Cometfall. The name given to the day that Sozin's Comet returns, the deadline for the life of a world.
The fall of Ba Sing Se marked the beginning of the end of the Fire Nation War, and while the fate of millions rested in the hands of five children, there were others who had their own parts to play. For right or wrong, for peace or for war, for today or for tomorrow, these are their stories.
Tales of Cometfall: Smellerbee, the Assassin
There is an ancient Earth Kingdom proverb:
When seeking revenge,
first dig two graves.
Three Months Before Cometfall
"There's no time. Just go. We'll take care of him. He's our leader."
Smellerbee was in shock, and even the first words she had ever heard Longshot say in the three years she had known him could not shake her out of it. Jet, no! She thought, be all right, please be all right! She then thought she heard Jet speak, but Smellerbee could only hear the sound of her own heart pounding. She dropped to her knees, shaking the tears from her eyes, and began to stroke Jet's hair.
Although her eyes were locked on Jet's, she did not fail to notice Aang, Sokka, Toph and Katara leave. Fine, she thought bitterly, we don't need them. Longshot and I will protect him. Smellerbee ran her hand down Jet's face once then stood up next to Longshot, her hand gripping the hilt of her sword, her eyes blinking tears away. A faint rumbling sound could be heard coming towards them. The Dai Li were breaking through the walls that Toph put up. They'll be here any minute…good. Someone is going to pay for this.
"Longshot," Jet coughed out, attracting the silent archer's attention, "You know…what you have to do…" Jet, his words broken up by fits of bloody coughing, finished by glancing at Smellerbee.
Smellerbee turned from Jet and up towards Longshot. No, she thought, he can't mean that.
"Do it …that's an order."
Longshot nodded his head, and lowered his bow.
"No!" Smellerbee shouted, "No! I want to-" she was cut off as the air in her lungs was forced out by a sharp knee strike delivered by her friends and ally. The breathless swordswoman dropped to one knee. Longshot picked her up and carried her to the edge of the sewer room. "No, don't, please…"
[Goodbye, the archer said with his eyes, and dropped her into the fast moving water.
"No! Jet! JET!" She yelled repeatedly until she was swept under the green water. With just a half breath of air, she was buffeted against the sides of the stone pipe and spun around a hundred times. Just as she started to feel her lungs give out, she burst out of darkness and into the light.
She was airborne, plummeting down a cascading waterfall and landing hard in a deep pool at its base. Breathless, Smellerbee fought to reach the air against the push of the falling water and the pull of her soaked armor. She burst to the surface with a massive gasp, feeling life return to her.
Pulling herself sideways across the surface of the water, she crawled up a small beach and retched out a bucketful of the foul sewer water. Catching her breath and spitting the taste of filth out of her mouth, Smellerbee unsheathed her sword, drew a line of blood across her left arm and stabbed the blade into the sand.
"Long Feng."
Nine Weeks Before Cometfall
"…Don't worry kid, Dad and I will be fine! We're going to run those Fire Nation fools out of our valley and be back before the rains come!" The kid's oldest brother said with wry smile, slinging the last of his supplies over the family's second ostrichhorse.
"Enough," the kid's father spoke, "we need to get moving." The father then pointed at the one son he was leaving behind, "You watch out for your mother and the baby."
I'm not a baby, the kid thought. She had aired that that complaint verbally many times before, but now with her father leaving it felt out of place to contradict him. Her mother walked up to her husband and handed him his sword, and after a few quiet words, the father and his oldest son mounted their rides and trotted off.
The kid, feeling a stab of fear like none she had never felt before, started after them, crying. Her mother caught up to her quickly and held her tightly. They cried together for a long time…
Smellerbee awoke with a start. It had been weeks now since Jet died, and Smellerbee was finished waiting. The self-inflicted cut on her arm had all but healed, but the blood red scar kept staring back at her, a purposeful reminder. It's been long enough, she thought while rubbing the sleep from her eyes, the Dai Li might still be looking for me, but time makes memories fade and guards drop. It's time to go back to the city.
The young swordswoman broke her camp and did her best to disguise that fact that she was ever there. She had a lot of experience in these matters, she lived on her own for two years in the forest before she met Jet and joined his Freedom Fighters. Smellerbee flushed with embarrassment for the way she attacked her former leader when they first met. The years in isolation had all but turned her into an animal. Here I am, alone again. If I live through this, I might end up as I was, so do I really want to live through this? Smellerbee shook those thoughts out of her head and refocused on her goal.
She had decided to enter the city once again as a refugee; she first moved in a wide arc around the Fire Nation encampment that she had been stealing food and supplies from for the past few weeks.
During one of her many stealthy trips in and out of the camp over the past few weeks, she had heard them complain that that they'd rather be fighting. That an elite force such as themselves had better things to do then occasionally wash the mechanical carriage, and that at least that they finished guarding those 'pitiful' Earth Kingdom warriors. It took all of Smellerbee's restraint to keep from slitting their throats in the night. She had her target, and she wasn't going let herself be distracted.
As day broke, she was easily able to blend in with the long line of refuges that formed a human trail to the secluded port of Half Moon Bay. I was one of them last time, homeless and nearly hopeless, but I had Longshot and Jet, and now I have next to nothing. But I won't need much more then what I do have, she thought, gripping the hilt of her blade.
A two-day walk put her back into the massive cavern that hid the capital city ferry's departure point. The scene was almost absolute chaos. The semblance of order that existed just weeks ago had broken down, as throngs of people bypassed the undermanned ticket windows and customs counters and crammed into which ever ferry had it's gangplank down. Suits me just fine, I don't have the money for a bribe, and it will be better if there is nothing written down that I was ever here.
Smellerbee squeezed onto the boat with the last rush of refugees, and made her way down to the lowest deck. Below the waterline the air was a bit cooler, but it was still stifling from the throngs of people breathing and shifting around in the cramped quarters. She put her back to the keel and kept one hand on the hilt of her sword. It will take all night to reach the other side, she thought, and with no one to watch my back, I can't go to sleep. Hours passed and Smellerbee continued to scan the hold that, with its hatch now closed, was illuminated by only six small oil lamps, swinging gently with the motion of the boat. The refugees, families mostly, were asleep, huddling together like woolypigs in a snowstorm. Except these people are not afraid of the cold, they're just afraid. It was dark, quiet, and the gently rolling of the boat was too much. Smellerbee fell asleep.
…Only one ostrichhorse came back. The kid's oldest brother was alone. He and his mount staggered back into town after dark weeks later and collapsed once they were within the gate. The family he left behind rushed over to him, the kid holding a torch to light the scene. The oldest brother lay on the ground, staring up at the sky, his eyes wide, but his mouth silent. His mother tried to talk to him, tried to get any information about the battle and his father, but he said nothing. He just lay there clutching his father's sword by the blade in his bare right hand.
The kid leaned into look at his brother, who until now had always seemed so strong. Once flame of the torch was within his sight, he began to scream. He then squeezed the blade in his hand until he started to bleed.
"They're coming!" He screeched horribly, "They're coming…"
"Come on kid, wake up!" The ferry crewmember kicked Smellerbee awake.
Damn, I fell asleep! Smellerbee scolded herself as she made her way out of the now empty hold. She was funneled into the massive immigration hall, which was twice as full as it was the last time she was here. In stark contrast to the port of Full Moon Bay, however, the process of ingress into the city was as orderly as ever. Smellerbee got in a line and kept a look out for a way past the immigration officials and city guards. Any one of them could be Dai Li. I can't afford to draw attention to myself, she thought.
Five hours later, she reached the head of the line, where she strained to look up at the fat old woman who occupied the stone booth that was Smellerbee's last gate on her way back into the city. The fat woman sneered down at her, "You have any paperwork?"
"No."
The fat woman sighed audibly, "Ok, whatever. Name?"
Smellerbee had a long time to come up with a cover, "Pìn Lù."
"Any family?"
Smellerbee knew this question was coming but she still brushed her fingers across the lines on her face subconsciously, "No."
The fat woman looked Smellerbee up and down in a way that made her feel uncomfortable, "Too old for the orphanage. The city is hiring workers for the city's expansion, you earthbend?"
"No."
"A disagreeable one, aren't you? Whatever. There is a works program office near the gate, but I'd bring some money if you don't want to end up hauling loose rocks. Ok, let's get this done; only fifty nine more questions to go."
An hour later, 'Pìn Lù' was loose in the city again. Smellerbee made a beeline for the small apartment house where she, Longshot, and Jet lived during their short stay. She kept off the main thoroughfares, moving from alley to alley to reach her destination. What am I going to do when I get there, she thought, knock on the door and say that the Dai Li want me dead, do you still have my old bedroll?
The question was answered for her when she saw her and her former companion's gear in a pile of rotting garbage in an adjoining alleyway. She took a step out of the shadow she was hiding in, towards the items when a chill ran down her spine. No, this is wrong, why would the landlord leave them out like that? He clearly figured out that we weren't coming back, why didn't he sell them? Is this a trap? Smellerbee had no real idea if the Dai Li knew she was alive, but there was always a chance that they were looking for her. It was stupid to come here, she berated herself, dashing back through the alleys away from the apartment, I may just be paranoid, but I can't trust myself not to be, and I don't need a soiled bedroll to take out Long Feng.
She made it about six blocks away when a young man jumped down from the roof of a low building in front of her. "What do you think your doing?" The young man assumed a stance that Smellerbee immediately recognized. Earthbender, but he's too young to be Dai Li. Isn't he?
"This alley belongs to us!" Another voice called out from behind her, she quickly looked back to see two boys, each carrying wooden planks.
A gang, she thought, I don't have time for this. "I don't want any trouble; I'll be on my way."
"Kid, it's not that easy, you've got to pay a toll." The Earthbender threatened, taking a strong step forward, raising two small spikes of stone to block the path behind him
"Yeah, that sword of yours looks nice, we'll take it."
"I'm going to need this," Smellerbee said, gripping the hilt of her blade with her left hand, thumb up.
"You're going to fight me with that? I command the power of the Earth! You don't stand a chance against me little boy!" The leader said, now just inches from Smellerbee.
"Yeah!" The pair of lackeys yelled.
Smellerbee smirked, "That's the problem with you rockheads, your always putting your foot," in a flash, Smellerbee stomped her right boot into the left instep of the Earthbender, breaking it, "…in your mouth!" She finished by drawing her sword straight up and jamming its hilt into the Earthbender's jaw. The young man collapsed, holding his mouth. Without his feet steady on the ground, he was powerless.
Smellerbee then spun the blade the right way around in her palm and switched it to her sword arm. Rotating around, she cleaved the wooden weapon of one of the lackeys in a single stroke and after drawing her weapon back, thrust it forward into the plank the that the second boy was holding. A twist of her wrist snapped it free from the boy's grip. Smellerbee kicked the plank off with her foot, and all it took was a threatening gesture to make the lackeys run off.
Smellerbee turned back around and walked out of the alley, taking a deliberate step on the cringing body of the Earthbender, "Can't you see I'm a girl?"
Hours later, night had fallen and Smellerbee hunkered down in a dark corner near a fountain lit by hundred of small lanterns and took stock of her situation. All right, I'm back in the city, and I need to get into the palace, but how? It's not as if they allow visitors. I'm going to need time to look it over, to see if there was any way past not only the Dai Li, but the regular guards as well. Smellerbee fretted over how daunting her mission would be and for a moment considered giving up, before looking down and seeing the red line cut into her flesh. This one will never come off, she thought, this one I'll make mean something.
Her reverie was broken by a sharp cramp in her stomach. I haven't eaten since before I got on the ferry. I don't have any money, and I can't risk stealing anything. No matter what the punishment for theft is here, I already have a death sentence. Smellerbee rolled her eyes when the solution came to her. I'm going to have to get a job.
Smellerbee stealthily made her way up to the hayloft of an out-of-the-way livery. She disguised herself as an inanimate lump of dried grass the best she could and went to sleep.
"…They're here! Get in the cellar, hurry!" The kid's second oldest brother yelled, shoving her and their mother towards the hatch in the floor. He pushed with one hand and held what was now his sword in the other.
The day before the oldest child had regained his senses only long enough to tell of the town militia's defeat at the hands of the Fire Nation Army. He spoke of their father's incineration then dropped off into near catatonia. As the attack on the town began, he was still sitting in his room, watching a candle burn down at an imperceptibly slow rate.
The kid lifted the floor hatch with all her strength. She got it open and held it above her head just long enough to turn around and see a spear pierce her brother's chest. Her mother, overcome now with anger and grief, pushed the kid down into the cellar and charged her son's killer. The kid tumbled down the short set of stairs and was knocked out on impact with the earthen floor…
The next morning, Smellerbee tried to fool her hungry body as best she could by drinking more then her fill at the local public water pump. It was a trick that the Freedom Fighters often had to resort to. Lychee nuts may grow on trees, but they don't grow overnight. A band of growing warriors can clean out a grove of them in a day, and Fire Nation supply carts rarely run on rebel schedules.
Even thought it was still early, the line at the works office already snaked well out the door. There were people of all sizes, but not of all shapes. All of them had one thing in common: the lean, hungry look of one desperate to put their life back together.
Several late arrivals like her were crowded around a square notice board attached to the side of the building. A weathered piece of paper was stretched along the top and read 'Help Wanted' and below it random scraps of paper listed dozens of jobs that were available. I'm going to bet that 'Rebel Partisan Wanted for Campaign of Enemy Harassment' isn't going to be there, she thought.
The 'opportunities' listed were just the kind of drudgery she expected to be filled by the poor and the displaced: woodcutter, water carrier, animal waste management, but it was the last one that her running to the nearest merchant: "Servers Needed: Royal Palace."
"I'll give you fifty, and that's just because you're a kid, and I like kids," the wiry and strangely accented weapons merchant said, examining Smellerbee's sword with one eye open.
"Seventy-Five," Smellerbee countered. The words of the old woman at the immigration desk rang in her ears, 'I'd bring some money if you don't want to end up hauling loose rocks.'
"Seventy-Five? I'm liking kids a bit less right now. I'll give you sixty, but you have to know that the blade is unremarkable, it's the hilt that has value," the merchant reprised, rubbing his fingers on the small red jewel that was implanted into the end of the grip.
"Sixty-Five, or the hilt finds a better home."
"Done." The merchant stabbed the blade into a bench behind him, pulled a small sack off his belt, and tossed it at Smellerbee, "There's your money, don't spend it all on a rainy day or whatever."
Smellerbee gripped the base of the bag and felt the coins inside shift and slide against each other. For a handful of coins, Smellerbee thought, there goes another part of my old life, my life before Jet.
The line in front of the works office moved faster then expected; it was only just past midday when Smellerbee reached the front. There she was directed to approach a disinterested clerk who sat at a high counter, flanked on each side by three of his similarly disinterested coworkers. Resting his head on one side, he stared off into space looking at neither Smellerbee nor the blank form he set in front of himself from a large stack of such forms. Behind him, a half dozen other clerks carried stacks of such papers back and forth, picking them up and putting them down. Smellerbee had never seen such regimented movement outside of a ritual dance.
"Name?" The clerk dipped his quill into his narrow bottle of ink without having to look at it.
"Pìn Lù."
"What job, if any, would you like to have? Please be aware," he paused to yawn, "that such requests are non-binding and the final decision as to employment is determined without regard to you request." His sleepy tone made it clear that this was far from the first time he had spoken those words.
"Royal Palace server, please," can't hurt to be polite, she thought.
The clerk snorted, "Yeah, you and everyone else kid," the sound of the bag of money hitting the counter was the first thing that got his attention. He poked at it with his quill and then looked down at Smellerbee. He then turned to the clerk next to him, a young lady with a vacant look in her eyes, "Hey, I'm going on my break now," he looked back at Smellerbee, "come with me."
The clerk took her and the bag of money back behind the counter, and into a small room partitioned away from the larger office. It was empty and Smellerbee felt the hair on her neck stand up. Something's wrong, she thought, are they going to bust me for bribery or is it worse? Smellerbee looked over the room for anything she could use as a weapon, but there was only a desk with one chair on either side. I sold my sword for the chance to walk, unarmed, into a trap.
She began to back away from the clerk, who put his hands up, "Whoa, relax kid, I'm going to get the boss, just take a seat, and he'll be right in," when the clerk left, Smellerbee promptly ignored most of his advice and backed into a corner. Moments later the door opened again and a large, heavyset man walked in.
"You must be," he looked down at the piece of paper he held in her hand, "Pìn Lù. Go ahead and have a seat, because I'm going to, I'm exhausted!" He laughed, and thudded down onto his chair, which groaned under the pressure.
Smellerbee didn't move.
"Honestly child, I'm trying to help you here, since you've been so…generous, but how are we going to get anything done if we don't trust each other enough to have a polite conversation!" He began to fan himself with her employment request form. It was then that Smellerbee noticed that he was almost completely drenched with sweat.
Smellerbee took her chair, but never took her eyes off the large man.
"Now isn't that better!" He chuckled, "My name is Gū Bǎn, and I can tell by the way you handle yourself that you're not like the rubes we usually get in here," Gū Bǎn pulled the small sack filled with Smellerbee's bribe and let it hit the desk with a thud. "As you figured, jobs in the palace are in high demand, and for good reason! The pay is good…well, reasonably good, and since those who you would want to be serving are not the kinds of people who like to be kept waiting, so both room and board are…modestly provided on site. You would like such a job, yes?"
"Yes," Smellerbee replied, this will be perfect, but why do I feel like the other shoe is about to drop?
"It can speak! Ancestors be praised!" the large man began to laugh, causing his whole body to shake. If chairs could scream, his would be deafening, "I'm sorry," he chuckled a quick apology, whipping a tear of laughter from his eye with the sleeve of his sweat-covered robe. "I can't help myself sometimes!" The large man caught his breath and continued, "Let's get down to business here. As I said these jobs are in high demand and I'd really like to know, why you would want it so bad that you'd risk a bribery arrest to get it." He finished, taking on an accusatory tone, and narrowing his eyes.
Smellerbee was ready with a long and what she thought was a very plausible story. She took a deep breath and began, "You see, I…"
"I'm just kidding, I don't care!" Gū Bǎn laughed, "Boy did you look nervous! I'm sorry; like I said, I just can't help myself. Ok, this is how it's going to work: I'll get you the job, and even get you ready to do it, and in exchange, you'll pay me two thirds of what you make. Deal?"
He's a crook, what a relief! She thought, but I can't let on that I don't care about the money, "Two thirds?" she whined, "What do you mean two thirds?"
"Call it a commission, or a finder's fee, whatever, you'll get fed, you'll get a place to sleep and even a little money out of it, I'd say you're coming out ahead. I can be so generous, can't I?"
Keep up the act, "I don't know…"
"Look, child," Gū Bǎn's tone shifted darkly, "you're already past the point of no return here with your pathetic attempt at a bribe, so let's just go along to get along and we'll all come out ahead in the end. You don't want to end up in any kind of legal trouble, bribery is a serious charge. And in case you ask, no, I'm not kidding this time"
He thinks he's got me right where he wants me, but I couldn't be more satisfied. "I'll do as you say," Smellerbee hung her head in mock resignation.
"Good, now take this," Gū Bǎn pulled a small folded piece of parchment out of his robe and handed it to Smellerbee. It was moist with sweat and made her shiver in revulsion, "Go to the address on the front, my seal will get you through the gate. The people there will handle the rest." Gū Bǎn stood up, much to the relief of his chair. "It was a pleasure doing business with you, Pìn Lù. I look forward to a profitable arrangement." Smellerbee could hear him laugh as she made her way out of the building, but he couldn't see her smile.
Twenty minutes later when she reached her destination, he smile faded, "The Fancy Lady Day Spa?" She questioned audibly to no one in particular. She looked back down at the parchment that Gū Bǎn had given her. It had only two features, a mark that must have been his seal, and this address. No doubt that this is the place, she thought, this is what he meant by 'getting me ready for it.'
As she stepped thought the threshold of the spa, she was immediately stuck with a wave of sweet smells that brought her unprepared eyes to the point of watering. She screwed up her nose to avoid the odor, only to find that she could taste it as well. Across the small foyer a young woman, just a few years older than Smellerbee sat at a desk, absent mindedly twirling her hair in her fingers and staring into space. She noticed Smellerbee approach, snapped to in her seat, and plastered on a fake smile.
"Welcome to the Fan…" was a far as she got when she finally looked down at Smellerbee and screwed up her own nose at the new arrival in an uncanny reflection of Smellerbee's own reaction. "Umm, are you lost little…girl?" She asked condescendingly.
You have no idea, lady, "No, I was told to come here, I have this." Smellerbee held up the parchment and desk attendant snatched it out of her hand.
She looked it over for a moment, and then looked back down at Smellerbee before speaking, "Máo!" She yelled, "There's another of Gū Bǎn's here!"
What followed were the most excruciating and humiliating hours of Smellerbee's life. A haughty, emaciated woman who could only have been Máo had two female attendants pull Smellerbee into a back room of the spa. There she was backed into a corner and was told to stand over a grate while the attendants moved back towards a large object that was covered with a sheet. Máo then approached and circled Smellerbee like a buzzardwasp, making little disapproving grunting noises every few moments as she discovered new supposed faults with the young swordswoman.
Smellerbee felt her face grow hot with anger and embarrassment and she wasn't going to be judged like a piece of meat. "What do you think your doing?"
Máo grunted again didn't speak as much as hiss, "Be quiet, stray. The finest ladies in the Earth Kingdom pay a fortune to be in my presence, you should consider this an honor! So be quiet and we won't leave you in the gutter where Gū Bǎn found you."
Smellerbee didn't share that feeling and felt her hands move to where her sword would have been.
Máo turned her back to Smellerbee and addressed her attendants, "Face, hands, feet are a foregone conclusion, and that hair…use the root extract. All right, get started, I want this…person, out of my spa as quickly as possible." With that, she swept out of the room as one attendant closed on Smellerbee while the other pulled the sheet of the large object to reveal a massive water pump. Máo reached the beaded door and barked out one last order, "Don't forget to burn those rags of hers, who knows what things are living in them."
No, Smellerbee almost said, taking a half step back after realizing what was about to occur. I can take these two out easily, but I'll lose my way into the palace. I have to let this happen. Smellerbee began to cry in spite of herself as the attendant helped her out of her patchwork cloth and leather armor, then out of her undergarments.
Futilely covering herself with one arm and wiping her face with the other she saw that her unexpected tears had began to smudge the four red lines she wore across her face. She wasn't going to be able to keep the marks she wore in remembrance of her dead family. Smellerbee then looked over at the sad pile of her clothes, all things given to her by Jet when she joined his band. My family, my village, my fellow Freedom Fighters, Longshot, Jet, my father's sword, my armor, my facepaint, my name, my dignity…all gone. I have nothing left.
The first shot of cold water brought Smellerbee back to the here and now. While one girl worked the pump, the other pointed a long, nozzled hose at Smellerbee and the near constant stream of water forced the gradually cleaner girl to close her eyes. A few moments later, they had moved past her face and she was able to open her eyes just a fraction. Through the cold water and her own tears, she saw the red scar she had cut into herself. No, not nothing, that is all I have left, and that's all I need. There is nothing now to get in my way, not even my own past. I'll kill Long Fang with my bare hands if I have to.
After her 'bath' was finished, the attendants threw Smellerbee a towel and a robe and she thanked them with a clearly insincere smile. The next step was a painful round of eyebrow plucking and finger/toe nail cleaning. This was followed by another hair washing, this time using some sweet smelling liquid that the attendants handled in a bamboo vial as if it was going to explode. They covered Smellerbee's face when they poured a small portion of it onto her head, and she felt it begin to burn just a few minutes after it was applied. To Smellerbee it felt like they had set her head ablaze as she dug her newly clipped fingernails into her palms until the pain passed. What is that stuff, Smellerbee thought eyeing the vial, was it that root extract that Máo mentioned?
When they were done, they pulled what hair they could into a bun at the back of her head, gave her a servant's dress, a pair of cheap sandals, another sealed note, pointed her in the direction of the palace and pushed her out the back door. Smellerbee shuffled forward the best she could in the strange garment she wore. The spa's note allowed her to pass effortlessly though the final remaining gates to the palace, the guards stationed there never gave Smellerbee a first glance, dismissing her as just another nobody. Have to keep my head down and not draw any attention, I'm Pìn Lù, impoverished servant girl now, not a danger to anyone. Smellerbee didn't know what to make of the fact that she hadn't seen any Dai Li anywhere in the city, is it just that they are good at hiding themselves, or is it only the idea of them being everywhere that people fear now?
Once on the palace grounds, however, the sight of the massive structure, surrounded by gigantic statuary, gardens and temples caused Smellerbee to gape uncharacteristically. Despite what she had always been told about the home of the Earth King, nothing in her life in dense forests and squalid villages had prepared her for the fact that such a place could exist for the use of just one man.
Smellerbee walked down the central path, looking up at each of the dozens of tall stone pillars that lined the road, each with a unique stature of a previous Earth King. The palace itself loomed in the distance, and despite how large it looked from the gate, it only grew in size as she approached it. When she reached a small bridge that crossed the moat at the end of the path, she became the object of attention.
"You! Stop!"
A voice called out from behind Smellerbee, who froze on the spot. Stupid! She admonished herself, gawking here like an idiot; you deserve to get killed if you're caught so easily.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Ok, turn around and look down, give him the note and don't say anything, maybe he's just a regular guard. Smellerbee turned and caught a glance at the guard before looking at the ground, not a Dai Li, thankfully, but even if I was able to get away from him, it's a ten-minute run back to a heavily guarded gate. I've passed the point of no return and instead of noticing, I've been playing tourist. Smellerbee pulled the note out from the belt on her gown and slowly raised it in front of her.
The guard snatched it with a grunt, and after flipping it over a few times and snorting, spoke again, "New server, huh? Did they not tell you where to go or are you too stupid to follow directions?"
Smellerbee wondered how fast her newly clipped nails could dig into this guard's neck, but instead shook her down turned head and said nothing.
"Mute, huh? Figures…alright, follow me."
The guard led Smellerbee over the moat, and before they reached the stairs to the main entrance, turned to the right, following the red wall of the palace. A long walk later, they reached a small arc of stones set into the wall, "Stop," the guard ordered. He then assumed a stance, stomped his right foot forward and moved his arms out then down. After a rumble, the portion of red wall inside the stone arc lowered into the ground, revealing a passageway.
As it moved down Smellerbee could see that this part of the wall was over two feet thick. Now that is a big door, she thought.
"Go inside."
Smellerbee did as she was told, and was immersed in darkness when the door was closed behind her. She took a few tentative steps forward as her eyes adjusted to the low light. Ahead of her she could see a bright blur from which the sounds of people yelling and porcelain clanging together could be heard. By the time she reached it, she could now see that the bright, noisy room was the massive kitchen of the palace. Over fifty people were crammed into it: cooks, servers, cleaners, all moving around each other in close quarters. There were of all ages and sizes, from boys younger then Smellerbee pushing brooms to old men endlessly stiffing sauces. Smellerbee stood in the doorway looking for some semblance of order, anybody in charge that she could report to avoid wandering aimlessly and creating a scene.
Unfortunately, no one else knew of her desire to remain unnoticed, "New girl!" one teenage boy chopping lettuce yelled.
"NEW GIRL!" the entire kitchen yelled, and began to laugh and bang together pots and pans in what looked like a traditional greeting, causing Smellerbee to blush with embarrassment.
"Quiet! Quiet! Everybody back to work, now!" A harried looking young man worked his way through the crowded kitchen, occasionally slapping people in the head along the way to get them to stop making noise and back to their duties. He approached Smellerbee and looked her over. She was uncomfortable at being sized up for the third time today, "You have all your fingers?" He asked.
Smellerbee, stunned by the odd question, held her palms up as if to make sure for herself.
"Okaayyyyy," The young man said in a patronizing tone, "Can you speak?"
Smellerbee opened her mouth to tell him where to stick his attitude, when the young man cut her off with a loud sigh, "Never mind, I don't care. Dishes." He said pointed at a long sink where four other people about her age were washing dishes. "Wash the dishes, eat when they eat," He swept his hand over the line of dishwashers, "and sleep when they sleep. Got it?" With that, he turned and left.
Smellerbee approached the long sink and took an open spot near the end, not far from a beaded door that apparently lead out into the palace. In front of her was a deep basin full of filthy water, behind it was a counter where stacks of dishes and utensils sat. They were caked with the remnants of food and looked like they'd been there for days.
"The biggest pile of dishes is always near the door." An older boy standing next to Smellerbee with his arms elbow deep in the water said with a smile on his face, "So that's where the newbie's start!" He finished with a satisfaction that could only mean that it was once his job. Smellerbee ignored him rather then drive his face into the lip of the sink. She instead pulled back her sleeves and got to work.
Six hours later Smellerbee never felt so tired. Her hands were swollen and raw from hours of scrubbing underwater, and standing on the hard kitchen floor in her cheap sandals caused pain to streak up her back like lightning. Suddenly her fellow dishwashers, as if by hidden signal, stopped working, dried their hands and filed out with the rest of the kitchen staff thought a door on the far side of the kitchen. Smellerbee followed cautiously, at first thankful to be away from the sink, then relived to see that they were entering a large cafeteria room.
By the time Smellerbee reached the front of the serving line, the thin rice stew 'meal' was all but ice cold. She carried her bowl and a splinter of wood that was a poor excuse for a spoon to the back corner of the room and sat at the end of an empty table. She stretched out her back for a moment, trying to work out the kink that was left in it from hours hunched over the sink and thought, this was a sought after job? Smellerbee poked at her dinner and took stock of what she had seen and heard in the kitchen. This place is like a cross between and a military camp and a prison, she hypothesized, everyone had their duties and no one questioned them. There are chefs, assistant chefs, servers and cleaners like me, but only the servers ever leave the kitchen. Even then they are tasked to specific jobs, which means I might never get a chance to get where I need to go! Letting her anger get the best of her, Smellerbee pounded her fist on the table, attracting the wrong kind of attention.
"What's the matter new girl?" The older boy she worked next to all day called over from the table across from hers. "Had enough already? That was only a half day for you!" He and those sitting near him began to laugh.
Ignore them, she thought, I'm not here for them.
"I know!" He continued his taunting, "She must not be hungry, take her food." Another boy learned over and snatched the bowl out from under Smellerbee's face, causing the whole room to burst out in laughter. Smellerbee was barely able to contain her rage, and responded only by snapping her wooden spoon in half in her fist using her thumb.
It was then that the kitchen's boss stuck his head in and yelled, "Quiet, all of you! And you!" He pointed at Smellerbee, "That spoon is the property of the Earth King, and it's coming out of your pay. The rest of you," he pointed at the boys at the table across from her, "are washing tonight's dishes alone. Now everyone: eat, then sleep, then work. Got it?" He didn't wait for a response.
After the meal, the kitchen staff filed out into a long hallway that lead to several barracks style rooms. Smellerbee watched the crowed of people and stayed close to one young girl that she took note of hours earlier. If I can't get out of the kitchen, I'm going to need a new job, hers.
It was three hours ago when the Smellerbee watched the kitchen boss look out a window and the yell a name: "Xiǎo! Time for the Grand Secretariat's tea!" Smellerbee looked up from her dishwashing to see a small girl take a tea tray out of the kitchen and presumably to Long Feng.
In the girls barracks room Smellerbee found an empty bunk and feigned sleep despite her exhaustion. As the room grew dark and the hours passed, she lay with her eyes open, focusing on keeping her mind blank and ready for what was to come.
When she felt that the first rays of sunlight were about to breach the narrow windows of the barracks room, Smellerbee slid silently out of her bed and over to where Xiǎo was sleeping peacefully. Without hesitation, Smellerbee clasped her hand over the young girl's mouth, who awake with a muffled start.
"Quiet!" Smellerbee whispered intently, "Listen to me, girl. You're about to be hurt, badly. However, it will be a lot worse if you reveal to anyone that it was anymore than an accident. Do you understand?" Tears started to well in eyes widened by fear, but she didn't respond in any other way. "It's the difference between walking out of here and being dragged out," Smellerbee continued, her voice carrying an edge, "Do you understand?"
Xiǎo shut her eyes tight squeezing out a pair of tears. Smellerbee with her free hand grabbed Xiǎo's right arm and with a quick motion and a wet snap, broke it over the wooden frame of her bunk bed. Xiǎo let out a gasp before passing out from the pain. Smellerbee carried her down off her upper bunk and laid her on the floor.
Smellerbee retuned to her own bunk just as the young servant girl awoke again and began to scream, waking the whole barracks. Soon older members of the kitchen staff arrived to take Xiǎo to a healer. On the way out Smellerbee caught the eye of the young girl and stared at her intently. The kitchen boss then decreed that since everyone was awake, they had better get to work.
Smellerbee retuned to her bunk to get her sandals. She won't talk, I've never seen anyone that sacred, she suddenly saw herself standing over Jet's body, and then remembered the look in Xiǎo's eyes. I had to do it, she thought, recalling the sound of the young girl whimpering, no that's not true, I chose to. Smellerbee felt for the scar on her arm, reminding herself of her commitment, even as it began to falterGuilt and a night without sleep won't make this any easier, Smellerbee thought as the new day's work began.
Seven hours in Smellerbee took her swollen hands out of the filthy water to shake the water off, and the blood out, of them. She looked around the kitchen at all of the faces focused on their work. I can't imagine doing this for weeks, let alone years, she thought, but these people have no choice, they have nowhere else to go. That sounds familiar…I'm I that different? Smellerbee felt hollow at that realization. I could…stay here as Pìn Lù. It's not a great life, but there's food, and a warm place to sleep, they are even apparently going to pay me.
"Xiǎo! Time for the Grand Secretariat's tea!" The kitchen boss yelled.
Long Feng, Smellerbee thought, sliding the long knife she had left resting at the bottom of the sink all day up her sleeve, Long Feng comes first.
"She's hurt!" Another voice called out.
"I'll do it!" Smellerbee yelled seizing her moment, dashing away from the sink and up to the boss. She stopped short of the boss and kept her head down respectful, "Please sir, I can do it." Smellerbee stared at the floor, but wished she could see out the top of her head for any sign that the boss was going to go for it. I'm taking too big a risk, she thought, but it has to be now, if Xiǎo ever lets the truth slip, I've had it.
"Who are you? I don't care," the boss sighed, answering his own question, "take this tray, this tray, LOOK AND PAY ATTENTION!" he snapped, Smellerbee glanced at the tea tray that featured just a steaming tea pot and a cup with a lid, and then looked up at the boss, "go out that door and take your first right. That's this way." The boss exemplified by poking Smellerbee hard in the right shoulder. "Then the second left and go in the first door. Put the tea on the desk and come right back here. Got it?"
"Yes, sir," Smellerbee replied, sounding as meek as she could.
"Then go, the tea's not getting any hotter."
Smellerbee pulled the tray off the counter and slid the kitchen knife underneath, holding it under the tray. She shuffled out of the kitchen and into the palace proper.
The long, green halls of the palace were quieter then Smellerbee expected them to be, her soft footsteps were the only sound she could hear. With the amount of food going out of the kitchen, I thought there would be more people. Smellerbee slowed as she made her first turn, careful not to spill a drop or collide with anyone. Her caution paid off at the next intersection where she nearly ran into the only other people she'd seen so far. Two Earth Kingdom guards in long green battle dresses escorting a red-haired girl dressed as a prisoner nearly ran her down. A Fire Nation witch, no doubt, Smellerbee thought, sneering at the prisoner, her own heart pounding as she got closer to Long Feng, I hope she gets what she deserves too.
Just outside of the door to Long Feng's office, Smellerbee collected herself. Just go in and put the tea down, if the moment presents itself, strike. Smellerbee propped the tray up with her knee and gently rapped on the door.
"Come in," Long Feng's voice called, sending a chill up Smellerbee's spine. She slid open the door and took in the small room. There was a long desk lit by an oil lamp, a small cabinet and nothing else but stacks of scrolls and books. Smellerbee focused on not staring at the object of her revenge, Long Feng, who never looked up from what he as reading, and slid the tray onto an empty corner of its surface, sliding the knife back into the palm of her hand, and closing the door with her foot "Right there is fine, thank you Smellerbee."
Smellerbee's head snapped up at the sound of her name and ignoring her concern at being found out, dove at Long Feng, knife first. The Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se stomped his foot under his desk and a slab of stone caught Smellerbee in the chest. He then pushed his hand out at her, palm open, and the stone slid back, pinning Smellerbee against the wall from her feet to her shoulders.
Smellerbee gasped for breath and flipped the knife around in her hand, and while holding it by the point, whipped it at Long Feng's head. The head of the Dai Li lifted the lid from his teacup and used it to deflect the blade harmlessly.
Smellerbee struggled to get out from behind the stone, but Long Feng gave it another push, and she felt her chest compress to the point where she could hardly draw a breath, "Stop struggling, child," he said, "it's over."
"You bastard, I…" Smellerbee wheezed.
"Quiet now," he said calmly; slumping back in his chair uncharacteristically and taking a sip of his tea. It was then that she noticed that he was disheveled in his appearance. With his clothes wrinkled and his hair out of place, he looked like he'd not slept in days. "You know I convinced myself I would never see any of you children again, yet here you are, bent on revenge and most likely oblivious to the bigger picture." Long Feng rubbed his forehead, "But then it is you Smellerbee, so I'll wager that you're not here to save the world," Long Feng chuckled to himself gloomily, "You are here about the boy I killed."
"His name was Jet!" Smellerbee shouted, the effort almost causing her to black out.
"I remember him, I think about him often in light of recent events. There was a time when he and I weren't much different. I too came from nothing. I worked hard, gained entrance to Ba Sing Se University, but before I could go out into the world I was 'given' the 'opportunity of a lifetime'," he intoned bitterly, "the job of tutor to the next Earth King. Tutor," Long Fang harrumphed, taking another sip of his tea, "more like zookeeper. Since no one says no to royalty, I was stuck playing wet-nurse for decades. All I wanted was control over my own life!"
What is he doing, Smellerbee thought, confessing? I'd almost rather he just killed me.
"Then they showed up, the Dai Li. They wanted to control this king and they needed me to do it. I played along, and since they needed me more then I needed them, it wasn't long before I was running the Dai Li and this city, and control was at last mine. Until now. Now it's all over and it is entirely that boy's fault. Not the Avatar, not the Fire Lord or his scheming children," he muttered under his breath, "not even the Earth King. It was Jet. That's when it stared to fall apart, when I lost control."
"HE'S DEAD!" Smellerbee yelled, exasperated at Long Feng's sorrowful admissions.
"I didn't have a choice! I had to do it!" He yelled back.
"I LOVED HIM!" Smellerbee yelled again, surprising herself with her admission.
"And I killed him! A child! I didn't want this, all I wanted was order, and now a child is dead, and another is here to try and kill me!"
"…not try." Smellerbee open her left hand and let an empty bamboo vial drop onto the ground.
Long Feng stared down at it and then over to his now empty teacup, "You…" was all he could say as he then clutched at his stomach and fell off his chair. As he struggled with the pain the toxin caused him, he pushed forward with his free hand, trying to crush his killer.
Smellerbee pushed back on the stone with all of her might, bracing her elbows against the wall, holding it back until Long Feng died and the crushing rock reverted into an inanimate slab of stone. Without his bending to hold it up, she was soon able to topple it backwards and free herself. She collapsed to the ground next to the dead man, stared into his glassy, vacant eyes and tried to catch her breath.
I…killed him Jet, he's dead. She thought, I did it for you, and I'm sorry. Smellerbee squeezed her eyes shut and pushed out tears for another part of her life ending. A moment later, she pushed herself up to one knee and wiped her face with her sleeve, I have to get out of here.
Smellerbee slid out of the room and closed the door behind her. She made her way back towards the kitchen using the same path, even though no one's around, no use in calling any attention to myself yet. When she reached the last turn to reach the kitchen, Smellerbee continued walking straight, now at an increased pace. At the end of a long corridor, she found what she was looking for: a narrow window looking out outside the palace.
Not much more then an arrow slit, Smellerbee squeezed her thin frame through. Faced with a long drop, she dangled down with one hand on the sill and dropped as gently as she could on to the flat stones below. Smellerbee pressed against the wall and checked to see if anyone saw her descent. Once sure she was in the clear, she casually walked away from the wall and towards the moat.
The moat water has to come from somewhere, she thought, and if that means another trip over the waterfall, then so be it. I have to get out of here, not just get away; I want to be rid of this city, this war, and anyone who's ever heard of either. I'm finished.
It was then that Smellerbee noticed that her path had become more difficult. The stones under her feet were starting to slide and sink under her weight. One step more and the stones gave way under her, trapping her right foot into the sand below up to the ankle. Shocked, Smellerbee tugged at her leg with both hands, then looked back to see that her other foot was sinking as well. Caught mid-stride and off balance, she steadied herself with her hands and instantly realized her mistake. Now with her hands trapped in the ground as well, she felt herself being pulled underground, and in a moment she was completely submerged.
Darkness and silence were the only sensations Smellerbee could feel as the warm sand pressed into her from all sides. Unable to move, breathe, or scream, she slipped into unconsciousness.
Eight Weeks Before Cometfall
The kid awoke at the bottom of the steep stairs to find the house above much quieter then she remembered. There was a battle, she thought, dizzy from her involuntary sleep, is it over? The kid climbed the stairs and pushed against the hatch, but found it blocked by some weight. Bracing herself and taking a deep breath, she pushed again, hard enough to dislodge whatever was lying on top of the hatch and opening it.
The kid moved up into what was once her home, now a burned out husk. Remembering that her mother was there before, she turned around to see her laying face down next to the hatch. Her fallen body had hidden its door. One of her older brothers lay nearby, a gaping hole in his chest, their family sword in one hand. The red gem in its hilt gleamed in the same shade as the pools of blood that surrounded it.
It's mine now, she thought, numbed by the carnage surrounding her. She pulled it out of the grip of her dead brother and struggled to hold its weight with one small hand. The kid walked out of her village and into the forest.
Smellerbee awoke to find that she was alive and could breathe, but that she still could not move. She was restrained in a stone chair by bands of rocks at her ankles, waist, wrists and forehead in a damp stone room that was lit by an eerie green light that emanated from translucent stones in the wall. The Dai Li, she thought, they caught up to me, but it's too late for their leader, she smiled in spite of herself and her situation.
"Ah, she's awake!" A voice echoed outside the cell door, "Let's have a look, shall we?" The stone door slid down into ground, flush with the floor. A large man in Dai Li robes stepped in. Smellerbee couldn't make out who it was until he stood in the light.
"You?" She said in shock at seeing the works office manager standing in front of her.
"Yes, child it is me," Gū Bǎn replied, "and I can't tell you how happy I am to see you again. Some…well, most of the others, really, thought that you were a waste of time, but I saw something else, something that made you special, and all you needed was a slight push in the right direction to help you accomplish our shared agenda."
Smellerbee had past the point of trying to hide her frustration. "Agenda? What you talking about! Let me out of here!"
"We'll come to that, but first I think we owe you an explanation," Gū Bǎn's voice was much more sinister and carried a harder edge then the last time Smellerbee spoke to him, "You see, Long Feng had become an embarrassment to us. His attempted coup was a spectacular failure; his choice of allies was poor to say the least, and finally, his loss of control over the Earth King was unacceptable. He needed to…go. Unfortunately, he still had the loyalty of many of our top operatives as well as a high public profile, so you were chosen to be our instrument."
"I would never do anything to help the Dai Li!" Smellerbee yelled, frustrated.
"Not consciously, of course, but help you did, and so did we. One tiny push from me and off you went! I have to say that I'm quite proud!" Gū Bǎn stared to laugh.
Smellerbee was staring to get scared, the Dai Li had been on to her from the beginning, watching her, and even helping her kill Long Feng, their leader. "What are you going to do with me?"
"Ah, that's been the subject of some debate. Most think it would be better if you just disappeared…we could just wall you up right now." Smellerbee's blood went cold. "But I think you could be of some use yet. You have a strong will and a killer's instinct." Gū Bǎn turned around and stared off into space, "The Dai Li is going to change soon, and we'll need smart, talented people who can get their hands dirty. People like you."
"Your out of your mind, I'll never work for the Dai Li!" Smellerbee pulled against her bonds, trying to escape this madness.
"Don't try and get away; don't forget that you killed the Grand Secretariat. You're the Earth Kingdom's most wanted criminal. You'll only be caught and brought back here," Smellerbee stopped struggling and gazed at Gū Bǎn with hate in her eyes. "Child, you don't have much of a choice, you can either die here, slowly and painfully, or join us. That will be the second favor I've done for you. I've become generous in my old age, haven't I?" Gū Bǎn began to laugh, and left the cell, closing the door behind him, "It's up to you," he voice came, softened by the wall of stone between them, "but I insist that you not make up your mind right away. I'll be back later for your decision, let's say a couple of months."
With that, the stones holding Smellerbee to the chair fell away and she held her head in her hands and began to cry. Jet…