DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar. I own Niella and TaeXing.

WORD COUNT: 1545

As Niella boarded Sokka's boat, she turned for a last glimpse of her home. Her so-called 'mother' had assured her that she would return soon, but Niella wasn't so sure if she could believe her. Why should she? Katara had pretended she was her mother, hadn't she?

Along with the fact that she was the Avatar, Niella had also learned that she was adopted. Her real parents, Bo and Hai, had died when she was a baby. The fact that not only her 'family', but nearly everyone in the village who'd known her real mom and dad, had lied to her, was even worse.

The voyage to the Earth Kingdom lasted a whole week, and the trip on ostrich-horse to Ba Sing Se was at least twice as long, mostly because Sokka had insisted on stopping at Omashu to see his friend Teo, but they finally reached the huge city. The rest of the men stayed at the Water Tribe Embassy in the Inner Ring, but Sokka accompanied Niella to the palace. The monorail system took them straight to their destination within mere minutes. Niella was terrified as they walked into the throne room, but did her best not to show it. She'd accepted the fact that she was the Avatar, even though she hadn't forgiven the ones who'd lied about it. She would stand strong.

Looking up at the Earth King, Niella did the first thing that came to mind: she bowed. Chuckling slightly, Sokka pulled her back up. "The Avatar doesn't have to do that," he whispered. Niella felt her face grow hot.

The Earth King merely smiled kindly, while the pretty girl sitting beside him – presumably his daughter – looked down on her with a superior expression, while the teen on his other side smirked. Two other people stood before them. One was a man in regal red robes around the same age as Sokka with a huge burn scar covering his left eye, and the other was a short dark-haired woman wearing an Earth Kingdom Army uniform.

"Welcome, Avatar Niella, to Ba Sing Se," the Earth King greeted her, "I hope you had a comfortable journey." Niella was too nervous to speak. She merely nodded, afraid she might throw up if she opened her mouth. "May I introduce my daughter, Princess Tae Xing, and my son and heir, Prince Fu Kun. And Fire Lord Zuko, of course. When the time comes, he will be your Firebending master, as he was to Avatar Aang years ago."

Niella was a little surprised. She'd assumed her teachers would be creepy old wisemen or something. The Fire Lord looked to be in his mid-thirties! He must've been her age when he taught the last Avatar.

"And this is your Earthbending teacher, General Bei Fong. She too, was one of Aang's masters."

General Bei Fong could have been even younger than the Fire Lord by a few years. Her eyes stared straight forward, as if she wasn't really seeing what was in front of her face. But still, she had the air of someone who wasn't to be messed with. She smirked at Niella. "You'll be living with me while you stay here in the city. Come on, let's go."

Niella looked from one face to another. It was so intimidating to be in the presence of so many high officials. She didn't say a word as Sokka and General Bei Fong led her out of the palace and back to the monorail. It was only when she noticed that they were heading past the Middle Ring, and towards the poorer districts, that she found the courage to speak.

"Where are we going?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She thought an Earth Kingdom general would live in the upper-class area of the city.

"My house," the general replied, "I live closer to the Outer Wall. It's a nice getaway from the city. If I didn't have to work here, I wouldn't even be living near Ba Sing Se."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I hate big cities. So many rules and restrictions, with everyone telling you what to do, it's crazy. That's why I started travelling with Aang. It-" Sokka coughed loudly, interrupting her. "– And with Sokka and Katara. Happy?" Sokka smirked and nodded. "It was a chance to escape my parents – they were way too overprotective – so I took it. You wouldn't believe how mad they were when I got home, though."

"Didn't they throw you out of the house?" Sokka asked.

"Yeah," the general said, shrugging nonchalantly, "Why d'you think I moved to the South Pole until I started working here?"

General Bei Fong's house was located right next to the Outer Wall, near the picturesque Lake Laogai. It was the only building in sight; the rest was either farmland or water. Niella found that the inside was decorated with carvings of badgermoles. A detailed portrait of eight kids lined up in two rows was carved into a stone slab mounted on the wall above the fireplace. It was all rather cozy, except for the fact that whoever'd built the house had neglected to add a decent floor. They were walking on cold, packed dirt instead of wood or fur.

General Bei Fong stooped in front of the portrait. She smiled as she ran her fingers along its surface. "This was made only a week after we won the Great War," she explained, "I'm the smaller girl on the far right at the front, the one with all the hair in her face. That's Ty Lee right next to me. And Mai and Zuko are on the other side. They got married one the one-year anniversary of victory."

Niella noticed a girl on the far left of the back row. She looked strangely familiar. "Who's that?" she asked.

General Bei Fong grinned. "That's Katara, when she was fourteen and a half."

"There's me and Suki on the other side," Sokka added.

Niella couldn't believe her eyes. She'd never been able to picture Katara as a teenager, yet here she was, set literally in stone. Her smile was the same as Niella had always remembered it, and her carved eyes somehow still sparkled the way they had whenever Niella had completed a new Waterbending technique. Her arms were wrapped around a bald kid with an arrow tattoo on his forehead. The two of them were undoubtedly laughing with joy, and their intense closeness was obvious. "And that's Aang, isn't it?" she whispered, pointing to the boy, "Katara told me they got engaged right before he died."

A few small tears slid down the general's face, and Sokka bowed his head solemnly. "He'd been crushing on her since we met him. One minute, he was crashing down into the ocean in the middle of a storm; then next, he was waking up in her arms. Instant connection, just like that."

"Katara was hit the hardest when he died," General Bei Fong continued, "She'd been away when he got sick, and she still hasn't forgiven herself for it. She says she could've saved him. We all swore to guide and protect the next Avatar right to the end. That's why you're being taught by all his old masters."

Niella finally decided to ask the question that'd been lingering in her mind for quite a while now. "Is there something wrong with your eyes?" she blurted out.

General Bei Fong froze at the inquiry. Niella bit her lip and waited, expecting the worst. Surprisingly, the Earthbending officer gave her a small grin. "I was wondering when you were going to ask me that. I was born blind, but I use my Earthbending to feel vibrations from the ground, and that's how I see. That's why I don't have a floor in this house."

"Oh. I'm sorry if I sounded rude, General, but –"

"It's okay. Just as long as you stop calling me by my title, alright? Call me Toph."

"Okay. So you travelled with the Avatar? What was he like?"

"He was just a kid with amazing powers who was often more interested in riding wild hogmonkeys than training." Both girls laughed, completely forgetting Sokka was there. "I could tell you every crazy little detail of our adventures together."

"Sure! I'd love to hear them!"

Hours later, Niella had gone to bed, and Sokka and Toph were sitting at the kitchen table, catching up on old times. Toph could feel the young Avatar tossing and turning in her sleep. "So, how'd she react?" she asked.

Sokka gazed down at the table, or at least turned his head that way. "She started crying and bolted out of there. I think it was just the shock. She still hasn't forgiven us for keeping it from her, that and the fact that she was adopted." Suddenly, he jumped up. "Oh, man!" he cried, "I've got to get back to the men. They've been waiting on me for hours. Tell Niella I said goodbye!" Then he ran out.

Toph frowned. It would be harder to get Niella to forgive her adoptive uncle if he ran out without saying goodbye in person. Sokka was deceptively clever, but he could honestly be a real idiot when it came to people.

I'm sorry if it seems like Sokka was a little left out from the conversation in Toph's house. It was like that for two reasons. One, Niella still hates him. Two, when I originally wrote that scene, Sokka wasn't there, so it was hard writing him in. Read and Review!