Rokon crouched down, though he was weary from the full day's journey on the open water. As a troop of soldiers went by, he ducked his head behind a bush, hoping that the peasant stink he'd gotten on the ship wouldn't attract their attention.

A beetle whirred past his face, making his nose itch. The balmy weather was enough, but bugs? It was as if Azula had planned for him to have the worst time of his life. He held back a sneeze.

Earlier that morning, he had donned a disguise, wearing colorless rags and smearing a bit of mud on his face. If the people didn't know him, they knew his cousins, and unfortunately enough, he had a striking similarity to the new Fire Lord. Luckily, most of the other passengers on the ship were dirty, after hours of toiling on farms or other labor.

He remembered that he once used to look down haughtily at peasants and other poor folk, born and brought up a royal as he was. But the journey led him to have a new found respect for them – though they were dirty and stank like the pigs they worked with, they were kind folk, happy with their lives, and not needing grandeur or luxury to live. They were simple and honest, something which he couldn't say even for the most wonderful of his class.

More than once, he had been offered company, food, or provisions, though they hadn't much on their own. Each time, he politely refused, not wanting to take their food from them.

He looked up, waiting for the road to clear. He scowled, frustrated, when he saw two guards standing not a few feet away, talking animatedly about one of the village girls.

Rolling his eyes, he realized that the whole area was going to be swarming with these goons; of course the guard system of the Steadfast City would extend to the suburbs and ports! He had to get a better disguise. He turned, slowly, so his movements wouldn't be caught, and retreated into the small forest. There had to be some way in. And he did have to find a place to stay, anyway.

He found himself back at the docks in an hour, watching an almost comical scene unfold.

"My cabbages! Ayah! Nobody respects them!" A cabbage merchant was shouting and gesturing frantically at two small boys, who had dropped a fish accidentally, and the wheel of the merchants cart had slid on it, dropping its precious cargo all over the area. They mumbled apologies, looking both frightened and amused.

"You can apologize all you want, but who will buy these cabbages now? Nobody wants trampled, dirty vegetables!" He continued shouting as the boys stammered more apologies and ran for their lives.

Rokon cleared his throat, stooping to pick up a few cabbages that had fallen by his feet. He had found his way into the city. Wiping some of the mud from his face, he returned them to the fuming merchant.

"How much do you want for the whole cart? I'll buy them all from you, and the cart, if you'll sell it." He looked earnestly at the man.

The crabby cabbage merchant appraised him with a skeptical stare. "How can a peasant have the money to buy all of my cabbages?" He stood in front of his cart, arms crossed protectively.

"Never mind how, but I assure you, I have the money. The question is if you are willing to sell them all to me."

The merchant stared. "I do not sell to robbers." With that, he re-hitched his ostrich horse to the cart and began moving through the fishermen.

"Wait, sir! Listen, my money is all honest money. I need your cabbages to get into the city. You see, my wife was diagnosed with a terrible, crippling illness, and the physicians inside the city are helping her, fortunately. But the guards will not let me in to see her. They suspect everyone and everything now that the Avatar and other world leaders are coming for diplomacy." He carefully arranged his face into one of pleading sadness.

The cabbage merchant turned, looked at Rokon for a long minute, judging the truth of his story, and finally said, "I won't sell you the ostrich-horse. He belongs to the family."

In less than half an hour, Rokon pushed his cart towards the two guards, who stopped bickering and questioned him. Innocently, he assured them that he was to sell the cabbages inside the city. "They are the finest money can buy! I'm sure the king will want to serve the Avatar the finest cabbages he can get! In fact, why don't you buy some, eh? Share them with your family; they'll be sure to thank you!" He smiled brightly.

"No, no, I don't want any of your cabbages. Go on." The guard opened the gate, allowing Rokon to pass. "Cabbages!" He called out randomly on the streets, hoping that his act was convincing.

Soon enough, he reached the gates of the city itself, more considerable than what he'd heard of Ba Sing Se. He smiled. He'd even been able to sell a few of the vegetables and make a good show of it. Despite himself, he realized that he was having a small amount of fun.

Looking at the guards manning the outer wall, he offered to sell them some of the load off his precious cart. When they refused, he frowned slightly, and then brightened. "Well then, may I at least be allowed to sell my wares in the city?" He looked them in the eye. Luckily, his own eyes were brown, not the royal gold of his more famous cousins he figured that he probably had some Earth Kingdom blood running through his veins, somewhere after Sozin's generation.

Then again, brown was a color most common even in the Fire Nation, and all around the rest of the world as well.

The guard looked him over. "Do you have a permit to sell in the city?"

Rokon faltered. "P-permit? I haven't heard of such a permit. I have sold in Omashu, Ba Sing Se, Gaoling, and Nan Shan; all over the Earth Kingdom, and I have never needed a permit!"

"Well, there is a reason this city is called Katai Shi, you know. No permit, no entrance."

"Well then where would I get such a permit?" He frowned, grimacing internally. This was going to be more complicated than he expected.

"Governor's office. It's in the suburb of Taiping." The guard pointed south.

Rokon sighed. "Thank you."

He pushed the cart back down the road, beginning to make his way south. He would have to walk all the way to Taiping, somehow convince the governor of his validity as a merchant, walk back, and then ask for entrance again. There had to be another way!

He passed a shop selling clothes from all four nations. He stopped, looking at the Fire Nation display. Well, he thought, I do look like Zuko.

But would the same ruse that had worked with Azula work for him now? She had managed to infiltrate and stage a coup in Ba Sing Se, under the identity of the Kyoshi Warriors; he didn't expect that much success, but would posing as his cousin gain him entrance to the city? He had to try.

He rented a room at an inn for the night, stowing his cabbage cart in a stable. He thanked the Spirits that he had remembered to bring plenty of money.

Wandering wearily to the dining hall of the inn, he sat on a barstool, and ordered a Badgermole's Paw. The strong drink cleared his mind a little, and he let out a long, slow sigh. It had been an excruciatingly long day.

"So, did you hear that the Fire Lord's envoy comes in tomorrow? They've tightened all the security a hundred times! As if any of us want to start another war. But they received a threat; some rebel group in the Fire Nation itself is going to try to assassinate him." Rokon choked on his drink, but forced himself not to look behind him at the man speaking. It would be too obvious.

"No rebel group could have formed so fast, and be organized enough to kill the kid now. I think that's just flying from the boar's mouth." A second man answered, pounding his fist on the table as if to prove his point.

"Naw, it ain't gossip. I heard it from Uncle Jee, and he doesn't lie." A third man agreed with the first.

"Well, in my opinion, I think the Fire Lord is well protected anyway. He has some powerful allies." It was a girl's voice this time, and Rokon turned, despite himself.

A small figure sat at the bar to his right, face shrouded by a hooded cloak. The other men laughed; the sound mingling with the hubbub of the other people in the inn.

"And how would you know, girl?"

Rokon saw a grin beneath the hood. "Pubs are the best place to learn things," she informed them. "And besides, everyone knows that he's traveling with the Avatar, a master Earthbender, a master Waterbender, and excellent swordsman. Plus, he's got his 6th Division with him. And that I heard on the port, from some fisherman who reported seeing them."

"That may all be true, but he doesn't take his 6th Division to the bathroom or into his bedroom, does he?" The man laughed.

"The Earthbender can feel any attacks. I've heard that she's blind, but she sees with Earthbending. I don't really understand it myself, but I'd think twice before underestimating it. I heard that the last two guys to do that were locked in a metal box. She's a Metalbender, too." A quieter man spoke up this time.

"So? Who believes such nonsense, anyway? There's no such thing as a Metalbender! And anyway, no magical seeing will save the kid if someone slips poison into his food, eh?"

"May I ask, gentlemen, this rebel group you're talking about; know anything about it?" Rokon asked them, getting surprised looks. The hooded girl tilted her head towards him, but said nothing. She didn't seem fazed by the fact that he had been listening in.

"Not very much." One of the men leaned forward, his short beard falling into his abandoned drink. "But I heard that the princess escaped a few months ago, and she's rallying resistance against her brother. But she went mad when they took over rule; who's to say that her resistance isn't entirely imaginary?"

"Katai Shi has a good security base anyway, so even if it did exist, there's no way of getting in, right?" Rokon hoped that he wasn't being obvious.

"Well, that's all true, but what they don't know is that there are weak spots. Just today, I saw someone get into the city when the guards were switching between shifts. That's a distracted time for them, and there's a hole in the defenses." The quiet man lowered his voice even more. He too, was wearing a cloak, though the hood only covered his eyes.

"Well, kid, where is this hole? I've been trying to get into the damned city for a week now! Every time, they deny me entrance, sprouting some new excuse. Did you know that they're making merchants get permits from the governor in Taiping? That's something new they've started, just to show the Avatar and his friends how tight their stupid security is, and how great the city it is." The wiry man spat on the dirt floor. "Of course, they don't care that it's hurtin' the rest of us here."

The hooded young man leaned his elbows against the table. "But isn't security a good thing? We were just talking about threats to the Fire Lord's safety, and by extension, threats to the peace they're trying so hard to establish."

"Well, yes, but the city council has taken it a bit too far. They're denying common citizens the right to go into the city. Not every person walking down the road is a damned robber or rebel scout! So tell us, kid, where's this hole? I need to get in, too." The man mopped his soaked beard on his stained shirt.

Rokon looked at him, wondering how someone roughly his own age, if not younger, knew the weaknesses in the guard system. The man was silent, as if contemplating whether to speak aloud. For a split second, Rokon thought he saw the man look towards the hooded girl for assistance.

Suddenly, a waitress tripped somewhere in the back, the drinks flying everywhere. In an attempt at dodging a big tankard of Dragon's Tongue, a man fell across a chair, smacking into a larger man.

It wasn't long before full blown pandemonium erupted, tankards and food flying almost as fast as fists.

"Thanks Toph!" Rokon's eyes snapped up, and he followed the voice to the hooded young man.

"Shut up, Sokka. You know, I'm never letting you drink anything ever again! Who asked you to open your mouth about the security in the first place? And I don't mind being complimented, but you couldn't have been more obvious if you had said 'look, here's Toph, she's scouting ahead to see if anything will go wrong! And by the way, if anyone wants to lock her up, don't use metal, since she can bend it!' Really, what's wrong with you?" The hooded girl growled, dragging him towards the staircase. Rokon watched as they left.

Toph and Sokka – they were close friends of both Zuko and the Avatar.

He crept silently after them, glad that the steps leading to the upstairs rooms were wooden.

Sokka led Toph into her room, and once the door was closed, arguing ensued almost immediately. Rokon hurried quickly to the next room on the right, cursing under his breath when he found it was locked. He then walked silently to the room on the left, which, by some miracle, was unlocked.

He silently let himself in, and then quickly pressed his ear to the wall, hoping to catch little bits of their conversation.

"- my fault! You caught me, didn't you? And besides, I never actually told them that it's in the South wall. All I said was that it exists. And I said that because I, unlike you, understand their position. Not everyone is a high noble who only has to show their face or family seal to get somewhere!" Silence followed Sokka's outburst, and Rokon thought he sensed a deep hurt under it, though he didn't really understand.

"Leave. Right now."

He listened desperately for movement; he didn't know who's room he had crept into, and certainly couldn't be caught spying on Zuko's friends from their own rooms.

Finally, after a few tense seconds, he heard Sokka say, "I'm sorry, Toph, I shouldn't have said that. I know you haven't had it easy with your family, and don't really want all that money, either. I'm really sorry. That was inexcusable."

He thought he heard a slight sniffle. "Then why did you say it?" Rokon was surprised, her voice, from what he'd heard, was like Azula's – it wasn't one that you could expect to hear vulnerability in. But that's exactly what he heard.

Another silence.

And then, finally, "I don't know. And I truly didn't mean it." And then, his voice became more animated. "But did you hear them? They've been hurt because of us! I just…I wish there was some way we could do something."

She snorted, seeming to come back into her sarcastic stature. "Well, this is Katai Shi, meathead. What, did you think we could dress up like Suki and the rest of her hogmonkeys and just walk in like the Princess of Craziness did at Ba Sing Se?"

"Hey, don't call them that!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. But what did you expect, anyhow? That they wouldn't put on a big show and try to be all special for the Avatar and the Fire Lord?" She laughed. "It'd be different if they actually liked this kind of stuff. But they're both all soft, like you."

He seemed to ignore the jibe. "Well, I don't know what I expected. But why do they have to overdo it? I mean, their regular security worked all these years, and all through the war. Why'd they tighten it for this conference?"

"Who knows? They're probably just trying to impress. And, then again, they might have heard all the threats against Sparky and Twinkletoes."

Sparky and Twinkletoes. I wonder if they're codenames.

"That's a possibility; I guess…" he sounded doubtful. "Well, goodnight, Toph."

"Sure, Snoozles."

Rokon scrambled out of the room quickly, and just slipped into the pretense of walking slowly and drunkenly to his own room when the door opened and Sokka stepped out into the hallway.

"Hey, you," Rokon cringed, before turning.

"Yeah?"

"Your sword. Know a place around here I can get one? Mine was – ah – lost on one of my journeys around the Earth Kingdom." He had his hood back on, but Rokon saw the grimace. This, to his luck, meant that they hadn't heard him listening in.

"I think I crossed a blacksmith somewhere on that main road leading to the city. By the way, how did you find out that there was a hole in the defenses? You don't look any older than me."

A frown this time. "Well, I can't tell you where it is, because if too many people use it, then it'll be discovered. But I was scouting the security for a couple days; watching their shifts, their strong and weak spots, everything. And I figured it out, that's all. And it's not a real hole, anyway. It's just a weak spot. May not even be a way in." He shrugged, the hood of his cloak bunching up near his chin.

"I understand. It's not surefire, and it's your own personal way into the city. If I spent time finding something like that, I wouldn't want to share it either." He turned to go to his room.

"Thanks for the directions to the blacksmith, er…"

"Li." Rokon supplied a name. There were a million Li's. And in every nation, too.

"Thanks, Li."

Do tell me what you think! Unfortuantely, I completely forgot to upload this chapter when I finished it last week. Sorry for the wait!

(It's been posted on deviantart under the username sepulchral-roses. I tend to post stuff there more than here.)