue broke her fake cry with a whisper, "Is he still there?"

"Huh?" And after turning, "Yeah, but he's not looking at us."

"Phew!" she let go of his hand and retained the previous distance between them, transitioning into a laugh. "Well that was an experience." She turned back around, spotting the man in the far distance as he brushed away the happy tears that gushed out of his eyes as a result of the "lovers'" reunion. "Aww, he's crying. He actually believed it."

"Of course he would, that was top-tier acting right there!"

"I watch way too many plays," she grinned. "You're a great actor yourself. Anyone would believe you were being sincere if they didn't know you were acting."

Staring at her in a mixture of amusement, sincerity, and a strange pang of yearning. "Yeah, that...that was acting..." He turned back to her, watching her dry her tears, "Are you really okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" she said, suddenly perking up, "Did it really seem like I was crying?"

"Yeah, for a moment, I was so worried! How did you pull that off?"

"I'm not that talented or anything. I just had a little help." She pulled her mask down a little further and reached into its folds, pulling out a small piece of onion. She held it up, "I was preparing the Air Nomad meal for the feast early this morning, and this somehow slipped into one of my pockets. I found it in the middle of my first meeting. I'd been looking to throw it away ever since but never got the chance after the commotion this morning, and eventually I forgot about it." Shrugging, "I suppose the universe wanted me to have it so I can use it now. When that man was questioning away, I slipped it under my nose real quick. And tada! Believable tears."

"Now that's a genius move," he noted, impressed, "Way to use your resources, Princess."

And speaking of utilizing resources (and by extent, situations), "Sorry, by the way, this was the only other idea that came to my mind. That man is Mr. Ijkun. He acts like he's cold and heartless, but he's a sucker for a good romance. Lenient on couples, too. I thought pretending for five minutes would help us escape in the long run."

"Oh absolutely, it was perfect! No apology necessary. In fact," he bowed and grinned, "I'm honored to have acted as your lover, Princess."

Flashing him a teasing grin, "I wonder if your superior acting skills were inspired by those passionate passages that might have kept you up last night?"

"I wasn't reading those parts," he flushed, "I was reading for the plot."

"Oh really?"

"Well, I was skimming over them, but I was invested in the story more."

"Whatever you say."

When they finally stepped into the middle ring, they saw that the path to the Moon Temple was rather crowded and understandably so given it was still morning. The angakkuit were running around, tending to their rituals and simultaneously welcoming the devotees.

"There's a lot of people at the temple today," Sokka noted. "I'm not sure if we'll be able to practice with so many distractions."

"The angakkuit would likely disapprove, too," she said, "and I don't want them blaming you again for no reason."

Sighing, "I can already imagine what's gonna happen when I set foot in there."

Turning to him, "Do you want to go to the Spirit Oasis instead? That's where I usually go when I need some space to meditate."

"Then let's do it!"

"I know a shortcut," she said, leading him along the sidewalks towards a path that they haven't frequented before, but they both halted in their steps at the sight of a couple furiously grinding against each other and making out at the corner of the sidewalk, their hands roaming to places reserved for the privacy of a bedroom. Their explicit activities were barely covered by a few pelts that were dangling from the top of the igloo next to them.

"O...kay...let's go another way," Yue turned the other way and walked back down the path they originally embarked on, her face beet red. The Southern prince pulled down a dangling pelt further to grant the hungry lovers more privacy before trotting after the Northern princess.

"Those lovebirds sound like they need help," Sokka teased her. "Wanna check on them real quick, Baby Blue?"

And in spite of her embarrassment, "At least I'm not running around and telling the entire tribe that their butts are stuck together," she countered, responding to his flustered whine with a fiendish grin.

The middle and lower rings of the tribe were filled with an abundance of festivity and cheer, likely spurred by the delivery of ten thousand silver pieces for each and every family as arranged by the princess's administration. The hefty sum brought joy to the middle and lower classes like no other, serving as a beacon of light and hope especially for the tribefolk who were struggling to make both ends meet. And now with numerous financial burdens likely being cast away by the waves of luck and opportunity, the North appeared more beautiful, more complete with the smiles of the North's social majority. Paper decorations lined the streets. Ice lanterns hung from igloos' door arches and buildings' icy roofs. Several bridges were lined with ice flowers as a symbol of good tidings.

And perhaps the most beautiful sight of all— an ice sculpture of a smiling woman none other than Tui, standing bravely in the water in the middle of a plaza in the middle ring, defying the Nationalists' mute expectations for the people to leave behind Tui worship. Tui's long hair billowed majestically behind her, and her palms were up and open in her trademark gesture of giving. The passing tribefolk were placing several Arctic flowers and florets by her feet, bowing to her toes and kissing the pedestal that she was standing on. And off to the side on a very large stool bent of ice was an artist working meticulously to color Tui's hair with white, melding the white paint uniquely with the ice as if trying to trap the pigment between the freezing layers. The sunlight hit Tui's hair and made its whiteness stand out with greater luminosity as if the sun's rays were actually hitting an already-glistening snow globe.

"I wonder who that lady is," Sokka nudged the princess knowingly, "Kind of looks like you, doesn't it?"

"Haha," came the nonchalant response as she bowed in reverence before Tui.

"Seriously, I think it's a pleasant coincidence that they're worshipping you without even knowing it," he said, unable to help sliding his palm softly over Tui's feet.

"Clearly that's Tui. They're worshipping Tui, not a princess they've never seen before."

"But aren't you supposed to be Tui?" he grinned.

"Says the atheist."

"Wolf Moon atheist."

The festivities were not only seen in the tribe's decorated infrastructure, however; the people appeared visibly chipper. Vendors were wooing their customers with more vigor. Bazaars were filled to the brim with eager buyers. Tribefolk ran about with beautiful jewelry, new clothes and accessories, expensive dishes, and plenty of energy needed for more extensive shopping. If there had been feasibility, they would've also stepped into the inner rings for fancy dining, living a high-class, worry-free life even if for one day.

"It sure would be nice if people weren't divided by walls so much," Yue said.

"Is that your next project?"

"Maybe.

"I'm sure you know about Ba Sing Se," she said to him. "Since you travel often."

"I actually haven't been as far as Ba Sing Se, but yeah, I do hear about it often. The situation is worse up there."

"I can't have the North turn completely into another Ba Sing Se," she sighed.

"I'm sure that won't be a problem with you in charge, dronningi," he said, exuding confidence.

They decided to pay a visit to Ilannak's Igloo again in the outer ring. Ilannak and Mitena couldn't contain their joy when they saw Yue come to dine at their restaurant a second time. And that, too, with Mr. Wang, the same man she came with when visiting last time. The owner flashed the Southern warrior a grin and a thumbs-up, immediately tending to him and Yue again like last time, the only exception being that Sokka demanded that they accept payment this time.

"Life is good, Sister, life is good," Ilannak beamed at Yue. "It has to be after a commoner like me receives ten thousand silver pieces at once, oh Tui and La!"

"We were finally able to get our girls some nice things," Mitena said, both parents smiling as their three daughters— one a teenager and the other two small children— twirled around in their new dresses and tunics, jiggling their bangles excitedly. They waved at Yue from the other side of the restaurant and came running up to her. "Hi, angaju Yue! Hi, angaju Yue's boyfriend!"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Yue squeaked as Sokka laughed and waved at the girls.

"What happened to your little beard thing, Mister?" Ilannak's youngest, likely six or seven years of age, asked an amused Sokka. "You had it the last time you were here."

"Oh, you mean my goatee?" He pointed to Yue, "Your angaju over here pulled it so hard it fell off."

"I did no such thing—!"

"Did too!"

"Woah!" the girl blinked at Sokka, "Did it hurt?"

"I didn't—!"

"Yeah!" Sokka cut the princess off, feigning a pained expression as he rubbed his chin, "I was bleeding a lot!"

The older girls giggled as Ilannak's youngest blinked at Yue in fascination, "Wow, angaju, you're so strong!"

"What were you doing with Mr. Wang's goatee anyway, Sister?" Ilannak teased.

"Definitely not what Mitena was doing with yours back there," she countered smugly.

"Oh snap!" Sokka laughed as Mitena and Ilannak gave each other flustered looks.

"Alright, enough of the jokes," Ilannak's oldest laughed and turned to Yue, "You like our bangles?"

"They're very beautiful."

"They were one hundred copper pieces!"

"Wow, that's a lot. I don't think I've ever gotten anything that expensive."

"And yet you still managed to catch hold of these babies," Mitena referred to the princess's bangles. "And eight of them."

"Woah, these are cool!" another one of the girls ran her fingers over the crystals, "They have little moon-shaped bells, too! Which stall did you get these from, angaju?"

"Oh, these," Yue smiled at the prince, "They're gifts from a friend."

And judging by Sokka's grin, which seemed to reach both ends of the world, Mitena had a feeling she knew who the aforementioned friend could be.

"I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with all this money!" Ilannak said. "Twelve beaded bangles, brand new silk dresses for the family, exotic fur coats, tickets to the Kerkiq Drama Players, lots of sweets and meats, and we still have nine thousand nine hundred ninety-five silver pieces left!"

"This amount's supposed to get you through a couple of months," Sokka said.

"Besides, this is only the first of several more rounds of stimulus payments," Yue added.

"There's more?!"

"Of course."

"How do you two even know all this?" Mitena asked them. "Who told you?

"Uh...my boss, Prince Sokka, works for the princess, remember?" Sokka said.

"Oh yeah, we heard he's her new bodyguard." Ilannak leaned closer to Sokka, "Say, do you know if the Southern leaders are talking to Chief Arnook about a possible alliance—?"

"Oh my goodness, Brother Ilannak, can we not go a single day without talking about alliances?" Yue asked.

"You're acting like I'm talking about your marriage," the man chuckled. "I'm just saying it would be nice if something good happened for the princess. She deserves a nice man and a family. Who knows, maybe Prince Sokka and our princess could get ma—"

"Don't you have something boiling over out back?"

"We have lots of cooks to take care of those things, Sister."

"If you really want the princess to be in a good place, you'd want her to be happy first, Ilannak," Sokka said.

"And if you want her to be happy, you need to be sure to enjoy yourselves as much as possible," the princess smiled. "You deserve it."

"Oh we will!" Ilannak beamed, "I'll… I'll remodel the restaurant! Yes! And our igloo, too! And we'll get some new pelts and fancy carpets! The possibilities are endless!"

"The princess sure is generous," Mitena noted. "No one has ever gone to the extent of selling their own jewels and such. We initially felt guilty about receiving the money at the expense of her luxuries—"

"The princess's luxuries are not more important than your lives," Yue told them.

"That's what I'm saying!" Ilannak chimed in. "Say, what party did she say she was?"

"She doesn't belong to any party," Sokka said.

"Nonpartisan efforts, eh? Don't mind if I do. I'd much rather have a sane nonpartisan candidate as my leader than someone from those other extremes."

"Her Grace is looking for new recruits for esteemed leadership positions, by the way," Sokka raised his voice so everyone else in the restaurant could hear, and he managed to grab hold of a few people's attention. "Background, social status, gender, nothing else matters! Just a good employee who's committed to the job! Training will be provided, too, so if anyone's interested, schedule an interview!"

To which the customers began talking among themselves in curiosity.

"I'd imagine the princess would appreciate you bringing attention to this issue, but you don't have to concern yourself with titles, Mr. Wang," Yue told the prince.

"How can you not praise someone who gave you ten thousand silver pieces?" Ilannak said, turning to Yue, "Speaking of which, what are you going to do with your stimulus money?"

"Hm? O-Oh...well, I haven't thought about it yet…"

"I guess you're still stuck in shock, too."

"Why can't you use that money to finally settle down?" Mitena said. "Now is the best time to arrange a wedding. You know, they're currently having the best deals on wedding halls and bridal wear. See, I was at the jewelry stop with the girls earlier and we saw a deal for—"

"Marriage? What are you talking about? I'm still, like, a child!" And with that, Yue went off to play with the girls, who had been tugging impatiently at her sleeve for a while. She laughed and joked with them as they huddled around her.

"She can be so childish sometimes," Mitena sighed.

"Child-like, Sister Mitena," Sokka corrected, earning an intrigued look from Ilannak. Mitena, however, held onto a degree of skepticism.

"That's him, angaju," Ilannak's oldest told Yue, simultaneously earning the attention of Sokka, Ilannak, and Mitena. She was pointing to a tribesboy sitting at a table on the other end of the restaurant.

"What boy?" Ilannak frowned, "What's she talking about?"

"You mean Kunjru?" Yue asked the teen.

"Do you know him?"

"That guy was kind of staring at me funny and following me around, too, once," Yue said.

"It's weird and creepy, I hate it. I told him to back off, but he didn't."

Ilannak glared in the direction of the boy but was held back by Mitena.

"Well don't you worry," Yue beamed confidently at the girls. "Just watch me." And she made her way over to the said boy, calling out to him, "Heeeyyyy Kunjru!"

The boy visibly panicked at seeing her, freezing in his seat. There was another boy sitting next to him, taken aback by the beautiful Yue and nudging his friend with a smirk, but Kunjru only paled and shook his head at his friend.

"How are you young whipper-snappers today?" Yue asked, her "ancient" vocabulary earning a raised brow from Kunjru's smitten friend.

"W-Were good, ma'am," Kunjru slowly rose from his seat, pulling his friend up with him.

"Who's your friend?" Yue asked.

The friend puffed up his chest but kept earning looks of warning from Kunjru, "Oh, just a friend of mine."

"How's my bestie Itsi? It's been a while since I last saw her at the retirement igloo."

"G-Good, she's good, ma'am… D-Dad brought her back home."

"Oh, good! Say, did you tell her about Ba Sing Se University's latest experiment yet?"

Kunjru gulped. His friend grew puzzled.

"I heard they'll take out your old hairs and put in new ones," she pulled back the hood of her cloak, exposing her white hair, "And all it costs is a liver and eight thousand silver pieces! Soon I'll be just like the other Water Tribe gals!"

And that's when Kunjru's friend widened his eyes and gulped with identical fear. "W-Wait, are you…?"

"Yes, that's her!" Kunjru snapped at his friend before taking several steps back. He took a look at Ilannak's oldest, rather surprised to see her there, but one thing was clear: the boy had no intention of associating with her ever again, for that meant having to run into "Grandma Forever Youth." "We'd love to sit around and chat, ma'am, but we gotta go, it's an emergency—!"

"Already?" Yue asked as the girls snickered from behind her at the squirming boys, "This restaurant has the best dumplings. The owner makes it himself. He's a good friend of mine. None other than this little lady's dad," she wrapped an arm around Ilannak's daughter, "You know, his mom and I grew up in the same neighborhood. I was there when he was born' ended up delivering him. You know, in those days, we didn't have—"

"We'd love to chat, but we really gotta go, ma'am!"

Sokka laughed at the squirming boys, obviously entertained by the situation. "You have nothing to worry about when Baby Blue's got your back, Ilannak."

The tribesman nodded, amused by the situation as much as Sokka. Mitena, though, still harbored some concern, though not necessarily for her daughters. "Yue has our girls' backs, but I keep wondering who has Yue's back," she said, drawing Sokka's attention. "Mr. Wang, do us a favor, will you? These nicknames and gift-givings can pass for friendship, but if you don't have intentions of...taking your friendship with Yue to the next step...then don't flirt around and act like you're very close to her, alright?"

Ilannak's look churned with concern as well. "I have to agree. Yue is very hesitant. She thinks she's being careful by avoiding relationships. But having a companion is very important for anyone. Though I also get that she needs someone understanding, and given the situation here and the shitshow that we witnessed with Kinji and those extremists... that's why I'm not blaming her at all."

"We don't know much about her family. She doesn't talk about them very much. And I don't know if it's because she's a private person or if they're not as involved in her life as they should be."

"So we're taking it upon ourselves to make sure nothing goes wrong. She's done so much for us. The least we can do is make sure she doesn't get hurt. We're not at all saying you're one of the idiots around her, but…"

Sokka wasn't offended, though; in fact, he understood their perspective completely. "I know what you mean. Believe me, I get it. I have a sister of my own, and I'd feel the same way about any guy who hangs out with her more than normal." And briefly, Aang's face flickered in his mind, but Sokka dismissed all suspicions because Aang was many things the extremists here were not: the Avatar, obviously, but also a goof, a pacifist, a man of morals who made Katara feel free and brought an actual smile to her face— a feat that no one in the South had been so successful in.

"And I also know that claiming to have a sister won't help my case since a lot of the idiots here also have sisters and moms but are still ruining things for the rest of us…" Sokka looked at the concerned couple, "But I'll have you know that I haven't spent this much time with any woman. The prince can vouch for me. And if I'm taking so much time out of my life for a moment with Yue, clearly she means something to me, right?" Looking back at Yue and smiling in her direction, "She might even mean a lot to me."

"He won't be messing with you again," he heard Yue say to Ilannak's daughters. The white-haired beauty giggled along with them as they watched the boys hurry out of the restaurant.

"She might not be looking for a relationship right now, and I respect that," Sokka said, "But if she decides she wants to give it a try, I'll be there."

"Okay, now time for the embouchure."

Yue tilted her head in curiosity. "What's a...what was it?"

"Embouchure," he repeated.

"Embouchure…"

"Yep. It's the shape of your mouth that you need to make to properly play the flute. You see, there's a lot of stuff that goes into how you make a sound on the flute. The shape of your lips, the way you position them on the reed, and most importantly, breath control. So the embouchure is an important step in this process." He positioned his lips on his flute as a demonstration and blew into the mouth hole, forming a low, hollow tune.

"How hard do you have to blow?"

"Not too fast, not too slow. You know, like the breathing exercises we practiced?"

"Oh, okay." She picked up her flute, "I think I'll give it a try."

"Now if you can't get it right the first time, that's totally normal, so don't beat yourself up over it. A lot of people tend to have trouble with this sort of thing. It took me six to seven years to properly develop my embouchure."

"Oh wow."

"It doesn't have to be super difficult, though. It comes easy for some people. The key is not trying too hard." He took a deep breath and relaxed his expression further, "First, you need to keep your face muscles relaxed. Like you're about to fall asleep. The more tense the muscles, the messier the sound."

She obeyed.

"Now make a face like you bit into something super sour."

She squeezed her eyes shut and pursed her lips as such.

"Yeah, that's good. Now, see if you can leave a tiny bit of an opening between your lips. Kind of like an oval shape but not too much...yeah, that's it right there. Now pull your lower lip back just a little...perfect!" He, too, got his lips into position and placed his mouth over the mouth hole, "Try to position your mouth opening over the hole on the flute. And since this is made of wood, you're gonna have to press on the flute a little with your bottom lip."

She mimicked his expression and closed the opening on the flute with her lips, "Like this?"

"Yep! Now blow softly."

She blew, producing a very tiny squeak of a sound.

"It's okay, just try shifting the angle of the mouth hole a little bit…" he put his flute aside and shuffled next to her, positioning the reed a little differently, "And when you blow into it this time, use a little more force, just a little bit more…"

A hollow tone then flowed from the wooden instrument. It wasn't exactly smooth, but it was definitely something.

"There ya go!" he clapped, "You got it! You know, lots of people can't even get past making a sound for the first several weeks. You must be a natural!"

"I have a good sifu," she grinned.

"We've been practicing for a while," he said. "Let's wrap it up here for now. You did very well today, my student."

"Do I have homework?"

"Well, you could practice those breathing exercises a little bit more, if you want to. Play around with your embouchure, see what other sounds you can make."

"Noted."

They were suddenly interrupted by the time gong that was struck three times, indicating three hours past midday.

"We've been here for two hours," Yue noted in surprise, "I didn't think it would be this long."

"Time flies when you enjoy someone's company, dronningi," he told her with a smile.

"You should hurry home. Your cousin's fiancée will be here soon, and the party might start. You should be there."

"Eh," he shrugged.

"What do you mean 'eh'? You're part of the family."

"Yeah, but...I'd rather be back at the palace, you know? I mean, if that's where you're headed next…"

"Ideally your shift should be over in two hours, but you came two hours earlier, so you've met your quota," she said.

"I can stay a little longer, though! I don't want to go to the party anyway."

"Why not?"

"Uh...just, uh...my parents are gonna start lecturing again. 'Oh Sokka you need to find a nice woman, you're so old, oh Tui and La!'"

Chuckling, "Just try to escape the conversation by hanging out with your uncle. He seems like a fun person."

Sokka thought for a moment before an enlightened spark flashed in his eyes. "Hey, Yue, do you want to maybe come to the party tonight...?"

"Me?"

"Yeah!"

"But I have to take the cooking shift this evening—"

"Can't you get permission for one night? You take care of a lot of people's shifts! I'm sure someone can take yours!"

"But—"

"I will barge into the kitchen if I have to, Princess, and personally get you out of there myself."

"Look, I'd love to come, but first off, it's a private party," she pointed out. "Meaning it's reserved for family members—"

"You're family, too!" he exclaimed, adding quickly, "I mean...All tribefolk are one family, one community, right?"

"It's not the same, Sokka. This is a party for immediate family members. Related by blood or by marriage—"

"Aang will be there, and he doesn't fall into those categories."

"He's the Avatar, he can be anywhere he wants. And he's fun to be around, so naturally, everyone would want him there."

"If he's the Avatar, then you're our dronningi! Not that I'm telling anyone that you are, but you should still be there! Come on, Princess, it'll be fun!"

They went back and forth for a few minutes before Yue sighed and gave into his request, albeit with a few lingering reservations. "I don't think it would be considered proper if I visit as the princess. I wasn't invited."

"I invited you."

"A casual invitation is different from a formal one, sweet isumataq," she ruffled his hair, coaxing a smile on his lips, "And I most definitely can't visit as Kuunnguaq."

"You can visit as the caretaker," he suggested. "Everyone loves you as the caretaker."

"They met me only one time—"

"You saved Kohana. We won't be forgetting that anytime soon, Princess," he told her.

"I still can't just show up and say I'm here for the party."

And after another moment of deep thought, "You have any special charm or talisman or something you can bring? Just act like you came to give 'em to us, and I'll bring you in. Besides," he flashed her a grin, "My cousin and his fiancée would be thrilled to be blessed by a priestess like you."

Smiling back at him, "I'm not exactly a priestess—"

"Aspiring priestess," he said.

"I still think it would be awkward, though. To be blessing someone in the authority of a princess. And...and…" It was almost like she was looking for an excuse, and not out of repulsion but of nervousness, "And I just...I've never been to a party before."

"Family parties are a bit lame if you're surrounded by old people, but if you have a few peers there, it'll be fun. There's only one major rule: there's gonna be lots of food, so come with an empty stomach."

The prince sure was stubborn, and Yue couldn't help giving into that hopeful look of his. "Alright, I'll see if I can make it."

In spite of the significant lack of Sokka's participation and silliness, celebrations rang throughout the Crescent Moon Estate with Kiguk and Chen being the center of all attention. Gifts were exchanged, friendships were solidified, and a congratulatory dinner was in the works with Ki'ma taking charge of delectable Water Tribe dishes and Lady Chen's parents preparing tasty Earth Kingdom treats thanks to the North's imported resources. Kiguk and Chen soaked in the Northern air, finding warmth in heated kisses as they locked themselves in a closet upstairs under the guise of Kiguk "showing her around" the estate.

And of course, Kya and Hakoda, as happy as they were for the young couple, kept flashing longing looks at their first two children, who remained single to this moment. They found a ray of hope, however, when Ki'ma pointed out in a whim how close the Avatar seemed to be with Katara; indeed, the young airbender was a blushing mess around the Southern princess, finding every excuse he could to spend time with her, whether it was a friendly waterbending spar or something as goofy as a silly song or dance. Katara, too, was more excited than usual with his arrival, the smile on her face widening only with his presence. It was no surprise that Sokka had become good friends with Aang over the past few days, and now it was confirmed that Kohana took a deep liking to Aang, too. The little prince was huddled around his pets, clapping and cheering as the Avatar performed a marble trick that kept the child and his menagerie entertained.

Seeing all of this made Hakoda and Kya restless as they flailed between the temptation to hope and the reality that kept them grounded. The Avatar and their daughter…? Could it really be? Then again, Chunta's words rang through the back of their minds, fueling those far-reaching hopes of theirs.

"Princess Katara's soulmate is not from the Water Tribe... Just because the man is not Water Tribe doesn't mean he's not one of us. He is someone who will have great respect for our culture and traditions. He is someone of very strong influence politically and spiritually. Extremely powerful but nevertheless a pacifist. He has a big heart and will certainly take her to cloud nine, I assure you!"

The more they entertained these words, the more excited they became for their daughter. And, of course, the more worried they became for their rebellious son, who was not being teased with a happy ending by the universe but instead a scandalous romance, which they felt was doomed to bring about bad luck, Pakku's fiery disapproval, and the division of their family if entertained any further.

Amaruq, however, had naturally taken an accepting stance ever since his sister had spilled some recent secrets— that her son was very taken with the Northern princess, who just so happened to be "someone Pakku wouldn't like" given the "likely probability" of her support for the Revivalists. And it was only when Amaruq pressed her further to tell him the actual reason that she admitted to the princess's actual identity as the Akna. The princess, while likely not aware of her origin, was nevertheless the owner of a past that made their nation's conservative patriarchs squirm in their seats. She was unknowingly born with the blood of rebellion, her very first touch of the earthly world being the marble floor of a sacred temple. Likely out of fear of sin, her own parents left her as a sacrifice for La.

And Amaruq didn't care to give a single damn about that story, having chided his sister and brother-in-law for resorting to "fairytales" than the sweeping reality that the princess, regardless of her birth and origin, saved all of their lives. It was, he felt, rather sweet and indicative of goodness and hope to hear that his nephew, previously thought to be immovable, had melted completely to the princess's charm.

The tribesman took a deep breath, keeping in mind these things as he wandered around the estate in search of Sokka. The prince had spent lots of time in his room, showering and grooming himself with such precision and care, but he wasn't in his room right now, either. Amaruq scoured the rest of the estate, eventually finding his nephew in the leisure room right beside the front door. He stopped himself before he could go inside, peeking at the sight of Sokka making muscles at himself in front of a mirror. The prince was observing his biceps, too, in his reflection. As he sniffed his underarms, his face contorted with mild disapproval, so he pulled out a container of cologne from his pocket, taking a whiff of its strong scent. Amaruq held back a snort as the eager prince poured a copious amount onto his hand, ready to splash himself within the tsunamis of fragrance.

"Any more of that, and you and the people next to you are gonna drown in it, Sok-bear," the tribesman said, startling Sokka.

"Uncle Amaruq, I was just…"

Amaruq didn't say anything to the prince's struggle for words. He only calmly stepped in and took a little bit of the cologne on his hands from the prince's overly-scented palm, "You gotta wear it in the right places. The key isn't more use, it's smart use." He dabbed a small amount of the scent on Sokka's shoulder, "And then a little bit on the chest, a little bit more under your arms, but not too much..." And afterward, he helped Sokka pour the excess cologne back into the container, "There you are."

"Thanks, Uncle Amaruq."

The tribesman smiled knowingly and crossed his arms, "Now tell me. Is there a special occasion?"

"Huh?" Sokka rubbed the back of his head, "Uh...no, not really."

"Are you seeing someone?"

"Me? Pfft, come on, you know me."

Amaruq raised his eyebrows, "That's why I'm kind of surprised to see you like this."

Sokka tried to sputter out some excuse but was completely contradicted by the onslaught of a grin that assaulted his lips from out of nowhere. He fiddled with his meticulously-tied wolf-tail and looking at everything else except for his questioning uncle, and the entire time, Amaruq was smiling at him knowingly. "Now that I think about it, your father carried himself with a bit more false confidence when he came to ask for my sister's hand in marriage." Leaning down a little and looking at his nephew's flustered hint of a smile, "I don't think that's the case with you, Sok-bear."

"I'm just trying to be more professional," Sokka cleared his throat, "You know, look like a prince for once. I'm gonna be the chief soon, after all."

"That's why you're wanting to stay behind and get yourself killed," a visiting Hakoda remarked with a disapproving tone that sucked the life out of Sokka's loveblind grin.

"Dad—"

"He's the princess's bodyguard, that's what this is about," Hakoda told Amaruq.

"Woah," Amaruq smiled at his nephew, "A bodyguard for the princess, huh?" Pretending to be ignorant of his crush, "I wonder if this is part of your internship, too..."

"No, he specifically requested to serve as the princess's bodyguard and take her hits for her," Hakoda said.

"And how are you not proud of this, Hakoda? Are you underestimating my nephew's kickassery?"

"I'm being realistic. Your nephew had the audacity to call an investigation on the Nationalist leader."

"And how is that a bad thing?" Sokka demanded.

"Yeah, he's going to be inducted into the Order of the White Lotus," Amaruq said, "And naturally, he would be expected to make decisions that would punish people committing injustices or posing threats to the Avatar. You don't have to make this be about the princess." Frowning, "Kya tells me you even considered giving Sokka's hand in marriage to the princess. How did you make a one-eighty degree turn so quickly?"

"Because I was hoping we'd go back to the South and live our lives in one piece, but that's not happening, apparently," the Southern chief huffed.

"I'm not a baby to get sliced apart first thing on a battlefield," Sokka retorted, "And this isn't even about my damn safety and I know it. I'm sure no one here would have a problem if I was the bodyguard for someone else. And it's all because of your stupid, sexist purity laws!"

"This is very much an issue concerning your safety," Hakoda said firmly. "You can stand here all day long and protest against the purity laws, but they are an integral part of—"

"Fuck that!"

Glaring at his son, "I admit that the princess is kind and compassionate and gentle and the epitome of noble character and philanthropy, but she has connections with the Moon Temple and the Revivalists, and you can't expect me to forget that!" And the truth of her identity as the Akna lingered in the tense air despite not being mentioned again.

"Being her bodyguard isn't even the most I could do for her if we look at everything she's done for us," Sokka hissed. "And you're over here pointing out differences! You were the one who told me we were all one community, Dad, so how is my support for the princess wrong? What does it even mean to be Water Tribe anymore if we're having to think twice about being loyal to someone who risked so much for us?"

"People with connections to the Akna or the Moon Temple only bring bad luck, and there have been instances in real life that point to this truth!" Hakoda roared. "And no matter how many times you give the same speech over and over again, Sokka, I'm helpless in this matter. So do yourself and all of us a favor by keeping away from those Revivalists, that Moon Temple, and especially the princess—!"

"Hakoda—!"

"You stay out of this, Amaruq," the chieftain said, eyeing his son with restless sternness.

"Do you know how many families were on the brink of starvation? The men who were with me on our missions thought of absolutely nothing but preserving their families. Their moms, dads, wives, children, and small babies. I would know! And the princess..." his voice softened at her mention, "Do you know at least half of the things she does for the people? People are falling to their knees and thanking her for selling her luxuries and filling their stomachs! How could you be so heartless?! How could you be so inconsiderate of someone who's as compassionate as the Tui you worship?!"

Amaruq obviously seconded Sokka's logic, also looking at the Southern chieftain for an answer, but Hakoda did not know how to respond other than with a look indicating severe internal conflict.

"She starved herself so we could eat, and as long as I'm alive, I'm not gonna take that for granted for the sake of meaningless rules."

And with that, Sokka stormed out of the front door, claiming he needed to clear his head as he took a seat on the porch. He had invited Yue thinking that his parents would appreciate having the temple caretaker at the party and keep in mind how she saved Kohana, but with his dad now openly disapproving of him having contact with the Moon Temple or any of its associated people, he lost all hope of their family giving her a friendly welcome. He told himself that he won't have the princess be exposed to this crap and tried to think of an excuse to lead her away from the party after his oh-so-confident invite. He could say the food was taking too long. Maybe he could say it tastes horrible. Or maybe he could say the event was postponed and that everyone went sightseeing or maybe went out to eat. He didn't have very long to conjure a plan, however, after suddenly noticing a set of footprints in the snow. They seemed to be the same size, which indicated that they likely belonged to one person. They trailed towards the front door and then turned back and went in the other direction.

Someone must have come here and left.

A horrified Sokka felt his pulse skid to a stop, a pale hand clawing at his wolf tail in anxiety. Was it the princess? Was she here? And if she had been here and was right by the door, did she happen to hear the conversation…? He quickly looked around, and after seeing that there was no package or correspondence anywhere, ruling out the possibility of a messenger's visit and further heightening his fears, he stumbled up to his feet and hurriedly followed the footsteps. He called out to a few guards, panting as he asked, "Did anybody come by?"

"Yes, sir, a lady came and left just now—"

"What lady?!"

"Some lady covered in a veil—"

"There are millions of 'em around here!" Sokka said in exasperation. "Anything about her that stood out to you?"

"Well...oh yeah, she was wearing bangles."

"Yes, crystal bangles with little moon bells on them."

His stomach dropped. "Fuck."