Chapter 12
Surprises
Sokka held Suki's hand as they walked down the dimly lit stone path. Zuko, Mai, Katara, Aang, and Toph followed closely behind them. Everyone except Toph had a hand to hold.
As the group headed toward firelight fountain, Sokka fiddled with Suki's betrothal necklace in his pocket. He traced over the inscription with his fingernails on the back and the drawing on the front.
Betrothal necklaces were a custom of the northern water tribe; however Sokka didn't know what else to give to Suki.
Before Sokka had set out to retrieve Suki, he had carved her a necklace and left it safe in Ba Sing Se.
He had spent days searching for the right stone to give to Suki. Sokka found the perfect one at the end of the third day, just as he was about to head home for dinner. It was a sky blue stone with streaks of cerulean in it.
Sokka spent two weeks carving the betrothal necklace. He had combined the symbols of their people into the design of the necklace. The stone was shaped in a perfect circle, so it made the carving much easier.
The national emblem of the Earth Kingdom was a circle with a square in the middle of it, so Sokka had carved out a square in the exact center of the stone.
On the left side of the stone, Sokka carved a crescent moon. The moon was set in from the side by a few millimeters. The moon followed the length and curve of the stone. The top of the moon stopped at the top of the arch of the stone, and did the same at the bottom.
On the right, the earthbending symbol was carved. It was smaller than the crescent moon and larger than the square cut out of the middle. The waterbending symbol was carved across the top of the stone. The three waves stemmed from the moon. The last element of the carving was the waves that filled in the spaces between all the other major elements of the carving.
As they approached the firelight fountain, Sokka's heart fluttered. He was about to ask the biggest question of his life, and he hoped more than anything that he didn't choke. Sokka was about to become a married man; he was about to lose his freedom.
Nobody was in the courtyard. The air was cool and a faint cool breeze was blowing. The flames of the candles flickered on the water.
The sound of the water bubbling over the three tiered fountain was calming to Sokka. Suki had figured it out several days ago, but was keeping her mouth shut.
Sokka ushered Suki to the side of the fountain. The rest of the group stood in a loose circle around them.
Aang stood next to Katara. His arm was wrapped around her waist. He had a smile on his face as he watched his best friend try to awkwardly propose.
Toph stood with her arms crossed across her chest near Sokka. She was most displeased by Sokka's course of action. She was jealous of Suki, but she couldn't do anything to change the outcome of their relationship status.
Zuko and Mai were resisting the urge to make out with each other. Their fingers were interlocked and Mai was actually smiling.
Sokka took a deep breath.
"Suki?" His voice shook.
"Yes Sokka?" Suki smiled. She held Sokka's hands in her own. She knew what was about to happen.
"Will you marry me?" It all came out as one word.
Suki opened her mouth but no sound came out. Sokka placed the betrothal necklace in her hand.
He eyes lit up at the astounding detail in the necklace he had just bestowed upon her. Suddenly her eyes rolled into the back of her head.
Suki's knees trembled and buckled and she fell into Sokka. He wrapped his arms around her thin body, trying to support the dead weight.
"Katara? What do I do?" Sokka yelled.
"I- I don't know!" Katara replied, scared.
"Can't you do the magic heal-y stuff?" Sokka asked, laying Suki down on the ground.
"I could if I knew what was wrong!" Katara yelled, not knowing what to do for her best friend.
"Maybe we should take her back to the apartment." Toph suggested.
"That's a good idea Toph. I'll call Appa." Aang replied, as calmly as he could. He pulled out his bison whistle and blew on it.
"Told you this was a good investment." Aang said under his breath.
Sokka held Suki in his lap on the ground. He put his head up to her chest. Her heart beats were faint and rapid. Her breaths were also rapid and shallow. She had beads of cold sweat on her forehead and her face and body were tense.
Appa quickly arrived on scene. Sokka stood up and carried Suki onto his saddle. The rest of the group quickly followed and Appa set off to the apartment.
Appa flew as fast as he could and landed in front of the apartment a few minutes later. Sokka carried Suki off of Appa, and noticed she was gripping the betrothal necklace so tight, her knuckles were white.
They entered the apartment and Sokka laid his unconscious girlfriend on the mattress.
"What now?" Sokka asked in a terrified tone.
"Um, maybe the dress is too tight, let's take it off." Katara suggested.
Everybody crowded around Suki, Katara, and Sokka.
"Everybody should go in to the other room and change or something." Katara demanded.
"But-" Aang protested. Katara shot him a fierce look and he immediately scampered.
"Ok, let's try to take the dress off with as little damage to Suki and the dress as possible."
Sokka began to undress his girlfriend. He was pretty much a pro by now, but he was trying to keep the dress in a good condition.
Katara and Sokka worked for 10 minutes at least before Suki was down to her underwear.
"Why isn't she waking up?" Sokka cried.
"I don't know, but listen. He breathing is back to normal." Katara said in a calming manner.
"Do you have anything for her to wear? Lying in your underwear pretty much strips you of any dignity." Katara asked.
"Yeah, hold on, let me get some." Sokka said as he stood up.
He walked quickly over to Suki's bag and grabbed some loose fitting clothing.
Meanwhile in the other room, Toph and Mai were sitting in the chairs awkwardly.
"Can I talk to you about something?" Toph asked,
"Um, sure?" Mai replied skeptically.
"There's an 8th presence in our group, only I can't figure it out." Toph explained.
"I don't know what you mean." Mai played along.
"Well you know how my earthbending works, right?"
"Yes, go on." Mai sighed.
"Well I can feel another presence, but I can't see it."
"That's weird." Mai said, with her arm across her stomach.
"I know. I think somebody might be pre- you know what? Forget it. It's dumb. Stupid. Not even likely." Toph argued with herself.
Mai realized she had displayed far too much kindness and got up to go change. Toph didn't seem to notice or care.
Back in Sokka and Suki's bedroom, Katara and Sokka had Suki dressed in a loose fitting shirt and pants.
"What do we do now?" Sokka asked worriedly.
"Honestly? I have no idea." Katara said, her face had lines across it.
"I think you should just watch her and see if she shows any signs of progress, come wake me up." Katara said kindly as she stood up.
Sokka nodded and watched his girlfriend. Her eyes were shut and her breathing was finally smooth.
The group had all changed and returned to the apartment to check on Suki. Katara and Sokka were the only ones still in their formal wear.
"Well what's going on?" Zuko broke the silence.
"Is Suki going to be ok?" Aang asked.
"Yes, I think she's going to be fine. I don't know what caused her to pass out like that, but Sokka's watching her like a hawk."
"Are we allowed to look?" Aang asked, his childlike curiosity burning in his eyes.
"I think this is really hard on Sokka. Maybe we should just leave him alone." Katara replied, placing her hand on his shoulder.
Aang sighed heavily.
"I think we should all just go to sleep." Katara said in a motherly tone.
Everyone got up and obeyed. Katara followed Aang into their bedroom and got ready for bed.
Sokka sat next to Suki, watching her intently. Her hand was still gripping the betrothal necklace.
"Suki, if you can hear me, please wake up or show some sign that you're ok. I'm scared and I want you to get better. Please, I'm begging you, just wake up. Please. I love you."