Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I might as well clear something up;
I used to think Toph was actually a princess, so that why I called her one in this. I tried to fix it up a little, but let's just say the term princess is just used to say Toph represents the nobility of the Earth Kingdom.
Enjoy!
Chapter 2
Trial and Error and Sabotage
She couldn't help it, as much she didn't want to admit it. Toph felt bad. This couldn't be easy for Zuko, either. That's why she decided to tell a servant that she wanted to meet him in the corridor of the palace where they previously met. When he finally came he was very stoic, she could feel his steady heartbeat as vibrations beneath her feet. He approached, a bit cautiously, and waited.
"I'm sorry a destroyed your meeting room," she said, suddenly timid. "I was angry, I couldn't control myself." Her voice became more positive, more sure of herself. Despite what she said, a part of her didn't feel very sorry. It wasn't Zuko she meant to hurt, it was them. Whoever made this stupid thing up and decided her future for her.
"That's okay," he replied in his usual, steady voice. "I would be, too."
"Well, aren't you?"
"I am, but I'm going to try and fix this." He fixed his golden eyes on the small girl, and couldn't help but think that she looked a little lost, a little helpless. What she did was nothing more than a desperate cry for help from a girl that was in over her head. Maybe not that dramatic, but something like that, he thought.
"It's too late to fix this!" she cried suddenly. "They already invited my parents here!" Zuko blinked; Iroh did not tell him that part.
"Won't your parents be upset?"
"No, they'll probably love it," she said sourly, and crossed her arms. He scowled, and looked down. The reality of the situation was beginning to set in, and so awkwardness fell over them like an unwanted drizzle.
"Okay. Another meeting will be arranged soon, I'm guessing. We'll settle it there, where the entire council can hear us. And Aang and Katara, Sokka and his girlfriend can all come, too," Zuko said, also curious about what the others thought.
"And if they don't listen, I'll make them," Toph said, raising a hand in the air and making it into a fist. The visual was effective, and Zuko hid a smile as he turned his back. "I'm sorry I crashed your meeting room," she said again.
"Don't be." His mind went back to the destroyed room, and all the pictures she spared. On a silent agreement, they parted, reviewing everything they had to say in their heads.
"What... is this?" Hokoda said upon stepping into the room. The dozens that followed him wore similar expressions of complete shock. The only one that didn't look unpleasantly surprised was Iroh. Instead, he looked somewhat pleased.
"What happened here?" demanded an Earth Kingdom general. He was a burly man with a stubborn personality and short temper. Lift off his Earth Nation armor and one could have easily placed him in the Fire Nation on account of his heated temper.
"See..." Iroh tutted. "This is what happened when you force together two elements that do not wish to merge." The Earth Kingdom General glared, and Hakoda, being the chief representative of the Water Tribe, nodded.
"He may be right. All too right," Hakoda said.
They were either lucky, or very unlucky, to have such high strung friends.
Aang and the gang were quick to help ease the situation, each in their own way. For Katara, it brought out a maternal instinct that caused her to mother Toph with consoles and comforts until Toph gave up listening and crouched to her feet, erecting a solid tent of rock that enclosed her from the rest of the world. She wished she could stay there forever. Aang did his best to ease the awkwardness of the situation, which meant it had to get even more awkward, first.
First he separately invited Zuko and Toph to join them in the courtyard, where the gang was sitting in a circle and chatting idly beneath the shade of a blossoming cherry tree. The tree did as much as it could to shade them from the wrath of the blazing sun, which wasn't much, but the fountain nearby provided a cool soundtrack that fed their water soaked fantasies as it's own water ran it's course. Katara would use the water to cool them off every once in a while.
Toph joined them first, and then Zuko would come along with Aang, trying his hardest to pretend everything was normal. He was silent at first, but he always was anyway. All the achieved normality collapsed when Sokka released his suppressed urge to open his mouth. Swinging from the cherry blossom tree like a monkey, Sokka started to sing something in a small voice that carried through the air, reaching all their ears.
"Toph and Zuko, sittin' in a tree... K-I-S-S-I-N-OWWW! SUKI! ARRRGHHH!" Outraged, both Toph and Zuko sprang to their feet and stormed off.
In a single file line, Zuko, Toph, Aang, Katara, Suki, and Sokka paraded into the counsel room, which had been magically restored to it's former condition. Already a table of elders and generals were waiting for them, with disapproving glares on their faces. Zuko took the empty seat next to Iroh, reserved just for him. Toph sat at his opposite, and the others filed in after them. Clearly, the Earth Kingdom general did not approve of their presence.
The general, whose name was Gao, opened his mouth. "Does anyone else see the need for such extraneous additions?" As he said this he motioned towards the others. Sokka and Katara flushed with anger, but Iroh cut in before anyone could make a rash remark.
"The same could be said for your side kicks," Iroh said calmly, eyes on the numerous earth benders behind them that served as representatives of the nation. "I believe the issue at hand is between Fire Lord Zuko and Baroness Toph." Hearing the prefix, Toph flinched. Gao was silenced, and waited.
One of the elder's spoke. "This meeting is to discuss the arranged marriage of Fire Lord Zuko and Earth Princess Toph Bei Fong. The council has approved this decision in order to form a permanent alliance between the formerly feuding nations. The parents of the princess were sent this message, and will arrive at he palace at a later date. The decision has already been approved, and therefore irreversible. There is not more to discuss-"
"Don't the kids get a say?" burst out Hokoda, and Katara felt a sudden rush of pride. This time Zuko flinched, being called a kid. The elder sighed, his old, red eyes turning to these 'kids'.
"What are the grounds on which any objections are raised, aside from personal mannerisms?"
"Person mannerisms?" Zuko repeated, nearly losing his temper. He fought to keep his voice low and steady. "What else is there to object about? Does our own happiness and satisfaction mean nothing? This is our lives-" A gruff voice of an older Fire Nation general cut him off.
"-As as you know, my Lordship, your role to lead our nations requires duty, and sacrifice." Zuko was silenced; he understood that. But he kept thinking of Toph...
"But it's not hers," Zuko said. "As an Earth Kingdom noble's daughterToph has no obligation to our nation. Not even fully to her own."
"No matter. The resolution had already been made, this has become your duty. I repeat, is there any other objections?" repeated the elder.
Silent up until now, Toph spoke in a calm manner that none of her friends really expected of the usually blunt girl. "Age difference," she added. Zuko glanced at her briefly before turning back into the eyes of the opposing.
"This isn't the 'old, traditional' days. Those were over when we won the war. You expect us to get married at a four year age difference."
"As you grow older, four years will be nothing," said a representative from the Water Tribe unhelpfully. Zuko scowled, and Hakoda glared at his companion. How could they be losing this battle so easily? It was clearly their right to be angered, even appalled by this decision. Why was it so hard to defend? A small screech was heard as a chair was pushed back, and Toph stood.
"I don't care what you say, you know what you're doing is wrong!" she said, losing her calm, collected voice. The group accepted her outburst without protest, since she still seemed to have control. "It's hard enough sticking two people together without consent, how do you know they will even like each other? I've never been bound by any rules of royalty and nobility before, and if you think you can make me do it now you're all dead wrong. I'm your worst nightmare." Sokka's mouth formed a perfect 'o', and he secretly burst with pride.
"Baroness-"
"And what about Zuko's freedom? I haven't known the guy personally that long, especially to be marrying him, but I know he overcame a lot of stuff to be removed from the influence of the Royal Family, and what if he didn't? Where would we be now, certainly not sitting here 'cause we couldn't have defeated the Fire Lord without him. And all for this, you want to take it away!"
This time, Iroh attempted to speak. "Well-"
"And think about what you're doing! Look at all of you." She glared around the table. "Take away every last moment, every date you've ever shared with your spouses, strip it all away. Why don't we deserve the same life you got to lead? Did YOU prevent warships from burning the last Earth city to the ground? I don't THINK so!" She took a few deep breaths, and sat down, leaving some people feeling ashamed, others not at all.
Mostly, they felt surprised. Only the elder seemed completely unaffected.
"In light of your protests, myself and ort representatives have earlier formed a small solution, a trial. Fire Lord Zuko and Earth Princess Toph Bei Fong shall spend together a week in close proximity, and if they do not seem terribly opposed to each other the marriage will commence. If, and only if it is proven that they are unmistakably incompatible will we consider reconsidering."
Small victory for the pair, Zuko silently cheered. An evil smirk appeared on Toph's face.
So all we have to do is prove we don't get along? Only Iroh caught the look on her face. Attention turned to him as he cleared his throat, surely in preparation of delivering some wise words.
"I find this trial wise," he said, and Hakoda nodded. "As much as I disagree with this arrangement, I will offer you both wise words. Be fair with this trial... Your marriage may seem unfair, but it represents the bonding of the nations. The council chose you two because you were a good example, and rare example, two friends from the two feuding nations. Purposely or not, you are now looked upon as an example to these two nations, and for the world. Be true to this trial."
His words left the rest satisfied, and his nephew and his nephew's friends confused. The meeting lasted a few more minutes as the elder read the conditions of their trial, which basically included sending the majority of the day together, moving into rooms with closer proximity, discussing marriage, etc. By the time the elder finished, he failed to notice most of them had already slunk out of the room.
Then tension of recent problems did nothing to ease the group back into normal situations, and made dining together just that much more awkward. The force in which certain people stabbed at their roast duck conveyed this. It looked to Katara as if Toph and Zuko were making a sport out of staring dazedly into space, then mauling their food with two-pronged forks.
Zuko sat at the head of the table, and now Toph, by conditions of the trial, was forced to sit at his right. Next to Toph was Katara, then Aang, then Sokka and Sukki. Opposite of them Ty Lee, Haru, and Teo sat perfectly unperturbed. A sudden cry that came from Sokka caught everyone's undivided attention. As he sprang to his feet, with both hands on the table and a look of enlightenment on his face, they could practically see the light bulb glowing over his head.
"I got it!" he announced to the table. "I know why they want Zuko and Toph to get married." Many faces fell.
"They already told us," Teo pointed out. "Because they want unity among the nations."
Sokka puffed out his chest, looking proud. "Oh how wrong you are."
"Then what's the reason?" asked Suki, generally interested. Everyone was listening.
"They want to create ANOTHER AVATAR!" A pause.
"And how do you figure that?" his girlfriend asked.
"Well," he began, "Toph is like, the best earth bender/metal bender ever, and Zuko is the Fire Lord so you know, I guess he must be good, too. So, the council wants them to get married and have a baby-" everyone flinched and Toph choked on her food- "And boom! What do fire and earth genetics create!? A kid who can bend both fire and earth, a FEARTH BENDER! And now, they already know Aang and Katara are together, so when they have their baby-" Aang blushed furiously, and Katara choked on her own food after attempting to help Toph stop choking on hers-" their genes will create a baby who can bend air and water! A WAIR BENDER! "
By now Sokka was reaching the peak of his excitement. He was standing up, both hands in the air illustrating every aspect of his vivid explanation. "AND THEN, THEY'RE GONNA MAKE ANOTHER ARRANGED MARRIAGE SO THAT ZUKO AND TOPH'S KID HAS TO MARRY KATARA AND AANG'S KID AND BOOM! AN AVATAR!" Panting heavily after his presentation, Sokka fell back in his chair with a smile of satisfaction. It wasn't the first time that Suki was thoroughly embarrassed of her boyfriend.
"Sokka, I was trying eat," Toph said, letting her spoon drop.
"Great idea," Katara spat, "Except kids can only inherit one bending element, or none at all." Sokka's face fell.
"What? Really?" he groaned, and went back to chatting with Haru and Teo over his Super Baby Avatar Theory. The whole discussion on babies made Toph sick, and she found herself unable to touch her food.
"By the way, Toph, the speech you made earlier was good," said Katara in between bites of food.
"Yeah, you really made me realize just how unfair this whole thing is," commented Aang, and Toph listened but didn't respond. Katara put her fork down, looking troubled.
"It really makes me so mad. I wish Dad stood up for you more. It's just so unfair..." Aang shifted uncomfortably, because he was the closest to Katara, and he could see the color rising in her cheeks. Everyone was beginning to get riled up, murmuring insults about the whole affair, and empty threats to the council. The tension was rising, and Katara kept on about how ridiculous the whole thing was.
"How dare they do this to my Toph!" both Katara and Sokka said simultaneously, then the table fell completely silent. The two siblings were warded out that they actually shared the exact same thought, while Toph was disturbed by both of their word choices: 'My Toph.' It didn't take long for the others to join in, creating the start of a riot that no one valid was there to appreciate.
"Yeah, and how could they try and control our Zuko!" chorused both Aang and Suki, adding to the list of oddities being said at this dinner. Zuko was officially disturbed.
"Excuse me," Toph said quietly with her head down, and pushed out her chair. She walked out of the room. Zuko soon excused him self as well and left the room. Their sudden disappearance caused feelings of guilt to circulate around the table.
Katara was the first to cut through the lingering guilt.
"I feel so bad..." From her face, everyone could see it was true. She was really passionate about what she said, and at times looked more upset than both Toph and Zuko. "They're so brave. If you just looked at them, you would never be able to tell they were that upset."
"At least they have the whole 'trial' thing," Sokka offered. "If they don't get along on the trials, then they don't have to get married."
"Come on, you don't believe that for a second. You heard Iroh, they have to be normal. Toph and Zuko are normally friends, and they get along. The counsel won't revoke the marriage, even if they pretended not to get along." Sokka listened to Katara, then paused in deep thought.
"... You're right. Every time they were together, something disastrous would have to happen." Only Sukki could read the look on Sokka's face, a look as mischievous as a toddler could give.
Aang, on the other hand, looked alarmed, but intrigued. "Sokka, I think I know where you're going with this..."
"What if we sabotaged all their trials! What if every time, we made something happen that would ruin their time together no matter what they did! And the elders think that they're an example of earth and fire unity, and when they see all the bad omens they can't force them to marry!" The negativity of Sokka's plan was threatening, and some were afraid to agree with it.
"Don't you think that's a little extreme?" asked Ty Lee from across the table. Her sunny attitude left her excluded from the angsty rants of the others pertaining to the subject.
"I almost hate to say it, but Sokka's right," said Katara, surprising all those who thought they knew the calm, accepting water bender. "Extreme circumstances call for extreme measures. If they can't help themselves, we should help them." A dark shadow seemed to spill over her face, and across the table. "Who's in?" Serious expressions dominated the table as each ruminated over the possibilities. The first to thrust their hand towards the center of the table was Sokka, eager to wear his war paint.
Next was Katara, eyes lingering on her and her brother's dark hands. Then Suki, then Teo and Haru, and eventually Ty Lee for the sake of fitting in. At last, a reluctant Aang laid his small hand on top of the others. Sokka smirked.
"Cheer up, it's not going to be hard to ruin a date or two. Trust me, I've done it plenty of times."
How did you like it? PLease review and let me know :)